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are essential to our health.
“The immune system is there to act like a gardener or a national park warden,” says Jack Gilbert, a microbiologist at the University of Chicago and co-author of the new book “Dirt Is Good.” “It’s there to promote the abundance and growth of good bacteria and act as a barrier to the generation of bad bacteria.”
Not being exposed to enough microbes as a child can result in an underdeveloped immune system, which can cause a host of problems, according to Gilbert, including autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disorders and allergies. Being around dirt, in the garden or otherwise, can help kids develop that healthy microbiome that helps prevent these issues.
“Picking up soil and smudging it into their face, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Gilbert says. “Exposure to the outside environment... can be extremely beneficial in helping your child to grow a functional immune system and their brain and their body in the best way possible.”
Garden to dinner table
Active involvement in a garden can also make kids more willing consumers of vegetables, including unfamiliar varieties. My older son is definitely a more adventurous eater. My 1-year-old, meanwhile, doesn’t know the difference yet. Participating in the planting, watering and especially harvesting of vegetables creates a connection that you just can’t get from a trip to the supermarket.
This seems to be a pretty common experience. An analysis that looked at 14 studies of school, community and after-school garden programs found that in 10 of them, children ate more fruits and vegetables after participating in the program.
Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, the lead author of that analysis and an assistant professor of nutrition, dietetics and food science at Utah State University, encourages parents to involve their kids throughout the season, from planting seeds and watering through harvesting.
“We want our kids to know how food grows and how we even get the food that we have,” Savoie-Roskos says.
Finding a space for gardening
Our family is lucky to have a dedicated outdoor space for plants. But even parents who don’t have a back yard have options.
Park Rx America’s database of green space, which includes hundreds of locations in the Washington area and thousands across the country, has a filter that allows users to find parks with community gardens. There are also many independently run community gardens, and school gardens are becoming increasingly popular. As of 2013, more than 30 percent of schools in the United States had gardens, an increase of about 12 percent from 2006, according to a study in the Journal of School Health. Children can even bring a little bit of nature to their deck or fire escape with a container garden.
Whether in your own little plot or as part of a larger space, gardening can provide children with a variety of benefits few other activities can.
Or as Louv says, “A garden can be a doorway into a larger universe.”
Shannon Brescher Shea is a science writer who also blogs about parenting and green living at We’ll Eat You Up, We Love You So. You can find her on Twitter @storiteller.To Ferrari, Fernando Alonso's victory in the German grand prix last Sunday was a well-deserved triumph and anyone who thought otherwise was ill-informed or had a grudge. There have been a lot of those people about in the aftermath of the race at Hockenheim and, here in Budapest, the events in Germany will not be buried, much to Ferrari's annoyance.
The fallout from the instruction to Felipe Massa to let Alonso past to win the race last weekend has hung over the circuit since the bulk of the teams' entourage arrived in Budapest on Tuesday. Little else has been talked about around the track this week. The atmosphere around Massa's team has been awkward at best as Ferrari have reacted defensively to the spotlight being turned upon them. They want to move on. Unfortunately, no one else is ready to do the same.
When the drivers joined their teams the following day, Alonso marched past a bank of photographers, stopping only to shake hands with a favoured few and he has done his best all week to avoid questions on the issue. Ferrari's thinking at the last round was to get Alonso back into title contention after just one podium finish in the previous five races, and everyone in the team, including the Spaniard, have been at pains to point out that Massa is not now the No2 driver at Ferrari.
"It is not No1 or No2 drivers," said Alonso, in a brief appearance in front of the press. "It is more about respect for each other and respect for racing for the scuderia, which means a lot. We all said everything in Germany and that is it. Our main focus is concentrate on this race.
"There is nothing really to say about any opinions. Many things have been said in the last couple of days. The only thing for us is that the car is competitive and we can do well here. What is the opinion of some of the drivers or team principals is up to them. We respect everything but we concentrate on our job."
When pressed about his relationship with Massa, Alonso kept up the deadpan persona that has been evident since he took off his helmet at Hockenheim after the victory put him 34 points off the leader Lewis Hamilton in the drivers championship. "We are both drivers who want to win, we are both competitive and we want to score as many points as possible," insisted the 29-year-old. "We are team‑mates but we do fight because we have the same car. What we make different at Ferrari is that we do not touch and we work together very well."
Most of the opinions aired since Hockenheim have been critical of Ferrari's tactics in Germany and the team has reacted by simply batting the accusations away. Earlier in the week the Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, had issued a statement on Ferrari's official website that was aimed at the team's critics. "With all the comments made recently, most of them misguided, there is only clear and concrete truth: Ferrari is strong and winning again," he said. "That is what I, everyone in the company and our fans wanted.
"Everyone at Ferrari was naturally delighted with the fantastic one-two finish in the German grand prix, which proved that the car had improved considerably over the past few races, even if the results had been lacking.
"While the quickest car outright in qualifying was still a blue Red Bull, the next two cars on the grid were both red and, in race conditions, it seemed that the Cavallino [the prancing horse on Ferrari's team badge] was quicker than the Bull."
That Ferrari deserved to win the race has never been in doubt, it is just that to many the wrong car won. The way that Massa was instructed to move aside and let his team-mate past on the 49th lap of the race with a clumsily coded message – "Fernando is faster than you" – is against the rules, as the stewards made clear when they handed the Italian team a $100,000 (£65,000) fine and referred the matter to the World Motor Sport Council. But the feeling remains at Ferrari that they did nothing wrong at Hockenheim despite not appealing the fine.
"Enough of the hypocrisy. This has always happened," said Di Montezemolo, who was sporting director of Ferrari in the 1970s. "If one races for Ferrari, then the interests of the team come before those of the individual."
That is certainly true. At the 1956 Italian grand prix, the British driver Peter Collins was forced to hand his car over to Juan Manuel Fangio during the race. The Argentinian went on to finish second, clinching his fourth world title in his only season in Maranello. Twenty-three years later, also at Monza, Gilles Villeneuve obediently followed Jody Scheckter across the line to give his team-mate the title. Villeneuve later admitted that he was praying for the South African's Ferrari to break as every lap passed but he had agreed not to challenge for the lead.
Team orders and the concept of No1 and No2 drivers were widely accepted in Formula One until 2002, when Ferrari took them to extremes. When Jean Todt, now the president of the FIA, instructed Rubens Barrichello to allow Michael Schumacher to overtake him yards from the line at the Austrian grand prix, he made it quite clear that the team only favoured one driver and he had won four of the first five races that season. Schumacher was not fighting for a championship, as Alonso now clearly is, that day as he already had it in the bag.
The current Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali, has clearly been exasperated by the endless questioning over the team-orders scandal and today he tried to put the matter to bed until the World Motor Sport Council meets to discuss the issue at the beginning of September. "There is not a problem with first and second drivers," Domenicali said. "We consider the team as a general interest and we consider Formula One as a team sport."
That seems to be the crux of the matter. Scuderia Ferrari, the oldest and most revered team in grand prix racing, have a philosophy that is against the current rules of the sport."At the moment, I can say that Formula E is a series I am very interested in," the Australian former Grand Prix driver and Le Mans winner told Motorsport.com.
"In the medium and long term, yes, we would like to be involved and the interest from our side is high, but in the short-term we need to get established first. We've definitely got an eye on it."
Motorsport.com understands that one of the existing Formula E teams could be available to purchase by the end of this calendar year.
Brabham, along with Drayson Technologies, led by electric racing technology advocate and pioneer Lord Paul Drayson, would be high on the list of potential organisations to get involved in the all-electric series.
However, Brabham remains cautious on any immediate involvement.
"A lot would depend on what we have at our disposal," continued Brabham. "There is no point doing anything unless we do it properly. The championship is still quite young and new.
"I am sure there are teams out there that are struggling but I applaud everyone involved in the championship for making commitments early. It is clearly something that has a very progressive outlook in the way it is marketed and organised.
"I know Paul [Lord Drayson, former Le Mans team owner] quite well, and I talked to him closely a few years ago prior to the Formula E championship starting.
"We discussed something and had a potential investor, but ultimately it didn't come together. Things happen quickly in racing, so who knows what opportunities might arise."
Brabham attended one of the Donington sessions in August and remains impressed with the way the championship is expanding and engaging its fanbase.
"Technology is obviously changing the way that people interact with sport," he said. "They want more knowledge and they want to be involved more.
"So, what Formula E is doing has to be the right thing and they need to, as they need traction as a new entity. Using every avenue in order to grow and in the future I think a new model of racing will emerge.
"The behind the scenes access stuff is actually often more exciting to get involved with than the on-track activity. Therefore, combining the two is a win/win situation.
"This is what Brabham Digital is doing to ensure learning capabilities are all part of the package."Fresh herbs jazz up any dish and a herb spiral is a great way to have lots of herbs in a small space. Plus, herb spirals are PRETTY! Herb spirals are a permaculture idea that allow you to keep plants with varying watering needs together in a tiny area. We’ve built our herb spiral out of bricks we removed from our old chimney/fireplace.
You’ll need to layout your spiral shape with a small bucket (ours was maybe 8litres/2 gallons) and a bit of rope. Frugal Man measured ours out at a 1.2 metres radius. We marked the spiral with bricks from our pile as we spiraled in with the rope. Then I dug out the area and removed all the grass.
Once the grass was removed and the spiral marked, we started building the brick structure. Herb spirals are usually built with bricks or rocks, without mortar so you can remove them and take out plants that have grown too big, then rebuild as needed down the track.
When the structure is as high as you like, generally close to 1 metre tall (ours is 80 cm), fill the centre of the spiral halfway full of gravel, concrete rubble, well packed broken bricks, tree branches or other fill material. The top of the spiral is where your Mediterranean herbs like rosemary will go and they like well drained soil, but they still will want SOME moisture, so fill well. We had lots of broken concrete from our renovation last year, so that is what we used. Continue the fill around the spiral, but not so high. Remember you’ll have a lot of dirt to fill!
When you’ve finished filling your rubble/gravel, source your dirt. If you build a spiral about the same size as ours, you’ll need about 3/4 of a cubic metre of dirt to fill it. Then comes the fun part…PLANTING!
Think of your spiral as having three zones, Dry (Top), Medium (Middle) and Moist (Bottom). Plant your Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, oregano, sage, curry plant, thyme and lavender at the top. Moderate moisture herbs like fennel, lemon balm, mint, parsley and nasturiums go the middle. Down at the bottom put your moisture loving herbs like bee balm, dill and watercress. Of course, there is only so much of each zone to be had, so you’ll have to manage as best you can. You can see what I’ve done in the photo below.
Note that most herb spirals don’t have soft bodied annuals like basil and dill, but I’ve tossed a couple in mine from the garden for convenience sake. Most have stayed in the main garden.
Do you have a herb spiral? What herbs do YOU have?reedom of expression – and even the definition of this freedom – is not the same in different societies.
I am fortunate to live in a state (Israel) in which there is wide – but not unlimited – freedom to speak or write openly on most subjects. Not a single one of our neighbours -and, indeed, most of the members of the United Nations who constantly criticise us and vote against whenever possible -have anything even resembling such freedom. And yet there are still restrictions that irk me.
Along with most western style free democracies, the spectre of “political correctness” has already reared its ugly head. The usual buzzwords of “racism”, “sedition”, “incitement” etc. create the framework which can lead – and has already led – to criminal charges and the threat of incarceration. In relatively recent years the limitation on free expression started with the banning of the Kach party – and its leader Rabbi Meir Kahane – from the Knesset (parliament) for expressing a viewpoint which some considered racist towards Arabs.
Racism is a major issue in many societies and it could be argued that there has been no greater racism than that practiced against Jews over the centuries. And yet – should not people be permitted to hold views about Jews, Arabs, Blacks – or Irish or Italians for that matter – and be free to express those views? Maybe those views are based on prejudice or stereotypes – so what!
I know, of course, the familiar argument that words today can lead to actions tomorrow – but that argument depends upon the willingness of any given population to do something physically as a direct result of the written or spoken word only. One example frequently used to try to prove a direct connection was the undoubted oratorical skill of Adolph Hitler. The truth is – unpalatable as it may be to revisionist historians – that the German people did what they did as a result of an innate desire and belief in the philosophy expressed by their leaders. Hitler may have have been the catalyst, but he was not the cause.
The transfer of thought or speech or words into action lies at the core of the argument about free expression.
Immediately following the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister, Itzhak Rabin, in 1995 a huge debate erupted over the extent to which speeches and articles criticising his policies had led his killer to take the action he did. It became unlawful to express any understanding or sympathy for the viewpoint or motivation of the assassin.
Recently a rabbi was indicted for expressing support for the views contained in a book of which he was not the author. In both of these examples a restriction was placed on what I would define as “second degree opinions”. Should freedom of expression have these limits applied to it?
Should there be laws against prejudice? CAN there be EFFECTIVE laws against prejudice? Irrational as prejudice may be – or may NOT be – can it be legislated out of the human psyche? Should society waste so much time and money on trying to force us to “love our neighbour” – or suffer the full force of the law? Is the old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones – but words can never hurt me” still valid?
Nowhere is this problem more obvious than in Europe – and, especially, in England. This is an example – if not the main example – of a state in which political correctness in its many forms has almost caused the destruction of the basic framework of the society. The unwillingness of the political leadership, the judiciary, the intelligentsia and the media together to face up to the fact that the experiment of trying to create a successful, integrated, multicultural society has proven to be a dismal failure is there for all to see.
This country – in which I spent a substantial part of my life – has become a place where one can longer call a spade a spade ( pun intended). The media – both written and visual – were meticulous in avoiding the obvious during the recent riots. Actually, had it not been for the TV and CCTV footage it would have been impossible to know that the vast majority of the rioters, looters and arsonists were black or Asian. Anyone who tried to point out the obvious was immediately vilified as racist – including this writer – who was banned for life by one major UK newspaper from submitting talkbacks on this -or any other – subject! I have yet to ascertain their specific problem but I guess I upset their “affirmative action”culture. It seems that “freedom of expression” in the UK today is limited by fear of upsetting the sensibilities of the minorities. I don’t think that this is a society which will even discuss “banning the Burka”!
So – should freedom of expression be without limits? The oft quoted definition that “freedom of expression does not give a person the right to shout “fire”in a crowded theatre”, does really address the realities in today’s media driven world. If there is to be freedom – who will define what can -or cannot- be said or written? And who is to judge that their criteria are correct?
On balance, I think that any restrictions are more dangerous than the lack of restrictions.
There should be NO limits!
This is Andyboy – telling it as it is!
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/should-free-speech-trump-hate-laws-yes/article2199201/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lysiane-gagnon/why-we-must-tolerate-hate/article2201764/Resveratrol has emerged as a leading candidate for improving healthspan through potentially slowing the aging process and preventing chronic diseases. The poor bioavailability of resveratrol in humans has been a major concern for translating basic science findings into clinical utility. Although a number of positive findings have emerged from human clinical trials, there remain many conflicting results, which may partially be attributed to the dosing protocols used. A number of theoretical solutions have been developed to improve the bioavailability of resveratrol, including consumption with various foods, micronized powders, combining it with additional phytochemicals, controlled release devices, and nanotechnological formulations. While laboratory models indicate these approaches all have potential to improve bioavailability of resveratrol and optimize its clinical utility, there is surprisingly very little data regarding the bioavailability of resveratrol in humans. If bioavailability is indeed a limitation in the clinical utility of resveratrol, there is a need to further explore methods to optimize bioavailability in humans. This review summarizes the current bioavailability data, focusing on data from humans, and provides suggested directions for future research in this realm.Coliseum Lake will have a new look and a renewed purpose early next year, when the city finishes construction on a project that will turn the lake into a supercharged filter for water making its way to the Chesapeake Bay.
The city is doing a water quality retrofit on Coliseum Lake — essentially installing a steel barrier that slows the flow of water and helps filter out pollutants and particulates.
Coliseum Lake, originally built as a borrow pit during construction of Interstate 64, has been used as a regional stormwater filtration and holding facility for years, according to Hampton Public Works water management engineer Gayle Hicks. It's been working OK, she said, but with the improvements, the city will get a lot more mileage out of the lake.
"All we're trying to do is stop these (pollutants) from going over the (barrier), dumping into Newmarket Creek and getting into the bay," Hicks said.
Hicks said the nearly 400 acres that drain into the lake is about 80 percent impervious surface — mostly roads and parking lots. That means tons of stormwater runoff, bringing with it all the stuff that cars leave behind on the asphalt.
"Highly urbanized areas create a lot of runoff, and that runoff has with it a lot of constituents that can be harmful to the environment," she said.
The project is one of the first in the city's efforts to meet federally mandated pollution reduction targets established in 2010 to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. Six states and the District of Columbia are required to hit 60 percent of the targeted daily pollutant reductions by 2017.
The EPA has specifically targeted nitrogen, phosphorous and suspended sediments, all of which will be filtered by the new Coliseum Lake upgrades. When they make their way into the bay in large quantities, these materials essentially choke out fish, oysters, crabs, grasses and other life critical to a healthy marine ecosystem.
Adrin Snider / Daily Press The City of Hampton is in the process of installing a steel barrier and thousands of wetlands plants at Coliseum Lake to help filter pollutants out of water bound for the Chesapeake Bay. The City of Hampton is in the process of installing a steel barrier and thousands of wetlands plants at Coliseum Lake to help filter pollutants out of water bound for the Chesapeake Bay. (Adrin Snider / Daily Press) (Adrin Snider / Daily Press)
The Coliseum Lake project, along with a series of water quality controls being installed now at Paul Burbank Elementary School, will hit 9 percent of the city's goals.
"It's very aggressive. … This gives us a jump-start for the program," Hicks said.
The city will shell out about $1.6 million for the Coliseum Lake project, although more than $600,000 will be reimbursed via a state Department of Environmental Quality grant. The project is slated to be done by the end of March.
Hampton City Manager Mary Bunting said the mandates have come down and the city understands the importance of managing stormwater quality, but Hampton is pursing to have every project serve more than just one purpose.
"We saw the mandates to do stormwater quality improvements, and we understand their importance, but they're very, very expensive," Bunting said. "The bottom line is we're trying to use the taxpayer money smartly and get more than one goal taken care of when we invest money."
The Coliseum Lake project offers an opportunity to give the lake a face lift. The city will install wetland benching along the banks, which will anchor 520 shrubs, 35 trees and thousands of smaller wetland plants.
"It'll totally change the look of the lake," Hicks said. "It's all plants that love to get their feet wet and don't mind if they get inundated."
Those plants also fight pollution, serving as another filtration system. "The plants will uptake those materials and utilize those through their root systems," Hicks said.
Bunting said the project will also open up the ability for Coliseum Lake to host some fun things, rather than just being a pool of water to look at.
"It's an asset we aren't using as a recreational asset, but we needed to do quality improvements," Bunting said. The City Council will explore ways to do that, for instance with paddle boat rentals or other recreational uses, at a later date.
The Burbank Elementary project now nearing completion includes water gardens that help filter rain, Hicks said.
The old model of simply installing additional retention ponds and piping to improve stormwater management has fallen by the wayside in favor of more attractive and efficient ways to address stormwater runoff, Hicks said.
This is part of a larger trend that the EPA has encouraged as it's handed down these mandates — a concept known as "green infrastructure."
So-called gray infrastructure — conventional piping and water treatment facilities — is meant to move stormwater away from urban areas. Green infrastructure aims to treat stormwater as it falls and runs off, while providing other benefits in urban areas.
For a lot of the EPA's recommended projects, that boils down to having more permeable soil and plants in an area. For instance, the new Hampton Circuit Courthouse has green roofs with plants on the tops of buildings to help reduce the stormwater runoff and scrub it, similar to the wetland plants going in at Coliseum Lake.
Jon Capacasa runs the water protection division for the EPA's mid-Atlantic region. He said since the agency started seeding projects, mostly in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area, cities have been pitching each other on the idea as a way to get more bang for their buck.
"That's really one of the key selling points to green infrastructure is how many benefits it brings to the community," Capacasa said. "It's not a buried asset. You're not putting it under the ground."
Green infrastructure can also help with something Hampton residents deal with regularly — flooding.
"Green infrastructure certainly isn't the silver bullet, but it can help reduce some of the worst impacts on a community by allowing stormwater to soak in where it lands," Capacasa said.
He acknowledged that finding the space and funds for these projects can be tough in a city like Hampton, but it can be well worth it.
"We recognize that the retrofit of built-out cities is where the action is in green infrastructure," he said. "In the long term, the green infrastructure can provide for much more sustainable, much more resilient city that not only meets its environmental needs but its social and economic needs as well — the triple bottom line, so to speak."
The city recently won a grant worth $15,000 in services to help map the city's green infrastructure and better understand the area's woodlands, wetlands, soils and rivers.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is doing its own project along Coliseum Central, replacing 1,700 feet of bulkhead along the I-664 ramp, which had reached the end of its life span and needed to be replaced. That project will finish up in April.When planning for the one-year anniversary for our monthly Unreal Engine game jams, we could have never predicted that the turnout would have been so huge! Over 450 developers dove into UE4 and successfully created over 170 games in a week, competing for prizes or casually exercising their skills.
Judging has never been so difficult, as we saw numerous fantastic games submitted for the Epic MegaJam by all types of developers from all over the world. We’re continually amazed at the talent found in the Unreal Engine community.
Our thanks goes out to all the people who poured their hearts into these fantastic games and to all of the sponsors who helped make this jam extra special:
Without further ado, here are your winners
Addiction Award
Midnight Mall Race by Sleepless Meatbags V2.0
Philosophy Award
Omnitron by Handkor
Eye Candy Award
Guardians by Blazing Badger
Allegorithmic's Picks
(R)evolution Jumpers by Digital Hussars
Sir Isaac Fruiton by Impromptu Pub Giants
Guardians by Blazing Badger
SpeedTree Drawing
Tony Kihlberg (Hologram Monster)
Rubén Garcia (The Five Fingers)
Jonathan Lambert (Team Lambert)
NVIDIA Shield Drawing
Kasey Polk (Team Gryffindor)
Jan Myburg (Arhaikos Studio)
Austin Ward (AdamVR)
Frank DiCola (Yoshgunn)
Scott Baker (Team Caffeinated)
Gear VR Drawing
Ramon Huiskamp (Sparkle Pony)
UE4 Growler Drawing
Tamas Szucs (Op Ninja Games)
NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti
David Sánchez Rivera (Flash and Pizazz)
Autographed NVIDIA Titan X
Krzysztof Heldt (Fireline Games)
Congratulations again to all of our winners and thank you to everyone who participated. Watch us announce the results on the livestream archive here.
We will see you next month when we kick off the next #ue4jam. Keep an eye on the Unreal Engine forums for the announcement!French Army 6x6 wheeled light tanks are to be replaced by the Jaguar, pictured, and the Griffon, both of which are being produced by Nexter, Renault Trucks Defense and Thales. Photo courtesy Thales Group
April 25 (UPI) -- French companies Nexter, Renault Trucks Defense and Thales are to produce more than 300 newly designed armored vehicles for the French military, the companies announced on Monday.
The platforms are the Griffon, a 6x6 multi-role personnel carrier, and the 6x6 Jaguar, which is armed with a 40mm gun and anti-tank missiles.
The Griffon is expected to replace VAB Hot personnel carriers now used by the French Army, while the Jaguar is to supplant the army's wheeled light tanks.
The initial production order from DGA, the French military procurement agency, is for 319 Griffons and 19 Jaguars. It comes after just 27 months of development of the vehicles under the government's SCORPION program.
"We are proud of this new sign of confidence on the part of the French Procurement Agency and can't wait to start producing this new equipment, which will project the operational capabilities of the army to the future, " Jean-François Pellarin, director of the SCORPION program within the Temporary Business Grouping that will build the vehicles, said in a press release.
Deliveries of the Griffon are expected to begin next year. Deliveries of the Jaguar will begin in 2020.Seattle mayor Ed Murray threw a bean bag at a cornhole board. A busker picked tunes on his guitar. A chef from local restaurant Soul Kitchen plated Southern food.
Seattle marked the transfer of some of its main public parks to private management in grand fashion. As part of a string of efforts to "clean up" downtown, Murray announced Thursday that the city would turn over management of Westlake and Occidental parks to the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) as part of a trial contract lasting one year. Support for the partnership spans from enthusiastic, to unsure, to downright opposed. It’s a model used in other American cities, including Manhattan and San Francisco, but not yet tested in Seattle.
From this point on, the onus of managing two of Seattle’s most used parks will fall mostly on the DSA, with help from Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Seattle Parks Foundation, Alliance for Pioneer Square and Friends of Waterfront Seattle. The city’s investment will be minimal – a dollar to every ten spent by the DSA, adding up to an estimated $60,000 in taxpayer funding. DSA will take over Westlake immediately, while Occidental will follow later this summer.
The aforementioned programming would, in theory, attract more people to the parks and encourage them to stick around, replacing negative activity such as drug dealing with positive activity like, say, cornhole. “By bringing in as much positive energy,” said DSA President Jon Scholes, “…it’s harder to operate as a drug dealer.”
This question of cleaning up “public disorder” – as the city calls low-level offenses like drug-use and theft – has been gaining momentum lately. Last December, the Seattle Police Department introduced its Neighborhood Response Team, a patrol force focused specifically on things like urination and general unpleasantness. The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which aims to rehabilitate rather than arrest low-level offenders, functions parallel to that squad.
Quickly thereafter came the “9 and a half block strategy” a new approach to increase law-enforcement and to identify drug dealers in that radisu around Pike Place Market and Westlake Park. That program kicked off with a bang when the SPD and the FBI announced they had arrested nearly 100 suspects after months of undercover work.
Timed with the city’s other efforts was the move to ban smoking in all public parks. Murray and other city officials have said the smoking ban is not related to this new partnership or other efforts to deal with public disorder. “The smoking ban comes from a different place,” said Murray. That said, the current legislation to ban smoking got its start when representatives from the DSA, the same organization taking over management, sent a letter to the city urging they act.
Additionally, the ordinance as written calls out Westlake and Occidental parks (as well as Victor Steinbrueck Park) as places that will receive extra attention. On at least one occasion, the smoking ban was discussed in a meeting about public disorder. So while it may come from a different place, there is certainly overlap.
What does a privately managed public park look like? Bryant Park in Manhattan is held up as the ideal (recent slashing incident aside). A late seventies report about the park wrote: “If you went out and hired the dope dealers, you couldn’t get a more villainous crew to show the urgency of the [present Bryant Park] situation.”
But, with the help of the Rockefellers, a private body formed and hired Daniel Biederman to essentially fix the park. He spearheaded an effort to fix paths, create new entrances, host events and add landscaping. Now Bryant Park is teeming.
Seattle has brought on Biederman’s firm to work his magic on Westlake and Occidental. “Programming is critical in city spaces that are not scenic wonders,” Biederman wrote in a statement. “The idea is to spread throughout the park this activity.”
Also, thanks to 9 ½ blocks, there will be more SPD officers around the clock.
Former Councilmember and mayoral candidate Peter Steinbrueck, who now heads Steinbrueck Urban Strategies, said the approach could be very successful, if done right. “I think there are good examples of well managed private/public spaces,” he said, pointing to Bryant Park as well as Union Square Park in San Francisco. Private entities like DSA, he said, are, in a lot of ways, better suited to manage, clean and enforce rules than the city.
But, said Steinbrueck, the partnership needs to be well thought out and well vetted. One concern, which he doesn’t think is imminent, is that a private body could use the public space to generate revenue. “Over-programming and over-commercializing a public park in my opinion is not a good thing.” Still, he sees potential.
Real Change Director Tim Harris, on the other hand, is not convinced. “These are public spaces and to me it’s very problematic,” he said. “In their view they’re going to make it as comfortable as they can for shoppers and not for people they feel don’t belong.
“There’s nothing that needs to be revitalized about these parks. I see everyone sharing space in Occidental Park and everyone seems to pretty much get along. I’m not buying this line that parks need to be revitalized.”
This critique of these revitalization efforts – that they unfairly target the homeless -- have been consistent, especially from Harris. While he said he supports and has worked with the DSA in their efforts to clean up drug use, he feels like homeless advocacy organizations like Real Change have been left out of recent discussions. “This is the first I’ve heard about this,” he said.
Anticipating such criticism, Vice President of the Metropolitan Improvement District within the DSA Joshua Curtis said, “Let me be clear: These parks will be open to everyone.” He argued that revitalized parks lead to more pathways into social services. “Engaged and active spaces benefit both the poor and the affluent.”
Additionally, DSA President Scholes said DSA did hold a roundtable at Plymouth Housing to brief homeless advocates.
For Scholes, changing how parks are managed is a response to public demand. “There’s clearly a hunger,” he said. As this partnership is a pilot program, it’s as of yet unclear how far that hunger will take the DSA.Protection Warrior Talent and Glyph Guide for Blackrock Foundry. Updated as of 2/15/15.
This data was created using logic/common sense, and information gathered on Tank Survivability and Tank Damage rankings from Warcraftlogs.com
Your level 15 and 75 talents are a personal choice for your play style. I prefer Double Time and Vigilance for most encounters. I also recommend using the Enraged Regeneration talent for the level 30 tier. Gladiators resolve is going to be a defensive increase on almost every encounter but deals zero damage, there are some fights where it can be especially useful. Using Heavy Repercussions will let you have the most available rage for defense but deals a bit less damage especially on AoE fights. Glyph of Unending Rage is going to be your bread and butter for tanking glyphs, I only remove this for Glyph of Death From if I’m really trying to maximize my AoE dps. Glyph of Cleave is too good to pass up in any sort of cleave/AoE fight.
Gruul:
The initial physical damage from Inferno strike can be mitigated with Shield block.
Level 45: I recommend Sudden Death for damage.
for damage. Level 60: Dragon Roar for damage.
for damage. Level 90: Bloodbath for damage.
for damage. Level 100: Ravager for damage.
Oregorger:
Level 45: Sudden Death for damage.
for damage. Level 60: Dragon Roar for damage.
for damage. Level 90: Bloodbath for damage.
for damage. Level 100: Gladiators resolve is pretty much necessary unless you have a high item level. If you are able to forgo the 5% mitigation buff take Ravager for damage. Anger Management doesn’t quite let you roll all your cooldowns yet for every acid torrent, but you should |
's score was better. Yes, it's a later game in the series and of course, it was a step ahead in quality. But this is an X-Wing mod.
Some people prefer static CD tracks with the original John Williams music. X-Wing versus TIE-Fighter, and the Collector Series of X-Wing, used that. However, we think it was a step back, since it basically deleted all work from Michael Land, and the musical score was totally out of synch with the action. Besides, we cannot use copyrighted music files that don't come with the game already, and playing Audio-CD tracks on a digital download edition of the game can be quite bothersome.
Some people prefer chiptune music to orchestral. While the demo will launch with the orchestral track, it's not hard to enable an option to have different versions of it.
I never played the original. Why is the gameplay like that? Why isn't it more like that other game?
XWVM is a mod to X-Wing, and X-Wing is a Star Wars space combat "flight sim". The key words here are "flight sim". Even when it is much easier and streamlined than a real flight simulator, it is still a game closer to that genre than to the space shooter genre.
There is a good reason why we are creating this mod, and it is because the space sim aspect of X-Wing has not been done again for many years by either LucasArts, Disney, or EA. And for a good reason: space shooters are more approachable than flight sims, and thus they have a bigger potential market.
In particular, XWVM does not even attempt to replicate the gameplay or control scheme of games like the Battlefront series, the Rogue Squadron series, or the Starfighter series. Those games are firmly established in the shooter genre and have little to do with the X-Wing series other than the Star Wars theme and the presence of common spaceships.
Also, even when we are adding all kind of extra aids and tools to help the player figure out how to complete every mission (more than they ever had with the original game), it is still a more "old school" game experience than in the other games series.
In X-Wing, every mission is designed to be like an action puzzle to be solved by the player. It is perfectly normal that every mission takes between 3 and 5 attempts to complete before moving onto the next one (with rare case where fewer or even more attempts are needed), with the player having to stop and reflect on what went wrong and how to adapt their tactics for the next attempt.
So it is definitely not a game for the extremely casual, or those without tolerance to failure or frustration. Please understand this is so by design. It's what the game is about, its entire point. For faster paced action and approachable difficulty, there are the Battlefront and Rogue Squadron series.
Aren't you going to get a C&D letter from Disney?
There is always the chance that someone somewhere misunderstands the nature of this project. But as we see it, Disney or Lucasfilm Ltd. have virtually no reason to feel concerned about this. These are our reasons:
We aren't creating a derivative work based on their IP. We are just giving their customers an external tool to make use of their existing game at higher resolution, with better graphical and audio quality, and with more input methods. There are hundreds of mods that do exactly the same, even with other Disney products, and they have been there for the past decades.
. We are just giving their customers an external tool to make use of their existing game at higher resolution, with better graphical and audio quality, and with more input methods. There are hundreds of mods that do exactly the same, even with other Disney products, and they have been there for the past decades. We aren't distributing copyrighted assets. The user purchases the product from Disney's distributors, and the mod makes use of those assets included in the product for the convenience of the user.
. The user purchases the product from Disney's distributors, and the mod makes use of those assets included in the product for the convenience of the user. We aren't claiming ownership of the intellectual property, or the assets included in the product. We aren't removing copyright or trademark claims, logos, credits, neither we are adding any of our own. The user is not misled about the ownership of the product or the IP.
of the intellectual property, or the assets included in the product. We aren't removing copyright or trademark claims, logos, credits, neither we are adding any of our own. The user is not misled about the ownership of the product or the IP. We aren't pursuing any commercial exploitation of the product of any kind or manner, neither we are taking or accepting any form of reward from the users, requested or freely offered.
of the product of any kind or manner, neither we are taking or accepting any form of reward from the users, requested or freely offered. Where new assets have been created for the necessity of the revamp, they aren't copyrighted materials, but originally created by our team. We claim no intellectual property on those assets, and we acknowledge that they are fan-made depictions of Lucasfilm's or Disney's trademarks. In some cases, assets are borrowed, with permission, from the X-Wing Alliance Upgrade Project, a mod to another LucasArts game that has been available for more than a decade now, that has basically the same goal than ours, but targets a different game.
have been created for the necessity of the revamp, they, but originally created by our team. We claim no intellectual property on those assets, and we acknowledge that they are fan-made depictions of Lucasfilm's or Disney's trademarks. In some cases, assets are borrowed, with permission, from the X-Wing Alliance Upgrade Project, a mod to another LucasArts game that has been available for more than a decade now, that has basically the same goal than ours, but targets a different game. Disney, EA, or other partners aren't suffering loss of sales because of this mod. This mod targets a product that is currently being sold by Disney, X-Wing Special Edition. If anything, this mod should increase interest on that product and drive sales for it.
. This mod targets a product that is currently being sold by Disney, X-Wing Special Edition. If anything, this mod should increase interest on that product and drive sales for it. No third party is benefiting from the Star Wars IP through this mod. This mod isn't recreating X-Wing in a third party's game (unlike many other projects have done in the past, with this or other IPs), possibly driving sales for that third party, in detriment of Disney or EA, by using the Star Wars IP. This mod targets one of Disney's own in-catalog, products and merely allows to use it in a way more up-to-date.
. This mod isn't recreating X-Wing in a third party's game (unlike many other projects have done in the past, with this or other IPs), possibly driving sales for that third party, in detriment of Disney or EA, by using the Star Wars IP. This mod targets one of Disney's own in-catalog, products and merely allows to use it in a way more up-to-date. This mod doesn't compete with EA's products or those of other Disney partners. No more than Disney does by having X-Wing Special Edition in catalog. The X-Wing game series is fundamentally a different sort of games and cater to a much different (and by comparison, tiny) niche of users than any product currently marketed by EA or other Disney partners.
No more than Disney does by having X-Wing Special Edition in catalog. The X-Wing game series is fundamentally a different sort of games and cater to a much different (and by comparison, tiny) niche of users than any product currently marketed by EA or other Disney partners. This mod doesn't permanently alter or modify the original product. The user can always run the product afterwards without experiencing any change.
The user can always run the product afterwards without experiencing any change. This mod doesn't make use of decompilation, disassembly, or other reverse-engineering techniques over the original game executables. No member of the development team has ever had access to the original source code. The development of this mod is documented as an iterative process of guesswork over several years, sometimes using descriptions of the asset formats that have been publicly available, in some cases since as early as 1993.
Appendix
Why is the Imperial Star Destroyer model not looking exactly like the one from the movies?
It does look like the one from the movies. The question is: which movies.
There isn't a single star destroyer model in Star Wars.
The model in Episode IV and Rogue One have some particular characteristics that make them distinguishable from the one in Episode V and VI. In particular the angle at which the shield domes over the bridge stand.
While in RO/Ep4 the domes stand perpendicular to the surface of the bridge superstructure, in Ep5 and Ep6, the domes stand vertically straight from the observer's point of view.
Also, the sensor array between the domes is different, in one case being visually much bigger than the other.
The official canon explanation of this is that there are more than one model of star destroyer in the galaxy. The Rogue One/Episode IV model is known as Imperial-class Star Destroyer mark I (or ISD-I), and the one introduced in Episode V/VI is Imperial-class Star Destroyer mark II (or ISD-II, or "deuce"). It's worth noting that at least one ISD-I appears in Episode V/VI too. So we know they coexisted.
Since the storyline in X-Wing spans from several years before Rogue One and ends about one/two years before Empires strikes back, it makes most sense that X-Wing uses the star destroyer model and design that was current in that moment in the lore.
We can assume that later models of star destroyers were put in production with the mentioned modifications around the time of Episode V, that falls outside the scope of X-Wing.
In any case, our ISD-I model makes uses of very precise photogrammetry and first hand sources about the proportions and the details. Where there are some minor differences between the ISD-I seen in Rogue One and the one seen in Episode IV, we have opted to hybridize these differences in our model, so that it looks like a link in the chain of evolution of this ship.
Why doesn't that ship look like Fractalsponge's model?
Fractalsponge's models look spectacular, but some of them aren using precise proportions, details or measures. In some cases, several liberties were taken for artistic purposes. Ultimately, his models are just Fractalsponge's take on Star Wars spaceships, and by no way canon.
Also, his models are meant for raytracing, not realtime rendering, so he can go much further away with polycount and detailing, since raytracing can perfectly deal with it just by taking longer (minutes) just to draw one frame.
In our case, we need to be more careful with the little details, because we need to draw at least 60 frames per second.
Why your videos show you flying only the Y-wing?
The cockpit interiors need to be modeled in detail to be usable as a flyable ship.
It's a job that takes long time, and while we are soon getting a replacement for the temporary Y-wing 3D cockpit that looks better, we still don't have anything ready for the other rebel ships.
Why your videos show planets in all missions? X-wing missions happened in deep space.
Not really. XWVM uses the mission files from your X-Wing installation to know what objects appear during a mission. Planets are among these objects listed in the mission file.
Most missions specified a planet, with its type and relative position. These planets are usually related to the particular story of the mission. For example, Y-Wing Historical Mission 3 happens at Ryloth, Mission 4 happens happens at Kessel, Mission 5 at Mytus VII, and Mission 6 at Mon Cal.
Now, why don't you remember seeing these planets during the missions in X-Wing? Because of the original game's limitations.
The original game was meant to run on a computer with 2 megabytes of RAM. (That is about the size of a single picture taken with a digital camera nowadays)
In that memory, it needed to squish in the game engine, the music, the graphics, the sound effects, etc. Obviously there wasn't room for having a high resolution picture of a planet detailed enough to fill the entire viewport. So instead, the original game had a few different images for the planets that were really reduced in size to use up as little memory as possible.
The problem is that planets then looked tiny during the game. But they were there. Anyone can launch the original game and check these missions to find them.
Since missions usually had a story about something happening at a planet, it makes sense giving more relevance to the planet itself to serve as a background and context for the missions. Also as set dressing for the otherwise monotonous starfield.
Finally, in Star Wars movies (and other Star Wars media), most space battles or skirmishes happen immediately over a planet, and not in deep space. In all these cases, the planet is shown at a really close distance. In particular:
Episode I: Blockade and final battle over Naboo.
Episode II: Skirmish in the asteroid field over Geonosis.
Episode II: Battle over Coruscant.
Rogue One: Battle over Scariff.
Episode IV: Capture over Tatooine. Battle over the Death Star.
Episode V: Siege of Hoth, escape from Bespin.
Episode VI: Battle over Endor and the Death Star II.
Episode VII: Battle over Starkiller Base.HAMPDEN — When Haley Convertino graduated from college two years ago shouldering $25,000 in student loan debt, she wasn’t too worried.
In fact, she was so filled with optimism she left the University of Massachusetts at Lowell two weeks before graduation, after she had banked her final credit.
But Convertino became rapidly disenchanted when she realized her bachelor of arts degree in psychology hardly guaranteed a dream job in a dismal market. Today, after hundreds of unsuccessful interviews and working part-time at the front desk of a Gold’s Gym, Convertino has taken the unconventional tack of offering to return her degree for a refund. She even went so far as to send Chancellor Martin T. Meehan a certified letter.
“I am struggling to pay off my student loans and would like to return my degree,” Convertino wrote, conceding it was a tongue-in-cheek offer but that she wanted to inform the highest ranks of the university of the plight of legions of graduates.
The lack of response from the college suggested the diploma was a final sale. Convertino, 24, said it wasn’t really a slap at the college but a way to raise awareness of what seemed like a sharply devalued document.
However, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2011 show that college graduates suffered from significantly less unemployment woes even a bad jobs market. While those with less than a high school diploma reported around 14 percent unemployment (six points above the national average) those who earned their bachelor’s degrees reported 5 percent unemployment and doctoral degree recipients reported 2.5 percent unemployment.
Career placement experts also said the type of degree you earn can help determine your fate in a competitive field.
“An undergraduate degree in psychology doesn’t lend itself to a very clear path,” said David Gadaire, executive director of CareerPoint, a nonprofit job placement center in Holyoke. “She should really be coming into a center like ours and we can try to get her on the right path.”
Gadaire also said while he understands the frustration of new graduates like Convertino and a growing number of law school graduates who have elected to sue their alma maters for false advertising, a college degree is still an inarguable advantage. However, Convertino said she has been turned away from a series of low-level jobs because her college degree and neophyte job history have rendered her overqualified.
Academic officials at UMass-Lowell said they are aware that Convertino’s graduating year produced an all-time low in terms of job placement, but the university offers alums lifetime assistance through the career center on campus, which includes resume building, interviewing skills assistance, job search tools, professional networks and more.
“We tell all students: If your resume isn’t getting you interviews, you need to look at you resume. If your interviews aren’t getting you offers you need to look at your interview skills,” UMass-Lowell Assistant Dean of Career Development Patricia A. Yates said, adding that the feedback wasn’t personal to Convertino.
Yates said the market is looking up, however, and UMass-Lowell's career fair in April was over capacity in terms of employers and recruiters.
In the UMass-Amherst business education sector, a career specialist there said graduates are posting positive numbers recently for job placement. Nicholas P. Wegman, executive director of the Chase Career Center, Eisenberg School of Management, said self-reported statistics from the class of 2011 indicated 84 percent were employed in their fields of choice within six months of graduation.
“When students come in as freshmen, they take a class called ‘Transition.’ It’s sort of like a general introduction into business: they learn about resumes, networking, business etiquette, time management. Compared to many of their peers, these students are on a path almost immediately,” Wegman said, adding that they are encouraged to enlist in multiple internships before seeking full-time employment.Wondering what to look forward to in the first three months of 2017 from Comedy Central? Wonder no more, as the network just announced its scheduling plans.
Of course, the stand-up specials in the can or coming soon don’t have release dates just yet, but most everything else does. The first four stand-up hours coming to Comedy Central in 2017 will go to Mark Normand, Joe DeRosa, Kurt Braunohler and Roy Wood, Jr.
And in a nod to how we don’t watch television on TV as much as we used to, the official Comedy Central programming slate includes not just TV series, but also webseries and Snapchat segments. We’ve got new series in Jeff & Some Aliens, The Detroiters, a late-nighter in The High Court with Doug Benson, the final season of Workaholics, and the returns of Idiotsitter, Tosh.0, Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle, and The Comedy Jam.
Here you go…straight from the Comedy Central press release:
Original Series
(all times ET/PT)
Wednesday, January 11
“Workaholics” (Season Seven Premiere) – 10:00 p.m.
Adam, Blake and Ders clock-in at TelAmeriCorp for their seventh and final season of “Workaholics.” From the minds of the hilarious and irreverent Internet sketch group Mail Order Comedy, “Workaholics” is a single-camera comedy featuring three friends, played by series creators Blake Anderson, Adam Devine and Anders Holm, who work together from 9 to 5, live together from 5 to 9 and party together 24/7. Dress codes, deadlines and waking up before noon are not things these guys are used to. They do their jobs and sometimes they even do them well, but they show up late, leave drunk and always live for the day…even if they don’t know what day it is. In their final season, the guys, along with officemates “Jillian” (Jillian Bell) “Alice” (Maribeth Monroe) and “Montez” (Erik Griffin), and their friend “Karl” (Kyle Newacheck, creator and director), battle a group of trainees for the title of main office pranksters, throw their own version of Coachella to impress a group of festival girls, make the most of the TelAmericCorp beachside timeshare and look back on the time when they all competed together on a reality TV dating show.
“Jeff & Some Aliens” (Series Premiere) – 10:30 p.m.
“Jeff & Some Aliens” follows the story of Jeff (voiced by Brett Gelman), Earth’s most average guy, and three Azurian aliens, Sammy, Jimmy and Ted (voiced by Alessandro Minoli) who live with him in his shitty one bedroom/one bath apartment. The aliens are sent to observe the intricate complexities of the human condition, but they mostly end up just wreaking havoc on Jeff’s life.
Thursday, January 26
“Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle II” (Season Two Premiere) – 10:00 p.m.
Inspired by the gritty, competitive proving grounds of the comedy-club circuit, “Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle” is a bracket-style insult-comedy tournament. The competition’s four-night main event pits professional comedians against each other in one-on-one standoffs with a panel of celebrity judges deciding their competitive fate. Led by Ross and referee/comedian Brian Moses, “Roast Battle” first premiered on Comedy Central in July 2016 and is returning for a second round, “Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle II,” taping in Los Angeles and airing January 26-29 with a live championship finale. Four preliminary regional competitions will air at 11:00 p.m. on consecutive Sundays in January, starting January 1, leading up to the main event.
Tuesday, February 7
“Tosh.0” (Season Nine Premiere) – 10:00 p.m.
“Tosh.0” features razor-sharp humor and biting commentary from comedian Daniel Tosh. The weekly, topical series, delves into all aspects of the Internet from the absolutely absurd to the incredibly ingenious, with episodes featuring popular recurring segments like “Video Breakdown,” “20 Seconds on the Clock,” and the series’ signature “Web Redemption,” in which Tosh gives subjects of notorious viral videos a second chance to redeem themselves from the embarrassment with which they have become synonymous.
“Detroiters” (Series Premiere) – 10:30 p.m.
Sam Richardson, from Detroit, and Tim Robinson, from Metro Detroit, are real life best friends who star as small-time ad men in the Motor City. Whatever they do, they do it together. And no matter what happens, Tim and Sam’s love for each other and their city never wavers. Jason Sudeikis, who is an executive producer, also appears in a narrative arc as a successful automotive executive whom Richardson and Robinson relentlessly pursue in an effort to land their first big-time client.
Monday, February 27
“The High Court” (Series Premiere) – Midnight
Real People. Real Cases. Really High Judge. Odor in the court! By combining Doug Benson’s affable stoner approach to life with the television staple that is courtroom reality shows, “The High Court” is a toke of “Judge Judy” mixed with two healthy bong loads of Doug’s own successful comedy talk show, “Getting Doug with High.” What you are about to witness is real. The participants are not actors. They are the actual people who have already either filed suit or been served a summons to appear in a U.S. municipal court. Both parties in the suit have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, by… a stand-up comedian… who may or may not be under the influence of marijuana. All rise for Your Highness… This is “The High Court” with Judge Doug Benson.
Wednesday, March 22
“The Comedy Jam” (Series Premiere) – 10:00 p.m.
They’re at the height of success in comedy, but these celebs secretly just want to be rock stars. “The Comedy Jam” makes those dreams come true – at least for one shining night – and gives viewers at home a front row seat. The eight-episode weekly series, based on the “Comedy Jam” special that aired in August 2016, will feature funny actors and comedians in front of a live audience, sharing memorable stories from their lives that are linked with an iconic hit song. After the telling of each tale, they’ll live out their rock star fantasy and perform their song selection while backed by “The Comedy Jam Band.”
Thursday, March 23
“Idiotsitter” (Season Two Premiere) – 10:00 p.m.
Season 2 will chronicle the adventures of odd couple Billie and Gene as they head to college. Billie is determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a professor, while Gene is learning how to transition to life as a college student.
ORIGINAL STAND-UP SPECIALS
(Premiere Dates and Times TBD)
“Amy Schumer Presents Mark Normand: Don’t Be Yourself”
“Joe DeRosa: You Let Me Down”
“Kurt Braunohler: Trust Me”
“Roy Wood Jr: Father Figure”
SHORT FORM SERIES
(Now Streaming on CC.com)
“7 Minutes in Purgatory” – (Season Two Premiere)
Created by Ian Abramson and directed by Scott Zabielski, each episode centers on a group of comedians who must perform their acts in an empty space devoid of an audience which watches and reacts from another location where the comedians can’t hear them. Comedians featured in the upcoming run include Maria Bamford, Michelle Buteau, John Dore, Colton Dunn, Caitlin Gill with Bobcat Goldthwait and Adam Lustick.
COMEDY CENTRAL ON SNAPCHAT DISCOVER
(Premiere Dates TBD)
“Hot Takes with Brandon Wardell” – (Season Four Premiere)
“Hot Takes with Brandon Wardell” is a weekly series where Brandon, the Internet personified, gives his controversial takes on a range of topics from trans fats in our food to memes in our politics. Written by Brandon Wardell and Andy Haynes, and directed by Jack Wagner.
“Internet Famous with Poppy” – (Series Premiere)
Pop star and internet sensation That Poppy teaches everyday people — and the occasional celebrity friend — how to achieve internet fame and go viral. If you follow her easy steps, anyone can amass followers and be famous, just like Poppy.
Comedian James Davis gives his internet curriculum a facelift with a new roster of segments added to his slang lessons. The “Hood Adjacent” star tackles fashion, sports, and politics in the latest season of his pop culture takedowns. Matthew Vaughan directs.
“You’re Wrong” – (Season Two Premiere)
Mike Lawrence (“Inside Amy Schumer,” “Roast Battle”) is an angry nerd with strong opinions. He’s here to tell you why your take on everything from holiday parties to “Deadpool” is wrong.A vast majority of people want to walk more, but say there are no nearby services, shops, schools, or jobs to get to.
Seventy-nine percent of Americans believe they should walk more, but forty percent say they do not do so because their neighborhoods do not have nearby services, shops, schools and work, according to a national survey released this week. The lack of nearby walkable destinations ranks as the second most often cited reason for not walking. The survey found that the biggest neighborhood barriers to walking include a lack of sidewalks, drivers who speed, and drivers who talk on their phones or text. Crime ranks eighth overall out of 15 items as a neighborhood barrier to walking, but it ranks 5th among both African Americans and Hispanic respondents compared to 12th among white respondents. The survey of 1,224 Americans nationwide was commissioned by Kaiser Permanente and conducted by GfK Custom Research. Assisting in the design of the questionnaire and analysis of the data were Professors Peter Tuckel and William Milczarski of Hunter College, City University of New York. All interviewing took place August 5 to August 13.
While six in 10 Americans describe their neighborhood as "walkable," individuals who live in more walkable neighborhoods ("with places where it is convenient to walk to services, shopping, schools and jobs") do, in fact, walk more. Four in 10 describe their neighborhood as "not very'" or "not at all walkable." A majority of Americans do not choose their neighborhood based on its perceived walkability, however. These findings were presented at yesterday’s session of the National Walk Summit in Washington, D.C., which I attended. Christopher Fleury of GfK added at the meeting that a slim majority of the respondents support smart growth measures, including smaller home lots, to promote walkability. ( Christian Mueller /Shutterstock.com Although Americans don’t walk as much as they believe they should, an overwhelming majority recognize that walking brings significant benefits. Nationwide, 94 percent of those surveyed said they view walking as good for their health. At least nine in 10 agreed that walking is a good way to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight and can help prevent heart disease. In addition, 73 percent said they believe their children should walk more. (For a good summary of the many benefits of walking, go here.) Americans also view walking as a good way to reduce stress and combat depression. More than eight in 10 respondents said that walking can reduce feelings of depression and 87 percent said walking helps reduce anxiety.
While the survey findings are encouraging to those of us who believe that land use factors are important to a healthy lifestyle, at least two audience members cautioned that, in their parts of the country, "walkability" was perceived as threatening to those who prefer suburban lifestyles. They advised that advocates should guard against using "walkable" as code for "high density." Although it was surprising to me that even "walkable" is now on the list of threatening planners’ jargon, I do think the fear of high density is real. Those of us who live and work in big cities can get a distorted view of what is desirable. I think advocates need to get serious about supporting moderate-density alternatives in appropriate situations, along with neighborhood design measures that can soften the otherwise harsh effects of density. Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... Indeed, the research demonstrates that most of the environmental benefits of smart growth – including reduced automobile dependence and reduced stormwater runoff per capita – do not require high densities: the biggest performance improvements come at the lower end of the scale, as we move from large-lot sprawl to moderate degrees of compactness and, by the time we reach 40 to 50 units per acre, further environmental performance improvements are relatively insignificant. A dialogue about these issues is largely missing from the current discourse around smart growth, and that is unfortunate. Top image: littleny /Shutterstock.com This post originally appeared on the NRDC's Switchboard blog, an Atlantic partner site.Ed Ou, a Canadian freelance photojournalist, spent 10 years covering the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. He endured aggressive interrogations at border crossings in some of the world’s most authoritarian nations.
But he says a recent confrontation at the United States border has left him shaken. The incident has been criticized by advocates of privacy and press freedom.
Mr. Ou, 30, said he was detained on Oct. 1 for more than six hours when he tried to fly from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Bismarck, N.D., to cover the protests of an oil pipeline project near the Standing Rock reservation.
He was ultimately denied entry, and he said though he was not given a reason, he was told his name matched that of a “person of interest.” During the hours of detention, he was asked to describe how and why he had traveled to each country he had visited in the past five years, and questioned about whether he had seen anyone die.Looking for news you can trust?
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In his inaugural speech in January, Arizona’s new Republican governor, Doug Ducey, struck a budget hawk’s tone while staring down a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. “Fair warning: The budget will not meet with general approval among special interests.” he said. “I can assure you that a more efficient government is not only necessary, but sensible.” But there was one special interest group that must have been pleased when Ducey rolled out his budget proposal: the private prison industry.
Ducey’s austere budget plan slashed $384 million in state programs, including $75 million in funding for Arizona’s public universities. But it earmarked $5 million for a new, 3,000-bed private prison that even the state’s most notorious law enforcement official, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, argues is unnecessary.
Last week, Arizona’s state corrections director, Charles Ryan, went to the state Legislature to pitch the plan, claiming the new prison would accommodate a projected increase in inmates. Arizona already has the sixth-highest incarceration rate in the United States—Massachusetts, which has roughly the same population as Arizona, incarcerates one-fourth as many people. State experts blame draconian sentencing laws, such as the requirement that nonviolent offenders serve 85 percent of their sentences behind bars. In a statement to the Arizona Republic, Daniel Scarpinato, a Ducey spokesman, cast the plan as a safety imperative. “State prison beds are at capacity. More prisoners require more beds, and the governor is not going to risk public safety during a budget shortfall,” he said.
Ducey received $10,500 in campaign contributions from political action committees and lobbyists associated with the private prison industry.
Critics of the plan have argued that funding a private prison is not a one-time expense. The state would be locked in for $100 million in operating costs over three years, and as much as $1.5 billion over the next two decades, according to the Grand Canyon Institute, an Arizona think tank. Beyond that, depending on contract specifics, Arizona is required to keep private facilities at 90 to 100 percent occupancy—a burden that several experts believe could thwart Arizona’s emerging criminal-justice-reform movement, which is targeting harsh sentencing laws, among other things, that add to the state’s high incarceration rate.
Six existing private prisons, operated by three different corporations, already house roughly 17 percent of Arizona’s 48,000 inmates. Those companies—the Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group, and Management & Training Corp.—have been generous to Ducey. According to campaign filings, Ducey received $10,500 in campaign contributions from political action committees and lobbyists associated with the private prison industry. The Republican Governors Association, which received hundreds of thousands from the private prisons industry, was also heavily involved in Ducey’s contest against Democrat Fred DuVal: Campaign filings show that it funded the RGA Arizona PAC with $500,000 in startup cash. GEO Group also gave $50,000 to the Koch brothers’ onetime dark-money impresario, Arizonan Sean Noble, for a PAC that spent nearly a half-million dollars supporting Ducey. (Ducey’s office did not respond to requests for comment.)
While Ducey makes the case to spend money on a new prison, Arizona universities are fighting off deepening budget cuts. The proposed $75 million cut represents 10 percent of the total budget for Arizona’s three major public universities, a threshold that school regents said they’d accept. Concern has mounted, however, that more than $90 million could be cut. From 2009 to 2012, Arizona universities saw $400 million in cuts, which the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities called the largest education cuts in the country. Since then, tuition has doubled and enrollment has increased. (The state constitution mandates that higher education be “nearly as free as possible.”)
State lawmakers are considering Ducey’s prison proposal in committee hearings this week. Dan Hunting, a senior policy analyst at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute, says that legislators have historically been supportive of private prisons, but says the public feels “the pendulum has swung too far on the ‘get tough on crime’ side,” and that voters are hungry for a change in direction.
But representatives from both parties have suggested that the governor’s belt-tightening simply doesn’t add up. State Sen. Kelli Ward, a deeply conservative Republican, said, “My constituents would like to see us prioritize teachers and kids over criminals.” Dave Wells of the Grand Canyon Institute says that Ducey’s push for prisons over universities is politically risky, and out of sync with state voters’ priorities. “We used to spend hundreds of millions more on universities than corrections,” he says. “Now, that’s potentially being reversed.”Last night, NBC News ran an extremely rare story that aptly challenged the veracity of U.S. government claims about the precision of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan. Part of the title used by NBC was misleading: “Exclusive: CIA Didn’t Always Know Who it Was Killing in Drone Strikes, Classified Documents Show.”
Two months earlier, McClatchy reporter Jonathan Landay wrote two pieces on drone-strikes in Pakistan based upon internal, top-secret U.S. intelligence reports. Landay’s unprecedented investigative reporting was essential because, as I wrote at the time, it “demonstrates that the claim repeatedly made by President Obama and his senior aides--that targeted killings are limited only to officials, members, and affiliates of al Qaeda who pose an imminent threat of attack on the U.S. homeland--is false.” Reversing his administration’s claims over the previous fifteen months, President Obama essentially acknowledged two weeks ago what Landay’s reporting had proven: CIA drone strikes in Pakistan are intended as “force protection” for U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan, not solely to protect the U.S. homeland.
NBC News’ reporting was apparently based on some, not all, of the same documents. What was new in last night’s story was that NBC showed the actual classified assessments of who was killed in 114 strikes—I skimmed these before I was interviewed. (See my two-minute interview here.) The documents bolster Landay’s findings that most of those killed are not members of “Al Qaeda,” with a quarter described generically as “other militants.”
Subsequently, the documents acknowledged just one civilian casualty, plausible only under the signature strikes categorization used by the Obama administration, which “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants.” As Richard Engel stated on last night’s broadcast: “Several former senior officials told us they had concerns about signature strikes. One told us, the U.S. sometimes executes people based on circumstantial evidence.” The U.S. government has never acknowledged that it conducts signature strikes, provided information upon which to judge how the CIA assesses such evidence, or what procedures are in place to prevent harm to civilians.
NBC News also interviewed twenty-seven year old Senior Airman Brandon Bryant (ret.), who was a drone operator from 2006 to 2011. He is described as having guided drones over Iraq and Afghanistan. Bryant told Engel that when he left, he was given a sheet of paper (they showed this actual piece of paper on this morning’s Today Show broadcast). According to Bryant, the paper said there were “1,626 total people killed on every mission that I had ever been on.” When asked how that made him feel, Bryan replied: “disgusted with myself, actually.”Democrats are giddy over the unsealing of “secret” documents that charge Scott Walker’s recall campaign with |
the 2.5 percent U.S. tariffs for passenger cars and many parts, sourcing more of them from China or other Asian countries.
“That could be the preferred trading route if NAFTA becomes too strict,” she added.Like a vignette of small-town life, a laid-back shopkeeper sits at a yellow table beside the unlocked bicycle leaning against the storefront, smiles, puts down his coffee mug and greets a customer by name.
“Hey Fred, how ya doing?” Jeremy Jacob said to his visitor Thursday, welcoming his old friend into the shop.
Jacob and his wife Andrea Dobbs run a family business in Kitsilano, a bright airy space where a loud waterfall rushes outside, dozens of cannabis products line the shelves inside, and a Pomeranian named Lego lounges on the ground.
Jacob said it was “surreal” Thursday afternoon, to think that while we chatted at the shop, politicians gathered five minutes away were discussing the future of not only his family’s shop, but the whole industry of dispensaries, which, while illegal under federal law, have become the preferred place for many Canadians to shop and have proliferated across Canada, especially in Vancouver.
In addition to running his own place, The Village Dispensary in Kitsilano, Jacob represents the national industry group, as president of the Canadian Association for Medical Cannabis Dispensaries.
On Thursday, just a stoner’s throw away across the Granville Street Bridge, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice and public safety met at a downtown hotel where cannabis legalization was a top agenda item.
When Ottawa legalizes marijuana next July, it will be left to provincial governments to figure out to regulate its sale.
“Obviously, the province holds our future,” Jacob said. He hopes Victoria will look south for examples, where some U.S. state governments brought the most established and responsible of the “grey area” operators into the fold when non-medicinal legalization came into effect.
Jacob pointed to California, a jurisdiction which, like B.C., has a decades-long history of compassion clubs predating legalization. The chief of California’s Bureau of Cannabis, Lori Ajax, has emphasized in recent media interviews the importance of bringing as many of those existing operators as possible into the regulated market, “particularly those that are complying with their local jurisdiction.”
That’s the kind of “inclusive” approach Jacob hopes to see.
By contrast, Jacob said, he was discouraged by Ontario’s plan, released last week. The first province to unveil a framework for legal pot sales, Ottawa intends to close private dispensaries and open a small number of its own stores, run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and carrying a limited number of products.
Ontario’s plan was met with widespread criticism, and not only from the dispensary lobby. National Post columnist Andrew Coyne wrote this week: “The combination of increased demand and limits on supply is a sure way to sustain a flourishing black market, notwithstanding the government’s vows to suppress it. Ontario will get few of the promised benefits of legalization, but all of the costs of a state monopoly.”
Similarly, Jacob said: “What Ontario’s done is ensure that there will be a thriving black market. … They picked the worst of the American models to follow.”
Jacob said he’s still optimistic B.C. will take a different approach, noting the province’s “history of supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.” He said he was encouraged by John Horgan’s comments earlier this week in an interview on CKNW, where the B.C. premier said he’d like to see a system “that benefits those who want to participate as entrepreneurs.”
Jacob said: “We need a made-in-B. C. solution, because we have a very unique situation here.”
On CKNW, Horgan alluded to B.C.’s unique situation too, when he chuckled as he said: “B.C. is a mature jurisdiction, I’d like to say, when it comes to marijuana, as everyone knows.”
B.C.’s dispensaries, Jacob said, provide a wide range of products and a “level of care, compassion and service that you don’t see in pharmacies or liquor stores.”
Dobbs, Jacob’s wife and partner, is hopeful B.C. will find a place for mom-and-pop boutique cannabis retailers in the age of commercialized, legal pot.
“If I’m going to be corny, this is where the heart is,” she said. “I would be sad to see it become very sterile and basically to take the heart out of it. B.C. has had this history of 20 years of compassion clubs, but maybe that’s not an experience that resonates with other provinces.”
Dobbs wasn’t sure how long the provincial justice ministers would stick around Vancouver, but she wanted to extend to them an open invitation to visit The Village if they have a free moment before leaving town — especially those from provinces without a long history of cannabis culture and dispensaries, such as Manitoba and Saskatchewan, whose leaders have appealed to Ottawa to delay legalization.
“I really wish they would put boots to the ground and come and see it for themselves,” Dobbs said in the shop. “And this is a fantasy, but I wish they would try a product.”
dfumano@postmedia.com
twitter.com/fumanoDaily Dot Latest To 'Keep Conversation Moving Forward' By Not Letting Site Visitors Comment At All
from the muted dept
This trend is about more than just raw engagement. It’s also about what kind of engagement we want to have. We’re at an interesting point in the history of the Web. In the wake of Gamergate, Celebgate, and the Reddit Meltdown of 2015, both publishers and social networks are grappling with the same fundamental issue: how to foster engagement and dialogue without inadvertently feeding the trolls in the process.
"The general consensus is that we need to detoxify the Web—to make it a cleaner, nicer, safer, and more inclusive place to live and work. Of course, at the Daily Dot, we would like to see a more civil, compassionate Web, but we want to be careful that in the name of fostering civility, we do not inadvertently kill all dissention.
It’s a different route toward the same goal: to deliver the news to our readers, wherever they may live online, and to keep the conversation moving forward.
There's a raging trend afoot for websites to shutter their news comment sections, then insisting that they're doing this because they careon the Internet. A steady parade of websites have now stopped letting site visitors give public feedback, almost-proudly informing these muted site communities that this was done for the greater good of mankind. Really, companies just don't want to spend the time or money to weed the troll garden (or may not like having their writers publicly fact checked on site), and are shoving these communities toward social media to bury the "problem" permanently.The name of the game is about being cheap and lazy withoutlike you're being cheap and lazy, and the justifications being flung about by editorial staffs are equal part absurd and fascinating. Popular Science, for example, declared that on site discussion of news articles is "bad for science." The Verge recently decided to shutter news story comments to help " build relationships." Bloomberg recently killed news comments and insisted it wasn't a big deal because, hey, most people can't be bothered to comment and therefore news comments "don't represent our readership."Few of these sites seem particularly concerned about the fact that shuttering comments makes it very clear they don't really value truly local community, and lack the willpower to nurture and protect on-site (or in app) participation. Nor do they seem to realize that data has shown that toxic comment sections can often be dramatically improved simply by engaging a little with readers.The Daily Dot is the latest to put comments "on infinite hiatus," the site proclaiming it's basically giving up after a few of the bigger troll flare ups of the last few years:The solution: don't letsaypublicly on your actual website. Ingenious! The site continues:The notion that you can somehow bring managed civility to the entire Internet seems like a fool's errand. You can bring civility to your own comment section, but again that takes time, money and effort that it's abundantly clear many websites aren't willing to provide. So instead we get esoteric, disingenuous, incoherent musings on how being too lazy to engage with your own readership will somehow save the broader Internet from the menacing troll hordes. Like other sites, The Daily Dot proclaims that "hey, we're still on social media" before dropping the now all-too-common line about how this is all about improving the conversation:It's like putting duct tape on the mouths of everybody in town because of two jackasses at the pub, then proudly patting yourself on the back for spearheading an amazing revolution in kindness and communication. Obviously sites are free to insult and ignore on-site communities as they see fit, but it would be a notable improvement if they could do it without the nauseating hyperbolic claims that they're just trying to
Filed Under: anonymity, comments, conversation, websites
Companies: daily dotI label myself as a proud feminist. For me, feminism means all people have the freedom to do whatever they want without question.
Feminism isn’t about making people believe women are better than men, and it isn’t about women burning their bras.
It’s about providing men and women of all races and sexual identities the equal opportunity and freedom to do whatever the hell they want to in their lives.
Feminism is about equality for all.
Because of my views, it seems only natural I would vote for Hillary Clinton in the coming primaries and 2016 presidential election.
A woman as the president of the United States? I can’t think of anything more empowering.
When I'm discussing politics with others, I always note our country is standing on the precipice of significant social reform, and we should choose a president who will help our nation progress in that realm.
My viewpoint was validated when same-sex marriage was legalized on June 26, 2015.
I want the next president of our nation to fix the in-house problems we’re experiencing.
I want to experience the social change that will undoubtedly come with the election of a female president. At first glance, my vote would be for Hillary Clinton.
But, Bernie Sanders is a game changer. And guess what? He’s a feminist, too.
As the longest serving Independent senator in US history, Sanders has been fighting for his beliefs since before our generation was even born. He’s also tried running for president before, but to no avail.
He wasn't successful in previous elections, probably due to the fact that the people who align with his beliefs (Millennials) haven’t been part of the presidential voting pool until recent years.
Millennials are now the most populated generation in US history, which puts a lot of pressure on Gen-Y shoulders in the next election.
It’s easy to see that Hillary's "Bernie problem" is only getting worse.
He wants to take down big banks, create a constitutional amendment that will eliminate the super PACs, make public colleges tuition-free through taxing stock transactions and provide paid maternity leave, just to name a few.
I don't know about you, but all of that sounds pretty f*cking ideal.
I admit I was originally biased toward Hillary.
I wanted a female president, and I wanted it now (typical Millennial mindset). When doing research on both candidates, however, I felt myself leaning more toward Sanders.
I had a hard time accepting the fact that I was actively choosing to vote against electing the nation’s first ever female president.
How could I go against feminism and vote for a man when an incredibly qualified woman was running?
How could I deny my sex the validation and social change we deserve? Would voting for Sanders make me less of a feminist?
The answer is no.
Since Sanders and Clinton are both vying for the Democratic nomination, it’s not surprising they share some very similar views.
Both candidates can be cited saying women’s and LGBT rights are human rights, and Sanders is intent on fixing the wage gap and providing parents with paid maternity leave.
For Sanders, feminism is common sense. This is the mentality we need in the White House.
Clinton has been a public advocate of women’s rights since her famous 1995 speech in Beijing, in which she said:
“It is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.”
Their stance on feminism isn't what makes me for or against either candidate, however. It just makes me confident I could be happy with either candidate because both support the plight of women's rights.
But, there's a big problem with Clinton's campaign that officially locked in my vote for the Bern man.
A graphic recently surfaced outlining the top 10 donor lists for each candidate. While it’s not clear who made the graphic, PolitiFact.com stated the names and numbers on each list match up with the information found in the Center of Responsive Politics database.
It’s important to add that the graphic refers to cumulative donations made over the course of both candidate's careers, not just their current campaigns.
According to the graphic, some of the donors on Clinton’s list consists of Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, which are all huge corporations.
Some of the donors on Sanders' list consists of the Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union, Teamsters Union and United Auto Workers, which are all labor unions.
Sanders stated he wants elections to progress toward public funding, so billionaires can no longer buy elections. He is against the same super PACs Clinton has been utilizing to fund her campaign.
On "Face the Nation," Sanders explained:
“I understand where she is coming from. [But] I will not have a super PAC. I don't think we're going to outspend Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush or anybody else, but I think we are going to raise the kinds of money that we need to run a strong and winning campaign.”
Clinton claims to be all for the middle-class families, and she is making the improvement of their everyday lives one of her biggest platform focuses.
This graphic, paired with her open support of the use of super PACs, shows Clinton is saying one thing and doing another.
During interviews and in speeches, Sanders has said time and time again, he will continue to fight to get money out of politics. He knows until this happens, we can't get anything done.
In an interview with Katie Couric, Sanders says he's in this race because he believes the American people are tired of establishment politics and corporate greed.
He says the people "want a candidate who will lead a mass movement in this country of millions of people who are centrally saying 'enough is enough,' the billionaire class can't have it all."
Clinton, on the other hand, is using the money in politics to her advantage.
Here are my questions for you, Hill:
How you can you label yourself a representative of change if you’re funded by exactly what is holding our country back?
How can you claim to be a massive advocate for the middle class when your campaign is entirely funded by corporate America and the wealthiest of the wealthy?
How can you fix the massive problem of the distribution of wealth if you’re benefitting from the lack of it?
While the creator of the graphic is unknown, it is still founded in fact. Looking at the list of donors for Clinton's and Sanders’ campaigns shines a spotlight on who the real advocate for the American people is.
You might be a feminist, Hillary, but the fact that you say one thing and do another really kills my vibe. Come on, girl. I thought I could trust you.
As I said before, feminism is about giving people the freedom to choose how they live their lives. Voting for a man when a woman is running does not make me any less of a feminist; it means I’m taking the very feminist route of expressing my right to choose.
If Hillary Clinton is elected as the next president of the United States, I will run topless through the streets of Manhattan celebrating the fact that the ladies have finally won.
I won't be happy about the fact that billionaires won yet again, but having a lady at the desk of the Oval Office is definitely cause for rampant celebration.
Until (and if) that time comes, however, I’ll be feeling the Bern.South Sudan's President Salva Kiir attends a ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the capital Juba, South Sudan Thursday, May 18, 2017. South Sudan's civil war has killed tens of thousands and driven out more than 1.5 million people in the past three years, creating the world's largest refugee crisis. (AP Photo/Bullen Chol)
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudanese pro-government forces killed 114 civilians in a single town last year and brutally raped girls and women in front of their families amid growing ethnic violence in the country’s civil war, a new United Nations report said Friday.
The investigation released by the U.N. human rights office said those cases and other abuses in Yei between July and January may amount to crimes against humanity. Abuses included the indiscriminate shelling of civilians, attacks on funerals, looting and burning.
Yei is where The Associated Press late last year witnessed bodies with their hands bound. Satellite images showed “widespread burning of homes and businesses,” the report said.
The new report pointed out the “startling level of impunity in South Sudan” that has fed cycles of deadly ethnic violence.
South Sudan government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny rejected the report’s findings, saying the government is operating within the law. “It’s not true,” he told the AP. ”(Ethnic) Dinkas in that area were being targeted by rebels.” Ethnic Dinkas dominate the military and government of President Salva Kiir.
Opposition forces also have been responsible for abuses in South Sudan’s conflict, now in its fourth year. “The extent of the abuses by armed opposition groups remains unclear due to lack of access to areas where these groups are active,” the report said.
Until last year, Yei had been largely peaceful with 200,000 to 300,000 people from various tribes. But after deadly violence erupted in the capital, Juba, in July, fighting spread to parts of South Sudan that had been spared by the conflict. As rebel leader Riek Machar fled into neighboring Congo, fighting broke out in Yei and elsewhere along his path.
Tens of thousands have been killed in the civil war. More than 1.8 million have fled the country in what has become the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis.
The U.N. called on all sides to lay down their arms and for the government to investigate abuses and prosecute those responsible.Deeply in debt, a man in Azerbaijan sets himself alight -- highlighting the human cost of the collapse of the country's currency.
Alik Navruzov's self-immolation in front of his workplace on January 7 was said to be his response to the sudden crash of the manat, which has lost about a third of its value since Azerbaijan's Central Bank announced in December that it would no longer prop up the currency.
According to colleagues at the school in Neftchala where he worked as a maintenance man, Navruzov complained of having bank loans he could no longer make payments on.
The 63-year-old survived, and is now reportedly in stable condition at a hospital in the city, located in the eponymous oil-producing region some 130 kilometers south of the capital. But there appear to be no signs of relief for Navruzov's dire financial straits -- a situation that is all too familiar to a growing number of people in Azerbaijan.
Less than a year after the Caspian Sea state hosted the first-ever European Games, an event President Ilham Aliyev had hoped would showcase his country's prosperity, it's evident that from the government to the people on the street, Azerbaijan is struggling financially.
In announcing its decision to stop propping up the currency on December 21, the Central Bank argued that the practice had diminished foreign reserves by more than half.
Falling global energy prices have hit hard in Azerbaijan, where energy exports account for about three-quarters of state revenues. To offset the envisioned budget hit, the Central Bank changed the way it values the manat nearly a year ago. But the move away from the dollar to a dollar-euro basket in February 2015 also caused a drop in the currency.
Feeling The Pinch
Currency devaluation always comes with the double whammy of falling spending power and rising prices, and Azerbaijan is no different.
When news of the Central Bank's decision reached the streets, people across the country rushed to shops to scoop up whatever they could before prices adjusted to the new reality.
With less money in their pockets, many people in Azerbaijan are forced to forego less essential items, but food is definitely not one of them.
As a result, the cost of many items -- such as tomatoes and grapes -- has shot up, in some cases by as much as 100 percent.
A shop owner in the capital, Baku, explained to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service why he had to raise his prices.
"I, too, pay rent. My landlord raised the rent. My suppliers also raised prices," Shamil Hasanov said. "What can I do? The prices for everything -- butter, rice, sugar -- all were raised, and I can no longer sell them for less."
Even small expenditures are being weighed more carefully by average Azerbaijanis.
Valikhan Karimov, a 68-year-old pensioner, explained why buying his grandson a ticket for an attraction on Baku's busy promenade requires sacrifice.
"I paid two manats for this ride, which lasted two minutes. I made those two manats selling 10 kilos of apples," he said. "I come here once a year [eds. he lives in Quba] to take my grandchild out, and this is all I can afford."
Others feeling the pinch are those people who took out bank loans, paid out, of course, in manats, but calculated in dollars.
Abdul Akhundov, who works in the IT field, said he can't make a dent in paying down his loans from two banks worth some $3,000.
"I took a loan a year ago, before the devaluation. I asked the bank for a loan in manats but the gave it to me in dollars," Akhundov lamented. "No matter how much I argued with the bank at the time telling them we did not live in America so why make me take a loan in dollars it didn't make any difference."
Elnur Bayramov, who lives in Ganca, said he called his bank immediately after the manat plunged to tell them he couldn't make payments anymore.
"My loan was in the amount of $2,000 and I haven't even bothered to figure out how much I owe now with the new exchange rate," Bayramov said. "I called the bank, too, telling them to stop calling me every minute and that I will pay when I have the money and if they are not happy about it they can take me to court."
Looking For Funds To Help
Aliyev's government, criticized in the West for its abysmal human rights record, appears ready to help those hardest hit by the increasing prices.
Labor and Social Welfare Minister Salim Muslimov announced on January 6 that his ministry was working on ways to raise welfare payments, and should deliver proposals by the end of the month.
He said his ministry was monitoring prices in six regions of the country -- Baku, Sumgait, Mingachevir, Ganca, Lankaran, Tovuz, and Agsu -- and, based on those observations, his ministry would calculate how much social-welfare payouts should rise.
However, raising expenditures is something Aliyev's government is probably less than eager to do. Officials in his government now appear preoccupied with finding where and how to cut costs.
The Foreign Ministry announced on January 5 that Baku was looking to make cuts to staffing and other costs at its foreign embassies, but denied reports in the Azerbaijani press that a number of embassies in South American countries would be closed.
Meanwhile, ordinary Azerbaijanis are left to cope with the hardships amid growing disillusionment with the government.
"I worked in three different places before manat died," wrote one respondent to a questionnaire by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. "I don't know in how many more places I will have to work now."
Another respondent expected the manat to continue on its downward spiral.
"Everybody knows the dollar will continue to get more expensive," the person wrote. "In this situation, you should take out bank credit in manats and then convert it into dollars and wait for the next devaluation. This way we will 'rob' the banks that usually 'rob' us."Showtime's entertainment president David Nevins has said that Dexter could continue beyond season eight.
The series, which just concluded its sixth season, was renewed in November for two more seasons. At the time, Nevins said that the show was likely to end after its eighth season.
However, the Showtime president has now teased that the show could return for a ninth installment.
"This is the likely endpoint, but I'm leaving open the possibility that plans could change," Nevins said while at the TCA press tour.
"I think there's a very clear trajectory now of where they're going. I think it's going to help to write with that endgame in mind," he continued. "I've been pushing to shake up the formula a little bit. I think there should be fundamentally different dynamics now."
Dexter stars Michael C Hall and Jennifer Carpenter recently finalized their divorce The couple, who play siblings on-screen, split in December 2010 after less than two years of marriage.
Carpenter has since insisted that the pair put the show first, claiming their relationship history does not affect the series.Genie (born 1957) is the pseudonym of an American feral child who was a victim of severe abuse, neglect, and social isolation. Her circumstances are prominently recorded in the annals of linguistics and abnormal child psychology.[3] When she was a baby, her father concluded that she was severely mentally retarded, a view which intensified as she got older, causing him to dislike her and withhold care and attention. At approximately the time she reached the age of 20 months, he decided to keep her as socially isolated as possible as a result of this belief, so he kept her locked alone in a room from that time until she reached the age of 13 years and 7 months. During this time, he almost always kept her strapped to a child's toilet or bound her in a crib with her arms and legs completely immobilized, forbade anyone from interacting with her, provided her with almost no stimulation of any kind, and left her severely malnourished.[5][6] The extent of her isolation prevented her from being exposed to any significant amount of speech, and she did not acquire language during her childhood as a result. Her abuse came to the attention of Los Angeles child welfare authorities on November 4, 1970.[5]
In the first several years after Genie's early life and circumstances came to light, psychologists, linguists, and other scientists focused a great deal of attention on Genie's case, seeing in her near-total isolation a unique chance to study many aspects of human development. Upon determining that Genie had not yet learned language, linguists saw Genie as providing an opportunity to gain further insight into the processes controlling language acquisition skills and to test theories and hypotheses identifying critical periods during which humans learn to understand and use language. Throughout the time scientists studied Genie, she made substantial advances in her overall mental and psychological development. Within months of being discovered, Genie had developed exceptional nonverbal communication skills and gradually learned some basic social skills, but even by the end of their case study, she still exhibited many behavioral traits characteristic of an unsocialized person. She also continued to learn and use new language skills throughout the time they tested her, but ultimately remained unable to fully acquire a first language.[10][11]
Authorities initially arranged for Genie's admission to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where a team of physicians and psychologists managed her care for several months, and her subsequent living arrangements became the subject of rancorous and protracted debate. In late June 1971, she left the hospital to live with her teacher from the hospital, but a month and a half later, authorities placed her with the family of the scientist heading the research team, with whom she lived for almost four years. Soon after turning 18 in mid-1975, Genie returned to live with her mother, who decided after only a few months that she could not adequately care for her. Authorities then moved her into the first of what would become a series of institutions for disabled adults, and the people running it cut her off from almost everyone she knew and subjected her to extreme physical and emotional abuse.[5][6] As a result, her physical and mental health severely deteriorated, and her newly acquired language and behavioral skills very rapidly regressed.[5][6]
In January 1978, Genie's mother suddenly forbade all scientific observations and testing of Genie, and since that time little is known of her circumstances. As of July 2016, her whereabouts were uncertain, although she is believed to be living in the care of the state of California.[5][13][1] Psychologists and linguists continue to discuss her, and there is considerable academic and media interest in her development and the research team's methods. In particular, scientists have compared Genie to Victor of Aveyron, a 19th-century French child who was also the subject of a case study in delayed psychological development and late language acquisition.[6][15]
Family background [ edit ]
Genie was the last, and second surviving, of four children born to parents living in Arcadia, California. Her father worked in a factory as a flight mechanic during World War II and continued in aviation afterward, and her mother, who was around 20 years younger and from an Oklahoma farming family, had come to southern California as a teenager with family friends fleeing the Dust Bowl.[13][17] During her early childhood, Genie's mother sustained a severe head injury in an accident, giving her lingering neurological damage that caused degenerative vision problems in one eye. Genie's father mostly grew up in orphanages in the American Pacific Northwest. His father died as the result of a lightning strike and his mother ran a brothel while only infrequently seeing him. Additionally, his mother gave him a feminine first name, which made him the target of constant derision. As a result, he harbored extreme resentment toward his mother during childhood, which Genie's brother and the scientists who studied Genie believed was the root cause of his subsequent anger problems.[17]
When Genie's father reached adulthood, he changed his first name to one which was more typically masculine, and his mother began to spend as much time with him as she could. He became almost singularly fixated on his mother, despite their relentless arguments about her attempts to convince him to adopt a less rigid lifestyle, and treated all other relationships as secondary at best.[17] Although Genie's parents initially seemed happy to those who knew them, soon after they married he prevented his wife from leaving home and beat her with increasing frequency and severity.[22] Her eyesight steadily deteriorated due to lingering effects from her existing neurological damage, the onset of severe cataracts, and a detached retina in one eye, leaving her increasingly dependent on her husband.
Genie's father disliked children and wanted none of his own, finding them noisy, but, around five years into their marriage, his wife became pregnant. This child, an apparently healthy daughter, caught pneumonia after her father found her cries disturbing and placed her in the garage, and died at the age of ten weeks.[13] Their second child, born approximately a year later, was a boy diagnosed with Rh incompatibility who died at two days of age, either from complications of Rh incompatibility or from choking on his own mucus. Three years later, they had another son, who doctors described as healthy despite also having Rh incompatibility. His father forced his wife to keep him quiet, causing significant physical and linguistic developmental delays. When he reached the age of four his maternal grandmother took over his care for several months, and he made good progress with her before she eventually returned him to his parents.[13][17]
Early life [ edit ]
Genie was born about five years after her brother, around the time that her father began to isolate himself and his family from all other people. At birth, she was in the 50th percentile for weight. The following day she showed signs of Rh incompatibility and required a blood transfusion, but had no sequelae and was otherwise described as healthy. A medical appointment at three months showed that she was gaining weight normally, but found a congenital hip dislocation, which required her to wear a highly restrictive Frejka splint from the age of 4½ to 11 months. The splint caused Genie to be late to walk, and researchers believed this led her father to start speculating that she was mentally retarded. As a result, he made a concentrated effort not to talk to or pay attention to her, and strongly discouraged his wife and son from doing so as well.[10]
There is little information about Genie's early life, but available records indicate that for her first months she displayed relatively normal development. Genie's mother later recalled that Genie was not a cuddly baby, did not babble much, and resisted solid food.[10] At times she said that at some unspecified point Genie spoke individual words, but could not recall them, but at other times she said that Genie had never produced speech of any kind. Researchers never determined which was the truth.[10]
At the age of 11 months, Genie was still in overall good health and had no noted mental abnormalities, but had fallen to the 11th percentile for weight. The people who later studied her believed this was a sign that she was starting to suffer some degree of malnutrition. When Genie was 14 months old, she came down with a fever and pneumonitis and her parents took her to a pediatrician who had not previously seen her. The pediatrician said that, although her illness prevented a definitive diagnosis, there was a possibility that she was mentally retarded and that the brain dysfunction kernicterus might be present, further amplifying her father's conclusion that she was severely retarded.[11]
Six months later, when Genie was 20 months old, her paternal grandmother died in a hit-and-run traffic accident. Her death affected Genie's father far beyond normal levels of grief, and, because his son had been walking with her, he held his son responsible, further heightening his anger.[13] When the truck's driver received only a probationary sentence for both manslaughter and drunk driving, Genie's father became delusional with rage. Scientists believed these events made him feel society had failed him and convinced him he would need to protect his family from the outside world, and that in doing so he lacked the self-awareness to recognize the destruction his actions caused. Because he believed Genie was severely retarded, he thought she would require additional protection from him, and he, therefore, decided he needed to entirely hide her existence.[13] He immediately quit his job and moved his family into his mother's two-bedroom house, where he demanded his late mother's car and bedroom be left completely untouched as shrines to her, and further isolated his family.[17]
Childhood [ edit ]
Upon moving, Genie's father increasingly confined Genie to the second bedroom in the back of the house while the rest of the family slept in the living room. During the daytime, for approximately 13 hours, Genie's father tied her to a child's toilet in a makeshift harness designed to function as a straitjacket. While in the harness, she wore only diapers and could only move her extremities.[17] At night, he usually tied her into a sleeping bag and placed her in a crib with a metal-screen cover, keeping her arms and legs immobilized, and researchers believed that he sometimes left her on the child's toilet overnight.[41]
Researchers concluded that, if Genie vocalized or made any other noise, her father beat her with a large plank that he kept in her room.[11] To keep her quiet, he bared his teeth and barked and growled at her like a wild dog, and grew his fingernails out to scratch her. If he suspected her of doing something he did not like, he made these noises outside the door and beat her if he believed she had continued to do it, instilling an intense and persistent fear of cats and dogs in Genie. No one definitively discerned the exact reason for his dog-like behavior, although at least one scientist speculated he may have viewed himself as a guard dog and was acting out the role. As a result, Genie learned to make as little sound as possible and to otherwise give no outward expressions. Genie developed a tendency to masturbate in socially inappropriate contexts, which led doctors to seriously consider the possibility that Genie's father subjected her to sexual abuse or forced her brother to do so, although they never uncovered any definite evidence.
Genie's father fed Genie as little as possible and refused to give her solid food, feeding her only baby food, cereal, Pablum, an occasional soft-boiled egg, and liquids. Her father, or when coerced, her brother, spooned food into her mouth as quickly as possible, and if she choked or could not swallow fast enough the person feeding her rubbed her face in her food.[13] These were normally the only times he allowed his wife to be with Genie, although she could not feed Genie herself. Genie's mother claimed her husband always fed Genie three times a day but also said that Genie sometimes risked a beating by making noise when hungry, leading researchers to believe he often refused to feed her.[10] In early 1972 Genie's mother told researchers that, whenever possible, at around 11:00 at night she would surreptitiously try to give Genie additional food, causing Genie to develop an abnormal sleep pattern in which she slept from 7 to 11 PM, woke up for a few minutes, and fell back asleep for an additional 6½ hours. This pattern continued for several months after removal from captivity.[41]
Genie's father had an extremely low tolerance for noise, to the point of refusing to have a working television or radio in the house. He almost never allowed his wife or son to talk and viciously beat them if they did so without permission, particularly forbidding them to speak to or around Genie. Any conversation between them was therefore very quiet and out of Genie's earshot, preventing her from hearing any meaningful amount of language.[5][13] Her father kept Genie's room extremely dark, and the only available stimuli were the crib, the chair, curtains on each of the windows, three pieces of furniture, and two plastic rain jackets hanging on the wall. On rare occasions her father allowed her to play with plastic food containers, old spools of thread, TV Guides with many of the illustrations cut out, and the rain |
particles entering the ocean.
GETTY Microbeads found in scrubs, shower gels and toothpastes are an avoidable part of this pollution
"Cosmetic companies' voluntary approach to phasing out plastic microbeads simply won't wash. We need a full legal ban - preferably at an international level, as pollution does not respect borders.
Most people would be aghast to learn that their beauty products are causing this ugly pollution Mary Creagh, Environmental Audit Committee
"If this isn't possible after our vote to leave the EU, then the Government should introduce a national ban." It is estimated that as much as 86 tons of microplastics are released into the environment every year in the UK from facial exfoliants alone. The committee suggests in its report that the cosmetics industry is failing to adequately label products which contain microbeads. It recommends that if the Government does not introduce a ban it should at least bring forward a requirement for clearer labelling while companies continue with the voluntary phasing out of the use of the material, so that consumers know exactly what they are buying.
PA A single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean
Miss Creagh said: "Most people would be aghast to learn that their beauty products are causing this ugly pollution. Cosmetic companies need to come clean and clearly label their products containing plastics." The report suggests microplastic pollution could be more damaging to the environment than larger pieces of plastic because its size makes it more likely to be eaten by wildlife and then potentially enter the food chain, for example a plate of six oysters can contain up to 50 particles of plastic. The report concludes there is "little evidence on potential human health impacts of microplastic pollution", but further research is "clearly required".
GETTY Microplastic pollution is more easily consumed by marine life than larger pollutionThe filmmaker behind cerebral political documentaries Century of the Self (2002) and The Power of Nightmares (2005), Adam Curtis, produced this short for BBC's "2014 Wipe" year-in-review program, which aired Tuesday night in the U.K.
ADAM CURTIS, BBC: So much of the news this year has been hopeless, depressing, and above all, confusing. To which the only response is to say, "oh dear."
What this film is going to suggest is that that defeatist response has become a central part of a new system of political control. And to understand how this is happening, you have to look to Russia, to a man called Vladislav Surkov, who is a hero of our time.
Surkov is one of President Putin's advisers, and has helped him maintain his power for 15 years, but he has done it in a very new way.
He came originally from the avant-garde art world, and those who have studied his career, say that what Surkov has done, is to import ideas from conceptual art into the very heart of politics.
His aim is to undermine peoples' perceptions of the world, so they never know what is really happening.
Surkov turned Russian politics into a bewildering, constantly changing piece of theater. He sponsored all kinds of groups, from neo-Nazi skinheads to liberal human rights groups. He even backed parties that were opposed to President Putin.
But the key thing was, that Surkov then let it be known that this was what he was doing, which meant that no one was sure what was real or fake. As one journalist put it: "It is a strategy of power that keeps any opposition constantly confused."
A ceaseless shape-shifting that is unstoppable because it is undefinable. It is exactly what Surkov is alleged to have done in the Ukraine this year. In typical fashion, as the war began, Surkov published a short story about something he called non-linear war. A war where you never know what the enemy are really up to, or even who they are. The underlying aim, Surkov says, is not to win the war, but to use the conflict to create a constant state of destabilized perception, in order to manage and control.
***
But maybe, we have something similar emerging here in Britain. Everything we're told by journalists and politicians is confusing and contradictory. Of course, there is no Mr. Surkov in charge, but it is an odd, non-linear world that plays into the hands of those in power.
British troops have come home from Afghanistan, but nobody seems to know whether it was a victory or whether it was a defeat.
Aging disk jockeys are prosecuted for crimes they committed decades ago, while practically no one in the City of London is prosecuted for the endless financial crimes that have been revealed there.
In Syria, we are told that President Assad is the evil enemy, but then his enemies turn out to be even more evil than him, so we bomb them, and by doing that, we help keep Assad in power.
But the real epicenter of this non-linear world is the economy, and the closest we have to our own shape-shifting post-modern politician is [U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer] George Osborne.
He tells us proudly that the economy is growing, but at the same time, wages are going down.
He says he is reducing the deficit, but then it is revealed that the deficit is going up.
But the dark heart of this shape-shifting world is Quantitative Easing. The government is insisting on taking billions of Pounds out of the economy through its austerity program, yet at the very same time it is pumping billion of Pounds into the economy through Quantitative Easing, the equivalent of 24,000 Pounds for every family in Britain.
But it gets even more confusing, because the Bank of England has admitted that those billions of Pounds are not going where they are supposed to. A vast majority of that money has actually found its way into the hands of the wealthiest five percent in Britain. It has been described as the biggest transfer of wealth to the rich in recent documented history.
It could be a huge scandal, comparable to the greedy oligarchs in Russia. A ruthless elite, siphoning off billions in public money. But nobody seems to know.
It sums up the strange mood of our time, where nothing really makes any coherent sense. We live with a constant vaudeville of contradictory stories that makes it impossible for any real opposition to emerge, because they can't counter it with any coherent narrative of their own.
And it means that we as individuals become ever more powerless, unable to challenge anything, because we live a state of confusion and uncertainty. To which the response is: Oh dear. But that is what they want you to say.Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who will be hosting a number of GOP presidential candidates at this week’s Values Voter Summit, sent out a rather alarmist fundraising email today demanding donations to help his group fight the “Hollywood and radical forces” intent on “indoctrinating your children or grandchildren... ruining your job or career... getting you to compromise your faith... go silent... shut up... affirm sexual immorality... or deny key parts of the Bible.”
Referring to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was found in contempt of court when she tried to stop her entire county office from issuing licenses to gay couples, Perkins warns: “If ‘politically correct’ government officials will put a Christian like Kim in jail for the faith we all SHARE — well, what plans do they have in store for YOU?”
The WRONG people have plans for you
September 23, 2015
Their attacks are only beginning
$500,000 Matching Grant doubles your gift to help us
stand for you against the plans of anti-family forces
Dear Miranda,
They have big plans for you. Who? The White House. Judges. Radical Left organizations.
What plans?
Ask Kim Davis. She’s a Christian like you, and she went to JAIL for her faith — a faith you and she share.
Consider that carefully. If “politically correct” government officials will put a Christian like Kim in jail for the faith we all SHARE — well, what plans do they have in store for YOU?
Depending on the circumstances, they’ll do whatever is necessary to drive Christianity from influence in America by indoctrinating your children or grandchildren... ruining your job or career... getting you to compromise your faith... go silent... shut up... affirm sexual immorality... or deny key parts of the Bible.
…
As you know, Kim is the head clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky. When the U.S. Supreme Court ignored the Constitution by inventing a “right” to same-sex marriage, Kim requested a simple religious accommodation so that a marriage license that violated her conscience would go out in some other way than under her authority. It was a reasonable request.
But a judge threw Kim in jail for six days as Hollywood and radical forces cheered. These forces aren’t interested in “fairness” or “equality.” They want to drive people of faith from public life. THAT IS THEIR PLAN.
And that is why I pray you will give now in response to the Matching Grant... help FRC achieve and even exceed our September 30 goal... and continue to expose and oppose their plans in the most influential sectors of society.
The White House, ACLU, LGBT organizations, liberal Hollywood stars, and “politically correct” corporations plan to:
Threaten your job or career if you try to live your faith openly at work.
your job or career if you try to live your faith openly at work. Destroy your family business if you don’t affirm sexual immorality.
your family business if you don’t affirm sexual immorality. Attack your favorite Christian ministries if they don’t hire homosexuals, cross-dressers, or help provide for abortions.
FRC is working every day to stop them. Our team of dedicated staff members includes top policy experts, researchers, and communication specialists stationed strategically near the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. But our most important team members are supporters like you.Astronomers have long inferred that most of the material in the universe is invisible, existing as mysterious dark matter. But a recent study suggests that most ordinary matter is hidden as well.
Widely accepted studies of the cosmic microwave background—the afterglow of the Big Bang—indicate that for every pound of normal matter in the universe, there are about six pounds of dark matter, unseen particles that are known only from their gravitational pull. Because galaxies spring from dense clumps of both types of matter, researchers assumed that on average, the makeup of galaxies should exhibit a similar 1 to 6 ratio. “The parts should sum up to the whole,” says University of Maryland astronomer Stacy McGaugh. But when he examined more than 100 galaxies, he found that all had substantially less ordinary matter than predicted. The Milky Way showed just a quarter of the expected amount. Smaller galaxies yielded even scantier quantities, with visible matter making up only about 0.05 percent of the least massive galaxies studied, Willman 1 and Segue 1. Most of the universe’s normal matter was nowhere to be found.
Some scientists had proposed that the missing stuff might be hidden in extended halos of gas surrounding galaxies, but University of Michigan astronomer Joel Bregman has dealt a blow to that idea. Studying light from distant stars that had filtered through the Milky Way’s halo, Bregman determined that “the matter really isn’t there,” he says. He suggests that perhaps much of the hot gas in the early universe was never captured by galaxies at all and instead remained scattered invisibly through intergalactic space.
A more radical explanation for the puzzling new findings involves rethinking the laws of gravity. A hypothesis known as modified Newtonian dynamics could eliminate both the missing matter problem and the dark matter in one fell swoop. But for now, abandoning Einstein’s extremely well-supported theory of gravity, general relativity, remains “a rather unpopular possibility,” Bregman says.It may take one by surprise, but this month will feature the first-ever animated release for The Criterion Collection. What should arrive as less of a shock is that it is Wes Anderson‘s Fantastic Mr. Fox, coming from a helmer whose is well known in the library. To gear up for the February 18th release date, they’ve unveiled a new trailer, introduced by Jarvis Cocker (the voice of Petey), which highlights the massive batch of bonus features, tempting those who already own it to double-dip.
We’ve also included a great video essay on the Roald Dahl adaptation from Matt Zoller Seitz, author of the must-own Wes Anderson Collection (one can see more on his site). Check it out below, along with the trailer, and a list of features; if you’d like to pre-order The Criterion Collection release, one can do so here, and Seitz’s book is now available. Lastly, the first reviews from Anderson’s March-bound eighth film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, can be read here.
Digital master, approved by director Wes Anderson
Audio commentary featuring Anderson
Storyboard animatic for the entire film
Footage of the actors voicing their characters, puppet construction, stop-motion setups, and the recording of the score
Interviews with cast and crew
Puppet animation tests
Photo gallery of puppets, props, and sets
Animated awards acceptance speeches
Audio recording of author Roald Dahl reading the book on which the film is based
Fantastic Mr. Dahl, an hour-long 2005 documentary about the author
Gallery of Dahl’s original manuscripts
Discussion and analysis of the film
Stop-motion Sony robot commercial by Anderson
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Erica Wagner; a 2002 article on Dahl’s Gipsy House by Anderson; White Cape, a comic book used as a prop in the film; and drawings, original paintings, and other ephemera.
Are you looking forward to the release?The route setter studied the blank gray surface.
His section—part of an array of climbing walls set up outdoors under a huge tent—was 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and it loomed above the chalk-dusted mat at a forward-facing 40-degree angle. His eyes darted from one position to the next, dancing along a grid of bolt holes that were laid out every six inches, like a sheet of graph paper. Strewn around the stage were thousands of Crayon-colored climbing handholds, a wicked assortment of crimps and jugs and pinches and pockets that he would use to fill this void. After a moment of reflection, he unholstered his cordless drill and affixed a bright blue hold to the wall with a whir and a screech. The hold had an intricate, primal-looking pattern etched into it, along with a pocket that could fit (barely) two flexed fingers.
It was a Tuesday in early June, and the setter, Max Zolotukhin, was part of an elite six-man team planning 36 routes, or problems, for the Bouldering World Cup in Vail, Colorado. The best climbers in the sport would be arriving that weekend, including Jan Hojer, the six-foot-one German powerhouse, and Adam Ondra, the Czech bean sprout with sinewy arms and a mop of curly hair. The setters would provide the challenges that would separate their performances.
Bouldering routes are shorter and more intense than roped routes, typically consisting of just five to fifteen moves, which the climber performs to advance from one plastic hold to the next in order to “send” the problem, or complete it. One of the things setters are often asked by passersby is “Where’s the map?”—as if they’re following orders passed down from a board room in Turin, Italy, where the International Federation of Sport Climbing has its headquarters. But the setters are the wizards who really run the show. They are to a climbing wall what coders are to a video game, the geeks who keep you up all night obsessing over that winning sequence.
Zolotukhin, who is 29 and is known as M.Z. to climbers at Planet Granite in San Francisco—his home gym—was the rookie here, and naturally he had the flashiest plans. With a bulky pair of Five Ten sneakers and a Husky tool belt around his waist, he looked like a skateboarder working construction. He is rangy and muscular, with trim sideburns, taped fingers, and a silver hoop through his right ear. Whether it was his freshness on the competition circuit, the scope of his ambition as a setter, or a more general quality of his meticulous character, he had come to Vail on a mission.
“I do a lot of my thinking on planes and other places where I don’t have Internet access,” he told me as a gondola hummed up the grassy ski slope next to the stage. He showed me an iPhone spreadsheet in which he had broken down each of the eight wall bays he might get assigned and described which problems he might set, using jargon-laced shorthand.
“Inside flag dual tex half moons; volume under angle change bay 1,” he wrote beneath one entry, referring to a sequence that would force climbers to counterbalance themselves using the foot closest to the wall.
“Super dorky,” he said of his notes. “No one does that.”
The problem Zolotukhin was setting just now was a big deal: the last climb in the men’s final. He stepped up to the wall and dangled from the pocket with the ring finger and middle finger of his left hand. Then he reached up with his right hand and wrapped his fingers around his wrist. His goal was to force the athletes to hoist themselves up to the next hold using this pull-up move, which is called a handcuff. In the next move, they would have to spin 360 degrees to reach a third hold with their left hand.
“People will figure that out?” I asked.
“If you don’t give them any other options,” he said.
Last year, according to the Climbing Business Journal, 29 new indoor climbing gyms opened in the U.S.—bringing the total nationwide to roughly 365—which helps explain why route setting is now a viable alternative to a life of dirtbaggery. The sport has taken off even in Midwestern cities where the nearest rock is a meteorite in a cornfield. Today, head setters at top gyms earn salaries of $70,000 or more, fly across the country to guest-set at other gyms, and work national and international competitions.
“The best thing happening now is that route setters are getting their due,” says Chris Warner, owner of Earth Treks, which operates four gyms in Maryland and Colorado.
As recreational rock climbing gained popularity in the early 20th century, artificial walls were little more than a way for climbers and alpinists to train during the off-season. In the late 1930s, Clark Schurman, chief summit guide on Mount Rainier, built a 25-foot practice wall out of granite boulders and troweled concrete in west Seattle that still stands today. One of the first indoor climbing walls in the world, erected alongside a squash court at the University of Leeds in 1964, featured natural rocks cemented onto brick, along with hand-jamming cracks carved into mortar. The designer, Donald Robinson, now 88, had grown weary of watching climbers spend all winter in the pub and then injure themselves outside the moment Easter rolled around. “In those days, they wouldn’t go to the gym,” Robinson says. “That was for the common herd.”
Though popular, these early walls had a major downside: you couldn’t change the rocks. In 1985, François Savigny, a French engineer and rock climber, founded the company EntrePrises and began selling the first bolt-on climbing holds made of polyester resin. Later the industry shifted to less toxic and more durable polyurethane—the stuff used to make Rollerblade wheels. Rather than reproducing inward-facing contours and fissures of an eroded cliff face, these holds could be endlessly rearranged on a flat wall. It took a while for modern holds to migrate to the United States. Seattle-based Vertical World, which bills itself as the first commercial climbing gym in the country, opened in 1987. Back then people were still gluing rocks onto cinder blocks.
Even in the late eighties, gym climbing was mainly something you did when you couldn’t get to the crag. A couple of teenagers working the front desk might bolt a bunch of holds to the walls, but it was left to the climbers to devise the routes. Route setting emerged as a professional pursuit in the 1990s, and it took off creatively in step with bouldering’s increased popularity.
Which only makes sense. In bouldering the goal is not about attaining the summit along a particular set of pitches, but to use specific body movements to progress through a prescribed sequence of holds along both horizontal and vertical axes. Bouldering opened up people’s minds about what was possible on a climbing wall. It made all climbing more precise, more mental.
In a typical gym today, setters mark specific routes with colored tape—or matching holds—to which they assign difficulty ratings. Bouldering problems are graded on the V scale, from the ladder-like cake walk of a VB (beginner) up to a V16, which requires gecko fingerwork and gravity-defying leaps known as dynos. Roped climbing routes go from the easy 5.0 to the nearly impossible 5.15c.
By the early 2000s, climbing walls had become the canvas for fleeting pieces of functional art. Routes need to stay up long enough for climbers to solve them and pump a fist at the top, but not so long that they become routine. Some routes are so obvious, they can seem as dull as pulling on a rowing machine. Others have a magical flow built in, and you land back on the mat with a buzz.
“In some ways, climbing outdoors is stifling and boring, because you are limited by nature,” says Mike Helt, an instructor for the USA Climbing Routesetting Certification Program. “In here we are not limited by anything other than technology and the human imagination.”
In Vail, Zolotukhin was beholden to a pair of experienced silverbacks on duty: the chief route setter, Percy Bishton, a boyish 43-year-old Brit with tousled gray hair, and Chris Danielson, 38, a renowned American whose russet beard was feathered with white streaks. Between the two of them, they had more than 40 years of experience bolting pieces of plastic onto walls. “I’m retired after this one,” said Bishton, who opened one of the UK’s premier climbing gyms, Sheffield-based Climbing Works, in 2006.
On Tuesday morning, Bishton called the crew over to review problems for the final. One setter had been inspired to mimic a wild swing from Jungle Book, a famous climb at a bouldering spot in southern Illinois called Holy Boulders, but it had evolved into something else. Zolotukhin, meanwhile, had set a problem he called Princess of Persia, which was modeled after a 1980s computer game featuring a hero leaping across spike-filled chasms and scaling vertical walls. Bishton liked that one. “It’s very ambiguous,” he said. “You can’t really see how to do it.”
Setting for a competition is a little different from setting in a gym. During the World Cup stop in Vail—an annual cash-awarding mini-tour for men and women held in various cities in Europe, North America, and Asia—the athletes are given brief, varying amounts of time to look at and attempt climbing problems. In the most difficult challenges of the event, the setters wanted to do more than just test the competitors’ forearm muscles; that’s a recipe for a tie, because all these athletes are ripped. Rather, they wanted to create a men’s problem in the realm of V10 or V11, but one that was inscrutable enough that there would be a few successes (“tops”), a few falls, and one hell of a show.
As they reviewed the next climb, Danielson was casting about with a devious look on his face. “What are you seeing?” Bishton asked.
“I feel like it’s too hard,” Danielson responded. From a plastic tub onstage, he pulled out a wormy red, white, and blue hold about the length of his arm and covered in warty-looking bumps.
“A big knobbly cock!” Bishton joked. “Where do you want to put it?” Danielson held it up between two bulbous gray holds. The combination looked like a diagram from a medical textbook.
By then, Zolotukhin was free to focus on the handcuff boulder—the only final problem that hadn’t been set. After screwing the pocket onto the wall where he wanted it, he worked backward to the starting holds. He needed them to be far enough to the right so that the climbers would have to let their legs dangle and ascend using only their arms, called campusing. At the same time, the pocket couldn’t be so far away that shorter climbers would be at a disadvantage.
If you think about a climb as a sentence and each move as a word, the holds are individual letters. The most commonly used holds provide a horizontal edge that you can hang from. When the hold is extremely positive, which means it has a large lip or is otherwise easy to grab, climbers call it a jug. A crimp, by contrast, has an edge that’s so thin, you can fit only your fingertips on it. When that edge is oriented vertically and off to the side, it serves as a side pull. Closer in it’s a Gaston, which the climber pulls on with elbow bent, as if prying the lid off a coffee can. If the edge points toward the ground, then it’s an undercling, and the climber must pull up and out to stay on the wall.
Pockets can be deep or shallow and can restrict you to using three, two, or even one finger. Pinches require you to squeeze the hold with the help of your thumb. Then there are slopers, which are smooth and round and might be used with an open-handed grip to maximize friction or for a mantle move, in which the climber pushes against, rather than pulls on, the hold. Some are designed only for a foot, with a surface just large enough to accommodate a single toe. Sometimes there’s no foothold at all, in which case climbers must smear a foot against the blank wall, relying on the sticky rubber of their shoes. Finally, large holds, called volumes or features, alter the geometry of the wall and can be modified by screwing smaller holds, known as jibs, onto their surfaces.
Holds come in an immense variety of shapes, sizes, and textures. One of the larger manufacturers, Colorado-based eGrips, sells more than two dozen styles, and most lines have somewhere between five and twenty different crimps. A large gym like Earth Treks may stock 40,000 holds, and when a new shipment arrives, setters will hide the ones they want to use first. Louie Anderson, a prolific Southern California shaper who has been designing holds since the dawn of the gym era, creates 1,000 new shapes every year. The designs have changed a lot from the early days, when holds were cast in earth tones and mimicked rock features. Today they’re more artistic, colorful, and ergonomic, so that a day in the gym won’t tear off your hard-earned calluses. The Missouri-based climbing company So Ill produces fluorescent green holds that look like alien baby heads.
Zolotukhin has a freakish handle on this diversity and can sort through the buckets of near identical crimps with ease. With each new hold in Vail, he moved up his ladder and completed a first draft of the sentence that stretched from the bottom of the wall to the top. Setters call this the skeleton.
At the end of the day, as a yellow slash of sunlight cut across the climbing wall, Garrett Gregor, a.k.a the Machine—a climber with a V-shaped torso—pumped himself up to test how Zolotukhin’s route worked in practice, which is called forerunning. In this instance, the Machine pushed past the crux of the climb without having to do the handcuff or the hoped-for 360. In setter speak, he had “broken the beta.”
Zolotukhin looked deflated. Sometimes it’s fine for a problem to have several solutions, as long as they’re as difficult as the intended one. In this case, what the Machine did defeated the entire purpose of the climb.
Zolotukhin and Danielson conferred about ways to make the handcuff mandatory. “It’s really hard to compel people to want to do that,” Danielson said. They had changed the pocket out several times, varying its depth and size, and had talked about ways to modify it with Bondo, the commercial putty used in car-body repairs. “If you make the pocket very good, you don’t need that,” Danielson said, referring to the handcuff move. “If you make the pocket very bad, you may handcuff but not be able to pull through.”
Manuel Hassler, a Swiss setter with Albert Einstein hair, suggested adding a second pocket high on the wall. This would bump the handcuff up and make the sequencing more pronounced: left hand in the lower pocket, right hand in the upper pocket, then spin around and grab a crimp with the left hand. Danielson liked the idea, but Zolotukhin was hesitant. “We can’t make the whole problem a jungle gym,” he said.
“I don’t disagree. I’m just living in compromise-land,” Danielson said.
“It would be really nice to get this to be a beautiful thing,” Bishton said.
“The debate now is, you put a pocket here, you just jump to the pocket. Pocket. Pocket. Swinging around,” Danielson said. “The crowd loves it, but it’s not that interesting.”
Bishton pointed at a large undercling on the right. “For sure, the jug is coming off,” he said, pointing to a large hold he wanted to replace with something smaller and more difficult.
This put Zolotukhin on the defensive. “Some of the best photos happen in comps when you are on a jug,” he countered.
“I don’t like the jug in the middle of the route,” Bishton said. “Then you get the fist pump of glory before they send it.”
Zolotukhin's Vimeo page, which hasn’t been updated for a couple of years, features videos of him and his buddies hooting while sending problems like Wet Dream, a V12 in Black Velvet Canyon, Nevada. On the same page, you can find a short manifesto in which he subscribes to Ayn Rand’s view of man as a “heroic being.” Online he comes across as earnest, slightly pompous, and far less self-effacing than he is in person. “I want to be the best route setter in the country and I want people to know it,” he writes. “Not for the sake of my little ego, but because I believe that productive achievement is man’s noblest activity and I want to be judged by mine.”
Zolotukhin was born near Kiev, Ukraine, and grew up in Gainesville, Florida, where he taped out his first route, at age 14, on his first day climbing. He raced through a dual degree in psychology and political science at the University of Florida in three years, in order to devote himself full-time to bouldering. At first he wanted to be a pro climber. In 2009, he took 16th at the American Bouldering Series (ABS) National Championships and competed at the World Cup.
Zolotukhin was feeling invincible that summer when he tried to boulder Supernova, a 5.14b sport climb in Rumney, New Hampshire, with only crash pads and spotters as protection. “I hit the pocket accurately but for reasons unknown, my body sagged out and I helicoptered off,” he wrote later on a blog. He fell more than 20 feet, missed the pads, and fractured his talus on a jagged boulder. His friends carried him down to an ambulance.
“It was a really dumb thing to try to do,” he told me. He flew back to Florida and spent the next two and a half months on his mother’s couch. About a week after the accident, he was doing pull-ups and using a hang board to maintain his finger strength. After five weeks, he began bouldering easy routes with a plastic walking boot on his ankle. He was obviously a gifted athlete, but he realized he would never be an Alex Honnold or Kevin Jorgeson. As he reined in his daredevil instincts, setting became his outlet.
“I don’t have exactly what those guys have, but I have something else that is equally valuable, and that is a creative mind,” he says. “In the end, I still have an awesome climbing career, and I love it just as much.”
In August 2011, Zolotukhin moved to California to take a full-time position at Planet Granite, which has three gyms in the Bay Area and one in Portland, Oregon. As setting has become professionalized, getting certified for competitions is like earning one’s stripes as a master welder.
After attending a clinic run by USA Climbing, he completed an internship under Danielson during the Unified Bouldering Championship in New York City in 2011, and, later, an apprenticeship in Atlanta under Mike Helt. By 2013, he had earned the rank of assistant route setter and was invited to set at the ABS Nationals. Finally, he was awarded the coveted slot at Vail, his first event on the world stage.
On Saturday afternoon, black curtains hung in front of the climbing wall, concealing it from the crowd gathering on the grassy lawn. Zolotukhin, Danielson, and the other setters were wobbling on their ladders. I saw Bishton scowling at the edge of the stage like a true Englishman. “It’s bullshit,” he told a friend. “It’s a waste of a boulder!”
He was ticked off because he hadn’t had a chance to finalize one of his problems before Danielson took it down on Tuesday. The start featured five blue triangles, which gave the male finalists a platform from which to lunge toward a massively awkward, bubble-shaped volume to the left. Then the climber would have to make his way up the arête, or the edge of the wall, to the top, where he’d have to reach a second bubble. A series of tiny holds dotted the wall like a trail of bird droppings. These were footholds.
“What’s with all the feet?” Bishton asked.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Danielson said.
“Fucking hell, Christopher!” he scoffed. “It doesn’t look very hard.” Bishton left him alone, and Danielson kept tooling away. Then he took a front-row seat to watch the show.
Adam Ondra gazed up at Danielson’s climb, the third problem of the final, then he spidered up to the middle of the wall with little effort. Clinging to a triangle, he stuck his foot out and leaped for the final bubble. His big hands caught it, but he slid off backward with such momentum that he tumbled from the mat and landed at the feet of two judges. The crowd gasped.
Danielson was smirking like a demented leprechaun. “You liked that?” I asked him. “I liked that,” he said. We watched as Ondra crashed two more times and, finally, slammed his fist on the mat in frustration.
The last problem of the day, Zolotukhin’s, was up next. Canadian Jason Holowach rubbed his chalky hands together and mimed his moves. He dug into the first pocket with his left hand and then grabbed the next pocket with his right before stalling out. Off to his right was a wok-shaped volume with a crimp on its far surface, but he couldn’t figure out how to grasp it and dropped to the mat. On his second attempt, Holowach switched his sequence, grabbing the lower pocket with his right hand and the upper pocket with his left. Now his right hand was free to grab the crimp on the wok.
I was next to Zolotukhin, who was hunched over with a deadpan expression on his face. His plans seemed like a bust. “His sequence gets to the bonus,” he said, “but it doesn’t get you to the top.” As if following a script, Holowach fell off the wall and failed to complete the problem as the clock wound down.
Next up was Nathaniel Coleman, a clean-cut 18-year-old from Utah, who had been dominating all day. He seemed to be reading Zolotukhin’s beta, taking the low pocket with his left hand and the high pocket with his right. After a moment, he was hanging from his right hand alone and his body naturally pivoted clockwise, away from the wall. He was now facing the crowd, hanging under the lip of the wall.
That’s when it happened. The teenager handcuffed his right wrist and pulled himself up until his biceps bulged and his arm was bent at a 90-degree angle. Then he lunged for the crimp and pinched it securely with his left hand. The crowd roared, and Zolotukhin slapped a palm on the stage.
Coleman kept ascending to the final hold, mugged for the camera, and pumped his fist. Next to us, a cameraman pulled his gaze away from the viewfinder and looked over at the proud route setter. “Is that what you meant to happen?” he asked.
The setter nodded. “Yeah,” he said coolly.
“Fuck,” the cameraman said.
Brendan Borrell (@bborrell) wrote about French Adventurer François Guenot in June.When you have so much data that the real world doesn’t do it justice, why not toss it into virtual reality?
Virtualitics is aiming to bring insight through isolation, visualization and manipulation, giving you a chance to get up-close and personal with your data while wearing a VR headset.
Today, the startup announced that it has closed a $4.4 million Series A led by The Venture Reality Fund.
Business productivity use cases in VR are still a bit on the lacking side. While many expect tasks like training and orientation to be aided greatly by virtual reality, the level of fidelity isn’t quite there yet. Many are hoping that telepresence tools will allow deeper levels of collaboration inside environments that can be more easily manipulated.
After loading data sets into the app, users are able to isolate particular data points and make edits in appearance and classification.
Virtualitics hopes that data visualization proves to be something business customers can use inside VR. The company is launching a closed beta later this month with major customers, including Accenture. The company will be charging business customers |
raises questions about how Ryan or anyone else got to Tara's home, although Bo has apparently said that Ryan took Bo's white truck. If someone drove to Tara's house, they had to park somewhere, which opens up a new line of questions.All of these things may factor in to the possibility that Tara's car was driven somewhere that night, as certain clues or potential clues seem to point toward her car being driven after she came home from a barbecue some time after 11 p.m. October 22. For instance, I can imagine a scenario in which someone who walked to Tara's house might panic after she died and might have taken her car to go get help. Since that person might also have fished through her purse for the keys, and his fingerprints could have been left on both, that might explain why both her keys and purse were stolen and missing.It's hard to flesh out any theory of what happened to Tara without knowing where Ryan and Bo lived. But even if I learn where they lived even somewhat conclusively, my theories will just be theories. The only people who know what really happened are the killer or killers, and we don't seem to believe them, so we'll never really know.And I doubt that will satisfy many people out there.After three months of theorizing and speculating about the case since Ryan Duke's arrest, the online community that has arisen about this case is still flourishing, but instead of eliminating possibilities like an investigator might do, the community seems to take every opportunity to introduce new possibilities. If this was a game of Clue, and the answer was that Colonel Mustard was the killer, I somehow think many in the online community would decide Mayor Mayonnaise hired Judge Juniper to do the deed and framed Colonel Mustard for it.A pragmatic, realist friend of mine has been wary of this wheel of speculation for a while. He said that people don't want the story to die. He's right. The Tara Grinstead mystery has become, for good or ill, an important aspect of the lives of many people. For some, it is the center of their social lives, and if there was nothing to talk about, no new facet of the case to mull over, they would have to face the scary task of finding something else to do with their time.I'm guilty of it myself, at least to some degree. And even if I wasn't, I would certainly be guilty of being one of the main people fanning the flames of the fervor surrounding the case. I've introduced a lot of the fodder for these online discussions and offline speculations.Although I've tried, and sometimes failed, to present information in a rational, responsible way, there's an old saying about the road to Hell and good intentions. This was never more true than with the guy the community has taken to calling "Buddy" and the list of names that apparently came from his suicide note.In my last blog entry, I wrote about how someone released the list to a private discussion group but that it was immediately leaked to people on the list. I wrote about how I wished the list had not been released publicly, even in a "private" group. I cautioned people that we didn't know the context of the list, and I expressed my concern about dozens of amateur investigators tearing apart the lives of people who were probably not involved in any way with Tara's death.But I also wrote extensively about Buddy, and while I presented reasons to disbelieve his story, I inadvertantly poured fuel on the fire. I knew I failed to make my points clearly enough when someone commented on Facebook asking me for a link to the list.I saw people saying the people on the list should just come forward. They said that the fact that they don't come forward is suspicious. It's not. Just because you think coming forward might be the best thing to do, even if it's what you would do, it's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of what the public response would be to speaking publicly about your inclusion on the list.I think many or most people on the list are confused about their inclusion. They don't understand it, so how can they explain it? How can they defend it?If someone on the list went on Up and Vanished, denied having anything to do with Tara's disappearance, but gave the very unsatisfactory answer of "I don't know" to question after question about the list, do you think the public would believe them? If you do, you haven't been paying attention.Most people I've interviewed about the case want me to hide their identity because they know instinctively that going on the record can be a gamble. It's easy to sit back as an uninvolved person wanting answers and expect people to answer the questions you have, but it's another thing entirely when you know that coming forward can have deep repercussions on your life.Consider Marcus Harper for just a moment. He attempted to explain his innocence on national television, yet he was still hounded by allegations for more than 11 years, enduring everything from public accusations to YouTube videos analyzing what his speech sounded like when played backwards. Coming forward did little to clear his name even though he was innocent.Meanwhile, I've seen where people who were clearly not involved in Tara's disappearance were interviewed and have been vilified just because one person or another thought they were "sketch af" in their interview. I actually had to defend a friend who I don't think even lived here when Tara went missing because someone thought his wife's Facebook friends were suspicious. Not his Facebook friends. His wife's.It doesn't take much for someone to seem suspicious to some people these days. Do you really think someone on the list talking publicly would clear his name when there are people who seriously believe that Bo Dukes' past talk about his love of Jim Beam whiskey is a coded reference to someone with the initials JB? That's an actual theory that has been circulating in online circles this week.This isn't Mission Impossible. This probably isn't some vast conspiracy. It's a small town murder, and even though it is a complicated one, it's probably not as complicated as the rampant speculation and endless rabbit holes are making it seem to be.After my last blog post, suddenly many people were more convinced than ever that Buddy knew something about what happened to Tara. I saw, and was dismayed, that some people were convinced that every person on the list knew something about what happened to Tara. We don't know that the author of the list knew anything, much less the people on his list! In fact, if I was pressed, I'd guess Buddy probably didn't know anything, but there's no way to be sure.Even if Buddy did know something, which is possible, I sincerely doubt all or even most of the people on the list knew anything. Many of the people were close friends of Buddy, and most of them were not known to be close friends with Ryan Duke or Bo Dukes. In fact, members of Buddy's circle of friends and members of Bo's circle of friends were involved in a bloody fight against each other in Mystic in 2004, so it seems more likely that they were enemies than friends. I've heard that some people from those groups refuse to speak to each other even today.I should note that I've never heard that Buddy, Bo, or Ryan were involved in that fight. I only bring it up to point out that it seems highly unlikely that Buddy's friends on the list were involved in some conspiracy with Bo or his friends.Last week, someone publicly released the list of 16 names for everyone to see on the Up and Vanished discussion board. Dr. Maurice Godwin, who I was told was the original source of the list, also said that the complete list contains 18 names, and he hinted at the name of one of the undisclosed names on the discussion board. I've also heard that some people who thought they were on the list were not on the list, while some who were on the list were never interviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which I had thought had investigated the people on the list.All of this just makes me less convinced the list is meaningful.But people are convinced that people on the list knew something... based on what? Gut instincts? Let your guts try to solve an algebra problem for you, and you'll see why Sherlock Holmes used his deductive skills instead of instinctive hunches.Just because we don't understand something does not make it suspicious. It just makes it unknown.We need good reason to be suspicious. We need stories with origins. We need reliable information. We need facts, and in the absence of facts, we need theories that make the puzzle fit together without the need to create a bunch of fantastical new pieces.If someone out there had the complete story, if they knew every detail about what happened to Tara and knew everyone that was involved and what role they played, they could tell their story on the Up and Vanished discussion board or a similar online forum, and people would be fascinated with it. For a few days. Then they would add in their own theories and speculation, or they would find reasons to argue about it, or they would move on to other theories entirely.I've already established that we're never really going to know what happened, so the idea that all the speculation is going to solve the case is, unfortunately, a fantasy. I'm not saying that it's completely without merit. The online community and its speculations have helped me personally narrow down my theories greatly, but one day I hope to arrive at a conclusion about this case, while the community as a whole probably never will. Individuals will, but probably not the whole community. There will always be a new or forgotten aspect to explore, a new rabbit hole to run down.So, we as individuals, me included, need to use some foresight and compassion knowing that we're only really pursuing our own conclusions about the case, not truly solving it. We need to understand that our actions aren't necessary and that they have repercussions.I've heard it said on several occasions that Tara was the only real victim in this case, but, with all due respect to her, that's simply not true. Family and friends continue to shed tears for her loss. For more than a decade, innocent men like Marcus Harper lived under a specter of suspicion. Now, these people on that list are suffering a taste of that same bitter suspicion, and most or all of them are probably just as innocent.Although I was disappointed by the effect of my last blog post, at least some good came of it. An old friend of mine who follows the case heavily was gung ho about investigating people on the list, but he told me that after reading my blog, he decided not to pursue his sleuthing. To know that I had that kind of positive effect on someone meant as much or more than all the kind compliments my writing has received these past several months.I realize that I've become an important voice in this case, and I hope I can do more good than bad with that voice, so hopefully more people will read and will leave the people on that list alone and come to treat the case with a softer touch and a bit more rationality.To that end, I've going to do something that my pragmatic friend would appreciate: Present a simple solution.You see, at this point, regarding what actually happened to Tara and the motive, I've narrowed down my theories to two. Basically.There's a lot of wiggle room in both theories, and they don't really even touch on things like Buddy or the fire on Snapdragon Road or whether a pond or fire at a party were involved.One of the theories has a lot of missing pieces, so I'm not ready to write about it. In fact, I may never be willing to write about it, even if I can't eliminate it as a possibility. Honestly, I may never get past these two theories, but then both of them could be wrong, and I might have a new theory next week if I learn something new.What I will say is that the theory I won't write about depends on the idea that Bo Dukes is not telling the truth because the theory I am writing about is the possibility that Bo may be telling the truth or something close to it.Judging from all I've read, I don't think people have given that idea much credence or considered it very deeply. I think people want Bo to be guilty of more than the GBI alleges. There's a general impression within the community that Bo is a bad guy that cannot be trusted.He is a convicted felon who stole from the U.S. Army while he was serving, so he's no prince, and he seems to have admitted to burning a woman's body, which is a truly reprehensible act. But that doesn't mean he's lying. Some would say the Devil himself would tell the truth if it suited his purposes, and Bo, for all his faults, is not the Devil.And there are compelling reasons to at least consider that he might be telling the truth. First, the GBI seems to believe him, at least to some extent. Second, it's possible that the GBI gave him a polygraph test, which, if they did, I doubt he failed it if the GBI was willing to give him a deal and base its case on his testimony.The GBI must have interviewed everyone who was told by Bo through the years and many people close to both Bo and Ryan. They must have checked phone records and other evidence that might have corroborated his claims or disproved them. Yet the GBI continues to believe him, as I've said, at least to some extent.Further, Bo's text messages to his friend, Dustin, that were revealed through Up and Vanished are consistent with the story his girlfriend is telling. Assuming that Bo and Dustin didn't set it up for their text messages to be revealed, Bo would not have likely expected his friend to betray him, but the story remained consistent. Although some collusion between Bo and Dustin is possible, and I've heard Bo is very smart and even manipulative, I doubt Bo is the type of Machiavellian criminal mastermind to plot such an elaborate, and not particularly necessary, scheme of text message deception.And if Bo is making up his story, why include specific details such as that Bo did not see Tara's body until days after she disappeared. Brooke Sheridan, Bo's girlfriend, said on Up and Vanished that Ryan told Bo and their other roommate that he killed Tara, which regardless of whether the roommate confirmed or denied that claim to the GBI, why would you include such a falsifiable detail if the story was made up? It would be easier and more sensible to not mention the roommate being told if it wasn't true instead of introducing a point that could be denied by the roommate and could jeopardize the GBI's trust in Bo.As I said in the beginning, I think we mesh Bo's story with what Ryan supposedly has said, and it doesn't make sense to us, but Bo's story could make sense on its own. Unfortunately, based on the arrest warrants and the indictments, the GBI seems to be meshing those stories together, too, so that leaves us all doubtful. Something feels wrong.For instance, the indictments allege that Ryan broke-in to Tara's home to commit theft, but that doesn't make sense to us. Why would someone target Tara's small home when there were other more affluent homes in the immediate area? But Bo seems to have said that he doesn't know what Ryan's motive was. That too sounds doubtful, but it is, to me, less unlikely than the GBI's allegations about Ryan's motive.Then we've heard stories that Ryan claimed to hit Tara, while Bo seems to have said strangulation was the manner of death. The prosecution, perhaps playing it safe, alleges that Ryan used "a hand," which would pretty much be true no matter what happened. Although it is possible that someone could die from a punch, I personally find strangulation to be more plausible.To me, the glaring problems we've heard about the GBI's allegations must stem from Ryan, not Bo. In fact, in some ways, what we've heard from Bo is more believable than the GBI's allegations, but the GBI needs its allegations to fit whatever admissions Ryan may have made so they can use them against him in court.Now look, I'm not defending Bo in any way. As I've said, I think it's possible that his story is full of lies or half-truths, as the other theory that I'm still considering is nothing like what he has said. I think it's highly possible that there's a kernel of truth to Bo's story but also important details left unsaid or large swaths of events entirely omitted. But to my hopefully rational mind there is no reason right now to eliminate Bo's story as a possibility, and like it or not, there are reasons to believe it could be true.I hope that people out there will give some consideration to a simple solution, even if we find the source of that solution to be personally distasteful. Like you, there's a part of me that wants Bo's story to fall apart because I'm afraid he will walk away from this horrible crime without jail time, but just because we want him to be a liar doesn't mean he is lying.I heard a story recently where someone had talked to a member of the GBI before the gag order was in place. This someone said that when all is revealed everything is going to be remarkably simple. Well, it's hard to imagine that what actually happened in this case was in any way simple, but it has to be simpler than some of the things people are imagining.Unfortunately, we'll never really know.Copyright by WBTW - All rights reserved
FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) - Emergency management workers have identified the powdery substance discovered in a package received at a Florence apartment Friday afternoon as a popular cooking ingredient.
Florence County Emergency Management Public Information Officer Andrew Golden confirms the powdery substance found in a package at Patriot Place Apartments in Florence is onion powder. Unsure if the material was dangerous, officials called in a hazmat team to test the substance early Friday afternoon.
Copyright by WBTW - All rights reserved Patriot Place Apartments are located at 4711 Patriot Lane in Florence.
Copyright by WBTW - All rights reserved Patriot Place Apartments are located at 4711 Patriot Lane in Florence.
Patriot Place Apartments are located at 4711 Patriot Lane in Florence. It is not known to which apartment the package was delivered.
Florence County Sheriff's Office also responded to investigate the package.If you’re looking for something to do in Florida that’s cheaper and has shorter lines than Disney World, you might want to head to Alderman’s Ford park in Plant City where yet another Skunk Ape was spotted and recorded on video. This is the third sighting with a recording or a photograph in two years. Is something driving the Skunk Apes out of the Florida swamps?
The latest video is dated June 5, 2015, and was allegedly taken at the Alderman’s Ford Regional Park (admission $2 – much less than Disney World) on County Road 39 in Hillsborough County. The Alafia River runs through the park and is popular for canoeing (very short lines).
Mitch W. Davis posted the video of a Skunk Ape walking in front of the trees before taking cover among them. He doesn’t say anything about finding tracks or smelling the telltale Skunk Ape odor of wet swamp-soaked fur. The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Parks Department did not have any other Skunk Ape or Bigfoot reports in any of the county’s parks.
However, there have been Skunk Ape and Bigfoot reports recently in the area. This video was taken in January 2015 at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, just 20 miles from Plant City and also in Hillsborough County. It shows a Skunk Ape moving very quickly through the swamp.
This video was taken in 2013 in the Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County, about 80 miles from Plant City. The Myakka River has had other Skunk Ape sightings, which is why they’re sometimes called Myakka Apes.
What’s causing the increase in Skunk Ape sightings in Florida? Is the heat driving them out of the steamy swamplands to cooler areas? Are the rivers driving up and forcing them to look elsewhere for water? Are they tired of all of the tourists avoiding Disney World and spending their vacations in Skunk Ape Land instead?Throughout history and throughout the world, Judaism's great spiritual thinkers have combined Torah study with a broad general education that served as a basis for their writings and the difficult questions with which they were confronted.
Today, too, the haredi public abroad runs advanced educational institutes that integrate Jewish studies and secular studies, training their graduates to join the job market.
Frightening Figures The haredi school scam Amir Shoan Yedioth Ahronoth learns religious schools not teaching basic subjects despite receiving millions from State to do so. Economists: Rabbis want to keep public ignorant; in 20 years job market will be nonexistent The haredi school scam
Only in Israel do less than 9% of haredim hold high school matriculation certificates or an academic degree. Some 65% of haredi men, who are supposed to be the breadwinners for their families, do not work.
How has the People of the Book, which has always been so proud of an education more extensive than other nations, become the People of One Book, in which ignorance and illiteracy prevails in so many fields necessary for dignified existence in the modern world?
A special investigative report published by Yedioth Ahronoth exposed the lie of general studies in the haredi education system. Not only do haredim miss out on basic subjects they must teach by law, the reports submitted by haredi inspectors to the Education Ministry are inaccurate (to say the least), such that haredi education institutes receive State budget for hours of classes that were never taught.
Yet, this is merely a side effect of a deepening disconnect between the haredi public and what the State of Israel has deemed to be part of the mandatory education of every citizen.
Even if their education has not always been a formal one, the rabbis that influenced Jewish thought were predominantly educated in secular subjects and had delved into broader fields of study beyond religious studies.
Rav Kook, for instance, was not hesitant, thanks to his broad knowledge, to explain that the theory of evolution does not contradict Judaism. Rabbi Yehuda Halevy, who was the king of Spain's doctor, wrote his philosophical treatise The Kuzari, considered one of the most important books of philosophy in Jewish history. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the rebbe of Lubavitch, audited philosophy courses in Berlin, had a degree in electrical engineering and enrolled for a degree in mathematics at the Sorbonne.
Other names, less well-known, but still within the bounds of some of Torah's great minds, are Rabbi Nehemia Anton Nobel, who was a doctor of philosophy, Rabbi Aharon Kaminka from Prague, who studied philosophy and political economy at universities throughout Europe, and Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel, who studied philosophy and science in the 15th century.
But in modern Israel? "In Israel, the rabbis have grown apart from education," said Prof. Menachem Friedman, who researches haredi society and links the phenomenon to the Holocaust. "After the most advanced and modern nations deteriorated so far so as to do the most monstrous thing of all, a clear trend indicating the assurgency of religion and the decline of academia can be seen. The rabbis today tell their students that everything can be learned from the Torah. There is no need to study astronomy, philosophy, mathematics."
Abroad, haredim got along just fine with religious and secular studies. Contrary to what one might presume, this does not happen because "in Israel it's easier to be a freeloader."
Yeshiva high schools
Prof. Amiram Gonen, who performed research comparing the haredi community in Israel with the haredi communities in the US and Britain, said, "I actually proved that a haredi in London can more easily live off of State funds than in Israel, but he doesn't do this. Two thirds of haredi men there work, versus just one third in Israel."
Gonen added, "In the US, there is 'yeshiva high school,' high schools that combine a curriculum of secular and religious studies. They teach all the basic subjects. One of the most prominent examples of the integration between Torah studies and general education is Yeshiva University. Originally, it was a yeshiva, but the parents and students rebelled against the system. They said, 'Look what is happening. Our kids are studying in yeshiva and are coming out without a living.' So, in 1928, they turned it into a yeshiva-college, and later into Yeshiva University."
Most of the haredim in the US who belong to the Lithuanian stream of Judaism study in their own education institutions, which include extensive general studies. These institutions even prepare their students for the final examinations that all 18 year olds take, which allow them to continue on to higher academic studies or to find a job.
From the lower grades, a young Lithuanian haredi pupil in the US learns math, English, and science at a high level. Later, the haredi yeshivas serve as an American high school in every manner.
Prof. Gonen's study reveals that graduates from the haredi school system continue on to college, and from there to university. They become scientists, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and other professionals. In contrast, a haredi high school graduate in Israel could only dream of such having such a profession.
Tzohar Chairman Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, himself a graduate of psychology and philosophy at the Hebrew University, believes that a change must occur. "Even in the haredi public, which believes in a Torah state, they will ultimately have to provide answers to the question of where higher education will come from. Even in their system, a country needs doctors, engineers, and scientists," he said.When Angel di Maria arrived at Real Madrid, it was amid much skepticism and with a large price tag - and delivered. Now he arrives at Manchester United in a similar situation, writes Andy Mitten.
Andy Mitten
Real Madrid’s president walked to the side of the pitch in the Michigan Stadium, America’s largest sports venue with a capacity of 114,000. Florentino Perez was there to watch his team train before their sold-out pre-season friendly with Manchester United, and he wanted to inspect the jewels of his crown.
When somebody asked if Madrid would be selling winger Angel di Maria, Perez shrugged.
Read more: Thomas Woods on how Angel Di Maria can take his place in a line of wingers at Manchester United that starts with George Best
Manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed questions about Di Maria as speculation, but the probing came because the Argentine’s future was uncertain, especially since he wanted to renegotiate his contract from EU€4 million (Dh19.4m) a year to double that. Madrid offered €6m.
Di Maria was happy in Madrid, but with the arrival of James Rodriguez, he would no longer be one of the pin-up boys.
Perez had to carefully manage his dealing with Di Maria, since the winger was hugely popular with fans and teammates, was one of the club’s top performers over the past four seasons, and was a big-game figure who played all 120 minutes of May’s Champions League final.
Madrid will claim that they did everything possible to keep him and will hint at his huge wage demands, but it is not true. They wanted to cash in, just as they did with Mesut Ozil a year ago.
They will lose a versatile player who can play anywhere across the midfield and was once used effectively as a left-back by Jose Mourinho. As an indicator of his boundless energy and stamina, Di Maria dribbled past three Atletico players in extra time in Lisbon before managing a shot on goal.
And that after starting 52 competitive games for Madrid last season. He made 22 assists in league play, more than any player in Spain, and scored in the Copa del Rey final win over Barcelona.
As Madrid celebrated their 10th European Cup in Lisbon, Fideo (his nickname is “noodle”, because he is tall and slim) was awarded the man-of-the-match award and presented the trophy by Sir Alex Ferguson. It also came 14 months after his daughter Mia was born three months premature and given a 30 per cent survival chance. She is now a healthy baby who will make Manchester her home.
It was the zenith of his fourth season at the club, which he joined following a poor 2010 World Cup with Argentina. Di Maria may have scored the goal that won Argentina the 2008 Olympic Games, but his €30m transfer fee then seemed excessive.
Yet Mourinho insisted that he could repeat the form he had shown at Benfica, where he was a 2010 league champion, in Spain. There were private utterances that Mourinho’s insistence was because he shared the same agent as the player, but Di Maria was on relatively low wages of €2m per year.
Within months, doubts vanished. Di Maria was exceptionally quick and very skilful.
“One on one, he’s devastating,” Maradona said. “Give him 10 one-on-ones and he’ll win out eight times. He’s a fantastic player.”
That was not a solitary sentiment.
“Angel has the kind of personality that makes him think everything is possible,” Mourinho said.
Used as a left-winger who exploited space created as Madrid’s vaunted front line pulled defences apart, Di Maria in full flow was a fine sight – as was the case against Manchester City in a 2012 Champions League game as Madrid came from behind to win 3-2.
He became integral to Mourinho’s plans, a Madrid regular in the side that won the league in 2012. His contract was doubled to its current €4m, not excessive in the Madrid dressing room, but a fortune given his humble roots in Rosario.
Born and raised in the home city of Lionel Messi – the pair often flew back to South America together for Argentina games – Di Maria was initially rejected by Rosario Central, one of the city’s two major clubs. But by 2005, and following a “fee” of 25 footballs paid to his junior club, he was established in the first team among the yellow-and-blue concrete stands at Gigante, where he stayed for two years until he was signed by Benfica.
The €75m sale to United is the largest in Real Madrid’s history, easily eclipsing the €45m that Arsenal paid for Ozil and the €42m Manchester City paid for Robinho. It is also the most that United have paid for a player.
The Old Trafford club hope manager Louis van Gaal will elevate their new acquisition to an even higher level, where he can become a star in a team lacking game changers and creative talent behind Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. The expectations will almost be as high as his transfer fee.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAEI really wish tech blogs would stop promoting Ubuntu. How about Debian proper or any other distro that hasn’t bastardized and broken so much of Debian.
If you ever write anything positive about Ubuntu or even mention using Ubuntu this is the type of reply you are likely to get. I have used quite a few distros out there but I stuck with Ubuntu because I like the fact that it is frequently updated and it’s trying to do something different from every mom and pop distros out there. Not only on Desktop environment, even in server environment Ubuntu is my default choice now. Mention that to any sysadmin and they are likely to wince at your choice.
It shouldn’t be like this. Ubuntu single-handedly did more to make Linux a popular (relatively speaking) choice in the desktop environment than any Linux Distro in the history of its existence.
Ubuntu is popular because it’s easy to use, a lot of effort are made to make it look good (whether you actually like how it looks is subjective), extremely newbie-friendly both the community and the distro; you can’t say the same about most other Linux distribution out there. So whats with all the hate?
Most importantly, why should Linux community worry or fight over what Linux distribution you use as long as you are using a Linux distribution that you like and enjoy? Isn’t that the whole point of having a choice that open source community so proudly points out as one of the highlights of open source software?One thing that has become a certainly in our little tech world – a few months can’t go by without rumors surfacing that a sale of Digg is imminent. CEO Jay Adelson and cofounder Kevin Rose are in a perpetual rumor cycle. The problem is, they seem to be the ones at fault for the rumors. The reason? They’ve been trying to sell Digg for nearly two years, on a nearly constant basis. And the guys they’re pitching keep leaking it all to the press.
Rumor History
Blogger Kevin Burton was infamously first to bat with a statement that a sale of Digg to Yahoo was a near certainty in January 2006, for $30 million (he was wrong).
We know with a high degree of certainty that Digg did try to sell itself to Yahoo, and probably others, for $20 million or more in May 2006. No offers were made, according to our sources.
By the end of 2006 the price had increased – they were asking for $150 and turned down soft offers in the $100 million range. At the time, Comscore said they had just 1.3 million users.
We have confirmations from potential buyers that Digg continued discussions throughout 2006 and into early 2007, looking for at least $100 million, but no offers were made.
Over the last few months Digg has been shopping themselves again – and the price is at least $200 million according to a source who’s been pitched. Again, no offer.
Now, we’re getting reports that a sale is imminent, in the $300+ million range. A source close to Digg says they’ve heard nothing about this. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. But we have no independent information that this time, the rumors are true.
Hire A Banker. Sell This Thing, Already.
In the past, Adelson has always said they have never tried to sell Digg. He says they will meet with companies when approached, but they are never the party trying to make the sale. The problem is that too many independent sources have told us that Digg has tried, hard and persistently, to sell to them. The company has been on the market for nearly two years. There is just no way to deny it.
Frankly, I don’t understand why they are so anxious to sell it. They’ve turned the corner on usage – most of the submissions and traffic today are based on non-tech stories. There is a real argument that Digg can be a mainstream news sorting service. Comscore shows them at 11.5 million monthly uniques, with a nice growth curve (see below).
There is no good reason to sell Digg when it continues to grow like a weed. But that doesn’t seem to deter Adelson and Rose from trying to dump this thing at every opportunity. They’re always asking for more than people want to pay, however, and they haven’t been able to create a bidding war to jack the price up.
Perhaps the most recent rumors are true. If they are, I congratulate the Digg team and investors. But if the rumors are as true as the previous ones (meaning not at all), then I suggest they hire an investment banker to put together a proper pitch deck, approach the key buyers, and get a real bidding war going. That’s the way to sell a company for an absurd valuation. The slow burn approach does nothing but create a never ending cycle of rumors.By Lang Whitaker, NBA.com
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Last week the Cleveland Cavaliers retired the number of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, their longtime center. As part of the special celebration, they used a video projection company — which has previously made NBA pregame projections — that produced a mind-bending video projection to start the game. According to Quince Imaging, this was created through the use of a lot of things that I don’t understand…
Using a combination of 3D mapping techniques and video content produced by the Cavs own QTV team and Think Media, Quince transformed the court surface and surrounding screens into an immersive video environment. Utilizing the latest revision of Pandoras Box version 5.5 and the newly released version of Warper, video content was aligned to the graphic design elements on the Cavs basketball court. The system was comprised of 16 HD projectors, creating a pixel space of 3600×1878.
I just wonder if I can borrow this to hook up to my PS3?
(via Next Impulse Sports)
Category: In Case You Missed It... / Tags:, Cleveland Cavaliers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas / 14 Comments on Check out this amazing pregame video projection from the Cavaliers /You might never have seen an Yuma clapper rail. Fewer than 1,000 are thought to still be sloshing about in cattail-thick marshes from Mexico up to Utah and across to California. But if you were lucky enough to spot one, you might chuckle at its oversized toes.
When officials with the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory saw one of these endangered birds last year, it was no laughing matter. It was dead. It was one of 233 birds recovered from the sites of three Californian desert solar power plants as part of a federal investigation. The laboratory’s wildlife equivalents of CSI stars concluded that many of the birds had been fatally singed, broken, or otherwise fatally crippled by the facilities.
Last week, that long-dead clapper rail stoked a legal action that challenges at least a half dozen additional solar plants planned in California and Arizona.
Conservationists say they’re also worried about yellow-billed cuckoos, which might be added to the federal government’s list of threatened species, and endangered southwestern willow flycatchers, though none of those birds have been found dead at any of the solar sites.
The effects of wind turbines on birds, which research suggests kill far fewer birds per megawatt hour than do fossil fuel plants, have long been a source of consternation for many environmentalists. Their bird-killing effects have been serious enough to kill and hamper some planned projects. Now, as concentrated solar farms start to sweep the globe, solar energy developers are facing similar outcries and opposition for the harm that their clean energy facilities can cause to wildlife.
The construction of solar panel farms and concentrated solar power are both booming businesses. In California, industrial-scale facilities like these are helping utilities meet a state mandate that 20 percent of electricity sold by 2017 is renewable. But if the problem of wildlife impacts festers, the growth of concentrated solar, which by one recent estimate could grow to a $9 billion worldwide |
6-2 and on his way in 2010 when his career was hijacked by Tommy John surgery, the kind of calamity that can either save a career or mark its end. He now bears the familiar smiley face of the surgeon’s incision on the inside of his right elbow. Braves pitcher Ben Sheets won’t even touch his smiley face for fear of bad luck. Medlen is different. You half expect him to add a nose and two eyes to his smiley face and make it a full face. That’s just him. He bounced back from surgery the way he bounces through the clubhouse with that walk, which looks like he is always on his toes, reaching higher than he should. That bounce, his personality, took out all the drama and excessive worry that so often comes with Tommy John surgery. What the scouts who sit behind home plate see now is not his height or his smiley face incision. What they see and adore is that two-seam fastball, the pitch that puts Medlen on equal footing with the behemoths that throw the real heat at 96 and then follow with the 89-90 mile per hour sliders. It was the difference that made the other numbers – Medlen’s height and the speed of his fastball – insignificant. When the Medlen two-seamer is darting toward the plate, watch the left-handed hitters and their hands. If the pitch is working, the hitters pick up their hands to get them out of the way of the pitch before it hits them. Then the ball veers right and is called a strike on the inside corner. “It moves so much,” said Braves reliever Jonny Venters, “it circles around the back of the plate.” He started tinkering with it in spring training in 2010 to supplement the four-seamer, the curve and changeup. It was the difference that made the other numbers – Medlen’s height and the speed of his fastball – insignificant. In 2010, his second season in the majors, Medlen had to learn to trust the pitch and learn to throw it directly at the left-handed hitter. Roger McDowell, the Braves’ pitching coach, stood in against Medlen in Dodger Stadium one afternoon before a night game to get Medlen to understand what he had to do with the pitch. “Throw it at me,” McDowell said. Medlen took a deep breath. “Throw it,” McDowell said. “I was a little nervous,” Med said. “I threw it at him. The catcher caught it on the corner and that’s when I got locked in. The pitch came back in over the plate. I have it in my brain now; it’s second- nature to throw that pitch at the lefty when I need to. It keeps guys off my changeup.” The pitch sets up everything. On Friday, Sept. 14, the pitch had the Nationals, the team with the best record in baseball, absolutely flummoxed. In only seven innings Medlen struck out 13, eight of them were looking. Those eight caught-looking strikeouts were the most in the majors this season for a pitcher and the most by a Braves pitcher since 2000. Your browser does not support iframes. “It’s a front hip sinker,” Bryce Harper said. “It’s a comebacker,” says Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Kris Medlen just says, “It’s my fastball.” That pitcher in 2000? Greg Maddux. You knew we were going to get to him eventually. He won 355 games. Medlen has won 19. “Don’t do it,” Medlen pleads when Maddux’ name is brought up to him. “Please. I’m nowhere near that guy.” Maddux was right about 6 feet tall. He didn’t throw hard either, relatively speaking. He had the two- seamer, the changeup and an extra sense about the game that made it all work. He was sitting in the dugout in a game in Turner Field one night and told the player next to him to look out because a foul ball was about to be rocketed into the dugout. Both players ducked moments later as the ball flew into the dugout. Maddux knew what pitching was coming, its location, and bat speed of the hitter, and computed the near-disaster. Medlen’s got that. Even Chipper Jones saw some Mad Dog (Maddux’s nickname) in Medlen in July. Mark Bowman, who covers the Braves for MLB.com, soon started calling him "Med Dog. “ Medlen’s two- seamer was backing up lefties. The changeup away was getting softly hit balls, which were outs. The curveball lived off both pitches, and Medlen seemed to have that extra sense that told him just when to throw each one. After four Medlen starts, Jones couldn’t resist and offered up the Maddux benediction. “You're starting to see the Greg Maddux effect" “You're starting to see the Greg Maddux effect," said Jones, who played with Maddux from 1993 to 2003. "He's the closest thing I've seen to Maddux for the simple fact that he has a devastating changeup. Maddux would kill you with command of his fastball and cutter early in the count and then put you away with his changeup. "Medlen is able to make the ball start off the plate and come back on the corner. The one difference is that Maddux could make the ball go both ways on both sides of the plate. Medlen doesn't have the cutter, but he has a better breaking ball than Maddux did. The approach to getting people out is the same." Chipper could not resist offering hosannas to Medlen following eight innings of shutout work against the Padres on Sept. 28. He sent out this tweet: “Medlen is Maddux-esque rite now, only Med has a better pick-off move! DU went #mammo off the paint can! Bmac is now singing soprano,Lol!!” Medlen does have a terrific pick-off move. He’s already on his toes when he wheels to first and we know about his control. The pick goes right to the top of the bag.
“I’m a former shortstop. I used to be good at stuff, like playing baseball and hitting and stuff,” Medlen said. “That’s one thing that stuck with me was my quick feet. You guys have been around me enough to know that I can’t really stand still. It’s just one of those quick things that I’ve developed and it’s helped me control the run game early in my career.”
Three hours before a start against first-place Washington on Sept. 14, Medlen has a glistening two-tone bat in his hands as he walks through the clubhouse and he cannot wait to swing it. He looks at the row of relievers and says, "Dudes, you’re going to be bowing to me when I’m circling the bases tonight after a home run.”
Venters looks at Medlen and makes a rude comment about Med’s flat-billed hat. The Braves pitchers take digs at Medlen for his hat. Then the Med Dog hands Venters his phone with a picture called up on the screen. Just like that, they quit.
“Take that,” he said to his antagonists. It was the mug of Babe Ruth in a Yankees hat, a flat bill hat.
“Med’s great, just for stuff like this,” Venters said. “We have to be quiet now about his hat. Babe is wearing it. He got us.”
This fun and carrying on is just three hours before Medlen pitches. Most big league pitchers are in a cocoon the day they pitch. Med Dog is bobbing around the clubhouse walking on his toes and looking for fun.
On his way into Turner Field recently, an American League scout was asked, “What do you think of Medlen?”
“I’ll take him and the closer (Craig Kimbrel) over anybody they have in the organization,” the scout said.
Jason Heyward? “Not over Medlen,” said the scout.
Freddie Freeman? “No.”
The young hurlers with stuff, Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado, who both stand over 6 feet tall? “No.”
The 6’4 lefty Mike Minor, a first-round draft pick, seventh overall?
“No,” said the scout. “Medlen. I love him.”
In 2011 and then in the offseason before 2012, there were rumors that the Braves were shopping in the hitters aisle for a right-handed bat to deal with all the southpaws in the NL East and balance out their lineup. All the rumors were supposedly deals that included Teheran and Delgado. Day after day, the Braves were reportedly turning down deals for their two big right-handers with plus fastballs.
But guess who teams really coveted? Medlen. Baseball knew. You never heard his name mentioned but Braves general manager Frank Wren kept seeing the name on the screen of his phone in text messages from other GMs. There were phone calls, too.
“You can have him when you pry him from my cold, dead fingers.” “We get calls all the time about him,” says Wren. Then Wren smiles and leaves the impression that he wants to say, “You can have him when you pry him from my cold, dead fingers.”
What scouts came to understand about Medlen, and what Wren and the other GMs know, is something hitters have understood for a long time.
“The key to hitting is eliminating pitches, and you can’t eliminate pitches with him,” said Ryan Zimmerman. “He always has everything working and throws strikes, even when it is a hitters’ count.”
Just watch. Medlen throws low strikes and the changeup moves off the plate just enough to keep it off the sweet spot of the bat. His command — just off the black or on it — is central to his success. Left- handed hitters will want to ride that changeup into the left-center field alley, but they understand Medlen will throw that two-seamer at their hip, the one that will look like it is going to hit them and then put a sting on their hands.
Even hitters root for the Davids over the Goliaths. Zimmerman said baseball players appreciate stories like Medlen’s. The game is great because of undersized guys, especially the ones who are coming back from calamity like major arm surgery.
For his part, Medlen never knew when to quit when he was behind. His spirit never slumps. It moves with him during a start.
“It’s why baseball is more awesome than any other sport. I know there are not many guys my size doing this,” Medlen said. “Big arm, big heart, big brain, it’s all that. Let that stuff take over.”All firewalls have some holes in them, even the Great Firewall of China, the online censorship system that the Chinese government uses to block sites it deems inappropriate for its citizens.
A group of Internet activists has apparently found a way to circumvent the Great Firewall to unblock Reuters' Chinese-language website, which was censored on Friday. The site is now accessible in China through a mirror site, launched on Sunday by a group of activists called GreatFire.
See also: A Chinese Province Is Trying to Solve Its Labor Problems With Robots
Reuters is now hosted on a mirror — a site that has the same content as the original, but has a different domain address — which is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The group also plans on hosting a second mirror on Google's Cloud Storage.
Neither of these services are blocked in China, so Chinese netizens who know the mirror sites' address can still read the Chinese version of Reuters even though the actual site is blocked.
The activists behind GreatFire, which was founded in 2011 to protest China's online censorship by listing all blocked websites, launched the mirror site in response to the government's more recent blocking of the Chinese versions of both Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.
"We were really upset by the news on Friday of these two blocks," Charlie Smith, one of the co-founders of GreatFire, who's using a pseudonym, told Mashable. "And we thought, well, we can do something about it. So we did it."
The activists admit this circumvention initiative is not perfect. Chinese users still have to find the exact URL of the mirror site to access it, and GreatFire's own website is blocked in China too. But they decided to launch it anyway, even if the mirror has some bugs, in what Smith defined as a "symbolic" action.
"We wanted to quickly put this together so that we could fire a shot across the bow of the Chinese censorship mothership," read GreatFire's blog post announcing the mirror sites. The post was titled: "Look Ma! I can see through the Great Firewall."
"The reason why we chose to mirror the Reuters Chinese website was to show the authorities and Chinese Internet users that there are holes in the Great Firewall," the activists added.
The activists launched several mirror sites and all were taken down quickly except for the one hosted on Amazon, Smith told Mashable.
That one is still up, Smith explained, because the Chinese government would have to block the domains of Amazon Web Services entirely just to take down the mirror site.
This same strategy is working with another GreatFire initiative, FreeWeibo, a mirror site that shows content blocked or censored on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site. The group first registered FreeWeibo.com to host the censored content, but the Chinese government quickly blocked access to the site.
But the group says they're still getting 15,000 views on it each day, mostly from Chinese netizens using circumvention tools. "FreeWeibo is also getting 300 daily unique [visitors] from both Amazon and Google's mirrors," Smith said. The site has been mirrored on AWS and Google's cloud since Nov. 6.
The mirrored Reuters site was launched without notifying the media company, as the group acknowledges in the blog post, adding that if Reuters asks them to remove the site, they "will do so immediately."
Barb Burg, a Reuters spokesperson, told Mashable that the company is "aware of the site," and is "reviewing the matter," but she declined to offer any further comment. If they launch the mirror site on Google as well, Reuters would have to flag the site and ask Google to remove it using the search giant's takedown submission request platform. Google declined to comment on the issue, and Amazon didn't respond to our inquiry.
Smith and another co-founder, who calls himself Martin Johnson, don't use their real names because they "all have close ties to China." They want to protect themselves and their families, Smith told Mashable in an online chat.
"We want to get the job done — we don't want to end up in a Chinese jail — we need our Chinese relationships to make this work," he explained. "We want to bring an end to online censorship in China."
They hope that circumventing the Great Firewall by offering a mirrored version of Reuters will convince China's president to stop online censorship in the country entirely.
"Mr. Xi Jinping, we hope you are listening. Just let this episode slide. Pretend it did not happen. Do nothing to stop this," the activists entreated in the blog post. "Or, better yet, lift the block on these two websites and the hundreds of others. Do it in one swift movement. You will catch everybody off guard. And you will create your own lasting legacy as a true reformer."
UPDATE, Nov. 19, 10.21 a.m.: The Reuters mirror site has received more than 2,300 visits from China, Smith told Mashable.
This story has been amended to reflect the fact that GreatFire only launched one mirror site for now, on Amazon Web Services. The mirror site on Google Cloud Storage isn't live yet.
Image: Chris Hondros/Getty ImagesTheir parents are concerned with providing food and shelter, and ‘class migration’ means those kids who do well feel alienated from their birth culture
For those having a quiet day patronising working-class Salford children after the latest episode of Channel 4’s TV series Educating Manchester, I recommend you look at Joan C Williams’s new book, White Working Class.
Williams is writing about the US, but her observations rang so many bells, some of them probably in Bow as well as Salford, that I felt duty bound to report back. In a chapter entitled Why Don’t They Push Their Kids Harder to Succeed?, she explains some of the obvious reasons Kylie and Wayne don’t always get a leg up from their parents in the way Rupert and Saffron might.
Key is this observation, from the sociologist Annette Lareau, quoted by Williams: “Working-class families follow … the accomplishment of natural growth … they view children’s development as unfolding spontaneously as long as they are provided comfort, food and shelter. Providing these represents a challenge and is held to be a considerable achievement.” Which is exactly how my father, a greengrocer, and my mother, a dinner lady, might have put it if they had been educated beyond the age of 14.
This, Williams notes, contrasts with the “concerted cultivation” of the professional elite, whose children statistically do far more organised activities, which helps them to develop skills for white-collar jobs. Concerted cultivation is training for a career (as opposed to just “having a job”). The pressure-cooker environment in elite homes often strikes the working class as “off”. “I just keep thinking these kids don’t know how to play,” the book quotes one class migrant from a hillbilly family as saying. Another notes that under-pressure middle-class kids seem sad.
Williams notes that some admissions officers at elite universities, to level the playing field, allow no more than four extracurricular activities on applications. This is how out-of-hand the inter-elite arms race has become. No wonder the working classes, who face such disadvantages in the first place, are opting out.
Williams goes on to talk approvingly of the Mrs Piggle-Wiggle books she read as a child: “Mothers focus their attention on adult matters while kids engage in unstructured play. No mother is ever depicted as playing with their children. Nor do children expect to be entertained.”
That is how Williams and I were raised. Lareau noted that in elite families, kids expected adults to schedule their time and spend “a significant amount of time simply waiting for the next event”. She concludes that “concerted cultivation and work devotion” (the two key aspects of an elite childhood) “deserve a close look … what’s the unspoken message of helicopter parenting – that if you don’t knock everyone’s socks off, you’re a failure?”
The truth about the Tiger Mother's family Read more
Williams covers all the disincentives for working-class children to “do well” – chief among them the pathology of “class migration”, that is, the sense of alienation felt by those who succeed in transcending a modest background and making it into the educated professional classes. Because to “succeed” as a working-class child is also a form of betrayal and dislocation.
To sum up – the white working class have little chance in the first place, and they know it. Second, they know if they do succeed, they will pay a price in terms of alienation from their birth culture. Third, their parents believe, justly, that to provide food and shelter is in itself an achievement. And fourth, working-class culture has it that children should be left to themselves, not out of neglect, but out of positive choice. It’s called having a childhood.
• timlottwriter.wordpress.comThe House of M is a Marvel event unlike any other in recent time. The comic industry received much criticism in the past for large crossovers that required readers to buy titles they don’t normally collect, just to be able to understand the full story. Not only that, the sheer number of continuations and tie-ins often caused continuity errors. With the House of M, Marvel decided to take a new approach to their traditional crossovers, treating it more like an event rather than crossover.
Following the success of Marvel’s prelude storyline of Avengers Disassembled in the pages of Avengers, House of M copies the event idea, with the main story occurring in only one title; in this case the House of M limited series. This series is a self contained story that doesn’t need any other tie-ins to make sense. Of course, there are still many tie-in stories. However, Marvel’s many tie-ins are also stand alone, expanding upon elements from the main series, but the exact details of the House of M limited is not necessary to understand or read any of the tie-ins. Still, if readers opt to, they can collect all the House of M labeled titles, thus creating a richer and bigger story. Even better, writers who did not want to participate in the crossover didn’t have to, and could continue telling their own stories without interference.
Checklist:
Prelude Avengers (1st series) #500-503
Avengers Finale
Excalibur (3rd series) #8, 13-14 Core series & side-issues House of M #1-8
Black Panther (4th series) #7
Cable and Deadpool #17
Captain America (6th series) #10
Exiles #69-71
Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3
Incredible Hulk (3rd series) #83-86
Iron Man: House of M #1-3
Mutopia X #1-4
New Thunderbolts #11
New X-Men (2nd series) #16-19
Secrets of the House of M Handbook
Spider-Man: House of M #1-5
The Pulse #10
The Pulse: House of M Special Edition
Uncanny X-Men #462-465
Wolverine (3rd series) #33-35 Aftermath Decimation: House of M – The Day After
The 198 Files #1
Prior to the House of M event, a couple of titles had crucial events leading up to the main story. Avengers (1st series) #500-503, Avengers Finale, and Excalibur (3rd series) #8 set up the seeds for the House of M. Finally, the official prelude to the event occurs in Excalibur (3rd series) #13-14. The main story takes places place in House of M #1-8, with the tie-ins taking place anywhere between House of M #2 and #7. While most titles have tie-in stories occurring in the characters’ regular book, several writers did not wish to participate in the event, and so several books have House of M spin-off titles that run along the normal titles uninvolved in the event. These titles are Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3, and Iron Man: House of M #1-3.
To help readers identify which titles were a part of the House of M event, Marvel put a banner of the House of M flag on each title. This banner runs down the entire left hand side of each title, with the symbol of the House of M on the top left corner, and red and white stripes running down from it all the way to the bottom.
During the House of M event, Astonishing X-Men (3rd series) was on a temporary hiatus, with its cast starring in the main House of M series. The only core X-Men titles to take place in the event are Uncanny X-Men #462-465 and New X-Men (2nd series) #16-19. The hit title District X and Excalibur (3rd series) were also put on hiatus and District X was replaced with a limited series called Mutopia X. Other X-Titles to participate in the event are Wolverine (3rd series) #33-35, Exiles #69-71 and Cable/Deadpool #17.
New Avengers was not involved in the crossover, as its cast was heavily involved in the main House of M series. Other Marvel Universe titles involved include Captain America (6th series) #10, Black Panther (4th series) #7, New Thunderbolts #11, Incredible Hulk (3rd series) #83-86 and The Pulse #10. The epilogue of the story was told in Decimation: House of M – The Day After, which not only wrapped up the House of M storyline, but kicked off the aftermath event in the X-Titles known simply as “Decimation.”
Finally, in addition to these stories, Marvel also published The Pulse: House of M Special Edition, which is a faux newspaper, published by Marvel Universe’s Daily Bugle and displays the latest headlines, news, and gossip in the House of M world. Also, a handbook to the characters and groups of the House of M was published in the Secrets of the House of M handbook.
Suggestions:
Since the tie-ins are independent of one another and only expand upon certain story elements in the House of M main title, creating a suggested reading order would not only be unnecessary, but impossible, as there is little evidence to say where certain titles occur in continuity. However, certain characters that have tie-ins are also important in the main story. The following are suggestions on where to place certain tie-ins:
Wolverine (3rd series) #33-35 should be read during House of M #3.
Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, Iron Man: House of M #1-3, and Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3 should all be read between House of M #2-5.
The Pulse #10 should be read after House of M #5, but before #7.Your journey in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon will take you across the beautiful islands of the Alola region, where you’ll encounter newly discovered Pokémon, as well as Pokémon that have taken on a new Alolan style. You may even encounter powerful Legendary Pokémon and other special Pokémon, such as the mysterious guardian deities. Keep track of all the Pokémon you’ve seen and caught with the new Rotom Pokédex.
Some of the Pokémon you’ll train and battle with can learn powerful new Z-Moves,—moves so strong they can be used only once in battle. There are Z-Moves for every different type, as well as exclusive Z-Moves for certain Pokémon, including Eevee and Pikachu. Try them out in battle to see what these awesome moves can do!
Around every corner, your battling skills will be tested by tough Trainers! Epic battles are in store for you against Team Skull, a nefarious group of ruffians attempting to steal Pokémon, and you’ll also face the kahunas, the tough leaders of each island. And if you’re strong enough, you may reach the Battle Tree, a place where the most accomplished Trainers go to battle each other.
The new Pokémon Refresh feature can keep your Pokémon in top shape after all that battling. Take care of your Pokémon by curing any status conditions like poisoning and paralysis. Plus, the more affectionate your Pokémon become toward you, the better they’ll perform in battle. Take good care of your Pokémon with Pokémon Refresh, and they’ll be great allies on your adventure!
Your Pokémon can also enjoy a new experience known as Poké Pelago, a place for them to visit when they’ve been placed in PC Boxes. Poké Pelago is a group of islands where your Pokémon can explore, play, and do other fun activities. As your Pokémon play there, they might get stronger or obtain items for you.
Using Pokémon Bank, you'll be able to transfer Pokémon you've caught in the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console versions of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, and Pokémon Yellow into your copy of Pokémon Sun or Pokémon Moon. Pokémon from Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X, and Pokémon Y can also be brought into Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon in the same way.
Look forward to all the places to explore, things to do, and Pokémon to discover in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon!It’s nice to be needed. Like a lot of people, I take great pride in knowing that I’m an integral part of a team, and I’ve worked hard to establish myself as a crucial asset to my employers–past and present. I have a feeling a lot of you approach your careers this way, too.
The only problem with this is, when it comes time to leave your job— whether it’s to pursue a new opportunity, to raise a family, or just to take a break –you end up feeling incredibly guilty. What will your company do without you?
I really loved my first full-time job. The work was interesting, I felt challenged, and my coworkers were great. I was a pretty strong performer, too. My sales numbers were good, I was (almost) always happy to work late, and I was even trusted to manage my boss’s accounts during her maternity leave. That was a huge deal to my 22-year-old self. They needed me!
Knowing that I had become an essential member of the team felt great; all my hard work had paid off. But, as time went on, I started thinking about my next move. Of course, guilt quickly crept in. Each step of my job search felt like I was secretly betraying my employer–I felt awful. When I finally received an offer for a job I was really excited about, I found myself seriously debating whether or not I could actually accept. I genuinely believed things would completely fall apart if I left.
I didn’t know what to do. So, I turned to a trusted and seasoned source for advice: my dad. With over 30 years of corporate experience under his belt, I knew he would understand my conundrum. But when I shared the details of my situation with him, he just shrugged and said, “You can leave. They’ll be fine without you.”
I think my jaw hit the floor.
Then he shared this analogy with me:Lego's Friends line has been met with plenty of success, but it came under a lot of fire when it launched for conforming to female stereotypes. Artist Jon Lazar decided to change that with his Lego Super Friends project, taking these shopping-loving, cute-animal-crazy dolls and turning them into comic book heroes.
For the month of July, Jon set himself the challenge of creating a new'super friend' figure a day, pulling from the pantheons of both Marvel and DC's heroes, famous and obscure, to end with a total of 31 amazing-looking custom minifigures. Here are some of the best:
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X-Men's Storm - and not just any Storm, but of course the fabulous (and superior, in my books!) Mohawked version of Ororo Munroe.
Zatanna, complete with magician's hat and wand!
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Although she's an Icon character, she's technically a Marvel-owned heroine - it's Hit-Girl, specifically the look adopted by Chloë Grace Moretz in the Kickass movies.
The Teen Titans cartoon had a lot of great things going for it, including this awesome rendition of Raven's costume - it's just as great in minifigure form!
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She's had a few normal minifigures of her own thanks to appearances in Lego's Marvel Superheroes line, but this Black Widow looks fantastic in her 'Friends' version.
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Then there's of course this gorgeous version of Kate Kane, Batwoman herself, in her striking New 52 costume.
Although Jon's month-long challenge is over, he's not ending his foray into challenging the sterotypes set by the Friends dolls - not only is he selling some of the original 31 figures in his Etsy store, but he's planning to extend the series' remit even wider, using them as the basis for even more superheroines, video game and TV characters, and even male characters.
You can check out the full gallery of superheroes over at Jon's blog.
[Justjon Online]
You're reading Toybox, io9's new blog for all things pop culture. From merchandise to awesome fan creations, TV recaps and critical commentary on the hot topics of the day, you can find it all here!A new trailer for Middle-earth: Shadow of War has been released with just one week left before E3. Forge your army and fight for Middle-earth and take no prisoners.
A new Ring is forged…war awaits…and nothing will be forgotten. The next chapter begins with Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, winner of more than 50 industry awards—including the 2015 Game Developers Choice Awards’ Game of the Year, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming at the 2015 D.I.C.E. Awards and the BAFTA for Game Design. Developed by Monolith Productions, Middle-earth: Shadow of War features an original story with the return of Talion and Celebrimbor, who must go behind enemy lines to forge an army and turn all of Mordor against the Dark Lord, Sauron.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be available October 10, 2017 on Xbox One, Project Scorpio, Windows 10 PC (Windows Store and Steam), PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.To say that I was shocked and surprised when I opened my Secret Santa gift would be an understatement. For the longest time I have had the Futurama DVD set in my Amazon wish list but never expected to actually own it.
I was so sad when Futurama left Netflix and was actually in the middle of watching it with my daughter (whose favorite character is Bender) when it got dropped. My daughter was so excited when she saw Bender's photo on the box-set and exclaimed "we can watch it again!".
Lrrr himself couldn't pry this gift from my hands. Thank you a million times over for the amazing and thoughtful gift. You have truly brought hours of enjoyment and "daddy/daughter" time to me and my family. Thank you! Merry Christmas!Lexington’s 2nd Annual Burger Week kicked off on Monday and according to officials, after yesterday’s dinner service, over three quarters of the beef that was salvaged from the February stockyard fire has been consumed. While the fire was tragic, the aftermath has proven to be both juicy and savory.
Officials say most of the preparations for this year’s festivities centered around evenly dividing up the pre-cooked beef supply that remained from the fire earlier this year. “The hardest part of our year was making sure everyone got their fair share of beef,” Organizer Dan Berger said. “We had to keep kicking the folks from the Applebee’s on Nicholasville Road out of line. It’s like ‘buddy, this isn’t even you’re neighborhood!'”
Among those not participating were all area Chick-Fil-A locations. Their attorneys advised them against participation since their main spokescows remain the USDA prime suspects in the ongoing arson investigation according to Lexington Police.
The increased availability of beef has led to some unusual entrants in this year’s festival. Yankee Candle attempted to put another feather in their cap by entering the ‘Called It Macaroni And Cheese Burger.’ Taco Bell attempted to get in on the action with a Burgerito, but the venture was a failure due to their cooks being unaccustomed to working with real beef.
Burger week seems to be getting good reviews so far. Jared Lorenzen was spotted celebrating by sampling burgers from five separate restaurants Tuesday night and, when we notified him it was Burger Week he responded, “What a great idea, that’s why I got these five burgers here. Do they do this monthly or…” Lorenzen trailed off as he took a bite from a Frisch’s Wildcat Bleu Burger. Chris Cross lobbied for his favorite burger place by telling patrons “You won’t get any hassle when you eat at White Castle.”The author also known as Daniel Handler will talk about his latest children’s book, “Goldfish Ghost,” along with his wife who illustrated it, Lisa Brown, at University Book Store in Seattle.
The last time Daniel Handler was in Seattle, he found a seat in the children’s section of the Central Library and started writing.
The librarian approached and asked him to leave.
“It was because I didn’t have a child with me,” Handler remembered. “I was just sitting, hunched over a legal pad. I was just kind of surprised.”
Talk by author “Lemony Snicket” Who: Author Daniel Handler, aka “Lemony Snicket,” and illustrator wife Lisa Brown When: 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 2 Where: University Book Store, Seattle What: Promote new children’s book, “Goldfish Ghost”
He complied, but not before leaving a business card on the librarian’s desk. “Thank you for the use of the hall.” The name on it: Lemony Snicket.
Indeed, the man whose “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series has sold more than 50 million copies was booted from the same room where his books never get to sit for very long, either. Which makes a weird kind of sense.
Handler will return to Seattle on Tuesday, this time with his wife, the illustrator Lisa Brown, to promote their new children’s book, “Goldfish Ghost.” (Brown also illustrated Marcus Ewert’s “Mummy Cat,” which won the Washington State Children’s Book Award this year.)
“Goldfish Ghost” is a pretty self-explanatory title. A goldfish is “born on the surface of the water in a bowl in the dresser in a boy’s room.” He sets off in search of company, letting the breeze carry him over the pier, the center and the beach of a seaside town before finding the perfect home with the perfect friend.
The story was inspired by their son, Otto, now 13, and his own personal series of unfortunate events: the death of one goldfish after another.
“The part that he loved best of all is, when they died, he got to have little burials and funerals,” Brown said during a conference call with her husband the other day.
Added Handler: “Everyone loves a funeral.”
The family buried each in the backyard, tucked into a jewelry box — something their son now refers to as “a goldfish coffin.”
“It’s kind of nice to think that if he ever proposes to someone, he will say, ‘Please, open this goldfish coffin,’ ” Handler said. “It’s probably the best way to see if someone is suited for you.”
The book isn’t really about the loss of a pet, Brown said, but the goldfish itself, and his search for companionship.
“It can be hard to find the company you are looking for,” Handler writes, a line that sinks like an anchor in a reader’s heart.
Handler and Brown found each other in a Chaucer class at Wesleyan University.
“Daniel didn’t like the class, and I liked the class, and then we had an epiphany that we were meant to be together,” Brown said.
“You left out the dramatic part of how we met,” he said.
“I was being kind,” she said.
He had a seizure in class one day, he explained, and passed out in her lap.
“When I woke from the seizure, we were forced into having a conversation,” he said. “That forced us to |
, but try your luck with same-sex characters and you'll often find that gender boundaries aren't that big of a deal. Fallout 2 has the distinction of offering gaming's very first gay marriage – a shotgun wedding prompted by sleeping with a farmer's son, whose family are not at all happy about the situation. Playing as a female character, you'll find the post-apocalyptic world's hookers perfectly willing to take caps from women. (Presumably, after the world is brought to its knees by nuclear destruction, we'll have more important things to worry about than whom people are sleeping with.)
Japanese RPGs have never been afraid to throw a little cross-dressing or playful gay innuendo around (remember Chrono Trigger's Flea?), though Personas 2 and 4 are the only Japanese games I can think of that actually let you play a gay character. Kanji's Bad Bad Bathhouse in Persona 4 is an unforgettable scene where character Kanji struggles with his sexual identity by fighting a naked, man-loving version of himself in a bath-house. One of Persona 2's protagonists was Kuruso Jun, who could get himself mixed up in a relationship with main character Tatsuya. As is often the case with Japanese depictions of gay people, though, Kuruso is extremely effeminate, and hardly a model for fair representation. Generally, it's Western developers that have led by example. BioWare, for instance, has represented queer characters in its games for about as long as it has been making them.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Juhani is unusual among BioWare's non-hetero characters in that she's exclusively lesbian, rather than swinging both ways according the player's gender and choices like Dragon Age II's many love interests. (In the original release of the game she could be a romantic interest for both male and female protagonists, but this was later altered in a patch). Generally, BioWare's love interests don't care much about your character's genitalia – though there was mild controversy over Mass Effect's girl-on-girl romantic scenes, it would be extremely difficult to argue that the affair between Liara and FemShep was designed for titillation. Sexuality isn't a big deal in BioWare's games, and in my opinion they've never tried to make a statement about it. It's just one more choice in a game full of choices designed to satisfy players' personal preferences, not much different from choosing your character's hair colour.
That's the response that developers themselves often produce when questioned on their games' gay characters. In Fable, a British-developed game, nobody really batted an eyelid when it was discovered that you could sleep with and marry whomever you wanted. When it was revealed that you could marry same-sex characters in Skyrim, Bethesda's response was an emphatic so what?. "Not hush hush, just not making a huge deal out of it. You can marry anyone," responded Bethesda's Pete Hines on Twitter, when asked why the issue had been "kept quiet".
BioWare made headlines when one player complained about gay characters in Dragon Age II, accusing the developer of "letting down their player base – the straight male gamer" by having support characters hit on the main character regardless of gender. To quote BioWare's rather heroic David Gaider, "the romances in the game are not for the'straight male gamer'. They're for everyone." Gaider's full response – which you can read here - is a brilliantly balanced account of why catering for all types of players matters so much. "You can write it off as "political correctness" if you wish, but the truth is that privilege always lies with the majority," he writes. "They're so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance."
Outside of RPGs, meanwhile, gay representation has been less frequent and usually less prominent. There have been gay and bisexual secondary characters in everything from The Longest Journey to Metal Gear Solid to David Cage's utterly bonkers Indigo Prophecy, but action games and first-person shooters don't tend to bother much with characters' sexual identities (although a strong case could probably be made for Marcus Fenix). Personal relationships don't usually factor very prominently in stories like Modern Warfare 3's, so it's neither surprising nor objectionable that sexuality isn't a main theme.
You may think, so what? Why should sex in videogames matter any more for gay people than straight? But this visibility actually is important, for the same reason as having believable and relatable female characters is important: because by catering exclusively to straight men, you're excluding more than half the population, and limiting video games creatively and commercially to a restricted audience. (Plus, we'd look all backwards and narrow-minded in front of all the other, bigger art forms, and that's never good.)
It's also worth remembering that young gay and lesbian people need characters that they can relate to just as much as straight teenagers – if not more so, as they're more likely to face persecution in the real world. Games have long been a refuge for people who aren't quite like everyone else. Indeed, it's a depressing fact that gay people in the virtual world sometimes have more freedom than those in the actual world. The Sims 3 offers fully-fledged virtual gay marriage (a notable progression from the original Sims, which had no marriage, and the Sims 2, which offered only a "joining party"), a right still outwith the reach of same-sex couples living in most first-world countries. Fable and Skyrim do the same. If you're a gay character in Mass Effect, The Sims or Skyrim, nobody really cares; you don't face discrimination from other characters, or find yourself forced to justify your identity and choices to those around you. That, too, is a freedom that many gay, bisexual and transgender people in the real world still don't enjoy.
The next time you let out a sigh of resignation at gaming's lack of maturity, that's a good fact to remember. As the struggle for equality in the real world inches slowly forward, it's comforting to know that in virtual worlds, some of those battles have already been won.
Keza MacDonald is in charge of IGN's games team in the UK. She's currently counting down the days until Mass Effect 3. You can follow her on Twitter and MyIGN.SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Who's it going to be in November?
A San Diego company believes they have the answer thanks to a new smart phone app called Zip.
The Zip question/answer app was invented in San Diego.
Users can ask any question and thousands of users give their opinion, especially when it comes to Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton.
On CBS News 8 This Morning the app was used to ask viewers - "If the election were held today, who would you vote for?"
Donald Trump came out on top, 67-percent to 33-percent for Clinton.
In fact, Donald Trump has been wining in virtually all the surveys on the Zip app.
The company's CEO believes because the app is anonymous, users are more likely to tell the truth.
Most official polls put Clinton ahead of Trump by five to eight points, according to USC political professor Casey Dominguez.
So why does the Zip app have Trump on top?
Professor Dominguez said using the app to gauge public opinion may attract a large number of responses, but the results may not reflect the demographics of the actual voters.
The Zip company said users answer about 1.5 million questions per day on the app, and the app is available to download for free.Share. Patriotic pre-order bonuses revealed. Patriotic pre-order bonuses revealed.
Deep Silver has announced the pre-order bonuses for Saints Row IV. Anyone who pre-orders at participating retailers in North America will be upgraded to the Commander in Chief Edition, featuring a Screaming Eagle weapon that “fires rockets out of its talons and can invoke the ‘Sonic Scream’ attack, leaving your enemies dazed, confused and likely scarred for life.”
The Commander in Chief Edition also includes a limited edition Uncle Sam costume as well as the ‘Merica weapon, “full of incredibly astonishing firepower: flamethrowers, ultra-powered dub step guns and rocket launchers.”
The Commander in Chief Edition will cost $59.99 on console and $49.99 on PC. Saints Row IV launches on August 20th in North America and August 23rd worldwide. For more, read our impressions.
Exit Theatre Mode
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN."These are provisions which support and enhance equality of access to government, and the system of representative government which the freedom protects," Chief Justice Robert French and Justices Susan Kiefel, Virginia Bell and Patrick Keane said in a joint judgment. In a separate judgment, Justice Stephen Gageler said the provisions met the "compelling statutory object... of preventing corruption and undue influence in the government of the state." Justice Michelle Gordon arrived at the same conclusion, saying in a separate judgment that the "burden on the freedom of communication in relation to a property developer is slight" and would not stop developers voicing their support for a party or candidate. But in a dissenting judgment, Justice Geoffrey Nettle said the ban on developer donations was constitutionally invalid, while the caps on donations were valid. Premier Mike Baird said the state government had "argued the case for the validity of our state's stringent campaign finance laws during the High Court challenge" and it was pleased with the result.
"The decision opens the way for consideration of national reforms to political donations laws at COAG," Mr Baird said.
The Labor Opposition and the Greens said the majority decision pointed to the need for Parliament to act immediately to extend the caps on donations to local government elections. "The High Court has put beyond doubt that these caps are legally valid," Opposition Leader Luke Foley said. "It's crazy that Mike Baird and I can run for Premier and be subject to strict caps, while at the same time you can run for a ward of a suburban council without any limits on what you can raise and spend." The Greens' anti-corruption spokesman, Jamie Parker, went further and said the donations bans "should also be extended to the mining sector where the potential for corruption has been exposed by the ICAC". "Elections should be about the contest of ideas, not the contest of cash. Whether it is cash in a brown paper bag or buying a table at a fundraising event the community needs to be sure that politicians aren't being bought," Mr Parker said.
The challenge to the political donations laws was brought by developer and former Newcastle mayor Jeff McCloy, who admitted at ICAC to giving envelopes stuffed with $10,000 in cash each to then Liberal candidates Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwell in the back of his Bentley. The corruption watchdog had delayed releasing its report in its inquiry into political donations, dubbed Operation Spicer, pending the High Court's ruling. However, it may still have to wait until the Supreme Court rules on a separate case brought by Mr McCloy, who is seeking an order restraining ICAC from delivering its findings because of an alleged appearance of bias. In 2009 the Rees Labor government passed laws banning property developers from making political donations. The laws took effect on January 2010. The same section of the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act that bans donations from developers also bans donations from the alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries. Operation Spicer resulted in 10 NSW Liberal MPs joining the crossbench or resigning from politics. It investigated allegations the NSW Coalition accepted money from developers before the 2011 election.
One of the donors was former coal billionaire Nathan Tinkler, whose property development company Buildev was lobbying for approval for a coal loader in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield. ICAC heard Mr Tinkler donated about $45,000 to the Nationals and another $66,000 to an alleged Liberal Party slush fund, Eightbyfive. Chief Justice Robert French and Justices Susan Kiefel, Virginia Bell and Patrick Keane noted that ICAC and other bodies had published "eight adverse reports since 1990 concerning land development applications". "Given the difficulties associated with uncovering and prosecuting corruption of this kind, the production of eight adverse reports in this time brings to light the reality of the risk of corruption and the loss of public confidence which accompanies the exposure of acts of corruption." They also noted that "the risks that large political donations have for a system of representative government have been acknowledged since Federation", adding that "capping of political donations is a measure which has been adopted by many countries with systems of representative government. It is a means that does not impede the system of representative government for which our Constitution provides".
Mr McCloy was ordered to pay costs. with Emma PartridgeThey're human. Although trained to remain calm in emergency (I've fought more than one inflight fire), they still have emotions. Just as I have in other jobs, I've worked with flight attendants who were dealing with dying family members, cheating lovers, and abusive spouses.
They're sick. Although it's not a law, it's a rule of thumb that if you call in sick more than three times in six months, you'll be fired. Combine that culture with a planeload of germs and sick coworkers who should have stayed home, and you've got a vulnerable constituency.
They're tired. Despite workdays of 14 to 18 hours, their minimum layover time is only eight hours. A layover means touchdown to takeoff, so they're "resting" while briefing, while helping you board the aircraft, while finding room for your luggage in the overhead bin. Unlike other hourly employees, air crew are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which limits workdays to eight hours and workweeks to 40.
They're not getting paid. Flight attendants (and pilots) are only paid when the plane is pushed back from the gate. All of that boarding and deplaning and waiting on delays -- unpaid. I've had numerous delays of five, six, even seven hours, many of them onboard completely full aircraft. I've even served planeloads of meals on the ground before eventually canceling, which meant I was sent home without pay.The new bridge will link border cities in both North Korea and China over the Amnok River – also known as the Yalu River – and has been hailed as a symbol of close economic ties between the two neighbours.
The showcase project, which is being payrolled by China at a cost of £235m (2.22 billion Chinese yuan), is due to be completed next year.
Despite recent events on the peninsula, construction work, which will link the North Korean city of Sinuiju to China's Dancong, was under way as scheduled this week, according to reports from Yonhap news.
However, as tensions continue to escalate in the region, observers will be closely watching the development of the bridge due to its status as a symbol of friendship between China and North Korea.
When construction work was first started at the end of 2010. North Korea's official news agency KCNA described the bridge as "demonstrating once again the great vitality and invincible might of the DPRK-China friendship steadily growing stronger.
"The bridge will be successfully built as a symbol of the DPRK-China friendship and a structure of the two peoples." China has long been North Korea's main ally and trading partner, providing most of its food, fuel, weapons and industrial machinery, but there are growing signs that it is increasingly losing patience with its renegade neighbour.
In recent months, Pyongyang has caused growing concern in Beijing with its nuclear tests, rocket launches and bellicose rhetoric.
In response, China has voted to support sanctions imposed by the United Nations in opposition of its nuclear programme as well as urged dialogue between North and South Korea.In India, authorities will investigate new allegations of corruption after the head of the army said he was offered a bribe by a defense equipment lobbyist. Meanwhile, an activist is trying to revive an anti-graft movement which received a huge outpouring of support last year.
Allegations probe
Parliament erupted in furor because of the allegations by army chief V.K. Singh that he was offered a bribe to clear the purchase of 600 substandard vehicles. Defense Minister A.K. Antony quickly ordered a probe. “It’s a serious allegation,” he stated.
General Singh told the Hindu newspaper that a man had what he described as the “gumption" to walk up to the general and tell him he would be paid about $2.8 million, if he approved the contract. Singh did not name the lobbyist, but says the man had recently retired from the armed forces. Singh says the lobbyist claimed that people had taken money from him before.
The army chief told a television interviewer that he had reported the offer to the defense minister, who was stunned. He said both he and the minister have tried to ensure transparency in defense procurement.
But General Singh says it will take more drastic surgery to eliminate what has spread like a cancer through the Indian system.
Singh said the army already has 7,000 of the vehicles in question, which he says were purchased over the years at an exorbitant price.
Damage control
Some observers questioned the timing of the army chief’s revelation. General Singh was recently involved in a spat with the government about his retirement age.
The latest allegations will further dent the image of a government which is struggling to quell public anger about a series of bribery scandals. Fury caused by alleged kickbacks involving billions of dollars fueled huge public protests led by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare seven months ago.
Hazare is demanding the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency that would be known as Lokpal.
But Hazare’s anti-corruption movement appeared to run out of steam in December, when his hunger strike because of the government’s failure to establish a Lokpal drew hardly any crowds.
Hazare is now attempting to revive the movement. On Sunday, he staged another protest in New Delhi, saying he is ready "to fight again.” He says the government must enact a law to establish the anti-corruption agency by 2014, or face defeat in general elections.
Hazare says he wants the law for the sake of the nation and the public.
The government has drafted a Lokpal bill, but it has failed to win support from opposition parties and Hazare calls it toothless.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met leaders of political parties last week and said that he is committed to finding a consensus on the anti-corruption bill.Two years ago, researchers from Deft University of Technology in the Netherlands came up with a design for a windwheel that could generate electricity without any moving parts, imagining that it could offer a safer and quieter alternative to wind turbines.
Now Dutch architects have taken their idea and run with it, designing a giant version of the windwheel that would not only generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes, but would soak up solar energy, collect and recycle water, and also serve as a tourist attraction, a hotel, and a home packed with 72 apartments.
As you can see, that all looks pretty damn impressive. People in the Netherlands have famously been using wind energy for centuries with their windmills, which convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy through the spinning blade, but this new set-up uses something called electrostatic wind-energy conversion, which involves wind pushing charged particles against the force of an electric field.
The only problem is that so far no one has actually demonstrated that the technology works on such a large scale - the current prototype tabletop-sized. Still, according to the Dutch Windwheel company and the Deft University researchers who came up with the idea, the technology should theoretically be easily scalable, and can be used anywhere there's wind. You can see how it works in this video from 2013:
The new windwheel design is slightly more ambitious, at 173-metres (570-feet) tall, and is made up of two parts: an outer wheel, which would act as a London Eye-esque Ferris wheel that shows off the skyline of the Dutch city of Rotterdam, as well as a view below its canal, with 40 rotating, glass cabins; and an inner wheel that would offer some sleek office space, a seven-storey hotel, 72 apartments, and a restaurant with sweeping views of the city.
“We wanted a 100-percent-sustainable building that serves as a platform for all kinds of innovations,” developer Lennart Graaff from the company behind the new design, Dutch Windwheel, told Mary Beth Griggs over at Popular Science.
Dutch Windwheel
This all sounds (and looks) like something out of science fiction, but the physics behind the design is solid. The proposed structure would be built right on top of a water source, such as a canal, and will use that water to spray positively charged water molecules across the hollow centre of the windwheel. When the wind pushes these charged droplets away from the wheel's high-voltage electric field, it will create a negative charge.
This charge will form a current as the electricity discharges. "Much like when the negative charge that builds up in thunderclouds discharges to the ground via lightning strike," Griggs writes for Popular Science. The electricity will then be converted into AC and used to power the windwheel, or stored in an industrial battery, and according to Graaf, will be capable of generating 1 MW of electricity, which is enough to power roughly 1,000 average US homes.
Dutch Windwheel
But so far the miniature prototype windwheel produces just 12.5 milliwatts, which isn't enough to power a lightbulb, and has only reached 3 precent efficiency. With traditional wind turbines currently at around 45 percent efficiency, the windwheel clearly has a long way to go before it becomes an affordable option. But with additional investment and research, Graaf believes the giant design could be up and running in Rotterdam by 2025.
The wheel also has proposed systems in place to generate additional energy from solar panels, and also collect and recycle tap water, as you can see in the sketches below:
Dutch Windwheel
We obviously need to see a larger working windwheel prototype - as well as the efficiency of the design go way up - before we get too excited. But an energy-harvesting structure that can house people and add something unique to a city skyline? That's pretty special.Cape Town – Luwinile Zembe remembers, like it was yesterday, how he was almost beaten to death and left naked in the road on November 28, 2015.
Zembe, a security guard, is a resident of Imizamo Yethu, the informal settlement on the slopes of Hout Bay.
Last year, he joined Imizamo Yethu’s community patrol, because he wanted the settlement to become a safer place, where he could raise children.
"All men in the community were asked to join, and because I am a man I joined. At the time it was a good thing. We were escorted by police every night and there was no more crime," Zembe told GroundUp.
Luwinile Zembe was left badly injured after being beaten by, he says, members of the Imizamo Yethu community patrol. (Image supplied via GroundUp) Luwinile Zembe was left badly injured after being beaten by, he says, members of the Imizamo Yethu community patrol. (Image supplied via GroundUp)
More than 100 men took part in the patrols. The problem started, Zembe says, when some of the patrols chased police away and said they did not want to be escorted any more.
"After the police left, the way of doing things changed. One night, I had worked night shift and when I came back I heard rumours that they had killed two people. I went the next day and I saw that it was now a vigilante organisation. Innocent people were being beaten up."
He stopped doing the patrols when patrollers attacked a woman driving with three children one night.
"The woman did nothing. She was just driving. They blocked her car so she could not pass and started hitting the car, throwing stones, until she managed to escape," says Zembe.
The patrollers implemented a 10pm curfew in Imizamo Yethu and target people who are out drinking.
'I thought I was dying'
Zembe says he does not drink. One night, he was home with his friends. Because he has gym equipment in his house, people like to come spend time with him. One person left and shouted from outside the house that the patrollers were coming.
"The people that I was with ran and I was left alone. As I was putting the weights back into the house, I went outside again and the patrollers were standing outside my house," he says.
They asked him what he was doing outside his house at night.
"I told them I am at my house and that I was with friends. I lied to them about why I do not patrol anymore, because I was scared there was one of me and too many of them. When I told them I was tired and had planned to sleep, they said I was being disrespectful."
They started beating him with a whip and sticks.
"I fought for my life, begging them to stop. I was alone. They dragged me to the road and undressed me. They continued to beat me up and I just lay there with no movement. I couldn’t move anymore. I thought I was dying," he says.
He heard the patrollers planning to move him to another place, where it was rumoured they killed two other people. One of the patrollers said he must be left there because he looked dead already. When they left, he crawled behind communal toilets next to the road.
"My neighbours only came out when they left because they were also scared. The worst part is that people had to see me naked. That was embarrassing to me," says Zembe.
On December 1, five days after the ordeal, Zembe went to Imizamo Yethu police and laid a complaint. He went again the next day to see if there had been any progress in the case.
Patrollers still operating
He was told to meet a captain, who told him they do not know who the patrollers are, and he should go [with] a police officer to point them out. Zembe tried to find the ones he knew, but could not.
"In the end I was happy we did not get anyone because that would have put me in more danger. Because they [the police] are lying – they know these people. They support them with radios and torches," says Zembe.
He followed up with police again on December 3. He was told no arrests could be made without him accompanying a police officer to point out suspects. That day the patrollers came to his house and told him to drop the case. They threatened to harm him should he not do so.
He withdrew the complaint the next day, fearing for his life and that of his family.
Nearly a year later, the patrollers are still operating in the community.
GroundUp contacted members of the Solezwe patrols. They kept passing the phone from one member to another, refused to mention their names or answer questions. One individual identified himself as the organisation’s secretary. Asked about the allegations, he said: "I am not going to say it's true or false."
Police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana told GroundUp that Zembe's complaint was received and investigated.
"If a complainant was threatened he/she can open a docket of intimidation. If the case was withdrawn by the complainant there will be no further investigation."
Rwexana said every reported case involving the patrollers had been investigated. Meetings were held with patrollers, the community policing forum, and Imizamo Yethu’s "sub-forum", to inform patrollers of their responsibilities.I always LOVE finding new free resources for pre-licensed therapists, especially graduate students. Your career does NOT start after licensure. It starts right now, this moment, even as you are getting educated.
Good Therapy has a free student level membership that gives you access to free recordings of trainings given by industry leaders. How cool is that?
So, today, if you are a current student, I want you to take these steps:
#1. Go and grab your free GoodTherapy student membership.
#2. Schedule time at least once per month to take an online training. Schedule it as if it was a LIVE training. keep that time sacred.
#3. As you take that training, post about what you learn on social media on your personal or professional accounts. Have a little fun on twitter, Facebook, reddit, whatever you are already engaging on.
#4. include the training on your resume or curriculum vitae, and add it to your LinkedIn profile.
#5. Love the training? Consider giving a shout to the presenter and Good Therapy on Twitter and follow them both. You might just make some great connections and meet some awesome people!
#6. Share this post with your colleagues. And yes, I mean colleagues. They may seem like classmates today, but they will by your colleagues soon enough!
Develop yourself as someone who is passionate about learning more about your craft today. And, as you take each of these trainings, use it to improve your online reputation. Later, as you are looking for positions, you will already have started to develop your professional network, which will make the process of getting a job, and starting a private practice easier and more fruitful!At a heated school board meeting, Fresno Unified trustees fought for the chance to apologize in the wake of board President Brooke Ashjian’s comments about LGBT people.
Controversy arose after Ashjian weighed in on the California Healthy Youth Act, a law that requires schools to teach unbiased and medically accurate sex education, including lessons on birth control, abortion and LGBT relationships.
“My biggest fear in teaching this – which we’re going to do it because it’s the law – but you have kids who are extremely moldable at this stage, and if you start telling them that LGBT is OK and that it’s a way of life, well maybe you just swayed the kid to go that way,” Ashjian told The Bee in a story published Aug. 4 as part of an ongoing series on sex education. “It’s so important for parents to teach these Judeo-Christian philosophies.”
At the meeting Wednesday night, Ashjian moved to block attempts by Trustees Valerie Davis and Christopher De La Cerda to address his comments, saying they were speaking out of order. Davis and De La Cerda continued to speak over Ashjian’s call to return to the agenda, ultimately leading interim Superintendent Bob Nelson to intervene and the board to take a break.
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Fresno Unified School District board member Valerie F. Davis speaks to the media. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA Fresno Bee file
Davis said Ashjian’s comments do not reflect the district and “devalue our commitment to our children.”
“I apologize to our community who felt marginalized and offended by the recent publicized comments,” she said. “As a trustee, I guarantee you I will continue to fight for all our students and staff to make sure they have a safe learning environment to come to every day.”
At the meeting’s conclusion, other trustees voiced their support for the LGBT community. Ashjian also spoke to the audience, some of whom had earlier spoken in the public comment period as LGBT people:
“For you to come all the way down here, whether you agreed with me or didn’t, it’s truly in my heart an apology to you that you may have been slighted. That was never the intent,” he said. “My position here is about children. I’ve never distinguished between whether they were gay or this or that or white or from north Fresno, south Fresno, whatever. They were always children.”
I apologize to our community who felt marginalized and offended by the recent publicized comments. Fresno Unified Trustee Valerie Davis
The board also was informed Wednesday of past allegations of anti-LGBT comments made by Ashjian. According to a deposition from a 2011 libel lawsuit Ashjian was involved in, derogatory comments made about the organization Gay Fresno were tracked to a computer at his home.
In the deposition, Ashjian admits to posting about Gay Fresno to a website called Ripoffreport.com, but says he can’t recall what he posted. The attorneys in the deposition claim that only three comments were made about Gay Fresno on the website – all anonymously.
The comments say Gay Fresno is run by “pimps in disguise” and that “they put me into prostitution.” Another comment says the group is run by liars, thieves and “butt draggers.”
“I was pimped out. They stole my money, my dignity and my virginity,” one comment said. “These people are evil. You have been warned!”
The comments were posted after Gay Fresno added Ashjian’s businesses to a list of companies that should be boycotted for supporting Proposition 8, which aimed to ban same-sex marriage in 2008.
In the deposition, Ashjian says that his businesses donated $2,000 to supporters of Proposition 8 – the 2008 measure that defined marriage as being between a man and woman, which was later overturned by the courts. Ashjian says he was aware that Gay Fresno had put him on the boycott list. “I can tell you that if I would have known they would have put me on that list, I would have doubled my donation,” Ashjian says in the deposition.
When asked about the deposition Wednesday, Ashjian would not comment, saying, “I haven’t seen it and I don’t know what it’s about.” Also at the meeting, a man identified himself as Ashjian’s bodyguard and followed the trustee through the board room and adjacent hallways. But Ashjian denied hiring a bodyguard when asked by a reporter.
For you to come all the way down here, whether you agreed with me or didn’t, it’s truly in my heart an apology to you that you may have been slighted. That was never the intent. Fresno Unified board President Brooke Ashjian
Deposition documents were presented to trustees by attorney Kenneth Mackie, who sparked an ongoing investigation of Ashjian’s conflicts of interest by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Mackie says he represents Fresno Watchdogs for Ethical Bidding, but has refused to identify the members behind the group.
When Mackie started to speak to the board Wednesday, Ashjian’s attorney issued him a statement that said Ashjian had acquired the rights to the name “Fresno Watchdogs for Ethical Bidding.” Ashjian attempted to stop Mackie from speaking, but FUSD attorneys advised him to go ahead without the use of the organization’s name – which Ashjian has trademarked since Mackie first started investigating him.
“This is not the first time (Ashjian) has made disparaging remarks about the LGBT community,” Mackie said. “I hope it’s the last. But the board needs to take this into consideration.”
Ribbons were passed out before the start of the Fresno Unified School Board meeting Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Several LGBT advocates spoke out at the meeting against Ashjian, demanding an apology. Many Fresno Unified employees wore rainbow pins to show their support.
Bill Knezovich, a pastor at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, who is gay, told Ashjian that he should keep his opinion and theology to himself.
“As a young man, a youth and a child, I was regularly beaten and sometimes left for dead because of people like you,” Knezovich said. “I don’t know what to say. You should not be board president.”
Pamela Beck, a Fresno Unified teacher for 30 years, told the story of a former student who hanged himself after being bullied for his sexuality. She said when she taught sex education, it was minimal and not inclusive.
“Being gay or anything other than heterosexual was never mentioned by adults,” Beck said. “I would like to see the board consistently voice this simple message: Being gay or straight or transgender or queer or bisexual is OK.”Updated map shows no let-up in illegal pangolin trade
16th February, 2017
Saturday, February 18 is World Pangolin Day and EIA has updated its interactive map of known pangolin seizures to both mark the occasion and as a reminder of the many threats this unique creature faces.
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Despite increased international awareness about the plight of pangolins, exemplified by the recent CITES uplisting to Appendix I for all eight species, there seems to have been little to no let-up in the extent and scale of the trade in their meat and scales.
Our updated map shows the sheer scale of pangolins illegally trafficked around the world in the past 16 years, highlighting seizure incidents from 2000-17 including recent multi-tonne pangolin scale seizures and the general increase in seizures of pangolin scales originating from Africa and key border crossings, ports and countries where there has been a significant reporting of trade in pangolins.
The existence of large, multi-tonne pangolin scale seizures point clearly towards the involvement of organised criminal syndicates.
In 2007, large-scale ivory consignments (500kg or more) were cited by TRAFFIC as indicative of the involvement of organised crime operations. The level of coordination required to procure and consolidate poached pangolins for bulk, rapid export suggests organised criminal activity is dominant within pangolin trade flows, including potential links between traffickers based in western and eastern Africa and with groups in Asia.
Please take a moment to explore EIA’s interactive pangolin seizures map and see for yourself the extent of the illegal trade in this amazing but threatened animal.Bab Zerzura, The art of not getting lost
Antonin Gerson
Exposition du au @ Marrakech
Bab Zerzura, The art of not getting lost.
vendredi 8 février 19h - 21h
Présentation de l’installation
samedi 9 février de 15h à 18h
Open studio en présence de l’artiste
Depuis des siècles, de nombreuses personnes se sont lancées à la recherche de Zerzura, l’oasis des petits oiseaux, en vain.
L’entrée est ici, dans la médina de Marrakech, se déplaçant continuellement pour éviter les intrus. Quelques indices de la présence de cette cité fantasmagorique : des outils de communication et de transmission, se camouflant parmi le paysage urbain et sonore de la médina, lui servant de lien avec notre réalité...
A propos d'Antonin Gerson
Artiste interdisciplinaire, Antonin Gerson n’a pas de médium de prédilection. Il use aussi bien de la vidéo, que de la photographie, en passant par l’écriture et la performance, l’installation et le son. Sa démarche artistique se manifeste par des actions menées en réaction à des phénomènes de société. Elles sont motivées par l’envie de mettre en ex |
your self esteem and enjoy healthy relationships you have to recognize your need to enforce and set limits, that’s why knowing and understanding your limits is necessary.
Boundaries can be created using the appropriate tone of voice, body language, words choice and energy. To sustain any fulfilling and respectful bounds with others in our competitive and sometimes brutal world, boundaries are critical. Everyone needs boundaries and there are many ways to create them; some are less hostile and more effective than others.
Gain energy, respect and time with these 11 ways to set and maintain boundaries:
1. Take your time.
When you first meet someone, take it slow and keep some part of yourself to yourself, you can be polite and friendly but don’t give access to your vulnerability and inner self too quickly. Think before opening up completely and if confronted, you can refuse to answer certain questions. This is not about lying or pretending but about protecting yourself.
2. Be attentive to your needs.
Listen to your inner self, your own needs and desires have to be recognized and respected. Before concerning yourself with being supportive, kind and pleasing to others, make sure your personal power and space are not invaded or put on the back burner.
3. Be less open and receptive.
If you are around a rude or intrusive person and feel discomfort then withdraw your energy away from the situation by changing your posture, eye contact and tone of voice; you want to appear less receptive, less warmth and less open.
4. Plan prior to setting boundaries
Make a list of people who drain your energy and take your time without permission. Identify which boundaries you need to set. Acknowledge that you have a right to set boundaries, even if some will be disappointed in the short term, standing up for yourself will bring you more respect in the long run. Decide what you are going to say, rehearse in front of the mirror and put in practice!
5. Know where to draw the line.
It’s difficult to set good boundaries if you don’t know where are your emotional, physical, spiritual and mental limits. Be sure of where you stand, what you can accept and tolerate and what can make you feel stressed or uncomfortable.
6. Self awareness.
Review the roles you held in past relationships to find out the root cause of the obstacles that prevent you from setting healthy boundaries in the present. Think about how you were raised and consider the dynamic of all your relationships, did you focus on others to the point of being drain emotionally and physically? Has ignoring your own needs become the norm for you? Have your relationships been reciprocal with a healthy give and take?
7. Put yourself first.
Giving yourself permission to put yourself first has nothing to do with being selfish. Self love is the basis of any relationships because if you don’t love yourself, how are you going to love anyone else? Prioritise your self care by staying true to your feelings and honoring them and your motivation and need to set boundaries will become stronger.
8. Ask for help.
If you really are having a hard time with boundaries, seeking help is a courageous things to do so there is no shame in doing so. In some situations establishing boundaries can’t wait and for example if you are dealing with a bully or a mind trickster then involving someone you trust is a smart thing to do.
9. Be direct and assertive
Creating boundaries is not enough without following through, people aren’t mind readers so it’s important to confidently and respectfully communicate what crosses you and what you won’t tolerate.
10. Let go of guilt
When setting boundaries, the potential pitfalls are self doubt, fear and guilt but there is no need to worry about the other person’s response. Saying no and speaking up your truth is required to avoid feeling taken advantage of or drained. Self respect is nothing to feel guilty about, self respect helps you at preserving and maintaining your boundaries.
11. Take small steps.
It takes practice to learn and master any new skill and setting boundaries is no different. To not overwhelm yourself, start by setting small boundaries and build upon your success then incrementally increase the difficulty of the boundaries you set.
Setting healthy boundaries and enforcing them is part of being confident and stepping into your authentic self. You deserve to put the above ideas in practice so that you can be loved, liked and respected for who you are, not for who others want you to be.An EDH deck I'm working on to have fun with the format.
Aims to win via Possibility Storm and Mishra, Artificer Prodigy value shenanigans. With both on the board, casting an artifact spell will trigger them. I stack the triggers Mishra first, Storm second. Storm resolves, putting the initial artifact to the bottom and putting a new artifact from my deck onto the board. Mishra then triggers and grabs a card with the same name as the first artifact - or in this case, the exact same card that has been put back in my library.
Acquire List
Changelog
22/09/16
Got hold of a lattice for comboing with Darksteel Force and Nevinryll's Disk. Cut some more crappy cards to make room. Also managed to find a Shimmer Myr, nice way to allow instant speed wins.
Removed
Added
06/07/16
Finally grabbed some important cards but struggled to fit them in. I cut some acceleration and the tutor ring because my deck is way more consistent now. That also means I can cut the secondary win condition, although I do want to add in the Time Sieve combo at some point.
Removed
Added
1 Ice Cave
1 Mirrorworks
1 Portcullis
29/06/16
General improvements and refinement, adding better tutors and Duplicant which is kinda a must have. I cut one of my card draw abilities to do so, feel like I might need something to help me refuel. Potentially Necropotence? Also cut Blood Funnel - unlike the other Mishra shenanigans enchantments, this one will lock you out of the game if you don't have Mishra on board. Going to add Ice Cave to get another effect in once I pick one up.
Removed
Added
25/04/16
Decided to trim some of that fat and load up on a little more power and consistency. Riddlesmith & Synod Artificer do nothing by themselves, and Semblance Anvil was opening me up a 2 for 1. Phyrexian Processor is a cool card but a slow deck like this cannot afford to lose much life early on where possible.
I've added a few Daretti pieces to get more use out of Red, a colour which I was neglecting somewhat. Junk Diver and Kuldotha Forgemaster give some awesome staying power, and Tezzeret is an absolute house in artifact based builds.
I also dropped a Swamp for a copy of Tolaria West. I'm not struggling for early mana when I require it, and adding Tolaria West gives me the opportunity to tutor for Academy Ruins if I'm losing too many artifacts or want to lock someone with Mindslaver.
Removed
AddedOn January 12, an armed citizen stopped and killed a man who was beating an Arizona State Trooper on the side of I-10.
The incident occurred early Thursday morning on about “50 miles west of downtown Phoenix.”
According to KTAR News, the trooper had stopped to investigate a rollover accident at about 4:30 a.m., when someone opened fire, shooting him in the shoulder. The alleged shooter then began to beat the officer. An armed citizen and his family were driving by when they spotted the officer under duress.
The citizen stopped the car, ran toward the officer and asked if he needed assistance. When the officer said “yes,” the citizen ran back to his car, grabbed his gun, then returned and “demanded the attacker stop.” The attacker refused to stop, so the citizen shot him multiple times, killing him.
Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Col. Frank Milstead said, “I don’t know that my trooper would be alive without [the armed citizen’s] assistance.”
The name of the armed citizen was not released, but Milstead added, “I would just say thank you.”
Also on January 12, the New York Times editorial board wrote against expanding the opportunities for armed citizens to be armed for self-defense. The paper claimed, “The grim truth is that concealed-carry permit holders are rarely involved in stopping crime.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Russian punk group Pussy Riot burst onto the Olympic scene Tuesday when two of its members were picked up by police in host city Sochi — and then ran away defiant down a rain-soaked street a few hours later, shouting and wearing their trademark garish balaclavas.
The police questioning of Russia's most recognizable punk rockers, along with detentions of gay rights and other activists in recent days, brought political tensions to the fore at Vladimir Putin's showcase Winter Olympics.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, along with seven others, were held by police near Sochi's ferry terminal, a popular area for fans celebrating the Olympics. Police said they were questioned in connection with a theft at the hotel where they were staying. No charges were filed.
"Putin will teach you how to love the motherland!" the women chanted on leaving the police station, their fists in the air and blue, pink and orange ski masks concealing their faces.
Pussy Riot gained international attention in 2012 after barging into Moscow's main cathedral and performing a "punk prayer" in which they entreated the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Putin, who was on the verge of returning to the Russian presidency for a third term.
Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were sentenced to two years in prison, but were released in December under an amnesty bill seen as a Kremlin effort to assuage critics of its human rights record before the Olympics. Both women called for the boycott of the Sochi Games.
Tolokonnikova said Tuesday's detention followed three days of police harassment. She also said the two band members were detained for several hours the previous two days.
"We members of Pussy Riot have been here since late Sunday and we were constantly detained since then," Tolokonnikova said after her release. "We are constantly surrounded by people, not you journalists, but people who are shadowing us, following our every move and looking for any excuse to detain us."
Pussy Riot, a performance-art collective involving a loose membership of feminists who edit their actions into music videos, has become an international flashpoint for those who contend Putin's government has exceeded its authority in dealing with an array of issues, notably human and gay rights.
Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, and other people who were detained on Tuesday insisted that Pussy Riot were not protesting or demonstrating when they were taken off the street. But Tolokonnikova said the band is in Sochi with "the goal of staging a Pussy Riot protest."
It was not immediately clear whether Pussy Riot would be staying in Sochi or whether they would be protesting in the coming days.
Yevgeny Feldman, a photographer who has been shadowing Pussy Riot for the past two days and was detained with them Tuesday afternoon, said the band members were filming videos around town for a new song.
Tolokonnikova also said police had shoved her and other detainees and that the group would file a complaint about their treatment to Russia's Investigative Committee.
The area where the group members were detained is in downtown Sochi, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the seaside Olympic venues.
Russia has put severe limitations on protests in Sochi during the Olympics, ordering that any demonstration must get approval and be held only in the neighborhood of Khosta, an area between Adler and downtown Sochi that is unlikely to be visited by outsiders.
Russia's suppression of protests has been widely denounced in the West and the Pussy Riot detentions brought renewed criticism.
"In Putin's Russia, the authorities have turned the Olympic rings - a worldwide symbol of hope and striving for the best of the human spirit - into handcuffs to shackle freedom of expression," John Dalhuisen, Europe director for Amnesty International, said in a statement.
The actions taken against Pussy Riot came a day after an Italian transgender activist and former lawmaker was detained at the Olympics. Vladimir Luxuria was stopped while carrying a rainbow flag that read in Russian: "Gay is OK." On Sunday, Luxuria said she was held by police and told not to wear clothing with slogans promoting gay rights.
Environmental activists and members of an ethnic minority native to the Sochi region have also been detained in recent days and weeks.
Since their release in December, the 24-year-old Tolokonnikova and the 25-year-old Alekhina have taken on a more serious demeanor and made many appearances overseas to push their campaign for improved conditions in Russia's prisons.
Until Tuesday, there had been no indication they would resume the fist-and-chant protests they got famous for.
___
Associated Press writer Jim Heintz contributed to this report.It's not supposed to be easy this time of year. Not for the players. Not for the coaches. Not for the fans.
And not for the power rankers.
Editor's Picks Here's how Alabama's loss will impact the playoff race Alabama went from seemingly invincible to vulnerable after its loss to Auburn. What kind of help do the Tide need to avoid missing the playoff?
There's finally real debate over the top spot in the College Football Playoff after two of the three remaining Power 5 unbeatens, Alabama and Miami, suffered road losses. Good cases can be made for Clemson, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and even Auburn, which has two losses but also the best win combination (Alabama and Georgia) in the country. It ultimately came down to the total profile, heavily weighted by road wins and consistent quality of play.
A Clemson team that, other than a Friday night in upstate New York, has looked great on the road, gets back to No. 1. Oklahoma's road wins -- Ohio State, Oklahoma State -- stack up well, and Wisconsin has dominated regardless of location. Auburn looked championship-worthy against Georgia and Alabama, but both games were played on the Plains. Gus Malzahn's team is No. 4, for now.
Alabama is in unfamiliar territory just outside the top four. Miami tumbles to No. 7 after flirting with defeat one too many times. Notre Dame also takes a big drop, and Stanford and Washington rise after impressive wins. Fresno State enters the rankings for the first time.Editor's note: We publish thousands of stories at GlobalPost every year. But some of these don't receive the reader attention they deserve. Our series "20 Must-Reads of 2013" fixes that problem. Here's a look — maybe a second one — at some of our best journalism of the year.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Soon after the end of the M23 rebellion that threw parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into conflict for much of the last two years, a blog post titled "We Stopped M23" appeared on the website of a California-based nonprofit called Falling Whistles.
The slick homepage describes the organization as “a campaign for peace in Congo." It urges visitors to “be a whistleblower for peace” by purchasing stylish metal whistles, hung on a chain or black cord, from the organization's online store.
You've got options: A brushed copper whistle will set you back $58. The cheapest is $38, while the clearly popular "Gunmetal" whistle, currently out of stock, costs $48. Part of the profit from the whistle sales supports grassroots work in Congo.
The group's latest advocacy project is #StopM23, which has encouraged supporters to use Twitter and Facebook to demand that the United Nations and the White House end violence in the DRC.
Falling Whistles is a product of the online activism zeitgeist that has produced countless click-your-support petitions like — most famously — last year’s Kony 2012 campaign.
But does any of it actually work?
Ugandan Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is still at large, still kidnapping children and still terrorizing villagers more than a year after Invisible Children’s #Kony2012 campaign and video became an internet phenomenon.
Last week the online activist group Avaaz ran a petition in Kenya under the banner #JusticeForLiz, seeking the arrest and prosecution of a gang of brutal rapists whose official punishment — they were made to spend a morning cutting grass — sparked widespread outrage.
Despite nearly 1.4 million petition signatures, however, Kenya's chief of police has dampened hopes of justice being done.
In the case of #StopM23, the question is not whether the rebellion has ended. It's whether Falling Whistles really played much of a part.
Most analysts agree that a series of UN reports detailing Rwanda’s connections with M23, combined with the humanitarian crisis triggered by the fighting and last November’s rebel takeover of the DRC city of Goma, are what drove the actions.
But Falling Whistles argued that “what was needed to tip the scales was a large public outcry.
“Less than a year since we joined together to #StopM23, the rebel group has been defeated,” the company said last weekend as rebels fled an unusually effective assault by the Congolese army backed by UN peacekeepers.
Falling Whistles claimed its campaign, which involved “bombarding the US ambassador to the UN with thousands of tweets,” had “worked” by pushing Washington to suspend some aid to Rwanda, the country widely accused of backing the M23 rebellion.
As evidence of the role they played, the organization noted that the hashtag #StopM23 “trended on Twitter in the United States over the course of 24 hours."
The reaction from many who know the region — and its conflicts — was as fast as it was scathing.
“The narcissism of this reaches a wholly new level, even for US clicktivism,” one long-standing Africa correspondent wrote on his Twitter feed.
Another correspondent, who lived in the capital Kinshasa until recently, tweeted a link to the blog post with the comment, “Errr, WT very F??”
The nonprofit appeared to claim credit for a string of developments that made the M23’s defeat possible: President Barack Obama’s decision to appoint a special envoy to the region, the UN Security Council’s decision to deploy a new, more aggressive UN brigade, and the implementation of much-needed reforms to Congo’s abysmal army.
Three days after posting the blog, Falling Whistles seemed to realize the hubristic tone of its celebratory post had not gone down well.
“Here’s what Falling Whistles meant when it said ‘We Stopped M23,'” advocacy director Monique Beadle began.
She went on to list a series of clarifications, particularly about who Falling Whistles understands “we” to be. Many actors — Congo’s army, UN peacekeepers, the US State Department, and refugees, journalists, donors — along with “Whistler Society leaders” and supporters in countries around the world "united to Stop M23," Beadle wrote.
In emailed responses to GlobalPost, Sean Carasso, the 31-year-old who founded Falling Whistles after traveling to the DRC in late 2007, stood by the claim that the campaign, as part of a coalition of advocacy organizations pressuring the US government to act, contributed to the end of the M23.
“The Envoy, the aid cuts, and the public pressure on Rwanda were all important aspects to the events of the last few weeks,” said Carasso, referring to M23’s rapid military losses. “Those were things we promoted in public and in private, and we’re relieved to see that they contributed to the downfall of M23.”
Carasso acknowledged the limitations of tweeting-for-change, but said he believes strongly in its power.
He pointed out that around 18 percent of the money raised from over 80,000 whistle sales has gone to local activists and organizations in eastern Congo.
“Look, I know as well as anyone else that 140 characters from a single person isn’t going to change anything immediately,” he said.
“But thousands (or millions) of people saying the same thing, in unison, in a single week? That’s powerful.”It’s not very often that a piece on TechRaptor goes up reporting on 8chan, but I think that a good number of our readers frequent the site. After all, it is the site that carried GamerGate onward after the exodus from what some now (un)affectionately call “halfchan”. If you are among the aforementioned group of people, you may have noticed that 8chan.co is no longer resolving. Over the past few days, the website has been under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack allegedly involving a group called LizardSquad.
Even until this moment, we are not absolutely sure who paid for the attack, but many people on Twitter have gone out suggesting that Dan Olson (known for his videos regarding GamerGate, going under the moniker of Foldable Human) bears at least some responsibility for what transpired in this period. All we know for certain is that a person using the name Dan Olson (who could be the man himself) has reported 8chan to CloudFlare — 8chan’s reverse-proxy provider — in an email that was broadcasted through Twitter (screenshot below).
Only hours later, the domain was no longer resolving at all. At around 7 PM Eastern Standard Time, 8chan’s Twitter feed showed us why:
.@internetbs cited no boards or posts before carelessly seizing our domain. GG no RE, I’m taking @moot‘s advice and going outside. — 8chan.co (@infinitechan) January 13, 2015
Fredrick Brennan, the founder of 8chan, posted a screenshot of a notification he received from Internet.bs Corp., the website’s host, showing that the domain has been seized due to “child abuse”.
To put this into context, in the past, 8chan has been accused of hosting illicit material involving children (i.e. child pornography). Although the site has broken no laws, people have in the past cherry-picked it apart in order to create an impression that this site is a front for a market it simply doesn’t belong to.
For those of you hoping for some insight into what will happen over the next few days, I have taken a little bit of Fredrick Brennan’s time to reach out to him and ask for his comments on the situation. He said that he will be speaking about the abuse reports with Internet.bs (the domain host) and attempting to revert the seizure. “In the event that I cannot resolve this by speaking to them, I may just have to register a new domain,” he said. “That’s really all I can do.”
While what has happened over the last few weeks may leave a few “8channers” in panic, they need not worry. If Brennan decides to register a new domain name, the registrar can have it up and running on the right IP address within a few hours.
As I come across more information, I will be updating this article to reflect the events that take place.
Update: Perhaps to the dismay of the people who initiated the campaign against 8chan, control of the site’s domain has been handed back to Brennan, according to 8chan’s tweet embedded below.
Our.co domain was released and transferred and is back under 8chan control. It will remain as a redirect. Thread: https://t.co/0nuVdMe7fL — 8ch.net (@infinitechan) January 13, 2015
Share Have a tip for us? Awesome! Shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll take a look!Destiny was supposed to be a game that held a lot of promise, potential and tried to stand out, but if the leaked Alpha gameplays are anything for us to judge then the game is no different from Borderlands and we are in for a lot of Dark Areas.
Destiny is a game that holds a great amount of hype around it and while the initial reveal of it at E3 ’13 led us to believe that we are in for a game that is going to exemplary, some leaked Alpha Gameplay videos which leaked from an Ubisoft employee (Ryan Butler, Graphics Designer) have made their way onto the internet due to his excitement of streaming the game on his PS4, sadly the game has yet to show any unique feature that we haven’t already seen in a Borderlands game, but at least Borderlands is a game that offers comedic story progression through hilarious storytelling, but Destiny is too straightforward and doesn’t really offer anything that we haven’t seen already.
bungie is gonna kick my ass — RYAN BUTLER (@Rhyd1z3L_) June 7, 2014
Leaked Destiny Alpha Gameplay Shows Us The Game Looks Pretty, But Can It Deliver?
The game should shine its best when played with friends and company otherwise if you plan on playing the game like a lone wolf you might just find yourself seeing a local retailer for a trade-in sooner than later, currently the map that he appears to be playing on is the same map that was in the E3 ’13 trailer but with further exploration. The game does also resemble Halo with the gun handling except this is the first time I have seen the ADS (Aim Down Sights) in a Bungie video game. Currently, Destiny is a huge gamble for Activision considering the huge amount of money spent on marketing the game will definitely need this game to be a success if we are to see a sequel.
If you are curious to see the game for yourself, Activision ninjas are heavily on the prowl and taking down the videos at every corner of the internet. So once again, here are some Mega download links for you to see, the videos are relatively small in size and offer good playback quality. Don’t solely base your decision on buying the game on this video, but currently it looks more like an MMO that HAS to be played with friends and company and while Borderlands games have always been able to be finished while playing lone wolf and Destiny has practically stated that the end game WILL need coop, this could be a problem for people who prefer playing alone otherwise you will have to count on friends also buying the game with you and playing at the same time as you do.
(Video download links are courtesy of Angelus Errare over at NeoGaf) Added 2 more videos. Source.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
So what do you think of the game based on the 3 videos? I personally look forward to seeing how the game turns out.Gov. Jan Brewer. (Photo: The Republic)
Gov. Jan Brewer is using the federal government's shipments of undocumented migrants to Arizona to fatten her federal political action committee, Jan PAC.
In a message to supporters titled "Abandoned in Arizona," Brewer says President Barack Obama can ignore her pleas to address the issue, but "he cannot ignore the unified demands of the citizens of this country." She asks supporters to help "bring respect and security" back by signing a petition to end "his appalling practice."
"If we continue to let ourselves be walked over, Arizona will become the battleground it is starting to resemble," the message said. "We must seize the opportunity now and start fighting if we want to redeem our state before it's too late."
In a post script to the message, Brewer asks supporters to fund her efforts against the federal government: "It only takes 2 minutes to make a donation to a fight that is worth every penny."
A link directs donors to her action committee's website.
RELATED: Horne threatens to sue feds over migrant shipments
RELATED: DHS chief Johnson: No legal status for new migrant children
Public relations consultant Matthew Benson, Brewer's former spokesman, said the fundraising effort "makes sense."
"If you're Gov. Brewer and you've made your name on the immigration issue, it makes all the sense in the world to raise the red flag about what's going on along our southern border and to raise money for like-minded candidates," Benson said. "There are some issues where you want to be careful about fundraising off of -- it can look a little craven. But with what's going on along Arizona's border and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas... this is happening here, these individuals and all of these kids are being sent to Arizona and it's something people in Arizona care deeply about and it makes all the sense in the world for Gov. Brewer to lead on this."
Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, who has informally advised Brewer on various issues, disagreed. While it's clear federal officials "are bungling this and many things," he said, the surge of immigrants and unaccompanied minors has created a "shocking humanitarian crisis" that must be addressed.
"I would hope that the first reaction of our leaders would be, 'How can I help? What can we do to help these scared and defenseless children that have found their way to our state?'" he said. "Instead, to have people trying to raise money on the crisis is just the same old politics. The first reaction of our state's leaders in a humanitarian crisis should be to solve problems and to help children. Instead, the first second and third (reaction seems to be, 'How can I get a political advantage out of this?'"
NEWSLETTERS Get the AZ Memo newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get the pulse of Arizona -- Local news, in-depth state coverage and what it all means for you Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for AZ Memo Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Added Woods, "Anyone who would respond to a fundraising plea based on the plight of these children ought to examine themselves as well."
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Department of Homeland Security began transporting hundreds of undocumented immigrants from southern Texas to Arizona and released them at Greyhound bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix. Last week, the federal government began sending hundreds of unaccompanied children caught crossing the border illegally in Texas to a holding center in Nogales, Ariz.
In a letter last week to Obama, Brewer expressed deep concern over the shipments and she and her office have talked with federal officials about the situation.
She asked the Obama administration to provide information on the "unconscionable policy," including who authorized the migrant shipments and when, why Arizona is the "target," and how many immigrants have been transported from other states and released in Arizona.
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1hNMdsgFinancial struggles dogged the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) last year and it will not be staged this year, but the tournament's founder Mahesh Bhupathi is still hoping to revive it in a scaled-down form in the future.
New York Times journalist Christopher Clarey tweeted yesterday that Bhupathi is looking at putting all the tournament's action in a single country.
The IPTL, which began in 2014, had previously been played out over five or three legs, each in a different country.
"Tough ask. We'll see," tweeted Clarey.
The IPTL, which features a shortened scoring system, shot clock, cheerleaders, DJs and franchise-based teams, had been billed as a refreshing update to the traditional tennis format.
But it was forced to reduce its number of legs of five to three last year due to money problems, which also compelled the tournament to drop superstars Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, was originally part of the Singapore Slammers franchise and had been pencilled in for the Singapore leg last December, only for IPTL organisers to announce her withdrawal a day before the event.
"We were trying to get it done and we've had some challenges financially," Bhupathi told The Straits Times then.
"Serena has been supportive and she really wanted to come and play some matches before (the season starts in) Australia, but we couldn't get all the ducks lined up."
In her absence, less than 1,000 fans turned up for the first day of action on Dec 6, 2016, in the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Lester WongA blinding cloud of dust kicked up by a rockslide in southwestern Wyoming played a role in two related crashes that injured four people.
The incident happened at about 3 p.m. Wednesday on I-80 about two miles east of Green River, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Motorists driving too fast for road conditions at the time contributed to the crashes, the patrol said in a media release.
A portion of a rock formation known locally as “The Palisades” peeled from the bluff and slid toward the westbound lanes of the highway but didn’t reach the road, the patrol said.
The slide did, however, kick up a huge dust cloud.
“Immediately after the rockslide there was near zero visibility on the roadway caused by the dust from the slide,” the release said.
Troopers were at the scene assessing the situation when a westbound Ford Focus, driven by 19-year-old Mandalina Quigley, of Green River, drove into the cloud and rammed the rear of a tractor trailer hauling an oversized load. Quigley’s car spun and came to rest across the middle of the westbound passing lane.
A Ford van, also westbound, pulling a trailer loaded with an airplane happened upon the wreck.
The driver of the van, James Courson, 82, of San Gabriel, Calif., spotted the Focus on the highway and was slowing down when his trailer was rear-ended by a semi-truck.
The semi, driven by Alvin Ferguson, 60, of Salt Lake City, knocked the plane off the trailer, sending it flying over the van. Part of the plane’s landing gear lodged in the driver’s side windshield of the semi-truck.
The semi then crashed into the Focus, crushing the car around the 19-year-old driver and her father, Randy Quigley, a passenger in the car, the state patrol said. The violent crash ripped the engine out of the Focus.
Mandalina and Randy Quigley were taken to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs. Alvin Ferguson, the semi driver, and his wife, Helen, a passenger in the semi, were also taken to Memorial.
All four were treated at the hospital and released, the patrol said. Everyone involved in the crashes were wearing seatbelts. Troopers on scene credit seatbelt use with preventing fatalities.
Quigley and Ferguson were cited for driving too fast for existing conditions.
Westbound lanes for the highway were shut down for several hours; the highway re-opened about 7 p.m.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.What does it mean to be a journalist? Don’t go crazy trying to find the right words — the United States Senate Judiciary Committee decided on the definition for the rest of America on Thursday through approving new language included in a media shield law.
The Senate committee voted 13-to-5 early Thursday to approve S.987, a bill meant to protect members of the press from government intrusion and “maintain the free flow of information to the public” in the wake of recent government scandals that involved federal investigations into reporters with the Associated Press and Fox News.
If approved by Congress and authorized by President Barack Obama, the bill will provide protections to covered persons in the event of a federal probe. The bill would make it more difficult for investigators to compel reporters to reveal their sources, and a judge would directly oversee and approve of subpoenas and court orders aimed at collecting private information used in newsgathering.
Under the bill, requests for a journalist’s source information would be limited, if possible, “in purpose, subject matter and period of time covered so as to avoid compelling disclosure of peripheral, nonessential or speculative information.”
Exactly who benefits from the bill isn’t too broadly defined, however. In advancing the potential legislation, lawmakers in Washington were forced to figure out who should be covered and who shouldn’t.
Under the wording of the “Free Flow of Information Act,” the committee considers a protected journalist to be an employee, contractor or agent of a group that disseminates news or information, who also must have held that position for at least one year within the last 20, or for three consecutive months during the previous five years.
Additionally, safeguards are included so that a covered person could be a student journalist or a prolific freelancer. In instances of confusion, a federal judge would be in a position to use his or her best discretion to determine who’d be protected.
The exact wording of the bill was reached through a recent compromise brokered by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-New York), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who agreed to nix earlier language which could have defined a journalist as someone who receives paid salary from an employer.
Under the compromise, covered persons now include bloggers and freelancers both paid and unpaid who work with the "primary intent to investigate events and procure material in order to disseminate to the public news or information."
During a debate on the Senate floor before Thursday’s vote, Feinstein said she feared that the language could let “someone filled with hate or the occasional blogger” receive federal protection. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), argued the language “doesn’t come close to being restrictive enough” and later tried unsuccessfully to tack on an amendment which would have eradicated any protection for reporters who reveal classified information.
“This legislation, in effect, says we are going to create legal mechanism to protect anyone who is going to call himself a newsperson. And the leaker, basically, is the one being protected,” Sessions insisted. “This legislation would encourage more leakers. It gives some sort of advantage to them in significant ways. It makes it harder to stop and prosecute those cases.”
An exemption already included in the text applying to journalists who disclose intelligence “reasonably likely to cause significant and articulable harm to national security” was cited by the Senate, and Session’s amendment was defeated 11-to-6. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) also introduced an amendment to ensure "rogue federal employees" couldn’t use special clearance to access and leak information, but saw his efforts defeated as well.
As the debate carried on, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Florida) told his colleagues, “[W]e are on dangerous territory if we are drawing distinctions that are treating some that are engaged in the process of reporting and journalism better than others.”
Paul Boyle, senior vice president of public policy at the Newspaper Association of America, told Huffington Post that his group was satisfied with that compromise reached by the Democratic senators since it provided coverage to a large group of independent journalists who otherwise risked being excluded from protection.
Thursday’s debate came two months to the day after US Attorney General Eric Holder said the Department of Justice was releasing new |
unplayable in Standard, but in limited, this card is going to wreak havoc on oponents board. Still, I don’t think it will be cubeable, since a 5-mana slot is occupied with Siege-Gang Commander and Thundermaw Hellkite, and even Zealous Conscripts is more useful (since it can steal planeswalkers and still bash for 3 damage). I think it is a great question – which card is better in Cube: Glorybringer or Zealous Conscripts?
Other cards
I’ve already mentioned Angler Drake – I think that this card can have a big impact on limited games, since it is 4/4 with evasion, that also has tempo-swing built inside. If my oponent plays Archfiend on turn five, and I can bounce it back to his hand and get a 4/4 flying, it is a great deal. Of course, it is not a limited bomb, but I think it may be the great way to fight rare and mythic bombs of the set. From my experience, cards like this make it possible to win against oponents that were much luckier when opening packs on Pre-release, so please, give us more of them.
There is also a Prowling Serpopard, that is going to be mostly vanilla 4/3 for 3 mana, which is kinda OK for green, when it comes to limited. However, it could be good card for Cube, since green doesn’t have many great 3-mana aggro cards (and they are important, because there are many mana producing elves, so uncounterable 3-drop on turn 2, that also makes all other creatures uncounterable could be a KO against control). Once again, i’m not sure if it is going to be good enough, but it is worth trying. Also, I prefer cards designed like this over Great Sable Stags or Phantoms Centaurs, which smell like sideboard (and I’m not a big fan of sideboard cards in any Cube).
So far it is hard to tell if Miasmatic Mummy will be useful in any way. I mean, „every player discards a card” can be good, if you play aggro deck, and you don’t really care about having more than 4 lands in play, so you can easily spare one. However, an oponent can easily discard card with embalm, which means that he only discarded only a „half” of an actual card. If I end up playing some Bx aggro deck on Pre-release, and there will be a problem with playable two-drops, I think I will decide to play it, but only because I hope I’ll be better (or luckier) when deciding which card to discard, than my oponent.
Oracle’s Vault is an interesting card, of course far too slow for Cube or any aggro in limited, but it is going to be great in mid-range or control. When you have 17 lands in your deck, Vault will allow you to have a much better chance of „drawing into gas”, and even at the earlier stage of the game, you will be able not to miss any land drops (worst case scenario). Although it is a rare, I don’t think it should be considered a limited bomb, because it won’t win games on its own, and also it will be both hard to build a deck, that makes best use of Vault, and also to use it correctly.
Cyclands
I know that there were also some reprints and vanilla creatures, but I don’t think anyone would like to read about them, so now is the time to focus on „cyclands”. Yes, I know, there is still no official „unofficial” name for them, but for me it is kinda obvious (and I guess I won’t be the first one to come up with this idea).
I remember times, when people used Shivan Oasis and other invasion taplands, and we were happy that we have lands, that give us two kinds of mana, we don’t get damage (like from painlands) and they untap every turn. Well, things chaged. Now, when taplands are printed at are, there should be a good reason for this. I imagine, that Magic Desgin Team decided that „just” cycling is still not enough, and they need to add basic land types. It doesn’t change a lot for Standard players, however it is a big deal for Modern, and I think that it was a very good design decision. Cycling is good, basic types on lands are also good, maybe some new archetypes in Modern are going to emerge from this (by the way, I think it may also helps Swans deck, but I’m not a Modern expert by any means). As I’m usually not satisfied with the way that Magic cards are designed, I think it is a good moment to say „well done” to Wizards.
Invocations
However, when it comes to Invocations, I think they were trying to be cool, and while both Expeditions and Inventions were hits that sold huge amounts of Battle for Zendikar and Kaladesh, it may not work as well this time. Card choices are great, but I think that many players are not convinced that Invocations are looking good (or cool). I’ve seen many complaints on their readibility. Personally I’m not going to buy any of them (but I also don’t have any Expeditions or Inventions, since I find it pointless to spend so much money on one card, when I can buy some cards that my Cube is still missing instead), and I wouldn’t put any of them into my Cube even if I get lucky when opening my Pre-release packs. For me, it doesn’t look like a Magic card, that’s it.
There will be collectors who will hunt for Invocations anyway, but I’m afraid that generally players won’t be eager to „pimp” their decks with invocations, like they are doing with Expeditions and Inventions, and that is going to have some impact on Amonkhet sales. Unless, of course, there will be another cards or reprints, that convince players (and retailers) to open this product anyway, which is still a possibility at this point.
Full-Art basics
I like full art basics – that’s why all my basic lands in Cube are from BFZ. Amonkhet full-art basics look great, however I feel like if there is only one every four packs, their price is going to be discouraging for me to try and upgrade 250 BFZ basics to Amonkhets. And of course, I’m not going to open 1000 booster packs to get them. I hope I’ll open at least two on my Pre-release, and I’m not going to trade them away anytime soon. Of course, the value of the foil versions is going to be bigger than most of the non-foil mythics in Amonkhet.
I hope it was a good read, and see you on next Monday!Exhibit / October 5, 2016
Object Name: Unused title treatment for the film Alien (1979)
Maker and Year: Michael Doret and Todd Schorr, circa 1979
Object Type: Logo/graphic design
Image Source: Michael Doret
Description: (K.E. Roberts)
Michael Doret, a Brooklyn, New York-born illustrator and graphic designer, started working professionally in the early 1970s, and is responsible for several iconic images, including a series of Time magazine covers (five of which are permanently collected at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.), album covers (Rock and Roll Over by Kiss, notably), the New York Knicks logo, and the title treatments for Zardoz (1974) and Wolfen (1981), both heavily imitated since release. More recently, he designed the title treatment for Disney’s Wreck-it-Ralph (2012). Says Doret of the unused Alien logo:
The title treatment I designed for Ridley Scott’s Alien never made it into the public arena. It had some small promotional uses before it was run over by the Bill Gold Advertising machine and relegated to the back burner. At any rate, this was great fun to have worked on—the more so since I was able to work on it with my friend (the now famous “pop-surrealist”) Todd Schorr. I designed and drew the forms based on the “bio-mechanical” forms I saw in some publicity stills from the production, and Todd painted the absolutely gorgeous finished art.
Doret’s design was used commercially, at least once, as a t-shirt iron-on transfer distributed by Roach Studios.The Air Force faces a severe pilot shortage as experienced pilots decide to bolt to private airlines.
Commanders hope a time-tested retention method and bonuses will keep pilots around.
Before Colonel Ryan Shuttlemyre joined the Air Force and worked his way to the command of the 33rd Fighter Wing, he knew as a young boy he was destined to fly.
"Being able to contribute to our nation and serve, you really don't get that anywhere else, in the airlines or in the civilian sector," Colonel Shuttlemyre said.
Commander Suttlemyre trains young pilots on the ins and outs of one of the Air Force's newest jets, the F-35.
It's become more important as more experienced pilots leave for more money with a commercial airline, meaning the Air Force has to replace them with less experienced pilots.
The air force has decided to sweeten the pot - they've upped the bonus incentive for pilots to stay on to 35 thousand dollars per year, ten thousand dollars more than in previous years.
The 33rd, like many fighter wings, is fully staffed, but the shortage thins the ranks of the pilots at the pentagon.
"Those jobs are important on the staffs," Colonel Shuttlemyre said, "a lot of times, pilots don't like to do them, but they are important to go and help set those priorities and help senior leaders make decisions."
As a commander, he sees the urgency.
"If that experience walks out the door, just like any job, it is really tough to replace.
According to the Air Force Times, it takes about $11 million to train one Air Force pilot. Total cost to bring the Air Force to full strength: $12 billion.
Currently, all Air Force pilots make a 10 year mandatory commitment to the Air Force after signing on for pilot training.
The retention bonuses require those pilots to stay on an extra 13 years.
Pilots who sign on would earn $455,000 over the length of their contract.Never underestimate the power of Whovians. That loyal fan base has lifted Doctor Who to the very top of iTunes’ list of most downloaded full TV seasons of 2011! Yes, more than any other show on TV. Can I get a Woo-Who?
That means Doctor Who beat ABC’s hit, Emmy-winning sitcom Modern Family (No. 2), Dexter (No. 3), Breaking Bad (No. 4), and True Blood (No. 5) in downloads. Just behind them at No. 6 is BBC America’s Top Gear. Here’s the full top 10 via The Hollywood Reporter:
TOP-SELLING SEASONS:
1. Doctor Who
2. Modern Family
3. Dexter
4. Breaking Bad
5. True Blood
6. Top Gear
7. Glee
8. Entourage
9. Archer
10. The Walking Dead
Did you contribute to Doctor Who‘s chart-topping 2011 performance? Pat yourself on the back below:WASHINGTON -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its first enforcement action Wednesday morning, targeting Capital One for deceptive marketing tactics.
Roughly two million Capital One customers will receive a full refund, the agency said, at a cost of $140 million to the financial institution. Under the settlement, Capital One is also required to pay a $25 million penalty to the CFPB. Consumers due refunds need take no further action. If they are still Capital One customers, the money will be credited to their accounts. If they're not, a check will be sent their way.
Capital One will also pay a $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and additional restitution for customers harmed by unfair billing practices. In total, the bank is set to pay out some $210 million.
The CFPB action could have a collateral benefit for the godmother of the agency, Elizabeth Warren, who is now running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warren is credited with laying the intellectual foundation for the CFPB, fought to include it as part of Wall Street reform legislation, and was named by President Barack Obama to staff and set up the bureau.
Opposition from banks, from Republicans and from within the White House prevented her from winning a permanent appointment to run the bureau she created, but many of its senior officials remain loyal to her and to her vision for it.
The enforcement action now raises the CFPB's profile, thereby reminding voters in Massachusetts about Warren's consumer-friendly background, which she regularly contrasts with that of her opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Scott Brown, whose support on Wall Street runs deep. Brown even has a separate political action committee geared primarily toward raising cash from bankers.
Warren and Brown are deadlocked in the polls.
Capital One was charged by the CFPB with tricking customers into buying add-on products, such as credit monitoring, sometimes by telling them there was no cost and other times by insisting the purchase was mandatory or otherwise lying about the product.
"These marketing calls were inconsistent with the explicit instructions we provided to agents for how these products should be sold. We apologize to those customers who were impacted and we are committed to making it right," said Ryan Schneider, president of Capital One’s card business, in a statement.
"Today's action puts $140 million back in the pockets of two million Capital One customers who were pressured or misled into buying credit card products they didn't understand, didn't want, or in some cases, couldn't even use,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a statement. "We are putting companies on notice that these deceptive practices are against the law and will not be tolerated."Republicans want you to believe that Americans hate clean energy
The US Republican party has seized on the half billion dollar bankruptcy of Solyndra to prove that green jobs are some sort of scam, and green power doesn’t work. They’ve seized on one bankruptcy to prove that all clean tech companies are doomed to failure, and government shouldn’t invest in them. But Californa’s Solyndra was just one innovative clean tech investment among $90 billion worth of clean tech investments by the Department of Energy under the Obama administration’s Recovery Act.
The other 99% are doing fine. And the resulting solar job growth, at 69%, is the one bright spark in the dismal US economy, as we’ve covered here. ( BrightSource Solar Project to Make More Energy than Fossil Fuel Plants)
The Republican party, deep in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry and almost exclusively bankrolled by them, is trying to prevent the growth of clean energy. Already this year since taking over the House of Representatives, Republicans have voted 125 times to reverse, slow or simply defund environmental and renewable energy initiatives passed by the previous Democratic congress. (Utility-Scale Solar Projects Become a Casualty of Republican Hostage-Taking
They have latched onto this one bankruptcy as the perfect evidence, as Grist’s David Roberts put it “that clean energy is weak, unreliable, marginal, and dependent on government subsidies. They have been trying to make that case for a long while”. They are trying to cook it up as another of their trumped-up climategate moments.
But here are the actual facts about US solar growth – the results of the Democrats’ support of clean energy:
The solar industry now employs more than 100,000 Americans, more than twice as many as in 2009. They work at more than 5,000 companies, the vast majority being small businesses, in all 50 states.
The U.S. solar industry grew by 69% in the past year, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy.
Since the beginning of 2010, the price of solar panels has dropped by 30%, and costs continue to fall making solar an even more viable choice for residential and business customers.
The U.S. was a net exporter of solar products in 2010 by $2 billion. We were even a net exporter to China.
Solar power in the U.S. now exceeds 3,100 megawatts (MW), enough to power more than 630,000 homes.
Continued industry growth enhances our energy security and diversifies our domestic energy portfolio.
And here is where Solyndra fits in. Like BrightSource (US Govt. Guarantees $1.4 Billion in Loans For BrightSource) Solyndra had received a loan guarantee from the DOE for half a billion, out of a total of $90 billion that was spent under the Recovery Act. Unlike 99% of the innovative firms successfully funded by the Recovery Act, Solyndra could not survive a 30% drop in solar prices in 2011 in the US.
Any venture capitalist will tell you that some of their investments fail. (and rise again:Luz Rises Again as BrightSource)
This year, Solyndra was that one.
But there was no reason for anyone to predict that Solyndra would be the one that would not make it, back when the wheels began turning for funding them in 2007. Their unique cylindrical solar panels that could be popped together on flat commercial roofs as quickly as unfolding a cot looked like a surefire winner.
But, unlike the investment in Solyndra, the vast majority of the solar investments made by the Recovery Act are paying off handsomely. In an economy where job losses are mounting, the solar industry has grown 69% in the last year.
Read more on American solar:
Obama Touts Israeli-Developed Solar Company BrightSource
94% of Americans Want Solar Energy. What About Israel?
US Gov. Guarantees $1.4 Billion in Loans For BrightSource
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commentsHere’s What Anxiety Feels Like When You Have No Idea What Anxiety Is
Alicia Lutes Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 2, 2015
It’s 8AM and my heart’s racing. It’s that terrible, full-body sort of beat that makes your whole body shake and occasionally flutters from time to time from over-stimulation. For a second it almost feels like excitement, until the belly flips start, my face heats up, and my neck starts to hurt and I feel a little dizzy. My breathing’s heavy and my palms and scalp are starting to sweat for reasons unbeknownst to me. If this were 29-year-old Alicia dealing with these feelings, she’d know, either a.) she drank way too much coffee (cup number four is ALWAYS filled with regret), or b.) she was having an anxiety attack.
…Unfortunately, we’re talking about 8-year-old Alicia in this instance, who didn’t drink coffee (yet) or have even the slightest flippin’ clue about anxiety.
It’s really hard to understand what anxiety is and how it relates to what it feels physically within you when you’re told to “just calm down and everything will get better.” Spoiler alert: it doesn’t always get better, especially if you don’t know what you’re dealing with on an emotional and mental level. Nor does it really assuage anything in the long run.
According to the fancy paper of record The New York Times, anxiety is now more common than depression amongst college students. Which means that anxiety and stress level increases are happening to people at younger and younger ages. But when that’s not considered a regular occurrence by-and-large, people might not believe you, or might dismiss it as an over-abundance of keen kid energy …but sometimes it’s not.
And sometimes it’s even worse when you try to re-categorize your anxiety spirals in your head. For example mine became quite the party trick when I tried to turn them into self-aware comedy outbursts to make people feel more comfortable about them when they happened. Oddly enough, though, it didn’t help the matter.
When you’re young, anxiety is like a smoke monster: it lurks behind you, this intangible thing that makes your heart beat and your head go akimbo. It makes you wonder, nervously, “Why am I like this? What’s making me feel this way? How do I make it stop?” Ignoring these feelings often makes it worse, too. Pretending it’s nothing only makes the looming dread grow stronger, the monster’s unseen presence hoarding all your rational thought. And when you don’t know what it means but you see how these weird feelings inside of you are bouncing around externally, it’s easy to say, “Well shoot, this is totally my fault and I’m doing something wrong. I’m the worst, and also maybe an emotional monster-person.”
Listen to me when I say this: you’re not wrong. And you’re not alone. When you name anxiety for what it is, you’re able to understand it, and feel less controlled by it and more in control of it.
Stress is like the weirdest twinge of electrical energy within us, and sometimes it’s hard to know what’ll stress you out, cause you anxiety, or send you into a spiral of self-hatred and feeling hopeless. When anxiety is left buried and ignored, its talons only latch on stronger. (It’s like Golum and his precious.) It becomes a battle against your mind — “I know I shouldn’t feel this way! And yet I totally do!” — and your heart that can make you feel, frankly, more than a little cranky. It’s not a good look! Especially when you consider yourself a fairly logical Smart Girl who’s self-aware and in control of their emotions. But hey, even the smartest among us need help understanding what we’re feeling or how to deal (pro-tip: breathing helps).
No one in my family has ever been diagnosed with anxiety. They’ve never understood my energy levels or ways of handling things, and it was always an alienating divide for me as a kid (even sometimes as an adult). It wasn’t until a doctor told me last year that I had PTSD that I realized the thing I jokingly called “an endearing personality quirk” was actually a something I could work towards remedying to make my life better. The shame I’d felt for so long wasn’t something I needed to mentally flagellate myself for, it was a part of how my body learned to cope with stress and trauma growing up — and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was just my body doin’ what it does: survive and thrive in spite of any and everything.
So next time you feel those rumblings — that tidal wave of dread and grief and worry — just try and find a way to relax. Reach out to your friends, talk to a counselor or a teacher or a therapist. Find resources that work for you. Because you’re not alone and you can and will overcome this and it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you because of it. A body’s going to do what a body’s going to do, you just have to trust and work with it in order to see yourself through.
Have you ever dealt with anxiety or depression? How did it feel when you were a kid? Let us hear your anecdotes in the comments, Smarties.
Image Credit: Porsche Brosseau/Flickr
GIF Credit: Giphy
—
Alicia Lutes is the Associate Editor of Smart Girls. Find her on Twitter @alicialutes.China and Vietnam have expressed support for Thailand's new military government, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, as pro-army groups planned to demonstrate at the Australian Embassy for downgrading relations after last month's coup.
Several foreign governments have voiced disapproval of the coup, which saw Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha take power after months of political unrest that undermined the government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
"China's and Vietnam's ambassadors to Thailand met Supreme Commander Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn yesterday and assured us that they still have a good relationship with Thailand and that they hope the situation will return to normal quickly," Yongyuth Mayalarp, a spokesman for the military's National Council for Peace and Order, told reporters.
A protester shows a three-fingered salute borrowed from 'The Hunger Games' during an anti-coup demonstration in front of the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, on Wednesday. (AP photo)
The United States scrapped joint military programmes with Thailand days after the May 22 coup while the European Union has urged the military to free political detainees and end censorship.
Australia downgraded its ties with Thailand on Saturday, imposed a travel ban on junta leaders and cut defence cooperation, the toughest measures taken by a foreign government since the change of regime.
Pro-military demonstrators were expected to gather outside the Australian Embassy on Wednesday to protest at what they see as foreign meddling in Thailand's internal affairs.
The coup was the latest convulsion in a decade-long conflict between the Bangkok-based royalist establishment, dominated by the military, old-money families and the bureaucracy, and supporters of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who are adored by the poor in the north and northeast.
'Friends not foes'
The army is determined to silence dissent and has summoned around 300 activists, journalists, academics and politicians since taking power two weeks ago.
Many have been detained for varying periods of time and, in order to be released, have had to sign statements that they will step away from politics and halt anti-coup activities.
The junta has deployed thousands of security forces across the country to search for weapons in a bid to crack down on armed groups on both sides of the political divide. It has ordered Thais who have "war weapons", including explosives and grenade launchers, to hand them in before June 10.
The order did not include registered handguns. On a per-capita basis, Thailand has more guns than most countries in the world.
However, the country in general has remained calm since the bloodless coup. There is little military presence on the streets and resistance to military rule has so far been peaceful.
Thailand's May consumer confidence index hit its highest level since January on hopes the military can bring the economy back from the brink of recession. The economy shrank 2.1% in the first quarter as political turmoil depressed demand.
The junta lifted a curfew on Tuesday in the resorts of Pattaya, Phuket and Samui, in order to "relieve areas that are peaceful and free from political protests" and to support Thailand's vital tourism sector.
The midnight-to-4am curfew has not been lifted in Bangkok but the junta seems determined to win over hearts and minds in the capital.
Supporters of the military are trying to hijack a gesture used by demonstrators opposed to the coup, saying the three-fingered salute signifies the ills of the deposed government, and not resistance to the takeover.
The salute, inspired by the hit film The Hunger Games, has been flashed as a symbol of defiance at street protests in Bangkok since the weekend. The military has warned demonstrators against making the salute.
Security forces detained at least seven people who joined flash mob protests over the weekend and held up three fingers against the junta, according to the ruling National Council for Peace and Order.
"We are monitoring those who use this signal but have no plans to ban it yet," deputy army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told Reuters.
"But if there are gatherings of five people or more doing this salute, then we will make arrests in some cases."
In its latest charm offensive, the army is putting on a concert on Wednesday evening at Victory Monument, one of Bangkok's busiest junctions and briefly the focus of protests after the coup.
"We want to show the public that the military is here to protect the people and will do its utmost to ensure stability," Col Winthai said. "Soldiers are friends not foes."Everything from freezes to melted cards
[Update: Nvidia has released a new driver, 364.51, which it claims solves the problems caused by the faulty driver.
However, the reception to it on reddit has been mixed, with some people reporting the exact same problems as before. I recommend holding off on updating for a few days at least just so you can get a good idea as to how it's working for most people.]
If you’re an Nvidia graphics card user, you might want to hold off on installing the latest driver.
The 364.47 driver was released yesterday, and is meant to include optimisations for The Division, Hitman, Need for Speed, Ashes of the Singularity and Rise of the Tomb Raider. The drivers can also severely damage your computer.
Blue screens, failing to boot up Windows, restart loops, losing sound, graphical artifacting and even burned out cards are all problems which are being reported by users on various sites. It doesn’t seem to be specific to one brand or generation of card, either.
Nvidia has released a statement saying that the problems lie in the express installation settings, and that it is “actively investigating the issue”.
I am personally running the driver with my GTX 980 on a non-upgraded installation of Windows 10 64-bit, installed using express installation, and have found my entire PC now locks up after a few minutes of The Division. Enough people having more serious issues for me to suggest you wait until Nvidia releases a fixed version, or roll back your drivers if you’ve been unlucky enough to already install it.
The Division PC players: don’t download the latest Nvidia drivers [VG24/7]
You are logged out. Login | Sign upTeam Ninja's upcoming fighting game Dead or Alive 5 Last Round has already been announced for consoles of both the next and last-gen variety, but the Entertainment Software Rating Board says it's headed to the PC as well.
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round is set to come out on February 17 and is billed as the last instalment in the Dead or Alive 5 series. It will add new content and features to all versions of the game, including "breathtaking enhanced graphics" for the PS4 and Xbox One editions.
Team Ninja's DOA5 site breaks it all down in detail, but it makes no mention of a PC release; the ESRB does, however, as part of an entertaining rating summary that notes, among other things, that "breasts frequently jiggle" and "players have the ability to zoom in on female fighters' cleavage and/or posterior and take pictures." What a time to be alive.
It's quite possible that the ESRB rating is wrong. It makes no mention of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions, although that may be because previous releases of the game have already been rated. We've reached out to publisher Tecmo for confirmation and will update if we receive a reply.Almost every few weeks (or days, depending on the season), the following ceremony repeats itself in Palestinian villages around Nablus: A group of Israeli settlers from one of the outposts in the West Bank hills attacks Palestinian farmers while they are grazing sheep or working the fields, hoping to throw them off Palestinian land.
The village of Burin, south of Nablus, sits nestled in a dry river bed between the settlements of Yitzhar (and its outposts) and Bracha (and its outposts). More than a few farmers from Burin have had stones thrown at them or been beaten or had their property and animals harmed. Two years ago, settlers shot at six sheep belonging to a Burin resident; a year ago, a field was torched.
Very few complaints about settler violence against Palestinians that reach the Israeli district police office in the West Bank, however, lead to indictments. Personnel limitations, along with the relatively sophisticated manner in which the settlers operate, often make it difficult to lodge such complaints. Based on both a Haaretz investigation and the many reports that have reached the newspaper, it is clear that even when the police are in a position to help, they raise no small amount of obstacles for Palestinian complainants.
For example, a Palestinian from the northern West Bank looking to file a complaint against settlers must appear in person at the Ariel police station - but Palestinians are prohibited from entering Israeli territory. In such cases, the accepted police practice is for the Palestinians to call the station and inform them that they have arrived at the entrance to Ariel; the duty officer then sends a police car to bring them to the station in the center of the city.
In light of reports of police foot-dragging in dealing with Palestinians seeking to lodge complaints, Haaretz accompanied 35-year-old Burin resident Munir Kadus as he filed a complaint with the Israeli police in Ariel. Kadus had sought the aid of the human rights group Yesh Din.
'Where should I go?'
At 6 A.M. on September 5, a Sunday, one of the last days of the month of Ramadan, Kadus and his neighbor Abu Mursey went out to the fields near their homes to graze their sheep. They usually lead the few dozen animals to the open land on the eastern outskirts of Burin.
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After a few hours, Kadus claims, they were approached by six settlers, at least two of whom were adults and the rest children. Abu Mursey says he at first saw only three of them. According to Kadus, the settlers came down from the outpost known as Bracha B, armed with a slingshot.
Munir Kadus waiting for police at the entrance to Ariel. Daniel Bar-On
"'Go home,' they shouted in Hebrew," Kadus told Haaretz. "I asked them, 'Where should I go? This is my home.' 'Go away, you dog,' they shouted. We don't go there alone. It is a kilometer from their homes, but they often come down and attack us. They started throwing stones at us - they were standing about 10 meters away.
"'If you don't leave now we'll call friends,' they threatened and then one of them called someone [on a telephone]. Within 10 minutes another six people joined them; they were from the Bracha settlement itself. They came down in the direction of the village, near the houses.
"I called the citizens defense group we have in Burin, and they called the Palestinian coordination and communications office which then contacted [its] Israeli [counterpart]. Meanwhile, I also called my friends and family and seven people from the village arrived. [The Israelis] threw stones at us. Abu Mursey took the sheep back to the pen and then returned on a donkey. He is 58 years old and it isn't easy for him to climb. One of the stones hit him in the back.
"The incident lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Then the army patrol arrived and immediately threw shock grenades at us to put an end to the clash. The settlers covered their faces so they couldn't be identified and sat in the shade. We asked that they be arrested, but of course this didn't happen. An officer in the IDF district coordination office named Ataf spoke with me from Bracha and waved to me with his hand. He said the incident was over and we should go home."
Before leaving, Kadus photographed his attackers.
One day's events
September 14, 11:35 A.M. - Kadus calls the Ariel police station. The recorded message in Hebrew tells him to press the number 8 to reach the duty officer. Kadus informs the officer that he is a Palestinian from Burin who wants to lodge a complaint about an attack by settlers. "No problem," the officer says. "Come to the Ariel gate and call from there."
12:02 P.M. - Kadus calls from the entrance to Ariel. "Hello, I called about filing a complaint. I am at the Abu Ali restaurant [at the entrance to Ariel]. I'd like to come to lodge a complaint." The duty officer: "You cannot enter alone. Don't you understand what I'm saying to you? Wait until I come to get you."
12:20 P.M. - The first police car passes without stopping for Kadus.
12:30 P.M. - A traffic police car stops on the other side of the road. Kadus approaches it, but the officers are there to confiscate drivers licenses from roadside peddlers.
12:50 P.M. - An unmarked traffic police patrol car stops nearby. Kadus explains to the two policemen in the car that he needs to go to the station to file a complaint. They explain that they are traffic police and cannot help. "The duty officer will help you," they tell him.
Meanwhile, Yesh Din researchers Azmi Badir and Judith Avidor take evidence from Abu Mursey. Edna Kaldor of Yesh Din told Haaretz that last year she arrived at the entrance to Ariel with two older Palestinians and waited four hours. Only after the group's lawyers threatened to file a complaint with the police district office, did a car arrive to pick up the complainants. They then had to wait another four hours at the station itself.
1:10 P.M. - Kadus calls the duty officer again and identifies himself. "Wait. Signal a passing patrol car. Signal it. Bye," the officer tells him.
1:19 P.M. - Another phone conversation. "Police, hello, Munir Kadus speaking. I have been waiting for an hour and a half. I want to make a complaint." The duty officer: "Wait until you are picked up." Kadus: "When are you coming?" The duty officer hangs up.
1:55 P.M. - Another patrol car passes us by on the way to Ariel. It does not stop.
2:00 P.M. - Kadus calls again. "Wait there. A car will come soon to pick you up."
2:05 P.M. - Edna Kaldor calls the duty officer and identifies herself. She tells him that Munir Kadus has been waiting for two hours and no patrol car has arrived. "You have to signal the patrol to stop," the duty officer explains. After she tells him she has done so, he answers, "We have other things going on. We'll come when we have time."
At that time, no unusual security incidents occured in the area.
2:30 P.M. - Judith Avidor calls the duty officer after he neglected to answer a call from Kaldor's mobile phone. The officer, Zeev, refuses to give her his last name. "I don't have to give you my whole name. He can wait there."
Finally we left. No complaint about the September 5 incident has been filed with the Ariel police. Let it be known to the |
3, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Rutgers 2
1984, 1986
Men's gymnastics Edit
The Big Ten fields seven of the remaining fifteen Division I men's gymnastics teams. In 2014, Michigan edged out Oklahoma for their 6th NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship, the school's third in five years.[78] NCAA Championships and Runners-up Edit Year Champion Runner-up Host 1938 Chicago† Illinois Chicago 1939 Illinois Army Chicago 1940 Illinois Navy/Temple Chicago 1941 Illinois Minnesota Chicago 1942 Illinois Penn State†† Navy 1948 Penn State†† Temple Chicago 1949 Temple Minnesota California 1950 Illinois Temple Army 1951 Florida State Illinois/Southern Cal Michigan 1953 Penn State†† Illinois Syracuse 1954 Penn State†† Illinois Illinois 1955 Illinois Penn State†† UCLA 1956 Illinois Penn State†† North Carolina 1957 Penn State†† Illinois Navy 1958 Michigan State†††/Illinois Michigan State 1959 Penn State†† Illinois California 1960 Penn State†† Southern Cal Penn State 1961 Penn State†† Southern Illinois Illinois 1963 Michigan Southern Illinois Pittsburgh 1965 Penn State†† Washington Southern Illinois 1967 Southern Illinois Michigan Southern Illinois 1969 Iowa Penn State††/Colorado State Washington 1970 Michigan Iowa State/New Mexico state Temple 1973 Iowa State Penn State†† Oregon 1976 Penn State†† LSU Temple 1979 Nebraska†† Oklahoma LSU 1980 Nebraska†† Iowa State Nebraska 1981 Nebraska†† Oklahoma Nebraska 1982 Nebraska†† UCLA Nebraska 1983 Nebraska†† UCLA Penn State 1984 UCLA Penn State†† UCLA 1985 Ohio State Nebraska†† Nebraska 1986 Arizona State Nebraska†† Nebraska 1987 UCLA Nebraska†† UCLA 1988 Nebraska†† Illinois Nebraska 1989 Illinois Nebraska†† Nebraska 1990 Nebraska†† Minnesota Minnesota 1991 Oklahoma Penn State†† Penn State 1992 Stanford Nebraska†† Nebraska 1993 Stanford Nebraska†† New Mexico 1994 Nebraska†† Stanford Nebraska 1995 Stanford Nebraska†† Ohio State 1996 Ohio State California Stanford 1998 California Iowa Penn State 1999 Michigan Ohio State Nebraska 2000 Penn State Michigan Iowa 2001 Ohio State Oklahoma Ohio State 2002 Oklahoma Ohio State Oklahoma 2003 Oklahoma Ohio State Temple 2004 Penn State Oklahoma Illinois 2005 Oklahoma Ohio State Army 2006 Oklahoma Illinois Oklahoma 2007 Penn State Oklahoma Penn State 2009 Stanford Michigan Minnesota 2010 Michigan Stanford Army 2012 Illinois Oklahoma Oklahoma 2013 Michigan Oklahoma Penn State 2014 Michigan Oklahoma Michigan †–Chicago left the Big Ten in 1946. ††–Finishes prior to Penn State and Nebraska joining the Big Ten. †††–Michigan State no longer competes in gymnastics.
Men's ice hockey Edit
Men's lacrosse Edit
Women's lacrosse Edit
Men's soccer Edit
Rivalries Edit
Facilities Edit
Media Edit
As of 2017, the Big Ten has carriage agreements with the following broadcast and cable networks.[89][90] Fox Sports : 24 to 27 football games per year (including tier 1 rights). Nine games total in primetime on Fox and FS1. Top pick in the draft of weeks to select first in football. Football championship game every year. 39 to 47 men's basketball games. Potentially ten of those games on Fox broadcast network.
: ESPN : 27 football games All intraconference games on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. At least six primetime games per season on ABC or ESPN. 38 men's basketball games. Most intraconference games on ESPN or ESPN2. Broad coverage of women's basketball and Olympic sports.
: CBS Sports : Rights to the semifinals and championship of the men's basketball tournament. At least ten regular season games per season. Sundays will be the primary day for Big Ten basketball to air on CBS. All of these parameters are about the same as the previous agreement.
: Big Ten Network was created in 2006 through a joint partnership between the Big Ten and News Corporation and debuted the following year, replacing the ESPN Plus package previously offered to Big Ten markets via syndication. Based in downtown Chicago, the network's lineup consists exclusively of Big Ten-related programming, such as a nightly highlights show, in addition to live events.[91]
See also EditBy DZ
All current major or minor league players developed in Africa are listed here.
Gift Ngoepe, Pittsburgh Pirates. South Africa.
Current team: Altoona Curve (AA)
The Altoona second baseman is hitting.294 in the last two weeks, and is.253/.338/.401 overall. He’s got 11 stolen bases in 17 attempts and 30 extra base hits in 359 at bats in 106 games.
Anthony Phillips, Philadelphia Phillies. South Africa.
Current team: Clearwater Threshers (High-A)
Phillips has returned to high-A, and is hitting.167 in his last 10 games. He’s at.214/.303/.290 for the season in 77 games/224 at bats.
Dylan Unsworth, Seattle Mariners. South Africa.
Current team: High Desert Mavericks (High-A)
Unsworth has pitched all season in one of the most unforgiving pitching environments in minor league baseball – High Desert in particular and the California League in general. He has a 5-8 record, 6.13 ERA in 22 starts and 108.2 innings. He’s given up 141 hits and 18 walks while getting 108 strikeouts.
Callan Pearce, Minnesota Twins. South Africa.
Current team: GCL Twins (rookie)
Pearce has thrown 13 games, tallying 14.2 innings, at the Twins’ Florida home. 19 hits, 13 runs, 10 walks, and 15 strikeouts thus far with a 1-1 record.
Signed in 2014 –
Rowan Ebersohn, Minnesota Twins. South Africa.About
"Come On, It's 2015", sometimes iterated as >[Current Year] or "It's 2015," is a catchphrase expression often said by users on 4chan's /pol/ (politically incorrect) board to mock English comedian and pundit John Oliver's frequent resort to reminding his viewers of the present year as a straw man argument against ideas and beliefs which he deems to be old-fashioned or conservative.
Origin
Mentioning the present year has long been used by liberals as a rhetorical device to promote progressive agendas and dismiss conservative beliefs, particularly in the context of issue-specific political debates, with the earliest known online satire of the phrase attributed to an Onion article published in February 2014 with the headline "Report: Stating Current Year Still Leading Argument For Social Reform" (shown below, left). However, the phrase "I mean, come on people, it's [current year]" became a popular fodder for mockeries in late 2015 after it was recognized by users of 4chan as a signature line associated with John Oliver on his late-night TV talk show Last Week Tonight; the oldest 4chan parody of the expression as used by John Oliver can be found in a /tv/ (television & film) thread submitted on September 3rd, 2015 (shown below, right).
Spread
On September 29th, 2015, Bodybuilding Forums user PissBeerBreh highlighted the satirical use of the phrase on 4chan in a discussion thread titled "Come on!!!! It's 2015!!!!!!!!!!!™." In the thread, the original poster (OP) openly criticizes John Oliver's resort to the expression as a logical fallacy:
The argument is literally this: "We are living in a year."
So because we're living in 2015, you need to check your privilege and agree with them or you're a racist bigot homophobic cisshet Islamophobic conservative trans hating KKK member of Westboro Baptist Church.
In the following months, numerous discussion threads addressing the popularity of the expression emerged on other 4chan boards, including /pol/ (politically incorrect), /a/ (anime & manga) and /v/ (video games), where many users similarly began poking fun at the cliched nature of the phrase and dubbed John Oliver the "Le 2015 Man."
By the end of 2015 the expressions started to gain even more popularity, with /pol/ users joking about how John Oliver would get increasingly stressed that 2015 would end. Many threads were created mocking the British Comedian on 4chan boards. Many of these threads eventually were shared on the 4chan subreddit. On New Years Day 2016, user /u/aleon33 shared "Some of you liberals are alright…" on /r/4chan, the post quickly reached the frontpage and as of January 5th 2016 has accumulated about 4894 upvotes and 559 comments.
Examples
Usage in Politics
The phrase has been also frequently employed by a multitude of liberal politicians, most notably Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau, as well as many activists in the social justice blogosphere in defense of a wide range of politically progressive agendas.
It's 2017!
On February 6th, 2017, an anonymous 4chan user suggested that /pol/ users troll liberals by turning the "current year" meme against them (shown below).
Some users began subsequently using "it's 2017" ironically in defense of bigotry. captioning pictures of neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan with the expression (shown below).
Search Interest
External ReferencesConnecticut coach Ray Reid celebrates with Chris Gbandi after Connecticut defeated Creighton 2-0 in the NCAA men's Division I championship Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000. Gbandi was joined on the team by four of his club teammates from Houston, who at the time only had one option for Division I men's teams in Texas. less Connecticut coach Ray Reid celebrates with Chris Gbandi after Connecticut defeated Creighton 2-0 in the NCAA men's Division I championship Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000. Gbandi was joined on the team by four of his... more Photo: NELL REDMOND, AP Photo: NELL REDMOND, AP Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Men's college soccer teams lacking in Texas 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
As one of the top high school soccer players in the nation in the late 1990s, Chris Gbandi had quality options for where he could play in college.
The Cypress Falls senior had scholarship offers from St. John's, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Alabama-Birmingham and Rhode Island, but not a single offer from an in-state school.
That was not because he wasn't good enough. At the time, Texas had only one Division I men's soccer program.
As the NCAA men's College Cup kicks off at BBVA Compass Stadium Friday night the irony is that Gbandi still would not have many choices if he was a senior today.
Four teams – Denver, North Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest – will play for the NCAA championship this weekend. That is the same number of Division I teams (SMU, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word and UT-Rio Grande Valley) in the entire state of Texas.
"I never even thought about staying in Texas," said Gbandi, who is the head coach at Northeastern (Mass.) University. "It is unfortunate that all these kids growing up in Texas who want to play don't have many options to play in Texas."
RELATED: Get to know College Cup teams
There are 18 Texas products on the rosters of the four teams competing this weekend. Nine of them play for North Carolina, including brothers Tucker and Walker Hume from San Angelo. Tucker leads the Tar Heels in scoring. Walker is an all-ACC second-team pick.
Denver defender Reagan Dunk, a Dallas Lake Highlands graduate, is a two-time Hermann Trophy semifinalist. Stanford winger Bryce Marion has started all 21 games this season for the defending NCAA champions three years after graduating from Cy Ranch.
When Gbandi won the NCAA title with Connecticut in 2000 four of his teammates had played on his club team in Houston.
Glenn Davis, a national television soccer broadcaster and host of the Houston radio show Soccer Matters, was the director of the club Gbandi played for. During his days as a youth director he said he saw a steady stream of players leave Texas because of the lack of opportunities.
He said the fact more Texas schools do not have Division I programs is inconsistent.
"These are international universities that don't have the number one international game," Davis said. "You have so much in-state talent to pick from. The University of Houston could be a power right here in our city."
The main obstacle for adding men's soccer programs is Title IX, which in part says there have to be as many scholarships for female athletes as there are for male athletes.
Rice and UH this week both said the reason they sponsor women's teams but not men's teams is because of Title IX.
Since many NCAA Division I schools field football teams that can use up to 85 scholarships, it is difficult to offset that number with women's teams. So most schools have more women's teams than men's teams.
Rice deputy athletic director Rick Mello served on the NCAA's men's soccer committee for two years in the early 2000s and said there always was discussion about growing the game nationally.
He said the committee knew it would have to start at the youth levels, which Mello said is happening throughout the country.
Read Full ArticleAr no Surge announced for PlayStation 3
Surge Concerto RPG due out on January 30 in Japan.
Gust is developing Ar no Surge, an RPG entry in its life simulation series Surge Concerto: Ciel no Surge, for PlayStation 3.
Dengeki PlayStation this week reveals the game will have town, field, and battle elements, and themes based around “confrontation from coexistence,” “bonds,” “the bonds between men and women,” and “bonds as friends.”
The game’s connection to Ciel no Surge and Ar Tonelico is still a mystery, but it appears to be set in the same universe as Ciel no Surge, but during a different time period.
Ar no Surge will be directed by Akira Tsuchiya, have character design by NTNY, and feature high-quality character models by Flight Unit.
The hero is Delta Lantanoir, a young man who came out from inside Felion when the barrier wall was opened. He uses a tonfa, gun, and his fists in combat, and was part of an elite organization called “Plasma,” who was protecting the city from Sharl. For certain reasons, he was discharged from the group and now runs a restaurant. Joining Delta is Arshes, a humanoid robot weapon.
On the planet La Ciela, where the Genomes co-exist, the Sharl kidnap people using song magic. After the barrier wall opens, an ancient race with the ability to use lost song magic appear. These ancient people awakened from cold sleep live alongside modern day folk in the city’s residential area.
Battles do not use a command turn-based system, but a hybrid system with action elements called “Protect.” The hero will take the front lines while protecting the heroine as she performs song magic.
The game will offer a “Genometric System” that lets you go inside peoples’ hearts, as well as a mixing system.
Ar no Surge is due out for PlayStation 3 on January 30 for 7,140 yen.
Thanks, Game Nyarth.NEW DELHI: In a move to resolve increasing man-animal conflict, especially tho- se causing damage to crops, the environment ministry on Monday said it has sought report from the states to declare certain over-bred animals as vermin for a limited period of time.Once being declared vermin, that particular species can be hunted without restriction.“We had issued a circular in this regard earlier also. In areas where farmers are facing huge problems due to animals like blue bull ( neel gai ) and wild boar, there is a procedure to declare them as ‘vermin’ for a particular period of time,” environment minister Prakash Javadekar said. “As soon as we get states' response on this, we will give them permission to decalre such animals as'vermin' for a limited period of time,” he said.If implemented, it will apply to wild animals listed in various schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) of 1972. The provisions to declare wild animals as problem animals are already there in the WPA, the minister said.Javadekar also said that the government has planned three new tiger reserves — Bor in Maharashtra, Rajaji in Uttarakhand and Pilibhit in UP.GOOD ADVICE…. Rachel Maddow’s segment last night on this insulting Washington Post op-ed from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is well worth watching.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
There are, of course, two problems with Hatch’s op-ed piece. The first is that it’s shamelessly dishonest, and evidence of a lack of integrity and seriousness among congressional Republicans. The second is that the Washington Post would publish a piece filled with demonstrable inaccuracies, with claims that are at odds with the paper’s own reporting.
Rachel highlighted both problems. On the former, she noted that the piece “has so many blatant, out-right, laugh-out-loud falsehoods in it that it made me wonder if maybe there’s a deal or something. Where if you’re a United States senator who’s been in office for 33 years like Orrin Hatch has, you just don’t get fact-checked anymore in the Washington Post. They just agree to let you print whatever you want. Is that the rule? ‘Cause if it isn’t the rule, than how do you explain this?”
But her commentary on congressional Republicans, directed at the lawmakers themselves, was especially important:645X363 - Full Sharing - Additional videos are suggested upon completion
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellHouse to push back at Trump on border Democrats block abortion bill in Senate Overnight Energy: Climate protesters storm McConnell’s office | Center-right group says Green New Deal could cost trillion | Dire warnings from new climate studies MORE (R-Ky.) on Tuesday rejected demands by Democratic Senate leaders to hold a budget summit this month.
McConnell’s dismissal creates a fiscal standoff in the Senate months earlier than expected over whether spending limits, known as the sequester, should be lifted.
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Failure to resolve the impasse could result in a government shutdown this fall.
Democratic leaders are bringing up the issue now to put pressure on McConnell to agree to raise defense and nondefense spending levels in tandem. They hope to get a head start on the blame game both sides expect at the end of September when government funding is due to expire.
Some Republicans have signaled support for lifting the sequester, but such a deal would provoke a fight with grassroots conservatives that McConnell would like to avoid. A deal to lift the ceilings would bust budget caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act, which McConnell often cites as a major Republican accomplishment.
The GOP leader also believes he can hurt centrist Democrats if they are forced to cast votes against defense spending at a time when a growing number of voters are worried about the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and national security.
Democrats have warned that they will block the Senate from taking up the annual defense spending bill unless the GOP agrees to lift the sequester on both defense and nondefense spending.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinKids confront Feinstein over Green New Deal Senate plots to avoid fall shutdown brawl Overnight Energy: Trump ends talks with California on car emissions | Dems face tough vote on Green New Deal | Climate PAC backing Inslee in possible 2020 run MORE (Ill.) on Tuesday floated the possibility of a budget summit, which he said could avoid the impasse over the defense bill.
“It should be congressional leaders of both parties, it should be the White House,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidBottom Line Brennan fires back at'selfish' Trump over Harry Reid criticism Trump rips Harry Reid for 'failed career' after ex-Dem leader slams him in interview MORE (Nev.) said Tuesday in echoing the call for the summit.
In dismissing the idea, McConnell said the Senate should stick to regular order and vote on the defense appropriations bill this month as scheduled.
He argued a budget summit is not necessary because Senate and House Republican leaders have already agreed to defense spending levels as part of their budget, which was approved by the House and Senate earlier this year.
“We set a spending level. We did it in the budget. When we finish the National Defense Authorization Act, we’ll go to the defense appropriations bill,” McConnell said. “We’re going to move forward and see what our friends on the other side want to do.
“There’s been a lot of big talk about stopping bills. We’ll see whether they really want to do that,” he added.
When asked if it would make sense to hold a budget summit before debating any of the appropriations bills, McConnell said, “No, of course not.”
A spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) endorsed McConnell’s stance.
“The Speaker agrees with Leader McConnell. Why are Democrats afraid of regular order? Using funding for our troops as a bargaining chip to extract more spending for bureaucracies like the IRS and the EPA is unconscionable,” said Kevin Smith, Boehner’s aide.
A big part of the fight over spending, which is triggering skirmishes in the House and the Senate and has led to a series of veto threats from the Obama administration, is a war-funding account used to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Republicans increased the war budget to give the Pentagon the ability to spend over the sequester ceiling.
The White House and congressional Democrats have criticized the use of the war account, calling it a “gimmick” that plays havoc with long-term planning.
Democrats say they will not allow any appropriations bills to pass unless funding for nondefense domestic programs is raised as well as defense spending.
“You wait until the end, you’re going to get a [continuing resolution,] which everyone agrees is a really poor form of budgeting, hurts the military and hurts families, doesn’t allow us to do what we need to do,” Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, said in explaining why Senate Democrats are drawing a line now.
Republicans are betting centrist Democrats may not want to stand with their own leadership. Voting against the popular defense spending bill could come back to haunt them in a future election.
“House and Senate Democrats are actively plotting to stop a defense bill that would fund operations against our enemies, military training, body armor, and a pay raise for our troops. And if they don’t get their way, they’re willing to shut down the federal government,” said Smith, Boehner’s spokesman. “That’s a dangerous game that puts lives on the line and the protection of our country at risk.”
Republicans would need six Democrats to cross party lines and vote to move to the defense bill. Sixty votes are necessary in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles.
Winning the six Democratic votes could be a tall order for McConnell.
Two centrists, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), said Tuesday they are undecided.
Manchin called the $38 billion in extra war funds a “gimmick” but added that he’s still “looking” at how to vote.
Heitkamp said her vote would depend on how the debate on the defense authorization measure, which is now pending on the Senate floor, “plays out.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), another centrist, said he would back the Democratic leadership’s call to filibuster the defense bill.
Jordain Carney contributed.Dr Karl › Dr Karl's Great Moments In Science
Stuxnet the world's dirtiest digital bomb
Computer espionage has taken on a newer and more sinister meaning this century. Dr Karl looks closely at the dirty work done by a computer worm, Stuxnet, as it attacked a uranium processing plant in Iran.
There is a very effective computer virus called Stuxnet, Last time, I mentioned it caused a nuclear accident in Iran. To be more specific, the Stuxnet virus attacked the underground uranium centrifuge plant at Natanz, in Iran.
This incredibly well-crafted virus took its manufacturers, and we still don't know who they are, at least 10 person-years to make.
Once Stuxnet was inside the computers that controlled the spinning centrifuges, it made copies of itself and spread to all the computers on the internal network at the underground centrifuge plant.
The virus then looked for a specific set of widely used software, with the fairly obscure name of Simatic WinCC Step 7. This software could be used to control the action of high-speed motors.
Then the Stuxnet virus went deeper, and looked for motors spinning at 1064 revolutions per second, the exact speed at which the uranium centrifuges were spinning.
And then it went looking for centrifuges that were set up in the very specific configuration that had been used at Natanz.
Now computer and IT people have a saying, 'root is God'. In a computer, the so-called root-level is the most basic and fundamental level, and if you have access to 'root', you can do anything. The half-meg [file size of the] Stuxnet virus had root-access, and it used it.
It sped up the uranium centrifuges from their normal 1064 revolutions per second, to 1410, and kept them there for 15 minutes. This burst of over-speed created subtle damage in the bearings and structures of the centrifuges, which were already running at a speed close to critical.
Over time, this damage would destroy the centrifuges. Then Stuxnet went to sleep for 27 days. This time, when it woke up, it slowed down the centrifuges to an incredibly slow two revolutions per second, and kept them at this speed for 50 minutes.
This very slow speed would undo all the weeks and months of work that the centrifuges had done in separating the heavy and not-so-heavy isotopes of uranium, by letting the gases mix back together again.
And then Stuxnet went to sleep, only to wake up and repeat the whole cycle again in another two weeks.
So Stuxnet was both making the centrifuges self-destruct, and was mixing back together the painstakingly separated isotopes of the unwanted uranium-238, and the highly desired uranium-235.
And the operators of the centrifuges didn't know, because Stuxnet had done what is called a man-in-the-middle attack. It came between the computers that controlled the centrifuges and the centrifuges, and it made itself invisible.
So the operators didn't know when the centrifuges were running too fast, and they didn't receive any of the alarm signals that the centrifuges were sending back to them because Stuxnet was blocking them.
As far as the operators were concerned, everything was fine and running normally.
The first wave of Stuxnet was unleashed on June 22, 2009. Shortly after, the head of the Iranian atomic energy organisation resigned.
The next month, Wikileaks revealed that there had been a nuclear accident at the uranium centrifuge plant in Natanz. We don't have any more details on just what this accident was.
Uranium centrifuges are very high-tech, very delicate machines. They are normally replaced at the rate of 10 per cent per year. But as a result of Stuxnet, Iranian centrifuges were being replaced at 10 per cent per month!
Yes, Stuxnet did work, in the sense that it slowed, for a year or two, the advance of the Iranian nuclear program.
But now, in the words of the journal, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "Stuxnet is the world's problem".
You see, the very clever code that made up Stuxnet is now open source; anybody can look it up.
Anybody who works in this area can easily customize Stuxnet to be their virus. The original Stuxnet was a very exact and precise surgical instrument with a single target, the Iranian nuclear program.
But it can be reverse-engineered to be a dirty digital bomb. Already there are reports that a version of Stuxnet has been infiltrated into parts of the American military machine, perhaps the armed drones flying over Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The security of programmable logic controllers has always been very low, because nobody thought they would be a target.
But what if every traffic light, elevator and water pump in your country suddenly stopped working? What if the tiny valves that let fuel into every petrol and diesel engine suddenly stopped working?
A new weapon has been unleashed upon the world, and Stuxnet can't be stuffed back into Pandora's Box.
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WV-Films writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 11:50:25 AM
f*ck you.
hellsing writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 12:29:47 PM
this right here is why people hate spike lee
PORN-FLY writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 12:30:14 PM
I guess Juan wasnt dark enough to receive any help from the black Steven CongealedTurd(spielberg)
Lee acts like one of those old black people who had to use colored drinking fountains and who had riot hoses turned on him
lighten up, jerk
stop worshipping Lee and Kanye
theyre not doing any good for anyone
Somebody give Sydney Poitier a RedBull and a belt so he can sort these two embarrassements out
isnt Spike being sued because he posted some poor old couple's address on Twitter claiming it was George Zimmermans?
DeathMaster writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 1:03:45 PM
And suddenly I decided to not watch this film at the movie theater. Because why don't you pay me to watch it?
drewsmit24 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 1:18:11 PM
i like Spike Lee f*ck the media! getting in minor spats with people cant make me hate someone. use your brain
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 1:50:56 PM
Ah, the irony of Spook Lee complaining that he's the victim of "stupid texts". He's the same guy who retweeted someone's address in the hopes of seeing a lynching.
No sympathy for this negro.
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 2:06:42 PM
BJsforeveryone writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 2:16:48 PM
Brolin is my reason to watch this movie anyway, not Spike!!
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 2:26:05 PM
From The Dustin Files
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 2:26:54 PM
Stapes writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 2:32:16 PM
Studios do this sh*t all the time. Too bad starving artists seldom have the finances to take it to court. Maybe this guy could kill himself so that his art will sell, then have his estate sue.
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 3:24:06 PM
http://hyperallergic.com/95917/spike-lee-doesnt-do-the-right-thing/
Lots more infohttp://hyperallergic.com/95917/spike-lee-doesnt-do-the-right-thing/
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 3:35:35 PM
People are saying the original guy's poster is superior, but I think they're wrong.
Perhaps the composition is better, but the original has unprofessional typography, doesn't include the headliner's face (Brolin or another actor as a stand-in) which is a marketing no-no, the colors are under-saturated, the brightness and contrast are off and the far background character is far too small to merit much attention or interest.
I will give the original poster a plus for the use of a higher horizon line, which gives his composition a more developed feel as the ground is the viewer's focus, not the sky, and a better sense of directionality with the image's iconography (or "dramaturgy" in Cannon-speak), but that's it.
Also, in Lee's poster, Brolin's posing contains more story, whereas the original just shows a guy laying in a box. Brolin looks like he's not only escaping successfully from the box from which he's been held, a symbolic importance, but that he's posed for action, for vengeance while doing it with cool aplomb and determination.
The other poster is basically saying "I'm on my ass trying to zip my fly in a box that won't stay open", which is clearly inferior, perhaps even comedic, which is not the right tone for this film.
I welcome any other computer artists' opinions.
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 3:39:26 PM
Also, funneling the typography into the box is a poor attempt at drawing attention when the viewer is going to look at the box first thing regardless.
Dude needs to go back to graphic design school.
Stapes writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 4:35:15 PM
Actually, if it wasnt the artists idea to use that particular scene for the poster, then he's just a whiny bitch who needs to go f*ck himself.
Kudos to mink for posting a comparison.
minkowski writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 7:32:32 PM
Yeah, my pleasure. Not like Alex was going to do it.
greenfreak69 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 7:44:16 PM
Does this dude really capitalize every word in every one of his tweets?? Seems exhausting
Cinemaisdead writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 8:30:16 PM
The first picture looks like he's fallen in to the box and the text looks like some 70s time travel film.
Also, this is the first article about Spike Lee in a while that doesn't say "big time ass hole Spike Lee" somewhere amongst it. I think Alex has gone over to the dark side :|
HorrorJunky4Life writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 9:19:53 PM
Saw Spike's version of this movie a few hours ago. It stunk.
DeVries writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 9:21:02 PM
Will someone finally kick that puke in the mouth? f*cking sc*mbag Lee.
velocityknown writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 9:41:49 PM
Paul Walker died in a car accident:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/paul-walker-dies-in-car-accident
boogiel writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:15:47 PM
^ While other claims it's a hoax : http://en.mediamass.net/people/paul-walker/deathhoax.html
lakers320 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:29:15 PM
It's official paul walker has died what a shame especially since he had been taking ppl on drives in his porsche to raise money for tornardo recently
Frank4969 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:35:48 PM
Somebody please kill this man already
Tanman32123 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:42:07 PM
I've researched the sh*t out of this since I read about it like a half hour ago. The mains and trustworthy news reports say that sources close to him claim he's dead.
I have no doubt now. There's just to many people reporting it. GlobalNews, TMZ, USA Today. Those are considerably trustworthy sites and news reports when it comes to deaths.
They NEVER report on Hoaxs.
PORN-FLY writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:42:36 PM
Spike Lee dont wanna help nobody=alive
using your celebrity to help raise $$ for victims of a natural disaster=death
"who's the BigTime*sshole now? Peckerwood?",said Lee
wutta bummer
RIP
Barney Stinson writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 10:42:48 PM
RIP Paul Walker. May not have been the greatest actor, but he seemed like a nice guy. I'm bummed out.
Venom1970 writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 11:13:34 PM
Terrible news about Paul Walker, I liked most of his performances especially Running Scared and Eight Below. RIP
As far as goes to Spike Lee, f*ck off n*gger :)
boogiel writes:
on November 30th, 2013 at 11:46:50 PM
Good people die young. RIP Paul.
Rocksteddy writes:
on December 1st, 2013 at 12:43:15 AM
Paul Walker died today at 40, guys.
mrstretch writes:
on December 1st, 2013 at 1:05:56 AM
Race in peace.
zxz writes:
on December 1st, 2013 at 1:26:39 AM
Spike Lee is an overrated *sshole. Ernest d*ckerson made his early films what they were with his incredible cinematography. Spike has a chip on his shoulder and anyone who acts like him would find it very hard to have a career in any field but Hollywood.
Venom1970 writes:
on December 1st, 2013 at 2:42:17 AM
The whole world knows about it, (Paul Walker) and in a few hours Alex will put a thread up about it acting like its breaking news.
PORN-FLY writes:
on December 1st, 2013 |
the House floor last week, holding up a photo of Trump flanked by Vice President Pence and six male advisers in the Oval Office a day after he signed an order restricting federal funds for abortion-related activities in foreign countries.
Trump signs executive actions in the Oval Office on Jan. 23, including one resurrecting a policy that prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive federal funding from performing or promoting abortion services through their work in other countries. (Ron Sachs/Pool photo via Bloomberg News)
“I can tell you Barack Obama would not have for one minute signed an executive order that would make it harder for women across the globe to get health-care service with [only] men standing behind him,” said Nancy-Ann DeParle, who served as Obama’s deputy chief of staff for policy from 2011 to 2013.
During his inaugural address, Trump stood on the veranda of the U.S. Capitol and declared “an oath of allegiance to all Americans.”
Two days later, after millions of women had demonstrated against his administration in marches in Washington and across the country, Trump presided over a swearing-in ceremony for two dozen senior White House staffers. Among them were five women and one racial minority, former “Apprentice” star Omarosa Manigault, who is serving as a senior communications aide.
The White House senior staff is sworn in on Jan. 22. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Beyond the White House, Trump’s choices to fill 21 Cabinet-level positions include 16 white men, four women (including two Asian Americans) and one African American man, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
For the first time since the Reagan administration, there are no Latinos, even as Trump moves to ramp up the deportations of undocumented immigrants.
White House aides discounted criticism over the lack of diversity.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal deputy press secretary, said that Trump regularly consults the opinions of a wide range of aides, regardless of their rank.
“He’s not the type who talks to just 20 people,” said Sanders, who emphasized that she did not think that the president’s policy initiatives have been “anti-women.”
“I’ve sat in multiple meetings where he turned and said, ‘Sarah, what do you think about this?’ ” Sanders said. “He called the main line to the press office the other day. I sat and talked to him for 20 minutes.”
Manigault, who has battled suggestions in the black community that she is being used as a racial token, said on “The View” on Jan. 27: “No one uses me.”
She accused the Obama administration of choosing “not to aggressively do African American outreach.”
“They felt that if they helped all Americans, then the black community would be helped,” Manigault said. “That really isn’t the approach that we’re taking. We have a very strategic plan of engaging this community.”
(Victoria Walker,Danielle Kunitz,Dani Player/The Washington Post)
That could be challenging. Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump among black voters by 80 percentage points, and she won Latinos by 36 points and women by 12 points, according to the Pew Research Center.
Trump decisively won among white male voters.
“For his base, they don’t care who he hires,” said a former high-ranking female aide in the George W. Bush White House.
Trump’s supporters “don’t want to be told who to hire for their businesses — just the best people for the job,” added the former Bush official, who was not authorized by her employer to speak on the record. “If the left wants to hem and haw over the lack of diversity, fine. If he gets results, then it won’t matter.”
Still, Trump and his team appear to have noticed the criticism.
A day after he signed the abortion funding ban, the president invited reporters into the Oval Office for another round of executive orders. This time, the same men were arrayed behind him along with two women — senior political adviser Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks, a senior communications aide.
They were positioned just over Trump’s left shoulder, in the center of the frame for news photographers.
Trump, accompanied by Vice President Pence and staff, talks with reporters in the Oval Office on Jan. 24 before signing an executive order on the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Conway, a longtime Republican pollster and strategist, serves a prominent public role for Trump as an omnipresent face on cable and network news shows. She, Hicks and Manigault have attended the White House daily briefings as press secretary Sean Spicer answers questions from reporters. The press office is largely staffed by women.
But their positions underscore what seems to be a primary assignment for women in the Trump White House as public-relations liaisons to defend the president and, at times, soften his rough edges. Trump’s daughter Ivanka accompanied him on a trip to an Air Force base in Dover, Del., on Wednesday to visit with the family of a U.S. service member killed in Yemen.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer answers questions during the daily news briefing at the White House on Jan. 30 as Trump aides look on. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Conway, who wrote a 2005 book about how women are reshaping politics and culture, has privately expressed a desire to take on more of a policy role, particularly around military veterans. But she is not known to have the same level of influence on policy as do other senior advisers: Stephen K. Bannon; Stephen Miller; and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law; and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Trump is not the first president to be accused of sidelining women. Female aides to Obama voiced frustration that they were not being heard, prompting Obama to hold a private dinner with them and encourage them to speak up.
An Oval Office photo of Obama meeting with 11 aides, 10 of whom were male, prompted renewed questions shortly before his second term. But Obama had the highest percentage of women in the West Wing — 39 percent — in history, according to Jay Newton-Small, author of “Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works.”
Newton-Small said that women must reach a “critical mass” to exert real influence, which she defined as up to 30 percent. She noted that Clinton had pledged to make women half of her Cabinet.
“That would have supercharged it,” she said.
Trump allies said that Hicks, 28, who served as a campaign spokeswoman, is a ubiquitous presence at the president’s side, which could give her outsize influence.
“The way that it works for Trump is, if you’re in the room, he’s going to ask you your opinion,” said a former Trump aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation candidly.
The question is who is in the room. On Jan. 27, Trump and Pence traveled to the Pentagon, where they were joined by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as Trump signed an executive order to bar refugees and suspend travel to the United States from seven majority-Muslim countries.
Trump signs and holds up an executive action at the Pentagon on Jan. 27. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
The entry ban set off major protests Jan. 28 across the country amid reports that federal agents had detained more than 100 foreign travelers, including some who had green cards allowing them legal permanent residence in the country.
That morning, White House aides allowed reporters to observe through the windows of the Oval Office as Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Across the Resolute Desk were five white male aides.
It was not until four days later that Manigault and Carson got an invitation to join Trump at a photo op — this one a meeting with African American supporters in the Roosevelt Room to mark Black History Month.Following airstrikes and operations that have successfully killed several of the mid and high level leadership of daesh the new replacement appointments have been made quietly. Information gleaned from intelligence has revealed the names of the new leaders and this list is correct as of early February. Non-Iraqis are identified and the list is not exhaustive.
Ibrahim Awad al-Badri AKA Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – Caliph Mustafa Abdul Rahman al-Khatuni AKA Haji Iman and Abu Alaa – Deputy Caliph and head of the Military Council Taha Sobhi Falaha AKA Abu Muhammad al-Adnani – Spokesman [Syrian] Dr. Wael al-Rawi – Head of Media Turki bin Mubarak bin Abdullah al-Binali AKA Abu Sufyan al-Silmi and Abu Dhurgham – Chief Shari’i (cleric) [Bahraini] Muhammad Yusuf AKA Abu Bakr al-Khatuni – Head of Shura Council for Iraq emirate Bakr Hadi AKA Dr. Salah Abu Jafar – Wali of Baghdad Ayad Bashar al-Mohamadi AKA Abu Anas – Wali of Forat region Mahmud al-Dulaimi AKA Abu Mansur and Abu Muawiya – Wali of Diyala region Fadhil al-Ithawi AKA Haji Arif – Wali of Southern region Yunus Salim Hussain al-Jibouri AKA Abu Hamza – Wali of Nineveh region Saad al-Obaidi AKA Abu Abdul Salam – Wali of Anbar region Ayub Sheehan al-Samri – Wali of border region Haji Kamil al-Isoodi – Wali of Salahudin region Hamid Shakir Mahmud al-Badri – Head of Security for Syrian emirate Bandar al-Shaalan – Head of Media in Syria [Saudi] Amer al-Rafdan – Wali of Deir Ezzour [Syrian] Saddam al-Jamal – Wali of Albu Kamal [Syrian] Tarkhan Batirashvili AKA Abu Omar al-Shishani – Head of the Mujahideen Army [Georgian] Walid al-Jilani – Head of Al-Battar Brigade in Libya [Libyan] Abu Anas al-Shaalan – Member of the Military Council Khalid Wajdi al-Inazi AKA Khalid al-Rusi – Member of the Military Council Amr al-Absi AKA Abu al-Athir – Wali of Aleppo [Saudi born Jordanian] Bakr bin Abdul Aziz AKA Abu Humam al-Athri – Member of the Media Board [Bahraini] Ali Musa al-Shawwakh AKA Abu Luqman – Wali of Raqqa [Syrian] Khalaf al-Dhiyab al-Halus AKA Abu Musaab – Member of the Military Council [Syrian] Tariq al-Jibouri AKA Abu Jalal – Member of the Military Council Abu Omar Qirdash AKA Abu Jasim al-Iraqi – Head of suicide bombers force Abu Omar al-Jibouri – Head of car bombing unit
Several names in the list are rumoured to have been killed in the past few weeks without a confirmation or denial by daesh so remain on the list for now. The Iraqi members of the list make up the majority and every single one of them was either in Saddam’s armed forces or security services.
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Sign up today and get a better picture of your dependenciesBitcoin has been on a slow march to prominence over the last year. The virtual currency is now accepted at thousands of e-commerce sites, including Overstock.com and OkCupid. You can book an airline ticket using bitcoin, or pay for a lawyer. In March 2014, even the IRS chimed in, claiming bitcoin should be reported as personal property.
But this week marks a new milestone for bitcoin: It has entered the vaunted domain of U.S. politics. Yesterday the six members of the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C., voted unanimously to allow individuals to make contributions to politicians in bitcoin.
Donations must be $100 or less, while contributed and purchased bitcoins may be held before being liquidated. Yesterday’s decision was simply a guidance, and not a binding regulation or law, so the rules could change down the road.
But by designating bitcoin contributions as “in-kind” donations, the decision seems to advance the notion that the federal government is willing to treat the virtual currency as having some kind of inherent value. Today one bitcoin trades for about $400.
As if the world of campaign finance wasn’t already messy enough — this is sure to create even more headaches for people who are trying to follow the influence of money in politics. It’s probably only a matter of time before some congressperson is elected on virtual currency.
In case you’re wondering (like we were) how, exactly, bitcoin donations would work in the future, we put together a little Q&A.
Who is behind this campaign?
A group called Make Your Laws (MYL). The group, based in Durham, North Carolina, was founded by Sai (his full legal name). MYL sent its first proposal to provide guidance on bitcoin donations to the FEC in February 2014. You can read the initial request here. The approved draft can be read here.
Which politicians are receiving bitcoin donations, or have expressed interest?
A few, which are listed here. But, more than likely, expect to see politicians with staunchly libertarian followings—like Republicans Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—take advantage of the new rules.
From left: Justin Amash, Thomas Massie
Was it illegal to give politicians bitcoins before this ruling?
Sort of. Right now, there’s no official framework on how individuals or groups can donate bitcoins to politicians. It’s an issue that’s been brought up before, but this is the first time the FEC approved a request.
Bitcoins are anonymous. Will donations be anonymous as well?
No. Regardless of the proposed contribution amount, bitcoin donators will be required to provide their name, address, occupation and employer. Donations will also be made through an online form, which, at this point, is pretty much TBD.
Once bitcoins are donated, what do the politicians do with them?
Immediately turn them to cash.
Bitcoins have been known to be used in Silk Road and other underground black markets. Can “illegal” bitcoins be used for donations?
The FEC notes that, after deposit, if the contribution cannot be determined “to be from a legal source, the treasurer must refund the contribution within 30 days of the receipt of the deposit or the discovery of the illegality.”Lawmakers in a number of US states are pushing legislation that aims to force officials to begin testing tens of thousands of rape kits that contain evidence against sexual predators who committed their crimes years ago, and in one case three decades.
Countless victims across the US have spent years pleading with local law enforcement and regional representatives to begin examining the backlog of rape kits, which could contain the DNA of a rape suspect still at large.
Whenever a woman is assaulted she is encouraged to undergo an examination in which medical personnel use swabs to collect fluids from throughout a woman’s body and preserve a variety of clothing and physical samples. That evidence, if analyzed promptly, is then used to help identify a rapist and potentially as evidence during a trial.
The New York-based Rape Kit Action Project has discovered that the testing of rape kits has become such a slow process that nearly 20 states have pending legislation that would speed up the process. The strictness of the laws vary from forcing authorities to inventory the rape kits they receive to forcing police to test them within a certain amount of time.
While three states have passed legislation mandating a statewide accounting of untested rape kits, the Associated Press reported that Tennessee is one of at least 17 others seeking to pass similar laws.
An estimated 12,000 rape kits have gone untested in Tennessee, dating back more than 20 years. Memphis rape victim Meaghan Ybos was attacked in 2003 and endured a collection of evidence from her body but her rapist was never identified. She was watching the news in 2012 when she heard a broadcast of an incident eerily similar to her own.
“I just knew it was the same person,” she said. Ybos called the police after hearing about the 2012 attack, at which point the authorities found it was the same rapist. “They never tried to process it until I called...and asked them,” she said of her own rape kit.
Memphis Mayor AC Wharton admitted the city has “had a systemic failure” regarding rape kits. However the problem is not limited to Tennessee. Rape Project spokeswoman Natasha Alexenko told AP that she suspects there are approximately 400,000 people across the US who have yet to see their kit tested.
“Until we enact this kind of legislation where we’re counting them, we really have no idea,” she said.
Survivors say that going through the evidence collection phase of a rape kit is an invasive, difficult process that is traumatic in and of itself. Scott Berkowitz, president of the Washington DC-based Rape, Abuse and Incest Network, told AP in 2012 that an estimated 55 percent of victims never report their assault in the first place, and hearing that nothing may be done is “even more discouragement for them” to come forward.
These experts suggest that the large backlog has built up because low budgets have apparently convinced many in the criminal justice system to put other priorities above rape investigations.
“Women go to the hospital and their bodies are a crime scene and treated as such,” said Carol Bart, a mother of four who was attacked in 1984 only to have her kit tested for the first time 24 years later. “For these kits then to just to sit in a laboratory or in police vaults or wherever they sit, denies victims of sexual assault any opportunity for justice. I just wonder how many more there are?”
When Bart’s kit was finally analyzed, the DNA found a match in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, hitting on Joseph Houston Jr. Houston’s case file was stark proof that, had Bart’s kit been tested, later crimes may have been avoided.
“Four months after he kidnapped and raped me, he attempted to do the same with another young lady and a security guard chased him off,” Bart said.
Houston was eventually apprehended for an unrelated kidnapping and sentenced to 19 to 50 years in prison. Authorities took a DNA sample from Houston when he was incarcerated all while Bart’s kit still sat untouched on a shelf somewhere. Houston was eventually arrested again and sentenced to 20 years for indecency with a child.
“He could not be prosecuted for his crime against me. The statute of limitations was only five years at the time of my assault,” Bart told AP. “DNA evidence is tested quickly following a murder, but is not always when a woman has been raped by a stranger.”A paradigm shift, a concept identified by the American physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn, is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. Kuhn contrasts paradigm shifts, which characterize a scientific revolution, to the activity of normal science, which he describes as scientific work done within a prevailing framework (or paradigm). In this context, the word "paradigm" is used in its original Greek meaning, as "example".
The nature of scientific revolutions has been studied by modern philosophy since Immanuel Kant used the phrase in the preface to the second edition of his Critique of Pure Reason (1787). Kant used the phrase "revolution of the way of thinking" (Revolution der Denkart) to refer to Greek mathematics and Newtonian physics. In the 20th century, new developments in the basic concepts of mathematics, physics, and biology revitalized interest in the question among scholars.
Kuhn presented his notion of a paradigm shift in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). As one commentator summarizes:
Kuhn acknowledges having used the term "paradigm" in two different meanings. In the first one, "paradigm" designates what the members of a certain scientific community have in common, that is to say, the whole of techniques, patents and values shared by the members of the community. In the second sense, the paradigm is a single element of a whole, say for instance Newton’s Principia, which, acting as a common model or an example... stands for the explicit rules and thus defines a coherent tradition of investigation. Thus the question is for Kuhn to investigate by means of the paradigm what makes possible the constitution of what he calls "normal science". That is to say, the science which can decide if a certain problem will be considered scientific or not. Normal science does not mean at all a science guided by a coherent system of rules, on the contrary, the rules can be derived from the paradigms, but the paradigms can guide the investigation also in the absence of rules. This is precisely the second meaning of the term "paradigm", which Kuhn considered the most new and profound, though it is in truth the oldest.[1]
Even though Kuhn restricted the use of the term to the natural sciences, the concept of a paradigm shift has also been used in numerous non-scientific contexts to describe a profound change in a fundamental model or perception of events.
Kuhnian paradigm shifts [ edit ]
[2] Kuhn used the duck-rabbit optical illusion, made famous by Wittgenstein, to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way.
An epistemological paradigm shift was called a "scientific revolution" by epistemologist and historian of science Thomas Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
A scientific revolution occurs, according to Kuhn, when scientists encounter anomalies that cannot be explained by the universally accepted paradigm within which scientific progress has thereto been made. The paradigm, in Kuhn's view, is not simply the current theory, but the entire worldview in which it exists, and all of the implications which come with it. This is based on features of landscape of knowledge that scientists can identify around them.
There are anomalies for all paradigms, Kuhn maintained, that are brushed away as acceptable levels of error, or simply ignored and not dealt with (a principal argument Kuhn uses to reject Karl Popper's model of falsifiability as the key force involved in scientific change). Rather, according to Kuhn, anomalies have various levels of significance to the practitioners of science at the time. To put it in the context of early 20th century physics, some scientists found the problems with calculating Mercury's perihelion more troubling than the Michelson-Morley experiment results, and some the other way around. Kuhn's model of scientific change differs here, and in many places, from that of the logical positivists in that it puts an enhanced emphasis on the individual humans involved as scientists, rather than abstracting science into a purely logical or philosophical venture.
When enough significant anomalies have accrued against a current paradigm, the scientific discipline is thrown into a state of crisis, according to Kuhn. During this crisis, new ideas, perhaps ones previously discarded, are tried. Eventually a new paradigm is formed, which gains its own new followers, and an intellectual "battle" takes place between the followers of the new paradigm and the hold-outs of the old paradigm. Again, for early 20th century physics, the transition between the Maxwellian electromagnetic worldview and the Einsteinian relativistic worldview was neither instantaneous nor calm, and instead involved a protracted set of "attacks," both with empirical data as well as rhetorical or philosophical arguments, by both sides, with the Einsteinian theory winning out in the long run. Again, the weighing of evidence and importance of new data was fit through the human sieve: some scientists found the simplicity of Einstein's equations to be most compelling, while some found them more complicated than the notion of Maxwell's aether which they banished. Some found Arthur Eddington's photographs of light bending around the sun to be compelling, while some questioned their accuracy and meaning. Sometimes the convincing force is just time itself and the human toll it takes, Kuhn said, using a quote from Max Planck: "a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."[3]
After a given discipline has changed from one paradigm to another, this is called, in Kuhn's terminology, a scientific revolution or a paradigm shift. It is often this final conclusion, the result of the long process, that is meant when the term paradigm shift is used colloquially: simply the (often radical) change of worldview, without reference to the specificities of Kuhn's historical argument.
In a 2015 retrospective on Kuhn,[4] the philosopher Martin Cohen describes the notion of the paradigm shift as a kind of intellectual virus – spreading from hard science to social science and on to the arts and even everyday political rhetoric today. Cohen claims that Thomas Kuhn himself had only a very hazy idea of what it might mean and, in line with the American philosopher of science, Paul Feyerabend, accuses Kuhn of retreating from the more radical implications of his theory, which are that scientific facts are never really more than opinions, whose popularity is transitory and far from conclusive.
Science and paradigm shift [ edit ]
A common misinterpretation of paradigms is the belief that the discovery of paradigm shifts and the dynamic nature of science (with its many opportunities for subjective judgments by scientists) are a case for relativism:[5] the view that all kinds of belief systems are equal. Kuhn vehemently denies this interpretation[6] and states that when a scientific paradigm is replaced by a new one, albeit through a complex social process, the new one is always better, not just different.
These claims of relativism are, however, tied to another claim that Kuhn does at least somewhat endorse: that the language and theories of different paradigms cannot be translated into one another or rationally evaluated against one another—that they are incommensurable. This gave rise to much talk of different peoples and cultures having radically different worldviews or conceptual schemes—so different that whether or not one was better, they could not be understood by one another. However, the philosopher Donald Davidson published a highly regarded essay in 1974, "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme" (Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 47, (1973–1974), pp. 5–20) arguing that the notion that any languages or theories could be incommensurable with one another was itself incoherent. If this is correct, Kuhn's claims must be taken in a weaker sense than they often are. Furthermore, the hold of the Kuhnian analysis on social science has long been tenuous with the wide application of multi-paradigmatic approaches in order to understand complex human behaviour (see for example John Hassard, Sociology and Organization Theory: Positivism, Paradigm and Postmodernity. Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0521350344.)
Paradigm shifts tend to be most dramatic in sciences that appear to be stable and mature, as in physics at the end of the 19th century. At that time, physics seemed to be a discipline filling in the last few details of a largely worked-out system.
In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn wrote, "Successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual developmental pattern of mature science." (p. 12) Kuhn's idea was itself revolutionary in its time, as it caused a major change in the way that academics talk about science. Thus, it could be argued that it caused or was itself part of a "paradigm shift" in the history and sociology of science. However, Kuhn would not recognise such a paradigm shift. In the social sciences, people can still use earlier ideas to discuss the history of science.
Philosophers and historians of science, including Kuhn himself, ultimately accepted a modified version of Kuhn's model, which synthesizes his original view with the gradualist model that preceded it.[citation needed]
Examples of paradigm shifts [ edit ]
Natural sciences [ edit ]
Some of the "classical cases" of Kuhnian paradigm shifts in science are:
Social sciences [ edit ]
In Kuhn's view, the existence of a single reigning paradigm is characteristic of the natural sciences, while philosophy and much of social science were characterized by a "tradition of claims, counterclaims, and debates over fundamentals."[17] Others have applied Kuhn's concept of paradigm shift to the social sciences.
Applied sciences [ edit ]
More recently, paradigm shifts are also recognisable in applied sciences:
In medicine, the transition from "clinical judgment" to evidence-based medicine
In software engineering, the transition from the Rational Paradigm to the Empirical Paradigm [23]
Marketing [ edit ]
In the later part of the 1990s, 'paradigm shift' emerged as a buzzword, popularized as marketing speak and appearing more frequently in print and publication.[24] In his book Mind The Gaffe, author Larry Trask advises readers to refrain from using it, and to use caution when reading anything that contains the phrase. It is referred to in several articles and books[25][26] as abused and overused to the point of becoming meaningless.
Other uses [ edit ]
The term "paradigm shift" has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern—a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing:
M. L. Handa, a professor of sociology in education at O.I.S.E. University of Toronto, Canada, developed the concept of a paradigm within the context of social sciences. He defines what he means by "paradigm" and introduces the idea of a "social paradigm". In addition, he identifies the basic component of any social paradigm. Like Kuhn, he addresses the issue of changing paradigms, the process popularly known as "paradigm shift". In this respect, he focuses on the social circumstances which precipitate such a shift. Relatedly, he addresses how that shift affects social institutions, including the institution of education. [ citation needed ]
The concept has been developed for technology and economics in the identification of new techno-economic paradigms as changes in technological systems that have a major influence on the behaviour of the entire economy (Carlota Perez; earlier work only on technological paradigms by Giovanni Dosi). This concept is linked to Joseph Schumpeter's idea of creative destruction. Examples include the move to mass production and the introduction of microelectronics. [27]
Two photographs of the Earth from space, "Earthrise" (1968) and "The Blue Marble" (1972), are thought to have helped to usher in the environmentalist movement which gained great prominence in the years immediately following distribution of those images. [28] [29]
Hans Küng applies Thomas Kuhn's theory of paradigm change to the entire history of Christian thought and theology. He identifies six historical "macromodels": 1) the apocalyptic paradigm of primitive Christianity, 2) the Hellenistic paradigm of the patristic period, 3) the medieval Roman Catholic paradigm, 4) the Protestant (Reformation) paradigm, 5) the modern Enlightenment paradigm, and 6) the emerging ecumenical paradigm. He also discusses five analogies between natural science and theology in relation to paradigm shifts. Küng addresses paradigm change in his books, Paradigm Change in Theology[30] and Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View.[31]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]In the abstract of geopolitical discussion, it’s easy to forget that, when you talk about states breaking or nations splitting, you’re talking about large groups of people suffering unbelievable trauma. I just watched this, from Aleppo in Syria, which details what seems to be a ballistic missile strike in a neighborhood (and it’s just as graphic as it sounds). Doubtless there is a deep trauma happening here; doubtless people are changed forever by this; doubtless they will tell their children what it was like surviving a missile attack.
Trauma is part of our biological hardwiring. It teaches us not to do something in order to survive. On a mass scale, trauma teaches mass lessons and allows societies to build. But to get there, the trauma must be deep, lasting, and widespread. The missile attack affected and traumatized a small neighborhood. Its lessons remain localized. But the civil war in general is a trauma affecting the entire nation of Syria. Its lessons are yet to be seen.
Learned from mass graves
One of the biggest traumas ever to hit civilization was World War II. From it, societies learned that racism, imperialism, aggressive conquest, and industrialized warfare were ineffective ways to ensure security and immoral ways to run societies. Societies also learned how to conform to achieve national goals; how to sacrifice for a nation-state; plus how to unite in the face of outside aggression. However, places that missed the war often missed those lessons.
Economic trauma teaches just as well
The Great Depression prevented our recent Great Recession from spiraling out of control. Why? Because we’d already learned what not to do. As awful as it was to bail out banks, we knew that failing to do so would hurt a great deal more.
Industrialization changes a society in a massive way, as well. People who used to live in wide open spaces working at their own pace are forced into cramped conditions where they no longer dictate their daily lives. You can tell the difference between the two; the rugged individualistic farmer vs. the overworked and stressed out factory worker. From the factory worker, you get your modern office drones. This is not human nature. It’s conditioned by economics.
Alas, the developing world is still learning
Imperialism died out because it grew inefficient, but it also died out because, out of the horrors of World War II, few Europeans were willing to kill natives the way their grandfathers did. They’d become civilized, and so when it became clear they weren’t wanted, they went home.
From the twin pillars of industrialization and World War II, developed nations learned how to function in the modern world. Much of the developing world is now undergoing a form of industrialization, and so tribes, local cultures, and other identities are being crushed under the weight of the conformity that such an economic system demands. But few of these places suffered World War II.
Hence, the reason why the Middle East and Africa are such a mess
In neither region did World War II go very far. Local cultures have dim memories of the event, and certainly no grandfathers who can tell stories of finding concentration camps or coming across mass graves. As horrible as what’s happening in Syria is, these atrocities have been committed before, somewhere else, within the developed world. We know from cultural memory that they’re terrible. Syrians are, alas, learning firsthand the evils of this kind of war.
Their society after the war will be fundamentally different. Individual rights will probably matter a great deal more than tribal or family rights. A war with Israel will be far less appealing.
Egypt is too facing this down now. They haven’t learned that peaceful cooperation is better than the murderous power politics they’re playing. Remember that developed nations of today invented and then tried out Nazism, communism, and imperialism; they’ve got the memory that those things are bad ideas. Egypt does not. So Egypt will now learn the hard way.
It’s not the only reason places get violent
But it’s one reason why developed nations that go poor are less likely to become violent than developing ones. Having your hand burned on the stove hurts; you know better the second time around. Alas, for much of the world’s population, they’re burning their hands right now.
AdvertisementsPremier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government is going out of its way to signal it won’t stand in the way of Toronto’s new mayor and his aggressively conservative agenda. Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne called local reporters Saturday, four days before Rob Ford takes office. She said she wants to let Ford, his new council and Torontonians know that her government can quickly make technical changes to accommodate the cancellation of Toronto’s $60 vehicle registration tax. Ford has said scrapping the unpopular tax, imposed by the Mayor David Miller regime and collected by the provincial government, will be his first order of business. “If the city wants the tax revoked as of Jan. 1, we would be in a position to make the IT changes to do that,” Wynne said.
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Asked if she was sending Ford a message by calling reporters on a weekend with what is essentially a housekeeping item, Wynne said: “With a change of administration at the city, I think it’s important that we get off to a good start. “We have had a really good working relationship with City Hall for the past seven years and we want that to continue.” That Wynne was chosen to send the message may be a message in itself. She was particularly outspoken among provincial Liberals in endorsing her former cabinet colleague George Smitherman for the Toronto mayor’s job.
“I believe George will be a fine mayor — he has the heart, the experience and the energy to represent us well at City Hall and beyond,” she wrote to her constituents during the campaign, while Ford “is intent on practising the politics of division and anger.” Ford and his brother Doug, the councillor-elect for Ward 2, are strong supporters of the Ontario PCs. At Queen’s Park this week, the Liberals, who trail Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak in public-opinion polls with an election set for next Oct. 6, said they are eager to work with Toronto’s incoming mayor. Ford won a huge mandate Oct. 25 in a city where the |
The first time I actually realized how much of it translated into my own music was when I first heard an orchestra play my music. I felt the same thing I feel when I listen to Final Fantasy orchestral recordings. It is, and will be for a long time, a dream for me to actually work on a Final Fantasy on my own and write music for it.
Before we delve into the nitty gritty of my own theme we have to understand what Final Fantasy music makes so appealing and easy to connect to. The most important thing in FFs music is its simplicity. The music doesn’t try to be overly complex, but instead tries to use very simple ideas that are then orchestrated effectively. You can compare it to a children’s song, most of them are really simple but very memorable for this specific reason. The same applies to Final Fantasy music, it is very easy to remember since the melodies aren’t complex(from both a harmonical and rhythmical point of view), it allows us as listeners to get an easier grasp of them since our brain has'nt much to digest while listening.
Another important part is the utilization of piano. In many of the main themes a piano will play solely before the rest of the orchestra joins in. One reason for that is that it's way easier to showcase a melody in a soloistic context. If you start with the full orchestral force our brain might be overwhelmed by what is happening and will lose touch with the melody. That’s one of the reasons why the menu music often starts with just Piano, it evokes a feeling of familiarity.
I don’t want to talk too much about musical terms (such as harmonic or rhythmic ideas) but another reason for FF’s great music is its actual harmonic language. The music utilizes simple chords such as ordinary minor or major chords but also the use of chords that feature a seventh or even further than that. Eventhough the difference between a simple minor/major chord and a seventh chord is just a single note, the overall sound and feeling of the chord will change dramatically. These ‘more advanced’ chords allow the music to have more ‘room’ since these additional notes make the sound more ‘spacey’. For someone not familiar with these sounds, below you can listen to an example of how a seventh can change the sound of a single chord.
As an example listen to the audio file below. First you will hear a simple major chord(C), right after you hear the same chord but with a major seventh added(Cmaj7). You can clearly hear how much aditional space/room is gained just by adding one note to the chord.Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), who leads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, shared his vision of “tomorrow’s war.”
“Somebody in our government said to me in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, Iraq was yesterday’s war,” Lieberman explained. “Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war. That’s the danger we face.”
Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), also appearing on the program, seemed to agree, calling an attack against Yemen “something we should consider.”
“Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan — the Army officer who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in November — was linked to Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric now based in Yemen,” The Hill noted.
Unnamed administration officials told US media in the aftermath of the thwarted attack that their suspect had confessed to traveling to Yemen and receiving training by Al-Qaeda.
Lieberman’s saber rattling against Yemen is “likely to be echoed in the days ahead as a growing number of neoconservative and conservative foreign policy voices have used the attempted airline attack to call into question the tactics Obama has applied to curb terrorism,” Sam Stein added.
In a borderline-livid post, Firedoglake writer Spencer Ackerman assailed Lieberman’s hawkish stance. “Is it a mistake to respond to this with more than ridicule? Maybe, but if not: it’s a ludicrously blithe and cost-free assertion to say that we need to take preemptive action in Yemen. What the fuck does Joe Lieberman know about Yemen? What does anyone in the Washington policy community know about Yemen? Fucking nothing except that (a) there is an apparently growing al-Qaeda presence there; Abdulmutallab told investigators that he got hooked up with his botched explosive there; the USS Cole was bombed there; there’s an important port there; and… that’s it.”
“The good news is that while progressives basically need Joe Lieberman’s vote in the Senate to pass domestic legislation, thus giving him a ton of leverage over what happens, nobody needs to listen to him about Yemen,” blogger Matt Yglesias opined.As you know, we’re in the business of politics and educating young people about this incredibly important subject. So we decided to commission a survey that tested 5,267 members of the general public on their political term knowledge!
We managed to achieve a pretty even split in terms of respondent age groups: 40 per cent were aged between 18-25 years old, 32 per cent were 26-40 years old, and just less than a third were 41 years old or older.
The survey results were funny but also slightly worrying — revealing that two-thirds of young people think that filibustering is slang for a sex act. What’s more, on average, more than half of the respondents didn’t answer three questions or more correctly!
Only a tenth answered all questions correctly and the results also showed that men knew more political terms than women, with two-thirds (65 per cent) of male respondents answering five or more questions correctly.
We decided not to tell the respondents that the survey was on political knowledge, as this could lead to some respondents guessing correctly.
Here are the survey questions with the correct answers:
What does filibustering mean?
Slang for a sex act Deliberately wasting time during a debate Mechanical error with a vehicle
Who is the Speaker?
Chairs the debates in Parliament A prophet of God A villain in a game
What is a hansard?
Hand cream A traditional Finnish greeting Full report on what has been said
What is the use of a battlebus?
Transports leaders and senior figures around the country A hire bus that simulates battles for parties Wrestling move to pin your opponent
What do psephology students study?
Physical education Voting and voting patterns Animal faeces
What is a guillotine motion used for?
Limit amount of time Chopping off someone’s head Filleting a fish
What are writs?
Legal documents Fruit native to Africa A skin condition that causes blisters
What is a caucus?
Scottish sausage Abnormally large cactus Informal meeting
What is an incumbent?
A tool blacksmiths use Current office holder Digestive condition
What is a boondoggle?
Wasteful government-funded project Intimate act within the S&M community Component needed for the flush on a toilet
Matteo Bergamini, Founder of Shout Out UK said:Reign Land Los Angeles Native Miles Koules
Ontario, CA –The Ontario Reign, proud American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), have signed forward Miles Koules.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Koules attended the Kings’ Development Camp last week and split his rookie season between the Quad City Mallards and Wichita Thunder of the ECHL last season. In 44 games with the Mallards, the 22-year-old netted three goals and 10 assists for 13 points and contributed 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 15 contests with the Thunder.
Prior to turning pro, Koules skated three seasons of junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks and Medicine Hat Tigers totaling 150 points (71 goals, 79 assists) in 208 games.
Koules’ father, Oren, also skated in the WHL from 1979-82 and is a successful entertainment producer known for the hit TV show “Two and a Half Men” and the “Saw” horror films. From 2008-10, he was a part owner of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Los Angeles Kings will play a “Kings vs. Kings” intra-squad game at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Sunday, September 25 and exclusive ticket packages are ON SALE NOW! Secure your seat today with two fantastic offers the Kings vs. Kings Hat Trick Pack (includes Kings vs. Kings game in Ontario, Ontario Reign Opening Weekend (Saturday, October 22) and a weekend Ontario Reign game in November) and the Kings vs. Kings Power Play Offer (includes ticket to Kings vs. Kings, hot dog and soda). For group, VIP packages and general ticket information on Kings vs. Kings, call 909.941.PUCK!
The Ontario Reign begin their 2016-2017 season in October! Don't miss all of the exciting action as the defending Western Conference Champions look to win their first Calder Cup in the Inland Empire! For Reign season tickets, along with information on other ticket plans, call 909-941-PUCK (7825) and visit OntarioReign.com!
Become a “Fan” of the Reign on Facebook at Facebook.com/OntarioReign, join the conversation on Twitter at Twitter.com/OntarioReign and follow us on Instagram at Instagram.com/OntarioReignHockey.Prince’s Gambit Joy! Exalted Plans! [Monday Meeting Notes]
Monday Meeting, News
Kind of feel like our vampiric character pictured above in the Prince’s Gambit Intrigue deck. Crawlin’ through some tough times to get here. But HERE is quite excellent actually.
First, our first foray into Kickstarting a card game is going gangbusters, with our Prince’s Gambit KS funding goal met in the first few hours, and our backers jumping our pledge totals past several Stretch Goals that add to the deck already. There have also been some great ideas talked about for game rules variants: everything from adding rules for Anarchs and the Inconnu to rules for fewer or more players.
Because backers can download the card PDFs and rulebook, we’ve also been getting folks telling us how much fun they’ve been having maneuvering through the Intrigues and trying to discover who’s Sabbat. Which is always so great to hear! You never know if players will enjoy the game as much as you did creating it.
If you haven’t checked it out, please do, and if you like it: spread the word. With this being our first card game, we don’t have as much of a voice in card games circles, so any help letting folks know could be huge for the game!
Also, like I mentioned last week: we’ll be holding an Ask Me (Us) Anything on Reddit this Wednesday the 29th starting around 12 noon EDT. Various developers and Onyx Path folks will be on throughout the day, and Justin Achilli will pop on in the evening after he gets done his day job to talk about Prince’s Gambit. So if you want all the inside info, that’s the place to go next week!
Just want to emphasize that this is not just for Prince’s Gambit, so we’ll answer about anything!
If you can’t make it, feel free to leave any questions you’d like us to ask during the AMA session right here in the comments.
For those who have asked: we are doing something very special for April Fool’s Day. The only thing I can say, quoting Eddy Webb, is that “On Saturday, discover the latest reason why we fired Neall!”
Which leads us nicely into a decently big chunk of information for folks concerned about Exalted 3rd Edition as a continuing game line. For weeks I’ve been mentioning that we’ve been working very diligently on putting together a plan for how we’re going to handle EX3‘s releases.
(Seriously, this is a long one).
First off, I’m incredibly happy to announce that Eric Minton and Robert Vance have agreed to become the new developers for Exalted 3rd Edition. Eric and Robert have been all over EX3 in various capacities since writing began, and their involvement and love of Exalted goes further back than that.
(I’m not even sure why I’m introducing them, actually, since our long-time community knows these guys so well).
With their help, we have put together a schedule for releases that starts with getting the Exalted 3rd Jumpstart: Tomb of Dreams out to backers as soon as we can get the finished layout approved by the new White Wolf.
Next, they are finishing up Arms of the Chosen, and we expect to have the Advance PDF ready in three months.
They are also in the process of assigning the remaining writing that needs to be done on the Dragon Blooded and The Realm books. Most of the writing for both books has been completed, so once they get used to our process for hiring writers and contracting and all that, we can nail down expectations on when the text will be done. Which is really important, because we won’t be Kickstarting Dragon Blooded until the text is completely finished.
After a lot of discussion, and a fair bit of soul-searching, we’ve decided that the next two books will be Exigents and Lunars. We love a lot of the books proposed on previous schedules, and think they would really expand and enrich EX3, but we have to start getting our Exalted community the projects they need to play NOW (or close to NOW), rather than multiple years from now.
But even with Eric and Robert revved up and excited to deliver the projects I mention above, we can’t deliver these projects backwards through time. And these new devs need to learn their new jobs.
The remaining Kickstarter Rewards will be coming out in the months to come, with Matt Forbeck telling us that his novel’s finished drafts are on their way, and Aaron Rosenberg hammering away at his novel. The EX3 Essays book is being outlined and writers are being contacted, and composer James Semple has all but one of the Exalted character themes finished. He then has to create the “adventure themes” part of the EX3 Music Suites, but needed to figure out the the character themes so he could include parts of them in the adventure themes.
I’m not a musician, so I’ll have to take his word on the process.
So what we have planned are two projects that we are going to start releasing in April. That’s right, in order to provide our community with playable material now and not waiting until the Arms of the Chosen Advance PDF is released three months from now, we’re going to be releasing a section of each book each month as PDFs.
The first book, EX3: Antagonists, will feature both individual NPCs as well as antagonist groups. Each section will be smaller than a chapter, and we’ll be combining them all together as a PDF and PoD book after we have made a good number of them available monthly.
The second book will be the EX3 Bestiary, and will features creatures of all power levels. Some will be creatures the writers of the core had to hold back on, and others will be new and determined by what gaps we see from the core book that this project can fill. We’ll release these in monthly sections that we’ll combine at some point into a book, as well.
Rather than adding projects to the new devs’ already intimidating plate, both these books will be spearheaded by writers familiar with EX3, and reviewed by Eric and Robert. (Also, both books need to be approved by the new White Wolf Publishing before we officially can go ahead with them.)
Finally, our new devs will be making themselves regularly available on the Onyx Path Exalted forum, and will be releasing excerpts and development notes and text on a regular basis. In fact, here is an excerpt from Arms of the Chosen, and in April we’ll have a look at the Dragon Blooded charms:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/15xddoahzedtkwu/Arms%20of%20the%20Chosen%20Preview.docx?dl=0
Obviously, this whole message hasn’t delved into the nitty-gritty of what brought us here, and we really don’t intend to. Instead, we are celebrating a new team of creators, as well as the monumental work that John Morke and Holden Shearer were able to accomplish through some incredibly grueling times for them personally. What glories the future holds!
BLURBS!
KICKSTARTER!
The Prince’s Gambit casual vampire card game Kickstarter went live last Thursday and funded in about 3 hours! We’ve been passing alternating Stretch Goals for adding the Independent Clans and new art at a rapid clip since then, with more cool rewards yet to come. So please check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/princes-gambit-casual-vampire-card-game and don’t forget to join us for our Ask Me (Us) Anything on Reddit this Wednesday the 29th starting around 12 noon EDT. Various developers and Onyx Path folks will be on throughout the day, and Justin Achilli will pop on in the evening after he gets done his day job to talk about Prince’s Gambit. So if you want all the inside info, that’s the place to go!
Designed by long-time Vampire: the Masquerade tabletop RPG developer Justin Achilli, Prince’s Gambit is a fast-paced social deduction game set within the world of Vampire, but which requires no special knowledge to play. Players must cooperate to gain the favor of the Prince while deducing who among them are secretly the traitorous Sabbat infiltrators.
Next, the Monarchies of Mau KS is scheduled come after Gambit.
ON SALE!
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!
Beasts are added to Hunter: the Vigil with Tooth and Nail, coming atcha in PDF and physical book Pod versions this Wednesday on DriveThruRPG.com! In conjunction with HtV: Tooth and Nail going on sale, we will also be releasing new TShirts on our RedBubble site featuring the new symbols from the book!
The Secrets of the Covenants for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd REVEALED this Wednesday on DTRPG! Physical copy PoD version coming to DTRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/199280/Secrets-of-the-Covenants
Vampires gather under many banners. But five have endured the tumult of Western history better than any other. The Carthian Movement. The Circle of the Crone. The Invictus. The Lancea et Sanctum. The Ordo Dracul. Each has its fierce devotees, its jealous rivals, and its relentless enemies. Now,for the first time, the covenants speak for themselves. This book includes: A variety of stories from each of the covenants, all told in their own words.
Never-before revealed secrets, like the fate of the Prince of New Orleans.
New blood sorcery, oaths, and other hidden powers of the covenants.
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Fallen Blossoms (Hunter 1640-1660 Japan). Japan is moving into the Edo Period. New laws and new ways of thinking wash over the land, and with a new order come new threats to humanity. Take a look at the Vigil in a time where samurai transition from warlords to bureaucrats, Japan massively and lethally rejects outside influence, and when Edo rapidly grows into a world power.
Continuing our individual Dark Eras chapters, we offer you Dark Eras: Fallen Blossoms on in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/205483/Dark-Eras-Fallen-Blossoms-Hunter-the-Vigil
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Doubting Souls (Hunter 1690-1695 Salem). Immigrants and tribes struggled to co-exist on the Eastern Seaboard in the ever-expanding Colonies. Violent clashes, supernatural beliefs, and demonic influences spelled disaster for Salem Village and its surrounding towns, while others fought werewolves and vampires on the frontier. With so much at risk, only god-fearing men and women were deemed innocent — and those were few indeed.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/204372/Dark-Eras-Doubting-Souls-Hunter-the-Vigil
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Bowery Dogs (Werewolf 1969-1979 NYC). New York City in the 1970s. Crime. Drugs. Gang violence. Vast economic disparity. And werewolves. It’s a lean, ugly time to be alive, and the lone wolf doesn’t stand a chance out there. In the end, all you really have is family.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/203762/Dark-Eras-The-Bowery-Dogs-Werewolf-the-Forsaken
The Locker is open; the Chronicles of Darkness: Hurt Locker, that is! PDF and physical copy PoDs are now available on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/199275/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Hurt-Locker
Hurt Locker features:
Treatment of violence in the Chronicles of Darkness. Lasting trauma, scene framing, and other tools for making your stories hurt.
. Lasting trauma, scene framing, and other tools for making your stories hurt. Many new player options, including Merits, supernatural knacks, and even new character types like psychic vampires and sleeper cell soldiers.
Expanded equipment and equipment rules.
Hurt Locker requires the Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook or any other standalone Chronicles of Darkness rulebook such as Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, or Beast: The Primordial to use.
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Ruins of Empire (Mummy 1893-1924). Perhaps the quintessential era of the mummy in the minds of Westerners, this period saw the decline of the two greatest empires of the age: British and Ottoman. Walk with the Arisen as they bear witness to the death of the Victorian age, to pivotal mortal discoveries in Egypt, and to the horrors of the Great War.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178801/Dark-Eras-Ruins-of-Empire-Mummy-the-Curse
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Sundered World (Werewolf and Mage 5500-5000 BCE). At the birth of civilization, in the shadow of the Fall, the Awakened stand as champions and protectors of the agricultural villages spread across the Balkans. In a world without a Gauntlet, where Shadow and flesh mingle, the steady taming of the world by humanity conflicts with the half-spirit children of Father Wolf.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202272/Dark-Eras-The-Sundered-World-Werewolf-the-Forsaken-Mage-the-Awakening
Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial is available now as an Advance PDF: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202615/Night-Horrors-Conquering-Heroes
This book includes:
An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.
A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.
Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.
The PDF and physical book PoD versions of Reap the Whirlwind, the Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition Jumpstart swirls into being on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201127/Reap-the-Whirlwind-Revised-VtR-2e
You are a vampire, a junkie. Every night, you beg and you borrow and you steal just a little more life, just a few more sweet moments. But there’s a guy at the top. The Prince. He’s got everything. The money, the secrets, the blood.
Tonight, you’re going to take it from him. Tomorrow, there’ll be hell to pay.
This updated edition of Reap the Whirlwind features revisions to match the core rulebook for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition. Text edits and rules clarifications have also been updated.
Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes:
Rules for creating and playing vampires in the Chronicles of Darkness
The first two levels of every clan Discipline, the dark powers of the dead
A complete adventure by noted horror author Chuck Wendig
This new revised Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes an updated booklet, 7 condition cards, and the interactive Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition character sheet.
Open the V20 Dark Ages: Tome of Secrets now on DTRPG! Both PDF and physical book PoD versions are now available! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/197358/V20-Dark-Ages-Tome-of-Secrets
The Tome of Secrets is a treatment of numerous topics about Cainites and stranger things in the Dark Medieval World. It’s about peeling back the curtain, and digging a little deeper. Inside, you’ll find:
• Expanded treatment of Assamite Sorcery, Koldunic Sorcery, Necromancy, and Setite Sorcery
• A look at Cainite knightly orders, faith movements, and even human witchcraft
• Letters and diaries from all over the Dark Medieval World
CONVENTIONS!
Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).
In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: https://www.gameholecon.com/
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)
Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Monarchies of Mau Early Access (Pugmire)
Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)
RedlinesLucas Siegel, editor of Newsarama ran a series of tweets today,
I am baffled by how a major publisher, when asked for interviews, can say “No, we’re not letting that be covered until April”. Ridiculous. — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
“We’d really rather you not cover our products” seriously? I just.. insane. — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
@RyanAJoseph Yes, well, you can probably guess by the fact that we’ve had a ton of marvel coverage lately and not so much… ahem — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
@RyanAJoseph at least 4 requests so far. — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
@mypalsammy Yup, and they’re not gonna love what we do instead. :) — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
Yes, they are talking about DC Comics. Who recently ran Newsarama print ads and whom DC gave that lovely 3D cover scoop just last week.
Oh look, it’s Siegel vs. DC Comics again.
My knowledge of DC’s history with Newsarama is sketchy, though the departure from DC’s press department of ex-Newsarama’s Alex Segura can’t have helped.
Though it may have helped their attitude to Archie Comics, where Segura ended up.
@albertxii Thanks, I updated our story based on that. Exciting times for Archie! — Lucas Siegel (@LucasSiegel) March 3, 2014
I do remember being told they were blacklisted once for linking to my interview with Alan Moore… which lasted a couple of days.
I wonder what did it this time? We should run a top ten list of possibilities…
About Rich Johnston Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist.
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None foundAfter being waived by the Washington Wizards, Jannero Pargo has received interest from a number of teams, agent Mark Bartelstein told RealGM on Friday.
The Chicago Bulls are among the teams that have already reached out to Pargo, and the two parties plan to talk in the coming days, as his representatives will do with other interested teams.
“We’ll talk, so we’ll see,” Bartelstein said by phone.
Before Washington signed him on Oct. 1, Pargo nearly landed with his hometown Bulls. He has spent four of his nine NBA seasons in Chicago and still maintains a healthy relationship with the Bulls’ organization.
The Wizards cut Pargo on Thursday to open a roster spot for the 6-foot-7 Shaun Livingston, relieving their logjam of smaller point guards.
Pargo, 33, averaged three points and two assists in seven games for the Wizards this season. He’s a career 35 percent three-point shooter and can still provide an effective, yet streaky outside presence.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aung San Suu Kyi says people are "far more politicised" now
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has told the BBC she believes her party has won a parliamentary majority, in her first interview since the historic elections.
Early results point to a sweeping victory for her National League for Democracy (NLD), but final official results will not be known for days.
The election was seen as the most democratic in Myanmar for 25 years.
In an interview with the BBC's Fergal Keane, Ms Suu Kyi said the polls were not fair but "largely free".
She said there had been "areas of intimidation".
A quarter of Myanmar's 664 parliamentary seats are set aside for the army, and for the NLD to have the winning majority it will need at least two-thirds of the contested seats.
But Ms Suu Kyi told the BBC that her party has surpassed that, and has won around 75%.
The military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) has been in power in Myanmar since 2011 when the country began its transition from decades of military rule to a civilian government.
Decision making in the Delta
Image caption Farm worker Myint Tin believes an NLD victory would inevitably ease the tough and insecure life she currently leads
Read Jonathan Head's report to find out what happened in crucial town of Hinthada
His report from the campaign trail portrayed a sleepy market town in Myanmar's watery heartland
Fergal Keane, BBC News, Yangon
Aung San Suu Kyi was brimming with confidence. This was a leader who strongly sensed her hour had come.
"The times have changed, the people have changed," she said.
On the vexing question of the presidency from which she is constitutionally barred, she repeated she would make the big decisions while a colleague holds the post, joking: "A rose by another name."
We met in the garden of the house where she had spent so many years under house arrest and where I first interviewed her 20 years ago.
From the symbol of an embattled and then fragile democracy movement she has become the steely leader of a government in waiting.
Read more from Fergal
Follow Fergal on Twitter
'Delaying intentionally'
Results from Sunday's election are slowly being announced. The election commission says the NLD has taken 78 of the 88 seats announced so far for the 440-seat lower house of parliament.
Election monitors from the US-based Carter Center, who observed 245 polling stations, described the elections in most areas as "competitive and meaningful" with generally well-conducted voting and counting, reported Associated Press news agency.
The group noted several problems, however - including the barring of members of the country's Rohingya Muslim minority from voting, a lack of transparency in the advance voting process and inconsistency in making preliminary results available at the constituency level.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Large crowds gathered at the NLD headquarters in Yangon on Tuesday night for an early celebration
NLD spokesman Win Htein has accused the election commission of "delaying intentionally" the release of results, saying "they are trying to be crooked".
Whichever party wins, Ms Suu Kyi cannot be chosen as president because the constitution blocks people with foreign offspring from holding the post.
She has always said she would lead the country anyway.
On Tuesday she said she would find a president as required, but "that won't stop me from making all the decisions as the leader of the winning party".
When asked if this was fair, she said: "I believe in transparency and accountability... it works much better if I'm open about it, if I tell the people."
Clause 58 of the country's constitution states that the president "takes precedence over all other persons" in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The selection of the president is not expected to take place until at least February.
Myanmar's historic election
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Millions of Burmese are waiting keenly for the official results
Four possible outcomes from a crucial election
Aung San Suu Kyi: international symbol of peaceful resistance
'Abandoned people': What rights do the Rohingya Muslims have?
Elections explained: Why does this vote matter?
Decision-making in the Delta: Jonathan Head on the small but crucial town of Hinthada
About 30 million people were eligible to vote in Sunday's election in Myanmar. Turnout was estimated at about 80%.
But hundreds of thousands of people - including the Rohingya, who are not recognised as citizens - were denied voting rights.
Ms Suu Kyi, whose party like many others did not field a Muslim candidate, has been criticised by some for failing to speak up more for Muslims, who have been targeted by ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups.
She told the BBC that an NLD government would protect Muslims, and added that those who inflame hatred should face prosecution.
She said: "Prejudice is not removed easily and hatred is not going to be removed easily... I'm confident the great majority of the people want peace… they do not want to live on a diet of hate and fear."This article is over 1 year old
Scientists were expected to report that climate change is affecting air and water temperatures, precipitation, sea level and fish in New England’s largest estuary
EPA kept scientists from speaking about climate change at Rhode Island event
The Environmental Protection Agency kept three scientists from speaking at a Rhode Island event about a report that deals in part with climate change.
The scientists were expected to discuss in Providence on Monday a report on the health of Narragansett Bay, New England’s largest estuary. The EPA did not explain exactly why the scientists were told not to.
Fightback begins over Trump's 'illegal and irresponsible' clean power repeal Read more
“EPA supports the Narragansett Bay Estuary and just this month provided the program a $600,000 grant,” EPA spokeswoman Nancy Grantham said in a statement on Monday. “EPA scientists are attending, they simply are not presenting. It is not an EPA conference.”
Thomas Borden, program director of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, which published the report, said Wayne Munns, director of the EPA’s Atlantic Ecology Division, called him on Friday afternoon to say two staffers who work out of its research lab in the town of Narragansett had been advised that they could not attend on Monday.
Munns did not give him an explanation, but Borden said he understood that the decision came from EPA headquarters in Washington.
One of the staffers, Autumn Oczkowski, was scheduled to give the keynote speech at an afternoon workshop. Another, Rose Martin, was scheduled to speak on a panel.
“We’ve been working with more than five researchers in that lab who have contributed substantial elements to our report,” Borden said.
After Munns’ call, he said, he checked with a third researcher who consults for the EPA, Emily Shumchenia, and who was scheduled to participate in Monday’s event.
“I advised her, you should check with your folks and see if you should attend,” Borden said. “She was advised by EPA region one that she should not attend.”
The report finds that climate change is affecting air and water temperatures, precipitation, sea level and fish.
Borden said scientists from a variety of agencies and institutions had been working for years on the 500-page technical document, the purpose of which is to examine the condition of the bay and the trends with data on 24 environmental indicators. Those include stressors such as population, and also climate change, such as warming temperatures, increased precipitation and increased sea level rise.
“It’s a comprehensive scientific update of the status of the bay,” he said |
whatever measures necessary to keep Catalonia from seceding.
Rajoy was forced to apologize on Friday, but many in Catalan say the crackdown has only fueled their desire for independence.
"I didn't feel that repressed until what happened on October 1," said 25-year-old student Mireya Jimenez.
"I think that whatever they do, they have made us angry, and I think we have seen that a... part of Spain doesn't like us -- the king doesn't like us either and so I think that, also because of how they've treated us just now, there is no turning back."NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has completed its nearly 100-day testing series in the cryogenic vacuum chamber, where temperatures dip hundreds of degrees below the freezing point.
The team unsealed the 40-ton door of Chamber A on Saturday, marking the end of a critical test stage ahead of the telescope’s launch.
The vault-like door was closed off on July 10, allowing researchers to assess the telescope’s optics and instruments all together in conditions simulating deep space.
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has completed its nearly 100-day testing series in the cryogenic vacuum chamber, where temperatures dip hundreds of degrees below the freezing point
NASA'S JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE The James Webb telescope has been described as a 'time machine' that could help unravel the secrets of our universe. The telescope will be used to look back to the first galaxies born in the early universe more than 13.5 billion years ago, and observe the sources of stars, exoplanets, and even the moons and planets of our solar system. When it is launched in 2019, it will be the world's biggest and most powerful telescope, capable of peering back 200 million years after the Big Bang.
Inside the chamber, the telescope was cooled with liquid nitrogen and cold gaseous helium.
To detect infrared light from faraway objects, the telescope must be kept very cold, according to NASA.
The James Webb Telescope and most of its instruments have an operating temperature of roughly 40 Kelvin – about minus 387 Fahrenheit (minus 233 Celsius).
But, the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) must be kept even colder.
This instrument uses a cryocooler to keep it below 7 Kelvin, or minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 266 degrees Celsius).
This summer’s tests were designed to see how the optical telescope and integrated science instrument module (OTIS) operated in the cold vacuum environment.
The 18 gold primary mirror segments were tested as well, to ensure they act as a single mirror.
The test even managed to continue as Hurricane Harvey battered the Texas coast.
The vault-like door was closed off on July 10, allowing researchers to assess the telescope in conditions simulating deep space
Inside the chamber, the team monitored the telescope using thermal sensors and specialized cameras, to track the temperature and the physical position as each component moved.
‘After 15 years of planning, chamber refurbishment, hundreds of hours of risk-reduction testing, the dedication of more than 100 individuals through more than 90 days of testing, and surviving Hurricane Harvey, the OTIS cryogenic test has been an outstanding success,’ said Bill Ochs, project manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
‘The completion of the test is one of the most significant steps in the march to launching Webb.’
The engineers began cooling the chamber on July 20 after removing the air.
The process that took roughly 30 days; then the telescope remained in a cryo-stable state for another 30 days.
The team unsealed the 40-ton door (pictured) of Chamber A on Saturday, marking the end of a critical test stage ahead of the telescope’s launch
The massive golden mirror is made up of 18 hexagonal components which will work together as one structure. Each coffee table-sized mirror segment is made from beryllium and weighs roughly 46 pounds
The team began to warm the chamber back up on September 27, before pumping air back in.
Then, on November 18, they unsealed the door.
‘With an integrated team from all corners of the country, we were able to create deep space in our chamber and confirm that Webb can perform flawlessly as it observes the coldest corners of the universe,’ said Jonathan Homan, project manager for Webb’s cryogenic testing at Johnson.
‘I expect [Webb] to be successful, as it journeys to Lagrange point 2 [after launch] and explores the origins of solar systems, galaxies, and has the chance to change our understanding of our universe.’Former PM Margaret Thatcher was told a senior Merseyside police officer blamed "drunken Liverpool fans" for causing the Hillsborough disaster, confidential government documents have revealed.
An official inquiry found the main cause of the tragedy was a failure in crowd control by South Yorkshire Police.
Ninety-six football fans died as a result of a crush on overcrowded terraces at an FA Cup Semi Final in April 1989.
The BBC has seen secret papers about Britain's worst sporting tragedy.
Letters to and from 10 Downing Street and cabinet minutes that show what Mrs, now Lady, Thatcher was discussing and being told behind the scenes have been made public for the first time by BBC Radio 4's The World at One.
For years, the families of those who died have been calling for the release of secret government and police papers relating to the disaster.
The government has agreed that this will happen.
The Hillsborough Independent Panel, set up in 2009, is reviewing hundreds of documents but they are not expected to be made available to the families of those who died or to the wider public until later this year.
It is thought there will be thousands of pages to sift through.
The most controversial issue in the papers that the BBC has seen relates to what Mrs Thatcher was being told about the views of some senior members of the Merseyside Police Force.
'Deeply ashamed'
They are contained in a letter sent to the prime minister from a member of her policy unit in Downing Street. Four days after the disaster, the adviser attended a long planned meeting with the chief constable of Merseyside Police, the late Sir Kenneth Oxford, and some of his senior colleagues.
Today's revelations do not constitute a'smoking gun' but do add to public knowledge about the political reaction to these terrible events Martin Rosenbaum, BBC Freedom of Information expert Martin on the Hillsborough papers
According to the letter, the Merseyside chief constable said: "A key factor in causing the disaster was the fact that large numbers of Liverpool fans had turned up without tickets.
"This was getting lost sight of in attempts to blame the police, the football authorities, etc."
The prime minister was informed that a senior member of the Merseyside Police directly blamed supporters: "One officer, born and bred in Liverpool, said that he was deeply ashamed to say that it was drunken Liverpool fans who had caused this disaster, just as they had caused the deaths at Heysel."
This officer is not named.
More of the views of the chief constable are also referred to:
"He deplored the Press's morbid concentration on pictures of bodies. He was also uneasy about the way in which Anfield was being turned into a shrine".
It is important to bear in mind that this was written just days after the Hillsborough disaster and the views of the chief constable and those of his senior officers may well have changed over the subsequent weeks.
The Merseyside Police force has declined to comment.
'Truth must come out'
There is nothing in the documents the BBC has seen about any briefings from South Yorkshire Police. It is possible more will become known about that when many other confidential papers are officially released in a few months time.
Image caption The government has promised to release files relating to Margaret Thatcher and Hillsborough To abstain from taking action… would be the gravest possible matter, now that the need for this action had been so conclusively demonstrated Margaret Thatcher in 1989 Listen to The World at One programme
Instead, we have learnt about the controversial views of some of Liverpool's own senior police officers and how, just days after the disaster, they were being passed on directly to 10 Downing Street and to Mrs Thatcher.
A spokesman for the panel said it could not comment on the BBC story.
Other Downing Street papers seen by the BBC provide an insight into what the prime minister was saying and discussing with her cabinet colleagues in the days after Hillsborough.
The main issue of discussion contained in these documents was the effect the disaster was going to have on controversial legislation aimed at controlling the behaviour of football fans.
The Football Spectators' Bill was already going through Parliament. The government was determined to continue with it, in order to introduce a national membership scheme for the sport. This would have brought in identity cards for football fans.
According to the conclusions of the first cabinet meeting to take place after the disaster, Mrs Thatcher told her ministers that the situation on crowd safety and hooliganism at football matches "cried out for action".
The government wanted the legislation to be passed in time for the following year's World Cup finals in Italy - to reduce the prospect of crowd trouble. The meeting also discussed using it to bring in any interim recommendations from the Hillsborough Inquiry.
'Gravest matter'
In another meeting with senior cabinet colleagues which took place on the same day, the prime minister said: "To abstain from taking action… would be the gravest possible matter, now that the need for this action had been so conclusively demonstrated."
Image caption Bereaved families have been calling for the release of secret government and police papers about the disaster
Five days later, Home Secretary Douglas Hurd met the man conducting the official inquiry into Hillsborough, Lord Justice Taylor.
A letter written by a civil servant at the Home Office says Mr Hurd told the judge about the government's proposed new timetable to get the football spectators' legislation passed by Parliament.
He then asked Lord Justice Taylor what he would say if the government went ahead with this and then asked "whether he was really quite sure that it was out of the question to form and express a view on the subject of membership cards in the three-and-a-half months… between the start of the inquiry… and the end of August?"
According to the letter, Lord Justice Taylor told him that "this was possible, but he was not confident that it could be achieved".
He said his priority was establishing the facts of what had happened at Hillsborough and could not promise to come up with any recommendations on membership cards in time to fit in with the government's political schedule.
The prime minister was told what had happened in a briefing note from her principal private secretary, who informed her: "Lord Justice Taylor was distinctly unhelpful."
In the end, the government did press ahead with its plans and the law was passed. However, the following year, in his report, Lord Justice Taylor said he had "grave doubts" about the feasibility of football membership cards and "serious misgivings" about the scheme's likely impact on safety. As a result of his concerns, the government dropped the scheme and it was never implemented.Australian Abdullah Elmir reportedly issues threat against UK and confirms marriage to one of three teenage friends who left for Syria in February
A schoolgirl from east London who left the UK to join Islamic State in Syria has married a former butcher from Sydney who has appeared in several jihadi recruitment videos, it has been reported.
The Mail on Sunday said it had been in contact with Abdullah Elmir via encrypted text messages, confirming his marriage to one of three schoolfriends from Bethnal Green who had travelled to Syria.
Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, both then aged 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, left the UK in February, boarding a flight to Istanbul during their half-term break after deceiving their families.
Two Bethnal Green schoolgirls 'now married to Isis men' in Syria Read more
Speaking to a Mail reporter via the messaging service Kik, Elmir reportedly made a direct threat about Isis sympathisers in the UK being “itching” to attack the country. The newspaper said it has passed on details of the conversation to British intelligence services.
Elmir reportedly praised an attack on a Tunisian beach resort by an Isis-inspired jihadi that left 38 people dead, the majority of whom were British holidaymakers.
“May Allah bless the man who slaughtered those filthy kuffar [infidels] and may Allah grant him the highest level in Jannah [heaven],” Elmir wrote. “May the kuffar that this man killed taste the heat of Jahannam [hell] and their families be reunited with them in there.”
The Mail on Sunday reported last week it had been messaging one of the Bethnal Green schoolgirls, posing as a 16-year-old British girl interested in joining Isis. One of the girls then described her new husband and said he was looking for a second wife.
Australian Abdullah Elmir. Photograph: YouTube
“Hes born muslim, not Asian thow [sic], hes half Lebanese and half Australian,” she wrote, giving a description which matches Elmir, whose father is Lebanese.
All three girls were pupils at the Bethnal Green Academy and friends of another girl who had left London for Syria in December. They are now believed to be living in the Isis stronghold of Raqqa in central Syria.
Two of the teenagers have since contacted their families, telling them they are now married, their parents told the Guardian, requesting the two not be identified.
The girls are understood to have been given a choice of men for marriage and picked their husbands from “catalogue” of those deemed suitable by Isis.
Elmir, who has been nicknamed the “ginger jihadi” for his long red curls, has appeared in numerous recruitment videos aimed at would-be fighters from the west.
The Australian, from western Sydney, appeared in a YouTube clip last year threatening Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott. Elmir was reported missing in June 2014, telling his family he was going fishing, but contacting them again after arriving in Turkey to say he was about to “cross the border” into Syria.
A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “The investigation into all of the missing girls continues. It remains a priority to try to prevent people travelling to join terrorist groups whether they be determined terrorists, radicalised individuals or vulnerable teenagers. We will continue to work with our partners and the authorities to combat this risk and prevent tragedies.”When I log into Gmail, the system texts me a one-time key which I use to verify that it’s me trying to get in and not some jerk who got my login info from a password dump. You’d think my bank would have the same level of protection to make sure bad guys can’t get a good whiff of my money. Nope.
Despite being accepted as a simple but effective method of protecting online accounts, several major banks don’t use two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized logins to your account. Why not?
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So what is two-factor authentication
Every time an online service accidentally loses a trove of username and password credentials, the cry rises again: Everybody secure your shit with two-factor authentication! For those unfamiliar, two-factor, or multi-factor authentication is a security measure that requires more than simply your username and password to gain access to your accounts. You should definitely use it!
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The two-factor methodology you’re most likely familiar with is an SMS one-time password. After you enter your username and password for a service in a web browser, you get a text message containing a randomized code. Enter that code into a prompt in your browser, and then you get access to your account.
A similarly flexible method is called time-based one-time password solutions, which generate a random password and require that you enter it within a tight time window. This type of password generated by both Google’s Authenticator app and the Code Generator in the Facebook app. In some situations, services distribute a discreet physical device like a key fob that has a password generator built-in it. Most top online services—Dropbox, Evernote, Twitter, Microsoft Hotmail, and countless others—offer some form of two-step identification.
Banks are woefully insecure
Banks, however, are behind. Some financial giants have seen the light and have been offering customers the option to secure their logins with meaningful two-factor authentication: Bank of America and Chase both offer SMS notifications for every login, the baseline for good security. But many other banks fail to go further: U.S Bank, American Express, HSBC, PNC, Bank, Capital One, Suntrust, TD Bank, Simple, and Wells Fargo don’t offer two-factor authentication at every login.
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Many of these do provide additional security throughout the banking process, but none of them offer a the level of login security that you can get with your email.
Here’s a brief rundown of what were able to surmise about each bank’s security based on their online documentation and comments from spokespeople. Most banks were very evasive about their security policies and procedures. We’ll update if we learn more.
American Express:
According to a spokesperson, American Express only asks for additional authentication in the event that a request or activity seems unusual. This additional authentication can include two-factor in the form of a one-time password sent over SMS.
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The spokesperson adds, amazingly, “We do not wish to inconvenience all our website users with a two-factor authentication for every login.”
Capital One:
According to a spokesperson:
As part of our layered security program, we use a variety of methods to determine a customer’s identity, including challenge questions and two-factor authentication. They are not controlled by the customer but automatically applied based on risk triggers associated with customer requests.
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Still, according to anecdotal research and documentation posted online, the company doesn’t regularly ask for two-factor authentication.
Citibank:
Citibank refused to comment beyond the information posted on its website, which saya that “When you perform sensitive online banking transactions, such as money transfers, Citi will sometimes ask you additional questions to verify your identity.” According to several Citi customers we talked to this security amounts to mother’s maiden name-type security questions.
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HSBC:
According to a spokesman:
HSBC uses two factor authentication globally as our preferred secure technology. As you know, it is standard in a large number of the markets where we operate, including across Europe and Asia. Important to note that two factor authentication is only required for transactions involving funds leaving an account. It is not needed to check a balance or moving funds between HSBC accounts.
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PNC Bank:
According to a spokesman:
PNC provides multi-factor (layered) security for our online banking customers. For security reasons, we do not provide further information related to our security practices or on our business decisions related to security.
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However, according to our anecdotal research, and information posted online, PNC Bank relies heavily on security questions and doesn’t regularly require two-factor authentication. PNC declined to elaborate or clarify its policies. Note: Their response to comment came after after this post was published, after repeated requests for comment were ignored.
Simple:
According to a spokesman:
Simple does indeed use SMS-based two-factor authentication. It’s required for a number of our banking functionalities — including making payments greater than $1,000, sending payment to a new contact, approving instant transfers, and changing personal contact information.
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SunTrust
A spokesman declined to comment beyond the company’s “extensive mulilayered security protocols and processes.” According to information posted online, the company only ever asks for security questions.
Wells Fargo:
The company has an “Advanced Access” procedure involving a one time password. However, according to a spokesman: “Advanced Access may be required at login to verify a customer’s identity if we notice account activity that is out of pattern for that customer. But it’s not something that’s necessarily required for every login.”
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Why don’t all banks do it?
As you can see there’s a lot of variety in how banks use different layers of security. There’s no uniform response. If your transaction meets certain criteria or a bank’s algorithm detects something odd, a red flag goes off and you might be prompted for a one-time password, or simply for the answer that a security question will provide. At the very least, though, a username and password will get someone access to your account balance, and in many cases other pieces of personal information.
You’ll notice the language of “risk” throughout the above descriptions. That’s because that’s the language of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, whose guidance on “authentication in an internet banking environment” concludes:
Where risk assessments indicate that the use of single-factor authentication is inadequate, financial institutions should implement multifactor authentication, layered security, or other controls reasonably calculated to mitigate those risks. The agencies consider single-factor authentication, as the only control mechanism, to be inadequate in the case of high-risk transactions involving access to customer information or the movement of funds to other parties.
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So it’s up to the banks to evaluate risk in put security in place to meet those risks. In the words of Duo Security CTO Jon Oberheide:
Due to the weak guidance, banks instead did the bare minimum and offered security questions/answers and “security images”. You probably see this on your accounts today when you log in: a security image and phrase pre-chosen by the user that is supposed to make you confident that your login is secure. In reality, those mechanisms offer little to no protection against phishing and other credential theft threats.
In other words, the banks aren’t doing more because they don’t have to. And so as long as they maintain zero-loss guarantees against fraud, and the amount lost to fraud remains relatively small compared to their deep pockets, the banks won’t do anything more to protect you.
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But as Oberheide points out this is a risky way to look at things:
More and more, attackers are becoming indistinguishable from legitimate users, and are becoming more sophisticated in their ability to evade detection and launder fraudulent gains through networks of money mules. Instead of relying on complex fraud analytics models, it’s much more effective to offer strong authentication for the end user and have the ability to simply ask them: “did you intend to do this?”
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It’s also worth noting that two-factor authentication isn’t infallible, and indeed, some researchers have illustrated that there are several methods that might be used to compromise two-factor in a banking situation. One study that got some press claimed that Android malware was so prevalent that two-factor authentication was too risky to reliable.
Still, given the option of using an extra layer of practical security can only be a good thing. Even if your attackers have battering rams, you’re better off if they have to break through two doors. And according to security expert Per Thorsheim, who organizes the annual Password Con in Las Vegas, concerns about the security of two factor authentication are overblown.
“It makes you a lot safer, as blind—automated—large-scale attacks are no longer really possible,” said Thorsheim. “You would have to be closer to a targeted attack, which lowers the chances of successful access.” Importantly, it also increases the likelihood that an attack will be detected.
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It’s so easy to implement tighter security. If Gmail can do it, why can’t your bank?
Illustration by Tara JacobyPETERBOROUGH, N.H. — With little to lose, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz began making his final pitch to New Hampshire Republicans Sunday as the ongoing volatility of the upcoming Granite State primary ominously bore down on several of his rivals for the GOP nomination.
“God bless the great state of New Hampshire!” he said to a packed house in an old-fashioned town hall building.
The stakes are low for Cruz here. New Hampshire is not a state where a candidate of his ilk — deeply evangelical — is ever expected to do well. But in the days between the Iowa caucuses — of which Cruz emerged the victor — and Tuesday's New Hampshire vote, the GOP nomination fight has taken on new levels of instability, the kind that could propel Cruz to a stronger-than-expected finish.
The period between the Iowa and New Hampshire contests is always a wild week in politics, a time when candidates can rise and fall in mere days, if not hours. This year, political survival for a handful of establishment contenders is on the line.
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Cruz already has an Iowa victory under his belt, and will soon turn to Republican supporters better aligned with his message in Southern states in the coming weeks. But he is campaigning here in New Hampshire as if there is no tomorrow: Come Tuesday, he will have made at least 17 stops in a week’s time.
The pace is in line with his marathon Iowa campaign. The tone, however, has changed some. Instead of parables of his legal crusades for religious liberty, he ripped the U.S. Supreme Court for an eminent domain ruling — an issue that plays well with New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" libertarian brand of conservatism.
"I tell you what, I believe private property is a fundamental right of mankind," he said. "I believe the Constitution protects it, and if we have a president who puts principled constitutionalists on the court... we will protect the private property rights of American citizens."
Despite the pitch, real estate magnate Donald Trump is likely to place first here. The real battle is for second place. Four "establishment" contenders — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio — desperately need a strong finish here.
Cruz could displace them all and take second place, or his appeal to base voters could prove tone deaf here.
Few political observers are certain how this state's contest will end. Until Saturday night, the widely held assumption was that Rubio was surging and would place second, if not first.
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But then the Florida senator stumbled badly at a Manchester debate, thanks to Christie's accusations that Rubio was overly reliant on rehearsed talking points.
When the day began Sunday morning in New Hampshire, there was little sense over where the race stood. Rubio's performance could be a career damaging misstep, on par with Gov. Rick Perry's "oops" debate moment, or the whole episode could be swept away with Super Bowl excitement.
But the exchange was on the mind of Teresa Cadorete, a Peterborough physician, at Cruz's sunday event. Walking out of the town hall, she facetiously marveled after Cruz’s town hall that he was not “scripted," a dig at Rubio’s debate stumble.
She said her vote is coming down to Trump or Cruz.
Should the pair end up the top two New Hampshire finishers, they would collectively deliver a withering blow to the GOP establishment.
But two days out, there is no time left to poll New Hampshire Republican primary voters' reactions to the drama. Political instability is in the air.
A chief contributing factor to the volatility is indecision. Many New Hampshire voters wait until they pull the curtain in the voting booth to decide.
Cadorete said that after attending at least five presidential campaign events over the last year, she will hold off on a decision until the moment she actually looks at the names on the ballot.
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Did Cruz close the deal for her Sunday afternoon?
“Not yet,” she said. “He won’t until Tuesday when I vote. I leave it to the end.”
Harvey Sawyer from nearby Jaffrey also attended the event and was similarly unsure.
“I think from what I saw today, I could go for Ted Cruz,” he said. “I’m not saying that I will vote for him in the primary. I’m not saying that I won’t.”On 21 August 2013 a series of chemical attacks were perpetrated in the Ghouta suburbs of eastern Damascus. Sources say that between 281 and 1,729 civilians were killed, while Medecins Sans Frontiers reported around 3,600 were injured in the attacks. [1] On the same day UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instructed the UN Mission already in Syria to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in Khan al-Asal, Sheik Maqsoos and Saraqueb to focus their efforts on the Ghouta allegations. [2]
Before the UN Mission had reported its preliminary findings, Human Rights Watch (HRW) jumped the gun on 10 September with its own report written by Peter Bouckaert, the organisation’s Emergencies Director. [3]
The report admits that HRW did not have physical access to the site and had based its study on Skype interviews with ‘More than 10 witnesses and survivors’ made over a period of two weeks between 22 August and 6 September. These were supplemented by video and photo footage and other data from an unnamed source or sources. It is unclear then, exactly how many exposed survivors were interviewed by HRW or who the other witnesses were.
In compiling the report HRW had also drawn on the technical services of Keith B. Ward Ph.D., an expert on the detection and effects of chemical warfare agents. However the organisation did not disclose that Dr Ward is employed by Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States government. [4] The HRW investigation was also ‘assisted by arms experts including Nic Jenzen-Jones […] as well as Eliot Higgins […] who collected and analysed photos and videos from the attacks.’ [5]
Mr Jenzen-Jones’s LinkedIn profile does not list any training or experience with armaments, and his only qualifications appear to be ‘certified armourer and ammunition collector’ – which probably relates to the Firearms Amendment (Ammunition control) Act 2012 of the state of New South Wales, Australia. [6] In reports on the story on his own blog ‘The Rogue Adventurer’, Mr Jenzen-Jones relies on data taken uncritically from sources such as the New York Times and even a Los Angeles Times article based on Israeli intelligence [7] Apparently he is not familiar with Israeli falsified reports such as the alleged use of guns by passengers on the Mavi Marmara against Israeli commandos (which remain uncorroborated despite Israeli forces seizing virtually all photographic data from the more than 600 passengers, along with film from security cameras located throughout the ship and Israel’s own constant infra-red surveillance from boats on both sides of the ship and at from least two aircraft). As former CIA director Stansfield Turner is reputed to have said, Mossad excels in PR, and not in intelligence. [8]
HRW’s other expert, Eliot Higgins is an untrained analyst who was recently talked-up into some kind of expert by Matthew Weaver in the Guardian. [9] On his Brown Moses Blog of 28 August 2013 Mr Higgins featured a video sent to him by a source allegedly showing the type of munition linked to the chemical attacks being fired close to Al-Mezzah Airport near Daraya. The video has been filmed at some distance and none of the upwards of 20 men roaming around the site can be clearly seen. An unmarked Mercedes semi-trailer lorry apparently delivers the rocket which is loaded (this is not seen) onto an unmarked white rigid lorry on which the launcher is mounted. The men aimlessly roaming around are mostly wearing army fatigues, although others, including some on the launcher, are in civilian clothes. A number of those in military uniform are wearing red berets. Based solely on this headgear, and the fact that the Syrian Republic Guard as well as the military police are issued with red berets, Mr Higgins is emboldened to state that ‘…this video shows the munition being used by the government forces […].[10]
Stills taken from the video analysed by Eliot Higgins. Mr Higgins has deduced that this is a Syrian Army operation entirely from the red berets worn by some of the personnel. The rocket shown can also carry conventional explosives.
In a previous posting on 26 August, Mr Higgins estimated from shadows that a rocket shown in photographs between Zamalka and Ein Tarma had been fired from north of the site, and he set about trying to locate the launch site with the help of correspondents. Hoping to find the exact location, he speculated that the 155th Brigade missile base was a possible site for the crime. [11] This line of investigation quietly disappeared after the UN Mission reported that the missile they had examined at Zamalka/Ein Tarma was pointing precisely in a bearing of 285 degrees, i.e. nearer west than north. [12]
Meanwhile Mr Bouckaert in his report two weeks later reported that two of his witnesses told HRW that the rockets came from the direction of the Mezzeh Military Airport. [13] These accounts also became inconvenient later when, as we shall see, HRW seized on the azimuths provided by the UN Mission and dashed off on a new wild goose chase. Apparently HRW now considered that nearly 20 per cent of the ‘witnesses and survivors’ it had interviewed were no longer credible regarding the direction of the rockets.
Nevertheless on page 1 of his report Mr Bouckaert felt confident enough to declare
Based on the available evidence, Human Rights Watch finds that Syrian government forces were almost certainly responsible for the August 21 attacks, and that a weapons-grade nerve agent was delivered during the attack using specially designed rocket delivery systems.
The ‘evidence’ produced on p20 of the report amounts to nothing more than supposition. Mr Bouckaert merely states his scepticism that the rebels could have fired surface-to-surface rockets at two different locations in the Damascus suburbs; he asserts that the types of rockets thought to have been used are not reported to be in possession of the opposition nor is there any footage showing that they have mobile launchers suitable; and he states that the large amounts of dangerous nerve agent would require sophisticated techniques beyond the capabilities of the rebels. No actual evidence is cited to show that this weaponry is Syrian Army equipment. On the contrary the Soviet 140 mm rocket referred to on p15 requires a BM-14 rocket launcher, first produced in the late 1940s.
The Syrian Army equipment list produced by Global Security shows none of this obsolete weaponry in stock but instead lists around 300 of the BM-21 launcher which replaced it. The BM-21 launches a 122mm rocket, so the Army would be unable to fire the 140mm rocket that rebels found and the UN Mission inspected at Moadamiyah. [14] [15] Mr Bouckaert might also recall that Israel has a common border to Syria and is known to have stocks of sarin amongst the vast collection of illegal chemical and biological weaponry amassed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) at Nes Ziona. [16] YouTube videos also show Syrian rebels in possession of mobile rocket launchers. [17] HRW really did assemble a Mickey Mouse team of researchers when they cobbled together this report.
Nevertheless HRW’s reputation and distribution ensured that their allegation was distributed by agencies such as Associated Press [18] and reported by outlets which included the BBC [19], CBS [20], New York Post [21] and other international media such as the Tasmanian newspaper The Examiner [22] and the Jakarta Post [23]. None of these outlets questioned the veracity of this very serious allegation against the Syrian Army.
On 11 September, a day after the HRW report was published, the International Support Team for Mussalaha in Syria published its unique and important analysis of documentation nominated by US intelligence. [24] Having carefully and thoughtfully analysed the data, including a number of images also published in the Bouckaert report, the study discovered not only widespread manipulation of evidence, but in the tradition of BBC reporting in Syria, [25] they also discovered that photographs of victims in Cairo had been described as victims of a chemical attack in Syria. This preliminary study concludes that there has been gross media manipulation and calls for an independent and unbiased International Commission to identify the children who were killed and try to find the truth of the case. This writer has not seen any HRW document which refers to the ISTEAMS study.
The UN Mission report was published six days after the Bouckaert report on 16 September. This disclosed that the Mission had been allowed a total of only seven-and-a-half hours on-site in the two suburbs which are both located in opposition-controlled areas. During that period they had experienced repeated threats of harm and one actual attack by an unidentified sniper on 26 August. [26] Nevertheless they had collected samples and ‘a considerable amount of information’ along with ‘primary statements from more than fifty exposed survivors including patients, health workers and first-responders.’ In fact the statements had been taken in interviews with nine nurses, seven doctors and 36 survivors. [27] The Mission concluded that there was ‘definitive evidence of exposure to Sarin by a large proportion of the survivors assessed’ [28] and it stated that it had been informed that victims began suffering effects following an artillery barrage on 21 August 2013. All interviews, sampling and documentation followed procedures developed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organisation.
The report states that ‘several surface to surface rockets capable of delivering significant chemical payloads were identified and recorded at the investigated sites’ but only five impact sites in total were investigated by the Mission (presumably because of the time constraints imposed on them by those who controlled the areas).
The UN report is not without its contradictions. In a summary in their Letter of Transmittal the authors wrote ‘In particular, the environmental, chemical and medical samples, we have collected, provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used in Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zamalka…’.
And yet none of the 13 environmental samples taken from Moadamiyah were found to have any traces of sarin, although one of the two laboratories conducting the analyses found degradation products of sarin in four of the thirteen samples while a further sample was found to contain degradation products by the other lab. Although two of the samples were unspecified metal fragments, none of the samples was specifically described as being part of a rocket. [29] Does the discovery of degradation products in 38 per cent of the samples (and only 23 per cent of the tests) along with a complete absence of the chemical agent itself constitute ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that Moadamiyah was attacked by surface-to-surface rockets containing sarin?
Most important however are the two caveats included in the report. On p 18 the inspectors wrote concerning the Moadamiyah site.
The sites have been well travelled by other individuals both before and during the investigation Fragments and other possible evidence have clearly been handled/moved prior to the arrival of the investigation team. [Emphasis added.]
Similar tampering of the evidence was noted at the other site as the report notes on p22
During the time spent at these locations, individuals arrived carrying other suspected munitions indicating that such potential evidence is being moved and possibly manipulated. [Emphasis added]
HRW was quick to seize on the UN report to substantiate its own allegations, although some adjustments were now necessary to get their allegations to dovetail neatly into the report’s findings. On 17 September Josh Lyons used the azimuths cited for the rockets in Appendix 5 of the Mission report to produce a cross reference which suggested that the military base of the Republican Guard 104th Brigade had been the launch site for |
Caps
41) Ode to Everyone Under Age
42) Power Nap
43) Fill It Up Again
44) Salute to Lightweights
45) Refill Right After You Drink
46) S Curve Jig
47) Efficient Drinking
48) Alcohol Is My Anti-Drug
49) Shots In the Shower
50) My Liver Hurts
51) Sandwich In a Can
52) Cheers for No Reason
53) Build a Beeramid
54) Song In the Key of an Empty
55) Bar Fight
56) You Won’t Remember This Song
57) This Song Drunk
58) You’re Almost There
59) But You Drink Instead
60) The End
60.5) Sixty and a Half [Exclusive USB bonus track]
$29.99Anthony W. "Tony" LeVier (February 14, 1913 – February 6, 1998) was an air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Early life [ edit ]
Born Anthony Puck in Duluth, Minnesota, his father died while he was still young. His mother, Aloysia Evans, moved Tony and his older sister Nancy to southern California for the warmer climate. While Tony was a teenager, his mother remarried, to Oscar LeVier, who gave the children his name.
From an early age, Tony LeVier had been much more interested in flying than his studies, so he dropped out of high school to pursue flying full-time. He worked odd jobs to pay for food and flying, mostly maintaining airplanes or flight instructing.
Air racing [ edit ]
In 1936, he began to try his hand at air racing, starting with the national air races in Los Angeles. In 1938 he flew, for the first time, a Keith Rider racer dubbed The Firecracker, owned by air racing enthusiast Bill Schoenfeldt. In this plane, he won the Greve Trophy in Cleveland that year. His landing after that flight was rough and damaged the aircraft too heavily to allow him to compete for the Thompson Trophy the next day. A year later, he was back in Cleveland, and this time placed second in the Thompson race.
Postwar air racing [ edit ]
After the end of World War II, LeVier bought a war surplus P-38 Lightning for $1,250 in Kingman, Arizona. He modified it for air racing and painted it bright red. He competed at the national air races in Cleveland in 1946 and won second place in the Thompson Trophy.
Mechanic and airline pilot [ edit ]
After the 1939 races, LeVier got his first formal job, working as a mechanic for the Douglas Aircraft Company, hoping to get promoted to test pilot. However, frustrated by his chances with that company, he earned an instrument rating and went to work for Mid-Continent Airlines in Kansas City. Six months later, though, he left that job also, to work with General Motors testing engines for Cessna aircraft in Wichita. When a job opened for him at the Lockheed Corporation in Burbank, California, he left Wichita and returned to southern California.
Lockheed career [ edit ]
LeVier started at Lockheed ferrying Hudson bombers to Canada for delivery to the Royal Air Force. He later trained and checked out pilots in the Hudson and its transport variant, the Lodestar. His job description was changed to engineering test pilot in 1942 to fly the PV-1 Ventura.
His test flying was instrumental in proving the Lockheed P-38 Lightning design. He and chief engineering test pilot Milo Burcham alternated flying dive tests to observe the design's performance at transonic speeds. To demonstrate the reliability of the design in the hands of a skilled pilot, he performed aerobatic shows for students at the Polaris Flight school at War Eagle Field in nearby Lancaster.
In 1944, LeVier visited Eighth Air Force air bases in Great Britain to demonstrate the engine-out reliability of the P-38.[1] He left England less than a week before the invasion of Normandy.
P-80 Shooting Star [ edit ]
When he returned to the United States, testing of the P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter was underway. He had made the first flight of the XP-80A in January, and the testing program continued through 1944 and into 1945. In October 1944, Milo Burcham was killed in the crash of a production P-80, and Tony LeVier filled his office as chief engineering test pilot in January 1945.
Just two months into his career as head of this department, he suffered a serious crash on March 20, 1945, when his P-80 lost its tail due to a faulty turbine blade. Upon landing, he broke his back and had to wear a brace during his recovery, but six months after his crash, he was back in the air.
He tested two evolutions of the P-80: the T-33 and the three variants of the F-94 Starfire. He also performed most of the tests of the XF-90 penetration fighter prototype. He also flew the first flights of the XF-104 Starfighter, and the U-2.
He was succeeded as chief engineering test pilot at Lockheed by Herman "Fish" Salmon. He died at the age of 84 on February 6, 1998 from complications of cancer and kidney failure, after surviving eight crashes and one mid-air collision.
Awards [ edit ]
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots annually presents the Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award.
First flights [ edit ]
The following is an incomplete list of the first flights of a new design that were piloted or copiloted by Tony LeVier during his career at Lockheed. Photographs do not necessarily depict the first flight.
References [ edit ]
^ Caidin, Martin. Fork-Tailed Devil. Ballantine, 1968 ^ These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. 978-1-57864-397-4. Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor.. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN
^ Fork-Tailed Devil. Ballantine, 1968. ^ AOPA Magazine, March, 1994.For all you Wall-E fans out there, iRobot has now made a Wall-E edition Roomba 530 available today. Unfortunately the robot is only being released in Japan and at a cost of about $850. For that price we will just stick with getting the movie.
Head on over to Disney to play some Wall-E games such as Pop! or Trash Tower. Or buy the movie from Disney here in it’s many variations, including a special 3 disc edition for $34.99.
Or head over to Amazon for the remote control Wall-E for around $40. Or get the Ultimate Remote control Wall-E from Disney for about $240.
So many Wall-Es, so little time.
Update: Disney, Wall-E & NASA are letting kids 6-12 name the next Mars rover!
Check out all the details here.
Link via (Gizmodo)Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said his government will help “good” journalists who want to start a newspaper or a news channel.
The chief minister made the comments during a Google hangout chat with AAP volunteers. The remarks came at a time when the Delhi government is being accused of gagging the media after a new media circular which tells officials to report defamatory content.
“The media keeps showing us in a negative light. But don’t worry about that. The people of Delhi are happy with us and as far as starting a media house is concerned; we don’t want to do that. There are good people in the media too, who are not happy. If some senior people come together and want to start a news channel or news paper, the government will help them. We also want an honest media house which shows news,” Kejriwal said.
This is was Kejriwal’s first such interaction with the volunteers after AAP’s spectacular win in Delhi assembly polls.
The Delhi CM also said that the government will amend the Delhi School Education Act and Rules 1973 to regulate fee hike in private schools. “Some private schools arbitrarily increase their fees. So we have decided to amend the act first,” the chief minister said.
Also within a year, the Delhi government will start 45 new model government schools and improve the infrastructure of 100-150 existing government schools, he said.
Kejriwal also reiterated that his government will fulfill all its promises. He also said that the government has reduced the electricity tariff and started working towards bringing in the Lokpal.
On his government’s continuing tiff with the centre over administrative matters, the CM said: “The police are targeting us and the Centre is asking them to do so. They have got false FIRs registered against our three MLAs. I have been writing to the Union home ministry but have not received any response yet.”
He told his party volunteers to draw comparisons between the work done by the Modi government at the Centre in one year and the Delhi government in 100 days. Kejriwal government will complete 100 days in office on May 26.
First Published: May 11, 2015 01:38 ISTWhen Trevor Timmins stepped to the podium this year, spoke some of his excellent french, and said the name Michael McCarron, I think the collective reaction of Habs fans was probably the same as mine: WHO!? I had my heart set on Valentin Zykov, and was sure Timmins would grab him, so I couldn't figure out why he name dropped someone I'd never even heard of. I think I said the word why about 30 times, then I saw McCarron walking up to the podium, and I knew why...
McCarron is massive, billed at 6'5" weighing roughly 230 pounds, and he's only 18 years old, so he could still add muscle and get even bigger. I say roughly for the weight because on all the scouting sites I've visited, he's billed anywhere from 224 to 235. In any case, he's a pretty big boy and that's not hard to see. It also doesn't take a genius to figure out that this pick was about getting bigger and tougher up front, and McCarron provides that in earnest.
I had him ten spots lower than he is on this year's list, ranking him at 24. Having now looked into him a bit more I think I could amend that to move him up a few spots, but he still wouldn't crack my top 20. The issue for me is that there are far too many unknowns with this guy. If certain areas of his game improve, he could be a fantastic addition to the team because of his size. If he doesn't improve in those same areas, he'll probably never be anything more than a face-puncher; not the type of player you'd use a first round pick on.
Now, if I know anything about Trevor Timmins, he has a propensity to surprise everyone by drafting guys who come with low expectations, only for them to wind up being awesome. While I have low expectations for a Coke-Machine like McCarron, he has some excellent upside. If he continues his trend of improvement in areas more important than pugilism, he could be a huge addition to the Canadiens roster in the future.
More on McCarron: Check out Andrew's draft profile
Voting
Voting was pretty split on McCarron, as you can see below. Most had him near the middle of the pack, with Marc and Justin both giving him spots in their top 10.
Arik Ian Matt Marc Stephan Robert Andrew Bruce Justin Chris Laura JF 17 29 24 9 15 18 13 18 9 13 15 21
Strengths
McCarron's biggest strength is the one thing you can't teach; size. He's huge, and very strong, which coupled with some acquired skills can make for one heck of a hockey player. When you consider this as his biggest asset, you can imagine he would be quite the presence in front of the net and battling along the walls and in the corners. At the recent World Junior evaluation camp, that's precisely what he drew praise for. He's very strong on the puck and wins nearly every battle for it, which is definitely a big plus as he could be a major possession driver with those attributes.
He's been said to have much softer hands and better puck handling than you would expect for someone his size, and has also drew some praise for his ability to find teammates with his vision. He has a decent shot and has shown some flashes of offensive talent, but is by no means an elite level shooter or scorer. The good news is that there seems to be a consensus among scouts that he has made major improvements in his offensive game over the years. That said, he seems eager to learn and could develop nicely if this trend continues.
Scroll to about 34 seconds in the video below and you'll see that he can be a nice piece on the powerplay too. In the video, he gets the puck at the point, sees that he has no shooting lane, so he gives up the puck and heads straight for the net, where he knows his big body is of good use. This shows good awareness and tells me he could be a good asset for the Habs special teams in the future.
Weaknesses
My biggest issue is his skating. Most reports have noted improvement over the last few years, but from what I've seen he's average at best. The problem there is pretty obvious; the NHL is a fast paced league and if he can't make strides to become a better skater, he'll definitely struggle at even the AHL level. The last thing I want to see is him becoming nothing more than an enforcer.
He is also a bit careless with the physical aspect of his game, often looking for big hits that can put him out of position and lead to unnecessary penalties. He also takes penalties for other things that he doesn't need to do, so it seems there is a bit of a discipline issue with him. He can also make some careless decisions with the puck, sometimes making ill-advised passes that lead to odd man rushes. Basically, he needs to work on his decision making, with and without the puck, if he's to become a solid NHL player. He'll undoubtedly be a stellar face-puncher in the show, but he has the ability to be more if he works on skating, discipline and decision making.
Projection
Having recently decided to go the OHL route over NCAA, he'll be playing this year with the London Knights, which could be good or bad depending on how he's used. It's been discussed at length on this site, that if Dale Hunter sticks him into a goon role, he won't be able to develop as much in terms of skill. I don't think Trevor Timmins and Marc Bergevin used a first round pick to select someone that they see as an enforcer alone, so I'm hoping the coaching staff in London don't see him as that either. He's definitely going to be doing some fighting, but I have to hope he keeps that to a minimum and works on other areas of his game.
As mentioned, he needs to work on discipline, skating and decision making. The fortunate thing is that I believe these are all things that can be improved vastly given the right coaching. As mentioned, he has shown improvement in some of those areas, but there is still work to be done. He has the natural physical ability to play in the NHL, but the question is what kind of role he'll be able to fill.
I'm hesitant to project him any higher than a third line power forward. He could probably be used heavily on special teams as well. In reality, I'm inclined to think he'll actually be a fourth line player. The thing is that McCarron is a boom or bust prospect. There's a very high chance that he'll be nothing more than that fourth line player, however if things come together in the right way, he has the physical tools to be able to be a bigger, stronger, faster version of Milan Lucic.
Would you trade him?
If you've been reading the series, you know the deal. We're asking people to tell us whether you would move the featured player for someone below him on the list. I might get slammed for this, but I'd seriously consider moving McCarron for Sven Andrighetto, who just missed the cut for this year's list. But now, it's the readers' turn; would you move McCarron for someone below him like Magnus Nygren or Morgan Ellis?Brexit: Cameron to threaten EU? 25/08/2014
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A bizarre article in
This, is would appear, has Mr Cameron continuing with the miasma of EU reform, with his "aides" remaining confident that "significant powers" will be returned to Britain, "allowing him to campaign to stay in a reformed EU during his proposed in/out referendum to be held in 2017".
A continuation of his dance of the seven veils, we are led to believe that this "shift" in sentiment is being "actively considered" in Downing Street, and would amount to a "significant toughening" of the prime minister's stance towards Europe (they mean the European Union) as he looks to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels.
It really doesn't matter how many times this is discussed, and how many time we lay out the timetable that makes meaningful negotiations impossible to conclude before 2017. As long as there is a journalist gullible enough to listen, and a newspaper stupid enough to publish it, Mr Cameron will keep up this baleful game of trying to sell us his pretend reform.
The real reason for the current instalment comes clear, though, when we learn from "informed sources" that Mr Cameron could issue his threat at the Tory conference at the end of next month. All is thus explained. We are looking at the prime minister floating a trial balloon, to see whether it is worth his while racking up the tension, in the hope of getting some positive "eurosceptic" headlines from the conference.
Whether Mr Cameron does go ahead and issue his threat, though, is doubtless a matter of supreme indifference to the "colleagues". Over term, it has emerged that they have their own agendas and timetables, and are not prepared to be bounced into premature action by a British prime minister.
Given the continuing economic problems in the eurozone, the growing external crises, from Donetsk to Tripoli, and the fact that Hollande on this day has dumped his entire cabinet, it is doubtful that today's empty posturing by a tiresome Brit will even register.
What will eventually decide the issue is whether the UK government is able to convince its peoples that we are better off outside the EU, and that will never happen until it has convinced itself of that fact.
In the meantime, I have posted version 19 of EUReferendum. But the work will continue regardless.
New in this particular version is Chapter 9 on political co-operation – which deals with foreign and defence policy, amongst other things. In a fiendishly complex area, the work is far from finished, but it does represent another area that can be studiously ignored.
With time, though, some of the ideas will come to fruition, and we will be relieved of Mr Cameron's tedious dance. But I've a feeling that we have a long time to go before playtime is over, and the grown-ups finally get down to work.
FORUM THREAD A bizarre article in The Times (skulking behind the paywall, as always) has David Cameron "preparing to raise the spectre of Britain leaving the European Union should it reject a large overhaul of its rules".This, is would appear, has Mr Cameron continuing with the miasma of EU reform, with his "aides" remaining confident that "significant powers" will be returned to Britain, "allowing him to campaign to stay in a reformed EU during his proposed in/out referendum to be held in 2017".A continuation of his dance of the seven veils, we are led to believe that this "shift" in sentiment is being "actively considered" in Downing Street, and would amount to a "significant toughening" of the prime minister's stance towards Europe (they mean the European Union) as he looks to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels.It really doesn't matter how many times this is discussed, and how many time we lay out the timetable that makes meaningful negotiations impossible to conclude before 2017. As long as there is a journalist gullible enough to listen, and a newspaper stupid enough to publish it, Mr Cameron will keep up this baleful game of trying to sell us his pretend reform.The real reason for the current instalment comes clear, though, when we learn from "informed sources" that Mr Cameron could issue his threat at the Tory conference at the end of next month. All is thus explained. We are looking at the prime minister floating a trial balloon, to see whether it is worth his while racking up the tension, in the hope of getting some positive "eurosceptic" headlines from the conference.Whether Mr Cameron does go ahead and issue his threat, though, is doubtless a matter of supreme indifference to the "colleagues". Over term, it has emerged that they have their own agendas and timetables, and are not prepared to be bounced into premature action by a British prime minister.Given the continuing economic problems in the eurozone, the growing external crises, from Donetsk to Tripoli, and the fact that Hollande on this day has dumped his entire cabinet, it is doubtful that today's empty posturing by a tiresome Brit will even register.What will eventually decide the issue is whether the UK government is able to convince its peoples that we are better off outside the EU, and that will never happen until it has convinced itself of that fact.In the meantime, I have posted version 19 of Flexcit which is now has the work running to 311 pages, and getting close to to an end point. It will, of course, be ignored by the "great and the good", because that is what they always do with anything of this nature that lacks "prestige", and certainly anything that comes out of. But the work will continue regardless.New in this particular version is Chapter 9 on political co-operation – which deals with foreign and defence policy, amongst other things. In a fiendishly complex area, the work is far from finished, but it does represent another area that can be studiously ignored.With time, though, some of the ideas will come to fruition, and we will be relieved of Mr Cameron's tedious dance. But I've a feeling that we have a long time to go before playtime is over, and the grown-ups finally get down to work.Around the NFL, the wreckage of a season barely over is still smoldering. Cities like Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are still wondering what happened to once promising years, but that pondering hasn't slowed their pursuit of steady hands at the wheel who can take the place of the guys they shoved off the starboard bow.
Yup, we're going with ship metaphors.
Continuing on, though, it seems that the Falcons are going to lose at least one member of their coaching staff and potentially one member of their front office. One of these developments is being met with universal delight in Atlanta, while the other is a little scarier for fans.
After the jump, an examination.
Mike Mularkey
I think it's fair to say that a lot of Falcons fans would not be sorry to see a giant metal door hitting Mularkey on the posterior on his way out.
We can debate Mularkey's merits until the end of time, but here's how I see it. He's too conservative and predictable by half, and he doesn't really make good use of everyone on his depth chart. He's also a steady hand and he's capable of wearing an opposing defense down. In a league that increasingly features the big play, Mularkey is fast becoming a relic.
The time feels right for a split with the Falcons adding a lot of dynamic young players to the roster—I'm referring to Julio Jones and Jacquizz Rodgers, not Joe Hawley—and really evolving into more of a passing team. Mularkey is perfectly capable of getting quality performances out of the offense, but it really is telling that the Falcons do their best work in the no-huddle.
So where might he be going? At least four teams have been linked to Mularkey, but there are reports swirling that he's the front-runner for the Jacksonville Jaguars job. The team wants a smart, reasonably conservative head coach to work with Blaine Gabbert, and Mularkey fits the bill almost perfectly. I'd say there's a better than 50% chance he's hired.
Who would replace Mularkey if he left Atlanta? Search me. There will be options out there, but the Falcons may be content to promote Bob Bratkowski from quarterbacks coach, as well. Given his reasonably conservative pedigree, not everyone will be thrilled.
Les Snead
This one will concern your average fan more, assuming your average fan has any idea who the hell Les Snead is.
As Thomas Dimitroff's right hand man and the team's director of player personnel, Snead has been instrumental in every Falcons draft since 2008. Again, we can debate the merits of those drafts until we're all dead of oxygen deprivation, but there have been some truly excellent players picked up. No general manager does it alone, and Dimitroff gives a lot of credit to Snead. Losing him can't possibly help the Falcons.
Given that he's been linked to the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams and a few others teams, there's a good chance Snead is heading out of Atlanta to take on a GM job. If that happens, I trust that Dimitroff will continue to surround himself with smart people, but the team unquestionably loses some draft expertise.
I wish him well if he leaves, but I hope Snead sticks around.
Your reaction to these two possibilities?It was just over a year ago that women’s soccer was in an unprecedented spotlight in this country when Canada hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
With fans and media waiting on the daily activities of Canada’s best women’s soccer players, the sport really hit the mainstream in this country in a massive way. While attention is back on the team on the verge of the Olympics, it certainly won’t match the pressure cooker of a year ago.
“The 2015 Women’s World Cup we equated to climbing Everest in terms of having to deal with what teams don’t normally deal with,” head coach John Herdman said over the phone earlier this week. “That’s the beauty that our players were able to come out of that and still be alive. I don’t think anyone will ever understand the pressure of expectation and how that can galvanize a team in a way that makes it difficult to win matches.”
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The Olympics, however, present a different sort of challenge. While much of the media spotlight will be on the events in Rio with the soccer team out in the comparatively remote outposts of Sao Paolo and Brasilia, the tournament itself is stiffer challenge than a World Cup.
The field of 12 teams compared to 24 at last summer’s World Cup means Canada will have to hit the ground running with tougher games earlier on the schedule.
The benefit soccer has over other sports is that, as was the case in 2012, the team will be able to focus on their task outside of the athletes’ village and the potentially overwhelming sights and sounds of the Olympic city.
Story continues
“Coming into an Olympics that’s similar to 2012, we just had no idea what was happening at home,” said Herdman. “You’re in a bubble, you’re completely out of everything else that’s going on: the fanfare in the village, the fanfare of the Olympics. You don’t know anything until you get to the medal round and I think that was unique in London, and we’ll certainly draw on that to draw out the creative edge that’s hard to bring under the other type of pressure.”
Academies starting to deliver for Canadian MLS teams
The midweek MLS action had positive outcomes for the Canadian teams for various reasons. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC were 2-0 winners over Real Salt Lake while Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact tied Columbus and Portland, respectively.
The good story out of Toronto came as TFC played in Columbus and with all three designated players out and a long injury list, it was a chance for a number of their younger players to impress and it has to be considered a good night for the TFC Academy.
While the first half wasn’t the most exciting affair, the second half saw the Toronto finish the game with Jordan Hamilton, Jay Chapman, Molham Babouli and Jonathan Osorio on the field. While having them on the field was a small positive in and of itself, what was particularly encouraging was seeing Chapman provide the pass for Hamilton’s third goal of the season. The Canadian players also forced the game late as Toronto pushed for three points on the road.
Montreal picked up a road point in Portland and had Canadians Patrice Bernier, Kyle Bekker and Wandrille Lefevre all play 90 minutes.
Lefevre is a homegrown player and while Bekker’s not a product of the academy, he’s put in probably his best season in a career where he struggled to find consistency in the first few seasons in MLS. Bekker has 14 appearances, including 10 starts with one goal for a Montreal team in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Vancouver bolstered its backline by signing veteran Canadians David Edgar and Marcel de Jong to help a team that’s conceded a Western Conference-worst 33 goals this season.
De Jong came off the bench as Vancouver picked up a rare clean sheet in a 2-0 win over RSL on Wednesday. While signing the two Canadian internationals adds to the Canadian quotient on Vancouver, their residency program hasn’t had as much of a breakthrough as other Canadian MLS teams.
Their USL team is playing well with plenty of Canadian talent but they still don’t have much in the way homegrown talent with the first club on a regular basis.
For now, though, they’re a team in a playoff position and they’ve just bolstered a defence that needed with Canadian players with plenty of experience to go along with good attitudes who will do well in Vancouver.WKU has claimed back-to-back Conference USA titles, so it should be no surprise the Hilltoppers lead the way in selections for the 2017 All-Conference USA team. New coach Mike Sanford inherits a strong foundation, as WKU places 15 players – the most of any team in the league – on Athlon’s 2017 All-Conference USA team. Louisiana Tech (12) checks in No. 1 among programs in the West Division, while UTSA and MTSU also have strong showings with nine overall selections apiece.
Athlon Sports has released its top 25 for 2017. Now, it’s time to take a look at the best of the best and honor the top players in the league with a release of first, second, third and fourth all-conference teams for 2017.
An important note on the all-conference teams: These are based on how players will perform in 2017. Career statistics and awards matter in the evaluation, but choosing players for the 2017 all-conference team is largely based on predicting and projecting the best for the upcoming year.
Conference USA Football 2017 All-Conference Team
First-Team Offense Second-Team Offense Third-Team Offense Fourth-Team Offense QB Brent Stockstill MTSU Mike White WKU J'Mar Smith La. Tech Chase Litton Marshall RB Ito Smith Southern Miss Ray Lawry ODU Jalen Rhodes UTSA Alex Gardner FIU RB Devin Singletary FAU Jeffery Wilson North Texas D'Andre Ferby WKU Samuel Stewart Rice AP Richie James MTSU Jarred Craft (RB) La. Tech Ty Lee (WR) MTSU Nacarius Fant (WR) WKU WR Kalib Woods FAU Lucky Jackson WKU Josh Stewart UTSA T.L. Ford Charlotte WR Allenzae Staggers Southern Miss Thomas Owens FIU Kam McKnight La. Tech Kylen Granson Rice TE Ryan Yurachek Marshall Jonathan Duhart (WR) ODU Teddy Veal (WR) La. Tech Tyre Brady (WR) Marshall C Nick Clarke ODU Trey Martin Rice Levi Brown Marshall Derron Gatewood UTEP OL Will Hernandez UTEP Reggie Bain FAU Ty Pollard Southern Miss Peter Godber Rice OL Brandon Ray WKU Nate Davis Charlotte Ethan Reed La. Tech Carlos Johnson MTSU OL O'Shea Dugas La. Tech Calvin Anderson Rice Jordan Murray North Texas Kai Absheer FIU OL Chandler Brewer MTSU Dennis Edwards WKU Austin Pratt UTSA Antonyo Woods FAU
First-Team Defense Second-Team Defense Third-Team Defense Fourth-Team Defense DL Jaylon Ferguson La. Tech Chris Johnson WKU Derik Overstreet WKU Teko Powell UAB DL Marcus Davenport UTSA Xavier Thigpen Southern Miss Jordan Bradford La. Tech Bryce English North Texas DL Oshane Ximines ODU Ryan Bee Marshall Fermin Silva FIU Deldrick Canty La. Tech DL Walter Brady MTSU Bunmi Rotimi ODU Blain Padgett Rice Kevin Strong UTSA LB Alvin Jones UTEP Chris Melton MTSU Shaq Jones UAB La'Kel Bass UTSA LB Josiah Tauaefa UTSA Azeez Al-Shaair FAU Treyvon Williams FIU DJ Sanders MTSU LB Emmanuel Ellerbee Rice Anthony Wint FIU Joel Iyiegbuniwe WKU Joshua Wheeler North Texas CB Joe Brown WKU Nate Brooks North Texas Eric Jenkins North Texas Isaiah Brown FIU CB Brandon Addison ODU Rodney Allen Marshall Raekwon Williams FAU Cornell Armstrong Southern Miss S Jalen Young FAU Nate Gaines UTSA Ben DeLuca Charlotte Secdrick Cooper La. Tech S Kishawn McClain North Texas Devin Cockrell UTEP Picasso Nelson Southern Miss Marcus Ward WKU
First-Team Specialists Second-Team Specialists Third-Team Specialists Fourth-Team Specialists K Jonathan Barnes La. Tech Canon Rooker MTSU Parker Shaunfield Southern Miss Skyler Simcox WKU P Jack Fox Rice Jake Collins WKU Yannis Routsas UTSA Alan Luna UTEP KR Kylen Towner WKU Kerrith Whyte FAU Tyler Wilson North Texas Boston Scott La. Tech PR Nacarius Fant WKU Terry Juniel UTEP Thomas Owens FIU Allenzae Staggers Southern Miss
Breakdown of Athlon's 2017 All-Conference USA TeamIn Donald Trump’s White House, few tales about power are more instructive than the story of Jeff Sessions’ two former top aides.
Both Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior policy adviser, and Rick Dearborn, a White House deputy chief of staff, started out in the same place — as top congressional aides in Sessions’ Senate office. Together, they worked as Trump campaign advisers and then won senior administration jobs.
Story Continued Below
But while Miller has rapidly accumulated power in the West Wing by personally advising the president on high-profile policy questions, such as immigration, and publicly defending Trump on television and in the briefing room, Dearborn has become increasingly marginalized, having struggled to form a close bond with the president, new chief of staff John Kelly and Trump’s family.
Their diverging stock in the administration offers a case study in how to thrive in Trump’s West Wing. Among the lessons: The president often responds to aides who mirror his big personality, while wallflowers tend to get ignored. And the president deeply values loyalty to himself, with little interest in the relationships top aides and other staffers bring into the West Wing. But getting close to the president has its risks, as the long list of former Trump White House aides shows.
This account is based on interviews with nearly a dozen administration officials, outside advisers to the president and associates of Miller and Dearborn. Both Dearborn and Miller declined to be interviewed for this article, and a White House spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.
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Dearborn, who served as the top staffer in Sessions’ Senate office for more than a decade and is now one of three deputy chiefs of staff, chose early on to keep a low profile so as not to make enemies in the cutthroat West Wing. He rarely grants interviews and prefers to stay out of the headlines, according to aides and people close to him. He has told associates that he sees his longevity at the White House as connected to staying out of the press.
That ensured that he would never outshine the president, a big no-no in this White House, but also renders him invisible to the president, who loves to see aides — including Miller — defending his policies on TV. That’s increasingly turned him into a bit player in the White House, leaving some administration officials to wonder how long he’ll stick around.
Dearborn has faced a series of setbacks since joining the White House.
Early on, he gunned for the legislative affairs director job, according to two people familiar with the issue. But that went to Marc Short instead, in a blow to Dearborn, after Vice President Mike Pence pulled rank and indicated that he wanted one of his own people in that shop. Short technically reports to Dearborn, but the sources said Short operates largely on his own in practice.
When Katie Walsh, who was also a deputy chief of staff, left the White House, Dearborn temporarily took over Trump’s schedule. But that job, which one White House aide said had “turned into a monster task,” has since been transferred to Joe Hagin, the other deputy chief of staff, according to two administration officials. Now, Dearborn largely focuses on interacting with outside groups.
Dearborn’s relationship with Attorney General Sessions, the former Alabama senator, has also sometimes put him in an awkward position.
Advisers outside the White House urged Dearborn to try and help make peace between Sessions and Trump, but he didn’t get involved in directly mediating the disputes between the two, even as he was rattled by the president’s public attacks toward Sessions through the media and on Twitter, according to people familiar with the talks.
Instead, he subtly tried to help Sessions by making sure the president was aware of everything that Sessions was doing at the Department of Justice to advance Trump’s agenda.
“He worked to make sure good news was getting to the president,” said a former Senate staffer who knows Dearborn. “If the AG was working hard to crack down on MS-13, Dearborn wanted to make sure that the president was hearing that. He kept saying ‘We’re making sure he is seeing the good news.’”
Since joining the White House, Dearborn has acted as a key link between federal |
percent), Lebanon (68 percent), Bahrain (58 percent) and Yemen (52 percent).
Further evidence of the deep divide that separates the region from Iran, is the fact that only Lebanese and Iraqis stated that their countries had a positive relationship with Iran, while substantial majorities in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE said that they did not have good relations with Iran, nor did they desire an improvement in relations.
With regard to Iran's nuclear program, majorities or strong pluralities in every Arab country believed that Iran "has ambitions to produce nuclear weapons." And while in a ZRS poll conducted earlier this year, most Arabs said that they supported a negotiated solution to the world's nuclear stand-off with Iran, in this poll, majorities in every country indicated that they are not confident that the on-going negotiations "will succeed in removing the potential threat cause by Iran's nuclear program."
Iranian attitudes on this matter are striking. While Iran's Supreme Leader has maintained that his country would not seek to develop nuclear weapons calling them "immoral," it appears that the Iranian people aren't listening. When asked for their opinion on such weapons, 87 percent said that their country should develop them either because they are a "major nation" and have a right to this weapon or because "as long as other countries have nuclear weapons, we need them too." It is noteworthy that this 2014 figure is up from the 68 percent who held such views in 2013. Additionally, two-thirds of Iranians assert that they were willing to pay the price in sanctions and isolation to continue advancing their nuclear program.
Even with this apparent defiance, the recent ZRS study suggests that all is not well within Iran. When we asked Iranians if they were better off or worse off than they were five years ago, only 34 percent said better off, against 36 percent who maintained that they were worse off. And in response to most questions about the performance of the Rouhani government, nearly one-half of all Iranians expressed some discontent with their President's policies in expanding employment opportunities, protecting personal and civil rights, and reforming the government. Ironically, the one area where Iranians gave Rouhani his highest performance score was in "improving relations with Arab neighbors."
With this worrisome divide in attitudes and perceptions as a backdrop, it is no wonder that the lack of transparency in the P5+1 talks and leaks of private correspondence between the U.S. and Iran have only served to aggravate Arab fears. As we have long maintained, opinions do matter and not only in Israel and the U.S. In this era where riled publics are reshaping the politics of the Middle East, the opinions of Arabs and Iranians must be considered, as well. Arabs should be reassured that their concerns are understood by the West. At the same time, the Iranian public needs to see the linkage between their economic woes and their government's nuclear ambitions and foreign policy.
Follow @AAIUSA for more.“Bitcoin ought to be outlawed.”
Those were the ominous words of economist Joseph Stiglitz in an interview with Bloomberg last week.
He’s not the first to say it and he certainly won’t be the last.
Live interview with another old elite who hates Bitcoin, Joseph Stiglitz.
In its short lifetime Bitcoin managed to survive against all all odds. It kept grinding through the collapse of Mt Gox. It outlasted critics and doubters who declared it dead again and again and again. It outwitted an exchange and ICO ban from China. It hasn’t suffered a major security breach, even as it moves billions of dollars around the world in the blink of an eye, something almost no major company or government’s website can claim.
When you think about just how many major corporations suffered hacks, from Equifax to Sony to Apple to JP Morgan (who’s CEO laughably called Bitcoin a fraud when he can’t even protect his own systems), as well as supposedly secure government websites, from the NSA to the Department of Defense to the Army, Bitcoin’s incredible security is almost unbelievably mind-boggling.
But Bitcoin’s biggest battle is yet to come.
Governments and banks.
Master investor Naval Ravikant calls governments and the old world banking elite the “final boss.”
For a time, the powers that be only laughed at the little currency that could. But they aren’t laughing anymore. As Bitcoin surges higher and higher, the eye of Sauron turns.
Eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings.
And if you think central powers can’t do major damage to crypto, think again. They wield the ultimate power:
The violence hack.
That’s power to kill you or put you in jail.
Back in October 2017, former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernake said “eventually governments will take any action necessary to prevent Bitcoin.”
He wasn’t kidding. The only question is whether the distributed design of cryptos can survive the assaults to come? Only time will tell.
But the efforts to reign in the decentralized money engine have already started.
Classic cold war Russian propaganda.
Proof of Work mining is the biggest choke point of the Bitcoin system. It leads to heavy centralization with specialized chips. Miners process transactions around the world and mint new coins. While China has so far laid off on attacking mega-miners like Jihan Wu, Russia already set the stage for the assault: Registration.
By forcing miners to register they can keep track of them and tax them and if necessary seize their mines and take all the coins for themselves. In a time of war, that is exactly what they’ll do, take the mines by sending in men with guns. It’s hard to pick up a few thousand ant-miners and move them somewhere else. And because they pull so much electricity they’re easy to spot.
Alternative consensus protocols can stop this attack, like Proof of Stake. But more work is needed and Proof of Stake needs to prove itself with a major coin. Other consensus protocols will develop in the coming years, ones that don’t burn as much energy but still provide proof that a job was done in the correct way and nobody cheated.
But it’s now a race against time.
Congress is looking to expand its money laundering law to target crypto by making it a crime to hide any wallets or crypto you own with Senate Bill S.1241.
It makes it illegal to conceal a digital wallet and cryptocurrency for any reason and while crossing the border. So just declare it, right? You’re a good, law abiding citizen. You pay your taxes including your crypto taxes. You’ve got nothing to hide.
Except the border control folks have the right to steal it from you without just cause.
In other words, they can take the money just because they feel like it and they don’t even have to tell you why.
If that sounds like legalized robbery, it’s because that’s exactly what it is.
The ACLU documents thousands of cases of everyday citizens robbed of their life savings. It’s called Civil Asset Forfeiture. And lest you think only liberal leaning organizations see it as a problem, think again. The arch-conservative Heritage Foundation has a page dedicated to the ever growing problems with the practice.
It’s one of those rare issues where both the left and right agree. When Attorney General Jeff Sessions looked to roll back Obama era restrictions on asset forfeiture he faced an immediate backlash from both sides of the aisle.
So why do we still have state sponsored theft?
Greed.
Mostly the money is used to pad law enforcement pockets in a time when budgets are falling. According to the Washington Post the people who are supposed to protect us stole more money from Americans in 2014, over $5 billion dollars, than all the burglars in the US combined, who only managed to nab a measly $3.5 billion.
The new Senate law creates a nasty dilemma that runs head first into the wall of civil asset forfeiture. If you fail to tell border agents you’re carrying $10,000 or more in crypto you could spend 10 years in jail. If you do tell them, they can take it from you, by holding you indefinitely and demanding your password, even without charging you with a crime.
It’s a living, breathing Catch-22.
These are the kind of things the healthy democracies don’t do but that failing, flawed democracies with crumbling infrastructure and institutions do with impunity. That’s why the United States crashed out of the top of the Democracy Index that lists full and thriving democracies and smashed down into the “flawed democracies” range.
The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
Not for a second would they have allowed a law like that to pass unchecked. They would have tossed it in with the Intolerable Acts that lead to war with England. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect your private property at all costs. To them property was sacred. The government couldn’t take it without a damn good reason. That’s what the 4th amendment was all about and why they created it.
“ The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Don’t get me wrong. The Founding Fathers didn’t want criminals and terrorists keeping their profits and I sure as hell don’t either. But they wanted due process, rule of law, proof and convictions. They didn’t want us turning into some banana republic, with arbitrary search and seizure and crooked cops ripping people off like they’re Mexican cops rolling tourists for cash at a traffic stop.
They did this because they lived in an authoritarian state. They knew exactly what it meant. The English government could force you to put a soldier up in your house and foot the bill. They sometimes charged people in secret courts, called Star Chambers with no possibility of appeal. The Constitution was specifically designed to halt these abuses but today they’re running rampant because the people alive now have never lived in anything but a free society and don’t know what it means to not live in one.
They might want to study the history of the countries at the bottom of the Democracy Index because bad laws are a slippery slope that can slide a country right to the bottom of the list almost overnight.
Check out Venezuela where they went from thriving democracy to utter collapse. Take a look at Zimbabwe, which suffered insane levels of hyperinflation, or any of the cutthroat political regimes of central Africa like Rwanda. Rwanda didn’t just suffer a genocide in 1994, they’ve been suffering them for a hundred years as one ousted group regains power and takes revenge on the other side yet again.
These laws are only the beginning. More will follow.
Yet all hope is not lost.
Some countries, like Japan and Switzerland, have already taken an enlightened approach to crypto.
The enlightened approach.
They see cryptos as a game changing technology that will help create more wealth and prosperity than any other technology in the history of the world. Smart countries are embracing it with open arms.
Other countries should learn from these smart countries.
But less enlightened regimes are taking a dark view of cryptos, particularly the ones that worship power and control at all costs. Vietnam has already banned crypto. Indonesia did the same, despite the fact that their money is essentially worthless and most of their population is completely unbanked.
None of these efforts will work in the long run.
The decentralized nature of cryptos make them hard to completely stamp out but central powers can do serious damage to them in the short run and create a lot of pain and suffering for regular people, while utterly failing to stop the bad guys.
Cryptos are not going away. Every day more and more traditional powers join the crypto party. The CME Group starts trading Bitcoin futures in a few weeks. The CBOE beat them to it and starts trading on the 10th. The more money that floods into them, the more incentive they have to protect them.
And a world wide ban is never happening. In today’s fractured society, there’s almost zero chance that all the countries in the world will agree on anything. Some countries will oppose a ban just to spite their rivals or because they see it as a way to get around global sanctions. That means there will always be nodes running somewhere in the world to process transactions.
Crypto is changing with the new threats, morphing and shifting. Anonymity technology is surging in popularity with privacy focused coins like Zcash and Monero leading the charge. If governments push too hard, they’ll only make it harder and harder to get a better handle on their uses for illicit purposes.
Better to embrace them openly and bring them into the light. Make them mainstream. Let people buy kittens and Snickers and books on Amazon!
Cryptocurrencies are incredibly resilient, world changing technologies. They’re unlike any other asset class that has ever existed. For all the doubters who try to pigeonhole them as digital gold they’re really missing the boat.
They’re programmable money.
You can’t program a dollar to self-escrow in a smart contract that pays out every month. But you can do that with Ethereum.
They’re also a path to self-sovereignty and control of the money you earned. A refugee fleeing a war torn country can simply delete their wallet, memorize its special phrase and recreate it once they get to a safe haven. No more will ruthless regimes rob the poorest people of everything they have as they’re fleeing the battles of psychopathic monsters.
Cryptos can and will change the world for the better.
But to get there they’ll have to face the final boss, a relentless one that will do anything to keep control of the money supply. Never forget that money is power. And nobody gives up power without a fight.
Bowser, the final boss in Super Mario Brothers.
The war on crypto is coming like a dark storm.
Governments will sell it with the same tired old song, as a way to stop criminals and terrorists.
But it’s never really about that.
It’s about control.
It’s about whether they can take your money just because they feel like it.
The people who cheated the system thrived.
Cryptos have central powers scared. All the people who benefited from the collateralize debt obligations while you lost your house got away with their crimes. They didn’t just get away with it, you helped bail them out. You gave retirement packages to the biggest perpetrators who are now living in even bigger mansions and laughing.
Of course, it’s always the short sighted and the wicked who try to stop new technology to make sure they maintain their own position at all costs.
It’s just that this time it won’t work.
Countries that stand against the blockchain will find that it blows back on them and punishes them severely, while the rest of the world roars past. They won’t get to play in the new sandbox. They’ll watch as other economies leave them in the dust, armed with brand new financial technology that makes the snail speed of current fintech worthless.
And the people who robbed the world of its wealth and the dictators who crashed their economies and lived in palaces while their people starved will pay a terrible price.
The world won’t miss any of them.
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As always, thanks for reading.GAINESVILLE — Suspended Florida quarterback Will Grier began his appeals process with the NCAA on Monday, seeking to reduce his one-year ban for violating the NCAA's policy on using performance-enhancing drugs.
Now, Grier awaits a decision.
Orlando attorney Clay Townsend of Morgan & Morgan said in a statement released to the Orlando Sentinel he and Grier presented their case during a conference call with the NCAA. University of Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley and a lawyer for the University Athletic Association also were on the call, as required by NCAA rules.
The NCAA did not issue a decision on Grier's appeal, but it is expected to do so in the coming days or weeks.
"We have worked diligently on the investigation and appeal and we, along with all of the Gator Nation, look forward to Will's return to eligibility as soon as possible," Townsend wrote. "When the NCAA's decision is rendered, we will issue a statement. I have no further comment at this time as to the conference, its substance, procedures or attendees.
"Will is a great athlete, a good person and a significant contributor to the Gators winning the SEC East. Will and his family are grateful for everyone's support."
Grier was suspended Oct. 12 for 12 months. If the suspension is upheld, Grier, a redshirt freshman, would not return until the seventh game of the 2016 season — an Oct. 15 visit from Missouri.
In a show of support as his son sought his appeal, Grier's father, Chad, posted a photo on his Instagram account Monday. The elder Grier, his wife and several friends wore T-shirts reading, "Free Willy" — a nod to the 1993 film about a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family.
Grier's story has yet to unfold, but he ideally would like to return for the start of the 2016 season. In order for the NCAA to amend the suspension, Grier and his representation would have to find a procedural flaw in collecting the sample or prove he did not realize he was taking a banned substance.
Grier, 20, said he took an over-the-counter supplement and mistakenly did not confer with UF's medical staff about its contents.
The grounds for Grier's appeal are unknown.
Grier was back home in North Carolina last weekend to watch his former high school team, Davidson Day, coached by his father.
While on the sideline, Will Grier spoke to a reporter Justin Parker, sports editor of the Lake Norman Citizen newspaper. Parker first reported the call with the NCAA would take place Monday. On his Twitter account, Parker described Grier to be in "good spirits," though in limbo amid the appeals process.
Grier has not practiced with the Gators since he was suspended.
Sophomore Treon Harris replaced Grier and has started the past four games for the No. 11 Gators, who are 3-1 with Harris at quarterback.
At the time of his suspension, Grier led the SEC with a completion percentage of 65.8 and became the first Florida quarterback to pass for at 200 yards in three consecutive games since Tim Tebow in 2009.
Harris is coming off a 256-yard day during Florida's 24-14 win at South Carolina, his second 200-yard in four starts. He has completed 51.9 percent of his passes, with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Better known for his dual-threat abilities than his prowess in the pocket, Harris exhibited continued improvement as a passer at South Carolina, coach Jim McElwain said Monday. He finished 19-of-33 passing and had a 41-yard touchdown pass, but he also suffered interceptions on consecutive possessions.
"I thought our efficiency in throwing the football was a little bit better," McElwain said. "He's obviously got a couple he'd want back and missed a couple. There are things I think he's seeing. I think he moved up in the pocket much better in this game rather than just trying to bail out one way or the other.
"I think his pocket awareness, shuffling and finding throwing angles was a little better."
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On Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) appeared at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. to deliver a speech aimed at bolstering his reputation among social conservatives. The speech, which he titled ‘Strong Values for a Strong America,’ was highlighted by Rubio’s strong defense of both ‘traditional marriage’ and a pro-life agenda. More than anything, this address by Rubio was a reminder that the Florida Senator intends on running for the White House in 2016. It was also an effort to make right-wingers forget that he had previously pushed for immigration reform.
Rubio basically checked certain boxes that he thinks are needed to for him to make headway with the ‘base’ ahead of the GOP primary. When discussing same-sex marriage, and the right’s continued opposition to it, Rubio said the following.
The first of these is same-sex marriage. At the outset, it is important to openly acknowledge that our history is marred by discrimination against gays and lesbians. This is shameful and must be condemned. Supporters of same-sex marriage argue that laws banning same-sex marriage are vestiges of this discrimination. I respect their arguments, but there is another side to this debate. Societies around the world have defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman for thousands of years. And because traditional marriage has an extraordinary record of success at raising children into strong and successful adults, in our country, states have long elevated this institution in our laws. In weighing both arguments, that is the definition that I personally support. Those who support same-sex marriage have a right to lobby their state legislature to change their state laws. But Americans, including me, who support keeping the traditional definition of marriage, also have a right to work to keep the traditional definition of marriage in our laws without seeing that overturned by a judge or a court, and without being targeted with hate speech. Our nation has demonstrated an incredible capacity to work through issues such as this. And I believe it will again. Doing so will require those of us who support traditional marriage to respect the views of those who support same-sex marriage. But it will also require those who support same-sex marriage to respect the views of those who support traditional marriage. For tolerance is a two-way street, and intolerance in the name of tolerance is hypocrisy.
Did you catch that? Not only did Rubio make the case that marriage should only be defined as being between a man and a woman, he also made sure to frame conservatives as victims in the debate. Basically, those who are pushing for tolerance when it comes to respecting and acknowledging the rights of gays and lesbians are the ones being intolerant. Essentially, social conservatives should not have to deal with others calling out their bigotry, because being intolerant of those who are intolerant is apparently hypocrisy. Those who have been discriminated against in the past must always be tolerant of the intolerant. Why? Because they are supposed to preach tolerance. Or something like that.
In a discussion of this speech on NOW with Alex Wagner Wednesday afternoon, former RNC chairman Michael Steele defended Rubio’s speech as well as his position that social conservatives are victims in the debate over same-sex marriage. Hilariously, Steele took the stance that there is nothing more forward and progressive thinking than sticking to your values, especially in the face of changing public opinion, as has been the case with gay marriage. Since the majority of Americans now support gay marriage, conservatives are now the ones who are in the minority and pushing a more progressive agenda.
Below is video of Steele’s remarks, courtesy of MSNBC:
Taking Steele’s argument to its logical conclusion, essentially those who feel that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote are the ones who are extremely progressive with their thinking. Why? Because while it was the law of the land at one point, public opinion changed over time and eventually women were provided access to the franchise. However, there are still some who feel women should be second-class citizens. Or that blacks or other minorities shouldn’t have equal rights. In Steele’s mind, those are the real progressives.
As for Rubio, due to the nuttiness of today’s Republican Party, this was something he had to do. He had to prove to far-right that he is one of them. To do so, he had to point out he is against abortion and for ‘family values.’ Rubio also had to give voice to Republican victimology and the notion that conservatives just “want our country back!” There was not one mention of immigration in his speech. Instead, it was all about hating gays, abortion and playing the victim. Expect Rubio to continue along this path as we head into primary season.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:We gotta get out of this place. (“This place” being the Earth that we all know and love).
Stephen Hawking has come up with yet another doomsday prediction for humans, this time giving us just 100 years to skedaddle.
Professor Hawking’s apocalyptic predictions began in 2015, when he mentioned in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session that super intelligent AI might wipe us all out. He’s also cautioned against contacting aliens that might not be as friendly as we think.
In November last year, he gave us about 1,000 years to leave Earth. Then in March of this year, he hinted that a one-world government might be the answer to our myriad problems.
Now the respected physicist is warning that humanity needs to become a multi-planetary species within the next century in order to avoid extinction.
My question is this: What happened in the last in the last six months for him to shave 900 years off our time on Earth? It seems a little…rash.
OK, so the U.S. has its first orange president and North Korea’s Great Haircut is looking a little dangerous, but 900 years less? All due respect, but that’s a massive reduction in our life expectancy.
Professor Hawking made the prediction in a new documentary called Expedition New Earth, which the BBC will air on June 15.
In the documentary, Hawking claims that we need to leave Earth because of problems such as climate change, asteroid strikes, epidemics and overpopulation. He also travels the world with his former student Christopher Galfard and engineering professor Danielle George to find out how we could live in outer space.
In recent months, Mars has been dominating headlines as the most likely candidate for colonisation. The Red Planet has a lot going for it, including ice deposits, useful elements, the potential for renewable energy projects, an atmosphere (albeit thin), kinda tolerable temperatures, decent day length and manageable gravity.
On the minus side, it’s still damn far away and pretty hostile compared to the cushy comforts of Good Old Earth. It’s one thing to talk about leaving, but actually doing it will be very difficult and incredibly dangerous. Getting all of us off Earth within 100 years? No way.
Excluding a sudden meteor strike, to which there is no defence (except Bruce Willis), wouldn’t it be easier to just take better care of this planet?Preston North End have signed striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake on a contract until the end of the season.
The 28-year-old has been training with PNE for more than a month and played in an in-house trial game at Springfields before Christmas.
North End have been able to sign Ebanks-Blake ahead of the opening of the transfer window on Saturday as he was a free agent and not attached to a club.
He began his career at Manchester United and made two appearances for them before a £200,000 move took him to Plymouth.
In January 2008 he moved to Wolves for £1.5m and scored 64 goals in 193 appearances.
Wolves released him in May 2013 and he joined Ipswich on a short-term deal last January.
He has been without a club this season but spent spells on trial at Brentford, Oldham and Bradford before coming to Preston.
PNE boss Simon Grayson said: “We gave Sylvan the best opportunity.
“It wasn’t a week’s trial, it was four or five weeks and he has shown he is willing, by staying here and working hard.
“We have seen enough in training to see that his fitness levels have improved all the time, to be close to where he wants to be, but also that he has the ability of being a top striker and a clinical finisher.”
Ebanks-Blake has been given the No.40 shirt and is available to face Norwich City in the FA Cup third round at Deepdale on Saturday.Here’s Some Important Self-Care Advice for Vegans
Sarah Von Alt |
If you’re new to veganism or animal rights, discovering the extreme cruelty faced by animals in factory farms can sometimes be overwhelming.
Here are some tips to help you care for yourself (while speaking up for animals):
• Build community.
Vegans are everywhere; you just have to know where to find them! Being part of a community of like-minded people is a great way to avoid “burning out” and combats feelings of hopelessness. Meetup is an excellent place to start.
• Volunteer.
Be part of creating a better world. Volunteering is a great way to make a difference and get to know new people who care about the same things you do.
• Relax. You don’t have to know everything.
You might get a lot of questions from friends and family after your decision to become vegan, and it’s OK if you don’t have all the answers. Be honest, and speak from personal experience. When our friends find out that eating vegan foods is important to us and why, they are more likely to understand.
• Treat yourself.
While healthy eating is a great act of self-care, don’t be afraid to treat yourself to something special every once in a while. Vegan donuts are a great place to start!
• Visit an animal sanctuary.
Spend some time with happy animals who will get to live out their lives in peace. Not only is this incredibly heartwarming; it’s also very motivating and can help restore our faith that the kind of world we envision is possible.
• Unplug.
Sometimes we all just need a break. Take some time from social media and focus on the things in your life that give you joy.
• Get some exercise, preferably outside.
Exercise is a great way to stay fit and release those feel-good endorphins. Enjoying nature and exercising outside (think hiking, biking, etc.) can have an especially calming effect.
• Maintain perspective.
Instead of getting bogged down by all the terrible things that happen to animals, focus on the fact that you are contributing to a kinder, more compassionate world at every meal.
Remember, by taking care of yourself, you’ll be able to help more animals in the long term.Easier. More Money.
The Power Driver Bonus Upgrade. You know the Power Driver Bonus as a reliable way to earn almost all of your commission back each week. Now, it's even better. With this upgrade, you can earn more per ride by prioritizing peak hours, and choose from a wider range of bonuses. The new PDB features six tiers, with anywhere from $50 to $250 - plus Lyft's commission - up for grabs each week. Plus, we're still offering over 50 eligible peak hours that count toward your bonus. The basics to qualify are still the same: Give 20+ rides a week during peak hours.
Give 30+ rides a week total.
Maintain a 90% acceptance rate.
Drive a car that's a 2011 model or newer.
Whether you've got a big week of driving ahead or can only fit in a couple hours each day, the additional tiers and eligible peak hours make the Power Driver Bonus easier to reach. And remember: All Lyft rides count toward the Power Driver Bonus, including each pickup in a Lyft Line (for example: When one Lyft Line ride includes two separate ride requests, that's +2 toward your weekly ride count).
You can easily check your progress in Driver Stats. When earned, you'll see the Power Driver Bonus included in your weekly deposit. This offer is currently only available to San Francisco and Silicon Valley drivers. Start Earning More Qualifying rides must be completed between Monday at 5 AM local time through the following Monday at 4:59 AM local time. No more than two rides to the same passenger will count toward the ride total. Visit your Driver Dashboard to learn the local ride requirements. Power Driver Bonus requirements subject to change and Lyft's Terms of Service.As these units’ commander you will move and fight over three geomorphic game boards as you try to best your opponent in one of eight, nail-biting historical scenarios. The game is card-driven, using a system similar to Flying Pig’s Night of Man, which adds a sense of delicious uncertainty to the play. “Can I advance my sappers or does the enemy have a fire card he's just waiting to play?" Furthermore, the cards simplify the game, containing much of the data needed to play. You won’t spend the afternoon with your head in a rule book when you play ’65. This is a game created by gamers for gamers to play.
So how does it play? The game turn is divided into a variable number of player impulses. At the start of each of their impulses, the players load their their hand with four cards. You may play a card, sometimes more, in each impulse.
The cards are used to activate units to move, fire, assault, and accomplish special tasks, such as fire 40mm grenades, rally a squad, lay smoke, throw a satchel charge (watch out for those VC and NVA Sappers!). Special cards, such as Panic or Sustained Fire, can also enhance a unit's attacks.
For example, you can play a Move action on an American Rifle squad to move it to the limit of its movement allowance, or use a Fire action to fire the same squad at an VC team of Sappers. It's not, however, all about you. Your opponent will often have a chance to react to your actions, or at least mitigate their effects. Of course the game includes Opportunity Fire (if the unit is eligible and the player has a Fire card), and you can disrupt the enemies' best laid plans with a Light Wounds card that saves your Hero from elimination.
Each turn continues until three end turn cards have been drawn. Players then choose one card from their hand to keep, the administrative markers are removed from the board, and a new hand is dealt to each player. The players use that new hand, or the card kept from the previous turn, to bid for initiative in the new turn, and it all starts again.
The game ships with not only eight historical scenario, but also a skirmish game/scenario generator in which each side selects a force based on the costs of units. It's a quick way to get in a couple of games or get in some tournament matches.
What Makes '65 Different?
We believe '65 is a unique game. The art is immersive. Certainly that isn't unique today, but we feel '65 is one heck of a good-looking game. The card mechanic is also unique, adding a subtle layer of strategy to the tactical decisions gamers face in any squad-level game. We love the "Power" system. Action cards that state "Power" can be used to activate special capabilities on many units. We use this to provide smoke-laying, portray a squad with 40mm grenades or the NVA's ability to ambush their enemy. Additionally, The simple anti-armor mechanic is different for this type of game. Count the distance in hexes, adjust for the firing weapon's accuracy modifier, and draw a card. If the To Hit number is greater than the range, you hit. No fuss, little muss, We think these mechanics, coupled with Mark's empathy for tactical Vietnam games, make '65 a title that war gamers will want in their collection.
Each Hefty Game Includes:
3 richly illustrated, 11” x 17” geomorphic game boards.
Five sheets of HUGE (1” and 1.375”) die-cut counters. Bigger is better!
1 deck of 54 action cards that drive the action.
Full color rules and scenario booklet.
Full color player aids.
Age: 14+
Players: 2-3
Playing Time: 1-3 hours.
Stretch Goals!
Whoop! We've all been waiting for this. Here are the stretch goals. Let's hit them all.
First stretch goal: $18,500. If we can reach 18,500 dollars, we will throw in a full sheet (approximately 8.5” x 11”) of United States Marines, and scenarios featuring them. The most potent squads in the game, the Marines bring devastating firepower, and heroes with iron discipline to the gaming table.
Second stretch goal: $21,000 (Just $21K!). Solitaire expansion. At $21,000 you’ll get to play with yourself. Based on the solitaire version of Night of Man, backers will get their own solitaire version of ’65 replete with counters, cards, and scenarios. A HUGE stretch goal.
Third Stretch Goal. $27,000. It will be an ANZAC Attack! That’s right; the forces from Australia and New Zealand played a significant role in Vietnam. We’ll let you recreate that role with a sheet of ANZACs and scenarios featuring their contributions. Centurion tanks, FN-FAL rifles, snipers, and heroes with unique special abilities will all make muster on your gaming table, and provide unique insight into their fight in Vietnam as well as a bucket of tactical-gaming fun.
Fourth Stretch Goal: $35,000. At $35,000 you’ll get a HUGE 22 x 34” board full of city terrain. Not all of Vietnam’s battles were fought in the jungle. Can you say “Hue?” Of course you can (Yeah, we know that was '68, but...). You’ll not only be able to say it, but play it as well with this massive, mounted map board. Includes scenarios.The distribution of global wealth has stayed just as skewed as last year, according to a huge study by Credit Suisse.
The bank compiled data showing that just 0.7% of the world's adult population owns almost half of the world's wealth, while the bottom 73% have less than $10,000 each.
Here is Credit Suisse:
"The |
keep talking about lethal force, but I don’t want to take any more credit than I should, but I guess if I’m putting on my other hat, my restraint came from God," he said.
See Also: Pearl mayor chases, catches 'purple underwear' suspect
He said if there's a takeaway from the incident, he just wants people to remember to respect themselves and other people, and to take care of each other.
"I just want folks to be vigilant and take advantage of opportunities to look out for others and themselves. We’ve got to care about each other," he said.
Bibbs has been charged with auto burglary and possession of marijuana. He has had his initial court appearance and is still being held in the Hinds County Adult Detention Center on $20,000 bond. It is unclear at this time if he may have had accomplices and who they might.
Yarber is the pastor at Relevant Empowerment Church, where he has continued to have a voice in the community since the end of his term as mayor. He can be found on Instagram, where he shares inspirational thoughts and posts.
The Clarion-Ledger will post the video from Yarber's son shortly.
Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
Read or Share this story: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2017/10/31/former-mayor-beats-intruder/816785001/By United States Geological Survey
Plant and animal species are shifting their geographic ranges and the timing of their life events – such as flowering, laying eggs or migrating – at faster rates than researchers documented just a few years ago, according to a technical report on biodiversity and ecosystems used as scientific input for the 2013 Third National Climate Assessment.
The report, Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services, synthesizes the scientific understanding of the way climate change is affecting ecosystems, ecosystem services and the diversity of species, as well as what strategies might be used by natural resource practitioners to decrease current and future risks. More than 60 federal, academic and other scientists, including the lead authors from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Wildlife Federation and Arizona State University in Tempe, authored the assessment.
“These geographic range and timing changes are causing cascading effects that extend through ecosystems, bringing together species that haven’t previously interacted and creating mismatches between animals and their food sources,” said Nancy Grimm, a scientist at ASU and a lead author of the report.
Grimm explained that such mismatches in the availability and timing of natural resources can influence species’ survival; for example, if insects emerge well before the arrival of migrating birds that rely on them for food, it can adversely affect bird populations. Earlier thaw and shorter winters can extend growing seasons for insect pests such as bark beetles, having devastating consequences for the way ecosystems are structured and function. This can substantially alter the benefits people derive from ecosystems, such as clean water, wood products and food.
“The impact of climate change on ecosystems has important implications for people and communities,” said Amanda Staudt, a NWF climate scientist and a lead author on the report. “Shifting climate conditions are affecting valuable ecosystem services, such as the role that coastal habitats play in dampening storm surge or the ability of our forests to provide timber and help filter our drinking water.”
Another key finding is the mounting evidence that population declines and increased extinction risks for some plant and animal species can be directly attributed to climate change. The most vulnerable species are those already degraded by other human-caused stressors such as pollution or exploitation, unable to shift their geographic range or timing of key life events, or that have narrow environmental or ecological tolerance. For example, species that must live at high altitudes or live in cold water with a narrow temperature range, such as salmon, face an even greater risk due to climate change.
“The report clearly indicates that as climate change continues to impact ecological systems, a net loss of global species’ diversity, as well as major shifts in the provision of ecosystem services, are quite likely,” said Michelle Staudinger, a lead author of the report and a USGS and University of Missouri scientist.
For example, she added, climate change is already causing shifts in the abundance and geographic range of economically important marine fish. “These changes will almost certainly continue, resulting in some local fisheries declining or disappearing while others may grow and become more valuable if fishing communities can find socially and economically viable ways to adapt to these changes.”
Natural resource managers are already contending with what climate change means for the way they approach conservation. For example, the report stated, land managers are now more focused on the connectivity of protected habitats, which can improve a species’ ability to shift its geographic range to follow optimal conditions for survival.
“The conservation community is grappling with how we manage our natural resources in the face of climate change, so that we can help our ecosystems to continue meeting the needs of both people and wildlife,” said Bruce Stein, a lead author of the report and director of climate adaptation at the National Wildlife Federation.
Other key findings of the report include:
Changes in precipitation and extreme weather events can overwhelm the ability of natural systems to reduce or prevent harm to people from these events. For example, more frequent heavy rainfall events increase the movement of nutrients and pollutants to downstream ecosystems, likely resulting not only in ecosystem change, but also in adverse changes in the quality of drinking water and a greater risk of waterborne-disease outbreaks.
For example, more frequent heavy rainfall events increase the movement of nutrients and pollutants to downstream ecosystems, likely resulting not only in ecosystem change, but also in adverse changes in the quality of drinking water and a greater risk of waterborne-disease outbreaks. Changes in winter have big and surprising effects on ecosystems and their services. Changes in soil freezing, snow cover and air temperature affect the ability of ecosystems to store carbon, which, in turn, influences agricultural and forest production. Seasonally snow-covered regions are especially susceptible to climate change because small precipitation or temperature shifts can cause large ecosystem changes. Longer growing seasons and warmer winters are already increasing the likelihood of pest outbreaks, leading to tree mortality and more intense, extensive fires. Decreased or unreliable snowfall for winter sports and recreation will likely cause high future economic losses.
Changes in soil freezing, snow cover and air temperature affect the ability of ecosystems to store carbon, which, in turn, influences agricultural and forest production. Seasonally snow-covered regions are especially susceptible to climate change because small precipitation or temperature shifts can cause large ecosystem changes. Longer growing seasons and warmer winters are already increasing the likelihood of pest outbreaks, leading to tree mortality and more intense, extensive fires. Decreased or unreliable snowfall for winter sports and recreation will likely cause high future economic losses. The ecosystem services provided by coastal habitats are especially vulnerable to sea-level rise and more severe storms. The Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts are most vulnerable to the loss of coastal protection services provided by wetlands and coral reefs. Along the Pacific coast, long-term dune erosion caused by increasing wave heights is projected to cause problems for communities and for recreational beach activities. However, other kinds of recreation will probably improve due to better weather, with the net effect being that visitors and tourism dollars will shift away from some communities in favor of others.
The Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts are most vulnerable to the loss of coastal protection services provided by wetlands and coral reefs. Along the Pacific coast, long-term dune erosion caused by increasing wave heights is projected to cause problems for communities and for recreational beach activities. However, other kinds of recreation will probably improve due to better weather, with the net effect being that visitors and tourism dollars will shift away from some communities in favor of others. Climate change adaptation strategies are vital for the conservation of diverse species and effective natural resource policy and management. As moreadaptive management approaches are developed, resource managers can enhance the country’s ability to respond to the impacts of climate change through forward-looking and climate science-informed goals and actions.
As moreadaptive management approaches are developed, resource managers can enhance the country’s ability to respond to the impacts of climate change through forward-looking and climate science-informed goals and actions. Ecological monitoring needs to be improved and better coordinated among federal and state agencies to ensure the impacts of climate change are adequately monitored and to support ecological research, management, assessment and policy. Existing tracking networks in the United States will need to improve coverage through time and in geographic area to detect and track climate-induced shifts in ecosystems and species.
From United States Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3483James Warrington
Canadian vinyl record tycoon Doug Putman has made a dramatic late bid to snap up collapsed music store HMV in a move that could hamper Mike Ashley's takeover plans.
Douglas Putman, who owns Canadian chain Sunrise Records, has entered the auction and is now the front-runner ahead of the Sports Direct tycoon, according to media reports.
Read more: Music retailer HMV appoints KPMG as administrators after entering administration for second time since 2013
HMV fell into administration in December for the second time since 2013 as the chain struggles to fight off competition from music streaming services such as Spotify. Restructuring specialist Hilco, which owns HMV, said the collapse was down to a “tsunami” of challenges in the retail sector.
Retail billionaire Ashley had been widely expected to secure a rescue deal for HMV after placing a bid with administrator KPMG and stating his demands, which included a six-month rent break.
But Putman is now in pole position after offering to buy both the retailer and the rights to the HMV brand, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
A successful Putman bid would be the second HMV takeover for Sunrise Records, which bought 70 of the chain's stores in Canada following its collapse in 2017.
Sunrise Records, which was founded in 1977 and now has 82 branches, has defied the challenges facing traditional music stores by cashing in on the resurgence of vinyl records.
The challenger bid will unsettle Ashley, who has been tightening his grip on the British high street with a string of takeovers in recent months.
The outspoken tycoon has recently added Sofa.com and ScS to his retail empire, but may need to up his offer if he is to snap up HMV as well.
Read more: Mike Ashley tells HMV landlords: Give me six months rent-free
The dramatic new entry comes amid reports Ashley has clashed with Topshop boss Sir Philip Green over his HMV bid.
Green is encouraging Hilco to demand more cash from Ashley for the rights to the HMV brand, according to the Sunday Times.Setting up a bird feeder is one of the easiest ways to interact with wildlife. But could this seemingly innocent pastime be changing the very shape of our backyard birds?
It’s still too early to say for sure, says Lewis Spurgin, an evolutionary biologist at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
But he and his colleagues have discovered some truly fascinating clues that a bird called the great tit may be evolving longer beaks to access bird feeders.
"We know that evolution by natural selection produces peacocks’ tails and giraffes’ necks and that sort of thing,” says Spurgin, whose findings were published today in Science. (Read why flashier great tits produce stronger sperm.)
“But it also works in much more subtle ways that are much more difficult to observe.”
Birds of a Feather
Spurgin has always been interested in how birds have served as models to help us probe at big evolutionary questions. This is what led he and his team to start looking at DNA from two distinct populations of great tits, a yellow-and-black songbird found in the U.K. and the Netherlands.
After examining thousands of DNA sequences, the researchers found discrepancies in areas of the birds' genetic code typically associated with face shape in humans, as well as in areas associated with beak shape in Darwin finches, which have been the subject of these sorts of studies before. (See "A Darwin Finch, Crucial to Idea of Evolution, Fights for Survival.")
This made the scientists wonder if there are measurable differences between beak length in the two populations—and sure enough, there were.
“We found evidence for really rapid and recent selection for longer beaks, especially in the U.K. population,” says Spurgin.
To investigate if longer beaks were giving the birds an advantage, the team looked at ongoing studies of great tit fledgling rates. In the U.K., birds with the longer-beak gene variants fledged more chicks, on average, than those with short-beak variants.
Intriguingly, the opposite was true for the great tits in the Netherlands—likely because the British have a lot more bird feeders than the Dutch.
Why Is This Bird Feeding Goldfish?
What's more, by marking both long-billed and short-billed birds with radio-frequency ID tags and then monitoring which animals visited automated bird feeders in the U.K., the authors found that long-billed birds are more likely to take advantage of the free food than short-billed individuals.
“What we can’t say is that [bird feeders] are definitely causing the difference between these two populations,” says Spurgin. “But the correlation is intriguing, for sure.” (See "Great Tit Birds Shift Mating Schedules Due to Warming.")
Darwin’s Wildest Dreams
Arkhat Abzhanov, a researcher in evolution and developmental genetics at Imperial College and Natural History Museum in London, called the study “a particularly good example” of combining genetics with traditional research into physical attributes, such as beak shape.
However, he shares Spurgin’s caution against popping the champagne. (Here's why shy great tits flock together.)
“The missing context is, what else may be going on here besides the changes in beak shape?” says Abzhanov. “It is not clear if other traits, which could be evolving rapidly at the same time, were considered.”
For instance, it seems likely that if the birds’ beaks are elongating, then they would also be experiencing changes to their skulls, as well as the keratinous sheath that covers the beak.
In other words, the “beak does not function in isolation,” says Abzhanov, and these changes could be muddling what is really going on at the molecular level.
For Spurgin, this is all part of the fun. “I don’t imagine that Darwin in his wildest dreams could have thought that this stuff would have been happening,” he says.While Zofran (ondansetron) and its spinoff Zuplenz are prescription medications approved to prevent some of the more unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment, doctors have increasingly prescribed Zofran for off-label — or unapproved — uses such as treating stomach problems in children and morning sickness in expectant mothers.
First in Class to Go to Market
In 1991, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zofran, making it the first in a class of new drugs called 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to hit the market. GlaxoSmithKline developed, manufactured and sold the drug. The company’s patent for Zofran expired at the end of 2006, and the FDA approved generic versions of ondansetron from several vendors soon after. In 2015, GlaxoSmithKline sold the rights to Zofran, along with the rest of its oncology portfolio of medications, to Novartis.
There are several 5-HT3 receptor antagonists including: Aloxi (palonosetron)
Anzemet (dolasetron)
Granisol (granisetron)
Kyrtil (granisetron)
Sancuso (granisetron)
Sustol (granisetron)
Zofran (ondansetron)
Zofran ODT (ondansetron)
Zuplenz (ondansetron)
MonoSol Rx developed a closely related drug, Zuplenz, and first sold it in October 2010. Today, several vendors market Zuplenz in the U.S. The medication comes in 8 mg soluble film doses that dissolve without water.
How Zofran Works
Zofran and other 5-GT3 receptor antagonists are considered antiemetic agents. These are any drugs that prevent vomiting or nausea including over-the-counter antihistamines (Benadryl, Dramamine) or bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate). Antihistamines prevent vomiting and nausea from sickness by blocking the inner ear’s messages to the brain. Bismuth subsalicylate works by coating the stomach lining. Zofran works on a much more sophisticated level. As the class name suggests, Zofran targets 5-HT3 receptors in the body. These receptors exist in both the central and peripheral nervous system, and when joined with a neurotransmitter called serotonin, they can cause nausea and vomiting. Serotonin is produced largely in the gastrointestinal tract. When a patient undergoes cancer treatment, radiation or chemotherapy drugs can cause specialized cells in the intestine to release serotonin. Zofran and the other 5-HT3 receptor antagonists work by preventing this serotonin from binding to 5-HT3 receptors.
Types of Zofran
When it first gained FDA approval in 1991, Zofran came in the form of an injection for intravenous (IV) use. Over the years, the FDA has approved various oral forms of the drug.
Zofran Injection, 2mg/L (approved 1991) Zofran Injection is a clear, colorless solution for intravenous use. It is available as a 2 mL single dose and a 20 mL multi-dose vial. Zofran Tablets, 4 mg and 8 mg (approved 1992) Zofran tablets are oval-shaped, film-coated tablets engraved with “Zofran” on one side. They are available in 4 mg and 8mg doses. The 4 mg tablets are white with “4” engraved on one side. The 8 mg tablets are yellow with “8” engraved on one side. Zofran Premixed Injection, 32 mg (approved 1995; recalled 2012) In 2012, the 32 mg Zofran Premixed Injection was pulled from the market because of the potential for serious cardiac risks, according to the FDA. The drug was sold pre-mixed in solutions of either dextrose or sodium chloride in plastic containers. Zofran Oral Solution, 4mg/5mL (approved 1997; discontinued 2016) In 2016, Novartis discontinued Zofran Oral Solution without providing a reason but stating it was not due to manufacturing, product quality, safety or efficacy concerns. The drug, which comes in a 50-mL bottle, is a clear, colorless to light yellow liquid with a strawberry odor. Zofran Orally Disintegrating Tablets 4mg, 8mg (approved 1999) Zofran ODT Orally Disintegrating Tablets are white, round tablets. Like the Zofran regular tablets, the disintegrating tablets are available in 4 mg and 8 mg doses. The 4 mg tablets feature “Z4” on one side; the 8 mg feature “Z8.”
Zofran’s label recommends adult patients take the first dose of ondansetron 30 minutes before they start chemotherapy, one to two hours before they start radiation therapy, or one hour before undergoing surgery. Patients sometimes take additional doses one to three times a day during chemotherapy or radiation therapy and for 1 to 2 days after they finish their treatment.
Drug Interactions
Certain drugs may increase the risk of serious side effects when used with Zofran, Zuplenz or generic ondansetron.
These drugs include: Apomorphine
Phenytoin, carbamazepine and rifampin
Tramadol
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI)
Temazepam
Alfentanil and atracurium
Drugs affecting the cytochrome P-450 drug-metabolizing enzyme
Side Effects
Zofran is linked to possible side effects, some of which are serious, including serotonin syndrome and QT interval prolongation.
Serotonin Syndrome Serotonin Syndrome occurs when too much serotonin is present in the body. It is a serious condition that can be life-threatening. Symptoms include high fever, irregular heartbeat, agitation, dizziness, tremor, seizures and unconsciousness. QT Interval Prolongation Zofran can affect the electricity in the heart, causing erratic heartbeats that can be fatal. According to the drug’s label, electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring is recommended in patients with conditions such as congestive heart failure.
Other Serious Side Effects Include: Blurred vision
Vision loss
Shortness of breath
Confusion
Excessive sweating
Coma
Seizures
Loss of consciousness
Chest pain
Hives or rash
Swelling
More Common Side Effects Include: Headache
Constipation
Tiredness
Chills
Drowsiness
Weakness
FDA Drug Safety Communications & Zofran Recall
In 2012, the 32 mg intravenous dose of Zofran was pulled from the market due to concerns that it could trigger QT interval prolongation, a heart rhythm disorder that could lead to an abnormal and potentially fatal heart rhythm called Torsades de Pointes. Prior to the recall, the FDA released Drug Safety Communications alerting the public to the cardiovascular safety concerns.
Abnormal Heart Rhythms
In September 2011, the FDA announced it made changes to Zofran’s label and required the manufacturer of Zofran to conduct “a thorough QT study to assess the potential for the drug to prolong the QT interval.”
The FDA had previously noted that ondansetron could increase the risk of developing QT interval prolongation. The agency also pointed to articles published in the medical literature that describe QT interval prolongation with ondansetron. Previous versions of the ondansetron labels included a warning about QT interval prolongation. The FDA added a new warning to avoid the use of ondansetron in patients with congenital long QT syndrome because these patients are at particular risk for developing Torsade.
According to the safety communication, patients at particular risk for developing Torsade include: Patients with underlying heart conditions, such as congenital long QT syndrome
Patient who are predisposed to low levels of potassium and magnesium in the blood
Patients taking other medications that lead to QT prolongation
Clinical Study Results
The FDA released another Drug Safety Communication in June 2012, informing health care professionals and the public that preliminary results from a clinical study suggested that a 32 mg, single intravenous dose of Zofran may cause QT interval prolongation. As a result, GlaxoSmithKline removed the 32 mg, single intravenous dose from the drug’s label. The updated label said the drug could be used in adults and children with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting at a dose of 0.15 mg/kg administered every four hours for three doses; however, no single intravenous dose should exceed 16 mg.
Zofran Recall
In December 2012, the FDA notified health care professionals that the 32 mg, single intravenous dose of Zofran would no longer be marketed because of the potential for serious cardiac risks. The FDA said in its Drug Safety Communication that it was working with the manufacturers of all 32 mg dose ondansetron injectable products (brand and generic) to recall them from the market. The drugs were sold pre-mixed in solutions of either dextrose or sodium chloride in plastic containers.
List of ondansetron products voluntarily withdrawn from the U.S. market Generic Name Company Ondansetron Hydrochloride Injection, USP premix in Intravia Plastic Container Baxter Healthcare Corporation Ondansetron Hydrochloride and Dextrose in Plastic Container Hospira Ondansetron Hydrochloride and Dextrose in Plastic Container Teva Ondansetron Hydrochloride and Dextrose in Plastic Container Bedford Labs Ondansetron Hydrochloride and Dextrose in Plastic Container Claris Lifesciences
Zofran Use in Expectant Mothers
Although Zofran, Zuplenz and the generic ondansetron are FDA-approved only for use in treating nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy or radiotherapy or after surgery, many doctors prescribe them for off-label uses, including treatment of morning sickness in expectant mothers. Many pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP), commonly referred to as morning sickness. The most serious form of NVP, called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), can lead to malnutrition and dehydration — health reactions dangerous for both the mother and the baby. NVP is most serious during the first trimester when the baby is developing. Many mothers rely on anti-nausea drugs to get them through the first few weeks. Recognizing a new market of patients for its drug, GlaxoSmithKline advertised to doctors and mothers-to-be looking for relief from these symptoms.
‘Escalating Use of Ondansetron’ Among Pregnant Women
Ondansetron use increased from less than 1 percent of pregnancies in 2001 to 22.2 percent in 2014, according to an FDA article published in February 2017. The agency attributed much of the increase to oral ondansetron beginning in 2006. FDA staff assessed ondansetron and other antiemetic use among pregnant women delivering live births between 2001 and 2015. In over 2.3 million pregnancies, the prevalence of ondansetron was 15.2 percent, according to the FDA. Use was highest in the first trimester.
“We observed a marked increase in ondansetron use by study year, prescribed to nearly one-quarter of insured pregnant women in 2014,” the agency said. “Given the widespread use of ondansetron in pregnancy, data establishing product efficacy and methodologically rigorous evaluation of post-marketing safety are needed.”
Zofran and Birth Defect Studies
Studies have given conflicting results about the potential for Zofran to cause birth defects. Until the FDA changed its letter rating system in 2015, Zofran, Zuplenz and the generic ondansetron were labeled as Pregnancy Risk Category B, meaning there is no evidence of risk to humans. Still, experts say the possibility exists for Zofran to have an effect on a developing fetus because it easily crosses the placental barrier. It has also been found to take longer to leave neonatal bodies immediately after birth than it does the mother’s body. In studies and lawsuits filed by mothers and families of injured babies, a number of birth defects are linked to the medication. These include:
Cleft Palate
In 2011, a large study by Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found “possible risks” of ondansetron, particularly for cleft palate. The researchers looked at data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), a multi-site population-based case-control study, and found statistical evidence that they said “could be chance findings, [but] warrant further investigation.”
Cardiac Septum Defect
The following year, researchers led by Bengt Danielsson reviewed data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register and the Swedish Register of Prescribed Drugs to identify more than a thousand infants delivered to women who had taken ondansetron in early pregnancy between 1998 and 2012. They then performed statistical analysis on the incidence of congenital malformations and found a “low but increased risk” associated with ondansetron for “a cardiac septum defect,” but “no statistically significantly increased risk for a major malformation.”
Congenital Heart Defects
Two 2013 studies that both used data from the Medical Birth Registry and National Patient Register in Denmark yielded conflicting results regarding ondansetron and birth defects. The first study published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at data collected between 2004 and 2011. The average age of the fetus at exposure was 10 weeks, by which time most of the danger of malformations was past. The study concluded, “Ondansetron taken during pregnancy was not associated with a significantly increased risk of adverse fetal outcomes.” The second study, using data from the same sources but from 1997 to 2010, “found a doubling in the prevalence of major congenital heart defects in children whose mothers redeemed a prescription of ondansetron in the first trimester of pregnancy.” The study cited in particular failures of the heart to form properly called atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects and atrioventricular septal defects. A 2014 study by Dr. Gideon Koren published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology highlights the risks of pregnant women taking Zofran and conflicting studies that cannot rule out dangers to a fetus. The study of 900,000 Danish women in August 2013 review found “2-fold increased risk of cardiac malformations with ondansetron (Zofran), leading to an overall 30 percent increased risk of major congenital malformations.”
Kidney Malformations
A different 2013 study, which looked at birth records in Western Australia between 2002 and 2005, “did not detect any adverse outcomes from the use of ondansetron in pregnancy but could not conclude that ondansetron is safe to use in pregnancy.” While “the study was too small to assess risks of individual birth defects” (only 251 births associated with the drug out of almost 97,000 births total) the researchers found a seven-fold increase in the risk for kidney malformations associated with ondansetron.
Ondansetron Use for Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Results of the latest study of ondansetron use for hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), published in 2016, contradicted many of the earlier studies. Researchers led by Marlena Fejzo of the UCLA Department of Medicine collected information on more than a thousand women exposed to ondansetron during pregnancy and compared to control groups of women with a history of HG but no ondansetron exposure and women with neither a history of HG nor ondansetron exposure. Not only did they not find an association between the drug and birth defects, they found evidence suggesting that women who took Zofran were less likely to have a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
Studies also link the following birth defects to Zofran: Mental problems
Physical deformities
Hearing Loss
Vision problems
Abnormal blood pressure
Stomach problems
Cleft lip
Club foot
Webbed toes
Skull deformities
Review of Eight Studies
A review of eight previous studies in 2016 noted that the three largest studies showed no increased risk for birth defects, while two studies “demonstrated a slightly increased risk of cardiac defects specifically … a finding that was not replicated in other studies.” “The most consistent association (if any) appears to be a small increase in the incidence of cardiac abnormalities, the bulk of which are septal defects,” the study’s author Shaun Carstairs wrote. Carstairs concluded “the overall risk of birth defects associated with ondansetron exposure appears to be low.”
Alternatives to Zofran
A 2014 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology says 97.7 percent of prescriptions for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy in the U.S. “are with medications not labeled for use in pregnancy, not indicated for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, and not classified as safe in pregnancy by the Food and Drug Administration.” That group includes Zofran, Zuplenz and ondansetron. As an alternative, morning sickness sufferers can turn to a combination of doxylamine and pyridoxine, which the FDA approved in 2013 specifically to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. It’s available under brand names such as Bonjesta and Diclegis in the U.S. and Diclectin in Canada.
Off-label PrescriptionsHere’s how you will one day be able to send invisible messages on your future quantum cell-phone. By Patrick Tucker
Say you wanted to send an email more secure than any message that had ever been transmitted in human history, a message with absolutely no chance of being intercepted. How would you do it?
You may have encrypted your message according to the highest standards, but encryption doesn’t guarantee secrecy. The fact that you sent it is still detectable. An intercepting party in possession of just a few clues such as your identity, the receiver’s identify, the time of the message, surrounding incidents and the like can infer a great deal about the content of the message in the same way that the NSA can use your metadata to make inferences about your personality. You need to conceal not just what’s in the message but its very existence.
The answer? Make your message literally impossible to detect. A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Raytheon BBN Technologies led by Boulat A. Bash have created a method for doing just that, cloaking electronic communications so that the communication can’t be seen. They explain it in a paper titled Covert Optical Communication.
The question of exactly how secure any communication can be is of no small relevance either to national security watchers worried about losing secrets or to a public increasingly concerned about governmental invasion of digital privacy. The breakthrough shows that it is possible to send a message that can’t be intercepted, no matter how determined the National Security Agency is to intercept it.
The practice of embedding secret messages in computer files is called digital steganography. Steganography has been around since the days of ancient Greece. The term simply refers to the deliberate hiding of a message within a message. Dissidents in Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and especially China use digital steganography to send secret messages. But these methods are far from fully secure.
Today, we send a lot of messages over fiber-optic cable, essentially using light as a communications medium. It’s instant and cheap but someone monitoring the photons passing through those cables can detect when one party is sending a message to another (it is just light, after all.) Photon detectors are extremely accurate, able to detect single photons passing between two points, but they aren’t perfect and sometimes they read false positives. Bash’s technique makes use of that flaw using pulse position modulation — and it’s not much more complicated than Morse code.
Take a unit of time, like a second, and chop it up into smaller parts that vary in size, one-fourth, one-eighth, etc. Then assign each band a corresponding symbol. There’s your code. You can transfer a photon-based message over a fiber-optic capable that corresponds to the code and — so long as the message sender and the receiver of the message both have the key to the code — then each can read the message.
Pulse position modulation is not new. The formula that Bash and his colleagues created takes this process to the next step rendering it far more useful. It solves for how many bits of message a sender can pack into a certain interval of time in order for the message to always appear like background noise to any detector currently in existence.
In addition to light-based communication, the formula would render undetectable cell phone-based text messages. Cell phones use microwaves to send and receive data, which is a very noisy area of the electromagnetic spectrum. More noise is good in Bash’s communication-concealing scheme in the same way that it’s easier to hide in dense jungle foliage than it is in open desert.
Unfortunately, you and the person you are sharing the message with must agree in advance on the code and exchange it, which presents something of an obstacle.
While there is no way to share a secret code in an invisible email, there is a way to share it in an encrypted email that would destroy itself if viewed by an outsider. Using quantum encryption, you could send a message between two parties containing the deciphering key and that message, while detectable, would also be unhackable.
University of Oxford quantum physicist Artur Ekert calls quantum encryption the ultimate physical limits of privacy. Other key distribution schemes such as the Diffie Hellman scheme, rely on the difficulty of mathematical problems to work, whereas quantum encryption does not. According to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, objects viewed on the atomically small quantum scale change their behavior when viewed. Quantum encryption offers the possibility of a message so secure that any attempt to read it without authorization will destroy it, not because of some programmer’s whim but because of the way subatomic particles operate.
“For quantum cryptography we need ‘only’ to transit quantum particles over a certain distance, and this is relatively easy. Quantum cryptography has been demonstrated in practice and there are even companies that can sell it to you,” Ekert told Defense One.
Quantum cryptography and Bash’s pulse position modulation technique are two very different animals. Cryptography makes messages difficult to decipher and pulse position modulation cloaks them so that they can’t be detected. But Bash’s method could go hand-in-hand with something like quantum key distribution, which a message sender would use in advance to share the key code. That, in turn, would be used in the future for covert communication.
Here’s what the most secure electronic message exchange in the history of humanity would look like: You would first exchange the code key in a quantum encrypted message, and then, when the receiver and the sender both had the code, they could exchange an invisible — thus perfectly secure — message. A third party might be able to detect that two parties had exchanged a single message that had been quantum encrypted, containing the key code, but that third party wouldn’t be able to see any of the exchanges that passed after that or open the key code message.
Right now, quantum encryption is not the sort of service you can use on your iPhone or some common device. It requires dedicated devices and a connection between two points. But that will change, according to Ekert. “We will probably demonstrate device independent quantum crypto soon in the labs, but it will take some time before we turn them into a commercial proposition,” he said.
How soon? Perhaps sooner than many think. Back in August, members of a team from the University of Bristol published a paper outlining ideas for how to do it.
Secure? Yes. Practical for all communication? No. Bash’s method is not one you would use for everything. The laws of physics that make photon cloaking possible impose a stingy limit on the size of the message that is transferable over that medium, limited to tens to hundreds of bits of per second according their paper. That’s enough space to send yes or no signals or small values, but sending an entire Word document at that rate would take a very long time.
The NSA is spending nearly $80 million on a program called Penetrating Hard Targets to build a quantum computer to de-encrypt the most expertly encoded communications, according to The Washington Post. The government has been funding quantum computer research |
rights.”
But in a sympathetic nod to the terminally ill, Kenney wrote that it’s “baffling” how far the country’s courts have strayed from a 1891 ruling that allowed a Pacific Railway passenger named Clara Botsford to refuse to submit to a medical exam.
That 124-year-old decision, Union P.R. v. Botsford, reads, “No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded by common law, than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person, free form all restraint or interference of others.”
Assisted suicide is legal in Montana, Washington New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.The Trump administration has canceled any remaining ObamaCare advertising and outreach planned for the final days of the sign-up period, according to Politico.
The move could negatively affect enrollment, given that many people wait until close to the Jan. 31 deadline to sign up.
Politico reported that even ads that have already been paid for have been canceled.
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The move is an indication that the Trump administration could be seeking ways to undermine the law even before action from Congress to repeal it.
Some Democrats reacted with anger, saying the Trump administration was simply trying to sabotage the law.
“They're deliberately trying to undermine enrollment which was growing,” Topher Spiro, vice president for health policy at the liberal Center for American Progress, wrote on Twitter. “Healthy enrollment would disprove their false claim of a death spiral.”
“With this sabotage, many people lost health care coverage that they would have signed up for,” he added.
Kevin Counihan, a top ObamaCare official under President Obama, said the move could prevent young people from enrolling, setting off damaging effects.
"The Trump Administration's outrageous decision tonight to sabotage Open Enrollment will mean coverage could cost more next year and insurers could drop out of the Marketplace," he said in a statement. "We know that more young people enroll during the final days of Open Enrollment, but they need to be reminded of the January 31 deadline."
Enrollment for 2017 has so far held steady, not dropping off despite the Republican threat that the law will be repealed.
Figures this month show 8.8 million people have signed up so far, compared to 8.7 million at the same point last year.
Politico reported that emails are also no longer being sent to individuals to remind them to enroll in coverage.
"The federal government has spent more than $60 million promoting the open enrollment period," a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services told Politico. "HHS has pulled back roughly $5 million of the final placement in an effort to look for efficiencies where they exist."UD student's 9-foot Edward Snowden statue at DCCA
Buy Photo University of Delaware graduate student Jim Dessicino stands next to his statue of Edward Snowden at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington. (Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
When Business Insider wrote about University of Delaware graduate student Jim Dessicino's statue of Edward Snowden appearing in New York's Union Square Park earlier this month, the reporter noted that none of the dozen passersby they talked to could identify who the statue depicted.
For Dessicino, a 29-year-old Atlantic City, New Jersey, native, it could have been a blow to his confidence as an artist, having spent months creating the 9-foot, 220-pound figure out of gypsum cement, clay, steel and foam.
But just hours earlier when he was unloading the statue from a van to bring it to the Manhattan park, he heard a man on the bustling New York streets shout, "Oh my God! Is that Edward Snowden?"
In a stroke of pure coincidence that is still hard to believe, that man happened to be with journalist/activist/blogger Glenn Greenwald, whose reporting last year in Britain's The Guardian first disclosed the secret U.S. surveillance programs using leaked documents from Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.
The person most closely associated with Snowden, now living in Russia, just happened to be having breakfast with fellow journalist Jeremy Scahill at Coffee Shop restaurant when Dessicino's van pulled up and the super-sized Snowden popped out.
"I thought, 'You have to be kidding me.' I wasn't convinced it was him, but then I walked up to him and it was Glenn Greenwald," Dessicino says. "And [Greenwald] was more confused than I was about all of this. He was dumbfounded, but really excited and happy to see it."
After the chance meeting, Scahill took a photo of Greenwald with the statue and posted it to Twitter, writing, "So, @ggreenwald & I were having breakfast & a truck pulls up with a statue of Edward Snowden."
Greenwald, who lives in Brazil and was visiting New York to attend the premiere of the documentary "Citizenfour" at Lincoln Center that night, soon retweeted it.
The result was a hectic few hours for Dessicino, whose statue is currently greeting museum-goers at the entrance of the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (200 S. Madison St., Wilmington) through Jan. 4. (The statue even has its own Twitter account: @EdSnowdenStatue.)
Journalist Glenn Greenwald, whose reporting last year in Britain’s The Guardian disclosed secret surveillance programs thanks to leaks by Edward Snowden, took a photo with Jim Dessicino’s statue in New York earlier this month. (Photo: Twitter/@jeremyscahill)
Reporters from publications like the New York Daily News, Vice and Buzzfeed descended on Union Square to report on the statue. As Dessicino did one interview after another, representatives from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation soon arrived and told Dessicino he had to remove the statue since he didn't have a proper permit.
He had brought it there as part of the Art in Odd Places festival, which ran Oct. 9-12 in New York. It lasted three hours before authorities had Dessicino haul Snowden away.
Dessicino, a sculpture student in his final year of studies at University of Delaware, especially got a kick out of the lead paragraph of the Daily News'
Daily News reporter Caitlin Nolan wrote, "Edward Snowden, while still welcome in Red Square, got the boot Friday from Union Square."report, which followed one of its trademark headlines, "Edward Snowden statue forced to defect from New York City's Union Square."
Dessicino, who specializes in making topical sculptures and statues tied to current events, decided to make the statue in June after the first reports of the surveillance program were published simultaneously in The Guardian and The Washington Post.
He was captivated by Snowden's video in which he identified himself as the leaker of the classified information, revealing himself to be a 29-year-old North Carolina native who worked for the United States government.
"I knew I wanted to do it the day I saw the video," Dessicino says. "He was one year older than me and doing what I didn't think was possible: Telling the world something important and sacrificing his freedoms in order to do it.
"He seemed like the most pivotal figure of my generation. I was truly inspired. I knew it was big and important."
Dessicino began work on the Snowden statue three months later, spending months creating the hulking faux Snowden and completing it in March. Its first public appearance came at UD's Botanic Gardens on South Campus off South College Avenue a month later.
Even though Dessicino agrees with Snowden's actions to leak the classified information, he says the statue is more critical of the government's snooping than in praise of Snowden. The statue, for instance, does not have a plaque or any description of what it depicts.
"If it was in praise of him, he would be in a pose more demanding of praise. He is in a very uncertain position with hands in his pockets, looking down," he says. "It's a very un-monumental monument. Even the materiality of it – it's not bronze or marble. It's just really hard gypsum cement that is used for casting metal."
Part of the reason why he picked that material was because it was cheap, but also because it is really hard.
Buy Photo Jim Dessicino stands next to the statue of Edward Snowden that he made which now on display in front of the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington. (Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
In the past, he's had artwork vandalized or destroyed in public and he knew his Snowden statue could be a target for vandals who believe Snowden is a traitor to his country – someone deserving of prison time instead of being memorialized by a monument.
"The last piece I had in public was abstract and there was no reason for anybody to attack it and they still attacked it three times. I knew this was controversial so I wanted to make sure nobody would get hurt if they did decide to attack it," Dessicino says.
Dessicino will speak about his work at a DCCA opening reception Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the city's monthly Art Loop. The reception runs from 5-9 p.m. and will also mark the openings of solo exhibitions by Dan Jackson and Hiro Sakaguchi.
Maiza Hixson, curator at the DCCA, agreed to house the statue even before its splashy New York City debut. David Meyer, an associate professor at the University of Delaware's Department of Art, first told her about Dessicino's project and showed her an image of it on his phone.
"I immediately grasped that we needed to bring that to the DCCA as soon as possible," she says. "The DCCA has an obligation to provide artists with a platform for controversial statements and artworks that make people think about the world that we are living in."
The statue arrived at DCCA on Oct. 13, just days after its New York adventure. So far, the museum has not received any complaints from visitors, Hixson says.
After its run at DCCA, Dessicino plans on Snowden finding a new home to be seen by the public, whether it be another museum, university or national park.
But no matter where it ends up, it will be hard to top the statue's first few months in the public eye.
"I'm still totally shocked," says Dessicino, who adds that a former WikiLeaks employee told him that Snowden himself has heard about the statue.
Dessicino says an interview with Moscow-based Russian television station NTV about his statue is currently in the works. One day, he hopes he can shake Snowden's hand.
"I don't know if we would have all that much in common to talk about other than civil liberties," he says. "I don't know what kind of art he likes, what kind of music he listens to or whether he drinks beer."
IF YOU GO
University of Delaware graduate student Jim Dessicino's statue of Edward Snowden is at the entrance of the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (200 S. Madison St., Wilmington) through Jan. 4. Dessicino will speak at an opening reception Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the city's monthly Art Loop. The reception runs from 5-9 p.m. and will also mark the openings of exhibitions by Dan Jackson ("Manufactured") and Hiro Sakaguchi ("Avert, Escape, or Cope With")
Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/1wqLLnAA CHILLING image of what appears to be a dead child on Google's Street View was a prank.
Some inhabitants of Middle Road in Worcester, western England, panicked and called police when they accessed images of their quiet street on the virtual map and saw the body of a girl, apparently dumped by the roadside.
However, a neighbour admitted her nine-year-old girl and a friend had heard that the Google car, fitted with panoramic cameras on the roof, was in their area and decided to carry out the trick.
She said, “When we heard about the Street View images we had a look at our street and thought it was really cool. Then we noticed the girl lying on the ground which looks a bit strange but thankfully we knew it wasn’t anything suspicious.”
Google’s cars were photographing in the area last summer. A spokeswoman for Google said she was unable comment on individual images but said people could remove pictures with which they were unhappy.
“The imagery in Street View represents a snapshot in time of Britain’s streets and is no different to what anyone might expect to see for themselves around the country,” she said.
“Sometimes that means our cars inadvertently capture odd or inappropriate moments as they drive past.
"This is why we have put in place tools so that if people see what they believe to be inappropriate, they can report them to us using the simple reporting tool and the images will be quickly removed or further blurring applied."
To see the image click here, zoom in, hit Street View and pan right.
Originally published as Google Map's child corpse mystery solved"She was a chronic runaway," said Detective Grace Prince of the 28th Precinct, who drew the crucial connection between the missing person's report and the girl in the morgue and uncovered the dental records that led to the identification.
Capt. John Creegan, commanding officer of the Eighth Detective Division, said Ms. Hill reported her daughter missing on Aug. 10, but canceled the report the next day after learning that the girl was staying with a sister on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island.
One of the men charged in her death also lives on Neptune Avenue, near the sister, and may have met Ebony during her stay in the neighborhood, Sgt. Garvey said. "It's too much of a coincidence," he said. Ran Away Again
The girl returned home on Aug. 21, Captain Creegan said, but ran away the same day -- and was dead 24 hours later. The girl's mother could not be reached last night, and it was unclear why she waited until last Tuesday to report her daughter's most recent disappearance.
But Sgt. Tina Mohrmann, a police spokeswoman, said last night that Ms. Hill and other members of the family did not connect her disappearance with the reports of the girl slain in the Bronx. "They did not suspect foul play," she said. "She had been missing before and they were hoping she'd turn up."
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Investigators said the girl was believed killed in an apartment in Hunts Point on Aug. 22. She may have been raped, they said, and her throat was cut and her body was stomped and packed in a large cardboard box by two men.
The two, joined by a third man who became a police informer in the case, carried the box a few blocks to Whitlock Avenue and East 165th Street, leaving it under the Sheridan Expressway near Bruckner Boulevard. One of the killers later returned, doused the box with gasoline and set it afire, the police said.
A passenger on a No. 2 train, running on elevated tracks nearby, saw the flames and called the police. Detectives found the body badly burned. There were no clothes, jewelry or other means of identification. "All I saw was that her hair had been worn in corn rows," Sergeant Garvey recalled.
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The Medical Examiner was unable to determine a precise cause of death and listed it only as "homicidal violence." For days, the girl was known to detectives only as a face in a sketch drawn from the informant's description -- a frail girl about 4 feet 2 inches tall, with narrow-set eyes, broad cheekbones and a strong chin.
But while the girl's identity remained a mystery, detectives with the informant's help last Sunday arrested Luis Morales, 18, of the Bronx, and Carlos Franco, 20, of Brooklyn, and charged them with murder and manslaughter in her death. They said Mr. Morales had been acquitted of murder and arson charges in another case last year after a witness recanted testimony.
After Ms. Hill reported her daughter missing last Tuesday, Detective Prince noted a similarity to the girl in the morgue. "I was pressing the victim's mother for information about her school and medical history, and finally today she cooperated," the detective said.
At a clinic on West 125th Street where the girl had had a medical and dental checkup in May 1992, Detective Prince found the dental X-rays that provided the crucial link to identification.
"Our job is not over," said Detective Garvey. "We have to go to court."British comedy writer and celebrity journalist Jane Bussmann had a revelation while interviewing actor Ashton Kutcher at a Hollywood café: She really had to find something more meaningful to do.
So she embarked on a Google quest for the most evil man in the world and found Joseph Kony, head of the Uganda-based Lord’s Resistance Army. “In a dramatic change of direction,” according to the jacket of the resulting book:
[S]he set out for Africa to interview a respected (very attractive) peacemaker. However things did not go according to plan. Six weeks later, alone in a war-torn country, she found herself investigating one of the worst crimes in African history. Until one day, she was standing over a corpse in an open grave, wondering if she would get home alive…
The paperback version of The Worst Date Ever: Or How It Took a Comedy Writer to Expose Africa’s Secret War was just released and a movie is “in development” by the producers of the Academy Award-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. It may be the most ribald book about the atrocities of war you will ever read; you may, (as I did), find yourself laughing in the face of what Bussmann calls “mind-shredding evil.”
For two decades, Kony’s outfit has kidnapped tens of thousands of children; turned them into child soldiers and sex slaves; taught them to use rape as a weapon of war; and cut the lips off of critics including young children. Kony, his top commanders and their backer, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, president of Northern Sudan, are all wanted international war criminals. The LRA massacres whole villages at a time in Sudan, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Central African Republic. Two million people in Northern Uganda have been displaced.
Kony’s power over his victims is derived in part by his claim to be inhabited by spirits, including one that had jumped to him from Alice Lakwena (a kind of Joan of Arc figure), who led an unsuccessful rebellion against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in 1987. Some of Kony’s kids say they believe in his supernatural omniscience because he always knows exactly when the Ugandan Army is coming, in what numbers, and what kinds of weapons they are carrying.
Indeed. The occasional skirmish not withstanding, Kony has apparently enjoyed high-level assistance in sustaining his lifestyle while evading Ugandan troops ostensibly tasked with stopping him.
Back in 1996, according to a document reprinted by Bussmann, the Ugandan and Sudanese governments knew exactly where Catholic school girls kidnapped by the LRA were being held. The Ugandan army had been tipped that the LRA was going to attack the elite St. Mary’s school, but had done nothing to protect or to rescue the 139 girls abducted. And yet, a brave school administrator, Sister Rachele, almost singlehandedly gained the release of 109 of the children. The LRA kept the rest—except for the one they hacked and tortured to death with machetes. Sister Rachele and the girls’ parents met with world leaders from presidents Museveni and Bashir, to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, to Kofi Annan, and Pope John Paul II.
“None of them got the girls back,” Bussmann observed. “Meanwhile, Kony built his city of children in the desert and shipped in his prize, the highly educated St. Mary’s girls. The girls were raped, impregnated, given syphilis, and watched as babies were smashed against trees.”
When Bussmann arrived in 2005, parents were still trying to get their daughters back. Mrs. Clinton had tried to help by getting the World Bank to donate. The Bank underwrote a special rehabilitation school for children who had escaped from the LRA. Unfortunately, one of Kony’s former top commanders, (an ex-bodyguard for president Museveni) was hired to run it.
Bussmann learned that this was more the rule than the exception. Writing on the Huffington Post she recently declared that some 20-66,000 children have been direct victims of what amounts to a “fake war.”
“But if everyone knew… why had nobody stopped him?” she wondered. “All around me, millions were being pumped into the effort.”
“Only a cynic,” she continued, “could conclude that, far from trying to catch Kony, the world turned this mass child rapist into an industry, so I will, for one reason: I don’t see why the kids I met should have to put up with it.”
As a comedy writer who has worked on the take-no-prisoners cartoon show South Park, and whose journalism experience, as she notes, stopped with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, she saw herself as an unlikely reporter for the occasion. And yet, she got the story when others have not. She says that she could recognize “absurdity.” And that may have been the best qualification.
Un-Faking the War
The ‘fake’ war may just get real.
President Obama recently signed “Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act,” the main and most remarkable provision of which is:
…to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord’s Resistance Army fighters.
A bipartisan cheer went up when the bill became law. But some groups, including the progressive Institute for Policy Studies and the Africa Faith and Justice Network (a coalition of Catholic orders), are concerned that the hunt for Kony by US or allied Special Forces could lead to reprisal massacres against civilians—like those that followed last year’s failed anti-LRA campaign including the armies of three countries and backed by the United States.
The Enough Project of the Washington DC think tank Center for American Progress has worked tirelessly to stop the LRA and bring peace to the region. But co-founder John Prendergast told Religion Dispatches that Kony has refused numerous peace proposals, and he believes that:
The only way to bring an end to the suffering he causes is to support the military efforts to apprehend him in line with his outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant. As a peace advocate, it is painful to come to this conclusion, but I realize that there are occasions when force is necessary to achieve peace. This is one of those times.
Bussmann’s discovery of Prendergast in Vanity Fair magazine in 2003 had launched her on another Google quest at the heart of the book. “Damn,” she exclaimed, “I had to meet John Prendergast. He wasn’t just hot; he was wise. I wondered how wrong it would be to sit on his knee during the interview.” Bussmann found in Prendergast a dashing romantic interest; “his eyes red from saving the world.”
While her pursuit of Prendergast by way of pursuing Kony became “the worst date ever” of the book’s title, he is generous about her work. She has the capacity, he said, to school people about “some of the worst human rights crimes in the last half century” in a way that “isn’t sanctimonious or boring.”
When RD had the opportunity to talk with Bussmann about all this, we decided to disregard the professional advice she offered in her book—that when “talking to famous people, never bring up religion, they might have an opinion.”
Actor Ashton Kutcher told you he has met “some really great priests.” You aver (although not to Kutcher) that you don’t like priests, and not because you are an atheist. And yet some of the real heroes in the book are priests like Father Carlos, and of course, Sister Rachele. Has your thinking evolved since then?
The biggest shock to me was that the priests came out the heroes of the book! I had great fun mocking myself as events led inexorably to the conclusion that priests were saving the day. I decided it would be fun to lure the most skeptical reader in with a barrage of anti-religion abuse and then have them follow me as I met people like Father Carlos Rodriguez, a deep-thinking, kind, mild-mannered Spanish man with no concern for his own safety. He went into the bush armed with nothing but his Bible to rescue 17 children from the LRA. No bullets fired. But when the priest went back to get more kids—and how often can you say that in a positive context—he was sabotaged, and not by Kony, but by the Ugandan government army.
Until I went to Uganda, I thought missionaries were shady types who couldn’t make it back at home, so they bailed to sunnier climes where they could strip the joy out of human existence unchallenged. But then I met the Combonis [a Catholic order of priests and nuns]—these people risk their own lives fighting for human rights. I met nuns who had been beaten up. Sister Rachele still bursts into tears 14 years after trying to save her girls from Kony (Google her. I don’t vote on any canonization panels but she has to be a contender). And Father Carlos may have saved my life. An author with more dignity wouldn’t have put it in their memoir, as it was a deeply humiliating incident involving a safety pin and a hospital with no doctors, but I couldn’t resist it as the logical, almost divine conclusion to an adventure that began with my saying I didn’t like priests.
Father Carlos last year published a fascinating account of his experiences under the radar in Africa called Tall Grass, after the elephant grass which hides not just rebel child soldiers but all the mysteries in Africa.
What do you make of Kony’s claim to be a religious leader and how he carries himself in this role?
Kony shows many signs of brain damage, or at least advanced mental illness, so I wouldn’t authorize any grants to his church at this time. But if you consider religion to be an inspiration to humans to behave better, Kony uses it as an excuse to behave worse. It wasn’t me, Pa, it was the spirits. Kony is nothing but a lousy little rapist who can’t believe his luck—he hit a period in history when the people supposed to be hunting him found it more useful to use the hunt as a smokescreen for lining their pockets in illegal mining operations and ghost soldier salary rackets. He also had the smarts to claim to represent the disenfranchised Acholi tribe, which stalled the intellectuals and academics who should be uniting against him. Sure, the Acholi are disenfranchised. But how can you insult the intelligence of Acholi moms and dads whose kids have been kidnapped by saying they’d choose Kony as their representative? There are politicians for that!
You charge that some humanitarian and development agencies may be more interested in ensuring their cash flow than carrying out their missions. How and why have such groups enabled the suffering they are ostensibly in Uganda to alleviate?
First things first: Helping out someone who is having a tougher time than you is not just a nice thing to do, it’s a cornerstone of civilization.
My book is trying to shine a spotlight on what happens when charities don’t ask the crucial question—how exactly did these vulnerable people get here?—and risk becoming part of the machine of war, or a substitute for the right response from a government. I’d argue that you should always lend your neighbor money; hopefully he’d help you out someday. But if he’s beating his wife, you don’t parrot his story that she walked into a door and organise another whip-round to send her a private doctor. No—you call the police.
I became incensed when I read a World Food Program press release asking for more money to feed over a million people who were living in squalor because they had ‘fled’ Joseph Kony. They hadn’t fled Kony, they had been ordered in by their own government. Yes, some came willingly for protection, but they were told it would be for a few months while the government looked for Kony. Ten years later, not only was Kony not found, but the camps weren’t properly protected. And Kony was still kidnapping their kids. Inside the camps I saw hungry children, outside I saw crops left to rot. The WFP’s solution? To ask the public to send more money. Meanwhile, cash rolled in to the government, and foreign donors wrung their hands over the poor starving refugees.
One lousy rapist turned into an industry.
What really bugs me about contemporary charities are these ghastly, pornographic images of people suffering. They abuse people for cash. These images don’t just belittle women and children and reduce Africans to a continent of beggars, they unforgivably numb audiences to suffering. You see a kid who’s starving, you switch off inside instead of getting riled up to ask why he’s starving. Hence the book.
A joke—especially when there’s not supposed to be one—kind of restores the big stuff to what it should be: absurd, outrageous, just plain wrong. Plus it’s the only thing I can do, so I thought I’d have a go at putting it to good use for once. And believe me it’s ten times slower writing comedy about this subject matter. I get up every morning cursing myself, ‘if only you’d written Ghostbusters remakes for clapped-out comedians, you wouldn’t be getting out of bed at 6 a.m, to write yet more child soldier material… you’d be in a mansion… imbecile…’
The American and British public are staggeringly generous donors, genuinely caring for the vulnerable. If someone told them the full story of what made these people vulnerable, in a vocal society like the United States, there would be debate and regulation. Instead the public are presented with an image of the developing world as a telethon of random tragedy after random tragedy, with breaks for pop stars singing in the ruins for Idol Gives Back. The aid industry is bleak, but ironically, the truth is uplifting because many of these seemingly random tragedies are man-made—which means they could be stopped. We need a call to action.
Since the passage of the anti-LRA bill, it seems likely that American or European Special Forces will be deployed against Kony for the first time. Do you think that the Africa Faith and Justice Network’s concern about civilian reprisals by the LRA is justified?
Yes. It’s foul and Kony has always done it. Barack has to be smarter than his predecessor, who amazingly authorized Operation Lightning Thunder without even thinking to protect civilians, hence the Christmas Massacres. Anyone could have warned George Bush about Kony, even me, and I’m a comedy writer. A kid who watches CSI when the babysitter is asleep could have predicted the date the massacres would start, Christmas Eve, and the location, churches, because Kony is a cliché murderer who uses religious symbolism the way Eminem uses naughty words. Unfortunately it was left to US Intelligence to supervise, and hundreds died. Intelligence is expensive, common sense is free.
I don’t think that the LRA Act elevates military action above all other solutions, it says let’s do something. A peaceful solution would be better—but if peace fails, at Kony’s current rate, hundreds more kids will be kidnapped. In the event of military action, he must be stopped intelligently, because if not, up to 90% of the casualties will be former kidnapped children. Let’s be aware then, of three things. One, Kony always gets intel that the army is coming to get him and runs away. So block his escapes. Two, the LRA kills civilians. Protect civilians. Three, and most important of all, the armies who went after Kony before have been shamelessly, unforgivably trigger-happy about killing children. Watch them this time.Analiza 17/2014: Poland and Ukraine: A Portrait in Divergence
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the start of Poland’s journey towards becoming a market economy, and it can be said with some certainty that the path has been a successful one.
In contrast, Poland’s large eastern neighbor has seen a starkly different path. The turmoil in Ukraine and ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych by popular agitation has only served to highlight the seriousness of Ukraine’s underlying economic situation. Despite 22 years of independence, the country’s per capita GDP in 2012 was only slightly over USD 2.000, five times less than Poland despite starting from nearly the same initial conditions. In other areas, the country has faltered, with a fiscal situation best described as “bankrupt” and the smallest of transitions economy-wide away from its Soviet, heavy-industry past. This road to transition has been marked by delays in needed reforms leading to severe turbulence, including banking and currency crises in 1998-99 and from 2008 to the present, while the political transition resulted in rampant corruption, cronyism at the highest levels, and a fragile state that has finally collapsed. From the days of 10,000% inflation in 1993 to the plummeting hryvnia and scramble for an IMF loan in 2014, the country appeared to be trapped in a state of perpetual crisis.
But why? How could two countries with such a similar language/culture, shared historical experiences, and (on paper at least) nearly identical initial conditions diverge so widely over 25 years? The purpose of this paper is to examine this differing experience of economic transition in Poland and Ukraine in reference to the development of its institutions, conditioned by the divergent pace of reforms in each country. As we shall see, delayed macroeconomic stabilization, which then led to slow (or non-existent) institutional development, between the two countries was the key factor driving the two apart.
Contact the author:
Christopher A. Hartwell, PhD
President, CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research
M: +48 538 175 826
E: christopher.hartwell@case-research.euThe feminist movement — so often a faux feminist movement, to be more accurate — seeks to explicate the factors that exacerbate domestic violence. Nowhere is the evidence of blinkered prescriptions so stark as when we observe the sisterhood’s responses to disproportionate rates of violence within the Aboriginal community.
Unless you are an agenda-driven feminist and blind to hard and brutal facts, there’s no denying factors like welfare dependence, social isolation, alcohol and drug abuse are statistically indicative of an increased risk of domestic violence. These are factors that thrive in remote communities, where social isolation and welfare dependence are matters of geography. When these elements are viewed in conjunction with the patriarchal tones of traditional Aboriginal culture, wherein violence played a key role long before white settlement, we should not react as if Aboriginal women being between 34 times and 80 times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be hospitalised is an unfathomable mystery. Has everyone forgotten that, according to Aboriginal lore, a woman who accidentally comes across a male ceremonial party can be killed? Or that “promised brides” were given to much older men to be raped — a practice, by the way, that isn’t entirely defunct?
Women’s rights are what leading feminists claim to defend, except they don’t. For example, Our Watch has recently launched a campaign to “protect” Aboriginal women. This should be good news, but it isn’t.
The project’s manifesto points to Aboriginal-specific reasons for violence and notes they must be addressed, yet the listed factors specifically omit the role of Aboriginal culture. Here is how Our Watch frames the problem it professes to be serious about remedying (emphasis added):
[The project] will consider this violence in the context of broader colonial violence and specifically the intergenerational impacts of dispossession, the forced removal of children, the interruption of cultural practices that mitigate against interpersonal violence, and the ongoing and cumulative economic exclusion and disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These impacts include intergenerational trauma, lateral violence and internalised colonialism.
According to its latest annual report, Our Watch took in more than $7 million in 2016, with employee benefits and “professional fees” accounting for almost $5 million of that sum. For that sort of money one might reasonably expect a dash of realism amid the buzz-words and social justice boilerplate.
Would it add the burden of leasing wall-to-wall fainting couches for the Our Watch office were I to suggest that violence has never been a gendered issue? Certainly, women are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rigid gender roles that dictate women are unequal, or that women are mere commodities to be traded for the benefit of men, should certainly be addressed. Indeed, they need to be addressed. But what simple fact and a respect for empirical evidence demands is the recognition that rigid gender roles are intrinsically connected to culture.
And there’s the rub!
Western feminists fought to ensure today’s women can expect to be treated as equals who enjoy, to cite but one example, the freedom to participate in the workforce. Further to that, laws are in place to offer protection from discrimination on the basis of gender. So why are feminists now blaming fairy tales for promoting rigid stereotypes, insisting that telling a boy he “throws like a girl” will twist him into a man who batters his spouse?
Can anyone dispute that Aboriginal women deserve the same protection under law as any other Australian? Of course not! Yet we see Aboriginal customary law being used as a defence in various courts and resulting in lenient sentences. While some acts of violence are in line with traditional custom — never, ever a valid excuse – it is important to recognise the likelihood that traditional customs are being embellished by perpetrators and their lawyers to gain legal leverage. Blaming ‘cultural practice‘ is a no more nor less than a tool to diminish perpetrators’ responsibility. The strong kinship system combines with patriarchal elements of Aboriginal culture to foster an environment of silence whereby male perpetrators, rather than victims, are supported. Add political correctness to the mix and it is a toxic brew.
For actual victims of domestic violence, the ideological drivel Our Watch is pitching and which I have quoted above adds insult to injury in pointedly failing to acknowledge that patriarchal aspects of Aboriginal culture are an overarching factor. You would think feminists would notice that. Listen to Jacinta Price:
I have known of cases of women ordered to submit sexually to male relatives of the deceased husband for not fulfilling the correct duties of a wife, which is to take care |
ershot: Ashgate, 2003; 2nd edn London: Duckworth, 2009) Vernezze, Peter. Don't worry, be Stoic: ancient wisdom for troubled times. (Lanham: University Press of America, 2005)
. (Lanham: University Press of America, 2005) Keith Seddon, Stoic Serenity: A Practical Course on Finding Inner Peace, (Stoicon Foundation, 2006).
, (Stoicon Foundation, 2006). Margaret Graver, Stoicism and Emotion, (Chicago, University Of Chicago Press, 2007)
, (Chicago, University Of Chicago Press, 2007) M. Andrew Holowchak, The Stoics. A Guide for the Perplexed, (London: Continuum, 2008)
(London: Continuum, 2008) William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life. The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009)
, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) Cooper, Ray. The stoic homilies: a week-by-week guide to enlightened living. (Burleigh, Qld: Zeus Publications, 2009)
. (Burleigh, Qld: Zeus Publications, 2009) Natalie Haynes, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life, (London: Profile Books, 2010)
, (London: Profile Books, 2010) Marcin Fabjański, Stoicyzm uliczny. Jak oswajać trudne sytuacje, (Warsaw: Czarna Owca, 2010)
, (Warsaw: Czarna Owca, 2010) William O. Stephens, Marcus Aurelius. A Guide of the Perplexed, (London: Continuum, 2012)
, (London: Continuum, 2012) Jules Evans, "Philosophy for Life: And Other Dangerous Situations", (Rider, 2012)
Donald Robertson, The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy (Karnac, 2010)
(Karnac, 2010) Donald Robertson, Stoicism and the Art of Happiness (2013)
(2013) Tomasz Mazur, O stawaniu się stoikiem, (Warsaw: PWN, 2014)
Piotr Stankiewicz, Sztuka życia według stoików, (Warsaw: WAB, 2014)
, (Warsaw: WAB, 2014) Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. (2016)
. (2016) Ryan Holiday. "Ego is the Enemy" (Penguin Publishing Group, 2016)
Ryan Holiday. "The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumphs" (Penguin Publishing Group, 2014)
Patrick Ussher [ed.], Stoicism Today: Selected Writings vol. I, (Stoicism Today: 2014)
, (Stoicism Today: 2014) Patrick Ussher [ed.], Stoicism Today: Selected Writings vol. II, (Stoicism Today: 2016)
, (Stoicism Today: 2016) Massimo Pigliucci, How To Be a Stoic, (New York: Basic Books, 2017)
, (New York: Basic Books, 2017) Ward Farnsworth, The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual (Boston: David R. Godine, 2018)
See also [ edit ]HOUSTON -- John O'Korn finished 25 of 41 for 245 yards and two touchdowns to lead Houston over SMU 34-0 Friday, snapping the Cougars' three-game losing streak.
Daniel Spencer caught seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Greg Ward, Jr., had five receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Jackson rushed seven times for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Kent Brooks added a touchdown run for the Cougars, who totaled 365 yards.
Houston forced four turnovers -- three interceptions and a fumble -- and also had five sacks. Zach McMillan had two interceptions.
Houston (8-4, 5-3 American) earned its first shutout since 2011 and its first conference shutout since a 64-0 win over Rice in 1989.
Neal Burcham, who started in place of Garrett Gilbert -- out with a left knee sprain -- finished 27 of 52 for 212 yards and threw 3 interceptions for SMU (5-6, 4-3).
Jeremy Johnson had 8 receptions for 75 yards, and Darius Joseph caught 9 passes for 52 yards, while Prescott Line rushed 17 times for 81 yards for SMU, which finished 3 of 7 on fourth downs and gained 295 yards.
The Mustangs, who entered the game averaging almost 31 points, were held to scoreless for the first time since 2004 when they were shut out 42-0 at Fresno State.
O'Korn found Spencer on Houston's first offensive play for a 67-yard touchdown pass with 13:32 left in the first quarter to open up a 7-0 lead.
After Burcham was intercepted by Adrian McDonald to give the Cougars possession at SMU's 29, Kyle Bullard upped the lead to 10-0 with a 27-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the first. Bullard added a 27-yard field goal with 2:48 left in the third.
O'Korn found Ward for a 19-yard touchdown grab two minutes into the second quarter to up the lead to 17-0.
Brooks extended Houston's lead to 24-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run 34 seconds before halftime after Eric Eiland set the Cougars up with a 62-yard fumble return off a bad snap down to the SMU 1 before being tackled by SMU's Kevin Pope.
Jackson added a 33-yard touchdown run with 8:07 left in the third to give the Cougars a 31-0 lead.
SMU struggled moving the ball in the first half, gaining 53 yards and two first downs in the first quarter and 146 yards in the first half to go along with three turnovers and 9 penalties for 75 yards.
Both times SMU got inside the Cougars' 35 in the first half resulted in turnovers -- the first a McMillan interception in the end zone when SMU reached the Houston 22 and the second was Eiland's fumble recovery when the Mustangs were at the Houston 32.
SMU got in the red zone with five minutes left in the fourth, but Line was stopped a yard short of the first down on fourth and 6 from the Houston 15.Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks during a news conference last month at the presidential palace in Caracas. (Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press)
I remember the joke from my childhood.
“What’s the most profitable business in the world?”
“A well-run oil company.”
“And the second most profitable business in the world?”
“A badly run oil company.”
There was a certain cockiness to the way Venezuelans used to tell this joke. A guffawing sense of invincibility. Here was a country sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves, where all you have to do is dig a hole in the ground and dollars come gushing out. A country like that can’t go bankrupt, can it?
Turns out it can.
Last Thursday, in a somber speech to the nation, President Nicolás Maduro announced what financial markets had been anticipating for years: Venezuela can no longer pay its debts. The president decreed that the nation’s debts would be “refinanced and restructured” in the months ahead.
The speech was not well received. Wall Street investors stampeded for the exits. Before Thursday evening, a Venezuelan debt default had seemed likely. By Friday morning, it seemed inevitable.
Venezuela now finds itself under a mountain of debt: nearly $70 billion, most of it borrowed and then either wasted on boondoggle projects that were never completed, squandered on populist giveaways or just plain stolen. Payments on these loans have stretched the public purse for years, leaving people on the streets literally hungry as dollars that might have been used to buy food went to Wall Street instead. On Thursday, Maduro finally fessed up: Venezuela just can’t keep paying.
One reason his speech alarmed markets is that he didn’t seem to really understand what he was saying. Maduro kept using the words “restructuring” and “refinancing” interchangeably, but those are two vastly different things: The former implies losses to bondholders, the latter merely a voluntary swap that leaves them whole. When facing a debt crisis on this scale, you’d expect a leader to pick his words with extreme care. Maduro’s sloppiness told you all you need to know about how professionally this process will be handled.
But the problem went deeper: Neither restructuring nor refinancing seemed remotely realistic. Either one would amount to a delicate high-stakes negotiation with foreign bondholders: talks where the Venezuelan side has to persuade them they’ll still get paid, only perhaps not so soon, or not so much. But Maduro decreed a restructuring and/or refinancing.
It just doesn’t work that way.
Maduro needs to persuade investors to believe in Venezuela. But the economy is in the middle of a horrific collapse. October’s monthly inflation is pegged at 45.5 percent. A profound three-year economic depression has brought per-capita incomes all the way back to 1950s levels. Food shortages have become endemic, with large majorities of Venezuelans involuntarily losing body weight because they can’t afford enough to eat. Basic development indicators such as maternal mortality are in free fall, while long-eradicated diseases such as diphtheria and malaria are making a terrifying comeback.
Does this sound like a country you’d want to invest in?
Venezuela needs profound economic reforms just to put an end to the economic chaos. Rebuilding the kind of economy a sane international investor might want to lend money to on reasonable terms will take years. It will take a root-and-branch rethink of every aspect of economic policy. It will take major reforms to reestablish property rights and investment guarantees, to rein in the uncontrolled money-printing that has already set off a bout of corrosive hyperinflation and to put in place credible policymaking systems that give investors confidence we won’t go down this failed path again.
Needless to say, Maduro offered no economic reforms of any kind. It felt as though he’s so used to autocratic decision-making at home that he has lost any notion that he can’t just order investors around.
Which is why when Maduro said “refinancing,” Wall Street heard “default.” Credit-default swaps on Venezuelan debt plunged after his announcement, to levels that imply a 99.98 percent probability of default in the next five years.
It has taken a staggering accumulation of blunders and crimes to bring a country as rich as Venezuela to this point. World-class corruption, on its own, wouldn’t have been enough to bankrupt the Venezuelan petro-state. Aggressive mismanagement alone wouldn’t have done the trick. Mindless adherence to a failed ideology, by itself, wouldn’t have put us over the top.
It took a uniquely perverse combination of all three — uncontrolled corruption and rampant mismanagement, hand in hand with a failed ideology — to do the seemingly impossible: bankrupt a country floating atop $15 trillion worth of oil.I voted for Hillary Clinton. That means I am an elitist, out of touch, Hollywood libtard. I abuse my platform to preach my unrealistic, ultra-leftist political agenda without doing the proper research to backup my claims. I am grossly out of touch with the American everyman. I spend my time whining about the results of the election. I am “butt hurt” because I “lost” and I refuse to give Trump a chance.
You voted for Donald Trump. That means you are a racist, misogynistic, closed-minded xenophobe. You have zero empathy for the rights of the under-represented in this country. You are enabling, if not directly supporting, an “alt-right” movement that is paving the way for a neo-Nazi era in our country. You spend your time gloating because you “won” and refuse to listen to “idiot snowflake libtards” across the aisle.
I would love to say that all of these generalizations are false. But I can’t. Admittedly, I do sometimes preach ideals that are less than fully researched. And I don’t truly understand what it means to raise a family on the median American salary. On the flip side, I have also received so many shocking and hateful comments from some of my conservative Twitter followers that I can’t outright discount some of the gross generalizations being made about Trump supporters.
But I think we can all agree that the larger story is much more complex. And that we all reside much more in the gray zone than social media would have us believe. For instance, this libtard grew up in a middle class Republican household. My parents were conservatives who appreciated tax breaks so they could spend that money as they saw fit, believing they knew better than the government where to put it. I have carried this philosophy with me, and that very fiscal conservatism has been the model upon which I have made independent films and built my entire career.
We all reside much more in the gray zone than social media would have us believe.
Conversely, I recently met a Trump voter who gives 10 percent of everything she makes to her church. She believes in her pastor, who has direct connections with the members of her community, to dole out the charitable gifts to deserving families who need help with food, clothing and rent. She, essentially, believes in “taxing” those with more and handing it out to the poor who arguably need it most.
I am a fiscally conservative libtard.
She is an empathetic Trump supporter.
And in these slivers of crossover I can’t help but think... is there a chance for us?
So, I recently tried something with a group of friends. For my 40th birthday this year, I was feeling pressure to throw a big party. But I am straight up cheap so I decided to throw a small, bare bones beans and rice dinner at our house and instead donate to a charitable cause what I might have spent on a lavish party. I asked my friends to come over and forego any potential gifts. We all sat around my living room that night, a mixed group of mostly liberals but some conservatives, and we tried to find a cause that we could all agree upon. After some awkwardness (and some disagreement that led to some arguing) we all agreed that children, hunger, and clean water were causes that nearly everyone could get behind. So, my friends cobbled together what they normally would have spent buying me gifts I don’t need. My wife Katie and I matched that very amount (we had saved a ton by not throwing an expensive party). Then we launched a fundraiser online. My amazing fans (a true mix of liberals and conservatives) came together and collectively matched that amount. Then, we found a corporate sponsor at the Children’s Defense Fund to match that amount and we brought the total number to $16,400.
We didn’t save the world. But we did something.
Perhaps more important is the model we discovered. We were a group with disparate beliefs who came together and found a sliver of common ground in the charitable space that we could all support and feel good about. We reached across the aisle and it wasn’t that difficult. Simple discoveries such as “we all believe that innocent children, born into unfortunate situations, deserve a boost.” And, “we all agree that we should hand out fishing poles instead of fish, so that those we are trying to help can ultimately become sustainable without our help.” And, “the eradication of world hunger through education and cheap, sustainable farming and clean water systems is an empirically great thing.”
Bottom line is, we may disagree on 98 percent of what will improve the world and how to go about it. But what if we sift through the 98 percent of what we disagree on and find that 2 percent of common ground? You might say “well, that’s just lowest common denominator thinking.” And, you’re right. But I also believe that the spirit of giving and support is contagious. That if we start with the 2 percent we share, that number will grow on its own. That once this energy starts, its positivity spirals out of control like a virus. In short, that if we start with what we agree on, instead of arguing about what we don’t agree on, we might be able to grow that seed from the ground up into something big.
So that’s my plan. Finding charitable causes that we can all agree upon. And launching campaigns to help those causes. Together.
Call me a libtard. Call me unrealistic. But I think this is doable.Hello everybody, and welcome to my theoretical patch notes for a completely fake set of card changes!
I decided to write this quick article as a result of the community’s reaction to not only the lack of recent balance changes, but also the low power level of Return to Clockwork City. The Core Set is obviously full of staples, Madhouse Collection gave us Market, Altar, Gardener, and Stoneshard, Dark Brotherhood gave us Unstoppable Rage and many staples across various archetypes like Brotherhood Slayer, Dark Guardian, The Black Dragon, and more, and Heroes of Skyrim gave us the infamous Soul Tear/Drain Vitality combo, Archer’s Gambit, Crusader’s Assault, and more cards that needed quick nerfs – which lead to the last set of real balance changes. So far, nothing close to the cards I mentioned has made itself apparent in Return to Clockwork City.
What has instead occurred is a continuation of the meta where Aggro Crusader, Rage Archer, and Ramp Scout are still widely considered the three best decks. Others can compete, like Token strategies, Control Mage, and various Midrange decks, but the issue isn’t so much that there aren’t enough decks that can compete (as virtually any of them can get you to high legend), the issue is that very little among them has changed. Yes, the meta is, for all intents and purposes, still “diverse,” but after five months of the same basic spread of decks, many players were looking for an expansion that at least switched up the power levels among those decks and breathed serious new life into a couple others.
While Excavate and The Mechanical Heart might serve to help Support Control Mage and Grappling Hook might boost Ramp/Control Warrior somewhat, many of these players expected more – and if we’re being perfectly honest, so did I.
I always hesitated calling metagames “stale” in the past, but with five full months between expansions, no concrete date for the next one as of yet, and the apparent power level of Return to Clockwork City, I think this one qualifies. It’s with this in mind that I will propose a few theoretical changes with the purpose not so much to make a more balanced meta, but to shake things up. Balance is something we have. Excitement and the feeling of novelty coming from new decks looking to perform highly, not so much.
Changing The Big Three Decks
The first thing to consider is that if we are to shake things up without power creeping the current card pool, the issue of Ramp Scout/Rage Archer/Aggro Crusader needs to be addressed. These decks aren’t more powerful than I would expect the top three decks to be in any card game per se, but I was expecting tools released to make other decks seem comparable. At the moment, the raw power level of these decks is higher than just about anything else.
Soul Tear
Level 1 and Level 2 now read, “Draw a non-Unique creature from your discard pile.”
Level 2 still gives +2/+2, level 3 slightly nerfed to +4/+4
Text added to the end of the effect at all levels: “When that creature dies, banish it.”
These changes are to address some of the big issues that make the card upsetting to play against. For starters, the nerf I applied to the level three buff is small, but the new benefit of level three according to my changes is the ability to recycle Unique Legendary creatures such as Tazkad and Red Bramman – something that is currently available at all three levels. We’ve all heard horror stories of someone ramping into a very early Tazkad or Paarthurnax and then looping them two or three more times, allowing too much flexibility in a deck that has the easiest time bringing out unique legendaries in the first place.
The Banish text seems like a no-brainer to me. A card like Memory Wraith would need to be played at the exact right time to remove the correct target, and the Soul Tear player can just wait for a different powerful target to loop a lot of the time. However, now that banishment exists in this game thanks to the Wraith, it seems reasonable that it would be applied to Soul Tear as well. This means that even if the Soul Tear player has leveled up the Shout to 3 by the time the first one is played to loop the unique Paarthurnax or Tazkad, there is an additional safety measure in place to prevent such a thing. It also prevents cycling the same copy of Giant Bat multiple times in the same turn for massive life gain if that were the only copy played until that point of the game. To me, it also fits the “lore” of the card; the action is called Soul Tear – is that really something that can happen to the same creature more than once?
Hist Grove
Magicka cost increased from 3 to 4
I wanted to include another small nerf to Ramp Scout, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly the right card. Hist Grove is a decent choice, I feel, because of a few things:
It is simultaneously one of the main win conditions and the means with which to achieve that win condition Tree Minder exists on turn three already, so bumping up Hist Grove’s cost doesn’t immediately end Ramp’s ability to start ramping on turns 2/3 It is a monthly reward card from September 2016 – over 14 months ago from the time I’m writing this. There has been no way to receive this card besides soul summoning (crafting) it for over a year, and this does slightly raise the barrier to entry to new players when an unobtainable card has been so staple for so long
Gaining max magicka repeatedly and then playing giant things is not particularly interesting or interactive. As Scout, you look for ramp and then you look for the big things. Against Scout, you hope to kill them before the ramp reaches a peak or hope they simply don’t draw enough of it. In Hearthstone, the win rate of Midrange Druid in my time (and the feeling of playing against it) changed dramatically depending on whether or not Wild Growth was drawn to be played in the first couple turns.
In this game, we have tons of Wild Growths – way more than I would have expected. Tree Minder and Hist Grove on three, Thorn Histmage’s ridiculous value on five, and Spine of Eldersblood on six, although many Ramp Scouts are content to “only” play nine effective Wild Growths. (Other options such as Archein Venomtongue exist, but come with appropriate drawbacks and only see play in other archetypes.) As such, it’s not simply one Wild Growth and then hoping your opponent can’t capitalize on playing everything one turn sooner with a perfect curve, it’s often three or four turns in a row of this type of ramp attached to reasonable bodies like Thorn Histmage, causing games where one player has almost double the magicka of the opponent by turn six or seven to not be infrequent.
The perfect Ramp Start of a turn three Wild Growth effect into a Thorn Histmage is very hard to beat. Moving Hist Grove to four makes it occur half as often, with only Tree Minder. I also caution against printing more simple Wild Growth + upside cards, and would prefer they have drawbacks or encourage specific deck-building like Archein Venomtongue. Although Tree Minder has more value on the board on turn three than Hist Grove, the trade-off is that Hist Grove has way more value in the late game, so it’s a more appropriate nerf in my opinion as it doubles as a win condition. This has the upside of leaving Scout with a reasonable three-magicka play to begin ramping.
With this proposed change, I believe Hist Grove would remain part of the win condition of Scout, just at a more appropriate power level to allow new win conditions to be released and thrive, something to consider if we want new expansions to be successful for Ramp and other archetypes.
Ulfric’s Housecarl
Text changed from “When an enemy rune is destroyed” to “After an enemy rune is destroyed”
Stats reduced from 3/4 to 3/3
Dawnstar Healer. Relentless Raider.
Both of the cards I just mentioned have seen the exact same text change I’m proposing to Ulfric’s Housecarl, and it’s actually a little insane to me that Housecarl hasn’t received the same treatment yet. Clearly, Dawnstar and Raider both see a copious amount of play in their current forms, and while they were actually nerfed to prevent various one-turn-kills from being unstoppable by Prophecies (Ring of Namira with double Dawnstar, and Wispmother summoning 5 Relentless Raiders), the nerfs also served to make the games feel more fair in everyday use, as the vast majority of decks using the two cards were not aiming to win with one-turn-kills.
Ulfric’s Housecarl has no such one-turn-kill strategy associated with it, but the value it generates is absolutely immense for an Aggro strategy and this would allow some counter-play with the Prophecy mechanic. Getting a Lightning Bolt after the opponent had played an Ulfric’s Housecarl and started going for runes would give you the choice of actually denying the Housecarl’s card draw entirely, as opposed to them still getting the first card draw at least. This would give the reactive player more decent choices depending on the board state.
The stat nerf, as with the nerf to the Soul Tear buffs I proposed, would have less of an impact in my opinion. Although much of Ulfric’s Housecarl’s value occurs on the turn it is summoned, I do think allowing for easier trades into it and making it susceptible to common removal like Crushing Blow and Ice Storm is relevant.
Crusader’s Assault
Magicka cost increased from 3 to 4
This is a simple one. I don’t find Crusader’s Assault oppressive, and I very much like the options it gives to Crusader decks, but it fills a “jack-of-all-trades” role in Aggro in particular. It offers easier trades into problematic Guards while also helping to not lose card advantage at a very low cost. It can also be used with cards like Relentless Raider and Reive, Blademaster for huge potential value since those effects damage the opponent (sometimes multiple times in the case of Raider) and count as pilfering for the sake of the Assault. I think increasing the cost to four would make it less of an automatic three-of in Aggro Crusader while retaining its utility in the deck and others.
Notably, this card would still be able to be played with Unstoppable Rage in the same turn, but Ravenous Hunger > Crusader’s Assault > Unstoppable Rage would no longer be possible at 12 magicka from hand.
Unstoppable Rage
Magicka cost increased from 7 to 8
At the end of the effect, now states, “Any Breakthrough damage dealt in this way is halved (rounded up).”
I like this card a lot. There, I said it. I think it’s one of the few cards that breaks the monotony that Hearthstone falls under so much of the time which also occasionally plagues Legends, and that is the power of simply playing on curve as an Aggro or Midrange deck, or reacting on curve as a Control deck. I think Rage promotes unique deck-building, allows decks with Strength to function in the Control role, and also actually gives players something to attempt to play around that involves thinking about the relative power level of different creatures on the board when combined with Rage, and how punishing each situation would be. So no, I do not want to kill the card – apologies to some of you out there.
In that vein, I think increasing this card to eight magicka hardly kills the card. In fact, I think it’s a pretty reasonable cost since many of the from-hand combos are still possible: Fighters Guild, Sanctuary Pet, Ravenous Hunger, Falkreath Defiler, Moonlight Werebat, etc. can all still be played the same turn as Rage. In addition, Warrior can use Magicka Ramp to play the more powerful cards in one turn despite them costing more than 12 total magicka, and Archer can generate Completed Contracts to bypass this restriction.
Halving the Breakthrough damage is the questionable potential nerf, and this kills a lot of the one-turn-kill potential of the card. I still want Breakthrough to deal some amount of damage, and I definitely still think it needs to work on Lethal and Drain in full to support a viable Control deck using Strength, which is otherwise very hard to justify. However, reducing the chance of the Rage completely destroying your life total makes it feel a little less terrible to lose to in those circumstances. The Child of Hircine combo is still totally possible, yet a little more out of the way with Rage’s increased cost, and most Control Rage decks don’t play Child in the first place. This also affects curving from Night Shadow into Unstoppable Rage immediately, and removes Breakthrough lethals from that equation somewhat, still allowing it to generate life gain.
With this change, even though Breakthrough becomes less of a game-ender, Unstoppable Rage can still adequately perform its main function – punishing the stacking of a single lane – at a more appropriate cost. Games immediately end less of the time, Rage+Drain/Lethal is still possible from hand at a slightly higher cost and still need to be played around, and the edge of the card would be taken off while keeping it as one of the most powerful options in Strength, in my opinion.
Thieves Guild Recruit
Text changed to “Summon: Draw a card. If it costs 7 or more, reduce its cost by 1.”
This card might seem a little out of place on this list, but I believe this is one of the most pushed cards in Legends and I’m shocked very few people talk about its random ability to just outright win games in a way that’s near impossible to play around – something it has been doing for the 15 months I’ve been playing Legends. In addition, I think this theoretical patch would be a good time to nerf the card since it is an immediate 3-of in two of the three decks we want to reign in the power level of: Ramp Scout and Rage Archer.
A seemingly innocuous card like Thieves Guild Recuit is actually one of the main reasons you see so many Ramp Scout decks, but not so many Ramp decks in other classes, as well as so many Rage Archer decks, but not so many Rage decks in other classes. Besides being reasonable card draw (Hearthstone’s Novice Engineer with +1 Health), it often comes attached with a free 2-magicka bonus in those decks by reducing a powerful play for later. It does so as randomly as the cards are arranged on top of your deck and enables some of the least interactive games imaginable, as the opponent will have no idea if it even reduced something in the first place, or what it could be.
Seven-magicka Tazkads, 10-magicka Odahviings and Paarthurnaxes, and of course, the absolute insanity that can happen when an Unstoppable Rage is reduced by two – with my changes, a 5-cost Rage is not possble with those two cards, and instead of the new base cost of Rage would be potentially decreased down to seven if drawn off of the “new” Thieves Guild Recruit. This drastically cuts down on the crazy from-hand combo potential in Rage decks and the speed at which they can start occurring. In Ramp decks, it stops the already solid magicka ramp from capping out at a card that is not only coming out a couple turns early, but also vastly undercosted for what it does. Turn one ring into Thieves Guild, turn two ring into Tree Minder, turn three Ring into Thorn Histmage, and turn four 7-cost Tazkad or Red Bramman should not happen, yet it has happened – with current Soul Tear allowing for the immediate level 1 reuse of those cards to boot.
The main problem even outside those best-case scenarios is the issue with playing around a card before it would otherwise be legally playable, something that would still be possible with my change but less drastic. A free two magicka reduction can be compared to Hearthstone’s pre-nerf Innervate, when it used to gain two mana crystals instead of one. Pre-nerf Innervate showed how absurd getting that kind of effective reduction was, and with Thieves Guild Recruit, the ability to capitalize on that reduction is usually not immediate but has quite the impact and doesn’t even lose you any card advantage like the investment of an Innervate would.
I have heard some notable players call Thieves Guild Recruit one of the worst card designs in Legends, yet it often gets a pass because on the surface, it’s not a huge effect. However, I believe in its current form, it has been pushing decks into very specific classes through the occasional benefit of massively cheating the magicka curve and has overstayed its welcome.
Moving Forward
With these nerfs, I believe Soul Tear, Hist Grove, Ulfric’s Housecarl, and Unstoppable Rage would feel much fairer while powerful support cards like Thieves Guild Recruit and Crusader’s Assault would be reigned in somewhat. The goal here isn’t to make any of these unplayable, but make room for future cards to seem more enticing. I believe should this theoretical patch become a reality, all the cards mentioned would continue to see play with Ramp Scout, Rage Archer, and Aggro Crusader forming parts of the meta, yet with many of the worst parts of each reigned in somewhat. Other Aggro and Token decks would be that much closer in power level to those of Crusader, Unstoppable Rage would deal less one-turn-kills and there would be more of a reason to experiment with it in Crusader and Warrior as opposed to simply Archer, and Ramp Scout would keep the core that made it a strong deck with a bit more room for other, faster Midrange decks to compete with it through decreased consistency in ramp and Soul Tear usage.
None of this magically makes Return to Clockwork City more powerful than it is, but I believe if this patch were enacted, it would serve to change ladder trends more than the last three days with Clockwork City have. In reality, that would be my goal, and something I think the developers should focus on: making things feel different more often. I’m sure “best” decks would appear yet again, and maybe even a couple potentially overpowered once with future releases, but as long as the cycle continues and strategies continue to evolve, that’s the fun of card games.
Hopefully you all enjoyed the read, and until next time, here’s hoping for a vibrant and changing meta as we move into 2018!
AdvertisementsVANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 1 (UPI) -- A British Columbia man living in a polygamist sect has 25 wives and 101 children with brides as young as 15, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege.
Winston Blackmore, 52, is charged with one count of practicing polygamy as a member of the Bountiful sect, which has about 1,000 members, CTV News reported.
In an affidavit filed with the provincial Supreme Court, the RCMP alleges since 1976, Blackmore had nine child brides, four of whom were 15, CTV reported. Tuesday in Vancouver, he told reporters "that's wrong" as documents were being filed for a pre-trial hearing.
The RCMP named four of the brides who allegedly had their first children by Blackmore before they turned 18. Federal law was changed in 2008 to raise the age of marital consent to 16 from 14, CTV said.
His lawyers have said his defense will be the ban on polygamy violates Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for April, but Blackmore's lawyers are trying to have the case thrown out on procedural issues, CTV said.SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Supporters and opponents San Jose’s ballot Measure D, which would raise the city’s minimum wage to $10 an hour, held dueling press conferences on Monday.
As part of the campaign against the initiative, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce released the results of a study by Beacon Economics, LLC that predicts a number of potentially negative effects if the measure becomes law.
The report, “An Economic Analysis of Measure D: The San Jose Minimum Wage,” was commissioned by the California Restaurant Association at a cost of more than $10,000, according to Matt Mahood, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.
The study found that businesses in the restaurant and hospitality industry would be the hardest hit by the passage of Measure D, since about 25 percent of San Jose’s minimum wage jobs are in that industry, according to the report.
While the 2 p.m. press conference against Measure D was under way in the Chamber of Commerce’s downtown San Jose office on West Santa Clara Street, a group of about 20 students from San Jose State University and local community colleges including De Anza and Foothill protested on the corner outside. They held signs that read, “Raise the Wage: $8 is Not Enough!” and “It’s Time for $10.”
23-year-old Lisa Sallaz, who supports Measure D, is a student who supports herself with scholarships, student loans and the low-wage earnings she gets from her job at a downtown Starbucks.
Sallaz said she believes a similar law is already working well in San Francisco, where the minimum wage is $10.24 per hour — $2.24 higher than the state-mandated $8 per hour.
But opponents of Measure D say the study by Beacon Economics indicates that the measure sets up the city to lose between 900 and 3 |
a drink of La Máscara on my martini glass so I can drink while watching some Real Housewives drama BAM!Make sure to follow La Máscara on Twitter and Facebook! You can also follow the official website for future updates here! Are you ready for La Máscara? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! #ShineShineShinePhoto Credits: La MáscaraRoy Finch: Not just a kick returner anymore.
Not if you saw what he did on offence in Edmonton last weekend.
Sure, it was just the one play.
But what a play.
With the Stamps trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, the speedster took a short dump pass from Bo Levi Mitchell on a second-and-20.
Finch, who took a punt back 85 yards for his first CFL touchdown on Labour Day, turned it upfield and got about 20 yards and six inches.
“It’s Week 12 now so it feels good (to contribute),” Finch said. “It’s a testament to being patient and continuing to work hard.
“I knew my chances of getting into the offence would happen later in the year. So I’m excited that I’m playing ball and factoring into the offence now.
“Just to make a play when my team needed me and my coach trusted in me, it was amazing. I’m looking forward to making a lot more plays like that in the future.”
The Stamps tied the game on the next play when Mitchell hit DaVaris Daniels for the second of his two touchdowns en route to a 34-28 overtime victory over the Eskimos.
“That’s what we thrive on, players who truly do things for our team and for the white horse,” Mitchell said. “He took it upon himself and willed it out.”
Finch rolled his ankle and twisted his knee at the end of the play but, after watching Lemar Durant handle one punt return, returned to the field before the game ended.
And after sitting out Tuesday’s workout, the 5-foot-7, 171-pounder was back sprinting down the sidelines on Wednesday as the Stamps prepare for Saturday’s date with the Ottawa RedBlacks (3 p.m. at McMahon Stadium, TSN/News Talk 770).
“He’s gaining my confidence as far as being assignment-sound,” Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson said. “At the tailback position, the first thing you have to know is protection.
“You have to know our (CFL) rules and you have to make sure our quarterback stays upright. He’s doing a good job and he’s learning.
“He really felt at first like he was just a returner. He has to understand now that he’s a big part of that backfield and has to be ready to play the whole game. With Tory (Harrison) not available, certainly Roy has to step up.”
Harrison (ankle) practiced on Tuesday but Dickenson will opt for the cautious approach with his backup tailback.
Finch said he’s more than ready to take on additional duties.
“I’m pretty sharp on my protections right now,” Finch said. “I think it’s just a case of Coach Dicky saying, ‘OK, this is the game we want to put him in fulltime, and he’ll have the whole offence open to him and see what he can do.’
“My protections felt sharp (on Wednesday), I knew what I was doing, played fast.
“I have a lot of experience pass protecting in bigtime games in college at Oklahoma, so it’s nothing I’m not used to. It’s just repping it and the coaches seeing it done right every single time at practice.”
Whatever is asked of him on Saturday, Finch is focused on helping the Red & White extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
“We have something very special going on right now,” Finch said. “We all know it in the locker-room. We talk about it.
“We want to stay hungry and stay humble and keep the younger guys, and the guys who aren’t playing as much, into it.
“We don’t want to lose them mentally. We need those guys to stay into it for us to get to the Grey Cup.”
O-LINE SHUFFLE
Shane Bergman was out.
Ucambre Williams was back in.
And practice roster mainstay Randy Richards was working with the starters.
Just another day with the Calgary Stampeders’ injury-decimated offensive line.
The Stamps used a number of different combinations but if Bergman (concussion protocol) can’t go, left tackle Derek Dennis will likely slide to guard with Richards filling in at tackle.
Dickenson wasn’t sure of Bergman’s availability.
“We just felt we needed to give him another day or two,” Dickenson said. “Certainly he’s in jeopardy (for Saturday) but he’s not out yet.
“It’s one of those things where you go with the protocols and we always want to side on the safe side with head injuries.
“I told him if it’s not quite right, let’s go with the regular protocol and we’ll see how it plays out for the rest of the week.”
sfisher@postmedia.com
Twitter:@ScottFisherPMThe forthcoming general election is scheduled for a neat five weeks before the due date of pregnant Labour MP Rachel Reeves.
Should Ms Reeves be offered a cabinet post in the wake of a Labour victory, however, the timing would not be a problem: she has announced that she would be perfectly capable of abolishing the “bedroom tax” within about a fortnight. She’d then nip off a month before the summer recess to give birth, resuming the post of work and pensions secretary in September.
Bloody hell. I take a week off if I stub my toe.
So I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for Andrew Rosindell, Tory MP for Romford, when he questioned Ms Reeves’s suitability for the post by saying: “I don’t want to say someone who is having a baby is not eligible to be a cabinet minister, but I certainly think perhaps the demands of that particular job will require someone to give it their full attention.”
Oh poor Andrew Rosindell. Poor, tired, middle-aged Andrew Rosindell.
I don’t doubt for a moment that fizzy, energetic, motivated thirtysomething Rachel Reeves is able to work until the baby comes and be back at her desk a few weeks later, juggling career and childcare with the dexterity and determination you’d expect of someone who’s achieved the meteoric success she has already.
But Andrew Rosindell is just normal, just human; just a hapless backbencher on the cusp of 50, who’s probably knackered at the thought of taking his dog for a walk.
It’s been an exhausting few years for Andrew Rosindell. His struggle to reinstate the death penalty continues without success. He’s been in trouble for parking in a disabled space, claiming £1.31 for a pot of jellied eels and voicing his love of General Pinochet.
Equal marriage has been legalised and animals banned from circuses, despite Andrew’s best attempts to campaign otherwise. The world is ruined. It’s all gay brides and happy elephants. Everything’s awful.
When Andrew Rosindell looks wearily at Rachel Reeves as she zooms, blooming, between her shadow cabinet post, her constituency and her various BBC gigs, and he says her prospective new job would “require someone to give it their full attention”, what he means is: “It takes my full attention to get the lid off the biscuit tin. God help me if I’m trying to watch Wolf Hall at the same time. I have to keep rewinding. Which Thomas is that again? The Catholic one?”
But be careful what we wish for. At the other end of the spectrum from lovely-juggly Rachel Reeves and her couple-of-months’ maternity leave is Tracey Wright of Suffolk, a divorcee and mother who’s just been told by a judge that she should get a job and stop expecting her ex-husband (a millionaire racehorse surgeon) to support her for life.
Lord Justice Pitchford upheld last year’s ruling from Judge Lynn Roberts that: “The world of work has innumerable possibilities … It is possible to find work that fits in with childcare … Vast numbers of women with children just get on with it and Mrs Wright should have done as well.”
Rachel Reeves is getting on with it, and how. Does that mean every woman should? If so, when? Mrs Wright’s marriage broke up when her children were seven and one. She had been a stay-at-home mother. Perhaps she felt it would have been too traumatic for the children, as well as herself, to change everything at once.
She’s now 51, with a 10-year-old at home, and she’s been out of the job market for many years. What’s she going to be offered? Not the post of work and pensions secretary, that’s for sure.
I don’t know the emotional circumstances of this case or who left whom (which always strikes me as morally relevant in divorce settlements, even if it’s never taken into account for practical reasons), but I think we need to be awfully careful.
All genders have inherent biological frailities. Of the main two: men die younger, and possess in their youth an aimless physical energy that means they are not only more likely to commit violent crime but also to be a victim of it. Their role in childbirth, however, is over after a few ecstatic seconds and they can keep performing it pretty much forever. It doesn’t really interfere with any options at all.
Whatever the warp and weft of the world, has anything really changed when a man marries a woman at 25, they have a few children and he runs off with someone younger when his wife is 55? It’s still likely that the wife has compromised or at least delayed her career potential with the physical and emotional brakes of childbirth. It is certainly the case that the man has more to offer future partners, being able to start again with a whole new family, while the woman’s fertility has fizzled out.
The wife’s future is bleaker, lonelier and (ironically) longer in that break-up; the whole point of the marriage contract was to protect her from it. Men were promising that, if they took the benefit of a woman’s youth, fertility and freest years, they’d stay for ever.
When that idea became old hat, divorce settlements were a depressing but vitally protective replacement. But if a woman now can’t expect that support to last a lifetime (as Tracey Wright has been told), then what does the original contract mean? No more than a tissue-paper Valentine’s card.
Enabling the ambitions and abilities of driven women like Rachel Reeves was an important early step in feminism. I shiver to think of a world before I was born, when all women were dismissed as weak and frail.
But, in learning to respect that kind of rubbery, bounce-back strength, don’t let’s start demanding it of everybody. That would be a frightening world, too.Erik Gottfrid Christian Brandt (31 August 1884 – 22 October 1955) was a Swedish politician (Social Democratic) and a deputy in the Swedish Parliament in the years 1938–1943.
Brandt came from a southern Swedish pastor's family. After studying at the University of Lund in 1911, he became schoolteacher in Luleå. From 1915, he served as inspector of schools in the province of Dalarna. In 1938, he was elected to the first chamber of the Swedish Parliament, which he belonged until 1943. Brandt got through two deaths and two resignations from party colleagues a promising list place.
Brandt is best known for his failed nomination of Adolf Hitler for the Nobel Peace Prize on the eve of World War II.[1] The nomination was quickly withdrawn as Brandt, who was an antifascist, never intended for it to be a serious proposal and instead saw it only as a "satiric criticism" on another concurrent nomination, namely that of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.[1]SYDNEY, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A plane dousing wildfires in bushland around the Australia's biggest city, Sydney, crashed into a national park on Thursday, sparking a new fire to add to 55 still burning across the state of New South Wales.
The accident happened as the immediate threat from the fires eased thanks to cooler weather, but the Rural Fire Service (RFS) warned of hot and dry weather ahead as summer hits its peak.
"It's hard to definitely say that (the worst is over) at this stage," said RFS spokeswoman Natalie Sanders. "We have got cooler temperatures today and the winds are slightly lower but with these fires still going, it's hard to say how long they'll go for and whether there will be any further damage."
More than 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since last Thursday, when fires tore through Sydney's outskirts, razing entire streets. One man died from a heart attack while trying to save his home.
The RFS said it held "grave concerns" for the pilot of a water bomber fixed-wing aircraft that crashed in the Budawang National Park, 270 km (170 miles) southwest of Sydney, a wilderness area of steep mountainsides and forests popular with hikers and campers.
Sanders said 20 of the 55 fires still burning on Thursday had yet to be contained by firefighters, who fear strong winds may see three major fires in the Blue Mountains commuter district west of Sydney join up in coming days, creating one massive wildfire.
The fires have so far burned through more than 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) and have a perimeter of some 1,600 km (990 miles).
Police have arrested several children suspected of starting fires. Other fires were sparked by power lines arcing in strong winds, according to the RFS.Home prices in the Northwest continued to climb at a double-digit pace in June compared to a year ago, easily twice the rate for the nation’s 20 largest metro areas, according to the Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index.
WASHINGTON — Home prices in the Northwest continued to climb at a double-digit pace in June compared to a year ago, easily twice the rate for the nation’s 20 largest metro areas.
Seattle home prices rose 11 percent, second only to Portland, where prices rose 12.6 percent, according to the Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday.
For the top 20 markets, prices increased 5.1 percent in June compared with a year ago. That’s down from a 5.3 percent annual gain in May and is the slowest year-over-year pace since last August.
Portland, Seattle and Denver have topped the list of price gains for the past five months. From May to June, Seattle prices rose 1.4 percent, again trailing only Portland at 1.6 percent.
Home values have slowed to more sustainable rates elsewhere. In Northeastern cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., they are rising at roughly the rate of inflation, and in Boston, less than 5 percent.
Still, nationwide prices are increasing more quickly than incomes as buyers compete for the dwindling supply of available homes. That reflects an ongoing imbalance in the housing market that could stifle sales in the coming months.
“June represents the fifth straight month of flat or decreasing year-over-year price gains, but homebuyers are still being challenged as prices outpace income growth,” Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at real estate data provider Trulia, said.
Cities in the Midwest were mixed. Over 12 months, home prices in Cleveland and Chicago rose 2.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, while in Minneapolis they climbed 5.1 percent, the same as the nationwide pace.
Southern cities saw stronger price gains. They rose 8.9 percent in Dallas, 7.9 percent in Tampa, and 5.8 percent in Atlanta.
“Nationally, home prices have risen at a consistent 4.8 percent annual pace over the last two years without showing any signs of slowing,” said David Blitzer, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The 20-city price index plunged after the housing bubble started to burst in 2006, plummeting by more than a third before prices began to rise again in March 2012. In June, they were still 8.1 percent below their peak level.
The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The June figures are the latest available.Eyes on the Street: The Case of the Missing Bike Lanes
The streets have been repaved. Lane striping, crosswalks, and stop bars have been added back. But there’s something missing from two streets in DOT’s bike network: bike lanes.
In Williamsburg, Driggs Avenue has been repaved — but you would never know it’s a key bike connection from the Williamsburg Bridge. The street has all its stripes back except the bike lane markings.
In Lower Manhattan, Lafayette Street between Canal and Chambers was also recently repaved. Markings were added back, but so far not the buffered bike lane. Instead, many motorists are now using what should be the bike lane space as a driving lane.
DOT did not respond to a query about why the bike lanes are taking longer to paint than the rest of the street markings.
Lafayette Street, which feeds directly to the Brooklyn Bridge path and is lined with Citi Bike stations, is wide enough for a protected bike lane. North of Prince Street, Lafayette already has a protected lane: When DOT repaved that section last year, it upgraded the bike lane. DOT said it didn’t take advantage of this year’s repaving to upgrade the other section of Lafayette because it would have had to go before the community board for a significant street redesign.
It seems DOT has limited how much it uses road resurfacing to improve street design and safety. Converting a striped bike lane into a buffered bike lane? Easy. Converting a buffered bike lane into a protected bike lane? Apparently that’s too tough.The only problem is, the illness cannot possibly be attributed to the President of the United States. Rather, Dan, to his disingenuous and unhinged detractors and a one-sided-one-track media that has lost all sense of shame and decency and honor.
REFLECTIONS ON DONALD TRUMP'S MENTAL HEALTH
The narratives parroted by the global media, bouncing the fictions off each other the way CNN talking heads bounce Trump-hate off each other every moment, as the Trump-Russia Collusion scandal has collapsed around their heads, was The Outing. We all now know that the inventions turned out to be a mainstream media-DNC-Clinton-Obama fabrication, collaboration, collusion and conspiracy. Plain old laughable fraud. Doubling down on their political loss last November, on their diabolical and chronic lies, and on their impotence, is the new narrative, that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is certifiably insane. History repeats itself, if not exactly the same way. George W. Bush was a moron.
Gerald Ford was an idiot.
Ronald Reagan was a “dunce.” Republicans - as historically portrayed by the same people - are either stupid or insane.
And if not either, evil. Of course this narrative pre-existed the collapse of the collusion fictions that Vladimir Putin forced 63 million “misguided” and clearly insane American deplorables to pull the lever for Donald Trump that fateful November 8th. Donald Trump you see, is mentally ill, mostly because he doesn’t lie down to be kicked in the groin, and chooses instead to go over the media’s heads by using Twittter or any other means to disrupt the DNC-Media alliance and their frauds. Trump refuses to be filtered by the self-same hostile media that would convey either a twisted version, or the very opposite of words he meant for the public to hear. The evidence for Donald Trump’s lack of mental health is in: He refuses to cooperate with the leftwing’s agendas and their rewriting of history, of his achievements and goals, as he goes about willy-nilly in five months disassembling everything the media’s god-in-waiting, Barack Obama and his team mates, have assembled over eight years. The entire Democrat-Leftwing agenda is now burning in the circular file where it belongs. In other words, the United States was heading steadily toward the Bay Area for a solid eight years, when Trump turned the Ship of State 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Meanwhile the media and their fellow travelers got sea sick, and Prozac is not enough to cure the upchucking.
After the US media (with few exceptions) held a monopoly of advocacy for the leftwing “One World” world view of no states and open borders, the outrage that that monopoly has ended resulted in a pathology and panic not seen since the Wall Street crash of 1929, when traders and their mistresses jumped out of windows holding hands. What we are witnessing is another mass hysteria, mass meltdown, and the unraveling of the liberal-progressive-leftwing mind, on a grand scale, across the globe. The leftwing world view and agendas that have been so deeply ingrained into each liberal soul by the media and its acolytes, as they believed, “what is,” is; that as the president keeps fulfilling his promises daily, the political left finds out that “what is” not only “isn’t,” but it never was. One of the signs of mental illness is a psychological phenomenon known as PROJECTION:
THREE EXAMPLES OF DONALD TRUMP’S MENTAL ILLNESS ““San Francisco to pay illegal alien $190K after violating their own sanctuary city policy An undocumented immigrant is set to receive $190,000 from the City of San Francisco because police there violated a “sanctuary city” ordinance. The case began in December 2015, when Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, 33, went to police to report that his car had been stolen. But police found that he was an undocumented immigrant from Honduras and had a 10-year-old warrant for a crime they couldn’t find any information on, though it would later be discovered the warrant was for a minor drug charge. Police then called Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to detain him. He would end up spending several weeks in detention before getting released.” Clearly, if you weren’t yet aware, San Francisco is a sovereign nation with its own immigration laws, foreign policy, and language. The rest of the nation was barely aware of this circumstance until recently, when law-abiding guests, speakers invited to lecture at Berkeley and similar places of higher culture, were disinvited by uninvited “guests” and burned out of their ability to speak to those who had invited them - as the “Burn it Down!” folk call the speakers “fascists,” and themselves “Anti-Fascists.” “University to Remove Crosses, Bibles & Altar from Campus Chapel East Central University said they will remove crosses, Bibles and other religious symbols from a campus chapel to appease a bunch of out-of-town agitators. It’s unclear when the Oklahoma school will commence with the Christian cleansing of the Kathryn P. Boswell Memorial Chapel. The chapel opened in 1957.” Clearly, religious symbols do not belong in a chapel, synagogue or church. Rather, Dan, they belong in grade school, they are to be green in color, or preferably BLACK, they are to be called Q’uorans, and they are to be used in conjunction with small prayer rugs issued to your children at state expense. So they can learn religion. Inshallah.
BREAKING! The most significant news item on the very day that CNN - the Clinton News Network - was exposed for deliberately faking the news and conspiring to redirect “what is” to one theme that was exploding around their heads, now ongoing for two years the very day the president passed two legislative triumphs on immigration, is MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski’s botched face lift. It was exposed by a presidential tweet after the self-same co-host with her allegedly-cuckolded husband had for a solid two years disrespected, slimed, defamed, cursed and maligned the President of the United States who apparently lost interest in Mika. MSNBC’s shameless, disingenuous, ongoing assault, day after day, week after week, and month after month, would not cease. Every show was the same show as it is on CNN, with only the faces, suits and dresses that changed. And when the president throws a pebble at the stone throwers who live in glass houses, their heads explode: “How dare you criticize us, have you no shame?!” The above is a very short list of examples of MENTAL ILLNESS ongoing in the US media these days that goes for “news.” There are literally tens of thousands of similar reporting throughout the land. The only problem is, the illness cannot possibly be attributed to the President of the United States. Rather, Dan, to his disingenuous and unhinged detractors and a one-sided-one-track media that has lost all sense of shame and decency and honor.
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Andrew G. Benjamin is a real estate and tax specialist, equities trader, a former economic advisor to New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani; serving on the transition team’s Subcommittee on Taxation, Finance and the Budget. Benjamin also wrote extensively about intelligence, economic issues, the Mideast, terrorism, technology, high end audio and transnational politics.
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So there will be another war. Last night, the House of Commons decided, by 397 votes to 223, to carry out airstrikes in Syria. After the result had been announced, after the morbid spectacle as hundreds of overstuffed suits cheered the news that people would shortly be dying at their hands, the Speaker and a few MPs congratulated each other on an orderly and decorous debate, on being sensible and well-mannered as they discussed whether or not to throw dynamite at people from out of the sky. We will bomb Syria, not because it'll make anything better, but for purely symbolic and autotelic reasons: to be seen to be bombing, to kill for the sake of having killed. (Who else behaves like this?) So it's not surprising that as the eternal war continues to spin out forever, all anyone wants to talk about is how great Hilary Benn's speech was.
During the debate, Hilary Benn MP, son of the great socialist campaigner Tony Benn, delivered a 14-minute speech in which he defied Jeremy Corbyn to express his support for an air war in Syria, and seemingly everyone agrees that it was wonderful, statesmanlike stuff. He might be endorsing a thousand years of blood and slaughter, but what great rhetoric.
The reviews are pouring in, as if this were a West End musical instead of the overture to a massacre. "Truly spellbinding", the Spectator gushes. "Fizzing with eloquence", gurgles the Times. "Electric", gloops the Guardian. The Telegraph's Dan Hodges, who can reliably be called upon to provide the worst possible opinion at any given time, goes further. "He did not look like the leader of the opposition," he writes. "He looked like the prime minister."
But none of this is true. It is, however, a very convenient stance for those who see failure to drool at the prospect of an aerial bombardment as an unpardonable offence, and something that they hope to turn into fact by constant repetition.
Hilary Benn's speech was not the masterstroke of a consummate statesman; it was disingenuous nonsense. Even on the level of pure rhetoric: he imitated better speakers by occasionally varying his tone, rising from a sincere whisper to tub-thumping declamation without much regard for the actual content of what he was saying; this is now apparently what passes from great oratory. The speech was liberally garnished with dull clichés: "clear and present danger", "safe haven", "shoulder to shoulder", "play our part", "do our bit". He said "Daesh" a lot, and mispronounced it every time.
As if the self-image of the British state were worth a single innocent life.
And then there's what he actually said. Hilary Benn has form here: he voted for the 2003 war in Iraq (making him far more responsible for the rise of Isis than some of the people who will die in the airstrikes he's so passionately promoting) and the disastrous 2011 air war in Libya. Much of his speech is familiar invocation of the just war doctrine: laying out the brutality of Isis, as if the eight British jets we're sending could put an end to it; asking "what message would [not acting] send?", as if the self-image of the British state were worth a single innocent life.
But along the way Benn made a few comments that were really startling, both callous and clunky. He mentioned the inevitability of civilian casualties only once. "Unlike Daesh", he said, "none of us today act with the intent to harm civilians. Rather, we act to protect civilians from Daesh, who target innocent people." Well, that's fine then. As if our sincere good wishes mean anything when we're lobbing bombs at a city from 30,000 feet.
He declared that the United Nations had been founded because, "we wanted the nations of the world working together to deal with threats to international peace and security," rather than with the goal of abolishing wars altogether – wars like the one Hilary Benn MP helped start in 2003, which led to the one he helped start last night.
He gave a strange sort of credence to David Cameron's absurd claim that there are 70,000 ground troops in the Syrian opposition ready and waiting to help Britain defeat Isis – while admitting that it's simply not true, he insisted that, "whatever the number, 70,000, 40,000, 80,000," their existence requires us to act now. Maybe there are a million, he may as well have said. Maybe there's just one.
All of this was followed by a truly cackhanded coda. Addressing his colleagues in the Labour party, Benn said:
"We are here faced by fascists. [...] And what we know about fascists is that they need to be defeated. And it is why, as we have heard tonight, socialists and trade unionists and others joined the International Brigade in the 1930s to fight against Franco. It is why our party has always stood up against the denial of human rights and for justice. And my view, Mr Speaker, is that we must now confront this evil."
It's a very strange comparison to make, especially as he aligns himself with a Tory war. During the Spanish Civil War, thousands of British left-wingers did indeed join up to fight against the fascists, but Benn's new friends weren't great supporters of the effort. George Orwell writes in The Lion and the Unicorn of the "frightening spectacle of Conservative MPs wildly cheering the news that British ships, bringing food to the Spanish Republican government, had been bombed by Italian aeroplanes."
The British government choosing to attack a city halfway across the world for no good reason and to no great effect doesn't have much in common with the heroism of the thousands who travelled to Spain, volunteering their lives against fascism. But there are other analogues. During the Spanish Civil War, the first mass aerial bombardment of a population centre was carried out by German and Italian pilots over the Basque town of Guernica. The town itself had little military importance; it's possible the fascists committed their slaughter their just to see what their weapons could do. Up to 300 people died as they tried to go about their lives; the town was almost entirely destroyed. Afterwards, the massacre inspired a painting by Pablo Picasso, Guernica; a copy hangs in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations, put there to remind the delegates of the consequences of war. Clearly, as Hilary Benn's speech shows, it isn't working.
@sam_kriss
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A fundamentalist organisation run by a former police officer turned preacher has reportedly been disbanded.
The Christian Congress for Traditional Values, founded in 2005, was instrumental in organising anti-gay demonstrations outside Parliament opposing the Sexual Orientation Regulations.
The closure of CCTV was sparked when its founder, former Met officer Michael Reid, was caught having an affair with the choir mistress of his church in Brentwood.
A CCTV campaign in January, which took the form of a mobile poster, “Gay Aim: Abolish the Family,” breached Advertising Standards Authority code.
In April, founding member and preacher of family values Bishop Reid stepped down after he admitted to an eight year extra-marital relationship with his church’s music director, Sheila Graziano.
64 year-old Reid is a former police officer and insurance salesman, who entered Christian ministry without any formal theological education.
More than thirty years ago he founded Peniel Pentecostal Church in Essex, which was later renamed “Michael Reid Ministries.”
The organisation also runs a school with 170 pupils aged 2 to 19 and a college in Brentwood, as well as a TV ministry.
He has reportedly been dismissed from all posts at Peniel.
Reid is known for his far-right views, such as gays are “filthy perverts” and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists are variously described in videoed sermons as “vile” and “foul heathens.”
Christians who do not work, Reid said in one video recording, should be allowed to starve.
His teachings on the family are not to everyone’s taste.
Writing in the latest issue of the Peniel’s newspaper, Reid says: “Parents have a tremendous responsibility when they have children; fathers have the biggest responsibility, because God has placed them as ‘head’ of the household, to give leadership to the family by setting the standards.”
He continues: “In today’s society, however, many women have usurped the place that God gave to their husbands.”
The CCTV used to describe itself as “an alliance of Christians from a wide spectrum of professional and working backgrounds who have pledged to campaign against the declared intention of BBC executives to push back the boundaries’ of taste and decency.”
The website no longer exists.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
April 26, 2017, 7:28 PM GMT / Updated April 26, 2017, 7:28 PM GMT By Alyssa Newcomb
The plan to kill Obama-era net neutrality rules is officially here.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said on Wednesday that he's beginning to roll back net neutrality rules, a process he says will promote competition, create jobs, and give more Americans access to high-speed internet.
"Nothing about the internet was broken in 2015," he said, speaking of when the FCC moved to regulate the internet as a public utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. "It was all about politics."
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai speaks during an internet regulation event at the Newseum on April 26, 2017 in Washington. Eric Thayer / Getty Images
Related: House Votes in Favor of Letting ISPs Sell Your Browsing History
How is the Internet Regulated Now?
The internet is now regulated under Title II, which was created in the 1930s to regulate the Ma Bell telephone monopoly. By applying these rules to internet service providers, the FCC has more authority to regulate the behavior of internet service providers, including helping to control what consumers are charged and ensuring there is no paid prioritization online, which would create so-called fast and slow lanes.
Among the four basic points are not blocking websites for certain users, no throttling (creating a fast and slow lane), fostering more transparency between consumers and ISPs, and finally, no paid prioritization to move to the front of the line.
That all may sound great, but Pai says it's not working. He wants to go back to the internet rules instituted in 1996 under President Clinton and a Republican Congress.
What's the Case for Rolling Back Obama-Era Rules?
“The internet is the greatest free market success in history," Pai said. However, he believes the "heavy-handed" net neutrality rules were never needed, aren't helping people as intended, and are in fact doing the reverse.
He said the rules have led to reduced investment, which he said has cost 75,000 to 100,000 jobs such as laying cable and digging trenches to help bring high-speed internet access to rural and low income areas.
The current framework, he said, is actually "widening the digital divide," because companies are avoiding rural and low-income areas because it may seem like it's "not worth the time and money to deploy there."
As a result, he said, this also reduces competition.
“There is no question that the easiest path would be to do nothing," he said. “When we are saddled with FCC rules that will deny many Americans high speed access and jobs, doing nothing is nothing doing.”
“We need rules that focusing growth and infrastructure investment," he said. "We are going to deliver."
What Happens Next?
The FCC will vote at a May 18 meeting whether to formally consider Pai's proposal. That will likely pass, at which point the commission will seek public comment.
Another vote, which could happen before the end of the year, would then decide whether Pai's proposal would take effect. But for now, you won't see any immediate changes.
"This will be the beginning of the discussion, not the end," Pai said.
NBC News is owned by Comcast, the nation’s largest internet service provider.
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement, "We fully support reversal of Title II classification. We continue to strongly support a free and open internet and the preservation of modern, strong, and legally enforceable net neutrality protections.”Busts hurt more than booms help: New lessons for growth policy from global wellbeing surveys
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Michael Norton
How do macroeconomic changes affect people’s wellbeing? This column presents evidence that the life satisfaction of individuals is between two and eight times more sensitive to negative economic growth than it is to positive economic growth. Engineering |
find ourselves in discussion after sessions. We would discuss various matters that span all across the board. Ranging from socioeconomics (or socio-economics. Take your pick) and national dignities to what color the letters should be on our Myspace. Needless to say, we are a rather opinionated band. We all see things through different lenses, but understand we would like the same results.
Now let’s transpose that thought on over to the macro scale. Over to society. Over to the world. Your world, which in turn will directly affect OUR world. Since the beginning of time, not just man (and woman, for all you very capable feminists reading this), but all living organisms, have been striving to succeed. More primitively, we consider this success, survival. In order to succeed and survive, all things have been forced to be manipulative. It is the inevitable. Here lies the difference in what we have been advised throughout popular thought and what has actually happened. The huge difference in two simple little words adapt and manipulate. I am absolutely certain that you have been told that man has adapted to his surroundings in order to advance. When in actuality, man has manipulated, taken advantage of, or exploited his environment to ensure success while surviving. This has remained the case up until right now. As I am writing this to you, I could turn on the TV and find a prime example.
Right after that, I could look out my window and find another, just as exemplary. That is the Fake History. It is the highly publicized alternate reality. It’s what is said to advertise images, condone icons, promote fear to all of those willing to subscribe. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not fault people for believing in the sense of security society has worked so hard to convince them of their entire lives. Not at all. All I am doing is telling that society that I’m onto their bullshit. I’m telling that society, all those societies, that I know about their Fake History and I am certainly not the only one. Don't worry, we're not being overzealous. I write this to you as I am enjoying my favorite "organic" beverage. Where the fruit used for this beverage is absolutely free of any pesticides or stimulant for growth. That is also bullshit I buy into on the other side of the spectrum.
01. Le Prologue
This song was placed on the album aptly, if I may say so. We would like to believe its purpose is served as an introductory track while prefacing, not only the content, but the ardency as well. Actually, nevermind the "we would like to believe", let's be brash with perhaps an incremental level of conceit and say it was. Its purpose was served. Fuck conceit, though.
02. The Sick, Sick, 6.8 Billion
First, I would like to make the patrons of this magazine, and possibly letlive., aware that we are not "that" band. We're not going to stand behind anything that tramples on another doctrine of belief because that is the most common vice we exhibit as human beings - arrogance. We seem to feel that this universe is centered solely around our existence and never consider catering to anything but ourselves. Catering to our species and much more specifically, catering to us, the individual.
On a much smaller, but just as detrimental scale we have invented ways to marginalize others by way of regimes, labels, and belief systems. While religion(s) is included, one must be aware that this is not the only one. There is a much bigger picture and when we focus all of our efforts on one issue we become fanatics, whether you're falling to your knees as the presence of the holy ghost takes over your body or you're masturbating over Richard Dawkins’ latest lecture at an esteemed University on Youtube. The fact remains - you are falling victim to fanaticism. You are now foreclosing the bounty of alternatives that you could at least glance at before you subscribe to "the truth". We are, on the other hand, "this" band. The band that will illuminate that arrogance spiraling through our genetic coding and manifests itself in ambiguous warfare, unwarranted ignorance, and terrible fashion trends. Shout out to Tom Ford for keeping it classy over the years while the world was riddled with rue and dire international issues.
03. Renegade 86'
This song is about my dad. Look dad, I'm in Rock Sound. I made it dad.
04. Enemies/Enemigos
Despite recent realization that I can exhibit some vulgar behavior on stage, I am considerably prudish. Knowing this, it would seem ironic that I would choose to utilize sex as an allegory for other issues I deem worth 3.5 minutes of both your and my time, but I actually find it parallels many issues that I seem to find pertinent. In this song I was attempting to bring to attention the Lemming mentality I have observed in almost all cultures and the missteps we make when choosing to deviate. After serving an unremitting banal process it becomes much easier for our decisions to take on very rash and imprudent personalities.
05. Casino Columbus
Essentially this is a song based on people's complacency with some fairly underhanded bouts of conquest/imperialism/bullies on the playground/etc. Don't worry, I certainly allude to Mr. Columbus in the title, but I'm not thaaaat direct in my subject matter. I'm simply calling upon the events in 1492 to raise the listener's brow with something familiar. Engaging them. Then referencing a myriad of similar instances throughout history and current day. I'm like...way cryptic and mysterious.
06. Muther
"The Scarlet Letter" meets modern America's marital statistics coupled with the wonderful world of neo family structure or what many believe to be a complete lack thereof. No matter how great the indiscretion, you must remember, we as humans will err. Just as the clichéd maxim put it, we must also learn from these indiscretions. Exercise an effort to understand- and continue forward. This is how we will become better humans. Emotion with tinges of logic, such a beautiful paradox. Oh, it's also about my mom... and some idiot that was not my father.
07. Homeless Jazz
I like this song. Don't you?
08. We, The Pros Of Con
This is a song we do not play live. Although we all agree we would like to, it never seems to happen. Again, this is a song that touches on the issue of that proverbial blindfold that those atop the caste offer us to wear the moment we exit the womb. Once they see that we have succumbed to its appeal in one way or another, they then tighten that blindfold.
Now not to make sure we cannot behold what is in front, around, or more crassly put - inside of us, but they are now lessening the slack on these blindfolds that circumvent our skulls so dramatically that we can't even fathom thinking. "Blindfolds", impaired vision used as a metaphor for complacency in a socially/mentally diseased environment, all these new age punk rock metaphors. Who the hell does that? Probably the same guy that uses metaphors for satire and satire to provoke thought.
Or just some verbose asshole from Inglewood. Either way, I got you this far.
09. H. Ledger
Let's address an obvious question here. Many will ask, "do you think he really jumped off that cliff side in that movie everyone has trouble watching without worrying about their certainty on sexual orientation?" I answer with, "No". Because I don't think he did. I know he did. Jake Gyllenhaal said so in his feature in GQ last September.
Now onto the song. It's more an event in popular culture that we so happened to be writing a song during than it is direct homage. This event was, obviously, the death of Mr. Heath Andrew Ledger. At that time we were writing a song in which we wanted to find a clever way to pay homage to bands that we felt didn't receive proper recognition until they were no longer active. Simultaneously, this young man had just completed one of his most revered roles (after "Broke Back", of course) and subsequently passed away. This is where we found relevance existing between the two. Now I must make it clear that my titling this song is in no way a deep enough condolence, but it does in fact highlight an instance that we feel happens far too often.
10. Over Being Under
Somewhere along the timeline of music, art, and the sanctioned idea of subculture we somehow attached a stigma to success. We condemn those that manage to transcend our affectionate party full of esoteric misfits and brand them with that all too passé term "sell-out". I don't quite agree with that. We choose to overlook the conservation of integrity that many credible artists possess and figure ostracizing them from our minds, hearts, and Facebook "likes" is one of the only ways for us, ourselves, to remain credible. Second to burning them at the most eco conscious stake we can find. In closing, Disney Music...I'll be sending you the advance copy of Fake History 2 as soon as Clear Channel sends us the edit.
11. Day 54
We have not reached a consensus on how every individual should choose to live their life. Yet there are still so many that act as though we have. These people are wrong. xxx
12. Hollywood, And She Did
Our culture seems to have a strange affinity for adversity. We have found a way to exploit danger. I don't mean to mitigate the worth in such classics as "The Last Action Hero" starring California's very own Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don't mean that kind of danger. I mean the danger that has somehow been omitted from commercialized violence, and sex, and drug pushing, and gun toting.
I may seem biased in this regard, but namely- that ghetto living. That hood life. That real shit. I am a firm believer that all of that danger and dirty tap water builds some rather unshakable and exceptional character. My only qualm with it all is that a lot of folks are only willing to go as far as their 62" flatscreen television to understand it.
(Growing up poor with our safety in perpetual question wasn't cool. Don't commend me or my crew for that. Instead, let's appreciate the fact that we were able to excel beyond that level and more importantly, let's imbue those methods to posterity)
13. Lemon Party
We choose to bare skin.
14. This Mime (A Sex Symbol)
Before we even think to bear our souls.
STAND UP.CHICAGO � Illinois� health insurance marketplace is now allowing gay and lesbian couples to enroll for private coverage.
Now that same-sex marriage is legal in the state, Get Covered Illinois announced it will open up special enrollment periods for gay couples.
Married same-sex couples and their children can enroll as a family and may qualify for financial help.
Illinois� gay marriage law took effect Sunday, though some cities have already allowed same-sex marriage ceremonies.
The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to offer the same coverage to people in same-sex marriages as they do to opposite-sex spouses.
Under the law, marriage is a qualifying life event that makes people eligible for a special enrollment period. The period lasts two months in the state�s marketplace and one month under an employer�s marketplace plan.Posted 6 years ago on Sept. 4, 2012, 4:50 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: anti-war, dnc, foreclosure defense, chicago, immigration, lgbtq
The United States is in need of change, now more than ever, and that change must come from the people. We can no longer rely on politicians to save us. Politicians are bought and sold by the very interests that are destroying our society, and our president Barack Obama is no different. After coming into office under the guise of hope and change, we have seen more of the same policies and actions that brought us to our current situation. Now more than ever it is time for a real change.
With the upcoming presidential election, we are going to be given two sides of the same corporate coin. Without question, we reject the idea that Mitt Romney, the man behind Bain Capital, can do anything other than gut what remains of the public sector, destroy what remains of our social services, and empower corporations to further take over our country.
Barack Obama's agenda is not so different from that of Mitt Romney's. If Obama is elected we will continue to see more human rights abuses, the rolling back of our constitutional rights, and a continuation of the silent coup that corporate America is executing on what remains of our sham of a democracy.
Beginning today, Occupy Chicago will join with activists around Chicago and take a stand. We will highlight the contradictions between President Obama's promise of “hope and change” and his actual policy decisions during a four day occupation of his campaign headquarters. Each day will feature actions, teach-ins, and opportunities to share in community and grow our movement. Join us!
RSVP on Facebook
September 4: 5PM Central, Jackson&Lasalle: Reject President 1%: End Obama's War On the World's 99%
September 5: Protest Mortgage Debt/Foreclosures at at Fannie Mae's Midwest Regional Offices
September 6: Democracy
More below.
September 4: Reject President 1%: End Obama's War On the World's 99%
While President Obama throws himself a big commercial during the DNC in North Carolina, we will be presenting a Bill of Grievances against his administration at the Obama National Campaign Headquarters in Chicago.
ABROAD
This President has escalated most of George W. Bush's wars -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, a new American military force on the African continent. He has continued to arm Israel while it robs even more Palestinian lands.
He has threatened, and carried out, new illegal wars on other nations. He violated the War Powers Act to launch a sustained war on Libya. He looks the other way while the brutal Saudi Arabian dictatorship foments civil war in Syria. He refuses to rule out war, including use of nuclear weapons, against Iran.
He supports dictators and military coups against elected governments abroad. He recognized and arms the military coup governments in Honduras and the Maldives, and the "constitutional" coup in Paraguay. He arms the Saudi Arabian monarchy as it brutality suppresses its own people and invades Bahrain to support that dictatorship's crushing of its pro-democracy movement.
He sends troops to occupy countries that don't want them there. U.S. troops occupy 130 countries, violating the wishes of the vast majority of most nations they occupy. Obama's drone attacks far exceed those of George W. Bush. His "enemies list" of people to kill abroad and assassinations of them represents an escalation on Bush's "extraordinary renditions" of people to torture chambers run by U.S. secret forces and U.S.-allied dictators.
He neglects the urgent needs of the 99% at home and abroad while spending a record amount on the military. He enthusiastically supports the world's largest-ever military alliance, NATO, while spending 67% of the federal budget on current and past wars. He spends as much on the U.S. military as the rest of the world combined, while half the world's people live on less than $2 a day.
AT HOME
He has promoted the 1% in finance and other big businesses, while barely lifting a finger for the 99%. He and the Bush administration gave trillions to bail out Wall Street, and stuffed his administration full of many of the leading crooks who precipitated the financial meltdown in the first place. While he makes campaign gestures towards the 99% now that his own job is on the line, where has he been for the last three-and-a-half years?
He has stood by while Republican governors have attacked public workers' rights, and through his "Education" Secretary, has attacked teachers' unions more vigorously than any president before him. During the 2008 campaign, he and Secretary of State Clinton both pledged to at least modify, if not repeal, NAFTA, but didn't. He promised to make it easier for workers to democratically decide to form unions by signing "card check," but didn't.
He has escalated George Bush's attacks on civil liberties, increasing Bush's surveillance inside the country, persecuting whistle blowers like Pfc. Manning and supporters, while taking a pass on prosecuting Bush administration officials who ordered torture and launched wars that killed countless thousands of people. He has reauthorized the PATRIOT Act when he pledged to oppose it. He, as a former constitutional law scholar at the University of Chicago, has helped destroy habeas corpus, the right by which people cannot by imprisoned without charges or trials, by signing the National Defense Authorization Act.
He poses as a friend of immigrants after he has deported more undocumented people from the United States than any president since Herbert Hoover. His recent executive order stopping deportations of children of the undocumented was an election year gimmick that offers no path to citizenship, and was only conceded after doing far greater harm against immigrants than even the preceding Bush administration. It was his moving dramatically to the right on the issue in the early years of his administration which legitimized the savage attacks of many Republican officials in states and localities around the nation.
He has used LGBT rights like a political football, supporting equal marriage rights early in his career, then opposing it. After doing nothing to oppose the anti-gay constitutional amendment in North Carolina, he endorsed gay marriage, but at the same time endorsed a bogus "state's rights" approach to the issue. But it was the Democrats who gave us the Defense of Marriage Act in the first place, which he refused to repeal when his party held both houses of Congress. And Don't Ask, Don't Tell – again a product of the Democrats – was only repealed when a gay Log Cabin Republican suit, opposed by Obama, looked set to overturn the policy.
By endorsing corporate attacks on the environment at practically every turn, he has enabled the Republicans to move even further right on the issue. Cap and trade, a rightwing fantasy under Republican administrations, is now "mainstream." Despite weeks of high-profile protests, he opened the door to the Keystone pipeline. Fracking, without even disclosure of the toxic chemicals used, is expanding greatly under his EPA. In his eagerness to shill for corporate interests, he's pushing for the new first nuclear power plants in a generation, and the BP oil disaster in the Gulf was preceded just a few weeks earlier by Obama's announced opening up of huge areas of the eastern seaboard to drilling.
There are very few respects in which the current administration is better than the last one, and many more respects in which it has been even worse, betraying the hopes of millions who mistakenly felt that 2008 represented a fresh start in American politics.
We will not opportunistically oppose only the crimes of the Republicans while ignoring the crimes of the Democrats. We will not put the Democratic Party's interests above those of the 99% at home and abroad. We will oppose the pro-1% policies of the sitting President in his home town on September 4th, the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
September 5: Protest Obama/Fannie&Freddie/Ed Demarco for Foreclosure/Underwater Mortgage Crisis
The United States is in a state of crisis right now. Almost 100 families are evicted each day from their homes, by big Wall Street Banks and the politicians funded by them. It is a crisis that is killing our most vulnerable communities: over 35-percent of African American homes are underwater and over 1.5 million homeowners over the age of 50 have lost their homes since 2007.
While much of the blame has justifiably been directed at Wall Street big banks, the Obama administration has thus far avoided taking any actual effective action towards helping the 15 million families in the nation that are facing underwater mortgages and the threat of foreclosure. Instead he has sought to sell the public the option of small-scale "mortgage refinancing" that clearly doesn't go far enough and in fact often adds further bureaucratic burdens to families. The answer to the mortgages crisis has always been clear - a large-scale mortgage principal writedown on all underwater mortgages to their current value would create 1 million jobs every year, pump over $70 billion per year back into communities, save American families over $500 per month, and solve the foreclosure crisis once and for all. While Obama has had the option of forcing the Federal Housing Finance Agency to engage in large-scale principal reduction for the 60% of US mortgages that are owned or backed by them since the financial crisis back in 2008, he continues to hide behind Bush-era appointee FHFA director Ed Demarco whom on multiple occasions has stated his absolute opposition to any form of principal writedown.
Occupy Chicago finds this to be absolutely unacceptable and is calling on supporters to join us for a rally at Fannie Mae's Midwest Regional Offices in downtown Chicago on September 5th at 5PM? where families facing the threat of eviction by Fannie Mae will speak out about their situation. The rally will then be followed by a march over to Obama's OFA Campaign Headquarters where participants will be chained together to balls that will signify how mortgage debt is enslaving our communities. At the headquarters, we will call Obama out on his hypocrisy in expecting the 15 million families in the United States to vote for him this year when he has done nothing to alleviate their struggles with mortgage debt and threats of foreclosure.
September 6: #OccupyDemocracy
Every four years we are asked to step into the ballot box and select a fellow citizen to represent the United States of America at home and abroad. Again and again we are presented with two options whose solutions for the world fail to address even our most basic of needs. The situation is so dire that we are often told to select "the lesser of two evils" without even the slightest hint of humor, and this election cycle is no different. We have been presented with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, whose plans for the United States fail to address the gravity of the global failure of capitalism. In response, this year we must refuse to put our future in the hands of any evil, be it Democrat or Republican.
Join Occupy Chicago in demonstration against the farce that is the 2012 Presidential Election. On the final day of the Democratic National Convention, assemble with us in front of Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, where we will use acts of symbolism to display our dissatisfaction with the democratic and republican parties.
Following the symbolic acts and speak outs, at Obama's headquarters, we will hold a general assembly focused on the most important issues of the day, those which actually affect the lives of the 99%. As Occupy Chicago rejects the inadequate and unrepresentative electoral process, we will put our vision for a direct democracy on full display.
Another World Is Possible, Occupy ChicagoThe Indians announced today that they have traded catcher Anthony Recker to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. The former Mets backstop will begin his return to the NL East at Triple-A Gwinnett, per the announcement. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that Recker had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal looming.
Recker, 32, spent the previous three seasons with the Mets organization and seen significant in the Majors from 2013-15, appearing in 140 games. In that time, Recker totaled 432 plate appearances and batted a combined.190/.256/.350 with 15 home runs. Recker is a considerably more accomplished hitter at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s batted.274/.361/.481 in 1428 plate appearances, including a.246/.395/.426 start to the 2016 season with Triple-A Columbus. He’ll serve as a depth option for the Braves, who currently have A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers catching at the big league level. Interestingly, Atlanta already has multiple catchers with minor league track records at the Triple-A level in the form of Ryan Lavarnway and Blake Lalli, though Lalli has seen quite a bit of time at first base this season in addition to his time behind the dish.The REAL Reason Bush and Cheney Will Not Be Impeached pstern [at] austin.rr.com)
Thursday Jan 3rd, 2008 6:06 PM by Dr. Peter Stern
Okay, folks, you can stop scratching your heads and wringing your hands in bewilderment. Here's the REAL reason there will be no impeachment proceedings against any of the administration:
Apparently, it's more than the GOP who do not what their administration impeached. It's also the liberal "commie-pinkos" who do not want to pursue impeachment. Those such as: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and others.
So, why isn't our government pursuing the impeachment process?
Okay, enough of the ongoing dismay and consternation by most of the American people. Exactly why isn't there more of a "push" for action against the current administration?
I have been considering many logical reasons, but I continue to come back to the most reality-based issue.
The reason most of our Congress does NOT want to pursue any action against the president and administration is because it would create a deadly political and economic tsunami that would encircle many more individuals and organizations than merely Bush and Cheney.
"Fingering" the administration would also mean the public identification, humiliation and legal actions against many wealthy individuals, corporations and even governments throughout the world.
Look, let's face it. Our elected officials are NOT going to do anything that will impede the ongoing wealthy campaign contributions and perks they receive and going after Bush and his administration most assuredly would open more "war wounds" that are NOT in the best interests of our legislators.
Wealthy big business now manages and operates this nation.
Powerful corporations have bought the best government money can buy and they aren't going to lose their grip on the U.S. just because Bush and the administration have come "under the gun" for their criminal behavior.
Big business could care less about making the president accountable for his actions because business is the power that determined the administration's objectives and actions. Bush is only the "pawn" of wealthy special interests. He is a means to the end. Bush is expendable because he has done his job and his term is nearly completed.
Consequently, we can forget about our Democratic Representative Government, Constitution, any sort of justice, accountability and impeachment actions --- even if those actions are genuinely warranted --- which they are.
----PPP’s new South Carolina poll finds that Tim Scott has quickly become the state’s most popular politician- and is already one of the most popular Senators in the country in their home state. 50% of voters approve of the job Scott is doing to only 23% who disapprove. 72% of Republicans approve of the job he’s doing, while only 45% of Democrats disapprove. That bucks the trend we see with most major politicians these days where they’re as unpopular with the other party as they are popular with their own.
Scott’s not on anyone’s list of vulnerable Senators up for reelection next year, and our polling reinforces that he shouldn’t be. In extremely hypothetical match ups with former Governor Jim Hodges (54/32), 2014 Lieutenant Governor candidate Bakari Sellers (56/28), and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott (55/27) Scott leads by anywhere from 22 to 28 points.
Nikki Haley’s approval comes in at 51/38, the highest numbers we’ve found for her since she took office. Voters are strongly opposed to her plan to raise the gas tax though. Just 20% support it to 69% who are opposed and even among Republican voters there’s 19/71 opposition. When you couch the gas tax increase as solely being to repair roads, support still rises to only 32% with 55% opposed.
South Carolina may be a GOP state but on the issue of how to pay for road repairs voters are siding with the Democrats. By a 50/36 spread they support casinos in the state, and asked whether they’d rather road repairs were paid for by opening casinos or increasing the gas tax voters pick casinos by a 58/26 margin. There’s a bipartisan consensus for casinos over the gas tax with Democrats (63/22), independents (58/28), and Republicans (53/28) all strongly preferring it.
We find South Carolina voters taking a more moderate stance on a few other key issues right now as well. There is 76/14 support for a law preventing domestic abusers from buying guns and 64/24 support for one making those people turn in any guns they currently own. In addition to overwhelming support from Democrats and independents, majorities of Republicans (71/17 and 54/31 respectively) support each of those measures as well. There’s also a strong consensus among voters in the state (61/27) that guns should not be allowed on college campuses.
South Carolinians are also dealing pretty well with the legalization of gay marriage in the state. Only 31% claim its being legal has had a negative impact on their lives with 9% saying it’s had a positive impact and 60% saying it’s had none at all. This is consistent with what we’re finding even in states that at one time voted overwhelmingly to ban gay marriage in their constitutions- once it becomes legal few voters are finding it to be much of a burden on their lives. Even among Republicans 61% grant that gay marriage being legal has not negatively impacted them.
One issue where South Carolinians remain conservative though is flying the Confederate flag on the state capital grounds. 50% of voters support continuing to keep the flag there, while 40% are opposed. The support for flying the flag comes despite 48% of voters granting that the flag is bad for the state’s image, compared to only 35% who think it makes the state look good. By a 52/28 spread Republicans dissent from the prevailing view in the state and say they think flying the flag is a positive for how people nationally view South Carolina.
Finally we asked voters in the state how they feel about some of the state’s former major politicians, and the takeaway is how quickly people are forgotten. Jim DeMint left the Senate just two years ago but already a third of voters in the state say they have no opinion about him, compared to 37% who see him favorably and 30% unfavorably. 10 years after he left the Senate a majority of voters in the state- 53%- say they have no opinion about Fritz Hollings one way or the other. 27% see him favorably and 20% unfavorably. And even Strom Thurmond despite serving in the Senate for decades and being a prominent national figure already has 31% of voters with no opinion about him. Those who do have one give him a 41/28 favorability rating.
Full results here25th Jan 2012
Note: This was written near the end of January 2012 and as such reflects the state of the technology and markets at the time. Everything is moving so fast a lot of the information below is subject to change, so bear that in mind.
HTML5 game development and indeed the abilities of web browsers are in state of rapid evolution right now. On the HTML5 Game Devs site that I run I’ve been noticing an increasing pace of new content, game releases, tutorials, business news and technology. High profile and high quality game releases such as the Microsoft sponsored Cut the Rope are making headlines across the world, and engaging the public more than ever before. But what is the reality of developing an HTML5 game today? Especially for those coming from a different platform. And more importantly is it possible to actually make any money doing it?
HTML5 is just a mark-up standard!
Relax When I talk about “HTML5” I’m doing so from the popular media use of the word, rather than the technical one. On a technical level HTML5 is of course just a specification for a mark-up language. But the media has chosen to use the term as an umbrella, spanning lots of browser related technologies including WebGL, JavaScript, Web Sockets, GLSL, Web Audio, NaCl, Canvas, DOM, CSS3 and more. As a whole these things do not comprise “HTML5”, indeed they have their own standards, but I guess to preserve the sanity of the layman (and journalists?) that isn’t really what HTML5 means any more.
What is an HTML5 game?
This seemingly innocuous question actually has a myriad of answers, and can get complex pretty fast. While I could say that on a basic level an HTML5 game is made using JavaScript paired with a browser based technology, that isn’t strictly true as it’s actually possible to make complete (albeit simple) games using purely CSS3. So let’s approach it by listing the technologies available to HTML5 game developers and what they offer:
CSS3
Most developers know CSS as the stuff that styles web sites. CSS3 is an evolution of this that includes support for built-in transformations and animation. So no longer do you need to use JavaScript to make something move around a web page. CSS3 is so powerful there are even games made entirely using it. Some modern browsers support hardware accelerated CSS. Yes, you read that correctly – CSS rendered via the GPU, and because of this there’s even CSS based Shaders. But as a serious game developer would you code a game using just CSS? Not really. It’s more the domain of pro web developers and you’re likely to hit the limitations of what it can do rapidly. Still, don’t rule it out as an option if the project fits.
DOM (Document Object Model)
The DOM is familiar territory for web developers but much less so for everyone else. It’s a way of defining how elements within HTML should interact with each other and provides JavaScript with a means to inspect the browser and the HTML loaded into it. In terms of game development “DOM based games” are the way in which developers talk about HTML5 games that are constructed using HTML elements and CSS3 rather than rendered to a Canvas (see below). There are advantages to this approach. Due to the hardware acceleration available it’s possible to write extremely fast and responsive “DOM” games. The game Sumon is a good example of this. In fact in some browsers, and depending a lot on the type of game, this is often a better option than Canvas.
Canvas
Canvas is probably the most well known approach to creating HTML5 games. A canvas is an HTML element defined using the <canvas> tags. Think of it as a large dumb block of graphics data, that once added to a web page you can manipulate through JavaScript at will. Those coming from Flash can relate it to a Bitmap object. You can read and write pixel level data, paste images into it, set compositing modes, alpha, transforms, scales and draw basic shapes like lines, curves and rects. As it has been around for quite a while it’s well supported in browsers, both desktop and mobile, although rendering speeds vary dramatically.
WebGL (Web Graphics Library)
WebGL is a means to have GPU accelerated 3D in browser. Based on OpenGL ES 2.0 (the same as Adobe Flash Stage3D) it offers a direct route to the 3D graphics API, including shader support via GLSL. As it runs on GPU performance is hardware dependant, but typically significantly higher than Canvas. From a game development perspective you can of course create 3D games with it, and some notable examples like SKiD Racer and GT Racing have done just that. All the issues inherent with 3D development on other platforms are manifest in WebGL as well such as memory / bandwidth required for texture and model data, the variety and respective speeds of GPUs and the evolving nature of the technology. The other massive gotcha about WebGL is that Microsoft have no public plans to support it yet. So you won’t find it in Internet Explorer or the new Windows 8 Metro. That doesn’t rule it out entirely, but it makes adoption of it a harder sell to clients. On the flip side it’s gaining traction in mobile. iOS5 has it built-in although currently disabled and Firefox on Android supports it.
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
SVG is a means to display vector graphics and animations natively on the web. It’s an XML based format that has been around for over a decade but has only recently seen more wide-spread browser adoption. But that support is now comprehensive and includes modern mobile browsers. Performance varies dramatically from device to device. On the Desktop it’s perfectly possible to use it to handle the graphics rendering for games, but mobile mileage varies tremendously. Development support is good and there are a number of comprehensive SVG libraries available. Google provide a tool called Swiffy that converts Flash vector animations to SVG animations, as was recently demonstrated so well on the One hour per second site. I would also put good money on a future version of Adobe Flash exporting to SVG or a similar product from them. On its own you cannot make a game with SVG as it needs to be paired with JavaScript but it’s definitely a viable rendering solution.
Native Client (NaCl)
Native Client (NaCl for short) is a Chrome specific technology that allows developers to code in C/C++ and produce a.nexe file, a compiled native module. These run inside the NaCl sandbox in Chrome. Why might you want to do this? The main reason is speed. It runs at near native OS speeds, which is crucial for intensive games. You have access to multi-core / threading, 3D, low latency audio, shaders and soon networking. Being able to port C/C++ code makes it an interesting option for game developers working in that area already. A good example is Super Giant’s game Bastion. NaCl is Chrome only but cross-platform and could be a useful option if you already develop C/C++ games and want to have a web browser ready demo (or full game) without recoding it from scratch in another language.
WebSockets
If you have a need to support multiplayer in your game or perform any sort of intensive network based activity then WebSockets is a new technology that falls under the HTML5 umbrella. WebSockets are a protocol for two-way communication with a remote host. To crib the official site they provide “an enormous reduction in unnecessary network traffic and latency” and account for network hazards such as proxies and firewalls, making streaming possible over any connection. With the ability to support upstream and downstream communications over a single connection HTML5 Web Sockets-based applications reportedly place less burden on servers, allowing existing machines to support more concurrent connections. The real-time nature of them make them perfect for games requiring low latency, such as the multiplayer asteroids game Rawkets.
Node.js
Node.js on the other hand is a server-side technology. Although you could argue it has nothing to do with HTML5 as it’s JavaScript based and allows good use of WebSockets it is often categorised as such. Designed specifically for highly scalable network applications you can run JavaScript on the server in an asynchronous event driven model. Node.js can create HTTP and WebSocket servers as needed, which is almost the reverse of the traditional web stack where a |
. Why has Rogers decided to offer this messaging service now? How will it improve the messaging services consumers can already access?
With Rich Messaging, our customers can keep in touch with friends and family in a more fun and dynamic way. Now, when using the enhanced features (as opposed to standard SMS) you will have the ability to easily share larger media files (i.e. photos and videos), group chat, and more. We know RCS is the future of messaging and that having more versatility with your smartphone is important to our customers which is why we wanted to offer the service sooner rather than later.
2. Why has Rogers been so quick to offer this service particularly in beating competitors to market?
We’re always looking to bring innovative solutions to our customers that will enhance their experience with Rogers. Android customers have been looking for a similar service to Apple’s iMessage, which didn’t exist until now. We’re excited to be the first carrier in Canada to offer Rich Messaging on Rogers and Fido devices – we know our customers will enjoy the additional capabilities it offers them.
3. What are the key benefits this upgrade will offer Rogers customers?
Rich Messaging will allow our customers the simplicity of communicating more with less. Customers now get the benefit of creating group chats, sending GIF’s and larger files, photos and videos. You can also share locations which is great for parents with teens; who are becoming more independent.
Additionally, read receipts are a part of the enhanced features which allow users to see if someone has read your message without them actually replying. If they do decide to respond, then you will be able to see real-time typing indicators to know if someone is in the process of writing you back.
4. What plans do you have to improve this service further in the future? What can subscribers expect?
Right now, we’re focused on ensuring our customers have the best experience with Rich Messaging. Looking forward, we’re going to focus on enhancing adoption through preloading the Messenger app so it’s native to all new Android devices on Rogers and Fido.
Alignment with the GSMA Universal Profile is key to adding enhancements in the future such as, voice recognition and using RCS on other Android devices that are linked to your phone (i.e. tablets and wearables). Imagine your phone is charging on the nightstand and you are in another part of your home on your tablet, now you have the added benefit of sending and receiving messages from multiple Android devices.
5. Why is Google’s solution the best for Rogers subscribers?
We chose Google’s solution because of their global scale. Their solution allows us to leverage the existing Google Messenger platform which is the native Android experience and also available in the Play Store.
Google has a large existing developer community. They are aligned with GSMA Universal Profile and are active in GSMA standards driving harmonization across the industry and accelerating the adoption of Rich Messaging.
We think they are the best positioned to offer compatibility across all our devices to help ensure the best experience for our customers.
6. What benefits does the GSMA’s Universal Profile for Advanced Messaging offer carriers?
The GSMA’s Universal Profile helps provide global service capabilities and ensures same universal interoperability as SMS and GSM Voice that customers expect. It also allows for consistent experience everywhere, which is important to be able to give our customers new experiences.
http://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/events-and-webinars/new-global-platform-conversations-chatbots-commerce/As promised last month, Google has today launched its new “Backup and Sync from Google” tool, which aims to help users more easily back up the files and photos on their computer. The utility is meant to replace the older Google Photos desktop app, as well as the Google Drive client applications for both Mac and PC.
Essentially, it’s combining the older apps’ functionality into one experience, so you don’t have to use two different software programs for the very similar purpose of getting files off your computer and into Google’s cloud.
The new tool offers a simple user interface, where you’ll first sign into your Google account, then select the folders you want Google to continually back up to Google Drive. Because it’s replacing current users’ existing Google Drive installations, the tool will respect any current settings you’ve already specified on Mac and PC, Google explained last month, when it announced the tool was in the works.
In addition to backing up files on your desktop computer, the new software also can be used to back up photos from USB-connected devices, like cameras, as well as SD cards. After the back up is complete, your files can be accessed in Google Drive from any device — including your computer, phone or tablet. Your photos and videos, meanwhile, will be available in Google Photos.
Both products‘ websites are currently hosting the updated software, which is a free download for consumers.
Google says that business users — meaning those on G Suite — shouldn’t download this new software utility at this time.
The company is planning to release a new enterprise-focused solution called Drive File Stream, which will roll out to all G Suite Basic, Business, Enterprise, Education and Nonprofit domains later this year. (G Suite users can apply to the Early Adopter Program if they want to try Drive File Stream ahead of its public launch.)
From within the Backup and Sync software, you’ll be able to configure a number of settings and preferences, including whether you want photos and videos uploaded to Google’s cloud in their original quality (as pro photographers would likely choose), or just high quality.
More-advanced users may want to make other changes, like selecting how they want Drive to handle file deletions, or changing the download or upload rates.
Finally, you’ll be able to upgrade your Google Drive storage subscription from the app. That’s something you might need to do if you take this opportunity to offload a lot of your desktop clutter into the cloud.City council voted Wednesday to approve a $10.1 billion budget for 2016, which includes a 1.3 per cent property tax hike, but it voted against reducing the $1 billion police budget.
After voting on several amendments late Wednesday evening, council adopted the budget by a vote of 33 to 9. Three councillors, Rob Ford, Norm Kelly and Frank Di Giorgio, were not present in council chambers for the final vote.
As councillors extended the debate over the 2016 operating budget late into Wednesday evening in order to send it to a final vote, they defeated four motions from Coun. Michael Thompson that would have siphoned between $12 million and $24 million from the $1 billion allocated to the Toronto Police Service.
However, councillors did support a motion put forward by Thompson calling for quick adoption of recommendations in a KPMG report on policing reform and spending.
Budget invests in transit, emergency services
"Today, city council approved a balanced budget that invests in priority areas like transit, emergency services and supporting our most vulnerable citizens," Mayor John Tory said in a statement late Wednesday. "This budget also holds city council to the same kind of restraint and responsibility that the people of Toronto exercise at home, by keeping property taxes below the rate of inflation."
The property tax increase, along with an additional 0.6% to fund the Scarborough subway, translates into homeowners paying an extra $72.26 a year.
The 2016 budget provides funding for several new services, including:
• $8 million to help reduce poverty, enhance cold-weather drop-in services, expand of the student nutrition program and additional funding for childcare subsidies.
• $5.5 million to support the Mayor's Task Force on Community Housing.
• Early Sunday morning subway service, connecting bus and streetcar service and improved streetcar reliability
Council also approved a 2016-2025 budget of $21 billion.
"The city is focused on building the necessary social and physical infrastructure to support Toronto's growth and maintain the city's aging infrastructure in a state of good repair," said Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Rob Rossini.
Earlier Wednesday,Tory said that next year's police budget will be "significantly different." On Tuesday, he announced the formation of an expert task force aimed at modernizing the force's operations and reducing costs.
'Real change' in police budget next year
"We're going to bring about reform. There's going to be real change. Even the police chief, himself, has said next year's budget will look very different from this year's. I agree with him. That's what we're setting out to do," Tory told reporters.
However, the mayor said he would not accept "an arbitrary, meat cleaver approach that would result, make no mistake, in the reduction of hundreds of police officers on the street."
"Do we have a responsible plan to make sure next year's police budget looks significantly different than this year's? Yes, we do."
On Tuesday, Thompson criticized the force for what he said were runaway costs, particularly in overtime and other initiatives, and said he is "unwilling to accept the concept that simply this year's not possible, next year it is, maybe."
But Coun. Shelley Carroll said reining in the police budget could take more than a year.
"I know Coun. Thompson would like to see a savings of $25 million right now," Carroll told reporters at city hall Wednesday afternoon. "I think it's going to take a couple of years to get there."
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders says slashing the police budget by $25 million would result in close to 400 jobs lost. (CBC) Police Chief Mark Saunders, who spoke to reporters at police headquarters earlier Wednesday, said slashing the police budget by $24 million would result in close to 400 jobs lost.
"If you want serious, drastic cuts, then we have to remodel," he said. "It has to be done properly."
But Thompson noted that both Saunders and Toronto Police Services Board chair Andy Pringle are on the new task force.
"I have great reservations with respect to both of their abilities," Thompson said Wednesday afternoon.
His motions weren't aimed at allowing crime rates to explode across the city, he said.
"What we do know is that we have to arrest the police budget, and it's my particular view that at this point, it's out of control," he said.In a draft report five years in the making, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed that fracking does indeed contaminate drinking water, a fact the oil and gas industry has vehemently denied.
But instead of dismantling the industry's "not one single case of groundwater contamination caused by fracking" refrain, the EPA decided to go with the misleading headline "there is no evidence fracking has led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources."
It's a puzzling conclusion since their study was conspicuously narrow (they did no new case studies, dropped three marquee cases that proved water contamination and dropped all air quality studies from the report).
Our Map of the Week shows 313 cases where families reported water contamination due to drilling in just six counties in North Eastern, Pennsylvania. Seems pretty widespread to me for a fracking and drilling campaign that's still in its infancy. So far there's been around 9,000 wells drilled in Pennsylvania. One report showed the potential for 200,000 - 600,000 fracked wells in the state.
Our Map of the Week confirms widespread, systemic contamination of U.S. regulatory bodies by the oil and gas industry (and that water contamination due to fracking is widespread too!) Map credit: BH/NY Friends of Clean Air and Water CC-BY-NC, All other rights reserved
If the EPA is looking for proof of "widespread" contamination before declaring fracking unsafe, they may not have to wait long. The industry's own data shows that 5 percent of fracking wells leak upon drilling and that number only grows over time.
What the EPA presented to the public yesterday was PR, not science and proof of the widespread, systemic contamination of our regulatory bodies by the oil and gas industry.
This isn't the first time the EPA has released a report burying the science with a misleading headline that supports the Obama Administration's pro-fracking policies rather than reveal the true dangers of fracking. It's a disturbing trend we reported on extensively in GASLAND Part II with cases in Dimock, Pennsylvania; Parker County, Texas; and Pavilion, Wyoming.
Read page 1
In Dimock, Parker Country and Pavilion the EPA suddenly dropped water contamination cases when the science proved that fracking was the cause, going as far as slapping a press release claiming Dimock's water was safe on a report that proved fracking had contaminated the water.
The EPA did this, conveniently, around the same time that President Obama was touting fracking as part of his All-of-the-Above energy policy on the campaign trail.
And President Obama has not backed off in his support for natural gas despite mounting evidence that fracking is a climate change disaster. His administration is opening up huge swaths of BLM land for drilling and has even gone so far as to allow fracking offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
He's not the only one. As Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton sold fracking to the rest of the world and has said nothing to indicate she will do any differently as President, despite claiming that addressing climate change is a pillar of her campaign.
If President Obama and Hilary Clinton want to know what a fracking legacy looks like they should take a look at the pictures coming from Little Rock, Arkansas where a fracked-gas pipeline ruptured in the Arkansas River within view of Bill Clinton's Presidential Library.
Millions of Americans know that fracking contaminates ground water and for the EPA to report any differently only proves that the greatest contamination from the industry comes from its influence and ownership of our government.
It's clear there is no action coming from our politicians to protect our public health and safety from fracking. They will stick with the industry till all our water is contaminated, our air polluted and climate change has made our planet unlivable.
It's up to us to get the truth out.
If you want to educate your community on the dangers of fracking and the incredible influence of the industry on our government, email us to host a screening of GASLAND Part II.
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A somewhat notorious chapter in film history has come to the surface this week with the release of behind-the-scenes footage from "The Day the Clown Cried," the infamous 1972 Holocaust drama starring Jerry Lewis that's become something of a Holy Grail for comedy buffs.
"The Day the Clown Cried" stars Lewis as a World War II-era clown who gets in trouble with the Nazis after he publicly humiliates Hitler. He's forced to perform for Jewish children in concentration camps, as the Nazis figure that's the best way to get them to behave.
[Related: Jerry Lewis: I Can’t Watch Women Do Comedy]
Sounds like potential Oscar material, no? Unfortunately, the film was condemned for its bad taste, most notably due to the cringe-inducing climax in which the clown leads a group of laughing children to the gas chamber. Overcome with grief for what he's being forced to do, the clown decides to stay in the gas chamber and die with the kids.
Yeah, it's not quite "Life is Beautiful."
The film was never given a release, and Lewis himself has long been embarrassed by and ashamed of the film, vowing to keep it dead and buried. The passage of over 40 years seems to have done little to calm Lewis' strong feelings, as he seemed bound and determined more than ever to save us from the film earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
"It was all bad, and it was bad because I lost the magic," Lewis said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "You will never see it. No one will ever see it, because I am embarrassed at the poor work."
Harry Shearer, longtime voice of several "Simpsons" characters and part of the comedy band Spinal Tap, echoes Lewis's thoughts. After seeing a bootleg copy of the film, he said (according to a recent article in Variety), "This movie is so drastically wrong, its pathos and its comedy are so wildly misplaced, that you could not, in your fantasy of what it might be like, improve on what it really is."
However, it would appear that infamous works of art can never stay hidden for too long, as footage from the film has emerged on YouTube. The 7-minute clip, posted by user unclesporkums, seems to be taken from a Dutch documentary on the making of the movie.
Watch Jerry Lewis in Newly-Surfaced Footage of 'The Day the Clown Cried':
We see Lewis, who also directed the film, behind the scenes as he decides what lens to use for a particular shot. We also see him in full makeup, performing a cigarette lighting trick with a candle that was certainly influenced by Charlie Chaplin.
It's also worth noting that the documentary features an appearance by French film star an musician Serge Gainsbourg and his girlfriend Jane Birkin (at around 2:07). It's long been speculated but never confirmed that Gainsbourg starred in the film (he was once added to the film's IMDb page, though he never listed it among his own credits before his death in 1991), though the footage gives the impression that he was perhaps just visiting the set.
Best to watch the clip while you can, as Jerry Lewis and his camp will probably attempt to get it removed. Until then, here's more material for Patton Oswalt's next staged reading of the "The Day the Clown Died" script.This July 30, 2017 photo, shows an oil field controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Rmeilan, Hassakeh province, northeast Syria. The SDF, with air support from the U.S.-led coalition, said Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017 that they had captured the Al-Omar field, Syria’s largest oil field, from the Islamic State group, marking a major advance against the extremists and for now keeping the area out of the hands of pro-government forces. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed fighters captured Syria’s largest oil field from the Islamic State group Sunday, marking a major advance against the extremists in an area coveted by pro-government forces.
With IS in retreat, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government have been in a race to secure parts of the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province along the border with Iraq.
The Al-Omar oil field was a major source of income for the militant group and is considered one Syria’s most productive. The condition of the field, which has been controlled by IS for three years, was not clear following intense coalition and Russian airstrikes.
The SDF, with air support from the U.S.-led coalition, said it captured the field in a “swift and wide military operation.” It said some militants have taken cover in oil company houses nearby, where clashes are underway. The U.S.-led coalition confirmed the SDF had retaken the oil field.
After coming under heavy fire from IS, pro-government forces retreated from the area around Al-Omar field, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The SDF said government forces were 3 kilometers (2 miles) away from the fields.
Syrian troops, backed by Russian warplanes and Iranian-sponsored militias, have retaken nearly all of the provincial capital of Deir el-Zour, as well as the town of Mayadeen, another IS stronghold, which is across the Euphrates River from the Al-Omar field.
The SDF focused their operations in rural Deir el-Zour on the eastern side of the river, and have already seized a major natural gas field and other smaller oil fields.
IS captured Al-Omar in 2014, when the group swept across large areas in Syria and neighboring Iraq. At the time, the field was estimated to produce around 9,000 barrels a day. Its current potential is unknown.
Syria had proven oil reserves of 2.5 billion barrels as of 2015, giving it the largest supply among its neighbors after Iraq. The oil industry was a pillar of the Syrian economy before the conflict in 2011.
As IS advanced in Syria, it seized control of most of Syria’s oil fields and made petroleum a major earner for the militant group, which sold it on the black market to other insurgents and the Syrian government.
Since the coalition began operations against IS in 2014, the militants’ oil production has been reduced from a peak of approximately $50 million per month to currently less than $4 million, the coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The government lost the al-Omar field to other insurgents in 2013.
Al-Manar TV, operated by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, said the fight for Al-Omar was still underway and denied the SDF’s claim to have captured it. The militant group fights alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
The official Syrian news agency said troops regained full control of Khosham, a town on the eastern side of the Euphrates River that they lost a day earlier to IS. The Observatory for Human Rights said parts of the town remain contested.
It’s not clear how Syrian troops will respond to the SDF’s seizure of Al-Omar. Assad has vowed to eventually bring all of Syria back under government control.
The two sides have accused each other of firing on their forces in Deir el-Zour province, but a rare face-to-face meeting of senior U.S. and Russian military officers last month appeared to have calmed tensions.
Syria observers have said the race between the US-backed fighters and the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian government forces is likely to be a source of direct confrontation in the absence of a political agreement.
IS has suffered a series of major setbacks in recent months, including the loss of the Syrian city of Raqqa, once the extremists’ self-styled capital, and the Iraqi city of Mosul. Most of the territory the group once held has been seized by an array of Syrian and Iraqi forces.
An estimated 6,500 IS fighters remain in eastern Syria and western Iraq, many concentrated along the Euphrates River valley straddling the border, the U.S. military said last week.Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo has called for police to “gun down” foreigners suspected of drug trafficking if they resist arrest, amid fears that the harsh drugs crackdown in neighbouring Philippines has led to increased trafficking in Indonesia.
Widodo’s announcement, which took place on July 21, essentially called for the extrajudicial killings of people suspected of drug offences. He justified this on the grounds that his country is facing a “narcotics emergency”. Indonesia’s National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian further supported President Widodo’s standpoint on this issue by asserting that “when we shoot drug dealers, they go away”.
On July 26, Budi Waseso, the Commissioner General of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency, told ABC News that his country has become "the biggest [drugs] market in the world, in my opinion". "The market that existed in the Philippines is moving to Indonesia", he claimed, asserting that the extreme violence against people involved with drugs in the Philippines has led to "an exodus to Indonesia, including [of] the substance."
This concept has been identified as the “balloon effect”, whereby law enforcement pressure on drug crime in one area pushes it into another (“squeezing a balloon in one place makes it expand in another”).
Although Commissioner General Waseso previously called for Indonesian police to imitate the approach to drugs being implemented in the Philippines, he has since back-tracked, stating "I will not follow or copy it, I don't even support it".
There has been an ongoing slaughter of people in the Philippines alleged to be involved with drugs under the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte famously considers the killing of people suspected of drug use or sale to be the prime solution for ending his country’s drug trade. Since he secured the presidency in July 2016, more than 9,000 people suspected of drug offences have been killed. On July 24, Duterte called for a legislative amendment so that people could be legally executed by the state for drug possession.
President Duterte (l) and President Widodo (r) (Source: Wikimedia )
The war on drugs in Indonesia has similarly been intensifying over recent years, particularly since President Widodo took office in October 2014. Within four months of his inauguration, President Widodo’s government had executed 14 people, including 12 foreign nationals, for drug trafficking offences. Despite the United Nations appealing to Indonesia to reinstate its moratorium on the death penalty, the executions still went ahead. These executions garnered significant attention from international human rights organisations, governments, and media outlets.
In early July of this year, the Jakarta police shot dead a Taiwanese national for resisting arrest during a drugs raid, reportedly resulting in the largest drug bust in Indonesian history – a single seizure allegedly valued at $100million.
Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Asia Division has recently called on Indonesian officials to denounce the Philippines drug war due to its heavy brutality and violation of basic human rights. Furthermore, HRW requested that President Widodo sends a clear message to his security forces that they should respect everyone’s basic human rights when tackling the nation’s so-called “narcotics emergency”.
Previous Indonesian executions have primarily targeted foreign citizens convicted of drug trafficking, but President Widodo’s apparent condoning of extrajudicial killings suggests that Indonesia may begin emulating the Philippines approach. In the Philippines, the so-called drug war has primarily manifested as a war on poor people who use drugs, rather than powerful traffickers or gang leaders.
Indonesian Police Chief Karnavian recently stated that “drug smugglers are targeting Indonesia because they deem the country’s law enforcement efforts weak” compared to the Philippines. If Indonesia joins the Philippines in using extrajudicial killings to combat the drug trade, this may set a dangerous precedent. Will other Southeast Asian countries follow suit?All that work by helicopter parents to whip their children into Ivy League shape is a fool’s errand that perpetuates a flawed educational caste system where high-achieving “zombie” students train diligently for elite careers, but learn little of value about life or themselves.
That’s author William Deresiewicz’s acidic assessment of top-tier universities, their students, and the admissions process. His contention has ignited widespread debate since an excerpt from his new book, “Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life,” appeared in The New Republic in July. It is reportedly the most widely read piece in the magazine’s 100-year history.
A graduate of Columbia University who taught English at Yale, Deresiewicz based his book on ideas he first espoused in 2008. It has garnered praise from observers like David Brooks, the New York Times’ Op-Ed columnist, for raising important questions about the role that elite colleges and universities should play in shaping young lives, and the still-lagging effort to assemble an intellectually and socioeconomically diverse student body.
But the book also has drawn criticism from others who say it is sometimes gratuitously caustic and simplistic, painting everyone with a broad brush. Among the critics is Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, whose blistering rebuttal of Deresiewicz’ work also ran in The New Republic earlier this month.
“The book isn’t called, ‘Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League’ or ‘Everything Is the Fault of the Ivy League,’ ” Deresiewicz said in an interview earlier this month from his home in Oregon, in advance of an appearance at Harvard Monday night. “Fundamentally, this is about the whole system that gets kids into the colleges, and even what happens to them afterward.”
He criticized an admissions process that he said overvalues credentials — standardized test scores, grade-point averages, and resume-padding extracurriculars — and undervalues smart but creative or offbeat students who haven’t mastered the art of hoop jumping and can’t afford to get expert help burnishing their resumes.
“What that process produces, and what I think the colleges don’t do nearly enough to disrupt, are the kinds of people whom I call ‘excellent sheep,’” he said. “They’re great students [who] become great at learning how to work the system; they become great at learning how to do the minimum they need to do in order to maintain their G.P.A. and the whole resume array.”
Deresiewicz said many students over the years have admitted, fairly cynically, that they know “education is a code to be cracked.” They defend their laundry lists of activities as evidence of their intellectual passion, a claim Deresiewicz views with a jaundiced eye.
“OK, maybe you chose the 12 [activities] you’re quote-unquote interested in, but that’s not the same as passion,” he said. “To me, a passion is something that seizes you so deeply that you don’t care about doing the other 11 things.
“As critical as I am of the students, they’re not really my targets. My targets are the people who make them who they are. It’s the schools that create the criteria, not the admissions officers per se, and it’s the crazy, upper-middle-class parents who insist on inflicting this on their children because they would fall into a bottomless abyss of disgrace if their kid didn’t get into Harvard.”
Deresiewicz lobbies for elite schools to return to emphasizing a thoughtful liberal-arts education, one that encourages students to find their passion, not their profession.
He also takes issue with the persistent scarcity of students from poor and blue-collar backgrounds at elite schools. While it’s laudable that Harvard provides at least 60 percent of undergraduates with some form of financial aid, he said, that still means 40 percent — too many, in his view — have enough money that they don’t need help.
“Listen, I think there are some very well-meaning people at Harvard and other schools, and they genuinely want to do something about this, and they’re genuinely trying, but this is the other reason why I say what we really need is free public higher education.”
Now on a book tour that includes several Ivy League schools, Deresiewicz came to Harvard Monday night to square off with students and faculty for a question-and-answer session convened by Homi K. Bhabha, director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard. “I’m going to those schools because I think they’re the ones that need to hear what I’m saying,” he explained of his visit.
Before a packed, tense Paine Hall, panelists including Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana; Diana Sorensen, the James F. Rothenberg Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of Comparative Literature and dean of arts and humanities at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS); Fawwaz Habbal, executive dean for education and research at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), took aim at Deresiewicz’s depiction of college students as caricatures and disputed his view that universities must help students “build a soul,” not just train the next generation of leaders.
“What gives me pause, and what gives other people pause, is when you go on to fault us for failing to ensure that all of our students develop souls, and that they do so on a four-year schedule” that might be better called ‘No Soul Left Behind,’ ” said English Professor Amanda Claybaugh. “What happens when you try to institutionalize what should be a fundamentally individual process? And I wonder if you worry about — if we make it clear to our students that what we’re trying to do is help them build souls — does soul-building become yet another box to check for them?”
Bhabha told Deresiewicz that while he welcomed his frankness and support for the importance of the humanities, he found Deresiewicz’s view that students who go on to become bankers and lawyers are shallow careerists surprisingly “stereotypical” and amounted to little more than “finger-pointing and name-calling.”
“Why do you assume that bankers aren’t interested in soul-making?” asked Bhabha.
Khurana suggested that in this era of declining economic prospects, Harvard students and their parents reasonably worry about their future careers and that the University plays only one part in driving students’ choices and ambitions.
Deresiewicz said that careerism at Harvard is a problem that long predates the current recession. “Nothing that I’m describing started in 2008. I think the place where that argument is least valid is here,” he said. “Because fairly or unfairly … if you get out of here with a degree,” you’re quite likely to enjoy, at a minimum, a comfortable, middle-class life, he added.
“You may not be wealthy, but by any reasonable standard, the Harvard name is going to open any doors you want it to open.”In an article published last week in the Times_,_ Roni Caryn Rabin highlighted the downside of antidepressant treatment during pregnancy, linking the use of S.S.R.I.s to an inventory of woes, including autism, A.D.H.D. (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), lower language competence at age three, preterm birth, cardiac defects, clubfoot, persistent pulmonary hypertension, lower Apgar scores, and low birth weight. “Other experts think it’s time to reconsider widespread use of these drugs in pregnant women altogether,” wrote Rabin. She quoted one such expert as saying, “This is a message people don’t necessarily want to hear. Everyone’s happier with this idea that the medications are O.K.”
The group Postpartum Support International, a leader in mental-health issues for pregnant women and new mothers, responded with considerable outrage. They said that Rabin’s piece was “likely to foster unnecessary fear,” and that “the implication that women idly choose to start or to remain on antidepressants... or any other medication during pregnancy is insulting and demeaning.” They continued: “The author has chosen to cherry pick studies to support her misguided, inaccurate hypothesis, and ignored studies that failed to find increased risks associated with SSRI use in pregnancy…. Rather than condemning the choices made, it is about time for society to support these women and show compassion for the painful ordeal they are experiencing.” The Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital posted an equally dismayed reply to the Times_ _story. “Ms. Rabin seems to trivialize depression, making it seem more like acne or athlete’s foot,” it read. “Cursory presentation of the complexity of decisions made around antidepressant use during pregnancy has the real potential to place patients in harm’s way. At best, such presentation is just incomplete; at its worst, it is irresponsible.”
Some fifteen per cent of women suffer from depression during pregnancy, and the use of antidepressants in expectant women is on the rise. One study found that rates more than doubled between 1999 and 2003 for women on Medicaid; at present, about six to seven per cent of pregnant women take these medications. For women with a history of depression, the rates are far higher. Pregnancy can easily trigger a relapse, and those who discontinue medications during pregnancy are nearly three times as likely to relapse as those who continue to take their medication.
Sampling of cord blood at birth indicates that the level of these medications in the fetal bloodstream is more than half of the level in the mother’s; the drugs are also present in amniotic fluid. Some studies suggest an association between S.S.R.I.s and certain types of infant cardiac defects (while another study has correlated S.S.R.I.s with a lower incidence of certain cardiac defects). There is also mixed data on antidepressants’ causal link to miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth weight, and there is some support for a small increased risk of a lung condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension in the newborn. In about a third of cases, babies born to mothers on S.S.R.I.s develop neonatal adaptation syndrome, which involves jitteriness, reflux, and sneezing, but these symptoms are generally mild and often resolve within forty-eight hours—though neonatal seizures have occasionally been reported. Mice exposed to high levels of S.S.R.I.s during early development show reduction in sexual activity among adult males, inhibition of exploratory behavior, and altered REM sleep. All of this is of course terrifying to prospective mothers, who often choose against taking S.S.R.I.s because of these vague, hard to quantify, but undeniable risks.
Some authorities have suggested that antidepressants during pregnancy may increase the rate of autism among offspring. Five studies on this subject have been published since 2011. Three found some association. Since a considerable literature supports parental or family history of depression and other psychiatric illness as a risk factor for autism, however, it’s hard to know whether the treated mothers were producing autistic children because they took medication or because they carried genes of psychic fragility. The largest study, a 2013 population survey conducted in Denmark, attempted to control for maternal depression and did not find any association between the drugs and autism.
While the drugs are risky, depression during pregnancy is at least as problematical. Animal studies show that stressed mammalian mothers are likely to have offspring with poor neurodevelopment. Pregnant women experiencing depression or anxiety are under greater stress and may have altered neurobiology themselves, which could affect fetal development via changes in the uterine environment. Indeed, untreated depression during pregnancy is associated with increased miscarriage rates, preterm birth, and low birth weight—some of the very risks associated with maternal use of S.S.R.I.s. Depressed mothers are at increased risk for preeclampsia. Recent research has shown that the fetus of a depressed, expectant mother has alterations in the microstructure of the right amygdala. There is even some evidence that mothers who are extremely stressed during their first trimesters may be more likely to have children who later develop schizophrenia. One review notes that pregnant women’s experience of stress has been linked to an increased risk of mixed-handedness, affective disorders, and reduced cognitive ability. Anxiety and depression during pregnancy are associated with increased risk for future mental illness in the offspring. A longitudinal study of inner-city women found that the children of those mothers who had been depressed during pregnancy were almost five times as likely to be depressed as those not exposed to depression in utero. Other research indicates that newborns of depressed mothers have “lower motor tone and endurance, are less active, less robust, more irritable, and less easily soothed.” Yet another recent study showed that, while children of mothers treated with antidepressants showed standard language and cognitive skills, children of depressed mothers who were not treated had reduced language and cognition. One review acknowledges, “The notion that the mother’s mood disturbance or stress levels during pregnancy may influence the developing child has a robust history across cultures and is widely embedded in folk psychology.”
At the same time, it is important not to blame mothers for their children’s neurological challenges. The shadow of the “refrigerator mother,” who was said to cause autism, falls long across this research. It may be counterproductive to tell women under stresses they cannot avoid that they are damaging their children by being unhappy—or by being treated for their distress. Blaming some |
agin wanted to have a small sparring contest, they both got scared pretty quick and dismissed that claim as a joke. They got even more scared when Habara dropped a humongous rock in her hands. Everyime though, she tries to make up with Karasawa.
Nago: Tadakuni and Yoshitake’s co-worker at their part time job who seems to be “kinda” down with how she looks. She has an eternal grimace on her face but when asked to “Brighten up” she took her headband down and tried to smile, she actually looked pretty awesome.
Ringo: The girl with the inferiority complex who meets the our all boys student council and is met with the three guys I posted way up in this post. I thought I would hate Ringo, but she turned out to be a hilarious character when she happens to be around the student council.
Sisters and other female charaacters: This show seems portray girls as wild animals and bullies while they portray guys as gentlemen. While that is a pretty sexist point of view, you have to realize that not every girl or guy is a saint. Back on topic though. Tadakuni’s sister seems to possess monstrous strength and Motoharu’s sister seems to be ticked off at her brother because he can cook a lot better than she can.
There’s really not that much to say about this series you know? While the season was filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, but one thing remained constant. Danshi Kokousei was there every monday to make me laugh out loud as I try to work ahead of my studies. The style of humor in Cromartie was sometimes centered around Japanese media and celebrities but it mainly focused on their stupidity and that was enough to love the show. Danshi however talks abotu exactly what a regular guy at this day and age would take about. RPG’s, sports, friends, girls, bah, you can guess the rest. The characters talk about the cliches of modern day plot devices, characters archetypes and the sort.
While Cromartie Highschool may have made me laugh a lot more than this did, Danshi was a suitable replacement/extension/prequel of a highschool comedy featuring a bunch of highschool boys being highschool boys. I’m gonna miss these idiots and I pray for a second season to come by.The Houston Texans will bring back quarterback Case Keenum.Sports reporter David Nuno confirmed the Texans will sign Keenum to the squad to replace the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick.Houston lost starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick early in the second quarter with a left leg injury. Fitzpatrick was carted off the field with an air cast covering the leg.Coach Bill O'Brien would not confirm reports that Fitzpatrick's leg was broken."I felt for him because he knew right away that it was injured," O'Brien said.Without Fitzpatrick, the Texans turned to rookie Tom Savage. He completed his first NFL pass for a first down, then struggled. Savage finished 10 of 19 for 127 yards with two fumbles and two turnovers.Late in the fourth quarter, Savage also took a hit to his knee and it looked like he was going to have to come out of the game. Savage managed to stay in, but threw an interception on 4th down. He was seen on crutches after the game and is expected to have an MRI today.If Savage is unable to suit up again, Keenum and Thad Lewis would be the only remaining quarterbacks on the Texans roster. Lewis was inactive for the Texans game Sunday against the Colts.Keenum most recently was on the St. Louis Ram's practice squad. Keenum set NCAA records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions while at the University of Houston. However, he wasn't drafted after his senior year. The Texans signed him as a free agent in 2012 and he took over as starter for Matt Schaub in a disastrous 2013 season, in which the Texans went 2-14.While the Texans starter, Keenum was 137 for 253 for 1,760 yards. He threw 9 touchdowns and had 6 interceptions.As the volcano blew on May 18, 1980, 11-year-old Tara Bowen and her father flew a small plane close to the eruption. For the first time, she tells the story of the white-knuckle flight and reveals the photos that have been tucked away for 34 years.
On the bright morning of May 18, 1980, 11-year-old Tara Bowen got out of bed just before 9 a.m. with one thing on her mind: the rebroadcast of Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40” radio countdown.
Tara turned on the radio but didn’t find the Top 40; instead, local DJ’s were buzzing with news that Mount St. Helens was erupting.
Tara looked out of her Northwest Portland home to see ash spiraling 12 miles toward the heavens. She ran to the home office of her father, Richard, a retired economic geologist from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. She told him to look up from his desk; he did, and then he reached for the phone.
“I need a plane,” he said to his friend, a fellow private pilot who often flew with him in rented planes from the small Troutdale airport just east of town. Richard then turned to Tara.
“Want to come along?”
* * *
Richard Bowen
Richard grabbed his camera and headed to the car. He considered the activity of Mount St. Helens to be the geologic event of his life. In the two months leading up to the explosion, he logged 15 hours in gliders and small planes as he photographed and documented the mountain’s small and not-so-small explosions for his personal records.
As Richard drove east on Interstate 84, Tara felt lucky because they weren’t stuck in the clogged westbound lanes. Then she realized that the westbound cars were heading away from the mountain, and the eastbound vehicles seemed to be only fire trucks, police cars and ambulances.
Richard drove onto the tarmac and right up to the Cessna 172, tail number N75827. His friend, who’d finished the preflight check, was waiting with his camera.
Richard felt confident in this plane. It was his regular rental, and he knew its quirks. Tara climbed into the back of the four-seater, and Richard and his friend climbed in front. Richard taxied onto the runway, pushed the throttle forward and lifted the plane into the sky. He first turned north, and then east toward the mountain.
Richard stayed quiet as he flew. He was a veteran and father of four daughters and one son, and, according his wife, Janis, he never got a word in anyway, so what was the point of trying to talk? He’d fallen in love with geology, he often said, because “rocks don’t talk back.”
As the plane approached the mountain, Richard finally began to speak.
“We’re over the yellow zone. Now we’re in the red zone.”
Tara saw lightning the likes of which she’d never seen before: red, pink, purple. The turbulent air, full of debris, felt as though it were boiling. She prepared to say something and then noticed that neither man was flying the plane. Both were taking pictures as they flew west.
Richard then put down the camera, turned the plane around to the east, and kept shooting as he flew along the edge of the red zone. As he did so, Tara noticed a helicopter disappear into the steam and ash.
Tara had flown enough with her father in times past that she’d had the opportunity to take the controls a time or two. She feared her father would ask her to do it again so he could take better pictures. Finally, fear got the best of her and she spoke up.
“I think we’re close enough,” she said.
“We’ll just take one more pass.”
Instead, he continued to fly for at least one more hour, according to the logbook. During that time, Tara remembers her father blurting out observations with a passion she’d rarely heard.
“Look at the trees,” he said. “They’re falling like toothpicks!”
After an excruciatingly long two hours for Tara, Richard finally steered the Cessna back to Troutdale. The adrenaline-fueled trio bantered on the tarmac in high-pitched tones as the mountain continued to erupt in the background. Tara hardly remembers what was said – she was just happy to be on the ground.
Tara Bowen at about age seven.
When they arrived home, Tara ran to tell her mother the story of the flight. Janis had wondered where they were: Richard hadn’t even told her they were leaving the house. Janis knew her husband was the type of guy who pursued his fascinations to fullest; the man who’d once courted her by driving 120 mph on Interstate 5 in a red-roofed, white-walled, 50’s-era Jaguar was always going to do what he wanted, no matter what anyone said. “What’s the point of being mad at him?” she thought to herself – it wouldn’t do any good. Besides, her family just had a great adventure.
Richard turned the photos he’d taken into slides and meticulously labeled and organized them. Then, the binder sat largely untouched in a hallway closet for the next 34 years. Richard was not a philosopher. He had no time for religion. He was a scientist. The explosion was predictable, it occurred, he witnessed it, and then he moved on. The past was the past, and there was no need to promote or brag. It was his scientist’s affect that drove him to capture the pictures, and it was that same affect that kept the most spectacular photographs of the historic eruption from public view for the next few decades.Women would be barred from wearing burqas and veils while posing for photos on Georgia driver’s licenses under legislation filed for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
House Bill 3, filed by state Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, would also subject female Muslim garb to the state’s anti-masking statute — which originally was aimed at the Ku Klux Klan.
The need for the changes are unclear. Bert Brantley, the commissioner of the state Department of Driver Services, said wearing burqas in state license photographs is already prohibited.
“We have agency rules against any kind of facial covering,” Brantley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We have to be able to see from below the chin to above the eyebrows.”
Spencer said his legislation is intended to apply to women operating motor vehicles on public roadways, but the wording also suggests the restriction might apply to any kind of public property.
When asked whether his bill was designed to ban burqas on all public property, Spencer said, “No.” But he declined to elaborate on the need for the bill or why women should not be allowed to wear burqas while driving. He later told Channel 2 Action News that his bill “is simply a response to constituents that do have concerns of the rise of Islamic terrorism, and we in the state of Georgia do not want our laws used against us and to take advantage of us.”
The proposal is likely to become entangled with the broader debate over “religious liberty” legislation likely to be reintroduced in the General Assembly session that begins Jan. 9. A key proponent of past “religious liberty” bills, state Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, on Wednesday said he opposes Spencer’s bill.
“Passing laws that clearly abrogate the free exercise rights of fellow Georgians will do nothing but create additional fear and division,” McKoon said on Facebook, adding that he understands the necessity of driver’s license photos showing one’s entire face. “But we should not give in to a fear of religious traditions that some may not value or understand — after all we live in a country founded on the idea that all of us are entitled to the right of free exercise, not just those government deems worthy.
Spencer’s bill has spurred bipartisan opposition. House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, called the measure “bigoted” and a “direct result of the rhetoric we heard during Donald Trump’s Islamaphobic presidential campaign.”
Atlanta attorney Andy Clark said he does not believe Spencer’s bill would have any practical effect. The state Supreme Court in 1990 wrote that the Anti-Mask Act only prohibits “mask-wearing conduct when the mask-wearer knows or reasonably should know that the conduct provokes a reasonable apprehension of intimidation, threats or violence.”
In light of that, Clark said, “I don’t think (Spencer’s bill) really does anything.”
Given its apparent lack of impact, Clark said he wondered what Spencer’s true intent is.
“A separate issue is whether HB 3 is motivated by any sort of anti-religious animus,” he said. “It seems that it probably is. Why else propose a bill that doesn’t do anything? But I don’t think the courts would even have to get to that issue.”
Anthony Kreis, a law professor at the Chicago-Kent School of Law and a former University of Georgia professor who has testified against “religious liberty” legislation at the Capitol, said the bill appears designed to target Muslim women unfairly.
“It is clear he’s trying to target disfavored women’s religious clothing,” Kreis said. “If the intention was different, he could have crafted a narrow exception within the proposed amendment to the Anti-Mask Act.”
In addition, he said, “if burqas obstruct drivers and hinder them from safely operating a vehicle, then the General Assembly should reconsider the use of helmets for motorcyclists.”
“The legislation, in its totality, seems motivated by the bare desire to harm,” Kreis said.
The head of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations agreed.
“Very few Georgia Muslim women wear face veils,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell told Channel 2, “but those who do have a constitutional right to do so.”Americans who believe the U.S. should not accept refugees from Syria and the Middle East have an unlikely ally: the Dalai Lama.
The 14th Dalai Lama, the head of the Tibetan Buddhist monks and one of the world's most recognized religious leaders, spoke Thursday with Piers Morgan on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" and reiterated his belief that refugees from the Middle East should return home to rebuild their countries. While the Dalai Lama may not be a fan of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — the Dalai Lama mocked the businessman during his interview with Morgan — the pair seem to agree on this issue, even if for different reasons.
"The main effort should go to help their own country bring peace, in Syria, Libya or even Afghanistan. Generally the people always feel, 'oh, one day we return'," the Dalai Lama told Morgan. "[They] should rebuild their own country."
The Dalai Lama is a refugee himself. Tenzin Gyatso, 81, the current Dalai Lama, has not been able to return to his home country of Tibet since 1959, following an uprising against the Chinese occupation of the country.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has spoken out on the global refugee crisis. While the religious leader has applauded countries like Austria and Germany that have opened their doors to refugees, he has also pointed out the limits of a nation's ability to provide a safe haven to thousands of additional people.
"When we look at the face of each refugee, but especially those of the children and women, we feel their suffering, and a human being who has a better situation in life has the responsibility to help them. But on the other hand, there are too many at the moment," he said in May. "Europe, Germany in particular, cannot become an Arab country, Germany is Germany."
Trump also believes that refugees from the Middle East would be better off back home.
While Trump has admitted, "It’s living in hell in Syria, there is no question about it," he promised to send any refugees accepted in the U.S. back to the Middle East. "I’m putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they’re going back," he has said.
Trump has also repeatedly called for a ban on Muslim immigration to address the threat of terrorism and criticized President Barack Obama's policy of accepting Syrian refugees. Donald Trump Jr., the candidate's son, recently courted controversy by comparing the threat he says refugees in the U.S. pose to a bowl of Skittles candy in which a few are poisoned. Trump also linked the Obama administration's refugee policy to last week's bombings in New York and New Jersey reportedly carried out by a naturalized citizen who was born in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled Syria as a result of the country's civil war and are seeking asylum elsewhere. The U.S. has pledged to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees.Tit for Tat on Preferred Legislation
If liberals can refuse to defend laws that they don't like, then conservatives can refuse to fund those that they deem undesirable. As most who follow politics well know, on the issue of marriage, twice recently, liberals refused to honor the law when it comes to marriage. Of course, as we also know, such efforts were successful.
Particularly troubling was the case involving California's Proposition 8. Because the state of California refused to defend Prop 8 in court, it was left up to plaintiffs without legal "standing" to do so. Because of this lack of "standing" (the plaintiffs didn't have the right to be a party to the case because they hadn't suffered any specific harm) in federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case and directed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate their decision in the matter. This in effect upheld the district courts decision to strike down Prop 8. Since the state of California still refuses to defend what was passed by their citizens, same-sex marriages were allowed to resume in California. In other words, California officials scanned the political landscape and deemed it now safe to simply ignore the law. Other states are taking notice. Earlier this month, the Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania, Kathleen Kane, announced that her office would not defend her state's ban (since 1996) on recognizing same-sex marriages. Liberals across the country seem to be perfectly content with this approach. However, they will howl like rabid dogs whenever it is proposed that the House GOP may consider a similar approach when it comes to funding Obamacare. As some conservative pundits have recently noted, most notably Rush Limbaugh, there are republicans that are also balking at the proposition of not funding Obamacare. As Heritage Action for America has noted, "The most viable approach to stop the implementation of Obamacare is a complete and total defunding of the law by Congress. Fortunately, Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) [my representative until the recent realignment] and Sen. Cruz have introduced the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013." As Heritage has also noted, once Obamacare is fully implemented, the politics of this debate will change. Open enrollment begins October 1, 2013 with the massive subsidies beginning on January 1, 2014. As Heritage also notes, without the legislation mentioned above, the next best opportunity to defund Obamacare comes this September when Congress must pass the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. Senator Cruz and other senators, along with a growing number of Representatives, have pledged not to vote for a CR that funds any part of Obamacare. This is a political fight that conservatives can win. Obamacare is more unpopular than same-sex marriage is popular. Some members of the GOP need to be reminded that defeating Obamacare was the biggest reason most of them were elected to Congress.
Trevor Grant Thomas At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason www.trevorgrantthomas.comLast Thursday House Republicans introduced the misleadingly titled "Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013." Touted by Republicans as a new comp time initiative that will give hourly-paid workers the flexibility to meet family responsibilities, it is neither new nor about giving these workers much needed time off to care for their families. The bill rehashes legislation Republicans passed in the House in 1997, some 16 years ago, and that they introduced again in most subsequent Congresses. Its major effect would be to hamstring workers -- likely increasing overtime hours for those who don't want them and cutting pay for those who do.
The proposed legislation undermines the 40-hour work week that workers have long relied on to give them time to spend with their kids. The flexibility in this comp time bill would have employees working unpaid overtime hours beyond the 40-hour workweek and accruing as many as 160 hours of compensatory time. A low-paid worker making $10 an hour who accrued that much comp time in lieu of overtime pay would effectively give his or her employer an interest-free loan of $1,600 -- equal to a month's pay. That's a lot to ask of a worker making about $20,000 a year. Indeed, any worker who accrues 160 hours of comp time will in effect have loaned his or her employer a month's pay. This same arithmetic provides employers with a powerful incentive to increase workers' overtime hours. Instead of having to pay time-and-a-half wages when an hourly-paid employee works longer than the standard 40-hour work week, the employer incurs no financial cost at the time the extra hours are worked.
This bill is not just a problem for individual workers. The labor market remains a wild card in an economy still struggling to solidify a fragile recovery. With nearly 12 million people counted as unemployed and another 7.6 million part-time workers looking for full-time hours, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have promised to focus on job creation. This comp time bill does exactly the opposite. Instead of encouraging employers to increase hiring when business picks up and help jump start a more robust recovery, it gives them a strong incentive to increase the overtime hours of current employees instead.
In principle a worker's agreement to receive comp time instead of overtime pay is supposed to be voluntary. But anyone who has worked at a $10 an hour job understands what it is to get an offer from your employer that you can't refuse. Under the provisions of the bill, employers are not supposed to threaten, intimidate or coerce employees into agreeing to comp time in lieu of wages. But employers don't need to resort to such tactics. Everyone understands that in this economy, with unemployment still at recession levels, the employer holds all the cards. Workers who refuse to go along with an employer's request for comp time instead of wages know that their commitment to their employer will be questioned. They fear that in a crunch they will be vulnerable to having their hours cut or being let go. In a weak job market, very few hourly-paid workers can risk that. Without a union to protect their right to refuse to trade overtime pay for comp time, and with no funds in the bill for enforcement of these provisions, the voluntary nature of such agreements is highly suspect.
House majority leader Eric Cantor is right when he says that working parents have a hard time being home when their kids really need them. Parents need the flexibility to take a child who suddenly develops a high fever to the doctor or to attend a meeting with their child's teacher to develop his or her educational plan for the coming school year. The comp time bill House Republicans introduced last Thursday does not address these needs at all. Employees cannot just take comp time when they need it. Rather, the bill lets an employer who receives a request for comp time decide when the employee gets to take it. The employer can even refuse the request and defer it to a later time if, in the employer's view, letting the employee take comp time will "unduly disrupt the operations of the employer."Brian Armstrong CEO of US based bitcoin exchange Coinbase has repeatedly challenging people to a bet about “bitcoin classic” on his twitter. For those of you out of the bitcoin drama loop “bitcoin classic” is a change in some of the code of the bitcoin protocol.
Crazy, despite all the vocal criticism and calls for consensus, not a single person willing to take me up on my bet https://t.co/Jb5fdYuRQJ — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) 16. Februar 2016
How about at 10:1 odds, will anyone take it then? (you pay $500 if you lose, I'll pay $5,000 if I lose) — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) 16. Februar 2016
The ironic thing is that Coinbase shuts down accounts left and right that dare send 10 bucks worth of bitcoin to a sports book or online casino. True degenerate behavior will always outshine political posturing. If Mr. Armstrong loses his bet, which is quite likely, then he won´t be paying from a Coinbase account that is for sure.Two blasts have ripped through busy market areas in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, killing at least 131 people and injuring 200 others. Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan confirmed that the first blast had come from a suicide truck bomb.
"It was like an earthquake. I wrapped up my goods and was heading home when I saw a fireball with a thunderous bombing," eyewitness Karim Sami told AP. "I was so scared to go back and started to make phone calls to my friends, but none answered."
Breaking : a suicide bomber targets busy Karada district in #baghdad and targets an eatery and a busy market pic.twitter.com/97B9OboFeD — Steven nabil (@stevoiraq) July 2, 2016
Eyewitnesses said on Twitter that many shops burned down as a result of the explosions, and there are fears that the number of casualties could grow.
Karrada, an upper middle class district in the Iraqi capital, is mostly inhabited by Shia, but also has quite a large Christian minority. The area becomes very busy after sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.
Shortly after the explosion hit Karrada, eyewitnesses said that a second blast targeted the Shaab neighborhood, which is located in the northern part of the city.
AP said that at least five people were killed in that bombing and another sixteen were injured. Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia said a suspected homemade explosive device was used to hit a market.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has in an online statement claimed responsibility for the attack in Karrada, Baghdad.
The tactics resemble Islamic State’s signature, as the terrorists frequently choose Shia-populated civilian areas in the capital as targets.
Iraqi security officials are attempting to restore order amid the state of panic that has ensued following the attacks, Altaf Ahmad, a local journalist, told RT.
“Major roads leading to the venue of the explosion [in Karrada] have been cut off. We know that the car bomb that went off in the area that is known to be crowded at this time. After sunset, after the break of fast during the holy month of Ramadan many people start to go out... We are expecting that the number could rise to 100 casualties,” Ahmad said.
Meanwhile, Abayomi Azikiwe, editor at Pan-African News Wire, said the pattern of bombing in Baghdad reminded him of what happened in Istanbul.
“There is some affirmation that Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. This follows a pattern for the last week with the attack in Istanbul. The sectarian divisions inside the country have exacerbated and there’s been a reaction on both sides,” Azikiwe told RT.
He also noted that Islamic State had suffered tremendous losses over the past several months and could be committing such attacks in order to avenge their retreat.
“They moved to other geopolitical regions, in Libya, for example, in western part of the country. A lot of these attacks are done for propaganda reasons,” he added. “[These attacks] definitely appear to be coordinated.”
Earlier this week, at least 12 people were killed and 32 injured in another suicide attack west of Baghdad, where an attacker wearing a suicide vest targeted a Sunni mosque in Abu Ghraib.
READ MORE: At least 12 killed in suicide attack on Abu Ghraib mosque
Islamic State was recently pushed out of Fallujah by Iraqi forces, but the terrorist group still controls Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which is located in northern Iraq.Looking for news you can trust?
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What a week! First President Barack Obama announces a massive climate agreement with China designed to lower both countries’ carbon emissions while doubling down on clean energy development. Now this morning, the New York Times is reporting that the president will soon announce a $3 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund, a UN-administered account that will help developing countries clean their energy sectors and adapt to the impacts of global warming.
A $3 billion pledge from the United States would double the size of the fund; the biggest donations up to this point were $1 billion each from France and Germany. More countries are expected to make commitments at a UN meeting in Berlin next week. The fund’s stated goal is to reach $15 billion before a key meeting next month in Lima, Peru.
Obama’s pledge “is a strong and important signal to developing countries that the US is serious ahead of climate negotiations in 2015,” said Alex Doukas, a sustainable finance analyst at the World Resources Institute.
From the Times:
It is not clear whether Mr. Obama’s $3 billion pledge will come from existing sources of funding, or whether he will have to ask Congress to appropriate the money. Since 2010, the Obama administration has spent about $2.5 billion to help poor countries adapt to climate change and develop new clean sources of energy, but Republicans are certain to target additional requests for money linked to climate change and foreign aid.
So there are still some details to work out. But like the US-China climate deal, the most immediate impact of this pledge announcement will be to encourage other countries to up the ante on their own commitments.Find your ideal music teacher to achieve your new year's resolutions!
New students can book 12 lessons for the price of 10 with any of the excellent teachers on this page.
Sale ends January 31, 2019.
Enroll for a 30-day license for any of these courses for FREE, before January 31, 2019:
Composition
Jazz Trombone Improvisation
Practical Music Theory
So You Want to Play the Mandolin
Piano Master Class
Piccolo Master Class
Piano Practice Methods
Blues Guitar Workshop
Singing for Guitarists
Blues for Kids
Modern Songwriting
Violin Improvisation Workshop
Playin' the Changes
Introduction to Flute
Introduction to Piano
Song Production: GarageBand 101
Trumpet Practice
The Embodied Voice
Introduction to Trombone
Introduction to Cello
Guitar 101
Beatbox Bookclub
Introduction to Drums
Introduction to Singing
Introduction to Violin
Introduction to Guitar
Beatmaking
Introduction to Songwriting
Introduction to the Recorder
Beginner Flute: Vibrato and Articulation
Ukulele Player Series
Find your ideal music teacher to achieve your new year's resolutions!Sale ends January 31, 2019.(Newser) – In Russia's criminal justice system, size matters. And unfortunately, that means exactly what you think it means. A poor lad named Tomas discovered this after he moved from Ukraine to Moscow to live with his aunt and was soon accused of stealing a cell phone, reports UPI. The kid claims to be 13, but a skeptical court ordered a physical exam that included a look at his private parts. Doctors then estimated his age to be 16 or 17. The distinction matters, because the courts can now treat him as an adult, explains the Moscow Times. A judge promptly threw Tomas in jail.
The boy's relatives are protesting, saying that he got into the country with Ukraine documents that prove he's not lying, and the case is reportedly under review by the regional prison service. Tomas insists he's innocent of the theft, too, which, if true, would mean that he's in jail for a really, really bad reason. (To be fair, doctors also examined his teeth, so the decision might not have rested on genitals alone.) "Could it be a case of Russia trying to flex its muscles and make an example of the boy amid its ongoing conflict with Ukraine?" asks a post at Death and Taxes. "Or is Russia’s legal system really this backward? Either way, things don’t look great for Tomas." (Meanwhile, a Seattle doctor's genitals have landed him in hot water.)Nintendo doesn’t release sales information for non-Nintendo games on the Nintendo Switch, but chatter among indie devs about strong sales has been common since the system launched.
According to the sales charts on the system itself on Nov. 22, Rocket League is outselling Super Mario Odyssey, and Skyrim and Stardew Valley take the third and fourth-place slots. None of these games look the best on the Switch, but Nintendo has made a system that is thriving due to games and ports that look good enough, but no better.
Everyone likes to say that a game’s visuals aren’t the most important thing, but we also argue endlessly about frame rate and resolution. The entire point of the Xbox One X is that it’s the most powerful console ever made; it’s a product for people who want to rest easy knowing that they are getting the best looking console version of every game that’s available on the system.
Rocket League is an ideal Switch port. The resolution is limited, and there isn’t much in the way of aliasing. The team made graphical sacrifices to make sure the game ran at 60 fps, and it was the right decision. The game feels amazing in action, and the bright colors of both teams and the ball itself makes the action easy to follow even if the graphical fidelity is lacking a bit when compared to more powerful systems. You can tell it doesn’t look as good as other versions of the game, but you can play it in the bathroom. The rest is meaningless.
Skyrim is in the same boat. The visuals have taken a hit, especially if you’re used to playing on a PC with mods installed. But who cares? The game itself is there, and it looks good enough for you to get lost in the adventure.
The same can be said for the heavily graphically reduced version of Doom that is currently the fifth best-selling game on the Switch. It doesn’t look great, and the frame rate is all over the place, but it’s good enough to be a fun diversion on the road... as long as your hands can handle the strain.
This is the first time my children have played the game, and their beautiful little minds are being blown by the number of things to do and see, and being able to let them play on the Switch while the rest of us are watching the Great British Baking Show on the television makes everyone happy. It’s good enough, which is exactly what it needs to do to sell well on the Switch, which happens to be the bestselling console on the market right now.
This is the beauty of Nintendo; while Sony may think it’s in competition with Netflix, Nintendo went ahead and created a console you can play while watching Netflix.
Nintendo focused on making a system that was easy to use, relatively inexpensive and could be both a portable and a home console. The stats show that players are taking advantage of these factors, and the sales speak for themselves. In a business where it often seems like companies are killing themselves trying to push for the greatest visual fidelity possible, Nintendo has completely shifted the conversation to convenience and fun. The Switch is being richly rewarded for this approach.
Nintendo has also changed the game when it comes to third-party developers. Visual quality is no longer the most important thing, the game just has to run well enough to be playable and enjoyable. A company’s back catalog of older games is now a treasure trove of potential Switch ports. Fans are asking for any number of games from any number of companies to be brought to the console, and publishers would be wise to listen to them.
The Nintendo Switch once again proves the value of changing the game if you can’t win by the existing rules, and there’s not much Microsoft or Sony can do to gain the same momentum with strategies that focus on raw power. Nintendo has this market all to itself, and that’s a great place to be. The game developers just have to learn that looking good enough is a great way to sell a game to an appreciative audience.So this post is mainly a big round-up of the day by day posts I made of my CCNP bootcamp notes.
Here is a list by topics covered each day to make it easier for you to jump into.
There is no TSHOOT posts at the moment, as the idea of TSHOOT is covered in ROUTE and SWITCH, however I will post something to do with troubleshooting in the future.
The training resources I used were
For my fancy Visio Diagrams, please find them on dropbox here. (I only ask that credit is given where used, as these were created by myself.) Examples below;
EIGRP
EIGRP Timers
EIGRP Troubleshooting
EIGRP Lab Topolopy
EIGRP Cont…
EIGRP Authentication
EIGRP Summerization
EIGRP route propagation
EIGRP Stub Networks
EIGRP Timers
OSPF Intro
OSPF
OSPF Timers
Packet Types
Hello Packet
OSPF Convergence
OSPF Convergence Troubleshooting
Router ID
OSPF Virtual-Link
OSPF Authentication
DR/BDR Concept
Point-to-Point Links
Broadcast Multi-Access Network
Non-Broadcast Multi-Access Network
Point-to-Multipoint
Point-to-Point Subinterface
OSPF Summerization
OSPF Default Route
LSA/LSU Types
Special Areas (Stubby and Not-So-Stubby-Area)
OSPF Redistribution
Routing Protocol – Route Filtering
ACLs for route filtering
Route-Map for route filtering
Prefix-List for route filtering
Policy-Based Routing
IPv6
IPv6 with OSPFv3
IPv6 OSPFv3 Virtual-Link
BGP
BGP designs
BGP quick facts
BGP Connection Redundancy
BGP Topologies
BGP Packets
BGP Process
BGP Tables
BGP Path Selection
VLANS
VTP
Switch Port States
Spanning Tree Protocol
Rapid STP
STP Versions
MST Config
Etherchannel
Spanning-Tree
BPDU Guard, Filter, Loop Guard, Root Guard, UDLD
Uplink Fast, Backbone Fast
HSRP
HSRP Continued….. Comparison between HSRP and VRRP GLBP – Gateway Load Balancing Protocol
Port-Security
Private VLANs
AAA – Authentication, Authorization, Accounting
VLAN Access-List
DHCP Snooping
ARP Poisoning / Man in the Middle
IP Spoofing
Other security considerations
Logging
MLS-Mutli-Layer Switching Process Switching Fast Switching CEF
Voice – IP Telephony
QoS – Quality of Service Layer 2 – Class of Service Layer 3 – IP Precedence (Old setting) Layer 3 – DSCP – Sub Marking (New setting) Configuration of |
a given season than they are 30 percent, or any more likely to recover 60 percent of the fumbles than 40. Over a long enough time frame, we would expect to see the Jets recover just about 50 percent of the fumbles in their games. That’s the concept of regression to the mean.
So, with those cautionary points ringing in your ears, let’s take a look at how the league has been affected by randomness during the first half of the NFL season. And since it just came up, let’s start with that wonderfully meaningful bit of fumble luck.
Fumbles Will Happen
The patron saints for the meaningfulness of the fumble are this year’s Washington Redskins. As I wrote about after their loss to the Giants, they’ve lived and died by fumble recoveries this year, and the same accidental tactical weapon that helped produce victories for them earlier in the season came back to bite them in their narrow defeat by Big Blue. Even after that Giants game, in which they fumbled six times while recovering a universe-abiding three, the Redskins still lead the league in fumble recovery rate. They’ve picked up 16 of the 22 fumbles that have hit the ground in their games, producing a 72.7 percent recovery rate that leaves them as the only team in the league over 70 percent.
Just behind them are the Rams, who have picked up nine of a league-low 13 fumbles in their games this season. That figure comes about as a result of the defense, which has just two forced fumbles all season despite an above-average sack rate. The league average is 9.8, and nobody else in football has fewer than six. I did mention earlier that forcing fumbles is a skill, but even skills are subject to some randomness; merely by virtue of a helmet being in the right spot or a punt returner dropping a ball, the Rams simply have to have more fumbles in their games over the second half of the season. The team with the most fumble-happy games, San Diego, has recovered 14 of the 28 free balls in their games. That’s exactly half.
The unluckiest team in the league is one you’ll see come up once or twice in this column as a team of extremes. The Broncos saw their luck seemingly bounce back in the second half of their game versus the Chargers, but they still rate out as the most fumble-unlucky team in the league, having recovered just five of the 22 pigskins up for grabs in their games (22.7 percent).
Behind them are the Chiefs (26.1 percent) and then the Dolphins (27.3 percent), who are an interesting case in terms of this sort of analysis. When I wrote about the Dolphins as a possible sleeper team before the season, I mentioned that the Miami defense had recovered just one of the 12 fumbles that had occurred in their games during the previous season, which was probably the lowest total for a team defense in NFL history. The Dolphins aren’t much better this year, but they absolutely have improved: Miami’s defense has forced 12 fumbles in seven games this year as opposed to 16 all of last season, and while they’ve only recovered three, 25 percent is better than 8.3 percent!
Strength of Schedule
If you’re a Cowboys fan who feels like your team deserves a break, well, here’s some good news. Through the first eight weeks of the season, according to Football Outsiders, no team in the league has played a harder schedule than the Cowboys. When Dallas’s opponents have played teams besides the Cowboys, they’ve gone a collective 21-16, which is roughly the equivalent of Dallas going up against a 10-6 team, on average, each week. That’s not fair, and with the 7-0 Falcons up next for the Cowboys, that figure is only going to look worse. The good news, though, is that they play the league’s sixth-easiest schedule over the second half of the season! That will be even easier once the Cowboys get past their tough matchup with Atlanta.
Another team with a notable strength-of-schedule split are those pesky Broncos, who had the league’s toughest projected schedule heading into the season. After going up against the league’s seventh-most-difficult schedule through this past week, no team in the league has an easier slate over the final nine weeks than Peyton Manning’s boys. They still have two games left against the Chiefs to go along with matchups versus the Panthers, Browns, and Raiders. That’s a lot more fun than playing the Texans and Falcons. The Jets (fourth through today, 29th afterward) are the third team in this group.
The life-isn’t-fair award belongs to the Rams, who don’t seem to get any letup. After playing the toughest schedule in the league last year, they’ve faced the second-most-difficult schedule in the league through seven weeks. After this point, they’ll face the fifth-most-difficult schedule in the league. The Cardinals are in a similar boat, having played the fifth-most-difficult slate, and are about to play the second-toughest schedule over the rest of the year.
On the flip side, it’s good to be a Steelers fan. Pittsburgh’s schedule has been the seventh easiest in the league so far this season, and after today, Football Outsiders projects it to be the third easiest over the remaining nine weeks. That’s not bad at all. If Pittsburgh’s too cold for you, you might also consider cheering for the more temperate slate enjoyed by the Chargers, who have faced the third-friendliest schedule in football so far and will finish with the eighth-easiest grouping.
If you’re looking for a sign of impending danger, the NFC North is the place to be. While the Packers and Lions don’t have dramatic shifts about to pop up in their schedule, the rest of the division isn’t quite as lucky. This one’s simple enough: The Vikings have had the league’s easiest schedule through eight weeks, but they’re projected to have the NFL’s most difficult remaining slate over the final nine weeks of the year. The first half’s surprise contender still has to play Green Bay and Chicago twice each, and those games go along with contests versus the Seahawks and Texans. The Bears’ schedule isn’t much more fun, as it goes from 28th in the league to fourth.
Record in Close Games
Those Vikings saw their season collapse by midseason last year, thanks to a 2-6 start that included a 1-5 record in games decided by one touchdown or less. Minnesota finished 2-9 in those seven-point games, a traditionally strong indicator that an improved win-loss record will come in the following season. Sure enough, the Vikings are off to a 5-3 start this year, one that includes a 3-1 record in games decided by one score or less. This is where we cut to Christian Ponder saying “This stuff really works!”
Of course, the difference between average (2-2) and lucky (3-1) is one win, so it’s not very fair to say that a team like the Vikings has been lucky to do so well in close games this year. But it might be fair to start thinking that about the Falcons, who have gone 4-0 in one-score games, including a three-week stretch that included wins by a combined 12 points over the Panthers, Redskins, and Raiders.
On the other extreme are those Panthers, who deserve a little bit of luck one of these days. National fans might remember the blowout by the Giants from Thursday night and presume that the Panthers are just worst-team-in-the-league candidates, but the 1-6 Panthers haven’t had an embarrassing blowout loss besides that one. Their five other games have all come down to one-score totals, and Carolina has lost each of them.
Defensive Touchdowns
A team that forces a lot of turnovers is more likely to create a scoring opportunity than one that doesn’t, but that’s not enough to explain how ridiculous the Bears have been this season. Through their first seven games, the Chicago defense has scored six touchdowns. That’s 36 points! Lance Briggs has more touchdowns than Calvin Johnson! To put that in perspective, the highest-scoring defense in recent memory was the 2010 Cardinals, and they finished the season with 48 points (eight touchdowns). In 2009 and 2011, those same Cardinals combined for a total of two defensive touchdowns, which should tell you all you need to know about how random this is. The Bears have averaged three defensive scores per year under Lovie Smith, never finishing with more than six, but they’re currently on pace to hit 18. Needless to say, this is unprecedented and sure to slow down over the final nine games.
Because the Bears have only had one touchdown scored on them by opposing defenses, they have a plus-30 margin in terms of defensive scoring, which is the best rate in the league. Just behind them are the Texans, who have four touchdowns scored on them without allowing one so far this year, for a margin of plus-24. The only other teams in double digits on the positive side of the ledger are the Redskins (plus-18) and Broncos (plus-12).
The unlucky team on the other side of the coin? Why, that’s our old embattled friends the Dallas Cowboys. The revamped defense in Texas has not scored a defensive touchdown yet this year, but Jason Pierre-Paul’s pick-six on Sunday marked the fourth touchdown a defense has scored against the Cowboys this season. That leaves the Cowboys alone at the bottom of the table, floundering at minus-24, just ahead of the Bengals and Jaguars at minus-18. The Titans, Eagles, and Lions are at minus-12.
Field Goals Against
Finally, let’s finish up with the most nonsensical skill of all. Outside of their ability to block kicks and the weather patterns of the city in which they play, teams have no ability to prevent opposing kickers from hitting or missing field goals. It’s totally random. Last year, the Eagles had the “best” field goal defense in the league, allowing only 16 of 24 kicks (66.7 percent) to go through the uprights, while the Jets — in the same area of the country — were subject to 29 of 30 field goals (96.7 percent) turning into successes. So far this year, the Jets have “allowed” only 17 of the 21 field goals against them to go through, an 81.0 percent clip that’s below the league average of 87.9 percent. The Eagles? Teams are 19-for-20 against them. That’s 95 percent. Honestly, there’s no skill with this stuff.
So who’s been unlucky this year? Well, there are eight teams that haven’t seen a single kick missed against them this year, ranging from the Redskins (with 17 field goals attempted and converted against them) to the Chargers (who have held teams to only four attempts). In between there are the Seahawks, Cowboys, Steelers, Patriots, Broncos, and Texans.
Teams having a more enjoyable experience when opposing kickers line up? They start in the AFC East, where the Dolphins have induced six misses on 20 attempts for a 70 percent conversion rate. Just behind them are the Bills, against whom opposing kickers are 8-for-11, which is 72.7 percent. The only other team with five misses or more against them are the fifth-place Lions, who have successfully faded five of the 21 kicks against them.Scientists have long speculated about why there is a large change in the strength of rocks that lie at the boundary between two layers immediately under Earth's crust: the lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere. Understanding this boundary is central to our knowledge of plate tectonics and thus the formation and evolution of our planet as we know it today. A new technique for observing this transition, particularly in the portion of Earth's mantle that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean basin, has led Carnegie and NASA Goddard scientist Nick Schmerr to new insight on the origins of the lithosphere and asthenosphere.
His work is published March 23 in Science.
The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, or LAB, represents the transition from hot, convecting mantle asthenosphere to overlying cold and rigid lithosphere. The oceanic lithosphere thickens as it cools over time, and eventually sinks back into the mantle at Earth's so-called subduction zones. Studies of seismic waves traveling across the LAB show higher wave speeds in the lithosphere and lower speeds in the asthenosphere. In some regions, seismic waves indicate an abrupt 5 to 10% decrease in wave speeds between 35 and 120 km depth, forming a boundary known as the Gutenberg discontinuity. In many cases, the depth of the Gutenberg discontinuity is roughly coincident with the expected depth of the LAB, leading to the suggestion that the two boundaries are closely inter-related.
However, temperature alone cannot fully explain the abrupt change in the mechanical and seismic properties that have been observed at the Gutenberg discontinuity. This has led many scientists to suggest that other factors--such as the presence of molten rock, water, and/or a decrease in the grain size of minerals--may also play important roles.
Older techniques made imaging seismic discontinuities shallower than 100 kilometers quite difficult, and regions beneath the oceans could only be accessed where seismic stations were installed on ocean islands or by deploying ocean bottom seismometers, giving an incomplete picture of where the Gutenberg occurs beneath the Pacific Ocean.
But an innovative observation technique -- one that incorporates seismic waves that sample beneath remote regions of Earth at higher frequencies, and new signal processing techniques--enabled Schmerr to hone in on the Gutenberg discontinuity.
He discovered that the seismic discontinuity is not a Pacific-wide phenomenon, but rather only detectable beneath regions with recent surface volcanism. He also found the Gutenberg appears to become deeper beneath older crust, confirming the discontinuity is, indeed, related to the LAB.
Schmerr proposes that the Gutenberg is formed by partially molten rock produced in the asthenosphere that collects and ponds at the base of the lithosphere. Decompression of hot rock at small-scale upwellings or hot mantle plumes is responsible for generating the melt. Plumes will thermally reheat the lithosphere, making it shallower than would be expected underneath older crust.
"The really interesting part of this work is that it confirms partially molten rock is not present throughout in the asthenosphere of Earth," Schmerr said. "This significantly narrows the range of possible mechanisms that give rise to the low viscosity of the asthenosphere. This means plate tectonics are enabled on Earth because of mantle composition and or grain size, not necessarily the presence of melt."Investigators on the scene say signs point to arson as the cause of the fire.
The buildings – one an empty house with a shed and the other one a former restaurant – had recently been renovated by local governments to house refugees in the Nuremberg suburb of Vorra.
According to the police press release, the houses are now uninhabitable and the damage is estimated to be around €700,000.
On Thursday night, a neighbour noticed the fire break out in the restaurant. As firefighters were setting up, they got the call that the house with the shed was also on fire.
Crews were able to contain the fires to stop damage to neighbouring houses.
As investigators began their work, they noticed swastikas and other right-wing extremist writings on the wall.
Around 150 first responders form the area were on the scene.Picture From noisey.vice.com By Owen Richards
Open Mike Eagle is an alternative/art rapper from L.A. (originally Chicago) who’s last two solo projects (Dark Comedy and A Special Episode of EP) are some of my favourite rap projects that I have ever listened to. This is largely due to Mike’s hyper-awareness when it comes to writing lyrics. He has this ability to make observations that you never would have thought of, but seem so obvious in hindsight. Mike Eagle’s newfound partnership with British producer, Paul White adds a lot to this project, with the record’s production style being one of its most quirky and effective elements.
Open Mike Eagle was one of the first rappers whose music I was completely captivated by. What I was initially struck by was his flow – it’s pretty laid back whilst being hugely frenetic and rhythmically complex. Eagle raps in a similar fashion to virtuoso instrumentalists; he makes awkward, difficult passages sound easy. His style of rapping on a lot of his songs, particularly on tracks like ‘Admitting the Endorphin Addiction’, is semi-melodic. It’s a really interesting approach to vocal delivery in this genre which adds an extra layer of complexity to his music in an incredibly natural way. This was actually an element of Open Mike Eagle’s music that I didn’t enjoy nearly as much on his last full length project, Dark Comedy, because there wasn’t much harmonic variation across the record, this meant that the melodic element to his flow was exactly the same on a lot of the songs. This is where Hella Personal Film Festival makes such a huge leap forward from Mike’s other work. There’s never a point on this LP where the music feels samey, and this is largely due to Paul White’s prodcution.
Despite the fact that Mike Eagle is the face of this album, this is definitely a partnership rather than a solo project. It is apparent pretty early on in the course of this record that the two collaborators are pushing each other to be better. Mike’s lyrical content inspires quirky, visceral production from White, which then pushes Mike’s flow to change and evolve in order to effectively interact with said prodcution. It makes for a listening experience that is completely evocative of the album’s title. Like a film festival, this record is a display of a huge range of vastly different and fantastically imaginative ideas. What makes it special is that all of these ideas are linked by a consistent, singular personality that Eagle and White inject into each song.
Lyrically, Hella Personal Film Festival is defined by Mike’s comedian-like approach to writing. The majority of the songs on this record are about Mike’s experiences or the observations he has made, a lot of which can seem to be pretty mundane and often quite humerous, but are also able to make powerful statements about society. ‘Leave People Alone’ is a song about the invasiveness of modern society and social media, which launches a Daily Show style attack on the fear mongering tendancies of the 24 hour news media (particularly Fox News!).’Insecurity’ is a humorous take on society’s search for and, ultimately, angry, hypocritical rejection of the truth (“You know what f**k it just lie“). The project is also full of subtle references that reward the patient and the observant. Look out for the attack on Obama’s use of drones in ‘Drunk Dreaming’ and the Power Rangers references on ‘Short Guy That Dies every Night’. I particularly appreciated the nod to the British on ‘I Went Outside Tody’ (“I’m feeling free / £20 on my Oyster Card“).
White’s production is in on a few of these subtle jokes, with the use of the transforming sound from the original Transformers cartoon after the line “Unil we all transform“. With regards to the prodcution, ‘The Curse of Hyper Vigilance’ stands out as one of the more interestingly produced tracks, with the extensive use of saxophones and whistling that give the track a jaunty, almost creepy feel that is accentuated by the use of eerie synths. I also really enjoyed the African rhythms and percussion on ‘Protectors of the Heat’ (which also has an incredibly rhythmically satisfying hook and a great verse from Hemlock Ernst).
Having listened to this record, almost exclusively, for two days, all I can say is that I hope this isn’t the last time these two collaborate. Hella Personal Film Festival represents Mike Eagle’s best work, and despite the fact that this record is one of his most lyrically impressive and relatable, this album is pushed to even greater heights by Paul White’s powerful contributions. This LP is deep, and to quote Eagle himself, the “most unpackable rap record of 2016”.
most unpackable rap record of 2016 https://t.co/vJzQk9BHmo — Open Mike Eagle (@Mike_Eagle) March 25, 2016
I can see myself listening to Hella Personal Film Festival on repeat until I uncover every little detail I can find. This may take a while…
9/10
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Kim Lear mixes data and storytelling to advise CIOs on the perils of distractedness to themselves and those they lead, and how to stay focused and present at work and beyond.
In many ways, Kim Lear exemplifies the ethos of her millennial cohort. An energetic 29-year-old, Lear has bypassed the traditional, large-enterprise career path, focusing instead on developing her personal brand and, in the process, carving out a niche as an expert in the behavioral trends and generational dynamics that affect our workforce and marketplaces. The research company Lear founded, Inlay Insights, counts as clients a number of large, well-respected brands including Disney, General Mills, and American Express.
Lear’s research brought her to Deloitte University, where she addressed a group of rising tech executives preparing for their next leadership opportunity. Her remarks, grounded in research and delivered with comedic flare, spoke to the causes and cost of distraction, and the critical importance of giving attention to the task at hand—to intentionally placing focus.
That’s no small task for CIOs, whose profession is growing in complexity and strategic importance, continually balancing business innovation and operational excellence, and often placing them at the helm of enterprisewide digital transformations.
Lear’s interest in mindfulness arose from her prior research into millennials in the workplace and also into consumers in the grocery store—two distinctly distracted groups. Her research substantiates the earlier work of psychologist Barry Schwartz, who identified the paradox of choice, in which excessive choice causes consumers to become paralyzed, leading to distraction and dissatisfaction.
Arguably, no group is more distracted than the 20-somethings CIOs seek to recruit, train, and retain in growing numbers. Reared on social media, this group has commitment issues, as evidenced by their job-switching behavior and reluctance to marry, among other trends. Social media prompts them to continually compare their own behind-the-scenes lives to everyone else’s highlight reels. Is it any wonder many may find it nearly impossible to stay truly engaged—at work and in their personal lives?
What does it take to effectively lead a workforce that’s grown up in this world? It can begin with personally navigating a bombardment of choices. The leader sets the tone. IT professionals will learn by example—by the actions of their leaders—how to develop focus and to be mindful.
Mindfulness programs in the workplace have taken hold in recent years out of necessity. A 2010 study pegged the cost to American businesses of workplace distractions at $650 billion; the cost has likely only gone up since.
Among the earliest evangelists of mindfulness was Google engineer Chade-Meng Tan (Meng), who attributed his own unhappiness to a lack of focus at work and at home, and who consequently pursued mindfulness brain training to turn his emotional life around. Common sense tells us that if you can train your body to run a marathon, you can train your mind as well.
Meng’s interest in mindfulness led to the creation in 2007 of the “Search Inside Yourself” program, which focuses on three development areas:
Attention training. This entails becoming aware of your attention, and when you lose it, learning to bring it back to the task at hand. Attention training leads to attention endurance, or the ability to singularly focus for longer periods of time.
Self-knowledge. This is the ability to view yourself objectively, without ego, and to better understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Creation of mental habits. This training teaches your brain how to behave in different ways, yielding more discipline and greater willpower.
The vast majority of Search Inside Yourself participants have reported they are less stressed, more empathetic and compassionate leaders, and more active listeners than before the program.
CIOs have their plates full with innumerable concerns related to IT governance, investment, strategy, operations, and the like. Can they possibly add one more program, even one aimed at improving mindfulness? Mindfulness, presence, intention, and passion have all been proven to contribute to leadership success.Max Scherzer put the Milwaukee Brewers in his pocket and took ‘em for a walk Sunday, effortlessly pitching a complete game, one-hit shutout while striking out 16. He threw 119 pitches and walked one, with the only hit coming off a bloop single in the seventh. It was, pretty much literally, better than perfect.
Scherzer may be upset he lost his bid for a perfect game in the seventh, but his game score of 100 makes for only the 12th time a pitcher has recorded a score of at least 100 in a nine-inning game. That’s statistically rarer than a perfect game, of which there have been 23 in MLB history, going by the official definition. It makes for the best performance of the year, edging out the 98 game scores dealt by Corey Kluber and Chris Heston.
Scherzer’s endurance against the Brewers was especially remarkable. In the eighth inning, he was still managing to hit 96 miles per hour with his fastball. Scherzer struck out seven of Milwaukee’s eight position players at least once, and he also struck out each pinch hitter.
Just look at all these whiffs!
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Photo via Associated PressFolks who grew up in the '80s may remember playing the classic Nintendo game Excitebike.
For the uninitiated, it was like a motocross race with motorcyclists riding along a straight course with jumps and sand pits and accelerator boosters. Red Bull, the energy drink producer and extreme sports sponsor, has recreated the experience in real life with a new type of racing.
Normal Supercross motorcycle racing happens inside a stadium (or similar outdoor venue), with sharp lefts and rights and U-turns making things more complicated than just hitting the jumps. Drivers will pass each other—or mess up and collide—on the turns, taking a sharper line to get through quicker, but maybe not setting themselves up as well for the jump sections.
In Red Bull Straight Rhythm, riders take on a half-mile, straight track studded with jumps and obstacles. They race side by side, but everyone gets their own lane, so there's no jostling for position. It's a bit like the difference between racing on a drag strip and on a circuit: Take out the turns, and you get a new kind of strategy.
Red Bull debuted Straight Rhythm last year, inviting riders from across the world of Supercross (stadium circuits) and Motocross (outdoor tracks) for the one-day event. This year's race is set for Saturday, at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. The 16-man Open Class generally uses 450cc, 4-stroke bikes, while the 8-man Lite Class uses smaller-engined 250cc or lower, 2-stroke bikes. They race head-to-head, in a bracket system that eventually produces a single winner.
This year's 2,500-foot track is the work of Jason Baker, the head of Dream Traxx Motocross Track Builders. He does most of his initial designing in Google SketchUp, a simple 3D rendering program. "My stuff is very elementary, it almost looks like Excitebike," he says.
Baker's task is to design and build a track that makes racing exciting, without getting too dangerous. The most obvious result of taking out the turns is that there's no natural point to slow everything down, so Baker builds in "speed checks" like near-vertical hills and sand spits to limit riders to a still very quick 60 mph.
This year, riders will clear 74 jumps between the starting gate and finish line. They begin on an elevated platform to gain speed at the start, then go right into big jumps called doubles, launching off one hill and landing on a smaller hill. The doubles space out as the riders gain speed, and are followed by a series of small jumps called "speed whoops." Then come the "stadium whoops," which are smaller and closer together, like moguls on a ski course.
The track culminates with a gigantic, 10-foot tall jump followed by a 14-foot landing area. The racers do the whole thing in about 50 seconds.
Straight Rhythm rewards riders who know how to time their jumps perfectly, who land so they pick up speed when they return to earth, rather than lose it. Riders aren't fighting through a pack of competitors at each corner, but they do have to balance their strategy with the adversary in their peripheral vision. If you're lagging, you have to add speed somewhere, but without getting so desperate you mistime a jump and fall hopelessly behind.
"We'll go back and forth and get a lot of rider input," Baker says. Based on rider feedback from previous years and his years of experience building tracks, he'll adjust the course until it's just to his liking. Every year is a little different to keep things interesting for riders and spectators.
Once the basic layout is designed, Baker and his construction crew head to the venue, this year on a half-mile long track at the Pomona Fairplex. They have twelve days to make the track, using a pair of crews to lay out the jumps and obstacles. 10,000 cubic yards are dirt are hauled in, some of it from the nearby horse track.
Once it's dumped in place, the crews mix in just the right amount of water to ensure it sticks together properly. They'll let it dry, then wet it again to create a sort of crust that holds the jumps together. Before riders hit the course, they'll run a bulldozer over the surface and then wet it down again. "We can get a couple inches of loose dirt on top," says Baker. "Get a really good traction surface."
Don't expect the track to stick around though. "It's not a historical monument," says Baker. "We gotta tear it down and do it again next year."
You can watch this year's Straight Rhythm on Saturday starting at 3:30 pm ET, on Red Bull's website.Background:
Sunspots have been observed on the surface of the Sun for thousands of years beginning with the meticulous records kept by ancient Chinese observers. It wasn't until the advent of the telescope in the early 1600's and its use by Galileo that they were're-discovered' by western science since the Sun was presumed to be a perfect orb, free of any flaws! Sunspots are a student's most familiar contact with the idea that the Sun changes its appearance in time in a regular way, and that these changes mark times when the Sun is active and capable of producing hazardous storms.
Sunspots are actually regions of the solar surface where the magnetic field of the Sun becomes concentrated over 1000-fold. Scientists do not yet know how this happens. Magnetic fields produce pressure, and this pressure can cause gas inside the sunspot to be in balance with the gas outside the sunspot...but at a lower temperature. Sunspots are actually several thousand degrees cooler than the 5,770 K surface of the Sun, and contain gases at temperature of 3000 to 4000 K. They are dark only by contrast with the much hotter solar surface. If you were to put a sunspot in the night sky, it would glow brighter than the Full Moon with a crimson-orange color!
The ebb and flow of solar activity is traced by the rise and fall of the number of sunspots you see on the surface in what is called the Sunspot Cycle. Although one cycle lasts about 11 years and we are currently at the beginning of Cycle 23 since records were kept, A full magnetic activity cycle takes 22 years for the magnetic field of the Sun to make a complete flip in polarity from North to South and back again in each hemisphere. This 22 year cycle of magnetic field reversal is also reflected in the Earth's magnetic field which takes about 400,000 years to make a complete cycle.
The sunspot cycle seems to be correlated with Earth's climate in some way scientists are still trying to understand. Between 1600-1700 there were very few sunspots seen and no cycle was at all apparent. Europe experienced what was called the Mini Ice Age during this 'Maunder Minimum'. Then in the early 1700's the first traces of the sunspot cycle began with increasing strength. The sunspot cycle we have known for the last 200 years seems not to be a permanent feature of the Sun...and when it is absent...some regions of the Earth experience very cold climates. We think that, like the proverbial miner's canary, sunspots indicate how active the Sun is, and that this is influenced by the Sun's brightness. An almost unmeasurable 1 percent reduction in the Sun's solar energy output may be enough to stop the sunspot cycle, and bring on cooler weather on the Earth. There seems to be no forewarning of when this can happen, with disastrous consequences for human activity on Earth!
Web Resources:To do so, Mr. Erdogan hopes to tar the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party as a terrorist front and steal votes from the Nationalist Movement Party. He has used the current crisis as a smoke screen behind which to launch an air war against militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., in Iraq and artillery strikes on the Democratic Union Party, or P.Y.D., in Syria. He has also unleashed a new wave of repression aimed at Kurds in Turkey, which risks plunging the country into civil war.
Image A demonstration against the Kurdistan Workers' Party on August 16 in Istanbul. Credit Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
This strategy might help Mr. Erdogan win an election, but it is severely undermining the fight against the Islamic State. By disrupting logistics and communications links between the P.K.K. in Iraq and the P.Y.D. in Syria, Turkey is weakening the most effective ground force fighting the Islamic State in Syria: the Kurds.
We would do well to remember that it was P.Y.D. forces, with logistical support and reinforcement from the P.K.K., that liberated the city of Kobani last year and recently retook Tal Abyad, cutting off a key route for infiltration of arms and foreign fighters for the Islamic State.
America’s agreement with Turkey might yield more effective airstrikes, but that will come at the cost of losing the valuable real-time intelligence provided by Kurdish forces that is so crucial for targeting purposes.
In the long run, undercutting the Kurds will be extremely damaging to the anti-Islamic State effort since allowing Turkey to create a no-go zone for Kurdish forces will not carve out territory for moderate fighters; instead, it risks creating a safe haven for Islamist groups like the Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham, whose growing strength will exacerbate the toxic sectarianism and ethnic violence that has plagued Syria for the past four years.
Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter’s recent declaration that “we do want Turkey to do more in the fight” against the Islamic State prompted a pledge by Turkey’s foreign minister to step up its airstrikes against the group. But this raises the question of whether or not Turkey will call off its war against the Kurds.
If not, America’s deal with Turkey will prove to be a Faustian bargain. Short-term operational convenience is not worth the long-term danger of destabilizing Turkey and demoralizing the Kurdish forces that have carried the bulk of the burden in fighting militants.
An ally racked by violence and insurgency simply can’t play the role that the United States needs a secular, democratic Turkey to play in the turbulent Middle East.dana-white (1)
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It only took 48 hours for cooler heads to prevail. After Ariel Helwani took to his MMA Hour show to emotionally tell his side of the story after Saturday night’s UFC 199 ousting, the UFC has seemingly seen the error in their ways and released a statement declaring all parties from MMAFighting.com unbanned.
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Following a conversation with the editorial team at SB Nation, UFC will not prevent MMAFighting.com from receiving media credentials to cover live UFC events. We respect the role the media plays in our sport and beyond, including MMAFighting’s ability to report news. However, in our opinion, we believe the recurring tactics used by its lead reporter extended beyond the purpose of journalism. We feel confident our position has now been adequately communicated to the SB Nation editorial team. Related Links:
UFC’s goal as the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion is to cultivate interest in its world-class athletes and events, and deliver for the fans. We will continue to introduce this sport and its athletes to new fans across the world, and we will do so by working alongside media across all platforms.
The UFC’s statement comes on the heels of a major backlash from fans and fellow media, who consider Ariel Helwani to be the best MMA journalist possibly in the history of the sport. The UFC has banned other outlets and journalists for breaking similar news, and also spoiling The Ultimate Fighter results in the past, but have not lifted those bans.
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Helwani was already banned previously in 2013, but hours later he was reinstated. Perhaps this is a kindler, gentler UFC, or perhaps they have turned over a new leaf in how they deal with MMA media. Time will tell.Wow, my Secret Santa is AHHHHMAZINGGGG!!! I am so blessed and excited about the gifts I received. I first received two packages, a HUGE box and a small envelope. I took the huge box and little package to work and couldn't help but open them. I got a $50 Sephora gift card!!!! WOW!!! I was/am so grateful and overwhelmed, now I can splurge on myself. Now the big box caught the attention of my boss and he came in my office while I opened it. It was all wrapped up and it was heavy! It was a FREAKING SKATEBOARD!!!!!!! I have always wanted to learn to skateboard but being a 38 year old mother to three kids I never thought it would be something I would actually learn. My boss just laughed and said I had plenty of room at work to practice since I work in a office with a HUGE warehouse. I took it home and the kids loved it. I practiced on the front walkway but apparently I needed some guidance because it rolled out from under me and knocked down some christmas lights, my husband just shook his head. Well the next day I got two more packages! AHHHHH, it was two HUGE boxes of Sour Patch Kids and Sour Patch Watermelon pieces which are my FAVORITE! (and my dentists) Also in one of the packages was a book about how to skateboard, exactly what I needed since I needed that guidance. My secret santa has made me so happy and my gifts are sitting under |
stone carving, as well as other megalithic structures and constructions in the region of Asuka. While it is hoped that further excavations may give up some of the secrets, in the end, the origin and purpose of these enigmatic features of ancient Japan may be lost to the pages of history.
Featured image: Artist’s rendition of the Miyakozuka pyramid-shaped tomb. Credit: Yomiuri Shimbun
By April HollowayA controversial female Imam, who received death threats after opening a liberal mosque for all Muslims, says the UK's Sharia courts breed Islamic extremism and called for them to be shut.
Seyran Ates, who preaches at the Berlin mosque for women, men, Sunni, Shiite, straight and gay Muslims, said the secretive Islamic courts in the UK are a mistake – and linked them to recent terror attacks in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline Ms Ates, 54, said hardline Sharia courts support fundamentalists and are alienating moderate Muslims, adding: 'Britain has a multi-cultural society and London, especially, is a melting pot.
'But you have made mistakes in the case of Islam. There have been a number of attacks in a very short time. More than any other country, you need to talk about extremism in Islam. You need a more open debate about secularism.
'I don't accept that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam,' she said. 'It has to have something to do with Islam because these people are shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.
Controversial: Seyran Ates is the world's first lesbian Imam, who opened a liberal, burqa free mosque for all Muslims whether gay, straight, Sunni, Shiite, men or women in Germany
Liberal: Ms Ates, opened the 'liberal' Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque, where the only rule is that the burka or niqab is banned. She arrived in the UK to find a venue to open another liberal mosque
Outspoken: The 54-year-old female Imam, pictured leading a worship in Berlin, has been subjected to death threats and is being protected by bodyguards while she is in the UK
'Britain's big mistake was to install sharia courts. They have to be forbidden. They are fighting against women. You won't find an objective judge in a sharia court.'
Strict Sharia courts, of which there are around 85 operating in the UK, working mainly from mosques, settle financial and family disputes according to religious principles.
But they treat women as second-class citizens, a damning report in 2015 claimed.
The parallel justice system runs against the law of the land and is condemning British Muslim women to'marital captivity' while failing to protect them from domestic violence, said the independent study written by Dutch academic Machteld Zee.
Calling on them to be banned in the UK, Ates added: 'Women there will never have the same rights as men.'
The Imam, a single lesbian, is in London to find a venue where men and women of all Muslim sects and sexuality and can pray side by side.
'I am proud to be a Muslim, a lesbian, a lawyer and an author,' she said.
Ates is in the UK with a team of bodyguards, needed because she has received death threats from around the world over her liberal approach to Islam.
Her courage was yesterday applauded by three members of the House of Lords, who are all backing her initiative.
Lord Patel, a Labour peer in Bradford, which has a sizeable Muslim community, said: 'I stand behind Seyran Ates' push for inclusivity and the freedom of choice in worship.'
Lord Carlile, QC, who was the first member of parliament to campaign for the rights of transsexuals, added: 'I support her efforts, and applaud her courageous initiatives.'
While the human rights barrister and crossbencher Baron Pannick, said: 'Seyran Ates certainly has my support, and should have the support of all who believe in freedom of religion. It is sad that those who take advantage of freedom of religion for themselves are so reluctant to grant it to others.'
The daughter of Turkish immigrants, Ates has lived in Germany since the age of six. A family lawyer, she has dedicated her adult life to human rights, risking her life for the cause.
When she was just 21 years old, and working for an advice centre for Turkish women, she narrowly survived a shooting – she almost died of her wounds.
Since then, she has faced a series of death threats, being forced to close her legal office in 2006 while she was fighting arranged marriage.
'The husband of a client tried to kick me and beat me,' she explained. 'I got so many death threats that I decided to close my office and give up my licence as a lawyer.
But Ms Ates did not retire. She just transferred her skills to writing, publishing three years later, her controversial book, Islam Needs a Sexual Revolution. This time the threats led her to retire from the public eye.
Ms Ates, pictured visiting Regents Park mosque today, said: 'I don't accept that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. It has to because these people are shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.
Security: The daughter of Turkish immigrants, Ms Ates has lived in Germany since she was six. Her liberal views have led to number of death threats and she is under 24-hour protection
However, in June this year, she came out of retirement to open the 'liberal' Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque, which is named after the medieval Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd and German writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe and housed inside a Protestant church in Berlin.
Inside a congregation of about 30 Sunni, Shia, Alevi, Sufi Muslim men and women and members of the LGBTQ community pray together side by side in the face of adversity. They estimate they have 100 supporters, who attend either Friday prayers or Sunday brunch.
Not only has the institution been issued with a fatwa from Egypt but it has been attacked by religious authorities in Turkey who have suggested the movement is connected to US cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom they blame for last year's attempted coup.
However, Ms Ates has refused to be deterred, despite being under 24-hour armed protection since receiving a death-threat days after the mosque opened.
She has now launched a European citizens' petition to persuade the EU to 'draft a bill to prevent and reduce the negative consequences of extremism'. She needs a million signatures from seven member states for the initiative to be debated.
'People ask me: 'How can you be so brave?',' she said. 'But I feel much more free than brave because I'm brave enough to have fear. Fear is normal. It is human. The fight for freedom should not be brave.
Ates leads the prayer in the Ibn-Rushd Goethe Mosque in Berlin says introducing Sharia courts in the UK was a mistake because they breed to extremism and called for them to be banned
Ms Ates added: 'Britain's big mistake was to install sharia courts. They have to be forbidden. They are fighting against women. You won't find an objective judge in a sharia court.'
'I'm sad that more people are not brave enough to use their brain and use their freedom, the freedom we have in democracy. We are living in the luxury of freedom and so many people closer to us are not.
'I'm not alone anymore as a single lawyer, single author. I'm in a wave, in a movement. I get more than 300 emails every day, 95 per cent of which are supportive, and there are millions of people behind us. I still get messages on social media, sending me pictures of a gun with the word'soon'. But I will never give up my work.'
To sign the petition, go to www.stopextremism.euColin White’s college hockey career could be over as early as this weekend.
That doesn’t mean he would immediately join the Ottawa Senators, though.
While the club would like its No. 21-overall selection in the 2015 draft to leave Boston College and try to make the Senators next season, there’s no guarantees he’ll be ready to play in the National Hockey League next week if the Eagles are eliminated by the Vermont Catamounts in a best-of-three quarter-final series that starts Friday.
The landscape among the Senators forward group has changed with the arrivals of Alex Burrows (Vancouver), Viktor Stalberg (Carolina) and Chris DiDomenico (Switzerland) before the March 1 trade deadline, while Bobby Ryan (finger) and Chris Neil (finger) are both expected to return.
Once everybody’s healthy, the club will have 15 forwards, and adding White would make that 16. He has the option to play college hockey for two more years, but, if he does decide to leave this spring, the Senators could sign him to a contract and put him on the roster.
As much as the Senators would like to have White, who has 15 goals and 28 points in 31 games with BC this season, general manager Pierre Dorion and assistant GM Randy Lee don’t necessarily want to burn a year on the contract when it could be tough for White to get in the lineup.
Sure, he was a star for the U.S. team in the world junior championship, but Senators coach Guy Boucher has a group of forwards he’s comfortable with and, with the club in a battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, it would be tough for White to make an immediate impact.
One possibility is signing White to a tryout contract and sending him to Binghamton of the American Hockey League, but the Senators don’t have to make any decision until it has been determined how long Boston College’s season will last. By Monday, the Senators will know if they have a decision to make.
bgarrioch@postmedia.com
Twitter: @sungarriochFor air travelers who like to gripe about being cramped in economy, here comes another warning that they've never had it so good.
Airbus has filed a patent application showing detailed renderings of what may be the plane seat of the future.
The design shows narrow rows of folding saddle seats with low backrests on which passengers perch rather than recline.
The patent application, which makes even the most budget of budget airline seating look luxurious, was published last month and is available for viewing by the public.
As CNN reported last week, a new study says the vertical passenger seat may be the next big cost-cutting move in aviation.
The Skyrider is another saddle seat design that was unveiled in 2010. courtesy AVIOINTERIORS S.p.A.
Upright seat designs would allow airlines to pack more passengers into a cabin and provide an affordable alternative to public transportation on short haul flights.
The patent says current seating configurations have reached their passenger limit but numbers can be increased by switching to saddle-style designs (presumably stowing travelers in the overhead compartments has been ruled out).
It says the saddle format will accommodate four seats into a space previously occupied by three.
The Airbus design is somewhat similar to the SkyRider, a perching saddle for planes developed by Italian firm Aviointeriors and unveiled at an expo in 2010.
If Airbus is looking for positive feedback for its design, it may struggle.
The UK's Daily Telegraph likened the patent to "the inside of a galley," under the headline "The world's most uncomfortable plane seat?"
An Airbus spokesperson told CNN that the patent didn't necessarily mean it would be saddling up its aircraft anytime soon.
"Airbus files hundreds of patents each year -- this is what innovative companies do," Airbus UK head of media relations Robert Gage said via email.
Straight from the Airbus drawing board. from Airbus
"Many patents never become reality and there is no expectation that this would. It is really to preserve an idea and has not developed beyond this stage."Whether you’re up to date on all our area has to offer in terms of art or a novice who is just wading into the creative scene, “Out of Sight” is a must-see show. It’s a comprehensive survey of contemporary art from Pacific Northwest artists, and this weekend is your last chance to peruse the works.
Standing at more than 12 feet tall, Electric Coffin’s “Wolf Temple” is an imposing piece that easily dominates the room. A temple sits atop the majestic cardboard beast and a neon sign reading “VACANCY” in blue lights shines within the temple. According to the collective, the temple represents the pursuit of higher knowledge and the wolf symbolizes freedom.
In all, 300 works of art are spread across two multilevel buildings in Pioneer Square. One can easily spend a couple hours or more absorbing the unique creative vision transformed into murals, installations and sculptures. In previous years “Out of Sight” was housed at King Street Station. Rather than a linear experience, the new location on S. Jackson Street provides more twists and turns.
"I Will Follow You" by Alice Gosti, 2013. Photo by Rafael Soldi.
“It creates more of a fun house like a winding path,” said Curator and Exhibition Manager Justen Waterhouse. “Kind of a Disneyland feel where you can go into these little nooks and crannies and that adds to the experience.”
Tucked away in a small room with a low ceiling, visitors will find Junko Yamamoto’s “Between Consciousness.” Colorful and oddly shaped cotton sculptures hang from wires. The mixed-media piece also includes bright LED lights on the floor. Julia Freeman’s “Drug Dealers 1-6” is a grouping of portraits calling attention to leaders in Big Pharma. James Coupe’s rotating video installation in the basement centers around people’s eating, exercising and meditative habits. Neon Saltwater created a space whisking the viewer away to a coastal motel. Once inside the neon-green-dominated room, it’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of a larger art show.
Multidisciplinary artist Barry Johnson is one of 109 artists with work in the show. His three mixed-media portraits show Black men with their faces obscured. Inspiration for “Shaded,” “Phases” and “Untitled 26” came from a group art exhibition produced by Onyx Fine Arts called “Truth B Told,” which focused on artists of African descent telling their own story. Johnson is furthering the narrative.
"Untitled 26" by Barry Johnson. Oil pastel, house paint, roofing material, skewer sticks, branch on canvas, 2017.
“The whole idea was built atop of how men of color get profiled throughout the news,” Johnson said. “The faces were covered because it’s very often that the story of who we are as people of color or what we’ve done, our contributions throughout history kind of gets stretched and pulled to fit someone else’s narrative.”
Johnson recently became a full-time artist. Working across several disciplines keeps his creativity flexible. He’s interested in creating a community that can talk openly about race with the aid of visual art such as portraits, photography or film.
Storme Webber’s work draws on her personal experience as a Black and Indigenous person. Like others of mixed heritage she has found herself between two worlds. Not being Black enough or Indigenous enough.
“It’s an interesting argument because you know we can’t go back and unmix our blood,” Webber said.
Webber points out the absurdity of the one-drop rule, which states that one drop of Black blood means you’re Black. And conversely with the blood quantum law, some Native American tribes enforce to maintain status. “Ancestors Know Who We Are” is informed by her family and how they’ve survived.
“We are our ancestors. We are their living embodiment upon this Earth, and we’re here because of them,” Webber said. “Surely they’re free of these sorts of judgments and they see a lot more than we can and they know who we are and they love us. That’s the foundation of all the work that I do.”
Greg Lundgren is the producer and curator of “Out of Sight.” He created the independent satellite exhibit in response to Paul Allen’s Art Fair as a way to solely focus on showcasing the talent of artists in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia.
"God Mode" by Jeff Jacobsen. Spray-painted mural, 2017. Photo by Rafael Soldi.
Each of the four curators brought their distinctive tastes together to create a full-scale visually stimulating show. Waterhouse was specifically interested in art addressing the displacement of people of color and economic forces.
“I’m also interested in trying to have a farther reach as possible geographically because I think it’s important to consider how all the parts of the Pacific Northwest relate to each other as well,” said Waterhouse. “It’s exciting to bring all those artists from different backgrounds from different little social niches together into one show. What happens when you draw people together from all across a geographic area who have never shown together before.”
Show attendees are asked to make a $10 donation at the door. Waterhouse said the money goes to support those participating and the project.
Being in the show has already elevated Johnson’s visibility. He’s proud to be showing alongside other artists such as Jazz Brown.
Because of its extensive scope of talent and range of viewpoints, “Out of Sight” is an impactful show. Webber succinctly sums up why one should attend: “It is vital art. It is the voices of many young and various aged artists who are local, whose work is perhaps not that easy to find in public spaces. It’s speaking to our present moment. I think in our present moment we need all of the voices to help us.”
WHAT: “Out of Sight”
WHEN: Final days, Aug. 25 Noon - 8 p.m. Aug. 26 & 27, Noon - 6 p.m.
WHERE: 115 S. Jackson St., Seattle, $10 donation
Lisa Edge is a Staff Reporter covering arts, culture and equity. Have a story idea? She can be reached at lisae (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Twitter @NewsfromtheEdge, Facebook
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Real Change is reader supported. Just $5 a month provides work for more than 300 active vendors and keeps community journalism strong.One dad's account of getting pulled over by cop for walking with his kid, from the always-excellent Free-Range Kids blog:
[My youngest daughter and I] were walking to the library together, and she was holding my hand and trying to pull me into telephone poles and whatnot as we walked, which is a silly game that she enjoys. Suddenly a police car pulled up beside us, lights on and everything. The cop gets out of his car, says “Sir, please step away from the child,” then proceeds to crouch down and ask her if “everything is okay.”
After re-asking a few times, getting a more and more nervous “yes” each time, he stands up and informs me that someone had called 911 reporting what looked like a young girl being abducted. My daughter and I both explained what was really happening, and not only did he not even apologize, he chastised ME for not being, and I quote verbatim here, “More thankful someone was watching out for my daughter.”
We did eventually make it to the library and home, but it has made me slightly more cautious and watchful whenever we walk places.The Supreme Court handed down a number of opinions Thursday as it races towards the end of the Term. At first glance, Davis v. Ayala, a criminal habeas case, might seem worth skipping over in favor of sexier opinions like Reed v. Town of Gilbertand Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans. Yet buried in Ayala is something extraordinary: a strong hint from the Court’s swing justice that he wants to rein in solitary confinement—and soon.
The issue in Ayala was whether the Ninth Circuit ignored statutory limits on federal habeas relief when it overturned Hector Ayala’s murder conviction and death sentence. The Ninth Circuit had concluded that the prosecutor at Ayala’s 1989 California trial struck prospective jurors on the basis of their race, violating Ayala’s constitutional rights. The Court divided five to four; the majority opinion, written by Justice Alito and joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas, concluded that Ayala wasn’t entitled to a new trial. Justice Sotomayor, joined by the other three traditionally more liberal Justices, dissented. Although the Court split along traditional ideological fault lines, the opinion doesn’t break much new legal ground. Instead, it mostly wades through messy factual issues—specifically, whether the record showed that the prosecution used peremptory strikes on seven black and Latino prospective jurors for racially discriminatory reasons.
Yet for patient readers, there’s a big surprise in Ayala. It appears after the 29-page majority opinion, and it portends a coming constitutional blockbuster. (Think of it as the judicial equivalent of those teasers Marvel tacks on to the end of its superhero movies to get you to sit through the credits.) It’s a short concurrence by Justice Kennedy in which he expresses serious reservations about the widespread use of solitary confinement in American prisons and strongly suggests that courts need to step in to put limits on the practice.
Now, if this strikes you as a bit of a non sequitur, you’re not alone. As Justice Kennedy admits, solitary confinement had “no direct bearing on the precise legal questions presented by” Ayala. This, charitably, is a bit of an understatement. Solitary confinement had no bearing whatsoever—“direct” or indirect—on any of the legal issues—“precise” or otherwise—in the case. The only connection is that Ayala has spent much of his time in prison in solitary confinement. But none of the briefs in the case had even mentioned that. The only reason, as far as I can tell, that Justice Kennedy was aware that Ayala had spent time in solitary was that—apropos of nothing—Justice Kennedy asked Ayala’s lawyer, just as he was leaving the podium at the end of his oral argument, whether Ayala had “spent time in solitary confinement, and, if so, how much?” So, before even getting into what Justice Kennedy says about solitary, it’s important to stress that the very fact that he chose to say anything about it at all in this case was itself extremely unusual.
No less extraordinary, though, is the substance of what Justice Kennedy says. His concurrence reads more like a policy paper than a judicial opinion; he cites a wide range of sources, including Dickens, Dostoevsky, Amnesty International, public health and psychiatry journals, and newspaper articles about Kalief Browder—the teenager who spent more than two years in solitary confinement at New York’s Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime, and who recently committed suicide. Surveying the territory, Justice Kennedy expresses concern that long-term solitary confinement “exacts a terrible price” on the prisoner’s mind. Even more striking, he strongly suggests that courts should play more of a role in limiting the practice: “In a case that presented the issue, the judiciary may be required, within its proper jurisdiction and authority, to determine whether workable alternative systems for long-term confinement exist, and, if so, whether a correctional system should be required to adopt them.”
Justice Kennedy’s concurrence is a good example of what Richard Re has called a “Supreme Court signal”—an official statement by a justice that isn’t formally binding but that gives other courts a strong hint as to how they should address a question. By indicating his view that solitary confinement requires judicial intervention, Justice Kennedy is sending a signal to lower courts that they need to take the issue seriously. But he’s also sending a strong signal to lawyers—telling them that they should be bringing legal challenges to confinement practices—and soon, so that the Supreme Court has an opportunity to consider the issue. (Indeed, the fact that the issue hasn’t reached the Court recently is presumably why Justice Kennedy felt it necessary to use Ayala as a platform).
Short solo opinions like Justice Kennedy’s can, though not binding, change the course of the law. In a recent book, Evan Mandery has told the story of how Justice Arthur Goldberg helped launch a series of constitutional challenges to capital punishment through a four-paragraph dissent from denial of certiorari in the 1963 case Rudolph v. Alabama. As Mandery reveals, Justice Goldberg consciously strategized in writing his opinion with the goal of encouraging lawyers to launch a constitutional assault on the death penalty. He was largely successful; the challenges his dissent helped inspire culminated in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia, which struck down every death penalty statute then on the books in the United States. If Justice Kennedy’s Ayala concurrence could be nearly as important if it actually lays the groundwork for a majority opinion imposing real limits on solitary confinement.
And while Justice Kennedy doesn’t say what kind of limits he would support, there’s reason to think he’d favor significant restrictions on solitary confinement. Justice Kennedy doesn’t always side with defendants in criminal cases, especially on procedural issues. Yet in recent years Justice Kennedy appears to have become increasingly troubled by the severity of punishment in the American criminal justice system, and has authored several major opinions seeking to rein in the system’s excesses. When he has supported intervention, he has tended (as is consistent with his jurisprudence as a whole) to paint with a broad brush. He has written opinions declaring capital punishment categorically impermissible for non-homicide crimes (Kennedy v. Louisiana) and for juveniles (Roper v. Simmons), extending the latter restriction to life without parole as well Graham v. Florida). More recently, he wrote the opinion affirming an injunction that ordered California to release thousands of prisoners (Brown v. Plata). So if Justice Kennedy is convinced that solitary confinement is a troubling practice, he’s unlikely to nibble at the edges; it’s easy to imagine him drafting an opinion that imposed broad limits on its use, though likely not banning it completely.
To do that, of course, Justice Kennedy would have to convince some of his colleagues to hear the issue and to vote his way. While he may be able to put together a majority when the time comes, Ayala made clear that not everyone will go along easily. Justice Thomas responded to Justice Kennedy’s concurrence in a brief but biting opinion of his own. He observed that “the accommodations in which Ayala is housed are a far sight more spacious than those in which his victims... now rest. And, given that his victims were all 31 years of age or under, Ayala will soon have had as much or more time to enjoy those accommodations as his victims had time to enjoy this Earth.” When the Court weighs in on solitary confinement—and it looks as if the question is when, not if—Justice Kennedy is going to have a fight on his hands.Arclight Films is launching sales of the raunchy comedy at the American Film Market, with eOne's Momentum Pictures having already coming aboard for North America.
Heather Graham's first turn in the director's chair is heading to the American Film Market and has a distributor already lined up for North America.
Arclight Film will be handling worldwide sales on Half Magic — written, directed and toplined by the Boogie Nights and Bowfinger star — and will screen the completed film to buyers at AFM. A deal for North America was struck ahead of the market, with eOne's Momentum Pictures imprint set to release the film in February. The news was announced Monday by Arclight Films CEO Gary Hamilton.
Half Magic is a satirical comedy about three women who use their newly formed sisterhood to fight against sexism, bad relationships and low self-esteem. Through embracing their wild adventures, they learn the secret to ultimate fulfillment.
Alongside Graham, the film stars Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Angela Kinsey (The Office) and Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live, Superstar). Also headlining the film are Jason Lewis (Sex and the City), Thomas Lennon (Reno 911, 17 Again) and Chris D’Elia (Band Aid, Celeste and Jesse Forever).
“Heather Graham has crafted a hilarious film that explores themes of female empowerment through sex, work and friendship, touching on the issues that remain ever so prevalent in today’s workplace,” said Hamilton. “With a cast full of comedy superstars, Half Magic is a charming and heartfelt take on the friends and relationships that pull people through and we are thrilled to share this new film with our buyers at AFM.”
Half Magic is a Bill Sheinberg production and is produced by The Bubble Factory’s Bill, Jonathan and Sid Sheinberg (Flipper, A Simple Wish, For Richer or Poorer, The Devil’s Tomb).A Hunterdon County man who named his daughter after Hitler’s longtime girlfriend, Eva Braun, is demanding his child be returned to him after she was taken by child welfare workers.
“I’m not allowed to have children because I’m a Nazi,” Heath Campbell, 40, of Milford, told the NY Daily News. “That’s what they’re saying. Well, I’ll stop making them when they stop taking them.”
Workers from the Children and Youth services took away Eva Braun just as Campbell’s fiance, Bethanie Zito, was preparing to leave Chambersburg Hospital in Pennsylvania, according to the Daily News.
Zito and Campbell will head to a court in Northampton County, Pa. to try to get back Eva Braun, the report said. A court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
In June, Campbell and Zito showed up to a court hearing wearing a full Nazi uniform when he was fighting to see his son, Heinrich Hons.
Campbell now has nine children with five different women. His four children with his third wife were removed from his custody. Their names are Adolf Hitler, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, Honzlynn Jeannie and Heinrich Hons.
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Literally.
That's because he is actually puffing on a big cigar as he discusses St. Matthew's Gospel writings of Jesus meeting Moses and Elijah -- back from the dead -- on a mountain top.
"His face shown bright as the sun," Van Scyoc reads from the holy text, between tokes on a $10 Perdomo Grand Cru.
The preacher's listeners, all men, also are puffing big stogies, gathered at a round table in a back room of a cigar shop.
It's a twice-a-month Bible study group that meets at Cigar Cigars, a storefront smoke shop in a Rocky River shopping plaza.
"It's an opportunity to get out of the cold, have a cigar and learn some Bible," says Larry Gilbert, tapping the burning end of his smoke into a deep ceramic ash tray.
Van Scyoc, pastor of St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Rocky River, has been conducting Bible studies at Cigar Cigars for about three years. So far, the group has puffed through John and are now smoking into Matthew.
"It's a chance to bring the Bible out from the walls of the church," he says.
Van Scyoc, 57, raised in Arkansas, had been a rock 'n roll disc jockey in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas before earning a divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1987.
"I'm doing the same thing now, but with a better product," he says.
He came to Rocky River in 1994 to pastor St. Thomas' congregation, which is tied to the Missouri Synod, a Lutheran branch that is generally conservative on social issues.
Van Scyoc says he had reservations when Cigar Cigars owner George Karitakis first approached him about conducting the back-room Bible studies.
He says he told his congregation about the idea and no one objected, so he went ahead, naming it Smokin' Bible Study. "There are those who might say, 'What kind of a Christian would smoke a cigar?' " says Van Scyoc.
Gilbert, butting in, says, "Let that be our only sin."
The back room could be described as a manly place, rich with masculine d cor -- heavy leather chairs, a big trophy fish and a picture of a ship decorating walls.
"Some women have said to us, 'I'm going to come by because it shouldn't be just for men,' " says Van Scyoc. "They're certainly welcome, but, so far," he added, exhaling an aromatic cloud, "none of them have come by."
The next holy smokes session -- an open discussion with no set lecture -- is at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 30. Van Scyoc's lectures on Matthew's writings will continue at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6. The study lasts about one hour.
Cigar Cigars is at 21808 Center Ridge Road, Rocky River.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: momalley@plaind.com, 216-999-4893Woman's body dragged off road, belongings taken, after Darwin accident
Updated
The companion of a woman hit and killed by a car in Darwin dragged her body off the road, then fled the scene with her belongings, police say.
NT Police said emergency services were called to the scene near the intersection of Sabine and Trower Road, Millner, just before 7:00pm on Thursday, but the female pedestrian was dead when the ambulance arrived.
Acting Senior Sergeant Tanya Mace said police were seeking the person who was with the victim, who is believed to have been in her 30s.
"It appears that she and a friend were crossing the road when the victim has been struck by a vehicle," she said.
"Unfortunately the sad part about this is the friend has dragged her off the road and then ran from the area with the victim's property."
Senior Sergeant Mace said the driver of the car was not injured but was distraught.
"Unfortunately this is an all too common event in the Northern Territory, so drivers please beware.
"There are intoxicated people crossing the road.
"They don't follow the road rules same as everybody else and unfortunately this will leave a lasting impact on the driver of the vehicle, as it has with so many before."
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact police on 131 444 or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Topics: death, road, millner-0810
First postedTEHRAN (Basirat) :Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has fired crown prince Mohammad Bin Nayef, replacing him with own son Mohammad Bin Salman, according to the king’s decree.
According to a royal decree, Mohammed bin Salman, 31, was also named deputy prime minister, and shall maintain his post as defense minister, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
Saudi media say King Salman has called for a public pledge of allegiance to the new crown prince in the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday night.
The Al-Arabiya broadcaster reported that Muhammad Bin Nayef has also lost the post of the interior minister. The post was filled with Prince Abdelaziz bin Saud bin Nayeff, according to media reports.
The news comes amid the ongoing standoff between a number of Gulf states and Qatar.
Source: WebsitesIf the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then Google (s GOOG) Android is creating a whole lot of friendships among the industry’s fiercest competitors. Google Android is handily beating Apple (s AAPL) in terms of market share, with an impressive 44 percent share of the entire smartphone market, compared to Apple’s 26 percent share and Microsoft’s (s MSFT) 3 percent share.
Apple and Microsoft, not surprisingly, are responding to Android’s threat in two different ways, but both are using HTML5 to compete on their own terms.
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HTML5: Another wall around Apple’s garden
Those who, like I, hoped Apple would dramatically lower prices, increase developer outreach through open source and open standards, and otherwise emulate Google in order to grow its smartphone market share are going to be disappointed. The iPhone’s decreasing market share may be what Steve Jobs expected — or even wanted. Apple, after all, has built its business on emphasizing profit margins over market share. It builds a Ritz-Carlton experience, with no intention of ever competing for Holiday Inn distribution.
Yes, Apple is opening up to HTML5, but this is not at attempt to open up its system. Apple will continue to jealously guard a premium iOS experience for those developers willing to write in Objective C. Its adoption of HTML5 was purely a tactical move, meant to counter Adobe’s lock on web content. In order for Apple to maintain its control of its own ecosystem, it needs to keep other proprietary standards out.
Open standards open doors for Microsoft
Microsoft is taking the opposite tack, wanting to replicate its desktop dominance in mobile. While Windows OS is finally losing a little market share to Mac OS X, according to Gartner (s IT), Microsoft recognizes the need to win in mobile, which initially means catching up with Apple. The fastest way to gain app parity with Apple’s iOS is not by forcing developers to toe the Silverlight line, but rather by embracing an open web through HTML5.
Microsoft can always lock in customers down the road through proprietary cloud services that deliver data and more to otherwise open devices. But for now, unlike Apple, Microsoft needs a relatively open app story to make Windows 7 look less like a laggard. HTML5 provides a compelling means to this end, a more open approach than RIM’s attempt to quickly add apps to the BlacBberry by supporting Adobe’s AIR and its 3,000-plus ready-made applications.
Time will tell, however, if Microsoft can use HTML5 to wrest the mass-market crown from Google. Microsoft has already taken to the courts to try to slow Android’s momentum. Perhaps it should instead focus on besting Google’s developer appeal of openness. It’s not really in Microsoft’s DNA, but it may be the only way to make its HTML5 love-fest sound sincere enough to work.
Disclosure: I work for Canonical, a Linux vendor.
Related content on GigaOm Pro (subscription required):In what could be a big sale out of the Cannes Film Festival, STX Entertainment is nearing a $9 million deal to buy U.S. and China rights to the poker drama “Molly’s Game,” Variety has confirmed.
The movie will mark Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut, and stars Idris Elba and Jessica Chastain as the title character. The script, which Sorkin is writing, |
This past spring the Catalan government and Madrid battled over increasing the use of Castillan Spanish in Catalan classrooms. The difference between the Castillan cerveza and Catalan cervesa maybe small, but it provokes strong feelings.
In Priorat, an area in southern Catalonia, a relatively new brewery, Priorat Beer & Company, is trying to combine the area’s reputation for wine terroir with the move toward beer. While looking for a sugary addition to cause fermentation in the bottle, Santi Torrella, one of brewery’s four founders, says “We thought, we are a wine region, why not use grapes? They aren’t just sugar, they are flavor, aroma, everything.” For their Garnatxa beer, they age ales in French oak wine casks, then add garnatxa (also known as grenache) grape juice for the second fermentation. “We wanted to identify the beer with Priorat,” says Carol Van Waart, another founder. “We wanted to introduce [the region’s] beer, culture, music.”
The founders—two are winemakers, and the other two have a communications business—began brewing the beer at home but decided to bump up production once their friends kept asking to buy bottles. Now, they’re selling the brew in chains across Spain and looking to export to New York next year.
Many brewers credit the rise of microbrewing and beer consumption to the Spanish economic crisis, which began in earnest in 2009. While the national economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, hundreds of thousands of people remain in dire financial straights (unemployment nationally remains at 26 percent; in Catalonia it is just under 23 percent). Spaniards tightening their belts moved away from the more expensive wine to cheaper options, primarily beer and hard cider. Household wine consumption fell in the last year by 4.8 percent, while beer consumption was up 1.1 percent. Even a fine beer costs less than a fine wine. At the same time, home brewers looking to take in some extra cash were eager to begin peddling their product.
Politics and business can be difficult to uncouple. Consider cava, Spain’s sparkling wine and the beverage traditionally associated with Catalonia. Freixenet, the largest cava producer, is now facing a boycott after its president, Josep Lluís Bonet Ferrer, told the New York Times that “Catalonia is an essential part of Spain,” and “that is how it should continue.”
But the beer world remains controversy-free, and small brewers are most concerned with increasing quality and bringing new skills to Catalonia. The local ingredients they’re using are popular but wouldn’t have worked if the beer didn’t ultimately taste good. As Villar puts it, “Who says, ‘Hey, let’s go get some beers. I want a curious one!’ ”
Sanchis doesn’t think the craft beer industry is there yet, but he believes they are well on their way. “I think in one [to] two years it is possible to have a really high quality Catalan beer,” he says. For now, brewers in Barcelona and beyond are tinkering and experimenting, drawing from the region’s traditional flavors and resources to create brews that celebrate Catalonia but are meant for beer drinkers everywhere—even in the rest of Spain.Ambulance file photo (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
LANSING — A 16-year-old Lansing boy is recovering after police said he accidentally shot himself in the face Monday.
Police were called at 8:22 p.m. to an area hospital when the boy showed up with the wound, Lansing Police Public Information Director Robert Merritt said.
The teen originally said he was shot by someone else while walking in the 900 block of North Walnut Street.
However, "police interviews uncovered inconsistencies in the victim's statement," Merritt said, and the boy ultimately admitted he had accidentally shot himself with a handgun inside a residence.
Also read:
The wounds are not considered life threatening, and the gun was recovered.
Police are not ruling out potential charges, Merritt said.
Contact Christopher Haxel at 517-377-1261 or chaxel@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHaxel.
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Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," act out a scene during a photo shoot at Salt La Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," pose for a portrait at Salt Lake Acting Company Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Mikki Reeve, Bailey Walker, Robert Scott Smith, Charlotte Brickworth and Tito Livas act ou Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Eb Madson. left, and Annette Wright as Heavenly Mother act out a scene during a preview of Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Bailey Walker, Tito Livas and Mikki Reeve act out a scene during a preview of "Saturd Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Devin Rey Barney, Justin Ivie, Eric Lee Brotherson and Tito Livas act out a scene during a Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Eric Lee Brotherson, Devin Rey Barney, Justin Ivie and Tito Livas act out a scene during a Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Eb Madson and Justin Ivie act out a scene during a preview of "Saturday's Voyeur,&quo Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Eb Madson and Annette Wright act out a scene during a preview of "Saturday's Voyeur,& Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Amanda Wright and Becky Cole act out a scene during a preview of "Saturday's Voyeur,& Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," act out a scene during a photo shoot at Salt La Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Devin Rey Barney and Eric Lee Brotherson act out a scene during a preview of "Saturda Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," pose for a portrait at Salt Lake Acting Company Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," pose for a portrait at Salt Lake Acting Company Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune The cast of "Saturday's Voyeur," act out a scene during a photo shoot at Salt LaMechDome Exits Beta, Allows any Developer to Port their Android App to iOS
Back in September, we covered a new developer tool that automatically converts existing Android projects into native iOS and OSX applications. This tool, called MechDome, takes an existing Android APK file and turns it into a standalone binary that developers can then distribute on the Apple App Store – all without changing a single line of code or learning anything about iOS development (though there are some caveats, as outlined in the previous article).
The open-source Reddit client called RedReader and a Sudoku app are two examples of successful conversions of Android apps to iOS. When we initially covered this tool, it was available for developers as a free public beta program, but today MechDome is ready for its first initial release.
Currently, MechDome’s initial paid subscription launch will be available through invitation only, though there is a free account that any developer can make to test out the service (more on that below). Furthermore, the initial launch is focused only on creating iOS apps for now, so you’ll have to wait a bit if you are interested in building OSX apps.
With this launch users will be able to convert APKs themselves through the revamped website. The process is completely automated, meaning after you upload an APK the conversion process begins to get a working binary for the iOS Simulator or live iOS devices.
Developers can test the conversion process through a free account. Free accounts are limited to a single APK upload which can only be converted for testing on the iOS Simulator. If you wish to convert your APK file into a binary that can be uploaded to the Apple App Store, you’ll have to subscribe to the paid service which as mentioned previously is invitation only.
XDA Exclusive Invitations
For any developers interested in trialing this subscription service, we have 5 invitations to share. The invitation nets you 6 months of MechDome’s paid subscription service for free, allowing you to publish and maintain a single app on the Apple App Store.
Interested in trying this out? Send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line “Interested in MechDome” using the same e-mail address you registered with at MechDome.com. Please provide a link to the Android app you wish to convert, whether it’s a Play Store link, XDA forum/XDA Labs link, or somewhere else. The app that you submit must be your own app, so in addition please provide some kind of proof that you own the app. E-mailing me from the same e-mail address listed on the Play Store page, or providing screenshots of the Play Store developer console should work. We will select the 5 winners at random by Wednesday, June 14th at 12PM CST (exactly 1 week from this post).Everyone hates the D&B Awards, don’t they. You hate the artists and labels begging for votes on Twitter, you hate it when the same old names win every award, you hate seeing people you’ve never heard of pick up prizes for music you didn’t know existed, the whole thing makes you cringe. I’m cringing my face off just writing this. But here’s the reason I think you should vote.
Rewards from music are few and far between these days, especially for new artists, and especially if those new artists write music that’s off the beaten track. A little encouragement can make the difference between an artist deciding to keep working at the music to bring you little nuggets of joy or them giving in to the grind of real life and letting the music stop.
Casting a vote for the artists of your choice costs you nothing but can have a really positive impact on them and their work. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Whether you pick them for Best Producer, Best Newcomer, Best Album or Best DJ, I’d love you to vote for our label’s album act this year, Conduct, because I believe their music is outstanding and I know how hard they work.
But even if you don’t vote for them, cast a vote for another artist who you believe represents new, original, exciting talent.
Grit your teeth through the cringe. Don’t sit back and let the same old names win.A 24-year-old woman from Tel Aviv who was videotaped being violently shoved by a police officer during Saturday night's protest for social justice said the attack took place while she was trying to reach her boyfriend through a wall of five or six police officers who she claims were beating him.
Maya Gorkin said she still can't believe the extent of the police violence at the Tel Aviv rally, even though she was subjected to it herself.
"I'm in shock," she said. "I admit that I didn't believe something like this could happen."
Gorkin was standing with her boyfriend on the sidelines of the rally when she saw police arrest a man she knew and bring him into the municipality building, which was being used as a temporary holding cell.
"I went over there to see, and out of nowhere a policeman from the Special Patrol Unit came and shoved my boyfriend forward with all of his might, toward a group of other patrol unit guys, and they just jumped on him, five or six of them at once, and beat him," said Gorkin, referring to the unit known by the Hebrew acronym Yasam. "I tried to grab his hand and they just shoved me backward. He disappeared behind the wall of patrol unit guys. I panicked and tried to find him, and I ran forward to the municipality entrance and tried to get closer and see something. Of course, they threw me backward and then that officer stood there."
That was when Gorkin became the star of a short video making the rounds on Facebook. Watch video below (Hebrew subtitles only).
The officer "saw me and gave me a serious shove backward, so I told him, 'Aren't you ashamed to be pushing a woman?' Then he said, 'No, I'm not ashamed,'" Gorkin recalled. "He turned around and continued walking and I kept shouting that it was a disgrace, and then he turned toward me and grabbed me by the neck, called over two patrol unit guys to arrest me. They put me into the municipality building and just flung me at the wall."
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When Gorkin was reunited with her boyfriend the next day, she says she saw evidence of the battering.
skip -
"They beat him up and down, bashed him on the railing like a rag, and then tossed him onto the floor," she said. "He has a bruise under his eye and on his jaw, and his entire stomach is full of red marks, and he has a wound on his shoulder."
Police detained Gorkin all Saturday night in a bicycle warehouse with nine others. There she heard someone else get beaten by police, she said.
"We heard them beating him," recounted Gorkin, adding, "His eye was bleeding and it wasn't treated for eight hours."
Maya Gorkin’s close encounter with a police officer, as recorded by an Internet news crew. Amir Meiri / NRGPoet riffs on life’s ironies in his ‘Divine Comedy’
BY LAEL HINES | “I got stabbed. It was no big deal, small deal, small deal, small deal. It was stupid.
“I was working at this bookstore on St. Mark’s Place near Second Ave. on the south side of the street,” Ron Kolm recalled. “I was up behind the register and we used to get robbed all the time. The counter actually had an opening on both sides, so we could run away.
“Anyway, I was there alone one night and this guy came in, went into the manager’s office and tried leaving with the manager’s bike. You know, I said, ‘Yo dude, you can’t do that. Put it back.’ He was drunk out of his mind; it was like this cloud of alcohol surrounding him.
“And he came up to me at the counter and pulled out a knife and whacked it in my hand,” Kolm said. “The knife is stuck there and he couldn’t pull it out. It was actually kind of funny. I said — because this is the asshole I am — ‘You’re really small and you’re really drunk and I could probably kill you if I wanted to, but it would be pointless. Your life is a pointless life, so I’m just going to ask you to get the fuck out.’ ”
“It’s been a good trip,” said Kolm, as he reflected on his life, living in New York and working in bookstores since the late ’60s.
Kolm’s experiences stimulate and inform his writing — poetry and prose that paint stories and images that are both relatable and barely believable.
With his characteristic self-deprecating tone, Kolm explained, “You have to understand what an asshole I am. A part of me is this guy going through life and another part of me is this guy watching it or commenting, the writer the observer, if you will.
“It was a gift that I saw the thing happened or that I saw the size and shape of it,” he said. “I don’t just try to write poems about anything. I try to look for things that have a shape and cut it out of that shape, the same way a sculptor sees something in a block of marble. You’re trying to free something that you see in there. That’s a cliché — but, most of my poems are based on real events. ”
With New York as the usual backdrop, the turbulence in Kolm’s life has sparked literature that similarly stimulates rebellious and revolutionary emotions among readers.
“I’ve had a little bit of luck with my tiny, silly-ass career,” said Kolm with concise irony. His “silly-ass career” has effectively produced his most recent book of poetry, “The Divine Comedy” (Fly by Night Press). With poems with titles like “Butt Sex” and “Hand Jobs,” Kolm as an artist is clearly unbound by societal perceptions or restrictions.
His revolutionary spirit has been resonant since the late ’60s.
“I did become antiwar ” he exclaimed, “but I didn’t go to Vietnam. I worked in Appalachia as a community organizer, which actually did shape my life. I worked with really poor people and I never quite made it back to the mainstream in America. Thank God, in a way. I try to use some of that stuff in my writing. A lot of shit happened.”
Kolm’s radical mentality effectively instigated the formation of The Unbearables. The Unbearables are a group of revolutionary writers who have rocked the New York City literature scene with their humor-filled, radical actions since 1984.
“We would picket the New Yorker, protesting their shitty poetry,” Kolm recalled. “We would do erotic readings on the Brooklyn Bridge every September 13. We would read to businesspeople as they went from Manhattan to Brooklyn. It was a fun thing to do; it was a little bit like being back in the ’60s.”
Most of Kolm’s actions align with a desire to be radical while fighting against the generic mainstream. He described this as one of the main inspirations of his writing.
“This culture is based on things wearing out, on selling things,” he explained. “I like to feel if you do a piece of art that doesn’t become instantly obsolete — it’s going to stick around for a while — you’ve actually done a small blow against the empire, and I genuinely believe that.”
For Kolm, radical literature shaped his existence.
“I was a fucking fascist when I was growing up in Pennsylvania,” he said. “It was art and literature that got me out of that. Reading ‘Catch-22’ changed me.”
By creating wonderfully rich and rebellious works like “The Divine Comedy,” Ron Kolm perhaps aims similarly to inspire readers, lifting them out of the often-superficial elements of American mainstream society.
“American culture is like dead in the water,” he declared. “It’s as close to the ’50s as I can remember. People are scared of being different and nobody really knows what to do.”
With his humanistic worldview, Kolm certainly harbors a discontent with the current generation. Expressing his annoyance with the world today, he said, “When I moved to New York in ’69-70 it was ridiculously cheap. You could get apartments for $100 a month. What’s happened is New York has gotten incredibly expensive — it’s just gone up and up and up.
“It’s almost impossible to live here now unless you move out to the ghettos,” he continued. “Bushwick, Bed-Stuy. I mean Bed-Stuy, for God sake! In the old days you wouldn’t even go close to that place because you’d be afraid you would just die.”
Fitting for a modern-day humanist, Kolm has a love of antiquity.
“Basically, my degrees are in history,” he noted. “What I enjoy are reading books on ancient Roman history.”
In fact, he described his belief, as he put it, that, “New York is Rome — ancient Rome. I think of 9/11 being New York’s 410 [the year of the sack of Rome]. I think that event influenced the city in more ways than we know it.”
Kolm’s connection to antiquity is fully represented in his “The Divine Comedy.” His poem of the same name fully parallels the work by Renaissance Humanist Dante. Kolm explained, “There are three movements. There is an attempt to move upward toward heaven the entire way through. The three movements vaguely mirror the three movements of ‘The Divine Comedy,’ I sort of fell into it.”
Near the interview’s conclusion, Kolm once again expressed his ironic, self-deprecating take on things.
“I’m so glad my mind still works,” he said, though adding, “It doesn’t really work anymore. I used to really like my mind. It wasn’t a bad mind. I managed to be very lucky.
“There’s the writer part of me that I like,” he said. “But there is another part of me which is just this old guy deteriorating. I see old guys going around in their little motorized chairs and I think, Oh fuck, that’s going to be me someday.”It's going to be hot in central Australia. Credit:Leigh Henningham Meteorologist Andrea Pearce said "pools" of hot air had been hovering over the centre of Australia, leading to the build up of heat. "We've had a high pressure system sitting across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales for weeks now, and it's been preventing any frontal systems coming through and flushing out all of that really hot air," she said. "We've had over 40 degrees in many, many locations and we expect that to continue. We see a relentless pool of temperatures above 40 degrees." The only cool place to escape the heat? The pub, according to Birdsville Hotel manager Ben Fullagar.
"We've got the coolest building in town, it's fully air-conditioned, a stone building," he explained. "All we can hope is that the air-conditioners and refrigerators don't pack it in, because they can only take so much." On Sunday, however, a new weather front will start to move through Australia, dropping the mercury in most of Victoria and South Australia. By Monday, New South Wales should begin to feel the cool change, followed by Queensland.
VICTORIA Northern parts of the state are in for the hottest conditions, with Mildura expected to get two days of 44 degrees on Thursday and Friday, dropping to 42 degrees on Saturday. Echuca, on the border of NSW, is expected to cop 41 degrees on Thursday, 43 degrees Friday and 40 degrees on Saturday. "In Victoria the winds have turned northerly, so some of that very hot air is going to move across Victoria, especially in the north of the state," Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Godfred said. "We're going to see temperatures rise well above 40, and then that heat will continue across until the weekend, and we'll get a cool change on Sunday."
The hot air will move to Albury on Friday, where temperatures will reach 43 degrees, and then 41 degrees on Saturday. Melbourne will be cooler, with a top of 37 degrees on Thursday, dropping to 26 degrees on Friday. Melburnians might survive summer without recording a single 40-degree day. NEW SOUTH WALES
Wet weather in Sydney has made way for warmer conditions as the interior heat leaks eastwards. Bourke, a small town 800 kilometres north-west of Sydney, is expected to record Australia's hottest temperature for the week, peaking at 47 degrees on Sunday. In Penrith, Thursday's forecast top of 36 degrees will seem almost cool given what's expected after that. Friday to Sunday, the mercury is expected to climb to 44-45 degrees. A top of 29 degrees is predicted for Sydney on Thursday before a trio of scorching days, with 36, 39, and 38 degrees forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology for Friday through to Sunday. Weatherzone meteorologist Graeme Brittain said it could be the hottest three-day spell on record for Sydneysiders.
The hottest towns in Australia this week. Credit:Bureau of Meteorology QUEENSLAND Birdsville, a town of only 120, has sweltered through temperatures above 43 degrees since Australia Day. "We've had hotter days, it's just difficult at the moment because it's day after day – normally we get a break, but not this year," Birdsville Hotel manager Ben Fullagar said. "But life will just continue on the same track here in Birdsville."
Inland centres such as Ipswich and Gatton are also forecast to reach some of the hottest temperatures recorded for the region, particularly over the weekend. "We're expecting temperatures to reach the high 30s for Saturday and reach over 40 degrees on Sunday, with Gatton expecting 42 and Ipswich 41," Bureau senior forecaster Brett Harrison said. Brisbane temperatures will be in the low 30s over the next few days, but the city is forecast to hit 35 on Saturday and 37 degrees on Sunday. SOUTH AUSTRALIA
In Moomba, an outback town 770 kilometres north of Adelaide, a new record could be set for the most days about 45 degrees. The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the town is in for a six-day stretch above 45 degrees, dropping to a "mild" 39 on Sunday. An extreme heat warning was issued by the Bureau for the state on Wednesday. Adelaide reached 42.4 degrees on Wednesday, and will get to 41 degrees Thursday. Friday and Saturday temperatures will remain high, above 37 degrees. South Australia was hit by a short power outage late on Wednesday as searing heat led to a spike in electricity use, just months after a major blackout hit industry and forced a review of energy security in the renewables-dependent state.
Load-shedding, which began Wednesday evening, lasted for about half an hour and affected around 40,000 people, the country's electricity market operator said, adding that it would investigate the issue. The state, which is heavily dependent on wind and solar energy, was crippled by several outages late last year, after heavy winds knocked out an interstate power connector and cut power to residents and industry.There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about what a food allergy is, or rather isn’t. Now, I mean an actual allergy, not just something people think they can’t tolerate.
“But I totally have an allergy to lactose”
No, you totally do not.
“I’m allergic to gluten! My doctor told me.”
Close, but not quite.
How do I know you’re not these things you’re so convinced of? Because they are either incredibly rare, or don’t exist. Like, at all.
Believe it or not there’s whole groups of researchers that pore over the definition of an allergy. However, amidst all the bickering one thing is agreed. Only proteins cause allergies.
Not sugar, not fat, protein. So when you say “I’m allergic to lactose” I immediately know that cannot be. I’m also quiet aware that you mean you’re lactose intolerant, despite what you said.
So where do we draw the line? In your proteins of course!
Antibodies are proteins most frequently associated with the immune system. There are far too many to list, but the distinctive feature of a true allergy is the presence of IgE or Immunoglobulin E. If whatever you’re experiencing doesn’t cause an increase in this little protein, it’s something other than an allergic reaction.
Lactose intolerance, that all to familiar condition that loves sharing it’s presence, doesn’t cause any change in IgE. In this case, there isn’t enough of a specific enzyme needed to breakdown milk-sugar. Unbroken lactose goes straight to the large intestine and boom! all those little bacteria have an all-you-can-eat buffet.
So you feel like you have a clearer picture? Then tell me, where does Celiac Disease fall?
Gluten intolerance seems so common you’d think more people would understand what it means. Even though the reaction is an effect of a protein, gliadin, it isn’t characterized by IgE. Instead, the small gluten protein weasels its way across the digestive tract undigested, causing an entirely different immune response.
You will rarely, if ever, hear of someone going into anaphylactic shock because of gluten.
Then we have the food sensitivities. People make thousands of dollars convincing others they get tired from A because they’re sensitive to B or they get C because their body can’t handle D. It’s sold as if it’s an allergic response, but in reality anything from flatulence to reflux can qualify something as a food sensitivity. It’s basically anything that is “disagreeable” with your body. There’s no immune response, no lacking enzyme, no invading protein. Just food, your body, and an “undesirable effect”.
I’m not saying you should keep eating these foods that cause gut-wrenching reflux or room-clearing flatulence, but please, stop calling them an allergy.
Allergy means Protein Reaction, Intolerance is a Lack of something, and Sensitivity is Undesirable but Normal.
APR,IL, SUN
Just remember that and you’ll have no problem separating the three.
Be good to each other.
-J. IuferEmergency services are rallying to reach new heights and raise $1million in honour of a Waikato tot suffering from a rare terminal illness.
Te Awamutu couple Constable Rebecca Parker and firefighter husand John's one year old son Maddox was diagnosed with a rare mitochondrial disease at five months old.
He celebrated his first birthday on Saturday, but sufferer's of Maddox's variant, Leigh's disease, rarely survive beyond a second. This January 12 about 30 supporters, including police and fire service staff, will tackle a 44km walk and run around Mt Tongariro's northern circuit, which includes the Tongariro Crossing.
Rebecca and John launched the campaign 'A Million Dollars for Mito' through the Starship Foundation to raise money for research, training and support.
The main aim is to raise awareness of the disease caused by the failure of mitochondria, which generate energy to make the body's cells function. It causes a wide range of symptoms including organ failure.
When Maddox was diagnosed, Rebecca said the couple turned to Google for answers on a disease they had never heard for before.
"It would be nice if when we say we're raising money for mitochondrial disease, people didn't say 'What's that?' It's hard to raise money for a disease that no one's heard of."
She said the couple have been overwhelmed by the support from community members who have sponsored cycles and marathons, garage sales, raffles and quiz nights - and wristbands sold through the local Mitre 10.
"A million dollars sounds ambitious but if every time someone found a dollar under the chair they donated it, we'd get there," said John.
"We know this won't help Maddox. But hopefully things will be better for children diagnosed in New Zealand in the future."
For more information and to donate go to www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/MitochondrialDisease or follow the progress on the Maddox Thorne Parker Facebook page.Image caption A nonsense: Chris Stringer holds a reconstruction of Piltdown Man's skull
It was a shocker, no doubt about it. The Piltdown Man scandal is arguably the greatest scientific fraud ever perpetrated in the UK.
When the fake remains of our earliest ancestor were unmasked for what they really were, shame was heaped on the research establishment. But exactly 100 years to the week that this extraordinary hoax was presented to the world, the Piltdown Man "fossils" are back in the lab and the subject of serious study.
The intention is not to try to re-authenticate them; rather, the purpose is to try to identify once and for all who was responsible for the deception.
The majority view is that it was Charles Dawson, a solicitor, antiquarian and amateur palaeontologist from the southern English county of Sussex.
He was at hand for most of the major "discoveries" at the dig sites on the edge of Piltdown village.
Most people believe his hand was responsible for planting the key faux specimens in local gravels.
These included an ape-like jaw fragment, complete with molars and a canine tooth, some human-looking cranial parts, plus assorted stone tools and ancient mammal remains. Much of the haul was stained to reflect long-term burial in the gravels, to make the artefacts look as if they truly were many hundreds of thousands of years old.
The collection was utter rubbish, of course: a mix of bones - some very modern - that had in a number of cases been crudely filed to give them the shape expected of an ancient human species.
But although chemical testing finally exposed the fraud in 1953, there has always been some doubt over the culprit's true identity.
Image caption The Piltdown materials were stained to make them look old
Hence, the new battery of testing now under way, which aims to close the book on the remaining uncertainty, according to Prof Chris Stringer from London's Natural History Museum (NHM).
"What we're trying to do is apply forensic level techniques to this material," he told the BBC World Service Discovery programme.
"We're trying to find out how many kinds of staining techniques there were, how many methods of modification, how many specimens were used between all these assemblages. The more we narrow it down to one person, the more in my view it will point to Dawson's central involvement in the whole thing."
The Piltdown 'cricket bat'
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prof Adrian Lister: 'The joke arose that the first Englishman also played cricket'
DNA testing should determine whether the jaw fragment really was from an orangutan or some other kind of ape.
Isotopic analysis could reveal the original locations from where some materials were sourced, since different regions of the world have characteristic isotopic compositions in their rocks and groundwater. There is a suspicion, for example, that the skull pieces were actually taken from an Egyptology collection.
Radiocarbon dating will tell the team the precise ages of the artefacts. That jawbone is probably a few hundred years old at most, but the new science ought to be definitive.
And spectroscopy should expose the chemistry of the staining fluids. If one "cocktail" is found to have been used to colour all the materials, it would hint strongly that a single perpetrator was at work, especially if that recipe was used at all dig sites. That is because only Dawson knew the location of the second site.
Dr Matt Pope from University College London has even been back to the Piltdown gravels themselves.
"We want to go back to the original records of the excavations, to follow the logic of Dawson and others involved and to see these deposits with modern archaeological and geological eyes," he told us.
"This will give a better understanding of the context of the fraud. It will provide samples that allow us to do two very separate things. One will provide materials we can study to understand the material basis of the fraud itself. But also - and for me this is the most exciting thing as a human origins researcher - it can allow us to begin the systematic study of the genuine part of this hoax - the Ice Age gravels, their age, their significance and the genuine finds associated with them."
Image caption Charles Dawson (L), pictured working the Piltdown gravels, was a solicitor
Understanding which extinct animals should be associated with the sediments at Piltdown is important. Bones of mastodon (an elephant-like creature) and rhino remains formed part of the hoaxers' plan. They were genuine in the sense that they were very old, but they had no business being in the Sussex gravels
And Prof Adrian Lister's research may well have identified the true origin of some of this material.
Image caption The jaw fragment probably came from a young orangutan
"Fossils of the mastodon and the rhino are quite rare. There's really only one place where you can excavate remains of the mastodon species. It's a deposit in Suffolk called the Red Crag; and this deposit is between two and three million years old," the NHM researcher explained.
"Even back then these species were recognized as being quite ancient, and that was quite deliberate because, not only, was it an attempt to make the site look real but also that the human remains were very old."
You would be forgiven for thinking that the British scientific community would really have liked to pack the Piltdown specimens in a box and have them crushed. But the memory and interest is maintained, if for no other reason than the whole affair serves as a warning for how things can go horribly wrong.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prof Chris Stringer: 'One of the central questions is how many people were involved'
That said, it proves also the power of the scientific method ultimately to find the truth. Prevalent theories stand or fall in the face of constant questioning; and although it took 40 years to finally unmask the deceit, the Piltdown claims were looking ragged long before their eventual collapse because of truly compelling discoveries made elsewhere in the world.
"People obviously have to keep their guard up when there is some new find," reflected Prof Stringer.
"Sometimes, if something seems too good to be true, maybe it is too good to be true. And just because something fits your theories you shouldn't therefore lower your guard and believe it absolutely from the start; you have to assess how the find fits into the bigger pattern."
You can hear Jonathan Amos tell the story of Piltdown Man this week on the BBC World Service's Discovery programme, which is first broadcast on Monday at 1932. The Piltdown specimens will be on display at the Natural History Museum from Tuesday, in a special cabinet near to the dinosaurs gallery in the NHM's blue zone.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow him on Twitter: @BBCAmosApple has supposedly begun work on a drone-powered alternative to keep their Apple Maps service up to date and faster that their current fleet of sensor and camera-outfitted vans and vehicles. According to a report by Bloomberg Technology, Apple intends to use drones to examine street signs and track changes to streets and roads. Additionally, the report indicates that monitoring construction projects is also a major goal of the project, which has not yet been fully approved by the FAA.
While Apple usually does not respond to inquiries regarding future plans and technologies they will be using, there was an FAA exemption granted on March 22, 2016 for Apple to “operate an unmanned aircraft system to conduct data collection, photography, and videography”. In the application, Apple stated they would be using many different drones from DJI, Intel, and Parrot, with data collection services managed by a company called Aibotix GmbH.
In the application, Apple also addressed potential safety hazards of using the drones and how they intend to mitigate the risk:
The proposed operations do not create any hazard to users of the NAS or pose a threat to national security. The Aircraft are battery operated with a maximum flight time of less than 25 minutes. The Aircraft weigh less than 55 pounds. The Aircraft will be operated at or below 400 feet AGL within the visual line of sight of the pilot in command. UAS operations will be over private or controlled access property with the permission of the owner/controller or authorized agent.
You can read the full FAA exemption filed by Apple here.
If Apple begins mapping efforts as intended, they may face some |
the case of Jamira Dixon, who contacted detectives after the shooting and told of a similar run-in with Reeves. On Dec. 28, she said Reeves confronted her for texting during a movie. She said he was glaring at her, and that he even followed her to the restroom.
Dixon said her husband thought of confronting Reeves, but didn't. "It could have been us," she told Bay News 9.
Reeves will remain in jail, unlike some other recent high-profile defendants. In 2010, Trevor Dooley shot David James, 41, after a confrontation on a neighborhood basketball court in Valrico. Dooley was charged with manslaughter and freed on bail. So was Riverview dentist Matthew Moye, who was charged with DUI manslaughter after striking and killing two pedestrians with his Cadillac on the Harbour Island bridge in 2010.
After the hearing, Escobar called Reeves the "best of the best" in law enforcement. He hopes to set a bail hearing next week.
"Certain circumstances will show that he is innocent," Escobar said.
Nicole Oulson was not at her home in Land O'Lakes on Tuesday afternoon, and a family member declined to comment. Chad Oulson's funeral is set for Saturday.
Times staff writer Lisa Buie contributed to this report.KOLKATA: The much-talked about 3 Robinson Street property measuring 23 cottahs and 6 chittaks, where Partho De had lived for six months with the skeletons of his sister Debjani and two dogs and where his father Aurobindo’s charred body was found, has changed hands for Rs 20 crore.According to the deeds of conveyance, it was sold to three companies — SC Sons Private Limited, JVS Exports Private Limited and KIC Resources Limited. These companies were represented by its director, Vivek Kundalia, in the sale deed that is dated May 2, 2017. Vivek is the son of realtor Pradip Kundalia.Advocate Amit Kumar Sinha who executed the deed said: “The official record is available. Anybody can go through it. I was the advocate for the three companies that bought the property. The deed was executed on May 2.”Partha died on February 21 in the upscale Watgunge flat that he had moved into at the beginning of the year.A copy of the deed was accessed by TOI. Two separate deeds of conveyance for 11.5 cottah and 3 chittaks each were prepared for the sale. The deed mentions that Partho’s grandfather Gadadhar De had purchased the property from one Kulsum Bai. He created a trust deed which stated that the property would be inherited by his sons – Aurobindo and Arun – after the death of his wife, Santi De. After Santi’s death on May 17, 2014, the property therefore devolved upon Aurobindo and Arun, each having undivided one half share.The deed states that Aurobindo passed away on June 10, 2015, leaving behind “his son Partho De and daughter Debjani De as his legal heirs”. Interestingly, the deed also states that Debjani died a spinster “on June 11, 2015”, that is the day after Aurobindo’s charred body was found. Cops and fire brigade personnel who entered the house to investigate the trail of smoke and stench of burnt flesh on the evening of June 10, 2015 also found a makeshift bed in Partho’s room piled high with teddy bears and a fully clothed woman’s skeleton underneath. The skeleton was later identified to be that of 47-year-old Debjani, who according to forensic tests, had died six months ago. The skeletons of the family’s two Labradors were found wrapped in a blanket beside the bed.After Aurobindo and Debjani’s death, Partho was the only heir to Aurobindo’s undivided half share of the property. Going by the deed, Partho and Arun entered into an agreement for sale of the property for Rs 20 crore on July 15, 2016.Payments for the property was made through cheques on diverse dates and tax was deducted at source for all payments. According to the deed, Rs 4.95 crore each had already been paid to both parties before Partho’s death in February this year. The last lot of cheques were issued on May 2.TOI got in touch with Arun about the sale of the property but midway through the conversation, the call got disconnected. Despite repeated calls and SMS, Arun didn’t respond. Despite repeated calls to Pradip Kundalia, he didn’t respond.In what is a consolation victory for the Labour Party’s establishment in the Court of Appeal, it has been revealed by WikiLeaks that there may be more to the decision than meets the eye.
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After Sir Philip Sales QC overruled the previous High Court decision to allow the 130,000 disenfranchised Labour Party members to vote in the up and coming leadership election – notorious whistle-blower Wikileaks revealed that Sales had been a Blair insider for years, having been recruited as Junior Counsel to the Crown in 1997.
#Corbyn vote exclusion Court of Appeal judge Philip Sales was Blair insider for years https://t.co/j7ozmxFE1g & https://t.co/75Q8E0rVPT — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 12, 2016
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The literature cited by WikiLeaks confirms that immediately after Labour’s victory in the 1997 general election, Sales was recruited by Tony Blair. Interestingly, it also reveals that Sales used to be a practising barrister at law chambers 11KBW, of which Tony Blair was a founder member. At the time of the appointment, there was uproar over Sales’ appointment and plunged Blair into a cronyism row.
According to The Guardian’s coverage of the sexual discrimination case brought against Sales’ appointment, a source close to the case referred to 11KBW as a ‘network of old boys and cronies’, and that there was ‘no coincidence that the appointment came from Lord Irvine’s and Tony Blair’s old chambers’.
Since his appointment in 1997, Sir Philip Sales managed to rack up a hefty bill to the taxpayer as the highest earning lawyer in the entire government. Moreover, as a key part of Blair’s legal team, he also defended the Government’s decision against holding a public inquiry into the Iraq War in the High Court in 2005.
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Clearly, there is no evidence of wrongdoing, only that of a conflict of interest. Sales’ deep involvement in the Labour Party during the Blair years will raise questions about the legitimacy of his shock ruling in favour of the National Executive Committee, especially as there was an evident breach of contract.
Despite these 130,000 members being told in black and white that they were eligible to vote in upcoming leadership elections upon registration, today they have been officially cast aside by their own party in an attempt to skew a result that is already a foregone conclusion. The biggest kick in the teeth, however, is that the permission to do so was granted by a former key lawyer of Tony Blair’s Labour government.
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Evolve Politics needs your help! If you value the work we do, please consider subscribing for as little as £1 a month, or donating any small amount you can comfortably afford without encountering hardship. All subscriptions and donations go to our writers and researchers to produce the work we publish. Despite also earning a small income from advertising, we literally could not continue to operate without the support of our readers Subscribe DonatePresident Trump, the baby translator, three-eyed fish… As the World Cup continues, we look all the real-world events predicted by The Simpsons
1. Mexico winning the World Cup
The World Cup final remains at a distance but that hasn't stopped football fans from suggesting this year's winner had been predicted by The Simpsons. An episode in the animation's ninth series, The Cartridge Family, showed a match "to determine which nation is the greatest on earth, Mexico or Portugal?".
Social media fans became convinced that this could be the World Cup, with one uncanny detail tying it to this summer: "There seems to be a reference to the scandal that recently plagued the Mexican team who allegedly partied with several women before the beginning of the tournament," Portuguese newspaper Eco reported.
The two teams could even make it to the World Cup Final. On Monday, Portugal drew with Iran, meaning they are in the top half of the draw for the knockout stage. If Mexico win Group F then they will be in the bottom of the draw, meaning they won't meet Portugal until the final.
2. President Donald Trump
In 2000, Simpsons writer Dan Greaney folded in the notion of Donald Trump as President of the United States into a grimly dystopian episode called Bart to the Future. Under Trump's management, America in 2030 had been crippled financially and was relying on bail-outs from China and Europe. The country's only chance? The victory of presidential candidate Lisa Simpson. The person who actually saves the day, however, is her down-and-out brother Bart, whose experience in dodging debts gets America out of its deficit.Image caption Japanese knotweed, a widespread invasive plant, is classified as a controlled waste under UK legislation
The full impact of an alien species on an area's habitat may not come to light until decades after its intentional introduction, a report has warned.
Researchers suggest that the seeds of future invasions have already been sown, making them difficult to control.
The team of European scientists called on governments to tighten controls on international trade that involved potentially invasive species.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Alien invasions may be characterised by considerable time lags between the date of first introduction of a species to a new territory and its establishment as part of the regional flora or fauna," they wrote.
"This lag in the cause-effect relationship would mean that, independent of existing biosecurity and trade regulations preventing further introductions, the seeds of future invasion problems have already been sown and can best be described as an 'invasion debt'."
They reached their conclusion after examining series of data on more than 3,300 invasive species across 10 taxonomic groups - including birds, reptiles, mammals, fungi and plants - in 28 countries around Europe.
Silent killers
Researchers consider the threat from invasive species to be one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, alongside other factors such as habitat loss and fragmentation.
An invasive plant is emerging as a major problem in a Nepalese national park The invader that is strangling an ecosystem
For example, a native plant of Brazil, Mikania micrantha, has already covered 20% of a Unesco-listed national park in southern Nepal.
Scientists are concerned about the spread of the "weed" in the Chitwan National Park because it has been a huge conservation success story, with nearly 100 breeding adult tigers and more than 400 rhinos roaming within its territory.
The spread threatens to smother vegetation that is a source of food for a variety of animals, raising concerns about the stability of the ecosystem's food chain.
In the PNAS paper, the researchers said that socio-economic indicators from 1900 provided a better explanation of current patterns of invasive species than indicators from 2000.
"The results of [this] analysis extend our understanding of the temporal dimension of this relationship," they wrote.
"We show that, across all 10 taxonomic groups analysed, indicators of historical introduction efforts around the year 1900 explain current stocks of alien species in Europe significantly better than the same indicators evaluated for the recent past."
However, the team warned that the volume of introduced species had increased markedly as the 1900s advanced.
"Given the enormous increase of introduction events during the second half of the 20th Century, this result is strongly suggestive of a considerable delay between the introduction of a species and its subsequent establishment in the wild."
They concluded: "Our results highlight that even if further unintended introductions could be successfully reduced by [current regulations and policies], the mid-term impacts of alien species on biodiversity and the economy might even be higher than currently expected."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
Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik The New York Times: U.S. media became 'de facto instrument of Russian intelligence'
On Monday, The New York Times published a tick-tock showing how hackers with ties to the Russian government attempted to influence the U.S. election.
The article explicitly stated that the Times and other American media organizations unwittingly aided Russian hackers by reporting on the contents of private emails from the DNC and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
The Times wrote:
"Every major publication, including The Times, published multiple stories citing the D.N.C. and Podesta emails posted by WikiLeaks, becoming a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence.
Mr. Putin, a student of martial arts, had turned two institutions at the core of American democracy — political campaigns and independent media — to his own ends. The media’s appetite for the hacked material, and its focus on the gossipy content instead of the Russian source, disturbed some of those whose personal emails were being reposted across the web.
'What was really surprising to me?”'[Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress] said. 'I could not believe that reporters were covering it.'"Symantec Security Claims Android Lockscreen Ransomware Using Pseudorandom Passcode to Ensure Victim Pays the Ransom.
Android Lockscreen ransomware has been around for quite some time now but the new version of these is far more powerful and resilient. Previously the ransomware used to lock the screen using a hardcoded passcode but experts were able to perform reverse engineering to provide the victim with the passcode so that they could unlock their devices. However, in the new version the attackers have made it impossible to reverse engineer the passcode since the ransomware uses pseudorandom passcodes. Due to this, the victims aren’t able to unlock their devices and are forced to pay the ransom.
Must Read: 7 Cases When Victims Paid Ransom to stop cyber attacks
Attackers have also equipped this new version with a custom lockscreen that is joined with the device’s lockscreen. This creates another problem for the victim. It must be noted that such Trojans are now being directly created on mobile devices prior to being distributed to unsuspecting users.
But what is Pseudorandom passcode?
When a device has been infected by this malware, it creates a custom System Error message window, which is pasted atop every visible user interface on the infected device. The malware also displays intimidating messages through this window asking the user to talk to the attackers to get the passcode.
Also Read: Hackers Develop Android Malware Every 17 Seconds
The previous versions of Android Lockscreen ransomware hardcoded the passcode that would unlock the device in the sample’s code but the new version replaced it with a pseudorandom number. This means, pseudorandom passcodes are basically randomly generated numbers, which could be either 6 digit or 8 digit numbers. The figures presented below show both the 6 digit and 8 digit numbers.
The number that is randomly generated is different for every device since the base number is acquired with the “Math.Random()” function. It is important to note that the malware developers have fortified the threat by combining the pseudorandom passcode generation mechanism with a trick they have been using in the previous versions. That is, along with a customized lockscreen that is created through the System Error window, the device admin privileges are also used by the attackers to modify the PIN of the device’s normal lockscreen.
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To mitigate the threat, Symantec suggests the following practices:
➢ Always update software
➢ Never download apps from unauthentic websites
➢ Always install apps from trusted websites/platforms
➢ Closely watch the permissions asked by the downloaded apps
➢ Do install a reliable mobile security app like Norton to keep your device and data secure
➢ It is a wise idea to always create a data backup
[src src=”Source” url=”http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/androidlockscreen-ransomware-now-using-pseudorandom-numbers”]Symantec [/src]
[src src=”Image Source” url=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/mstable/17517955832″]Flickr/C_osett [/src]Humans are no different from other animals. Human population growth seems to be similar to rabbit population growth without predators. This continually increasing growth is unsustainable and may be part of the boom and bust cycle. Are humans smart enough to avoid the bust?
We are an extremely adaptive species. We have reduced death rates and increased birth rates with development of sanitation and medicine (Give ourselves a big pat on the back). We have increased the carrying capacity for humans through the development of agriculture, the industrial revolution, and technological advancements. For more information see The Theory of Population Growth Cycles by Donald Cowgill. HOLD UP…there is a problem. We are still breeding like rabbits.
Human population is growing exponentially without any serious moderating influence (even wars and diseases are not stemming the growth). However, just like the grass around an overpopulated rabbit warren, our resources are becoming more scarce and less appetizing. There are numerous problems that will be exacerbated by global climate change. Examples of these these problems are droughts occurring in Australia, flooding in Bangladesh, biodiversity loss in the Amazon, increased forest fires in the Western United States, and hurricanes buffeting the Caribbean.
These issues are described in more detail by the fourth IPCC Report, which summarized in Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming: The Illustrated guide to the findings of the IPCC and a wikipedia summary.
Global climate change is an especially deadly affliction, because it is weakening the earths immune system while causing the above mentioned symptoms to be more intense. I described this in more detail in the blog article Is Earth an AIDS patient? This has created an unhealthy cycle that is eroding the earth’s immune system.
This is a perfect example of the tragedy of the commons, where everyone is hurt by the over exploitation of resources.
We need to use our adaptivity to be able to address these problems. It is therefore important to look at what is inhibiting effective adaptation. Increasingly a large number of the growing population is being born into poverty and being impacted by climate influenced disasters. It is highlighted in A Stitch in Time: General Lessons from Specific Case Studies that one of the largest barrier to adaptation to climate change in the future is poverty. This is because there is not sufficient social and political institutions nor is there a sufficient economic and natural resources available to help people to adapt to changing environments and conditions.
Are humans different than other animals? Being smarter than rabbits has not stopped us from experiencing unsustainable population growth. Unfortunately, these younger generations are being born into an unstable world. What would make us different from rabbits and other animals is if we were able to control our population, (in a hopefully more moderate manner than the One-Child Policy in China, which is described in greater detail in the BBC Challenge on the One-Child Policy). We need to acknowledge that population control is a method for adapting to protect future populations from over resource use and their corresponding externalities. Even though this is politically and socially distasteful I would argue that it is preferable to allowing runaway population growth, resulting in even larger conflicts over resource use. Humans may have no predators now, but it is only a matter of time before the wolves of global climate change begin to decimate the impoverished peoples of the world.
Tags: adaptation, climate change, Philip RothrockBeing an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. these days is no easy feat. The organization has been driven underground in the wake of Hydra’s total infiltration, and the man in charge of rebuilding was brought back to life via a serum from a mysterious blue alien.
When Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for its second season, newly installed Director Coulson will have an uphill battle to prove that his agents are actually the good guys—which is made all the more difficult with most of S.H.I.E.L.D. scattered to the wind, selling them out, or in their custody for being members of Hydra, like the double-crossing Ward.
Can Coulson return S.H.I.E.L.D. to its glory days? Who may stand in their way? And how will the team feel about Coulson being in charge? EW turned to executive producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen to get the scoop on season 2:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can you say about the state of S.H.I.E.L.D. when the show returns?
Maurissa Tancharoen: We’re living in a new paradigm. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra are viewed as one and the same and basically seen as a terrorist organization by the world. So Coulson and his team have been essentially driven underground, forced to truly operate in the shadows.
Jed Whedon: We get to see them as true underdogs for the first time. You got a little taste of it at the end of last season, but most of the season we had all the support and all the billions of dollars we could ever want behind us and now we get to see them as a true underdog. We also get to see Coulson stepping into a new role and not only have to wrestle with how do you rebuild something from the ground up, but what does it mean to be the boss of it?
Will S.H.I.E.L.D. have to be on the run all season or will they be able to prove they’re the good guys?
Whedon: Coulson will have to figure out how to deal with that because they’re not being hunted for the wrong reasons. They’re being hunted by people who are trying to stop evil and that’s their goal, too. Coulson’s goal would be to try to figure something out with Talbot, but we think that Talbot is a great foil for Coulson.
Tancharoen: We’re thrilled that Adrian [Pasdar] is back for a run with us. He’s perfect in that role. With the military pursuing us and Brigadier General Talbot at the head of it, Adrian Pasdar is the perfect face for the person who’s hunting us down.
How does Coulson being the director change the dynamic of the team?
Tancharoen: It absolutely changes the dynamic. He may be just a bit more isolated because he has to make these decisions that he knows the team won’t necessarily agree with.
Whedon: One of the things he has to be very careful of in rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. is making sure that it doesn’t get poisoned at the roots as it did the last time. One of his approaches will be to make sure everything’s compartmentalized so that he can remove an aspect at any point.
Tancharoen: And compartmentalization is something he was a victim of last season, so it’ll be interesting to see him grapple with the idea that in order to keep his team safe–
Whedon: He needs to keep secrets.
Will people start to notice there’s something not quite right with him?
Tancharoen: Yes, that’s another thing that we’ll be exploring: What does it mean for the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be essentially a wild card?
Will we get more information about eh blue alien serum and how it’s actually affecting Coulson?
Tancharoen: I think that would be really cool if we did.
There was a very similar looking blue alien in Guardians of the Galaxy…
Whedon: There were blue aliens in it.
Tancharoen: There are blue aliens in the Marvel world. We are a part of it. [Laughs]
Will the team be facing some villains-of the-week or will you have a bigger overarching villain this season?
Whedon: Well, one thing that helps us this year is last year we had to do so much set up of characters and we couldn’t talk about who our big bad was.
Tancharoen: Yeah, we were hiding the Hydra reveal the whole time.
Whedon: So, we’re really happy to have Hydra.
Tancharoen: We do have smaller villains throughout the season. It’s under this one umbrella of Hydra but, of course, it isn’t just Hydra that’s out there.
Whedon: But we’re excited to have a big baddie right off the bat. It helps us.
Talk about some of these new characters that are going to be coming in because obviously you can’t just repopulate S.H.I.E.L.D. with the team that we already know.
Tancharoen: Because we have limited resources and basically all of S.H.I.E.L.D. is scattered to the four corners of the earth, Coulson has to be resourceful and try to reach people who he may not necessarily get along with, but he has to try and work with.
Whedon: Right. He doesn’t know if he can trust some of these people. He just knows he can trust them with the tasks he’s assigned them. We’ve got a bunch of good new faces coming in and we’ll see how they change the dynamic of the team and/or become part of the team.
Tancharoen: It’s fun to work with Lucy Lawless, whom we’ve worked with before on Spartacus.
What kind of relationship does Isabelle Hartley have with Coulson?
Whedon: They have a history.
Tancharoen: They have a mutual respect for one another for sure.
Whedon: But there’s always the trust issue. When we meet her, she might not necessarily be on the right side of things.
Is there anything you can tell us about Skye’s father?
Whedon: We’re not really going into detail on that one yet. The only detail we really know is just Kyle’s playing Skye’s father. We can say that having him is exciting for us. We’re obviously fans and we think the various things we are going to ask of him, he will be able to execute.
Tancharoen: We’re just thrilled that he was actually able to come and play the part. Kyle, as a person, is a very lovely, warm, nice man. And what we know about Skye’s father from season 1 is he’s rumored to be some sort of monster. So, if Kyle MacLachlan is the face of that monster, maybe there’s a different quality that he’ll bring to that character that the audience may not anticipate.
Why did you guys decide to lead with the fact that he’s her father instead of surprising the audience?
Tancharoen: That mystery was something that we carried through season 1, and in the very final episode, we see a man’s silhouette with a bloody hand. It was very clear that that’s something that we would be diving in to.
Whedon: And the story’s not structured in a way so that you’ll meet the character and then discover he’s Skye’s father. You will know the moment you see him. So it wasn’t something where we had to hide the ball on it, and truthfully some things you just can’t keep quiet, and this seems like one of them.
Coulson has been a surrogate father to Skye, so how will he feel about her actual father being out in the world possibly posing a threat?
Tancharoen: Exactly.
Whedon: That is something to be explored.
Will Skye continue to dig into her past or might it catch up to her?
Tancharoen: It was very clear at the end of season 1 that she had found her new family but that unanswered question is something that will always burn for her.
Whedon: But they all have a lot on their plate when we come into the season.
Tancharoen: Yeah, the pace and momentum that we had as we came to a close last season, it was very much starting off with that here in season 2.
Whedon: They’ve got a lot of different problems and this might be on the back burner for her.
What role will Ward play this season now being locked up by S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Whedon: He obviously is the possible source of information because he has some inside knowledge. But the thing that’s really exciting is just taking his character somewhere new. He lost everything and now we get to see him find his purpose.
Tancharoen: It was clear that he was a follower for his entire life. And now, we’re seeing what he’s like without Garrett, without Hydra, without any of it.
How do you think Melinda has changed in the wake of the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., but also being duped by Ward?
Whedon: We’ve explained that May has had an experience in her life that changed her. She’s already gone through something crazy in Bahrain that we’ve hinted at and we will explore in this season. So, for her, I don’t think it was as much of a game changer as for everybody else because she’s so good with rolling with punches and throwing a few herself.
Tancharoen: But if she sees Ward, there will be a grudge and it’s fun when Melinda May has a grudge.
Whedon: But she has a lot to deal with now with the fact that the person who she’s in charge of watching is back because Coulson is now the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. She’s going to have some new duties and we’ll get into that.
Can you talk about the ramifications of Fitz and Simmons’ trip to the bottom of the ocean and how their relationship changes now that he admitted his true feelings for her?
Tancharoen: I’m not sure we can talk about it, but those are the same questions that we had when we proposed those story points at the end of the season. If anything, the Fitz/Simmons story will be packed with emotion.
Whedon: Obviously things are going to change between them and we’ll see just how.
Tancharoen: The dynamics across the board between the members of our team will absolutely experience a shift this season.
Is Triplett going to be a more permanent fixture on the team this year?
Tancharoen: Yes. He’s a member of the team. He’s there to help out like the rest of them.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. on ABC.The 2009 Australian Grand Prix (formally the LXXIV ING Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The 58-lap race was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after starting from pole position. Rubens Barrichello finished second in the other Brawn GP car, with Jarno Trulli third for Toyota.
Brawn GP became the first constructor since Mercedes-Benz at the 1954 French Grand Prix to qualify on pole position, and then go on to win the race on their Grand Prix debut.[3] The race also became the second race in Formula One history to finish under stabilised safety car conditions—after the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix—following a collision between Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel, who were running second and third, on lap 56.
Report [ edit ]
Background [ edit ]
The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in 10 teams of two.[4] The teams, also known as constructors, were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Brawn-Mercedes, Force India-Mercedes, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing-Renault, Williams-Toyota and Toro Rosso-Ferrari.[4]
The race saw the debut of Brawn GP, whose owner Ross Brawn had bought out Honda Racing F1. The Brawn cars were driven by Honda's former drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.[5] The race also saw the debut of Sébastien Buemi, driving for Toro Rosso. Buemi became the first Swiss driver in Formula One since Jean-Denis Délétraz in 1995. Buemi replaced Sebastian Vettel who had moved to Red Bull Racing replacing the retired David Coulthard.
Prior to the opening race of the season, McLaren and Renault planned to boycott the season opener due to money not being paid to the teams. However, the boycott was avoided and both teams arrived in Melbourne for the opening round.[6] In a second dispute, several teams protested to the stewards about the legality of the Brawn, Toyota and Williams cars, with arguments that the diffuser on the cars were illegal. The protest was thrown out by stewards. However, the teams that initially protested, had appealed against the decision, with a FIA International Court of Appeal hearing set for after the Malaysian Grand Prix.[7] At the hearing, the diffusers were deemed legal.[8]
The race itself saw a later start time, Having started at 15:30 AEDT (04:30 UTC) in 2008, the race was moved to 17:00 AEDT (06:00 UTC) for 2009. However, the executives of the Australian Grand Prix rejected calls from Bernie Ecclestone to move it to a night race, just like the one held in Singapore, as they want to honour their current contract to 2015 of a twilight race.[9][10]
Practice and qualifying [ edit ]
"In both sessions sector two was working particularly well. There are only two'real' corners in the sector, but it's really interesting and it feels good in the car. The FW31 is well balanced all round the track, but seems even more so there than in any other places. After a winter of testing, it's good to get out on a new, fresh track and we seem to be in a better position than we thought." Nico Rosberg, after topping the timesheets in both Friday sessions and his thoughts on how well the Williams FW31 was comparing against his rivals.[11]
Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first was held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon. Both sessions lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes with weather conditions dry throughout. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour, and was also dry throughout.[12] The Williams cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima set the pace, ending up first and second with only five-hundredths of a second splitting the two.[13] The only other driver that was within half a second of them was Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari, who was marginally behind Nakajima. Rubens Barrichello set the fourth fastest time in the first official session for the Brawn team, outpacing teammate Jenson Button, who could only muster up the sixth fastest lap.[13] Heikki Kovalainen was the faster of the two McLaren drivers in fifth, with teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton languishing all the way down in 16th, some 2.3 seconds off the pace of the Williams cars.[13] Rounding out the top ten were Felipe Massa's Ferrari, the Toyota of Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil's Force India (thus meaning that four of the six Mercedes–engined cars were in the top ten) and the first of the Renaults driven by Fernando Alonso.[13]
Rosberg was again the pace-setter in the second practice session, with a time some six tenths of a second faster than what he achieved during the first 90-minute session.[14] This time, Barrichello was second in his Brawn with the Toyota of Jarno Trulli in third. This marked an improvement for Trulli as he was only 12th in the first session. The only Australian in the field, Mark Webber ended up fourth for Red Bull Racing, ahead of Button, Glock and Nakajima.[14] Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel was eighth, after a morning session that was interrupted by a hydraulic failure which led him to pull his car off the road between turns six and seven. This ruled him out of the rest of the session, and restricted him to bottom of the timesheets and only four laps completed.[14] Rounding out the top ten were Sutil's Force India, which ended up ninth again, and Massa in tenth. The three teams running the controversial rear diffusers (Brawn, Williams, and Toyota) were consistently the best teams on the track.[14]
Rosberg completed a clean sweep of top spots in practice, by coming fastest in Saturday's practice session. His time edged out Trulli's Toyota by just three thousandths of a second. Button was third, and the only other driver to break into the 1:25 lap times, just under two tenths of a second behind Rosberg.[15] Massa improved again to end up fourth, and be the only driver from McLaren or Ferrari to finish in the top ten.[15] Nakajima again impressed in the Williams, finishing fifth, in front of Barrichello, Webber, and Glock, who took the next three fastest times and were split by around six hundredths of a second.[15] The two BMW Sauber drivers—Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld—rounded out the top ten, as they appeared in the top ten on the timesheets for the first time, after a fraught pair of practice sessions on Friday.
"The last five or six months for both of us have been so tough because of going from not having a drive or any future in racing to putting it on pole here is just amazing, it really is and I have got to give all credit to the team and Ross [Brawn] and Nick [Fry] for making this happen. This is where we deserve to be after the tough times we have had." Jenson Button, after giving Brawn GP a debut pole.[16]
The qualifying session was split into three parts. The first part of qualifying runs for 20 minutes and eliminates the cars that finished the session 16th or lower. The second part of qualifying lasts for 15 minutes and eliminates cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying lasts for 10 minutes and determines the positions from |
of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Holland returned to save 41 games for Colorado. He looked like the Holland of old in the first half, posting a 1.62 ERA in 35 games. Holland turned down his $15 million option for 2018 and should command a multi-year deal, but his struggles down the stretch (6.38 ERA in second half) may scare some suitors off.
Alex Cobb set career highs in innings pitched (179 1/3) and wins (12) in 2017. (Photo11: Evan Habeeb, USA TODAY Sports)
11. Alex Cobb (30, RHP, Rays): Cobb, who made just five starts in 2015-2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, went 12-10 with a 3.66 ERA, pitching in a career-high 179 1/3 innings. He relied heavily on his curveball, and it paid off. The Rays gave him a $17.4 million qualifying offer, but they don’t have the money to re-sign him. Teams may be wary of giving him a long-term contract because he's never made 30 starts a year, but certainly is at least a No. 3 starter.
12. Zack Cozart (32, SS, Reds): Undoubtedly the best true shortstop on the market, Cozart hits free agency after a 2017 campaign that saw him earn the first All-Star nod of his six-season big-league career. Cozart showed significant improvements in power and plate discipline while establishing offensive highs across the board, and he's a plus defender at shortstop even if he can't repeat his achievements in the batter's box. (Signed a three-year, $38 million deal with the Angels)
13. Jonathan Lucroy (31, C, Rockies): The two-time All-Star could not have picked a worse time to have an offensive downturn. Lucroy slumped to the lowest totals of his career for home runs (six) and RBI (40) over a full season. A July 30 trade from the Texas Rangers to the Colorado Rockies brought Lucroy’s bat to life, as usually happens when hitters get to Coors Field, but his value undoubtedly took a hit. A return to Denver would make sense. (Signed a one-year deal with the Athletics)
14. Jay Bruce (30, RF, Indians): A free agent for the first time, Bruce is coming off quite possibly the best season of his 10-year career. He can be streaky, but eventually arrives at 30 home runs. Bruce won’t have any draft compensation attached, which certainly helps his value. He’ll command a multi-year deal, likely in the range of $15-17 million annually. (Signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Mets)
15. Logan Morrison (30, 1B/DH, Rays): Set career highs with 38 homers and 85 RBI, the first time he topped 500 at-bats. Will be interesting test case on the value of 30-plus home runs after the most homer-happy season in major league history. (Signed an one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Twins)
16. Mike Minor (30, LHP, Royals): Shoulder problems cost him all of 2015 and limited him to 42 1/3 innings at Class AA and AAA in 2016. But Minor returned to the majors and was an integral part of the Royals bullpen – appearing in 65 games and tossing 77 2/3 innings. He even finished out the 2017 season as the team’s closer, converting all six of his save opportunities, and his versatility is a significant asset as the role of the relief pitcher continues to evolve. (Signed a three-year, $28 million deal with the Rangers)
17. Brandon Morrow (33, RHP, Dodgers): He went from signing a minor league deal last offseason to becoming just the second player to pitch in every game of a seven-game World Series. The converted starter did it by focusing on his two “swing-and-miss” pitches: an upper-90s fastball and a hard slider. The result was a 2.06 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. (Signed a two-year, $21 million deal with the Cubs)
18. Yonder Alonso (30, 1B, Mariners): After never hitting more than nine homers in any of his previous seven seasons, Alonso revamped his approach and cranked out 28 in an All-Star year that also included a solid.866 OPS. But he did most of his damage before the break (20 home runs,.934 OPS) and tailed off markedly. (Signed a two-year, $16 million deal with Indians)
19. Anthony Swarzak (32, RHP, Brewers): Swarzak was dominant in 2017 with the White Sox and Brewers, striking out 10.6 batters per nine innings, way up from his 6.4 career average. This coincided with Swarzak laying off the sinker and throwing his slider more often. He was a hot commodity at the trade deadline and should be again in the offseason. (Signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Mets)
20. Neil Walker (32, 2B/1B/3B, Brewers): A consistently above-average hitter with good patience, some power, and a solid glove at second whenever he's healthy, Walker appears the most compelling free-agent option at the keystone. Injuries that sidelined Walker for long stretches of 2016 and 2017 could make clubs averse to committing to the switch-hitter for three or more years. He has a career.341 on-base percentage and has hit 23 home runs in two of the past three years. (Signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Yankees)
21. Eduardo Nunez (30, 3B/SS/2B/OF, Red Sox): Last seen being carried off the field in Game 1 of the ALDS due to the aggravation of a lingering knee injury, Nunez is a manager's dream whenever he's healthy: He hits for a fairly high average with decent power, he steals bases at a great clip, and he can play just about anywhere on the field. Nunez's tantalizing value as an offensive sparkplug and super-utility player means he will likely see multi-year offers near the $10 million a year range. (Re-signed with the Red Sox for one-year, $4 million)
22. Addison Reed (29, RHP, Red Sox): One of the top setup men in the majors in 2016 with the Mets, Reed took over the closer’s job – and converted 19 of 21 save chances – before being traded to Boston. Although his 2.84 ERA was solid, he did give up 11 home runs in 76 innings. That could be an issue, depending on where he signs. (Signed two-year, $17 million deal with the Twins)
23. Bryan Shaw (30, RHP, Indians): After pitching a career-high 76 2/3 innings, Shaw has shown he can handle a setup role that could require getting more than three outs. A 3.52 ERA in 2017 was a bit higher than his career mark, but a fastball that averages 95 mph and four years of rising ground-ball rates enhance his value. (Signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the Rockies)
24. Tony Watson (32, LHP, Dodgers): Although never a great fit as closer, Watson racked up 25 saves for the Pirates for parts of the past two seasons. Although he was more effective after being traded to the Dodgers, opponents hit.278 against him in 2017 – substantially higher than the.212 average they had over his first six seasons. (Signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Giants)
Todd Frazier batted just.213 in 2017, but did hit 27 home runs. (Photo11: Adam Hunger, USA TODAY Sports)
25. Todd Frazier (32, 3B/1B, Yankees): Frazier, a New Jersey native who grew up a Yankee fan, swiftly proved a popular player in the Bronx after joining the Yanks in a mid-July trade. Despite low batting averages - he's hit.220 since his second of two All-Star appearances in 2015 - Frazier represents a valuable option at third thanks to consistently good power numbers and improved plate discipline, and like many right-handed power hitters, fits well at Yankee Stadium. (Signed two-year, $17 million deal with the Mets)
26. Pat Neshek (37, RHP, Rockies): Showing he still has something left, Neshek was an All-Star for the second time. He finished with a 1.59 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, despite pitching in the hitter-friendly environments of Philadelphia and Colorado. He posted an other-worldly 69:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 62 1/3 innings and held right-handed batters to a.201 average. (Signed a two-year, $16.5 million deal with the Phillies)
27. Melky Cabrera (33, OF, Royals): A durable switch hitter who began the season with the White Sox before being sent to the Royals at the trade deadline. He's disciplined at the plate and doesn't strike out a lot. Since 2014, he's batted.289 with at least 170 hits in each season.
28. Brandon Kintzler (33, RHP, Nationals): Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Kintzler helped stabilize the Nats bullpen down the stretch. Although he has closing experience, his strikeout rate of 4.9 per nine innings and his heavy ground-ball rate make him more useful as a setup man. Interestingly, he’s been more effective against left-handed hitters throughout his career. (Re-signed with the Nationals for one year, $10 million)
29. Mark Reynolds (34, 1B, Rockies): The veteran first baseman struck out 175 times, the fifth time he has reached that figure in his 11-year career. And yet that didn’t seem to be nearly as big an issue this time as Reynolds enjoyed a career renaissance, belting 30 homers and driving in 97 runs. Reynolds, 34, did benefit enormously from playing at Coors Field, where he hit 21 of his homers and had a.978 OPS. On the road it was.703.
30. CC Sabathia (37, LHP, Yankees): The veteran no longer can overpower hitters with his fastball, but has learned to be a finesse pitcher. He was limited to just 148 2/3 innings, but still went 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA, his lowest ERA in five years. Gone are the days when he was one of the highest-paid pitchers in baseball, but he proved he can still pitch effectively, and is a clubhouse leader. He could be a bargain on a one- or two-year deal. (Re-signed with Yankees for one year, $10 million)
31. Carlos Gonzalez (32, RF, Rockies): Gonzalez had a mostly dreadful 2017 but did straighten things out a bit down the stretch, hitting.314 with a.921 OPS in the second half. Aside from the sudden drop-off in production, there’s always been concern that Gonzalez’s numbers have been exaggerated by Coors Field –.323/.383/.593 at home in his career vs..252/.308/.427 on the road. (Re-signed with the Rockies for one-year, $8 million)
32. Tyler Chatwood (28, RHP, Rockies): Chatwood posted a 4.69 ERA in 33 games - 25 starts - but perhaps a change of venue, at least closer to sea level, should help him. He was 3-8 with a 6.01 ERA at Coors Field, 5-7 with a 3.49 ERA on the road, with a 2.57 road ERA the past two seasons. Lefties batted.270 off him with a.373 on-base percentage and.464 slugging percentage. His age should help his value. (Signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Cubs)
33. Jon Jay (33, OF, Cubs): Jay is a.288 career hitter with a.355 on-base percentage. In his lone season with the Cubs, he batted.296 and played all three outfield positions without committing an error. Jay would prefer to return to the Cubs -- where he had a tremendous clubhouse presence -- but that seems unlikely with Albert Almora, Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist all under contract. (Signed an one-year, $3 million deal with the Royals)
34. Juan Nicasio (31, RHP, Cardinals): Nicasio thrived as a reliever and led the National League with 76 appearances. In three seasons since leaving Colorado, he has a 3.81 ERA in 248 ⅔ innings. Even if Nicasio can’t replicate his 2017 performance, worst-case scenario is that he’s a useful veteran swingman. (Signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Mariners)
35. Jhoulys Chacin (30, RHP, Padres): Chacin pitched well last season for the Padres, going 13-10 with a 3.89 ERA. He’s a finesse pitcher who gave up just 157 hits while striking out 153 in 180 1/3 innings. It had been four years since he pitched that many innings, and his 32 starts was a career-high. He certainly will earn more than the $1.75 million he made last season. (Signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Brewers)
36. Welington Castillo (30, C, Orioles): Castillo may finally find some stability after playing for four teams in the last five years. He set a personal high of 20 home runs while improving significantly as a receiver, placing second in Fangraphs.com’s defensive rankings of AL catchers. He also threw out 49% of attempted stealers. (Signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the White Sox)
37. Steve Cishek (31, RHP, Rays): The sidearming Cishek has a career 2.73 ERA and has held righties to a.205 average. He’s bounced around over the past few years, but should be able to secure a multi-year deal. (Signed a two-year deal, $13 million deal with the Cubs)
Andrew Cashner reestablished some value in 2017, making 28 starts and posting a 3.40 ERA. (Photo11: Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)
38. Andrew Cashner (RHP, 31, Rangers): The Rangers gambled on Cashner with a one-year contract, and won. Cashner stayed relatively healthy and went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA in 28 starts. It was the first time since 2013 he made enough starts to even qualify for the ERA title. Yet, the Rangers decided it wasn’t worth the gamble to give him a $17.4 million qualifying offer. Despite diminished velocity, he proved he can stay healthy, and when healthy, can still be quite effective. (Signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Orioles)
39. Carlos Gomez (32, OF, Rangers): Gomez joins a crowded group of center fielders on the market. He had a solid 2017 campaign, batting.255 with 17 homers -- despite injuries limiting him to 105 games. (Signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Rays)
40. Jaime Garcia (31, LHP, Yankees): He has undergone three surgeries in the last 10 years, but stayed healthy since May 2016. He hardly has dominant stuff, but he has four pitches that he can throw at any time. He can be a nice fill-in for the back end of a rotation. (Signed one-year, $8 million deal with the Blue Jays)
41. Adam Lind (34, 1B, Nationals): Playing for his fourth team in four years, Lind adjusted quite well to the role of part-time starter and pinch-hitter. He batted.303 with 14 homers, 59 RBI and an.875 OPS in 301 plate appearances and hit four pinch-hit homers. Lind, 33, started 25 games in left field and figures to earn quite a bit of interest as a role player and perhaps even land a regular job. (Signed a minor league deal with the Yankees)
42. Yusmeiro Petit (33, RHP, Angels): After a rocky 2016 in Washington, Petit bounced back to have the best year of his career, striking out 101 in 91 ⅓ innings with a 2.76 ERA in 2017. Petit has been dominant against right-handed hitters in recent years and his versatility may be his biggest selling point. (Signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Athletics)
43. Brian Duensing (35, LHP, Cubs): The veteran is coming off a good year in Chicago and he can certainly help fill out a bullpen. Duensing isn’t exactly a lefty specialist (career.239 BAA) but he’s one of the better southpaws on the market and could fetch a team-friendly multi-year deal. (Re-signed with Cubs for two years, $7 million)
44. Tommy Hunter (31, RHP, Rays): Hunter has been one of the more reliable relievers in baseball over the past five years, with a 3.12 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 280 games since 2013. He’s a good option for teams trying to solidify their middle innings and – while he’s never had the chance to close full time – could be a cheaper late-inning alternative. (Signed a two-year, $18 million deal with the Phillies)
45. Howie Kendrick (34, 2B/LF, Nationals): He may not be an everyday starter, but Kendrick’s versatility will earn him regular at-bats somewhere and could be a key contributor for a contender. While another good season could theoretically lure a multiyear offer, Kendrick's age may compel teams to wait and aim for a bargain buy late in the winter. (Re-signed with Nationals for two years, $7 million)
46. Austin Jackson (31, OF, Indians): The versatile veteran played all three outfield positions in 2017. While in center field, he made the catch of the year when he robbed Hanley Ramirez of a home run and flipped over the wall at Fenway Park on Aug. 1. Offensively, he finished with a slash line of.318/.387/.482 and hit.352 against left-handed pitchers. (Signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Giants)
47. Jake McGee (31, LHP, Rockies): A potential closer when he was acquired from the Rays in 2016, McGee had a disastrous first season in Colorado. He took a back seat to All-Star Greg Holland this season and performed much better as a setup man, posting a 3.61 ERA and 1.10 WHIP – while striking out a batter per inning. (Re-signed with the Rockies for three years, $27 million)
48. Trevor Cahill (30, RHP, Royals): There’s debate whether Cahill will be pursued as a starter or a reliever, which will obviously impact his value. He had multiple offers last winter, but wanted to start and took a one-year deal from the San Diego Padres. Cahill is relatively young, so it’s certainly a possibility he will bet on himself again as a starter.
49. Mitch Moreland (32, 1B, Red Sox): Known for his slick glove, Moreland delivered only so-so offensive production in his one season with the Red Sox, posting a.769 OPS with 22 homers. That will likely result in an uncertain market as he hits free agency again at 32. (Re-signed with the Red Sox for two years, $13 million)
50. Alcides Escobar (31, SS, Royals): Escobar has appeared in all 162 games in three of the past four regular seasons, but the value of his ability to play everyday is significantly mitigated by the fact that it means carrying him in the lineup everyday. Escobar's.294 career OBP has shown no signs of uptick as he ages - it dropped to.272 in 2017. Clubs like the Reds, Rays and Padres might appreciate his glove as they try to develop young pitching, but Escobar seems just as likely to return on an inexpensive one- or two-year deal to Kansas City, where he remains a favorite of manager Ned Yost. (Re-signed with the Royals for one year, $2.5 million)
51. Jose Reyes (34, SS/3B/2B, Mets): That Reyes started 71 games at shortstop for the Mets in 2017 says more about that team than it does the player. But after a brutal start at the plate, the veteran switch-hitter posted an excellent.866 OPS from June 16 through the end of the regular season and will likely find a new home as a utility infielder. No longer the volume base-stealer he was in his prime, Reyes still stole 24 bases in 30 attempts. (Re-signed with the Mets for one year, $3 million)
52. Cameron Maybin (30, OF, Astros): Maybin provided postseason depth and speed to the outfield after the Astros' Aug. 31 waiver claim. And despite only 395 at-bats between the Angels and Astros, he finished fifth overall in steals (33). Maybin, a career.255 hitter, struggled offensively, batting.228. (Signed a one-year, $3.25 million deal with the Marlins)
53. Lucas Duda (32, Rays, 1B): The left-handed-swinging power hitter has not been able to replicate his 30-homer, 92-RBI season of 2014, as injuries have cut significantly into his playing time. Duda still cranked out 30 homers with an.818 OPS last season, split between the New York Mets and Rays. But he bombed after the Rays acquired him and batted just.217 for the season. (Signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Royals)
54. Jarrod Dyson (33, OF, Mariners): Age could factor on whether Dyson is offered a multi-year deal this offseason. His two most valuable tools are speed and defense. In each of the last six seasons, Dyson has stolen at least 26 bases. (Signed a two-year, $7.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks)
55. Mike Napoli (36, Rangers, 1B): The teams Napoli played on made it to the postseason in eight of his first 11 seasons in the majors, but 2017 marked a major comedown. In his third tour of duty with the Texas Rangers, the club finished under.500 and Napoli set career lows in batting average (.193) and OPS (.713). So there are questions about whether the party at Napoli’s has been shut down for good, but it’s worth noting he still hit 29 homers, so there’s some thunder left in his bat yet. (Signed a minor league deal with the Indians)
56. Jason Vargas (LHP, 35, Royals): He stunned everyone the first three months of the season when he returned after making only 12 starts the previous two years to yield a 2.22 ERA, then posted a 6.66 ERA over his final 16 starts. He may have difficulty garnering more than a one-year deal. (Signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Mets)
57. Doug Fister (RHP, 34, Red Sox): He was out of the game until May, and returned to the big leagues with the Red Sox in June, and performed respectively, going 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 18 games and 15 starts. He was strong down the stretch, going at least seven innings in four consecutive starts, yielding 14 hits and a 1.50 ERA in 30 innings. He shouldn’t have nearly the trouble as a year ago finding a team that will take him. (Signed a one-year, $4 million with the Rangers)
58. Yunel Escobar (35, 3B, Angels): Though no longer a viable shortstop, the well-traveled Cuban-born Escobar maintains some utility when he's healthy thanks to great performances against left-handed pitching in recent seasons. But Escobar missed 2 1/2 months of the 2017 season with injuries and no longer represents a reasonable everyday option as anything more than a stopgap for a rebuilding team.
59. Luke Gregerson (33, RHP, Astros): At least he has a World Series ring. Otherwise, Gregerson’s season in the Houston bullpen was less-than-memorable. He posted a career-worst 4.57 ERA, partly due to serving up 13 home runs in 61 innings. On the plus side, he did strike out 10.3 batters per nine innings. (Signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Cardinals)
60. Alex Avila (31, C, Cubs): Going back to Detroit, and feeling healthier, did wonders for Avila, whose career had been on the downswing for years. Avila produced 14 home runs and an.834 OPS for the Tigers before being dealt on July 31 to the Chicago Cubs, for whom he was a part-time starter. With his lefty bat and solid defensive reputation, Avila should land a starting job. (Signed a two-year, $8.5 million with the Diamondbacks)
61. Brett Anderson (LHP, 30, Blue Jays): Only twice has he made at least 20 starts in a season.
62. Chris Iannetta (34, C, Diamondbacks): The 12-year veteran enjoyed one of his most productive seasons with his third team in three years. Iannetta posted the second-best marks of his career in home runs (17) and OPS (.865) while sharing catching duties with Jeff Mathis. A similar arrangement could be in the offing. (Signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal with the Rockies)
63. Seth Smith (35, OF, Orioles): A reliable corner outfielder, the left-handed hitting Smith was primarily used against right-handers in 2017. He batted.258 against righties in 347 plate appearances and.250 vs. lefties in only 26 plate appearances.
64. Joe Smith (34, RHP, Indians): A 1.04 WHIP and a successful stint with Cleveland after a midseason trade from Toronto showed that Smith can still be a high-leverage option for contending teams. The sidearmer is a rare righty specialist, holding them to a.220 average and two homers in 137 plate appearances. (Signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Astros)
65. Bud Norris (33, RHP, Angels): Norris moved to the bullpen in 2017 after starting 185 games from 2009 to 2016 and notched 13 saves with a 2.23 ERA in the first half. Things went south after the break however, as Norris gave up 20 runs in 25 ⅔ innings. A one-year deal could prove to a bargain if he recaptures the first-half form. (Signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Cardinals)
66. Fernando Abad (32, LHP, Red Sox): With a 3.13 ERA over the past five seasons, Abad has been effective, but never used consistently as a high-leverage reliever and was left off Boston’s postseason roster two years in a row. As one of the few lefties on the market, he will probably have a few options. (Signed a minor league deal with the Phillies)
67. Chris Tillman (29, RHP, Orioles): Just a year ago, he was the ace of the Orioles, going 16-6 with a 3.77 ERA, only for his stock to plummet with shoulder woes. He yielded an 8.15 ERA in 15 starts, before being moved to the bullpen. The big question is who gambles that the 2013 All-Star's woes will be behind him in 2018? (Re-signed with the Orioles for one year, $3 million)
68. Jose Bautista (37, RF, Blue Jays): The aging All-Star picked a bad time to hit free agency, again. Since becoming an everyday player eight years ago, he finished 2017 with career-lows in batting (.203) and slugging percentage (.366). He also hit 23 homers and struck out a franchise-record 170 times. With his 10-career with the Jays likely over, he's best suited to move to first base or DH for an American League team.
69. Curtis Granderson (37, OF, Dodgers): Granderson doesn’t hit for average, but he gets on base at a high clip and has hit 82 homers over the past three seasons. He’s unlikely to command a multi-year deal, but his ability to play all three outfield positions and his presence in the clubhouse will be a valuable addition at a fair price point. (Signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Blue Jays)
70. Jeremy Hellickson (30, RHP, Orioles): Considered little more than a fifth starter now, hoping to rediscover his changeup next season after posting a 6.97 ERA in 10 starts with Baltimore after a trade from Philadelphia.
71. John Lackey (39, RHP, Cubs): Lackey’s teammates still believe that he will retire, but he has yet to make an announcement, waiting to see what offers may be out there. He struggled last year (12-12, 4.59 ERA), giving up a league-leading 36 homers, and was yanked from the rotation during the postseason. This likely will be a decision where Lackey sets a minimum in which he’s willing to play for in 2018, and if no one meets his price, he’ll simply walk away from the game.
72. Michael Saunders (31, OF, Blue Jays): Saunders was a bust in Philadelphia, slashing.205/.257/.360 with six home runs, 20 RBI and 51 strikeouts. He had the league's worst on-base percentage among qualified hitters (.257), a far cry from his success in 2016 with Toronto. The Phillies released him in mid-June. He returned to the Jays, but appeared in only 12 games. (Signed a minor league deal with the Pirates)
73. Chase Utley (39, 2B/1B, Dodgers): He's unlikely to see any multi-year offers at his age, but a return to the Dodgers in a part-time role complementing the righty-hitting Logan Forsythe at second base seems to make sense for the Southern California native as he looks to add a second World Series ring before retirement. (Re-signed with the Dodgers for two years, $2 million)
Contributing: Bob Nightengale, Jorge L. Ortiz, Scott Boeck, Ted Berg, Jesse Yomtov, Gabe Lacques, Steve Gardner
Gallery: Top MLB free agentsHateful rhetoric often occurs in private conversations or in the comments section of social media with friends, family, and neighbors. You can make a difference starting with educating and pushing back against fear, hate, and bigotry in your own personal interactions. Utilizing the talking points on this page and in the toolkit on welcoming refugees, rejecting anti-Muslim hate, and denouncing human rights violations and war crimes, you can make a difference in your circles by engaging those around you to counter fear, hate, and bigotry. Here are some guidelines for these tough conversations.
1. Assess The Situation
Are you able to safely engage with the problematic statement or behavior?
Is this person willing to engage with you?
Are you able to identify what the problematic statement or behavior is?
Do you have the capacity and energy to address their problematic statement or behavior?
Will engaging with this person foster meaningful interaction? If so, proceed to the next step.
2. Address The Statement or Behavior
Calmly question the offending party around their statement. Make sure to only address the statement or behavior and not the person.
USE: “The statement that you made was offensive and outright bigotry.”
DO NOT USE: “You are hateful and ignorant.”
The former opens up space for conversation. The latter closes space, fosters resentment and corners the offending party.
[Here are examples of questions to address problematic statements and/or behaviors]
“What you just said made me feel really uncomfortable, what did you mean when you said ____”
“I don’t think I correctly understood what you meant, what does ___ mean?
“Can you help me understand what you meant to say when you said ___”
“Can you explain your viewpoint to me?”
3. Be Ready For Defensiveness
When addressing oppressive statements or behaviors, the offending party will usually respond back in a defensive posture. Be ready to listen to them but at the same time hold them accountable for the impact of their actions.
Here are some typical responses to being called out/in:
“You’re being too sensitive.”
“Why are you defending ‘those’ people?”
“Are you a terrorist or something?”
“You must hate America.”
“Don’t try to censor my freedom of speech.”
Each of these responses are rooted in fear, ignorance and insecurity. You do not want to engage or escalate from that frame. Rather continue to question more intently and to interrogate the underlying bigotry in their initial statement.
Here are some questions and statements that can help foster a place of understanding with the offending party:
“I am sensing defensiveness in your voice, where is that coming from?”
“It’s clear that you have some very strong opinions, can you help me understand where and how these opinions are being formed?”
“What you said was really offensive and hurtful, why do you feel that way?”
“I know that you are not a hateful person, why do you insist on holding on to such hurtful statements?”
4. Bridge The Interaction to Action
After having spent your time and energy engaging with this person you are going to want to make sure to conclude the conversation in a way that informs them clearly about the impact of their behavior and provide them with the opportunity to educate themselves.
Here are two likely outcomes that you can prepare for:
Dismissal
In this situation, there is little to be gained in continuing the interaction. In these instances, you’ve planted a seed of inquiry and reflection that will hopefully cultivate into introspective remorse, guilt and finally openness to changing their behavior.
Acceptance
In this scenario, the offending party has either partially or fully apologized for their behavior and are open to changing it. This is an opportunity for you to provide them with resources to educate themselves, such as the “Reality Check” portion of this toolkit. It is important for you to shepherd this relationship and help them move away from guilt into becoming a true ally.
This is not a process that happens overnight and it isn’t one that ever truly ends. But the most important thing to note is that it needs to start somewhere and it will start with you.Wondering exactly which varietal helps those Chicken McNuggets go down the smoothest during that romantic candlelit dinner? Wonder no more, thanks to wine website Snooth's handy guide to McDonald's Wine Pairings, which will guide you toward sodium-infused bliss.
The intrepid wine experts chose seven wines to mix-and-match with a feast befitting of a king: Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT sandwich, a Big Mac, an Angus Deluxe and "the remarkable array of nine, yes nine, dipping sauces for the McNuggets." And fries, naturally. The highlights?
Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT and Spice Route Chenin Blanc: "The bacon helped tone down the smoky oak of the wine and the oak in the wine tempered the effect of the bacon, allowing the chicken to take center stage."
Chicken McNuggets and Voveti Prosecco: "The Prosecco turned gently creamy as the acid was tempered by the McNugget, yet was not so intense as to overpower the flavor of the McNugget."
Big Mac and Artazuri Garnacha Rosé: "The rosé had just the right level of fruit to work with the burger and once again the acid levels seemed to pair up particularly well with this dish."
So, there you have it. And the best part that when someone inevitably tries to stab you on your way to McDonald's, you can always break the bottle open and cut them.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Donald Trump held a fundraiser in downtown Indianapolis Tuesday, with Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
The fundraiser held at the Columbia Club preceded a Trump rally in Westfield, Tuesday night. Governor Pence was present at both events with Trump, amid rumors the Governor may be named as his Vice Presidential running mate.
But as campaign officials confirmed Tuesday, Trump’s VP announcement will not come during these major events, instead, later this week.
For now, they’re drumming up support in the Hoosier state with a fundraiser, Trump’s campaign hopes will raise around $1 million.
Inside the Columbia Club according to campaign officials, is a who’s who of Indiana republicans. Tickets cost thousands of dollars each.
Rex Early, the Chairman of Trump’s campaign in Indiana has high hopes that Pence will still be chosen as Trump’s running mate.
“I hope that Pence gets the job. I’m sure he would get the job and that’s just me talking. That would be announced either at the fundraiser or out at Westfield, so I was wrong,” he said Tuesday.
Democratic law makers protested outside the Columbia Club as Pence and Trump arrived for the fundraiser.
“I'm frustrated that there's even a small opening for Mike Pence to be Donald Trump's Vice Presidential pick. What does it say that Governor Pence wants to partner with Donald Trump? What it says to me is that he knows that he is in trouble here in Indiana,” said State Senator Jean Breaux (D - District 34).
From downtown Indy, both Trump and Pence headed to a public rally in Westfield.
Chair of #Trump Indiana camp says no VP announcement by camp tonight. He hopes #Trump chooses Pence tho pic.twitter.com/OMIqZnunwb — James Gherardi (@JamesGherardi) July 12, 2016In 1966, Gary Gygax fielded a personal ad in the General seeking gaming opponents. He included the line, “Will cooperate on game design.” In the years to follow, Gygax proved a zealous collaborator. Aside from teaming with other designers, he wrote a flood of articles proposing variants and additions to existing games. In the early years of Dungeons & Dragons, Gygax brought the same spirit to D&D. He published rules and ideas from the gamers in his circle, and figured that players could use what suited their game. In the Black |
ARE A MASTERLESS RONIN WHO HAS SWORN TO PROBABLY NEVER TAKE ANOTHER LIFE BUT NOW YOU CAN NO LONGER CLOSE YOUR EYES TO THE SCREAMS OF YOUR CITY.
THE TIME HAS COME TO WAX YOUR BOARD AND DRAW YOUR SWORD ONCE MORE, TO FIGHT YOUR WAY TO THE EVIL OVERLORD KNOWN AS THE SURF SHOGUN!
GOAL:
The game can be played with between 1-4 players locally, with full controller support available. Defeat waves of rival samurai and perform stunts to increase your kill multiplier, rival for the top spot on the online score board to become the Surf Shogun.
Follow me on twitter for updates @farmergnome
Made for Facepunch Studios Prototype Week.Last night, a group that I'm part of concluded an agreement with the current owners of Comic Relief in Berkeley CA, to purchase their remaining inventory and fixtures.
The other members of the group are Jack Rems, owner of Dark Carnival Bookstore, a unique science fiction and mystery bookshop, and Chris Juricich, the present store manager and a long time fan and Internet comics dealer.
Collectively, we've got a huge number of years as both dealers and fans, and we're confident we can make the store successful. We're going to operate in the same location, under a new name which we will announce later.
Comic Relief is a genuinely great shop which has fallen on very hard times since the death of its founder, Rory Root, in 2008. His family has had the store since then.
I've worked there for 12 years as the old comics specialist--there's no reason why a well run shop in that location, with the same attitude, shouldn't be profitable, even in the current economy.
That's one of the reasons I've been gone so much lately--been working on this since November.A professor and marijuana activist are teaching a course about marijuana in the media.
Ten years ago, Linn Washington never thought he would be able to teach a course about marijuana.
Now, he’s getting ready to teach “Marijuana in the News,” a journalism elective to be offered in Spring 2017 to any undergraduate. The course will offer an understanding of marijuana through the lens of news and media coverage.
The course targets communications students, but it’s open to all students, who may or may not encounter marijuana in their professional field after graduation, Washington said.
“At the very least, it will offer students an awareness of the rapidly changing landscape of cannabis,” Washington said. “What we intend to do is examine this issue from policy implications to legal implications, and historical and sociological and pop culture aspects of it.”
Chris Goldstein, a marijuana policy expert and columnist for Philly.com and deputy director of the city’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, will teach the course alongside Washington.
Goldstein said it’s important to educate students on marijuana, especially now that it’s being decriminalized throughout the country.
“Marijuana is part of the fabric of American culture and society,” Goldstein said. “And with its decriminalization and legalization, it’s even more important to educate students. Journalists especially need to have a knowledge of the drug because they might cover it in their reporting.”
He added that they will educate students on marijuana through a medical and healthcare perspective as well.
Washington said they will also look at marijuana’s significance to political science, criminal justice, law and business.
“The Harvard Law School, the premier law school in the United States, has a class on taxation and marijuana,” Washington said. “And Hofstra Law School deals with it in the business context. The legal industry for marijuana is $51 billion. That’s a lot of money.”
“Regardless of what your major is, there’s going to be a need for understanding for this,” he added.
Sierra Morris, a sophomore criminal justice major, said she’s interested in taking the class.
“Marijuana is a slightly controversial topic right now. For our generation, it’s something that’s pretty normal,” she said. “It would be interesting to speak with adults, because adults have different perspectives about it too.”
Morris also found the class relevant to her major because of incarceration due to marijuana-related offenses.
“People are being put away for marijuana, compared to bigger crimes, such as murder or rape,” she said.
Kayla Watkins, a senior film major, said the class would help her postgraduate plans in filmmaking.
“My filmmaking focuses mostly on disenfranchised communities, lower-income women and people of color,” Watkins said. “I think this would obviously be a part of it.”
Washington said the decriminalization of marijuana possession in Philadelphia, which occurred in October 2014, was legislated “in part because of the racist enforcement” of drug crimes in the American criminal justice system.
“Prior to this, thousands of Blacks would be arrested for possession. On the other side, the arrest rate for Whites was around 600 [per year],” he said. “And it is acknowledged the races use marijuana on equal basis, Whites a little more, so why would you have that kind of disparity?”
Washington said he anticipates high enrollment for the course and he hopes students take it seriously.
In anticipating possible criticism for the course, Goldstein said he isn’t worried.
“I know I can count on the support of young people,” he said. “We hope it’s going to be engaging.”
Iman Sultan can be reached at iman.sultan@temple.edu.The Rev. Robin Anderson puts glitter ashes on a man’s forehead outside the Braddock Road Metro station in Alexandria. (Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post)
Smearing her thumb across 6-year-old Genevieve Dalton’s forehead, the Rev. Robin Anderson repeated the solemn words of Ash Wednesday: “From dust you came. To dust you shall return.”
Then Genevieve whirled away from the pastor, her forehead twinkling. “I really like glitter,” she proclaimed.
Genevieve, like thousands of other Christians nationwide, got her ashes on this Ash Wednesday with a side of sparkles. The Glitter Ash project, Genevieve, like thousands of other Christians nationwide, got her ashes on this Ash Wednesday with a side of sparkles. The Glitter Ash project, created by New York nonprofit Parity, encouraged clergy to mix glitter into the ashes this year, to represent the inclusion of LGBT people in Christian life.
“People are responding with such joy that they can show their faith and show that they are LGBT,” said the Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen, executive director of Parity. “LGBT people are people of faith, too. … On the day, Ash Wednesday, when Christians are publicly Christian, we are going to be publicly queer.”
They encouraged heterosexual supporters of LGBT inclusion to wear the glitter ashes, too.
Glitter in the ashes, Anderson wrote on a whiteboard, is “a symbol of the gritty, glittery, scandalous hope that exists within all of us.” She propped the board up in front of the Braddock Road Metro station entrance, and offered sparkly ash to a stream of morning commuters.
In Alexandria, Va., most of the people who stopped at Anderson’s “ashes to go” station outside the Metro entrance were looking only for ashes, not glitter. “I won’t have time to go to Mass today,” quite a few of them muttered.
Christians of numerous denominations typically mark Ash Wednesday — the beginning of a 40-day period of repentance, known as Lent, that leads up to the celebration of Easter — by having a minister mark a cross on their foreheads with ash, a remembrance of mortality. The practice is most common among Catholics, but is observed in many Protestant denominations as well.
Those who wanted just ashes, no glitter, at Braddock Road went to the Rev. Jeanette Leisk of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, who was doling out plain ashes. But over the course of the morning commuter rush, more than a dozen people opted for the glitter ash.
“This is to be affirming for those who are LGBT and allies,” Anderson explained to those who were interested.
The Rev. Robin Anderson holds blessed ashes mixed with glitter. (Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post)
And for those in a hurry, she said simply, “These ashes have glitter in them.”
“That’s fine,” one man said, crossing himself after he got his glitter ash and then sprinting to catch a train.
When Parity came up with the idea of glitter ashes, some Christians, even liberal ones, objected to the concept, saying that joyful glitter doesn’t belong on Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance. When Parity came up with the idea of glitter ashes, some Christians, even liberal ones, objected to the concept, saying that joyful glitter doesn’t belong on Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance. Others said that asking people to choose between glitter ash and regular ash would only deepen the bitter division in many Protestant churches over homosexuality.
Edmonds-Allen said that she consulted several theologians — including some from more conservative evangelical backgrounds — to ask if mixing glitter into the ashes would be sacrilegious. She said she gained their approval, then came up with a formula: blessed ashes from a church supply store, makeup-quality polyester purple glitter, and a little bit of olive oil to stick it all together.
Orders came in from churches nationwide — so many orders that Parity sold out of all 150 packages it made of $10 glitter ash, enough to smear the foreheads of 15,000 people. Then Edmonds-Allen started encouraging churches to just mix their own glitter ash.
Clergy who requested glitter ash included Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Mennonites and many more. Many were located in more conservative parts of the country — Madison, Tenn.; Bedford, Tex.; Boone, N.C.; Algona, Iowa; Richmond, Ind.; Jefferson, Ga.; Hayes, Kan.; and many more small towns across the Midwest and the South made the list, as did churches in the United Kingdom and Canada.
In Alexandria, Anderson said the project appealed to her church as soon as they heard about it. Commonwealth Baptist Church’s first statement on its website is, “All are welcome, no exceptions,” and it is affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists in large part because that small denomination is affirming of LGBT Christians.
“With the executive order repealing the bathroom protections for transgender Americans, there might be some extra fear now. … It might be a little more needed now,” she said. “If people are going to work with ashes on their head, why not ashes with glitter?”
Diane Jordan, 58, stopped to read Anderson’s marker board, which mentioned supporting LGBT people. She nodded. “Okay,” she said, stepping forward to offer her forehead to Anderson.
“It symbolizes a hope for me. You know, like a better tomorrow,” she said after getting her sparkly cross. “It makes people look and then they ask me. I like spreading the word.”
Jordan, who said she is Christian and straight, contributes every month to LGBT causes. “Everyone has their own life. Who am I to choose?” she said.
Elizabeth Oakes gets glitter ash on her way to work at the Commerce Department. (Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post)
Elizabeth Oakes was on the way to her job at the Commerce Department, where she said she would hear her new boss, Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr., speak to employees for the first time since he was Elizabeth Oakes was on the way to her job at the Commerce Department, where she said she would hear her new boss, Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr., speak to employees for the first time since he was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. Her fellow employees have been anxious about President Trump’s administration, she said, adding, “Everyone’s a little downtrodden.”
local acts-of-faith Dallas shooting updates News and analysis on the deadliest day for police since 9/11. post_newsletter353 follow-dallas true endOfArticle false Acts of Faith newsletter Conversations about faith and values. Please provide a valid email address. Sign up You’re all set! See all newsletters
She said it would symbolize her progressive values to walk into Ross’s speech wearing glitter ash. “I think it’s a little bit more positive, isn’t it?”
Want more stories about faith? Follow Acts of Faith on Twitter or sign up for our newsletter.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
PinkNews Exclusive
Out former soldier James Wharton will apologise for controversial comments he made earlier this year, when he called for gay saunas to be shut down.
Writing in Winq magazine, the soldier, who served alongside Prince Harry in the Household Cavalry, said that saunas were “thorns in our side that mark our community as different for the wrong reasons”. He later clarified his comments, and defended the original column.
A source with access to the new edition of Wharton’s new book, which will come out next month, told PinkNews that he had reassessed his position on the issue after a period of travelling and reflection following the breakdown of his Civil Partnership.
The source said in the book Wharton admits he was wrong to judge and that he wanted to apologise to those offended by the comments.
In the original comments, Wharton said: “If we don’t, we feed the haters and we hand the bigots who remain a vocal minority ammunition with which to attack us”
“For me as a gay man, the notion that there exist within our communities a series of places that actively promote the convening of gay men for participation in sex of shades various and in groups of all sizes rather revolts me – and I’ve been round the block a few times, believe me.
“I’m no prude, not even close, but the days when we gathered in clandestine fashion for the want of a network or a sexual outlet are surely long gone.”
Wharton was unavailable for comment at time of publication.KILLED IN THE NAME OF "FREEDOM" OVER 12 MILLION DEAD IN AMERICA'S WARS SINCE WORLD WAR II America has been in 19 wars since World War II, but we will list the death toll from three of the bloodiest conflicts: The Korean War, The Vietnam War and wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The total death toll of people killed by American troops in all these wars put together is over 9 million. Each of these three conflicts have something in common: they were wars fought in the name of making the world "safe for democracy." A particular horror was the largest use of chemical weapons against civilians since World War II, the massive use of Agent Orange against Indochina where it continues to poison people today. It may take Vietnam and Laos thousands of years to recover. In the case of Iraq, American spy satellites helped Saddam Hussein use use poison gas against the troops of Iran. We are not condemning all aspects of these wars. Nor do we suggest that a lot of American enemies are wonderful people. However, we need to take a hard look at the horrors that were unleashed. Was it really necessary to invade places like Vietnam and Iraq and kill millions in these wars? We are not convinced that the answer is yes.
THE KOREAN WAR: 3-4 MILLION DEAD
Source for death toll: Necrometrics
Few people know that more bombs were dropped on Korea from 1950-1953 than on all of Asia and the Pacific islands during World War II. In fact, the war became such a mess that President Truman even came seriously close to deploying an atomic bomb. U.S. Major General Emmett O'Donnell Jr. testified before senate and stated: "I would say that the entire, almost the entire Korean Peninsula is just a terrible mess. Everything is destroyed. There is nothing standing worthy of the name... There [are] no more targets in Korea." (Truth Out, 2014).
The split between North and South Korea was the result of the aftermath of World War II. Korea had been previously occupied by Japan since 1910, but in 1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and by agreement with the United States, the Soviet Union occupied Korea north of the 38th parallel and U.S. forces subsequently occupied the south. By 1948, two separate governments had been set up and both claimed to be the legitimate government of Korea. The conflict escalated into a full fledged war when North Korean forces - supported by the Soviet Union and China - invaded South Korea on June 25th 1950. Twenty one countries of the United Nations came to the aid of South Korea, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.
On the ground, it was a war of attrition where China nearly won the war for the North in 1951 by forcing a retreat of UN forces. Yet the war in the sky was a different story.
U.S. LAUNCHES A BRUTAL CAMPAIGN IN THE AIR OVER NORTH KOREA
WIPES OUT MAJORITY OF CITIES AND KILLS CIVILIANS INDISCRIMINATELY
The United States launched a brutal assault on North Korea from the sky. They bombed 18 out of 22 North Korean cities. 81% of North Korea's cities were reduced to flame and rubble. Hungarian journalist Tibor Meray further commented on the bloodshed: "I saw destruction and horrible things committed by American forces...Everything which moved in North Korea was a military target, peasants in the fields often were machine gunned by pilots who I, this was my impression, amused themselves to shoot targets which moved." When Meray had crossed the Yalu in August 1951 and witnessed "a complete devastation between the Yalu River and the capital, Pyongyang. There were simply 'no more cities in North Korea." [1]
Even 60 years later, North Korea has not recovered from the war. Despite the massive blood shed involved, the Korean War has come to be known as the "forgotten war," because 60 years later, Koreans are still waiting for a peace treaty to bring an official end to the conflict.
[1] Cumings, Bruce. North Korea: Another Country. (The New Press, May 10th 2011) page 32
Timeline of Korean War
VIETNAMESE AND INDOCHINA WAR: A TOTAL OF 5.5 MILLION DEAD
THE VIETNAM WAR - 3.8 MILLION DEAD
1.7 MILLION MORE DEAD IN THE CAMBODIAN, KHMER ROUGE GENOCIDE
Source for death toll: Necrometrics and British Medical Journal, 2008
The Vietnam War was yet another conflict in which a nation was divided between communists and anti-communists. Much like the Korean War, China, the Soviet Union and other communist allies supported Northern Vietnam, while the United States and other anti-communist allies fought for the South. At the time, the U.S. espoused what was known as the "domino theory," the idea that if one state went communist, other states would follow. This was the rhetoric that the United States used to give support to the French colonists in the region. At height of the war, America deployed around 500,000 soldiers. Yet even after 20 years of U.S. involvement in the region, the North still won the war.
U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry himself testified before the U.S. Senate and described the war crimes committed in Vietnam according to the testimony of 150 U.S. veterans:
"They told the stories of times that they had personally raped, cut off the ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country." (Richmond.edu).
THE U.S. LAUNCHES A CAMPAIGN OF CHEMICAL WARFARE
SPRAYING AGENT ORANGE OVER 4.5 MILLION ACRES OF VIETNAMESE LAND
One particularly pernicious and long lasting effect of the war were the side effects caused by the massive use of the deadly chemical "Agent Orange." Agent Orange was a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants used by U.S. military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, as well as the crops that might be used to feed them. The U.S. program of defoliation sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicide over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961-1972. During this time the crops and water sources of non-combatants were infected. Thorough studies on the substance have shown that even minute doses can cause long lasting health effects such as muscular dysfunction, inflammation, birth defects, nervous system disorders and even the development of various cancers. Both U.S. veterans of the war and Vietnamese civilians have suffered long lasting health problems; up to half a million Vietnamese children have been born with serious birth defects and around 2 million people are suffering from cancer or other illnesses caused by Agent Orange (History.com).
CHIEF ARCHITECTS OF THE VIETNAM WAR
A PRODUCT OF THE LIBERAL ESTABLISHMENT
McGeorge Bundy and Robert McNamara are two men who played a chief role in escalating the war. Bundy moved into politics in 1961 when he was appointed National Security Advisor to the administration of President John. F. Kennedy. He played a key role in all of the major foreign policy defense decisions of the Kennedy administration and was retained by Lyndon B. Johnson for part of his tenure. Bundy was involved in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. In 1964 under Johnson he was also responsible for coordinating government covert operations. He was a strong proponent of the Vietnam War during his tenure and claimed that the war effort was an essential battle in containing communism. He supported escalating U.S. involvement, including the commitment of hundreds of thousands of ground troops in the region and the sustained bombing of North Vietnam in 1965. Later studies of the memorandums and policy papers showed that Bundy along with other advisors understood the risks involved, but proceeded with these actions anyways for domestic political reasons, rather than out of any belief that the U.S. had a realistic chance of winning the war. [2] Later he went on to become the head of the Ford Foundation from 1966-1979.
Robert McNamara also played a role in escalating the war effort as the Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under President John. F Kennedy and Lyndon B. In fact, he played such a large role that some went as far to call Vietnam "McNamara's role." McNamara did not object. He said himself "I am pleased to be identified with it...and do whatever I can to win it." Half a million American soldiers went to war on his watch and more than 42,000 died. Some say the war became his personal nightmare. Nothing he did could win the war, or stop the armies of the North Vietnamese and their South Vietnamese allies. He concluded well before leaving the Pentagon that the war was a futile effort. Yet he didn't share this insight with the public until later in life. In 1995 he took a stand against his own conduct, confessing in a memoir that the war was "wrong, terribly wrong."(New York Times).Yet much like his counterpart McGeorge Bundy, his career took him from blunder in Vietnam to becoming a major business success. McNamara became the head of the World Bank from 1968-1981.
[2] Bird, Kai. The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms (Simon and Shuster, June 21st 2000)
Timeline of the Vietnam War
LOSS OF LIVES IN VIETNAM AND DISENCHANTMENT WITH WESTERN DEMOCRACY DRIVES CAMBODIANS TO JOIN KHMER ROUGE
KHMER ROUGE UNLEASH A GENOCIDE THAT ELIMINATES 25% OF THE CAMBODIAN POPULATION
The Cambodian Genocide resulted in the death of 25% of Cambodia's population in just three short years (world without genocide). As the Vietnam War progressed, Cambodia's elected Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality. Sihanouk was ousted in 1970 in a military coup led by his own general Lon Nol, which is a testament to the turbulent climate of Southeast Asia during this time. Lon Nol was made president of the new Khmer Republic while Prince Sihanouk and his loyal followers joined forces with a communist guerilla organization known as the Khmer Rouge. Soon after, a civil war in Cambodia began.
Although the Khmer Rouge movement was small at first, many Cambodians joined over time out of a feeling of disenchantment with western democracy due to the huge loss of Cambodian lives that resulted from the U.S. strategy to involve Cambodia in the Vietnam War. The heavy U.S. bombardment and Lon Nol's collaboration with the U.S. drove new recruits to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerilla movement.
By 1975, Pol Pot's forces had grown to over 700,000 men. When he took over Phnom Phen (the capital and largest city in Cambodia) he unleashed a radical, communist transformation of Cambodian society that sought to expunge all western elements from the country. The Khmer Rouge launched a violent campaign of genocide that targeted the religious, members of the upper class, intellectuals, the media, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodians with Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai ancestry. It is estimated that anywhere from 1-3 million Cambodians lost their lives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The average of official estimates, places the number somewhere around 1.7 million (necrometrics). Yet the real number is probably much higher due to the unreported numbers of people who died from starvation and disease.
Timeline of Cambodian Genocide
AMERICA'S WARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST - 4 MILLION OR MORE DEAD
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. became much less concerned over the "threat of communism." In the end of the Cold War, the U.S. emerged as the world's chief economic and military super power.
Yet in 2001, the world's most powerful empire was struck a blow by a handful of fanatics with box cutters. On September 11th, 2001, four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 Al-Qaeda operatives. These airliners were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This was a tragedy for America, where 3,000 lives were lost. However, in response to this tragedy, the Bush Administration and then later the Obama Administration launched a global "war on terror" that has no international boundaries or apparent end in sight. Iraq was one of the largest targets of this war, even though the Iraqi government had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.
In the wars that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. not only killed millions, but systematically destroyed the infrastructure necessary for healthy, prosperous life in those countries. Then they used rebuilding efforts as opportunities for profit, rather than to benefit the occupied populations. To further add to the genocidal pattern of behavior, there is ample evidence of torture and persistent rumors of sexual assault from the aftermath of Iraq’s fall. It appears likely the U.S. has contributed to further destabilization and death in the region by supporting the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria by arming rebel groups on all sides of the conflict.
A vast majority of the victims in these wars (along with those killed by ISIS) are muslims. Some have even called these actions a genocide against muslims, since there have been so many killed, and the literal meaning of the word "genocide" itself means "death of a people."
First we will take a look at the sanctions that America imposed on Iraq before the war, and then we will mention the overall death toll from both the war in Iraq, as well as the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
BUSH UNLEASHES TIDAL WAVE OF FEAR THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST BY DECLARING A "CRUSADE" ON TERROR
In a speech after 9/11, President Bush vowed to ‘rid the world of evil-doers,’ and then cautioned: ‘This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.’ (Whitehouse.gov).
The crusades refer back to one of the most historically bloody genocides unleashed by the West against muslims and the Middle East back in the Middle Ages. A particularly ominous statement about the events to come.
TOTAL IRAQI'S KILLED IN AMERIAN WARS (1990-PRESENT) - 3 MILLION
IRAQI SANCTIONS: 1.7 MILLION TOTAL DEAD [1]
500,000 CHILDREN DEAD [2][3]
Sanctions against Iraq began in 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion in Kuwait, and stayed largely in force until 2003. Initially, the sanctions were enacted to pressure Iraq into leaving Kuwait. However, the sanctions soon took on a new purpose: to get Iraq to comply with the cease fire terms listed in the UN Resolution 687, which included the elimination of its weapons of mass destruction and recognizing the sovereignty of Kuwait. However, throughout various stages of the sanctions, U.S. officials often stated that these sanctions would not be lifted until the regime of Saddam Hussein had ended.
[1] Behind the War on Terror. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed. 2003.
[2] Food and Agricultural Organization Study (1995)
[3] Iraq Sanctions Kill Children, U.N Reports (New York Times, 1995)
EFFECTS OF SANCTIONS ON IRAQI PEOPLE:
The sanctions were not limited to military supplies. There were heavy sanctions on food and basic medical supplies for the Iraqi population.
Due to these sanctions, there were high rates of malnutrition and the spread of diseases. On May 2000, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey noted that almost half of the children under 5 years of age suffered from diarrhea.
In addition to damaging public health, these sanctions also caused lasting destruction in the fields of education and literacy. The overall literacy rate had been 78% in 1977, and 87% for adult women by 1985. At this point, Iraq had been one of the few countries in the Middle East that invested in women's education, but the situation changed dramatically during the sanctions.
UNICEF estimates that around 500,000 children have died as a result of these sanctions and the collateral effects of war. The death rate of children under five doubled during the period of the sanctions. Many of these deaths were due to malnutrition and disease caused by a lack of food, basic medical supplies and clean water.
DEATH TOLL KILLED IN AMERICA'S "WAR ON TERROR" AFTER 2001: 1.3-2 MILLION [4]
The "War on Terror" began after the attacks of September 11th 2001 on the United States Pentagon and World Trade Center. It was U.S. President George Bush who first used the term "War on Terror."
George Bush took the war to Iraq in 2003 with claims that the Iraqi government had clandestine plans to build weapons of mass destruction. The United States along with the United Kingdom and several coalition allies launched a "shock and awe" campaign where they attacked without officially declaring war. Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as U.S. forces swept across the country. The invasion led to a collapse of the Ba'athist government, the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003, and his consequential execution by a military court three years later. Yet the problem with this invasion is that there was no concrete proof of these "weapons of mass destruction," and it was later found that these theoretical weapons didn't even exist.
Destroying the government of Saddam Hussein did not take very long. Yet the goal of setting up a stable government in its place (compatible with U.S. political and economic interests of course) has still not been achieved, even 12 years later.
After toppling the Ba'athist government, a power vacuum emerged which led to the explosion of Shia and Sunni sectarian violence. The U.S plan was to set up an American styled Democracy, train troops to protect this newly created government and then eventually exit the country. Yet things did not work out as planned. The U.S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Yet the man who became Prime Minister between 2006-2014, Nouri al-Maliki, imposed policies that alienated the country's Sunni sect, which only intensified sectarian tensions. In 2014, the extreme terrorist group known as "ISIS" (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) declared a worldwide Islamic Caliphate and launched a military offensive against Northern Iraq. Due to the weakness of the Iraqi government and widespread sectarian tensions, ISIS took over much of northern Iraq without much resistance.
The irony of this situation is that ISIS is made up of many Syrian insurgents who received funding, training and arms from America in order to "liberate" Syria from president Bashar al-Assad. So now the situation in Syria and Iraq has exploded into a mess of epic proportions. The situation has become so bad that American troops have been forced to Iraq after the official "end of the war."
What is particularly horrifying, is if you add the figures since 1990 (to include those killed in the Gulf War), along with the sanctions, and those after 2003, the figure of Iraqi's killed in American wars is up to 3 million. (Middle East Eye, 4-8-15)
[4] Report on the Body Count of the War on Terror (Physicians For Social Responsibility NGO, 2015) (PDF)
Timeline of War in Iraq
THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
DEATH TOLL OF THOSE KILLED DIRECTLY IN WAR: 1,300-8,000 [5]
DEATH TOLL OF THOSE KILLED INDIRECTLY: 50,000 [6]
DEATH TOLL OF THOSE KILLED IN DRONE STRIKES: 3,058 [7]
America invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 with the goal to dismantle Al-Qaeda and deny the group a safe base of operations in the country by removing the Taliban from power. President Bush demanded that Afghanistan hand over Osama bin Laden and expel Al-Qaeda from the country. Yet the Taliban declined this request. In December of 2001 the United Nations Security Council established the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to assist the Afghan interim authorities with securing Kabul. While ISAF continued to battle the Taliban, the fighting crossed into North-Western Pakistan. In 2004 the Pakistani army began to clash with local tribes hosting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. It is during this period that the United States began to launch drone attacks at insurgent targets in Pakistan.
After President Bush left office, many people assumed that the new Liberal President, Barack Obama, would de-escalate the wars abroad and take a more peaceful, diplomatic approach to the situation. Yet the reality is that President Obama has actually launched more drone strikes than his predecessor. The Obama Administration has been maintaining a secretive list of targets to attack as part of the surgical drone strike program. There are claims that this process is very precise and only targets militants or "terrorists."
Yet what exactly defines a terrorist? Is there a strict set of legal guidelines that dictates who is a terrorist and who is not? Or is the process arbitrary? Much of this decision making process is highly secretive, so it is hard to tell. The New York Times has said the following about President Obama's role in this drone war.
"Mr. Obama has placed himself at the helm of a top secret "nominations" process to designate terrorists for kill or capture...Mr Obama is the liberal law professor who campaigned against the Iraq war and torture, and then insisted on approving every new name on an expanding "kill list," poring over terrorist suspects' biographies on what one official calls the macabre "baseball cards" of an unconventional war (New York Times)."
In 2011, After much urging from the ACLU to reveal public information on the clandestine Drones Program, the White House's top counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan broke the silence by telling reporters the following: "in the last year 'there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities that we've been able to develop (ACLU).'"
However, independent estimates place that number at 3,500 (International Security), a much bigger number than John Brennan's zero. More often than not, the targets are located by a drone that is 30,000 feet in the air. It is not even required for the Defense Department to know the names of the people being targeted. "Today, the Defense Department can attack suspects in Yemen whose names they don't know (New York Times)."
Which raises the question; How accurate can these strikes really be?
And the other question is, who is a militant and who isn't?
"Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent (New York Times)."
Basically, anyone in an area of "known terrorist activity", or seen with a top Al Qaeda operative, are guilty until proven innocent. The State Department has also complained that the criteria used by the C.I.A for identifying a terrorist signature strike is too lax. "The joke was that when the C.I.A. sees 'three guys doing jumping jacks,' the agency thinks it is a terrorist training camp, said one senior [State Department] official. Men loading a truck with fertilizer could be bomb-makers — but they might also be farmers, skeptics argued (New York Times)."
[5] Report on the Body Count of the War on Terror (Physicians For Social Responsibility NGO, 2015) (PDF)
[6] "Forgotten Victims," The Guardian
[7] New America Foundation
HAS THE "WAR ON TERROR" PRODUCED LESS TERROR?
The answer is no. According to the Global Terrorism Index, there has been a five fold increase in fatalities in attacks associated with terrorism since 9/11. In fact, the amount of terror is actually greatest in the countries that the U.S. has invaded, with Iraq now having the largest incidents of terror attacks in the world. So this raises many questions about the U.S. counter terrorism strategy in the middle east, as well as the idea that invading a country, topping their government, and trying to set up an |
the movie (and a second kind of background car accident visible near the end)
3. Ommetaphobia/eye squick for a brief trippy scene involving falling INTO the pupil… it makes more sense in context
4. Vertigo/nausea with movement… TONS of movement and artistic trippy weirdness and it made me a bit dizzy (the 3D may have contributed) and god knows how bad it would have been if my vertigo were as bad as it was several years ago or I was on any meds that made it worse. Yikes.
Good movie if you can overlook the White Nonsense and “lol what’s a Bechdel Test” and Beneficial Cucumber’s general presence (and even if you can’t overlook those it can still be entertaining while you side-eye Marvel going “are you serious right now”). But yeah. The hand injury thing got me shivering and the car accident made me a bit tense (I’ve only been in minor accidents but it was still rough)
<3 Take care of yourselvesWildlife police have highlighted the growing use of social media such as Facebook to sell endangered animals as they seized nine critically rare slow lorises from cyber-smugglers.
The officers discovered the critically-endangered animals - which were in "severe distress" - crammed into cramped boxes in Pekanbaru in West Sumatra.
These mass extinctions are often prompted by the illegal wildlife trade.
Sadly one loris had died - believed to have suffocated in the cramped, airless container.
The world's only venomous primate has become popular in recent years thanks to a proliferation of YouTube videos portraying them as cute and cuddly.
But the rising demand for slow lorises as pets is pushing the species to the brink of extinction.
Thankfully the animal's teeth were still intact as traffickers cut them off to make them easier to handle.
Dr Karmele Llano Sanchez, programme director of International Animal Rescue (IAR) Indonesia, said: "We urge Facebook to support efforts to stop wildlife trafficking by blocking and reporting Facebook users who advertise or post pictures of protected wildlife.
"This will be a major step in cracking global illegal wildlife trade. If Facebook cares for the creatures on our planet, they must do something to help them."
In recent years, social network platforms have been increasingly used by wildlife smugglers for their illegal trading activities.
Christine Rattel, programme advisor at IAR Indonesia, said: "With the increased use of social networks for wildlife trafficking, we have also seen an increase in the demand for wildlife and wildlife products by the general public.
"It’s increasingly challenging to tackle wildlife trade networks and it's up to the public to reduce the demand in wildlife and to give all animals a chance to survive in the wild."
Two people were arrested in the raids by the Rapid Response Police Unit (SPORC) of the Environment and Forestry Protection and Law Enforcement Agency.
International Animal Rescue, who accompanied the officers, said in a statement: "The police raids conducted on 20th and 21st September in West Sumatra have dismantled an illegal wildlife cyber-trade network who used Facebook to sell wildlife.
"The two perpetrators were arrested and taken to the police headquarters of West Sumatra."
Slow lorises are protected and listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The shy, nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals were about to be sold as pets over the internet, according to IAR. It runs a slow loris rescue centre where they will recover from their plight.
In Indonesia the illegal trade in many protected wildlife species is rampant and is having a devastating impact on already declining wildlife populations.
The rescued slow lorises have been assessed and treated by IAR which has rescued more than 800 since 2008 - most captured for the illegal trade.
Imam Arifin, wildlife veterinarian at IAR Indonesia, said: "The lorises are in reasonable condition, even though they were found in severe distress.
"They still display wild behaviour indicating that they might have been recently captured from the wild. Their teeth are also still intact, so they can be safely released soon."
The animals rescued include a mother and baby. Sadly one loris had died, perhaps as a result of suffocation after being confined in a cramped, airless box by the traffickers.
The surviving lorises will be taken to Kalaweit’s Supayang Gibbon Conservation centre two hours by road from Padang. established in 1999 to care for abused wildlife on Borneo and Sumatra.
Edward Hutapea, head of the Environment and Forestry Protection and Law Enforcement Agency in Pekanbaru, stated: "It is important to tackle these criminal networks to stop wildlife trafficking."
He added that wildlife crime not only relates to people trading in wildlife.
He said: "The illegal keeping of wildlife is also against the law and must be tackled as well."
He urged everyone keeping wildlife as pets to immediately surrender their animals to the authorities.
Those that fail to do so would be charged for illegal possession of protected wildlife.
Mr Hutapea continued: "To keep wildlife in captivity is an activity responsible for the death of many animals that won’t survive for future generations."
Experts have been sounding the alarm over the massive declines in animal species and vast extinction trends across the globe, causing the loss of billions of animal populations in recent decades.
These mass extinctions are often prompted by the illegal wildlife trade.
Dr Sanchez said: “If people want to have wildlife as pets at home, or to watch YouTube videos in which animals are exploited, they must realise this is the one of the main factors behind wildlife trafficking.
"While there is a demand for these animals, we will never be able to stop wildlife trade.”
Two years ago, IAR launched a campaign asking people not to watch YouTube videos portraying slow lorises as pets because they are a protected species in all habitat countries in South East Asia.
The charity also appealed to YouTube to take down those videos which could be responsible for the increase in demand for them as pets and in turn fuelling the illegal pet trade.
Khairul, Investigator of the Environment and Forestry Protection and Law Enforcement Agency, said: "Our agents have taken both the animals and perpetrators into custody and the suspects are liable to prosecution and will receive legal charges."
Last October 34 slow lorises were seized from wildlife traffickers in a similar police raid in West Java.For other characters in the Fallout universe named Jack, see Jack.
“ Do? We don't, like, do anything. We make the magic happen. ”
Jack is an easy going drug dealer, or "drug supplier" as he prefers, for the Great Khans living at the Red Rock Drug Lab in 2281.
Contents show]
Background Edit
Jack and Diane are advisers to Papa Khan. The pair run a drug trafficking ring in the Mojave and supply the Great Khans with drugs as well. Jack learned chemistry from the Followers of the Apocalypse when they visited the Khans and uses this knowledge to make the drugs, while Diane handles the business end of the operation. It is implied that they have an emotional attachment to each other (or at least Jack does), since he becomes upset when told that the Legion would put Diane into slavery and make her a prostitute.
Jack is noticeably more laid back than the other Great Khan members, putting much less emphasis on the tribe's warrior culture and often speaking in "stoner" slang. He even expresses sympathy for Jerry the Punk, despite Jerry thinking little of Jack, claiming Jack only passed his beatdown because he was "baked to the gills" at the time.
Interactions with the player character Edit
Interactions overview Edit
Quests Edit
Other interactions Edit
After Aba Daba Honeymoon is completed, Jack will start to stock his supplies with the newly-taught chems, saving the player character from having to gather or make them. However, if they complete the quest without teaching Jack the recipes, they will be unable to get the chems afterwards, as he will not stock them.
Inventory Edit
Notable quotes Edit
" Do? We don't, like, do anything. We make the magic happen. " Play sound
NVJackMakeTheMagicHappen.ogg
" " You seem really... high-strung. You know, I'm sure some of what I make my chems out of was an antipsychotic at some point.... " Play sound
NVJackHighStrung.ogg
" " Dude! What a total haul! No way that's copasheshy. " Play sound
NVJackTotalHaul.ogg
" " Dude... wait, what? That's totally kakadoodle, man. You been huffing fumes in the Magic Bus or something? " Play sound
NVJackHuffingFumes.ogg
" "I don't know what you've been smoking, but where can I get some?" Play sound
NVJackWhatYouveBeenSmoking.ogg
Appearances Edit
Jack appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Bugs Edit
PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified]
PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Oh My Papa quest (Speech check 60) can be repeated an infinite number of times, even after the quest has been completed. This challenge earns 60 experience points each time it is performed, allowing the player to gain infinite experience points. However, if you rescue the runner Diane said went missing, you will not be able to use this exploit. (Still works after patch 1.02 on Xbox 360 [verified]
Oh My Papa quest (Speech check 60) can be repeated an infinite number of times, even after the quest has been completed. This challenge earns 60 experience points each time it is performed, allowing the player to gain infinite experience points. However, if you rescue the runner Diane said went missing, you will not be able to use this exploit. (Still works after patch 1.02 on Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Aba Daba Honeymoon and finishing Diane's portion of the quest, you may not be able to finish the mission or learn the Khan Trick unarmed attack. [verified]
Behind the scenes Edit
"Jack & Diane" is a song title by John "Cougar" Mellencamp about "two American kids doing the best they can", similar, in a way, to the pair of Great Khans named in homage to them.Actor Chuck Norris at a book signing on October 4, 2004 in Northridge, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images).
“If you haven’t heard about Operation Jade Helm 15, you need to,” says noted actor, martial artist and Internet meme Chuck Norris.
It’s a training exercise planned for this summer involving four branches of the military and seven southwest states. According to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the operation is routine (though extensive) and will have little to no impact on civilians.
But Norris, and a handful of of other conspiracy-minded critics of President Barack Obama, don’t buy it. And Norris doesn’t think you should either.
“The U.S. government says, ‘It’s just a training exercise.’ But I’m not sure the term ‘just’ has any reference to reality when the government uses it,” Norris wrote in his column for the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily Monday.
The Army says the size and scope of Jade Helm 15, a Special Operations exercise that begins in July, set it apart from other training exercises. Also setting it apart: The widespread conspiracy theories that the U.S. is preparing to hatch martial law. The Post's Dan Lamothe explains. (Tom LeGro/The Washington Post)
“It’s neither over-reactionary nor conspiratorial to call into question or ask for transparency about Jade Helm 15 or any other government activity,” he continued. “To those who merely think we should check our brains at the door of the White House and trust what the government does, I would reiterate to you the words of one of our government’s primary founders, Benjamin Franklin, who said, ‘Distrust and caution are the parents of security.'”
[Jade Helm 15, a military exercise, brings wild speculation in Texas about ‘martial law’]
Norris isn’t the only person who is suspicious of the operation, aimed at training special forces for fighting on similar terrain overseas. Particularly in Texas, which has been labeled “hostile” territory in the simulation, the exercise has been the target of scrutiny and wild speculation. The most tempered critics worry it could affect locals’ daily lives. The more conspiratorial ones say it’s laying the groundwork for a military takeover, never mind a history of similar exercises that did not engender such scary rhetoric and did not, as it happened, lead to martial law.
Something big is about to happen folks: Proof of a massive military build up in America #JadeHelm15 https://t.co/KgSVKsupad — Bird (@suegrant54321) April 25, 2015
In his column, Norris doesn’t claim outright that Jade Helm 15 is really a cover-up for a military takeover. But he does believe there’s more to the operation than officials have admitted.
“Whether deterrence, display of power or something more covert or devious, let’s not come with any patronizing nonsense of impotence and simplicity when its origin is in Washington,” he wrote. “… We must never check our brains or blindly trust, especially the government. Rather, we must fight until our dying breaths for liberty, especially when it appears those in power are trying to knock down Old Glory.”
According to a map (which Army sources verified to The Washington Post is legitimate) included among unclassified documents about the operation posted online in March, Texas is one of three regions labeled “hostile” for the sake of the simulation.
Why Operation #JadeHelm15 is freaking out the Internet — and why it shouldn't be. http://t.co/TVyTMHdzLi pic.twitter.com/VANqYmd2op — Checkpoint (@CheckpointWP) March 31, 2015
The belief that Jade Helm 15 is part of a vast conspiracy to institute martial law has percolated online for more than a month, ever since the operation was reported in March. But the rumors — which range from a theory that the exercise is a rehearsal for FEMA camp incarcerations to speculation that 5 recently shuttered Wal-Marts are somehow involved — gained traction last week when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, asked the state guard to monitor federal troops during the operation.
“It is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed,” Abbott wrote in a letter to Maj. Gen. Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard.
On Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) became the first presidential candidate to offer an opinion on the matter.
“My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise,” Cruz told Bloomberg. “We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”
[Why Operation Jade Helm 15 is freaking out the Internet – and why it shouldn’t be]
Officials have repeatedly pushed back against the rumors: “Jade Helm is a long planned and coordinated exercise,” Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren told CNN Monday. “We are not taking over anything.”
But those assurances haven’t gained much traction among those who are convinced that the government can’t be trusted.
At an information session in Bastrop, Texas, which will host a portion of the exercise, command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria assured residents that the military presence would consist of just 60 soldiers, two Humvees and a water buffalo, according to KXAN. The entire exercise will take place on fenced-in private property voluntarily leased to the military by the landowner. Troops will be role playing and conducting one nighttime helicopter flight, he said, but nothing more.
“This is not a preparation for martial law,” Lastoria told one critic at the meeting last week.
“That’s what you say,” the man responded.
Speaking to Houston TV station KHOU after the meeting, Lastoria seemed frustrated that his audience wouldn’t take him at his word.
“They really want this to be a greater conspiracy,” he said. “And in reality, all we want to do is be sure our guys are trained for combat overseas. That’s it.”Have you heard? Maureen Tucker Moe former drummer of the Velvet Underground, is in league with the Tea Party. Thats right: The woman who sang about heroin with Lou Reed in the 1960s is now attending rallies in Georgia and shouting about creeping U.S. socialism and King Obama, according to the Guardian (no, not that Guardian, the one in London). News organizations arent sure its the same Moe Tucker, but a lot of clues point to that being the case. (For one, she moved to Georgia in 1984.) Regardless, it raises the question: Who started all this? What happened to civility in politics and social discourse? There was a time -- several decades ago, in fact -- when political foes cooperated with each other (as much as possible, anyway) and worked toward the common good. A person who served in Congress when cooler heads ruled is Jim Leach, a 30-year veteran of Capitol Hill -- and a Republican from Iowa. Hes now the head of the National Endowment for the Humanities; restoring civility to public and political discourse is one of his top priorities. He warns that the state of communication has become a crisis, and it will damage our interests here and abroad if we dont do something to change it. San Francisco is among the stops hell make in all 50 states on his civility tour. We hope Tucker goes to see him when he stops near her town.
Thu., Oct. 14, noon, 2010Hello Peter and thank you for sitting down and chatting with Lights Film School Online about your short film “The Camera”. Before we jump into the interview let’s allow our blog readers to watch your 8 minute short film below.
You shot this short film on the Canon Rebel t2i for a shockingly low budget. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you approached creatively producing this film? More specifically, did you take your budget into consideration during your writing stage? If so, how did that impact your narrative decision making?
Basically I started with a set of limitations: I had to be able to shoot it with my current equipment (the Canon t2i and a couple of lenses), I had to shoot it on my vacation (since that’s when I’d have time), and I had to keep it low-cost. So those formed the boundaries for the story. Beyond that, I’ve always loved films about regular people with a mysterious undercurrent, and I love working with light. So I wanted to come up with a concept that would not only work within limitations, but use them to my advantage.
I didn’t start with a specific budget number, although if I had it would have been quite low. One of my main goals was to simply explore whether this was something I enjoyed and was good at, and I don’t think you generally need to make a large financial investment to get a sense for that (I want to outgrow what I have before buying anything new). So from the beginning I didn’t want to spend much money. I also had some informal photography experience, so I thought I could make it look pretty good without much of a budget. In the end, I spent about $50 to cover the Polaroid film props.
The location was a character in and of itself. Did you have access to the location before you started writing or did you find this location after your script was completed?
Everything was shot in Nags Head, a smallish town on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I grew up vacationing there, so I knew it well and didn’t really have to do location scouting. At the outset I knew I wanted a story I could shoot there — it was always part of the plan.
The outdoor shots in the beginning were shot behind Jockey’s Ridge, the tallest sand dune on the east coast. If you stay away from power lines, it looks like the middle of nowhere. The interior shots were in my family’s old vacation home (although the exterior shot of the house was a different one down the street that didn’t have beach toys and laundry, and it looked like it could be in the middle of nowhere). The outdoor shots at the end were on my family’s property.
You mentioned that you made this film because you had a constant fear of failure. You have a love for all elements of filmmaking but this is the first short film you’ve ever completed. Many filmmakers are in that exact same position, having a love for film, but not wanting to work on a film because the thought of publishing their work for the world to see makes them feel too vulnerable. So now you can tell us…. Was it really that scary?
I wouldn’t say fighting fear of failure was the main reason I made it, but it was definitely an important one. I realized I’d always wanted to make a film, but was held back by fear of wasting my time, people rejecting it, and discouragement if it didn’t work out.
Last year I started reading Scott Belsky’s (founder of Behance.net and the 99% Conference) book, “Making Ideas Happen”, in which he argues that the problem with designers, filmmakers, writers, etc. is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of execution. I realized that rather than flitting from project to project (giving up when it got hard), I needed to pick a project and stick it out until it was finished.
So I decided I’d just do it and see what happened. I also realized that I didn’t have much to lose except my pride; if it bombed, I would learn from my mistakes and get better at it, or realize I’m just not talented to do this. Either way that’s a valuable experience.
I ended up using some of Belsky’s techniques for sticking it out like setting a deadline and publicizing it for accountability, and that helped a lot. I was also really inspired by my friends from Vinegar Hill Creative who make a podcast on filmmaking and the creative process called “New American Storytellers” (highly recommended).
One of my hopes was that it would inspire other artists to just try and finish their ideas; take the step and see what happens. You might not “make it”, but you’ll learn something, and that’s worth it.
And what was that “fear” specifically? Is it the audience’s potential reaction? The reaction from peers? Your own insecurities with your technical abilities? I’m curious because I think many filmmakers drag their feet due to this very common feeling. Publishing your work really exposes you to the world so it’s no wonder this is such a common feeling. It’s just something we don’t talk about much in an industry full of egomaniacal personalities.
Basically all of that. I’d just add: fear of wasting my time on something that doesn’t go anywhere. But it’s a mistake to think we can figure everything out and then do it right the first time. We learn by doing. So I’m learning to do more things, and learn more from the process.
It was my first film, and I discovered that as I got out there and did it, my filmmaker friends and many others were super supportive — many of them much better filmmakers than me (check out Vinegar Hill or VsTheBrain and you’ll see what I mean). And as I worked at it, we had conversations and critique sessions that only would have come up if I was actually making something.
More than that, as a Christian, I’m learning that my identity is in Jesus now, not my ego or my accomplishments. So that’s freeing me up to be vulnerable, be creative, learn from my mistakes, and focus on making something that will bring joy to others rather than make me look good. Still very much a work in progress.
Now let’s talk about your relationship to the sun. In many of your outdoor shots you have a low hanging sun giving your shots beautiful shadows and textures. However, you have quite a few outdoor shots. Did you feel rushed for time to get that particular style of natural lighting while the sun is going down?
Definitely. The shots in the beginning were on one evening, with a few pickup shots on another day. The shots for the end (on the beach) were shot on the last day of my vacation, and we were leaving that night. So we had to get it done. Abbie (the actress / my sister) and I were frantically rushing around trying to hit all the shots before the light was gone. And you only get about 30 good minutes to shoot at sunset.
What would have you done is the weather was different on that day? Say for instance cloudy? Would have you still shot those outdoor scenes? How did you take weather into consideration while pre-planning your shoot?
I have no idea what I would have done. Thanksfully it didn’t come to that! I just figured since I was at the location for a week on my vacation, I’d have enough chances.
Now lets talk about your indoor lighting. In these examples you’re still only using the natural light that is coming in from outdoors. What I love about your location is that there seems to be an abundance of windows so you naturally get these beautiful rim lights here and there which give the impression you have a lighting kit with you… but as we know you don’t. So you must have had an understanding of the relationship of the sun to each particular room you were shooting in. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you approached shooting indoors to take full advantage of the natural light coming in through the windows?
I ended up shooting the indoor scenes in early afternoon, since it was pretty dark in there and we needed the extra mid-day sunlight. The great thing is that the mid-day sun shines really brightly on the sand, which reflects onto the shutters, which reflects into the house. So it’s all indirect lighting, but enough for those great natural rimlights. For one or two shots I used a shop light I borrowed just to fill in some shadows.
I don’t know much about formal lighting, so I tried to get just enough light (opening / closing windows and such) to give it the mysterious mood, and then tried to adjust the ISO and aperture to avoid as much noise as possible. This is terrible advice, but mostly I just winged it and adjusted on the fly while looking at the camera screen.
The design elements in the location are incredible. You really managed to add a lot of production value to your film based on these elements alone. The beautiful wood paneling, the old foggy mirrors, patterned beadspreads, hand painted wooden furniture, blowing translucent curtains and so on. Where all of these elements pre-existing in the environment or did you move things around or bring your own furniture in?
The house was built in the 1930’s, I believe, and my grandparents bought and furnished it in the early 60’s. Everything you see was already there except for the wooden chest, which I just moved from somewhere else in the house. My siblings were gracious enough to let me invade their space for a few hours and remove the evidence of vacationers.
In terms of wardrobe choices you managed to pick an outfit for your main character that fits into both your interior and exterior shots. How much work was put into making these specific choices. And since you didn’t have a wardrobe budget I’m assuming you used clothes you had available to you at that time?
I actually didn’t even think about that. My sister is an aspiring fashion designer, so I just told her the feel of the story and character I was going for, and she picked it out. I thought it worked well, so we went with it. She’s got a good eye.
How did you go about casting Abbie Lewis for this film?
She’s my sister, and for a while she’d been interested in trying out acting. She also had a lot of great ideas for refining the story and getting the right shots, so it was great to have her involved. I didn’t have any money to pay actors, so I didn’t have many options — good thing in this case! I thought she had a really thoughtful, nuanced performance (I over-directed her in a scene or two though).
You also cast Gabe Lewis as the “boy”. I got the impression that these two were siblings reconnecting in an old family summer home. Can you tell me a little bit more about how this story came to life?
Given my limitations (shot during my vacation, virtually no budget, using the beach house as a location), I wanted to come up with a story that captured that sense of quiet mystery that I love so much in other stories (C.S. Lewis does this beautifully in his books, which I grew up with). I was also inspired by M. Night Shyamalan’s early films — he’s gotten a lot of bad press (deservedly so for his recent films), but there are few filmmakers who know how to capture mystery and quiet beauty like he does.
I didn’t have any audio equipment, and wasn’t sure I was ready to direct dialogue yet (and didn’t have the time to write it), so I also decided to come up a story that could be told without words. Originally it was going to be more of a music video (no other sound), but once I got to post I realized that wasn’t working, so I had to add it in with a mixture of sound effects and custom foley.
So I just thought about what I could with those boundaries, and tried to brainstorm ways to work in a twist of some kind within the setting. Through some talks with my family I thought of the camera idea — kind of a parallel reality. It was intentionally somewhat ambiguous, but the basic story is about loneliness and reconnecting with someone you care about.
You used Final Cut Pro X for editing this film. What was your experience like editing this film? How long did editing take you?
I’m not sure exactly how long it took; initially I started with iMovie, and then realized it couldn’t handle 1080p or 24p video. So I downloaded the free 30-day trial version of Final Cut Pro X a month before my deadline (which also motivated me to get it done), re-cut the whole thing, color corrected/graded it, added the sound and score, and exported the final video before it expired.
Overall I was impressed with Final Cut Pro X. Apparently it’s been redesigned for people like me — amateur filmmakers — so it did everything I needed it to do, and pretty intuitively (if a little buggy). I learned a lot in the editing process, and got lots of advice from very skilled and very generous friends like Mitchell Thorson, Andrew and Carissa Gallo (of VsTheBrain), Kyle Drexler (of Wandering Hat), and the great guys at Vinegar Hill Creative.
I do plan on buying FCPX (especially since the trial is expired now and I can’t do anything), but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’m currently trying to come up with an idea for another short.
How long did this project take you from idea conceptualization to the final film?
About a year and a half, including slacking off in the middle. From the point where I basically started over after getting FCPX, it took a month (including editing, sound, scoring, color correcting, and grading). There’s more I could have done to make it better, but I’m realizing that part of maturing as an artist is learning to absorb the lessons and move on.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Peter. We all really appreciate your insight and we thank you for creating such a beautiful short film and proving that you don’t need truck loads of lights to create breathtaking images!
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the opportunity to share what I learned! I hope it inspires someone to make their own!An Irish farmer from Co. Kildare became the toast of the internet when he became the proud owner of a rare hybrid between a goat and a sheep.
The half-goat half-sheep, known as a ‘geep,’ was born to a ewe on Paddy Murphy’s farm.
Paddy, who also owns Murphy’s pub in Ballymore Eustace, said the ‘geep’ has thrived since birth.
“He’s absolutely thriving,” Paddy told RTÉ News. “He’s running around a lot quicker than the other lambs which were born. He has much longer legs”
“The ewe has taken to him like he’s just another lamb. There’s no difference in how he’s been reared.”
After the Farmers’ Journal posted a video of the creature on YouTube yesterday, it quickly went viral among customers in Murphy’s pub.
“I’m told this is most unusual,” he said. Although they look similar, goats and sheep belong to a different genus and a cross is very rare.
The Irish Times reports that sheep have 54 chromosomes while goats have 60. Matings do occur, but the offspring is usually stillborn. The most famous case happened in Botswana when a female goat and a ram mated. Scientists found that the offspring had 57 chromosomes and it became known as the Toast of Botswana.
Here’s a clip of the ’geep’ from The Farmers Journal in Ireland
* Originally published in April 2014.Columnist
At the Family Research Council's recent Values Voter Summit, the religious right effectively declared its conversion to Trumpism.
The president was received as a hero. Stephen K. Bannon and Sebastian Gorka — both fired from the White House, in part, for their extremism — set the tone and agenda. "There is a time and season for everything," said Bannon. "And right now, it's a season for war against a GOP establishment."
A time to live and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to mourn and a time to embrace angry ethnonationalism and racial demagoguery. Yes, a time to mourn.
There is no group in the United States less attached to its own ideals or more eager for its own exploitation than religious conservatives. Forget Augustine and Aquinas, Wilberforce and Shaftesbury. For many years, leaders of the religious right exactly conformed Christian social teaching to the contours of Fox News evening programming. Now, according to Bannon, "economic nationalism" is the "centerpiece of value voters." I had thought the centerpiece was a vision of human dignity rooted in faith. But never mind. Evidently the Christian approach to social justice is miraculously identical to 1930s Republican protectionism, isolationism and nativism.
Do religious right leaders have any clue how foolish they appear? Rather than confidently and persistently representing a set of distinctive beliefs, they pant and beg to be a part of someone else's movement. In this case, it is a movement that takes advantage of racial and ethnic divisions and dehumanizes Muslims, migrants and refugees. A movement that has cultivated ties to alt-right leaders and flirted with white identity politics. A movement that will eventually soil and discredit all who are associated with it.
[Trump’s incompetence will not save us from his malevolence]
The religious right is making itself a pitiful appendage to this squalid agenda. If Christian conservatives are loyal enough, Bannon promises that they can be "the folks who saved the Judeo-Christian West." All that is required is to abandon the best of the Judeo-Christian tradition: a belief in the inherent value and dignity of every life.
This belief in human dignity leads to a certain moral and political logic. It means that the primary mission of Christians in public life is not to secure their own interests or to defend their own identity. It is to seek a society in which every person can flourish. This is the definition of the common good — which is not truly common unless it includes the suffering and powerless.
The common good is a neglected topic in our politics. It is not identical to market forces, or to legal rules that maximize individual autonomy. It is the result of prudent public and private choices that strengthen community — the seedbed of human flourishing — and ensure the weak are valued and protected. The idea of the common good emerged from religious sources, but provides a broad, political common ground.
If there is a single reason that Republican health-care reform has failed, it is because party leaders could not make a credible case that the common good was being served. Even if individual elements of the various plans were rational, they did not add up to a more just, generous and inclusive society.
Who would now identify conservative Christian political engagement with the pursuit of the common good? Rather, the religious right is an interest group seeking preference and advancement from a strongman — and rewarding him with loyal acceptance of his priorities. The prophets have become clients. The priests have become acolytes.
It is possible for Christian conservatives to support the appointment of conservative judges without becoming a tribe of apologists and sycophants. It is possible to selectively endorse elements of the administration's agenda without becoming Bannon's foot soldiers.
There is more at stake here than bad politics. When Christians ally their faith with bias and exclusion, they are influencing how the public views Christianity itself. They are associating the teachings of Jesus Christ — a globalist when it came to the Great Commission — with ethnonationalist ideology. This should be a sobering prospect for any Christian. But few seem sobered. Instead, the faithful give standing ovations to the purveyors of division and prejudice.
When anyone or anything takes priority over the faith, there is a good, strong religious word for it: idolatry. And the word is unavoidable, as religious conservatives carry their golden calf into Bannon's battles.
Read more from Michael Gerson's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.Just days after retweeting a picture of Trayvon Martin’s corpse, George Zimmerman went on a racist rant on Twitter. Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed black teenager Martin during a scuffle three years ago, sparking national protests in the US.
The Twitter post featuring Martin’s body was sent over the weekend by an admirer of Zimmerman, calling him a “one man army.”
George Zimmerman retweeted a photo of Trayvon Martin's dead body, appearing to brag about it. http://t.co/uzeLDNeQ4epic.twitter.com/MBkUw9zcd4 — New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 28, 2015
The post stayed up for a few days for Zimmerman’s 11,000 followers before it was removed by Twitter.
Additionally, the tweet prompted Zimmerman to post another offensive image of “Wanted” posters showing his face, wondering when the company would do the same and delete photos that he tweets.
I wonder when Twitter will take these images down??? pic.twitter.com/avVfhlzkHI — George Zimmerman (@TherealGeorgeZ) September 28, 2015
"I wonder when Twitter will take these images down???" he wrote.
As of Monday evening the “Wanted” posters remained up.
The photo |
; and then SCRUB the already-removed InfoWars article from Google cache?
The answer is clear: Nobody Died at Sandy Hook is “over the target,” and that’s why it must be taken down. Sandy Hook, the “biggest school shooting in US history,” was a carefully planned hoax to steal your guns, take your freedom, and terrorize your children.
Eric Holder even announced his plan to subvert the US Constitution on CSPAN (video) – by “Brainwashing people” against guns.
The Sandy Hook “shooting” hoax is that treason, foisted on unsuspecting Americans.
To overcome this Amazon/InfoWars censorship, the banned book has been made available as a free PDF: Nobody Died At Sandy Hook.
If you haven’t seen a documentary on the Sandy Hook hoax that repeatedly was taken down from YouTube, watch it now: We Need To Talk About Sandy Hook.
Also see these interviews with James Fetzer (co-editor of Nobody Died at Sandy Hook):
[VIDEO] James Fetzer Interview: Sandy Hook (AMAZON) book ban
[VIDEO] Amazon & Infowars Censor Sandy Hook BOOK!
Barry Soetoro, Esq is the pen-name of a syndicated columnist focused on Fake Shootings and State Terror. Recently, Barry explored the Newtown CT “massacre” and the background of “Barack Hussein Obama.”
For all the posts FOTM has published on the Sandy Hook hoax, click here.
To read/download the banned book in PDF format, click here: NobodyDiedAtSandyHook.
If you want a hard copy (sure to be a collector’s item!), Fetzer found an alternative printer/distributor for Nobody Died at Sandy Hook — Moon Rock Books. Click here. Check it out and let others know. The pdf will remain available to the public for free.Order No. 270, issued on 16 August 1941, by Joseph Stalin during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, ordered Red Army personnel to "fight to the last," virtually banned commanders from surrendering, and set out severe penalties for deserters and senior officers regarded as derelicting their duties. Order 270 is widely regarded as the basis of subsequent, often controversial Soviet policies regarding prisoners of war.
During the pre-war period, the efficiency and morale of Red Army command staff was low as a result of Stalin's purges. By August 1941, Axis forces had achieved overwhelming successes in their advancement deep into Soviet territory. Their successful blitzkrieg strategy disorganized the Soviet defense system, led to the encirclement of numerous Soviet units, including whole field armies.
Stalin issued the order in his capacity as People's Commissar of Defence.[1] The order was aimed primarily at rapidly raising the effectiveness and morale of officers.
In the preamble, the order gives examples of troops fighting in encirclement, as well as cases of surrender by military command. The first article directed that any commanders or commissars "tearing away their insignia and deserting or surrendering" should be considered malicious deserters. The order required superiors to shoot these deserters on the spot.[2] Their family members were subjected to arrest.[1] The second article demanded that encircled soldiers must use every possibility to fight on, and to demand that their commanders organize the fighting; according to the order, anyone attempting to surrender instead of fighting must be killed and their family members deprived of any state welfare and assistance. The order also required division commanders to demote and, if necessary, even to shoot on the spot those commanders who failed to command a battle directly in the battlefield.[1]
Commenting on Order No. 270, Stalin stated: "There are no Soviet prisoners of war, only traitors."[3][citation needed]
Order of the Supreme Command of the Red Army on August 16, 1941, No. 270; "On the responsibility of the military for surrender and leaving weapons to the enemy"
Not only our friends, but also our enemies are forced to acknowledge that, in our war of liberation from German-Fascist invaders, that elements of the Red Army, the vast majority of them, their commanders and commissars conduct themselves with good behavior, courageously, and sometimes – outright heroically. Even those parts of our army who, by circumstances are detached from the army and encircled, preserve the spirit of resistance and courage, not surrendering, trying to cause more damage to the enemy and to leave the encirclement. It is known that such parts of our army continue to attack the enemy, and take every opportunity to defeat the enemy and break out of their encirclement.
Deputy Commander of the Western Front, Lieutenant-General Boldin, while in the 10th Army near Bialystok and surrounded by German-Fascist troops, organized from deep in the enemy's rear Red Army troops, who fought for 45 days behind enemy lines and made their way to the main forces of the Western Front. They destroyed the headquarters of two German regiments, 26 tanks, 1,049 passenger vehicles, transport vehicles and staff cars, 147 motorcycles, five batteries of artillery, four mortars, 15 machine guns, eight machine guns, one airplane at the airport and a bomb arsenal.
More than a thousand German soldiers and officers were killed. On 11 August Lieutenant-General Boldin struck the Germans from behind, broke through the German front, united with our troops, and led out of the encirclement 1,654 personnel and officers of the Red Army, including 103 wounded.
The commissar of the 8th Mechanized Corps, Brigade Commissar Popiel and the commander of the 406th Rifle Regiment, Colonel Novikov, have fought out of encirclement with 1,778 soldiers. During a bitter battle with the Germans, the Novikov-Popel group travelled 650 kilometres, causing huge losses to the enemy's rear.
The commander of the 3rd Army, Lieutenant-General Kuznetsov and Member of the Military Council, Army Commissar 2nd Rank Biryukov fought out of encirclement with 498 soldiers and officers of the 3rd Army, and led out of encirclement the 108th and 64th Infantry Divisions.
All these and many other similar facts show the resilience of our troops; the high morale of our soldiers, commanders and commissars.
But we can not hide that recently there have been some shameful acts of surrender. Certain generals have been a bad example to our troops.
The commander of the 28th Army, Lieutenant General Katchalov who – together with his headquarters troops – was surrounded, showed cowardice and surrendered to the German fascists. However, the headquarters of Katchalov came out of encirclement, a small group from the encirclement of Katchalov's group, and Lt.-Gen. Katchalov chose to surrender – chose to defect to the enemy.[4]
Lieutenant-General Ponedelin, commander of the 12th Army was encircled by the enemy, but had ample opportunity to get through them, as did the vast majority of his army. But Ponedelin has not shown due persistence and will to win, was panicked, frightened – and surrendered to the enemy, deserted to the enemy, thus committing the crime against the country of breaking a military oath.
The commander of the 13th Rifle Corps, Major General Kirillov, was surrounded by German-Fascist forces and, rather than to fulfill his duty to the country, entrusted to him to organize stubborn resistance of the enemy and to move out of encirclement, deserted the field of battle and surrendered to the enemy. As a result the 13th Rifle Corps was broken, and some of them without serious resistance surrendered.
It should be noted that in all the above situations some military council members, commanders, political workers, special section members, that were present in the encirclement, showed an unacceptable distraction, shameful cowardice and did not even try to become motivated to prevent Katchalov, Ponedelin, Kirillov and others to surrender to the enemy.
These shameful facts surrender our sworn enemy suggests that the Red Army, bravely and selflessly protect them from their vile invaders Soviet Motherland, there are unstable, cowardly, cowardly elements. And these cowardly elements are not only among the Red Army, but also among the commanding staff. As you know, some commanders and political workers by their behavior, not only at the front of the Red Army did not show a sample of courage, strength and love of country, and vice versa hide in crevices in the offices are busy, do not see and do not observe the field of battle, and when the first serious challenges to combat shrink from the enemy, tear off his insignia, a deserter from the battlefield.
Can we put up with in the Red Army cowards, deserters who surrender themselves to the enemy as prisoners or their craven superiors, who at the first hitch on the front tear off their insignia and desert to the rear? No we can not! If we unleash these cowards and deserters they, in a very short time, will destroy our country. Cowards and deserters must be destroyed.
Can we assume battalion commanders and commanders of regiments, who hide in crevices during combat, do not see the battlefield, and make no progress on the field of battle are regimental commanders and battalions? No we can not! These are not commanders of regiments and battalions, they are impostors.
If such impostors are unleashed, they soon turn our army into a into a massive bureaucracy. These impostors should be immediately dismissed from office, reduced in post to the rank and file, transferred, and if necessary shot on the spot, before appointing in their place bold and courageous people from the ranks of junior command personnel or soldiers.
I order:
That commanders and political officers who, during combat tear off their insignia and desert to the rear or surrender to the enemy, be considered malicious deserters whose families are subject to arrest as a family, for violation of an oath and betrayal of their homeland.
All higher commanders and commissars are required to shoot on the spot any such deserters from among command personnel.
Encircled units and formations to selflessly fight to the last, to protect materiel like the apple of their eye, to break through from the rear of enemy troops, defeating the fascist dogs.
That every soldier is obliged, regardless of his or her position, to demand that their superiors, if part of their unit is surrounded, to fight to the end, to break through, and if a superior or a unit of the Red Army – instead of organizing resistance to the enemy – prefers to become a prisoner they should be destroyed by all means possible on land and air, and their families deprived of public benefits and assistance.
Division commanders and commissars are obliged to immediately shift from their posts commanders of battalions and regiments, who hide in crevices during battle and those who fear directing a fight on the battlefield; to reduce their positions, as impostors, to be demoted to the ranks, and when necessary to shoot them on the spot, bringing to their place bold and courageous people, from among junior command personnel or those among the ranks of the Red Army who have excelled.
This order is to be read in all companies, squadrons, batteries, squadrons, teams and staffs.The Obama Administration is kicking off the White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh this week, and as part of that it’s announcing a number of new initiatives in civic technology. These investments and programs include space, as well as America’s terrestrial concerns. It’s announcing over $50 million in new Federal investments in small satellite tech, which includes CubeSats and other low-cost space-based sensor and communication devices.
Smallsat revolution
The White House says in a release covering its announcements that the rise of so-called “smallsat” adoption has led to a boom in entrepreneurship around the design, construction and launch of these lightweight, inexpensive satellites. Federal agencies plan to invest in, and provide guidelines that will help foster even more growth in that area of entrepreneurship, the White House says, in order to help it meet certain “commercial, scientific and national security needs.” The goals it outlined in the release include blanket high-speed Internet connectivity (which is what Facebook has apparently been discussing with the White House) and space-based Earth imagery that is updated in ear real-time.
Of that $50 million the White House has committed to smallsat tech, $30 million is earmarked for public-private cooperation in creating “constellations of small craft” that can form an observation network for the purposes of Earth Science, and $20 million is going to startup Planet for the purchase of imagery from its network of smallsats for use by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Weathering the next solar storm
As well as committing to getting people to Mars sometime in the 2030s, the Obama Administration is also looking closer to home with its commitment to space-related technologies. Last October, the White House detailed a national preparedness plan commitment related to space weather events, which basically means that it’s looking to prevent damage on Earth from events like solar flares, and mass ejections of plasma material from the Sun (basically the Sun causes all these problems) that can do things like knock out communication and electronics on Earth.
Today, the White House announces a new Executive Order to help further that mission. Here’s how the Administration describes the new Order Obama will sign today:
The new Executive Order will minimize economic loss and save lives by enhancing national security, identifying successful mitigation technologies, and ordering the creation of nationwide response and recovery plans and procedures. Further, the Executive Order will enhance the scientific and technical capabilities of the United States, including improved prediction of space-weather events and their effects on infrastructure systems and services. By this action, the Federal Government will lead by example and help motivate State and local governments, and other nations, to create communities that are more resilient to the hazards of space weather.
Space weather sounds almost farcical as a term taken on its own, but the potential impact on Earth is no joke – a 1989 blackout that spanned the entire Canadian province of Quebec, for instance, can be attributed directly to the results of a significant solar storm. Schools and businesses were forced to close during the blackout, which lasted 12 hours, and even city transportation and airports suffered major stoppages as a result.
The Obama White House has proven to be a strong supporter of space exploration and the development of space-related tech, but the question always remains about how subsequent administrations will view space in terms of budget priorities. Still, the initiatives announced today have clear and present benefit for humans living on Earth, too, so hopefully they’ll continue to enjoy favor at the federal level.Alien graphic used in Pygame Zero teaching framework documentation.
Alien sectioned up, drawn with 5 different blitters, each perfect for the section.
(this is one of several techniques I'm working on for drawing things more quickly on slow computers
Drawing different types of pixels can be quicker if you know about the image you are drawing, and if you know that drawing parts of the image with specialised blitters is quicker.A good example is if your image is 25% areas of large blocks of either white or black. Using a specialised fill routine to just draw those big blocks of color is lots quicker. This is because there is usually an optimised, and hardware accelerated fill routine.See all this whitespace? (all the white parts on your screen) These can be drawn really quickly with ASIC fill hardware rather than a slow GPU running a general purpose image blitter.Another example is like this Alien image. The edges of the image are transparent, but the middle has no transparency. Since drawing transparent images is slow, using a different drawing routine for the middle part than the edges turns out to be faster.Here is a proof of concept which draws an image used by pygame zero in 80% of the time it normally takes. That is about 1.25 times quicker.The results vary dramatically depending on the image itself. But the 1.25 times faster is fairly representative of transparent images where the middle part isn't. If it finds sections where the image is a plain colour, that can be 1.42 times faster. Or more. Larger images give you different results as does different hardware. Obviously a platform with a fast path hardware accelerated image fills, or 16 bit image rendering but slow 32bit alpha transparency is going to get a lot bigger speedups with this technique.Further work is to develop a range of image classifiers for common situations like this, which return custom blitters depending on the image data, and the hardware which it is running on.But it is local governments’ right to invoke home rule that worries the energy sector. Home rule empowers a local municipality to control zoning ordinances by trumping state rules. And home rule could jeopardize the fracking industry’s unchecked expansion in America.
The grassroots Denton Drilling Awareness Group held a successful petition drive for a ban on fracking, forcing the city council to vote on the groups’ initiative.
The Bush family lives between two fracking sites. ©2014 Julie Dermansky
At a July 15th meeting, the council listened to public comments for over eight hours. A letter written by Railroad Commissioner Barry T. Smitherman suggested Russian influences could be involved in the fight for the ban. Denton residents leading the fight mocked the McCarthy-esque allegation, joking about waiting for their checks. The vote was 5 to 2 against the ban.
When the ban failed to pass, it became a referendum on this November’s ballot, as mandated by the city charter.
Denton Councilman Kevin Roden had hoped the council would take the lead by approving a ban. He wanted to spare his constituents the dirty fight that has ensued. Given that most of the people who spoke in opposition to the ban at the council meeting were from out of town, he worried about outside interests influencing the discussion.
His worry has turned out to be warranted. Denton has become a battleground, pitting residents supporting the ban against the oil and gas industry and mineral owners who, for the most part, live outside the city. Two members of the Drilling Awareness Group have received death threats that have been reported to authorities. And fracking enthusiasts are outspending those for the ban by almost five to one so far.
Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, a group formed to fight the ban, received $231,000 in donations by the end of September. Only $750 came from Denton, while the rest came from people outside the city limits, including the oil and gas industry. The largest donations were from three oil companies: $75,000 each from XTO Energy of Fort Worth, Devon Energy of Oklahoma and EnerVest of Houston.
Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy billboard.
During the same time period, the Denton Drilling Awareness Group’s political action committee, Pass the Ban, received almost $51,000 in donations. About $30,000 of the funds received came from Earthworks, a national environmental nonprofit organization.
“Ninety-five percent of money given by Earthworks is from local donations made to Earthworks earmarked for support of the ban,” according to Sharon Wilson, Earthworks' Texas representative.
“By donating through Earthworks, donors don’t have to share their name. And there are many reasons for not wanting to publicly oppose the oil and gas industry in Denton,” Adam Briggle, a professor at the University of North Texas and member of The Drilling Awareness Group, told DeSmogBlog.
Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy attacked Earthworks on its website and made personal attacks against Wilson and Briggle. The pro-fracking group claims the two have connections with the Russian government and are attacking America's energy independence.
When the talking point for backers of the fracking industry shifted from “energy independence” to “energy security,” McCarthy-era tactics against people in the anti-fracking movement increased.
David Porter, another Texas Railroad Commissioner warned Secretary of State John Kerry in a letter that Russia’s “apparent strategy includes funding anti-hydraulic fracturing environmental organizations.” Porter claims Gazprom, the Russian state-run energy company is behind the effort. Their actions have already “resulted in the ban of hydraulic fracturing in many EU countries, and now, they have their sights set on the U.S.,” he wrote.
“To get into a Texas psyche and say by criticizing fracking or supporting a ban you're some how supporting Putin in Russia? What Texan wants to support Russia? It is a genius political move,” Roden says. “However the fact remains that everyone I know who is for the ban are local grassroots folks.
Roden doesn’t deny the fracking boom has fueled the state’s economy. But it isn’t driving Denton’s economy. Arguments that banning fracking will cost Denton millions of dollars put forth in the Perryman Report, a study produced for the Forth Worth Chamber of Commerce, don’t ring true to Roden, who argues that the report conflates countywide statistics with city data.
“Only 0.2 percent of jobs have to do with oil and gas in our city. Until we started to say ‘No,' no one tried to tell us this [fracking] was our economic future,” Roden says.
Another argument used against the ban is the threat of lawsuits that would follow its passage. Roden believes lawsuits are inevitable, and points out that the city is already facing a lawsuit against a 1,200-foot set-back ordinance that could affect the fracking industry.
Nationwide, elected officials have benefited from the oil and gas industry's money. Texans for Public Justice found that lawmakers received nearly $12.2 million in contributions from oil and gas interests between January 2011 and June 2014, according to the Dallas News.
Maile Bush, a homeowner who lives sandwiched between two fracking sites, has been collecting the mailers sent by the Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy. A glossy flyer featuring a stock photo of a racially diverse group of happy children, along with a slogan claiming the ban will hurt children in Denton, deeply offends her.
“These kids don’t go to school here,” Bush told DeSmogBlog. She scoffs at the claim the ban “will hurt our schools by shrinking tax revenue.”
“By allowing fracking to continue, our property values go down, as will property taxes,” Bush counters.
“If oil and gas is such a windfall for our schools, why does Texas rank 49th in the country on per-student spending?” Professor Briggle asks in a blog post.
Roden suggests a ban could be an ecomonic advantage for Denton.
“We want to attract the best and the brightest to the university and it would be good to retain them,” Roden says. “The push toward utilizing sustainable energy has been a selling point in Denton. And this issue stands out like a black eye.”
“The buzz word now in Denton is'responsible drilling’ but I don’t see anyone with policy suggestions,” Roden says. “It seems like we are able to reasonably regulate other industries. This one just seems to have a ‘kings X’ on it and can do whatever it wants.”
Drilling rig in Denton, Texas. ©2014 Julie DermanskyHe just wanted to go to the beach!
Joyriding pilot Jason Maloney made every loopy, bizarre excuse in the book to air-traffic controllers to justify setting down his single-engine Piper in shallow water off the Rockaways shoreline Monday evening — while dodging giant passenger jetliners taking off from Kennedy Airport in the process.
In the oddball transmissions, Maloney, 24, claimed he landed because he had a sick passenger or because his engine was “a little teeeensy bit rough” — although he made a series of seemingly implausible excuses to land on the sand.
“Whooooa... What if I want to hide from you?” he radioed after a controller said radar showed his plane east of Jones Beach.
“This might be crazy,” Maloney radioed a few minutes later. “But are we allowed to land on the beach?”
“I don’t think so, unless it was an emergency,” the controller answered.
“I’m a paramedic, uhhh, is there anyone I can ask?” he responded, before asking, “Any private beaches around?”
The transmissions were odd from the get-go.
Soon after taking off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, Maloney asked if he could land his plane with its two passengers — Clarke Oler, 22, and Chelsea Protter, 21, both Long Islanders — at JFK.
He said he wanted to “drop a pastor off at JFK who is doing some medical mission work. Where would I drop him off at your airport?”
The controller advised Maloney to check with the Port Authority.
After Maloney finally landed — without declaring an emergency — he incredibly didn’t understand why his stunt enraged FAA officials.
“It happens in Alaska all the time!” he told cops, sources said.
“Welcome to New York,” a cop replied.
Maloney’s high jinks could cost him his pilot’s license, and he might be fined.
“He doesn’t sound drunk. He doesn’t sound stoned. He sounds like a jerk. He was looking for somebody to tell him to do that — land on the water,” a law-enforcement source said after listening to the audio recording.
bill.sanderson@nypost.comCampus officials say a football player at Winona State University who recently transferred from Illinois has died while working out with teammates.
Winona State said in a news release that 22-year-old Shawn Afryl died Tuesday during a workout at Maxwell Field on the campus in Winona, Minnesota. Information about his cause of death was not immediately available.
School officials said the 6-foot-3, 310-pound offensive lineman had recently enrolled after his transfer.
Illini coach Tim Beckman said in a statement that his players were saddened to hear of the death of a "great teammate." Winona State coach Tom Sawyer said Afryl had shown maturity and leadership in his short time at the Division II school.
Afryl is a graduate of Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs.A handful of Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is waging a last-ditch effort to stop the US government from handing over control over internet domain names to a nonprofit group of global stakeholders in a debate that has become highly politicized.
At a Senate subcommittee meeting Wednesday, Cruz even suggested that Commerce Department employees could face two years in jail for allegedly violating provisions in a government spending bill that prevents the agency from using funds to carry out the transition.
Assistant Commerce Secretary Larry Strickling, who was testifying before the committee, fired back in a tense exchange that he was "outraged" by Cruz's suggestion.
"Senator, we have followed the law," he said. "We have not relinquished our responsibility."
Enlarge Image Screenshot by CNET/Marguerite Reardon
The hearing comes just two weeks before the US is set to turn over power of the domain name system, or DNS, from the US Department of Commerce to a multi-stakeholder nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It's a process that formally began in 2014 and fulfills the government's original vision of its partnership with ICANN when it was created in 1998.
The DNS is one of the core components of the internet. It links every web address to servers using a unique set of numbers, commonly referred to as an IP address.
While most experts in the internet community, including big companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook, support the transfer, the issue has become a political lightning rod in recent months. Cruz and other Republicans, like Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Thune (R-South Dakota), worry if the US gives up oversight of the DNS function, it could lead to authoritarian countries taking control of the internet and eventually censoring content throughout the world.
"Imagine an internet run like many Middle Eastern countries that punish what they deem to be blasphemy," Cruz said in opening remarks at the hearing. "Or imagine an internet run like China or Russia that punish and incarcerate those who engage in political dissent."
But many internet experts and Democrats say these fears are misguided and that the issue has been overblown. At the hearing, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) argued, "The United States doesn't own the internet; no one owns the internet." He added that the government's role in how the internet operates is minimal and amounts to a clerical function that has nothing to do with internet censorship.
Strickling who was speaking on behalf of the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and Göran Marby, the head of ICANN, echoed those comments. They also testified that canceling or delaying the transfer may actually do what Cruz fears most by opening the door for authoritarian regimes to attempt to exert more control over the internet.
"The internet isn't ours to give away," Strickling said. "If Congress blocks this transition, it will only make it more likely the internet will be hijacked by authoritarian interests."
He urged lawmakers not to "give a gift to Russia and other authoritarian nations by blocking this transition."
Marby said that delaying the transition will likely cause world leaders to lose faith in the US and could cause them to push for the United Nations to take control over ICANN's functions. It could also spur other groups to emerge and create their own domain name systems, which he argued would create a more chaotic and less open internet.
Meanwhile, the tech industry backs the White House's plan to hand over duties to ICANN. This week, Google, Twitter, Amazon and other tech companies sent a letter to congressional leaders saying the transition is in the best interest of the US because it will help ensure the internet remains stable.
But Cruz and other Republicans continue to push for a new provision to a government spending bill that could halt the process, which will be complete September 30. Cruz, who was instrumental in shutting down the government in 2013, hasn't indicated whether he's willing to cause a government shutdown over this issue.It’s official: The nineties are back.
Or at least, a favorite fictional couple from the decade is: EW has confirmed that Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel are set to return as Cory and Topanga in the pilot of the Disney Channel Boy Meets World spinoff, Girl Meets World. The news was first reported by TVLine. Savage just tweeted: “I’m going to be a father! Well, on TV at least. The “Boy Meets World” sequel is officially happening!”
A spokesperson for Disney tells EW that they will reprise their roles, “this time as a happily married couple and parents to 13-year-old Riley.” As EW previously reported, a nationwide casting search is underway for Riley and her BFF Maya. The show is in the very early stages of development.
Girl Meets World was created/will be executive produced by Michael Jacobs, the original creator of Boy Meets World, which ran on ABC from 1993-2000.
No word yet on any other faces that we’re hoping make a return appearance to John Adams High.
And yes, that is Marcia Cross playing Topanga’s mom in the above photo.
UPDATE: Fishel has written a really sweet blog post on her Tumblr about the news. She says, in part: “Because I have known Michael Jacobs, Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Will Friedle, and Bill Daniels for 19 years, I know we share many of the same feelings regarding the 7 wonderful years we spent making BMW. Those years were among the most warm, hilarious, insightful, educational years of my life and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Another thing I wouldn’t trade for anything is the integrity and the heart with which BMW was made. I promise with the entirety of my heart that we will make GMW with the same honesty, innocence, and intelligence that you learned to expect from BMW.”
Read more:
‘Boy Meets World’ sequel: Casting breakdown reveals Cory has become…Mr. Feeny?
‘Boy Meets World’ Disney spinoff: Great idea or the best idea?Demos in San Sebastián and crackdowns in Rome and Dubrovnik as locals vent frustration at city-breakers and cruise ships
With the continent sweltering under a heatwave nicknamed Lucifer, tempers have been boiling over, too, as a wave of anti-tourism protests take place in some of Europe’s most popular destinations. Yet, as “tourism-phobia” becomes a feature of the summer, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has defended the sector, calling on local authorities to do more to manage growth in a sustainable manner.
Ensuring tourism is an enriching experience for visitors and hosts alike demands strong, sustainable tourism policies Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary general
The focal point for much of this has been Spain, which had a record 75.6 million tourists last year, including 17.8 million from the UK. In Barcelona, where tensions have been rising for years over the unchecked surge in visitors and impact of sites such as Airbnb on the local housing market, Arran, the youth wing of the radical CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy), have been filmed slashing the tyres of rental bicycles and a tour bus. An Arran spokesperson told the BBC: “Today’s model of tourism expels people from their neighbourhoods and harms the environment.” Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy described the group as “extremists”.
There have also been protests in Mallorca and San Sebastián, where an anti-tourism march is planned for 17 August, to coincide with Semana Grande – a major festival of Basque culture.
Other demonstrations have taken place across southern Europe. Last month in Venice – which sees more than 20 million visitors a year and has just 55,000 residents – 2,000 locals marched through the city, voicing anger at rising rents and the impact of huge cruise ships and the pollution they cause to the city’s delicate environment.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A resident holds a placard saying, in Venetian dialect “I’m not going, I’m staying” during a protest in Venice last month. Photograph: Manuel Silvestri/Reuters
Speaking to the Guardian, UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai said the rise in anti-tourist sentiment is “a very serious situation that needs to be addressed in a serious way”. If managed correctly, he added, tourism can be the “best ally” to conservation, preservation and the community.
“It should not be given up for the sake of mismanagement,” he said. “Ensuring that tourism is an enriching experience for visitors and hosts alike demands strong, sustainable tourism policies, practices and the engagement of national as well as local governments and administrations, private sector companies, local communities and tourists themselves.”
UNWTO recommends a number of proven methods for managing crowds in destinations, such as encouraging tourists to visit beyond the central sights, diversifying tourist activities, reducing seasonality and, importantly, addressing the needs of the local community. The focus should not be, it says, on simply stopping tourists arriving.
Earlier this year, Barcelona started cracking down on unlicensed Airbnb rentals, doubling the numbers of inspectors checking properties. Of around 16,000 holiday rentals in the city, 7,000 are believed to be unlicensed.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Messages against tourism in Oviedo, northern Spain. Photograph: Alberto Morante/EPA
In Venice, the mayor’s office has also been attempting to tackle the problem. In June it said it would introduce a ban on new tourist accommodation in the city centre, and “people counters” have been installed at popular sites to monitor overcrowding.
Factor in the layout of a lot of these continental cities and people get the sense that they’re being taken over Duncan McCann, researcher, New Economics Foundation
Italy has also been cracking down on anti-social behaviour in other tourist hotspots. In Rome, this means a ban on people eating or paddling in the city’s fountains and drinking on the street at night. Similar measures have been put into place in Milan – which introduced a summer ban on everything from food trucks to selfie sticks in the Darsena neighbourhood.
In Dubrovnik, another city where cruise ships unload thousands of visitors at a time, the mayor has introduced cameras to monitor the number of visitors in its Unesco-listed old town, so that the flow of people entering can be slowed – or even stopped – once a certain number is reached. Meanwhile, the mayor ofpopular Croatian party island Hvar has pledged to put an end to debauchery by mostly British tourists by slapping them with huge fines.
For Duncan McCann, researcher at the New Economics Foundation, there are a number of factors underlying the recent tensions, including the rise of Airbnb, an increasing number of tourists making short city breaks, and the burden of cruise ships. Both city breakers and cruise ship passengers are far more likely to remain in a city centre rather than explore further afield.
The perceived threat of terrorism in north Africa has also led to an increase in tourists holidaying in the Mediterranean over the past two years.
“These shifts are really putting pressure on these locations, increasing the numbers and reducing the spread of the tourists,” says McCann. “Once you factor in the layout of a lot of these continental cities – old, and with a network of smaller streets – people start to get the sense that they’re being taken over.”
He adds that this plays into the wider politics of the continent, with economies not seen to be working for people, and politics not addressing the problems.
“Though tourist numbers have increased, I am not sure they have increased enough in five years to cause this much agitation,” he says. “What has really changed? A lot is that politics isn’t out for the ordinary person any more. Until that is addressed I don’t think we’ll see this protest movement subside.”“If the case against Sharbat Bibi and her sons is proven in the court of the law, they will be sentenced to jail for five to 14 years,” said Shahid Ilyas, a senior Peshawar border official.
It comes at a time when Pakistan’s estimated 2.5 million Afghan refugees, many of whom have no proper documentation, are under intense pressure to return to their homeland.
A 12-year-old Ms Gula came to global attention after photographer Steve McCurry took her picture at the the Nasir Bagh refugee camp, close to the Afghan border.
She and her family had fled the Soviet invasion of her homeland, and her piercing image came to symbolise the hopeless plight of thousands living in Pakistan’s refugees camps.
Her portrait was published on the magazine’s cover the following year, and helped to raise awareness and millions in aid for displaced Afghans.
But many Pakistanis now feel the Afghan refugees have outstayed their welcome, and officials have stepped up their efforts to close the camps and clamp down on those with false identity cards. Aid programmes are being scaled back, and temporary legal residency for many is due to expire in March next year.
Despite the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are resurgent and Isil had established a nascent presence, nearly 350,000 have travelled back across the border this year alone, according to UNHCR figures |
aging of Steve Trevor) will compel her to leave humanity behind before meeting Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne and Henry Cavill's Clark Kent. As of right now, this is merely speculation, but there's certainly evidence to support it. Then again, it's also entirely plausible that the DCEU is in the process of setting up a solo Blackhawks adventure that won't involve Wonder Woman at all. DC Entertainment has really started to branch out and try new things (which will likely become even more widespread with the announcement of a new DC streaming service), so a standalone Blackhawks project isn't entirely off of the table at this point either. We will just have to wait and see. No matter what, it's fairly clear that all of our questions will receive answers when Wonder Woman finally hits theaters on June 2. For now, make sure to check out our handy Wonder Woman guide and get yourself up to date on everything you need to know about Diana Prince's first solo movie. Blended From Around The Web Facebook
Back to topJust last week, Stephen Colbert gave an interview in which the depth of his Catholic faith was on pretty clear display. Discussing the trauma that he experienced as a young man—the deaths of his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash—he told the interviewer how, through the ministrations of his mother, he had learned not only to accept what had happened but actually to rejoice in it: “Boy, did I have a bomb when I was ten; that was quite an explosion…It’s that I love the thing that I wish most had not happened.” Flummoxed, his interlocutor asked him to elaborate on the paradox. Without missing a beat, Colbert cited J.R.R. Tolkien: “What punishments of God are not gifts?” What a wonderful sermon on the salvific quality of suffering! And it was delivered, not by a priest or bishop or evangelist, but by a comedian about to take over one of the most popular television programs on late night.
But what particularly intrigued me was the reference to Tolkien, which was culled, not from The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but from a letter that the great man wrote to an inquirer, who had wondered whether Tolkien took death with sufficient spiritual seriousness in his literary work. Like Colbert, Tolkien had suffered enormous trauma as a young man. His father died in 1896, when Tolkien was only three, and his mother Mabel took him and his younger brother back to England (the family had moved to South Africa for economic reasons). Upon their return to her hometown of Birmingham, Mabel decided to become a Roman Catholic, a move that was met with enormous opposition on the part of her family, who essentially disowned her and left her in destitution. During this terrible period, Tolkien’s mother turned to the priests of the Birmingham Oratory, who cared for her needs both spiritual and financial and who took a keen interest in her fatherless children.
In 1904, Tolkien and his brother became orphans when their mother died of diabetes. Years later, the famous author mused that his mother was a kind of martyr, since she had been in effect hounded to death for her decision to become a Catholic and to raise her sons in the faith. Frightened, alone, and adrift, the boys were taken in by Rev. Francis Xavier Morgan, a priest of the Oratory. The kindly man, whom Tolkien always referred to affectionately as “Fr. Francis,” became a father figure, instructing the young men in matters both sacred and secular and teaching, as Tolkien would later put it, the meaning of “charity and forgiveness.” Tolkien named his eldest son for the priest, and many have suggested that there is a fair amount of Fr. Morgan in Gandalf and other wisdom figures in the master’s oeuvre. It was assuredly Fr. Francis who taught the young Tolkien, who had endured more trials than any child ought to endure, that “all of God’s punishments are gifts.”
But where had the priest learned that lesson? The Birmingham Oratory had been established in the mid-nineteenth century by the legendary John Henry Newman, who at the time had just become a Roman Catholic, thereby excluding himself from the institutions of British society. When he set up the Oratory in the industrial city of Birmingham, Newman was passing through a real “Lenten” period, for he was excoriated as a traitor by the Anglican establishment and looked upon with suspicion by Catholics. In time, Newman would reemerge as a cultural leader within British society, and his Oratory would become a center for Catholic evangelism in England. But this would happen only through Newman’s dark night experiences. What his Oratorian disciples, including Fr. Francis, would have taken in is the lesson that “punishments” often turn out to be precious gifts.
What this chain of influences teaches us—and here I come to the point of this essay—is that God’s providence is a mysterious and wonderful thing. Were it not for John Henry Newman’s establishment, through much suffering, of the Birmingham Oratory, there would never have been a Fr. Francis Xavier Morgan, and if there had never been a Fr. Morgan, the young Tolkien boys might easily have drifted into unbelief or spiritual indifference, and if J.R.R. Tolkien had not taken in the lessons he learned from his mentor, he would never have shared the insight about God’s gift that brought such comfort to a young Stephen Colbert in his moment of doubt and pain.
One of the most potent insights of the spiritual masters is that our lives are not about us, that they are, in fact, ingredient in God’s providential purposes, part of a story that stretches infinitely beyond what we can immediately grasp. Why are we suffering now? Well, it might be so that, in St. Paul’s language, we might comfort someone else with the same consolation we have received in our suffering. And that someone might be a person who has not even been born. St. John Paul II commented that, for people of faith, there are no coincidences, only aspects of God’s providence that we have not yet fully understood. The line that runs from Newman to Morgan to Tolkien to Colbert was not dumb chance, a mere coincidence; rather, it was an instance of the slow but sure unfolding of the divine plan.If one examines the charge of fascist in the media and press of India, it is a standard term of abuse against the RSS and its associates, notably the BJP and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extending to almost any Hindu affirmative organisation. It is seldom used for any other political group or religion, not even for recognised terrorist organisations like the ISIS.
This is not surprising because the anti-Hindu Left retains a strong place in journalism and academia, which became entrenched during the long period of the Congress rule. We must remember that India's Left holds positions far to the left of mainstream liberal political parties in the West, and uses the rhetoric of the communist era. The Left is upset that it is losing power since Modi's unexpected landslide election in 2014 and will do what it can to discredit his attempts to benefit the country.
The Left has long used the term fascist to denigrate its enemies, much as the old Christian church called non-Christians "heathens" and "heretics". Even warring Leftist groups call their conflicting Leftist opponents fascists. European Leftists call the United States a fascist country. The far Left in America calls the Republican right fascist.
Such emotionally charged terms are used to make us stop thinking and condemn the groups so designated without further consideration. Perhaps the best definition of fascist is any group that someone on the Left dislikes and wants to denigrate. For India's Left that group is the Hindus. Even yoga in India, because of its Hindu connections, is looked down upon suspiciously as Right wing.
Also read: Our Left-liberals are a figment of imagination
The historical record of the Left
The Left has produced the same type of violence, genocide and stifling of democracy associated with fascism. Joseph Stalin was as bad as Adolf Hitler and worse than Mussolini, killing millions of his own countrymen.
Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler in 1939, which cruelly divided Poland between them. This started World War II and allowed Hitler to invade France without the fear of a second front with the Soviets. It was only Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 that ended Stalin's nexus with the Nazis. Yet the Left conveniently forgets Stalin's alliance with Hitler that decimated Poland and started World War II.
Mao Tse Tung in China was another communist leader whose policies of dictatorship and state control rival the best of fascists. Millions died, numerous books were burned, and universities throughout the country were closed down under Mao's cultural revolution from 1966-76. Yet in India, the Left never made an issue of Mao's atrocities. Some Leftists defend India's own Maoists and the violence they commit.
Also read: BJP and Hindutva outfits are ruining my country for me
Chinese communists call the Dalai Lama a fascist and India's Marxists support them. Soviet and Chinese communists as atheists destroyed numerous churches, temples and mosques. The Left prefers to criticise Hindus for religious intolerance, though Hindus have never invaded or tried to convert any country. It has no regard for Hindus in Pakistan, who have almost no political or human rights and are being wiped out altogether.
The Left is anti-Israeli to the point of anti-Semitism, in spite of the Jewish holocaust being the main act defining Nazi brutality. Those who sympathise with Israel in any way are likely to be called fascist, and growing attacks on Jews in Europe arouse little concern from the Left.
Left-oriented Indira Gandhi and her Congress party abrogated freedom of the press and democracy under the Emergency she imposed during 1975-1977. Shall we cite her for policies that for Hindu leaders would certainly be called fascist? And for communal violence, the attack on the Sikhs after her assassination remains the largest genocide since the Independence of the country.
Another hero of the Indian Left is Lalu Prasad Yadav, who kept Bihar backward and lawless under his many years of rule. Though Lalu was convicted and served time in prison, those who claim to stand against fascism, communalism and corruption have a political alliance with him in Bihar today.
Beyond the rhetoric of the Left
Certainly there is little called fascist that Leftist leaders have not done. And the Left in India still does not adequately condemn its own despots.
Now the Left is criticising Hindus not for alleged terrorist events, but for isolated incidents over cow slaughter, which have occurred for years. We are told that beef banning Hindu groups pose the greatest threat to communal harmony. This borders on the absurd, particularly given the current situation in the Middle East, where multiple civil wars and devastating terrorist attacks are ongoing, and where there are no Hindus!
Of course, no one is beyond scrutiny or criticism. But the Left has its own set of failings and cannot claim to be the voice of truth and justice for humanity.
The selective outrage of the Indian Left that targets Hindus has a political bias and is covering over a greater violence, which the Left has often encouraged.
India - which Leftist groups never succeeded in raising up during their decades of domination - should give up the flawed logic and biased language of the Left and embrace its own dharmic traditions instead.
Also read: How India needs to rescue its liberals from the LeftPrime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to like Calgary, having been here three times since he was elected last October.
Maybe it’s the traffic. There’s not so much of it these days. One whistles past the towers even at rush hour. It’s a great place for a prime minister’s motorcade to whiz from a downtown roundtable to a TV station interview, and then to a photo op at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Many Canadians are still unaware of the dreadful implosion that has struck this city. Others know and don’t much care — or do know and love to crow. The long Alberta oil boom created resentments that a fast crash can’t soon cure.
But we see the carnage every day; downtown offices emptying, companies folding, restaurants echoing; thousands upon thousands of jobs lost among Calgary’s technical and business elite, experts in everything from finance to high-tech, geology, retailing and distribution.
The real estate market remains poised on a fairly lofty cliff, held back from the plunge, so far, by low interest rates. It’s not quite the mid-1980s, when rates approached 20 per cent and a crash that many people still believe was precipitated by Justin Trudeau’s dad forced many hundreds of houses onto the market.
But, still, optimism is not in vogue. Very few Calgarians feel the worst has yet arrived.
Those still holding desirable jobs live in terror of the next Termination Tuesday. Calgarians whose only mild worry was the mortgage payment on the retreat in Kelowna or Victoria now struggle with employment insurance applications, and complain about benefits ending too soon, or not starting quickly enough.
Fourteen unemployed people met Tuesday with the prime minister in the downtown Kerby Centre. They were from what we might call the upper class of the unemployed; well-educated, accomplished Calgarians, ranging from quite young to middle-aged. All are either applying for EI, already on it or past their eligibility for benefits.
Afterward, these people insisted that they hadn’t been screened for political loyalty or feelings about the prime minister. They just got phone calls “out of the blue,” and agreed to attend.
For 90 minutes they told him their stories.
“We really vented,” according to one participant. Trudeau apparently listened with great attention.
“It was very comfortable — I even forgot I was talking to the prime minister,” said another. “He loosened his tie and sat back and just talked to us.”
Trudeau and his government aren’t wildly popular in Calgary, despite having elected two MPs, Kent Hehr and Darshan Kang. Many people suspect he’s not really in favour of new pipeline construction, simply masking his true beliefs with bland statements about favouring access to markets.
Alberta Conservatives have bleak fears of the Liberal spending program. They hate Trudeau’s climate-change alliance with Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley.
And, of course, many older Albertans remember Pierre Trudeau’s 1980 National Energy Program, and wonder how anyone could possibly trust a Liberal prime minister, let alone one from that family.
I went through all that and now find myself torn by the same conflicting emotions. My experiences with Pierre Trudeau, like those of many journalists, were coloured by one of the great regional conflicts in Canadian history.
But now we are faced with a new prime minister who comes to Alberta, clearly recognizes the deep crisis facing the province, loosens EI rules for the hardest-hit areas, talks to the people most affected and pleads for other Canadians to show friendship and understanding rather than hostility.
Trudeau says this crisis, which affects workers and economies across the country, is an opportunity for Canadians to show what they truly are: people who help partners in trouble. He refuses even to talk about regional alienation, let alone exploit it. He does all this with no hint of condescension toward Albertans or anyone else.
Is it just barely possible that a prime minister who talks like a friend, acts like a friend and visits in hard times like a friend, might just be a friend?
The unemployed people who met Trudeau seemed to think so. They felt pretty good about it all, even as they walked out to a Calgary street frequented by people who don’t worry about becoming homeless, because they already are.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
dbraid@calgaryherald.comYou would be amazed how much you can film in one day when the KBR riders Janne Lipsanen, Jani Sorasalmi, Elias Veijola and guest rider Petja Piiroinen (who happens to be a world champion in Big Air) are hitting a purpose built kicker. When the urban spots aren't working, sometimes you've just got to wait till the park opens before you can really start stomping tricks. In the beginning of April the KBR snowboard crew travelled to Finnish Lapland to log some park footage at Levi. The weather wasn’t co-operating and some spots just didn’t work. The crew had to hunker down and wait out the bad weather until, on the last day of their trip, the skies cleared and they had exactly one session to shoot. Not to fear, the boys went big. The Levi Super Session With Petja Piiroinen And KBR | Making Of King Cobra, Ep. 3BOSTON – Four seasons after Nate Leaman took over the Providence College hockey program, the Friars are one win away from the national championship.
PC advanced to the title game for the first time in 30 years on Thursday with a strong 4-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha at the TD Garden.
They will play Boston University on Saturday night at 7:30. BU beat North Dakota, 5-3, on Thursday.
“It has been an unbelievable ride,’’ said PC senior captain Ross Mauermann. “This is the way you want to go out, a chance to win the national championship. One game left and we are going to enjoy it.’’
The stronger, faster Friars outshot the Mavericks, 48 to 26, and had an overwhelming edge in puck possession.
Jon Gillies made 25 saves, with several important stops in the third period while the Friars were protecting the lead. His counterpart in the UNO net, Ryan Massa, was outstanding in stopping 45 shots.
Noel Acciari, Mark Jankowski, Trevor Mingoia and Nick Saracino (empty net) scored the PC goals.
PC received outstanding performances from some of their top offensive players as Saracino scored a goal and two assists and Jankowski had a goal and an assist.
“I think they were more relaxed than us,’’ said UNO coach Dean Blais. “Give Providence credit. They have more of a set of veteran forwards than we do and they played with more confidence than we did.’’
The Friars (25-13-2) dominated the first period, with a 16-9 advantage in shots. “They came from the drop of the puck,’’ Massa said of PC.
Providence had several glittering chances in the first but couldn’t score. After a nice setup from Tom Parisi, Mingoia just missed with Massa down and out, then Shane Luke hit the post from a sharp angle.
“We could have gotten frustrated,’’ said Leaman. “I was real pleased with our mental toughness.’’
PC continued to press in the second period and finally broke through on Acciari’s goal at 11:02. After Massa was unable to control a rebound, Acciari outbattled a defender and shoveled the puck into the net. Saracino and Brian Pinho were credited with assists.
“We stuck with it and we finally got a bounce and got the first one,’’ said Leaman.
“Noel, he's been a horse for us.’’
Just under four minutes later, PC doubled its lead. Saracino took a pass from Jake Walman and spotted Jankowski alone in front of Massa. After taking Saracino’s pass, Jankowski faked out Massa and lifted the puck under the crossbar at 14:58.
“Nick found me in front of the net. Great play by (Saracino and Walman). And I just tried to outwait Massa there. And he sprawled on the ice. I just tried to get it up over his pad,’’ said Jankowski.
The Friars outshot the Mavericks, 17-7, in the second period and looked to be in the driver’s seat as they started the third period with a two-goal lead.
UNO (20-13-6) generated some chances in the first 10 minutes of the third, but Gillies held the fort.
The Mavericks got back in the game when Jake Guentzel beat Gilles with 9:14 left.
But before UNO could capitalize on any momentum from their first goal, the Friars responded with a goal of their own.
From the backboards, Jankowski fed Mingoia for a one-timer that beat Massa at 11:10, just 24 seconds after the Nebraska-Omaha goal. Mauermann was credited with the second assist.
“Like coach said, you can’t get frustrated. You’ve got to continue on playing your game,’’ said Mingoia, who was a force all night with seven shots on goal.
“Phenomenal shot by Trevor. I don't think any goalie is stopping that,’’ said Gillies. “That was a great finish and it was a great comeback from a tough letdown there.’’
Said Leaman: “They made a really good push in the third period and we defended well and were able to get that bounce back goal after they scored. That was a big moment in the game.’’
With Massa on the bench for an extra attacker, Saracino hit the empty net with 31 seconds left to make it 4-1. Assists went to Kevin Rooney and Anthony Florentino.
Now it's on to the championship game for the first time since 1985, when PC was beaten, 2-1, by RPI.BY Mike Hawk
Packing
NEW BRUNSWICK— Our very own Scarlet Knights will be facing New Mexico this Saturday and when asked how he plans to prepare, our very own Chris Ash had this to say.
“When New Mexico sends their players, they’re sending their best. They’re sending kids with a lot of talent, and they’re using that talent against us. They’re knocking down our passes. They’re fumbling our balls. They’re good athletes. And some, I assume are bad players.”
Ash went on to describe how he plans to build a wall around the stadium to prevent the opposing players from coming in. Instead of practice, all of the players are now required to spend three hours a day contributing to the construction of the wall.
The football team seems to be divided on Ash’s decision to build the wall instead of holding practice. When asked about the wall, an unnamed player stated, “I don’t understand all the controversy. All coach said was that some of the New Mexico players are a lot better than us not all of them. Football has become too politically correct nowadays.”
Other players show heavy disgust in Ash trying to divide the football community.
After a few incidents of the players getting hurt during the construction, Ash took it upon himself to ask the New Mexico Aggies coach to get his players to finish the wall.
Ash defended his actions, saying, “Look, I love players from New Mexico. They love me. We even have some players from New Mexico on the team. All I’m saying is that there is something going on. Something big. It’s up to me to do something about it.”I don’t want to get into the ring with every derpy columnist who weighs in on Sandy Hook. But the derp is country strong with this Charlotte Allen item.
There was not a single adult male on the school premises when the shooting occurred. In this school of 450 students, a sizeable number of whom were undoubtedly 11- and 12-year-old boys (it was a K–6 school), all the personnel — the teachers, the principal, the assistant principal, the school psychologist, the “reading specialist” — were female. There didn’t even seem to be a male janitor to heave his bucket at Adam Lanza’s knees… Think of what Sandy Hook might have been like if a couple of male teachers who had played high-school football, or even some of the huskier 12-year-old boys, had converged on Lanza.
Kevin Anzellotti, the head custodian at Sandy Hook, is a man. Theodore Varga, a fourth grade teacher, also possesses XY chromosomes. I just did the research Allen didn’t do, and it took all of fourteen seconds. Beyond that, though – why does no one who writes this way look into the circumstances of other massacres? The second person shot by Jared Loughner was Gabe Zimmerman, an aide to Gabby Giffords who, hearing the gunshot that would cripple her, turned and stepped toward Loughner. The gunman shot Zimmerman in the head. The fourth person shot by Loughner was Giffords’s aide Ron Barber, who survived shots to the cheek and groin. He was saved by John Roll, who lunged at the aide and was shot fatally in the back. Loughner did all of this in less than six seconds. Grown men in good health were cut down, because bullets move faster than people do.
Shockingly, this is the second-stupidest argument in Allen’s column.
Remember United Flight 93 on 9/11. It was a “flight of heroes” because a bunch of guys on that plane did what they could with what they had.
The terrorists on Flight 93, as I thought everybody knew, were armed with box cutters. The people who tackled them had a long time to plan their counterattack, ducking behind seats and whispering. This is obviously inapplicable to any situation involving semi-automatic weapons. Who thinks like this?
(Hat tip: Beauchamp.)OPINION
The slaughter of the innocent in Brussels
Al Jazeera English Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 22, 2016
ISIL has claimed responsibility for blasts that ripped through the airport and a metro station in Brussels [RTL Belgium/Reuters]
In the course of the most recent acts of vicious violence targeting innocent people, the Brussels attacks have caused scores of casualties.
“Western Europe was on high alert after attackers launched twin assaults in Belgium’s capital Brussels with bombs ripping through the airport and the underground metro line,” Al Jazeera reported. “More than 30 people were killed and hundreds wounded — many in critical condition.”
Within hours, presumed supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group assumed responsibility via a Twitter account.
“ISIS supporters claim group responsibility for Brussels attacks,” we read in the news. “We have come to you with slaughter.”
This is digital warfare in action, with real victims, paralysing terror, and fictitious responsibilities.
Any dimwitted cuckoo with a Twitter account can tweet “F*** Belgium. Belgium wanted to bomb the Islamic State. Now enjoy what your hands have sown”.
Precisely the same tweets are, in turn, picked up by well-funded, rightwing, Islamophobic propaganda machines to denounce Islam, stigmatise Muslims, and further fuel the fire of xenophobic hatred now best exemplified by choice Republican candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Systematic violence
The vicious cycle therefore perpetuates and exacerbates itself. Murderous criminals commit acts of systemic violence targeting innocent people, and their kindred souls among the proto-Nazi Islamophobes pick up where their brethren have left off to perpetuate a cycle of violence.
Innocent people from Brussels to Beirut, from Paris to Istanbul, from Baghdad to San Bernardino, and around the world are then caught in between this vicious circle.
What is needed is a conceptual puncture and a categorical breakage to this vicious cycle. The slaughter of innocent people in Brussels is the extension of the slaughter of the innocent in the Islamic world, not in response to or revenge for it.
When the criminal thugs gather around ISIL’s banner and commit atrocities around the world, they present it as acts of revenge against “Western aggression”. These are not acts of revenge and retaliation. These are identical acts of murderous violence targeting identically innocent people in different sites.
The murderous outfit that calls itself ISIL is the crooked product, the diabolic extension and the ugly shadow of precisely what it is they say they are fighting.
ISIL and Islamophobes
Muslims must not fall into the trap of saying they are innocent and have nothing to do with these acts of violence. Of course they do not. It is like saying they are not responsible for global warming.
There is no logical link between the crime and the declaration of innocence. Even declaring this is not Islam, or Islam is peaceful, or most Muslims are peaceful, is an admission of guilt by association.
Critical thinkers in Europe and the US, too, must stop defending Muslims against such accusations as if the fabricated charges have any legitimacy.
The more Muslims defend themselves, the more well-intentioned people in the US and EU keep exonerating Muslims, the more vicious this cycle perpetuates itself.
This is a trap, a conceptual ruse, an analytical canard and a logical fallacy: fabricated by two identically vicious warmongers — ISIL and Islamophobes — to lend themselves non-existent legitimacy.
ISIL is US and EU militarism by other means, in urban disguise. ISIL is not a response to US or EU militarism. It is a software in the hardware of its machinery of death and destruction.
ISIL was not invented by CIA or any other such outfit, as the ridiculous conspiracy theories would have it. ISIL is the logical extension of the US militarism, not its conspiratorial invention.
The victims of US and EU invasions, occupations, bombings, drone strikes and deadly sanctions are identical with the victims of ISIL attacks from Iraq, Syria and Turkey to France, the United States and Mali.
We, as innocent people East, West, North and South of this fragile globe, are not fighting on two sides of two opposing ideologies.
We are all — French or Arab, Christian or Muslim, Belgian or Turk — identical victims of only one militant ideology that targets and kills us with identically vicious tenacity.
As we mourn the victims of any act of vicious violence in Brussels or in Beirut, in Paris or in Aleppo, in San Bernardino or in Istanbul, we must remain steadfast not to fall victim to the dimwitted conceptual trap this vicious cycle of violence has devised to perpetuate itself between (“Terror” and “War on Terror”).
“Terror” and “War on Terror” are the mirror images of each other.
We have nothing to do with either of those two vicious ideologies. We — Muslims, Christians, Jews, gentiles, Europeans, Arabs, US citizens or otherwise — are victims of it.The 10-year-old war in Afghanistan remained just a blip on the American news media’s radar in 2011.
CBS
Of all the news content in newspapers and on the Web, television and radio this year, Afghanistan accounted for about 2 percent of coverage, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, an arm of the Pew Research Center.
Six other subjects were given more sustained attention than the war there. In descending order, they were the economy in the United States; the unrest in the Middle East; the 2012 presidential election; the earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster in Japan; the killing of Osama bin Laden; and the shooting in Tucson in which six were killed and Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona, was critically injured.
The figures come from the project’s weekly monitoring of 52 major papers, news Web sites, TV networks and stations, and radio stations. The project uses that sample to show what is atop the national news agenda, and what is not.
In a year-end report last week, the project’s researchers noted that “despite a drop in coverage of the war in Afghanistan,” there was an increase in international news over all, owing largely to the war in Libya and the protests in Egypt, Tunisia and other countries. The United States’ withdrawal from Iraq accounted for less than 1 percent of all news coverage.
Since Pew started its weekly monitoring in 2007, the war in Afghanistan has never accounted for more than 5 percent of all news coverage on an annual basis. In 2010, Afghanistan accounted for 4 percent of all news coverage.
The United States has about 91,000 troops in Afghanistan now. For much of this year and last, about 100,000 United States troops were in the country.
The news executives that pay for bureaus in Afghanistan have had to contend with tight news-gathering budgets, safety concerns and, in some cases, a perception that American audiences are not interested in the situation.
The relative dearth of coverage has brought occasional criticism in the United States, particularly from those who recall vigorous coverage of the Vietnam War. “Other than in its early stages in 2001-2002, the American press has greatly underreported this war,” John Hanrahan, formerly the executive director of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, wrote in an essay for Nieman Watchdog in August.
“This paucity of reporting — the almost total reliance on just a few reporters — has stark implications for how the war is perceived back home,” Mr. Hanrahan wrote. “The fewer the reporters, the fewer the first-hand accounts needed for citizens to form knowledgeable opinions of the war.”Minimal Impact to the Global Supply Chain?
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it has become fashionable for some in the global business community to believe that the economic impact of Japan's earthquake will be minimal. No one can truly know the ultimate impact because the world has never experienced such a severe natural disaster in an economy so critical to the global supply chain: This is not Indonesia, New Zealand, Chile or Pakistan -- which have also experienced recent severe earthquakes -- this is Japan.
For the past three weeks, the world's third largest economy has been plagued by chronic power shortages and supply chain disruptions -- the 'new normal,' which is likely to continue for years. Although much of Japan's heaviest manufacturing occurs in its south, which was largely undamaged as a result of the quake and tsunami, the ability to ship components to these facilities has in some cases been severely impacted, and ongoing power supply disruptions threaten to introduce long-term interruption into the production process.
Japan produces approximately 60% of the world's silicon, used to produce semiconductor chips. Shortages in these chips are only now being felt, as manufacturers had a 2-to-3 week surplus of chips prior to the quake. Japanese manufacturers are expected to lose up to $60 billion as a result of interruption in production capability this year due to power disruptions. For manufacturing organizations outside Japan, the long-term impact is more difficult to assess, but businesses as diverse as auto manufacturers, and video game, LCD, and laptop producers, have already been affected.
Businesses throughout Japan have reported difficulty obtaining raw materials and transporting workers. Given that the timing of rolling brownouts is unpredictable, the 'new normal' for businesses involves flexible office hour scheduling and inconsistent transportation links, which are subject to change on short notice. All indications are that this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and will become acute during peak usage seasons during the winter and summer. If so, expect a more significant impact on the global supply chain in due course.
The Importance of Chernobyl's Radiation Legacy
Chernobyl resulted in 400 times more radiation being released than was released in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, but compared with the amount of radiation released during the atomic testing of the 1950s and 1960s, Chernobyl was a small fraction of that amount. Current estimates of the nature of radioactive contamination in the area surrounding the Fukushima plant downplay the significance of a problem. According to an April 2nd New York Times article, and based on a variety of sources of information it gathered, air and food was only considered to be harmful at the plant "after a short period of time", while air, soil, water and food was considered to be "possibly harmful after a longer period" near the plant. Only food was considered to be "possibly harmful" elsewhere in Japan, though most of the prefectures in northeast Honshu had detected radiation in food above the legal limit in Japan. According to the report, there is no current cause for concern elsewhere in the world.
If Chernobyl is any guide for Japan with respect to radiation contamination, this information is in stark contrast with the facts 10 years after Chernobyl. Vast areas of Belarus and the Ukraine remained contaminated.
According to a study released in 2006 by the IAEA, a combination of human activity and precipitation reduced the negative impact of radioactivity on populated areas near Chernobyl, but resulted in the contamination of sewage systems. The main pathways for radiation to impact people was from radionuclides deposited on the ground and the ingestion of contaminated terrestrial food products. The ingestion of drinking water, fish, and products contaminated with irrigation water were considered to be minor pathways toward contamination.
Due to the short half-life of radioactive iodine (just 8 days), the contamination of milk, which was the most immediate concern in the food chain, only remained a real concern for about two months following the period when radiation from Chernobyl was stopped. Contamination of various crops, including green leafy vegetables, was also a concern for about two months, though the longer-term impacts have been difficult to quantify. Longer-term concern with respect to human ingestion of foods were most notable in milk, meat, and vegetables. Japan should expect to need to monitor its food supply, and possibly rely on external sources of these foods, for a long time to come.
Why the Japanese Government Needs to Move Quickly
The focus of much of the press since the quake and tsunami has been on levels of radioactive iodine that has been released into the environment, but cesium-137 is a much greater health concern and has been linked to cancer deaths nine times greater than radioactive iodine, with a half life of 30 years. Last week, for the first time, the Japanese science ministry began to release measurements of cesium-137 in soil around the plant.
The levels were highest from two points northeast of the plant, ranging from 8,690 becquerels/kilogram to a high of 163,000 Bq/kg measured on 20 March from a point about 40 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima plant. The hottest spot is similar to levels found in some areas affected by Chernobyl. Assuming the measurement is no more than 2 centimeters deep, nuclear engineer Shih-Yew Chen of the Argonne National Laboratory calculates that 163,000 Bq/kg is roughly equivalent to 8 million Bq/m2. The highest cesium-137 levels in some villages near Chernobyl were 5 million Bq/m2. If true, Fukushima has already released higher levels of Cesium 137 than Chernobyl, making it the worst source of nuclear radiation release in history.There is so little left in national politics to delight us. The candidates, for the most part, are scripted, strident and narrow people who betray their actual humanity at their own peril. The races are costly, vicious affairs. And Americans almost never approve of an elections outcome once the winners settle into office.
But the last five years have brought one big bright spot to the political circus: Because of the viral nature of the Internet, the ads are just getting better. The latest case in point is a new 30-second jewel by Joni Ernst, who has an uphill climb to replace retiring Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin. Her pitch: I can castrate pigs so I am the perfect conservative for Iowa to send to the Senate.
Not only does she remove pig testicles, she smiles talking about it. The gender politics behind the spot—Ernst would join only four other female Republicans in |
has had to address the parole board since he has served all of his minimum terms. So, when he previously went before the parole board, according to their criteria, he was not technically eligible, because he had mandatory minimum terms that had to be served. But he’s eligible tomorrow. And we’re hopeful that, based upon everything that’s gone before and all of the support that he’s received, that we will be able to get him paroled this time.
AMY GOODMAN: How is Leonard Peltier’s health?
ERIC SEITZ: His health is not good. He’s, for a long time, suffered from some problems with his jaw, which he had surgery on a few years ago, has high blood pressure and diabetes and urinary problems. He’s going to be sixty-five years old in September. And a lot of those problems are aggravated by virtue of the fact that he’s in prison and can’t get adequate and timely care. So we’re concerned about his health, and that’s another reason why we’re hoping the parole board will allow him to be released at this point, before something more serious occurs.
AMY GOODMAN: What is going to be your main argument tomorrow, Eric Seitz? And will Leonard Peltier be addressing the Parole Commission?
ERIC SEITZ: Leonard will be addressing them. He is preparing. That’s one of the reasons why I’m going out there today, so that we can conclude that preparation.
But the main argument is going to be that no matter what one thinks about the case, it certainly has been enormously controversial. It’s something that millions of people around the world have expressed concerns about. Leonard has more than served enough time, under the circumstances. And under all of the criteria that normally would apply, he should be paroled.
AMY GOODMAN: Will the FBI be weighing in, as well? I remember the pressure in the last days of President Clinton around the issue of granting executive clemency to Leonard Peltier, and the marches of the FBI.
ERIC SEITZ: Yeah, the FBI can’t let it go. They take the position that two FBI agents died, and somebody’s got to pay for that. And so, Leonard is the person to whom they look to for that purpose, and they want him to stay in prison until he dies. So we expect that there will be a letter from the director of the FBI. We expect the FBI will be represented there. A US attorney from Fargo, North Dakota, apparently, is coming and is prepared to give a litany of reasons why Leonard should remain in prison and should never be paroled. And that’s just a part of this case, which we have to expect.
AMY GOODMAN: And yet, the Parole Commission itself says it recognizes “the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions”?
ERIC SEITZ: They have conceded that, and the US attorney himself has conceded that on several occasions. And as many of your listeners undoubtedly know, the only two people who were charged with the conduct which they say that Leonard is guilty of, those two people were acquitted in the separate jury trial. So the whole situation is one that is horrendous, in terms of the history of the case. And we’re hoping now, at this point in time, that enough people realize that, that they’re willing to take the step to put an end to it.
AMY GOODMAN: Does people weighing in make a difference at a Parole Commission level?
ERIC SEITZ: Yes, there are.
AMY GOODMAN: Are there ways to do that, people expressing their views either way to the Lewisburg prison?
ERIC SEITZ: I think there — sure. I think many, many people have written letters to the Parole Commission. I’ve seen many of them. Some of them have gone directly to them. And certainly, the Parole Commission operates in a political environment, so any kind of public statements of support for Leonard, editorials, all those kinds of things, are going to have an impact, if not now, in the next few days.
AMY GOODMAN: Eric Seitz, I want to thank you for being with us, en route to Leonard Peltier’s parole hearing. We’ll link to a Leonard Peltier interview at democracynow.org.Correction appended April 21, 2016
McDonald’s is trying two new burgers on for size to boost its Big Mac business.
The fast food chain is testing out a “Grand Mac” and a “Mac Jr.” in the Central Ohio and the Dallas areas, the Associated Press reports. The Grand Mac consists of two patties that weigh a third of a pound total and costs $4.89. It is seen as an attempt to keep up with competitors whose burgers are getting larger. The Mac Jr. is a Big Mac with just one layer instead of two and costs between $2.39 and $2.59.
If the test is successful, it may result in a national rollout.
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[AP]
Correction: The original version of this article misstated the weight of the Grand Mac. It will consist of two patties totaling one-third of a pound.
Contact us at editors@time.com.An Austin man is suing a woman for $17.31 after he says she texted repeatedly during a movie on their first date.
Brandon Clarke Vezmar alleges his date "activated her phone at least 10-20 times in 15 minutes to read and send text messages" after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 began playing at an Austin theater on May 6, according to court documents and the Austin American-Statesman.
He's seeking reimbursement for the movie tickets, because he believes the texting was "a threat to civilized society," the case alleges.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, Vezmar alleges his date's texting was “in direct violation of the theater’s policy adversely affecting the viewing experience” of Vezmar and others. He took the woman, whom he met online, to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 6, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Vezmar asked the woman to stop texting but she left the theater and didn’t return, according to case documents.
“Oh my God. This is crazy,” she told the American-Statesman when she learned about the petition.
The woman asked the American-Statesman not to name her. Vezmar texted her a few days after the date for the price of the ticket, but she refused, according to the American-Statesman.
"I had my phone low and I wasn't bothering anybody," she told the American-Statesman. "It wasn't like constant texting."
After the case garnered social media attention, the founder and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, Tim League, said he'd give Vezmar a gift certificate for $17.31 if he drops the “ridiculous” case, the company wrote on its Facebook page. The incident did not happen at an Alamo Drafthouse theater.Being an outspoken voice against the Trump administration has turned into a gold mine for Sen. Kamala Harris.
In her first three months on the job, the California Democrat pulled in about $1 million in political contributions, mostly in small increments of $20 or less.
A good deal of the credit goes to a $300,000 digital media ad campaign that her operatives have kept running ever since the November election.
Normally, it would take a Washington newcomer like Harris years to build up the national presence to mount such a operation. But Harris’ election-night declaration that she “will fight for our ideals” hit a chord with Democrats across the country and became one of the first rallying cries of the “resistance” movement.
“People saw it as a sign of hope and they wanted to do something,” said Harris political adviser Sean Clegg.
So in came the flood of small donations, from roughly 48,000 individuals. It’s enabled Harris to start spreading the wealth around to fellow Democratic senators who are up for re-election next year.
“This has nothing to do with her state base — this is about raising her profile for the 2020 or 2024 presidential race,” said Republican Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.
“This is about the battle for being one of the ‘mentioned’ as a contender.”
The irony here is that Harris’ rise to national fame probably wouldn’t have happened if Hillary Clinton had been elected.
But in both politics, as in comedy, timing is everything.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandrossIT all started with air mattresses.
Brian Chesky’s parents wanted just one thing for him when he graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design — that he get a job with health insurance. He tried that for a while with a design firm in Los Angeles, but he got fed up and packed up his Honda Civic and drove up to San Francisco to crash with his pal, Joe Gebbia, who agreed to split the rental of his house with Chesky. “Unfortunately, my share came to $1,150 and I only had $1,000 in the bank, so I had a math problem — and I was unemployed,” said Chesky. But they did have an idea. The week Chesky got to town, in October 2007, San Francisco was hosting the Industrial Designers Society of America, and all the hotel rooms on the conference Web site were sold out. So Chesky and Gebbia decided, why not turn their house into a bed and breakfast for attendees?
The problem was “we had no beds,” but Gebbia did have three air mattresses. “So we inflated them and called ourselves ‘Airbed and Breakfast,’ ” Chesky, 31, recalled for me in an interview. “Three people stayed with us, and we charged them $80 a night. We also made breakfast for them and became their local guides.” In the process, they made enough money to cover the rent. More important, though, it spawned a bigger idea that has since blossomed into a multimillion-dollar company and a whole new way for people to make money. The idea was to create a global network through which anyone anywhere could rent a spare room in their home to earn cash. In homage to its roots, they called the company Airbnb, which has grown so large, so fast that it is now the equivalent of a major global hotel chain — even though, unlike Hilton, it doesn’t own a single bed. And the new trend it set off is the “sharing economy.”
I first heard Chesky describe his company two years ago and thought it was a quaint idea that would find limited traction with niche travelers. I mean, how many people in Paris really want to rent out their kid’s bedroom down the hall to a perfect stranger who comes to them via the Internet? And how many strangers want to be down the hall? Wrong. Turns out there is an innkeeper residing in all of us!
On July 12, Chesky told me, “Tonight we have 140,000 people around the world staying in Airbnb rooms. Hilton has around 600,000 rooms. We will get up to 200,000 people per night by peak this summer.” Airbnb has 23,000 rooms and homes listed in New York City alone, and 24,000 in Paris. Worldwide, “we have listings in 34,000 cities and 192 countries,” added Chesky. “We are the largest short-term rental site of its kind in China today, and we have no office there.”Hey everyone!
Question. What are y’all going to be up to during Labor Day weekend? Got any interesting plans? Well, we certainly do - we’re heading to Seattle for PAX West!
We’ll be holding our Main Theatre Show on Saturday, September 2nd! It’s sure to be a rad time, so be sure to come if you’re planning on making the trip to Seattle. If you can’t make it in person, we’ll be livestreaming the panel at twitch.tv/gearboxsoftware, so you can tune in from home!
We’ll have more information for you closer to the event, so be sure to check back in.
Are you running low on Platinum? Do you play Battleborn on the PlayStation 4? We’ve got your solution! Humble Bundle is currently running a 2K PlayStation Bundle, and you can get 1,625 Platinum at the $5.22 price point!
This Humble Bundle benefits the Covenant House organization, so for $5.22, you’ll get a bounty of Platinum, several other awesome 2K titles, and the opportunity to support an awesome charity!
Consolidating Bots Battle queues - the “Novice Versus Bots” queue will no longer be available and the Command Rank requirements are being removed from Bots Battle.
Mini Match (3v3) will no longer be available as a public experience.
The Command Rank requirement for Quick Match is being reduced from 20 to 10 so that new players who would like to jump in earlier can do so at their discretion.
Capture and Face-Off will be returning to the Quick Match queue.
Tank Yankers, Rocket Brawl, Gravity Rumble, and Warfare Rumble are going to be made available as Versus Private experiences.
We’ve got some major queue changes for you this week, scheduled to roll out today at 12pm PT/3pm ET:
We’ll continue to monitor data and feedback regarding these changes. If you have any technical issues with these changes, be sure to contact support.gearboxsoftware.com!
If there’s one thing we love here at Gearbox, it’s creative fanart. And if there’s another thing we love here at Gearbox, it’s ice cream. Graphic designer Amanda Mananda has expertly combined the two with her Battleborn Creamery Series!
So far, Amanda has created two gorgeous graphics featuring Oscar Mike and Marquis as a popsicle and ice-cream cone, respectively. Both pieces feature eye-catching design elements that perfectly capture the spirit of the characters, all the while managing to look incredibly tasty!
OSCAR MIKE: Ha, that's my head! But…it could be another clone. Eh, whatever!
*somehow shoves ice cream into mouth without removing helmet* https://t.co/XpqvAiYXkA — Jim Foronda (@JimForonda) August 7, 2017
One particular fan on Amanda’s work is the voice of Oscar Mike (and Whiskey Foxtrot, and ISIC, and MINREC), Jim Foronda! He had this to say about the Oscar Mike piece:We’re definitely stoked to see more from Amanda. Check out more examples of her excellent artwork at eightmapledesign.tumblr.com!
As we mentioned above, we're really stoked to be heading to the PAX West Main Theatre this year! We'll have more details for you in the next Battleplan (which will be posted on the Thursday before the event), so check back then!An amusement park ride broke apart on the opening day of the Ohio State Fair in the US, hurling people through the air, leaving one man dead and injuring seven other people.
Three of the injured were in a critical condition, authorities said.
“The fair is about the best things in life and tonight with this accident it becomes a terrible, terrible tragedy,” said Ohio governor John Kasich.
The man who was killed was one of several people who were thrown off when the Fire Ball ride malfunctioned, Columbus Fire Battalion chief Steve Martin said.
Dramatic video captured by a bystander shows the ride swinging back and forth like a pendulum and spinning in the air when it crashes into something and part of the amusement breaks off, throwing riders to the ground.
A company providing rides at the Columbus fair this year describes the Fire Ball as an “aggressive thrill” experience.
On its website, Amusements of America says that since its debut in 2002, the Fire Ball has become “one of the most popular thrill rides on the AOA Midway”.
The company description of the ride says it swings riders 40 feet above the midway while spinning them at 13 revolutions per minute.
Mr Kasich said he had ordered a full investigation and all fair rides to be shut down until additional safety inspections can be completed.
In a tweet, the fair said: “There has been a report of a ride incident. We are investigating and will report information as available.”
PACity leaders are urging Houston's civic-minded tech whizzes to gather for a 24-hour "hackathon" this month, hoping that software developers, web designers and data analysts can produce solutions to city problems and useful tools for residents.
The Open Innovation Hackathon, to kick off May 17, coincides with the city's growing "open data" initiative, which will see information from various departments dumped into an online portal, available to citizens and coders alike.
"The goal is to engage the tech community, solve problems and help build the overall technology infrastructure in the city of Houston," Mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday. "It's designed to be an intriguing and challenging experience for those who participate in the hack, but it's to have real deliverables to the city afterward. We have great hopes, considering how tech-savvy the greater Houston area is, that we're going to get some really intriguing proposals and new applications."
Parker said whether city resources are invested in promising projects initiated at the event will by determined on a case-by-case basis.
Councilman Ed Gonzalez, the council's most avid Twitter user and a key force behind the hackathon, said more technology events are planned in the coming months. Gonzalez said Houston does not get the credit it deserves as a technology hub and that city government embracing these types of events raises the industry's profile.
"Why not create the next Google or Foursquare or the next hot app? Why does it have to come from Silicon Valley or some of these other places? We have everything in place here," said Gonzalez, who could not keep the grin off his face during Wednesday's news conference. "There's a lot of creative energy here. All these are steps moving in that direction, by municipal government lending its support of this hackathon, by sharing its data."
City leaders urge those interested in participating to register at houston hackathon.com, where 25 potential projects also are listed. Among them are a web site showing restaurant inspection scores, an app mapping city bike trails, bike lanes and dashboards that could measure the efficiency of city departments.
Jeff Reichman, a principal at consulting firm January Advisors and local chair of Startup America, said Houston's startup industry has gained momentum in the last two years. He said if he can find some coding time at the event, he would like to tackle a project to make it easier for businesses to work with City Hall. A similar application at the federal level goes by RFP EZ.
'Hackathon mentality'
"Developers, software developers especially, are drawn to challenges, and if they can work on challenges that have a big impact, that's a good use of time," he said. "The city just wants to encourage that hackathon mentality that happens naturally."
James Wroblewski, of Code for Houston and Hack Houston, said civic engagement in the tech community has mushroomed recently, pointing to a local hackathon on health care in March, and another civic hacking event planned for June.
"There's certainly been a very large movement throughout the country to utilize more national, state and local data in order to make the community stronger and allow them to have more access to things they might need or information they might not previously have had access to," Wroblewski said. "There's a little bit more enthusiasm when you can get together people who are not only passionate about technology and innovation but also see a chance to do some good."
Gonzalez said a focus for him in these events will be exposing students to science, engineering, technology and math fields, pointing to a Brookings Institute study saying Houston has a glut of these jobs but doesn't produce enough local graduates to fill them.
As for the hackathon, Gonzalez said he hopes someone will compare upkeep costs for police cars to data on street conditions near police stations. It may turn out, he said, that the cost to pave torn up streets near police stations could be offset by savings in car repairs and tire replacements.
"It's city government making a call to say, 'come help us help us solve these problems,' " he said. "Let's be a convener, let's bring people together and let the magic happen. We already know great things are happening."“I have an opinion.”
Overwhelmingly, this is the response of pundits to any lolesports list article. lolesports have a habit of publishing controversial rankings of “best players” or teams. Their recently released LCS Spring Split awards prompted some of the most intense head-scratching to date. One of the primary reasons for this was that these awards were delivered as a result of counted ballots. When votes are compiled to select an aggregate winner, it’s difficult to find consistent reasoning as to why individuals are chosen for their awards.
I was the only person from theScore esports to participate in the lolesports voting, and I was only asked to submit votes for “MVP,” “Rookie,” and “Coach” awards. I only chose to submit votes for the EU LCS. Since I far and away prefer the opportunity to lay out my thoughts transparently to aggregated votes, I’ll reveal the votes I cast here as well as my choices for the other categories.
Most Valuable Player: Kim “Trick” Gangyun
I should first clarify what I mean when I say MVP. The Most Valuable Player is a player who most contributes to the team’s wins. This means both that this player has performed well and that his team has positioned him to best utilize his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Winning the MVP means both that you’ve done well and that your team has played exceptionally around you. You have defined your team's playstyle.
It doesn’t mean that the winner of the MVP award is the best player in the league or even the best player on his team.
In choosing an MVP, it’s difficult to look outside the top two or three teams. If a team hasn’t reached the height of the league, their team hasn’t best utilized their players’ strengths, and it’s difficult for the MVP of a league to properly represent his league if his team cannot reach the top.
It’s with all these factors in mind that I chose Trick as the MVP of the European League of Legends Championship Series. G2 reached the top of the league despite lower expectations with a strategy designed to emphasize the strengths of the jungle and mid lane. In this relationship, I see mid laner Luka “Perkz” Perković as the facilitator and Trick as the star. G2’s style is built around jungle invades that allow Trick to farm heavily and assist in carrying in the late game.
Yet Trick doesn’t just farm. Trick denies camps from the enemy jungler, ganks frequently, places the highest wards per minute of any jungler to play more than one week for his team, and is tied with Lee “Spirit” Dayoon for second highest percentage of team damage to champions among junglers at 17.8 percent. From my perspective, G2’s playstyle is almost entirely about setting Trick up to succeed, and he defines them.
RELATED: It's not a Trick: A closer look at G2 Esports' playstyle
In many ways, PerkZ and Trick are difficult to separate. Their synergy is surprising, and much of their action is also facilitated by support Glenn “Hybrid” Doornenbal. This is why PerkZ made my first runner up by constantly keeping the wave in mid in position for invades.
For my other two MVP candidates, I looked to H2K Gaming and Team Vitality. H2K’s defining playstyle was difficult to pin on just one player, but I decided upon Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu. As with G2, I didn’t pick the player I considered the best on the team, but the player who seems to define the team’s playstyle and takes opportunities to succeed. I see H2K succeeding by and large off lane assignments and vision control, which usually means Teleports are pivotal. As a result, Odoamne is a huge motivating factor in H2K’s success.
Vitality had several candidates for MVP, but when I considered Vitality’s performance throughout the split, I saw a lot of their wins stem from Vitality’s improved lane swapping and giving Raymond “kaSing” Tsang the opportunity to roam. kaSing started an easy trend of buying a high amount of pink wards. This opened up the map for Vitality considerably and allowed them to reign in some of Ilyas “Shook” Hartsema’s awkward decisions with more information. Vitality have also executed a high amount of strategies that have relied upon kaSing’s individual skill, as with the Tahm Kench and Kog’Maw composition or the Zilean and Bard composition. kaSing was my fourth choice for MVP.
Lucas "Cabochard" Simon-Meslet was another obvious choice that I didn’t include, but while Cabochard is often the instrument of Vitality’s top side, his struggles when he didn’t get ahead were severe earlier on in the split. Freeing up kaSing and Shook to create other opportunities on the map truly allowed Cabochard to open up.
Rookie of the split: Perkz
This is where the “best player” aspect becomes more relevant than MVP. Perkz is likely the best player on G2. He’s consistently able to find a matchup advantage as well as roam with Trick for early kills and ganks. Perkz synergized well with Hybrid and the duo controlled a heavy portion of the map as a unit.
The rookie award came down to G2's mid and support, but Perkz ultimately appeared more fundamental to the team’s success. Earlier on in the split, when Hybrid was still trying to get the 2v2 lane with Kim "Emperor" Jinhyun to work efficiently, G2 could still execute their style. Perkz was easily the standout rookie this season.
Coach: Neil "PR0LLY" Hammad
I considered not even voting for this award. I think it’s extremely difficult for an outsider to judge the role a coach plays on a team. One has to go by firsthand accounts or behind-the-scenes whispers to understand a coach’s style or effectiveness. Yet I still believe it’s important for an award like this to exist to recognize support staff.
To this end, I based my choices for this award both on accounts of a coach’s effectiveness by staff as well as consistency of draft. H2K and Vitality had some of the strongest and most consistent drafting strategies of the split, so it was easy for me to vote for PR0LLY and Kévin "Shaunz" Ghanbarzadeh from this perspective. Vitality's approach of understanding the enemy team's style and developing a draft to counter it was enjoyable to watch. But at times, though creative, Vitality’s execution of their drafts collapsed, which gives PR0LLY a slight edge.
Overall, G2 had a strong sense for draft, but also came out with more instances where their pick priority confused me or their team didn’t seem completely confident in executing their selections. G2 brought out the Corki, and this was an important change for EU, but otherwise their style remained fairly set and didn’t evolve as much as the other two teams’. Their strategy was effective and improved, but Emperor still feels disconnected, and the team feels much more about mid and jungle than the other teams in the top three who play as a strategic group of five.
PR0LLY ticked all the boxes I mentioned, so I selected him as my first choice and Shaunz as runner-up. I didn’t pick a backup choice, but likely should have selected Joey "YoungBuck" Steltenpool to at least acknowledge the success of the team’s support staff in pulling through to first place with a new team.
All Pro Team
To reiterate, I wasn’t invited to vote for the All Pro Team in lolesports’ awards. For my list here, I’ll try to choose players I judge as most effective, but also players I consider the best in their positions objectively. The criteria will be similar to that which I used for my MidSeason awards.
Top: Cabochard
Though I chose Odoamne for best top in my Midseason picks, since then we’ve seen Cabochard’s diversity improve. Instead of just playing carry picks and having his team rely on him to get ahead to sustain any minion-shoving strategies, Cabochard has expanded to the likes of Nautilus and considerably improved his Teleports. He still has a ways to go in this regard, but with Odoamne showing some limitations in carry picks, I believe that, though Odoamne is still my MVP pick from H2K, Cabochard is the better player when considering the entirety of the LCS split.
Jungle: Trick
This choice should be relatively obvious after I praised Trick in almost all statistical dimensions of jungle play. My other option is Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski who has made steady improvements from the first half of the split where he spent much of his time hovering lanes instead of ganking. His vision is also incredibly strong among LCS junglers. Yet he still only bests Trick in wards cleared per minute and, more recently, gank activity. Overall, Trick is a more complete package.
For the “hipster” vote, one could look at Team ROCCAT’s Karim "Airwaks" Benghalia, who has the solid makings of a carry jungler on Kindred. He’s taken ROCCAT into many positions they had not right to be in. Yet Airwaks always feels like he’s still “developing” and lacks consistency. There are only so many splits where one can say a player is developing before it seems that he will never actually go anywhere.
Mid: Perkz
As always in Europe, the award for best mid is a difficult competition. It’s rare that I believe the top three mid laners are on the best teams, but Perkz, Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm, and Yoo "Ryu" Sangook have all performed exceptionally this split.
Perkz's constant ability to find impact is not that of a rookie. Perkz seems to always find the best point of entry in a team fight and is undeterred by low health. Nukeduck took more of a back seat to his team, but he was often difficult to shake in team fights as well. His style has become more patient and calculated. Looking earlier into the split, Nukeduck died rather frequently and didn’t always seem to have optimal map awareness or positioning.
Ryu benefits from having self-sufficient play and creating opportunities for H2K, but he still isn’t their central figure. It’s also unfortunate that Ryu spent so many weeks outside the LCS, so he hasn’t played as long as Perkz and shouldn’t receive the same recognition for a sustained period of power over the mid lane role.
ADC: FORG1VEN
Finally, after so many mentions in “runner up,” an H2K player breaks through. Though far from defining H2K’s playstyle or even being optimally utilized with H2K’s teamfight-aversion, FORG1VEN still put up ridiculous damage numbers. As he was constantly seen in side waves pushing turrets, one has to wonder where he even found the enemies to whom he dealt 31.7 percent of his team’s damage.
FORG1VEN may well be the strongest player in the west. Even when H2K isn’t about him, he still manages to demonstrate his power. I considered Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen a worthy rival of FORG1VEN’s despite Origen’s struggles for most of the split, but Zven has since begun to play less reliably. He’s gotten caught out in several of Origen’s games toward the end of the split and has looked less like the pillar that keeps the team afloat.
Though I wouldn’t choose Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi as my first or second choice for best AD carry in Europe, he has played a very similar role on Unicorns of Love to Zven on Origen. With junglers constantly changing, Steeelback has remained the constant carry force of the Unicorns. When games go long and Unicorns’ decision-making drops off, they win their games simply by supporting Steeelback’s late game plays.
Support: kaSing
As a result of H2K’s playstyle, it’s still difficult to call a single player on that team the best playmaker in his role. H2K love to out-maneuver by avoiding a situation where a single player out-performs another directly. Oskar “VandeR” Bogdan has excelled alongside Jankos at vision denial, but the playmaking support for me that made Vitality one of the strongest teams in Europe is kaSing.
kaSing’s ward placement and ability to back up Shook or find opportunities has transformed the way Vitality operates. As already mentioned, Vitality rely extensively on kaSing’s ability to execute a variety of champions that aren’t the most popular in the European meta. This has highlighted kaSing’s strengths considerably and allowed him to stand out.
My runner-ups aren’t VandeR, or Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov, the winner of my Midseason award, but Hybrid and Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez. Even when Zven struggled, mithy made valuable plays, like denying Baron steals or keeping a 2v2 lane from sinking. mithy is Origen’s most stable presence and deserves recognition for the team’s entry into the playoffs.
Hybrid’s skill is in keeping vision coverage on Perkz’s lane and roaming or accompanying Mateusz “Kikis” Szkudlarek’s Teleport plays. Hybrid hasn’t worked as well in the 2v2 with Emperor. Though this is the result of a lack of strong synergy between the two rather than a personal failing of either, it keeps him from the top of the support standings.
As with most of lolesports’ lists, I believe their Spring Splits Awards are an exceptional tool for discussing valuable players in a league, and I’m glad I submitted a ballot. Ultimately, however, awards are still more meaningful if consistent reasoning follows their distribution.
All statistics in this piece are drawn from OraclesElixir.com.
Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore esports. You can follow her on Twitter.Image caption There was insufficient evidence to charge Avigdor Lieberman with money-laundering
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has been charged with breach of trust in connection with a long-running financial scandal.
But Mr Lieberman has been cleared of more serious offences, including money-laundering and bribery.
He said he did not have to resign but was studying the indictment with his lawyers.
The charge against one of the most powerful politicians in Israel comes five weeks before a general election.
Mr Lieberman's party recently joined that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the elections and the Foreign Minister said he would consider how the indictment would affect the vote before he took any further action.
"A final decision will be made after consultation with my lawyers and in the consideration of not hurting the voting public," he said hours after the Justice Ministry announced its decision.
Israeli law on the matter is complex. The BBC's Kevin Connolly says it is thought that being under indictment does not prevent Mr Lieberman from running for parliament but it might force him to resign as a minister.
Opposition parties had called for his resignation if he was charged and the our correspondent says they might go to court to force the issue.
The case dates back more than a decade. Prosecutors had suspected Mr Lieberman had received illicit funds from businessmen and laundered them through shell bank accounts.
The Attorney-General decided there was apparently insufficient evidence to take the matter to trial and charged Lieberman with the lesser offence of receiving official material from the investigation against him.Barcelona Great memories
It was evident from another fine display in Madrid, that Sergi Roberto quite likes it at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
He was one of the doubts that Ernesto Valverde had in his eleven for the clash against Real Madrid, but was eventually chosen ahead of Nelson Semedo.
Once again, in a position that is not naturally his, he played a perfect match.
It was precisely at the Bernabeu where he debuted as a Barcelona player, in 2011 and with Pep Guardiola on the bench.
That day was also a special one for all Catalans as the 2-0 win in the Champions League semi finals, coupled with Pepe's sending off, virtually sealed Barcelona's passage to the final at Wembley.
Two seasons ago he also played a key role in the blaugrana's 4-0 LaLiga win in the Spanish capital.
The midfielder broke open Real's defence and assisted Luis Suarez, who opened the scoring.
It was a formula that would be repeated a season later, this time for Lionel Messi's goal in the last minute of Barcelona's 3-2 triumph.
Deep in his own half, Roberto started the move, leaving Modric and Marcelo in his wake, gave the ball to Andre Gomes, who in turn passed to Jordi Alba to lay it on a plate for Leo.
On Saturday, his pinpoint pass to Suarez got the blaugrana on the board again, the second week in a row that combination has worked, after Roberto had assisted El Pistolero against Deportivo.
Now established as a starter, the youngster has become an indispensable part of the Catalan team.Do you ever feel like you're on autopilot? Like your brain's been hijacked and someone else is running the controls? Like a little monster in your head is making all of the decisions without consulting you? You may find yourself at the end the day in a surreal state asking yourself, “Did that just happen?”
I experience this all the time. For example, last week while teaching a class for work, a class I’d taught at least thirty times before Adeline’s passing, I experienced an exhaustion unlike the typical tiredness I had experienced teaching the class before Adeline's passing. When I finally arrived home at the end of the day, I was not just tired I was completely and utterly emotionally depleted.
Not much has changed about the program itself except this most recent class I had to extend from four to six hours. With that simple change, and the ensuing demands and challenges of being "on" for such |
a PBA Tour event was accomplished by Canadian François Lavoie in the semifinal match of the 2016 U.S. Open live finals (November 9, 2016 on CBS Sports Network).[5] Sean Rash rolled the PBA's 23rd and 25th 300 games, and is to date the only player with multiple televised perfect games in PBA Tour stops. Mika Koivuniemi narrowly missed joining this exclusive club. Having rolled the PBA's 16th televised perfect game in 2004, Mika shot a 299 game in the semifinals of the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions.[6]
Two other players have shot multiple 300 games on U.S. television, though one or both games were not rolled in an official PBA title event. In 2009, Wes Malott rolled two 300 games in an ESPN broadcast of the King of Bowling series. Though this event featured PBA players, it was not an official PBA Tour stop.[7] Ryan Shafer, who earlier in his career tossed the PBA's 18th televised 300 in a PBA Tour event, threw his second televised 300 game in a singles match at the Geico PBA Team Shootout, a made-for-TV event broadcast on ESPN, July 2, 2011.[8]
Female bowlers have also achieved perfection in front of a television audience. Ritsuko Nakayama of the Japan Professional Bowling Association became the first female to score a perfect game in front of a national television audience, doing so in Japan on August 21, 1970.[9] Michelle Feldman of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) became the first female to score a 300 on American national television, when she accomplished the feat in a 1997 Prime Sports broadcast.[10] Cara Honeychurch and Liz Johnson bowled the second and third 300 games on American TV – both in PWBA events. Urara Himeji, Wendy Macpherson and Takiko Naganawa have rolled 300 games on Japanese national television – all during JPBA events.
Andy Varipapa 300 [ edit ]
Andy Varipapa, a standout bowler from the 1930s and 1940s, joked about a 300 game being twelve strikes in a row spanning two games. Hence, the very result is named after the veteran bowler.
75-year-old Will June, grandfather of Cato June, became the oldest player to bowl consecutive perfect games on August 31, 2010.[11]
Perfect series [ edit ]
A 900 series, a three-game set with scores adding to 900, is a more difficult feat to achieve than bowling a single perfect game because it requires more consistency and careful attention to the subtle changes in the lane conditions from game to game.[12] The first six 900 series reported, starting with PBA Hall of Famer Glenn Allison's in 1982, were all rejected by the USBC for various reasons – mostly due to improper lane conditions.[13] Finally, in 1997, an officially certified 900 series was bowled by collegiate bowler Jeremey Sonnenfeld, rolled at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was the first 900 series approved by the USBC. Twelve perfect series were bowled in the ten-year period 1997-2008, and six were bowled in the two years 2009-2010. As of October 20, 2017, the USBC lists a total of 34 officially certified 900 series by 33 different bowlers.[14]
In fiction [ edit ]
The concept of a perfect bowling game has been regularly used in fiction for either suspenseful or comedic effect.
See also [ edit ]Maldivian police on Monday arrested and detained the country's former president Mohamed Nasheed, after he failed to attend court for the start of a trial against him for alleged abuse of power.
"Nasheed has been placed [under] custody now according to the court order issued yesterday," police spokesman Hassan Haneef told Reuters.
"He will be taken to Male. He is in one of the atolls now. He was arrested around 9.45 [local time]. It went peacefully and he cooperated. He will be produced to the court tomorrow 1600 hours," Haneef said.
A special court on Sunday ordered the ex-president's arrest. Nasheed had been summoned to court over the alleged detention of a judge during his final days in office, but had failed twice to comply with orders to attend hearings for the case and remain in the capital.
A court official said the arrest warrant would enable authorities to "keep Mr Nasheed in custody until he is produced before the court."
If convicted as a result of the case against him, the former statesman could face three years in prison or be confined to a remote island, a punishment which would preclude him from participating in future elections.
Nasheed, who was the victor in the Maldives' first democratic elections in 2008, has argued that he is not guaranteed a fair trial.
sej/msh (Reuters, AFP)Image copyright AP Image caption Iran says its oil revenue has fallen by 45% in the last nine months because of Western sanctions
The US has tightened existing sanctions on Iran, in an effort to push Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons programme.
The measures further restrict Iran's access to its own oil revenues but also include financial restrictions against Iran's state-run media.
The sanctions are coming into effect under the terms of a bill passed by Congress six months ago.
International talks on Iran's nuclear programme are due later this month.
Any money Iran now makes from the sale of oil to nine countries currently granted American waivers, including China, India and Turkey, must now be credited to an account in those countries and not repatriated to Iran.
Under the sanctions, the money can only be used by Iran to purchase goods from those countries.
Media sanctions
Financial institutions doing business with Iran know that they themselves risk being cut off from the American financial system if they break these strict new conditions.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Robin Wright: "Iran's been very clever at figuring out ways around sanctions, but at a cost"
The US Treasury said the new sanctions effectively "lock up" Iranian oil revenue overseas.
Treasury Under Secretary David Cohen said that the US would continue to tighten restrictions "so long as Iran continues to fail to address the concerns of the international community about its nuclear programme".
"We will also target those in Iran who are responsible for human rights abuses, especially those who deny the Iranian people their basic freedoms of expression, assembly and speech."
The latest announcement includes measures which have nothing to do Iran's nuclear programme, and focus instead on alleged efforts to stifle dissent.
The US Treasury also set sanctions against Iran's state broadcaster and its director, Ezzatollah Zarghami, over the transmission of forced confessions by political detainees and the jamming of foreign channels, including the BBC and Voice of America.
And it singled out the Iranian Cyber Police, which it says has deleted blogs and arrested a blogger, Sattar Beheshti, who later died in custody.
Iran, which says its nuclear programme is for energy generation and research, attacked the latest measures.
"This is the latest series of hostile actions against Iran," Iran foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency. "We are seeking methods to neutralise the new pressure."
The new measures come ahead of the fourth round of talks between Iran and six world powers in Kazakhstan later in February.
A leading Iranian politician said last month Iranian oil revenues had fallen around 45% in the last nine months because of sanctions.DOVER — A special election that will decide control of the state Senate has been set for Saturday, Feb. 25.
Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long made the announcement Tuesday while the Senate was in session.
Democrat Stephanie Hansen will face Republican John Marino for the 10th District seat, vacant since Jan. 17, when Lt. Gov. Hall-Long gave up the office to be sworn into her new post.
The Senate currently has 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
Democrats have held the chamber for the past 44 years and have controlled the Senate, the House and the governor’s office since 2008.
After the announcement was made one Republican senator could be heard saying “Here we go,” while another remarked, “Let the games begin.”
Ms. Hansen, in a statement, said she was “relieved” the election has been scheduled.
“It’s the number one question I get on doorsteps all across the district and I’m so glad I can finally answer it with certainty,” she said. “Since I joined this race in December, my focus has been on building bridges and bringing hope to voters after a divisive and ugly national political battle that has rattled our communities.”
On Monday, the Republican Party alleged that the Democratic Party had already chosen the date but had not publicly announced it in an effort to discredit Mr. Marino.
“What is the holdup?” Delaware GOP Chairman Charlie Copeland had said in a statement. “The people of the 10th district are without a senator. The Democrats have known about the vacancy since November, and both parties have selected candidates, but a week has gone by and we don’t have a date. What more do they need in order to call for an election?”
Lt. Gov. Hall-Long called the allegation “baseless” but otherwise declined to comment.
By law, she had until Friday to schedule the contest.
The election had to be set between 30 and 35 days after the selection was made.
The district, which covers portions of Newark and Middletown, lists about 16,100 Democrats and 10,100 Republicans, as well as 9,400 independents.
Staff writer Matt Bittle can be reached at 741-8250 or mbittle@newszap.com. Follow @MatthewCBittle on Twitter.TRENTON - Within hours after being released on $70,000 bail following a police raid on his restaurant and sanctuary, a defiant Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion recorded a Facebook video of him smoking marijuana while vowing to fight the charges.
Forchion, 51, was one of 11 people arrested and charged in a raid on his Trenton restaurant, NJ Weedman's Joint, and adjacent "cannabis church," the Liberty Bell Temple on Wednesday.
"I don't care what they do,'' Forchion said in the video, a freshly-rolled joint in his hand. "I'm going to keep going forward.''
County narcotics agents and Trenton police said they received complaints about excessive foot traffic at all hours and suspicion of marijuana distribution at the establishments. The raid followed a two-month investigation.
"I'm out - I was released at 8:30 pm tonight - 29 hours after arrest," Forchion posted on Facebook Friday morning. "I read some of the press and I'm shocked the Police exaggerated and misconstrued the goings on at The Temple. I want to comment and respond in my own words."
PLUS: NJ Weedman's Joint shut down over health violations
He said he plans to hold a 4 p.m. press conference Friday to discuss the case.
Forchion was charged with 13 counts of marijuana possession and distribution, having a fortified premises, two counts of paraphernalia possession and maintaining a narcotics nuisance, prosecutors said.
Nine others were arrested during the 3:30 p.m. raid on the restaurant and sanctuary. Another suspect was arrested and charged with minor marijuana possession during a second raid on a house on South Olden Avenue in Hamilton, prosecutors said.
Of the 10 others who were arrested, three were charged with drug offenses. The remainder had outstanding warrants.
"We'll see you two years from now," Forchion said. "NJ Weedman versus Mercer County.''
Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on FacebookLil Wayne is issuing new music this month -- another entry in his "Dedication" mixtape series -- but after that, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for more from the Young Money leader.
In an interview with DJ Drama on Atlanta’s Hot 107.9 on Wednesday, Weezy expressed feeling a bit burnt out from rap and was looking to tackle another challenge.
“Being me, I always feel like I ain’t done nothing yet, so I’m always looking for the next thing to do. It does get pretty boring when it comes to just the rapping and all that type of stuff,” he said. “I’ve been doing it since I was 8 and I’m about to be 30 in September.”
Lil Wayne, who recently expanded his skater chic clothing line, TRUKFIT, to Macy’s stores, said he’s stepping back from the microphone in order to focus solely on skateboarding.After Channel NewsAsia shared her story of heartbreak, determination and a daughter's love, ban mian seller Madam Vivian Leong has seen an outpouring of support, encouragement and new customers looking to try her traditional Hakka-style ban mian.
SINGAPORE: For the past two days, Madam Vivian Leong has been too busy to make time for her own meals.
But the ban mian seller, whose stall is located in a coffee shop at Holland Close, is not complaining: The crowds of new customers thronging her stall, looking to support, encourage her and try her traditional Hakka-style ban mian, have brought tears of gratitude to her eyes.
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This comes after Channel NewsAsia highlighted a story on the single parent’s hard work and determination in overcoming suicidal depression and opening her own ban mian stall with the support of her young daughter. Many people posted comments on the story and accompanying video feature, offering Mdm Leong and her daughter, Ivory, words of encouragement.
On Monday (Dec 4), her ban mian was sold out by 3pm, five hours before her stall usually closes at 8pm. Describing it as her “best day of business” ever, Mdm Leong said she even had to rope in her daughter to help cope with the demand during the busy lunch period.
“Some of them had to wait for very long, because I have to make each bowl of noodles one by one,” she said. “So when I give them their food, I thank them for their patience.
“It’s lunch time, and most of them are office workers. They can go anywhere else for lunch, or even eat at the other stalls here, but they chose to support me,” she added. “I’m so grateful and thankful.”
Mdm Leong's daughter, Ivory, helping to take orders from waiting customers. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
On average, she sells about 60 bowls of ban mian a day. But by Monday afternoon, she had served more than 100 hungry customers, of which she estimates about 85 per cent were new faces. The lunch-time queue, she added, stretched all the way out of the coffee shop.
“They tell me they came here because they saw my story online, and wanted to support me,” she said. “Some of them say my daughter is very good to help me, and when I thank them, one of them actually told me, no, I should be thanking you.”
When Channel NewsAsia visited at around 1pm on Tuesday (Dec 5), the crowd was still evident in the coffee shop, and it was looking to be an even busier day for Mdm Leong, who had prepared enough ingredients to make 200 bowls of ban mian.
Customers queuing up for Madam Vivian Leong's ban mian. She estimates that about 85 per cent of customers are new faces. (Photo courtesy of Vivian Leong)
Customers were waiting patiently in line to try her ban mian, and some were seen taking pictures of the stall or of her food. One customer, Rafael Mayoral, also went up to shake her hand and asked to take a picture with her.
“I came here for two reasons,” he said. “My friend recommended the place, and I read her story.”
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“It was heartbreaking, but it was also very encouraging. And she sounds like a great person.”
“I loved her ban mian,” he added. “I waited about 15 to 20 minutes, but it was worth it.”
“So I want a picture with her so I can share this with my friend who recommended the place.”
Another customer, Gin Oh, had also made a special trip down with her family to try Mdm Leong’s cooking.
“The food is authentic, and you can tell she uses fresh ingredients and there’s no MSG added,” she said.
“I teared when I read the story, so I wanted to come down and see her. I waited about 20 minutes, but I think Singaporeans in general don’t mind waiting for good food.”Hiring Freeze FAQ
How do I determine if a position is affected by the hiring freeze?
The source of funding used to pay the position’s salary determines whether it will be affected by the hiring freeze. Positions using a fund code of 2XXX are impacted by the hiring freeze and will need further review before they can be advertised or filled. Positions using fund codes 3xxx, 4xxx or 5xxx are not subject to the hiring freeze.
You can view the fund code of a cost center in Budgets Overview in PeopleSoft (Gemini Financials). If you don’t have ready access to the fund code field, funding can be determined by checking the fourth digit of the paying cost center. If the fourth digit is “2” the position is subject to the hiring freeze (e.g., 44122001 = state funded). Cost centers with the fourth digit of “3,” “4,” and “5,” are exempt.
I have a position that is affected by the hiring freeze. What are my options?
Unfortunately, not many options are available. The Budget Office is concluding an evaluation of all positions being recruited through PeopleAdmin and those received by Human Resources on January 31, 2017 to determine which positions are included in the freeze. Human Resources will advise you of the staff positions that can continue to be recruited based on the Budget Office review. Questions on faculty recruiting will be handled by the Provost’s office and questions related to student hiring should be directed to the career center. You will also be notified if the Budget Office is unable to justify exclusion from the hiring freeze.
Currently advertised positions that are subject to the hiring freeze will be closed in PeopleAdmin and salary savings for the remainder of FY 2017 will be transferred from the departmental cost center to a central holding cost center to await transfer back to the State.
The Budget Office will contact your fiscal officer before the transfers are initiated.
Can I hire student workers?
Yes, although no State funding (fund 2xxx) can be used to pay the salaries. The Career Center or the Budget Office can assist departments in identifying cost centers not impacted by the hiring freeze that can be used to support student wages.
Can I create new positions?
Yes. Departments can continue to create and recruit new positions as long as they are not funded from State (2xxx) fund codes. The Budget Office will continue the practice of reviewing all new positions to ensure that sufficient recurring funding is available to support the position.
Can I fill vacant positions with temporary employees during the hiring freeze?
Yes, as long as departments follow existing Human Resource procedures regarding temporary hires and do not use state (2xxx) funding.
What will happen to my State funded positions that are vacated during FY 2017?
The Budget Office reviews vacant position in PeopleSoft each month. As soon as a State funded position is flagged as vacant, the salary savings for the remainder of the year will be calculated and transferred from the departmental operating cost center to a central holding cost center to await transfer back to the State. This position must remain vacant through August 31, 2017 unless a waiver is granted to fill the position sooner.
If I have a frozen position, will my budget be reduced for FY 2018?
No. If a position is held vacant due to the hiring freeze, that position’s funding for the remainder of FY 2017 will be returned to the State. However, your original annual funding amount will be restored effective September 1, 2017 and the position can be filled at that time.
Can I change a position’s funding source before the employee vacates to avoid the hiring freeze?
No. The Budget Office will be closely reviewing all funding changes impacting state funds. Any attempt to circumvent the hiring freeze will be stopped.
Can I continue transferring faculty effort between research grants and State funds?
Yes. These internal funding transfers are not subject to the hiring freeze. However, these transfers will continue to be subject to review by the Office of Post Award Management and the Budget Office.
Will mid-year exceptional merit and/or mid-year one-time merit payments still be awarded?
Yes. These annual programs are not related to the hiring process and are not impacted by the hiring freeze. Recommendations are currently being reviewed by Human Resources and approved awards will be processed in March with an April 1st payment date.
Can I request a waiver from the hiring freeze?
Departments who believe they have extenuating circumstances or a vacant position that is deemed critical to the continued operation of the department or the university may submit a waiver request to Rosemary Walton at Rosemary.Walton@utdallas.edu.
Waiver requests should include the following information: 1) position title, 2) currently budgeted salary, 3) salary funding sources if the position is paid from multiple cost centers, 4) explanation of the critical nature of the position, 5) any secondary savings that will be realized if this position is filled.
Waiver requests will be reviewed by a committee comprised of the Executive Vice President, Interim Provost, Vice President for Budget and Finance, and Associate Vice President for Human Resources. If the committee determines a waiver request from the Governor’s office is necessary and appropriate, a recommendation will be forwarded to Dr. Benson for his consideration. Dr. Benson will submit all waiver requests to the Governor’s office on behalf of UT Dallas.
Departments should be aware that Dr. Benson’s submission of a waiver request to the Governor’s office does not indicate approval. Only the Governor’s office can grant approval for a waiver.
<< More AnnouncementsBEIRUT (Reuters) - Humanitarian aid on Friday reached areas near the Syrian capital Damascus where fighting has been going on between rebels and government forces, but opposition groups said not enough assistance was getting through.
A fighter loyal to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad stands by as an aid convoy of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent enters the Wafideen Camp, which is controlled by Syrian government forces, to deliver aid into the rebel-held besieged Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria March 4, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
Taking advantage of a let-up in hostilities in Syria’s civil war, a convoy of food and other supplies for 20,000 people left Damascus for the Eastern Ghouta district to the east, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said.
A cessation of hostilities, which came into force on Saturday, has made it easier for the United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) to access hard-to-reach populations. But fighting continues in some parts of the country.
U.N. Resident Coordinator in Damascus Yacoub El Hillo said Friday’s convoy was sent to the towns of Hazza, Saqba and Ain Terma, and the U.N. and SARC hoped to deliver to other towns in Eastern Ghouta in a couple of days.
“Deliveries will continue in the coming period and we (and our partners) are completely ready to take advantage of the recent favorable conditions in which fighting has noticeably decreased,” El Hillo told reporters in Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organization that tracks the five-year-old conflict, said 25 trucks of humanitarian and medical aid had arrived in the town of Saqba.
But opposition groups have criticized as insufficient the number of aid deliveries that have reached populations since the cessation of hostilities began.
The head of rebel group Jaish al-Islam’s political office, Mohamad Alloush, said aid delivered in recent days to opposition-held areas blockaded by the government “is not enough to meet 10 percent of the needs, and nothing has entered most of the areas”.
Alloush is also a member of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition council grouping armed and political opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The U.N. estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege in Syria, out of a total 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization delivered medical aid to Afrin and Azzaz, north of Aleppo, through the SARC.
The WHO delivered more than 100,000 treatments including antibiotics, analgesics, asthma, cardio-vascular and anti-diarrhoeal medicines, vitamins and medicines for non-communicable diseases.The corruption within the FBI and Department of Justice has reached cosmic proportions. And because of it taxpayers must demand the politically driven Russian collusion probe be shuttered immediately.
It’s become evidently clear it’s a sham investigation reeking of corruption at every turn.
How much longer must this charade, on the backs of taxpayers, go on?
First former FBI Director James Comey, an anti-Trump hack who has admitted to leaking sensitive memos to the press, kickstarted the alleged Russian collusion investigation based on a discredited dossier commissioned and paid for by the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee. If that’s not illegitimate enough, U.S. intelligence agencies then used the debunked dossier compiled by Russian informants, via the slimy opposition research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain FISA warrants to spy on candidate Donald Trump and his campaign associates — to lay traps for them.
In order to derail the Trump administration and construct a basis for impeachment.
This is what meddling in an election looks like — only it was done domestically, by the Obama administration and our own Justice Department.
Let that sink in.
Now we learn that one of Bob Mueller’s top investigators, Peter Strzok, the deputy head of FBI counterintelligence, was secretly removed from the Russian investigation last summer — unbeknownst to Congress — for sending anti-Trump and pro-Hillary Clinton texts to a colleague — revealing major political bias.
Here’s why it matters: Strzok, a compromised agent with a political agenda, had his dirty fingerprints on both the Clinton email investigation and the ongoing Russian probe. For starters, he was instrumental in exonerating Hillary Clinton and her associates over the mishandling of classified emails despite troves of damning evidence. Strzok was also the agent who interviewed Hillary Clinton last summer without recording it or putting her under oath, thereby shielding her from a process prosecution or perjury trap — not afforded to others — namely Trump associates, including Michael Flynn, who is now facing perjury charges.
Hardly “Justice for All.”
What has become apparent is the FBI — America’s most powerful instrument of justice — is dispensing “Justice for Some,” based on how you vote. In other words, they’ve become a weaponized arm of the Democratic Party.
Add to it, it was Strzok we’ve now learned who made the recommendation to Comey that Hillary Clinton not be prosecuted despite grossly mishandling classified information, destroying evidence under Congressional subpoena and wiping servers — all of which jeopardized America’s national security.
Leading President Trump to tweet yesterday, “Report: “ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE.” Now it all starts to make sense!”
Indeed it does. The Russian investigations — costing taxpayers millions — have been a gross miscarriage of justice.
Time to shut it all down.
Adriana Cohen is a Boston Herald columnist, radio host and syndicated columnist. Follow her on Twitter @AdrianaCohen16.Seven Earth-size planets have been discovered orbiting a red dwarf star about 40 light years away, scientists announced on Wednesday. And six planets appear to have conditions that could allow for water on their surfaces -- a prerequisite for life. Photo: Nature
EFFORTS to find if alien life exists on TRAPPIST-1’s planets are already underway, with the Hubble Space Telescope trying to spot traces of life-supporting atmospheres.
The announcement last week of the discovery of seven worlds, six of which are capable of holding liquid water, around a nearby star was greeted with excitement in astronomical communities.
That one dull-red star and its system of rocky worlds, three of which sit squarely in the ‘goldilocks zone’, just considerably upped the odds that there is life out there.
Now all we have to do is find it.
DELVE DEEPER: Life around TRAPPIST-1 will be utterly unlike to our own
It’s not an easy task, given the immense distances involved.
But we can get a glimpe as to the make up of different worlds by the ‘fingerprints’ their atmospheres leave on light that passes through them.
It remains an enormous task to separate light reflected from atmospheres from the background light of TRAPPIST-1 itself. But as the star is only 40 light years away, this remains a possibility.
The Hubble Space Telescope team has already been on the task.
WEATHER EYE
It announced in July it had conducted its first search for atmospheres around Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star.
Even before it was known to hold seven planets, TRAPPIST-1 was the subject of its search.
Initial results confirm its planets are unlikely to have the “puffy, hydrogen-dominated” atmospheres of gaseous worlds.
DELVE DEEPER: The challenge red dwarf worlds present life
“The lack of a smothering hydrogen-helium envelope increases the chances for habitability on these planets,” said Nikole Lewis of the Space Telescope Science Institute. “If they had a significant hydrogen-helium envelope, there is no chance that either one of them could potentially support life because the dense atmosphere would act like a greenhouse.”
Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 caught TRAPPIST-1’s light in the near-infra-red. Being a red dwarf star, this is the spectrum in which it is strongest.
Spectroscopy — where light is broken up to reveal its component colours — was used to decode the potential chemical makeup of any atmospheres the light may have passed through.
The few clews Hubble has so far been able to discern appear to rule out gas giants like Jupiter because of apparently low concentrations of hydrogen and helium.
“These initial Hubble observations are a promising first step in learning more about these nearby worlds, whether they could be rocky like Earth, and whether they could sustain life,” acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Geoff Yoder said. “This is an exciting time for NASA and exoplanet research.”
A CLOSER LOOK
The operators of Hubble’s replacement, the James Webb Telescope, are also planning to put that star and its seven rocky worlds — three of which are ideally positioned for life-forming conditions — at the top of its priority lists.
EXPLORE MORE: Visit the ‘terminus’ — where life could thrive on red dwarf worlds
The new tennis-court sized space telescope is due to be launched into space in October 2018. It is hoped to be fully functional by April 2019.
It will be ideally suited to identify the components in the atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1’s worlds.
“This is a tremendously exciting possibility for the JWST, and we most certainly will observe this system,” James Webb Program Director Eric Smith told Inverse.
“If it’s got liquid water, it’s got water in its atmosphere, it doesn’t have something super poisonous in its atmosphere, that’s a place that could support life, and that would be tremendously exciting.
“We won’t be able to detect that life with JWST, but I think that would be a tremendous discovery in and of itself to say, ‘that place could have life.’”
RED DWARF’S GIANT POTENTIAL
TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star that is at least 400 million years old. Being smaller and cooler than our own Sun, it is likely to have a considerably longer lifespan.
Two exoplanets were discovered in its orbit in late 2015 by the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST), a Belgian telescope at the European Space Agency’s Chile observatory.
Follow-up observations last year revealed the presence of five more worlds. Six are believed to be rocky and capable of holding liquid water. Three sit in the optimal ‘Goldilocks’ band where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for life as we know it. The seventh is believed to be an ice world.
Small red stars can regularly erupt with powerful X-ray and UV flares, bombarding their worlds — which sit in close orbits — with radiation.
So could life survive such conditions?
Researchers say worlds with atmospheres similar to our own would offer enough protection to life on their surface. Atmospheres would also enhance the habitable ‘twilight’ zone between the ‘hells’ of fire and ice likely a feature of planets tidal-locked with their red dwarf stars.
What would life around TRAPPIST-1 be like 0:56 Different. Deadly. Alien. Planets that orbit red dwarf stars like TRAPPIST-1 are utterly unlike Earth. This would direct the evolution of life in very different directions.
RED DWARF WORLDS: Explore life on the galaxy’s most common inhabitable planetHi everyone!
April showers have blessed Central Texas this month and we’ve been hard at work on many fronts. We’ve seen record concurrency numbers with the 1.1.1 game update, and experienced multiplayer connectivity issues as a result. We mobilized all resources to focus on this issue, and you’ll see more detail on these activities from several teams in the detailed reports. We’ve got a lot to share, so please check out some detailed info from the teams in the Austin studio!
Persistent Universe Team
Art
The month of April saw many developments within the Art Department of CIG Austin. We hosted an Environment Mini-Summit where our friends from Foundry 42, BHVR, and Illfonic came to visit to discuss long term planning for Star Citizen Environments. There are a lot of cross-studio dependencies that require face-to-face time to discuss in more depth, and it is very valuable to interact with people in person that we work with on a daily basis across the world. All in all the Summit was a success, and our Global Environment Leads Ian Leyland and Cort Soest have helped establish a firm foundation upon which to build the best environments possible. Our focus specifically for the PU this year will be fleshing out the “First 5” planetary landing zones, wrapping up our first batch of shops that will be found on those landing zones, and R&D on creating modular space stations that will serve a variety of functions in the PU.
Our character team has been solely focused on supporting the FPS character revisions this month. There was a lot of work to do to help bring these characters up to speed with the rest of the amazing work Illfonic has been doing to make Star Marine look the best it can. We’ve added armor plating to help beef up the Medium Marine a bit more, tweaked materials and colors to help both the Marines and Outlaws look like they belong to the same unit, and Josh Coons even jumped over from the Ship Team for a while to help bring the Outlaw helmets up to the next level. These characters are looking fantastic, and we’re really excited for you guys to get to run around with them very SOON!
Other things the Art Team has been up to this month include concept work for Hangar weapon racks and Holo-Kiosks for the Astro Armada shop, concept work on shielding and radiators for space stations, explorations into Blue Collar clothing sets, flickering job board VFX for the TDD shop, and texturing work for the mobiGlas asset.
Our Animation Team has been supporting various aspects of the project, including prone weapon sets for FPS, and Grabby Hands animations for testing out picking up and putting down objects. Lead Animator Bryan Brewer has been testing and debugging the brand new skeleton we are going to be moving our characters over to in order to improve various aspects of the character’s proportions and range of motion. Our entire animation team is now transitioning over to helping retarget our whole library of animations (over 2,000!) to this new skeleton.
Design
There were many discussions and meetings that took place this month amongst our designers in order to break down what we are calling the “Game Loop” for our upcoming Social Module release. Where does a player start when he/she logs in? What do they experience as they participate in various activities around a landing zone? What happens when they interact with REDACTED??? All very important questions that ultimately helped shape the design for Shopping, Storage, NPC setup, and more. We’ll continue to break these down even further as we progress into next month.
Pete Mackay has been adding extensive developments to his newly dubbed “Ship Cruncher” tool (formerly Thruster Calculator). It’s a pretty robust tool that allows designers to balance discrete item parameters, create baseline ship items for each item type, properly size ship gear and visualize granular changes on a macro scale, and collect robust data sets for each ship. The Ship Cruncher also does several different physics calculations to determine how fast a ship can change direction, its top speed, its turn radius, etc. It’s an all-inclusive package that will significantly help with ship balancing in the future.
Evan Manning has been adding data to the Star Map to be used by our friends at Turbulent for the release of the Star Map on the Platform side. There is a lot of information to be documented and Evan has been doing a great job of ensuring every element in each system is in its proper place.
Work continues on fleshing out various occupations within the Persistent Universe. Tony Zurovec continues to whittle away at the details of the Pioneer occupation, and Rob Reininger and Nate Blaisdell have taken cracks at initial passes on the Mercenary/Escort and Bounty Hunter occupations, respectively. Before long we’ll have more detailed breakdowns of how each of these occupations will work in the PU.
Engineering
April was a busy month for our engineering team, as many of them were recruited to support the live patch that went out the first week of the month.
Our Server Team paused their work on the Multiplayer Hangars feature in order to work closely with DevOps and QA to improve and strengthen our Instance Manager, our Matchmaking Service and other services. As a result, we have had a dramatic decrease in reports of issues related to inability to load into multiplayer matches. Congrats to our hardworking team for this splendid accomplishment!
We have other, longer term systems in the works that continue to progress closer towards completion. These systems are being worked on out of Austin with strong cross-over with Manchester and Denver (by our friends at Wyrmbyte)…such as: Unique Global Entity ID system, Generic Instance Manager, Player Info Server |
to come, which will ultimately increase the cost of doing business — costs that will be passed on to customers when they pay for everyday products. Petroleum coke, or petcoke, is a carbon-rich material that is derived from oil refining.
According to S&P Global Platts, Hurrican Harvey could temporarily shudder operations that produced between 2.4 million and 3.4 million barrels of day of Texas refining capacity.
The story goes on to say that port conditions are such that vessels cannot get in or out of the terminals. “This port closure has an immediate impact on our Houston Bulk Terminal facility, as vessels scheduled to transit to our berth to conduct loading operations are unable to do so,” the story quotes port authorities as saying in a letter to petcoke customers. “In addition, this closure will likely result in a backlog of vessels scheduled to load at our facility.”
Meantime, gasoline futures spiked to a two-year high on Wednesday, given that Harvey shut down nearly a quarter of US refinery capacity, according to Reuters. It estimates 4.4 million barrels US refining capacity has been taken off line — a quarter of the US refining capacity. Global markets, too, will be affected, adds Barclays via the Wall Street Journal: 6% of the global demand for oil and other petroleum liquid fuels emanate from the region; that includes Latin America, Europe and Asia.
The good news, though, is that inventories had been high, which have helped offset the current dynamics. While the country will have plenty of oil, it will have limited ability to refine that into gasoline in the coming weeks. As a result, airlines are raising prices.
“As the refineries restructured the more competitive refineries have expanded,“ said Antoine Halff, Director of the Global Oil Markets Research Program at Columbia University, per Reuters. ”The capacity is now in the hands of a few very large players in a few very large plants. It means if something goes wrong it’s a big impact.”
Houston is the cornerstone for the US oil and gas industry, including refined products that move in-and-out of local ports. The five largest oil refineries in the US are in Texas and Louisiana, all along the Gulf Coast. As the rain begins to ease up, however, production is expected to resume.
If natural gas markets also remain disrupted, steel, chemical and fertilizer manufacturers will be among those to be impacted. Production in these industries require natural gas as a feedstock to produce materials such as the steel piping used in oil and gas drilling as well as the steel parts to make power plants and gas turbines.
They are making use of both “dry” natural gas and the “wet gas” that is separated from it. Those so-called natural gas liquids are comprised of such chemicals as butane, ethane, methane and propane — all of which can serve as the foundation for finished goods that are consumed domestically and exported around the globe.
Manufacturers and chemical producers had been paying as much as $14 per million Btus in 2005 and now they are paying close to $3 per million Btus — something that IHS Markit says will lead to an additional $328 billion in new manufacturing output by 2025. Futures are up 1.1% since the storm hit.
“The storm is also capable of further pipeline disruptions that could trigger short-term price swings,” Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric said, in a Wall Street Journal story.Sitting across the table from me was Chet Faliszek. He was one of the project leads on Left 4 Dead. I was sitting with my arms crossed, and I told him how much I love Left 4 Dead. He told me how much he enjoys Ars Technica. We have officially gotten the formalities out of the way.
"People are pissed," I told him.
"Well, some are," he responded.
That's something of an understatement. I've been getting e-mails, texts, phone calls, and tweets from readers and friends enraged over Valve releasing a sequel to Left 4 Dead so quickly. This is a company that has reinvented Team Fortress 2 since its release, and every update was free. Left 4 Dead received the Survival Pack, and now there is a sequel coming to the PC and 360 this year. Faliszek knew that he had to do some damage control; he told Ars he was texting prominent map makers from the community minutes after the announcement to let them know that their work would not be affected negatively by the sequel.
He was eager to address the anger. "Team Fortress gets to do these nice little discrete units of content, they get to do a map, there's an internal consistency and an internal world that happens." He described the content updates as "clean little things." Bite-sized updates that add to the game, and over time change things. It's not nearly that easy with Left 4 Dead, where one change affects nearly everything else.
Besides, why inch along with an update or content pack every now and again? Everyone on the team was excited about working on more Left 4 Dead, and in fact, the team behind the game has increased slightly in size since launch. That's rare: in most cases development teams are scaled back after the product is released.
"We had some meetings about it, and we all talked about our ideas, and everyone was pretty focused and thoughtful, a lot of the same ideas were happening," Faliszek told me. The team wanted better storytelling, they wanted swamps, and they wanted to include New Orleans. "We wanted the Director to be smarter, but to be smarter it needed more special infected in its stable. For example, the Charger that we see today."
I had just gotten done playing the game, and the Charger is indeed a nasty critter. If you're being too defensive, if you're grouped together too tightly, the Director may send the bull-like Charger to bum rush your party, knocking the team apart. Imagine a tank that comes straight at you, but is slightly easier to kill.
"It just became very clear that this was a cohesive, singular statement we wanted to make, not a more slow update thing... too much stuff was tied together with too many other things. The Common Infected—now there is destruction in different parts of their body, to ship all the new Common Infected, even with an update, would be a huge thing."
So the team brought their concepts and ideas to create a sequel to Gabe Newell, and even he was skeptical about the idea. According to Faliszek, he expressed his doubts, and claimed this move was against the character of the company. "To Gabe's credit, and he's a great guy to work for, he said if this is what you want to do, if this is what you're excited about, go do it."
A true sequel
The SDK will be coming out of beta in the next week or so, and Faliszek points to that to prove that Left 4 Dead will still be updated. Also, all the maps created with the SDK will work on the sequel. As for playing old maps with old characters but new creatures and melee? "We have some additional work to do there, we're talking about how to do that. That's what we want to do."
While he claims it's not an insurmountable amount of work, mixing old and new content would require new dialog to be recorded for the situations with the new enemies and weapons, as well as new animations. It's something Valve wants to do, but they're not sure when it will be accomplished.
The game will ship with five new campaigns, new weapons, new characters, new Special Infected, updated Common Infected, melee weapons... and a new game mode. "We're not talking about that yet," I'm told. The point is that this isn't a new coat of paint and a new level or two; this is a full sequel.
Left 4 Dead 2 will also include some more storytelling than what we're used to from the series. "Not only are we telling the story of these characters, but we're telling the story of this world, we're seeing how things fall apart, and a new way of interacting with the infection." Faliszek confirmed that there is a notebook somewhere deep in the bowels of Valve with the story of Left 4 Dead, detailing the world and why things are the way they are. There is even a Left 4 Dead dictionary with different terms for areas and infected that describe how the Director will handle things in that area.
"Having a language to describe these things in makes it a lot easier," he explained. He also hints that the characters from the two Left 4 Dead games may meet in the future. "My dream is to have 16 characters, going through the world, having their experiences and their own views." Valve has piles of concepts for characters; the possibilities are limitless.
A few other tidbits: Microsoft gave Left 4 Dead 2 the codename "Carnation" so the surprise announcement wouldn't be revealed before E3. We talked about how many people enjoy killing TSA employees in the airport areas of Left 4 Dead, and Faliszek detailed a story about being yelled at by an airport official over a can of shaving cream. "He wouldn't stop yelling! I don't know what he thought would happen, but it just got to the point where I was ready for him to arrest me." His dream was to include a no-nonsense lady from the DMV as a character, but she didn't make the cut.
As for the resentment over the timing of the sequel, he's just hoping all of you give it a fair shake. "We want to wait and weed through the comments, I'm already getting e-mails, and I'm responding to them," he said. He talked about the reaction to the Orange Box, how people were angry about "buying" Half-Life 2 again. "And looking back, was the Orange Box a ripoff? Give us a fair shake on this, read more about it, find out about it, we've already let people play it here... After that, if you want to vent, post to the forums. We do read them, we read all the forums, we read [the Ars forums]. You can e-mail me at ChetF@valvesoftware.com, or I'm Chet on Steam. Hit me up, we can play some games and talk about it."Bill Shorten says plebiscite a ‘taxpayer-funded platform for homophobia’ and leaves open option for private member’s bill on conscience vote
Bill Shorten has left open the option of bringing a private member’s bill to push for a conscience vote in parliament on marriage equality rather than the Coalition’s proposed plebiscite.
Labor MP Terri Butler, who has previously sponsored a cross-party bill to legislate marriage equality, said she would do whatever she could to avoid a divisive plebiscite.
The comments come after Australian Marriage Equality claimed that as a result of the 2 July election there is now a “clear majority” of 81 votes in the lower house in favour of same-sex marriage.
Warren Entsch says marriage equality plebiscite needed 'as soon as possible' Read more
The Turnbull government, which is on track to win 76 lower house seats, could thwart a private member’s bill in the lower house so that it could instead hold its promised plebiscite by the end of 2016.
Even key supporters of same-sex marriage in the Coalition – including MPs Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman and Tim Wilson – support a plebiscite.
But as recently as March Zimmerman promised to cross the floor and support a substantive bill on marriage equality.
Labor and the Greens could also attempt to combine with crossbenchers in the Senate to pass a bill in that house first, although the final makeup of the Senate is unknown.
Asked at a press conference on Monday whether Labor would block the same-sex marriage plebiscite enabling legislation, Shorten said: “Let’s see if we can’t have a conscience vote in the parliament first off.”
Shorten criticised the plebiscite, labelling it a “$160m opinion poll which the hard right of the Liberal party said they’re not going to be bound by anyway”.
He said the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had “given a leave pass to his cabinet colleagues” on not being bound by the plebiscite. Shorten wanted Turnbull to allow a parliamentary vote without a plebiscite, his position before becoming prime minister in September.
Straight politicians don't understand what it's like to hide their relationships in fear | Penny Wong Read more
Shorten has previously said Labor would not accept Turnbull’s “deal” to hold a plebiscite, but has stopped short of committing to block it.
Asked if Labor would push for a conscience vote, Shorten said: “Let’s see what we do when we get back to parliament.
“But I remain completely committed to the view that the quickest and easiest way to deal with the debate on marriage equality is to have a parliamentary vote.”
Butler, who sponsored a cross-party bill with Liberal MPs Entsch, Teresa Gambaro and others in 2013, said: “I will do whatever I can do to avoid a plebiscite. I think it’s a terrible idea.”
Butler said she would not telegraph Labor’s parliamentary strategy before the election results have even been finalised.
“I can say that I’ll be speaking with colleagues about what we can do to seek to avoid the plebiscite. My view hasn’t changed,” she said.
Despite supporting the bill in 2013, Entsch now supports a plebiscite and reiterated that support on Monday.
Wilson said: “As discussed with the good people of Goldstein, I will support a plebiscite.
A marriage equality plebiscite is not inevitable any more. We have the numbers for a free vote | Rodney Croome Read more
“A plebiscite is the way to get this issue resolved. Anyone who wants to see a change in the law should support a successful plebiscite.”
On Monday a spokesman for Zimmerman reiterated his position that he would have advocated a free parliamentary vote if he were present when the Liberal party room debated same-sex marriage in August but he now supports a plebiscite because that’s what the party room had decided and the policy taken to the election.
Before the election, Labor senator Penny Wong warned a plebiscite would lead to hate speech and Shorten described it at the party’s launch as a “a taxpayer-funded platform for homophobia”.As you guys already know from this previous post, I am trying really hard to get more exercise into my daily routine. And I’m sure you also know how difficult it can be to find the time (as well as the motivation) to fit a workout into an already over-scheduled life.
It is so vitally important to make taking care of yourself a priority. You’ve probably heard the saying that you have to take care of you before you can take care of anyone (or anything) else. I believe that’s true. And you shouldn’t feel the least bit guilty for carving out some time in your day to take care of your body and improve your overall health.
One of the easiest ways to get in a quick workout is to simply turn on your television or computer. There are so many free on-demand workouts that you can do from the comfort of your living room. With so many options, you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a workout that is perfect for whatever state of fitness you happen to be in at the present moment. You could literally do a different workout every single day for like, forever.
So in an effort to find new workouts in order to keep me motivated, I’m launching “New Workout Wednesday.” Each week, I’ll try a new workout and then let you guys know what I think about it. This week, we’re starting with…
Sportskool’s Restorative Yoga
You should be able to access the Sportskool library in the On-Demand section of your cable provider. (If not, here is a list where you can find the workouts.) Restorative Yoga is a 30-minute session of gentle stretches designed to realign the spine and basically stretch your entire body.
What You’ll Need
a straight-back chair, 2 pillows (1 firm, 1 soft), 2 rolled towels, yoga mat
I chose this particular workout today because I was feeling extremely stiff from my run yesterday. Perhaps it’s the change in the weather, but when I woke up this morning, let’s just say I was feeling a bit more than my age.
This workout is not really so much a yoga class as it is more of an advanced stretching class. There were no real yoga poses (aside from the child’s pose), so I would definitely classify this as a beginner’s workout. However, it was EXACTLY what I needed today. Every single stretch felt amazing, and by the time I had finished, I no longer felt any stiffness. I tend to carry any strain or stress in my lower back, and these exercises really focused on that particular area.
Not only would I highly recommend this workout to anyone who experiences lower back pain, I would suggest it for those of you who are runners or do any type of regular high-intensity sports. Stretching is so important and I certainly know that I’ve been guilty of going out for a run without stretching before or after. And that’s when I really feel it the next day.
So, if you’re looking for a relaxing workout that will stretch out your whole body and relieve lower back tension, this is the one. Give it a try! Carve out 30 minutes of your day and pretend you’re at a fancy yoga retreat. Take care of you, and never, ever feel the least bit guilty about it.
More on Stylaphile
SaveSaveSaveSaveMicrosoft is encouraging more hardware hackers to develop Windows-based smart devices and appliances with expanded availability of a preview OS to all owners of Intel’s Galileo board.
The software company has provided a pared-down, proof-of-concept version of Windows designed to work with the Galileo board, which is targeted do-it-yourself enthusiasts who experiment with electronics. The OS previously worked only on a few Galileo boards sent by Microsoft to select developers.
Now users who bought Galileo from Intel or other distributors will be able to run Windows, a Microsoft spokeswoman said in an email statement. Microsoft previously said the OS is a “non-commercial version of Windows based on Windows 8.1,” and part of a pilot project to put Windows in small electronics and Internet of things devices.
“The preview Windows image is another opportunity for makers and developers to create, generate new ideas and provide feedback to help Microsoft continue making Windows even better on this class of device,” the spokeswoman said.
The Galileo board is just a little larger than a credit card and has limited power with a 400MHz Quark X1000 processor, a 32-bit processor based on the Pentium instruction set architecture. Windows has been customized to work within the constraints of the board, which has been used in the development of robots, sensor devices and health monitors.
More to come
Intel this month started selling Galileo Gen2, which succeeded the original Galileo. This Windows release will only support the first-generation Galileo hardware, but “Microsoft is also committed to supporting the currently available Galileo Gen 2 hardware with a future release,” the spokeswoman said.
The board and OS are part of the Windows Developer Program for IoT (Internet of Things), in which Microsoft asking developers to experiment with Windows in new Internet-connected devices. Linux has been the OS of choice among makers, but Microsoft hopes to break that dominance.
The version of Windows for Galileo is compatible with Arduino, a popular hardware and software tool among makers. Microsoft hopes that some of the prototype products could ultimately become commercial products. It’s a step forward in Microsoft’s “mobile first, cloud first” strategy, with more devices feeding telemetry to Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.
Instructions on firmware installation can be found on Microsoft’s GitHub website.
The original Galileo board supports PCI-Express, ethernet and USB 2.0. It has ports to connect cameras, displays, servers, power arrays and other devices. The Galileo Gen2 has an improved PWM (pulse-width modulation) control line, which will allow 3D printers and robots move more accurately. Galileo Gen2 also has Power over ethernet capability, which is not available in the older version.
Microsoft has collaborated with Intel on another board called Sharks Cove for development of drivers and hardware.The US is committed to partnership with NATO and the EU, but expects its allies to live up to the promise of paying for their own defense by the end of 2017, Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
During his visit to Brussels, Secretary of Defense James Mattis “spoke very plainly about the frustration of the American people” that the US currently provides over 70 percent of NATO’s funding, Pence told reporters on Monday, standing alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“I don’t know what the answer is to 'or else’, but I know that the patience of the American people will not endure forever,” he said, asked what specifically the US would do if NATO members failed to meet the goal.
Read more
“It is my privilege to express strong support of President Trump and the USA for NATO and our transatlantic alliance,” Pence said. “America will do our part, but Europe’s defense requires Europe’s commitment as much as ours.”
Reminding the press that NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2 percent of the GDP on their military back in 2014 during the summit in Wales, Pence pointed out that many countries “still lack a clear, credible path to meet this minimum goal.”
“If you don’t have a plan, get one,” he said. “The world needs NATO’s strength and leadership now more than ever.”
‘Hold Russia accountable’
As proof of US commitment to the alliance, Pence referred to US troops currently deploying across Eastern Europe “in the wake of Russia’s efforts to redraw international borders by force.”
While Washington will “continue to hold Russia accountable” for events in Ukraine, Pence said the US leadership will “pray for peace” and urged “both sides to abide by the ceasefire that began today.”
‘Firm and clear message‘
Stoltenberg told reporters that the alliance has heard the same thing from every member of the Trump administration – from Pence to Mattis, as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
“We heard a firm and clear message from the US,” the NATO secretary-general said, that while the US is “firmly committed” to the transatlantic alliance, the allies need to pull their own weight.
“We need both to spend more, and to spend better,” improving efficiency and reducing the costs, Stoltenberg said.
At the same time, he reassured NATO members that “our collective defense clause is unconditional,” meaning that countries that fail to live up to the spending threshold will not be left out in the cold.Bitcoin mixing service BitMixer announced Saturday that it was shutting down its operations effective immediately. In a statement on the Bitcointalk forum, the service’s administrator cited altruism as the reason for the action. He wrote:
“I hope our decision will help to make [the] Bitcoin ecosystem more clean and transparent. I hope our competitors will hear our message and will close their services too.”
Bitcoin mixing services help users mask identities behind their transactions on the blockchain. Because the blockchain is public, analysis can determine a user’s identity and financial history. This makes mixing services popular with those purchasing illicit items such as drugs on dark net markets.
DarkNetMarkets, a site dedicated to dark web content, listed BitMixer as one of the four best mixers in 2017. Online financial technology magazine The Merkle ranked it second in a list of the most reliable mixing services.
In the early days of Bitcoin, the general belief was that cryptocurrency was anonymous and that it left no traces of the user’s identity. This premise gave rise to dark web ecommerce sites, where users could pay for goods and services without needing to use their personal ID (in the form of a bank account or credit card).
Link to dark market shutdowns
The BitMixer shutdown came just three days after a joint effort by law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Europe, and Thailand to shut down AlphaBay and Hansa, two major darknet online markets for selling drugs. Several users and administrators were identified and arrested in the process. Police also seized millions of assets believed to be proceeds from drug sales.
On 5 July, AlphaBay’s administrator, 26-year-old Canadian Alexandre Cazes, committed suicide shortly after being arrested in Thailand.
BitMixer’s voluntary shutdown by its administrator has raised eyebrows, especially after he explained in his Bitcointalk statement that the service had been making a lot of money.
Mixing services grew in popularity after the seizure of Silk Road, the first of the dark web sites to use Bitcoin, and the arrest of its founder Ross Ulbricht, when it became apparent Bitcoin wasn’t as private as users thought.
Bitcoin replacements
As it becomes increasingly difficult to use Bitcoin for criminal enterprise, new cryptocurrencies with more robust privacy features are coming into existence. For instance, Monero includes an inbuilt mixing service, and Zcash uses a protocol that requires no disclosure of public addresses on its blockchain.
Some on Bitcointalk have speculated that BitMixer closed down after coming under pressure from authorities. The founder has however denied this accusation, saying “It was a really very hard decision. But we never had any government or legal pressure.”
Others have speculated that administrators shut down the service either because they sensed they were close to becoming a target of law enforcement or because mixing volumes went down significantly after the shutdown of AlphaBay and Hansa. A contributor on the hacker news site YCombinator wrote:
“Smart move to shut it down on [his own] terms and look like a good guy rather than to continue profiting from criminal activity. I wonder if the shutdowns last week played any [part in] his decision? Maybe he saw a large drop in volumes after the darknet markets were shut down and realized those use cases were much larger than he imagined.”
Many have perceived Bitcoin negatively because of its use on the dark market. According to BitMixer’s administrator, this new development will help redeem the cryptocurrency’s image. He advised those who want to obscure their purchases to use more suitable options instead: “Blockchain is a great open book. [We] believe Bitcoin will have a great future without dark market transactions. You may use Dash or Zerocoin if you want to buy some weed. Not Bitcoin.”
Rupert Hackett is general manager of Bitcoin.com.au, Bitcoin.co.uk (subsidiary of Bitcoin.com.au), and BuyaBitcoin.com.au. He specializes in the digital currency and digital payment space and holds the world’s first Master’s degree in digital currencies. He writes for multiple Bitcoin and tech websites and is an acting Board Director for the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA).Jesus' Teaching on Hell
By Samuel G. Dawson
(Copyrighted 2007, slightly edited with permission by Gary Amirault, 2015)
Introduction by Gary Amirault
Ancient Greek and Roman poets, philosophers and statesmen such as Seneca, Polybius, Strabo, Plato, Plutarch, Timaeus Locrus, Chrysippus and Livy tell us they invented fables of Hell "Since the multitude is ever fickle, full of lawless desires, irrational passions and violence, there is no other way to keep them in order but by the fear and terror of the invisible world."
The Western tradition of a Hell of everlasting punishment for the lawless/wicked can be seen in tens of thousands of Protestant denominations stemming from primarily Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism borrowed its myths of Hell from the Romans, Greeks and Jews who, in turn, borrowed them from the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. So if a hell of everlasting punishment is a myth invented by power hungry men trying to control the masses, how did the idea ever get into the Bible? It is commonly taught and regirgutated by "the masses," that Jesus spoke more about Hell than He did about Heaven. Is this true? Or is this another one of those fabulous fables perpetrated upon the ignorant masses to keep them ignorant. A study of this man-made invention requires hundreds of pages. Below is a short article by Sam G. Dawson centering on the English word Hell and the Hebrew and Greek words behind it in our traditional Bible translations. (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus) Perhaps this is the time in your life to "Study to show yourself approved." (2 Tim. 2:15) Gary Amirault
Jesus' Teaching on Hell by Samuel G. Dawson
I was righteously indignant when, a number of years ago, a caller uttered these words on a call-in radio show I was conducting. Perturbed by his haphazard use of Scripture, I pointed out to him and the audience, that hell couldn't possibly be something invented by Catholic theologians because Jesus talked about it. I forcefully read some of the passages where Jesus did, and concluded that hell couldn’t possibly be the invention of an apostate church.
I now believe that while the Western concept of hell found in most Christian denominations comes primarily through Roman Catholicism, the roots of this doctrine go much deeper. Yet none of our concepts of hell can be found in the teaching of Jesus Christ! The purpose of this study is to briefly analyze Jesus’ teaching on hell (more correctly gehenna, the Greek word for which hell is given), to see whether these popular concepts are grounded therein.
A Plea for Open-Mindedness as We Begin
If we strive for open-mindedness and truly want to know what the Bible teaches, the following quotation will help us in our search:
We do not start our Christian lives by working out our faith for ourselves; it is mediated to us by Christian tradition, in the form of sermons, books and established patterns of church life and fellowship. We read our Bibles in the light of what we have learned from these sources; we approach Scripture with minds already formed by the mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the Church and the world. It is easy to be unaware that it has happened; it is hard even to begin to realize how profoundly tradition in this sense has molded us. But we are forbidden to become enslaved to human tradition, either secular or Christian, whether it be “catholic” tradition, or “critical” tradition, or “ecumenical” tradition. We may never assume the complete rightness of our own established ways of thought and practice and excuse ourselves the duty of testing and reforming them by Scriptures. (J. I. Packer, “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God [Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1958], pp. 69-70.)
Of course, Packer just reminds us of Biblical injunctions to test everything proposed for our belief. For example, in 2 Cor. 13:5, Paul told the Corinthians:
Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves.
Likewise, in Eph. 5:8-10, Paul commanded the Ephesian Christians to be involved in such testing:
for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord, walk as children of light, proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord.
In New Testament times, one was only a disciple of Christ when he was willing to examine himself, his beliefs, and everything proposed for his belief as a child of light. Nothing less is required now.
Hell vs. Sheol and Hades
We first begin by eliminating the problem the King James Version of the Bible introduced to this study by indiscriminately translating three different words in the Bible as hell: sheol, hades, and gehenna.
Sheol Used of Unseen
In the Old Testament, the word for which hell is given in the King James Version is sheol, a word whose root meaning is “unseen.” The King James Version translates sheol as “hell” 31 times, “the grave” 31 times (since someone in the grave is unseen), and “the pit” three times.
Yet in the Old Testament sheol was not exclusively a place of punishment, for faithful Jacob was there (Gen. 37:35, 42:38, 44:29, 31). Righteous Job also longed for it in Job 14:13. David spoke of going to sheol in Ps. 49:15 and Jesus went there, Ps. 16:10 and Acts 2:24-31. In all these cases, these men were “unseen” because they were dead.
Sheol Used of National Judgments
Many times the Bible uses the word sheol of national judgments, i.e., the vanishing of a nation. In Isa. 14:13, 15, Isaiah said Babylon would go to sheol, and she vanished. In Ezk. 26:19-21, Tyre so vanished in sheol. Likewise, in the New Testament, in Mt. 11:23, 12:41, Lk. 10:15, and 11:29-32, Jesus said that Capernaum would so disappear. These nations and cities didn’t go to a particular location, but they were going to disappear, and they did. They were destroyed. Thus, sheol is used commonly of national judgments in both the Old and New Testaments.
Hades Used of Anything Unseen
The New Testament equivalent of sheol is hades, which occurs only eleven times. Like its synonym sheol, the King James Version translates the word “hell.” However, the correct translation is hades, or the unseen. The Bible doesn’t use hades exclusively for a place of punishment. Luke 16 pictures righteous Lazarus there. Acts 2:27, 31 says Jesus went there. In 1 Cor. 15:55, Paul used the same word when he said, “O grave, where is thy victory?” In Rev. 1:18, Jesus said he had the controlling keys of death and hades, the unseen, and in Rev. 6:8, death and hades followed the pale horse. Finally, in Rev. 20:13, 14, death and hades gave up the dead that were in them, and were then cast into the lake of fire. These verses illustrate that hades refers to anything that is unseen.
Hades Used of National Judgment
Like its companion word in the Old Testament, hades was also plainly used of national judgments in the New Testament. In Mt. 11:23 and Lk. 10:15, Jesus said Capernaum would go down into hades, i.e., it was going to vanish. In Mt. 12:41 and Lk. 11:29-32, Jesus said his generation of Jews was going to fall.
About hades in Greek mythology, Edward Fudge said:
"In Greek mythology Hades was the god of the underworld, then the name of the nether world itself. Charon ferried the souls of the dead across the rivers Styx or Acheron into this abode, where the watchdog Cerberus guarded the gate so none might escape. The pagan myth contained all the elements for medieval eschatology: there was the pleasant Elyusium, the gloomy and miserable tartarus, and even the Plains of Asphodel, where ghosts could wander who were suited for neither of the above...The word hades came into biblical usage when the Septuagint translators chose it to represent the Hebrew sheol, an Old Testament concept vastly different from the pagan Greek notions just outlined. Sheol, too, received all the dead...but the Old Testament has no specific division there involving either punishment or reward." (Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes [Houston: Providential Press, 1982], p. 205.)
We need to make sure that our ideas concerning hades come from the Bible and not Greek mythology. We have no problem using sheol the way the Old Testament used it, or hades, as the New Testament used it. Both refer to the dead who are unseen, and to national judgments.
Tartarus Is Also Translated Hell In the King James Version
In 2 Pet. 2:4, we read:
For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness who were being punished when II Peter was written, to show that God knew how to treat disobedience among angels. It says nothing about fire, torment, pain, punishment of anyone else, or that it will last forever. It simply doesn’t pertain to our subject.
The Popular Concept of Hell Unknown to the Old Testament
Before we move to the gospel’s teaching on hell, we want to think further concerning that the word gehenna (popularly mistranslated hell, as we’ll see) didn’t occur in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint. Let’s take a few paragraphs to let the significance of that fact soak in. In previous editions of this material, I merely remarked that prominent Old Testament characters like David and Abraham never heard the term or its equivalent. They were never threatened with eternal torment in hell or heard anything like our popular concept now. However, Gehenna’s absence in the Old Testament is a much more serious omission than that. (The concepts in this section are suggested by Thomas B. Thayer in his 1855 Edition of Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment.)
Before the Mosaic Law
Adam and Eve in the Garden
When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he never mentioned the concept of eternal torment to them. Read for yourself--it’s just not there. Don’t you think it strange that as human history began on this planet, while God explained which tree they could not eat of, that he didn’t give the parents of all mankind some kind of warning about eternal punishment, if there was potential for it to be in their future, and the future of all their posterity?
Most of us think eternal torment will engulf the vast majority of mankind, nearly all of Adam and Eve’s descendents, yet here’s a father, God, who didn’t warn his children of the potential of what might befall them. What would you think of a father who told his young child not to ride his bike in the street, and if he did, he would get a spanking. Suppose he also planned to roast him over a roaring fire for fifty years? After he spanked him, would you think him a just father for not warning his child? Can you think of an apology or a defense for him? Yet to Adam and Eve, the father of all mankind failed to mention a much greater punishment than the death they would die the day they ate of the forbidden tree. Was this just a slip of the mind on God’s part, to not mention at all the interminable terrible woes that lay ahead for the vast majority of their descendants? No, God announced to them a tangible present punishment the very day they committed the sin: “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” They found |
of Ohio's DUI plate mandated on DUI offenders with limited driving rights.
In New Jersey, people convicted of drunk driving can be banned from using vanity plates. In Ohio, convicted drunk drivers are mandated to drive with special red-on-yellow license plates in exchange for limited driving privileges such as work. In Georgia and Minnesota, drunk drivers may be ordered to display a plate with a special numbering system indicating restricted driving privileges.[78]
Professional and governmental plates [ edit ]
Many states issue license plates to members of certain professions who require some sort of special privileges, such as parking or going behind police lines. Examples include plates for members of the press, doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, volunteer firemen, judges, medical examiners, and elected officials.[79]
Department-specific examples [ edit ]
2015 US Government license plate
1950 US Government license plate
Vehicles owned by a branch of the U.S. military may have a license plate issued by that branch of the military, although some utility vehicles will have no license plate at all, only an identification number applied directly to the body. The United States Postal Service adopts the same practice, especially for its delivery trucks. Vehicles owned by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will have plates issued by the GSA in standard format. U.S. Government plates starting with "P" are USPS vehicles.
In the United States, all states issue some special sort of license plate for vehicles which are owned by state and local governments, and the federal government issues plates for vehicles it owns, except for many belonging to the United States Postal Service, many of which use no plates. For the most part, the plates are similar to the regular passenger plates, except with a separate numbering sequence and/or with a message such as "government", "official", "state owned", "municipal", or "exempt" (from registration fees) replacing the slogan.
State-specific examples [ edit ]
Some states use a distinctive color scheme to differentiate the plates from the regular issue. For example, in Virginia, state government license plates use the format "12-345S" and have a light blue background, while local government license plates use the format "123-456L" and have a tan background. The standard issue has a white background and a different numbering scheme. In Vermont, municipal government plates have a red background instead of the usual green background; State Police plates are green with yellow lettering instead of white, matching the color scheme of VSP patrol vehicles.
In Florida, government vehicles have a black-on-yellow scheme.
California Exempt plate California diamond Exempt plate California octagon Exempt plate
Old California government plates have the letter "E" inside of either an octagon or a diamond, which are no longer issued, but still valid. Old government vehicles will either have a diamond or octagon before 6 random digits while newer government vehicles say ¨CA EXEMPT" at the top of the license plate in red instead of the regular ¨California¨ in red cursive and will have 7 random digits.[80]
In Colorado, government vehicles affix a "GVT" code vertically before the plate number.
Governmental vehicles in North Carolina are issued permanent black-on-yellow (state-owned) or black-on-orange/aluminum (all other governmental) license plates, however vehicles belonging to the State Highway Patrol are sometimes registered with normal passenger car plates or with special vanity plates (with stamped years instead of stickers) similar to normal plates, with the prefix SHP before a unique number. Government vehicles with black-on-orange/aluminum are the police (including sheriff and undercover police vehicles), school buses, public transportation buses, postal services, and county vehicles.
Pennsylvania issues a white on blue (blue on white on earlier plates, some still in use) plate for state-owned vehicles (PA prefix/suffix which carry the OFFICIAL USE legend), municipal (MG prefix or suffix) and vehicles that are owned by Penn State, which carry the STATE UNIVERSITY legend. State-owned and Penn State-owned vehicles are also issued front plates, as are press photographers, however, the press photographer plates are issued on the standard base and carry a PP prefix inside a large keystone.
Government vehicles in Georgia are issued a plate in the standard design but a numbering series prefixed by "GV" and a decal on the left side of the plate indicating what type of government the plate is issued to (authority, (school) board, city, county, or state). Also, Georgia State Patrol vehicles have special-issue plates they are required to display on both the front and rear of the vehicle – most other vehicles in Georgia only have rear plates – that have an image of the GSP's patch and the trooper's badge number.
Most Washington State Patrol vehicles use the same format as passenger cars, with the exception that the letters are all "WSP". For example: 123 WSP. The format "1234 SP" may also be seen on WSP vehicles but not as common. In this format only the numbers change, with the SP (State Patrol) designation remaining constant.
The District of Columbia issues special license plates to vehicles owned by the D.C. government and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. While ambulances and other support vehicles of the District of Columbia Fire Department have special red and white plates, fire engines are not issued license plates. Vehicles belonging to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority display standard DC license plates appropriate to the class of vehicle, with special validation stickers. The transit authority police cars are issued ordinary District of Columbia passenger license plates, but the authority replaces them with self-issued number plates indicating the vehicle is with the transit police.
In Honolulu, Hawaii, the license plates on TheBus matches the fleet number of the bus they are assigned to, using a BUS-123 format. Similarly, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, Massachusetts, places license plates on their buses featuring the agency's logo (a "T" inside a circle) followed by the bus number.
Government vehicle State vehicle
Ohio's government-owned vehicles use red on white plates with the legend "City", "County", and "Government" with a special format of ABC123, and they use the legend "State Vehicle" with the format 12 3456.
Michigan uses a unique "123 X 456" format for municipal vehicles (including municipal transit buses, public school buses owned and operated by the school district, and police vehicles), "123 G 456" for "in-transit repair" vehicles, "12 D 345" for dealer vehicles, "123 M 456" for vehicles owned by manufacturers of cars, "123 T 456" for transporter vehicles[81] and "123 Y 456" for vehicles owned by non-profit agencies, such as church buses, buses of private schools, and chapters of the American Red Cross. Michigan State Police plates have the State Police shield on the left side, followed by a four-digit fleet number. The first two digits of this fleet number indicate the State Police post number where the vehicle is assigned. County sheriff plates follow the 12*345 format (the asterisk representing a six-pointed star), but feature a black background and white letters; the left two digits represent the number of the county in alphabetical order. Vehicles owned by the State of Michigan can also have a plate using the format of "MSG 1234" (where MSG stands for Michigan State Government) or a plate with the format of "X12345" with the caption "STATE GOVT" under.[81]
In New York State, local police vehicles are not issued license plates. In some cases, such as New York City, the fleet number of the vehicle is put on a flat license plate using heat transferred letters. In Yonkers, there is a special plate that appears similar to the specialized optional plates with the Yonkers Police logo and the fleet number. Other communities in the state have a license plate that looks like the regular issue vanity plate, but with the word "POLICE" on it. New York formerly indicated rental cars with the sequence beginning with "Z", but that apparently encouraged targeting by car thieves.[82]
General registration license plates [ edit ]
Many states issue special plates to automobile dealers, auto repair shops, farms, and construction contractors, which are not tied to any particular vehicle. These users typically have many more vehicles on the premises than on the public streets, and it would not be practical to register and insure each individual vehicle. So, they hold a number of "floating" registrations for however many vehicles they plan to use on the public streets simultaneously. States typically have rules about who is eligible and how the plates may be used, and may impose record keeping and audit requirements.
Diplomatic license plates [ edit ]
Diplomatic license plates are issued by the United States Department of State to accredited diplomats. This is an exception to the general rule in the U.S. that license plates are issued by states, and not the federal government. However, prior to the 1980s, diplomatic plates were issued by states, with New York issuing the most, followed by the District of Columbia.
Until 2007,[citation needed] plates issued to cars based in the District of Columbia follow the pattern of a letter identify the status of the owner, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by a four-digit number (S LL NNNN). For member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), a subset of that numbering pattern is allotted to vehicles based at those countries' missions to the OAS. Plates issued to cars based at the United Nations in New York City are reversed, with the four-digit number first, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by the status code (NNNN LL S). This is because representatives of certain countries are limited to travel to certain radii from their base, and the system allows the city of assignment to be identified easily.
The status codes used until 2007 were "C" for foreign consul; "D" for diplomat; "S" for non-diplomatic staff; and "A" for a UN employee. The status code indicates the type of diplomatic, consular, or other immunity enjoyed by the vehicle's registrant.[citation needed]
The country codes are unique to each particular country, but do not correlate to ISO Country Codes or other standards format. For example, in the old system used until 2007, France is "DJ" not "F" and Australia is "XZ" not "AUS". This is to prevent the general public from targeting diplomats from particular countries.[83]
Certain U.S. states issue honorary consul plates to U.S. citizens who have been appointed to that office and perform consular functions on a part-time basis.
For a list of serial formats of diplomatic plates, see the article about United States license plate designs and serial formats.
U.S. diplomatic license plate of the style issued until 2007
U.S. diplomatic license plate with surface-printed serial
U.S. diplomatic license plate of the style issued since 2007It’s not like the preseason game between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay on Sept. 29 needed any promotion to sell out—the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, PA seats just 4,001 fans, after all—but that didn’t stop the Penguins from having a little fun with it anyway.
The rink, after all, is is part of hockey lore as the home of the Charlestown Chiefs in the 1977 classic Slap Shot, a film that every player worth his salt has memorized front to back. And Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-André Fleury can prove it.
The Pens keeper and Dan Potash of ROOT Sports were enlisted for a remake of the classic opening scene from the film in which French-Canadian goaltender Denis Lemieux explains the rules of the game to broadcaster Jim Carr. And Fleury ownz it. He ownnnzzz it.
Anyone else jonesing for a sequel with Sidney Crosby as Reg Dunlop and Phil Kessel as Ned Braden?Champions League edition
Having missed the first leg when it was shown live, and then having to sit through the full coverage knowing the gory details of our Keystone indiscretion, well…it was far from being anywhere near an enjoyable 90 minutes. I sat uncomfortably, shifting around unable to stop myself from endless disapproving nodding of the head, gasping, tirades of swearing interspersed with the word 'unbelievable'. There was more face palming than Jean Luc Picard would do on a day that would have the Borg attack Federation outposts whilst Data experienced an identity crisis and the holo-decks malfunctioned. Again.
The opening 30 minutes were very much akin to the French film Irréversible, directed by Gaspar Noé. You know the one. Some of the most uneasy viewing you could possibly ever imagine having to endure. A tormenting battering and brutal penetration leaving a dejected body, physically and mentally destroyed on the ground. And that was just the football and Michael Dawson. Don't even get me started on the film and that scene in the underpass.
But unlike Monica Bellucci's character, we are not left for dead beyond recognition (can this blog post get any more bad taste? Yes it can, hold tight). We have been embarrassed, almost humiliated. It could have been far worse, but it wasn't, and 3-2 may as well be 1-0 to them, except it isn't because we have two away goals, so the advantage is with us. It has to be with us. How could we possibly not score at the Lane? Unless we get served up a lasagne the night before, hand delivered from the Marriott Hotel by David Dein. There is simply no excuse for anything less than a convincing victory and safe passage through to the gold-paved roads of the group stages.
Perhaps in the first game we underestimated the task ahead. I know many of us did when we heard the draw. It was the best draw we could have hoped for, but not anywhere near as easy as it looked on paper. But then, that's naivety on our part. I mean, it’s a team from Switzerland, no? How could they handle a 100mph EPL club? Handle them well they did. Artificial pitch? Yes it did have a slight influence on the game, the way the ball zinged and pinged around and the way our players failed to take to it. Wasn't so much a subconscious lapse because you could visibly see them panic and freeze. Our defenders slowed down to a snails pace whilst YB cut through us like a hot axe through a cockerel made entirely of butter. I guess we were unprepared, which is scandalous considering what's at stake, but it's happened and can never be changed, so redemption is with making sure it doesn't happen again.
The more you look back the more disparaged you will feel about our initial inability to cope with the occasion. It was a choke. A combination of Harry's heimlich manoeuvre, a couple of wasteful finishes by the hosts and Pav's scorcher saving the day.
And so onwards we go into the do or die game at the Lane. Lessons learnt. The biggest game in our history, ever. Failure would mean a distinct lack of DVD releases. No 'Barcelona 0 Spurs 1' diamond encrusted club shop exclusive. No special edition Opus with it's extra glossy CL chapter with players bum-slapping each other in the changing rooms whilst Bentley and JJ dunk Harry in the bath. No doubt, over in East London, the streets will be packed with people eating and drinking like it was the Coronation all over again, another glorious chapter in their history written, statues built etc etc. Sky Sports News would probably petition to have the day extended from twenty-four hours to forty-eight so they can enjoy running the same headline long into the night.
Screw all this.
COYS. To dare is to do stuff. Positive stuff. It's no exaggeration to say that simply being there, in the groups, will be monumental in terms of stature. Sure, it might turn out to be a seasons worth of adventures, but it's one I want to experience. To push on, the players need to want it just as much. No sympathetic apologetic dejection thank you very much. Leave all that boxed up sitting next to the Ark of the Covenant in some warehouse somewhere.
But this Spurs side doesn't dwell in the past. Harry has instilled an ethic that does not disappoint when our backs are up against it.
Let's get the potential injuries out the way first. Modric, dos Santos, Pav, Keane - all apparently no-go's. King should return and apparently so will Defoe. I have a feeling (I hope) the injury plight is not half as bad as it looks, Harry mind games, with our players rested rather than risked away to Stoke.
There's also question marks surrounding our lack of goals from forwards. But the season is but two games old. And even if we do have one or two key players missing, we have enough quality, on grass, at home, to do to the Young Boys what they did to us.
They are smart, they might consider defending in numbers and counter-attacking. Frustrate us much like one or two managed last season. But do they have the class and belief to handle life outside of their plastic fantastic? The longer the game goes on with no goal then the more it will play on our minds, on the pitch and in the stands. This won't be easy. But then again the sheer noise the home faithful will make on the return of a glory glory night at the Lane, I can't think of anything better to settle the nerves of the players. YB have travelled to Turkey and won, so they won't be scared of the hallelujahs and drumming.
This is what it's all about. These types of pressures, expectations. Get use to it. The players should be loving the adrenalin rush. There's no hiding place. There is, but it's not an option. You either want it and go out and get it or you simply disappear into a dark corner and shake uncontrollably till you pass out. Everyone who isn't Lilywhite will want us to lose, more than ever. Embrace the hate. It means we're doing something right.
Early goal. An early goal will be perfect. I don't actually think they'll going to sit back, so I can't imagine them defending for 90 minutes. I reckon they will try to seek out an away goal positively knowing that if they succeed the game will open up for them because the pressure will be on us to try and claw something back. Which will leave them to be even more adventurous. If they do defend, then patience is key.
But worrying about the opposition is a wasteful exercise. Worrying about all the various possible scenarios that might play out is equally wasteful. When Monica Bellucci is confronted in the underpass, how different things would have been had she pulled out a gun from her handbag and shot the bastard in the face.
See, we might have been caught short on their patch. But on home territory, under the floodlights, we'll be gripping firearms like bloodthirsty assassins, firing bullets, ripping flesh off the bone till all that’s left is dog food.
Harry made some astute changes in the first game. This time round, we'll be as full strength as selection will allow us. Meaning Huddlestone will start. King will bring some much required calm at the back. Then there's the Kraken. No turning to stone for young Gareth. Bale, the beast, the stud, the Dark Knight, the best left-sided left-winger in the country (What? Yes, I did just say that, f**k you if you don't agree).
It's time to step up again. It's the life we have chosen for ourselves. Step up and cut through them like a hot knife through Swiss chocolate. A white hot knife, in a room with the air con off and radiators on full whack. In fact, the chocolate is in the oven when the knife does the damage. I want to swim in their chocolate blood.
We have the opportunity to be a part of the elite and kick the ball around in their playground. I don't care about ifs and buts about us being out of our depth if we get there. What a load of boll*cks. I want this more than I want Jessica Alba tied and gagged in my basement.
Get at them. Get at them the way we got at Man City, and get at them some more by finding the target, with no remorse. We've had far more tricky games recently. Far bigger tests of our guile and mentality. We didn't choke. I don't expect us to choke on Wednesday. I expect us to unzip and make them choke on us. Young Boys of Bern. We're going to hurt you. We're going to come from behind and beat you, beat you bad.
Ooh. Kenneth Williams would be proud.
COYFS. To dare is to f**king do.Introduction
This is the second part of the InstaElm tutorial where we create an Instagram clone in the Elm programming language to demonstrate how a real world project is implemented in Elm. We're focusing on inter-operation with other JavaScript code and being able to interact
with an API server written in Node.js and using the Hapi.js library.
In the previous tutorial we covered the basics of the Elm Architecture
and how to create nested components.
What You Will Learn
You will learn:
How to set up a Hapi.js server that serves fake API data
How to get data from JavaScript into an Elm module with ports
How to send a message from an Elm module to JavaScript to fetch more API data
Setup
In the previous part of the tutorial, we detailed how to set up Elm, but for this part of the tutorial we only have to install Hapi.js and the Inert plugin which is used for serving static files and directories.
To do that, we run this command:
npm install --save hapi inert
Creating an API server with Hapi: server.js
Before we do anything in Elm, let's create our API server. The API
server will serve data about photos that will be displayed in the
photo grid.
Importing Hapi.js
In the file server.js we start by importing the hapi module:
var Hapi = require('hapi');
Creating the server
Then we create a server that loads on port 3000:
var server = new Hapi.Server(); server.connection({ port: 3000 });
The GET photos data route
The first route will be serving data about the photos to a GET request that accesses the /photos/ URL. The data will have to match the record type that we defined in the first part of the tutorial (in the
PhotoView.elm file). We're going to return the data for two photos,
the first photo will have no comments while the second photo will have one photo.
server.route({ method: 'GET', path: '/photos/', handler: function(request, reply) { var photos = { 'photos': [ { user: 'User', location: 'Some City', likesCount: 123, commentsCount: 0, comments: [], url: 'webinar-ad.png' }, { user: 'Another User', location: 'Another City', likesCount: 987, commentsCount: 11, comments: [{ user: 'User', message: 'Awesome photo!' }], url: 'webinar-ad.png' } ] }; reply(photos); } });
Liking a photo with a POST request
The second route will be accepting a POST request to the URL /like/
that will increase the number of likes on a photo. It has one
parameter: the URL of the photo.
server.route({ method: 'POST', path: '/like/', handler: function(request, reply) { reply({ result: 'added like to photo with url:'+ request.payload.photo }); } });
The parameters passed to the request are in the request.payload
object. We're going to reply with a message that says everything ok.
Serving the index.html and other static files
To simplify things, we're going to use the Hapi server to also serve
the static files in our project. Those static files are:
index.html : The bootstrap file that loads up our JavaScript, CSS
and embeds the photo grid into the page.
: The bootstrap file that loads up our JavaScript, CSS and embeds the photo grid into the page. instaelm.js : The compiled InstaElm project (currently compiled
with only Main.elm, but later in this tutorial we will compile other
modules into it).
: The compiled InstaElm project (currently compiled with only Main.elm, but later in this tutorial we will compile other modules into it). style.css : Common CSS styles for all devices.
: Common CSS styles for all devices. style-desktop.css : CSS style for desktop screens.
: CSS style for desktop screens. style-laptop.css : CSS style for laptop screens.
: CSS style for laptop screens. webinar-ad.png : An example photo.
Here's how we serve those files with Hapi:
server.register(require('inert'), function(err) { if (err) { throw err; } server.route({ method: 'GET', path: '/{param*}', handler: { directory: { path: '.' } } }); });
We're simply serving all files from the project's directory using
Hapi's directory handler. The route is created when the inert plugin is registered and loaded into Hapi. This is not recommended for a production setup but in our case, we can live with it to ensure
everything is working properly.
Starting the server
We start the server like this:
server.start(function(err) { if (err) { throw err; } console.log('Server running at:'+ server.info.uri); });
It will output the URL and port number of the API server when it
starts running, otherwise, it throws an error.
Running the API server
We can run the server.js file by running:
node server.js
Now we're ready to make API calls from our web app.
Visit http://localhost:3000/ and you will see that the index.html has loaded up along with the JavaScript and stylesheets.
Using ports for data transfer between Elm and JavaScript
Now let's set up the methods that will make API requests. After that,
we can set up the Elm module for the photo grid with a port so that we can load data into it.
Loading jQuery
First, we need to load jQuery. We're going to add the following line
right before the "instaelm.js" script tag:
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.1.1.min.js"></script>
It's jQuery loaded from the official jQuery CDN website.
Making requests with jQuery AJAX: index.html
We're going to replace the current JavaScript code in index.html
with some new code that will make a request for photos from the API
server and that will allow us to "like" a photo.
Making a POST request to like a photo
Here's the code for liking a photo:
function likePhoto(photoUrl) { var payload = { photo: photoUrl }; $.post('/like/', payload, function(data) { alert(data.result); }); }
We'll have to implement this in Elm on the photo view component so
that when we like a photo, it will trigger this API request.
We can test that this works by calling the likePhoto function with
some sample data:
likePhoto('test url', 'test user');
It will display an alert dialog box in the browser that shows the
response from the API server.
Making a GET request to fetch photos
Now here's the code for fetching a list of photos from the API server
to display in the photo grid:
function getPhotos(onSuccessCallback) { $.getJSON('/photos/', {}, function(data) { onSuccessCallback(data.photos); }); }
We pass in a callback function that will be called when the GET
request was successful. We are passing the result to the callback
function. This makes it easy for us to test this API request and to
hook it into Elm.
Here's how we would test this API function:
getPhotos(function(photos) { alert('There are'+ photos.length +'photos to render'); });
Loading data into Elm with ports: Main.elm
To load data into Elm, we're going to create a port. Ports can be
used to access Elm data from JavaScript and can be used to send data
into Elm.
As the documentation says,
Sending values out to JS is a command. Listening for values coming in from JS is a subscription.
Declaring a port module
In Main.elm we're going to change the module declaration to declare that this module has ports:
port module Main exposing (..)
Replacing the beginnerProgram with program
Then we replace the main function with the following code:
main = program { init = init, view = view, update = update, subscriptions = subscriptions }
We remove the main function definition because we are no longer
going to be using the beginnerProgram function. We change the
beginnerProgram to program when importing Html.App.
Defining an init function
We now have to define an init function. It will be returning the
model that we already defined for use as the initial model to display.
init : (Model, Cmd Msg) init = (model, Cmd.none)
The init function is a tuple of two items; the model, and a
message. This lets us initialize a component in a way that triggers
an event. Very useful when we're loading up data as soon as the
component is loaded into the DOM.
In this case, we don't want to send any message and just want to use
the example data in the model that we already have defined.
Defining the subscriptions
The subscriptions function also needs to be defined. It sets up the
port photos with the message that it will send whenever it is
updated:
subscriptions : Model -> Sub Msg subscriptions model = photos UpdatePhotos
We're going to call our message UpdatePhotos and we'll have
to add it to the Msg type alongside the OpenPhoto and ClosePhoto messages.
Updating the Msg type
Let's add the UpdatePhotos message to the Msg type:
type Msg = OpenPhoto Photo | ClosePhoto | UpdatePhotos (List Photo)
Now that we've added a new Msg type, we're going to have to update our update function to handle the UpdatePhotos message.
We also need to need to update the function because the type signature changed when we switched from Html.App.beginnerProgram to Html.App.program. The current type signature of update accepts a Model argument and then returns a Model object. We need to change the type signature to accept a Model argument and then return a tuple containing the updated model and the message to pass along (this is useful when we want to update the model and trigger other
messages). We also need to change the return values to include
Cmd.none :
update : Msg -> Model -> (Model, Cmd Msg) update msg model = case msg of OpenPhoto photo -> ({ model | photoOpened = Just photo }, Cmd.none) ClosePhoto -> ({ model | photoOpened = Nothing }, Cmd.none) UpdatePhotos newPhotos -> ({ model | photos = newPhotos }, Cmd.none)
When the update function receives the message UpdatePhotos, it will modify the field photos of the existing model to show the new set of photos.
Re-compile and call getPhotos in index.html
Now we can recompile the code: elm make Main.elm --output instaelm.js
And then, in index.html, we have to store the result of embedding
Elm.Main and then initiate a call to getPhotos with a callback that
will update the photo grid component in Elm:
// index.html var node = document.getElementById("main"); var main = Elm.Main.embed(node); setTimeout(function() { getPhotos(function(photos) { main.ports.photos.send(photos); });, 300);
To access the port, we store a reference to the embedded Main
component. Then, after the API request is finished, we use the send
function of the photos port to send a message from JavaScript into
Elm with the data.
We're using setTimeout to load the photos after a few seconds.
Using Flags to initialize the data model
An alternative to this is using Html.App.programWithFlags which lets us pass in "flags" that are used to build up the initial data model. This would allow us to load the photos from the server and then, as soon as it is finished loading, we could insert the Main photo grid component into the DOM with the photo data.
Let's just go ahead and replace the previous code in index.html with the following:
var node = document.getElementById("main"); var main; getPhotos(function(photos) { main = Elm.Main.embed(node, { name:'hello', photos: photos }); });
In the above code snippet, in the callback function passed to
getPhotos, we will be inserting the photo grid ( Elm.Main ) in the
DOM and supplying it with flags (the initial parameters of the
component).
Since we're using programWithFlags we have to change our main
function in Main.elm to use programWithFlags instead of program and we have to change the init function to accept the flags parameter:
import Html.App exposing (programWithFlags) main = programWithFlags { init = init, view = view, update = update, subscriptions = subscriptions } type alias Flags = { photos : List Photo, name : String } init : Flags -> (Model, Cmd Msg) init flags = ({ model | photos = flags.photos, name = flags.name }, Cmd.none)
To make our code clearer, we also defined a type alias called Flags
which makes it easy to see which flags can be used when initializing
the component. In this case, we want the initial list of photos to
load and the name of the profile that we're loading (this is to keep
things simple and you can add more program flags if you like).
Now, let's re-compile the code. What we should see happen is that the
page loads, the API request is made and as soon as it is finished, the
photo grid component is inserted into the DOM.
Using Elm to send messages to other JavaScript code: Main.elm, index.html
Now that we can pass data into an Elm component, we also want to send data from Elm back to other JavaScript code. We want to be able to click the "Like" button after opening a photo in the PhotoView and
have that trigger a jQuery AJAX request to our API server.
First we update LikePhoto message to accept an argument and update references to that message in the nested PhotoView component. Then we set up the message handling from the PhotoView into the Main component's update function. Then we create and use an additional port to send messages back to JavaScript and trigger an event. Finally, we respond to the event with some jQuery code to send the liked photo's data to the API server.
Updating the LikePhoto message to accept an argument
In the PhotoView component, we need to update the Msg types that we have defined, in particular we have to re-define the LikePhoto type to accept a Photo record type as an argument:
type Msg = LikePhoto Photo | SubmitComment String | CloseModal
Then we update the function that renders the "like" button:
likeButton : Photo -> Html Msg likeButton photo = div [ class "like-button", onClick (LikePhoto photo) ] [ text "Like This Photo" ]
We must also update the sidebarTop and sidebar rendering
functions.
The sidebarTop function needs to accept a Photo record rather than just the user's name and the photo's location:
-- PhotoView.elm sidebarTop : Photo -> Html Msg sidebarTop photo = div [ class "sidebar-top" ] [ div [ class "photo-info" ] [ div [ class "user" ] [ text photo.user ], div [ class "location" ] [ text photo.location ] ], div [ class "photo-actions" ] [ followButton, likeButton photo ] ]
The function call to sidebarTop will be updated to support that:
-- PhotoView.elm sidebar : Photo -> Html Msg sidebar photo = div [ class "sidebar" ] [ sidebarTop photo, sidebarCount photo.likesCount photo.commentsCount, sidebarComments photo.commentsCount photo.comments ]
In hindsight, it might have been better to pass in the whole Photo
record to the sidebarCount and sidebarComment functions rather than the specific fields from the record. As you learn Elm, you will find different ways to define functions that suit your purposes and
refactoring is simple and safer than usual thanks to the Elm compiler's type checking.
Mapping PhotoView messages to be handled in the photo grid: Main.elm
The messages that the PhotoView sends are exclusive to the PhotoView module, they are of the type PhotoView.Msg. The same is true in the photo grid in Main.elm, the Msg type in that file is exclusive to that module.
The types are two different types and so we have to map the PhotoView.Msg types into the Main.Msg to be able to handle them with our update function.
We have to add the PhotoViewMsg as a new type that accepts a
PhotoView.Msg message:
-- Main.elm type Msg = OpenPhoto Photo | ClosePhoto | UpdatePhotos (List Photo) | PhotoViewMsg PhotoView.Msg
To render the PhotoView, we now have to update the photoView
function so that the PhotoView messages are mapped to the PhotoViewMsg type:
-- Main.elm photoView : String -> Photo -> Html Msg photoView newComment photoOpened = let model = { photo = photoOpened, newComment = newComment, showCloseButton = True } in model |> PhotoView.view |> Html.App.map PhotoViewMsg
This is done using the Html.App.map function. Without this, Elm will not compile our file because the types will not match (PhotoView.Msg is not the same as Msg).
Sending the LikePhoto message from Elm through a port
In our update function we have to handle case of PhotoView
messages like CloseModal and LikePhoto being received:
-- Main.elm update : Msg -> Model -> (Model, Cmd Msg) update msg model = case msg of OpenPhoto photo -> ({ model | photoOpened = Just photo }, Cmd.none) ClosePhoto -> ({ model | photoOpened = Nothing }, Cmd.none) UpdatePhotos newPhotos -> ({ model | photos = newPhotos }, Cmd.none) PhotoViewMsg msg -> case msg of PhotoView.SubmitComment comment -> (model, Cmd.none) PhotoView.CloseModal -> update ClosePhoto model PhotoView.LikePhoto { url } -> (model, likePhoto url)
All messages that will be sent and received through the photo grid
component and the nested photo view component need to be handled by the update function, whether or not they make any changes to the model.
Let's take a closer look at what happens when the main photo grid
component receives the LikePhoto message from the PhotoView
component:
update msg model = case msg of PhotoViewMsg msg -> case msg of PhotoView.LikePhoto { url } -> (model, likePhoto url)
The message received is of the type PhotoViewMsg and has one
parameter, the msg which is of the type PhotoView.Msg. The case that matches when we send LikePhoto is the PhotoView.LikePhoto case |
can be found in a case decided in 1996 known as Ogilvie Et Al., Minors v. United States, 519 U.S. 79 (1996). Justice Breyer’s majority opinion in that case stated that when the Court discusses a certain “…reason as an ‘independent’ ground in support of our decision”, then that reasoning is not simply dictum:
“Although we gave other reasons for our holding in Schleier as well, we explicitly labeled this reason an ‘independent’ ground in support of our decision, id., at 334. We cannot accept petitioners’ claim that it was simply a dictum.”
The syllabus of the Minor case lists the following as one of the holdings:
2. In that sense, women, of born of citizen parents within the jurisdiction of the United States, have always been considered citizens of the United States, as much so before the adoption of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution as since.
The fact that that decision is listed in the syllabus of the case is evidence that the Court considered its decision on the citizenship question to be a precedent-setting holding, and not a dictum.
The fact that the Minor court used the fact that the petitioner was a US citizen without recourse to the first sentence of the 14th Amendment as one of the independent grounds for their other principal holding regarding the right to vote makes that decision a precedent-setting holding, according the principles established in Ogilvie.
Therefore, the citizenship holding in Minor is binding US Supreme Court precedent. Although the second principal holding regarding the right to vote was later mooted by the 19th Amendment, the first principal holding regarding the basis for establishing US citizenship without any reliance on the 14th Amendment still stands as binding Supreme Court precedent which has never been overturned nor obviated by subsequent Amendments to the Constitution.
The reason this is so important is because in the Minor decision, the Supreme Court didn’t just decide that a woman was a citizen, it made that decision by providing its official interpretation of the phrase “natural born citizen,” specifically referencing the qualifications to be US President from Article II section 1, and then applying the definition of “natural born citizen” to the petitioner and coming to the conclusion that she satisfies all the conditions to be a “natural born citizen.” Here’s the text:
Additions might always be made to the citizenship of the United States in two ways: first, by birth, and second, by naturalization. This is apparent from the Constitution itself, for it provides [n6] that “no person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President,” [n7] and that Congress shall have power “to establish a uniform rule of naturalization.” Thus new citizens may be born or they may be created by naturalization.The Constitution does not, in words, say who shall be natural-born citizens. Resort must be had elsewhere to ascertain that. At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners. …
So there it is. In plain, unambiguous language. The Supreme Court defined “natural born citizens” as “all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens.” It should be noted that, at the time, wives were deemed to automatically acquire the citizenship of their husbands, and out-of-wedlock births were relatively rare. So the issue of children born to parents who didn’t share the same citizenship would have been uncommon. But the Court did not need to worry about that issue in Minor, because the petitioner was born in the US to parents both of whom were citizens. The Court, by finding that the petitioner was a “natural born citizen,” necessarily also established that the petitioner was a citizen, without any need to consider the first sentence of the 14th Amendment. For that reason, the fact that, even before the ratification of the 14th Amendment, there might have been many who would have been citizens but not “natural born citizens,” was not an issue before the Court, and so was not an issue that the Court needed to consider or resolve.
Note that the Court states that “natural born citizens” are distinct from “aliens or foreigners.” That’s actually a very important semantic distinction. To see why, it is necessary to understand the 18th-century common law meanings of the words alien and foreigner:
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, the word “foreigner” can be used in a municipal context and in an international context. In a municipal context, anyone who is not a member of a community is a “foreigner” in that community. In an international context, anyone owing allegiance to a foreign state or sovereign is a “foreigner”:
FOREIGNER. In old English law, this term, when used with reference to a particular city, designated any person who was not an inhabitant of that city. According to later usage, it denotes a person who is not a citizen or subject of the state or country of which mention is made, or any one owing allegiance to a foreign state or sovereign. (Henry Campbell Black, A Dictionary of Law, First Edition, 1891, p.506)
In 2009, the Berkeley Journal of International Law published a comprehensive historical analysis of the words “foreigner” and “alien”, as used in English and American legal writings during the late eighteenth century. Research by Anderson Berry found that the word “foreigner”, when used in an international context, has a general meaning and a specific meaning. In the general sense, anyone who was born in a foreign country or is a citizen or subject of a foreign country is a “foreigner”. But in the specific sense, “foreigner” is used in contradistinction to “alien”.
…the overwhelming majority of sources available to the drafters of the judicial bill [of 1789] define an “alien” as an individual who: 1) is foreign-born, and 2) resides in a sovereign’s territory other than the one where he was born. A “foreigner” is defined as an individual who: 1) is foreign-born, or more specifically, is a foreign citizen or subject, or 2) is a foreign-born individual residing extraterritorially [outside the sovereign’s territory]. (Berry, pp.337-8)
“Aliens” are persons who relocate permanently to one country, while they are still citizens or subjects of some other country. Presumably, aliens intend to renounce their allegiance to their country of origin and become naturalized citizens of the country of their new permanent residence. In contrast, “foreigners” are temporary visitors who retain citizenship and permanent residence in their home country and intend to someday return to their home country [32].
In the general sense, the eighteenth-century meaning of “foreigner” was not limited to persons born in a foreign country. If you are a citizen or subject of a foreign country, you are a “foreigner,” regardless of your residence or place of birth.
So someone who is a citizen of the United States could be also an alien, if he or she retains or acquires foreign citizenship, and could also be a foreigner if he or she was born outside the United States—even if the person no longer had any foreign citizenship. Note also that a US citizen born in the US could become an alien simply by acquiring foreign citizenship. So the fact that the Supreme Court has defined “natural born citizens” as distinct from “aliens or foreigners” excludes anyone who either has foreign citizenship or was not born in the United States from qualifying as a “natural born citizen.”
The Court, in the interest of completeness, does continue to discuss the fact that yet other persons could be citizens who didn’t qualify as “natural born citizens,” but that discussion is dicta, because it was not used as grounds for any of their holdings in the case. But they also explicitly state that such questions have no relevance to the case before them. The issue on which the court was focusing was whether or nor the petitioner was a citizen regardless of the first sentence of the 14th Amendment. The definition of “natural born citizen” was relevant solely because a) Article II, section 1 establishes “natural born citizen” as the strictest class of citizenship, and b) anyone who qualifies as a “natural born citizen” necessarily qualifies as a citizen. So the Court immediately continued (starting with the next sentence following the immediately preceding quote from the Minor decision):
… Some authorities go further and include as citizens [Note, not as “natural born citizens”] children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their parents. As to this class there have been doubts [regarding citizenship, but not regarding “natural born citizenship”], but never as to the first [because anyone who qualifies as a “natural born citizen” is a citizen beyond dispute]. For the purposes of this case it is not necessary to solve these doubts. It is sufficient for everything we have now to consider that all children born of citizen parents within the jurisdiction are themselves citizens. The words “all children” are certainly as comprehensive, when used in this connection, as “all persons,” and if females are included in the last they must be in the first. That they are included in the last is not denied. In fact the whole argument of the plaintiffs proceeds upon that idea.
So the Supreme Court notes in passing (dicta) that those who satisfy some, but not all, of the qualifications of a “natural born citizen” may nevertheless qualify as citizens. But since the petitioner satisfied the definition of a “natural born citizen,” there was no need to consider whether any lesser standards of citizenship could be used to assign citizenship, with or without recourse to the 14th Amendment. Therefore, they exercised proper judicial restraint and left those questions undecided.
Note also that, since the citizenship issue in Minor was decided by defining “natural born citizen” based on the text of Article II, section 1, but the citizenship issue in Wong Kim Ark was decided based on the first sentence of the 14th Amendment, the two decisions do not conflict with each other. Therefore, Wong Kim Ark does not supersede Minor.
It is worth noting that, had the petitioner in Wong Kim Ark been a “natural born citizen,” failure to simply use the precedent established in Minor to rule that Wong Kim Ark was a citizen would have been a failure to abide by judicial restraint. The fact that the Wong Kim Ark Court, unlike the Minor</i> Court, decided that it was necessary to decide the citizenship issue using the first sentence of the 14th Amendment, instead of using the “natural born citizen” clause, demonstrates that a person who satisfies the 14th Amendment’s qualifications for citizenship does not necessarily qualify as a “natural born citizen.” The only reason to make a “first instance” interpretation of the first sentence of the 14th Amendment would be because the question could not be settled using any existing precedent, such as the one in Minor.
The settled law of the land is that the US President must be a natural born citizen, and that to be a natural born citizen, you must have been born in the United States to parents both of whom were US citizens when you were born.
You may disagree with the goal of the Constitutional Convention, and/or with the means they chose to achieve it. But it’s not a technicality, not an anachronism no longer relevant in modern times, nor is it racist. Especially in modern times, it enables persons of any race or ethnic heritage to become President. And it’s what the Constitution requires.
You may also disagree with binding precedent regarding the meaning of “natural born citizen” as established in Minor. But in our system, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of it, are the “supreme law of the land.” And if one faction gets to disregard the Constitution and/or the Supreme Court because they disagree, then that sets a precedent where all other factions can do the same.Du Rififi Chez les Hommes was the full title of Jules Dassin's classic tough-guy thriller from 1955 – aggro among men. Here, it is more a case of Rififi Among Men and God alike, in a blisteringly powerful prison-gangster picture from the French director Jacques Audiard. It comports itself like a modern classic from the very first frames, instantly hitting its massively confident stride. This is the work of the rarest kind of film-maker, the kind who knows precisely what he is doing and where he is going. The film's every effect is entirely intentional.
Newcomer Tahar Rahim plays Malik El Djebena, a young Arab guy about to start a six-year stretch in prison for what appears to be violence against police officers. He is a 19-year-old petty criminal, and this is his debut in adult detention. Malik is very frightened, cringing almost visibly into his clothes on walking the grim corridors of jail, and into his nakedness when he is inspected by medical officers.
On what is apparently his very first day in the exercise yard, Malik's vulnerability and his very blankness attract the hooded eye of César, the Corsican mobster with the guards in his pocket – incomparably played by Niels Arestrup. César needs someone to whack a fellow prisoner, who is about to incriminate his associates on the outside by turning state's witness. Surrounded by his thuggish courtiers, César curtly summons bewildered small-timer Malik and informs him that he must kill this switch, or be killed himself by César's lieutenants. He will be given instruction on how to do the job, and protection from César's crew for the rest of his term. No arguments: Malik is "in", a murderer. There is no way out.
Trembling Malik now finds himself in a terrifying, almost Greeneian dilemma. Should he refuse? Should he simply submit to death rather than become a murderer? The plan is that Malik must kill his victim, Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi) with a razor-blade concealed in the roof of his mouth. Pretending to offer him a blowjob in his cell, he must work it out with his tongue and push it forward between his teeth while his face is invisibly at crotch-level, and then stand up and cut the man's throat. The scenes in which Malik must practise doing this in front of the mirror, retching and spitting blood into the sink, are the stuff of pure, scalp-prickling fear: I just can't remember being so tense in the cinema.
This nauseous forced deal between Malik and César appears to become the basis of a strange, unknowable spiritual bargain between Malik and God – or does it? Audiard makes the haunted Malik the centre of an internal crisis, part psychological, part supernatural. The terrible unsought burden of assassinhood transforms him into a grotesque, parodic "prophet" and the agent of César's downfall. Intent on self-betterment, Malik takes classes, learns Corsican-dialect Italian and, to the contemptuous disgust of the Muslim prisoners, becomes the Corsicans' Uncle Tom-ish servant boy.
But poker-faced Malik has big plans; he is rising through the ranks – and laws from the new Sarkozy government about repatriating Corsican prisoners away from mainland French jails now leave César exposed, with no bodyguards. Malik, whom César fears and suspects more than anyone, is his Quisling nemesis, his only companion, and the son he never had or wanted to have.
Audiard has created a long, involved, relentlessly brutal but gripping and thrilling picture; it has the rangy, anecdotal feel of something drawn from real life, but its realism somehow accommodates an eerie supernatural shimmer. Malik has visions which are partly, but apparently only partly, explicable as trauma. The sweat and the machismo are very familiar from the French crime genre, which was revived only recently in the 70s-era Mesrine films. The passing of contraband, the defiant songs and shouts and burning garbage being flung from the high courtyard walls surely also summon up memories of Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers. But the movie has its own muscular originality.
Niels Arestrup is all too plausible as the jail gang-boss, coolly proprietorial with prisoners and guards alike, sporting a mask of impassive disdain through which world-weariness and fear gradually surface. But Arestrup and Audiard have found something new in this classic persona. What we see etched on César's face is pathetic loneliness and the horror of dying alone in prison. His weakness and Malik's future strength – this is the emotional fulcrum on which this tremendous film is structured.
Arestrup was outstanding in Audiard's previous film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped – also, intriguingly, in a tense, mutually resentful relationship with a younger man – but here he brings out new strains of desolation. Rahim, too, is a tremendous casting find for Audiard. The film returns us to what should be the biggest cliche in the book: the prison film, with its cells, its shouts, its corrupt guards, its boxes full of prisoners' heartrendingly meagre personal effects. But Audiard also revives the hidden source of our fascination with prisons. They are places of violence and fear, but also of paradoxical freedom – freedom from the ties of outside lives. They are places you can remake yourself, for good or ill, hellish furnaces in which you can smelt a new identity.A University of Virginia (UVA) dean’s lawsuit against Rolling Stone over its retracted gang-rape article has survived summary judgment, and is now completely clear to go to trial next month.
Nicole Eramo sued Rolling Stone for $7.85 million last year over her portrayal in its story “A Rape on Campus.” It tells the story of UVA student Jackie Coakley, who claimed she was gang-raped at a fraternity party and then spent years struggling to get justice. The article portrayed Eramo as callous toward Coakley’s plight and unwilling to take action to stop sexual assault because “nobody wants to send their daughter to the rape school.” The magazine even took a photo of Eramo giving a lecture and photoshopped it to make her look more sinister.
But Rolling Stone eventually had to retract its entire story, after follow-up investigations revealed Coakley had invented the story as part of a bizarre scheme to win the affections of a boy she had a crush on.
Eramo’s case was the first lawsuit filed against Rolling Stone over the article, and is the most likely to succeed. Eramo claims Rolling Stone and writer Sabrina Erdely had ample reason to distrust Coakley’s story, but published the story anyway due to a mixture of recklessness and desire to push a particular narrative. (RELATED: Rolling Stone Author Was Too Lazy To Fix Bogus Gang Rape Article)
Now, after more than a year of discovery and preliminary hearings, Eramo’s case has survived a motion for summary judgment and has been cleared to go to trial. In a 26-page ruling issued Thursday, Judge Glen Conrad rejected and accepted various motions from the plaintiff and defense, but the end result is that Eramo’s case will go to trial next month.
Conrad has thrown up one substantial obstacle to Eramo in the upcoming trial. Last week, Conrad ruled that Eramo is a limited-purpose public figure, rather than a private citizen, because of her status as the head of UVA’s sexual misconduct board. The ruling means Eramo must meet a substantially higher burden to win her case, as she must prove Rolling Stone acted with “actual malice” against her by either printing facts they knew were false or by acting with a reckless disregard for the truth.
Despite the high burden, though, Eramo should have a fair chance of success. Conrad’s ruling says there is substantial evidence Erdely had a specific narrative in mind when she began writing her article, and sought out (or manipulated) facts to fit that preset narrative. Conrad also says a jury will be allowed to determine whether Rolling Stone showed malice by keeping its hostile description of Eramo, unedited, within the article even after the magazine admitted it could not trust Coakley’s claims.
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Coming on Wednesday, February 19 to a specialty card retailer or that one Walmart aisle near you, Cryptozoic's Adventure Time: Card Wars is a customizable card game in which players use decks of cards to battle each other, just like they did in that thing. There'll be two boxes at $20 per, one with Jake's Corn Deck vs. Finn's Blue Plains Deck, one with BMO's Useless Swamp Deck Vs. Lady Rainicorn's Sandy Lands Deck. It's like magic! Actually it sounds a lot like Magic.
Each turn, players can spend Action Points on Creatures, Spells and Locations. Some creatures have special FLOOP abilities that activate their special ability. Other creatures have combat abilities that will aid greatly in players' efforts to reduce their opponent's Hit Points to zero. The player who successfully does that first is declared the Cool Guy, and wins the game.
Yep, sounds about right.
Meanwhile, in mobile gaming world, D3Publisher will be releasing Adventure Time: Card Wars: The Mobile Game. Developed by King Fu Factory, the game features 20 playable characters, craftable cards, tons of creatures, spells and abilities, tournament battles, and a holographic game board that sounds like the bee's knees.
That'll be $3.99 with in-app purchases. Sounds like the better deal. Oh wait, the physical card game will contain download codes for the mobile one. Going to have to buy them both. Sorry.Our first look from inside Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley
A friend of the site recently sent me this photo, from inside the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, under construction at Universal Studios Florida.
We've given you the full line-up of attractions, restaurants and shops you'll find in Diagon Alley at Universal. We've shown you construction photos from outside and above the site. And we were first with a detailed look at the land's centerpiece attraction, the Gringotts coaster, nearly two years ago.
Friends of Theme Park Insider have been sending me photos from inside the construction zone, but I haven't been able to share most of them with you. At least, not yet. But, frankly, if you've seen one photo of scaffolding in front of a gray wall, you've seen 'em all.
This was one of the first photos I've gotten that hints at the level of decoration we'll be seeing in Diagon Alley. Though this is an outdoor shot, much of the new land will be under cover, including most of Knockturn Alley. The experience will be both intricate and intimate — I'm certain that crowds will jam every inch of space in the new land when it opens. Diagon Alley was not some broad Paris boulevard, after all. It's a cramped London back alleyway, and Universal's version will reflect that.
But it will be one wildly entertaining alleyway, themed and decorated to a level of detail not otherwise found in American theme parks. I'm getting more and more excited for this new land, from the photos I've seen. So I'm happy to be able to share one of those photos with you.
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Paul was arguing that heterosexual relationships in the military were equally disruptive, and, due to the larger proportion of heterosexual soldiers, more likely to occur.
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"Well, like I said, everybody has the same rights as everybody else, so homosexuals in the military isn’t a problem," Paul said. "It’s only if they’re doing things they shouldn’t be, if they’re disruptive. But there’s … men and women getting into trouble with each other too. And there’s a lot more heterosexuals in the military, so logically they’re causing more trouble than gays. So yes, you just have the same rules for everybody and treat them all the same.”
Paul had originally favored keeping the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, but decided in 2010 to switch his vote and support repeal. Then he explained his shift as one based in economics, and again reiterated that both hetero- and homosexual service members had the potential to be "disruptive."
"I have received several calls and visits from constituents who, in spite of the heavy investment in their training, have been forced out of the military simply because they were discovered to be homosexual," Paul said to The Washington Post. "To me, this seems like an awful waste. Personal behavior that is disruptive should be subject to military discipline regardless of whether the individual is heterosexual or homosexual. But to discharge an otherwise well-trained, professional and highly skilled member of the military for these reasons is unfortunate and makes no financial sense."
Paul also touched on gay marriage during his interview with the Daily, saying that the federal government should have "no say" in whether gay couples are allowed to marry. Paul has previously signaled his support for the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that allows local governments not to recognize gay marriages from other states.
“The government has no business in your private life, you know, so if one person is allowed to do something, so should everyone else," Paul said. "The whole gay marriage issue is a private affair, and the federal government has no say.”CALGARY — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waded into the hockey concussion debate Tuesday, urging the NHL to look at head injuries “as a very real problem.”
Trudeau was asked for his thoughts on the issue a day after court documents revealed an internal debate by NHL officials over head injuries and a deeper concern about the impact of fighting than what has been publicly shared by league leadership.
The prime minister said he worries about concussions, especially as a father who has watched his son “bravely get out onto the pond ice, usually with a helmet on throughout this past winter…”
“Any active player of sports has to be aware of concussions and I certainly hope that the NHL is thinking both of its responsibility towards its players and to the example of so many young people who look to the NHL as a dream but may not reach it, and understand the severity with which we need to look at concussions as a very real problem,” Trudeau said after a roundtable event in Calgary.
More than 100 former NHL players have joined a class action against the league over its handling of concussions.
Spokesman Frank Brown said Tuesday the league’s stance has not changed from commissioner Gary Bettman’s comments during the all-star game weekend. Bettman said then that the release of the “out of context” documents would be “a distraction at best” and “not impact the merits of the case.”
Trudeau is a fan of the game and the Montreal Canadiens. His predecessor, Stephen Harper, was also an avid fan who occasionally weighed in on hockey issues.
— With files from The Associated PressRumors and myths about the correlation of chocolate and acne have been around for ever. Although it might sound like a false claim, chocolate actually does increase increase the prevalence of acne. The reason why it does is still unknown but a recent and reputable study has confirmed these hypothesis through a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, and controlled trial.
Consumption of chocolate correlates to an increase in Acne
In order to validate previous claims of chocolate and it’s correlation to acne, scientists developed a double blind and placebo-controlled study that was approved by the Institutional Review Board (1). They took males between the age of 18 and 35 with a history of acne and either gave them capsules filled with unsweetened 100-percent cocoa, hydrolyzed gelatin powder, or a combination of both. Then in order to track the increase in acne they took photos of lesions caused by acne. In only 4 days subjects who consumed the chocolate powder showed an increase in acne lesions on their face. This was statistically higher than the subjects who did not receive the chocolate. After 7 days the correlation became even more strongly correlated with an assessment of medium strength (1).
Overall this study validates claims that chocolate does indeed increase acne in males with a history of acne. The exacerbation of acne is seen after ingesting unsweetened 100-percent cocoa powder. Subjects who received the chocolate capsules received doses of 6 oz of 100-percent cocoa powder. Although a significant correlation was established, the reason why chocolate makes acne worse has yet to be studied. Most chocolate sold in stores is no where near 100-percent, so there is a possibility that lower percentage chocolate may not have the same results.
Image Source (2): These are the results of a once a day ingestion of chocolate with the mean number of non-inflammatory lesions
Sources:
1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025515/
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025515/figure/F2/DeMarcus Cousins still isn't feeling better, and that's great news for the sputtering Toronto Raptors.
After a two-game absence due to illness, the Sacramento Kings' star was able to participate in shootaround Tuesday but won't give it a go for the game, getting ruled out shortly before tip-off.
That means Cousins won't be able to help teammate Rudy Gay exact some revenge against the Raptors.
Almost exactly one year ago, the Kings shipped three rotation players and whatever you want to classify John Salmons as to the Raptors for Gay, ultimately improving the fortunes of both franchises. The teams split a pair of post-trade meetings a season ago, with Cousins scoring 49 points across the two outings.
Coming off back-to-back losses for the first time all season, the Raptors now avoid the unenviable task of containing an early-season MVP candidate, who has been an absolute beast in 15 games.
Cousins is averaging 23.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and basically turning the Kings from a Philadelphia 76ers replica to a Golden State Warriors one.
Kings O-Rating D-Rating Net Rating with Cousins 112.4 100.2 12.2 without Cousins 99.8 115.3 -15.5
Naturally, the Kings dropped both games that Cousins missed, seeing their hot start deteriorate into a three-game losing skid and a record barely north of.500 at 9-8.WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forget about getting busted for cocaine, weed, or ecstasy — the Department of Defense can now tell if you don’t give a fuck.
DoD announced plans Wednesday to roll out a new urinalysis program that will be able to test for apathy. By examining a mere 30 ml of urine, drug testing laboratories can now pick up several forms of “not giving a shit” to include service, command, and subordinate apathy.
Testing positive for service apathy would mean that a service member could care less about being a part of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines. The Coast Guard, however, will be exempt from the new testing because no one really gives a shit if they care or not.
Popping positive for command apathy denotes that a member could “give a rat’s ass about anything the Commanding Officer does or says,” while pissing hot for subordinate apathy will expose careerist officers “who step on the necks of their troops for their own personal gain,” according to a released memo.
Capt. Nelson Wheez, director of the Navy Drug Screening laboratory in San Diego, California, lauded the new test.
“We finally will be able to detect those individuals who fake it to make it,” said Wheez. “The Navy has already incorporated apathy testing into its zero tolerance policy. Any service member who pops for not caring will be faced with an immediate administrative separation.
“Who knew you could learn so much about someone through their piss,” Admiral Jon Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, told reporters. “This will be a great tool to thin out the force in light of sequestration.”
“I show up to work every day on time in a good uniform, shined shoes, and smile while I perform tedious and meaningless duties,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Dee Smith. “I even compliment my division officer for his ‘great leadership skills.’ Now I have to worry about losing my G.I. Bill if I fail some stupid test that I can’t even study for. Shit is weak, player.”
Even senior enlisted leaders expressed doubts.
“If the old man finds out that I hate his guts and I could care less about the crew at the same time through my urine, it would be awful,” said a balding Master Chief who serves on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Even though I’ve been retired on active duty for four years, it might be time to really retire.”
“All I’ve ever wanted was to make Sergeant First Class and then I could stop caring,” said Staff Sergeant Owen Bright. “This test is really going to screw that up.”
Doctor Nehajub Niarjabooba, a leading industrial psychologist, questions the randomness and caring criteria of the apathy test.
“People seem to care more after deployments are over and more on a Friday than on a Monday,” said Niarjabooba. It is highly unfair to state whether a person completely cares or does care a little bit. This test is highly biased to people who care a minute amount as they may not always pass the test’s requirement for caring.”
At press time, most junior enlisted members of the Army and Marine Corps were seen packing their bags and waiting for their inevitable separation date.Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a high-risk sex offender who didn't return to his halfway house in Vancouver Friday night.
Rene Troy Cardinal, 40, was convicted in 1997 for manslaughter and in 2011 for two counts of sexual assault.
According to police, Cardinal manipulated his female victims to get them alone before he violently assaulted them.
Police say he was transferred to a halfway house in Vancouver on July 30.
Cardinal is described as:
Five feet 11 inches and 189 pounds.
Short brown hair and brown eyes.
Often wears dark-framed prescription glasses.
Has tattoos of a Playboy bunny on his left hand and tribal art on his left forearm.
Last seen wearing a black and white sweater, blue jeans, and white Air Jordan runners.
Police are asking anyone who sees Cardinal or who knows of his whereabouts to call 911 immediately.Burmese court rejects three people due to appear in defence of opposition leader accused of breaking terms of house arrest
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader, will only be allowed to call one witness to testify in her defence against charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest, the court trying her case ruled today.
Three other defence witnesses were barred by the court, her lawyers said. Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison for allowing an American man to spend two days at her lakeside compound earlier this month. She has already spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention.
Nyan Win, one of her lawyers, said only a legal expert, Kyi Win, would be allowed to testify. Suu Kyi's defence is seeking to prove that John Yettaw's stay did not constitute a violation of the restriction order confining her to her home.
The rejected witnesses were Win Tin, Burma's longest serving political prisoner until his release last year, Tin Oo, the vice-chairman of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who has been under house arrest since 2003, and Khin Moe Moe, a lawyer.
Earlier, Suu Kyi blamed a "security breach" for allowing Yettaw to swim across a lake to her residence using homemade flippers on 4 May, apparently to tell her of his premonition that she was about to be assassinated.
"The fact that I am the only party being prosecuted shows the partiality of the prosecution," the Nobel peace prize laureate said in the statement, which was submitted to the court.
Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty to the charges last week, but observers believe she will be found guilty in order to allow the government to detain her during next year's elections.
The NLD won elections in 1990 but the military, which has ruled the country since 1962, ignored the results and placed her in detention.
Britain and the US have condemned the trial, and last night Barack Obama said that Suu Kyi's continued detention, isolation and "show trial based on spurious charges" cast serious doubt on the Burmese government's willingness to be a responsible member of the international community.
"I strongly condemn her house arrest and detention, which have also been condemned around the world," he said in a statement.
"I call on the Burmese government to release National League for Democracy secretary general and Nobel peace prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi from detention immediately and unconditionally."
Gordon Brown also demanded her release in a 64-word statement written to mark her 64th birthday next month.
A number of celebrities, including George Clooney and David Beckham, are also preparing messages of support for 64forSuu.org.
"I add my voice to the growing chorus of those demanding your release," Brown said. "For too long the world has failed to act in the face of this intolerable injustice. That is now changing. The clamour for your release is growing across Europe, Asia, and the entire world. We must do all we can to make this birthday the last you spend without your freedom."
Yesterday, Suu Kyi told the court that she had no prior knowledge of an American man's plan to visit her home in Rangoon and had not broken the terms of her house arrest.tech2 News Staff
10 atomic clocks on board the Galileo |
atoomba The Fair Work Ombudsman will audit at least 200 businesses across outer west Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Wollondilly in its latest compliance campaign. View More...
Former Nail Salon Owner Penalised For Role In Underpaying Employees The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $10,560 penalty against the former owner of a nail salon in Adelaide for his role in underpaying several employees. View More...
Penalties Increase For Breaching Australian Consumer Laws The Australian Government has passed legislation to increase penalties for breaching Australian Consumer Law. View More...
New unpaid family & domestic violence leave entitlement in awards Award covered employees can now take up to 5 days of unpaid leave to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence. Read about the changes and who they apply to. View More...
Compliance Matters - Underpayments Regulatory compliance touches or encompasses most operational areas of business. View More...
Gold Coast security operator penalised $115,668 The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $115,668 penalty against Gold Coast security company for taking unlawful adverse action against a guard by dismissing him. View More...
Sandra Parker appointed Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker has been appointed to the position of Fair Work Ombudsman for a 5 year term from 15 July 2018. View More...
Man suspected of poisoning 21 of his co-workers A worker has allegedly been caught on camera attempting to poison a co-worker's lunch. This discovery has resulted in police investigating the deaths of 21 other workers at a metal fittings company in the northern town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock. View More...
Family and Domestic Violence Leave The Fair Work Commission has released the model term providing for unpaid family and domestic violence leave which will be included in modern awards. View More...
Handling Employee Underpayments When faced with scandals, particularly those relating to employee underpayment, some companies do the right thing immediately and some wait until the appropriate juncture and resolve matters in the fullness of time. View More...
Success Story: Helping a telecommunications company defend a bullying claim Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a telecommunications company defend a bullying claim. View More...
HR Advice Online Upgrade Workforce Guardian has launched an upgrade to our HR Advice Online Service. With new features to help protect key advisors, and to help key advisors help clients manage HR and compliance with confidence. View More...
Masterchef Judge George Calombaris faces new allegations of underpaying workers Celebrity chef George Calombaris is facing new allegations of underpaying workers. View More...
Oh what a feeling! Fair Work Commission Upholds Termination Ruling At Toyota for Team Leader’s Improper Behaviour Over two years after a supervisor at Toyota was terminated for breaching his employers code of conduct by his inappropriate and improper behaviour, the Fair Work Commission has found the termination was fair, just and reasonable. View More...
72% of Food Businesses Found Non-Compliant In Fair Work Audits The Fair Work Ombudsman's audit of three popular food destinations has recovered more than $470,000 for over 600 workers, after the FWO found that 72% of the 243 businesses audited had breached workplace laws. View More...
A few reminders when employing juniors in the retail industry Do you employ juniors in the retail industry? Read our latest article in Convenience & Impulse Retailing magazine. View More...
Webinar Launch - Workforce Guardian Employee HR Portal The new Workforce Guardian Employee HR Portal is now available. Watch the recording of our launch webinar. View More...
Free Webinar: Employee HR Portal Workforce Guardian is excited to announce the release of our new Employee HR Portal. Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more the new features. View More...
June 2018 Newsletter now available Read the latest HR and employment law news in the June 2018 Workforce Guardian Newsletter. View More...
$216,700 In Penalties For Franchisee Guilty Of Sham Contracting And False Records A Pizza Hut franchisee on the Gold Coast has been penalised a total of $216,700 after exploiting a delivery driver under a sham contract and using false records to try to cover it up. View More...
10 HR Mistakes You Cannot Afford To Make Are you at risk of being prosecuted for breaching Australian employment laws? Are you protected from damaging employee claims? If you're unsure, ask yourself these ten critical questions. View More...
2018 Annual Wage Review Decision The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has today handed down its annual wage review decision. The decision will increase the national minimum adult wage by 3.5%. View More...
Personal relationships in the workplace Numerous workplace relationships have recently made headline news due to the prominence of the parties and the conduct involved. We strongly recommend employers implement an appropriately drafted workplace policy that deals with personal relationships. View More...
Unfair Dismissal Costs Employer Over Twenty Thousand Dollars An employer has been ordered to pay 17 weeks' salary worth $22,882 as compensation to an employee who was unfairly dismissed by her employer after she refused to sign her revised employment contract. View More...
Cartoon Employment Contracts Read our article in Convenience & Impulse Retailing Magazine. About the benefits of simpler, more direct drafting of employment contracts and a new trend in using contracts that combine pictures and words in place of the traditional text only format. View More...
MCG cleaning company prosecuted for underpaying workers A global cleaning company and several accessories who were complicit in underpaying workers at the MCG have been penalised over $160,000 by the Fair Work Ombudsman. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors Targeting NSW regional businesses in New England and North West The Fair Work Ombudsman is targeting 200 regional NSW businesses in New England and North West as part of its latest campaign checking businesses' compliance with Australian employment laws. View More...
Senior Sounding Position Title No Protection From Unfair Dismissal A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission serves as a reminder to employers that a senior sounding position title does not exclude an employee from being covered by a modern award or from making an unfair dismissal claim. View More...
Flu Season Ahead Workplaces are terrific locations for trading the influenza virus. Simple steps can be taken to help reduce the impact on employers. View More...
New Labour Hire Legislation If your business provides labour to employers in South Australia, Queensland or Victoria, then new labour hire laws mean you must be licensed to do so. View More...
Success Story: Helped A Medical Centre Improve Its Bottom Line Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a medical practice improve its bottom line. View More...
Success Story: Fixed Complex Compliance Issues For A Vineyard Management Business Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a vineyard management business to fix complex compliance issues and reduce the risk of expensive penalties and damaging employee claims. View More...
May 2018 Newsletter Now Available Read the latest HR and employment law news in the May 2018 Workforce Guardian Newsletter. View More...
Record penalty against cafe operator A record penalty has been imposed against a café for ignoring a Fair Work Commission order to compensate an employee who was unfairly dismissed. View More...
Jail term imposed in Fair Work Ombudsmans first contempt of court case A business operator has been jailed as a result of the Fair Work Ombudsman's first contempt-of-court action. View More...
Workforce Guardian at Blue Mountains Business Expo 2018 Workforce Guardian will be at the Blue Mountains Business Expo 2018 on Wednesday 2 May 2018. Come and say hello if you're in the local area. View More...
Workplace flexibility enables human potential. Productivity and profitability may follow. Workplace flexibility is an increasingly popular practice. Due to the benefits for both the business and employee. But some employers are exposing themselves to risks by not ensuring their flexible workplace practices are compliant. View More...
Online Employee Timesheets Management Software Workforce Guardian's Timesheets Register helps employers to record employee working hours online, simply and easily, to meet their legal obligations. View More...
Penalties for underpaying trolley collectors and using false records A trolley collection subcontractor has been hit with $230,638 in penalties for exploiting migrant workers at Bendigo, in regional Victoria, and using false records to try to cover it up. View More...
Over $390,000 in employee underpayments recovered in WA Audits Over $390,000 in wages and entitlements recovered for employees in Western Australia following recent Fair Work audits. View More...
New Fair Work Campaign Targets 1000 Businesses In Hotspots The Fair Work Ombudsman has started auditing 1000 businesses across Australia, as part of a new campaign targeting known hotspots. Including fast food, restaurant and café sectors in addition to others such as retail, security and manufacturing. Businesses within service networks and part of labour supply chains will also be examined. View More...
Five Sydney Businesses Prosecuted For Underpaying Workers Over $62,000 Five Sydney businesses have been prosecuted for underpaying workers and forced to back-pay over $62,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements following audits by Fair Work Inspectors. View More...
Over $620,000 in employee underpayments recovered in Victorian Audits Over $620,000 in wages and entitlements recovered for employees in Victoria's Dandenong and Warrnambool - Otway Ranges region following recent Fair Work audits. View More...
Fair Work Commission hands down Domestic Violence decision The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has recently ruled that the issue of domestic violence will be covered within modern awards. View More...
Unannounced workplace audits - Adelaide and Perth The Fair Work Ombudsman has conducted a series of surprise visits to cafes, restaurants and bars in Adelaide and Perth, checking businesses' compliance with workplace laws. View More...
Important Payroll Reporting Changes Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting becomes mandatory for employers with 20 or more employees (to be known as "substantial employers", effective 1 July 2018. View More...
Pitfalls Of Casual Employment An interesting case relating to the treatment of long term regular casuals reinforces the need for employers to regularly review casual employees' engagements and ensure that contracts and pay records reflect the casual type of employment. View More...
Success Story: Helping a medical centre to successfully defend an ex-employee claim Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a medical centre to successfully defend a general protections claim from an ex-employee. View More...
Half of Barossa businesses breaching workplace laws Half of Barossa businesses are committing at least one breach of workplace laws, according to a report released by the Fair Work Ombudsman. View More...
High rates of non-compliance uncovered in Western Sydney The Fair Work Ombudsman has uncovered high rates of non-compliance in Western Sydney. Including a 91% non-compliance rate in Harris Park and Parramatta audits View More...
Proud Supporter of Ronald McDonald House Westmead Workforce Guardian is a proud supporter of Ronald McDonald House Westmead. View More...
Workforce Guardian Explainer Video Watch our new explainer video. To learn more about Workforce Guardian and how we help thousands of users to manage HR and compliance with confidence. View More...
The ACCC focus for 2018 The ACCC has outlined its priorities for the year stating it will focus on consumer issues in... View More...
76 per cent of Caltex sites breaching workplace laws The Fair Work Ombudsman's latest Compliance Activity Report shows that 76% of Caltex sites are not compliant with Australian workplace laws. View More...
$4.8 million in financial penalties against non-compliant businesses, directors and accessories $4.8 million in penalties for non-compliant businesses, directors and accessories in 2016-2017. View More...
20,000 tip-offs about unlawful workplace practices Since mid-2016, the Fair Work Ombudsman's Anonymous Report function has received more than 20,000 tip-offs alleging potential workplace breaches. View More...
Degani café facing Court for underpaying workers and keeping false records Degani café in Melbourne's north-east and Degani Bakery Café in Mornington, south of Melbourne, are being prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman for underpaying workers. View More...
Spotless Services Australia Prosecuted For Breaching Redundancy Entitlements The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking legal action against services company Spotless Services Australia Limited for allegedly contravening workplace lawswhen it terminated the employment of three workers at Perth International Airport. View More...
New Website Now Live The new Workforce Guardian website is now live! Better design. Easier to navigate. 100% mobile responsive. View More...
$43,200 Penalties For Not Keeping Records The operator of a number of massage parlours in Adelaide who said he was "too busy and lazy" to keep proper records has been penalised for contraventions of record-keeping and pay slip laws, following legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman. View More...
90% Woolworths Sites Not Compliant A Fair Work Ombudsman Inquiry has found that cleaning contractors at 90 per cent of Woolworths' Tasmanian supermarket sites were not complying with workplace laws. View More...
$121,000 penalty for underpaying worker The owner of a plumbing business and his company have been penalised $121,000 for underpaying a worker just $26,882. View More...
Webinar: Get Ready For Changes to Casual and Part-Time Entitlements Workforce Guardian will be hosting a webinar to explain the changes to overtime rates and shift entitlements for casual and part-time employees covered by some Modern Awards which came into operation on 1 January 2018. View More...
Oh Frank - Episode 1 - Employment Contracts Watch the adventures of Frank as he creates mayhem for an unfortunate small business operator. View More...
How employment law compliance underpins great company culture In this article we talk about six key areas where employment law compliance underpins great company culture. View More...
Brisbane Company Prosecuted For Unlawful Unpaid Work Experience The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced litigation in the Federal Court against Workforce Solutions (QLD) Pty Ltd and its general manager Mathew Micallef. View More...
More Caltex franchisees prosecuted for non-compliance The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against another Caltex franchisee in Sydney. For underpaying employees and providing falsified wage records during a compliance audit. View More...
Hurry up and wait - Abandonment of employment Numerous modern Awards contain clauses dealing with 'abandonment of employment' and have, for many years, been misinterpreted and misapplied. View More...
Club ordered to pay over $120k for workplace bullying Hawkesbury Race Club has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 to a former employee after a tribunal found she was bullied and harassed by her boss, leaving her with a psychological injury. View More...
40 per cent of ACT businesses fail 2nd audit Canberra business operators are continuing to breach their workplace obligations despite intervention from the Fair Work Ombudsman. Recent audits found that 40% of the businesses re-audited remained non-compliant. View More...
Key Advisors Warned - Resign Or Be Fined Federal Court sends new warning to HR managers and payroll professionals: "resign if that is the only alternative to continuing to participate knowingly in illegal activity" and report the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman. Otherwise you risk being personally fined. View More...
Get Ready For Changes to Casual and Part-Time Entitlements Changes to overtime rates and shift entitlements for casual and part-time employees covered by some Modern Awards will come into operation on 1 January 2018 and take effect from the first full pay period of the new year. View More...
Success Story: Win For Wholesale Home-Wares Business Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a wholesale home-wares business to successfully defend an unfair dismissal claim lodged by an employee. View More...
Workplace Cancers - Solar radiation Every employer should consider the risks associated with UV radiation and their employees. View More...
$100m class action for underpaid workers A national union has partnered with a major law firm to launch a national class action on behalf of thousands of workers who have been allegedly underpaid for door-to-door sales and charity fundraising. View More...
Franchise Risks - How We Can Help New laws are now in effect which expose franchisors to higher penalties if their franchises breach employment laws and record-keeping obligations. Workforce Guardian can help protect you and your franchises. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors Target Melbournes Inner East The Fair Work Ombudsman will target at least 200 businesses in Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs as part of a new campaign. View More...
$150,000 in penalties for WA couple The former operators of a café and a delicatessen in Western Australia have been penalised more than $150,000 for deliberately underpaying employees, View More...
Workforce Guardian News November 2017 The latest HR news for Australian employers. Workforce Guardian Newsletter November 2017. View More...
$21,760 Penalty For HR Manager The HR Manager of a restaurant has been personally fined $21,760 under accessorial liability laws for involvement in underpaying workers at a restaurant in Charlestown. View More...
$53,880 Penalty For Payroll Provider A Victorian accounting firm who provided payroll services to a client has been penalised $53,880 after being found guilty of accessorial liability. View More...
Streets Ice Cream EA Negotiations Meltdown The industrial relations environment at Streets Minto site is anything but sweet, as the Unions are running campaigns encouraging consumers to boycott the brand. View More...
Christmas Operating Hours 2017 The Workforce Guardian office will be closed over the Christmas holidays. During this time, only restricted services will operate. View More...
Annual close down periods Many businesses have a period of close down between the Christmas and New Year periods. For those businesses intending to close down over the Christmas period we recommend you ensure the following issues are covered. View More...
Success Story: Win For Utility Company Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a growing utility company avoid loss of intellectual property, confidential information and clients. View More...
Success Story: Win For Small Family Business Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a small family business in the agriculture industry to successfully defend a general protections claim. View More...
26 percent non-compliance rate in healthcare sector 26% of employers in the healthcare sector have been found to be non-compliant with Australian employment laws in a recent campaign by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). View More...
New industrial manslaughter laws in Queensland New industrial manslaughter laws have been passed by Queensland's Parliament despite strong opposition from business groups and concerns about how these could affect the national harmonisation of Workplace Health and Safety laws. View More...
Small IT Business Loses Unfair Dismissal Case A Western Australian IT business has been left stunned by a Fair Work Commission order to reinstate a former employee and back pay almost $40,000 in wages. View More...
Workplace Cancer Part 2 – Diesel exhaust Do you have effective control measures in place to reduce the risk of workplace cancers? Read part 2 in our series. View More...
Penalty for Perth cleaning operators A Perth cleaning company has been hit with near-record WA penalties of $306,000 for underpaying workers at a Perth hotel. View More...
Workforce Guardian News October 2017 The latest HR news for Australian employers. Workforce Guardian Newsletter October 2017. View More...
Franchisor liability has changed Starting today, franchisors can be held responsible for contraventions of workplace laws by their franchisees. If you're a franchisor, find out more about how these changes affect you. View More...
The importance of good recruitment Some employers take a hit and miss approach to recruiting staff. These employers, sadly, often pay the price in having the hassle of terminating these employees when they don't work out! View More...
Myth busting: Annual leave Today, we'd like to bust some of the most common annual leave related myths our team of HR experts here at Workforce Guardian regularly encounter. View More...
The importance of good HR advice Should 'HR' stand for 'human relations' instead of 'human resources'? Fair Work Commissioner Ian Cambridge thinks so. View More...
Are you covered by SCHADS? Are you covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award 2010? The following transitional process will apply to you each year until 2020. View More...
$70k Penalty For Hair Products Retailer The operators of a hair products retailing business have been penalised more than $70,000 for exploiting vulnerable overseas workers View More...
Reference Checking Matters Businesses cannot afford to take the risk of hiring employees without thorough reference checking. View More...
$284k Penalty For False Records And UnderPayment The operators of a Gold Coast restaurant have been penalised more than $284,000 and criticised by a Judge for their "heinous" conduct after paying overseas workers as little as $8 an hour and using false records to try to cover it up. View More...
Your guide to hiring Christmas casuals In the lead up to the Christmas season retailers are going to be hiring seasonal or short-term casual employees to help cope with that present buying surge. In this blog, Workforce Guardian provides some useful tips to make it a little less stressful when hiring seasonal help. View More...
HR Talk at Australian Payroll Association Conference 2017 Workforce Guardian presented to a full audience at the Australian Payroll Association Conference 2017 held at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). View More...
Workplace Cancers Do you have effective control measures in place to reduce the risk of workplace cancers? View More...
Success Story: Win For Tax Accounting Firm Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a tax accounting firm successfully defend an unfair dismissal matter. View More...
Success Story: Win For Stationery Provider Workforce Guardian's HR Consulting team recently helped a stationery provider successfully defend a general protections claim. View More...
Unions lose penalty rates challenge in Federal Court The Federal Court has today dismissed a challenge to the Fair Work Commission's decision to cut penalty rates in the retail, hospitality, fast-food and pharmacy sectors. View More...
Bookkeeper Error Results In $100K Back-Pay The Fair Work Ombudsman has found that the advice and knowledge of a bookkeeper was a central issue in a case that saw more than $100,000 of back-pay given to workers in Western Australia. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors Target Goulburn Valley Fair Work Inspectors have found significant non-compliance with Australian employment laws during Goulburn Valley audits. View More...
HR is Important: Channel 7 Cadet Journalist Case Lessons The case of Amy Taeuber, the former cadet journalist at Channel 7, highlights the importance of having solid, legally compliant HR processes and HR policies in place when handling human resources complaints. View More...
Workforce Guardian Product Tour Video Watch our new product tour video for Workforce Guardian - Australia's #1 HR Compliance System. Showcasing all of the new features and benefits available to HR Lite, HR Essential, HR Professional and HR Platinum subscribers. View More...
New Law. Higher Penalties. Now In Effect. The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 has now come into effect. This means new, higher penalties for serious contraventions of workplace laws and record keeping breaches start today. View More...
Vulnerable Workers amendments to the Fair Work Act Further to last week's blog item on the incoming amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009("Act") as a result of the Protecting Vulnerable Workers Bill that finally passed parliament, let's consider what it might mean for your business once the amendments commence. View More...
The ongoing woes of George Calombaris Aside from defending himself in Court last week for an altercation at a football game, celebrity chef and restaurateur, George Calombaris, continues to deal with the issue of widespread underpayments to staff at various eateries. View More...
Protecting Vulnerable Workers Bill Passes Senate Having had more work done to it than a B-grade movie actor, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill finally passes Senate scrutiny and heads towards amending the Fair Work Act 2009 in the weeks to come. View More...
Latest Upgrade - Compliance Register & People Search Our latest upgrade includes several new features including a new 'Compliance Register' with a visual display of 'Risk Level' on your dashboard and a new 'People Search' on the dashboard to help users find and access personnel files faster and more easily. View More...
Top 5 questions to ask every payroll client When engaging a new payroll client, it is essential that you analyse the risk that this client may pose to your business due to their own poor HR practices. View More...
Are you budgeting in the cost of the flu to your business? With the end of winter approaching we are in the worst period for influenza. Employee illness and absence as a result costs productivity and can affect the long-term health of employees. However, some simple but medically proven steps can be implemented in workplaces and will minimise the spread of the flu this season. View More...
Probation and qualifying periods There are differences between the two concepts and they should be treated separately by employers. One relates to suitability of an employee, the other relates to whether a terminated employee can make an unfair dismissal claim. View More...
Managing post-employment restraints Intellectual property and confidential information are amongst a company's most valuable assets. This is why when it comes to employees, and it is important to be on guard against potential breaches of post-employment restraints which can be incredibly damaging to your business. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors targeting SA’s South East region The Fair Work Ombudsman will target 200 businesses in South Australia's South East region. View More...
Record penalty for fruit market operator Record penalties of more than $660,000 have been issued against the former owner of a Melbourne fruit market and his company for employee underpayments. View More...
Do You Have Good Employment Contracts? It is critical that employers ensure they have good employment contracts in place to protect their business and ensure compliance with Australian employment laws. View More...
Boardroom Bullying A worker is a worker and a company director is a company director, and never the twain shall meet. Although according to a recent judgement of the Fair Work Commission, they occasionally do meet. View More...
Workforce Guardian appoints new CEO Workforce Guardian has appointed Sean Wilson as its new Chief Executive Officer. View More...
FWC Casual Conversion Decision The Fair Work Commission has determined that casual workers covered by 85 of the approximately 120 federal Modern Awards will be given the right to request permanent employment if they work regular hours over a year. View More...
Workforce Guardian July Newsletter Read the latest HR and employment law news in the Workforce Guardian July Newsletter. View More...
Increased Penalties From 1 July 2017 Employers now risk penalties of up to $63,000 if they breach the Fair Work Act 2009. Following increases that became effective on 1 July 2017. View More...
FWO Finally Acts On Complaints About Employsure The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has finally responded to complaints about Employsure. More than two years after employers started making claims about misleading and deceptive practices by the company. View More...
Important Changes From 1 July 2017 In addition to the increased minimum wages and changes to penalty payments under some Modern Awards, there have been some other changes effective from 1st July 2017. View More...
Top 10 HR Mistakes & How To Avoid Them Watch our video about the 'Top 10 HR Mistakes That Employers Make And How To Avoid Them'. Recorded at the B2B Expo in Sydney on 29 June 2017. View More...
New minimum wage rate from tomorrow A new national minimum wage comes into effect from the first pay period on or after tomorrow, 1 July 2017. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target Sydney South West The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will target over 200 businesses in Sydney - South West as part of a new campaign. View More...
Penalty Rate Changes 2017 On 5 June 2017, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down a decision about how the changes to Sunday penalty rates will be introduced. The FWC decided they will be phased in over 3 or 4 years, depending on the award and employment type, starting from 1 July 2017. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target Melbourne The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has targeted businesses in the Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs this week. View More...
Reality TV contestant faces Court over alleged unpaid internship, underpayments A fashion industry start-up that appeared on the reality show 'Shark Tank' is facing Court for allegedly running an unlawful unpaid internship program and underpaying three workers more than $40,000. View More...
Gold Coast Pizza Hut franchisee faces Court A Pizza Hut franchisee on the Gold Coast is facing Court for alleged sham contracting activity and underpaying a delivery driver more than $6000. View More...
Former Quest operators fined $60k The former operators of a Perth accommodation business have been fined nearly $60,000 for sham contracting arrangements dating back to 2009. View More...
$670,000 In Penalties And Back-Pay For Grouped Property Services Pty Ltd Failure to comply with the Fair Work Act has cost a Sydney-based cleaning company and its Directors over $670,000 in penalties and back-pay. View More...
Annual Wage Review Decision 2017 The Fair Work Commission Minimum Wage Panel handed down its annual National Minimum Wage review decision today. View More...
Minimum Wage Increase 1 July 2017 The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has today handed down a minimum wage increase of 3.3%. This increase will apply to all Award rates of pay operative from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2017. View More...
Seasonal Farm Services fined for underpaying workers A labour hire operator who underpaid 144 Lockyer Valley fruit and vegetable pickers and packers, most of whom were from overseas, has been ordered to pay a $102,000 penalty. View More...
Hans Cafe fined and Director personally fined Hans Cafe in Perth has been fined $45,000 for underpaying workers. The Director, Tram Ham, was also personally fined $7,500 for not complying with the Fair Work Act. View More...
Many Employers Issuing Non-Compliant Contracts Poorly-drafted employment contracts expose an employer to significant legal risks. Read the shocking results of our recent free 'contract review' service which exposed just how widespread this problem is. View More...
Dominos Investigated For Underpayments The Fair Work Ombudsman has 26 active investigations into alleged underpayment by franchisees of the Domino's Pizza group, according to evidence presented to Senate estimates hearings. View More...
More Fair Work Inspectors Are Coming The Fair Work Ombudsman continues to grow its national team of Fair Work Inspectors with over 20 new jobs currently advertised across Australia. View More...
$540,000 in penalties for CFMEU The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) has been hit with over $540,000 in penalties for Fair Work breaches in Adelaide after losing an appeal against two adverse Federal Court judgments. View More...
Mamak Malaysian restaurants back in court The operators of an inner Sydney restaurant who were penalised almost $300,000 last year for exploiting overseas workers are again facing legal action, accused of further underpayments. View More...
Micromanagers Bullying A Valid Reason For Dismissal The Fair Work Commission recently ruled that a manager's micromanaging behaviour of employees amounted to bullying, and that such behaviour was a valid reason for terminating the manager's employment. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target 200 Ipswich Businesses The Fair Work Ombudsman has issued a media release advising that it will target 200 Ipswich businesses in Queensland as part of a new campaign. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target clothing manufacturers The Fair Work Ombudsman is targeting hundreds of clothing manufacturing businesses nationally as part of a new campaign. View More...
Zumbo the latest chef caught underpaying staff Adriano Zumbo is the latest celebrity chef to be caught out underpaying staff. Staff claim they were given fake superannuation numbers, were paid at incorrect rates, and that overtime pay was missing. They claimed they were owed thousands of dollars. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target Fortitude Valley The Fair Work Ombudsman is targeting restaurants, bars and cafes in Fortitude Valley as part of unannounced audits of a popular casual dining precinct in Brisbane. View More...
Coffee Club Franchisee Faces Court A Coffee Club café franchisee in Brisbane is facing Court for allegedly requiring an overseas worker to repay $18,000 of his wages by threatening to cancel his 457 skilled worker visa if he refused. View More...
40 percent of United Petroleum Stores Underpaying Workers The Fair Work Ombudsman has blasted petrol giant United Petroleum for wide-spread underpayment of workers across its franchise network. View More...
FWO Calls For 10x Increase in Penalties The Fair Work Ombudsman has called on the Turnbull Government to increase penalties for breaching the Fair Work Act 2009 by 10x, to $540,000 per breach. View More...
Court Finds Accounting Firm Liable In a precedent setting legal decision, an accounting business has been found liable as an accessory for its role in the underpayment of employees by its client. View More...
Caltex terminates 19 franchise agreements for non-compliance Caltex has terminated agreements with 19 franchisees covering 43 sites for underpayment of employee entitlements and other significant workplace non-compliance issues. View More...
Employer found guilty of underpaying worker for over 20 years A court has found an employer underpaid a worker by more than $230,000 because it "recklessly disguised the true legal nature" of a 20-year-plus employment relationship by classifying him as an independent contractor. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target Wide Bay region The Fair Work Ombudsman has issued a media release advising that it will target over 200 business in the Wide Bay region. Fair Work Inspectors will audit businesses across a variety of industries in Bundaberg, Gympie, Maryborough, Hervey Bay and surrounding areas. View More...
B2B Expo Melbourne and Sydney Workforce Guardian will be presenting at the B2B Expo in Melbourne and Sydney. Come and hear us talk about: Common HR Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. View More...
Masterchef judge underpays employees MasterChef judge and celebrity chef George Calombaris has been found guilty of underpaying 162 of his restaurants' employees a total of up to $2.6m. After an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found payroll errors dating back 6 years. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target East Coast Retailers The Fair Work Ombudsman has issued a media release advising that it will audit East Coast retailers including hair and beauty salons as part of a new campaign. View More...
Fair Work Inspectors target Wollongong The Fair Work Ombudsman has issued a media release advising that it will audit employers in New South Wales as part of a new campaign. With a focus on the Murrumbidgee and Griffith regions. View More...
Sky News Interview - 28 March 2017 David Bates joins Switzer TV to discuss the issues affecting small businesses in Australia (broadcast on Tuesday 17 January, 2017). View More...
$220,000 penalty for Packing company A Melbourne packing services business and one its directors have been penalised more than $220,000 for underpaying three staff. View More...
Fair Work Fiasco Defies Belief The Fair Work Ombudsman is, quite simply, unfit for purpose. The evidence for this conclusion can be found in three simple facts. View More...
Major Upgrade - New and Improved Content The Team at Workforce Guardian are very excited to officially release the latest major upgrade to our cloud HR systems. In this upgrade we have released twenty-four updated HR processes and eight (8) new HR processes to help our subscribers. All at no additional cost. View More...
Ban on foreign workers in fast food industry The Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has announced a ban on major fast food outlets importing staffing. In an unprecedented crackdown by the federal government. It is the first time an entire sector has been banned from sponsoring overseas workers. View More...
Changes to Penalty Rates: What You Need to Know Australia's national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), has handed down an important decision regarding Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for employees covered by a number of Modern Awards, including the General Retail Industry Award 2010. View More...
Major Upgrade: Important Information FEB 2017 The team here at Workforce Guardian is very pleased to announce the next major upgrade of our services will commence on Saturday 25 February 2017. The rollout of all our new and upgraded features will take approximately two weeks. Here's a handy summary of what you need to know. View More...
Workforce Guardian HR Newsletter February 2017 Keep informed and up to date about important HR and employment relations issues affecting small to medium businesses in Australia. Read the latest Workforce Guardian Newsletter - available now! View More...
Tenfold increase in Fair Work Act penalties considered by Government Legislation will to be introduced to Parliament next week to increase maximum penalties for breaches of the Fair Work Act to more than half a million dollars. View More...
$120,000 in penalties for Melbourne retail outlet The operators of a retail outlet in Melbourne have been penalised more than $120,000 for underpaying three shop assistants. View More...
Retailer ordered to backpay over $30,000 A Western Sydney homewares retailer has been ordered to backpay a worker over $30,000 after it was caught paying an employee just $12 an hour. View More...
Record penalties of $532,000 in FWO cashback case Record penalties of $532,000 have been ordered in a case involving the exploitation of five workers at a café in regional NSW. View More...
Two takeaways from the Pizza Hut pay saga Ordered a pizza lately? If you have, there's a good chance the driver who cheerily delivered it to your door was being underpaid by their employer. View More...
Why I'm with VP Watson When I appeared on the Switzer program last week and once again raised serious concerns about the operation of Australia's national employment relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, I could not have imagined I'd be proven so right so soon. View More...
$143,000 in penalties for $18,000 underpayment A company, its director and payroll manager have been penalised $143,000 for underpaying workers $18,000. View More...
Three-quarters of Pizza Hut outlets found to be non-compliant Less than a week after one of the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) most senior members issued a scathing letter of resignation, saying the FWC is viewed by the business community as "partisan, dysfunctional and divided", the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has released an Activity Report confirming widespread non-compliance within Pizza Hut outlets. With three quarters of aud |
at an average speed. of just 5.8km/h.MPI / Getty Images What happened to American labor unions?
Last week came news that the share of America’s workforce that’s unionized hit a 97-year low. A mere 11.3% of workers now belong to a union, and a great chunk of those are in the shrinking public sector. In the private sector, unionization fell to an abysmal 6.6%, down from a peak of 35% during the 1950s.
Most Americans yawned at this news. On one level that’s understandable. After all, most Americans aren’t in a union. It’s a vicious cycle: as unions decline, fewer people see their fates as bound up with unions, which just accelerates the decline.
But on another level, America’s non-reaction is striking. We remain in the wake of the Great Recession. Inequality and wealth concentration are at levels not seen since just before the Great Depression. This would seem as ripe a time in modern memory for a revival of organized labor. Instead, a basic assumption now shapes most Americans’ mindset about labor: the belief that the death of unions isn’t my problem because I’m not in a union. That assumption is wrong in two critical ways.
(MORE: What the Current Economic Outlook Means for American Families)
First, the fact is that when unions are stronger the economy as a whole does better. Unions restore demand to an economy by raising wages for their members and putting more purchasing power to work, enabling more hiring. On the flip side, when labor is weak and capital unconstrained, corporations hoard, hiring slows, and inequality deepens. Thus we have today both record highs in corporate profits and record lows in wages.
Second, unions lift wages for non-union members too by creating a higher prevailing wage. Even if you aren’t a member your pay is influenced by the strength or weakness of organized labor. The presence of unions sets off a wage race to the top. Their absence sets off a race to the bottom.
Unfortunately, the relegation of organized labor to tiny minority status and the fact that the public sector is the last remaining stronghold for unions have led many Americans to see them as special interests seeking special privileges, often on the taxpayer’s dime. This thinking is as upside-down as our economy.
(MORE: How to Grow)
This country has gotten to today’s level of inequality because, ironically, those who work for a living think like atomized individuals while those who hire for a living organize collectively to rig policy in their favor. Today’s 97-year low is the result of decades of efforts to squeeze unions and disperse their power.
To be sure, unions bear part of the blame for their own decline. Some of the work rules they’ve achieved through bargaining made their companies and their own unions less adaptive to change. That’s why a few national labor leaders, from Service Employees International Union and elsewhere, have launched a “Labor 3.0” project to reimagine unions. And it’s significant that innovative forms of worker organizing are now emerging, like Coworker.org or the National Domestic Workers Alliance, that bypass traditional union structures altogether.
Whatever form it takes, though, organized labor keeps an economy healthy. Some conservatives now argue for a higher federal minimum wage on the notion that when companies pay their employees enough to live, the employees will rely less on government assistance and participate more in economic life. Precisely the same case can be made for unions. Consider that workers at non-unionized Walmart constitute in many states the largest bloc of food stamp and Medicaid recipients.
If we want a better economy, then, we need a better story about how the economy works, in which a union worker is not a cost but a customer. The weakness of labor is everyone’s problem — and its revival everyone’s opportunity.
PHOTOS: The Recession in Pictures: America Copes with a Stagnant EconomyBack to regular commissions! I got these three forhalf done before the holidays, but wasn't able to finish them until this last weekend. I really love how they turned out - their expressions in particular (and especially Twi's) make me so happyAnd the hanging pose turned out so well! They're so cute and versatile! They even look adorable lying on their backs with their pudgy little tummies out! *explodes*The new pattern is about the same size as my fillies - the limbs are slightly longer to accomodate the pose, but that's about it. I also updated my pattern for Twi's hair. I really like the change! Oh, and Twi's wings are removable with nice strong magnets.This pattern will be available for regular commissions if people are interested.I'll stop talking now. Enjoy!Giphy
You know how some Game of Thrones fans think Bran Stark is secretly the Night King because they:
A) Dress like twins.
Bran and the Night King's outfits pic.twitter.com/Sikv9Jp4xe — Westeros Watch (@WesterosWatch) August 21, 2017
And B) Are totally the same person due to a very elaborate theory that you can read all about here, but basically involves Bran traveling back in time, "warging" into the Night King to stop the Children of the Forest from creating White Walkers, failing, and getting trapped in the Night King's body.
Well, even more evidence has surfaced—specifically the fact that a Reddit genius noticed the White Walker army formed the profile of a wolf—which happens to be the Stark Sigil—while strolling past the wall.
For comparison, this is a flipped image of the actual sigil:
HBO
In the words of this eager fella:
Of course, this could just be GOT producers throwing a nice easter egg our way—but we prefer to think Bran is the Night King and his White Walkers are trolling everyone with their marching orders.
Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts Last Edited: 2012-05-28 03:03:09 #2 EDIT: TheJaKaTaK (a show to help noobs improve quickly) airs every night at 5pmPacific (8pm eastern) as of May 1, 2012. You can find the show at www.twitch.tv/thejakatak thanks for your support :D
I have saved all of my money and now have enough to live for a year without any income. I have done this to address a need in the Starcraft 2 community to bring in new players and teach misguided players how to learn Starcraft 2 in the most efficient manner possible. Day[9] does amazing work at something similar to what I want to accomplish, my goal will be to bring in people with no experience or little experience and build their fundamentals to the point where they can optimally benefit from people like Day[9], Artosis, and dApollo. I have put more work into this method of teaching than anything I have ever done. If you are interested in being on the show, or know someone who is, PM me. I look forward to helping to grow starcraft 2 and eSports as a whole. See you soon :D
I have saved all of my money and now have enough to live for a year without any income. I have done this to address a need in the Starcraft 2 community to bring in new players and teach misguided players how to learn Starcraft 2 in the most efficient manner possible. Day[9] does amazing work at something similar to what I want to accomplish, my goal will be to bring in people with no experience or little experience and build their fundamentals to the point where they can optimally benefit from people like Day[9], Artosis, and dApollo. I have put more work into this method of teaching than anything I have ever done. If you are interested in being on the show, or know someone who is, PM me. I look forward to helping to grow starcraft 2 and eSports as a whole. See you soon :D Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
cvgHuShang Profile Joined November 2010 Canada 95 Posts Last Edited: 2012-05-01 20:18:05 #3
edit: ^ stuff above sounds legit I read a good portion of it and I agree with most things however I don't like that you only have two positions to save screen location. I think using f1-5 is better.edit: ^ stuff above sounds legit Make love not war, condoms are cheaper than guns.
Frozenhelfire Profile Joined May 2010 United States 413 Posts #4 I'd have to agree with the above. This hotkey layout may be the most efficient, but sacrificing functionality for efficiency is a pretty decent pitfall especially in regards to something like this. If I, or anyone else, were to spend time to unlearn a current hotkey layout and accept this one, I wouldn't want to be limited to only two screen locations. polar bears are fluffy
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #5 There are 8 positions to save screen hotkeys. the 6 you are missing are accessed with the alt key, similar to the Darkgrid layout. No functionality has been sacrificed. Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #6 I edited the OP, I hope it is more clear now :D Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #7 On May 02 2012 05:16 cvgHuShang wrote:
I read a good portion of it and I agree with most things however I don't like that you only have two positions to save screen location. I think using f1-5 is better.
edit: ^ stuff above sounds legit I read a good portion of it and I agree with most things however I don't like that you only have two positions to save screen location. I think using f1-5 is better.edit: ^ stuff above sounds legit
Thanks :D I am really really excited and have been testing for a while now. Its definitely the fastest way to teach starcraft 2 that I know of :D Thanks :D I am really really excited and have been testing for a while now. Its definitely the fastest way to teach starcraft 2 that I know of :D Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
Frozenhelfire Profile Joined May 2010 United States 413 Posts #8 I see. I couldn't really find anything in the post talking about the camera locations until I checked out the spoiler for the people that can't get it to work. I'll give this a try. I'm going to have some hilariously bad games. Changing to a new hotkey layout may make a decent funday monday... polar bears are fluffy
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #9 Holy shit, I think if Day[9] made that a funday monday and someone got on the show trying my layout, I would probably shit my pants immediately in excitement. Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
Adonminus Profile Joined January 2012 Israel 542 Posts #10 Awesome man. Really nice setup, though I'm afraid it's a bit too late for me to re-memorize a hotkey setup, but I could definitely learn how to do some tweaks to play faster.
Giga Profile Blog Joined August 2011 United Kingdom 72 Posts #11 Really interesting to read, I'm sure as hell going to try this out ;D 은하
cvgHuShang Profile Joined November 2010 Canada 95 Posts #12!. Yes but, holding down alt does not help because the point of the f1-5 keys is to get there instantly, if i have to hold alt then that will be slower then clicking the location on the screen. I also think that saying this is the best hotkey setup will never actually be true because different people like different things. You also need to take into consideration different people have different hand sizes and like to place their hands on the keyboard differently. Like, in my case I have done something similar to yours in that I have changed almost every key but this would never work for me because i hold my hand facing at an angle towards my mouse, instead of away from it. Therefore a lot of these key combinations wouldn't work for me. Although, saying that I think the setup that most bronze-diamond players have is awful but only because they don't know any better. Basically, I don't think you should put this on your show in a way that they need to do it this way, but rather give them ideas on how to set up their hotkeys in different ways and then let them choose based on their own needs. However, if they're lazy and want to sacrifice perfect functionality.... basically I think you should just have an option on your show and more explanation on why!. Make love not war, condoms are cheaper than guns.
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #13 On May 02 2012 05:30 Adonminus wrote:
Awesome man. Really nice setup, though I'm afraid it's a bit too late for me to re-memorize a hotkey setup, but I could definitely learn how to do some tweaks to play faster.
I would definitely consider trying it out. I used the standard setup for over a year before trying to mess around with it. It only took me a week of games to have it in my blood, but that was at 10 games a day. Good excuses to play a lot of games?? I would definitely consider trying it out. I used the standard setup for over a year before trying to mess around with it. It only took me a week of games to have it in my blood, but that was at 10 games a day. Good excuses to play a lot of games?? Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #14 On May 02 2012 05:30 Xhiga wrote:
Really interesting to read, I'm sure as hell going to try this out ;D
Thank you so much. Please PM me and let me know how it goes for you! :D Thank you so much. Please PM me and let me know how it goes for you! :D Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #15 On May 02 2012 05:34 cvgHuShang wrote:
Yes but, holding down alt does not help because the point of the f1-5 keys is to get there instantly, if i have to hold alt then that will be slower then clicking the location on the screen. I also think that saying this is the best hotkey setup will never actually be true because different people like different things. You also need to take into consideration different people have different hand sizes and like to place their hands on the keyboard differently. Like, in my case I have done something similar to yours in that I have changed almost every key but this would never work for me because i hold my hand facing at an angle towards my mouse, instead of away from it. Therefore a lot of these key combinations wouldn't work for me. Although, saying that I think the setup that most bronze-diamond players have is awful but only because they don't know any better. Basically, I don't think you should put this on your show in a way that they need to do it this way, but rather give them ideas on how to set up their hotkeys in different ways and then let them choose based on their own needs. However, if they're lazy and want to sacrifice perfect functionality.... basically I think you should just have an option on your show and more explanation on why!. Yes but, holding down alt does not help because the point of the f1-5 keys is to get there instantly, if i have to hold alt then that will be slower then clicking the location on the screen. I also think that saying this is the best hotkey setup will never actually be true because different people like different things. You also need to take into consideration different people have different hand sizes and like to place their hands on the keyboard differently. Like, in my case I have done something similar to yours in that I have changed almost every key but this would never work for me because i hold my hand facing at an angle towards my mouse, instead of away from it. Therefore a lot of these key combinations wouldn't work for me. Although, saying that I think the setup that most bronze-diamond players have is awful but only because they don't know any better. Basically, I don't think you should put this on your show in a way that they need to do it this way, but rather give them ideas on how to set up their hotkeys in different ways and then let them choose based on their own needs. However, if they're lazy and want to sacrifice perfect functionality.... basically I think you should just have an option on your show and more explanation on why!.
Really great feedback. I am of the opinion that pressing Alt+Q is faster and more reliable than clicking the minimap, but that is just my personal opinion. And I in no way believe that this hotkey setup is the "best". I do believe it is the "most efficient" in that the most commonly pressed commands are assigned to the fastest to press key locations. The title is a bit cocky though, I'll definitely give you that. As far as explanation goes, I will definitely get more into it on the show. I tried to keep the post as brief and to-the-point as possible so more people would read it. I am all about individuality, this is aimed to be the best layout for most people (it definitely wouldn't work for NaNiwa). Which key combinations wouldn't work for you? Really great feedback. I am of the opinion that pressing Alt+Q is faster and more reliable than clicking the minimap, but that is just my personal opinion. And I in no way believe that this hotkey setup is the "best". I do believe it is the "most efficient" in that the most commonly pressed commands are assigned to the fastest to press key locations. The title is a bit cocky though, I'll definitely give you that. As far as explanation goes, I will definitely get more into it on the show. I tried to keep the post as brief and to-the-point as possible so more people would read it. I am all about individuality, this is aimed to be the best layout for most people (it definitely wouldn't work for NaNiwa). Which key combinations wouldn't work for you? Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
TotoroHren Profile Joined February 2012 Croatia 31 Posts #16
User was warned for this post I can say that this is totaly bullscheisse. Dude this is so stupid lol. Trust me all of you this wont work well don't even try. I am top master player so dont rage plz.
JaKaTaKSc2 Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 2767 Posts #17 On May 02 2012 05:58 TotoroHren wrote:
I can say that this is totaly bullscheisse. Dude this is so stupid lol. Trust me all of you this wont work well don't even try. I am top master player so dont rage plz.
Lol Totoro :D you're feedback is definitely appreciated Lol Totoro :D you're feedback is definitely appreciated Commentator https://www.youtube.com/JaKaTaKtv
Dahkar Profile Joined May 2011 United States 13 Posts #18 Thoughts on using space bar as attack vs a?(I've always found this helped me tremendously with things like stutter stepping.)
Toastie Profile Joined April 2012 Netherlands 104 Posts #19 You have C/V for Unit/Building abilities.
But for example, Raven, OC, Ghost, Infestor, and probably some more, have 3 abilities. How do we use those?
What about Burrow? I like to ahve different hotkeys for burrow + unburrow.
And how do you construct buildings?
Kind regards Never give up, never surrender!
Giga Profile Blog Joined August 2011 United Kingdom 72 Posts #20 On May 02 2012 06:05 Toastie wrote:
You have C/V for Unit/Building abilities.
But for example, Raven, OC, Ghost, Infestor, and probably some more, have 3 abilities. How do we use those?
What about Burrow? I like to ahve different hotkeys for burrow + unburrow.
And how do you construct buildings?
Kind regards
It's S-W-Q I believe It's S-W-Q I believe 은하
1 2 3 4 5 48 49 50 Next AllThe folks at the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics offer a novel way to look at the nearly $3.5 billion spent to lobby Congress and federal agencies last year: About $1.3 million was spent on lobbying for every hour lawmakers met in 2009.
Lawmakers in both chambers spent a total of 2,668 hours in session last year, the center said, citing congressional records. That was a busier-than-usual schedule for Congress, which tackled an aggressive agenda that included health-care legislation, climate-change proposals and plans to impose new regulations on banks and Wall Street. None of those bills has become law yet.
(As our colleague John Fritze recently wrote, lawmakers worked more days in 2009 than any year since 1995 -- the year Republicans took over both chambers and pushed bills to fulfill the party's Contract with America.)
More detail on the center's analysis, including the hourly "rates" of lobbying by industry, can be found here.
(Posted by Fredreka Schouten)A toddler was seriously injured early Wednesday when police raided a Georgia home and tossed a stun grenade into the boy’s crib.
Alecia Phonesavanh told WSB-TV she had been staying with her sister-in-law in Habersham County after her family’s home burned down when a SWAT team burst into the home as part of a drug investigation.
One of the officers tossed a grenade that caused serious burns, cuts, and other injuries to her 19-month-old son.
“It landed in his playpen and exploded on his pillow, right in his face,” Phonesavanh said.
The boy has been taken to a burn unit for treatment and placed in a medically induced coma.
“It’s my baby,” Phonesavanh said. “He’s only a baby. He didn’t deserve any of this.”
Cornelia Police Chief Rick Darby said a multijurisdictional drug unit executed a search warrant at the home just before 3 a.m.
Police said they seized drugs at the home and returned with a no-knock warrant to arrest a man known to have drugs and weapons.
“There was no clothes, no toys, nothing to indicate that there was children present in the home,” Darby said. “If there had been, then we’d have done something different.”
Officers arrested 30-year-old Wanis Thometheva during the raid, which Phonesavanh said came when while she was sleeping.
“There’s a loud bang and a bright light,” Phonesavanh said. “The cops threw that grenade in the door without looking first, and it landed right in the playpen and exploded on his pillow right in his face.”
Darby said the officers involved in the raid felt badly about the boy’s injuries.
Watch this video report posted online by WSB-TV:The Washington Post columnist takes us down memory lane:
In 1964, the slogan of the Republican presidential nominee, Barry Goldwater, was "A choice, not an echo." Forty-six years on, the Tea Party is a loud echo of his attempt to reconnect American politics with the tradition of limited government.
In response to a questionnaire from a magazine, 1,189 psychiatrists, none of whom had ever met Goldwater, declared him unfit for office -- "emotionally unstable," "immature," "cowardly," "grossly psychotic," "paranoid," "chronic schizophrenic" and "dangerous lunatic" were some judgments from the psychiatrists who believed that extremism in pursuit of Goldwater was no vice. Shortly before the election, Columbia University historian Richard Hofstadter published in Harper's an essay (later expanded into a book with the same title), "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," that encouraged the idea that Goldwater's kind of conservatism was a mental disorder.
On the eve of the convention that nominated Goldwater, Daniel Schorr of CBS, "reporting" from Germany, said: "It looks as though Sen. Goldwater, if nominated, will be starting his campaign here in Bavaria, center of Germany's right wing" and "Hitler's one-time stomping ground."
Goldwater, said Schorr, would be vacationing near Hitler's villa at Berchtesgaden. Schorr further noted that Goldwater had given an interview to Der Spiegel "appealing to right-wing elements in Germany" and had agreed to speak to a gathering of "right-wing Germans." So, "there are signs that the American and German right wings are joining up."
But as Andrew Ferguson of the Weekly Standard has reported, although Goldwater had spoken vaguely about a European vacation (he did not take one), he had not mentioned Germany, and there were no plans to address any German group. Der Spiegel had reprinted an interview that had appeared elsewhere.
The relevance of this for 2010? There is precedent for the mainstream media being megaphones for Democratic-manufactured hysteria.Real Salt Lake will decide in the upcoming months if Jefferson Savarino and Brooks Lennon have a future with the team.
The young talents are on loan for the 2017 season, Savarino from Venezuelan club Zulia FC and Lennon from Liverpool. Savarino’s deal included a pre-negotiated (and undisclosed) purchase price, but Lennon’s did not. Real Salt Lake has entered negotiations with Lennon and his representation, RSL general manager Craig Waibel told The Tribune.
“By the end of the season I hope to have an answer,” he said.
Savarino, who had interest from several clubs at the time of his acquisition, likely won’t come cheap for Real Salt Lake. However, RSL and Zulia settled on his purchase price prior to his international debut on June 3, meaning his value has increased since the terms of the option to buy were set.
Real Salt Lake at Colorado
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
TV • KMYU
Savarino has been everything RSL could have hoped for this season, adjusting to MLS quickly to become a vital piece of the Real Salt Lake attack. With Savarino in the mix, RSL has scored 30 goals in its past 13 matches.
“To be honest it was not as easy as it looks,” Savarino said of the adjustment, through a translator last month. “But I give credit and thanks to the coach for the opportunities that he gives me and the minutes that he gives me, and it has helped me to adjust a little bit better. But I still have a lot of work to do.”
The 20-year-old winger has tallied six goals and five assists since RSL acquired him on May 9. That’s second on the team in both categories, a goal behind a three-way tie for RSL’s golden boot race and even with fellow winger Joao Plata in assists.
His youth and compatibility, combined with RSL coach Mike Petke’s style, make the option to buy a promising investment.
Then there’s Lennon, 20, the versatile RSL academy product who has become a regular substitute and the next guy on the depth chart in multiple attacking positions.
Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Real Salt Lake forward Brooks Lennon (27) and Orlando City SC defender Donny Toia (25) go for the ball during the game at Rio Tinto Stadium Friday, June 30, 2017.
“I have a guy like Brooks Lennon who I’m desperately trying to get on the field because he deserves to be on the field,” Petke said after an August training session. “But the positions that he’s playing, that he is the most comfortable in, we have some guys that are playing some of the best soccer in the league, so it’s tough.”
Before the addition of Savarino, and during center midfielder Albert Rusnák’s three-week absence in June for international duty, Lennon regularly played 90 minutes at time.
He then suffered a sprained ankle during training on July 7, hindering his ability to compete for a starting spot. At the same time, Savarino and Plata took off, combining for eight goals and six assists since the July international break.
Even without claiming a regular starting spot, Lennon has carved a role for himself on RSL. He averaged 19 minutes in his past nine appearances off the bench. He also made two starts in the past month due to a scheduled rest for Plata and Luis Silva’s groin injury.WASHINGTON -- Federal health regulators will add their strongest warning labels to the most widely used prescription painkillers, part of a multi-pronged government campaign to reverse an epidemic of abuse and death tied to drugs like Vicodin and Percocet.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday plans to add a boxed warning -- the most serious type -- to all immediate-release opioid painkillers, which include roughly 175 branded and generic drugs.
Those medications, which often combine oxycodone with lower-grade pain relievers, are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. and account for 90 percent of all opioid painkillers prescribed.
CDC urges doctors to back off opioid painkiller prescriptions
The long-awaited change comes roughly three years after the FDA added similar warnings to long-acting opioid drugs like OxyContin, which slowly release their doses over 12 hours or more. The labeling switch means both immediate and extended-release formulations will highlight information about the risks of addiction, abuse, overdose and death.
"We're at a time when the unfathomable tragedies resulting from addiction, overdose and death have become one of the most urgent and devastating public health crises facing our country," FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said on a call with reporters. "I can't stress enough how critical it is for prescribers to have the most current information."
Critics of the FDA's approach to opioids, including the group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, have long called on the agency to bolster warnings on immediate-release opioids.
"The main driver of our opioid epidemic is addiction, and the immediate-release products are just as addictive... that's why they should be prescribed more cautiously," said the group's founder, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, an addiction therapist.
New report outlines dangers of mixing painkillers
The new label specifies that the drugs should only be used for pain that cannot be managed with other medications and alternative therapies.
"This new indication, once finalized, will remind prescribers that immediate-release opioids are also powerful drugs with important safety concerns," said Dr. Doug Throckmorton, a deputy director in the FDA's drug center.
Throckmorton said the agency's 2013 labeling change focused on long-acting drugs like OxyContin because they represented a "disproportionate risk" to patients, since they contain larger opioid levels.
But lawmakers from states that have been plagued by opioid addiction said such labeling changes have "done little" to stem the problem.
"Unfortunately, it has taken FDA far too long to address the grave risks of these drugs that have claimed the lives of thousands this year alone," said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
"We have such a huge epidemic in this country. Over 200 million prescriptions were given out in 2014," CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula told "CBS This Morning" last week. "Forty people die every day from opioid overdoses. Two million people are dependent or abuse opioids."
Opioids are a class of powerful and highly-addictive drugs that include both prescription drugs like codeine and hydrocodone, as well as illegal narcotics, like heroin. Prescription opioids accounted for over $9 billion in sales last year for companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical, Purdue Pharma and others.
Deaths linked to misuse and abuse of prescription opioids climbed to 19,000 in 2014, the highest figure on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heroin and opioid painkillers combined caused 28,650 fatal overdoses. Many prescription opioid abusers eventually switch to heroin because it sells for far less than black market pills and tablets.
Government officials have already tried a variety of approaches to tackling painkiller abuse in recent years. The FDA previously restricted drugs like Vicodin to limit refills and who can prescribe them. States like Florida and New York have cracked down on "pill mills" using databases to monitor what doctors are prescribing. Earlier this month, Massachusetts signed into law a seven-day limit on first-time prescriptions for opioids - the first of its kind in the nation.
The FDA announcement comes less than a week after the CDC released the first-ever national prescribing guidelines for using opioids. The agency said primary care doctors should only turn to opioids after considering physical therapy, over-the-counter medications, counseling and other methods for treating chronic pain. When prescribing opioids for short-term pain, the agency said doctors should prescribe a 3-day supply, whenever possible.
Narula called that a "huge" step. "It's the first time the national government has really stepped in in this way," she said.Commercial advertisements on LED screens installed along the newly-constructed Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple have not gone down well with the ‘sangat’.
Devotees visiting the shrine and those residing or running shops in the area find the ads, which are a source of revenue for both the Amritsar municipal corporation (MC) and Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), objectionable.
They have especially taken objection to an ad of a smartphone company that showed “scantily dressed” models. The authorities came into action after people vented their ire on the social media and stopped the screening of the specific ad. Other ads are still being screened.
“Darbar Sahib is the holiest Sikh shrine and screening of such nudity is highly condemnable and shameful. How can such a practice be allowed at a sacred place blessed by the Gurus?” questioned Papalpreet Singh, a devotee.
Rajiv Gupta, a resident, questioned: “Have these screens been installed only for showing ads?”
Five screens installed on PPP mode
On the wall of Saragarhi multi-storey parking, five such screens have been installed on the pattern of Times Square in New York, USA. At 100-by-30 feet, the screen at the centre is reportedly the largest in India. On the sides of the building, two pairs of smaller screens (30-by-30 feet) have been installed.
Initially, the authorities had claimed the screens will be used to play gurbani hymns and videos on Sikh history and heritage of Punjab. When HT team visited the area on Tuesday, it saw commercial advertisements being displayed on the biggest screen that is opposite Gurdwara Saragarhi. Gurbani being performed at the sanctum sanctorum was being screened on smaller ones.
“Only an hour and a half has been dedicated to the screening of gurbani and other non-commercial content to be decided by the district administration. The remaining time is meant for advertisements. The MC is to collect revenue on the ads, which would be in lakhs,” said Surjit Singh, PUDA executive engineer.
The project is being executed under the public private partnership (PPP) mode. Its contract has been given to Jaipur-based NS Publicity firm. PUDA, which is the custodian of the project, is charging ₹5 lakh annually from the firm, which has installed the screens and other related equipment.
Sources in the PUDA said the firm has started screening commercial ads despite the project being under trial. “The civic body is yet to give a no-objection certificate to it,” they said.
“The matter has come to our notice. The firm screened the objectionable ad mistakenly during a trial run. We will ensure such a thing doesn’t happen in future,” said Surjit Singh.
On being questioned on the issue, MC joint commissioner Sorabh Arora said: “I will look into the matter.” Calls to the Jaipur firm proved futile. An employee, who attended the call, refused to speak on the matter, arguing he was not in a position to give a statement.
First Published: Apr 12, 2017 11:54 ISTInstead of tearing the brewery down, the norm in Tehran with buildings more than 30 years old, he underwrote a restoration that preserved its industrial character. He called it the Argo Factory, not for the Hollywood movie on the Iranian hostage crisis but for the beer once produced there.
“For too long we have erased our history in Iran,” he said, standing in the building’s cavernous boiler room, now part of the exhibition space. “We shouldn’t tear down our buildings.”
When he first entered the building, it was filled with bottles, labels and receipts, proof that before the Islamic revolution alcohol consumption was common in Iran. “I’ve kept everything, such things are also a part of who we are.”
The Argo Factory, which opened in February, was an instant success. There is no entrance fee, and the works are not for sale. Art students flock there from across Iran, along with tourists and a variety of other Iranians. The first exhibition featured a French-Algerian artist, Neil Beloufa, who produces films and installations. Mr. Pejman invited the artist and his crew to Tehran, and they in turn interacted with Iranian artists to create the exhibition.Julian Zelizer, a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and a CNN political analyst, is author of " The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society." The opinions in this commentary are his own. This is the next installment in the CNN Opinion series on the challenges facing the media, under attack from critics, governments and changing technology.
(CNN) You're not going to read this in a tweet from President Donald Trump; but it can be said in a Twitter-length post: The free press is not an optional part of our democracy, it is an integral part of it. Without it, our political system can never be its best.
Yet clearly, the tensions between President Trump and the news media have heightened concern about the future of the free press |
, namely: (1) Metadata observation, when the work relies on the study of Github metadata; (2) surveys; (3) interviews; or (4) a mixture of methods. Other kinds of empirical methods are not added as dimensions since no instance of them were found.
Sampling techniques used, which classifies the sampling techniques used to build the datasets out of GitHub (i.e., subsets of projects and users input of the analysis phase for the papers). This dimension can take three values, namely: (1) non-probability sampling, (2) probability sampling; or (3) no sampling.
Self-awareness, which analyzes whether a paper reports on its own limitations (i.e., threats to validity).
The following figures summarize the results.
Which technologies have been used to extract and build datasets from GitHub?
Papers studying GitHub must first collect the data they need to analyze, which can either be created from scratch or by reusing existing datasets. We classified the selected papers according to:
Data collection process, which reports on the tool/s used to retrieve the data. Currently there are six possible values for this dimension according to the tool used: (1) GHTorrent [80], (2) GitHub Archive, (3) GitHub API, (4) Others (e.g., BOA [101]), (5) manual approach and (6) a mixture of them.
Dataset size and availability, which reports on the number of users and/or projects of the dataset used in the study, and indicates whether the dataset is provided together with the publication. This may help to evaluate the replicability of the work.
The following figures summarize the results.
What are the research communities and the publication fora used?
We believe it is also interesting as part of a systematic mapping study to characterize the research community behind the field, both in terms of the people and the venues where the works are being published. According to this, we analyzed the two following dimensions:
Researchers, which we propose to analyze by building the co-authorship graph of the selected papers. In this kind of graphs, authors are represented as nodes while co-authorship is represented as an edge between the involved author nodes. Furthermore, the weight of a node represents the number of papers included in the set of selected papers for the corresponding author while the weight of an edge indicates the number of times the involved author nodes have coauthored a paper. By using co-authorship graphs, we can apply well-known graph metrics to analyze the set of selected papers from a community dimension perspective.
Publication fora, which requires a straightforward analysis as we only have to use the venue where each selected paper was published.
Discussion
It’s undeniable the amazing opportunity that GitHub (or more specifically the millions of projects hosted there and all the available data that comes with them) offers to the software research community. Many useful findings have already been reported that I believe can make a significant impact on the way open source projects are managed (hopefully, making them more community-aware 🙂 ).
Still, we have also seen some issues regarding how some of these previous studies have done that could hinder the generalization of the results. I think it’s only fair to finish our metastudy with a list of concerns that we would like to see addressed in the future.
Lack of specific development areas and interdisciplinary studies. Our analysis of areas/topics reveals a lack of works studying GitHub with a more interdisciplinary perspective, e.g., from a political point of view (e.g., study of governance models in OSS), complex systems (e.g., network analysis) or social sciences (e.g., quality of discussions in issue trackers). We also miss works targeting early phases of the development cycle (e.g.s studying requirements and design aspects). Obviously, these kinds of studies are more challenging since there is typically fewer data available in GitHub or needs more processing.
Overuse of quantitative analysis. Right now, a vast majority of studies rely only on the analysis of GitHub metadata. We hope to see in the future a better combination of such studies (typically large regarding the spectrum of analyzed projects but shallow in the analysis of each individual project) with other studies targeting the same research question but performing a deeper analysis (e.g., including also interviews to understand the reasons behind those results) for a smaller subset of projects. We detected some evidences of this shift in the number of works applying longitudinal studies, where we found a positive trend, thus improving the situation detected in OSS by other works.
Poor sampling techniques. We believe that the GitHub research community could benefit from a set of benchmarks (with predefined sets of GitHub projects chosen and grouped according to different characteristics) and/or from having trustworthy algorithms responsible for generating diverse and representative samples according to a provided set of criteria to study. These samples could, in turn, be stored and made available for further replicability studies.
Small datasets size. Most papers use datasets of small-medium size, which are an important threat to the validity of results when trying to generalize them. Also, more than half of the analyzed paper did not provide a link to the dataset they used nor an automatic process to regenerate it, which may also hamper the replicability of the studies. However, it is important to note that the number of works sharing their datasets is increasing over time.
Low level of self-awareness. We believe the limited acknowledgment of their threats to validity (around 34% do not report any) puts the reader in the very difficult situation of having to decide by herself the confidence in the reported results the work deserves. Works reporting partial results or findings on very concrete datasets are perfectly fine but only as long as this is clearly stated. However, we detected an upward trend in reporting threats to validity in recent years.
Need of replication and comparative studies. Clearly urgent since almost none exist at the moment. replicability is hampered by some of issues above and the difficulties of performing (and publishing) replicability studies in software engineering. Comparative studies need to first set on a fixed terminology. Some papers may seem inconsistent when reporting on a given metric but a closer look may reveal that the discrepancy is due to their different interpretation. For instance, this is common when talking about success, popularity or activity in a project (e.g., one may consider a project successful as equivalent to popular, and by popular mean to be starred a lot, while the other may interpret successful as a project with a high commit frequency). Replicability
is also threaten in studies involving user interviews, as the material produced as a result of such interviews is normally not provided.
API restrictions limits the data collection process. GitHub self-imposed limitations on the use of its API hinders the data collection process required to perform wide studies. A workaround can be the use of OAuth access tokens from different users to collect the information needed. An OAuth access token is a form to interact with the API via automated scripts. It can be generated by a user to allow someone else to make requests on his behalf without revealing his password. Still, researchers may need a large number of tokens for some studies. To deal with this issue, we propose that GitHub either lifts the API request limit for research projects (pre-approving them first if needed) or offers an easy way for individual users to donate their tokens to research works they want to support.
Privacy concerns. Data collection can also bring up privacy issues. Through our study, we discovered that GitHub and third-party services, built on top of it, are sometimes used to contact users (using the email they provide in their GitHub profile) to find potential participants for surveys and interviews. This potential misuse of user email addresses can raise discontent and complaints from the GitHub users. Even when it is not clear whether such complaints are reasonable, the controversy alone may hamper further research works and therefore must be dealt with care. As with the tokens before, we would encourage GitHub to also have an option in the user profile page to let users say whether they allow their public data to be mined as part of research works and under what conditions.After blaming generational poverty on “broken people” who don’t believe in God, San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor loses her bid for re-election.
ABC reports:
Following a Saturday runoff election, the Alamo City has elected a new mayor into office. Ron Nirenberg garnered 54.59 percent of the votes with 54,010 votes, beating out incumbent Ivy Taylor who obtained 45.41 percent of the votes with 44,919 votes.
Earlier this year, while speaking at a mayoral forum, Mayor Taylor was asked about the “deepest systemic cause of generational poverty.”
Mayor Taylor replied:
To me, it’s broken people. People not being in a relationship with their Creator, and therefore, not being in good relationship with their families and their communities, and not being productive members of society. I think that’s the ultimate answer…
(Watch: San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor claims poverty is caused by “broken people” who don’t believe in God –)
In short, Mayor Taylor claims generational poverty is caused by “broken people” who don’t believe in God, essentially making the ludicrous claim that atheism causes poverty.
The mayor’s remarks about poverty reflect an astonishing and willful ignorance. Perhaps more important, there is something deliberately cruel and profoundly vicious in Taylor’s attempt to claim the root cause of poverty is people who don’t share her religious superstition, and that those individuals who do not share her religious superstition are somehow “broken people.”
After the election results came in, Taylor conceded the race, telling her supporters:
A majority of the votes have come in. It doesn’t look like it’s going the way that we anticipated this evening. But you know what? I am so grateful to God … I am at peace. I am so thankful to God for each and every person in this room, for your support, for your prayers, for being here.
Ron Nirenberg, Taylor’s opponent, and the new mayor of San Antonio, told his supporters:
Tonight, the voters got it right — on a lot of things. Tonight, the voters rejected the politics of division and false choices. And they said yes to a bigger and brighter vision of inclusion, of diversity, of fairness, or respecting each and every person in San Antonio, no matter if you live on the North Side, the South Side, the East Side, the West Side or any place in between. Tonight, the voters said yes to a mayor for all of San Antonio.
Bottom line: Mayor Taylor is an intolerant conservative Christian with no respect for poor people or atheists. Her remarks indicate a callous and insensitive disregard for both. As such, she has no business serving as Mayor of San Antonio.Dr. DeShawn Taylor is the medical director of Planned Parenthood Arizona. Dr. Taylor has been part of the Planned Parenthood family for seven years. I caught up with Dr. Taylor to ask her about her role at Planned Parenthood Arizona and her inspiration for becoming a reproductive-health provider.
When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?
In elementary school I knew I wanted to be a doctor or a teacher. By the time I got to junior high, I decided to go into medicine.
The first generation of post-Roe abortion providers “had a sense of urgency, because they knew that women needed safe abortions. They have seen women die as a result of botched abortions.”
What was your motivation for going into reproductive health?
Actually, I wanted to be a neurosurgeon for the longest time. During my sophomore year of college I read a book called “Gifted Hands” that was about an inspiring neurosurgeon. But my character doesn’t fit the role of a neurosurgeon. I don’t have a God complex, and neurosurgeons thrive on saving lives.
When I started to think about what else I would like to do, I knew I wanted to take care of women. I thought about practicing family medicine or becoming an ob/gyn. I decided that I had the ability to be a surgeon, so becoming an ob/gyn was a good fit for me. I also have a strong commitment to social justice, and I feel like it’s my duty to serve women. If a woman is pregnant and wants to keep the pregnancy, I will provide prenatal care and help her with her delivery. If a woman is pregnant and doesn’t want to be, I will give her an abortion. The woman is my patient, and that’s who I am here to serve.
One thing about my role as an ob/gyn that has been a little unexpected is that once you commit to providing abortions, you have to become an advocate for women, even if you didn’t plan on it. Abortion is such a polarizing issue that you turn into more than just a doctor when you’re an abortion provider. The role of advocate is forced on you, but you grow into it. I help women decide when, and if, they want to become a parent. It’s just the right thing to do.
When did you first become involved with Planned Parenthood? And what is your Planned Parenthood story?
My first interaction with Planned Parenthood was when I became a fellow in family planning at University of Southern California in 2005. In medical school I had learned how to perform abortions up to 16 weeks of pregnancy, and then with the fellowship I trained at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and learned how to perform abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. After the fellowship, I was offered a job at PPLA as an independent contractor.
I ended up here in Arizona because I had family out here. I randomly asked PPAZ if they needed a provider to come in on the weekends, since I was coming out here to visit so frequently. They told me they actually had an opening for the medical director position, and here I am. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I’ve been with Planned Parenthood for seven years, but I’m a lifer at this point.
Do you ever worry that there will be a shortage of abortion providers in the coming years, since many providers are retiring and many medical schools, like the one at the University of Arizona, do not provide training for abortion?
We have already seen shortages of abortion providers in this country. The Guttmacher Institute has released several reports that show the numbers of providers declining. A 2009 study showed that the decline had leveled off, since more people have been able to offer the abortion pill versus focusing only on surgical abortions.
The area where the shortage still exists is in the number of providers who provide second trimester abortions, particularly beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy. It’s a very small group of doctors who provide later abortions. The good news, though, is that the majority of abortions occur in the first seven weeks of pregnancy.
The biggest thing that we are losing when doctors retire is the generation of providers who have seen women die due to abortion being illegal before Roe. These doctors had a sense of urgency, because they knew that women needed safe abortions. They have seen women die as a result of botched abortions. But the current generation of young people doesn’t have that same sense of urgency. It’s similar to the civil rights era. Young people today don’t know what it was like when African Americans had to use a separate water fountain, and so they’re not as worried about civil rights issues.
What is Planned Parenthood Arizona doing to address this shortage of abortion providers?
We are part of the Family Planning Fellowship that is growing. It’s a multi-pronged approach to providing training, and part of it includes providing external medical training for medical students and residents. We work with Medical Students for Choice to bring students into Planned Parenthood health centers to learn how to perform abortions, as well as the whole range of reproductive health care we provide. It’s not just about abortion. Birth control education is seriously lacking in medical schools, too. Planned Parenthood Arizona is working on this, but the organization as a whole is also committed to training the next generation of abortion providers.
Thank you very much to Dr. Taylor for sharing her time with me, and for the very important work that she does for women here in Arizona.While redesigning the App Stores apps for iOS 6, Apple left out the podcasts section from the iTunes app. Many have speculated that Apple was building a separate app for podcasts, and it looks like those rumors are true, as Apple just released their new podcast app today for iOS. The free standalone app works on all iOS devices running iOS 5.1 or later and gives users a better hub to discover new audio and video podcasts.
Podcasts app is the easiest way to discover, subscribe to and play your favorite podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Explore hundreds of thousands of free audio and video podcasts from the Podcasts Catalog, and play the most popular podcasts, organized for you by topic, with the all-new Top Stations feature.
Features:
• Enjoy all of your audio and video podcasts in a single app
• Explore hundreds of thousands of podcasts including shows in over 40 languages
• Try the innovative new Top Stations feature to find new podcast series in a variety of topics, including arts, business, comedy, music, news, sports, and more.
• Browse by Audio or Video podcasts, or see what’s most popular in Top Charts
• Tap subscribe for your favorites and automatically receive new episodes for free as they become available
• Stream episodes or download to listen while offline
• Skip forward and back using simple playback controls
• Turn on Sleep Timer to automatically stop playing a podcast while listening in bed
• Share your favorite episodes with friends using Twitter, Messages and Mail
• Optionally sync your favorite episodes from iTunes on your Mac or PC
• Sync your episode playback for seamless transition between devices
Requirements:
• Requires a device with iOS 5.1 or later
• Optionally syncing episodes requires iTunes 10.6.3 or later
• Streaming or downloading episodes requires internet access over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connectionSome folks would have you believe that it would be all unicorns and ponies in Syria if only President Obama weren't so reluctant to use military force. If only President Obama would send more ground troops, or establish a "safe zone" along the Turkey-Syria border, or impose a "no fly zone," or bomb more with less concern about civilian casualties - why, we'd have ISIS whipped faster than you can say, "The Turkish government hates journalists more than they hate ISIS."
"Safe zone" - what an endearing and attractive phrase! Who could object to something so attractively named? But apparently U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds fighting ISIS object. Who knew?
AP reports:
Fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and rival militants has killed more than 20 people in northern Syria over the past two days, opposition activists said on Monday. The fighting between the so-called Democratic Forces of Syria, which is led by Kurds, and Islamic militants has flared in recent days in the northern province of Aleppo. Most of the fighting has taken place in the border area, where Turkey is examining the possibility of creating a safe zone to protect civilians and moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting is concentrated near the town of Azaz, close to the border with Turkey. Azaz has been repeatedly hit by Russian airstrikes in recent days. [...] Bahaa al-Halaby, an opposition activist based in Aleppo, said on Monday that... the fighting began when DFS launched an offensive and captured several villages before being pushed back by militants. "I think the aim of this attack is to thwart attempts to set up a safe zone," al-Halaby said via Skype. The DFS is led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which has been battling the Islamic State group across northern and eastern Syria with the aid of U.S.-led airstrikes. Turkey views the Kurdish forces, known by the acronym YPG, as an extension of the Kurdish PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. The YPG sees the plans for a safe zone as an effort by Turkey to use allied Syrian rebel factions to block its advance along the border.
Some folks talk about a "safe zone" as if we all know and agree on what a "safe zone" is. But according to the government of Turkey, the purpose of a "safe zone" is to protect Turkish-backed "Islamic militants" who are fighting U.S.-backed Kurdish forces for control of the Syria-Turkey border.
What are the Russians doing in this story? Western leaders complained that the Russians bombed Western-backed "moderate rebels" opposed to Assad. But AP implies that in this case "moderate rebels" being bombed by Russia are Turkish-backed "Islamic militants" fighting U.S.-backed Kurdish forces for control of the Syria-Turkey border. Of course, if U.S.-backed Kurdish forces controlled the border, that would cut ISIS' supply lines from Turkey.
It appears that the Turkish government's grievance against Russia is that Russia is helping execute the U.S. policy of helping Syrian Kurds close the border against ISIS, a U.S. policy that the Turkish government has worked to thwart.
Al Jazeera reports:
Moscow seems to be moving closer to a group that has been the US-led coalition's main ground force in Syria - a group which Turkey, itself a member of that coalition, calls "terrorists". SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
The Syrian Kurdish forces (YPG) is a US-backed Kurdish group that has pushed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) back from areas along the border with Turkey. In an attempt to change the solely "Kurdish face" of anti-ISIL ground troops, it aligned with some Arab brigades to form "the Syria Democratic Forces" (SDF). [...] The SDF are now engaged in a fierce battle with Turkey-backed opposition factions in what is considered to be an important corner of Syria - the northern countryside of Aleppo. To be more specific: the area west of the Euphrates River, which Turkey calls a red line. The SDF captured some opposition-controlled towns close to the Turkish border of Kilis - known in Syria as Bab al-Salameh, an important lifeline for rebel groups. Russian air strikes have been targeting the area for days now. Control there would allow the YPG to link predominantly Kurdish villages in the north, like Afrin, to areas under its administration from the town of Kobane to the Iraqi border. To do this, the YPG must first take control of Jarablous, an ISIL-controlled town along Turkey's border. [...] Days before the Russian plane was shot down, the US said it would start an operation with Turkey to finish securing the northern Syrian border area to cut off the remaining ISIL lifeline. Since then, there has been no talk about this military operation. The rules may now have changed. The YPG has still not pushed west of the Euphrates, but along with its allies, and with the help of Russian strikes, the SDF are threatening Turkey-backed opposition groups in another key border crossing, Kilis, west of Jarablous. Losing control of the northern countryside of Aleppo would be a setback for the opposition. Turkey, too, would lose influence.
It almost seems like the Russians are pursuing a policy of doing things in Syria that the U.S. would do if Turkey wouldn't object.
No wonder John McCain and Lindsey Graham are so eager to get 10,000 U.S. ground troops into Syria. Folks in Peoria might think: if the Russians are willing to do something in Syria instead of the U.S., that's great, that's one less thing that we have to do. Who cares if it bothers the Turkish government? But that's not how McCain and Graham see the world. According to McCain and Graham, if Russia does something in Syria that the U.S. would do if the government of Turkey wouldn't object, that's a threat to our way of life.
You can urge Congress to oppose sending U.S. ground troops to Syria here.Notice the correct spelling and punctuation in this Lions fan's sign. (Photo: Detroit Free Press)
What do you want, good grammar or NFL championships?
And if that reference resonates with you, you might just be old enough to remember the last time the Detroit Lions won one.
But the Lions apparently are No. 1 in the NFL in one thing, according to a study: fan grammar. So that's something.
Lions fans make an average of just 4.2 grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes per 100 words in posts to the team website, reports Grammarly, an automated proofing company (via the Washington Post).
That's the fewest among the NFL's 32 fan bases. The worst -- Washington Redskins fans -- make almost four times as many, with a rate of 16.5.
Lions fans also make less than half of the NFL's overall rate of 9.9 mistakes (which is more than the 8.2 by MLB and NHL fansm but fewer than NBA fans' 10.3 and NASCAR fans' 10.5).
Now the question is, why?
• Related: Follow Schrader's sports oddities in the Ticker
The Post points out that there seems to be no correlation between good grammar and winning. For example, Green Bay Packers fans are second-best (5.1), while New England Patriots fans are fourth-worst (11.6). Seattle Seahawks fans are right in the middle (7.2).
"Lions fans were also tied with Browns fans for fewest spelling mistakes," the Post's Geoff Foster writes. "It's possible this is just a byproduct of having to use the word 'Ndamukong' less often. That burden is now on Miami Dolphins fans."
Or maybe Lions fans' posts just contain more four-letter words, which are easier to spell.
Contact Steve Schrader: sschrader@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @schradz.
Beat writer Dave Birkett will answer your Lions questions in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday at freep.com/sports. Submit early questions here. Also join us for live blogs of the first two nights of the NFL draft. And check out our new Lions Xtra app on Apple and Android!Researchers have discovered a new species of extinct worm lizard in Texas and dubbed it the “Lone Star” lizard. The species — the first known example of a worm lizard in Texas — offers evidence that Texas acted as a subtropical refuge during one of the great cooling periods of the past.
A paper describing the new species was published on Feb. 18 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The species is officially named Solastella cookei. Solastella is a Latinized form of lone star.
“Nothing has been called Solastella before, which is amazing to me because there are so many fossils from Texas. It’s the one guy, and it’s from the Lone Star State, so it just seemed to fit,” said Michelle Stocker, a paleontologist who described the extinct reptile while earning her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences. She is now a research scientist at Virginia Tech.
The second part of the scientific name honors botanist William Cook, a professor at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, which owns the property where the fossils were collected.
Worm lizard is the common name for a group of reptiles called amphisbaenians, whose long bodies and reduced or absent limbs give them an earthworm-like appearance. The group includes extinct species as well as ones still living today. Solastella belonged to a subgroup called Rhineuridae, a group with only one living member — the Florida worm lizard.
Stocker identified Solastella as a new species by analyzing fossilized skulls that she unearthed in the Devil’s Graveyard Formation in West Texas. She found that Solastella lived during the Late Middle Eocene, a geologic period about 40 million years ago, and that its eye socket was fully enclosed, a feature lacking in all living amphisbaenians but present in extinct relatives.
The discovery of an amphisbaenian in Texas helps bridge the gap between extinct species found in the western interior of the U.S. and the living worm lizard in Florida today. It also supports the theory that Texas served as a subtropical refuge for species that found it difficult to survive during the cooling climate of the Late Middle Eocene.
“What’s special about reptiles is that they are ectothermic, or cold-blooded, so they need to maintain their body temperature to the external environment,” Stocker said. “You can actually get a better sense at what the climate was like from reptiles than from mammals. We were very excited that we not only found Solastella at the site, but a whole bunch of other reptiles.”
The presence of a variety of primate fossils in the same formation as Solastella also supports the idea that Texas was a refuge in a cooling climate, said Chris Kirk, a UT Austin anthropology professor who has conducted paleontological fieldwork in the Devil’s Graveyard Formation since 2005.
“Primates are generally tropically adapted mammals that prefer warm climates,” Kirk said. “The diverse primate community from the Devil’s Graveyard Formation is another indicator that the Big Bend region of Texas was warm, equable and forested during the Late Middle Eocene.”
Stocker said the discovery gives insight into how certain animal groups could respond to climate change in the future.
“With climate change, animals either adapt, or they move, or they go extinct. And so we can look at what’s happened in the past and see that certain conditions caused certain things to happen in certain groups,” Stocker said. “The great thing about the fossil record is that the experiment has already been done for us. We just have to collect the evidence.”[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.72″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]
This week, Impossible Foods commences production at its East Oakland site, in preparation to supply restaurants nationwide.
The Impossible Burger grew in popularity owing to its impossibly meat-like texture, appealing to many who miss the taste of meat having given it up for reasons other than ‘I don’t like the way it tastes.’
The project is set to be huge, with the this first large-scale plant expected to produce enough plant-based meat for 1 million Impossible Burgers every week – that’s a lot of burgers.
The company explained its “mission to transform the global food system”, commenting on the urgency to do so. Impossible Foods acknowledged the size of the project, saying, “the opportunity is huge – so we are embarking on one of the most ambitious scale-ups of any startup in the food industry.”
The Oakland plant is also boosting production, and soon enough will be able to make 1 million pounds of the vegan meat each month – enough to serve 1 million quarter-pound Impossible Burgers a week!
And the impact of production is not even a worry to the environment with The Impossible Burger using about 75% less water, generating approximately 87% fewer greenhouse gases and requiring around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows. Furthermore, the patty is produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors.
Impossible Foods CEO and Founder Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D said, i”[o]ur goal is to make delicious, sustainable, nutritious and affordable meat for everyone, as soon as possible.” Now that’s a goal we can all get behind.
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[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network] [/et_pb_social_media_follow][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]The official inquiry into that death, the Hutton Inquiry, was quickly convened and issue its report in January 2004, officially concluding that Dr. Kelly had taken his own life by a combination of slitting his left wrist and overdosing on coproxamol. Over the course of the decade, however, information has come to light suggesting that the Hutton Inquiry not only ignored key evidence in the case pointing to foul play, but that the report in fact actively covered up such evidence.
The cover up into Dr. Kelly’s death seemingly began before it even started. Operation Mason, the official police investigation into Dr. Kelly’s death, started nine hours before his family even reported him missing.
One of the key witnesses to the Hutton Inquiry and the man who found Dr. Kelly’s body, Detective Constable Coe, now admits that there was surprisingly little blood at the scene for a man who supposedly bled to death. Stunningly, he also admits that he lied to the inquiry in saying that there was only himself and his partner at the scene that day, now admitting that there was an unidentified third man there that many have speculated was someone with the security services.
David Bartlett, the paramedic who pronounced Dr. Kelly dead at the scene, claimed that his body had obviously been moved and confirmed there was surprisingly little blood near the body, saying “I’ve seen more blood at a nosebleed than I saw there.” He also said that as soon as the body was found, the police threw a “blackout” around the scene. He was even banned from speaking to his own control room over radio, the first time that this had happened in his career.
A flight log released under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year proves that a helicopter landed at the scene just 90 minutes after the discovery of the body. The flight log, which has been heavily redacted, shows that the helicopter only remained on the ground for five minutes before taking off. To this day, the presence of the helicopter at the scene has never been officially explained and there is no indication as to what it was dropping off or picking up from the scene of the crime.
In 2008, one of his colleagues and personal confidants, Mai Pederson, came forward to say that Dr. Kelly could not have killed himself in the manner suggested because he had difficulty using his right hand for strenuous activities because of a painful injury he had sustained to his right elbow. Still, the official conclusion of the Hutton Inquiry holds that Kelly used a knife in his right hand to slit his left wrist.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence, however, is the testimony of a group of doctors who have come together in recent years to provide expert testimony challenging the official claim of suicide.
It is their contention that the verdict of suicide does not fit with the medical evidence presented in the case, and they have formed a group in recent years to petition the UK government to convene a coroner’s inquest into the death, something that should have been done in the first place but was not.
Last week I had the chance to talk to one of the doctors who has been vocal in challenging the results of the Hutton Inquiry, Dr. David Halpin. I asked him about some of the medical evidence that problematizes the official verdict that Dr. Kelly’s death was a suicide.
Shortly after the group of doctors and barristers questioning Dr. Kelly’s death formed in 2009 to put pressure on the government to re-open the investigation, it was revealed that Lord Hutton had taken the extraordinary measure of classifying all of the medical records used by the inquiry, including the post-mortem findings and photographs of the body, for 70 years, a decision that not even the Ministry of Justice was able to explain the legal basis for.
A widespread public backlash forced the government to release the post-mortem documents in late 2010. After reviewing the post-mortem, Dr. Michael Powers, QC, a former coroner and one of the doctors demanding an inquest, noted that there was in fact no new information revealed in the report and that the release of the documents may have been an attempt to close off the option of a coroner’s inquest into the death in the face of massive public support for the reopening of the Kelly case.
Indeed, in June of 2011, UK Attorney General Dominic Grieve did refuse to open an inquest into the matter.
Now, Dr. Halpin is involved in an attempt to open a judicial review into the decision not to convene an inquest on the death. Paying for the proceedings out of his own pocket, this retired orthopedic surgeon is now shouldering the brunt of the responsibility for attempting to see a proper investigation into the many discrepancies in the Dr. Kelly case.
In recent months an independent grassroots campaign to raise funds for the legal battle for an inquest has sprung up, and the public continues to show great concern over this case.
In my conversation, I had the chance to ask Dr. Halpin about the public’s support, and why convening an inquest into Dr. Kelly’s death is a matter of such importance.“Gambling Is ‘Morally Wrong, Politically Unwise,’ says Elder Oaks,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 76–77
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve, speaking at a Ricks College devotional assembly January 6, said gambling is both “morally wrong” and “politically unwise.”
He noted that lotteries and other forms of gambling are immoral and said that it is regrettable that governments would tolerate gambling and reprehensible that they would promote it.
Elder Oaks quoted the current First Presidency and earlier Church leaders in emphasizing the Church’s unyielding opposition to gambling in any form. He also quoted journalists, representatives of other religions, and government agencies who warn of the evils of gambling.
“Gambling is a game of chance that takes without giving value in return,” he said, adding that news coverage of lotteries and other gambling “only tells of the winners. All are encouraged to ignore the reality that the winner has been enriched at the expense of a multitude of losers.
“A state-sponsored lottery,” he said, “is sugar-coated with the phony sweetness of a good cause,” such as responding to state financial needs, while both moral and financial costs are ignored.
“Gambling tends to corrupt its participants,” Elder Oaks said. “Its philosophy of something for nothing undermines the virtues of work, industry, thrift, and service to others.”
Elder Oaks, a onetime state supreme court justice and former president of Brigham Young University, said gamblers commonly deprive themselves, often impoverish their families, and sometimes steal from others to finance their indulgence.
Seemingly innocent state-sponsored lotteries, he said, can ultimately lead to highly visible public gambling with its associated immoral influences of crime, prostitution, and alcohol.
Regarding political objections to gambling, Elder Oaks said, “Gambling is bad political policy. … A law that permits |
decrease or improve.
Thought Summary
So far, I believe the Note5 has plenty of potential and I’ve been impressed by many of its individual aspects. I still don’t know how these will hold up when I take them through more intensive testing, and I also don’t feel the price has justified itself yet. The Note 4 remains an amazing device and further comparisons should reveal whether the Note5 is worth the extra cash. For a phone without microSD and removable battery, this phone packs a lot of power user features.
I will be looking at this phone in-depth in the coming week to write an in-depth review akin to my ZenFone 2 review. If you like the style of that review, I believe you will love what’s coming. But most importantly, I want it to answer any question or doubt you might have. So I ask you,“Our goal is to make Instagram a friendly, fun and, most importantly, safe place for self expression," said Instagram's head of public policy, Nicky Jackson Colaco, in a statement to The Post. "We have slowly begun to offer accounts with high volume comment threads the option to moderate their comment experience. As we learn, we look forward to improving the comment experience for our broader community.”
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Social media app Instagram is planning to launch a new feature that allows its users personalized control over the comments shared on each of their posts.The company has long had blanket rules for what constitutes appropriate speech on its network, but the new comment filter ability will let each user tweak specific rules to their own liking, since "different words or phrases are offensive to different people" (via The Washington Post ).Some businesses have already gotten a look at the new feature, letting them automatically weed out comments and posters with specific triggering phrases. In the next few weeks, more "high-profile accounts" will get their hands on comment moderation, with the ability to also switch comments off completely on a post-by-post basis.Normal users will have to wait a while longer to moderate their own posts, since Instagram said it will launch the feature to all its users "in the coming months." The company is planning on using feedback from higher-volume accounts to fine tune the new feature before handing it out to its more than 300 million daily active users Instagram is available for free on the App Store. [ Direct LinkManchester, New Hampshire (CNN) Hillary Clinton will meet with a group of civil rights leaders in New York City on February 16, her campaign aides said on Friday.
Clinton, aides said, will meet with "some of the top leaders and civil rights organizations... to discuss the unfinished business that our country faces, including voting rights, poverty, unemployment, mass incarceration, and racial inequities."
The news comes on the day Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders is expected to be endorsed by Ben Jealous, the former head of the NAACP,
Clinton's meeting will include representatives from the National Urban League, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, including Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League; Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network; Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Benjamin Crump, president of the National Bar Association.
The meeting is a way for Clinton to shore up support with civil rights groups ahead of contests in Nevada and South Carolina, two states with sizable black populations.
Read MoreTHIS is change you can believe in
Vice President Joe Biden made a campaign stop in Chillicothe, Ohio today, popping in at a local Obama for America (OFA) office to fire up volunteers and speak with folks who were being called by the phonebank that was in progress. During the visit, he pulled off to the side to speak to two middle-aged women in private.
The two women were Cathy Pool and her partner of 25 years, Mendy Yates.
During their conversation, speaking about marriage equality, he told the couple, “It’s going to happen.”
He “thanked us for the courage to hang in there,” Ms. Pool said. “He told us, ‘It’s going to happen.’”
Ms. Pool said the president announcing his support for same-sex marriage meant “everything in the world.”
“There hasn’t been a presidential candidate yet – or even, very few governors, anybody, senators, who have courage enough to even say that,” she said. “And it’s nice to be acknowledged. Whether we would choose to get married or not, we should have the right to do so.”
Think there’s no difference between the two parties? Think Mitt Romney has the interest of everyday Americans in mind?
Think again.
The Republicans are backward-thinking vestiges of a long-gone era when we didn’t talk about homosexuals at all, much less marriage equality for same-sex couples. Democrats are taking the lead on taking our country FORWARD in so very many ways and marriage equality is just one of them.
Change you truly CAN believe in.
[From pool reports]If you’ve been following this blog for a while, then you know already: I freaking love Iceland. “Magical,” which is often the word I use to describe this country, barely even begins to describe how stunning it is. Iceland is an absolute dream so when people ask me for advice on where to go, I let them know there truly is no wrong place to go. There is no town to visit, no road you can turn down, no random stop by the side of the road, and no hike up to a viewpoint that is anything short of breathtaking.
It seems that more and more people are heading off to this amazing country, and I know that saying, “Go anywhere, you’ll love it!” isn’t exactly the most helpful advice. This summer I revisited Iceland and here were five of my favorite places that absolutely made the trip.
Mývatn
Northern Iceland really captured my heart during my first trip, and this visit was no different. There’s a lot to do in the area, from exploring the Dimmuborgir lava fields to Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall. The adorable little city of Akureyri also has a charming downtown area filled with enticing restaurants and bars.
I honestly can’t imagine a trip to Iceland without going to the Mývatn Nature Baths, so it was a big deciding factor in the itinerary. My dream was soaking there under the midnight sun, and I came about as close as you can get (they technically close the pool off to people 15 minutes before midnight). Nothing compares to shivering your way over to the entrance ramp and slowly submerging your body in the toasty aquamarine waters of the lagoon.
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
Images of Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon had littered my Pinterest feed for over a year before my trip, but it still didn’t take away from seeing it in person. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Although it’s a little removed from Reykjavik, the spot is otherwise pretty easy to reach (in the summer, at least) and too damn pretty. Take your time here to explore every nook and cranny, and if the weather isn’t too chilly you can even sit down and enjoy a picnic like I did. Fjaðrárgljúfur is halfway between the black sand beaches of Vik and the glacial lake called Jökulsárlón, making for a pretty rad south Iceland itinerary.
And while I don’t often go too deep into my personal life, I can attest that this is a pretty unbeatable location to get engaged (yes, really 🙂 ). So if you want yo’ girl to say yes, take her here.
Westfjords (Ísafjörður)
For whatever reason, when I first looked up the Westfjords online I was less than intrigued, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. The Westfjords are only visited by 14% of the tourists that go to Iceland, and understandably so—it’s rather remote and the roads in the winter, while drivable, are certainly not for the faint of heart.
For some serious untouched-by-man type of nature, this is the place to go. Driving around here will take far longer than you expect, both because the roads curve in and around the fjords and because you’ll want to stop every few hundred feet to take photos. Because I had limited time my trip involved flying into Ísafjörður rather than driving many days to it, but I know people who have spent a week or more dedicated to traveling by campervan through this beautiful region of Iceland.
Heydalur is pretty much the most non-resort resort you’ll ever find. The beauty of the Westfjords is right outside your doorstep, the food in their restaurant is crazy good (tasty veggie options, too), they offer activities like kayaking and horseback riding (of which I did both), and they have a natural hot pot. Pretty much it was heaven on earth and I never wanted to leave.
I spent about three days here and it was an absolute wonderland. Iceland is not known for being the most affordable destination, but Heydalur was actually the least expensive option I found among this section of the Westfjords and everything—from the scenery to the service—blew me away. They also offer camping options rather than rooms for those looking to save some money on lodging. So if you’re lucky enough to make it to the Westfjords, book yourself a couple of nights for some serious R&R.
Purple Lupine Fields in South Iceland
Driving around Iceland in the winter was so different than my most recent experience in the summer. Most of the landscape in winter is snow snow snow, so you can imagine my delight when looking out the car window to see flowers flowers flowers. Purple lupines for days! Seriously, these lovely flowers are everywhere, although I saw the most of them when driving around the southern part of the country (on the way from Reykjavik to Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, to be exact). They were too tempting to not frolic in.
Which place would you most want to visit in Iceland?
Photo credits:
Matt Christensen
moiThe continent is now bottom of the list for many Chinese who previously saw the continent as a dream destination with its fascinating mix of culture, cuisine, shopping and history. The most recent attacks in Germany and France are only adding to the fear anyone in Europe could be the next victim. Monday's axe attack on a train in Wuerzburg, Germany, has meant the continent is now officially a no-go area for many Chinese after four Hong Kong people were among those seriously injured by 17 year old Afghan refugee.
EPA•Getty Chinese tourists are being put off coming to Europe due to terror attacks like the one in Germany
These unexpected events have led to increased uncertainty, which is seen as a cancer for the tourism industry Xu Xiaolei
He has been named locally as Muhammed Riyad, and a video purporting to show the attacker was released Islamic State (ISIS). In the clip a man with a knife said he was a "soldier of the calpihate" and pledged allegiance to the evil jihadi group.
NC Muhammed Riyad attacked train passengers with an axe, severely injuring four Hong Kongers
An unnamed married couple, their 26 year old daughter, Tracy Yau Hiu-tung and her 31 year old boyfriend, Edmund Au Yeung were all injured by the teenager who was shot dead by German police as he fled the scene on Monday. The 63 year old father and Mr Au Yeung are fighting for their lives at the University Hospital of Wuerzburg, with one of the men sustaining a severe head injury and the other serious injuries to his abdomen, Dr Georg Ertl, hospital director, said. The two women were also injured while the older couple's 17 year old son managed to escape the attack on the train they had boarded as part of a visit to Germany following a trip to England for a wedding.
Since the incident, many Chinese people have taken to the internet to discuss whether it is safe to travel to Europe. Qiuzouxi, a user on Weibo - China's version of Twitter - said: "Since the refugee wave arrived in Europe we have the feeling that the terrorism won't stop. "France, Germany - in future terrorism will spread to all of Europe."
EPA The Nice attack last Thursday has meant Chinese tourists are avoiding France
EPA The coup in Turkey has also put Chinese off coming to Europe
Following last week's attack in Nice, when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel killed 84 after ploughing a lorry into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, Chinese tourists are striking France off their holiday list as well, Xu Xiaolei, marketing manager at China CYTS Tours, said. He said: "These unexpected events have led to increased uncertainty, which is seen as a cancer for the tourism industry."
Pray for Nice: The world pays tribute to victims of Bastille Day attack Mon, July 18, 2016 Gabby Logan, Simon Cowell and Justin Timberlake lead tributes to the 84 victims of the horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France on Bastille Day. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 37 A general view shows the crowd gathering on the Promenade des Anglais during a minute of silence on the third day of national mourning to pay tribute to victims of the truck attack in NiceExtracted from Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance by John G. Vibes
What is morality? This question has been debated by philosophers since the beginning of time. Today, it is one of the most confusing and volatile topics in western culture. Throughout human history, our course of action has been directed by our sense of morality and our code of ethics. In other words our concept of “right and wrong” or “good and evil” has had a direct impact on our behavior.
Ethically speaking, our species has come a very long way since the dark ages, but the progression is far from over, and has unfortunately slowed to a screeching halt in the 20th century. Sure, the slave trade has slowed down, authoritarian psychopaths now have velvet gloves over their iron fists and people are at least starting to pretend that civil liberties have a place in our society, but we still have a very long way to go.
Humanity is at a very interesting crossroads, we now know right from wrong, but we continue to allow immorality to take place for the sake of convenience. This is much in the same way that the cigarette smoker knows that they really should quit, but just can’t bring themselves to actually do it. What we are lacking here is an objective and universal code of ethics that holds every human being to the same moral standard and is consistent in all circumstances. Throughout time, there has existed a double standard, in which the masses have been subject to a completely different set of rights and expectations than their rulers experienced.
A double standard is basically the idea that different people are subject to different rules and expectations based on arbitrary characteristics, such as their class position, race, sex or social status. This idea becomes even more complicated when you throw “proxies” into the mix. A “proxy” is basically a group or organization that accepts blame and responsibility for the actions of individual people. To put this term into perspective, many people see the word “proxy” as another way of saying “barrier” or “shield”.
Governments and corporations are the most obvious and oppressive examples of this phenomenon in our society. When people do something on behalf of the government or a corporation they are almost never held accountable for their actions, this is one of the primary purposes of governments and corporations to begin with. These proxies legitimize the unethical actions of individual people and protect them from any legal consequences.
The double standards created by governments and corporations are at the very root of human suffering and environmental destruction. We have come to the understanding as a species that murder, theft, kidnaping, and other forms of violence are completely unacceptable human behaviors. Unfortunately it isn’t that simple. This is where the double standards come in, because the aforementioned violent acts are excused if they are carried out by agents of the state, or the corporate establishment. This is why none of the people who were responsible for the financial collapse or the murder of civilians in Iraq have been brought to justice. Murder is seen as justified if it takes place on a battlefield; theft is seen as charity if it takes place at the hands of an IRS agent; and kidnapping is seen as justice if the police are locking up a nonviolent offender.
This is the insane world that we have found ourselves in: a world of subjective law and subjective morality where the most heinous atrocities are given a pass if they are ordered or allowed by someone in “authority”. Gang members and serial killers account for a very tiny percentage of the violence that takes place on the entire planet, as these people are forced to do their deeds in secret and they are subject to the consequences of law.
On the other hand, state-sponsored thieves and murderers like the IRS, the army, or the police are cloaked by the false legitimacy that is created by the proxy of government. Corporations work very much the same way thanks to a little-known legal loophole called “corporate personhood”. This is why no one is held accountable when the CEOs at Exxon make decisions that bury tropical islands in crude oil, or when the CEOs at Goldman Sachs make decisions that cause millions to be homeless.
On the other hand, your average citizens are under constant scrutiny and are always 10 steps behind the tiny few who are given a license to murder, cheat, and steal. This is why there is so much inequality and violence in the world, because some people are allowed to cheat, steal, and commit violence without consequence. It really is that simple.
This subjective legal structure is quite effective in keeping people in their place, but it only goes so far because it doesn’t control people’s behavior when they are in private.
This is where morality comes in. Moral arguments have long been used by religious or political organizations to manipulate people and dictate their personal decisions, even when “the law” isn’t looking. These various establishments constantly twist the definitions of “right and wrong” depending on the circumstance to suit their own needs and steer human behavior in a direction of their choosing. Strict judgments about victimless actions and obedience to authority have been imposed on us and our ancestors and sold to us as moral virtue. At the same time, those in power and authority have been given a pass to violate these established moral values as a matter of contrived necessity.
Generally, when a violent crime is committed, the suspect is at least sought after to face punishment for their crime. However, if that criminal is sanctioned by the state, their aggression is overlooked and considered to be perfectly moral. This is nothing new, control systems throughout history have used inconsistent moral standards to warp the minds of their subjects. One of the primary objectives of any government is to justify or legitimize their own aggressions and to ultimately develop a monopoly on the use of force so no one is able to challenge their power. This is why the idea of a clear and consistent moral standard is so repulsive to those in power, because they know it will ultimately negate their double standard, hold them accountable for their unjust actions, and revoke their license to threaten and kill.
In short, authority figures establish ethical guidelines based on their own self-interest and then tell the public “do as I say, not as I do…because I said so”. This is a completely unjust and illogical way of evaluating ethics, because it’s NOT intended to evaluate ethics, it is simply a con intended to make obedience a virtue in the eyes of the oppressed. Obedience is never a virtue. When ideas about morality are forcefully imposed and are not practiced by those who enforce them, it is not just those particular ideas that are rejected by the population, but the whole concept of morality altogether is rejected with it. This is a natural reaction to counter the cognitive dissonance that has been created by years of contradictory ethical standards and inconsistent moral codes. After so many generations of suffering under the false moral codes of different ruling classes, many people nowadays just shut off and roll their eyes at the mere mention of morality.
This multi-generational corruption of morality has left the majority of people generally confused and frustrated with ethical concepts, thus giving way to the philosophies of pragmatism and solipsism. Both of these philosophies basically equate to moral relativism, the idea that there is no such thing as objective morality. This has been the doctrine of solipsism for ages, while pragmatism is just a newer reformatted version of this same philosophy. These ideas did not naturally develop in the human consciousness, but were implanted into mainstream culture through the media and education system. When adopted in the early 20th century, pragmatism implicitly justified state violence and actively demoralized future generations by ruling that ethics were subjective, and a matter of opinion.
Moral relativism is essentially the idea that morality does not exist and cannot be defined, but rather is only a matter of agreed upon social convention. This is the core principle which was embodied in the philosophical Trojan horse of pragmatism. Pragmatism is one of the most popular and misunderstood concepts in western thought. It sounds nice, if you look up the definition of “pragmatism” you will see the word “practical” used multiple times without establishing exactly what that means. Let’s take a look, here is the definition of “pragmatism” from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.
“ An American movement in philosophy marked by the doctrines that the meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief” [1]
This definition is rather confusing, but when you sift through the newspeak you will find a philosophy that doesn’t really stand for anything, but just “goes with the flow” and disregards the search for truth and morality. The pragmatist blindly seeks out the path of least resistance without attempting to properly understand how that path came to be. This mentality is obviously reckless, irrational, and nihilistic, yet is unbelievably popular because it allows people to take a passive role in reality without feeling any guilt or shame.
If a person believes that there are no moral absolutes they are then able to justify their own unethical actions, as well as turn their back on the unethical actions of others, if that’s what feels good for them at the time. This is obviously a very appealing philosophy for people who have been trained from birth to accept authority and feel incapable of achieving any good in this world even if they tried. It is also somewhat understandable that people would adopt this mindset, considering they been through a lifetime of watching various religious sects battle over subjective moral standards. Likewise, they have seen corrupt political organizations use moral arguments to oppress nonviolent people and justify their own violence at the same time.
Most peaceful and rational people get very turned off by these kinds of situations, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, this is the very reason that pragmatism and ideas of moral relativism are so attractive to the current generation, because people are understandably sick and tired of having their personal lives governed by irrational and subjective moral edicts. This is most likely the same reason why many of the philosophers and academics who got any attention during the 20th century embraced these ideas, but there were still a few rebels who saw these ideas for what they really were.
One such rebel was author and philosopher Ayn Rand. In her book For the New Intellectual she gives a brilliant description of the pragmatist philosophy and its implications on ethics in society. She said:
They [The Pragmatists] declared that philosophy must be practical and that practicality consists of dispensing with all absolute principles and standards—that there is no such thing as objective reality or permanent truth—that truth is that which works, and its validity can be judged only by its consequences—that no facts can be known with certainty in advance ……whatever one wishes to be true, is true, whatever one wishes to exist, does exist, provided it works or makes one feel better.…. and anyone who holds any firm convictions of his own is an arbitrary, mystic dogmatist, since reality is indeterminate and people determine its actual nature.[2]
While I don’t personally agree with every single aspect of Ayn Rand’s work (specifically her blind loyalty towards big business and promotion of egoism), she did have a lot of great ideas that have made it a lot easier for future generations to understand philosophy. More recently, in 2011 a world renowned scholar and educator named John Taylor Gatto shared similar thoughts in an interview with Richard Grove of Tragedy and Hope media.
Gatto said “If you now connect pragmatism with the concept of justified sinning, you have an absolute blank check in any situation, to invent truth, invent justice, sacrifice biologically inconsequential people and invent any excuse for doing anything that you want. It seems to me that’s been the driving force in American affairs for a long long time, but interestingly enough it’s been the driving force of an intellectual elite, I believe, through history.” [3] So in other words, people in power use these philosophies to control the minds of the entire human population, in order to justify their crimes and rationalize the twisted civilization that they have created.
The philosophy of moral relativism has been embedded in our culture for several generations, so by now it has become an unquestioned and unconscious convention. Today children grow up learning this philosophy without even realizing it, much in the same way that they learn other cultural traits like accents, slang terms or even personality traits. These are all things that we pick up unconsciously from the culture we grow up in, as we are constantly exposed to these ideas through the media, education, family and our peers.
Many children who adopt this philosophy still manage to become intelligent adults who openly reject culturally imposed dogma, without realizing that their whole worldview is corrupted by the subliminal dogma of pragmatism. Our lives are filled with encounters where people use pragmatic arguments to explain their actions or defend the status quo, so naturally this mindset becomes quite popular without ever being explicitly described or understood. Unfortunately, moral relativism, solipsism and pragmatism are the dominant ethical philosophies of the modern age, which has rendered our generation, and several before it demoralized, hedonistic and apathetic.
If a consistent moral standard is necessary to create a truly free and civilized society then those standards must apply to everyone equally. Interestingly enough, such a standard has already been proposed and is practiced by freedom seekers worldwide.
That standard is known as the Non-Aggression Principle or NAP for short. The common law institute describes the non-aggression principle as “do not initiate force or fraud”, or “if it harms none, do what you will”, or “treat others as you’d like to be treated”, or “live and let live”. In more detail, “Do not initiate force or fraud against anyone else’s person or property.” In other words, “except for self-defense, don’t harm others, don’t harm or steal their property, don’t break your word, and don’t try to coerce anyone by threatening to do any of these things, and don’t delegate or encourage anyone to do any of these things.”
This principle, in large part, makes up the philosophy known as natural law. When one speaks of natural law, they are referring to the universal moral code of non-aggression. However, natural law is a deeper philosophy that covers a lot more territory, while the non-aggression principle is a very specific concept within the realm of natural law.
Don’t hurt anyone, be honest and don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you. In reality, this is all common sense to most average people, and the good majority of the world’s population would prefer to live their lives according to these principles. Some people will even argue that our society is already functioning according to these principles, and for the most part they would be right. However, those who claim positions of authority over others are the most likely to violate these principles, because they are given a pass to do so.
By this non-aggression standard we can say “if you initiate the use of force and harm another person, or you violate their property you are acting immorally”. This rule applies to every human being regardless of what title they happen to have or costume they happen to be wearing. This is a moral standard that aims to protect the individual rights and personal property of every human being, regardless of class or social position. This would be recognized as fair, only customs that are seen as fair will actually be respected by society, which is why subjective and inconsistent standards are never fully respected and encourage chaos.
Subjective ethical standards are seen as optional by most people, so they fail to create any kind of social order, which is apparently what they are intended to do. The reason that most people see these standards as optional is because they are rarely obeyed by those in power. If the most powerful people in the world are behaving like savages, then that sends a message to the rest humanity that behaving like a savage will bring you power, wealth and happiness. This seems like a natural psychological reaction to me, as disturbing as it is, it does make a lot of sense.
No one wants to be a victim of violence, theft or fraud, it is these fears that are responsible for the development of law and morality in philosophy to begin with. Unfortunately, neither law nor morality is currently achieving this goal because their honest intention is not to protect people but to fleece and control them.
QUOTE SOURCES AND SUGGESTED READING
[0] Manly P. Hall – personal collection of audio lectures
[1] Merriam Webster Online Dictionary
[2] For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand
[3] Peace Revolution by John Taylor Gatto
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John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he is also the owner of a successful music promotion company. In 2013, he became one of the organizers of the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance at bookpatch.com.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sending a BTC tip to John at: 19LXYYxEjXguRnQ1GNyF78RBoiCPEircicSoftware developer’s body likely found in bay, family says
Dan Ha, 26, went missing from his SoMa apartment around 8 p.m. on Friday Oct. 31, 2104. His family believes a body pulled from San Francisco Bay Tuesday Nov. 12, 2014 to be his. Dan Ha, 26, went missing from his SoMa apartment around 8 p.m. on Friday Oct. 31, 2104. His family believes a body pulled from San Francisco Bay Tuesday Nov. 12, 2014 to be his. Photo: Williams, Kale / Courtesy/Salina Truong Photo: Williams, Kale / Courtesy/Salina Truong Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Software developer’s body likely found in bay, family says 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
The family of 26-year-old San Francisco software developer Dan Ha, who went missing on Halloween, said Wednesday that they believe his body was pulled from the bay Tuesday morning.
Joseph Ha, Dan Ha’s younger brother, said a body recovered north of Alcatraz was not in recognizable condition, but that clothes, wallet contents and a phone found with the body appear to have belonged to his sibling.
“Dan was a talented and inspirational brother, son and friend with a huge heart and brilliant mind who touched the lives of so many people,” Joseph Ha said in a statement. “He truly loved life and lived it to the fullest.”
Dan Ha left his South of Market apartment near Fourth and Brannan streets around 8 p.m. Oct. 31 and was not seen or heard from after that, said friend Salina Truong. He took his wallet but left other items behind.
Ha had called in sick on Halloween to his job at Metromile, where he worked as an iOS developer, and he failed to show up for a company event that weekend.
The medical examiner did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but Ha’s family does not believe he would have taken his own life.
“Dan has never indicated having any intention of harming himself,” Joseph Ha said. “Dan did not leave a note, had scheduled a doctor’s appointment the morning of his disappearance, and was scheduled to attend a work event the next day.”
A memorial service is planned for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church at 16th and Dolores streets.
Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkaleA woman stands next to a solid gold statue of an ox during the official inauguration of a skyscraper tower in Huaxi village, Jiangsu province, October 8, 2011. Reuters/Carlos Barria No matter who wins the US election, it will be bullish for the gold price.
So says James Steel, chief precious metals analyst at HSBC, who believes that gold will continue to rally in the year ahead, particularly should Donald Trump take the presidency.
"In addition to economic and financial events, gold is sensitive to geopolitical and even social developments," said Steel in a research note released on Tuesday.
"This US election may be particularly important in setting the course of US economic policy and foreign policy and hence for gold prices, given the severity of the challenges facing the economy (including still-sluggish economic growth, income inequality, high debt levels and low productivity) and foreign policy entanglements and challenges."
Here's his view on what to expect from a Clinton win, still regarded as the most plausible outcome based off most major polls right now:
Such an outcome would largely support our current expectations for gold. Our bullish base case, built on expectations of a low rate environment and recovering physical demand, is a forecast of USD1,400/oz by end-2016 with an average forecast price of USD1,275/oz. For 2017, we forecast gold at USD1,440/oz by year end with an average price forecast of USD1,310/oz. If Mrs. Clinton wins, we believe her trade policies in particular and shift to protectionism would reaffirm our already bullish outlook. If contrary to current poll indications the Democrats also take control of Congress, then there could be a more expansionary fiscal policy. This could have a more bullish impact on our 2017 forecasts.
Steel's end-2016 forecast under a Clinton victory for $US1,400 an ounce is very bullish is itself, representing an increase of 8.7% from the current spot level.
Spot Gold Daily Chart Business Insider Australia
However, under a Trump victory, the degree of Steel's bullishness goes up a notch, or perhaps two or three:
A Trump win would be decidedly gold-bullish, in our view, given the potential for increased protectionism, higher budget spending and geopolitical risks. Gold prices could jump to USD1,500/oz relatively quickly, and end the year at that level on a Trump win. This could raise our 2016 average price to USD1,300/oz. For 2017, gold could rise further to USD1,575/oz by year end with an average of USD1,410/oz.
With less than 60 days left in the year, that forecast implies massive upside of 16.5%, an enormous increase in anyone's language.
Steel's bullish forecasts will be put to the test before long with the outcome of the election likely to be known by this time next week.
That's right. There's now less than one week to go.
The spot price for gold currently sits at $US1,288 an ounce. It has rallied 21.4% so far in 2016.Clothed in bacteria
By Martina Efeyini
In her work “Crocheted Membrane,” Bäumel’s wearable pieces reflect the body’s true thermal requirements. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF SONJA BÄUMEL
Bioartist Sonja Bäumel is developing new concepts of clothing inspired by the bacteria that coat human skin. Based in Amsterdam and working across the disciplines of art, design, fashion and biology, Bäumel hopes to create awareness of microbial life and make the fashion world take note of the connectedness and continuity of life forms. She has captured and bred her own bacteria to create a visible bacterial map of the body, and she has knit membranelike coverings that are modeled on the actions of colonies of bacteria, which adaptively respond to climactic factors and the body’s thermal requirements.
In her work “Crocheted Membrane,” Bäumel created wearable pieces that cover lightly or more heavily based on the needs of a particular body part to be cooled or warmed. She is looking into slime fungi as a kind of coating of clothing — a visible, flexible membrane that could interact with existing skin bacteria and adapt to its climactic surroundings.The fungi could coat every body differently and become an expression of each individual’s microbiome. And in her project, “(In) Visible Membrane,” Bäumel asked what would happen if clothing could be designed to use skin bacteria’s knowledge of heat and modulate itself actively to cover us in cold and shed when we’re warm.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Bäumel studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Vienna and began exploring the idea of clothing as a literal second skin while working on her master’s project in conceptual design in context at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. She ended up interning in a microbiology lab at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, where she learned to grow and study her own body’s bacteria in various environments.
Our conversation with Bäumel has been edited for length and clarity.
Bäumel, holding a bacterial map of her body, wants fashion to take note of the connectedness and continuity of life forms.
How did you get started?
During my master’s thesis, I began questioning the fashion system we know today. I wanted to use fashion in a more authentic and meaningful way. I wanted to explore clothing as a second skin and started to look at my work in terms of physiological needs.
What sparked your interest in science and fashion?
I am trying to understand the existing microorganisms living in and on us. During my studies, I was critically reflecting on fashion. I was driven by how clothing or a second skin could look when developed out of one’s socio-physical needs and individual beliefs.
What kind of science is involved in your work?
I have been collaborating for the past seven years with microbiologists and molecular biologists, depending on the project’s needs.
Can you talk about the |
ITALY — expelsJEWS for blasphemy, murder, pimpery. 1551 BAVARIA- expelsJEWSfor treason. 1776 FRANCE/BAVARIA- ILLUM I N AT I banned. 1913 RUSSIA — expels Bolsheviks for treason, murder. 1935 GERMANY, ROMANIA, HUNGARY, AUS- TRIA, CROATIA, VICHY FRANCE, expel JEWS for trea- sonous activities, usury, murder. 1953 U.S.A. — Congress identifies and convicts JEW spies. 1966 U.S.A. — Senator McCarthy proven correct re JEW spies. 25 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES 1990 CANADA - Zundel Trials prove "HOLO- CAUST"aHOAX. 1999U.S.A- JEW espionage. TheJEW has already emancipated himself in theJEW ISH way: TheJEW who is for example merely tolerated in Vienna determines by his money power the fate of the entire German Empire. TheJEW who is without rights in the smallest German state decides the fate of Europe. KARL MARX, "A World Without lews," 1840 III In Nature all organismsfead on other organisms In that sense M ankind is parasitical because it feeds on othe" living things. However, the only human parasite that embeds itself in the si news of other humans isthej EW. Thar genius lies in cunning in tha'rchamdeDirlikeabilityto deceive and, as Cicero points out, their malevolence in appealing to the baseness that lies deep in the souls of all men. Publidy the JEWS evoke PITY. Presenting themselves as J U DEANS wandaing fore/a" in Diaspora tragic, defenseless victims, persecuted by EVERYON E in a bigoted, anti-Semitic world! Beneath this chimerism international J EWRY is a virulent, organized, powerful, enormously wealthy TETRAD comb- ing NATION/LAW/RELIGION/CULTURE: which alone commands allegiance traverses all national boundaries; and holds in utter contempt theGentile nations that their geno- cidal GOD has commanded them to destroy. The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations and his fury upon all armies. H e will utterly destroy them... their slain 26 JAMESW.VON BRUNN shall also be cast out and their stink shall come from their car- casses... for it is theyear of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompense for the controversy of Z ion. THE HOLY BIBLE: Isaiah 34:2. Edward Gibbon, in his The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, describes J EWS as "a race of fanatics... with an irreconcilable hatred of M ankind." Arnold Toynbee calls JUDAISM a "Fossil religion." Winston Churchill denounces JEWS as "A gang of personalities from the underworld CONSPIRING to overthrow Western Civilization." Rabbi Stephen Wise, leader of "American" JEWRY during WWII, and instrumental in creating the"HOLOCAUST" (HOAX) said: "I am not an American citizen ofJEWISH faith. I am a JEW. I have been a JEW for a thousand years. Hitler was right — we are a People." Yes, H itler was right. I n this Foreword we have reviewed briefly the intentions of our Founding Fathers to create a bastion of Western Cul- ture in America for their White progeny. Current U. S. Cen- sus Bureau statistics reveal that W hite Americans are being eradicated. We also explored a brief history of the HEBREWS/JUDEANS/ISRAELIS because, as Spengler so convincingly demonstrates— and as Am erica can now attest — history unfailingly repeats itself. The ancient JEW cancer is now embedded in America's sinews. The Rules of Navigation tell us that to set a new course we first must know where we are; to know where we are we must know where we have been. Therefore, we intend to briefly examine the history of the CONSPIRACY; followed 27 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES by a description of theCO N SPI RACY in action: LI BERAL- ISM /M ARXISM I] EW RY; and finally we will offer a plan to remove the cancer from our C ultural rganism. If it is not removed we die. REM EM BER: White genes cannot be created, they can only be transmitted. We Aryans can always build another State upon the ruins of the old; but once the W hite gene- pool is polluted YOU CAN KISS THE BLONDES, RED- HEADS AND FAIR SKINNED BRUN ETTES GOOD- BYE FOREVER! 28 JAMESW.VON BRUNN Chapter 1 THECONSPIRACY For thou art a holy people unto the lord thy God and the lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. HOLY BIBLE: Deuteronomy 14:2. The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all armies. H e will utterly destroy them... their slain shall also be cast out and their stink shall come from their car- casses... for it is the year of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompense for the controversy of Z ion. HOLY BIBLE: Isaiah 34:2. Extermination of Christians necessary. TALM U D : Zohar II 43a. It is more wicked to question the words of the rabbis than Torah. TALM U D : M ichna Sanhedrin 11:3. The administrators, whom we shall choose from among the public with strict regard for their servile obedience, will not be persons trained in the art of government, and therefore will easily become pawns in our game, in thehandsof men of learn- ing and genius who will be their advisors: specialists bred and reared from early childhood to rule the affairs of the whole world. PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION, Protocol 2:2. All vows, oaths, promises, engagements, and swearings which I make in the future shall be null from this Day of Atonement until the next. TALM U D : Kol NidreOath. 29 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES THETORAH WHEN HISTORIANS publicly commit to a CON- SPIRACY TH EORY the media goes berserk, labeling them Nazis, bigots, paranoids, fools. Why such furious denials? Since the beginning of recorded history men have conspired to rule the world, or what they thought to be the world. W hy should it be any different today? It isn't. T here is a con- spiracy, working at this moment, to destroy Western Civili- zation and the Aryan Nation that created it. This is not a new conspiracy. It began over 3000-years ago as spoken tribal legends, which eventually were collected in theTorah (c. 900 B.C.), a tapestry of myths and tales plagiarized, largely, from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Greece. The Mosaic Law, the Garden of Eden, the Flood, the story of David, all came from non-Hebraic sources. The idea of monotheism was borrowed (c. 1400 B.C) from Pharaoh Iknaton. Into this rich tapestry the H ebrews wove threads of their own history as they believed it to be, or desired it to be— the modusoper- andi of H ollywood scriptwriters today. The fictitious protag- onist of these self-serving tales is Yahweh (Adonai, Jehovah, God): ajealous, vengeful, wrathful, genocidal, anthropomor- phic tribal god, created in the image and likeness of the Hebrews who created him. Naturally, this BIG HEBREW in the sky LOVES the H EBREWS. All other nations are con- sidered cattle to be used, milked and exterminated. For thou art a holy people unto the lord thy God and the lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, 30 JAMESW.VON BRUNN above all the nations that are upon the earth. THE HOLY BIBLE, Deuteronomy 14:2. Ye shall be a treasure unto me above all people: for the earth is mine. THE HOLY BIBLE, Exodus 19:5. Remember, these delusions of grandeur were written by HEBREWS about themselves M egalomaniacs of such magni- tude generally are manic-depressives confined to insane asylums The treasure of treasures is Abraham whom Yahweh "loves above all others." We are told that Abram (Abraham) and his wife Sari (Sarah), who also is his half-sister, jour- neyed to prosperous Egypt looking for loot. There, Abraham arranges an assignation between his sister and the Pharaoh. Yahweh, omnipresent, catches them en flagrante delicto. The Pharaoh, unaware he has committed adultery, presents Abe and Sari with cattle, servants, silver and gold "and Abraham was very rich." But, JEHOVAH is a jealous god and WRATHFUL (Gen. 12); NOT at the pimp Abraham whom he loves above all others; N OT at the hustler Sari. H e's furi- ous with the duped gentile, Pharaoh, and visits a plague upon Egypt (Spielbergism). M any years later (Gen. 20) in a repeat scenario Sarah, then 92-years old, hustles Pharaoh Ambimilech. God said to Ambimilech: "behold thou art but a dead man... for she is a man's wife!" Real history records JEWS were expelled from Egypt for treason and for trans- mitting the plague— as JEWS were carriers of typhus dur- ing World War II (See Chapter 6, "HOLOCAUST"). 31 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES In another example of GOD's hatred for Gentiles we learn that Abraham, patriarch of Israel, had his eyes focused on Canaan, a "land of milk and honey" belonging to a pasto- ral Semitic tribe — the Philistines (Palestinians). As luck would have it Yahweh fashions a sweetheart arrangement with his pimp pal Abraham: And I will give unto thee and thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of C anaan, for an ever- lasting possession; and I will be their God. GEN ESIS 17:8. JEHOVAH, like Alley Oop, says whatever the script- writes print in the blurbs Those who find it compdling to bdie/e Yahweh created aflat earth, circa 5000 B.C., spoke from a burning bush, bared his buttocks parted the Red Sea, and loves J EWS above all other nations share a childish cre- dulity with those who believe millions of J EWS died in Ger- man ga&drarribers ItalsoconfirmsJEWISH conviction that Gentiles are stupid sheep. It makes one want to puke TheTORAH commands Gentiles to worship J EHO- VAH or suffer the torments of Hdl. On the other hand J EH OVAH assuresj EWS they may rob, cheat, rape and slay Gentiles with impunity. He promises that J EWS alone shall inheit the Earth. 32 JAMESW.VON BRUNN THETALMUD THE HOLY BIBLE informs us that Moses, a Hebrew (or was he Egyptian?), climbed M t. Sinai (c. 1300 B.C.) to confer with Yahweh, who gave him THE LAW (The Ten Commandments) which Moses wrote down on two stone tablets (there was no H ebraic alphabet in those days so the writing may have been cuneiform, hieroglyphic, Chinese, or whatever). Traditionally, Moses also wrote the TO RAH (Pentateuch). Centuries later Pharisees claimed that God orally interpreted THE LAW given Moses. The Pharisees claimed that Yahweh'soral interpretation was identical with their oral interpretation. Thus, the PHARISEES' ORAL LAW and THE TO RAH are recognized as THE HOLY WORD. The Pharisees' ORAL LAW, called Pharisaism, which Jesus despised as the "Synagogue of Satan," was even- tually written down and became the TALM UD (500 A. D.). TheTALM U D consists of 63 books of legal, ethical, and historical writings of the ancient rabbis (22 B.C. - 500 A.D.). It was edited 5-centuries after the birth of Jesus. It is a compen- dium of law and lore: the legal code which forms the basis of JEW ISH religious Law and the book used in the training of rabbis; it is the very foundation of JEW ISH life. It is taught to JEW ISH children as soon as they are able to read. Rabbi M orris N. Kertzer, President, Jewish Chaplain's Associa- tion, Armed Forces, U.S.A.; spokesman for the American Jew- ish Committee (the "Vatican of Judaism"). 33 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES There are two TALMUDS: the Palestinian, and the Babylonian. It is the Babylonian TALMUD (Socino Ed. 1935), used by most JEWS that we, largely, will refer to here. It is a huge tome; much of which is dull, the syntax cumber- some; herein the genetic schizophrenia of JEWS is manifest: it is boastful, despondent, vindictive, vulgar, dishonest, hate- filled. TheTALM UD is concerned with almost every con- ceivable aspect of J EW ISH existence, little is left to chance, from how to use seeds and herbs, to diet, and sexual rela- tions; when to lie; whom to kill; what goat to sacrifice; Cab- alism, numerology, necromancy, thaumaturgy, and obsessions with Hollywood-style perversions, body func- tions, etc. Nevertheless, throughout, the rabbis wove the thread of JEW ISH philosophy, JEWISH Law, and JEWISH "history." H ere is the grist underlying theJEWS 1 goal to rule the world, garner its wealth, and enslave the Gentiles. It is thisLuciferian credo, that is changing the United States into an I L L U M IN AT I controlled, non-White nation, soon to become part of ne M ongrel World. Gentiles prying into JEW LAW S will receive death. TALM U D : Sanhedrin 59a. Do not save Christians in danger of death. TALM U D: H ilkoth Akum X, 1. Kill the best Gentiles! TALMUD: Sanhedrin 59. A woman who has intercourse with a beast is eligible to marry a priest. TALM U D: Yebamoth 59b. 34 JAMESW.VON BRUNN A maiden three years and a day may be acquired in mar- riage by coition. TALMUD:Sanhedrin55b. Pederasty with a child below nine years of age is not deemed pederasty. TALMUD:Sanhedrin54b-55a. Jesus was illegitimately conceived during menstruation. TALMUD:Kallahlb(18b). When a grown up man has intercourse with a little girl, less than 3-years old, it is as nothing. TALMUD: Kethuboth lla-llb. Sexual intercourse is permitted with a dead relative. TALMUD:YaBhamoth. Let us all remember that we are a distinct nationality of which everyjew— what ever his country, his station, his shade of belief— is necessarily a member. LOUISDEMBITZ BRAN D El S, J EW, U.S. Supreme Court. M ichael Redkinson, JEW, and Rabbi Isaac Wise, "two of the world's greatest authorities on theTALM UD," collab- orating on the celebrated tome, H /story of the Talmud, have this to say: The source from which Jesus of Nazareth drew the teach- ings... that enabled him to revolutionize theworld... is the TAL- MUD. It isthewritten form of thatwhich, in thetimeof Jesus, was called the traditions of The Elders of Zion, to which he makes frequent allusions. Redkinson and Wise of course are LIARS. TheTAL- M U D resounds with hatred for Jesus 35 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES Jesus was conceived while M ary was menstruating. TALMUD: Kalian lb. Jesus is the bastard son of Pandira, Roman soldier. TALMUD:Sanhedrin67a. Jesus is in H ell, punished by being boiled in hot semen... all Christians are boiled in shit! TALMUD: Libre David 37. And the New Testament clearly showsjesus" disdain for the Pharisees and their oral (TALM UDIC) teaching: I know the blasphemy of them who say they are the C hil- dren of God, but are of the Synagogue of Satan! For ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. H e was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth for there was no truth in him... W hen he speaketh a lie he spea- keth of his own for he is a LIAR and the father of it. JESUS.JOHN 8:1 Under the Pharisees' direction the Temple had become the Federal Reserve System of its day. C hrist drove the usu- rersfrom the Templewith a snake whip, indirectly attacking the Pharisees' purse That sealed hisfatelTheAnti-Defama- tion League of his day acted quickly Using standard proce- dures they defamed Jesus ("L'l nfamief') to get the mob on their side — as centuries later they would defame Marie Antoinette; the Romanovs, Hitler, Gen. MacArthur, McCar- thy et al). Then, Jesus was framed by the Sanhedrin, who had Him arrested, tried, sentenced, and crucified. (Pope John Paul, 1995 A.D., denied the HOLY WORD, pro- nouncing that JEWS had no part in thedeathofJeajsChrig!). 36 JAMESW.VON BRUNN His blood be on us (JEWS) and upon our children! MATTHEW: 27:24-25. I am innocent of the blood of this just man! THE SYNOPTICS: Pontius Pilate. Jesus fornicates with hisjackass. TALMUD: Sanhedrim Rodkinson and Wise with goose-grease chutzpah say: TheTALM U D has survived in its entirety, nota single let- ter of the TALM U D is missing... and now it is flourishing to such a degree as cannot be found in its past history. It domi- nates the minds of a whole people, who venerate its contents as D ivi ne Truth. One of those "Divine Truths'' from the TALM U D is theholy KOL NIDRE OATH (All Vows Prayer). It is recited thrice by the synagogue congregation as prologue to YOM KIPPUR rites, (The Day of Atonement) 'The Highest of Holy Days" It has also been set to music by Felix Mendles- sohn, J EW (M arrano). M ost C hristians i ncludi ng the dergy, bdievethe KOL NIDRE OATH isa profound vow to God. In FACT the TALMUD demands that every JEW must break in advance all oaths and sworn dedarations a J EW might make to a Gentile during the ensuing year: "...my promises shall not bind... my vowsshall not be reck- oned vows... nor my oath oaths... every vow which I make in thefuture shall be N U LL from this Day of Atonement until the 37 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES next." TALMUD: KolNidre Oath. Joseph G. Burg, JEW, author of "Zionist Nazi Censor- ship"; "Guilt and Fate," and several other important books on WWII, testified for the defense at the on-going Canada v. Ernst Zundd, "Holocaust" Trials, in Toronto, Ontario, Can- ada (blacked-out in the U. S. A.). Burg stated that JEW "H olocaust" survivors invented the gas-chamber stories. But, as their testimony was sworn before a Gentile court they could LIE with impunity. If those Jews had sworn before a rabbi wearing a skull cap then these false statements, these sick statements, would go down by 99.5%, because the superficial oath was not morally binding on JEW S. JOSEPH G. BU RG, J EW, Zundel Hate Crimes Trials, 1988. JEW S may lie and perjure to condemn C hristians. TALM U D : Babha Kama 113b. TheTALMUD isthe very foundation of JEW ISH life. It is taught to JEW ISH children as soon as they are old enough to read. RABBI MORRISKERTZER, American JEWISH Committee. TheTORAH, then, was created to inspire and control a "stiff necked," defeated people; while the TALMUD was a pragmatic interpretation of that MYTH. H igh-placed Phari- sees and priests profoundly aware of the Jehovah HOAX, also understood that TO RAH /TALM UDISM not only sup- 38 JAMESW.VON BRUNN ported their life-styles, but was the glue that held together the Hebrew nation. Beautiful continents rich in natural resources were wait- ing to be discovered and civilized. But JEWS produced no explorers or conquerors. They might have assimilated within the Semitic nations. Instead, compelled by the genotype of their species, and convinced of their "CHOSEN" status, JEWS implanted themselves like leeches within the Gentile nations they secretly vowed to dispossess and destroy. Wherever TALM UDISM appeared "anti-Semitism" fol- lowed as night follows day. JEW communities — ghettos, with synagogues and rabbis forming the operative nuclei — designed to keep goyim out, invariably became enclosures to keep JEWS in. Gentiles could not toleratethis alien, corrupt, manic-depressive nation in their midst. Psychologists report that children conditioned to develop exaggerated or unfounded levels of self-esteem — and unnatural feelings of self-love— who are taught to think of themselves unrealistically as better than everyone else invariably suffer deep depression when their achievements fail their expectations. W hen they are criticized by others, or don't get their way they resort to tantrums and violence. They consistently blame others for their inadequacy. They hate their superiors upon whom they seek vengeance. JEWS especially envy and hate the Aryan Nation whose remarkable achievements and physical beauty JEWS find humiliating — bitter, bitter vetch to swallow day after day, year after year, generation after generation — especially for 39 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES those who so fervently believe themselves G od's C hosen Peo- ple. The TO RAH /TALMUD CONSPIRACY required a new approach, without sacrificing tradition, to deal with contemporary political problems. It should corneas no sur- prise then, to discover that certain Elders of Zion — after centuries of frustrations and humiliations — took matters into their own hands and formulated a plan to implement and expeditej EH OVAH'S unfulfilled promises. THE PRO- TOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION. We shall have World Government whether or not we like it. The question is only whether World Government will be achieved by consent or by conquest. JAM ES WARBURG, JEW, Banker, 1953, U. S. Congressional H earing. T he truth is that for the last 147-years the fire of revolution has smoldered steadily beneath the ancient structure of civiliza- tion., it is not local, but universal... its causes must be sought in a deep-laid conspiracy... which constitutes the greatest menace that has ever confronted the human race... the conception of the Jews as the Chosen People...forms a concerted attempt to achieve world-domination. NEST A H.WEBSTER, World Resolution, Briton Press 1971. This movement among the J ews is not new. From the days of Sparticus-Weishaupt to those of Karl Marx and down to Trotsky (Russia), Bela Kuhn (Hungary), Rosa Luxembourg (Germany), and Emma Goldman (United States), this world- wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization and the recon- struction of society on the basis of arrested development, envi- ous malevolence, and impossible equality has been steadily growing. It played, asM rs. Nesta Webster, historian, has so ably shown, a definitely recognizable part in the tragedy of the French Revolution, and the mainspring of every subversive 40 JAMESW.VON BRUNN movement during the Nineteenth Century...the majority of the leading figures arejews. Moreover, the principal inspiration and driving power comes from Jewish leaders. WINSTON CHURCH ILL, llluirated Sunday Herald (1920). Amshel Mayer Rothschild, JEW, (1743-1810) patriarch of the Frankfort, Germany, banking family, was intrigued by ancient scrolls bearing Hebrew Protocols that he had acquired for his library. He commissioned Adam Weishaupt, an apostate Jesuit priest, to up-date them. In the fateful year, 1776 A.D., Weishaupt presented the Einigen Original- Scripten (Protocols) to Rothschild accompanied by an orga- nizational paradigm, designed to implement the revised Pro- tocols, which he named "TH E ILLU M IN ATI" after Lucifer (Satan), "The Bearer of Light." I ts objective: ONE WORLD ILLUM INATI GOVERNMENT. The Weishaupt/Rothschild documents were revealed to the world (1784) "by an act of God" when a Rothschild cou- rier and his horse were struck dead by lightning in Ratisbon enroute to Paris. Bavarian authorities discovered a copy of the Einigen Original-Scripten in the saddlebags. The ILLU- M INATI was promptly outlawed, and the Grand Orient Lodges, wherein the conspirators met, were permanently closed. The ILLUM INATI, then, quickly infiltrated Freema- sonry Lodges throughout Europe, from which the French (J EW ) Revolution was fomented and directed. M any years later the Protocols, again revised, reappeared in St. Petersburg, Russia, around the time of the Bolshevik, JEW, revolution there. Victor E. M arsden, correspondent for 41 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES the London M orning Post (during an era when integrity of the press was considered sacrosanct) acquired a Russian edi- tion (Cionski Protocoli) of Weishaupt's work, in a cloak and dagger caper, from Professor Sergyei Nilus, an Orthodox Catholic priest. Marsden translated it into English, publish- ing it under the title: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Hon. For his temerity M arsden was murdered. N ilus 1 origi- nal copy of the Protocols, bearing the date August 10, 1906, is now in the British M useum, London. In the U. S. A., Henry Ford, Sr., founder of the Ford M otor Company, ordered millions of copies of the Protocols printed, in several languages, and distributed throughout the world. World JEWRY vehemently protested the Protocols were "forgeries" (sic). Ford replied, (New York World, 2-17- 21), "T he only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that... they have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now." Senator Jacob Javits, J EW, chaired a U.S. Senate Investigating Committee to report on the Protocols. The U. S. Senate, who does what it is told, confirmed the Protocols were "forged" (sic). Forgeries of what? No debate was conducted on the correlation between the Protocols and what has occurred on the World stage! 300-men, all acquainted with each other, control the eco- nomic destiny of the continent. WALTER RATH EN AU, JEW, powerful German financier. T he W orld is ruled by very different personages that those who are not behind the scenes would imagine. BEN I AM IN DISRAELI, I EW, Prime M inister, Great Britain. 42 JAMESW.VON BRUNN You have not begun to appreciate the real depth of our guilt. We are intruders. We are disturbers. We are subverters. We have taken your natural world, your ideals, your destiny, and played havoc with them. MARCUS ELI RAVAGE, JEW, Century Magazine (January 1928). The meaning of the history of our last century is that today 300 Jewish financiers, all masters of Lodges, rule the world. JEAN IZOU LET, Jewish M/ance/3-aef/teL/n/VersEf/e(1931). THE PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION, containing 24 Protocols, are divided into Arti- cles. Several PROTOCOLS may have been deleted by Pro- fessor Nilus because he deemed them harmful to the Church. Herein, because of limited space, the PROTO- COLS will be abridged. (Edward Gibbon reminds us— The Decline and Fall oftheRoman Empire, Chapters XV, XXVIII, XLVII, XLIX — that the Jewish conspiracy was behind the fall of ALL of civilized antiquity). THE PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION Protocol 1: Political freedom is an idea, not a fact. One must know how to apply this idea as bait whenever it appears necessary to attract the masses of the people to one's party for the purpose of crushing whoever is in authority. T his task is made easier if the opponent himself has been infected with the idea of freedom, so-called liberalism, and for the sake of an idea is willing to yield some of his power. It is precisely here that the triumph of our theory appears; the slackened 43 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES reins of government are immediately, by the Law of Life, caught up and gathered together by a new hand; because the blind might of the nation cannot for a single day exist with- out guidance, and the new authority merely fits into the place of the old authority weakened by liberalism. Our right lies in force. The word "right" is an abstract thought proved by nothing. The word means no more than: Give me what I want in order that I may have proof that I am stronger than you. Our power in the present tottering condition of all forms of power will be more invincible than any other because it will remain invisible until the moment when it has gained such strength that no cunning can undermine it. Behold the alcoholized animals bemused with drink, the right to an immoderate use of which comes with freedom. It is not for us and ours to walk that road. Goyim are bemused with alcohol, and from early immorality into which it has been induced by our special agents. Protocol 2: The administrators, whom we shall choose from among the public with strict regard for their servility, will not be persons trained in the art of government, and will therefore become pawns in our game: in the hands of men of learning and genius, specialists bred and reared from early childhood to rule the affairs of the whole world. I n the hands of the States there is a great force that cre- ates the movement of thought in the people. That is the Press! It isin the Press that the triumph of freedom of speech 44 JAMESW.VON BRUNN finds its incarnation. But the goyim have not known how to make use of this force and it has fallen into our hands. We shall instigate economic and military wars between the Goyim states. W hen wars are over both sides are devas- tated and at the mercy of our international finance. This is the "Jewish Harvest." First, we manufacture the huge war machines. Second we destroy the flower of W hite manhood thereby weakening the racial stamina of the Goyim. Third, the W hite nations are prostrate under huge debts and we profit interest upon interest. Protocol 3: And thus the people condemn the upright and acquit the guilty, persuaded ever more it can do whatever it wishes. Thanks to thisthe peoplearedestroying every kind of stability and creating disorders at every step. By encourag- ing abuses of power by rulers, and by agitating and stirring up the mob the press "will put the final touch in preparing all institutions for their overthrow and everything will fly skyward under the blows of the maddening crowd." We appear on the scene as alleged saviors of the worker from oppression then propose to him to enter the ranks of our fighting forces— Socialists, Communists, Anarchists — to whom we always support in accordance with an alleged brotherly rule. Protocol 4: In order to give the goyim no time to think their minds must be diverted toward industry and trade. Thus all the nations will be swallowed up in the hot pursuit of gain. Gentile Masonry blindly serves as a screen for us and our objects, but the plan of action of our force, even its abid- 45 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES ing hiding place, remains for the whole people a mystery, and they will not take note of their common foe. Protocol 5: In order to put public opinion into our hands we must bring it into a state of bewilderment by giving expression to all sides to many contradictory opinions, and for such a length of time as will suffice to make the goyim lose their heads in the labyrinth, and come to see that the best thing isto have no opinion in matters political, which it is not given to the public to understand because they are understood only by him who guides the public. This is the first secret. By all these means we shall so wear down the goyim that they shall be compelled to offer us international power of a nature that by its position will enable us without violence gradually to absorb all the State forces of the world and to form a Super- Government. Protocol 6: The establishment of huge financial monop- olies: finance, publishing, oil, sugar, steel, medicine, railways, liquor, food, clothing — containing reservoirs of colossal wealth upon which Goyim must depend in order to exist. J he Goyim must be deprived of their farm sand ranches which will be achieved by loading them with debts which must be ruthlessly exploited. Protocol 7: Our agents are in the governments of all countries of the world advising their leaders. Thus we have an international network while the Goyim has none. Through economic treaties and loan obligations, and the hostilities and intrigues they create, we will so entangle the 46 JAMESW.VON BRUNN threads of world governments that they will be unable to act without our approval. If one nation dare oppose us we will collectively organize their neighbors and destroy that country through universal war. Protocol 8: We have infiltrated the Goyim courts of law and degraded it into a legal jungle. We are now in a position to tell you with a clear conscience that at the proper time we, the law-givers, shall execute judgment and sentence; we shall slay and we shall spare; we as head of our troops are mounted on the steed of the leader. And the weapons in our hands are limitless ambitions, burning greed, merciless vengeance, hatred and malice! Protocol 9: From us the all-engulfing terror proceeds. We have in our service persons of all opinions, of all doctrines: monarchists, demagogues, socialists, Communists Chris- tians, Utopian dreamers of every kind. All are harnessed to our task: everyone of them is boring away at the last rem- nants of authority, striving to overthrow all established forms of order. By these acts all States are in torture; they exhort to tranquility, are ready to sacrifice everything for peace. But we will not give them peace until they openly acknowledge our International Super-Government with submissiveness. Protocol 10: We have drawn up a master-plan to bring all the nations of the earth under one despotic Jewish dicta- tor, by subjecting all the peoples of the earth to such terrible suffering, confusion, and torment that they will in despera- tion accept whatever we offer to them. 47 KILLTHEBEST GENTILES To secure this we must have everybody vote without dis- tinction of classes and qualifications in order to establish an absolute majority, which cannot be got from the educated propertied classes. Democracies and Republics with every- body having a vote down to the last scum and rabble pro- vides us with our great opportunity. Protocol 11 : T he goyim are a flock of sheep and we are their wolves. And you know what happens when the wolves get hold of the flock? God has granted us, H is C hosen Peo- ple, the gift of dispersion and in this, which appears in all eyes to be our weakness, has come forth all of our strength |
! You can be you and still be successful and thrive in these environments.”
From the laboratory and research fields to working hands-on with some of the most elite athletes in the country, Cox has worked in two industries that have historically been male dominated, sexist and exclusionary, but she has never cowered in the face of adversity.
“I always say, ‘Grateful for everything, entitled to nothing.’ If you have that perspective where every day is an opportunity for you to get better and every day is an opportunity for you to do something uncomfortable and improve and become a better version of yourself, you’re going to be in a good spot,” Cox says.
Christie Aguilar covers cross country. Contact her at [email protected].Starting Thursday afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota, the most exciting four weeks of hockey makes its annual return when the conference tournament finales kick off across the country. The only thing as unpredictable and entertaining as college hockey’s postseason may be its basketballing cousin often referred to as March Madness.
There’s always that anything-can-happen feel to these next few weeks. There are almost always stunning upsets, the occasional surprise conference champ to throw the NCAA tournament into flux and some fantastic individual performances. The best part? Almost all of it will be nationally televised.
As it gets to this stage of the season, the conference tournaments will also offer an interesting look as the first year of realignment in college hockey comes to a close. It wouldn’t be fair to make sweeping statements about the future at this point, but these next few days allow each conference to put their best foot forward and show whether or not they were ready for the big time.
With that in mind, I decided to take a look at realignment as its first season wraps up, while also taking a look at the weekend ahead including top match-ups and 10 players to watch.
Realignment Reviewed
It’s a bittersweet weekend ahead, particularly knowing that the WCHA Final Five, which created so many great moments and huge crowds over the years, is but a shadow of its former self. It will show in attendance when the WCHA takes its tournament to Grand Rapids, Mich., leaving the Xcel Energy Center for the first time since 2000 now that its major attractions are no longer in the league.
College hockey will never be the same. Whether it’s for the best or not, we won’t know for a little while yet. I anticipated I would feel different about this college hockey season, but I was more than willing to be open to realignment and even was excited about it. I have to admit, I came away from this college season underwhelmed and anxious about the future.
Change is hard. That’s why I want to give this a few more years before making a decision on whether or not the new conference structure will be a success, though I anticipate there will be more realigning over the next five years, if not sooner. I don’t think it will be because college hockey is expanding either. Hope I’m wrong.
Some of the key issues going forward include the structure of the Big Ten, the loss of traditional conference rivals, mid-major schools losing big-conference status. All of these were expected to be the hard casualties of realignment. The question is just how negative it will impact things.
A big positive, however, was the television exposure this year. With games on NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNews and ESPNU, on top of games picked up on outlets like Fox College Sports, every weekend there was something for college hockey fans across the nation. That’s a big positive.
One problem with the TV this year was that a lot of the match-ups that made it to a national audience weren’t terribly compelling. It’s hard to plan out, because you don’t know how teams will play in a given year, but there wasn’t a lot of memorable moments on national TV this year, which I think impacts the way I viewed the first season of realignment.
This isn’t realignments fault, at least not mostly. I thought this was a bit of a down year for college hockey in general. Losing some of the pomp and circumstance of the conferences of old definitely played a role, though. It’s going to be an adjustment.
Other thoughts on realignment…
The Big Ten’s conference structure with only six teams is going to get old fast, if it hasn’t already. This was a known issue coming into the season by anyone that has a working knowledge of college sports. The conference season is a bit monotonous with four games against each of the other five schools, but the fact it allows for a robust non-conference schedule is good. It’s just that it’s like two seasons. The competitiveness of the conference is also an issue as it’s currently divided rather clearly into three haves and three have nots. That doesn’t make for an exciting regular season. That hopefully changes within in a few years, but I think it will take at least a few before it gets better.
The most exciting conference in terms of quality of hockey and competitiveness was the one that changed the least. Hockey East merely added Notre Dame and will soon have UConn as well, but I thought that was a compelling schedule. The league also had the benefit of Johnny Gaudreau doing otherwordly things and two of the best young goaltenders in the country. There’s a lot of intrigue about Hockey East, and before you go shouting East Coast bias, I live down the street from a cornfield in the Midwest, OK?
The NCHC was pretty compelling as well, with their regular-season championship going down to the wire. It would have been nice to see more of their games on TV, but it was nice that the conference streamed all games live and free for their first-round playoff series. There was great parity in the league as well. I think this thing has potential to work well down the road, but it’s going to take a few years to build up some of these new rivalries and build storylines year in and year out. It wasn’t going to be the old WCHA overnight.
There was plenty of excitement over in the ECAC, left untouched by realignment, with their top-end teams looking awfully good, particularly Union, which has a rather exciting lineup. Quinnipiac remains an intriguing program going forward as well.
The WCHA was Ferris State, Minnesota State and everyone else, but I think there’s opportunity for this conference to become more competitive in the future. The big question is how will the loss of big-name opponents for these teams from the old WCHA and CCHA impact their home ticket sales and recruiting. That could mean parity, but it also means the top teams regress in the talent they’re able to bring in. A lot left to be seen there.
Atlantic Hockey will lose UConn, but beyond that, it remains the quietly competitive conference that seems to get by on parity and proximity rather well.
What will be interesting going forward for all of these teams is how the difference in travel costs from the old conference format to this one will change how schools feel about their current structure and if the loss of old rivalries negatively impacts attendance overall. It’s going to take a few years for those to make an impact, but both could be major factors in the future of this structure. In about four years, we’ll know if it was all worth it. If it is, there is little change. If not, we’re back to teams moving around and that won’t be much fun.
Postseason Primer
The folks over at College Hockey Inc. killed it with another fantastic graphic look at the upcoming weekend. It’s nice to have everything in one place. Here it is:
This shows you where to find these tournaments on TV. Depending on your cable or dish package, you could conceivably see every single game, if you’re a supreme multi-tasker.
These are the opening-round games I will be following with the most interest.
1. Notre Dame vs. UMass-Lowell — 5 p.m. ET — NBCSN
Notre Dame is a team I just can’t seem to put a finger on. Sometimes they look like a championship-caliber club, other times far from it. However, coming off the big upset over Boston College in the first round of the Hockey East tournament, which including a seven-goal outburst in Game 1, the Irish are playing their best hockey of the season. Lowell meanwhile had to scratch and claw for a series win over scrappy Vermont. Connor Hellebuyck and Doug Carr are a remarkable goaltending tandem, which offsets a team the fact that Lowell has been a light-scoring team lately. This match-up has the potential to be the best game on Friday.
2. Miami vs. North Dakota — 7:30 p.m. CT — CBS Sports Network
The RedHawks had a rather stunning season. Considered a national title contender in the preseason, 17 of Miami’s 19 losses came in conference. They were the last-place team in the NCHC, but ended up knocking off regular-season champ St. Cloud State in the first round of the conference tournament. The only way they get into the national tournament is by winning the NCHC and they have to go through a very tough North Dakota club to do it. UND struggled with Colorado College in their first-round series, needing three games to outlast the Tigers, but on paper, they’re the best team left in the NCHC tournament. In fact, they’re the only higher-seeded team to advance to the Target Center. These two clubs played a really fantastic series early in the season, which they split. North Dakota then swept Miami on home ice later in the year. The RedHawks have their backs against the wall, while North Dakota is not yet assured a national tournament spot (though probably pretty close to it). Desperate hockey is fun. That’s what we should see here.
3. Union vs. Cornell — 4 p.m. ET — Fox College Sports
Union has a veteran-laden lineup with some big-time postseason experience, but Cornell is always a tough out in the postseason. They also have a senior goaltender who has the potential to steal games for them. Union has a dynamic, high-scoring group led by Daniel Carr. Senior defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere may be one of the best players in college hockey right now and goaltender Colin Stevens has upheld Union’s recent tradition of excellent goaltenders. I think this is going to be a tough matchup for both clubs, but a compelling one. Union is the two-time defending champion and they’ll make the NCAA tournament, but I just never count out Cornell in these situations.
Here are a few other things to watch this weekend…
Attendance
There’s no way around this one. I think every conference has to come into the tournament events at neutral buildings with some trepidation. USCHO.com had a great graphic of attendance over the years at these events. The WCHA Final Five, which was by far the best attended, is now fractured into three different conferences. That means everyone’s attendance is likely to suffer.
The NCHC has to breathe easier knowing North Dakota made it to Target Center after a tough three-game series with CC, because without them, that place would have been dead. It might still not be great. UND fans will travel, but without a Minnesota-based school to grab some of those many extra seats available, it’s going to be a challenge.
The Big Ten has the Xcel in St. Paul. With Minnesota drawing, they should do well for any Gopher game. The dream scenario for the conference is a Wisconsin-Minnesota title game, which would have high sell-out potential. I don’t think it will be able to match Final Five interest, but the Gophers are a powerful draw. Considering Michigan and Michigan State fans didn’t often travel to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA finals, I don’t think you’ll see a lot of Maize and Blue or Green and White, but you never know.
Even the Hockey East tournament could suffer with the lack of Boston College or Boston University at TD Garden this year.
This could be a rough weekend for college hockey in attendance optics, especially with these crucial games being on national TV. We’ll see how it goes, but I think conference finals ticket sales will be another victim of realignment until people get used to this.
Players to Watch
Here’s a look at 10 players I’ll be following this weekend, perhaps you’d like to as well…
Shayne Gostisbehere — D — Union — One of the most dynamic defensemen in college hockey this year and a strong pro prospect, this Flyers draft pick had a remarkable year for Union. He averaged nearly four shots on goal per game from the blue line and scored eight times this season. His skating and puck-moving skills are special.
Adam Wilcox — G — Minnesota — If you think Wilcox is a product of playing on a good team, think again. The sophomore netminder was one of the nation’s best on his own merit. He is tied for second in the country with a.934 save percentage, while playing almost every game for Minnesota. The Tampa Bay pick is growing into an elite NCAA netminder and was named the first-ever Big Ten Player of the Year.
Sam Brittain — G — Denver — The senior netminder has kept a Denver team in transition with their heads well above water thanks to his stellar play. The veteran has overcome a number of injuries in his career and put together a remarkable campaign with a.934 save percentage. Only two goalies saw more shots than Brittain this year. The Panthers prospect could steal the Pioneers a title in the NCHC if he’s on his game.
Kevin Goumas — F — UNH — After returning to UNH for his senior campaign, Goumas put together a 50-point season. He could have signed as a free agent last year but had a career year for the Wildcats instead. He is the highest scoring player left in the conference tournaments and will have to be excellent if UNH is to get past Providence. He probably has an NHL deal waiting for him when his season is over.
Matthew Zay — F — Mercyhurst — The junior forward averaged 1.24 points per game for the upstart Lakers, who claimed the Atlantic Hockey regular-season title. He could draw some UFA interest this offseason, but first will have to find a way to lead Mercyhurst to the tournament. After their great run in the regular-season, they only get in with a conference tournament win.
Riley Barber — F — Miami — Perhaps one of the better pro prospects in all of college hockey this year, Barber maintained a high level of production despite Miami’s down season. He’s already four points better than his standout freshman campaign with 43 this year. The Capitals draft pick may have a decision to make whether to stick for another year at Miami or sign a pro deal when the year ends.
Sam Anas — F — Quinnipiac — One of the country’s best freshman this year is the undrafted, undersized Anas, who has lit the ECAC on fire this year. He had 21 goals and 42 points this season as he helped the Bobcats offset some of their key roster losses from last year.
Rocco Grimaldi — F — North Dakota — The red-shirt sophomore was North Dakota’s leading scorer this season and will have to be a key offensive player if UND is going to end the weekend with a trophy. He has 35 points this season and remains a dynamic, speedy player that is rather exciting to watch.
Christian Folin — D — UMass-Lowell — Probably the most sought-after college free agent on the market after his season ends, Folin is an intriguing talent. At 6-3, 210, he has a pro frame, excellent mobility and great physical strength (he shot a puck through the net last week). He’s worth watching just to see what all the deserved fuss is about.
Mark Zengerle — F — Wisconsin — One of the better playmakers in the country, Zengerle has helped lead the Badgers to a rather strong stretch to end the regular season. The senior has 14 points in his last seven games and is likely to find himself on a lot of NHL radars as a UFA.Phase 3 just got even bigger as Marvel Studios have today announced that a third movie will be added to the two they've already confirmed will be released in 2018. As of right not, it's another "Untitled Marvel Movie", but the date may tell you all you need to know about which it is...
Mark your calendars! #Marvel Studios adds a 3rd date to 2018 with a new film on May 4! pic.twitter.com/HOota9nbNq — Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 23, 2014
Well, it's finally happened! Marvel Studios have upped their two movies a year quota to three, with another title added to 2018. There aren't currently any details on what it will be, but the date (around three years after the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron give or take a few days) suggests that it's The Avengers 3. If that is the case, then this will possible mark the end of Phase 3 with the next movie kicking off Phase 4. So, let's take a look at the next few years from Marvel...
Captain America 3 (5/6/16)
Untitled Marvel (7/8/16)
Untitled Marvel (5/5/17)
Untitled Marvel (7/28/17)
Untitled Marvel (11/3/17)
Untitled Marvel (7/6/18)
Untitled Marvel (11/2/18)
Untitled Marvel (5/3/19)Friday will be my last day at Mix 106. Before I get into why I made this monumental decision in my life, let me clear up a few things.
This decision was mine. I was not asked to leave. Just the opposite. I’ve been asked to stay every day since I informed my team. I was even asked 60 seconds before I made the announcement on air, if I was sure I wanted to do this. I’m not leaving because of something that happened at Mix 106 or because I’m unhappy here. I am not going to another radio station. I’m not going to work in television. Hopefully that will put all rumors to rest.
When I graduated from CSU, I gave myself until I was 30 to “make it in radio.” This had nothing to do with a paycheck. It had everything to do with finding a co-host and show where my bold personality could shine. Two years later, I “made it.” The minute I met Mike Kasper, we had instant chemistry. The first words out of my mouth involved a sarcastic remark about his frosty blonde tips. He laughed and we never looked back. The type of chemistry we have, doesn’t come fast and easy in radio. Either you have it or you don’t. We never had to work at that part. We've been bantering like brother and sister for almost 15 years. I never noticed the microphone. To me, I’m having a conversation with my best friend and there are 12 people listening in. Then you add Mix 106 to the equation and my definition of “making it” got even better. I literally can say, I’ve worked with the best co-host, on the best radio station, with the best team; the best co-workers; the best managers and had the best listeners! This is beyond my wildest dream of what I was hoping for when I pictured my career. My cup runneth over.
So now you’re wondering what in the world could have happened to cause me to leave my dream career. You need to know, this was not a quick decision. I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and have been in talks with my managers and Mike for months about different options. But in the end, I couldn’t silence the noise. I blame the wild child within me. Her lust for life is endless. She craves new adventures. She looks at a mountain and wonders what’s on the other side. She gets restless and is constantly wondering what else she can learn from this big wide world. It started out as a whisper and then the volume kept getting louder, to the point I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
I always thought I would retire with Mike on the radio. And then the wild child starting screaming. That conflict made this decision heart breaking for me. I love Mike. He is my family (so you’re stuck with me now Mike). He’s been the most supportive, loving, caring, patient, friend to me. He puts up with my stubbornness. He pretends that he doesn’t notice how crabby I am from 5-5:30 each morning. He listens when I freak out and doesn’t make me feel crazy. He never once made the comment that wearing a different hoodie with the same jeans and baseball cap every day does not equal clean clothes. He created a safe place for me to truly be myself. He likes the fact that I don’t think before I speak; I’m sarcastic; I’m a horrible speller; I’m goofy; I’m sassy; and I’m willing to put it all out there and risk looking ridiculous. He has supported me through this decision from the start, even though it’s not at all what he wants. He never made me feel guilty for following my heart and throwing a wrench into his world. For that, I’m forever grateful.
I’m also forever grateful to you. How do I even begin to thank you for being the best 12 Listeners in the world? You welcomed me into your lives the minute I moved here from Colorado. I know I was quite a shock to Boise radio when I arrived. I don’t think or speak like most women. We all know I’m more of a man than Mike and you still embraced me. You’ve loved me for all my quirks. You might not have agreed with every quick witted comment that came out of my mouth (or that fact that I never jumped on the BSU bandwagon), but you loved me just the same. You have to know, all I ever wanted to do was make you smile and laugh at least once on your drive to work. That was my intention every single day. I know I’ve hit some hot buttons, but please remember, all I wanted was for you to laugh with me.
I’ve saved every email (and tried to reply to them all) over the last 14 ½ years. Reading through them, reminded me of the bond that Mike & I have with you. You’re not just a radio station listener. You’re our family. You’re the reason we get up at o-dark-thirty. You’ve supported us; disagreed with us; argued with us; laughed with us; cried with us; and through it all, you stood by us. Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it. I want you to know, spending each morning laughing with you and Mike, was my favorite part of this job.
Let me leave you with this thought, I have always been referred to as “the crazy girl on the radio.” So please remember me as the “crazy girl on the radio,” who took a crazy leap of faith into the unknown.
XOXO,
Kate McGwireBearface Games' Merchant, the new simulation game for Android, is a combination of crafting, RPG, incremental and resource management elements all deftly shuffled together into one neat release. It plays a bit like an incarnation of Recettear's formula for your phone: As a merchant, you hire heroes to go off to slay nifferous creatures and then use the materials gleaned to make items you can either sell or equip for your heroes to improve their mighty-deed-doing, as it's known in the biz. Critters generally yield their own resource types, along with the occasional rare, and these become important when you decide you want to craft specific items. Unlike many games you have five different crafters with their own specialty and plenty hero slots, each of whom can do their thing independently and noticeably level for it. Crafting merchandise not only requires specific resources to produce, but also varying amounts of gold as well. Selling merchandise typically garners about twice the manufacturing cost, which is where the resource management aspect comes in. Do you churn out mass quantities of the same low-level items for steady profiteering, or do you make a few pieces of high-quality equipment for your heroes to enable sojourns into more dangerous territories to enable you to put better and more profitable wares on offer back at the shop?
Both crafting and adventuring require varying amounts of time determined by the difficulty level of each, which is where the incremental element comes into play, managing your five crafters and several adventurers. It's also where Merchant has drawn the most criticism; some feel a game that requires playing in sets of one- or two-minute increments to be a little disenfranchising, while others enjoy the sense of realism that comes along with it. After all, manufacturing and adventuring don't happen instantly in real life either. Still, it would be nice if low-level raids took proportionately less time once you've leveled and can presumably handle that entry-level baddie in mere moments, or at least increase the size of your loot hauls from them along with your ability versus theirs. We prefer to interpret this as a temporary game balance issue that will be noticed and sorted out in due time, particularly as a game which features multiple heroes capable of adventuring in different areas simultaneously has hero costs that relegate players to using grinding with just the one initial hero for what seems to be ages. That said, Merchant seems to be doing remarkably for itself already. Resplendent with endearing 256-color graphics reminiscent of VGA graphics from the days of yore, Merchant has already found a small devoted fandom with its own subreddit and even a starter Wiki in the works. Still being very actively developed post-release, give Merchant's unique blend of gameplay elements a try with the comfort of knowing that if you have a suggestion, question or feature request there's a very responsive community all ready for you.
Merchant (Android)
Thanks to Ryan for sending this one in!Read below to find out more from Tam-Anh, TinyCo:
“Morning everyone! We’ve released Quahog Comic Con for Android and Amazon players now We’ll be releasing more Comic Con content for all platforms (iOS, Android and Amazon) soon.
Here are a couple of the known issues we’re already working on:
– Crash reports. We know this is a big one. As we’ve mentioned before, this is most likely due to memory constraints. We are working on improving this.
– Event ending early. We’ve seen a couple reports this morning of the Comic Con event ending early in their Quahog. We are on top of this!
– Blam! score not updating. If you’re collecting Blam! and your amount or overall “Score” is not updating, it SHOULD sync back up when you close out of the game and reload. If this is not the case, please let us know. I’ve seen one player this morning who had a score that would not increase even though he was collecting Blam! and force closing did not help
As for the Android-exclusive item, this is still coming your way! We haven’t released this item yet and will make an announcement when we do.”The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge. It is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction began in 1998, and it initially opened in June 2000.
Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after pedestrians experienced an alarming swaying motion. The bridge was closed later on opening day and, after two days of limited access, for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the motion. It reopened in February 2002.
The southern end of the bridge is near the Globe Theatre, the Bankside Gallery, and Tate Modern, while the northern end of the bridge is next to the City of London School below St Paul's Cathedral. The bridge alignment is such that a clear view (i.e. a "terminating vista") of St Paul's south façade is presented from across the river, framed by the bridge supports.
Design [ edit ]
The design of the bridge was the subject of a competition organised in 1996 by Southwark council and RIBA Competitions. The winning entry was an innovative "blade of light" effort from Arup Group, Foster and Partners, and Sir Anthony Caro. Due to height restrictions, and to improve the view, the bridge's suspension design had the supporting cables below the deck level, giving a very shallow profile. The bridge has two river piers and is made of three main sections of 81 m (266 ft), 144 m (472 ft), and 108 m (354 ft) (north to south) with a total structure length of 325 m (1,066 ft); the aluminium deck is 4 m (13 ft) wide. The eight suspension cables are tensioned to pull with a force of 2,000 tons against the piers set into each bank—enough to support a working load of 5,000 people on the bridge at one time.
Construction [ edit ]
London Millennium Bridge at night. This image shows the well known and much photographed illusion of St. Paul's Cathedral being supported by one of the bridge supports.
Ordinarily, bridges across the River Thames require an Act of Parliament. For this bridge, that was avoided by the Port of London Authority granting a licence for the structure obtaining planning permissions from the City of London and London Borough of Southwark.[1] Construction began in late 1998 and the main works were started on 28 April 1999 by Monberg & Thorsen and Sir Robert McAlpine.[2] The bridge was completed at a cost of £18.2M (£2.2M over budget), primarily paid for by the Millennium Commission and the London Bridge Trust.[3] It opened on 10 June 2000 (two months late).
Unexpected lateral vibration (resonant structural response) caused the bridge to be closed on 12 June 2000 for modifications. Attempts were made to limit the number of people crossing the bridge. This led to long queues but was ineffective to dampen the vibrations. Closure of the bridge only two days after opening attracted public criticism of it as another high-profile British Millennium project that suffered an embarrassing setback, akin to how many saw the Millennium Dome. Vibration was attributed to an under-researched phenomenon whereby pedestrians crossing a bridge that has a lateral sway have an unconscious tendency to match their footsteps to the sway, exacerbating it. The tendency of a suspension bridge to sway when troops march over it in step was well known, which is why troops are required to break step when crossing such a bridge.[4]
The bridge was temporarily closed on 18 January 2007, during the Kyrill storm due to strong winds and a risk of pedestrians being blown off the bridge.[5]
Resonance [ edit ]
Underside of bridge from Southbank
Millennium Bridge and River Thames, looking north
The bridge's movements were caused by a 'positive feedback' phenomenon, known as synchronous lateral excitation. The natural sway motion of people walking caused small sideways oscillations in the bridge, which in turn caused people on the bridge to sway in step, increasing the amplitude of the bridge oscillations and continually reinforcing the effect.[6][7] On the day of opening, the bridge was crossed by 90,000 people, with up to 2,000 on the bridge at any one time.
Resonant vibrational modes due to vertical loads (such as trains, traffic, pedestrians) and wind loads are well understood in bridge design. In the case of the Millennium Bridge, because the lateral motion caused the pedestrians loading the bridge to directly participate with the bridge, the vibrational modes had not been anticipated by the designers. The crucial point is that when the bridge lurches to one side, the pedestrians must adjust to keep from falling over, and they all do this at exactly the same time. Hence, the situation is similar to soldiers marching in lockstep, but horizontal instead of vertical.
The risks of lateral vibration problems in lightweight bridges are well known.[8] Any bridge with lateral frequency modes of less than 1.3 Hz, and sufficiently low mass, could witness the same phenomenon with sufficient pedestrian loading. The greater the number of people, the greater the amplitude of the vibrations. For example, Albert Bridge in London has a sign dating from 1873 warning marching ranks of soldiers to break step while crossing.[9] Other bridges which have seen similar problems are:
Auckland Harbour Bridge, with a lateral frequency of 0.67 Hz, during a 1975 demonstration [10]
Birmingham NEC Link bridge, with a lateral frequency of 0.7 Hz
Dockwray Footbridge, Kendal Cumbria built 1907 with a lateral frequency of about 2 Hz [11]
Groves Suspension Bridge, Chester, in 1977 during the Jubilee river regatta
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940) collapsed in wind. Frequency about 0.25 Hz
After extensive analysis by the engineers,[12] the problem was fixed by the retrofitting of 37 fluid-viscous dampers (energy dissipating) to control horizontal movement and 52 tuned mass dampers (inertial) to control vertical movement. This took from May 2001 to January 2002 and cost £5M. After a period of testing, the bridge was successfully reopened on 22 February 2002. The bridge has not been subject to significant vibration since. In spite of the successful fix of the problem, the affectionate "wobbly bridge" epithet remains in common usage among Londoners.[13][14]
An artistic expression of the higher-frequency resonances within the cables of the bridge were explored by Bill Fontana's 'Harmonic Bridge' exhibition at the Tate Modern museum in mid-2006. This used acoustic transducers placed at strategic locations on the cabling of the Millennium Bridge and the signals from those transducers were amplified and dynamically distributed throughout the Turbine Hall of the Tate by a programme which Fontana entered into the sound diffusion engine of the Richmond Sound Design AudioBox.[15]
In popular culture [ edit ]
Showing the cable suspension system.
The view east from the Millennium Bridge
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Notes
BibliographyNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Wednesday proposed to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed total volume marked a slight decline from current levels and was more than 20 percent below targets laid out in a 2007 law. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, requires increased volumes of renewable fuels each year, but the proposal would keep targets for use of conventional biofuels at current levels.
The agency has begun preparations to reset future biofuel targets, said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. His proposal was met with praise and calls for broader reform from the petroleum industry and mixed response from biofuels producers.
Environmentalists, who have been critical of ethanol, called for Congress to reform the program.
The RFS has become a battlefield between corn and oil interests. The law has been a boon to agriculture, supporting economies across the Midwest’s Corn Belt.
The EPA’s proposed cuts to advanced and cellulosic biofuels “will have a chilling effect on the push toward next generation biofuels,” said Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley.
Petroleum companies say the biofuel targets are impossible to meet and add billions of dollars in costs. The plan would require companies to blend a total of 19.24 billion gallons of renewable fuels in the country’s fuel supply next year.
The proposal is “consistent with market realities focused on actual production and consumer demand while being cognizant of the challenges that exist in bringing advanced biofuels into the marketplace,” Pruitt said in a statement.
The agency would keep the 2018 target for conventional ethanol at 15 billion gallons, unchanged from 2017, and set the requirement for advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, at 4.24 billion gallons.
These latest volumes confirmed an earlier Reuters report for volumes well below the 26 billion gallons of renewable fuels outlined by Congress in 2007. The law was aimed at cutting U.S. oil imports and boosting the use of renewable fuels.
The EPA also requested comments related to concerns that the biofuels requirements increasingly are being met by supplies from Brazil, Argentina and Indonesia.
The agency proposed setting the requirements for cellulosic below the current year’s levels at 238 million gallons and kept biomass-based diesel requirements at 2.1 billion gallons for 2019, unchanged from the levels set for 2018 under former President Barack Obama.
Development of cellulosic biofuels has been slower than expected by lawmakers when they set up the program, stymied by regulatory delays and the economic downturn.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents oil companies, including BP America and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), praised the move to lower the overall requirements but said the proposal did not go far enough.
Ethanol groups praised the agency for maintaining the target for conventional ethanol, which is mostly produced from corn in the United States, but were critical of the move to lower the advanced targets.
“We are concerned that by reducing the cellulosic (requirement), this proposal may weaken the signal to the marketplace,” said Bob Dinneen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association.
“Today’s proposal underscores the need for the U.S. Congress to take the bull by the horns and reform the Renewable Fuel Standard to protect our clean water, our public health, and our wildlife,” said National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O’Mara.
Prices of U.S. renewable fuel credits rose 4 cents to trade at 75 cents apiece. Biodiesel credits were up 3 cents at $1.145 each, traders said.Google upgraded the beta version of its Chrome browser yesterday, adding integrated bookmark synchronization and boasting of a 30% speed improvement over the current production edition.
Chrome 4.0.223.16, which runs only on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, includes the ability to sync bookmarked sites across multiple computers, said Idan Avraham and Anton Muhin, a pair of Google software engineers who announced the beta on a company blog late on Monday.
Bookmark sync requires that all the machines being kept in step run the Chrome beta, and that the user has a Google account, such as a Gmail username and password. The browser syncs bookmarks using Google Docs, the company's Web-based application suite.
There's no way to set the interval between synchronizations, but Avraham and Muhin said that "any changes you make to your bookmarks will |
than the Disciplines system does. The Disciplines system reduces unnecessary complexity. We want to get players into the game and playing, rather than impeding them with an obsolete skill system, and the Disciplines system does that.
8) Is there a change coming with 3.0 that you are especially excited about which isn't in the feature list?
The real change with 3.0 comes in the form of how we are treating story in our game. We are truly excited about what we did with the story in Shadow of Revan, as it will be a jumping off point for the compelling content we plan on creating in the future.Jarrett finished the 2016 regular season with 48 tackles, exactly twice as many as his rookie campaign, and three sacks. His 18 stops against the run were the 16th-most among interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus, tied with Tampa star Gerald and one behind Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox.
Jarrett also recorded nine QB hits and 34 QB pressures, good for ninth and 10th at his position, respectively.
“Grady Jarrett has been understandably for us a leader and has really emerged,” head coach Dan Quinn said in January. “We saw those traits in him when we drafted him. It certainly was that way for him coming out of Clemson. We knew early on, even though he was a rookie he had some of the right stuff to develop into a leader. As he’s [finished up] his second year here, that grew even stronger and stronger.”
That growth was evident as the year wore on. In Atlanta’s last seven games before the playoffs, Jarrett matched his tackle total from 2015 (24). Additionally, he earned 13 total pressures in the playoffs – five more than any other DT. The only NFL player with more pressures during the postseason was Dwight Freeney, per PFF.
"We looked at him at him as a versatile D-lineman who, though he was not the biggest guy or the tallest guy, he had the versatility for us to shoot the gaps and play an element of the run -- which he can do -- and also continue to give us some pass rush," general manager Thomas Dimitroff said.
"Too often, interior guys don't give you the pass rush he has. But he has the ability to slice through the gap, and he's got a short-area quick burst that was very impressive for us. We expected him to come in and have an element of rush ability from the inside."
Along with another year of experience under his belt, Jarrett stands to benefit from Atlanta’s biggest free agent acquisition – figuratively and literally – in Dontari Poe. The mammoth defensive tackle will likely spend a lot of time lined up next to Jarrett in 2017, and in the process, he could take on plenty of double teams, opening up space for Jarrett (and others) to maneuver.
“That’s awesome,” Jarrett told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Poe signing. “That makes us a better team and a better defensive line. It will be good to definitely have him on board.Story highlights Couture brand Balenciaga has released a $2,145 blue tote bag
It looks very similar to Ikea's plastic shopping tote
(CNN) Ikea's iconic 99 cent bag has gotten a high-fashion upgrade courtesy of Balenciaga.
The couture brand has come out with a bag that looks eerily similar to everyone's favorite crinkly Ikea tote bag. They're both neon blue, have the exact same construction, and seem to be bigger on the inside, like Doctor Who's TARDIS.
HAHAHAHAHA Balenciaga Is Selling the Ikea Tote for $2,145: https://t.co/BemTr6ttw4 via @TeenVogue pic.twitter.com/FvO3ag9EKa — Thuy Ong 🥞 (@ThuyOng) April 19, 2017
When you look at them side by side, there's only one major difference: price. Ikea's "Frakta" bag -- made of recyclable plastic -- costs 99 cents. Balenciaga's "glazed leather" and gold-stamped creation (standing in for yellow nylon straps) clocks in at $2,145.
Who wore it better? Balenciaga or IKEA? pic.twitter.com/LCB9Qri2xN — Mikael Pawlo (@mpawlo) April 18, 2017
In the age of high-fashion brands recreating cheap favorites -- Vetements' recreations of Hanes T-shirts for $740, for example -- Balenciaga may just be jumping on the bandwagon. It hasn't publicly responded to the controversy, so we can't be sure.Following a formal sleaze inquiry, the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee took the unprecedented step of ordering Geoff Hoon, defence secretary under Tony Blair, to surrender his Parliamentary pass for five years and apologise to the House.
Stephen Byers, the former transport secretary who told undercover reporters posing as lobbyists that he was a “cab for hire,” was barred for two years for a “particularly serious breach”.
The punishment would have been more severe but he was given credit for apologising.
Richard Caborn, an ex-sports minister, was ordered to say sorry and banned for six months after failing to register financial interests.
Parliamentary watchdog cleared three more of breaching rules, but said that they were “unwise” to have agreed to meet the fake lobbyists.
Patricia Hewitt, the former health secretary, Adam Ingram, an ex-defence minister, and Sir John Butterfill, who was a Conservative backbencher until the election, will face no formal punishment.
Although all six stood down at the last election, as former MPs they are entitled to Commons passes and can take advantage of Parliamentary facilities which, the Committee said, could help them financially.
They were caught up in a secret sting operation by reporters from Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and the Sunday Times earlier this year.
The Labour party suspended Mr Byers, Mrs Hewitt and Mr Hoon, and the five Labour MPs were referred to John Lyon the Parliamentary Standards watchdog. Sir John, who had boasted that he expected to get a seat in the House of Lords, referred himself.
A sixth Labour MP, Margaret Moran, who quit Parliament after being criticised over her expenses, expressed an interest in working for the lobbying firm despite telling her constituents that she was too ill to see them.
Her case was not considered by Mr Lyon because a complaint was not received.
After an eight month investigation, Mr Lyon's report was approved by the Committee, which is responsible for deciding punishments for MPs found to have breached the rules.
In their report, the Committee said: “We … understand, perhaps better than most, the desire of anyone who is leaving Parliament to provide for a secure future.
“But we are still surprised that experienced MPs fell for it. They should have known better. Their behaviour raises serious questions about their judgment.”
During the secret recording, Mr Byers was heard describing himself as a "cab for hire" as he suggested that he would work for £5,000-a-day.
The former MP for North Tyneside boasted that he had secured secret deals with ministers over a rail franchise contract and food labelling on behalf of private companies.
While the claims were found to be untrue, Mr Byers was found to have brought Parliament into disrepute by giving the impression that the influence of MPs could be bought.
In a statement to the Committee, he said: “I could try and put together all sorts of excuses as to how I came to make the statements I did but I must accept that I simply should not have spoken in such terms.
“I deeply regret that my statements caused damage to the reputation of Parliament. Having had the privilege of serving in the House for 18 years this is the last thing I would want to have done.
“I would like to take this opportunity to offer to the Committee and the whole House my sincere and unreserved apologies.
“I was wrong to have made the statements I did and am sorry for the damage they caused to the reputation of Parliament.”
The Committee said: “If Mr Byers had not accepted that his conduct was wrong and had not apologised in such unequivocal terms, we would have recommended that this entitlement be withdrawn for a much longer period."
Mr Hoon and Miss Hewitt were filmed suggesting that they would charge £3,000 a day for their services.
The Committee did not accept Mr Hoon’s claim that his conversation had been in a “personal” capacity, and rejected his version of the conversation with the undercover reporters.
Miss Hewitt was found to have kept within the rules, although she made a “minor slip” in suggesting that she had spoken to Government officials on behalf of a firm she worked for.
The House of Commons will debate the report’s findings next week, and decide whether to accept the Committee’s recommendations on punishments.
Sir George Young, the Leader of the House, said that the scandal amounted to a “salutary lesson” to all MPs considering working as lobbyists.
The Committee said that there was no “modern precedent” for punishing former MPs, but that the worst sanction would be the critical impact on the “status and, in some cases, livelihood” of the damage to the “public reputation” of those subject to such a critical report.Victoria, South Australia & NSW need an economic stimulus package to create jobs and transition to a clean economy, Greens Deputy Leader and industry spokesperson, Adam Bandt, said today.
Mr Bandt today released ‘Saving south-east Australia', a fully-funded plan to build 77,500 new houses in south-eastern Australia, fast-track high-speed rail, provide tax relief to small business and manufacturing and boost research and innovation spending.
"The south-eastern states have been suffering from the pressures of the mining boom, including a high Australian dollar, and we urgently need a plan to secure jobs and a strong, clean economy" said Mr Bandt.
"Now is the time to cut $12bn in corporate welfare from the fossil-fuel sector to drive a clean economy and secure jobs in south-east Australia."
"By building more public housing and fast-tracking public transport projects, we can find jobs for the workers facing redundancy, address the housing crisis and care for the planet all at once."
"Unfortunately, Victoria's economy has recorded negative growth in recent years and now Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott plan to cut spending in the May Budget, which will hit hard."
"Whether Victoria plunges into recession is now ultimately in the hands of Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott."
"It's time for a south-east stimulus package and a clean industry transition plan, not harsh cuts and billions of dollars subsidies to polluters."
The ‘Saving south-east Australia: A stimulus package for jobs and a clean economy' would be funded by measures including removing $12bn in fossil fuel subsidies and introducing a proper mining tax and its key features are:Ben Folds played to a packed amphitheater at Stubb’s in Austin, 6/16. Pointing to his set list he let the crowd know that he had “this shit” on the paper but he was going to go with the flow and he did, taking request and playing favorites. Happy with the place he is, the “douchebag ratio” was low in the crowd and he was surrounded by likeminded people. During “Brick” the audience was silent, not the norm for concerts these days. The set took a turn near the end of the set when a shirtless guy decided to rush the stage via the roof of the green room. He was quickly escorted out and in police custody at the end of the show. Ben Folds changed the crowd harmony for “Not the Same” from an ah-ah to Roof Man and was grinning ear to ear as he conducted the crowd. Altogether an awesome evening with Ben Folds!
Ben Folds WebsiteA 44-year-old father of five brutally attacked, smashed in the head. Doctors now tell the family there is no hope, “he will not recover”. His wife and kids have not left the hospital since the night of his attack. Friends and family are now seeking donations for funeral arrangements:
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. – The sister of a man who police said was robbed at random of $60 while walking through a park in McKees Rocks last month told Channel 11 News he likely won’t recover.
“The doctors tell us there is no hope for his brain. His brain is completely damaged,” said Tina Ernst, the victim’s sister.
According to Ernst, her brother, 44-year-old David Poole, was walking home with a friend near West Park on May 26 when they were surprise-attacked by three men.
Ernst said her brother was hit in the head with an object and taken to the ground, cracking his skull.
She said Poole, who has four children and one stepchild, has been in a coma for nearly a month. Doctors told Ernst that even if Poole survives, he’ll live out the rest of his life as a vegetable.
“The doctors tell us there is no hope for his brain. His brain is completely damaged,” Ernst said. “I just want them to know that they took someone’s life; someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s father.”
Ernst said her brother was attacked all for $60 and his phone, which wasn’t found at the scene. The robbers also got away with his friend’s purse.
One eyewitness gave a vague description of the attackers, saying one individual was tall with a large afro and the others were shorter. All were described as being in their 20s.
Authorities said the investigation is being transferred to homicide, but so far, no suspects have been identified. (Link with Video Story)
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family. If you would like to contribute – CLICK HERE – and help spread the message.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”…
Dear Father, we thank you for the comfort we can only find in Your presence. Through the Holy Spirit we know Your presence is always with us. Send this family Your peace Lord – It is only Your peace that passes all understanding.
Dear Lord please comfort this family; cherish this family; help them to set aside despair in this most difficult of time. Please help them not to waiver and doubt.
Please grant them a faith that is everlasting, when they need it most. We release our lives into Your hands. As we wait and watch, teach us how to embrace it with faith.
Give us strength to hold up those hearts who are stepping closer to seeing You face to face. Take away the fear in the heart of the Poole family, and Your child David Poole who will soon see You.
We pray You will let this family find peace in Your grace, comfort in Your love, and strength in Your mighty power over death. Comfort them as grief seems to over power them.
You are a good, just, righteous, and loving Father. Do not let us grow bitter in this shadow of death. Pierce our hearts with hope and love that we can not fathom or understand. A joy that is above all that is corrupted here on earth. You are conqueror of all; and so we trust You. We trust that You will do what is right, what is loving. Whether in death or in life Your will is accomplished and You are sovereign.
May the Poole family know Your presence, Lord. Keep them ever aware of Your loving hand guiding them through all these things.
In the name of Jesus we pray; Amen.
AdvertisementsENISA’s Cyber Security Training material was introduced in 2008, and has grown continuously ever since. This training content comprises of essential material to develop skills in the Incident Responders community and in the field of Operational Security. In these pages you will find all material needed to organise a successful training like tutorials for teachers, handouts for students and virtual images to support hands-on activities in training sessions.
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Contact our team at cert-relations@enisa.europa.eu.Everyone has heard that story at one point or another: man wakes up in Tijuana with one heck of a hangover, only to find his kidney has been sold on the black market. But what if the culprit was not some faceless criminal, but your very own doctor?
This is exactly what happened to Liu Yongwei, a man who discovered during one fateful trip to a hospital in Jiangsu that his right kidney had mysteriously gone “missing,” while his left one was in serious distress, sparking an epic journey to find out just what the hell happened to him.
NetEase reports that Liu’s troubles all began on the morning of June 12, 2015. It was a normal day, same as any other, except for the fact that during his morning drive to work on his tractor, he happened to come across a couple of young men riding motorcycles, speeding headlong towards him, on course for what would have surely been a nasty collision. Desperate, Liu did the only thing a driver could do at the last moment; he swerved, and in doing so was thrown to the ground as his tractor flipped over.
Liu was rushed to the nearby Xuzhou Medical School Hospital, where he was examined by one Doctor Hu Bo. Upon examination, Dr. Hu realized that Liu had suffered significant trauma to the right side of his body, and was diagnosed with broken ribs and bruises to his liver and right kidney.
Having decided that Liu had suffered enough damage to warrant surgery, Hu immediately decided to operate, whereupon after cutting Liu open and treating his insides, Hu briefly removed the man’s kidney to examine it. Hu, who is a cardio-thoracic specialist (ie, heart and lungs) and is definitely not a urinary specialist, decided that his kidney looked fine and supposedly replaced it back into the unconscious Liu.
After Liu regained consciousness, he was reassured by Dr. Hu and the hospital that all was well, and that he should head on over to another hospital for further treatment.
Things got weird at the second hospital. After having Liu undergo a routine CT scan, they made a couple of rather alarming discoveries: First, the surgical tubing from the first surgery was still very much embedded in the man’s abdominal cavity, and now appeared to be infectious. Second, his right kidney was nowhere to be found. The hospital refused to provide further treatment to Liu, fearing any negative consequences that could result in light of this new discovery.
Desperate, Liu traveled to another hospital in Nanjing, and received the same diagnosis: there was an infection in his abdominal cavity and, oh yeah, his right kidney wasn’t there.
Determined to discover the truth behind his illness and the loss of his right kidney, Liu returned to the Xuzhou hospital and sat down for another consultation with Dr. Hu. He unsurprisingly gave Liu the exact same diagnosis: kidney gone.
When Liu then told Hu that he was the one responsible for his condition and pressed for answers, the good doctor “ducked his head and immediately left the room.”
Liu took the problem to the local court, which in turn ruled that the case should be categorized as a criminal one, and that Liu should seek out the local police.
At the police station, Liu explained the entire situation, but the police in turn decided to kick responsibility back to the hospital. They told Liu that the case was “too complicated,” and that the evidence pointed to a simple case of organ failure. Liu was advised to go to the hospital’s doctor-patient office to file a complaint, and that he should go alone, without the police, since “the issue was a private one, and not a public affair.”
The police did tell him that if the hospital refused to see him, that he should call them back, which he did after he was once again refused a meeting with staff. For more than 20 minutes Liu waited, but for whatever reason no one ever arrived to help him.
Liu was eventually able to schedule a meeting with a representative of the hospital, but she was unable to provide any further explanation other than “we do not know.” The only new revelation for Liu came when the representative expressed surprise that Hu, a cardio-thoracic specialist, would take it upon himself to handle a problem with Liu’s kidney, which would have normally been treated by a urinary specialist. They did, however, agree to open an investigation into the matter, and so Liu waited.
Two months passed, and Liu had still not heard from the hospital about the result of their investigation. When Liu and a reporter called Dr. Hu, he quickly told them that the investigation had been concluded and promptly hung up.
After calling the doctor-patient office, they were told that the case had already been filed away, and that the results were inconclusive. The report speculated that Dr. Hu may have mishandled the kidney, but had no conclusions as to why the kidney was gone, either by organ failure or worse, and has since closed the case. “ Now I have no idea where my kidney went, and other hospitals still refuse to treat me,” Liu sighed.
After the news went viral late last week, the hospital in question has since fired back, with specialists inspecting Liu’s CT scan and finding a decayed, shriveled up kidney — “about the size of a sesame seed” — in the corner of his abdomen. They insist that further tests will be carried out to learn the truth about the matter.
According to The Paper, Liu doesn’t want to wait and is already planning on suing the hospital for 2 million yuan. The hospital has responded by telling him to go ahead and file the lawsuit.
Whether the kidney is there or not, the bizarre tale has Chinese netizens feeling even more concerned about the state of their country’s health care system. In March, authorities in Shandong revealed China’s largest-ever health scandal, involving a 300-people ring that distributed over 2 million spoiled vaccines in 24 provinces over the last 5 years. In April, a young cancer patient underwent a experimental procedure at a military hospital in Beijing that he learned about after searching on Baidu. The treatment was unsuccessful and the man’s death has sparked a national scandal. Also last month, a 3-year-old boy with autism died at a private rehabilitation clinic in Guangzhou after undergoing military-like training.
These kinds of cases have worked to create deep levels of distrust between doctors and patients in China, which is not helped by the numerous knife attacks that angry former patients make on their physicians. Last week, one unstable patient stabbed his former dentist to death, prompting yet more soul searching about how to solve a problem that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.
[Editor’s Note: 6pm] The post has been updated to include the hospital’s claims that Liu has “seriously distorted the truth” in claiming that his kidney has gone “missing,” when actually it has just shriveled up so much that it is almost invisible, according to specialists who looked at his CT scans.
By Stanley Yu
[Images via NetEase]
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PrintPhotos: Yana Paskova for The New York Times
About 20 police officers wearing helmets and carrying batons, plastic shields and pepper spray entered a New School building at 65 Fifth Avenue around 11 a.m. on Friday, arresting 19 protesters who had occupied it as part of a determined protest aimed at the university’s president, Bob Kerrey.
(Please note that this is a blog account updated over the course of the day Friday. You may also read the news article prepared for Saturday editions of The Times, watch related videos or read blog comments. )
The 19 people arrested inside — 16 men and 3 women — were charged with third-degree burglary; one was charged with assault and grand larceny for stealing a radio from a building employee. Three other protesters, who authorities said were part of a group of about 8 people who tried to escape the building as the police surrounded it, were charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.
The protest followed a similar occupation of a cafeteria in the same building nearly four months earlier. That protest ended peacefully. This time, the university’s response was more confrontational, and the outcome violent. “The Police Department was asked to arrest individuals trespassing on the property,” said Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, who said the operation “was done in a very organized, orderly fashion.”
But students at the scene described a tumultuous situation in which protesters were pepper-sprayed before being placed in handcuffs and loaded by police officers into the back of a white van, around 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Browne said it was “untrue that pepper spray or mace was used in effectuating the arrests” — though he later clarified that he meant the arrests inside the building.
Witnesses said that the protesters had sought to leave the building by a side door, but were pushed back and pepper-sprayed. The witnesses said that several students pushed open a door that exited onto 14th Street, and that police officers stationed outside that door used pepper spray on the students in the corridor and slammed the door shut.
“The students tried to open the door,” said Kristina Monllos, a sophomore at Eugene Lang College, part of the New School, and a reporter covering the scene for the New School Free Press. “When the students pushed the door open, the police sprayed pepper spray inside and pushed the door closed.”
Mr. Browne, however, said that if some students believed they were unable to leave, it might have been because they had used a chain to lock themselves inside, which officers then had to cut through.
Mr. Browne said in a statement:
At some point, as police were entering the building on Fifth Avenue, a group of 30 to 40 individuals advanced on a side entrance of the same building on East 14th Street. While an individual or individuals pushed against the side door from inside, others from the advancing group began to throw metal barriers at the officers. Additional officers were summoned. They pursued fleeing members of the group, and affected three arrests for charges that included: assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.
Footage recorded by a videographer, identified by the New School Free Press as Chris McCallion, and shown on the Free Press Web site, shows a turbulent scene in which demonstrators briefly scuffle with police and heave a metal barricade. At one point, a protester appeared to try to wrest a woman away from an officer who was trying to arrest her.
A video, above, shot by a freelance journalist, Brandon Jourdan of Brooklyn, showed about a half-dozen police officers standing near the door on 14th Street when it was pushed open from inside. Then it shows officers shaking cans of pepper spray as they hold the door back, spraying inside the corridor, and forcing the door shut. It shows an officer, a few moments later, lunging toward Mr. Jourdan’s camera, before swerving toward a young man standing on the street shouting. In the video, the officer pushes the man’s face and knockes him to the ground before arresting him. (Be advised, the video includes some profanity.)
As senior police officials, firefighters and emergency medical technicians looked on, the police officers surged into the building around 11 a.m., carrying bunches of white plastic handcuffs attached to their belts. Moments later, several were seen leaning over the parapet; the banners that the three dozen or so students occupying the building had hung were removed.
Officers from the Emergency Service Unit cut the chains and then officers from the Manhattan South Task Force entered the building around 11 a.m., and “began to make arrests in an orderly fashion,” Mr. Browne said.
Neither Mr. Browne nor the university could immediately say whether or how many of the 19 people arrested were New School students. The university said that the three people arrested on assault charges after leaving the building were students: one from the New School, one from Brooklyn College and one from New York University.
Police Reaction to Video
After Mr. Jourdan’s video was posted on the City Room blog, Mr. Browne viewed it and spoke simultaneously with a reporter by phone. He took issue with an earlier account on City Room that described officers as having “stormed” the building. “There was no storming,” he said. He said the officers wore helmets and had standard-issue batons and pepper spray, but no riot gear, as some descriptions from witnesses had it.
As he watched the video, Mr. Browne explained why the officers held the door shut. “What happens is, we are making arrests inside, and we are trying to prevent people from escaping,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Hey, we’re giving up.'”
He said that some people were trying to get out of the building and that others were trying to get in, so keeping the doorway closed served two purposes.
“There was a group we thought might be trying to get in,” he said.
It was the activity on the street outside that led to arrests there, Mr. Browne said, and those arrests are on the videotape.
Regarding the use of pepper spray, Mr. Browne said the video made it clear that the spray was, indeed, used. (The department does not use Mace or tear gas, he noted.)
“We apparently used pepper spray for people who were either trying to let more people in or were trying avoid arrests,” Mr. Browne said. “Now, once I see it, I know what is going on.”
He continued to insist that the spray was not used in “effectuating the arrests” inside the building, and that he had not been aware earlier of the incidents at the side door. He also noted that it is standard procedure for all officers to carry batons and pepper spray in most situations.
Mr. Browne reviewed several times the segment of the video showing a protester getting knocked to the ground.
When asked about the tactics used, he said, “He pushed him and he fell down.”
He added: “My comment — the officer pushed into him and he fell down. There were individuals interfering with an arrest being made, and he was one of them, and they pushed into him and he fell down.”
Mr. Browne also questioned the source of the video, which came from a man who was shooting for the liberal news organization Democracy Now and said it was more notable for what was not included in the footage.
“If they want to question the validity of it, the proof is in the pudding,” Mr. Jourdan, 29, said in response. “The video speaks for itself and not only that, there were plenty of witnesses there who believed the police overreacted and lost their cool.” He said he planned on filing a complaint against the officer who, he said, also “shoved me to the ground.”
Donna Lieberman, the executive director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, viewed the videotape — twice, she said — and pointed out that while it is unknown what occurred prior to the yelling, the portions of video that are seen raise “serious concerns.”
“What appears on the video is someone yelling at the cops and getting punched in the face for it and thrown to the ground and arrested,” said Ms. Lieberman. “The Police Department has no authority to use physical force on somebody in this situation and they have no authority to arrest people for yelling at them; that is a violation of civil rights plain and simple.”
The Police Video
Late on Friday afternoon, the Police Department released its own video of the confrontation, a video that showed the police in a more favorable light.
According to that video, the mood at the epicenter of the standoff, inside the New School, was defined by order and efficiency — even if the scene outside was significantly more chaotic.
Uniformed police officers and the 19 protesters who had locked themselves inside spoke to one another in a calm, almost subdued tone of voice, with each side being polite and courteous to the other, the police video showed.
The police videotape showed a detective speaking to one protester, identified as John Clay, as he spoke on a cellphone to an organizer outside named Chelsea.
The detective, Jeff Salter, is seen on the video negotiating for the students to unlock a set of glass doors and let the officers in. At that point, the officers had already cut the locks barring them from an earlier set of doors, said Mr. Browne, the police spokesman.
“We want to end this peacefully,” said Detective Salter. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
The doors were glass. Behind them were some barricades that appear to be movable room barriers or shelves, as well as other furniture, and about 30 feet beyond the doors, the group of students – including four women and the rest men – were sitting calmly on the floor, many with backpacks.
At one point, two students, a woman and a man in a sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse emblazoned on it, got up and walked toward the officers and unlocked some locks on the doors, and then went back and sat down.
“Thank you,” one officer can be heard saying on the video.
Once the doors were opened, the officers entered slowly, led by Chief of Department Joseph Esposito.
“Do me a favor, take your back packs off,” one officer said to the group. The students complied.
Another officer asked: “How many females do we have?”
The female students were handcuffed first. The first one stood and put her hands behind her back and allowed the officer to handcuff her. It continues in that fashion for several minutes.
“Next female, please stand up,” an officer said. “Put your hands behind your back.”
The male students sat on the floor, awaiting their turn.
The Start of the Protest
The students had occupied the building around 5:30 a.m., planning a takeover similar to one carried out at the university in December. A graduate student who spoke to a reporter at 5:55 a.m. outside the building said, “The students just entered the building, and the police are already here.”
Mr. Browne, the police spokesman, said the people who occupied the building ejected a maintenance worker, stole his radio and chained the doors locked. Whoever stole the radio might face robbery charges in addition to trespassing charges, he said.
In a statement (see below), the university called the protest an “illegal occupation” and said the protesters had injured a security supervisor who tried to stop them.
Around 7 a.m. several dozen students, standing on the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue, cheered when several masked people appeared on the roof of 65 Fifth Avenue, waving red and black flags and lifting clenched fists in the air. The students on the roof draped banners over the side of the building that read, “Kerrey and Murtha resign now!”
Police officers were already on hand, and as the morning went on, the numbers increased until dozens of officers stood on all sides of the building, and the streets surrounding the building held mazes of metal barricades and yellow police tape. Students on the sidewalks outside the building said they were members of various groups — all of which are disgruntled with the administration.
A woman who identified herself as Alex Johnson, a fourth-year politics major, said she was a spokeswoman for the students inside, and spoke to a reporter by phone from what she said was an undisclosed location. Asked how long the students intended to remain inside the building, she said, “As long as they can.”
Asked what it would take to make the students to leave voluntarily, she replied, “It would take Kerrey and Murtha resigning.”
Among the students watching from across the street was Andy Folk, 21, a junior at Eugene Lang College, studying fiction and philosophy. “I’m here to show solidarity and support,” he said. “We and much of the faculty continue to have no confidence in Bob Kerrey.” Mr Folk added that he thought Mr. Kerrey wanted to soften the radical legacy of the school.
As senior police officers and fire officials arrived, the masked people on the roof used a megaphone to address the crowd below. One of the masked figures read a lengthy critique of capitalism and contemporary life, which a student below identified as an essay, “On the Poverty of Student Life,” that originated at the University of Strasbourg.
By 10:30, the part of Fifth Avenue below 14th Street, as well as adjoining side streets, were filled with city vehicles. There were police vans, an emergency services unit truck and a mobile Fire Department command center and Fire Department ambulance. Paramedics stood at the ready, and police officers, holding what appeared to be building plans, huddled together.
A group of police officers, one holding a sledge hammer, then walked toward the building.
Elsewhere, tensions rose shortly before 11, when a crowd of people rallying in support of the students dashed east on 14th Street, pursued by police. Police officers and about 40 protesters faced off on the south side of 14th Street. A line of officers advanced toward the protesters, who retreated toward Union Square, some shouting at the officers.
At the same time, on Fifth Avenue, several dozen police officers wearing visor helmets and carrying long plastic shields lined up in front of the main entrance to 65 Fifth Avenue. An officer made an announcement through a megaphone that officials said was to let students know that officers were about to enter the school.
Other officers on horseback patrolled surrounding blocks where, by 11 a.m., more than 100 police vehicles were parked.
The Earlier Building Occupation
The December takeover lasted about 30 hours. Then, students barricaded themselves inside a ground-floor cafeteria at the building, protesting a host of issues, many connected to the administration of the university’s president, Bob Kerrey.
The students adopted a list of eight demands including a greater student voice in university affairs and the resignations of Mr. Kerrey, a former senator from Nebraska; James Murtha, the executive vice president; and Robert Millard, treasurer of the board of trustees, who students said was connected to a private security company working in Iraq.
That action ended after negotiations, but a student group calling itself the New School in Exile promised further disruptions if Mr. Kerrey did not accede to their demand to resign by April 1.
“With their demand still unmet as of this date, students have once again reclaimed this neglected, symbolic building which housed the New School for Social Research,” student organizers said in a news release on Friday. “On the 75th anniversary of the University in Exile, New School students are reclaiming the tradition of protest and political action that birthed the university and gave it meaning for generations to come.”
Statements From the New School
The university responded to the protests with the following statement on Friday morning:
On December 15, 2008, an unofficial |
to break one’s fast because of jihad.
Muslim (1120) narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: We traveled with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to Makkah – meaning at the Conquest of Makkah – and we were fasting. We stopped to camp and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You are approaching your enemy and breaking the fast will make you stronger.” This was a concession, and some of us continued to fast and some of us broke our fast. Then we stopped to camp again, and he said, “You are going to meet your enemy in the morning, and breaking the fast will make you stronger, so break your fast.” So we had no choice but to break our fast.
Abu Dawood (2365) narrated that one of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allaah (S) telling the people on a journey in the year of the Conquest (of Makkah) to break their fast. He said, “Gain strength to face your enemy.”
Al-Haafiz said in al-Talkhees al-Habeer: this was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr
These two hadeeths indicate that the command to break the fast was not because of travelling, rather it was in order to gain strength for jihad.
It says in al-Muntaqa Sharh Muwatta’ al-Imam Maalik:
The words “Gain strength to face your enemy” indicate that this was the reason breaking the fast. If the reason was travelling then he would not have explained it as being in order to gain strength to face the enemy, rather he would have said it was because of travelling.
Al-Manaawi said in Fayd al-Qadeer:
He said, “You are going to meet your enemy in the morning.” According to another version, “You have come close to your enemy…” From the fact that he gave the reason as their approaching the enemy and their needing physical strength to meet their enemy, it may be understood that in this case the fast was broken because of jihad, not because of travelling. If the enemy attacked them in their own land [i.e., when they were not travelling] and they needed physical strength, then it would be permissible for them to break their fast, based on what is said, because that is more necessary than breaking one's fast just because of travelling.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad al-Ma’aad (2/53-54):
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded them to break their fast when they got close to their enemy so that they would have the strength to fight them. If such a situation happened when they were not travelling, and breaking their fast would make them stronger to face their enemy, would they be allowed to break their fast? There are two opinions on this matter, the one which is based on the soundest evidence is that they are allowed to do that. This is the view favoured by Ibn Taymiyah, and this is the view stated in the fatwa he issued to the Muslim troops when they met the enemy on the outskirts of Damascus. Undoubtedly breaking the fast for that reason is more necessary than breaking it for travelling alone, rather the fact that the traveller is allowed not to fast alerts us to the fact that it is allowed in this situation (i.e., jihad), for it is more apt that it be allowed in this case because physical strength in that case only benefits the traveller himself, whereas in this case it benefits the mujahid and the Muslims, and because the hardship of jihad is greater than the hardship of travel, and because the interest served by the mujahid not fasting is greater than the interest served by the traveller not fasting. And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And make ready against them all you can of power”
[al-Anfaal 8:60]
Breaking one’s fast when meeting the enemy is one of the greatest means of strength and power… and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, when they drew close to their enemy: “You are approaching your enemy and breaking the fast will make you stronger.” This was a concession, and some of us fasted and some of us broke our fast. Then we stopped to camp again, and he said, “You are going to meet your enemy in the morning, and breaking the fast will make you stronger, so break your fast.” So we had no choice but to break our fast.
So he gave the reason that they were approaching the enemy and they needed their physical strength to meet the enemy. This is a reason other than travel. Travel is a separate reason in and of itself, and he did not mention it or refer to it here. So in conclusion the principles and wisdom of the Lawgiver dictate that breaking one's fast for the purpose of jihad is more necessary than doing so simply because of travelling. So how about if the reason is explained and stated clearly in the text? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) insisted that they should break their fast for that reason, and this is indicated by the report narrated by ‘Eesa ibn Yoonus from Shu’bah from ‘Amr ibn Dinar who said: I heard Ibn ‘Umar say: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions on the day of the Conquest of Makkah: “This is a day of fighting, so break your fast.” He named fighting as the reason, and used the word “fa” (= so) when issuing the command to fight. From this wording each of them understood that breaking the fast was for the purpose of fighting.
And Allaah knows best.
The battle mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) took place between the Muslims and the Tatars in 702 AH, and the Muslims were the victors.
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
He – meaning Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) – issued a fatwa telling the people to break their fast for the duration of the fighting, and he himself also broke his fast. He used to go around among the soldiers and commanders, eating some food that he had in his hand, to show them that it was better for them to break their fast so that they would have more strength to fight. Then the people ate.
See al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 14/31.Donald Trump, then a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is flanked by his sons Eric Trump, left, and Donald Trump Jr. while speaking during the Outdoor Sportsman Awards on Jan. 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Isaac Brekken/Associated Press)
Donald Trump’s adult sons, who are overseeing a nationwide expansion of the family business during their father’s presidency, are envisioning ways that their experiences from the campaign trail can help them establish a footing in dozens of new markets.
The idea is to move beyond a focus on luxury hotels in big metropolises and build boutique properties in a broader mix of cities, including some the Trump brothers came to know well during more than a year of intensive travel, fundraising and grass-roots networking on the road to the White House.
“I got to see a lot of those markets on the campaign,” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, told The Washington Post in a recent interview from his office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower. “I think I’ve probably been in all of them over the last 18 months.”
The initial plan is tied to the Trumps’ previously announced new chain, Scion, which is being designed as a less-corporate feeling brand of high-end hotels with a more affordable per-room price point than the Trumps’ five-star properties.
Donald Trump Jr., center, and Eric Trump, right, attend the opening ceremony for the Trump International Hotel & Tower last week in Vancouver, B.C. Joo Kim Tiah, chief executive of the Holborn Group, listens in the background. (Rafal Gerszak/For The Washington Post)
As with many existing Trump-branded property deals, the developers would own the hotels while the Trumps would be paid licensing and management fees.
The company says it has signed at least 17 letters of intent with potential developers. It is targeting an array of cities such as Austin, Dallas, St. Louis, Nashville and Seattle — and Trump Jr. said the campaign proved useful in forging relationships with potential new connections.
“I met people along the way that would be awesome partners,” he said.
The expansion plan illustrates how President Trump’s political rise has the potential to affect his business even as he and his sons promise to adhere to a strict ethical boundary between the company’s moves and the Trump administration. And it shows the inherent challenge in separating the family’s political work from its corporate interests, with upsides and potential problems.
Extending the Trump business into a greater cluster of American cities could bring political benefits for a president who has vowed to bring jobs and economic prosperity to struggling communities. But it also comes as Trump has faced criticism from Democrats and ethics officials for his decision to retain his ownership stake in the company, a decision that means he stands to personally benefit from its growth.
Security personnel look on as Donald Trump Jr., left, and his brother Eric Trump leave the stage after a ceremony for the official opening of the Trump International Hotel & Tower last week in Vancouver, B.C. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Building new hotels, for example, could create issues — tax disputes, allegations of labor violations or environmental violations — that require federal departments to consider cases that could directly impact the president’s finances. And while the Trumps have vowed to sign no new foreign deals, pursuing a raft of new domestic contracts from coast to coast means the Trumps are likely to engage in negotiations with private developers, banks and investors who see additional benefits in doing business with the president’s company.
“It’s just going to add fuel to the fire that is already burning... with him having still a foot in both the boardroom and one in the Oval Office,” said Scott Amey, the general counsel of the nonpartisan watchdog group Project on Government Oversight.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The president in January added a team of ethics lawyers to the White House Counsel’s Office, while the company hired a longtime Republican attorney tasked with ensuring the Trump Organization minimizes conflicts of interest.
In interviews, the Trump sons waved off the idea that their plans created any potential ethical problems.
“There are lines that we would never cross, and that’s mixing business with anything government,” Eric Trump said.
Donald Trump Jr. said that since the inauguration, he has spoken with his father twice on the phone and once in person — when he and his brother attended the announcement of their father’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Eric Trump said he may ask his father how things are in the White House but would never discuss government or business affairs.
“Will we ever talk about tax policy? Will I ever ask for anything that could otherwise benefit the business? Absolutely, emphatically not,” Eric Trump said. “He has no need to know what we’re doing, and I certainly don’t need to know what they’re doing, and I don’t want to.”
The Trumps’ point man on the expansion is Eric Danziger, an experienced executive who was hired in 2015 after previously overseeing expansions at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Starwood Hotels and the former Wyndham International.
One of the first Scion projects is slated to open in Dallas, where a Turkish-born developer aims to open a sleek glass six-story hotel as part of a $50 million mixed-use downtown development. The Austin, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Nashville, Seattle and St. Louis areas are also possible targets, according to reports by Bloomberg News and business trade publications.
The Trumps declined to say what other cities they were exploring for projects but said they were actively seeking contracts in many places.
Danziger, speaking last month to Skift, an industry publication, called Scion a “four-star lifestyle brand” with wide geographic appeal.
“That kind of brand can be in every city — tertiary, secondary,” he said. “So, how many is that? The opportunity is for hundreds.”
Because of the prohibition on foreign deals, Danziger said the company is “going to have full focus — instead of some focus — on growth domestically of both Trump and Scion.”
Donald Trump Jr., left, shown with his brother Eric Trump during the opening of the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Vancouver, B.C., says of the connections he made during the campaign: “I met people along the way that would be awesome partners.” (Jonathan Hayward/Associated Press)
The expansion will not be easy, according to analysts. The Trumps will be entering a crowded marketplace of new hotel lines from Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of customers, said Michael J. Bellisario, a senior research analyst with the firm Robert W. Baird & Co.
“There are so many more competitors out there today,” Bellisario said.
For the Trumps to distinguish their projects from their competitors, they will need to be choosy about locations, Bellisario said. “You’ve got to be on the right street corner in the right market. You can’t open these hotels in Topeka, Kansas,” he said. “So when you think about that, how big can the new line get?”
The plan is a big test for the younger Trumps.
Just as Donald Trump stepped out from his father’s shadow in the 1970s to build the family real estate business into today’s worldwide collection of golf courses, hotels, condo towers, branded merchandise and other commercial holdings, now Donald Trump Jr., 39, and Eric Trump, 33, have a chance to make their mark.
[A first family unlike any other in U.S. history.]
Along with their sister, Ivanka, who departed the company when their father entered office, the brothers have long served as executive vice presidents.
Before their father ran for president, the three siblings helped expand the firm from focusing on New York to including the management of luxury hotels in top U.S. cities and seven countries, plus more than a dozen golf courses.
The fruits of that work are still coming, as last month the company opened a new golf club in Dubai and, last week held a grand opening for a new hotel-condominium tower in Vancouver, B.C.
A major transition for the sons is taking over a company in which the force behind every Trump company offering — whether it was selling hotel rooms, office buildings, golf outings, ties or raw steaks — was Donald Trump himself.
In interviews, Trump Jr. and Eric Trump said they consider themselves protectors of the Trump brand, an effort they said is sometimes misunderstood. Critics viewed the announcement of Scion during the campaign as a move away from the Trump name. The family’s intent was the opposite; since they view the name Trump has a standard for luxury that ought to be insulated, they will use other brands for less pricey products.
“We would never want to dilute the real estate brand by going into tertiary markets that can’t sustain the [luxury] properties as we build them,” Eric Trump said. “A lot of hotel companies have gotten this wrong.”
Both sons worked for their father starting at young ages, doing landscaping and other labor on his projects.
A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Trump Jr.’s first assignment at the company was to work with executives at New York City real estate projects.
Eric Trump joined after graduating from Georgetown in 2006. He has overseen the Trump Winery near Charlottesville and worked on the Trump hotel in Las Vegas, where he developed a reputation as a hands-on executive.
“If there’s a property tax issue or any litigation, he flies into Las Vegas and takes care of it,” said Phil Ruffin, a casino mogul who is the Trumps’ partner in the Las Vegas project. “He hires the lawyer. If there are any capital improvements, he approves them. He is very energetic like his father — he will just work night and day.”
With their father in charge, there was an informal division of labor among his three eldest children, governing which projects each swooped in to help.
Ivanka Trump created her own brands of shoes, jewelry, handbags and coats. She took the lead on some of the Trump Organization’s most prominent recent projects, such as the $212 million D.C. hotel, which had its soft opening in September.
“I’m probably the most obviously like [Trump Sr.],” Ivanka Trump said in a 2011 company video titled “Trump: The Next Generation.”
“In certain ways,” she added, “Eric is very similar to him in terms of his love of construction and building. And Don has his sense of humor.”
The Trumps’ planned corporate expansion comes as the president has faced intense criticism from Democrats and ethics experts for his continued ownership interest.
A liberal watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), has sued Trump, arguing that his hotel operations violate a constitutional provision barring the president from accepting gifts or payments from a foreign government. Some Democrats have argued that Trump’s international trademarks, including one long-sought registration granted in February by China, also violate the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
Trump has called the CREW lawsuit “totally without merit.”
Amey, of the Project on Government Oversight, said there were ways for the Trumps to avoid potential domestic conflicts related to the hotel expansion. He said they could put the hotel business under another corporate structure, which does not involve a trust directly owned by the president himself.
“There are solutions to solving this, [but] there doesn’t seem to be a will and a desire to do that within the White House,” Amey said.
The Trump brothers say they are taking ethics concerns seriously and are doing everything necessary to avoid distracting from their father’s work as president.
“Have I used him as a sounding board in the past? One hundred percent,” Trump Jr. said. “Have I learned a lot from him? Couldn’t have had a better mentor. But he’s got real stuff he’s got to deal with. These are real people’s lives.... So this notion that he is still running the business from the White House is just insane.”
Trump Jr. scoffed at the idea that his father might have somehow viewed running for president — spending millions of dollars of his own money to run against more than a dozen Republican challengers and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton when few pundits gave him a chance to win — as a moneymaking endeavor.
“That’s not a get-rich-quick scheme,” he said. “That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”New Zealanders recently voted, by a majority of 57 per cent to 43 per cent, to retain their current flag. Prime Minister John Key had urged them to support a new flag, a distinctive one such as Canada's, one without the Union Jack in the corner. In the early stages of the debate, it appeared that change would win. In the end, change lost. The Union Jack stays.
In 1993, by contrast, New Zealanders voted 54 per cent to 46 per cent to ditch their first-past-the-post electoral system – the one used by Canada – in favour of a form of proportional representation. The new system, called mixed-member proportional (MMP), was in place for almost two decades when, in 2011, a conservative prime minister held another referendum asking if the people wanted to keep the MMP system or return to first-past-the-post. By a margin of 56 per cent to 51 per cent, New Zealanders preferred the MMP system they had approved in 1993.
One referendum against change, one for change and another to affirm the change. All three votes followed extensive and intense public debate. The people, not the politicians of the day, decided what they wanted for their national symbol and their electoral system. Politicians participated in the debates, but the people decided, as in election campaigns.
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In Canada, by contrast, the Trudeau Liberals apparently don't trust the people, as the New Zealand government did. Instead, the Liberals prefer to trust today's crop of politicians to redesign and then vote for a new electoral system for the country.
Oh yes, they will "consult" the people through a parliamentary committee, but in the end, Parliament will decide if the Liberals have their way. And which party controls Parliament these days and for the next three and a half years? A party that got far less than 50 per cent of the vote will change something as fundamental as the electoral system?
Canadians have a system of representative democracy. We choose people to make decisions, and watch them as they do. Every four years, we pass judgment on their performance.
Representative democracy is clearly better than deciding every question by referendum. There are key matters, however, that are central to how we organize the country – one is the Constitution, the other is the electoral system. On these matters, the people should have their say directly.
Otherwise, political actors will bring their own self-interest to bear on decisions. The Liberals will want preferential voting since they are the most popular second-choice party. The New Democratic Party will want proportional representation because it gives them the best chance of being part of a coalition government. The Conservatives will prefer the status quo because, as the Harper government demonstrated, they can bunch votes that amount to far fewer than 50 per cent of the total (as the Trudeau Liberals did last October) and win a majority.
Democracies use all three systems. Each can work. A case can be made for all three. In New Zealand, a long debate winnowed down options for change, then let the people select the electoral system to put against the status quo in a final vote. MMP won, which rebuffs the assumption that, given a choice, the people always prefer first-past-the-post, the devil they know.
Soon after the Oct. 19 election, Liberal ministers talked extensively about their plans. They would change the system. They would establish a parliamentary committee. They would act.
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Since then, silence or muffled comments. Somebody pulled down the flags, perhaps because the argument about the people deciding has persuaded the government. More likely it's because the government realized electoral change is not a high priority for most Canadians.
Ask yourself this question: How often at your work, or in gatherings with friends, has the conversation turned to preferential voting or proportional representation? The question is obviously rhetorical.
Changing the system, especially to proportional representation, would require a lot of time. It would likely take two years to put the system in place before the next federal election.
With six months of the mandate already gone, the government would have to hurry up to push changes through Parliament in time for the next election. Much better would be to allow time for debate, give Canadians options, inform them fairly about each and then let the people decide.A TINGALPA man who saved a woman from a great white shark has received Australia's second-highest bravery award.
Trevor Burns, 50, was part of a snorkelling tour near Rockingham, Western Australia, in October 2010 when his guide, Elyse Frankcom, was attacked by a 3.7m shark.
"At first I thought it was a dolphin," Mr Burns said. "It was this grey blur that came ripping through the water like a freight train, past my left hand. Then I saw it biting into both her legs and I just screamed in my head 'get it off her'."
Mr Burns grabbed the shark's tail and was "thrown around like a rag doll" for about five seconds while Ms Frankcom, then 19, punched the shark in the head until it let go.
The burly IT consultant lost sight of the young guide but finally spotted her slowly sinking in the blood-filled water.
He dived about 8m to haul her to the surface and on to the tour boat.
His wife Julie watched from the deck as he first battled with the shark and then floated on the surface for about 15 seconds with his head under the water looking for Ms Frankcom. She then had 20 more agonising seconds as he dived to retrieve her.
"After about 15 seconds of him with his head down in the water, my immediate reaction was that he was so badly mauled that he couldn't move," Mrs Burns said.
Mr Burns' actions have won him the Australian Bravery Awards' Star of Courage, the nation's highest bravery award after the Cross of Valour.
It's his fourth citation since the incident in October 2010, but this one's special, he said.
"This is a huge honour," he said. "I am super proud because this is a national award. The ol' chest will definitely swell up."
The rescue forged a special bond between Mr Burns and Ms Frankcom, whose injuries required more than 200 stitches in her thighs, has recovered about 90 per cent of mobility.
And while Ms Frankcom refers to Mr Burns as her "hero lifesaver", the respect is mutual.
"It says a lot about her character that when she was laid down in the deck her first reaction was to get the younger ones up the front so they wouldn't be traumatised by what they saw," Mr Burns said.
"For a 19-year-old basically bleeding to death, that's absolutely amazing."
Mr Burns said he is in touch with Ms Frankcom via social media, calls regularly and always catches up with her when he's in Perth where she lives.The Notes
A Day & A Night - sweet amber, white amber, natural fossilized amber oil, sensual musk, vanilla, dark spices & resins
Beloved -- sugared plums, sumptuous brown sugar cake dusted with cinnamon sugar, a hint of woodsmoke and labdanum
Forest Cat -- fuzzy paws tinged with earth, night forest, grey fur musk, milky breath
Idunn’s Apples -- golden apples, caramelized hazelnuts, sweet cedarwood, hazy oud, creamy musk
Mead of Poets -- honeyed mead, a historical medley of intoxicating herbs and spices, red musk, the blood of the wise
Mischief Maker -- Notes: black coffee clouded with sweet cream then drizzled with caramel, naked salt-tinged skin
Northmen -- weathered leather, turbulent seawater, woodsmoke, richly carved oakwood, birch tar, a blood-stained shield
Shield-Maiden -- pink rose, peony, sharpened metal, crisp air, deep pine woods and frozen earth
Thought & Memory -- fresh herbal lavender spiked with anise & cardamom, deep vetiver, galbanum, green leather, balsamic woodsAlphabet, the parent company of Google, said Monday that Google CEO Sundar Pichai has joined its board of directors.
After more than a decade at Google, Pichai was named CEO of the company when it was re-organized in August 2015 into a unit of Alphabet.
Pichai "helped lead the development of key consumer products which are now used by over a billion people," the company said in a statement announcing the appointment.
The addition of Pichai adds another company officer to the board, which already includes Google co-founders Larry Page, now Alphabet CEO, and Sergey Brin, president, and chair and former CEO Eric Schmidt.
Diane Greene, head of Google's enterprise and cloud unit, is also on the Alphabet board.
That's a total of 5 insiders on a 13-person board, which is a fairly high proportion of insiders compared with other major tech companies.
By way of comparison, Apple and Amazon each have only 1 insider on their boards (CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos respectively) and Microsoft has 3 insiders on its 12-person board (including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who joined after Microsoft bought LinkedIn). Facebook's board is more heavily stacked toward insiders, with 3 out of 8 (including WhatsApp founder Jan Koum).
Generally speaking, boards of directors are meant to represent the interests of shareholders in cases of conflict with company leadership, although the multiclass share voting structures used by some tech companies, including Alphabet and Facebook, concentrate voting power in the hands of founders, giving significantly more power to those founders.
Alphabet shares are down after hours after the company reported Q2 earnings that beat expectations.I know that this is hardly Vampire Diaries or Gilmore Girls territory, and that Fresh Prince of Bel-Air isn't a show that I need to pick teams for, but dammit if I'm not Team Carlton all the way. Throughout Fresh Prince, it always seemed as though the character was pitted against his cousin Will for just about everything — for dates, academics, banter, dance moves, and even jokes. But as some of Carlton's best moments from Fresh Prince prove, there's absolutely no contest. In my humble (and totally correct) opinion, the character was clearly the true star of the show, and though it's close to call, Carlton is funnier than Will on Fresh Prince, too.
Part of Carlton's appeal lies in the fact that he's so very different from just about every other member of his family. He's overly conscious of, and delighted in, the inherent privilege of his wealthy life, and as such, he has a monumental lack of understanding of the world — which is pretty hilarious to witness. Plus, wow, he had some amazing dance moves. Seriously.
But it doesn't just come down to how funny he is. If you look at how Carlton changed between the pilot and final episode of Fresh Prince, you can also see how he grew, becoming more confident and, well, less of a jerk in general. Thanks, in great part, to the positive influence of Will. Throughout that transformation, Carlton happened to learn some rough lessons, all of which he dealt with in ways that (pass the tissues, please) felt truly real and heartfelt. Make no mistake, folks — Carlton was the true gem of Fresh Prince, and here are all of the moments that prove that.
1. When He Became A Stripper To Recoup Some Gambling Losses
SDApples1 on YouTube
Only to be caught in the act by his own mom. Oh, the many horrors of that scenario.
2. When A Major Freakout Strayed Way Into The Deep End (& Broke The Fourth Wall)
cappuccina89 on YouTube
Setting an unrealistic precedent for all other moments of overblown anguish in numerous sitcoms to follow.
3. When He First Let His Tom Jones-Loving Flag Fly
IIIMastermineIII on YouTube
And it was truly a beautiful, life-changing moment. Raise a lighter in tribute to this heartfelt moment, people.
4. When He Laid Down Some Serious Moves At Soul Train
Carlwalski on YouTube
Starting out with the classic Courtney Cox at a Bruce Springsteen concert arm swing, before launching into some tap dancing and a truly fierce Michael Jackson finale.
5. When He Finally Got To Sing With His Personal Hero
Be right back, I need to start an online petition begging for a live cabaret show starring these two together.
6. When Carlton Got Emotional Over A Cereal Advert
tehAC on YouTube
Seriously, what a wonderfully sensitive gem of a man. He never got over that poor rabbit being called silly and told that "Trix are for kids," just as I never got over his trauma of that sentiment.
7. When He Prepared A "Special Medley Of Songs" For His Aunt Janice's Wedding
angel almaguer on YouTube
Aunt Janice's choice of husband was very... tall, if you remember.
8. When He Was Turned Into A Delightful, Dancing, Chuckling Mess At The Dentist
TheLycanthrope09 on YouTube
In front of William Shatner, no less. And sure, cousin Will is pretty funny in this scene too, but it's Carlton who steals it. I lose it when that giant tooth comes into play.
9. When He Had The Perfect Response To Being Unfairly Denied Entry To A Fraternity
ayanle.s on YouTube
Carlton had some of the most endearing and powerful speeches of the entire show, and this one was an especially significant reminder of that fact.
10. When He Showed The World His Christmas Stocking Celebration Dance
This Christmas, be sure to bring your very own Carlton dance out every time you feel full of festive cheer. It's the new kissing-under-a-mistletoe, I tell ya — dancing-in-a-Christmas-sweater.
11. When He Thought A Bunch Of Flowers For Ashley Were From His Secret Admirer
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on YouTube
No, but seriously, once that dating service thing finally kicked in, I'm sure he could barely move for all the flowers and gifts from enamored secret admirers, right?
12. When Carlton Tried To Turn "Gangster," But Looked More Like A Pirate
Anmol Warsi on YouTube
Though ridiculously funny, there's still something incredibly sweet and inherently heartbreaking about this scene, which stings my overly sensitive little heart every time I watch it.
13. When Carlton Started Glowing After Being Gifted Will's Almighty "Chicktionary"
Mario G. on YouTube
With great power comes great responsibility. And a gigantic, vibrant orange glow to help highlight that fact.
14. When He Had A Perfectly Valid Response To His Scary Workout Regime
Stefan Neises on YouTube
Ladies and gentlemen, you would cry too if it happened to you. But also, who hasn't had this response at the gym? Totally valid.
15. When He Tried To Bring A Little Bit Of Pizazz To The Church Choir
BrownSugar977 on YouTube
He totally schooled little sister Ashley on the art of performance with that soulful number. And I for one feel completely lifted by it.
16. When He Thought He Got Hired By A Company Due To Their Body Language
Natalie on YouTube
Note to self: If a potential employer gives you the "wink and a gun" during a job interview, it does not indicate that you've been hired.
17. When He Encouraged Phil To Try On A Set Of Toupees To Look Hip And Young
Jason de Nobrega on YouTube
And all I have to say to that is, a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom. While laughing. Heartily. For all eternity.
See? Carlton was an absolute gem. He was a gentleman, singer, dancer, Tom Jones fanatic, sterling academic, and profound speech giver — and he's totally the secret Fresh Prince of the entire show.
Images: Warner Bros. Television; GiphyI am totally convinced that modern dating has completely mind-fucked the world. Why is it all so complicated? There’s enough on my mind when it comes to figuring out my own life, and honestly, trying to figure out men and dating has left me so terribly confused that sometimes it feels like my mind might explode. What are they thinking? What do they want? What did they actually mean with that text? They want me. They don’t want me. Who the fuck knows, ‘cause I sure as hell have no idea. Make a choice and commit to it. But you can’t keep pussy-footing around the truth.
‘Cause I’m exhausted and my brain hurts.
We over-analyze text messages. We try to find the hidden meaning in every simple sentence. We think that just because these guys have watched our Instagram stories and Snapchats that it actually means something real–like they miss us, they want us back, they can’t stop thinking about us. We think that their ambiguity is because they weren’t raised right, because chivalry is dead, because their best friends are fuck boys and now they are involved in that circle. We think that they haven’t fought for us because we are too smart and confident and sexy and they’re terrified of women like that because it makes them feel like less of a man. We are too intimidating. So we think that they are waiting for us to make all the moves. So do we? But then like, shouldn’t they be “the man” about it at the same time? Are they playing hard to get? But then like, am I not enough of a “chase” for them because I’ve heard that guys like girls like that to chase, so if you’re too available they won’t like it and scram. Right? Like, I want to show interest, but I also don’t want to be too much, but if you don’t show enough interest they’ll think you don’t like them and leave. I. Am. So. Confused.
But seriously, relationships and dating shouldn’t feel like a science. It shouldn’t feel like some mind-twisting theory that has a million and one possibilities. I’m so tired of trying to figuring it out, trying to find the truth, trying to discover what guys really mean. Why can’t everyone just say what they really want to say and leave the guessing out of it? I mean, aren’t we all aware that nobody is that busy? When you say you’re sooooo busy and that there is no end in sight because you’re soooo busy couldn’t you instead just say what you’re “trying” to say? I mean, are you really that busy? You’re not a neurosurgeon. You don’t work for NASA. And even if that was the case, you’d probably still have time for pussy–because when a man wants a woman and the opportunity is there, you’re not going to be an idiot and let that puss go (unless you’re just not into it at all and like to pretend that you barely have time to breathe). So just say it. Say it. Say it. Say it. Be as blunt as fucking possible. You will not hurt my feelings.
But. I. Am. Still. So. Confused.
I hear stories from friends, too, and it’s all so discouraging that we have to deal with all these mixed messages, with trying to read between the lines. But maybe it’s us who is making it this complicated also. It’s so easy to think that maybe these guys are watching our Instagram stories because they want to fuck us and they miss us, they love everything about us. When maybe they just watched our Instagram stories because they were taking a massive shit and had a few spare minutes to kill. It’s also so easy to think that maybe these guys didn’t text back (and it’s been five days) because they were too scared of how fast they were falling for us and their intense emotions scared them away, so they needed a break to cool down. When maybe they just didn’t give a shit because they wanted to jerk off for the fifth time that day or they felt like texting the you-can-put-it-anywhere-girl, instead. Who the hell knows. But, at the end of the day I |
Mirana, and Ursa all have winrates higher than Chen's, but I find it hard to label a hero "successful" when it's picked in less than 10% of matches. The day 1 holder of this title, Weaver, is still going strong however, winning 58% of his games. Player
Most Kills: Loda
7.7 per game
Alliance has torn through the group stages, and one facet to that success has been Loda's outstanding play. If the high kill numbers don't impress you, let this sink in: Loda also has the lowest deaths of any player, with 1.4
Alliance has torn through the group stages, and one facet to that success has been Loda's outstanding play. If the high kill numbers don't impress you, let this sink in: Loda also has the lowest deaths of any player, with 1.4 Most GPM: Sylar
575 GPM
LGD.cn recovered from less than stellar start to finish in the top four for their group, with Sylar leading the charge. He farms so efficiently that almost no lead is safe; for evidence, see the tiebreaker match against Dignitas.
LGD.cn recovered from less than stellar start to finish in the top four for their group, with Sylar leading the charge. He farms so efficiently that almost no lead is safe; for evidence, see the tiebreaker match against Dignitas. Fantasy Leader: Sylar
63.4 points
Sylar has a bit of an unfair advantage here as he played an extra game than 14 other teams but his play has been outstanding. With the highest GPM score, second lowest deaths, and solid kill rate, Sylar's one of the better all-around carries in the game.
Sylar has a bit of an unfair advantage here as he played an extra game than 14 other teams but his play has been outstanding. With the highest GPM score, second lowest deaths, and solid kill rate, Sylar's one of the better all-around carries in the game. Best Fantasy Single Match Performance: XBOCT
9.8 points
Wielding the Bug that has loomed over Seattle like a Kaiju, XBOCT netted 23 kills and died only thrice en route to a stomp of MUFC.
Wielding the Bug that has loomed over Seattle like a Kaiju, XBOCT netted 23 kills and died only thrice en route to a stomp of MUFC. Team
Most Kills: Alliance
This simply makes sense. Alliance is 14-0 and that's largely due to killing the other team a lot. Who knew?
This simply makes sense. Alliance is 14-0 and that's largely due to killing the other team a lot. Who knew? Fastest Pushers: Fnatic.EU
11113 Building Damage per 35 minutes
Fnatic has focused heavily on push strategies in their games, picking Dragon Knight more than any other hero other than Weaver as well as picking Chen several times.
Fnatic has focused heavily on push strategies in their games, picking Dragon Knight more than any other hero other than Weaver as well as picking Chen several times. Biggest Antagonists: Na`Vi
46826 Damage Dealt per 35 minutes
This is just Na'Vi DotA. Lots of aggression with heroes that deal high levels of damage. Many question the aggressive style when it backfires, but that's been happening less and less over the last month and Na'Vi are poised to put on a great showing in the Playoffs.
This is just Na'Vi DotA. Lots of aggression with heroes that deal high levels of damage. Many question the aggressive style when it backfires, but that's been happening less and less over the last month and Na'Vi are poised to put on a great showing in the Playoffs. Fun Facts
Second pick holds a 60 - 53 (53%) record
As more samples rolled in, this formerly alarmingly disparate statistic has trended more back towards the average, but 2nd pick still appears to have a small advantage. Some teams seem to be picking up on it as well as I overheard many a team win the coin toss and chose 2nd pick across the groups,
As more samples rolled in, this formerly alarmingly disparate statistic has trended more back towards the average, but 2nd pick still appears to have a small advantage. Some teams seem to be picking up on it as well as I overheard many a team win the coin toss and chose 2nd pick across the groups, Bloodstone and Heaven's Halberd purchase rates have increased by 300%
Formerly two of the least popular items in Dota, Bloodstone and Heaven's Halberd, have been picked up 17 and 16 times respectively. Bloodstone's rise is largely attributed to Timbersaw's rise, and Heaven's Halberd has been a trendy pick for one of the most popular heroes in the Prelims, Dragon Knight.
Formerly two of the least popular items in Dota, Bloodstone and Heaven's Halberd, have been picked up 17 and 16 times respectively. Bloodstone's rise is largely attributed to Timbersaw's rise, and Heaven's Halberd has been a trendy pick for one of the most popular heroes in the Prelims, Dragon Knight. 8 heroes this year were picked/banned more than 80% of time, as compared to 11 from last year
Alongside the large number of individual hero picks, the game also has fewer "must draft" heroes than it did last year. That's partially due to the increased player pool as well as some nice balance changes.
Onward to Benaroya! Alongside the large number of individual hero picks, the game also has fewer "must draft" heroes than it did last year. That's partially due to the increased player pool as well as some nice balance changes.Onward to Benaroya! @KpoptosisRepublican talk shot host Rush Limbaugh doesn’t know how else to describe Planned Parenthood clinics other than to call them “death squads.” Or, at least that’s what he said on his show Wednesday afternoon.
Limbaugh made the outrageous claim while trying to equate yesterday’s Huffington Post story about how wealthy El Salvadorians funded the rise of Romney’s private equity firm Bain Capital with Democrats enjoying financial support from pro-choice activists.
While it’s no knock to Huffington Post reporters Ryan Grim and Cole Stangler, Wednesday’s report contained mostly aggregate information from reporting by Salon in January and The Los Angeles Times in July, and both of those publications launched their probes based upon even earlier reporting by The Boston Globe and The Salt Lake Tribune in the mid- to late-90s.
The crux of it: a small portion of Bain Capital’s seed money came from wealthy El Salvadorian families that also had links to right-wing death squads which terrorized dissidents during El Salvador’s long civil war. For Romney, there’s no getting around that, although he’s insisted that Bain tried to ensure none of the money came from drug trafficking.
But apparently that’s not a good enough defense for Limbaugh, who told his conservative audience on Wednesday that any time someone mention’s Romney’s ties to south American death squads, they should immediately equate the Planned Parenthood network of women’s health clinics with “death squads” as well.
“Lemme ask you a question?” he began. “What’s the difference in that and the Democrats being underwritten by Planned Parenthood and NAARL? If they’re not death squads, I don’t know what is.”
For Limbaugh’s favored candidate Mitt Romney, those comments can’t do much to help, especially when the formerly pro-choice governor’s campaign is being hammered by President Obama for taking the wrong side in a so-called “war on women.” And for Limbaugh himself, he’s again testing the waters with the same female voters and activists who chopped into his ratings and sent advertisers fleeing after he called a Democratic activist a “slut” earlier this year.
It also complicates the campaign narrative for Romney by again putting a spotlight on his intention to defund Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation, and confirming to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) that he’d sign a so-called “personhood” bill banning all abortion and even hormonal birth control methods like the pill.
Planned Parenthood says that the vast majority of its services every year are related to pregnancy and disease prevention, including breast cancer and STD screenings for lower-income women. About three percent of visits to Planned Parenthood clinics are to secure an abortion.
This audio is from “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” broadcast Wednesday, August 8, 2012, as snipped by liberal media watchdog group Media Matters.TERRY Regan is gnawing on a folded, white beer coaster.
“Aaaaaarn,’’ the old leaguie growls, teeth tearing into the small, cardboard square.
Indents forming.
Tiny shreds, tearing.
Even the schooners on our table rattling until, finally, this 58-year-old larrikin removes said coaster from his mouth, surveys the carnage and laughs: “Yep, that’s exactly what the forehead of Wally Lewis looked like.”
Ladies and gentlemen, please meet the original Reg Reagan.
A genuine Winfield Cup tough who, apart from inspiring the TV character made famous by Matthew Johns, also bit faces, punched nuts and spent years toiling through bush clubs like Bathurst Railway, Cobar Roosters, even the Hillston Bluebirds.
Yes, Regan chomped on King Wally.
REVEALED: The real Reg Regan’s greatest stories
media_camera Terry Regan is the real-life inspiration for Matty Johns’ alter ego, Reg Reagan. Picture: Brett Costello
Just as he warred with Rod Reddy, busted Colin Scott and kneed Lord Ted Goodwin so hard in the dusters, well, the Dragons great fronted for beers afterwards in a wheelchair — a towel covering his groin because pants were no longer an option.
And now, in Fox Sports’ Retro Round, this undeniable cult figure for Balmain, the Roosters and Canberra is revealing all.
Over beers at his Central Coast local, the Settlers Arms Tavern, explaining a career which sparked that “Bring Back The Biff” phenomenon.
Mate, first off, why bite the Immortal, King Wally?
“Simple, he was holding me down in a tackle. Trying to get a penalty. I’d told him to f... off but then he pulled my guernsey down a second time. And my face, it was resting on his forehead.”
So you bit him?
“Yeah. Same with another idiot who put his hand in my mouth. I got suspended but appealed. Even brought a cattledog to the judiciary.”
A cattledog?
“It was muzzled, of course. I had this doctor explaining how, if you stick a finger in somebody’s mouth, the natural reaction is to clamp down. Then the doc points to our cattledog and says: ‘I’m going to open his mouth, who wants to prove it isn’t true?’”
Did you get off?
“Nah, still got two weeks. Couldn’t believe it. I mean, if I bit him on the arse or tit, yeah, that would be ridiculous.”
media_camera Terry Regan in action during his playing days for Balmain.
But you got 13 weeks for biting Parramatta’s Glen Mansfield on the chest?
“Good reason for that one. Minutes earlier, my knee went in a tackle. That’s why Mansfield ran at me, he knew I was busted. Anyway, we jammed him and, forcing him into touch, my knee got caught again, twisted and I clamped down in reaction to the pain. Truly. It even took a fortnight to get from Canberra for the judiciary hearing because I couldn’t fly or get into a car.”
Where was your playing style born?
“My second game in Sydney, against St George. That game I had my eyes gouged, ears fingered, chest punched, hand trodden on — and all by Rod Reddy, before half-time. Second half, got it all again plus a bonus nut squeeze. Rocket taught me the rules — there were none.”
And your response?
“Wait. First tackle of our next game, I came in with a low, swinging arm. Crunch. Nuts. Rocket got up, patted my head and said, ‘Son, you’re learning’.”
Your reputation grew quickly from there, right?
“Our great supporter at Balmain, Laurie Nichols, had a rhyme for everyone. Pearce, he’s fierce. Beetson, eats ’em. Mine was: Regan leaves ’em bleedin’. One game, I’ve hit Dean Lance and nearly severed his tongue. Blood everywhere. And there’s Laurie running up the sideline screaming: ‘Regan leaves ’em bleedin’.’ Afterwards, I said, ‘Loz, I’m having enough trouble out there. Can you think of something nicer?’”
How many times were you sent off?
“Lost count.”
media_camera Terry Regan on the charge for the Raiders.
Is it true you decked a referee?
“Not on the paddock. And not decked. A ref was carrying on at the pub once and as I swung around holding four beers, he fell.”
Thoughts on Reg Reagan?
“Maybe it’s based loosely on me. Others, too. The Johns boys, they were kids when their dad Gary coached me at Cessnock. So they saw what I was like.”
Ever avoid a stink?
“Playing for Hull, we got fined 50 quid for fighting. So against Halifax, this brawl erupts and our captain Gary Divorty is on the ground, seemingly out cold. I bolt over and say ‘Gaz, what happened?’. He opens one eye and says ‘f... off Rego, I’m not getting fined 50 quid again’.”
What did you do?
“Laid down beside him. Grabbed his hand too and said ‘I love you, Gaz’. All while he’s screaming at me to f... off.”
media_camera Terry Regan sits down with Nick Walshaw at the Settler's Tavern, Gosford. Picture: Brett Costello
Your greatest hit?
“First tackle of our ‘84 Panasonic Cup game, Roosters versus Combined Brisbane. Beforehand, I’d had a double nip of brandy. Then seven painkillers needled into my sternum. So when Brisbane ran out, every Rooster was in our huddle but me. I’m over by the sideline, screaming about how I’m gunna rip their f... en throats out.”
And the first tackle...
“We kicked off, I charged downfield and Colin Scott, who received, stepped straight into me. I dropped my shoulder, broke his collarbone. Almost snapped his jaw, too. Our prop Royce Ayliffe tried to move me away. I said, ‘Roycie, this is my kill, I’m staying’.”
Other victims?
“Kneed Teddy Goodwin in the balls. Total accident, though. Afterwards, he came to the pub in a wheelchair. They’d had to cut his shorts and Speedos off, leaving only a towel over his lap. As I walked over to give him a beer, Teddy lifted that towel to reveal a set of purple nuts rounder than this schooner glass.”
Great memories, huh?
“Aim up or get found out. That’s just how it was. As forwards, you’d go looking for the weak link. It might take five minutes, 20 minutes, whatever. But when you found him, yeah... a hunting we will go.”
THE TERRY REGAN FILES
Age: 58 Born: May 21, 1958 in Cessnock
Position: Forward
Country 1981 (NSW Country player of the year), Balmain 1982 (19 games, 4 tries, 12 points),
Eastern Suburbs 1983-84 (30 games, 1 try, 4 points), Canberra 1985-87 (32 games, 4 tries, 16 points)
NSWRL career 1982-87 (81 games, 9 tries, 32 points)
Hull FC 1987-88Posted 10 July 2014 - 05:42 PM
Hello Fellow Mechwarriors,My name is Zach (Hulk Krogan), an avid player of Mechwarrior: Online and a member of Clan Snow Wolf, an active community in No Guts, No Galaxy. A very dear friend of ours, Robert Pitre (SrHeavyarm) and absolute die-hard Mechwarrior, has recently become seriously ill. This week, Robert had brain surgery and is in a medically induced coma and being ventilated due to complications with the surgery; he developed a cranial bleed. There is risk of temporary and/or permanent brain damageRob is without a doubt the most kind-hearted person any of us have had the pleasure to meet and one heck of Mech pilot to boot. MWO is his most, if not only, played video game. We always tease him, telling him that his ELO is way too high for any of us to drop with. He has never had the funds to make in-game purchases and had nearly every Mech mastered with only 4 Mech Bays. PGI has made a wonderful gesture by donating the complete Masakari Package to his account and helping us bring awareness to his cause. Due to Rob’s medical condition, he is unable to work to support his wife and 4 children. The hospital where Rob is being treated is a two hour drive for his family.While we are unfathomably grateful for PGI’s donation, Rob’s family needs our help more than anything. His loving wife has already initiated a fundraiser in Rob’s behalf. His family and friends have expressed their love for Rob by making donations (posted on the fundraiser site) to the best of their abilities but Rob needs more help., help our friend Rob and his family. Let’s take it to the next level by making a contribution and going far beyond anything his family ever expected. It doesn’t matter how much. If all 591,000 people registered on this forum donated just $1.00, they would be prepared for anything. Rob still has a long road to recovery ahead of him; help us make it as easy for him as possible.His fundraiser can be found at: http://www.gofundme.com/atr5vw Any questions, comments, anything, please feel free to PM me here, come by the Clan Snow Wolf website and post in our forums ( http://www.cswolf.net ), or drop into the Clan Snow Wolf channel on No Guts, No Galaxy TeamSpeak.NGNG TeamSpeak IP: voip01.n1585.hypernia.net:9992 Password: mechwarriorThank you everything,Zachary & Clan Snow WolfPossibly one of the most terrifying and demoralising infantry weapons ever produced is the portable flamethrower. As the introduction to the 1944 Australian Army training pamphlet for flamethrowers states: "... flame has a powerful psychological effect in that humans instinctively withdraw from it, even when their morale is good. In addition, it is a casualty producing and lethal agent." Although first used by the German Army during WW1, the Australian Army's experience with flamethrowers really began during WW 2 when a need for this type of weapon was identified. Experience showed that a stubborn enemy, when well dug into extensive bunker systems, was extremely difficult and costly to dislodge using the more conventional small arms and grenades. WW1 French troops using flamethrowers. Operational and experimental reports about the development and use of flame throwers were available to Australia from our Allies and demonstrated just how effective this weapon could be, particularly in clearing out enemy from fortifications with overhead cover. As a result, the Australian Army saw a requirement for two types of flamethrowers: a "man-pack" or portable model for the infantry and a larger "mechanised" model for mounting in armoured vehicles. However, the then standard US Army issue flamethrower, the M1A1, was not available in quantity so, in January 1944, design work on a local-pattern flamethrower was commenced. A pilot model, manufactured mainly by British Tube Mills (Australia) Pty Ltd, was completed by the following April. This was designated the Flamethrower, Portable, Ferret (Aust) Mark 1, the name Ferret being suggested because it would be used to ferret out enemy from bunkers. Badge worn by German flame-thrower troops in WW1. They were despised and were never taken prisoner. Despite encouraging results from the initial trials, development was slowed when it was learnt that sufficient quantities of American flamethrowers would become available shortly. Nevertheless, the Ferret was further developed, with Mk2 and MC (Improved) experimental models produced. Although never accepted into service with the Australian Army, the Ferret's fate was not finally sealed until early 1947, when a series of comparative tests against the American M2‑2 flamethrower were carried out by the School of Infantry. These tests showed that the performance of both types was near identical at optimum working pressure and that there was no advantage to be gained by adopting the local-pattern Ferret. The American man-pack flamethrower which initially became available about April 1944 which used compressed nitrogen as a propellant, compressed hydrogen an ignition gas and a battery–powered ignition system. All up, it weighed about 30kg (80 pounds) fully loaded. Only six are known to have been officially supplied before being superseded by the improved M2-2 flamethrower. The M2-2 with an important local modification. was a type officially adopted for service with the Australian Army. The modification was the incorporation of a special non-return valve which prevented the expulsion of fuel under pressure in the case of a rupture disc failing. Spare pressure tanks were also manufactured in Australia, on the basis of six tanks per flamethrower. By early 1945, 162 M2-2 flamethrowers had been allocated to Australia under lend lease, allowing an issue of 36 per jungle division plus a reserve. These were supported by special truck-mounted, Rix Type K, three-stage air compressors which were allocated to each division to provide a supply of pressurised cylinders. Flame fuel was another item which was manufactured locally. Although most mechanised and man‑pack flamethrowers could be satisfactorily operated using diesel fuel, extensive experimentation showed that there was an optimum combination of operating pressure and thickness of fuel. The optimum combination for a particular type of flamethrower was considered to be the one which gave the maximum range and most burning fuel onto the target. While variations to the working pressure were not such a problem finding the best fuel type took a considerable of experimental effort. The result was Geletrol which was formally accepted by the General Staff as fuel thickener in October 1944. It was made by combining various weights of the dried chemical compound Aluminium Oleate with petrol, diesel or a petrol‑diesel mix. The type of fuel used and the percentage mixture depended on the intended use. Although Aluminium Oleate had previously been used in relatively small quantities for the manufacture of specialised paints and greases, its use in flame warfare was entirely new. As a result, the sudden increase in demand stretched production facilities in Australia to the limit. Not only had the Army found a use for it in both man‑pack and mechanised flamethrowers but both the RAAF and the Royal Navy (operating in the Pacific) had also found it useful for making drop‑tank incendiary bombs. Local manufacture was carried out by two companies: Fletcher Chemical Company of Melbourne, and Robert Corbet Pty Ltd of Sydney. By early 1945, they were supplying specially scaled tropic proof packs of the light brown, granular chemical in either 20-pound tins for mechanised flamethrowers or 2-pound tins for man-pack flamethrowers. The man-pack flamethrower proved a very effective weapon, being used on many occasions in the later stages of the war. Just how effective can he illustrated by the actions on Tarakan of the flamethrower team from 2/48th Infantry Battalion who, on May 5, 1945, attacked a bunker from a range of about 10m. The flame went over the first bunker and into three well-camouflaged bunkers in the rear, from which the Japanese troops hastily withdrew without firing a shot! I Approximately 14,000 M1A1s were produced, and the model was eventually replaced by the M2-2 Flamethrower. The M1A1 Flamethrower used thickened gasoline as a fuel, and required two men to operate; an operator to wield the flamethrower itself, and an assistant to open the fuel source valves and carry extra fuel, tools, and weapons for the both of them. Other battalions reported similar experiences. The 2/7th Australian Infantry Battalion Flamethrower Section, made up of 111 volunteers, was particularly successful during May 1945, when it used a pair of flamethrowers on several occasions to overcome well-fortified Japanese positions. Statements in the after-action reports sum up the attacks: "... patrol reported enemy were demoralized by flame.." and "... Japanese sentry was highly surprised.... ran back screaming!" Such encounters often resulted in large gains for very few casualties. <<< Papua, New Guinea. 1942-08. Flame throwers used by the Japanese against Australian troops at Milne Bay. Following the end of the war, the M2-2 remained on the inventory as the Australian Army's only man-pack flamethrower, although trials were carried out from time to time with equipment from other sources, including the British Lifebuoy-type flamethrower. The M2-2 was eventually modernised by upgrade or replacement, to M2A1 and M2A2 standard during, the 1950s. These remained in service until 1964, when a further upgrade to M2A1-7 standard took place. Photo courtesy NARA
A U.S. flamethrower operator in Vietnam during Operation New Castle -- the weight and size of the fuel tanks made the soldier extremely vulnerable to enemy fire, and troops had to be assigned to protect him.
Man-pack flamethrowers were again used operationally by Australian troops on several occasions during the war in South Vietnam. The fighting around Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, for example, saw assault pioneers use flamethrowers to successfully subdue Viet Cong bunkers. Not only were they used on foot but on one occasion, from the rear deck of a Centurion Armoured Recovery Vehicle! Photo courtesy NARA
Flame tanks of the 1st (US) Tank Battalion attack No-name Village, in the Quang Ngai province of Vietnam, during Operation Doser.
The M2A1-7 was the last man-pack flamethrower to be listed on the Australian Army's inventory. By late 1987, with local stocks of spare parts running low and additional parts no longer available from the United States, the type was declared obsolete. A few were retained on an official basis for museums such as the infantry and engineer museums but the majority were scrapped. Despite its demonstrated effectiveness and some rumours about purchasing the M2A9 version, there is apparently no intention at this time to re-introduce a man-pack flamethrower into the Australian Army.I’ve been asked a few times recently about how I draw isometric buildings. Here’s the run down.
1. Floorplan
Use some rectangles to get an interesting floor plan. Don’t go crazy, but don’t just do a single rectangle – that leads to dull uniform buildings.
2. Make it isometric
Spin the shape around by 45 degrees (or a random amount if you want less exactly isometric buildings). Then shrink vertically by 57.7%.
3. Create a wireframe
On a new layer, using your base as a starting point, ink in the outline. Begin with the vertical walls – remember holding shift in your program of choice will likely force the line to stay perfectly vertical (it does in photoshop and gimp). Outline some roof lines, and ink along the leading edge of the base (easy to forget). This step is key as it’ll determine whether the shape is believable or not. For diagonal lines, use the diagonals of the base as a reference. You want to follow that angle as closely as possible with your other diagonals or the shape will look wonky.
You can also use an isometric grid layer to guide you – here’s a handy grid you can import as a background layer.
4. Start detailing
Remove the base layer (the filled shape), and create a new layer. On this layer start adding details. Begin with the big pieces – doors and windows. If you have a repeated shape (multiple similar windows), draw it once, then copy and paste that element multiple times. They should be exactly the same, so make them exactly the same. For elements that are inset, make the line weight of the edge further away from you heavier. This make it look like you’re seeing the inset wall on the far side.
When adding features, add a few that break up the silhouette of the building. Here I’ve added some roof windows and some crenellations.
5. Finish detailing
Once you have the structural doors and windows, it’s down to textural detailing. I’ve added stones to the walls, and tiles to the roof. These will also follow diagonals – so they really help to sell the isometric perspective (but remember, you really need to follow the correct diagonal – it takes practice, but it’s worth it). I also added a flag to the tower, for fun, and as a place to add some un-expected colour. And some lines to indicate the surrounding terrain, including a couple of lines leading up to the door.
There you have it, a nice line art building. Zoom out to 1/3 the size, and it’ll look great!
This is the process I use for #hexallthethings
Here’s the full resolution image, and the raw.psd so you can see how the sausage was made. All the rest of my tutorials on mapmaking can be found here.US moves towards sanctions as Venezuela charges coup plot
By Bill Van Auken
31 May 2014
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation mandating sanctions against Venezuela as officials there presented evidence of US involvement in a plot to bring down the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The bill, passed in a voice vote by the House with only 14 members in opposition, demands that the Obama administration draw up a list of Venezuelan officials allegedly responsible for repression during violent protests that have been organized across the South American country since last February. They would be sanctioned with the freezing of any assets in the US and the denial or revocation of visas.
Washington’s step closer toward another blatant imperialist intervention against Venezuela came on the same day that government officials in Caracas publicly presented what they described as evidence of US involvement in a plot by the far-right in Venezuela to overthrow the government and assassinate President Maduro.
The evidence consisted of emails between ex-deputy Maria Corina Machado, a long-time recipient of US funding, and other figures on the Venezuelan right. One of these messages, sent to another former right-wing legislator at the height of the violent protests, declared that a former top State Department official on Latin America and current US ambassador to Colombia “Kevin Whitaker reconfirms his support and indicated new steps.”
Other emails reference financial backing for the protest, implicating a corrupt Venezuelan banker who fled the country for Miami to evade criminal charges.
And an email dated May 23 cited by the officials of the ruling party speaks of the need to “annihilate Maduro.” It continues, “We have to clean this rubbish, starting at the top, taking advantage of the global climate provided by Ukraine and now Thailand.” The reference to the two countries—in the first the US openly fomented a coup and in the second it gave a military seizure of power its tacit backing—has ominous implications.
Machado denounced the charges against her as an “infamy,” claiming that she had not used the email account from which the messages were sent for a year. Meanwhile, the State Department called the charges “baseless and false,” while providing no explanation for the emails or Whitaker’s role. It characterized the charges as an attempt by the Venezuelan government to “distract from its own actions by blaming the United States.”
The legislation passed by the House, dubbed the “Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act,” also creates a new $15 million fund “to provide assistance to civil society in Venezuela,” i.e., to pour additional funding into the right-wing opposition that is seeking to topple the country’s elected government. It calls for the money to be appropriated to “assist and train” so-called “democracy activists,” to provide “secure mobile and other communications through connective technology among human rights and democracy advocates in Venezuela,” and to provide “emergency resources” for such “activists” and “advocates.”
Similar legislation has been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and must still be voted upon by the full Senate.
An indication of the growing wave of support for such measures within the US ruling political establishment came on Thursday with the publication in the Washington Post of an editorial entitled “Sanctions on Venezuelan officials may bring them to the table” calling for the implementation of sanctions.
The Obama administration has expressed reservations about sanctions. It prefers for the moment to utilize mediation efforts by Latin American foreign ministers and the Vatican in organizing “dialogue” between Maduro and the opposition as a means of weakening the government and pushing it further to the right.
In a statement last week, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that Washington was “losing patience” with Venezuela and that all options “remain on the table at this time.” He added, however, that, “our hope is that sanctions won’t be necessary.”
Similarly, in a Thursday press conference, Roberta Jacobson, the US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, argued that the administration could impose sanctions unilaterally and needed no congressional legislation to do so. As for sanctions against Venezuela, she added, “We do not feel that now is the right time”
Jacobson continued: “… as you look at the tools you use and you see whether or not they work, you have to keep looking, right, for things that are effective. And I think each of us in the region may have different perceptions of how long our timeline is, how much patience each of us might have for a solution.”
These repeated references to US “patience” running out for Venezuela contain a clearly implied threat of direct US intervention should other means of pressure fail.
Nonetheless, President Maduro responded with praise for Jacobson, declaring in a Thursday television broadcast that he “saluted” her statements, which he said were a “call for reason.” The Venezuelan president went on to announce that he was appointing Maximilian Arveláez as the new chargé d’Affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington. The post is the highest at the embassy following the mutual expulsion of diplomats by Caracas and Washington. The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.
He said he was sending Arveláez “to tell the truth about the country and neutralize the many lies said about Venezuela” and to establish closer ties so that the two countries can “achieve cooperation in important continental and global issues.”
In a futile gesture last February, Maduro appointed Arveláez as Venezuela’s ambassador to Washington, but the Obama administration rebuffed this diplomatic feeler.
“I want better relations of respect and permanent communication with the United States; relations that set a new model for relations between that country and Latin America,” Maduro said in announcing this latest appointment of Arveláez. He appealed directly to President Barack Obama, declaring, “sooner rather than later we have to sow relations of respect.”
Behind all of the Maduro administration’s “anti-imperialist” rhetoric and invocations of “Bolivarian socialism,” it is a bourgeois government committed to the defense of the profit interests of the banks, domestic capitalists and transnational corporations. It is dependent upon revenues from oil exports, about 40 percent of which go to the US.
The close ties between the government and American capitalism found stark expression recently in the signing of a $2 billion credit agreement between the state-controlled Venezuelan oil company, PDVSA, and a group of energy service firms led by the infamous American contractor Halliburton. The move is part of Maduro’s bid to open up Venezuela’s oil industry to greater foreign investment.
US imperialism is nonetheless determined to impose its unrestricted hegemony over Venezuela and its oil reserves, the largest in the world. It is to this end that it advances its campaign for regime change under the banners of “human rights” and “democracy.”
This campaign is utterly hypocritical. Who is Obama to preach “human rights” to Maduro while overseeing drone assassinations, wholesale surveillance against the world’s population and growing repression within the US itself?
Washington’s aim is to bring back to power political forces that ruled the country in 1989, when the Venezuelan government responded to the so-called Caracazo —mass protests against an IMF-dictated austerity program—by unleashing a bloodbath. As many as 3,000 people were killed after the government sent the army into the streets.
Meanwhile conditions are building up for a similar explosion. Recent figures show that price rises for the first quarter of this year reached their highest point in the last 18 years, with annual inflation topping 59 percent in March.
The inflation, a series of devaluations and signs of deepening recession have had a brutal effect upon the working class, with Venezuela’s National Institute of Statistics reporting that the ranks of those living in extreme poverty rose to 9.8 percent of the population last year. This is compared to 7.1 percent as recently as the second half of 2012.
Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing between the government and the country’s corporate and financial executives on economic measures that will inevitably spell even deeper attacks on the living standards of the country’s working people.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Well, that didn’t take long.
We’re only 20 minutes into tonight’s vice presidential debate and it’s looking like there’s another big crisis on the horizon for the Donald Trump campaign. Republican nominee Mike Pence vowed to come into the debate laser-focused and ready to attack, but one undeniable gaffe has many declaring Democratic candidate Tim Kaine the early winner. Did Pence just blow the debate by getting off his own horse to go feed oats to Kaine’s?
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Um, yeah. You’re going to see that yikes moment all over Twitter tonight and tomorrow.
If you’re just tuning in, let’s get you up to speed: After introductions from moderator Elaine Quijano, the two candidates entered the stage mounted on their horses and gave their opening statements without incident. But when Quijano asked Pence to describe his views on immigration, the Indiana governor totally fumbled |
that way ended up voting for Trump, whose personal ethical/moral conduct stinks. Why would they get behind someone whose immoral private life would render him unlikely to ethically fulfill his responsibilities as president?
Well, they didn’t, because in the year that Trump was the Republican nominee, their answer to that question moved – by 42 points!
The 42-point swing
Yes, that’s the big aha moment from the Edsall piece. A 42-point swing. 42! Evangelicals, who, pre-Trump, said that by 61-30 personal/private moral failings would be a strong predictor of public moral shortcoming in a candidate for president, in 2016, by 72-20 percent, now say that if a candidate’s personal behavior is immoral, that is no reason to assume that his or her public behavior will be also.
The other groups in the poll moved slightly in the same direction. But their movement was dwarfed by the movement among evangelicals, who went from being the group that was most concerned about supporting a personally immoral candidate to the group least concerned.
It’s just one quirky poll question, but it’s hard not to be impressed. What to make of it?
Edsall pretty much offered an explanation, to which I referred above. His piece was headlined: “Trump says jump. His supporters ask: How high?” Which may err on the rude or crude side, but loops back to the point above, which I stole from Edsall and he stole from several political scientists quoted in the piece. It goes something like this:
The internal dialogue
If you accept that partisan affiliation is a piece of identity, it’s hard to go against one’s identity in deciding whom to support for president, but if different elements of one’s identity are in conflict, one’s mind or gut may look for a way. Imagine the internal dialogue of evangelical Protestant Republican needing to vote for Trump without willingly helping to elect an unethical president. Something like (I’m making this up):
“I used to believe that an immoral person cannot make an ethical president. And I can’t disregard the evidence that Trump’s life does not demonstrate moral behavior in his personal or business life. But I’m a Republican and cannot seriously consider voting against my party. So I have to adjust something, and the least painful thing is to adjust my belief that an immoral person cannot make an ethical president.”
Edsall asked the rhetorical question: “Are the moral convictions of white evangelical Protestants writ in stone?” And he answered: Apparently not.
If you read the full Edsall column, you’ll get a bunch of really smart political scientists weighing in on how and why this works.Copyright by WNCN - All rights reserved
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -- Ten weapons were seized at the Revolutionary Black Panther Party press conference Sunday morning.
Copyright by WNCN - All rights reserved CLICK TO VIEW 11 LARGER PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
Copyright by WNCN - All rights reserved CLICK TO VIEW 11 LARGER PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
Members of the RBPP held a press conference Sunday to go over their plans for the events scheduled the rest of the day. Those events include a tribunal at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday followed by an armed vigil at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
It was announced at the press conference that the group made the decision to hold an armed vigil instead of the armed march which they had been planning all week.
The decision came after New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David issued a statement Thursday in response to the planned "armed march."
In the parties response to David's statement, party leader Dr. Alli Muhammad stated they believe the District Attorney and the Wilmington Police Chief are engaging in acts designed to suppress their freedom of expression.
"The DA and Wilmington Police Chief are engaging in acts designed to chill our freedom of expression," Muhammad said. "One of the basic tenants of the constitution that they are sworn to uphold. The DA and everyone under his directives is engaging in selective enforcement which amounts to viewpoint content discrimination. The unconstitutional acts carried out by the Wilmington Police Department and the DA will be fought tooth and nail."
Muhammad then stated that N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-415.23 states "Any person adversely affected by any ordinance or rule that lawfully regulates the possession of a firearm is allowed to bring sue."
"We maintain that the current statue cited by the DA and police in order to violate our constitutional, civil and human rights is a crime and it is because we are black and it is because we are black panthers. This is in clear violation of the state and US constitution, freedom of expression and the right to bear arms. We of the Revolutionary Black Panther Party are lawful and any violation against the people of this state and the United States of America and against us as the people and against you as the people or against we as the people are a crime."
Near the end of the press conference the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office was brought in to address the gathering due to its location on county property at the courthouse and to seize the party's weapons.
According to a Lieutenant J.J. Brewer, spokesperson with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, members of the Revolutionary Black Panther Party were in violation of local county ordinance section 38-31 by possession of a weapon. The ordinance states "The Display of Firearms and Possession of Concealed Handguns Prohibited on this Property"
Brewer added that deputies also had members at the press conference who were wearing masks, lower their mask due to North Carolina state law prohibiting the wearing of masks at meetings or demonstrations.
According to Brewer, the deputies seized 10 weapons. Out of the weapons seized by the Sheriff's Office there were 2 revolvers, 5 semi-automatic pistols, and 3 shotguns. All of them were loaded.
This investigation is on-going and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
Muhammad said deputies told him they would get their weapons back Monday.
"We will not tolerate violations of the law," Sheriff McMahon stated.
Copyright WECT 2017. All right reserved.The Honorable Mike Rogers
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representatives Rogers and Ruppersberger:
Our organizations—representing multiple sectors of the American economy—support the introduction of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill earned more than 100 bipartisan co-sponsors last year because your colleagues recognized that it would enhance public-private collaboration in countering an array of cyber threats to U.S. national and economic security.
This legislation is necessary to create a powerful sea change in the current informationsharing practices between government and the business community that reflects the conditions of an increasingly digital world. Our organizations have consistently supported legislation that would put timely, reliable, and actionable information into the hands of business owners and operators so that they can better protect their systems and assets against nefarious actors, including rogue individuals, organized criminals, and groups carrying out state-sponsored attacks.
The bill supports existing information-sharing and analysis organizations and incorporates lessons learned from pilot programs and exercises undertaken by critical infrastructure sectors. These initiatives offer complementary, demonstrated models for enabling the government to share cyber threat intelligence with the private sector—thereby affording security professionals the opportunity to implement measures intended to reduce a business’ cyber risk profile—while protecting privacy and civil liberties.
In addition, the bill provides the needed legal certainty that threat and vulnerability information voluntarily shared with the government would be provided safe harbor against the risk of frivolous lawsuits, would be exempt from public disclosure, and could not be used by officials to regulate other activities. The legislation also includes an exemption from antitrust laws, which limit exchanges of information between private entities, in order to help prevent, investigate, and mitigate threats to cybersecurity.
We welcome the introduction of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act and urge your colleagues to co-sponsor it. We appreciate that you wrote the bill in a bipartisan and open manner and have worked diligently to seek common ground with privacy and civil liberties organizations on issues such as the definition of cyber threat information and how the government can use the information that it receives from companies and utilities. You added several amendments to better protect individuals’ privacy prior to House passage last year. Our organizations encourage you to continue the dialogue with these communities as the bill moves
forward.
Passing the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is a specific action that Congress can take to bolster America’s cybersecurity while protecting personal privacy. We look forward to working with you and your staff on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Airlines for America
American Chemistry Council
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers
American Gas Association
American Petroleum Institute
ASIS International
Association of American Railroads
CTIA–The Wireless Association
Edison Electric Institute
Information Technology Industry Council
Internet Security Alliance
National Association of Manufacturers
National Business Coalition on E-Commerce & Privacy
The Real Estate Roundtable
Software & Information Industry Association
Telecommunications Industry Association
United States Telecom Association
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
cc: Members of the U.S. House of RepresentativesSave the best for last?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a shoutout to every province and territory during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill Saturday, except for one of them: Alberta.
"We may be of every colour and creed, from every corner of the world," Trudeau said.
"We may live in British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador. But we embrace that diversity while knowing in our hearts that we are all Canadians."
Alberta was included in his prepared text, but didn't make the delivery in front of thousands of spectators at the Canada 150 celebration in Ottawa.
Canadian actress Sandra Oh, who co-hosted the event, made note of the mistake after Trudeau left the stage.
A short time later, before introducing Canada's two new astronauts, Trudeau tried to make right with the province that slipped his mind.
"Let me just start by saying I'm a little embarrassed, I got excited somewhere over the Rockies," he said.
"Alberta, I love you. Happy Canada Day."
He followed up with an apologetic tweet later in the afternoon.
Got too excited somewhere over the Rockies. Sorry Alberta, I love you. Happy Canada Day! —@JustinTrudeau
Some, like Alberta Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, weren't quick to let the prime minister live down the lapse.
Happy Canada Day. Our country is stronger because of Alberta and, unlike our Prime Minister, I won't ever forget that. <a href="https://t.co/a98GFHCDCj">pic.twitter.com/a98GFHCDCj</a> —@BrianJeanWRP
Trudeau posts grade 5 Canadian geography test to refrigerator after only forgetting Alberta. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada150?src=hash">#Canada150</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cdnpoli?src=hash">#cdnpoli</a> —@TheBeaverton
Trudeau's speech celebrated Canada's diversity and values, but also acknowledged its failures — particularly in its oppression of Indigenous people.
He acknowledged Canada's history spans much longer than 150 years, and said reconciliation is a journey that will demand dedication and hard work from Canadians.
"As a society, we must therefore recognize past mistakes, accept our responsibilities and take action to ensure that each and every Canadian has a bright future," he said.
"It is a choice we make, not because of what we did, or what we were, but because of who we are."The Danish wonderkid looks set to become the Magpies' latest summer signing.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
Newcastle are close to completing the capture of Danish youngster Elias Fritjof Sorensen, according to bold.dk.
The report claims that the youngster spent the early parts of the summer training with the Magpies and has sufficiently impressed enough to earn a permanent switch, citing these quotes from HB Køge sporting director Per Rud:
“It is true that we are still talking to Newcastle, and we have had several great conversations with them, and it is likely to end up with a transfer.
“As with everything else in this world, I cannot say anything with certainty until it is fully in place, and the ends are not achieved together yet. But I'd be lying if I said that there isn’t some truth, for it is there,” said Rud.
16-year old Sorensen became HB Koge’s youngest ever debutant when he was brought off the bench during a First Division encounter with Silkeborg in May.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
He has since made five first team appearances for the Danish club and now looks set to join the Rafael Benitez revolution on Tyneside.
Newcastle didn’t begin their Championship title tilt as planned, with a resolute Fulham proving impossible to break down at Craven Cottage on Friday night, and Benitez will be working overtime to ensure his new-look squad gel sooner rather than later.
Newcastle's Matt Ritchie and Isaac Hayden with referee Simon Hooper
The Spaniard has overseen a host of changes this summer and there was always going to be an adjustment period for his much-changed squad.
He appears undeterred however, and with Sorensen set to join the ranks imminently, there will be one more new face to integrate on Tyneside.First Look: Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly in 'Grace of Monaco'
Nicole Kidman goes into to full royal lady mode in this first look pic from Grace of Monaco. Kidman portrays actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly in French director Olivier Dahan's drama, which follows Kelly's personal story when, in 1962, she worked behind the scenes to save her city-state from a coup.
Joining Kidman in the ensemble cast are Paz Vega, Parker Posey, Tim Roth and Frank Langella. The script was written by Arash Amel and was included in the 2011 Black List of one of the best unproduced projects in Hollywood and was said to be generating awards buzz.
Grace of Monaco isn't due in theaters until 2014. We've included an image of Kelly for comparison purposes. Does Nicole pull off the look?
Follow along on Twitter @DerrickDeane and @Fandango.SHANGHAI — Wal-Mart and five other companies have agreed to invest $500 million in 360buy.com, a fast-growing online retailer in China, the Chinese company said.
Liu Qiangdong, the founder and chief executive 360buy, announced the investment of about 3.3 billion renminbi on his Chinese Twitter-style microblog last week. On Monday, a spokeswoman for 360buy, Li Jing, confirmed that Wal-Mart was one of the new investors that had pledged a combined $500 million to back the privately owned company, which is based in Beijing.
Ms. Li declined to divulge the value of the investment by Wal-Mart, the world’s leading retailer. She said a formal announcement with more details could be made within weeks.
Kevin Gardner, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, which is based in Bentonville, Ark., said in an e-mail Saturday that the retailer had made no announcement and did not comment on rumors or speculation.
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But a big investment in online retailing would not be unusual. Many global retailers, including Gap, are expanding aggressively in China and beginning to sell online in the country. Wal-Mart operates more than 200 stores in China.Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has attacked John McCain's links to a 1980s financial scandal. He also accused his Republican rival of being more focused on running a smear campaign than on fixing the US economy. It comes after Mr McCain's running mate Sarah Palin accused Mr Obama over the weekend of associating with terrorists. Mr Obama once served on a charity board with an ex-member of US-based militant group Weather Underground, Bill Ayers, now a University of Illinois professor. He has denounced Mr Ayers' radical past. Mr McCain spent the weekend in Arizona preparing for Tuesday's presidential debate but Mrs Palin, governor of Alaska, held several rallies. She told supporters in Colorado and California that the time had come to take "the gloves off" - suggesting that Mr Obama's character may be the subject of further attacks. Judgement claim In a new internet video being e-mailed to supporters, the Obama campaign launched its own attack on Mr McCain over his connections to tycoon Charles Keating, who was convicted of securities fraud after his savings and loan scheme collapsed. Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance
Barack Obama
The shifting election battleground Mr McCain was one of five senators - known as the Keating Five - to be investigated by a Senate ethics panel over their intervention with banking regulators on behalf of Keating. He was found to be less involved with Keating than the other senators but was criticised for "poor judgement". Mr McCain has himself described the affair as "the worst mistake of my life", and one which led him to sponsor legislation on campaign finance reform. In an email to supporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said: "The McCain campaign has tried to avoid talking about the scandal, but with so many parallels to the current crisis, McCain's Keating history is relevant and voters deserve to know the facts - and see for themselves the pattern of poor judgement by John McCain.'' The Obama campaign has set up a special website where viewers can see the short internet video and a 13-minute documentary on Mr McCain's involvement in the Keating scandal. Speaking at a rally in North Carolina on Sunday, Mr Obama also questioned Mr McCain's campaign tactics, suggesting he was seeking to turn the focus away from the current economic crisis. "Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," he said. "They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas and running out of time." That message is echoed in a new campaign advert, to be broadcast on cable TV from Monday, which seeks to portray Mr McCain's response to the financial crisis as fumbling and unreliable. The commentary says: "Erratic in a crisis. Out of touch on the economy." Meanwhile, singers Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z took part in concerts over the weekend, organised by the Obama campaign, aimed at encouraging new voters to register. Monday is the deadline for voter registration in more than a dozen states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida. Voter turnout could be vital in deciding the outcome of the 4 November presidential election.
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StumbleUpon What are these?More than 20 tap rooms opened in Tijuana last year, many of them in the same Plaza, giving the area a feel of a daily beer fest. Partially thanks to San Diego, the Baja region now produces the largest volume of craft beer in Mexico and is home to the country’s most awarded breweries. Baja’s government is aware of the gigantic boost to the economy beer provides and has facilitated permits for new breweries to develop.
The culture of beer in Baja still has a long way to go, though it is enjoying a steady growth. A lot of information, equipment, and ingredients cross the border on a constant basis. For years homebrewers have snuck across the border hops, yeast, and gear from suppliers such as White Labs. Stone Brewing Co. and Coronado Brewing Co. linked up with Baja breweries to create limited-edition beers — Andrómeda by Coronado/Fauna and Xocoveza by Stone/Insurgente. You’ll find a lot of Baja’s beer in two locations near the border: Plaza Fiesta and downtown.
Plaza del Balazo to Plaza Craft Beer
Plaza Fiesta was built in 1980 next to Plaza del Zapato, kitty-corner from the Centro Cultural de Tijuana (which everyone calls by its acronym CECUT, pronounced say-coot) museum on Zona Rio, a mile away from the border. Plaza Fiesta started as a mall for restaurants, dentist offices, farmacías, and more. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the nightlife took over and the plaza became the place to be for locals and tourists.
In the mid-2000s, Plaza Fiesta fell victim to increasing gun violence and was dubbed Plaza del Balazo — Bullet Plaza. In response, popular nightclubs such as Porky’s and Chez moved to Calle Sexta in downtown Tijuana, where the new party scene was emerging, thanks to hipster hangout La Mezcalera and the time-honored cantina, named Dandy del Sur.
For several years, Plaza Fiesta had no true identity as bars opened and closed. Many bars with different themes opened only to close a few months later. A few examples are: 8-Bit (a video-game bar), La Condenada Mezcaleria (a copy of Sexta’s Mezcalera), La Prisión bar (a metal and hardcore venue), Underbar (cheap sushi and drugs), and many other short-lived bars. Most of them only sold caguamas (32-ounce bottles) of Tecate and Indio as well as cheap mixed drinks.
It wasn’t until El Tigre Bar revamped its image at the beginning of 2015 that the plaza began to assume its current role as a beer hub. El Tigre stopped hosting punk and hardcore bands and turned itself into a modern tap room for Lúdica Artesanal. El Sotano Suizo, a bar established in the plaza in 1989, started serving beer a few months before El Tigre, but El Tigre spurred a domino effect of bars turning into tap rooms.
“If I wasn’t going to sell craft beer, I wasn’t going to open a bar,” Juan Carlos Bucio, one of the owners of El Tigre Bar says. “The idea, five years ago, was that I was going to have a space inside a new Chez bar, but Fernando Valladolid [owner of Chez] decided not to continue with the project. Fernando offered me the space where El Tigre is now. I knew that the craft beer movement was going to take over. A lot of my friends were already brewing.”
Since its inception, El Tigre sold mostly cheap mixed drinks and caguamas, but Bucio slowly introduced craft beer. “Once I had the bar, friends started hitting me up. The bar first sold Silenus, Ley Seca, and other homebrews that ended up not creating a brand. I was the sole owner of El Tigre for a few years, but I decided to partner up because I knew I needed a larger investment and there was going to be many more responsibilities. I was already partners with my brother and two other friends for 1994 Bar, so we joined forces to transform the plaza....
“We started by opening Paralelo 28 and we talked to Lúdica to open in El Tigre because they are one of our favorites in the region,” continues Bucio. Like playing a game of chess, Bucio and his partners moved the right pieces to turn Plaza Fiesta to Plaza Cerveza. “After that, we invited Fauna from Mexicali and partnered up with their brewer, Alejandro Larios. We then worked by inviting others, like Juan José [Quezada] of Mamut, same with Border Psycho and Insurgente. We had already visualized what the plaza could be. We believe that if we all work together, it would give longevity to the business.”
The plaza now has 13 tap rooms: Lúdica Artesanal (inside El Tigre), Paralelo 28, Fauna, Madueño, Ramuri, Legion, Insurgente, Mamut, Tres B (Big Bad Brew), Silenus (inside El Depa), Donkey Punch, Bosiger (inside Sotano Suizo), and Border Psycho.
Bucio tells me that in the following months the plaza plans to open four more tap rooms: Cerveceria Calafia (sharing space with a pizzeria that Bucio intends to run), Puerco Salvaje (Mexicali), Cervecería el Sauzal (Ensenada), and Los Reyes (Rosarito).
I have visited all of them and spoken to many of the owners or partners.
“I only care that people enjoy my beer,” said Silenus brewmaster Ivan Maldonado.
I had started a drunken argument about El Depa, which is dominated by college students, contending that it does not feel like your usual tap room. Maldonado dismissed my notion of taproom standards. “What does a tap room look like to you?” he asked rhetortically. “Taste my beer, it doesn’t matter where you drink it, as long as it is good and people enjoy it.”
I tried Silenus’ Xanthos IPA, which was one of the best beers I’ve had south of the border. Maldonado is part of the brewing team for Fall Brewing Company in San Diego, and before that he worked with Belching Beaver.
“This is our third tap room and our first in Tijuana,” said Daniel Corral of Tres B, who recently moved to Tijuana from Mexicali. “It’s six of us that run Tres B. I’ve been wanting to live in Tijuana for a while, so I offered to be the one in charge of the bar here.” Daniel Corral not only runs the bar, he basically lives in it, as his apartment is directly above.
“It’s because of our Belgian beer, Belga Psicótica,” Roberto Albarran of Border Psycho brewery tells me when I inquire about their phallic tap pulls. “We thought [they] went perfectly with La Belga.”
The joke here is that belga (Belgian) sounds really similar to verga (slang for penis).
“I don’t think I will be opening my tap room in Plaza Fiesta,” Juan Bojorquez of Ley Seca Brewing tells me. “I think all the good spots are already taken. I don’t want to be in the back. Plaza Fiesta might also just be going through a trend. I will be opening a tap room sometime in the future, I’m just not sure where.” Bojorquez has been upgrading his homebrewing space in the past few months and plans to sell his beer through other tap rooms, including El Tigre, Paralelo 28, and La Embajada.
Other bars that don’t cater to the beer crowd still persevere in Plaza Fiesta, as well as some dentists’ offices, a sex shop, and restaurants (including a Vietnamese joint named Pequeño Saigon). Pancho Villa, a bar that blasts norteño music every night, remains mostly empty. There is a corner bar that exclusively serves Clamatos, and behind it, several bars that look similar to one another. Mods Bar took over La Prisión and hosts punk, metal, and hardcore shows. Zenzontle serves their own version of pulque, a traditional agave wine. Fresco and Wherehouse offer electronic rave-like ambiance. The latter recently hosted Tijuana’s first installment of the roving international electronic music conclave known as Boiler Room.
Downtown Tijuana — more than Calle Sexta
Plaza Fiesta is not the only area in Tijuana to offer beer. Mamut Brewery started in 2013 and quickly grew to become downtown Tijuana’s most recognized craft brewer. Four other breweries have opened around their perimeter. Cerveza Rio opened behind Pasaje Rodriguez (Mamut’s original location), next to where Peanut’s strip club used to be. Unfortunately, they closed down, as the dark alley proved too tough for beer enthusiasts to find.
On the fifth floor of a parking structure on 4th street and Revolución, you’ll find Norte Brewing Company. They opened their doors in September of 2015 and quickly became a popular spot.
“Plaza Fiesta already had too many bars being used as tap rooms,” says Carlos Macklis of Norte Brewing. “The spaces left for rent were small and often times expensive. I asked my father-in-law to help me find a place. The next day he put me in contact with Eugenio Ocaranza, who happened to be an old friend of my dad’s. He offered me the second or the fifth floor of the parking structure. Obviously I went for the fifth for the views and for its history as a strip club.”
Norte’s beers are named in tribute to the location’s history: the Blonde Ale is named Escort, the Amber Ale is Cougar, the Pale Ale is 5to piso (fifth floor), and the IPA is dubbed Penthouse.
Across the street from the Caliente casino (between 3rd and 4th streets on Avenida Revolución) there is a small alleyway that leads to Plaza Revolución, which has the feel of a dark basement. When you enter you can smell hops brewing as you come upon three breweries: Azteca Brew, Comuna Artesanal, and Baja Brew Labs.
“On April of 2015 we started taking classes with the brewer from Azteca [Joel López],” Mario Delgadillo of Comuna Artesanal says. “I had little knowledge of biochemistry. The first batch came out great, so did the second, and we thought, Let’s do this. Right now is the best time.” Delgadillo started Comuna with friends who later dropped out of the project.
“The first kegs we would share between friends, but people started showing up to our spot and we started selling it for cheap,” continues Delgadillo. Comuna is the most recent addition to downtown Tijuana’s brewers, barely brewing one keg a week.
“We asked Joel López if he didn’t mind if we opened as a tap room right next to him. He gave us his blessing and told us that competition is good for everyone.”
“I worked with Cerveceria Mexicali from 1992 to 2007,” Joel López of Azteca Brewing says. Next door to Comuna, López brews Azteca’s beer, and his daughters Ximena and Karla manage the tap room. “The brewery was originally called Rio Bravo. In 1999 it got bought by Coors Company. In 2007 Coors merged with Molson and they stopped their Latin American brews. I was left without a job, but because I don’t know how to do anything but brew beer, I continued brewing. I started Azteca Brew in 2011 and started selling to the public three years after that.”
“We didn’t take classes — YouTube and internet forums,” Adrian Echavarria says. Deeper in the basement, you’ll find Baja Brew Labs, the “kids” of the brewery world. Baja Brew Labs took advantage of a government loan called Crédito Joven, targeted to young entrepreneurs. It provided the brewers with nearly $10,000.
“We partnered with Javier [Alvarado] to design and try out the equipment while he built it.” Unlike other brewers, Baja Brew Labs built their equipment from scratch. Echavarria is partners with Elio Avendaño (both have degrees in mechatronics) and with his brother Luis Echavarria, who studied gastronomy.
Two more breweries have opened in downtown but are only available for private tours: Cerveceria Teorema, between 6th and 7th streets on Revolución; and Mecanica, on 1st street by the arch. Luis Durazo of Cerveceria Teorema plans to open a tap room this May, in front of his brewery in the space that used to belong to the art gallery TJ-China.
Through the city and beyond
Cerveza Tijuana has been around since 2000 and is the oldest and biggest brewery in town. But, as their generic name might suggest, they brew generic beers, offering six styles, including a lager, a pilsner, and a bock. They also brew a beer named after Tijuana’s soccer team, Cerveza Xolos. They are located a mile south of downtown in Boulevard de los Fundadores. Cerveza Tijuana also has “secret brews” that are exclusively for certain restaurants that do not announce where their “house beer” comes from. These beers are better than their usual product.
You can find more beer spread around the city in bars such as BCB (Baja Craft Beer) and across the street at Verde y Crema restaurant, located on Calle Orizaba near Campestre golf course. A couple blocks away, 1994 Bar is located on Avenida Sonora.
Beer & Wine Hobby Store sells supplies and ingredients as well as local and international craft beers. The store opened two years ago on 11th street, but due to its expanding business, they moved around the corner to a larger space that holds more products and now hosts Funes’ tap room.
You can also find beer online and order through beerhouse.mx to get a shipment of the latest beer from the region.
Other tap rooms have opened further from the border, such as Baja Artesanal in Plaza Galerias Hipodromo (a mall near the Xolos soccer stadium).
I ventured into the mall after I failed scalping for tickets for a Xolos match. “Come in, try our beers,” the hostess of Baja Artesanal entreated, convincing me to give it a try. The logo for the tap room read “Baja Artesanal — Gastro Chelería” (chela, slang for beer, was already a bad sign). The hostess gave me samplers of the house beer and talked to me about what she thought craft culture was, but the house beers were barely drinkable, and what she was saying was completely wrong. Fortunately they served other Baja beers and their food was decent and cheap.
Despite the major improvement, the fact is that Tijuana is still primarily a city that drinks Tecate and other commercial beers. You won’t find craft beer in most convenience stores, but some supermarkets and liquor stores are finally offering the product.
“Let’s go to Madueño; they have Indio over there,” I once overheard someone say in Fauna’s tap room, showing how craft-beer culture is still relatively small. This stranger’s was basically saying: “Let’s go to this other brewery but not drink their beer.” More often than not, I see people in tap rooms drinking Heineken or other commercial beers. Regardless, the future of Tijuana promises to see the opening of even more breweries.
Tap rooms, for the most part, only have one type of glassware and beers are all the same price no matter what style: 16-ounce pints go for between 50 to 60 pesos ($3 to $3.50), and half-pints go for 30 to 40 pesos ($2 to 2.50). Each tap room has a different happy hour or daily special, but most of them have agreed on Tap Tuesday, which is a discount of at least 10 pesos off every beer all day and night.
At this rate, the beer scene in Tijuana can only get better. There is still a lot to learn and many newcomers to teach. But it’s nice to see a ranchero (Mexican cowboy) trying a craft beer for the first time, his taste buds for the first time discovering real beer flavor.By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
The question arose early in British academic A.C. Grayling’s career: What if those ancient compilers who’d made Bibles, the collected religious texts that were translated, edited, arranged and published en masse, had focused instead on assembling the non-religious teachings of civilization’s greatest thinkers?
What if the book that billions have turned to for ethical guidance wasn’t tied to commandments from God or any one particular tradition but instead included the writings of Aristotle, the reflections of Confucius, the poetry of Baudelaire? What would that book look like, and what would it mean?
Decades after he started asking such questions, what Grayling calls “a lifetime’s work” has hit bookshelves. “The Good Book: A Humanist Bible,” subtitled “A Secular Bible” in the United Kingdom, was published this month. Grayling crafted it by using more than a thousand texts representing several hundred authors, collections and traditions.
The Bible would have been “a very different book and may have produced a very different history for mankind,” had it drawn on the work of philosophers and writers as opposed to prophets and apostles, says Grayling, a philosopher and professor at Birkbeck College, University of London, who is an atheist.
“Humanist ethics didn’t claim to be derived from a deity," he says. "(They) tended to start from a sympathetic understanding of human nature and accept that there’s a responsibility that each individual has to work out the values they live by and especially to recognize that the best of our good lives revolve around having good relationships with people.”
Humanists rely on human reason as an alternative to religion or belief in God in attempting to find meaning and purpose in life.
Determined to make his material accessible, Grayling arranged his nearly 600-page "Good Book" much like the Bible, with double columns, chapters (the first is even called Genesis) and short verses. And much like the best-selling King James Bible, which is celebrating its 400th year, his book is written in a type of English that transcends time.
Like the Bible, "The Good Book," opens with a garden scene. But instead of Adam and Eve, Grayling's Genesis invokes Isaac Newton, the British scientist who pioneered the study of gravity.
"It was from the fall of fruit from such a tree that new inspiration came for inquiry into the nature of things," reads a verse from "The Good Book's" first chapter.
"When Newton sat in his garden, and saw what no one had seen before: that an apple draws the earth to itself, and the earth the apple," the verse continues, "Through a mutual force of nature that holds all things, from the planets to the stars, in unifying embrace."
The book's final chapter features a secular humanist version of the Ten Commandments: "Love well, seek the good in all things, harm no others, think for yourself, take responsibility, respect nature, do your utmost, be informed, be kind, be courageous: at least, sincerely try."
Grayling, reached Friday at a New York hotel just as he began his U.S. book tour, has been dubbed by some a “velvet atheist” or an “acceptable face of atheism,” he says, in contrast to more stridently anti-religious writers like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, both of whom he counts as friends.
In other contexts, Grayling - |
finds out Mae left because she was having mental health issues.
. Mae gets one in on the Gregg path: when Angus blames her for enabling Gregg's criminal tendencies, she angrily asks him how it's her fault when Gregg is the one committing the crimes. This causes both Angus and Gregg to back off, and for Gregg to vow to stop his crimes for Angus's sake.
Jump Scare: When on Gregg's ghost hunt, Mae and Gregg hear a lot of odd noises in-universe. Turns out it's an old animatronic that isn't quite fixed yet. Later in the same scenario, the "ghost" randomly appears in a window when the two are running down a fire escape.
Earlier, when Gregg is picking a lock to get in, an owl will loudly screech and swoop in on the two of them out of nowhere.
Lame Pun Reaction: Mae's dad's attempts to make a funny about family taco night are... not well received. Dad: The family that tacos together rockos together. Mae:... Mom: Honey no. Dad: What? Mae: I am so angry right now.
Lampshade Hanging: It was already established that Mae knows all the stories of the nighttime constellations, so when there's a sideplot involving finding constellations in stars at dusk, she asks why she's never heard of these before. The answer? By the time they got to dusk star formations, they had already used all the well-known legends and myths.
Laser-Guided Karma: The cult shoves its victims down a pit in the mine, one that has a long fall. The person falling would be awake for a long time while heading towards the bottom, if the Black Goat doesn't eat them first. Thanks to Mae and her friends causing a cave-in, the cult is Buried Alive in the mine, and it's possible that the impact made them fall into the pit.
Left the Background Music On: The Deep Hollow Hollerers provide the background music of Mae's dreams with each instrument joining in when Mae finds its respective player. In the second and third days of Part III, during the third section of Possum Springs, Mae suddenly hears violin music belonging to Saleem, who lives on the topmost roof near the First Coalescence Church (whose music can be heard here ). He will stop playing the violin if you talk to him for a conversation. The same goes for when you talk to Sadie the saxophonist at the Husker Bee Ballroom. If Mae manages to get them both to reconcile, then when she enters the ballroom on the last day of Part III, both Sadie's saxophone and Saleem's violin can be heard, and can only stop if you talk to them for a moment. Even better is that the duo can now be heard at the Trolleyside Tunnel in the Epilogue, and one of the teens lampshades that they wish Saleem and Sadie would "shut the eff up" if you talk to them.
Leitmotif: All four main characters have melodies that are associated with them; Gregg and Bea both have musical stings that are repeated elsewhere in the soundtrack (The Snack Falcon Gregg theme and both renditions of Crimes for Gregg, MaeBea for Bea). Angus has a theme that's represented in Video Outpost "Too", Angus at Home, and Angus Climbs the Hill. Mae's theme is typically associated with her being destructive and stretches throughout Durkillesburg, Clanky Must Die, I'm Going to Break Something and Shapes.
Let's Get Dangerous!: Gregg, meet crossbow.
. This simple, repeated exchange between Mae and Gregg always signals that they are about to get real about some shit. Gregg: Crimes?
Mae: Crimes. Angus would like to raise Gregg a notch. As the gang leaves the mine shaft, using the old elevator, the cultist that Gregg shot reappears. He grabs the nearest person, Mae, who's injured and can only kick at him. Angus then grabs the elevator lever and switches it, so that the cultist loses and arm and crushes his head.
Mama Bear: Aunt Molly portrays herself as this. She offers Mae a ride home on threat of arresting her, when Mae was dreading a walk through the woods at night, alone. It's somewhat justified in that Mae was jumping on the power lines, which is dangerous.
Manchild: Mae is a character study in arrested development. At age 20, she's still immature, unemployed, and rudderless in life. She amuses herself with petty crimes, despite being old enough to know better.
Gregg is also this, albeit to a lesser degree than Mae. Even though Gregg has a job, an apartment, and a serious romantic relationship (unlike Mae), he demonstrates immaturity on multiple occasions. He commits petty crimes and allows Steven to shoplift from Snack Falcon, even though both could get him arrested and/or fired. He nurses grand plans for moving to Bright Harbor with Angus, oblivious to how unrealistic his dream is. Angus even ends up calling Mae out for encouraging this behavior despite his best efforts to keep Gregg stable.
Master of None: Dr. Hank is the town's resident doctor. As is discussed by the townsfolk, Dr. Hank tries to do every field of medicine, but he doesn't do any field of medicine particularly well. Especially not mental health therapy. Dr. Hank's entire solution for Mae's mental problems, among others, is to have her keep a journal. Not in addition to anything else; just "keep a journal" and that's it.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The nature of the "ghost" Mae keeps seeing around town. She is convinced that it really is a ghost that is kidnapping people, while her friends whenever they see it assume that it's a guard or a hunter. The truth is none of them are right. It isn't a ghost, but it IS a cultist supposedly powered by an Eldritch Abomination with the ability to walk through walls.
, while her friends whenever they see it assume that it's a guard or a hunter. The truth is The Janitor has a recurring and cryptic appearance through the game. In the end, he might be just someone really old and experienced who happens to be wise and be in the right place at the right time, at the end, he knows Mae name even though she never introduced herself. He is possibly God or another entity as there is even a statue of him in the graveyard.
. Mae has recurring nightmares of a astral band in strange places that always end with she meeting a gigantic and bizarre creature. It's hinted at the possibility that Mae has some sort of connection to the supernatural and that those entities are some sort of Cosmic Horror, and the cult practicing Human Sacrifice to keep the town prosperous worships it not helped that the end of the game confirms she has some sort of psychosis, with symptoms of dissociation and sleep paralysis and one of the newspaper in the library reveals that there was some sort of gas leak in town that makes people hallucinate. Then again, the possibility that her apparent mental illness is the result of The Black Goat reaching into her mind is ultimately left just as open.
and one of the newspaper in the library reveals that there was some sort of gas leak in town that makes people hallucinate. Then again, the possibility that is ultimately left just as open. Whether or not The Black Goat actually exists is never explicitly confirmed. It is left open to interpretation whether the cult's superstitions have any grounding in reality.
Mini-Game: When Mae hangs out with her friends, the gameplay switches to this, such as a Rhythm Game during band practice and a Stealth-Based Game when shoplifting.
Mood Whiplash: Mae wanders into the woods alone, at night, after no one picks her up at the bus station. She then sees a flashlight and fears the worst. Then the person holding the flashlight speaks, and Mae starts to snark with an annoyed expression. It's her aunt Molly, or rather Aunt Mallcop. Aunt Molly then takes her home, pointing out the alternative is that Mae spends the night in jail.
After a fun band practice, Mae and her friends find a severed arm lying in the road. Even the music acknowledges the change. Then Black Comedy ensues when Mae pokes the arm with a stick.
At the party, a drunken Mae first moans about embarrassing herself in front of her ex. She then rants about wanting to cut people with a knife, and throws up her dinner tacos. Bea takes her home, revealing to the audience and a forgetful Mae that her mother died, and that she's bitter about not going to college. After this, Bea helps a drunken Mae to her room and tucks her into bed. Then Mae has a scary, trippy dream about smashing things with a baseball bat.
At Harfest, Mae and Gregg help Bea with a Stylistic Suck Halloween ghost play about the town. They have fun with it, especially since Mae had to memorize her lines in five minutes. Bea and Gregg after the show tell Mae that she can't join them on their respective trips for business and romance. When Mae is trying to figure out what to do, however, she sees someone being kidnapped.
The ghost hunt with Angus in the state park is a sad but ultimately touching scene where Angus tells Mae about his Abusive Parents and his disbelief in gods or the supernatural, and the two are having a pleasant time stargazing and getting to know each other better. At least until Angus notices that they're being watched by one of the cultists, and the two run for their lives back to Bea's car.
In Lost Constellation, what you hear about the Huncher before you meet her makes her out to be terrifying, but in person, she and the Kid turn out to be pretty funny. Then you find out what she's done and what her origins are.
Mundane Made Awesome: "Ride the chariot to donut hell!"My family has been on the Internet since 1998 or so, but I didn't really think much about Internet security at first. Oh sure, I made sure our eMachines desktop (and its 433Mhz Celeron CPU) was always running the latest Internet Explorer version and I tried not to use the same password for everything. But I didn't give much thought to where my Web traffic was going or what path it took from our computer to the Web server and back. I was dimly aware that e-mail, as one of my teachers put it, was in those days "about as private as sticking your head out the window and yelling." And I didn't do much with that knowledge.
That sort of attitude was dangerous then, and the increasing sophistication of readily available hacking tools makes it even more dangerous now. Luckily, the state of Internet security has also gotten better—in this article, the first in a five-part series covering online security, we're going to talk a bit about keeping yourself (and your business) safe on the Web. Even if you know what lurks in the dark corners of the Internet, chances are you someone you know doesn't. So consider this guide and its follow-ups as a handy crash course for those unschooled in the nuances of online security. Security aficionados should check out later entries in the series for more advanced information
We'll begin today with some basic information about encryption on the Internet and how to use it to safeguard your personal information as you use the Web, before moving on to malware, mobile app security, and other topics in future entries.
SSL and TLS, the invisible security blankets
The most common kind of Web encryption is one many users probably don't even notice. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure protocol, or HTTPS, encrypts standard HTTP Web traffic using the Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols. TLS is the newer of the two and is more frequently used by modern sites, but since they're functionally similar, they're often lumped together as "SSL/TLS" by security gurus. The newest version of the SSL protocol is 3.0, and TLS 1.0 can be thought of as SSL 3.1 if it helps you understand the relationship between the two. HTTPS is used most often in cases where sensitive or personal data is being transmitted—usernames and passwords, financial information, and webmail clients are all commonly encrypted. Regular webpages often aren't, though alternate, HTTPS-protected versions of sites like Wikipedia are slowly becoming more common.
HTTPS establishes an encrypted connection between the Web browser you're using and the server you're accessing. Data is encrypted before being sent to the server over the Internet, and the data is only decrypted once it has safely reached the server—the same is also true for information sent from the server back to your browser. In standard "symmetric" encryption, a key used to encrypt and decrypt data is the same. In asymmetric public key cryptography, by contrast, a public key that's available to anyone is used to encrypt data that can't be deciphered without a secret-but-mathematically-related private key. HTTPS uses a combination of the two to keep unauthorized parties from decrypting sensitive data.
Another vital part of the protocol involves verifying that the server and its public key belong to who they say they belong to. An encrypted connection isn't worth much if all of your data is being received and decrypted by someone running a bogus server (a phenomenon known as a "man in the middle" attack in security circles). To properly prove the identity of your Web server (and to verify that your public key belongs to who you say it does), you need a public key certificate signed by a recognized certificate authority (CA). CAs are trusted entities who, for a sometimes hefty fee, will give you a "signed" digital certificate that verifies your identity when browsers visit your site.
Server administrators can still encrypt traffic without coughing up for one of these signed certificates, but these "self-signed" certificates don't do any reliable identity verification and thus are more easily spoofed. Most browsers and other programs are also designed to distrust self-signed certificates specifically because they're easier to fake, and they will generally throw up scary error messages discouraging users from visiting any site that uses them. It's insecure, and it's a bad user experience.
The weakness of this system is that a CA is only as trustworthy as the CA's own security policies make it—if the CA is compromised, every certificate that it has ever issued should also be treated as compromised. That, however, is another article.
With this whole certification process mostly out of the user's hands, the best thing you can do to protect yourself when transmitting private information is to be aware of what sites use HTTPS and what sites don't, and to be on the lookout for properly signed certificates. Most browsers will display an image—generally a padlock icon—in the address bar to denote that you're looking at a secure site. These icons can sometimes be spoofed, so you should always look for the "HTTPS" in the address bar to be sure.
If you ask it to, your browser can also tell you just about everything about the certificate and the encryption algorithms that a given site is using—we'll be using Google Chrome in our screenshots, but this is stuff that just about any browser can do.
Clicking the browser's padlock icon while visiting Facebook, for example, gives us the most relevant information about the certificate and its encryption algorithms: the certificate has been signed by VeriSign and the connection uses TLS 1.1 with 128-bit RC4 encryption. Clicking the Certificate Information link will display even more information about the certificate itself, including its expiration date and more data about the entity the certificate belongs to.
SSL and TLS encryption is all well and good—and use of the protocols is becoming increasingly common—but the fact remains that they can only protect the connection between your computer and one site. Many sites still communicate using plain-old unencrypted HTTP. If you want to protect all of your traffic at once—especially if you're on a public Wi-Fi network where anyone could be trying to intercept your encrypted and unencrypted communications—you might want to protect yourself using a virtual private network (VPN).PHIL LYNOTT, FOUNDER OF THIN LIZZY, died on this day, January 4, 1986. Born in England but raised in Ireland he was the lead singer, bassist and principal songwriter of the band. “Gone too soon” is an understatement – this immense talent was only 36 when he died, thanks to heroin and alcohol abuse.
Thin Lizzy remains one of the most influential bands yet under-appreciated bands; most rock fans don’t know just how influential they were. If you hear a melodic, twin-guitar solo in a hard rock song, odds are good that band loves Thin Lizzy (see: Metallica, Judas Priest for starters).
Most folks know Thin Lizzy for their biggest US hit single, “Boys Are Back In Town” but they had so many other great songs. Two of their best are “Whiskey In The Jar” (covered by Metallica years later) and “Cowboy Song,” the latter being my favorite Lizzy song.
Lynott had a swaggering on-stage presence – the guy had that star quality – and Lizzy was a great live band. Check it out:
My other favorite Thin Lizzy song is “Dedication” – finished and released after Lynott’s death, on the 1991 greatest hits album, Dedication. I LOVE the lyrics and Lynott’s vocals here – this song never fails to lift me up.
AdvertisementsSince 1970, cheese consumption and availability has tripled. Market researchers cheerfully explain the cheese explosion as the natural result of American eating habits. Home cooks have access to resealable bags of shredded cheddar and mozzarella, making cheese an easy addition to many meals.
American have also become much more willing to eat out, and when they do, new Mexican and Italian restaurants are ready with cheese-heavy options. Those same restaurants have also noticed — surprise, surprise — that piling on more cheese is a great way to separate themselves from the competition. Domino’s 2010 redesign of their pizzas added 40 percent more cheese. Just last year, Pizza Hut released their 3-Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza, the first permanent pizza product to be added to the menu in three decades. The selling point? With the help of Dairy Management Inc., Pizza Hut found that Millenials like lots of blended cheese. Diary Management Inc. — also responsible for the “Got Milk” campaign — isn’t a private company, but a marketing creation of the U.S.D.A.
The connection had journalist Michael Moss accusing the government of talking out of both sides of its cheese-filled mouth in a 2010 article for the New York Times. “Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat,” he wrote. “Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese.” The article doesn’t mention one fact that lets some air out of the conspiracy. Dairy Management relies on checkoff fees from dairy farmers to fund marketing campaigns rather than American tax dollars. Those farmers pay with an understanding that Dairy Management will push their products, and in recent years, cheese has been the best most popular vehicle for dairy.
But good marketing isn’t always healthy eating. The Center for Science in the Public Interest calls the shift towards more cheese “bad news for our waistlines and our arteries” in their report card on American eating habits. Americans have been eating less full-fat ice cream and more low-fat (but sugary) yogurt. Taken together, those two trends don’t outweigh our love of cheese. The C.S.P.I. gives our dairy habits a C- compared to their ideal diet. Still, before you cringe at America’s fierce love of cheese (or start looking at the Pizza Hut menu), consider that Greece still holds the top spot for worldwide cheese consumption with 82 pounds per person per year. As you might guess, the most popular cheese in Greece is feta.The Pentagon will send a proposal to the White House within seven days offering recommendations on troop numbers in Afghanistan, military leaders said Thursday.
“We are actually actively looking at adjustments to the approach in Afghanistan right now,” said Theresa Whelan, the Pentagon’s acting assistant defense secretary for special operations.
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"I expect that these proposals will go to the president within the next week and the intent is to do just that, to move beyond the stalemate and also to recognize that Afghanistan is a very important partner for the United States in a very tricky region,” she said before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said in February that he has a “shortfall of a few thousand” troops in Afghanistan.
Senior military leaders also have expressed a need for about 3,000 to 5,000 additional troops, and described the current fight as a stalemate.
Right now, there are about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan on a dual mission of training, advising and assisting Afghan forces in their fight against the Taliban, and conducting counterterrorism missions against groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The train, advise and assist mission is a NATO mission, and Nicholson has said the few thousand troops he is short could come from either the United States or NATO countries.
Speaking alongside Whelan, U.S. Special Operations Command head Gen. Raymond Thomas told lawmakers he did not think more U.S. special operations forces should be sent to Afghanistan and he “an adequate number” of forces on the ground for the counterterrorism mission in the country.
He added that the recommendations for the White House may include changes to the rules of engagement in Afghanistan, and an outline plan for an enduring U.S. presence in the country.
There have been a number of high profile attacks in Afghanistan in the last few months, including an ISIS suicide bombing in Kabul on Wednesday that wounded three U.S. service members, killed eight civilians and injured at least 25 others.
Committee Chairman Sen. 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.) also pointed to the deadly Taliban attack on an Afghan army base in April, which left more than 100 dead.Where does Woody Allen’s newest film, Blue Jasmine, rank among his all-time list of movies? We know it’s good, but how good is it when stacked up against every other film the writer/director has ever made? After seeing Blue Jasmine recently, that’s the question I sought out to answer.
As a die-hard fan — this 1979 Time Magazine featuring Woody hangs framed in my office — I’ve watched most of his films at least two or three times (if not a dozen). I’ve even watched all 45 minutes of “Every Woody Allen Stammer From Every Woody Allen Movie” on YouTube. I also recoil when someone mentions the name Soon-Yi Previn (or now Hoodie Allen). That’s when you know you’ve contracted a bad case of the Woodies. After checking out Blue Jasmine last weekend, I’ve now seen the entire filmography of Allan Stewart Konigsberg, aka Woody Allen, which I suppose makes me a qualified Woodyphile.
This isn’t based on box office success. Or even critical consensus. This is just one fan’s opinion. Here is how I rank Woody Allen’s entire 43 movie collection, from worst to best…
(This list is limited to feature films written and directed by Woody Allen. TV movies, shorts and screenplays he didn’t direct aren’t eligible)
43. Whatever Works (2009)
Ironically, it’s one of the few Woody Allen films that doesn’t work. Whatever. It’s still a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes (31 out of 43 are “Certified Fresh.”). That means half the critics still gave his very worst film a favorable review. Even bad Woody Allen movies are still pretty damn decent. Kinda puts his prolific filmmaking career into perspective.
42, 41, 40 and 39. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), Scoop (2006), Alice (1990) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
This flat foursome proves that Woody should steer clear of hokey parlor tricks like hypnosis and tarot cards. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, in particular, had the potential to be a Match Point companion piece, but perhaps it ends where it should’ve started. Meanwhile, a scene-stealing performance by a young Charlize Theron makes The Curse of the Jade Scorpion worth a watch. Some of Allen’s fantasy efforts are among the greatest American films ever made, but these fantasy storylines feel like elongated skits.
38. September (1987)
He filmed this once, tossed that film in the trash, re-wrote the script and eventually remade it? How bad was it the first time around? Yikes.
37. Shadows and Fog (1991)
This one narrowly avoids falling in the bottom five due to its originality — it really doesn’t resemble anything else in the Woody canon. Nonetheless, it can’t avoid the human cinema curse that is Madonna. It was so mediocre that it bankrupted Orion Pictures. OK, not really, but they did go under right around the time of its release. Shadows and Fog likely worked much better when it was a stageplay called Death.
36. Hollywood Ending (2002)
Téa Leoni. George Hamilton. Treat Williams. Debra Messing. Is that a cast or a missing persons APB? Allen was forced to carry the entire film on his back, which is not his forte. Additionally, its clever ending came too late. At 114 minutes, what could’ve been a lampooning hit morphed into a snoozer of a satire. After doing some research, it appears this film had significant editing problems. It shows. Regardless, you can’t edit out a mediocre cast. Our Leoni going full Hillary Clinton with pantsuit after pantsuit. At least it featured this dialogue exchange, one of Allen’s funniest…
Val: For God sakes, this is a woman I was married to for 10 years. We made love. I’d hold her head over the toilet bowl when she threw up. Lori: From making love with you?
35. What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
A novelty act. About like going to see Master Pancake at the Alamo Drafthouse. Glad I experienced it, but the gimmick wears out its welcome rather quickly after you’ve experienced it a couple times.
34. Anything Else (2003)
On paper, Jason Biggs seemed like a perfect fit for a Woodyesque lead. In practice, the “pie-f**ker” couldn’t fit in the Woodman’s oxfords. Plus, Christina Ricci is just flat out annoying. I’m not jumping on its bandwagon just because Tarantino famously sung its praises. QT was just being quirky. I’d rather watch almost anything else from Allen’s filmography than this regurgitated dud.
33. Celebrity (1998)
Judy Davis putting on an acting clinic as per usual. More young Charlize… dancing with Anthony Mason (Allen is a life-long Knicks fan). Leo going absolutely apesh** for the first time onscreen. A young Sam Rockwell looking like this. Kenneth Branagh was almost Obi-Wan Kenobi. Instead he got the lead role in this middle-of-the-pack Woody title. Which makes sense, given that an average middle-aged man would have to use the force to bed all of those gorgeous women. Anyway, I inexplicably like this movie more than I should.
32, 31. A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982), Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask) (1972)
Sex was always a trending topic in the world of Woody, but homeboy was especially horny until the age of 50. Both of these movies are fine one-night stands, but nothing worth falling head over heels for.
Counting down 30-11 after the jump…An environmental watchdog group is calling attention to what it believes are noise and health concerns in the skies above Beacon Hill. (Photo: KOMO News)
SEATTLE – An environmental watchdog group is calling attention to what it believes are noise and health concerns in the skies above Beacon Hill. Airplanes are landing at Sea-Tac using a different approach that saves fuel for the airlines but environmental activists say at what cost to the community.
This past month, members of Environmental Justice Beacon Hill Seattle have been hosting community meetings in the neighborhood. They believe Beacon Hill is seeing more noise and air pollution under the "Greener Skies" landing changes.
Implemented in 2013, Greener Skies uses satellite technology so jets make a continuous descent at low power instead of the stair-step approach used before. However, on a typical cloudy day, three out of four arriving planes go right over Beacon Hill.
Activists with Environmental Justice are worried about increased asthma rates and respiratory issues in the neighborhood.
A Sea-Tac spokesperson said there's no scientific link between jet exhaust and respiratory issues. However, the airport supports additional research and has contributed money to those efforts.
Sea-Tac also said that Greener Skies has not changed the path of the final approach and planes are not lower to the ground.
Environmental Justice advocates say they just want residents to be informed.POOLER, Ga. - An 80-year-old Florida woman has died after being sickened by fumes at a McDonald's restaurant in south Georgia, authorities said.
Pooler police Chief Mark Revenew said Anne Felton of Ponte Verda, Fla., died early Thursday. She and her husband were customers at the restaurant. An autopsy will be conducted to determine cause of death.
Felton was one of ten taken to the hospital Wednesday after firefighters found two customers unconscious inside a restaurant bathroom and others struggling to breathe. Eight were treated and released and two were admitted for treatment.
Authorities said Wednesday they suspected cleaning chemicals in the restroom were to blame, but the cause was still under investigation.
The restaurant was evacuated but McDonald's later said the restaurant had reopened after authorities deemed it safe.The five-year-long forensic investigation into the long-form birth certificate that President Barack Obama produced in 2011 has finally come to an end. On Thursday the report, issued by the Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office and authored by Sheriff Joe Arpaio (shown) and his chief investigator, Mike Zullo, concluded that it was fraudulent.
Jerome Corsi, the author of Where’s the Birth Certificate? and senior writer at World Net Daily (WND), declared of the investigators, "[They] have done the United States a heroic service, demonstrating by forensic analysis that the long form birth certificate produced in a White House news conference on April 27, 2011, as Barack Obama’s authentic birth certificate is a forgery.”
Utilizing the forensic skills of two separate entities — Reed Hayes, who has been a court-qualified handwriting and document examiner for 40 years and is a board member of the Scientific Association of Forensic Examiners, and Forlabs, an Italian company that specializes in extracting information from multimedia files — the researchers uncovered nine points of forgery between Obama’s long-form birth certificate and that of Joanna Ah’nee, who was born within weeks of Obama’s birth.
Joanna and her sister were born just hours apart in Hawaii in 1961, but their birth certificates contained slight and usual differences between them. However, nine separate points from Joanna’s birth certificate and Obama’s birth certificate were identical, leading the investigators to conclude that those nine points had been lifted and placed on Obama’s certificate.
During the news conference announcing the conclusion of their investigation, Arpaio's chief investigator Mike Zullo stated, “The nail in the coffin that proves that [Obama’s] Certificate of Live Birth is inauthentic is the exact lineup of numerous entries on both [certificates].”
As we noted in an article on September 29, the investigation wasn’t about where Obama was born. It was all about whether Obama’s birth certificate was authentic. As Arpaio told a crowd, “I don’t care where he’s born. We are looking at a forged document. Period.”
All of which raises numerous questions. What if the president of the United States committed fraud? What would the ramifications of that discovery have on his administration and on the numerous bills he signed into law? What about his executive orders? Would they become unenforceable?
On the other hand, what if Arpaio’s investigation concluding that Obama’s birth certificate was a fake turned out to be incorrect? What then? Here’s the sheriff of Arizona’s largest sheriff’s department, charging the president with fraud, and it turns out later that he was wrong? What then?
Aren’t these reasonable questions for the national news media to ask? And if they don't ask, what does that say about them?
For Arpaio, it's simple: “I plan on turning over [the results of] this investigation this month to the federal government. And Congress. And [I] hope Congress will pass a law [that] the president should be vetted. [It’s] common sense.”
Added Arpaio: “Maybe some members of Congress will hold some hearings, open to the public, regarding this matter.… If they can hold hearings … on underinflated footballs, why can’t [they] hold one on this?”
Photo: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Obama Birth Certificate Still Being InvestigatedGreen Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) takes down Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game. Credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff
By of the
Phoenix— Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said he doesn't care what others say about why he missed the final three series in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game.
He said a combination of injuries forced him to sit out and it wasn't until he felt like he was physically able to play again that he re-entered in the Packers' 28-22 loss to the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago.
"People said I was exhausted or didn't want to be out there," Matthews said during a promotional stop he was making here on behalf of Verizon Wireless. "I'll let the fans or Seattle fans say what they want. It was a medley of things catching up with me.
"I had just taken a big hit of a tight end coming across the middle, my ribs were hurting pretty good from that late hit on the sack as well as my knee too was acting up. I needed a minute to get my bearings straight. By the time we were out there for that last drive to kick a field goal and tie it I felt ready to go back out there."
Matthews said the rib injury occurred when Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy drove into him after he had sacked quarterback Russell Wilson with 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Sweezy was flagged for unnecessary roughness and later fined for the hit.
Matthews said Sweezy's helmet hit him in the side.
"I felt that one," he said.
In the meantime, Matthews said, a knee injury that popped up was causing him trouble. He didn't say whether he came into the game with it — he was not listed on the injury report — or just suffered it while on the field. He was seen on the sideline during the two fourth-quarter Seahawks touchdown drives trying to loosen up and then standing with his helmet in his hand.
He insisted that he couldn't play and would have if he could have.
"Everybody who has watched my game, and knows what I bring to the table, I'm out there 100% of the plays that I can be out there," Matthews said. "If I'm not out there it's for a good reason. I'll let the fans say what they want, the naysayers, but at the same time I wasn't in a place where I could go back in, and when I was ready I went back out there.
"My knee was definitely hurting at the time, but at that time in the season, that point in the game, too, a couple things had caught up to me. Like I said, I'm a pretty tough guy, I would be out there if I were able to."
Matthews said that when the game went into overtime, he felt good enough to play again.
The three series Matthews missed resulted in a Wilson interception, a Wilson 1-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion, and a 24-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run. The final series, the Seahawks were in their no-huddle offense and the Packers played with Nick Perry and Julius Peppers outside and A.J. Hawk and Sam Barrington inside.
None of the injuries Matthews was suffering from were long-lasting. He felt good enough the following week to play in the Pro Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Matthews said the way the Packers played defensively, he thought they were going to win. He said things happened fast, but he thought once overtime started they were going to win.
"It's tough," he said. "I still would have liked to have a chance to tie it up and keep that thing going."Competitive NA League of Legends has been quite stagnant in recent months in terms of support picks. The same picks are regurgitated each and every week without much thought for why certain champs are being picked over others. Outside of Riot introducing new viable support champions like Thresh and Nami, the supports we see are generally Lulu, Sona, Zyra, Janna and the occasional Fiddlesticks. The melee supports of S1 and S2 are not played as much because the risk of running your duo lane into a 2v1 where the jungler shows up results in the team with a ranged support being at a distinct advantage for taking the first tower. Melee supports are useless in taking towers when against the top laner and jungle combo, which is a common occurrence in today’s game. I will be going over all of the supports that I think are worth playing and talk about their role.
Alistar-
Laning: Insane against almost every current support pick in the game, even Lulu will have problems against Alistar depending on the AD matchup.
Versatility: Can be used in wombo, pick, and even split push comps. Can initiate/disengage/zone/peel.
Downsides: Almost useless in the 2v1 scenario where the jungler joins the top laner.
Reasons popular/unpopular: Hard to pick up for most support players as his playstyle is one dimensional but incredibly delicate if you are to utilize his skillset to his potential.
Opinion on champ usage: Ali should be a popular support pick. He is simply too risky for supports to pick up as they may dedicate time to him and find out they just aren’t Alistar players.
Blitz |
if we are willing to pay the up-front costs or not.
There is a little card evaluation trap you can fall into here, and I want to warn against it. It's easy to look at Vessel of Ephemera and add up the casting cost plus activation cost and surmise that we are paying a whopping five mana for two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying. And while this is true in some ways, it's not the way you should approach evaluation this type of card.
This type of card comes in what we call an installment plan. It's deceptively powerful to pay two mana up front, then be able to spend three mana later to crack this Vessel, at instant speed no less. What we have to do is balance the fact that it doesn't directly affect the board the turn you play it with these other facts:
It doesn't cost as much as it looks like it does, thanks to the installment plan. It gets some utility back from being possible to activate at instant speed.
So how good is this Vessel?
It's pretty darn good—1/1 flying creatures are always underrated, and while the price isn't amazing here, I think it's well worth it. Add to that the fact that just the potential for two Spirits can seriously mess with combat and you have a nice little card here.
Let's move on to the next vessel, Vessel of Paramnesia.
You can see that these get interesting right away. This one has the same up-front cost, but a much cheaper activation cost. But it doesn't affect the board in any meaningful way even after you activate it.
You do get to draw a card, however. And drawing cards is proven to be sweet.
My guess is that you'll be targeting yourself more often than not with this Vessel, as there is a mechanic called delirium in the set that rewards you for having different types of cards in your graveyard. Since the Vessel is an enchantment itself and goes to the graveyard as part of the activated ability, you only need to hit three other card types to activate delirium.
Vessel of Paramnesia may not seem to be super powerful on the surface, but it is a good delirium enabler, and I think it will see more play than it seems like it would.
Next is Vessel of Malignity
Another Vessel, another set of mana costs. This one exiles cards from your opponent's hand. Even though it looks pretty straightforward, a few things come to mind.
One is that the cards are exiled. This is generally preferable to discard, as the cards are just gone for good. Here in this set, though, it seems vastly preferable. Not only are you avoiding the awkwardness of enabling delirium for your opponent, you are also not allowing them to use the madness ability on their cards. So exiling is good.
The other thing that comes to mind is that there will be times when you want to save this Vessel in your hand for a time when you can cast and activate it in the same turn. Showing your opponent that you have the ability to take two cards from their hand lets them play around it in a very real way and should be avoided if possible.
Vessel of Volatility is next.
You've already seen Vessel of Volatility previewed last week on Gathering Magic, but in the context of Pauper. Let's talk about it in Limited.
Vessel of Volatility lets you gain a temporary boost in mana, for the cost of a card. While this can be useful, the problem lies in the fact that the cost of a card is far too high a price to pay for an effect like this. I could try to construct scenarios in which this card is playable in the format, but my guess is that they won't come up often enough to be relevant and that you'd be better off just ignoring this card entirely.
Maybe a Constructed player can find a home for it. Like, for example, Pauper.
Last on the list is Vessel of Nascency.
And here we have the cheapest, and perhaps most interesting, of the bunch. The gap in Limited between one mana and two mana for a card like this is massive. The reason is simple: you almost never have anything relevant to do on the first turn of the game, but you almost always have something relevant to do on the second turn.
As far as immediate impact goes, Vessel of Nascency isn't high on the list, but it still has a lot to offer down the line. First, the list of things you can get from the top four cards of your library means that you will hit effectively 100% of the time in Limited. And that makes it better than "draw a card," which is saying something.
The other really important thing to note is that whatever you don't grab goes to the graveyard, not the bottom of your library. Again, we are looking at an insane delirium enabler here, as it puts an enchantment plus three other cards in your graveyard while getting you what you need in hand.
I gotta say, for a card that looks so innocuous, this one has my attention. I am prone to "durdle" around a lot (this just means do a whole lot of nothing) in slower formats, and this seems like a perfect durdle card.
Wrapping Up
So there they are, the Vessels of Innistrad. I have to say, while they aren't the flashiest, these are cards I will have my eye on, as they look like synergy cards to me. And if our revisit to Innistrad is anything like our last visit here, synergy cards will play a very important role in how this format plays out.
Time will tell!
@Marshall_LRSo, it seems that Republicans are responding to the devastating defeat in Alabama – which is part of a sustained pattern of underperformance in special elections, demonstrating that bad polls reflect reality, not bad polling, by … doubling down on a massively unpopular tax plan, whose main focus is on cutting corporate taxes.
In fact, they’re rushing to jam the thing through before Doug Jones can be certified, in a stunning act of hypocrisy from the same people who demanded that Obamacare wait until Scott Brown was seated and held up a Supreme Court seat for a year. It’s outrageous. But it also looks like really bad politics, especially given what we know is coming: calls next year for cuts in popular social programs, because of a deficit Republicans just voted to explode. So what are they thinking?
I don’t know for sure, but I’d suggest three possible factors in this mad rush.
First, Republicans may be suffering from an officeholder’s version of the Pundit’s Fallacy: “belief that what a politician needs to do to improve his or her political standing is do what the pundit wants substantively.” I.e., “Obama can win the midterms by endorsing Bowles-Simpson,” which the vast majority of voters never heard of.
Today’s Republicans are apparatchiks, who have spent their whole lives inside an intellectual bubble in which cutting taxes on corporations and the rich is always objective #1. Their party used to know that it won elections despite its economic program, not because of it – that the whole game was to win by playing on social issues, national security, and above all on racial antagonism, then use the win to push fundamentally unpopular economic policies. But over the years the party has seemed increasingly out of touch with that reality, imagining that if only it preaches the gospel of supply-side economics loudly enough voters will be won over.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Witnesses said the hole was slowly getting bigger
A huge hole has appeared in one of Manchester city centre's busiest roads after heavy rainfall.
The hole, on the eastbound carriageway of the Mancunian Way, is 40ft (12m) deep and at least 15ft (4.5m) wide.
Both carriageways have been fenced off between the Macdonald Hotel, near Piccadilly Station, and Fairfield Street.
It is believed a large water pipe beneath the road had eroded, causing the road surface to cave in.
About two weeks' worth of rain fell in about six hours in the city on Friday.
Image copyright MEN SYNDICATION Image caption Mancunian Way, in Manchester city centre, has been closed in both directions
Geology specialist Dr Nigel Cassidy, of Keele University, said: "There is soft sediment in there [under the road] and when it gets wet, as we had with this rainfall, the sediment gets weaker.
"It can wash away sand and you end up with a small cavity opening up, particularly if there is a broken sewer," he added.
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Manchester City Council said the road could remain closed over the weekend "depending on the extent of the issue".
Big match delays
The closure is likely to add to greater congestion on Sunday when Manchester City play Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. The Mancunian Way is one of the main routes to the ground from the west.
Witnesses said the hole had increased in size and part of the pavement has now eroded.
Council and United Utilities officers are currently assessing the scene.
Any extended road closure is likely to cause extra congestion the city. There are extensive roadworks near its main coach station as well as a closure on Oxford Road near the university.
The road may remain closed for several days, a council spokesman said. Traffic is being diverted.These Toronto Blue Jays fans had the hottest ticket in town for the big series against the Kansas City Royals.
Or so they thought.
But longtime Jays season ticket holders Peter and Sue Sisam found out membership does not always have its privileges unless, of course, you are the commissioner of Major League Baseball.
Those who watch a lot of Jays games on television may recognize the Sisams. They are a couple who have sat in row one of Section 124 — next to the Blue Jays dugout — for decades.
“I was the team’s 51st season ticket holder in 1977,” said Peter Sisam, who wears the blue-and-white colours as proudly as anybody.
The couple rarely miss a game and are often in their $225 seats for batting practice.
But not Monday or Tuesday — and probably not Wednesday for Game 5.
“They took our seats from us,” said Sue before Game 4. “Someone just said Major League Baseball needs them.”
They lost both their usual two seats in the first row and a second pair they own in the third row.
“We have no idea why,” said Sue.
The couple were given seats about 12 rows up.
“They are still good seats but …,” teased Peter.
No matter what, they are not next to the field and the couple pay handsomely to be in that spot.
It’s a particularly tough pill to swallow when for nine innings your beloved seats had no one sitting in them. In Game 3, they sat empty.
“Why would they move us? I wrote a letter to the commissioner of baseball and sent the letter by special delivery so he would have to sign for it,” said Peter Sisam, a long-time executive with IMG and once ranked 19th on the Globe and Mail’s 50 most powerful people in Canadian sports.
In this situation, he seemed powerless. He has yet to hear back from the commissioner.
“Since they were not being used, we didn’t understand why we couldn’t just sit in them?” said Sue.
The mystery, however, began to reveal itself once Game 4 got going Tuesday in a disastrous outing for the Blue Jays.
Turns out sitting in the Sisams’ usual seats was Major League Baseball’s brass from New York, including Commissioner Rob Manfred. Sitting directly behind him was Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who is the honourary president of the American League.
“It’s the commissioner’s box,” explained legendary MLB spokesman Phyllis Merhige who has worked more than 30 American League Championship Series in her 35 years with Major League Baseball. “It’s the kind of thing that is put in every city during the playoffs.”
The problem was “Frank (Robinson) got into town late and didn’t get to the (first) game,” she said, adding the commissioner was also not on hand.
But they were there on Tuesday. I teased Jays President Paul Beeston that since Cliff Pennington is being used as a pitcher, perhaps he might want to see if 80-year-old Robinson is available to play for the Jays Thursday.
Meanwhile, lovers of baseball and hugely loyal to the Blue Jays, the Sisams are of the ilk that they would never mind giving up their seat for such important people in the game. It’s just that they didn’t know and no one told them.
The Sisams are generous and charitable people. Peter has served as a director of the incredible Blue Jays Care charity.
Beeston got involved and talked with MLB about coming up with a way of thanking the Sisams while making sure the big league baseball brass is comfortable.
The (Sisams) are great fans,” said Beeston, chomping on his famous Montecristo cigar.
They are fans who have the best seats in the house — unless the commissioner of baseball is in town.BUCKTOWN — After two years of construction, a $22.5 million reconfiguration of the oft-clogged Damen, Elston and Fullerton intersection is complete, city and state officials said Monday at a celebratory gathering.
"Today, we cut the ribbon on four or five decades of bottleneck," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at the intersection, which sees 70,000 cars pass through daily and is one of Chicago's most congestion-plagued traffic hot spots, according to the city.
Emanuel was joined by Chicago Department Of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld, Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins and a host of workers from Midtown Athletic Club, a private sports complex affected by the construction.
Formerly a three-way intersection, Elston Avenue was rerouted around the intersection. Work began in the summer of 2015. Waits to make a turn at the intersection were as long as seven minutes, city officials said back in 2011, when the reconfiguration was announced.
Scheinfeld described the reconfiguration as "transformational."
"It's no secret that this used to be one of the most crash-prone and frustrating, congested intersections for daily residents or people coming though on an irregular basis," Scheinfeld said.
The fix has reduced travel times and driver frustration.
The project realigned the intersection by building a new section of Elston Avenue that connects to Fullerton Avenue east of the original intersection. The realignment allows southeast bound Elston Avenue traffic to avoid the Damen and Fullerton intersection, significantly reducing congestion.
Check out a Before/After of the reconfiguration:
The new stretch of Elston Avenue includes two through-lanes for car traffic and protected bike lanes in both directions.
Improvements also include the resurfacing of all streets within the project limits, widening Damen Avenue to improve traffic flow and better accommodate bikes, and widening the north sidewalk on Fullerton Avenue.
Emanuel, who thanked "impacted business" and motorists for their patience during the construction, called the project "a win-win," saying it created jobs and improved traffic flow.
Some 162 new trees will be planted along the intersection this fall, Michael Claffey, a CDOT spokesman, said.
Claffey said 50 of those 162 new trees already have been planted.
The old section of Elston Avenue south of Fullerton Avenue was renamed North Elston Court and has been reconstructed with access at Fullerton, and with "bumpouts," or parts of the concrete sidewalk pushed out — to protect pedestrians and slow down vehicles, Claffey said.
The project also created room for commercial development on both the north side and the south side of Fullerton east of Damen Avenue.
Vienna Beef relocated its plant to Bridgeport because of the construction and wants to bring a grocery store, shopping and dining complex to its former factory.
The massive intersection remake required the city to execute eminent domain for properties that were demolished because the newly rerouted Elston Avenue runs through the sites.
Whirlyball moved to a larger facility at 1823 W. Webster Ave. and a Dunkin Donuts building was demolished and not replaced, among other changes.
"Forward-thinking improvements and investments like these will continue to strengthen our infrastructure and improve the lives of those who call Chicago home," said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) in a prepared statement.
The $22.5 million construction cost was paid for through federal, state, and local funds and was managed by CDOT in coordination with the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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Rebekah Scheinfeld, CDOT commissioner, speaks about intersection completion #DamenElstonFullerton A post shared by alisa (@alisahauser1) on Aug 14, 2017 at 6:20am PDTEros International
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma grabbed headlines when he accompanied Vilasrao Deshmukh, then Maharashtra chief minister, to one of the sites of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
There was great anticipation when his feature film “The Attacks of 26/11” released this week. But the movie, which is based on the attacks in which 166 people were killed, didn’t quite live up to expectations.
A few critics applauded the movie, but others thought it was “insensitive” or too “gory.” Here’s a roundup of what they said:
“The Attacks of 26/11 gave me a headache.” That’s how Vaihayasi Pande Daniel summed up the film in her review on Rediff.com.
Ms. Daniel, who claims to have reported extensively on the aftermath of 26/11, said Mr. Varma had “such a large canvas to play out this story” – from survivor accounts to acts of bravery by citizens -- but focused only on “the blood and the gore, crowned at the end with Ajmal Kasab’s hanging and his dead feet swinging above Mumbai’s skyline.”
“Could you not have done it more sensitively,” she wrote in her review, describing the film as “macabre, morbid, blood thirsty and stomach turning.”
Though Ms. Daniel was impressed by the actors’ performances, particularly Nana Patekar who plays a Mumbai cop, she felt the sloppy script made “a total mockery” of their characters.
“Varma’s version of 26/11 was truly more gory than even the real events that occurred in Mumbai,” the reviewer said, giving the film just half-a-star out of five.
“An over decorated half baked dish,” is how film critic Tushar Joshi described the movie in a Daily News & Analysis review.
He said it was “a confused piece of work,” which had “neither the well researched methodology of a documentary nor the dramatics of a feature film.”
The cinematography, he said, was “so mechanical and monotonous” that it failed to make an impression. The “tiresome” narrative didn’t impress him either.
The film has “the right ingredients and toppings but lacks the taste to titillate your appetite,” Mr. Joshi said. He gave the film two stars out of five.
Not everyone agreed.
Resham Sengar of Zee News said the film was “a moving sketch of the dreadful terror attack.”
“The movie superbly throws light on the many aspects of terrorism,” he wrote.
He said Mr. Verma “sensibility” weaved a “crisp” narrative around the attack, adding that it was “a comeback of sorts” for Mr. Varma, whose recent action-dramas have failed to make a big impact at the box office.
Like Ms. Daniel, he was impressed with Mr. Patekar’s performance, saying he pulled off a “powerful” yet “thoughtful” role “like a pro.”
He gave the movie four stars out of five.
“The blood and gore on the screen might put off the squeamish, but the often graphic depiction of the violence only serves to highlight the sheer brutality of the attack,” said NDTV’s Bollywood critic Saibal Chatterjee.
The critic felt Mr. Varma tweaked the narrative to “inject an element of drama,” but overall he commended him for “impressively” balancing realism and dramatization, and for painting a rather “precise” account of the ghastly incident.
Mr. Chatterjee scored the film high on performances, action sequences and script, but thought it fell short in trying to connect emotionally with the audience.
“Ram Gopal Varma is still not back to his best and ‘The Attacks of 26/11’ isn’t an unqualified triumph. But it is certainly watchable,” Mr. Chatterjee concluded, giving the film two-and-a-half stars out of five.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.The past couple seasons, the Raiders have not been able to get consistent play from the tackle spots. Donald Penn had a great season at left tackle in 2014, but the right tackle spot was a revolving door. Last season the Raiders had two decent options at right tackle before losing Menelik Watson to injury and having Austin Howard take over and start most of the season.
At midseason, the Raiders offensive line was performing considerably well across the board. But over the latter half of the season, it faltered. Penn appeared to be wearing down first, then Austin Howard was injured and the right side went as well.
What the Raiders are left with is again hoping former second round pick Menelik Watson can finally get healthy, and if not, Austin Howard can once again step up and start at right tackle. Having those two options actually makes the right tackle spot somewhat secure for the time being. But Penn has completed his 2-year deal and the team must consider locking up a left tackle long term.
There is no doubt Cordy Glenn is the top left tackle who is set to hit free agency. But, there is no way the Bills let him out of their sight. He will either be slapped with the Franchise Tag or be stay in Buffalo long term. So, probably best to put him out of your mind.
Here are the top tackle targets for the Raiders this free agency period.
Not once during his six seasons has anyone questioned his ability to stay at left tackle, though to be fair, the Seahawks have not had another notable tackle or guard during the last six seasons; the ones that they did have -- James Carpenter, Justin Britt, Breno Giacomini -- all underwhelmed. If any of them dominated, it would be interesting to see if they would have done something with Okung earlier because while he's been pretty good, he still leaves something to be desired. He's been one of the highest paid players on the team from day one and missed 24 regular season games due to injury. He's also had a problem with dumb penalties like false starts. And the truth is that while Okung is far from perfect, he's still probably one of the top 12 left tackles in the NFL, which is very valuable these days. Okung is going to be 29, but he should have 3-4 more viable years left, meaning he will want to get more money upfront. However, there could be an issue with savvy negotiations from his camp: He is his own camp. Okung is representing himself and he's already made one mistake by mass e-mailing all 31 other teams before free agency. - Kenneth Arthur, Field Gulls
There is a more positive way of looking at Okung's injury history. Only once in the past five seasons has he missed more than three games in a season. In 2012, when he played 15 games, he was a Pro Bowler. The one season among them in which he missed 8 games was in 2013 when he returned by midseason and was the starting left tackle on their Super Bowl run. He was again their starting left tackle the following season when they returned to the Super Bowl. He has started every Seahawks playoff game in his career - a total of 12, with an 8-4 mark and a Super Bowl ring to show for it.
Last season, Kelechi started the season slow while playing through a knee injury. In Week 14, with LT Eugene Monroe proving injury prone and unreliable, the Ravens kicked Osemele out to left tackle, the position he played at Iowa State. He fared reasonably well over the final 4 games at the toughest position on the line, helping to give the Ravens backup QBs time in the pocket and establish a better run game with mauling guards Ryan Jensen and Marshall Yanda. Pro Football Focus rated Osemele with a 93.0 grade in 2015 and rank him as the 3rd best offensive unrestricted free agent behind only WR Alshon Jeffery and LT Cordy Glenn. The Ravens front office did begin contract discussions with Osemele before the late season shift to Left Tackle, but GM Ozzie Newsome admitted at the State of the Ravens Press Conference that they had the same discussions with WR Torrey Smith and OLB/DE Pernell McPhee last year before they signed with other teams. The Ravens live by the "Right Player, Right Price" strategy. - Vasilis Lericos, Baltimore Beatdown
Just 26 years of age and has the versatility the Raiders covet. They could sign him as a left tackle with the flexibility to move him to right tackle - where he played his rookie season - or either guard position. Right now, he is coming off playing some pretty good left tackle so the Raiders should be among those teams giving him a long hard look for that spot. He has a couple NFL contracts left in him and is just entering his prime.
Donald Penn, Raiders
The primary concern about Penn is if his struggles late last season was a sign of his decline. He will be 33 years old and the Raiders must begin planning for the future at the position. Should neither of the above players become an option, re-signing Penn could be a smart move, providing the team has the flexibility to move on from him at any time without too much dead money left behind. Then they could see if a good tackle is on the board when they select in the draft - whether at 14 overall or later - and see how the competition plays out.
Technically putting Long on the "Wish list" is not entirely accurate. He'd be more of a contingency plan. This former All Pro and 4-time Pro Bowler has started just 7 games over the past couple seasons. In 2014, it was injury that had him out and the Rams moved on from him. Last season with the Falcons, he simply couldn't break the starting lineup, appearing in just 4 games with no starts as a swing tackle. At 30 years of age, and with his former elite status, some team is going to give him a shot. Unless a team is truly desperate, they won't be looking to him as their only option. He is at very least a backup swing tackle, but should it work out and he can stay healthy, he could be a valuable addition. It would be akin to when the Raiders added J'Marcus Webb late in free agency last season on a cheap one-year deal.
Follow @LeviDamien'Widget' - W-I-D-G-E-T. Widget. It has a nice, friendly sound to it. It sounds a bit like it should be a small animal or bird. But it isn’t. What is it then?
A widget can be many things, but most recently the word has come to describe small applications which run on your computer. You might have been given the option to download a widget and wondered what it meant. Widgets can have all sorts of functions – you can download a weather widget, so you can predict the weather (never an exact science in the UK!) or a calendar widget, or a twitter widget. You name it, there’s probably a widget out there which does it.
I first remember hearing the word in the early 1990s from a series of beer adverts. The great thing about the beer’s new can was that it had a widget inside it. This meant that when you opened the can, the beer came out like a draught beer, the beer you get on tap in a pub. How it did this was a mystery to most people. All we knew was that it contained a widget.
'Widget' is thought to have come from the word 'gadget'. The original meaning of this seems to be to describe something that you couldn’t think of the word for. According to some etymologists (people who research the origins of words), 'widget' was a variation of the word 'gadget' which arose in the 1920s or 1930s in the US. Before this, the word 'gadget' seems to have been used by British sailors in the mid to late 19th century to describe something which they had forgotten the word for. Used in this way it may have come from a French word ‘gachette’, meaning a type of lock mechanism. Nobody really seems sure. What we can say though, about both ‘widget’ and ‘gadget’ is that they are normally used for something which is not easy to define exactly, something usually mechanical or more recently in relation to computers.
One of the more intriguing possible origins of the word ‘widget’ can be found in the Routledge dictionary of historical slang which lists the word ‘wifflow-gadget’. The meaning of this and another nice expression ‘hook-me-dinghy’ is apparently ‘anything whose right name has temporarily slipped one’s mind’.
Widgetry, the art of designing widgets, has given rise to a couple more new words, for example, 'widgeteer' – a person who designs widgets, and 'to widgetize' – the process of turning something into a widget.Update: 12/18/2015 at 2:00 p.m.
Starting next week on Dec. 22, Xbox fans can take advantage of Xbox Store’s biggest sale ever, Countdown. The sale will offer 17 days of great deals on hundreds of games, movies & TV shows and apps, including daily and weekly offers counting down to the New Year and continuing through Jan. 7.
For the first time ever, all Xbox fans can get great deals on the greatest games lineup-Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and Rare Replay-plus, join Xbox Live Rewards to earn rewards credits. In addition, there will be deals on a variety of blockbuster titles such as Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and more. Xbox One owners can take advantage of discounts on more than 10 Backward Compatibility games offered during the sale.
The sale includes deals for both Xbox One and Xbox 360 digital games, with up to 40 to 60 percent off, and some deals even more than 60 percent off. Xbox Live Gold members will save up to an additional 10 percent on top of the game discounts, so now is a great time to go Gold and reap the benefits.
Plus, there will be deals on hit Movies & TV shows such as “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Archer” seasons one through five, and hundreds more. During the sale, Apps such as Sling TV, Crunchyroll and CBS All Access are all offering exclusive one-month free trials.
Combined with deals on Xbox One console bundles,available for $50 off, starting at $299 through Dec. 26, and more great game discounts on the way, there’s never been a better time to pick up an Xbox One.
Visit the Countdown sale on Xbox.com as well as MajorNelson.com starting Dec. 22 to view the offers. Game on and happy holidays.Sarah Silverman, Paul Rodriguez, George Lopez and Jeff Garlin are among the comics scheduled to perform on Tuesday for a fundraiser for Bernie Sanders at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood.
Organizers said a second 5 p.m. show was added over the weekend after demand was so high for an 8 p.m. show. Tickets start at $50 per perform, with $500 to co-host and $1,000 to host.
The event is being organized by Artists for Bernie, and will be livestreamed on the Laugh Factory YouTube page.
Laugh Factory founder Jamie Masada said that what drew him to Sanders was when he watched one of his speeches and “he was talking about the poor and the disadvantaged.” He cited the increasing numbers of homeless people who turn out for dinners that the Laugh Factory has provided on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Nobody is talking about it,” Masada said. “But he said, ‘We need to help the poor people.'”
Sanders will not be present for the event, as he is campaigning in Iowa in advance of the Feb. 1 caucus. He was in Los Angeles in October for a series of fundraisers, including an event at Avalon Hollywood where he was introduced by Seth MacFarlane.5 minutes
Welcome to the 21st century – a century defined by growing technology, high rise buildings, a fast-paced lifestyle, booming market growth, expanding career options and last but not the least, strong-willed women who are, well, stronger than the Hulk.
As a woman belonging to this century, one might find it almost insulting to themselves if someone were to suggest that the only way to score a date or find a partner is if men make the first move. And before you get the wrong idea, this has nothing to do with feminism and sexism. This has everything to do with one discovering oneself and being an individual who can get what she wants to when she wants to.
When asked, most women today admit to having asked the man out first or having made the first move. At a popular hangout joint, one frequented by youngsters and adults alike, one can sit back and notice the patterns of social interaction amongst the various groups. A bunch of women out for ladies’ night, giggling while “not-so-subtly” eyeing men, the group of young adults daring each other to “get a number”, the solo single male, who is offering to buy a woman surrounded by her friends a drink, and the lioness of a woman who confidently walks up to the guy, leaving her friends behind and asking him if he would like to join her for a drink. While the occasional friend looks on with awe and shock at her friend’s bold move, the others laugh and pat her on the back.
Consider this another situation:
A man and woman who have recently gotten acquainted with one another meet often and hang out as friends do and discover that there is an unspoken level of attraction between them. What is the assumption most people would make?
The popular opinion will state that the man might make the first move to express his interest in his female companion and then move ahead. But then, the woman thinks to herself, “What if I make the first move?” and then goes on to reach out to him in a chain of events that may or may not result in a relationship.
In Indian society, one that is by a majority a patriarchal society, a marriage proposal, arranged or love, is one that is initiated either by the man or the man’s family. Either the man goes down on his knees or his parents carry forward the proposal to the woman and her family. But what if the modern woman prefers to go down on one knee and wishes to go see the man and his family with her family in tow?
Because tides are changing and more women are stepping up to the plate to ask the man they love to marry them. And it isn’t weird at all.
But what about the singular alpha male? How does he perceive this turn of events? Is his masculinity threatened? Does it become an ego issue? While most men stand divided on the issue, there is a large percentage that likes a woman who takes charge and makes the first move. The reasons they state for this is that they are more attracted to women who are strong-willed, courageous and assertive because they like a woman who goes after what she wants regardless of what society thinks and does. Some men seem to prefer to be the one to court the woman and pursue her, which is fine as well because, for every woman who wishes to take charge, there is another woman who prefers to be pursued.
So then, why does it become important to discuss if men should always make the first move?
This is because in a seemingly patriarchal society, a woman making a move that is traditionally made by men, be it in terms of choosing a tow typically chosen by a boy, choosing to pursue higher education, choosing her own partner or perhaps not choosing a partner at all, choosing to be the breadwinner of the family etc., is a challenging notion.
But when there is no opposition from either side, why is the society so taken aback by a woman’s inclination to make such a bold move and a man’s lack thereof? Because change is scary. A tidal wave of change threatens people and makes them wonder if they too will be coerced into accepting this change and utilizing it.
The fact is – You are you. You are unique. You are free to commandeer your own will. No one should have to follow the herd. And that is how it is when it comes to women making the first move. There are just some who prefer to break the traditional mold and do as they please, even if it means going down on one knee. So men and women, don’t be afraid to make that first move. No one cares who wears the pants at the end of the day. Because hey! No matter who makes it, it’s beneficial to both, isn’t it?
Do you have relationship issues? Are you finding it difficult to deal with it yourself? Are you confused whom to talk to about it? Don’t worry we are here. Talk to our experts at YourDOST and seek guidance for your queries and issues.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
FIFA 14 players will now be able to have their very own slow-motion replay with the Xbox One.
The creators of the football video game, EA, have revealed that Microsoft's new console will automatically record highlights of games.
Sportra report that the Xbox One will automatically record key events in the game, such as scoring a goal and good saves.
There will be a notification telling players that the action was recorded, and it will then be available to view from the Xbox menu.
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the other getting beaten into health was still something to think about.
[Echidona: Unfortunately, regardless of what I was when I was alive, I cannot interfere with the real world after death. So, inviting you into my dream is already quite an exception]
[Subaru: I know I know. I just thought I should try anyway. Honestly, just having you to listen to me is already more than enough of a salvation for me]
At the very least, having finally let go of the secret he had been holding inside for so long, he was feeling a little further away from mental collapse. On top of that, he had managed to clear up some of his suspicions about the Witch of Envy as well.
As for the parts that were still mysteries, he decided not to think about them for now.
Instead,
[Subaru: Can I ask some other questions about Return by Death?]
[Echidona: I could only answer with speculations from the extent of my knowledge. If you are fine with that, then sure]
Resuming a pretentious air, Echidona said this as a preface.
The expression on her face was almost reminiscent of some big-shot figure, but deep down, she must be thoroughly enjoying these questions and answers seeing she was impatiently tapping her feet on the grass in anticipation of Subaru’s words while fiddling her fingers in her own hair.
For someone who was supposed to be the Incarnation of the Thirst for Knowledge, she was really quite predictable. Is it really alright for someone like that to be a Witch? Subaru thought in a corner of his head.
[Subaru: Occasionally when I Return by Death, the place where I revive at would be changed. So far, there’s been…… six places, I think? I’ve been revived at different location and their respective times. So… I want to know about the conditions for the SAVEPOINTS to change]
[Echidona: “Save points”…… you mean the change in the places where you revive?]
[Subaru: Basically, once it changes, I can’t go back to the previous point. If two days ago was a savepoint, then once it changes to yesterday I can’t go back to the day before anymore. Do you know what’s the mechanism behind this?]
To Subaru, this question was just as vital as the limit on the number of returns, if not more so.
The changes in the savepoints――was an unknown aspect of Return by Death for which Subaru couldn’t find a single relevant condition.
[Subaru: I can die and come back…… but it’s not like I intend to naively go around thinking I can die as much I want. But while I don’t intend to…… when it’s the only thing I can rely on, I’ll rely on it without hesitation. But…]
What would Subaru do when he falls into a situation which even his death couldn’t salvage?
The image of the unconscious Rem lying in her bed flickered across Subaru’s mind.
After parting at the end of the battle with the White Whale, she was supposed to join him again once he had defeated Petelgeuse, and yet, Subaru couldn’t save her even through Return by Death.
He could never forget the instant he thrust a knife into his own throat at the sleeping girl’s side.
Even now, he couldn’t believe that he had had the will to act on that short-circuited impulse to take his own life, crushed by despair. Or, perhaps, it was precisely because he had lost the will to go on that he took his own life.
With blood leaking from the hole in his throat, in pain and suffocation, Subaru died.
And when he opened his eyes, he found himself returned to only a few minutes before he pierced his throat.
He had never hated a savepoint update as much as he did then.
If it meant not losing Rem, Subaru would have challenged the White Whale and the madman as many times as he must.
No matter how many times he would have to die, how many times he would be crushed, he would have challenged again.
[Echidona: The circumstances of those “save point” changes, could you tell me in a little more detail?]
[Subaru: Ah, aah…… right. I’ll start with the first savepoint then…]
Recalling the memories of what he was being asked, Subaru gave a brief explanation of each of his Return by Deaths, along with the times and places he returned to.
That is to say, the majority of the experience of his life in the Parallel World up to now.
Even though it was the shortened version, getting through the story of the eventful two months still took up what felt like an hour.
[Subaru: So now, it’s inside the Tomb…… fixed right after the end of the first Trial. Going by what you said earlier, this time was the same as well]
[Echidona: …………]
[Subaru: Did that give you anything? One time, I was pretty convinced of a crazy theory that old uncles are savepoints, you know]
For whatever reason, Kadomon, the scar faced uncle in the fruit shop in the Capital, was twice selected to be Subaru’s savepoint in this world.
But then again, one could count it as being twice in front of Rem as well.
[Subaru: I get the feeling that whether it’s people, things or time, none of it has anything to do with the savepoint changes. In terms of time, the number of days in between are all over the place, and in terms of people or events I can’t see anything in common at all. The conditions are just totally obscure]
[Echidona: Indeed, I don’t see any consistency in the conditions you mentioned either. In that case, perhaps it is necessary for us to approach it from a different angle]
[Subaru: A different angle?]
[Echidona: What is the reason you returned to where you did…… might not be a question that would lead us to the answer. Instead, why don’t we consider a reason why it would be moved forward?]
[Subaru: Why it would be moved forward……?]
[Echidona: The “save point”, instead of a “Place of Return”, could alternatively be considered a “Wall of Return”. Until it can be moved forward, you would always be pulled back to that wall through “Death”. You could also think of it as the bottom of a pit]
Subaru furrowed his brows at Echidona’s words, and began to think on their meaning.
A wall, or a pit. By returning to the respawn point through Return by Death, Subaru had managed to change situations that would otherwise have been impossible to break through. Rather, without Return by Death, he would not have surmounted anything, and those situations would have ended as they were.
So, the locations of the Return by Death savepoints changed with the situation.
In other words,
[Subaru: Return by Death shifts when I change something that I couldn’t change before……?]
[Echidona: In this case, Return by Death is merely a means to an end. As for what intention is behind this means, we would have to consider the being responsible for its existence]
[Subaru: The being responsible……]
Echidona nodded, seeing that Subaru had lost his words, as her lips bent into a resentful frown,
[Echidona: The Witch of Envy. The Witch who gifted you with Return by Death did so in hopes that you would change the circumstances which could only be overcome through “Death”. When you succeed in overcoming those circumstances, the “save point” will change]
[Subaru: B, but then…… that, doesn’t make sen……se. Because, then…… what about Rem? I failed to save her, didn’t I? If Return by Death is a force to change the circumstances, then why did I return to a time where I couldn’t save Rem……]
By overwriting the savepoint, it was Return by Death itself that had denied him the chance to save Rem.
It was precisely because of this, that Subaru so urgently need to know if the update to the savepoint could be reverted.
But, to Subaru’s question, Echidona continued with [Unfortunately],
[Echidona: This person “Rem” you speak of, is probably not someone who is within the Witch of Envy’s considerations]
[Subaru: …………h]
[Echidona: What the Witch of Envy desires is for you to escape from the confounding fates of inescapable dead ends. Return by Death is only a means to fulfill that purpose, and whatever fate anyone else suffers is beyond the scope of that intention. Wishing to use that power to save anyone else, is nothing more than your own personal desires. It has nothing to do with the Witch]
[Subaru: a……]
[Echidona: So, let me make this clear]
In front of Subaru who was stunned into silence, Echidona reiterated her words.
With a feeble gaze in his eyes, Subaru looked up at the Witch of white. And, Echidona closed her eyes only once, as if bearing the pain, before her black pupils pierced into Subaru’s,
[Echidona: As long as you fail to break through the obstacles standing in your path and die without changing the future, your soul will surely be returned to my Tomb. But if you allowed far too many sacrifices, and yet managed to change the future……]
[Subaru: ――Then I’ll never get a chance to regain what’s been sacrificed]
[Echidona: ……Precisely]
Next Part 2/2: https://translationchicken.com/2017/09/28/rezero-arc-4-chapter-46-locusts-part-22/
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(The amazing fan art is by @r_ashrrr!)
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Chapter 46 Live Draft:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/re-zero-arc-4-46-14553807
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Next Part 2/2: https://translationchicken.com/2017/09/28/rezero-arc-4-chapter-46-locusts-part-22/Guest article written by Josh Parrish
As with all of our guest articles, the views and opinions of this article are not representative of the Mythos Busters podcast.
When Arkham Horror: the Card Game was announced many people were instantly very excited. Cthulhu has been a hot property in gaming in recent years, and it seems like every popular game out there gets a Cthulhu reskin or reimagining. From Pandemic to Star Realms to Smash Up, we have more Cthulhu than we can shake a stick at. But is that a good thing? And can Arkham Horror: The Card Game do the Cthulhu Mythos more justice than other games? Let’s look, and make some predictions.
First off, we have to ask ourselves about the history and ideas of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have many transplants to AH:tCG from other games, particularly Lord of the Rings (drink), and not all are familiar with Cthulhu. Originally a creation of Howard Philips Lovecraft, the world Cthulhu exists in (known as the Cthulhu Mythos) has adopted the works of other authors into it’s canon, and grown immensely from what Lovecraft originally envisioned. But there is a basic concept of the Mythos that many people get wrong. It is not simply horror. It is a specific sub-genre of horror: Cosmic Horror.
Cosmic Horror is all about humanity being so insignificant that we can not withstand the forces out there that REALLY control the universe. In the Mythos, there are Elder Gods and Great Old Ones operating on a power scale well beyond our ability to imagine, let alone fight. To fight them is pointless, as you are not even a mote of dust to them. This is why Lovecraft was so successful in creating a lasting work in literature. It taps into the base fear all of us have: I do not matter to the universe. But how can a game about that be fun? Don’t we play games to feel powerful? Some of us, yes.
But that is not the only reason to play games. One of the other big transplant crowds to AH:tCG are Role Playing Game fans. Fantasy Flight has promised a hybrid experience that is narrative driven, but still replayable. One that allows you to follow the story of an individual or group as they encounter the Mythos. This has drawn people who haven’t played many (if any) card games to the table to try out something new.
The most well known Mythos Role playing game is Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium, which as of the time of this writing just released its 7 th Edition. First published in 1981, it went up against the likes of Dungeons & Dragons, and picked up a decent market share, despite the fact that you did not play as warriors, mages, or any fantastically powerful individuals. What was my first CoC character? A Librarian at a small town public library. And he was the most combat effective member of the party. Call of Cthulhu took great effort to make you feel like the best you could do was to hold back the oncoming darkness for a little bit. When a new monster was encountered, you didn’t roll initiative, you rolled to hide. The game never made you feel powerful, it made you feel isolated. It made you feel like you (and your party) were alone in the dark, and no one and nothing could save you. And players loved it for the same reason people love reading Lovecraft; You felt connected to the story of a normal person feeling scared, alone, and insignificant.
On the other side of the coin, a couple years ago, hit card game Smash-Up from AEG got an expansion that they named “The Obligatory Cthulhu Set”, featuring new factions for Elder Things, Cultists, and the iconic Miskatonic University among others. The cards featured more frightening art, had an insanity mechanic that had to be accounted for when playing against, and featured popular characters, creatures, and locations from the Mythos. And it fell flat among fans, seeing little to no playtime compared to other sets. It made little to no changes to the base game that was hugely popular, and Cthulhu was hitting its stride as popular among gamers. So why did it fail?
I think it failed for two reasons, which are reasons many Cthulhu based games fail, or (at best) are just okay. First, you can fight back and succeed against the Great Old Ones. To quote an old gamer adage: “If it has stats, I can kill it”. When you make Cthulhu, Hastur, Azathoth, or any of the Gods of the Mythos into things you can fight against, you give hope to the players. And that means it is no longer Cosmic Horror, and is no longer as interesting to many Cthulhu fans. And second, you can play as the monsters. The Mythos features unknowable creatures of fear, death, and destruction. They drive men mad with simply laying eyes on them. And now I can play one?
The traditional game structure needs to be subverted in order to make an effective game that stays true to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and those that built upon his works. So do I think that AH:tCG can do it? Well, I’m here writing for a fan site for it, so it’s a fair bet that I think it can. But why? Fantasy Flight Games has a proven track record with it’s Cthulhu products. Some have been lacking, but the majority are held up as shining examples of what Lovecraftian games can do. And those that haven’t been as good, usually fell into one of the two common pitfalls listed above. Even the board game that this card game is titled after is generally considered one of the more on-tone games for the Mythos.
For AH:tCG, though, they had a chance to take what worked from previous games, and throw out what didn’t. Let’s break it down into two different areas based on the information we have received from previews so far: narrative structure, and game mechanics. For the narrative structure of the game, Fantasy Flight Games chose to have a campaign based, story-driven game. Like many of their Living Card Games, each expansion arc is a story, but unlike those other games, it’s not a story THEY tell, but instead one that YOU do. The stories hinted at so far show that you are a pawn, and you are really only able to disrupt plans of others, and not be proactive. That you are likely going to go insane or get crippled by trying to help others, and that maybe the best result you can hope for is a stay in execution, if you will.
But do the game mechanics support it? First off, while you can fight against the monsters and cultists out there, running away from them can be just as effective, if not MORE effective. The chaos bag (yes, I know many people are not a fan of tokens in a bag, but bear with me…) is actually perfect to match the tone and story presented. Even on the easiest difficulty, the negatives in the bag are far more numerous than the positives. And best of all, YOU are the one that picks the token, but you are still powerless to dictate your fate.
AH:tCG is Fantasy Flight’s attempt to meld story and mechanics in a way they have never done before. They are trying to keep as much to the classic feeling of the mythos, but still give the player a feeling of being part of a bigger story. And since AH:tCG is all about telling stories, ones in which you are just a participant, and not an übermensch (a term for the archetypical peak of humanity), we can hope to see a bleak world, where we look to keep the light lit as long as possible.
We are not far away from the release of the game, and we will see if it holds up to the high hopes that many of us have. But it does seem to be avoiding two of the more common pitfalls of modern Cthulhu games, and is shaping up to be a fun and interesting experience. While many games with Cthulhu are just cashing in on the popularity, Fantasy Flight has shown dedication on keeping true to the feeling, and improving their Cthulhu games to bring them more into line with Cosmic Horror.Two women have died following a traffic accident in County Louth.
Gardai are investigating the fatal road traffic collision on the N2 south of Ardee at approximately 6.30pm this evening.
Two female pedestrians in their 60’s were fatally injured when they were struck by a car. They were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies removed to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.The driver of the car was uninjured.
It is understood they may have got off a bus when they were struck by a car.
This stretch of road is currently closed to facilitate an examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and local diversions are in place. The road is expected to remain closed overnight.
Gardai wish to appeal for witnesses to contact Ardee Garda Station on 041-6871130, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.9 Surprising Health Benefits of Saunas
People all over the world have been enjoying saunas for many years. By definition, a sauna is a small house or room that uses either dry or steam heat to induce perspiration. Research has shown that the regular use of saunas has a multitude of health benefits, and some of them may surprise you! We have compiled a list of the top 9.
Flushes Toxins. The primary benefit of a sauna is that it induces a deep sweat. Sweating is one of the best ways to eliminate the buildup of environmental toxins in your body. Doctors agree that regularly detoxifying your body is beneficial to your health. Relieves Stress. We all know the negative effects that stress can have on our overall health. Relaxing in the warm, serene environment of a sauna can help eliminate stress in a number of ways. The heat from the sauna relaxes muscles and stimulates the release of endorphins. Endorphins are natural chemicals released by our bodies that give you that "feel good" vibe. Soothes Aches and Pains. Whether you are suffering from arthritis or just trying to recover from a tough workout, those magical endorphins released during sauna use also help to soothe aching joints and muscles. Increased blood flow to tired and strained muscles also helps them to recover quickly. Cleanses the Skin. Sweating is an excellent way to keep your skin looking fresh and young. Sweating helps cleanse the skin by rinsing out bacteria and dead skin cells, leaving your skin with a healthy glow. It also prevents the breakdown of skin collagen that can lead to wrinkles and sagging. Great Hair. Humans have a special gland on their scalps called the sebaceous gland. Spending time in a sauna activates the sebaceous gland, causing it to release a substance that helps condition and moisturize hair. Improves Cardiovascular Health. When you sit in a hot sauna, your body temperature rises rapidly, also causing an increase in heart rate. Medical research shows that the heart rate can rise from 60-70 bpm (beats per minute) to 110-120 bpm in a sauna. This increase is comparable to that felt during moderate exercise. The heat also dilates the capillaries and improves blood flow to and from your heart. Burns Calories. Although saunas are not useful for extreme weight loss, a certain amount of calories are burned off due to the energy the body needs during the sweating process. The average person will burn about 300 calories per sauna session. Boosts the Immune System. As the body is exposed to the heat of a sauna, it produces white blood cells more rapidly, which in turn helps fight illnesses and kill viruses. Steam saunas can also help relieve sinus congestion associated with colds and allergies. Helps with Endurance. Regular use of saunas increases the body's heat tolerance. Increased heat tolerance improves performance during endurance sports. Athletes are better able to maintain energy levels with decreasing fatigue.
For more information on the health benefits of saunas, contact one of your exclusive pool and spa stores in the St. Paul, MN, area.See also: NEMO
Interlingua [ edit ]
Pronoun [ edit ]
nemo
Latin [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
Contraction of the Old Latin phrase ne hemō (“no man”) (Classical ne homō). Compare praeda for praehenda.
Pronunciation [ edit ]
( Classical ) IPA (key) : /ˈneː.moː/
IPA : Audio (Classical)
Pronoun [ edit ]
nēmō m, f (genitive nēminis)
Declension [ edit ]
Third declension.
Case Singular Nominative nēmō Genitive nēminis Dative nēminī Accusative nēminem Ablative nēmine Vocative nēmō
In Classical Latin, the suppletive genitive nūllīus and ablatives nūllō (masculine) and nūllā (feminine) frequently occur.
Plural forms (ordered by case as above: neminēs, neminum, neminibus, neminēs, neminibus, neminēs) also exist, but are rare, because these forms can only be translated accurately as 'no people', which is often rendered by other methods.
Derived terms [ edit ]
Descendants [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
(Ijekavian): nijȇmo
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Adverb [ edit ]
nȇmo (Cyrillic spelling не̑мо)A UCSF-led effort to create an implantable artificial kidney for dialysis patients has been selected as one of the first projects to undergo more timely and collaborative review at the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA announced today (April 9) that it had chosen three renal device projects to pilot a new regulatory approval program called Innovation Pathway 2.0, intended to bring breakthrough medical device technologies to patients faster and more efficiently.
The artificial kidney project, which is targeted for clinical trials in 2017, was selected for its transformative potential in treating end stage renal disease and for its potential to benefit from early interactions with the FDA in the approval process.
The FDA effort will involve close contact between the federal agency and device developers early in the development process to identify and address potential scientific and regulatory hurdles and create a roadmap for project approval. The goal is to improve the projects’ overall chance of success, while reducing the time and cost of FDA review and maintaining safety. Lessons, the agency said, will inform approvals in other areas.
Shuvo Roy, PhD, is leading a project to develop an implantable artificial kidney. Shuvo Roy, PhD, is leading a project to develop an implantable artificial kidney.
The artificial kidney project has brought together 40 researchers in nine laboratories nationwide under the guidance of Shuvo Roy, PhD, a bioengineer on the faculty of the UCSF School of Pharmacy. It aims to combine nano-scale engineering with the most recent advances in cellular biology to create an implantable device that would enable patients with chronic kidney failure to lead healthier and more productive lives, without external dialysis or immune suppressant medication.
“The new Pathway program is a clear signal to researchers that innovations in how we treat disease are needed and supported by the FDA,” said Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “We’re so pleased the Kidney Project is in the vanguard as the program launches.”
End-stage renal disease, or chronic kidney failure, affects nearly 2 million people worldwide, including more than 570,000 in the United States, and costs the nation almost $40 billion each year for treatment. The most effective treatment is kidney transplantation, but those organs are in short supply; last year, only 16,812 kidneys were available for transplant, leaving 92,000 patients on the waiting list, according to the Organ Procurement ant Transplant Network.
For projects like the artificial kidney, inclusion in the program could also build confidence among investors.
“This will help us with investors and funding agencies,” said Roy, who has met with several possible investors and granting agencies to fund the expected $20 million it will cost to bring the artificial kidney through clinical trials. “One of the questions we always get is, ‘How will the FDA handle this?’ With the Innovative Pathway program, we will know the answer to that question.”
The UCSF artificial kidney, or implantable Renal Assist Device (iRAD) would include thousands of microscopic filters as well as a bioreactor to mimic the metabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney.
The combined treatment has been proven to work for the sickest patients using a room-sized external model developed by a team member at the University of Michigan. Roy’s goal is to apply silicon fabrication technology, along with specially engineered compartments for live kidney cells, to shrink that large-scale technology into a device the size of a coffee cup. The device would then be implanted in the body, allowing the patient to live a more normal life.hidden
by Nikhil Pahwa
There’s something deeply worrying with where we’re going with digital, when the founder of India’s (self-proclaimed) largest fintech company stands up on a stage and, in a manner that resembles a rallying cry and all the passion that comes with it, calls it his company’s “pious mission” to make India cashless.
The religiosity of that phrase – “pious” – invariably invokes thoughts of “white man’s burden”, imperialism and conversion that comes with it. Let’s call it “digital man’s burden”, for the lack of a better phrase. What we’ve seen over the last few of years is this concerted push to convert people to digital: the visible aspect of it has been incentives: cashbacks, cheaper products, cheaper cab rides, free calling. The growth in commerce leads to growth in content, leads to growth in usage of the Internet. It’s all good, because at least for the time being, it gives consumers choice. The growth that is now coming in, and is set to come in, is not through incentives but enforcement: people aren’t being given a choice.
We’re seeing this “digital conversion” manifest itself in two ways, both related: firstly, the way Aadhaar is being made mandatory despite how its execution is impacting the poor, in violation of Supreme Court orders. Second, is the way delegitimisation of 86% of the currency in circulation is forcing people to switch to digital currency, despite it being more expensive for citizens, and our infrastructure being incapable of dealing with it. There’s a remarkable lack of empathy – from both the state and the opportunistic founders of companies, or their religious leaders seeding this “pious mission” – when the pain it causes people is being looked at as an “inconvenience”, a period of disruption. There is this bizarre, tech-startup mindset, that the government (or the RBI. Is there a difference?) is being agile with its notifications: that it’s put a plan out there, and based on quick feedback, is iterating. Unfortunately for them, economies aren’t software or products. People don’t starve when Facebook doesn’t upgrade its newsfeed. That entire move-fast-and-break-things philosophy cannot apply to the real world, when it’s people that can get hurt, and lives that get impacted. People have died.
We’ve gone from technology giving people choice to technology robbing people of choice: the way technology is being implemented by our government today is an attack on freedom and choice.
Have you heard this phrase “digital colonisation”? The other side of this crusade is this demand for protection against competition for the same businesses, and it has come from the same sources: the fear of digital colonisation in case of Net Neutrality (not a rationale I was comfortable with, by the way), digital colonisation in Ola versus Uber, and in case of Software Patents. There aren’t many places where the phrase “digital colonisation” turns up online in the Indian context, but if you’re in conversation with an iSpirt executive, the phrase invariably does come up, and it goes something like this: In a few years, our authentication will be using fingerprints on Google (Android) and Apple, and to retain India’s sovereignty, we have to ensure that that authentication is ours.
Colonisation is an emotional subject for us in this country, but when you point out that Google and Apple authentication are choices (not mandatory) and the citizen has little protection against the might of the sovereign state (as evidenced by demonetization, by the way), none against the theft or misuse of data, there isn’t a cogent response.
The protectionist angle also came up when it was used to seek government support, as Flipkart’s Sachin Bansal said: “I think what we need to do is what at some level China did: [tell foreign players that] we need your capital, but we don’t need your companies”. Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal followed it up by asking for protection against “capital dumping”. Both these companies benefited from having raised more capital than others, and did their own capital dumping, allowing their competition to bleed. Now that both are faced with competition which deeper pockets, they want protection. Lets not forget that Flipkart wanted FDI in inventory based ecommerce until they became a marketplace. Now they speak against it, in order to prevent Amazon from bringing its core business to India. There’s a reason why Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma can say that “The Uber of India is Uber. The Google of India is Google. I can sign it on a wall that the PayPal of India will not be PayPal.” It’s because the company, which has a Payments Banks license, has a regulatory moat which not only protects it from Paypal, but also most of local competition. Payments Banks have another regulatory advantage: they can integrate UPI for payments while wallets are barred. They can raise money while wallets (for the time being), can’t. Their regulatory future is certain, while that of wallets is not. Of course, this is possibly not of their choosing, but they’re making the most of this opportunity.
Technology has never been this political in India before, and the dog-eat-dog competition in tech becomes a battle between a beast and a pup when politics enters it.
In an interview a year ago, Nandan Nilekani said, India is going through a period of disruption, and “it is up to individual players to take advantage”. There is a window of a digital opportunity in India right now, to make multi-billion dollar businesses. When that opportunity goes to a chosen few who appear on stage on “Startup India, Standup India”, it’s reminiscent of when Russia privatised its factories, and the oligarchs took ownership of key industries to and built multi-billion dollar businesses out of it.
At a private meeting in Bangalore in earlier this year, a key member of a think tank shouted me down when I raised the issues of lack of privacy protection in the (then draft) Aadhaar Bill: “You can’t do anything about the Act. It will be passed before you know it, and nobody will be able to do anything about it.” A couple of weeks later, that’s what happened. They knew.
It’s discomfiting how close the technology industry and government have gotten this year. Lets take iSpirt as an example: unlike most organisations, iSpirt benefits from proximity to TRAI Chairman RS Sharma – the Chairman served along with many iSpirt volunteers in Aadhaar, including Nandan Nilekani. They got early access to Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was pitched to for support for Indian product startup shortly after he became IT Minister in 2014, and Jayant Sinha, current Minister of State for Civil Aviation (previously, Finance), appears to be a regular at iSpirt events. They get meetings at the PMO. Flipkart’s payments application was the first to use IndiaStack, which has been set up by iSpirt, and is being used by the National Payments Council of India for enabling UPI payments, but in a manner that is closed to others. As a think tank, iSpirt is doing an exceptional job of pitching to the government and non-government bodies such as the NPCI, which impacts payments.
It was something to celebrate when this government came into power, because it promised support for growth and “Digital India”. What I’m worried about is that the direction being chosen doesn’t appear to have been decided in a manner that is open and participatory, and there’s a distinct attempt to ignore concerns of those who represent how it impacts people. That the government speaks against a right as fundamental as privacy, to protect a project that is a privacy nightmare, is worrying. That people are dying in queues, or are being deprived of their pensions because of authentication failure, is distressing. These are not inconveniences. We’re heading down the wrong path if we’re compromising on rights in exchange for the growth.
This is a country low on resources, high on demand, always jostling for space. Life here is often like trying to get into a train at Mumbai’s Dadar Station at peak times: you get sucked in and have no control over whether you’ll get in. Unfortunately, I’m idealistic, and I want there to be openness in the way that technology gets deployed; not in a manner that it is an attack on choice. There are questions to be asked about how policy is being made, and who knows that it is going the way it is? Who’s defining the standards, the protocols, and under what circumstances are these choices being made? How does it impact citizens and why are civil society concerns being ignored? We need more openness and transparency, especially because – to invoke another religious metaphor – this push to become digital – has become a crusade.
Lastly, I know that we, as journalists, aren’t doing a good enough job of asking these questions (and more), and this is our failure as well; we’re all jostling for space and struggling for survival too.
The article originally appeared on Medianama. The author is the founder of Medianama, the co-founder of savetheinternet.in and tweets from the handle @nixxin.
Tech2 is now on WhatsApp. For all the buzz on the latest tech and science, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Tech2.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.Block your ears to the chancellor’s rhetoric. “We are the builders,” George Osborne says to the Tory faithful in Manchester. “We are the party of working people.” Disregard his “proud story of Conservative social justice”. Instead, as his purported “devolution revolution” is all about local councils, let’s dig a little deeper into the local “common ground” to see what he really has in store.
Councils are in the frontline of the often unseen cuts he passes down, devolving the axe not the cash. No need to seek some hard-pressed spot, just look at leafy, luxuriant Surrey.
George the Builder and the big Tory plan to fix Britain brick by brick Read more
David Hodge, the Surrey council leader, is no archetypal Tory. At 70, he’s something of a throwback, a reminder of a more decent Tory type, a country mile from the Cameron and Osborne coterie. Brought up in an orphanage, he talks emotionally of the needs of the children and old people in his care. He has a favourite saying: “Never forget any of us could have an accident today and end up in a wheelchair.” He is distressed that he’s been forced to place the vulnerable outside the county and wants to bring them back. His blunt message is that he has made efficiencies and can do more – but Osborne’s planned cuts are pretty much unthinkable.
Surrey’s fast-growing population, overflowing out of London, needs 13,000 new school places. He has the most over-85s – they live long in Surrey – and their costs are rising fast. Yes, he’s saving by merging Surrey’s back-offices with other councils’. Defying the government, he has raised council tax by the maximum 2% permitted every year. He’ll be pleased with the business rate change, letting him raise another 2%. “But there’s a limit,” he warns on cuts.
He’s never met Osborne, but “from the coal face” of Surrey he asks: where’s the southern powerhouse? He wants the power to borrow to build housing, a lot of it, for nurses, police and key workers priced out of his expensive county. The new right to buy for housing association tenants, with replacement homes funded by selling off Surrey’s high-value council homes, is a double hit. Every home sold, he says, |
represented by e.
Finnish is written with the Swedish variant of the Latin alphabet but with two more letters that are from some Russian loanwords. It includes the distinct characters Ä and Ö, and also several characters (b, c, f, q, w, x, z, å, š and ž) reserved for words of non-Finnish origin. The Finnish orthography follows the phoneme principle: each phoneme (meaningful sound) of the language corresponds to exactly one grapheme (independent letter), and each grapheme represents almost exactly one phoneme. This enables an easy spelling and facilitates reading and writing acquisition. The rule of thumb for Finnish orthography is: write as you read, read as you write. However, morphemes retain their spelling despite sandhi.
Some orthographical notes:
Long vowels and consonants are represented by double occurrences of the relevant graphemes. This causes no confusion, and permits these sounds to be written without having to nearly double the size of the alphabet to accommodate separate graphemes for long sounds.
The grapheme h is sounded slightly harder when placed before a consonant (initially breathy voiced, then voiceless) than before a vowel.
is sounded slightly harder when placed before a consonant (initially breathy voiced, then voiceless) than before a vowel. Sandhi is not transcribed; the spelling of morphemes is immutable, e.g. tulen+pa /tulempa/.
. Some consonants (v, j, d) and all consonant clusters do not have distinctive length, and consequently, their allophonic variation is typically not specified in spelling, e.g. rajaan /rajaan/ (I limit) vs. raijaan /raijjaan/ (I haul).
/rajaan/ (I limit) vs. /raijjaan/ (I haul). Pre-1900s texts and personal names use w for v. Both correspond to the same phoneme, the labiodental approximant /ʋ/, a v without the fricative ("hissing") quality of the English v.
for. Both correspond to the same phoneme, the labiodental approximant, a without the fricative ("hissing") quality of the English. The letters ä [æ] and ö [ø], although written as umlauted a and o, do not represent phonological umlauts, and they are considered independent graphemes; the letter shapes have been copied from Swedish. An appropriate parallel from the Latin alphabet are the characters C and G (uppercase), which historically have a closer kinship than many other characters (G is a derivation of C) but are considered distinct letters, and changing one for the other will change meanings.
Although Finnish is almost completely written as it is spoken, there are a few differences:
The n in nk is a velar nasal, as in English. As an exception to the phonetic principle, there is no g in ng, which is a long velar nasal as in English si ng along.
in is a velar nasal, as in English. As an exception to the phonetic principle, there is no in, which is a long velar nasal as in English. Sandhi phenomena such as the gemination between words or the change 'n+k' to [ŋk] is not marked in writing.
The double consonant in clitic is marked as a single consonant.
Only comparative and superlative adjectives the letter m is used like in speech in word like parempi, but in other similar cases the letter n is used, like in onpa
, but in other similar cases the letter n is used, like in The /j/ after the letter i is very weak or there is no /j/ at all, but in writing it is used; for example: urheilija. Indeed, the j is not used in writing words with consonant gradation such as aion and läksiäiset.
after the letter is very weak or there is no at all, but in writing it is used; for example:. Indeed, the is not used in writing words with consonant gradation such as and. In speech there is no difference between the use of /i/ in words (like ajoittaa, but ehdottaa), but in writing there are quite simple rules: The i is written in forms derived from words that consist two syllables and end in an or ä (sanoittaa, "to write song-lyrics", from sana, "word"), and in words that are old-stylish (innoittaa). The i is not written in forms derived from words that consist two syllables and end in o or ö (erottaa "to discern, to differentiate" from ero difference), words which do not clearly derive from a single word (hajottaa can be derived either from the stem haja- seen in such adverbs as hajalle, or from the related verb hajota), and in words that are descriptive (häämöttää) or workaday by their style (rehottaa)
When the appropriate characters are not available, the graphemes ä and ö are usually converted to a and o, respectively. This is common in e-mail addresses and other electronic media where there may be no support for characters outside the basic ASCII character set. Writing them as ae and oe, following German usage, is rarer and usually considered incorrect, but formally used in passports and equivalent situations. Both conversion rules have minimal pairs which would no longer be distinguished from each other.
The sounds š and ž are not a part of Finnish language itself and have been introduced by the Finnish national languages body for more phonologically accurate transcription of loanwords and foreign names. For technical reasons or convenience, the graphemes sh and zh are often used in quickly or less carefully written texts instead of š and ž. This is a deviation from the phonetic principle, and as such is liable to cause confusion, but the damage is minimal as the transcribed words are foreign in any case. Finnish does not use the sounds z, š or ž, but for the sake of exactitude, they can be included in spelling. (The recommendation cites the Russian opera Hovanštšina as an example.) Many speakers pronounce all of them s, or distinguish only between s and š, because Finnish has no voiced sibilants.[27]
The language may be identified by its distinctive lack of the letters b, c, f, q, w, x, z and å.
Language example [ edit ]
Hyväntahtoinen aurinko katseli heitä. Se ei missään tapauksessa ollut heille vihainen. Kenties tunsi jonkinlaista myötätuntoakin heitä kohtaan. Aika velikultia. — Väinö Linna: The Unknown Soldier; these words were also inscribed in the 20 mk note. (Translation: "The sun smiled down on them. It wasn't angry - no, not by any means. Maybe it even felt some sort of sympathy for them. Rather dear, those boys." (taken from the 2015 translation "Unknown Soldiers" by Liesl Yamaguchi) Sample of spoken Finnish Taken from Wikipedia article on the Finnish language in Finnish Problems playing this file? See media help.
Basic greetings [ edit ]
Sample sound of "Hyvää huomenta"
(Hyvää) huomenta – (Good) morning
(Hyvää) päivää – (Good) afternoon (literally "Good day")
(Hyvää) iltaa – (Good) evening
Hyvää yötä / Öitä! – Good night / "Night!"
Terve! / Moro!/Moi! – Hello!
Hei! / Moi! – Hi!
Heippa! / Moikka! / Hei hei! / Moi moi! – Bye!
Nähdään! – See you later! (lit. the passive form of the word "nähdä", "to see", but usually described as "we see.")
Näkemiin – Goodbye (Literally "Till (I)/we see (each other)".
"Näkemiin" comes from the word "näkemä" ("sight"). Literally "näkemiin" means "Until seeing (again)"
"Näkemiin" comes from the word "näkemä" ("sight"). Literally "näkemiin" means "Until seeing (again)" Hyvästi – Goodbye / Farewell
Hauska tutustua! – Nice to meet you.
Kiitos – Thank you
Kiitos, samoin – "Thank you, the same to you" / Likewise (as a response to "well-wishing")
Mitä kuuluu? – How are you / How are you doing? (Not used among strangers, literally "What are you hearing?")
Kiitos hyvää! – I'm fine, thank you.
Tervetuloa! – Welcome!
Anteeksi – Sorry / Excuse me
Important words and phrases [ edit ]
Tietosanakirja, 11 volumes, 1909–1922, Finnish encyclopedia., 11 volumes, 1909–1922, Finnish encyclopedia.
kyllä – yes
joo – yes (informal)
ei – no
en – I will not / I do not
minä, sinä, hän (se) – I, you, he/she(it)
me, te, he (ne) – we, you (two or more), they
(minä) olen – I am
(sinä) olet – you are (singular)
hän on - he/she is
(te) olette – you are (plural)
(minä) en ole – I am not
(sinä) et ole – You are not
hän ei ole - he/she is not
yksi, kaksi, kolme – one, two, three
neljä, viisi, kuusi – four, five, six
seitsemän, kahdeksan – seven, eight
yhdeksän, kymmenen – nine, ten
yksitoista, kaksitoista, kolmetoista – eleven, twelve, thirteen
sata, tuhat, miljoona – hundred, thousand, million
(minä) rakastan sinua – I love you
kiitos – thank you
anteeksi – forgive me, excuse me, sorry
voitko auttaa – can you help
apua! – help!
voisit(te)ko auttaa – could you help
missä... on? – where is...?
olen pahoillani – I'm sorry (apology)
otan osaa – My condolences
onnea – good luck
totta kai/tietysti/toki – of course
pieni hetki, pikku hetki, hetkinen – one moment please!
odota – wait
missä on vessa? – where is the bathroom?
Suomi – Finland
suomi/suomen kieli – Finnish language
suomalainen – (noun) Finn; (adjective) Finnish
En ymmärrä – I don't understand
(Minä) ymmärrän – I understand
¹Ymmärrät(te)kö suomea? – Do you understand Finnish?
¹Puhut(te)ko englantia? – Do you speak English?
Olen englantilainen / amerikkalainen / kanadalainen / australialainen / uusiseelantilainen / irlantilainen / skotlantilainen / walesilainen / ranskalainen / saksalainen / kiinalainen / japanilainen / ruotsalainen – I am English / American / Canadian / Australian / New Zealander / Irish / Scottish / Welsh / French / German / Chinese / Japanese / Swedish
¹Olet(te)ko englantilainen? – Are you English?
Missä (sinä) asut/¹Missä (te) asutte? – Where do you live?
¹ -te is added to make the sentence formal (T-V distinction). Otherwise, without the added "-te", it is informal. It is also added when talking to more than one person. The transition from second-person singular to second-person plural (teitittely) is a politeness pattern, advised by many "good manners guides". Elderly people, especially, expect it from strangers, whereas the younger might feel it to be too formal to the point of coldness. However, a learner of the language should not be excessively concerned about it. Omitting it is (almost) never offensive, but one should keep in mind that on formal occasions this custom may make a good impression.
Phonaesthetics and influences [ edit ]
J. R. R. Tolkien, although better known as an author, had a keen interest in languages from a young age, and became a professional philologist. He described his first encounter with Finnish:
"like discovering a complete wine-cellar fllled with bottles of an amazing wine of a kind and flavour never tasted before. It quite intoxicated me..."[28]
Aspects of Finnish were a strong influence on Quenya, one of the languages constructed by Tolkien. Within his fantasy writings set in the world of Middle-earth, Quenya is a highly-revered language.
See also [ edit ]7-Eleven is a convenience store chain. (Photo11: Paul Sakuma, AP) Story Highlights Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev visited a 7-Eleven, but did not rob it
The photo of the crime was not taken at a 7-Eleven
The Cambridge 7-Eleven was robbed by someone else last night
There was a 7-Eleven robbery in Cambridge last night, but it had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
Margaret Chabris, the director of corporate communication at 7- Eleven, says the surveillance video of the crime was not taken at a 7-Eleven and that the suspect that did rob the 7-Eleven does not look like Tamerlan or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
"The suspect in the photos for that particular 7-Eleven robbery looks nothing like the suspects," Chabris says. "The police or someone made a mistake. Someone was confused."
The suspects were at the 7-Eleven around the time of the robbery but they did not rob the store said, State Police Superintendent Timothy Alban at an evening press conference on Friday.
At an earlier press conference morning, when Alben described the manhunt and standoff that resulted in the death of an MIT police officer, he also said that the two brothers robbed a 7-Eleven.
Chabris says the story of the robbed 7-Eleven was online immediately and spread quickly. She has been calling journalists all day to ask them to make a correction.
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Outside a packed hearing room on Capitol Hill, where Representative Paul Ryan presided over a mark-up of his draconian budget bill, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a press conference to announce their own plan: the “Budget for All,” which follows along the rough outlines of last year’s “People’s Budget.” Ad Policy
The exact details won’t be released for another day, but some broad outlines were made available by CPC staff: $2.4 trillion in job-creating investments like direct-hire programs, tax incentives and an infrastructure bank; ending the Bush tax cuts for top earners and instituting new tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires, while eliminating preferential treatment of capital gains and dividends; and dramatically reducing defense spending.
The members hope the “Budget for All” provides a substantive counterweight to the Ryan Budget as Congress hashes out a spending plan in the coming months. “What [the Ryan budget] is really all about is getting poor people to pay more, so that the wealthy can have all they have and not have to worry one single bit,” said Representative Jim McDermott. “If you $200 million out of Medicare, and put it into $200 million more military spending, you are crushing the middle class. You are taking away their security in the future. That’s why were offering this budget—we think people ought to have a choice.”
The CPC also released a video this morning, with several members touting budget features:
Download Video as MP4
At the very least, the “Budget for All” will provide a useful public contrast to the harsher elements of Ryan’s plan. I asked Representative Raul Grijalva about Ryan’s deep education cuts in particular, which a projected to cut 45 percent of federal education spending within ten years. “What’s scary about it,” he said, “is that at a time when we need to make an investment for those babies and those students, we’re cutting. What scares me the most is that the Ryan budget concedes or promotes the idea that this nation of ours will have a permanent underclass with limited opportunity and limited access to education.”
Beyond the obvious budgetary moves—raising taxes on high earners, ending loopholes, investing in economic growth—there’s a trove of progressive priorities in the “Budget for All.” Representative Ed Markey spoke at he press conference about the SANE Act, which will be included in the budget and will cut $100 billion from nuclear weapons programs over the next decade.
Interestingly, the budget is also going to include “a publicly funded election system that gets corporate money out of politics for good.”
We’ll have more about the budget when explicit details become available.Three-quarters of Americans felt "positive" about Donald Trump's nomination acceptance speech, according to a snap poll.
The survey by CNN/ORC, carried out just after Mr Trump accepted the Republican party's nomination for US president, found 57 per cent of people were "very positive" and 18 per cent were "somewhat positive" about his remarks, which focussed on his central message of keeping people safe from perceived threats, such as immigration from South America, Islamist terrorism and violent crime.
The remaining quarter said they thought his speech had a "negative effect".
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.
Accepting his party's nomination in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Mr Trump said he was "the voice" of the American people, and presented himself as "the law and order candidate" at a "moment of crisis for [the] nation".
Highlighting attacks on police and the threat of terrorism, he said "any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country".
Mr Trump launched a fierce attack on Hillary Clinton, describing her as a puppet being propped up by "big business, elite media and major donors".
"They know she will keep our rigged system in place," he said.
Shape Created with Sketch. trump Show all 4 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. trump 1/4 Reuters 2/4 Reuters 3/4 Reuters 4/4 Reuters 1/4 Reuters 2/4 Reuters 3/4 Reuters 4/4 Reuters
The Republican candidate's speech was the longest nomination acceptance speech since 1988, stretching to some 75 minutes, according to CNN.
While on stage the billionaire was greeted by cheers and chants of his name, and when he finished speaking a cloud of red, white and blue balloons were released into the crowd.
However, in response, Ms Clinton tweeted: “We can do better than this.”
And Bernie Sanders, her one-time Democratic rival, also wrote in a tweet: “Trump: 'I alone can fix this.' Is this guy running for president or dictator?"
But many Americans showed their support for Mr Trump on Twitter, using the #MakeAmericaGreatAgain hashtag to congratulate him and praise him on his speech.
Barack Obama's acceptance speech in 2008 got a 58 per cent positive review, according to a poll by Gallup, with 35 per cent saying it was "excellent" and 23 per cent "good".
The US presidential election will take place in November.
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Subscribe now• Easily switches from a green dot to a red dot
• Fully multicoated optics
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• 30mm aluminum-alloy chassis
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For situations that demand fast target acquisition and both-eyes-open shooting, the Vortex® Strikefire II Red/Green Dot Sight is ideal. Sight switches from a green dot to a red dot easily, for proper background contrast. Fully-multicoated optics reduce glare and capture more light for crystal-clear images. Elevation and windage adjustments of 100 MOA. 30mm aluminum-alloy chassis and extra-high recoil rating ensure sight stays true. Rear-facing controls with 10 intensity levels power dot brightness. Automatically returns to last-used intensity level when powered up. The lower 1/3 co-witness cantilever mount can be used on any AR-15 platform or any other picatinny/Weaver style rail. Unlimited eye relief. Comes with mounting ring, T-15 Torx wrench, Allen wrench and CR-2 battery.
Power Objective Diameter Length Reticle Weight 1x 30mm 5-3/5" Red/Green Dot 7-1/5 oz.A fiscal emergency is considered the first step towards Chapter 9, said CNBC's Jane Wells, reporting on whether Atwater, California will become the fourth town to declare bankruptcy in the state.
Municipal bankruptcies are spreading like a “disease” in California, one public finance expert warned Wednesday as the city of Atwater declared a fiscal emergency with a budget gap of more than $3 million.
The city’s council approved the move on Wednesday night, putting it on the path to becoming the fourth city in the state to declare bankruptcy this year.
With a population of 28,000, Atwater fell on hard times after its housing market imploded and sent property tax revenue plummeting. Furloughs and a hiring freeze had not been able to stem Atwater's losses.
San Bernardino becomes 3rd Calif. city in 2 weeks to file for bankruptcy protection
Municipal debt market analysts are keeping a close eye on the finances of local governments in California out of concern that some could use fiscal emergency declarations as a way to speed Chapter 9 filings to attempt to shed financial obligations.
"In California, we have a disease, and the disease is spreading," David Kotok, chief investment officer at Florida-based Cumberland Advisors, told the State & Municipal Finance Conference conference in New York on Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"I suspect we're going to see wholesale warnings and downgrades" among bond rating issuers in the state, he said.
If it went bankrupt, Atwater would follow Stockton, San Bernardino and Mammoth Lakes by making a Chapter 9 filing.
San Bernardino, California's city council in July authorized a bankruptcy filing after declaring a fiscal emergency. The city of 210,000 residents 65 miles east of Los Angeles, filed for bankruptcy on August 1.
By contrast, Stockton, a city of 300,000 located about 62 miles to the northwest of Atwater, became California's first city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection this year after 90 days of inconclusive mediation with its creditors.
Kim Rueben of the Tax Policy Center explains why some American cities are running out of money, filing for bankruptcy, and making drastic cuts in the process.
Mammoth Lakes, a resort town of about 8,000 residents in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, followed Stockton into bankruptcy court, saying it could not afford a $43 million legal judgment against it. Mammoth Lakes has since reached a settlement with the property developer in the legal dispute and later this month will seek to have its bankruptcy case dismissed.
City officials in Atwater are looking into options for increasing revenue such as raising 20-year-old rates for water services and 10-year-old rates for garbage collection services while clamping down on costs, all while considering whether to pursue a bankruptcy filing.
Union representative Nancy Vinson said 38 of Atwater's non-safety employees have received layoff notices and that 12 are sure to lose their jobs as part of the city's efforts to pare spending.
Vinson told Reuters by telephone that she believes Atwater's financial troubles are so severe that the city will not be able to avoid a bankruptcy filing.
"I believe they're heading straight to bankruptcy," she said.
Mayor Joan Faul could not be reached by Reuters for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and FacebookTAXILA: As Eidul Fitr draws nearer, hordes of beggars have flocked the markets, shopping malls, traffic signals and streets, including sensitive areas of Taxila and Wah Cantonment.
The beggars, mostly women and children, are being witnessed at commercial places, including Mughal market, Main bazaar, Lalarukh market, Nawababad market, Aslam market, Laiq Ali chowk, Anwar chowk and Taxila chowk.
The women, mostly carrying newborn babies, are seen sitting at pedestrian bridges, centres of markets and bus stops. They also show ‘medical reports or prescriptions’ to passengers at bus stops, outside medical stores and hospitals, asking them to help them in getting treatment.
The beggars cause inconvenience to pedestrians and people visiting bazaars for shopping. On the other hand, the local administration, police and cantonment board authorities have not chalked out a strategy to deal with the influx of professional beggars.
“Beggars’ forceful tactics sometimes create nuisance for the citizens who feel attacked by their offensive behaviour,” said Shakeel Ahmed Khan, an office-bearer of the local traders association.
“The interruptions by beggars become unbearable while shopping in the market,” said Saira Bano.
“Beggars have made the lives of citizens miserable as they chase them and force them into giving them money,” said Umair Shoukat, adding their number increases near Iftar when people throng bazaars for buying fruits and other foodstuffs. The citizens have demanded that the local administration should take effective steps discourage this practice.
Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2017American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.
Recognizing the different views on abortion among its members, the American Baptist Churches’ General Board encourages women and couples considering the procedure “to seek spiritual counsel as they prayerfully and conscientiously consider their decision.” Though the board opposes abortion “as a primary means of birth control,” it does not condemn abortion outright.
Buddhism
There is no official position on abortion among Buddhists, although many Buddhists believe that life begins at conception and that killing is morally wrong. In Japan, where there is a large Buddhist population, abortions are commonly practiced and often involve the Buddhist tradition of mizuko jizo, in which aborted fetuses are thought to be led to the land of the dead.
Catholicism
In accordance with its widely publicized anti-abortion teachings, the Catholic Church opposes abortion in all circumstances and often leads the national debate on abortion.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that “elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God.” Therefore, the church says, any facilitation of or support for this kind of abortion warrants excommunication from the church. However, the church believes that certain circumstances can justify abortion, such as a pregnancy that threatens the life of the mother or that has come about as the result of rape or incest.
Episcopal Church
While the Episcopal Church recognizes a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, the church condones abortion only in cases of rape or incest, cases in which a mother’s physical or mental health is at risk, or cases involving fetal abnormalities. The church forbids “abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection or any reason of mere convenience.”
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The official position of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America states that “abortion prior to viability [of a fetus] should not be prohibited by law or by lack of public funding” but that abortion after the point of fetal viability should be prohibited except when the life of a mother is threatened or when fetal abnormalities pose a fatal threat to a newborn.
Hinduism
Unless a mother’s health is at risk, traditional Hindu teachings condemn abortion because it is thought to violate the religion’s teachings of nonviolence. The general value system of Hinduism teaches that the correct course of action in any given situation is the one that causes the least harm to those involved.
Islam
Although there are different opinions among Islamic scholars about when life begins and when abortion is permissible, most agree that the termination of a pregnancy after four months – the point at which, in Islam, a fetus is thought to become a living soul – is not permissible. Many Islamic thinkers contend that in cases prior to four months of gestation, abortion should be permissible only in instances in which a mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape.
Judaism
Traditional Jewish teachings sanction abortion as a means of safeguarding the life and well-being of a mother. While the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements openly advocate for the right to safe and accessible abortions, the Orthodox movement is less unified on the issue.
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod states that “[s]ince abortion takes a human life, it is not a moral option except to prevent the death of … the mother.”
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals has passed a number of resolutions (most recently in 2010) stating its opposition to abortion. However, the organization recognizes that there might be situations in which terminating a pregnancy is warranted – such as protecting the life of a mother or in cases of rape or incest.
National Council of Churches
Because of the diverse theological teachings of its member churches, the National Council of Churches does not have an official position on abortion. The NCC instead seeks to provide a space where members can come together and exchange views.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
In 2006, the Presbyterian Church’s national governing body, the General Assembly, reaffirmed its belief that the termination of a pregnancy is a personal decision. While the church disapproves of abortion as a means of birth control or as a method of convenience, it seeks “to maintain within its fellowship those who, on the basis of a study of Scripture and prayerful decision, come to diverse conclusions and actions” on the issue.
Southern Baptist Convention
In a 1996 resolution on partial-birth abortion, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed its opposition to abortion, stating that “all human life is a sacred gift from our sovereign God and therefore … all abortions, except in those very rare cases where the life of the mother is clearly in danger, are wrong.”
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Beginning in 1963, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations passed a series of resolutions to support “the right to choose contraception and abortion as a legitimate expression of our constitutional rights.”
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a firm advocate of reproductive rights, including the right to a safe abortion.
United Methodist Church
While the United Methodist Church opposes abortion, it affirms that it is “equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child.” The church sanctions “the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures” but rejects abortion as a method of gender selection or birth control and stresses that those considering abortions should prayerfully seek guidance from their doctors, families and ministers.Donald Trump has made a number of awful selections to fill his government. From bringing in Steve Bannon – the former CEO of the alt-right propaganda blog Breitbart – to political neophytes from his own family such as Jared Kushner, Trump has ensconced himself in a circle of corruption, incompetence, and downright wackiness.
While Trump has struggled to fill the many vacancies of his government – which to no small degree stems from conservatives’ recalcitrance of being associated with his scandal-ridden administration – he nonetheless continues to bring more shady characters onboard. The latest is Cindy McCain.
The wife to Arizona Senator John McCain, Cindy McCain is slated to become Trump’s ambassador on human rights in the State Department. McCain, however, is ill-suited for the position. She has poor track record on human trafficking – her recent advocacy focus area – having lobbied to make prostitution even more dangerous. Additionally, the couple’s foundation The McCain Institute has a sordid history receiving funding from notorious human rights violators, including a phosphate mining company active in West Sahara which has brutally oppressed the region’s Sahrawi population.
With each addition to Trump’s administration, the swamp gets thicker. But as the White House’s numerous scandals unfold, the chances of individuals within it getting stuck in the ever-expanding morass of corruption grows.
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RedditOn 'Fringe,' the Astrids finally meet! It isn't under the best circumstances, but Alt-Astrid's arrival provides insight into this timeline's characters. Plus, when will Peter realize he is home?
How awesome was it to see Astrid and Alt-Astrid meet? I loved the shriek! I also always wondered why more people don’t do that. Can you even imagine what it would be like to meet yourself?
The camera work was exceptionally well done with the two Astrids. (Producers on Ringer — watch this episode!) Alt-Astrid’s arrival provided the impetus for us to get to better know this timeline’s characters. In particular, Walter and Fauxlivia.
This Walter seems to be more aware than the previous timeline’s Walter. He calls Astrid by the wrong name, but they are terms of endearment rather than a disregard for her real name. He never once called Alt-Astrid the wrong name. This Walter remains sweet.
His interactions with Fauxlivia were quite enjoyable. They have this odd, but entertaining rather than annoying bickering thing. The end when Walter finally gave her licorice and she gave him her unusual mints was a great goodbye. As was the hug, Walter gave Alt-Astrid.
This timeline’s characters are generally happier than those we left behind and that’s a good thing because … sorry, Peter, but … you aren’t going back to “your” people. These are your people!
I still don’t understand how he can want to go back to the old timeline. I get that he wants “his” people back in his life, but that was a horrible world on the brink of destruction. Even if he could go back, would he risk this new peaceful timeline and these people he is getting to know to do it? How would he know that using the machine to go back wouldn’t destroy this new timeline?
Ultimately, I don’t think it matters. There isn’t an old timeline to go back to because he is within that timeline. It was just changed. Both current universes are the same places that he left. The people are different because they were never exposed to him. Now, that they are getting to know him, they are adjusting and changing.
How long before Olivia starts looking at Peter in a different way? They didn’t get together immediately in the old timeline either. But, it will happen here. Walter is getting irritated with Peter, but is letting him in and starting to have feelings (even if he is fighting it) for his son.
Is September responsible for Peter’s return? When Neil found the blue device that September lost, is that what shifted the timeline? The new observer speculated that September lost it the day he “didn’t save the boy” and now “the boy is back.” Oops.
Overall, I loved “Making Angels” for the insight we got into the characters. These versions of the characters we have grown to love over the last few years are ones that I don’t want to lose. They live in a happier, more peaceful time, and deserve the opportunity to learn to love Peter and for him to love them.
Odds and Ends
Fauxlivia seems to have replaced Olivia at some point. When did she fake being Olivia? Was it a mission? That wasn’t clear. Will we get the back story on this or will it just be something that hangs out there?
Peter definitely rubs Walter the wrong way. Kinda fun to see this Walter be aware enough to care. “He’s not my son.” Oh, yes he is!
Alt-Astrid never had coffee? Hmm….
Why did Astrid lie to Alt-Astrid about her father? She seemed to have a loving relationship with him when she went home. Was it just to help her get over the grief?
Shiitakes Happens!
Photo Credit: FOXCLOSE Enquirer Bengals beat writers Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski discuss Jones going to Detroit and Iloka returning to Cincinnati. The Enquirer/Paul Dehner Jr.
Former Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones is headed to Detroit |
. The DCA ordered the documents sealed but was expected to make its findings and determine the rule of law in a written opinion that has not yet been issued.
Polston blasted that order of events as "truly unprecedented" and chastised the majority as "simply guessing at what the First District's opinion will state as the basis for its ruling in order to engage in the active trial management." He also accused the court of unconstitutionally pre-empting the appellate court.
"In short, this Court has predetermined appellate error and awarded the petitioners full relief in the trial court by requiring admission of evidence," Polston wrote.
The majority noted that the appellate court was likely to have certified a question to the Supreme Court when it releases its expected opinion and their emergency action was "in order to maintain the status quo during the ongoing trial" and to "prevent any irreparable harm that might occur if the Petitioners are prevented from using the challenged documents."
The ruling will create some challenges for Lewis, who has allowed the trial to be broadcast daily on public broadcasting's Florida Channel.
Lewis was told of the ruling and the potential for a closed courtroom at the end of the redistricting hearing on Tuesday.
"I wasn't about to close it without someone telling me," the judge said.
Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at [email protected] Follow @MaryEllenKlas on Twitter.
Correction: Justice Ricky Polston wrote the dissenting opinion. An earlier version of this story attributed the words to a different justice.TORONTO — Toronto FC Designated Player Julian de Guzman has ruled himself out of Saturday’s game against Chivas USA (1 pm ET on TSN, Direct Kick and Matchday Live). However, the midfielder says he hopes to be back in the mix in early April.
De Guzman nursed a knee injury through the latter parts of 2010 and tore his meniscus during the club’s last competitive game of the season. He had surgery in late December to repair the tear and started training with the Reds about a month ago.
“It’s coming along,” de Guzman said of the injury. “I need about a week or so of intense training with the team and I can reasonably see myself in game shape.”
It typically takes about 12 to 14 weeks for an athlete who has torn his meniscus to regain full muscle strength.
The Reds have struggled to find a holding midfielder of de Guzman’s ability to fill his role while he’s been out. Head coach Aron Winter’s 4-3-3 system demands a player with above average passing skills to anchor the midfield and de Guzman would seem to have that skill set.
The player says he likes the direction the club is headed under Winter.
“The guys are slowly picking up the concept of the system,” said de Guzman. “I think the new system has helped the guys with structure and understanding of certain rules and certain ways to win games in attractive ways.”
So long as the club doesn’t fall too far down the table during the learning process, de Guzman says the Reds will be greatly improved in 2011.
“Another couple months of this and we’ll see a much different team than we had last season.”PRESS RELEASE: Deciphering Dolphin Language with Picture Words
In an important breakthrough in deciphering dolphin language, researchers in Great Britain and the United States have imaged the first high definition imprints that dolphin sounds make in water.
The key to this technique is the CymaScope, a new instrument that reveals detailed structures within sounds, allowing their architecture to be studied pictorially. Using high definition audio recordings of dolphins, the research team, headed by English acoustics engineer, John Stuart Reid and Florida-based dolphin researcher, Jack Kassewitz, has been able to image, for the first time, the imprint that a dolphin sound makes in water. The resulting "CymaGlyphs," as they have been named, are reproducible patterns that are expected to form the basis of a lexicon of dolphin language, each pattern representing a dolphin “picture word.”
Left: cymaglyph of adult dolphin voice, Right: cymaglyph of a baby dolphin calling to its mother
Certain sounds made by dolphins have long been suspected to represent language but the complexity of the sounds has made their analysis difficult. Previous techniques, using the spectrograph, display cetacean (dolphins, whales and porpoises) sounds only as graphs of frequency and amplitude. The CymaScope captures actual sound vibrations imprinted in the dolphin’s natural environment—water, revealing the intricate visual details of dolphin sounds for the first time.
Within the field of cetacean research, theory states that dolphins have evolved the ability to translate dimensional information from their echolocation sonic beam. The CymaScope has the ability to visualize dimensional structure within sound. CymaGlyph patterns may resemble what the creatures perceive from their own returning sound beams and from the sound beams of other dolphins.
Reid said that the technique has similarities to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. "Jean-Francois Champollion and Thomas Young used the Rosetta Stone to discover key elements of the primer that allowed the Egyptian language to be deciphered. The CymaGlyphs produced on the CymaScope can be likened to the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone. Now that dolphin chirps, click-trains and whistles can be converted into CymaGlyphs, we have an important tool for deciphering their meaning."
Kassewitz, of the Florida-based dolphin communication research project SpeakDolphin.com said, “There is strong evidence that dolphins are able to ‘see’ with sound, much like humans use ultrasound to see an unborn child in the mother’s womb. The CymaScope provides our first glimpse into what the dolphins might be ‘seeing’ with their sounds.”
The team has recognized that sound does not travel in waves, as is popularly believed, but in expanding holographic bubbles and beams. The holographic aspect stems from the physics theory that even a single molecule of air or water carries all the information that describes the qualities and intensity of a given sound. At frequencies audible to humans (20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz) the sound-bubble form dominates; above 20,000 Hertz the shape of sound becomes increasingly beam shaped, similar to a lighthouse beam in appearance.
Reid explained their novel sound imaging technique: “Whenever sound bubbles or beams interact with a membrane, the sound vibrations imprint onto its surface and form a CymaGlyph, a repeatable pattern of energy. The CymaScope employs the surface tension of water as a membrane because water reacts quickly and is able to reveal intricate architectures within the sound form. These fine details can be captured on camera.”
Kassewitz has planned a series of experiments to record the sounds of dolphins targeting a range of objects. Speaking from Key Largo, Florida, he said, “Dolphins are able to emit complex sounds far above the human range of hearing. Recent advances in high frequency recording techniques have made it possible for us to capture more detail in dolphin sounds than ever before. By recording dolphins as they echolocate on various objects, and also as they communicate with other dolphins about those objects, we will build a library of dolphin sounds, verifying that the same sound is always repeated for the same object. The CymaScope will be used to image the sounds so that each CymaGlyph will represent a dolphin ‘picture word’. Our ultimate aim is to speak to dolphins with a basic vocabulary of dolphin sounds and to understand their responses. This is uncharted territory but it looks very promising.”
Dr. Horace Dobbs, a leading authority on dolphin-assisted therapy, has joined the team as consultant. "I have long held the belief that the dolphin brain, comparable in size with our own, has specialized in processing auditory data in much the same way that the human brain has specialized in processing visual data. Nature tends not to evolve brain mass without a need, so we must ask ourselves what dolphins do with all that brain capacity. The answer appears to lie in the development of brain systems that require huge auditory processing power. There is growing evidence that dolphins can take a sonic'snap shot' of an object and send it to other dolphins, using sound as the transmission medium. We can therefore hypothesize that the dolphin's primary method of communication is picture based. Thus, the picture-based imaging method, employed by Reid and Kassewitz, seems entirely plausible."
The CymaGlyphs of dolphin sounds fall into three broad categories, signature whistles, chirps and click trains. There is general agreement among cetacean biologists that signature whistles represent the means by which individual dolphins identify themselves while click trains are involved in echolocation. Chirps are thought to represent components of language. Reid explained the visual form of the various dolphin sounds, “The CymaGlyphs of signature whistles comprise regular concentric bands of energy that resemble aircraft radar screens while chirps are often flower-like in structure, resembling the CymaGlyphs of human vocalizations. Click trains have the most complex structures of all, featuring a combination of tightly packed concentric bands on the periphery with unique central features.”
Regarding the possibility of speaking dolphin, Kassewitz said, “I believe that people around the world would love the opportunity to speak with a dolphin. And I feel certain that dolphins would love the chance to speak with us—if for no other reason than self-preservation. During my times in the water with dolphins, there have been several occasions when they seemed to be very determined to communicate with me. We are getting closer to making that possible.”The nation’s top intelligence official confirmed Tuesday that the Islamic State has succeeded in making and deploying chemical agents in Iraq and Syria -- calling it the first such attack by an extremist group in more than two decades.
The confirmation of mustard gas use came during Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he spoke to the Islamic State's growing sophistication online and in the battlefield.
He did not elaborate on where and when the chemical attacks occurred, though there has been mounting evidence the terror group was experimenting with chemical weapons.
“[The Syrian government] has used chemicals against the opposition on multiple occasions since Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention. ISIL has also used toxic chemicals in Iraq and Syria, including the blister agent Sulfur mustard,” Clapper said.
He said this marks the first time an extremist group has produced and used a "chemical warfare agent in an attack since Aum Shinrikyo used sarin in Japan in 1995," referring to the Tokyo subway terror attack that year.
Fox News previously reported on ISIS' potential experimentation with chemical weapons. Photos taken by the Kurds in northern Iraq last summer and reviewed by Fox News showed burns and blistering on skin following exposure to “odorless, colorless” agents absorbed through the clothing. A doctor who was in northern Iraq last year said he treated Kurdish fighters whom ISIS used as "lab rats for WMD," adding that the variety of burns and illnesses suggested that "mustard gas, precursors, as well as neurotoxic acids" were being tested.
Evidence has also indicated that Damascus has been using chemical weapons against the Syrian opposition and civilians, despite an agreement to reduce its stockpile two years ago.
The Japan attack that Clapper referred to in his testimony occured in March 1995. Then, perpetrators hailing from the cult Aum Shinrikyo launched five coordinated Sarin gas attacks on the Toyko subway, killing 12, severely injuring 50 and leaving some 1,000 people with temporary vision impairment.
Clapper dropped the latest revelation amid discussions of other worldwide national security threats, including North Korea, which he said has expanded a uranium enrichment facility and restarted a plutonium reactor that could start recovering material for nuclear weapons in weeks or months.
Meanwhile, Clapper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Islamic militants will continue plotting against U.S. interests overseas and homegrown attacks will pose the most significant threat from violent extremists to Americans at home.
"The perceived success of attacks by homegrown violent extremists in Europe and North America, such as those in Chattanooga and San Bernardino, might motivate others to replicate opportunistic attacks with little or no warning, diminishing our ability to detect terrorist operational planning and readiness," he said.
"ISIL involvement in homeland attack activity will probably continue to involve those who draw inspiration from the group's highly sophisticated media without direct guidance from ISIL leadership," he said, using an acronym for the militant group.
He also, in his prepared testimony, said ISIS has an "unprecedented online proficiency."
Clapper said that the North Korean government announced in 2013 its intention to refurbish and restart nuclear facilities, to include the uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon and its graphite-moderated plutonium production reactor, which was shut down in 2007. He added that U.S. intelligence had assessed that North Korea has expanded Yongbyon and restarted the plutonium production reactor there.
His testimony followed the North Koreans' recent underground test explosion and rocket launch. He said the communist nation is working to expand what is thought to be a small nuclear arsenal. U.S.-based experts have estimated that North Korea may have about 10 bombs, but that could grow to between 20 and 100 by 2020.
When asked, separately, if the the intelligence community suspected that the Iranian government was violating its own nuclear agreement with Washington and its international partners, Clapper said, “no.”
“We have no evidence thus far that they are moving toward a violation,” he testified, adding that Washington is in “the distrust and verify mode” and is watching closely.
On the cybersecurity issue, Clapper said China selectively uses cyber-attacks against targets Beijing believes threaten Chinese domestic stability or regime legitimacy.
"We will monitor compliance with China's September 2015 commitment to refrain from conducting or knowingly supporting cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property with the intent of providing competitive advantage to companies or commercial sectors," he said.
He also warned that Afghanistan is at "serious risk of a political breakdown during 2016." He said waning political cohesion, rising activities by local powerbrokers, financial shortfalls and sustained attacks by the Taliban are eroding stability.
Russia, meanwhile, continues to compete “to create an image of being co-equal with the United States,” and is “very paranoid about NATO and about being contained,” he said in response to a question on Russian aggression in Syria and Ukraine.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.Japanese whalers want $30m for bodyguard ship
Posted
The agency in charge of Japan's whaling program says it will ask the Japanese government for an extra $30 million for this year's Antarctic hunt.
Japan's fisheries agency wants the extra money so it can better protect the fleet against harassment from the militant Sea Shepherd conservation group.
It plans to send a patrol boat to the Antarctic to shadow the whaling fleet.
Sea Shepherd says its members are prepared to die to protect whales from Japanese fleets.
Last whaling season, Sea Shepherd's militant tactics forced the Japanese fleet to call off the hunt a month early and return home with just one-fifth of its quota.
The fisheries agency has also linked the continuation of the whaling hunt with the reconstruction of tsunami-hit whaling communities like Ishinomaki.
It says the revenue from the whaling program will help Ishinomaki recover from the tsunami.
Topics: whaling, conservation, environment, world-politics, japan, antarcticaDavid Aitken continues his training camp of the 2017 New York Jets with a look at the offensive line position. Here is the earlier piece looking at tight ends…
Projected Depth Chart/Starters
LT: Kelvin Beachum / Ben Ijalana
LG: James Carpenter / Dakota Dozier
C: Wesley Johnson / Jonotthan Harrison
RG: Brian Winters / Brent Qvale
RT: Brandon Shell / Ben Ijalana
On the outside, offensive line is yet another position where the Jets are dangerously lacking starting quality. Long gone are the days where the Jets had proven top ten talents at virtually every position. Just like most other positions on the roster, Maccagnan stripped the unit of veterans and the Jets are now left relying on a number of players for contributions that have no or mixed track records as starters.
Yet there are two major differences between this unit and how Maccagnan has approached the rest of the roster. For one, offensive line is one of the only spots the Jets have made a notable investment this offseason. A three year, 24 million dollar deal for left tackle Kelvin Beachum and a 29 million dollar extension for guard Brian Winters were this offseason’s major outlays. Under the radar slightly has been the two year, 10.5 million re-signing of Ben Ijalana – significant money for a swing tackle. Secondly, the “unprovens” of the group actually got a taste of starting action last year. To a greater extent than at other positions, these are players slated to start on merit.
“Merit,” still, is being graded on a curve. There is excitement over 2016 5th round pick Brandon Shell, but it’s based on a small sample size. Shell is still technically only competing for a starting position with Ben Ijalana. The hope is that the high note on which Shell finished 2016 is a sign of things to come, and he can distance himself from Ijalana in preseason. Shell, after an unforgiving preseason last year, rode the bench until the last three games of the season. He shined in pass protection in this limited action, credited with no pressures on 114 snaps according to Pro Football Focus. It’s a small sample size and offensive line numbers can’t always be taken as gospel, but still encouraging for a player that looked like a 24-year-old project when drafted. There is similar optimism for center Wesley Johnson, a former Steelers draftee perhaps given up on too early. Johnson started eight games in 2016, and was essentially a wash when compared to a declining and injury plagued Nick Mangold. Johnson will enter training camp basically unchallenged, and the Jets should feel comfortable they have at least a replacement level starter in Johnson. If nothing else he was a part of a competent interior running game, as the Jets ranked top ten in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric for runs designated mid/guard.
Outside of defensive end, the guard positions are where the Jets are best set long-term. Maccagnan’s signing of James Carpenter in 2015 may have flew under the radar at the time in comparison to other major deals, but two years in it’s arguably his best signing. Brian Winters has paid back Idzik’s early faith in full, earning a 4-year extension this offseason worth up to 29 million. The pair, along with Powell, will be the source of anything good the Jets are able to accomplish in the run game.
Left tackle Kelvin Beachum is the one “splash” signing, but he does carry some obvious risk. After the failed Ryan Clady trade, Maccagnan once again moved for a player that is struggling to prove major injuries are behind him. Still, the former Steeler and Jaguar is an intriguing gamble. In 2014 he was one of the league’s better left tackles at just age 25. His 2015 was cut short with an ACL tear and he hit free agency. The Jaguars signed him to a one year “prove it” deal with an option to kick in a big extension this past offseason if he performed well. He didn’t, and was released. But ACL injuries are serious and it can take an extended recovery period to reach old heights. A decent enough structured contract means the Jets can save some cap releasing him in 2018 if things don’t get better, and best case scenario he’s a respectable starting tackle for the next few seasons.
Position Group Strength: 5
There is a “least of our problems” feel to the Jets offensive line, but it is important to keep in mind that Beachum, Johnson and Shell are all close to being unknowns. In an ideal world they all are competent and the Jets have the foundation of a solid offensive line. It may be more realistic to expect one or two of the trio to take a step forward but the Jets still requiring a starter somewhere long-term. Secondly, while it’s one of the Jets positions where the chance of starter caliber play is actually decent, it’s a group that lacks a cornerstone or potential top player. Offensive line is a position where the performance can often be greater or less than the sum of its parts, but there isn’t really high-end potential anywhere. Lastly, the depth is absolutely horrible.
Best Case Scenario: The unit performs greater than the sum of it’s parts and is an above average unit, buoyed by a bounce back season from Kelvin Beachum and Brandon Shell building off the back of 2016. The joint Maccagnan-Idzik offensive line rebuild project is complete.
Prediction: Far from spectacular, but the line will be the least of the Jets’ problems on offense. It’ll be a league-average unit where in an ideal world the Jets are looking for upgrades at several positions, but won’t need to be prioritized.
Photo Credit: www.sny.tvSatirical magazine borne of the financial crisis, Spain's version of Private Eye pokes fun at the corrupt, the powerful and the press
When the Spanish king Juan Carlos was taken to hospital at the end of last month, most mainstream newspapers and magazines carried endless coverage, analysing his latest operation in the finest detail.
Even the more leftwing media outlets weren't entirely sure how to judge the tone in a country which has an increasingly complicated relationship with the monarchy – once revered but now coming unstuck after a series of sexual and financial scandals.
The satirical magazine Mongolia was in no doubt how it felt. It published a picture of him on his deathbed, under the headline: "The last photo of the king." Except it wasn't a picture of the king, it was of Hugo Chávez on his deathbed. Except it wasn't actually Chávez – it was the same picture that left-leaning El País newspaper ran erroneously earlier this year, purportedly of the dying Venezuelan leader. When the picture turned out to be a fake, El País had to pulp an entire print run.
Thus Mongolia had lined up everyone in its sights: the king, the right, the left, and the press. The magazine's cover was a pitch-perfect spoof of the El País front page, down to putting an accent over the "i" in Mongolía, an in-joke much appreciated by readers. It summed up the monthly magazine perfectly – no one is safe from its jaundiced, critical eye.
Mongolia (so-called because the eight-year-old son of one of its co-founders liked the name) offers a vibrant mix of cartoon strips, spoof letters to the editor and bizarre, often psychedelic, graphics, all taking aim at Spain's more pompous institutions. But, like all good satire, its intent is deeply serious. Its back pages are called Reality News, and run under the slogan: "The part of Mongolia made up of real news – if you laugh from now on, it's your problem."
This month's edition contains a look at the controversial owner of La Razón newspaper, a report on one of former dictator Francisco Franco's more brutal torturers, and some scurrilous gossip in a section called Off the Record.Among the inspirations for Mongolia were Private Eye in the UK and the French magazine Le Canard enchaîné, and you can see their influence throughout its pages.
"We respect Spain so much that we don't respect it," says Gonzalo Boye, editor and legal mastermind behind Mongolia. Mongolia was born out of the financial crisis in Spain, a reaction to the recession, the ongoing corruption scandals, and what the Chilean-born Boye views as a craven press.
"There is no independent press in Spain," he said. "Newspapers are written to please, or annoy, powerful people, depending on who owns them. And there is no popular press – Spanish newspapers are not reader-orientated".
"If Mongolia didn't exist in a proper democracy you would have to invent it," says Boye. And so in 2012, a small group of disaffected journalists, cartoonists, and writers did just that. They took the concept to Boye, a garrulous, no-nonsense lawyer with a reputation for taking on complicated cases of economic and political corruption, because they knew the magazine would become a target itself.
"If people come at us, the magazine needs a lawyer like me." Thus far, not one case has been brought against them. They got some funding together, and built a wall between its financial backers and the editorial team: "No one tells us what to write," says Boye.
As a lawyer and senior legal partner, he had one piece of advice for his collaborators: "Just make sure your own back garden is clean."
And things are looking pretty good for Mongolia. The first edition came out in March 2012 but Boye says they now have anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 readers a month, with 2,000 loyal subscribers, impressive in a country with a short tradition of a free press. It has a vibrant online presence, too, with more than 110,000 followers on twitter at the time of writing.
"We're happy where we are at the moment, but we want to grow, and we're thinking about going fortnightly at some point. We'll only truly be satisfied when every Spaniard knows we exist," he says.
Oh, and they send a copy to the king every month. They don't know if he reads it, says Boye, "but we'd like it if he took out a subscription".It’s time for an apology. No, not from your editor. We’re always right, so there’s no need to apologise [wink].
Instead the apology needs to come from the Australian mainstream financial press. The same financial press that told you Australia’s banks were strong.
That Australia had the best prudential regulation in the world. That Australian banks were different to all those dirty foreign banks.
But an apology also needs to come from the banks who themselves claimed things were different here. And that Australia’s banks didn’t have the same solvency problems as US and European banks.
Why do they need to apologise? Well, two years after the global financial markets collapsed, a secret bailout of two of Australia’s biggest banks has been revealed.
This is pretty big news. Or rather, you’d think it would be pretty big news. But as you can imagine there’s almost uniform silence from the banks and the mainstream press.
Shortly after we sent you yesterday’s Money Morning we decided to do a bit of fishing around on the US Federal Reserve website. You see, earlier that morning the Fed had released some pretty hot material, and we wanted to see what it contained.
What we found shocked us. Although it really shouldn’t have, because we knew the claims about the Australian banking system being strong and robust were complete lies anyway.
In fact, so shocking is this revelation that we considered sending you a Money Morning special edition yesterday afternoon. But we didn’t. We’re fed up of giving the mainstream scoops which they then claim as their own.
Instead we thought we’d wait to see if the Australian mainstream press picked up the story first.
Surprisingly they have. But not with any enthusiasm. And hardly with what you’d call any effort. Probably because they’re a bit sheepish about the fact the banks and regulators have made fools of them. I’ll provide you with the link to the one story on it in a moment.
So excited were we to see how the mainstream had handled this story we did something we normally never do – enthusiastically open the Australian Financial Review (AFR).
The first thing we did was check the Companies Index on the back page. This was promising, the two banks in question were mentioned. We eagerly flicked through to the relevant pages… and drew a blank.
Not a single mention of it. So we started from the front and worked our way quickly through the paper… page seven… here it is… “Rescues: RBA borrowed billions from Fed” was the headline… but no, this isn’t what we’re looking for.
On we went, past the big centre-fold spread telling readers that the AFR contains, “Up-to-the-minute market information, news, commentary and expert analysis… All from just $44 per month”.
We continued… through to the end. Not peep. Not a single mention.
And the AFR is supposed to be Australia’s premium business newspaper. We wouldn’t have thought so.
About all it’s good for is lining bird cages in our opinion.
But then, we guess if the AFR exposed the banks’ duplicity it wouldn’t be able to get an interview with the likes of Commonwealth Bank of Australia [ASX: CBA] CEO Sir. Ralph Norris.
Said person is the feature item in the Boss glossy mag insert in today’s AFR.
We can’t be bothered reading it. It’s surely pap.
But anyway, what the heck are we going on about? This…
I’m talking about the near collapse of the Australian banking system in 2008. I’m talking about the likelihood of two Australian banks collapsing in 2008 if they hadn’t secured a secret loan from the US Federal Reserve.
The fact that National Australia Bank [ASX: NAB] had to borrow USD$4.5 billion from the US Federal Reserve during 2008 and 2009.
And Westpac Banking Corp [ASX: WBC] needed USD$1.09 billion in January of 2008 and 2009.
What’s that, you don’t know anything about it?
And you don’t remember reading about it?
There’s a simple reason for that. It’s been top secret information until yesterday morning.
That’s right, if it wasn’t for the passing of controversial legislation in the United States you’d never have found out about NAB and Westpac’s Federal Reserve bail outs.
And based on the lack of interest from the mainstream press – including Australia’s so-called premium business newspaper, if it wasn’t for Money Morning you’d still be none the wiser.
The one and only article we’ve found that mentions it is this one from The Age, headlined “NAB, Westpac tapped Fed”.
It appears to be an adaptation of a New York Times article based on the reference at the end, with localised bits added by Eric Johnston. But this one pathetic effort shows just how clueless the Australian mainstream press is.
Johnston makes this comment:
“The Westpac borrowings are unusual, as it barely has a North American presence, operating only a US representative office.”
Seriously, do I really need to explain it to a veteran journalist?
Talk about not being able to see the wood for the trees. Talk about not getting it.
Here’s a clue for Mr. Johnston, it wasn’t Westpac’s US office that needed the dosh, it was Westpac in Australia that needed it. It shows you that without the direct financial support of the US Federal Reserve Westpac and NAB would have been toast.
Westpac and NAB needed the loans because they were on the verge of going belly up. It’s that simple. If they hadn’t gotten secret loans from the US Fed they would undoubtedly have needed secret loans from the RBA.
Fortunately for the RBA, the Fed opened the door and this allowed Aussie central bankers and bankers to claim that the Aussie banks hadn’t received a bailout.
But not only that, what’s most extraordinary is that Westpac was one of the first institutions to borrow money from the Fed when the lending facility became available!
But more about that in a moment. Let me give you some of the background first…
You may have read about something called the Dodd-Frank Act. The full name is the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It’s called Dodd-Frank after the bill’s sponsors, US Senator Chris Dodd, and Representative Barney Frank.
The legislation mandates a number of things, but part of it is the requirement for the US Federal Reserve to reveal which institutions it loaned money to under the various bail out programmes.
One of those programmes was titled the Term Auction Facility (TAF). According to the Fed’s website:
“Under the program, the Federal Reserve auctioned 28-day loans, and, beginning in August 2008, 84-day loans, to depository institutions in generally sound financial condition…
“…Of those institutions, primary credit, and thus also the TAF, is available only to institutions that are financially sound.”
OK, so only “financially sound” institutions were eligible for TAF loans. That would be financially sound institutions such as LloydsTSB plc which got a USD$10.5 billion loan from the Fed and which later had to be partially nationalised by the UK government.
It would also include ABN Amro Bank which grabbed USD$1.5 billion of loans from the Fed, and which would later cause such a financial strain on Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) after RBS bought it that the UK government had to partially nationalise it too.
Not to mention the USD$53.5 billion of loans RBS needed directly.
Then there was Allied Irish Bank, who could forget it? The Irish certainly won’t.
Between February 2009 and February 2010 Allied Irish Bank needed USD$34.7 billion of loans from the Fed. Allied Irish Bank also had all its obligations guaranteed by the Irish taxpayer and is the primary reason why Ireland now requires an International Monetary Fund and European Union bailout to the tune of $113 billion.
And what about Bayerische Landesbank which needed a USD$13.4 billion bailout from the state of Bavaria? Well, apparently it was financially sound enough to borrow USD$108.19 billion between December 2007 and October 2009.
So, we can take with a grain of salt the Fed’s claim that only “financially sound” institutions had access to the TAF programme. Financially unsound and insolvent banks were given loans too.
And in the middle of all that wheeling and dealing, when a total of nearly USD$4 trillion was loaned to and repaid by “financially sound” institutions, Australia’s very own National Australia Bank and Westpac were in on the action too.
Although it was only a relatively small amount compared to some of the other transactions, it was still USD$4.5 billion and USD$1.09 billion respectively. But it was still a lot more than the USD$1.5 billion needed by financially unsound ABN Amro.
Also don’t forget that the NAB went to the Australian stock market in late 2008 to raise $3 billion. That was a sum it needed to bolster its capital.
If $3 billion was a significant and important number for the market to know about then surely USD$4.5 billion (about AUD$7 billion at the time) was even more crucial for the market to be aware of.
But there wasn’t a peep from them.
Because as I say, you didn’t know anything about the NAB’s and Westpac’s Fed loans. It was all top secret.
And it’s obvious that $3 billion capital raising still wasn’t enough because NAB had to go begging to the Fed twice after that for $1.5 billion a time.
But as I say, you didn’t hear a word about this at the time. It was all top secret. But that didn’t stop the bankers and regulators and politicians from posturing about the stability and strength of Australian banks.
In January 2008 Westpac denied there was a problem with its US exposure. That’s despite the fact just one month before, on December 20th 2007 Westpac had gotten a USD$90 million loan from the Federal Reserve under the TAF programme.
Not only did it get the loan, but it was one of the first in the queue! As you can see from the screenshot below (click to enlarge):
Source: US Federal Reserve
You can check out the full details here by downloading the spreadsheet.
You’ll note that Westpac applied for the loan on the same day as Citibank (bailed out by US government), Lloyds TSB Bank (bailed out by UK government), Bayerische Landesbank (bailed out by Bavarian government), and Societe Generale (which was bailed out by the US government courtesy of the AIG bailout against which SocGen had a massive CDS exposure).
In other words, we’re talking about a rag-tag bag of insolvent banks. And our own insolvent bank – Westpac – was amongst the thick of it, begging for an emergency loan from the US Federal Reserve as soon as the doors were opened.
It’s something you’d think would be of interest to shareholders don’t you? But there wasn’t a word from them.
And it must now make the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) feel foolish, considering in September 2008, just before NAB sought the Fed’s help, the RBA wrote:
“The Australian financial system has coped better with the recent turmoil than many other financial systems. The banking system is soundly capitalised, it has only limited exposure to sub-prime related assets, and it continues to record strong profitability and has low levels or problem loans. The large Australian banks all have high credit ratings and they have been able to continue to tap both domestic and offshore capital markets on a regular basis.”
Tapping “offshore capital markets” obviously included the US Fed.
So we wonder, how much did the Reserve Bank of Australia know about this? While it was talking up the strength of the Australian banking system did it know that two of the four Australian banking pillars were desperately seeking loans from the US Fed?
Or, like you, was the RBA in the dark? And what about the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)? We’ve been told they’ve done all manner of stress tests and the banks passed with flying colours.
How can that be possible if Westpac and NAB need emergency loans from the US Fed? Was this included in the stress tests?
Anyway, we’d like to know. So we’ve fired off emails to the RBA, APRA and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) asking them these simple questions.
When did the RBA/APRA/ASX become aware of Westpac and NAB’s loans under the TAF programme?
If RBA/APRA/ASX were not aware of the loans under the TAF programme please explain why.
If RBA/APRA/ASX were aware of the loans please explain why this wasn’t considered to be important enough to inform the market?
We’ll let you know if or when we get a reply.
But it wasn’t just Westpac that kept quiet about it.
NAB chairman Michael Chaney must surely have realised what he was saying when he made the following comment at the December 2008 annual general meeting:
“Our traditional banking and wealth management operations are all profitable, strongly capitalised and conservatively funded. In addition, our banking businesses have sound asset quality and are well provisioned.”
So sound was the asset quality that just six weeks earlier NAB’s New York branch had to arrange a USD$1.5 billion loan at an interest rate of 0.6% with the US Federal Reserve.
All under a shroud of secrecy.
All under the belief that |
Owen of being a nerd who can’t get laid! They’re both accusing each other of trying to take the money and run!
And apparently Roosh V — yes, that Roosh V, do you even know of any others — played the Yoko Ono role in this breakup. (Sorry, Yoko, it really wasn’t fair to drag you into this, so I’ll post a video of your awesome Walking On Thin Ice at the end of this post.)
Owen announced the firing of Aurini in this video:
Oh, sorry, that wasn’t Owen announcing the firing. That wass Tammy Wynette singing D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Here’s Owen:
Whoops. That was “The Breakup Song” by the Greg Kihn Band. HERE’s Owen:
Ok, that was actually Frida — you know, from ABBA — doing “I Know There’s Something Going On.” I dunno, it’s a pretty good song, don’t you think? And it’s sort of relevant.
Anyway, here’s the actual video from Owen. It’s not that long. You should watch it. He’s fully clothed in this one. Well, at least from the waist up.
I’m not quite sure if Owen actually has the authority to fire Aurini, but then again I’m not an expert in Shithead Breakup Law. In case you didn’t watch the video, he says he plans to finish the, er, film without Aurini. And he apparently has all the money.
Aurini, meanwhile, has offered his side of the story in a blog post:
Jordan Owen has decided to split the partnership he and I formed to produce the GamerGate documentary about Anita Sarkeesian, with the planned title The Sarkeesian Effect. Conveniently after collecting the funds I begged you for in my last post.
Aurini, despite being fired and not having access to the duo’s Paypal account, pledges that he too will see the, er, film to its completion, thus raising the possibility that there will be TWO COMPETING SARKEESIAN EFFECTS, sort of like when Black Flag got back together, but as two competing bands, with one touring as Black Flag and the other just as Flag.
“This project will see fruition,” Aurini writes, “and it will be a palpable blow against the Social Justice movement.”
A BLOW, A VERY PALPABLE BLOW!
Alas, I knew him, Horatio.
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
Anyhoo, Aurini claims that the film “is as good as in the bag,” with not much beyond editing left to do, and claims to be puzzled as to why Owen would take his ball and go home at this late state in the production. He claims
there was absolutely no disagreement over the film at all, and Jordan’s role as Producer, by this point, had mainly devolved to signing the cheques while I did the editing, and others did the animation. The only logical reason to split the project at this point was because he’d just received the final month’s funding…
But just when you think Aurini is going to start in on a rant on what a dirty thief Owen is, he heads in a totally different direction, insinuating that Owen’s REAL reason for the breakup had less to do with money than it did with, well, let’s let Aurini explain:
After the past two months of communiques with Jordan, I strongly suspect that he undermined this project because of an irrational jealously of Roosh, and any man who’s able to relate to women easily. He’d been asking me for advice about women since the get go – which led me to recommending my colleague Roosh who has done much to support us – but every time I spoke about him, it seemed to fill Jordan with rage. Eventually leading to a panic attack that got him kicked off of an airplane – the last time I saw him in person.
That’s right. He’s saying that Jordan Owen is some kind of Omega Male Luh-huh-LOOOOOSER who can’t score the HBs!
Then Aurini asks for more money:
I ask that you continue to support me as I pull the last strands together, and cancel your financial support to Mister Owen. He does not have the technical capacity to put this film together the way it needs to be done.
Oh, this is going to be good.
Oh, and here’s that Yoko Ono song, which seriously is probably one of my top ten favorite songs of all time.
H/T — Skiriki, for being the first to alert me to this exciting development.
H/T — To Mike in the comments, who pointed me to that pic of the formerly dynamic duo, which I knew was out there but just couldn’t find!
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Like this: Like Loading...- Better Than Human
I have always thought of myself as unwaveringly good. I tell the truth. I recycle. I once drove miles out of my way to return a lost puppy. When I play Fallout 3, I roam the Wasteland for hours to find water for that thirsty beggar. I always try to do the right thing—even when the context is hypothetical, without consequence, or in a postapocalyptic barrens populated by irradiated zombies.
So why do I find myself rooting for the bad guy?
When Walter White strangles an adversary with a bike lock, I muse, "Well, the poor man's just doing what he must." I empathize with The Walking Dead's Rick Grimes, even as he leaves a mountain of bodies in his wake, living and undead. I find Sterling Archer's man-sluttery adorable rather than off-putting; the fact that my own character on the animated FX series is often caught in the blowback more adorable still. At the end of Homeland's first season (I'm going to spoil it, and I don't care—that's how naughty I've become), I was shocked to find myself rooting, just a tiny bit, for Nick Brody's explosive vest to go off.
Look away. I'm hideous.
Before you smooth your petticoats in self-satisfaction, you're no better than me. No one wants a perfect hero anymore. We want self-destructive behavior, unabashed greed, emotionless sex. Our moral compass has been staked through the heart—and we are the murderers.
We should be happy here at the future's edge, but our tools of convenience may also be our destruction. We're awakened by sleep apps, ride upcycled bikes to green jobs, watch kitten videos over compostable bowls of organic kale salad. Life's edges have been rounded away, granting a tinny satisfaction that quickly fades, leaving an appetite for something base. Menacing. Wrong. So we sate it with Grimes' rampages and Omar Little's retributions, by savaging San Andreas without a tear for the innocents. We delight in the triumph of evil over good—in our entertainment, anyway. If our lives have become sanitized and controlled, at least we can watch other people cook meth and get laid.
But it's been getting tougher to confine my sinner's delight to the abstract. Recently, bank robbery suspects raced through LA, flinging money out of their car to attract a mob that would stymie pursuing cops—and as I watched a guy get hit in the face with a brick of bills, the only thing I could think was "Go. In the name of all things holy, drive like the wind." I may not be the one doing the dirt, but I'll be damned if I'll look away. —Aisha Tyler
The mid-season premiere of Archer airs tonight on FX at 10 pm EST.A British self-driving car project aims to have a fleet of driverless vehicles on the road in two years, after receiving a $13 million grant from the UK government.
The project is led by Oxbotica, an Oxford University robotics spin-out. Tests will take place alongside the startup’s driverless pod trial in London and at RACE, a robotics center in Oxford, run by the university.
See Also: Does Baidu want to be the Android of self-driving?
Initially, Oxbotica plans to test 10 vehicles and build a communication platform for the fleet. One car will be able to alert others to accidents on the road in near real-time, removing the need for constant Internet updates.
“We’re moving from the singleton autonomous vehicle to fleets of autonomous vehicles – and what’s interesting is what data the vehicles share with one another, when, and why,” said Prof. Paul Newman, of Oxford University, to Trusted Reviews.
New ride-hailing app?
Oxbotica also plans to develop a ride-hailing app for the autonomous fleet, but did not say when it intends to launch the app. Uber has already started testing self-driving pickups in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The grant is part of a $20 million investment into autonomous projects by the British government. Nissan, a major auto manufacturer in the U.K., received funds for its own self-driving project in London.
The Queen’s Speech last year called for the legalization of autonomous vehicles and several manufacturers and startups have come forward to trial self-driving cars across the country. Volvo and Jaguar Range Rover are the two major manufacturers that have ongoing programs in the country.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
June 21, 2017, 10:16 PM GMT / Updated June 21, 2017, 11:33 PM GMT By Leigh Ann Caldwell
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leaders are set to release details of their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act after weeks of closed-door negotiations. Republican senators will receive the legislation first in a meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday with the first public glimpse at the proposed bill coming shortly afterwards.
The process could then move quickly, with a vote on the bill coming as early as next week.
Republican senators weren't talking about the plan on Wednesday, saying they were waiting to see the details themselves. "We'll know if it's a boy or girl tomorrow about 9:30,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.
The process has been criticized by Democrats and even some Republicans anxious to know specifics about a bill that would impact millions of Americans. Despite participating in some discussions on what a bill should look like, Republican members outside a small group of leaders have not been privy to the final contents.
Some Republicans have expressed frustration with the process.
“You know, I woke up this morning and I decided I was going to make my day so much easier by letting all of you inquiring minds know that today I don’t know anything more than I knew yesterday,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “Tomorrow I’m going to know so much more and I’ll have such better response to all of your questions. I’m most eager to entertain them then.”
When asked if she wishes she knew more, Murkowski said, “I do.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been overseeing the construction of the legislation in an effort to cobble together the votes of at least 50 Republicans who have vastly different positions on what health care should look like.
McConnell has kept details under wraps, presenting his conference with options being considered instead of final decisions, especially on some of the most difficult components to hash out.
As Congress and the public awaits the details, here are some details and dynamics to watch:
The Big Issues
Medicaid: Medicaid has been a major issue of contention since the Senate received the House-passed version of the bill last month. Senators from states who expanded Medicaid under Obamacare have come to like the expansion and don’t want to kick people off the program for low-income and disabled Americans. Senators from states that didn’t expand don’t want to be penalized by receiving less federal funds by choosing not to expand the program.
Republican leaders trying to accommodate both sides are contemplating a slow winding-down of Medicaid, making the program less generous or creating carve outs to ensure that certain groups of people don’t lose coverage, such as children with chronic health care needs.
“I don’t know where they’re going to come out on that,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said. “Cutting the growth rate means that states wouldn’t be able to keep the same number of people on Medicaid without finding additional resources and that’s a challenge.”
Tax Credits: The Republican bill is expected to help people in the individual markets purchase insurance through assistance based on income. The House version of the health care bill provides tax credits based on age, leaving older people with higher costs. The Senate is trying to correct that.
Taxes: Not all Obamacare taxes will be repealed, at least not immediately, to help pay for the Senate bill. Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, wants to repeal the taxes that he believes increase the cost of premiums, including the tax on health insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and medical devices — those are also the taxes on companies with powerful lobbyists. Democrats say the House health care plan is nothing more than a tax cut for the wealthy because of it repeals all taxes, including a 3.8 percent tax on the wealthy.
Opioid Funding: Another concern about cutting Medicaid funding is that treatment for opioid addition would lose funding. An option that has been floated is creating a pot of money, at least $15 billion per year, to be available for that purpose. Senators from states with high opioid addiction rates are hoping that people with addictions don’t lose their access to care.
Planned Parenthood: Conservatives want to strip Planned Parenthood funding from the health care bill but moderates are opposed to that. The Senate bill will try to appease both of them.
Senators to Watch
Different factions of senators are critical to the passage of the bill and all of the members below could easily vote against it.
Moderates: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Rob Portman of Ohio. These members have various concerns but one similar thread is the threat of drastic cuts to Medicaid.
Conservatives: Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Like the moderates, they all have different concerns but generally they want greater cuts to Medicaid and fewer mandates on coverage and less government assistance.
“My main concern is I promised voters that I would repeal Obamcare and everything I hear sounds like Obamacare light,” said Sen. Paul. “I’m still hoping we reach impasse and we actually go back to the idea we originally started with which was repealing Obamacare.”
Vulnerable Members: Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Dean Heller of Nevada could have tough re-elections in 2018 and a vote for an unpopular bill could seal their fate.
Next Steps
The Congressional Budget Office must release a cost and coverage estimate before the Senate votes. That report could come out as early as Friday or Monday. McConnell could then bring up the legislation on Wednesday, which is expected to take two to three days to debate and vote on.
But if the Senate passes it, the House and Senate have to reconcile the differences in their bills. The House has two options: either vote on the Senate bill, which could be a heavy lift after a difficult vote in the House just a month ago, or the two bodies go to conference, come up the exact same bill and then each body votes on it again.
In other words, it’s still a long road to the president’s desk.Geeking Out For Halloween: Behold The R2-D2 Jack-O'-Lantern
toggle caption Noel Dickover
Over the last nine months I've gotten to know Noel Dickover, one of the founders of CrisisCommons, a group of volunteers I'm involved in that pools its tech skills to help respond to natural disasters. After meeting him in person, I started following him on Twitter, where his avatar seems to show him hugging a large pumpkin.
For months I couldn't figured out what he was doing. It turns out he's not hugging that pumpkin; he's carving it. No, that doesn't even do it justice; he's sculpting it. And this weekend, he sculpted a whopper of a pumpkin - a fully rendered R2-D2 jack-o'-lantern.
For Halloween and Star Wars geeks alike, it's truly a harmonic convergence of awesomeness, so I decided to chat with Noel about the technical work that went into creating it.
How long did it take you to carve R2-D2?
It took somewhere between 10-11 hours. I started at 10:00 on Saturday morning and got done just after 10:00 that night, but taking in account eating and so forth, that's my estimate.
toggle caption Noel Dickover
What goes into planning one of your pumpkins?
There's a difference between carving a pattern on a pumpkin, and a pumpkin sculpt. In the case of R2-D2, or the Deathstar, for instance, the pumpkin "is" the object, not just a portrait. So in thinking about carving R2-D2, I absolutely had to have a fairly tall, completely cylindrical looking pumpkin. I found one that weighed in at right around 40 lbs. Without this, there's no way I could have gotten the detail I was looking for.
The other issue is whether the pumpkin has a smooth surface or whether it has a "grooved" surface. Grooved lines on R2-D2 obviously wouldn't work. Finally, for R2-D2, because I didn't have a pattern, I needed to have pictures of anatomically accurate R2-D2 pictures. I found these both with the Weta Sideshow R2-D2 sculpture and with some videos of fully functional R2-D2 units from the R2-D2 Maker's group. Then its a matter of taking the "real" R2-D2 and transposing it to the pumpkin you have. In my case, I might have made the top a tad to big, but overall, I was able to get all the elements into the pumpkin. (I did make a mistake by having only 5 shapes circling around the top instead of 6, and perhaps a few other things like making the back a bit too wide, but all in all it was fairly decent for winging it). I also used a sewing tape measure to keep certain distances internally consistent.
Incidentally, for portrait carves, where I carve a pattern on the pumpkin, some of them might take me a good 10-15 hours to make the pattern from a picture. For some pumpkins, I've spent well over 30 hours in total. For instance, on fairly long one was my Mickey-Chernabog carve [from the animated musical Fantasia]. I started with a coffee-cup, which I hand-scanned 8 times and spliced bits of the scans into Photoshop, and then spent another 12 hours with the pattern, before giving up on completing it, and then spent another 15 hours carving it.
What did you use for R2-D2's legs?
I had bought a really nice large pumpkin that started to rot on the top. I cut off the top of that pumpkin and used the rest of it for "parts." So the three scopes that stick out of R2-D2 came off of that - it took me a number of failed attempts to make the scopes - as well as the two leg pieces. I made the legs fairly thin, but left a long "socket" that could fit through a hole on the side of R2-D2. The scopes were glued on with Krazy Glue, and I used orange modeling clay at the base to mimic the black rings the real R2 has.
What else do you have in the works this month?
I've already done a fairy and a flying eye. I'm also planning to do a Borg Cube (well, three sides, anyways), which I have a 50-lb pumpkin for (that might be a disaster - who knows!), a Hellraiser Pinhead sculpt with lightbright pins sticking out, some dragons from How to Train your Dragon and Avatar, Neytiri from Avatar, the Mad Hatter and a variety of other things. I provide the patterns I make to carve the pumpkins to anyone interested................................................."Mother Nature" was my entry for's Spring Contest based on the theme of "Nature", located here: cgcookie.com/concept/2014/04/1…. I thought of Mother Nature as a rather ordinary-looking human, but she carries around this seed (Yggdrassil) that blossoms out 'life'. She's an entity that creates life, is calming, but does not control or end lives, rather, she observes and follows the life she creates through these magical 'threads' that are woven into everything.But anyway, it was a really fun piece to draw and a really enjoyable theme and contest, hoping you like it more than I do!................................................Some more of my worksChelsea's seemingly unstoppable form puts them top of the Power Rankings for the first time in a long time. They might stay there until they next lose, too...
1. Chelsea (+1)
Will Antonio Conte's side ever lose another game? Of course they will, but for now the Blues are rolling through opponents with ease. Last weekend saw another master class against a top opponent as they fell behind at Man City but rallied for three slick goals to take all three points and cement their position at the top of the Premier League. Rivals, beware.
2. Real Madrid (-1)
Zinedine Zidane's side stumbled a little in the past week but are still well on course for their La Liga and Champions League objectives. A strong showing in Saturday's Clasico saw them grab a dramatic late 1-1 draw thanks to Sergio Ramos' header, while a midweek date with Borussia Dortmund ended with an entertaining 2-2 draw. Los Blancos are far from invincible, but Zidane has restored their sense of belief.
3. Juventus (+2)
Are the Bianconeri finally clicking? It's taken a few weeks for them to figure things out, but Saturday's 3-1 win over Atalanta was as good as Max Allegri's side have looked all season. Mario Mandzukic continued his fine run of form with a goal, and his strike partner Gonzalo Higuain was on the mark in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. Juve topped their UCL group and are four points clear in Serie A: not bad at all.
4. RB Leipzig (no change)
Can Leipzig continue their Leicester-like run in Germany? All signs point to yes: With no European football to trouble their tight squad, the minnows defeated Schalke 2-1 on Saturday to remain three points ahead of Bayern Munich. Yes, it felt odd to write that. They're the only unbeaten team in the German top flight and boast a goal difference of plus-18, second-best behind the Bavarian giants. What else can you write about this Cinderella story?
5. Barcelona (+3)
Reports of Barca's demise were greatly exaggerated, as it turns out: Luis Enrique's side shrugged off some indifferent league form to grab a deserved 1-1 Clasico draw on Saturday against in-form Real Madrid and followed it up with a decisive 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach to round out their Champions League group stage. Andres Iniesta is back and healthy, while Arda Turan (who scored three vs. Gladbach) showed he can take some of the attacking burden off the fabled "MSN." It bodes well for the Catalan giants heading into the winter.
For the second consecutive week, Chelsea fell behind vs. a top team and fought back for an impressive win.
6. Roma (+4)
Serie A has had several clubs struggling to compete with Juventus, but this season's AS Roma might finally be able to sustain a season-long charge. The Giallorossi fought hard for a 2-0 Rome derby win over Lazio at the weekend to remain second in the league on goal difference ahead of AC Milan. Roma also rounded out their Europa League group stage with a 0-0 draw at Astra Giurgiu, a result that matters little given that they had already guaranteed their place in the round of 32.
7. Bayern Munich (new)
The transition from Pep Guardiola to Carlo Ancelotti hasn't been entirely smooth this season, but the big boys of Germany still have plenty of quality to get them through the rough patches. Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick in Friday's 3-1 win vs. Mainz, his first goals since Nov. 1, and then scored again in the midweek 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid to wrap up Champions League Group D. Despite some indifferent form, they're right where they need to be.
8. Borussia Dortmund (new)
Another big German club to have laboured a bit this season, Thomas Tuchel's side have found some cohesion this week. A 4-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach (aided by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace) gave way to a spirited 2-2 draw at Real Madrid in midweek, a game in which they rallied from 2-0 down after 53 minutes. Flair and a fightback from the black-and-yellows should give fans something to cheer.
9. Nice (new)
As if RB Leipzig's stunning season so far wasn't impressive enough, Nice are pulling something similar in France. They're still top of Ligue 1 and notched their 12th win of the season last weekend vs. Toulouse, with Alassane Plea scoring his ninth league goal in 16 appearances to kick off a 3-0 win. Paris Saint-Germain's struggles are only helping Les Aiglons remain soaring domestically, and the return of Mario Balotelli in the Europa League helped them close a difficult campaign with a 2-1 win vs. FC Krasnodar.
10. AC Milan (new)
We've been watching Milan's many reboots over the past few seasons, but this time around the renaissance looks legit. The Rossoneri won their only game this week, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory vs. Crotone, to remain third in Serie A on goal difference and just four points behind Juventus. It's a far cry from the midtable mediocrity and constant managerial turnover we'd come to expect, and it's driven by unheralded talent like ex-Liverpool midfielder Suso. Gianluca Lapadula, who scored once and earned a penalty kick in Sunday's win, might also be one of the stories of the season.
Dropping out: Manchester City, Liverpool, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain
Shaka Hislop played for over 10 years in the Premier League and represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 World Cup. Watch him on ESPN FC TV!Many of the concepts that we promote over in Ethereum land may seem incredibly futuristic, and perhaps even frightening, at times. We talk about so-called “smart contracts” that execute themselves without any need, or any opportunity, for human intervention or involvement, people forming Skynet-like “decentralized autonomous organizations” that live entirely on the cloud and yet control powerful financial resources and can incentivize people to do very real things in the physical world, decentralized “math-based law”, and a seemingly utopian quest to create some kind of fully trust-free society. To the uninformed user, and especially to those who have not even heard of plain old Bitcoin, it can be hard to see how these kinds of things are possible, and if they are why they can possibly be desirable. The purpose of this series will be to dissect these ideas in detail, and show exactly what we mean by each one, discussing its properties, advantages and limitations.
The first installment of the series will talk about so-called “smart contracts”. Smart contracts are an idea that has been around for several decades, but was given its current name and first substantially brought to the (cryptography-inclined) public’s attention by Nick Szabo in 2005. In essence, the definition of a smart contract is simple: a smart contract is a contract that enforces itself. That is to say, whereas a regular contract is a piece of paper (or more recently PDF document) containing text which implicitly asks for a judge to order a party to send money (or other property) to another party under certain conditions, a smart contract is a computer program that can be run on hardware which automatically executes those conditions. Nick Szabo uses the example of a vending machine:
A canonical real-life example, which we might consider to be the primitive ancestor of smart contracts, is the humble vending machine. Within a limited amount of potential loss (the amount in the till should be less than the cost of breaching the mechanism), the machine takes in coins, and via a simple mechanism, which makes a freshman computer science problem in design with finite automata, dispense change and product according to the displayed price. The vending machine is a contract with bearer: anybody with coins can participate in an exchange with the vendor. The lockbox and other security mechanisms protect the stored coins and contents from attackers, sufficiently to allow profitable deployment of vending machines in a wide variety of areas.
Smart contracts are the application of this concept to, well, lots of things. We can have smart financial contracts that automatically shuffle money around based on certain formulas and conditions, smart domain name sale orders that give the domain to whoever first sends in $200, perhaps even smart insurance contracts that control bank accounts and automatically pay out based on some trusted source (or combination of sources) supplying data about real-world events.
Smart Property
At this point, however, one obvious question arises: how are these contracts going to be enforced? Just like traditional contracts, which are not worth the paper they’re written on unless there’s an actual judge backed by legal power enforcing them, smart contracts needs to be “plugged in” to some system in order to actually have power to do anything. The most obvious, and oldest, solution is hardware, an idea that also goes by the name “smart property”. Nick Szabo’s vending machine is the canonical example here. Inside the vending machine, there is a sort of proto-smart-contract, containing a set of computer code that looks something like this:
if button_pressed == “Coca Cola” and money_inserted >= 1.75: release(“Coca Cola”) return_change(money_inserted - 1.75)
else if button_pressed == “Aquafina Water” and money_inserted >= 1.25: release(“Aquafina Water”) return_change(money_inserted - 1.25)
else if …
The contract has four “hooks” into the outside world: the button_pressed and money_inserted variables as input, and therelease and return_change commands as output. All four of these depend on hardware, although we focus on the last three because human input is generally considered to be a trivial problem. If the contract was running on an Android phone from 2007, it would be useless; the Android phone has no way of knowing how much money was inserted into a slot, and certainly cannot release Coca Cola bottles or return change. On a vending machine, on the other hand, the contract carries some “force”, backed by the vending machine’s internal Coca Cola holdings and its physical security preventing people from just taking the Coca Cola without following the rules of the contract.
Another, more futuristic, application of smart property is rental cars: imagine a world where everyone has their own private key on a smartphone, and there is a car such that when you pay $100 to a certain address the car automatically starts responding commands signed by your private key for a day. The same principle can also be applied to houses. If that sounds far-fetched, keep in mind that office buildings are largely smart property already: access is controlled by access cards, and the question of which (if any) doors each card is valid for is determined by a piece of code linked to a database. And if the company has an HR system that automatically processes employment contracts and activates new employees access cards, then that employment contract is, to a slight extent, a smart contract.
Smart Money and Factum Society
However, physical property is very limited in what it can do. Physical property has a limited amount of security, so you cannot practically do anything interesting with more than a few tens of thousands of dollars with a smart-property setup. And ultimately, the most interesting contracts involve transferring money. But how can we actually make that work? Right now, we basically can’t. We can, theoretically, give contracts the login details to our bank accounts, and then have the contract send money under some conditions, but the problem is that this kind of contract is not really “self-enforcing”. The party making the contract can always simply turn the contract off just before payment is due, or drain their bank account, or even simply change the password to the account. Ultimately, no matter how the contract is integrated into the system, someone has the ability to shut it off.
How can we solve the problem? Ultimately, the answer is one that is radical in the context of our wider society, but already very much old news in the world of Bitcoin: we need a new kind of money. So far, the evolution of money has followed three stages: commodity money, commodity-backed money and fiat money. Commodity money is simple: it’s money that is valuable because it is also simultaneously a commodity that has some “intrinsic” use value. Silver and gold are perfect examples, and in more traditional societies we also have tea, salt (etymology note: this is where the word “salary” comes from), seashells and the like. Next came commodity-backed money – banks issuing certificates that are valuable because they are redeemable for gold. Finally, we have fiat money. The “fiat” in “fiat money” is just like in “fiat lux“, except instead of God saying “let there be light” it’s the federal government saying “let there be money”. The money has value largely because the government issuing it accepts that money, and only that money, as payment for taxes and fees, alongside several other legal privileges.
With Bitcoin, however, we have a new kind of money: factum money. The difference between fiat money and factum money is this: whereas fiat money is put into existence, and maintained, by a government (or, theoretically, some other kind of agency) producing it, factum money just is. Factum money is simply a balance sheet, with a few rules on how that balance sheet can be updated, and that money is valid among that set of users which decides to accept it. Bitcoin is the first example, but there are more. For example, one can have an alternative rule, which states that only bitcoins coming out of a certain “genesis transaction”, count as part of the balance sheet; this is called “colored coins”, and is also a kind of factum money (unless those colored coins are fiat or commodity-backed).
The main promise of factum money, in fact, is precisely the fact that it meshes so well with smart contracts. The main problem with smart contracts is enforcement: if a contract says to send $200 to Bob if X happens, and X does happen, how do we ensure that $200 actually gets sent to Bob. The solution with factum money is incredibly elegant: the definition of the money, or more precisely the definition of the current balance sheet, is the result of executing all of the contracts. Thus, if X does happen, then everyone will agree that Bob has the extra $200, and if X does not happen then everyone will agree that Bob has whatever Bob had before.
This is actually a much more revolutionary development than you might think at first; with factum money, we have created a way for contracts, and perhaps even law in general, to work, and be effective, without relying on any kind of mechanism whatsoever to enforce it. Want a $100 fine for littering? Then define a currency so that you have 100 units less if you litter, and convince people to accept it. Now, that particular example is very far-fetched, and likely impractical without a few major caveats which we will discuss below, but it shows the general principle, and there are many more moderate examples of this kind of principle that definitely can be put to work.
Just How Smart Are Smart Contracts?
Smart contracts are obviously very effective for any kind of financial applications, or more generally any kind of swaps between two different factum assets. One example is a domain name sale; a domain, like google.com, is a factum asset, since it’s backed by a database on a server that only carries any weight because we accept it, and money can obviously be factum as well. Right now, selling a domain is a complicated process that often requires specialized services; in the future, you may be able to package up a sale offer into a smart contract and put it on the blockchain, and if anyone takes it both sides of the trade will happen automatically – no possibility of fraud involved. Going back to the world of currencies, decentralized exchange is another example, and we can also do financial contracts such as hedging and leverage trading.
However, there are places where smart contracts are not so good. Consider, for example, the case of an employment contract: A agrees to do a certain task for B in exchange for payment of X units of currency C. The payment part is easy to smart-contract-ify. However, there is a part that is not so easy: verifying that the work actually took place. If the work is in the physical world, this is pretty much impossible, since blockchains don’t have any way of accessing the physical world. Even if it’s a website, there is still the question of assessing quality, and although computer programs can use machine learning algorithms to judge such characteristics quite effectively in certain cases, it is incredibly hard to do so in a public contract without opening the door for employees “gaming the system”. Sometimes, a society ruled by algorithms is just not quite good enough.
Fortunately, there is a moderate solution that can capture the best of both worlds: judges. A judge in a regular court has essentially unlimited power to do what they want, and the process of judging does not have a particularly good interface; people need to file a suit, wait a significant length of time for a trial, and the judge eventually makes a decision which is enforced by the legal system – itself not a paragon of lightning-quick efficiency. Private arbitration often manages to be cheaper and faster than courts, but even there the problems are still the same. Judges in a factum world, on the other hand, are very much different. A smart contract for employment |
09: Police officers line up to clear out protestors who shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: Police officers launch smoke bombs and tear gas to clear out protestors who shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) BATON ROUGE, LA -JULY 09: Protesters lock arms and shout at law enforcement in riot gear on July 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot by a police officer in front of the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge on July 5th, leading the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: Protestors shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) BATON ROUGE, LA -JULY 09: Baton Rouge police removed protesters that were arrested on July 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot by a police officer in front of the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge on July 5th, leading the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: A protestor is held back by another man on shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have happened every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: Protestors shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Ph22oto by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: A protestor raises his fist on shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: Police line up as protestors shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: A police officer gives commands as protestors shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - JULY 09: Protestors raise their hands as police attempt to move them off highway I-94 which they shut down on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Protestors shout slogans during a protest in Times Square in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) Police officers stand guard during a protest in Times Square in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) Police officers stand guard during a protest in Times Square in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) People shout slogans during a protest in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) A protestor shouts slogans during a protest in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) People gather in Union Square during a protest in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. The gunman behind a sniper-style attack in Dallas was an Army veteran and loner driven to exact revenge on white officers after the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police, authorities have said. Micah Johnson, 25, had no criminal history, Dallas police said in a statement. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE
Among those arrested Saturday was DeRay Mckesson, a prominent leader of the Black Lives Matter movement. Mckesson, who released Sunday, live-streamed his arrest on Periscope.
"Arrests were inevitable," Col. Michael Edmonson, supervisor of the Louisiana State Police, said in a statement Sunday. "Our troopers maintained their poise and demeanor and focused on the job at hand, all the while enduring angry epithets and an occasional water bottle hurled from inside the crowd."
Edmonson told the Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans that some officers were struck in their heads by hurled as police chased a large crowd after a tense standoff.
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It was shortly after midday when the engines started – a procession of motorcycles riding through the streets of Bristol in a mass-orchestrated show of defiance against bike theft in the city. The riders came from across the Southwest; bikers who, over the space of 18 months, had watched vehicle theft and joyriding develop from a nuisance into an epidemic, perpetrated by at least one local gang. Estimates vary, but between 400 to 700 vehicles were involved in the theft awareness ride.
For security reasons the route had been kept secret, but on their way to the final destination in the city centre the motorcade passed through Southmead – an unremarkable suburb of rough grassy banks and council housing, and importantly the turf of the suspected culprits. The harmonic growl of the engines brought people from their homes: curtains flicked and bus stop queues gawped as the army of bikers burned down the carriageways. Somewhere, from the onlooking pavement, a phone was raised and an Instagram story of the traffic recorded. It was captioned, "Benders bike ride", and decorated with a laughing emoji.
Eight months before, the now-deactivated Instagram account "bristolbiketaker" had around 1,000 uploaded images. The content of each post was pretty consistent: young lads sitting on motorbikes, faces obscured by stretched emojis or occasionally balaclavas, all of them posing for the Gram. The bikes themselves ranged in quality and condition – from pristine black Triumphs to scratched BMWs photographed in forest clearings, and even a Domino's delivery bike, complete with L-plate. The account bio read: "They call me Mr steal your bike... Jail rider/Bristol... we take anything and everything... everything's legal around here."
The account belonged to one – or perhaps multiple – members of a gang of young Bristolian bike thieves, supposedly somewhere between 15 and 17-people strong. It's estimated that since last summer they have stolen in excess of £500,000 worth of vehicles in North Bristol. Some they've sold, others they've torched and abandoned, and almost all they've posted about online.
Since the disappearance of bristolbiketaker, much of the activity has splintered off into different accounts. "Bristolstovecs" features the most up-to-date gallery of their acquisitions, while others like "timetostealyourbike" or "biketakerr" appear to be run by rival groups. It's tough to say how organised the gangs are, and to what extent they are working in unison – but mutual follows, likes and comments between the accounts suggest collusion, or at least regular communication.
@BristolStovecs
Bristol's motorcycle community first realised they were facing a real problem when the Instagram activity started picking up last year. Initially they had taken little notice of the bragging, but when bikes began to go missing in large numbers it was impossible to ignore.
Martin Keay runs "Four Counties Bikers UK" – a Facebook group with almost 4,000 members in the South-West. They organise regular pub meets, ride-outs, track days and charity events, recently raising £5,000 for a children's respite centre in Bristol. Martin recalls a number of alarming incidents that highlighted how brazen the thefts were becoming. "One of our female members was surrounded by scooters, and they tried to steal her bike there and then," he explains. "Four or five tried to kick her off but she managed to get away. It happened to another female member a few weeks later."
Martin's group are part of a thriving motorcycle culture in the city, which, as the third most congested place in the UK, is popular for bikers who like to weave in and out of traffic jams. Yet here, as they are all over the world, the bikes are so much more than a means of transport. Motorcycling remains one of the few subcultures that lasts well into adulthood – for riders, their bikes are an obsession and part of their identity. As Martin tells me, riding sits at the centre of their lives: a "common bond" between thousands of people. A stolen bike isn't an inconvenience, it's an injury – and the bike thieves of Instagram were rubbing salt.
Exactly why the bike thieves publicise their criminal activity so much is complicated. Some of it can be explained by reselling. The comments underneath images occasionally feature pricing requests, and some account bios make specific references to theft for sale. Users who ask about prices are often served a short "PM", instructing them to switch to the private inbox to find out more.
Yet mostly the posts are reserved for showboating. Interspersed between the Vespas and the KTMs are photos of buds, watches, rolled-up notes and bottles of Grey Goose. Captions and bios feature slogans like "no face no case" or "catch nothing but a cold". Pig emojis are stuck next to middle fingers, while bikes are tagged as "new toy" or "too fast too furious". They take pleasure in ridiculing screen-grabs of complaints from theft awareness groups, or headlines from news stories about their activities. Friends comment exchanging tips on stealing wheels, and speculating who is hiding behind the helmets. One image of a red moped is captioned "Chinese import #desprate time #needed to get home in time for tea #scrappah".
The users also upload videos. Most are fuzzy. Lit by blinking headlamps, engines buzz and whirr around indiscriminate locations. Some document late night motorway rides: riders burning through the darkness on stolen bikes, clocking speeds over well over 100KMH. Others show them tearing through the looping, sinuous streets of local estates. Several show bikes on fire.
@BristolStovecs
With the rise of the Instagram accounts, motorcyclists were not only dealing with the fear of losing their bikes, but the additional insult of seeing their stolen rides paraded on Instagram – little more than cheap trophies to be damaged or undersold. Many felt the local newspaper, the Bristol Post, was exacerbating things by "sensationalising" the activity and fuelling the thieves' desire for attention. Worse still, despite the online activity and what appeared to be an endless stream of photographic evidence, the police seemed unable to respond in any meaningful way. The thieves were growing in confidence and their victims felt increasingly alone.
Inspector Rob Cheeseman heads up Operation Buell – a special investigation into the bike thieves, named after American motorcycle manufacturer Erik Buell. He tells me Avon and Somerset Police had been monitoring them for some time, but it was the proliferation of Instagram activity that alerted them to how much anger was building within the motorcycle community – against the police almost as much as the thieves themselves.
"The community were very unhappy with the situation and the perceived lack of action from us," he tells me over the phone. "We were doing lots but we weren't getting that message across."
The complication, as Insp Cheeseman explains, is this: just because a photo shows someone sitting on a stolen bike, that doesn't mean it is usable evidence. Even if the police know full well who the rider is and where the bike has come from, a covered face or an obscured registration plate can render it completely redundant as part of a prosecution. "There's a real, vast difference between knowing who is in the picture and being able to prove it in a court of law, beyond all reasonable doubt."
While, for the police, prosecuting the bike thieves was proving difficult – the collected scraps of Snapchat stories and burnt bike parts going a very short way towards building a case – Bristol's bikers wanted see action. Many felt it was time to take things into their own hands.
@BristolStovecs
Dylan, 19, has been riding motorbikes since his 16th birthday. His first was handed down to him by his then-boss on the proviso that if he could get it working he could keep it, which he did. That same bike has been stolen twice by the Instagram bike thieves.
The first time was when Dylan was in college. In the weeks leading up to the theft he'd seen the same man loitering around his school's bike park – each time with a different group. On one occasion Dylan approached him and told him it was "obvious" what he was up to. "He kicked off," Dylan remembers. "He tried to start a fight with me." Another day, not long after, Dylan was running late for a science lesson and didn't have time to fully lock his bike. When he came back outside it was gone.
"I knew it would be this guy, so I did loads of digging on Facebook and Instagram and asked people around the college," Dylan tells me. "Eventually I found out who he was." He began exchanging heated messages with the alleged thief. "He pretty much told me himself – sent me pictures of my bike to ask me if I was missing it, sent me pictures of other bikes he'd stolen." Dylan took this information to the police, but was disappointed to learn there was nothing they could do. Eventually the bike was recovered, but ultimately cost him upwards of £500 in recovery and repair costs.
The second attempt happened a year later, while Dylan was working around Cribbs Causeway – a stretch of road north of town, home to a retail park and not much else. After finishing work and starting the drive home, his bike slammed still and fell from under him. "The bike only turned halfway. It turns out they'd tried snapping my steering lock." When he checked his work's CCTV the next day, he saw two men trying to steal the bike for as long as 40 minutes. One of them, Dylan says, was clearly the same culprit from a year ago. This time, using the footage and the messages from the year before, he was able to get £200 damages for the snapped steering lock. He believes the thief is now in prison.
Since then, Dylan admits he has taken his frustrations out on the road. "I chase bike thieves out of pure anger now," he tells me. "Police say you shouldn't do that sort of thing, but I've retrieved a friend's bike off the guy who stole it. I didn't see him steal it, but I saw him riding the stolen bike and then chased him down… kicked the guy off and it was a done deal."
He describes another occasion when he saw a teenager riding a moped he suspected to be stolen around a park in Mangotsfield. After challenging him, the teen sped off and Dylan gave chase. "From that moment it was half an hour of him driving like a lunatic – pulling out in front of cars, driving down the wrong side of the road. I caught up with him on a dual carriageway, and I was shouting at him: 'If you don't get off that bike I'm going to kick you off.'" In the end, Dylan says, all he managed to do was slap him in the face and nick his sunglasses.
Selfie posted by @BristolStovecs
Dylan's forays into seeking justice are part of a wave of vigilantism that spread throughout the Bristol biking community earlier in the year, as the anger at perceived police inaction reached breaking point. Confrontations took place on Instagram, where raging victims traded barbs with the thieves in comment sections, threatening violence if they ever saw them riding. In February of this year a makeshift shrine to Adam Nolan – an 18-year-old who died when the stolen motorbike he was riding crashed – was vandalised.
Hostilities peaked in the same month, when one anonymous biker built and shared a PDF document featuring a comprehensive list identifying the alleged bike thieves. The "dossier" – as the police reluctantly refer to it – charted the names, personal social media accounts and home addresses of the supposed culprits. The list was complete with photos and descriptions of their personalities, indicating how likely they were to react if confronted. The introduction simply stated, "This bunch of little bitches is about to be unmasked."
Both the police and spokespeople for Bristol's biking community have strongly condemned all vigilante behaviour. According to Insp Cheeseman, the dossier was full of inaccuracies, and Avon and Somerset Police have since located the person responsible and addressed it with them. One anonymous biker stressed that this behaviour was far from representative of the community at large, who had responded with "maturity and passion in equal measure" to the thefts. Martin Keay also dismissed the dossier, and all other forms of lawless retribution. "Don't ride around council estates looking for random bunches of lads to intimidate," he warned. "It will backfire."
However, Insp Cheeseman also concedes that the lengths some bikers were going to in order to resolve things was a rude awakening. "It was a clear message," he tells me. "Evidence from the local community about how much of an impact this crime type was having on them."
@BristolStovecs
Since then, Insp Cheeseman has made it a priority of Operation Buell to build trust between the police and the motorcycling community, in order for them to work together against the problem. He has been meeting with an independent advisory committee comprised of bike enthusiasts, which he says he is using to hold himself to account. Together they planned the Motorcycle Theft Awareness Ride at the end of September, which in addition to raising the profile of the situation was also an opportunity to give out advice around preventing bike theft.
One of the bikers who organised the awareness ride – who wished to remain anonymous – spoke hopefully of the change in mentality that had come about. "It [the awareness ride] showed solidarity with the police, and showed the wider community that they are not alone," they explained. "We feel this had a particularly great effect when we passed through some of the worst areas for bike theft." They promised this was the start of continued conversations with neighbourhoods and councils, as well as heralding a renewed push around prevention of theft and the protection of bikes.
In perhaps one of the more significant developments, Avon and Somerset Police are also re-evaluating how they deal with evidence supplied by social media. Insp Cheeseman tells me they are "reviewing all of the crimes that now come in and looking at where our opportunities lie". They have also just issued a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for the first time, to a 17-year-old suspected of stealing bikes in the Henbury area. The order, similar to an ASBO, prevents him from sitting on a motorbike or moped in Bristol for two years, and also means he is not allowed to be in the company of more than two people in a public place, unless in the company of his mother. Insp Cheeseman heralds this as a real breakthrough, which should make prosecution much easier.
"We are trying to tackle it from a much wider viewpoint, and tackle the behaviours within it," he concludes. "I think we're making good progress."
Martin Keay tells me opinions of the police have improved significantly now that communication lines have been established – particularly since the awareness ride. "People expect instant results, but it doesn't work like that... we know that now," he tells me. "We know how much effort they are putting into it and how time-consuming it can be. There have been good results and there are more to come. I know for a fact there are more to come." The community, as tight-knit as ever, seem proud and positive about the progress they are making.
In London, incidents of bike theft have almost doubled in the past four years, with 14,971 motorcycles or mopeds stolen in 2016 alone. It's a sharp uptake that's been accompanied by the rise in muggings by teenagers on mopeds, who swipe phones from the hands of unsuspecting victims and race off before anyone can react. The threat of vigilantism is looming in the capital as well. Back in May a leaflet calling on bikers to "come TMAX [type of scooter] hunting with Jack th Lad" [sic] was spotted in the Ace Cafe, a popular London motorcyclist haunt. Similar calls have been clocked in Liverpool, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
The war against Bristol's Instagram bike thieves suggests the real work the police have to do is outreach – winning the trust of the motorcycling community, educating them on the law's limitations and demonstrating what they are doing. Only then will frustrated bikers be convinced not to pursue the problem themselves. It's a model for the rest of the UK, where thefts still represent a volatile blend of boiling frustrations, social media accounts and high-speed vehicles. Before anything can stop, the first challenge is slowing it down.
@BristolStovecs
After a series of messages, the anonymous user behind "bristolstovecs" eventually agreed to answer a few questions for this piece over Instagram.
In their responses, they claimed there is more than one person behind the account, that they started stealing bikes a few years ago and that they don't know how many they've stolen, only that it's "a lot". When I asked what a good night looks like for them, they told me: "It's just luck really... some nights we get 1 bike some nights we get a few bikes and we will have our fun on them then sell them or burn them." They claim they couldn't care less what the Bristol motorcycling community think of them, and that they saw the awareness ride but "don't really think anything of it". When I ask if they are worried about getting caught they say "kinda", and that they will stop stealing them "someday".
Finally, I ask why they post so much on Instagram. Why they make their crimes so public? "Dunno tbh," is the response, "just for the likes and that I guess."
@a_n_g_u_sThe move leaves open the question of what the administration has to hide, but officials said that it was “the grave national security risks and privacy concerns” that led to the decision.
The policy was first initiated by President Barack Obama, who released the names of the millions of people who enter the grounds of the White House. These records “provide indispensable information about who is seeking to influence the president,” Noah Bookbinder of legal watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told The Hill.
Donald Trump’s White House has grown to look a lot like Wall Street despite the populist rhetoric the now-president deployed on the campaign trail. Gary Cohn, Dina Powell and Steve Mnuchin all have histories at Goldman Sachs. And even though Steve Bannon, chief strategist to Trump, frequently bashes the presence of such “globalist” bankers in the White House, Bannon himself used to work at the Mergers and Acquisitions desk at Goldman. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
It hypocrisy may not be reserved just for members of Trump’s staff:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2012
Government watchdogs say the public has a right to know who is walking into the West Wing. Instead, the man who vowed to “drain the swamp” is leading the effort to keep White House records for select eyes only.
The decision comes from the same man who stated in his inaugural address, “What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.”
Trump kicked off that speech by stating, “we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another — but we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the American People.”
Is “the time for empty talk is over?” It doesn’t appear so.During a visit to a church in Sicily, a priest offered Caravaggio holy water. Caravaggio asked the old priest what it was for. “It will cancel your venial sins, my son,” replied the priest. “Then it’s no use—Caravaggio commented—My sins are all mortal.”
Gilles Lambert about Caravaggio and his friends: “They provoked the Papal police, hung around with the many Roman women of easy virtue, drank excessively and frightened the bourgeoisie.”
He was the greatest artist of his age, and also an outlaw whose passion for hookers was only second to his propensity for ending up in jail. Caravaggio was equally talented with paint and canvas as he was with the sword and with the art of breaking out of prison. With the same hand with which he painted the most amazing masterpieces of the Renaissance, he stabbed pimps and bludgeoned cops. His art was as scandalous as his life: he brought a lowbrow brand of violent realism and sexuality to the traditional religious subjects that were commissioned by the Church: imagine Quentin Tarantino painting scenes from the Bible. But the more the elite hated him, the more the common people adored him. No painter of his day—and probably ever—was able to have such a magnetic effect on masses of people.
This first part of his tale features a plague killing most of Caravaggio’s family, attempts at theocracy in the Milan of the late 1500s, the Italian Robin Hood Marco di Sciarra, street life in Rome, “no hope-no fear”, the Cenci execution, and Caravaggio becoming a superstar of the Roman art scene.
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For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/We urge you to consider the following additional efforts:
1) Perform further studies on the analysis of diflunisal to help explain the differences observed in its IC 50 in vivo and in vitro as this information would make the paper much stronger.
We have conducted additional analysis of diflunisal as suggested. Overexpression of WT p300 suppressed the effect of diflunisal in a dose-dependent manner and increased H2B K12/K15 acetylation (new Figure 3D), but overexpression of catalytically inactive p300 mutants did not (new Figure 3E). Diflunisal also suppressed acetylation of the nonhistone proteins NF-κB p65 K310 (Figure 3F) and p53 K382 (Figure 3G). Here also, Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, suppressed p-ACC accumulation in response to diflunisal, but did not inhibit deacetylation of acetylated H2B K12/K15 or acetyl-p53 K382, indicating that AMPK is not necessary for these effects (Figure 3G). These findings support the model that diflunisal also targets p300 acetyltransferase activity independently of AMPK.
Further, we have observed that salicylic acid/diflunisal metabolism may also contribute to the increased cellular potency observed in vivoin comparison to in vitro. Indeed, we have found that salicyl-CoA, a known major intermediate of salicylate metabolism (Knights, Sykes, and Miners 2007), inhibits CBP/p300 with 28-fold increased potency in comparison with salicylate: IC 50 =220 µM for salicyl-CoA vs. 6.12 mM for salicylate (new Figure 1—figure supplement 1A). A similar 52-fold increase in potency is observed with diflunisal-CoA in comparison to diflunisal: IC 50 =20 µM for diflunisal-CoA vs. 1.05 mM for diflunisal (new Figure 1—figure supplement 1B). Although further investigation will be required to understand the relative contribution of these phenomena to the novel in vivoeffects of salicylate reported here, these observations provide a potential mechanistic basis for the potent cell-based effects of these compounds.
2) Perform further studies to rule out off-target effects perhaps by characterizing one or two of the commonly known targets of diflunisal.
As described above, during the revision of this manuscript, we have conducted additional experiments with overexpressed p300 to demonstrate that the effects of diflunisal are dependent on p300 when examining histone acetylation. We have also tested the effect of p300 overexpression on the anticancer effect of diflunisal on Kasumi cell lines using lentiviral expression vectors for p300 or empty control (new Figure 4G). Cells transduced with the empty vector showed inhibition of growth by diflunisal, similar to untransduced cells (new Figure 4H). In contrast, p300-transduced cells were significantly more resistant to diflunisal (new Figure 4, H and I), and exhibit less apoptosis measured by annexin V positive cells (new Figure 4J) and sub-G1 fraction (new Figure 4K). These results support the model that diflunisal kills Kasumi-1 cells by apoptosis due to p300 inhibition.
With respect to the suggestion of other possible targets of diflunisal, a review of the literature indicates that the only other reported targets of diflunisal is prostaglandin synthetase, also known as cyclooxygenase (Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1977 Feb; 4 Suppl 1:15S-18S, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1981 Apr; 78(4): 2053-6.). In contrast to aspirin/acetylsalicylic acid, diflunisal does not covalently modify prostaglandin synthetase and probably acts at a site similar to aspirin since diflunisal inhibits acetylation of the enzyme by aspirin (Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1977 Feb; 4 Suppl 1:15S-18S).
The identification of p300 and CBP as novel targets for diflunisal and salicylic acid in addition to cyclooxygenase suggest that diflunisal and salicylic acid could have important novel activities such as inhibition of p300-dependent tumors, as we report here.
Reviewer #1:
In this manuscript, Shirakawa and coworkers characterized salicylate and diflunisal as novel CBP/p300 inhibitors. This finding is surprising but also important for several reasons. First, salicylate is widely known for its anti-inflammatory property by targeting mainly COX1/2 and other proteins. The finding that this molecule also acts on CBP/p300 adds another functionally important target to appreciate the role of salicylate. Second, the Nimer lab previously showed the importance of CBP/p300 for the survival of ETO AML and herein demonstrated that salicylate and diflunisal are effective against ETO AML at the dose relevant to depletion of several acetylation marks. The therapeutic implication of the two compounds is important given their ready use, although the two compounds may hit multiple other targets at the present high doses.
The main concerns of the reviewer are:
1) Although the role of salicylate against CBP/p300's acetylation activity was rigorously examined by the key rescue experiment shown in Figure 2B-E, diflunisal hasn't been characterized to the same degree. It seems that the authors solely based on the observation that diflunisal is structurally similar to salicylate and then concluded that the two compounds act via the same modes of mechanism. The experiments in Figure 1B, 1C and in particular 2B, C and D should be performed for diflunisal as well.
As requested by the reviewer, we repeated the p300-overexpression rescue experiments using diflunisal and found that overexpression of p300 also suppressed diflunisal-mediated histone H2B deacetylation as shown in our revised new Figures 3D, E and Figure 3—figure supplement 2. These results support the model that diflunisal also works through p300 inhibition.
2) For the efficiency of the two compounds against ETO AML, it is not clear whether the effect is achieved by targeting CBP/p300 alone or other targets alone or multiple targets in a combined manner. If the latter are the case, the flow of the work will be disrupted and the impact of the work will be significantly dampened (the potential target(s) of the therapeutic outcome of the two compounds were not CBP/p300).
The cell line Kasumi-1’s dependency on p300 for tumorigenesis has been well characterized by the Nimer lab (Science. 2011 Aug 5; 333(6043): 765-9). We have tested whether other NSAIDs, including acetaminophen and indomethacin, also inhibit p300 acetyltransferase in vitro, but did not detect any inhibitory activity (not shown). Diflunisal is a known COX-1/2 inhibitor with IC 50 of 113µM (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA96 (13): 7563-8), but other NSAIDs that lack p300 inhibitory activity failed to inhibit Kasumi-1 cells growth (data not shown). Further, we have also tested the effect of p300 overexpression on the anticancer effect of diflunisal on Kasumi cell lines using lentiviral expression vectors for p300 or empty control (new Figure 4G). Cells transduced with the empty vector showed inhibition of growth by diflunisal, similar to untransduced cells (new Figure 4H). In contrast, p300-transduced cells were significantly more resistant to diflunisal (new Figure 4, H and I), and exhibit less apoptosis measured by annexin V positive cells (new Figure 4J) and sub-G1 fraction (new Figure 4K). These results collectively support the model that diflunisal inhibits Kasumi-1 cells due to p300 inhibition.
The reviewer strongly feels that the rescue experiments with wild-type and catalytically dead p300 should be carried out at a cellular level in parallel with the experiments in Figure 4 (required) and even better for the animal experiments in Figure 5.
As we described above, we have performed these experiments and found that overexpression of p300 but not catalytically inactive mutants reduced diflunisal-mediated histone H2B deacetylation (new Figures 3D, E and Figure 3—figure supplement 2). We also |
wanted to write for my doctoral thesis. There were no classes on Lenin and Mao; it was even difficult to find someone who would teach Frantz Fanon outside of some post-colonial course! And yet I find this kind of theory––the theory that speaks to real revolutionary praxis––far more interesting than the majority of what passes as "radical" theory within the sanitized world of academia.
As regular readers of this blog will know, one of my constant obsessions has been with the role of leftist academics. This obsession is primarily due to the fact that I am a leftist academic and so, because of the many years spent as a student (and now as semi-employed contractual labour trying to get papers published), I have a conflicted relationship with academia and the kind of leftism that is intimately connected to academia. This conflicted relationship generally manifests itself as a critique of two positions vis-a-vis academics/intellectuals that I have always found troubling: a) the erroneous belief that leftwing academics/students are more inclined towards anti-capitalism and thus more advanced than the rest of the masses; b) the anti-intellectualism produced by the fetishization of a specific idea of the working class. Although I believe that both positions are erroneous, criticizing one or the other often causes the misconception that I am supporting one rather than the other. For example, if I attack position (a) then some readers think I'm being an anti-intellectual and cannot help notice the irony of such a critique since I'm an academic; if I attack position (b) some people think I'm being an academic snob and miss the entire point of what I was trying to say in the first place.Since I am a leftist academic, however, I feel that it is necessary to return, again and again, to the problematic of the leftist academic and the contradictions this may or may not imply. Clearly I do not think leftist academia should be dismissed with some sort of self-righteous revolutionary zeal. I have little patience for those leftists who dismiss academia, along with so-called "high-brow" literature and art, asbecause I feel it demonstrates a crude understanding of the concrete class questions. Rather than declaring that this or that cultural/intellectual product isproletarian, we should be asking about the accessibility of intellectual culture, what class is currently in command of the intellectual sphere, and investigating what steps are necessary toacademic privilege. Simply demonstrating contempt for that which is currently inaccessible to the masses also demonstrates contempt for these masses because it is little more than argument that the majority of people are incapable of enjoying complex concepts and that, rather, we should "go down" to their level rather than thinking through the problem that there are levels to begin with.Moreover, those who push this kind of anti-intellectualism are, more often than not, individuals who are themselves the intellectuals/academics they supposedly despise. Sometimes they are even privileged university drop-outs, still living on their parents' dime, who think that dumpster diving is "revolutionary" and have no tolerance for those, whose level of privilege is more or less equal, who have laboured their way through academia rather than dropping out and joining the "real struggle" that they are under the impression they represent. Being an academic myself, I have little tolerance for those "self-taught" intellectuals whose activism is subsidized by their parents and yet think they are somehow more radical than those who bothered to use the same privilege to work their way through university. Years ago I could easily be swayed by the argument of some anarchist drop-out whose subsidized life allowed them to spend most of their time in activist pursuits––I would even feel guilty when they told me that I wasbeing an––but now, though it took me years to realize that there was a difference between activists and revolutionaries, I lack the patience to deal with this kind of baseless self-righteousness.All of this aside, however, I generally find myself focusing on an interior critique of leftwing academia. This is because I have lived and worked through the academic world for years, have grown in my theoretical understanding of marxism because of this, and know that in some ways this will always be a place where I will, to some degree, be forced to engage in ideological struggle. Thus, none of my critiques of academic leftism should be taken as some sort of self-righteous anti-intellectual garbage, but as conflicted reflections that also apply to myself. We leftist academics are strange creatures: on the one hand we are able to theoretically develop due to our access to theory and history (as well as the time and pressure to study this theory and history); on the other hand, we often retreat into this realm of access where we can imagine that simply studying radical theory is the same as engaging in revolution. This tension is something I have experienced and will probably always experience, as long as I am still in some way engaged with the academic sphere, and so it will always be something that I return to obsessively.Recently, because of this obsession, I have been reflecting on one of my long-standing grievances with leftist academia: the persistence of a so-called. That is, the problem that persists in the academic sphere of considering some work academically acceptable and other work academically unacceptable. Note that I am not trying to argue that there isn't a good reason for academic standards––I am not attempting to make an "anything goes" argument for the acceptability of anything and everything and thus treat pseudo-intellectual bullshit and parascience as equally important as that which has passed the academic test. Rather, I am simply pointing out that sometimes this standard of what is or what is not academically feasible is also affected by bourgeois ideology. Thus, I am often suspicious of claims that this or that work "is not considered academically acceptable" because I feel that the entire standard of acceptability is mediated by class considerations.Furthermore, I am concerned with why those theorists who are treated with the most excitement by academic leftists are also those theorists whose involvement with concrete class struggle is marginal and who seem to go out of their way to be opaque. Why is it that Badiou and Zizek are more academically acceptable than Lenin and Mao, even if they occasionallyLenin or Mao? Why is the work of those who were intrinsically connected to actually existing class struggle pushed aside in favour of theoretical vanity? These questions, I think, are rhetorical: leftist academics, like all academics, desire erudite abstraction. They also have no patience for revolutionary historians––which is why William Hinton, regardless of the fact that he, will be considered as academically viable as someone like Maurice Meisner who, cleansed from revolutionary zeal and thus, is considered a "proper" historian.The kind of praxis that most often emerges from academia is barely even worthy of being called. Academic leftists and those enthralled by academic leftism tend to be the kind of people who are enamoured with a fragmented identity politics that fetishizes multiple, goes on and on about how they are uber anti-oppressive, and will speak forever about intersectionality without ever explaining how this analysis communicates to an actual and concrete revolutionary practice that can be applied, on a non-abstract level, in the real world. Obviously I think that the legacy of identity politics is important insofar as it has provided a necessary critique of the kind of class essentialism that ignored the fact of other oppressions, but I don't think it is politically useful by itself. Counting oppressions in order to develop a toothless stand-point ethics, going on and on about how your group is anti-oppressive not because of its political line but because of its theoretical identity (we are anti-patriarchal! anti-racist! queer-positive! etc.!) and because you use all the proper adjectives, doesn't do anything except describe what you think you are. Nor is it anything more than banal to assert that you believe in––yes, multiple oppressions intersect but if you can't explain the epistemic foundation for this intersection, then all you're doing is describing reality. Such a political praxis, which is ultimately paralyzed because its core commitments prevent it from producing radical solidarity, is the last bastion for academic leftists who are still too enamoured by chic theory produced by non-revolutionaries who like to speak about radicality.And then there are also those marxist academics who study a kind of marxism so divorced from the practice of class struggle that we have to wonder why they're studying it in the first place. These speculative marxists, it must be noted, also turn up their noses at the identity politics discussed above; they think, because of their commitment to marxism, they're better than their post-structuralist peers. And yet the vast majority of these marxist academics often have nothing but disdain for the actually existing socialisms of the 20th century and little more than ignorance when it comes to revolutionary movements of the 21st century. Believing that they understand marxism better than communist movements that havemarxism, they will claim that people like Lenin and Mao weren't "real marxists" and couldn't understand marxism as well as a doctoral student whose understanding of class struggle is arguing about the validity of Marx in a university class filled with post-modernists.Being a marxist academic myself, I've become somewhat frustrated by my contemporary marxist academics who, while occasionally slumming it at a legal anti-war protest, think that their contribution to class struggle is writing on some obscure marxist problem distorted through the lens of whatever marxist theorist (who usually also does little more than posture and squabble in the ivory towers) that is currently hip. My point is not that I think what they're doing is; I just have a problem with their fidelity to marxism when they show no interest in anything approaching the concrete practice of communism and, indeed, turn up their noses at the theorists who led the two world historical revolutions of the twentieth century.Take, for example, the time I was riding the bus back from York and couldn't help but eavesdrop on a group of graduate students talking about their appreciation of theoretical marxism, and their theoretical marxist projects, who then went on to talk about their expensive wine collections and how they were "inconvenienced" by the recent garbage worker strike. Then there was the time that my union local went on strike and a surprising number of "marxists" weren't even radical enough to qualify for proper trade-union consciousness––they even went so far as to find marxist sounding language to disparage the efforts of those of us who were trying hard to make the strike count for all of us.In any case, I think it is useful, for someone like myself who is engaged in academia, to think through the problems this privileged positionality causesthat since one is occupying a position of intellectual privilege they have access to a lot of resources, and time to study these resources, that others lack. We always need to be critical of the class position we occupy; the difficulty, though, is being critical in a way that avoids a crude anti-intellectualism. In other words, we should "go down to the countryside" [that is, whatever themeans in one's social context], but there is a reason to go down to this countryside in the first place––and that is to share our privilege with those who do not have access to the same resources while, at the same time, learning from those masses who can teach us about revolutionary praxis.England have moved to the top of the world one-day international rankings for the first time.
Alastair Cook's side, who are also top of the Test rankings, lead South Africa by one sixth of a point.
Current World Cup holders India rise by one place into third, while Australia are off the top of the rankings for the first time in nearly three years.
ODI world rankings (8 August) England 121
South Africa 121
India 120
Australia 112
Sri Lanka 108
Pakistan 105
West Indies: 94
New Zealand: 74
Bangladesh: 71
Zimbabwe: 50
Ireland: 35
Netherlands: 16
Kenya: 11
However, world champions England have been replaced at the top of the Twenty20 rankings by South Africa.
Under Cook, England's 50-over side have won 10 consecutive matches in 2012 - including the recent 4-0 series win over Australia.
However, despite becoming the number one Test side in the world last August, their ODI form has not always been as consistent.
A 3-0 win over India at home last September was followed by a 5-0 defeat in the return series the following month.
They are also in a battle to retain their status as the world's best Test side - Andrew Strauss's men needing to beat South Africa in the third and final Test of the series at Lord's.
The Proteas, who could replace England if they avoid defeat at Lord's on 16-20 August, have already moved above England in the Twenty20 format.
They lead by a single point ahead of five one-day internationals and three T20s which round off their tour of England.
Both teams will then travel to Sri Lanka for England's defence of their World Twenty20 crown, later in September.Sports stadium in Los Angeles
Dodger Stadium, occasionally called by the metonym Chavez Ravine, is a baseball park located in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the home field to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the city's National League franchise of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened 57 years ago on April 10, 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of US$23 million, financed by private sources.[11] Dodger Stadium is currently the oldest ballpark in MLB west of the Mississippi River, and third-oldest overall, after Fenway Park in Boston (1912) and Wrigley Field in Chicago (1914) and is the world's largest baseball stadium by seat capacity. Often referred to as a "pitcher's ballpark", the stadium has seen twelve no-hitters, two of which were perfect games.
The stadium hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1980 - and will host in 2020 - as well as games of 10 World Series (1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1988, 2017, and 2018). It also hosted the semifinals and finals of the 2009 and 2017 World Baseball Classics. It also hosted exhibition baseball during the 1984 Summer Olympics. It will also host baseball and softball during the 2028 Summer Olympics. The stadium hosted a soccer tournament on August 3, 2013 featuring four clubs, the hometown team Los Angeles Galaxy, and Europe's Real Madrid, Everton, and Juventus.
For the first time at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks played a regular season game on January 25, 2014 as part of the NHL Stadium Series.
History [ edit ]
Construction [ edit ]
In the mid-1950s, Brooklyn Dodgers team president Walter O'Malley had tried to build a domed stadium in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, but was unable to reach an agreement with city officials for the land acquisition, and eventually reached a deal with the city of Los Angeles. The land for Dodger Stadium was seized from local owners and inhabitants in the early 1950s by the city of Los Angeles using eminent domain with funds from the Federal Housing Act of 1949. The city had planned to develop the Elysian Park Heights public housing project, which included two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story townhouses, in addition to newly rebuilt playgrounds and schools, and a college.
Before construction could begin on the housing project, the local political climate changed greatly when Norris Poulson was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1953. Proposed public housing projects such as Elysian Park Heights lost most of their support as they became associated with socialist ideals. Following protracted negotiations, the city purchased the Chavez Ravine property back from the Federal Housing Authority at a drastically reduced price, with the stipulation that the land be used for a public purpose. It was not until June 3, 1958, when Los Angeles voters approved a "Taxpayers Committee for Yes on Baseball" referendum, that the Dodgers were able to acquire 352 acres (1.42 km2) of Chavez Ravine from the city. While Dodger Stadium was under construction, the Dodgers played in the league's largest capacity venue from 1958 through 1961 at their temporary home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which could seat in excess of 90,000 people.
Los Angeles-based Mike Davis, in his seminal work on the city, City of Quartz, describes the process of gradually convincing Chavez Ravine homeowners to sell. With nearly all of the original Spanish-speaking homeowners initially unwilling to sell, developers resorted to offering immediate cash payments, distributed through their Spanish-speaking agents. Once the first sales had been completed, remaining homeowners were offered increasingly lesser amounts of money, to create a community panic of not receiving fair compensation, or of being left as one of the few holdouts. Many residents continued to hold out despite the pressure being placed upon them by developers, resulting in the Battle of Chavez Ravine, a ten-year struggle by the residents to maintain control of their property, which they ultimately lost.
Dodger Stadium was the first Major League Baseball stadium since the initial construction of the original Yankee Stadium to be built using 100% private financing, and the last until Oracle Park in San Francisco opened in 2000. Ground was broken for Dodger Stadium on September 17, 1959. The top of local ridges were removed and the soil was used to fill in Sulfur and Cemetery Ravines to provide a level surface for a parking lot and the stadium. A local elementary school (Palo Verde) was simply buried and sits beneath the parking lot northwest of third base.[13] A total of 8 million cubic yards of earth were moved in the process of building the stadium. 21,000 precast concrete units, some weighing as much as 32 tons, were fabricated onsite and lowered into place with a specially built crane to form the stadium's structural framework. The stadium was originally designed to be expandable to 85,000 seats by expanding the upper decks over the outfield pavilions; the Dodgers have never pursued such a project.
Dodger Stadium was not named after the Los Angeles Angels
Frank McCourt era [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium seat removal, 2005 offseason.
At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers made major renovations during the subsequent off-season.[citation needed]
The largest of these improvements was the replacement of nearly all the seats in the stadium. The seats that were removed had been in use since 1975 and helped give the stadium its unique "space age" feel with a color palette of bright yellow, orange, blue, and red. The new seats are in the original (more muted) 1962 color scheme consisting of yellow, light orange, turquoise, and sky blue. 2,000 pairs of seats were made available for purchase at $250, with the proceeds going to charity.
The baseline seating sections have been converted into retro-style "box" seating, adding leg room and a table. Other repairs were made to the concrete structure of the stadium. These improvements mark the second phase of a multi-year improvement plan for Dodger Stadium.
Renovations [ edit ]
Between 2003 and 2005, Dodger Stadium upgraded with LED video displays. The large main video display measures 27 feet high by 47 feet wide.[14]
In 2008, the Dodgers announced a $412 million project to build a Dodger museum, shops, and restaurants around Dodger Stadium. In a press release, the team described the various features of the renovation as follows:
Dodger Way – A tree-lined entrance will lead to a landscaped grand plaza where fans can gather beyond center field. The plaza will connect to a promenade that features restaurants, shops and the Dodger Experience museum showcasing the history of the Dodgers in an interactive setting.
Green Necklace – The vibrant street setting of Dodger Way links to a beautiful perimeter around Dodger Stadium, enabling fans to walk around the park, outdoors yet inside the stadium gates. This Green Necklace will transform acres of parking lots into a landscaped outdoor walkway connecting the plaza and promenade to the rest of the ballpark.
Top of the Park – The Green Necklace connects to a large scale outdoor plaza featuring breathtaking 360° views spanning the downtown skyline and Santa Monica Bay, the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, and the Dodger Stadium diamond.[15]
In the 2008–2009 offseason, the upper levels of the stadium were supposed to be renovated to match the repairs and improvements made to the field level. The improvements were to include the removal of the trough urinals in the men's restrooms, new concession stands and earthquake retrofitting to the concrete structure. It was also to include the replacement of the outfield scoreboards and monitors with new HD monitors. Due to the 2009 World Baseball Classic hosted at Dodger Stadium, these renovations were put on hold. The divorce of Frank and Jamie McCourt, as well as a weak economy, were the reasons for the postponement.[16]
To pay for an outstanding loan with the Dodgers former owner News Corporation, former owner Frank McCourt used Dodger Stadium as collateral to obtain a $250 million loan.[17]
In 2008, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to give the Dodger Stadium area bounded by Academy Rd, Lookout Dr. and Stadium Way its own zip code, 90090 (as of July 2009). This also gives the area a new name, Dodgertown. The signs from the former Dodgertown spring training facility in Vero Beach, Florida will likely be integrated into the $500 million project.[18]
New ownership and further renovation [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium during a postgame "fireworks night" promotion. Notice the new HD screens in place of the old rectangular video board and scoreboard.
Tommy Lasorda's Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in the right field concourse at Dodger Stadium. The restaurant is a product of the minor 2014 renovations to Dodger Stadium.
Following the sale of the Dodgers in 2012, the team brought in the architect, urban planner, and stadium specialist Janet Marie Smith to lead renovations efforts to the 50-year-old stadium.[19][20] Renovations to Dodger Stadium began in the winter of 2012. Both video boards were replaced with High Definition screens, and new clubhouses and weight rooms were installed. The restrooms, concession stands, sound system and batting cages were also improved and renovated.
Dodgers owner Guggenheim Partners internally discussed moving the Dodgers to a new stadium at a Downtown Los Angeles site proposed by the Anschutz Entertainment Group to allow an NFL team to build a stadium at the Dodger Stadium site. Guggenheim Partners also considered allowing an NFL team to build a stadium next to Dodger Stadium.[21] The NFL eventually chose to build a stadium in the City of Inglewood.
The extensive renovations to Dodger Stadium were ready for the 2013 season and included new HD hexagonal video and scoreboards, a new sound system, wider concourses, more standing room viewing areas, improved restrooms and a children's playground amongst others.[22]
Between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, more renovations were put in place. Dodger Stadium was the beneficiary of improvements such as wider concourses in the pavilions, new restaurants "Think Blue Bar-B-Que" and "Tommy Lasorda's Trattoria", dedicated team store buildings replacing the tents that previously served as team stores, bullpen overlooks with overlook bars, and tree relocation at the top of the stadium.[23]
Features [ edit ]
Design [ edit ]
Stairs to upper deck and reserve seats
Dodger Stadium was one of the last baseball-only facilities built before the dawn of the multi-purpose stadium. It was built near the convergence of several freeways near downtown Los Angeles, with an expansive parking lot surrounding the stadium. With the construction of many new MLB ballparks in recent years, it is now the third-oldest park still in use, and the oldest on the West Coast.
Dodger Stadium offered several innovative design features. One of these was a covered and screened section of dugout-level seats behind home plate. Dodger owner Walter O'Malley was inspired to incorporate this feature into the Dodger Stadium design after having seen it at Tokyo's Korakuen Stadium during the Brooklyn Dodgers' postseason goodwill tour of Japan in 1956. The original dugout seating area was replaced by more conventional box seating in a 1999 renovation, but this feature has been replicated at Progressive Field in Cleveland and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Two of Dodger Stadium's most distinctive features are the wavy roof atop each outfield pavilion and the top of a 10-story elevator shaft bearing the Dodger logo rising directly behind home plate at the top of the uppermost seating level.
Terraced landscaping in parking lot
A unique terraced-earthworks parking lot was built behind the main stands, allowing ticketholders to park at roughly the level of their seats, minimizing use of ramps once inside. The stadium was also designed to be earthquake-resistant, an important consideration in California, and it has withstood several serious earthquakes.
Dodger Stadium was originally equipped with two large Fair Play electronic scoreboard units above the left- and right-field pavilions. The right-field board displayed in-game information. The left-field board displayed scores of out-of-town games and other messages. Smaller auxiliary scoreboards were installed at field level on the box seat fences beyond the first- and third-base dugouts during the inaugural 1962 season. The left-field message board was replaced by a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision video board in 1980. The field-level auxiliary scoreboards were replaced by larger units installed on the facade of the Loge (second) seating level in 1998; these, in turn, were replaced by a video ribbon board in 2006. Field-level out-of-town scoreboards were installed on the left- and right-field walls in 2003.
Strobe lights were added in 2001; they flash when the Dodgers take the field, after a Dodger home run, and after a Dodger win.
Hall of retired numbers inside the stadium in 2015
Retired numbers [ edit ]
In addition to those of Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and Don Sutton, the retired numbers of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Tommy Lasorda, Walter Alston, Roy Campanella and Jim Gilliam are mounted on the club level facade near the left field foul pole. On April 15, 2017, to mark the 70th anniversary of Robinson's major league debut, the Dodgers unveiled a bronze statue of the player in the stadium's left-field plaza. The 800-pound sculpture depicts Robinson sliding into home plate as a rookie.[24]
The Dodgers devote significant resources to the park's maintenance. For example, it is repainted every year, and a full-time crew of gardeners maintain the site. As a result, it has stood the test of time very well, and no plans are in the works to replace it. Renovations were made in 1999 and again in 2004 that initially added additional field level seats, particularly behind home plate where previously the only person seen there was legendary scout Mike Brito, in his trademark Panama hat and cuban cigar tracking pitch speeds with a radar gun. After some criticism of the sightlines with these new seats, they were replaced with box seats.
Location [ edit ]
View of downtown and the Palos Verdes Peninsula
the Los Angeles skyline, 1987 Dodger Stadium andthe Los Angeles skyline, 1987
The former Think Blue sign in the mountains north of Dodger Stadium, was an homage to the nearby Hollywood Sign
Built on top of the historic Los Angeles neighborhood of Chavez Ravine in Solano Canyon,[25] the stadium overlooks downtown Los Angeles and provides views of the city to the south, the green tree-lined hills of Elysian Park to the north and east, and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield pavilions. Due to dry summers in Southern California, rainouts at Dodger Stadium are rare. Prior to 1976, the Dodgers were rained out only once, against the St. Louis Cardinals, on April 21, 1967, ending a streak of 737 consecutive games without a postponement. On April 12, 1976, the second home rainout ended a streak of 724 straight games. April 19–21, 1988 saw three consecutive rainouts, the only time consecutive games have been rained out at Dodger Stadium.[26] No rainouts occurred between April 21, 1988 and April 11, 1999 – a major league record of 856 straight home games without a rainout.[26] That record has since been broken, with no rainouts since April 17, 2000, 1,471 consecutive games through April 15th, 2018 [27]
Seating [ edit ]
In order to comply with a conditional-use permit limiting Dodger Stadium's seating capacity to 56,000 it was the only current MLB park (through 2005 ) that had never increased its capacity. Whenever higher revenue lower seats were added some in the upper deck or pavilion were removed to keep the number the same.[28] Through the sale of standing room only tickets, the Dodgers' 2009 home opener drew 57,099 fans, the largest crowd in stadium history. Following a number of incidents in the early 1970s in which fans showered Cincinnati Reds left fielder Pete Rose with beer, bottles, cups, and trash, the sale of beer was discontinued in both pavilions. Beer sales were reinstated in the right field pavilion in 2008, when that section was converted into the All You Can Eat Pavilion. Fans seated in that section can eat unlimited hot dogs and peanuts and also have access to free soft drinks. There is a charge for beer.[29]
With the retirement of the original Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium in 2008, the park reigned as the largest capacity ballpark in the Majors.
As of 2010, there are a total of 2,098 club seats and 68 luxury suites. Both of these amounts will increase once the renovations are complete, with the necessary offset to comply with its conditional-use permit.
Due to renovations made in the 2012–2013 offseason, the current maximum capacity of Dodger Stadium is less than 56,000, although the team's president, Stan Kasten, refuses to provide an exact number.[30] A 53,393 attendance is considered a sellout.[31][32] The high water mark since the renovations is 56,800 in Games 3,4 and 5 of the 2008 NLDS.[33] The team's 2013 media guide and website still report the capacity as 56,000.[6][34] The record attendance for the Dodgers was in the 2007 season, with 3.86 million in total attendance.[35]
Center field dimension and playing surface [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium in 2002
For various reasons, Dodger Stadium has long enjoyed a reputation as a pitchers' park. At first, the relatively deep outfield dimensions were a factor, with the power alleys being about 380 feet. Home plate was moved 10 feet toward center field in 1969, but that move also expanded foul ground by 10 feet, a tradeoff which helped to offset the increased likelihood of home runs caused by the decreased field dimensions. Also, during evening games, as the sun sets, the surrounding air cools quickly due to the ocean climate, becoming more dense. As a result, deep fly balls that might otherwise be home runs during the day instead often remain in play becoming outs. The park has been home to 12 no-hitters, while players have hit for the cycle just twice in Dodger Stadium.
Recently, Dodger Stadium has been more neutral with respect to home runs.[36] The stadium does depress doubles and triples quite a bit, due to its uniform outfield walls and relatively small "corners" near the foul poles. However, the extremely short outfield walls near the foul poles also make some balls that would bounce off the wall in other parks go for home runs. With some expansion of the box seat area and the removal of significant foul territory, the ballpark has become more neutral, favoring neither pitchers nor hitters. Baseball-Reference's Park Factor measurement of 102 for the 2006 and 2007 seasons is evidence of this.
Although the distance to center field has been marked at 395 feet since 1973, it is still actually 400 feet (120 m) to center, as has been the case since 1969. The two 395-foot signs erected in 1973 are to the left and right of dead center.[28] However, curvature of the fence between the posted distance signs is not exactly radial from home plate, thus the distance from home plate directly to center field is most likely 5 feet farther than the posted 395 feet (120 m).[37] As of 2012, distance to center field is indicated 395 feet (120 m), and is located virtually exactly at the center field point.
With the opening of Citi Field and the demolition of Shea Stadium in 2009, Dodger Stadium became the only stadium with symmetrical outfield dimensions remaining in the National League and only one of four total in Major League Baseball. The other three symmetrical fields are Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, Toronto's Rogers Centre, and Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, all in the American League.
Pitchers such as Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, Fernando Valenzuela, and Orel Hershiser became superstars after arriving in Los Angeles. The pitcher's edge is also evident in the fact that 12 no-hitters have been thrown in the stadium, including two perfect games (by the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax in 1965, and by Dennis Martínez of the former Montreal Expos in 1991). Bo Belinsky threw the first ever no-hitter in Dodger Stadium on May 5, 1962 while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels (that club referred to the park as "Chavez Ravine".)
The park's significant advantage was eroded somewhat since 1969, in general because MLB rules were changed after the "Year of the Pitcher" to lower the maximum height of the pitcher's mound, and more specifically because the Dodgers moved the diamond about 10 feet (3 m) towards center field. This also gave the fielders more room to catch foul balls, so there was some tradeoff. Following the 2004 season, the stadium underwent a renovation which significantly reduced the amount of foul territory. Seats were added which were closer to home plate than the pitcher's mound, the dugouts were moved 20 feet closer to the field, and previously open space down the foul lines was filled with new seats.
Historic events [ edit ]
1963 World Series [ edit ]
The Dodgers won the 1963 World Series over the New York Yankees, sweeping the Yankees by winning game 4 by a score of 2-1. Through the 2018 season, this remains the only time the Dodgers ever clinched a World Series at home.
1988 National League Championship Series [ edit ]
Until 1988, Dodger Stadium had never hosted a seventh game of a postseason series. The Dodgers won Game 7 of the 1988 National League Championship Series over the New York Mets, 6-0.
No-hitters in Dodger Stadium [ edit ]
(*-Perfect game)
Home Runs out of Dodger Stadium [ edit ]
Five home runs have been hit completely out of Dodger Stadium. Outfielder Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit two of those home runs. Stargell hit a 507-foot home run off the Dodgers' Alan Foster on August 6, 1969 that completely cleared the right field pavilion and struck a bus parked outside the stadium. Stargell then hit a 470-foot home run off Andy Messersmith on May 8, 1973 that landed on the right field pavilion roof and bounced into the parking lot. Dodger catcher Mike Piazza hit a 478-foot home run off Frank Castillo of the Colorado Rockies on September 21, 1997 that landed on the left field pavilion roof and skipped under the left field video board and into the parking lot. On May 22, 1999, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire cleared the left field pavilion with a 483-foot home run off the Dodgers' Jamie Arnold and most recently, on May 12, 2015, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins hit a 478-foot home run over the left-field roof off Mike Bolsinger.[38]
Dodger Stadium hosts the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The top of a ten-story elevator shaft bears the World Baseball Classic logo.
Notable events [ edit ]
Park Usage [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium has also staged other sporting events such as boxing, a basketball game featuring the Harlem Globetrotters and a ski-jumping exhibition, as well as the baseball competition of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and is currently designated to host softball and baseball for the 2028 Olympic Games with Angel Stadium.
Baseball [ edit ]
In 1992, baseball games from April 30 to May 3 were postponed due to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Three consecutive days of double headers were held later in the season.
Soccer [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium hosted a soccer doubleheader on August 3, 2013, part of the 2013 International Champions Cup, featuring Real Madrid of Spain, Everton of England, Juventus of Italy and Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in a tournament semifinal. The field dimensions were from the third base side to right field; temporary grass was covered on the pitcher's mound and the infield. The tournament was a semifinal and Real Madrid defeated Everton 2-1 and Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Juventus 3-1.
Hockey [ edit ]
Dodger Stadium hosted its first ever National Hockey League game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks on January 25, 2014 as a part of the 2014 NHL Stadium Series. The Ducks won the game 3-0 in front of 54,099 fans. In addition rock band KISS played songs before and during intermission of the event.
Boxing [ edit ]
On March 21, 1963, Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos won the WBC and WBA featherweight titles from Davey Moore in ten rounds. Moore died days after this fight. Also on the card, Roberto Cruz KO'd Raymundo "Battling" Torres in one round to win the WBA Junior Welterweight title.[39]
Cricket [ edit ]
On November 15, 2015, Dodger Stadium hosted the third and final game of the Cricket |
by the BBC’s Persian service show he went to a great lengths to ensure the Americans would not jeopardise his plans to return to Iran – and even personally wrote to US officials.
The BBC’s reporting suggests that the Carter administration took heed of Khomeini’s pledges, and in effect paved the way for his return by holding the Iranian army back from launching a military coup.
The BBC Persian service obtained a draft message Washington had prepared as a response to Khomeini, which welcomed the ayatollah’s direct communications, but was never sent.
The corporation also published a previously released but unnoticed declassified 1980 CIA analysis titled Islam in Iran, which shows Khomeini’s initial attempts to reach out to the US dated back to 1963, 16 years before the revolution.
The BBC’s reports have created a huge row in Iran: if true they would undermine the myth that Khomenei staunchly resisted any direct links with the US, which remained taboo for three decades until the recent nuclear negotiations.
Earlier this month, Khomeini’s successor, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denied the report, saying it was based on “fabricated” documents.
Other Iranian politicians have also questioned the BBC’s revelations, including Ebrahim Yazdi, Khomeini’s spokesman and adviser at the time of the revolution, and Saeed Hajjarian, a reformist figure.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A declassified 1980 CIA analysis titled Islam in Iran, published by the BBC, says Ayatollah Khomeini had reached out to the US in 1963. Photograph: US Government
Two former White House advisers to Jimmy Carter, speaking to the Guardian, did not question the authenticity of the documents but denied that the US had abandoned the shah.
In contrast to his later tirades against the “Great Satan”, Khomeini’s messages to US officials just weeks before his return to Tehran appear to have been strikingly conciliatory.
“It is advisable that you recommend to the army not to follow [Shah’s prime minister Shapour] Bakhtiar,” Khomeini said in one message, according to the BBC. “You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans.”
In another message sent via a US emissary written in the same month, he attempted to assuage American fears that their economic interests would be affected by a change of power in Iran: “There should be no fear about oil. It is not true that we wouldn’t sell to the US.”
Khomeini returned to Tehran on 1 February 1979, two weeks after the shah had fled Iran. The Iranian military, which was under US influence, soon surrendered, and within months Khomenei was declared the supreme leader of a new Islamic republic.
From hostage crisis to nuclear deal: prisoner and captor look back at the Iran-US cold war Read more
Relations with the US were wary from the start, because America was closely identified with the shah’s regime, and links with Washington broke down completely in November 1979 when a group of students stormed the US embassy and took 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days.
But despite confrontational rhetoric on both sides, the revolution did not mark an end to direct talks between Iran and the US. The current president, Hassan Rouhani, is believed to have been involved in covert negotiations in which the US agreed to covertly ship arms to Tehran to secure the release of American hostages.
The 1980 CIA study says “in November 1963 Ayatollah Khomeini sent a message to the United States Government through [Tehran University professor] Haj Mirza Khalil Kamarei”, in which he explained “that he was not opposed to American interests in Iran” and that “on the contrary, he thought the American presence was necessary as a counterbalance to Soviet and possibly British influence”. Iranian leaders have vehemently denied that Khomeini ever sent such a message.
The Guardian did not have access to the newly declassified documents and was not able to independently verify them. The BBC published the CIA document, but has not published further documents. Most of them appear to be diplomatic cables from Paris and Tehran embassies containing Khomeini’s first-person messages, which the corporation said were in the public domain.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A billboard shows the founder of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/EPA
BBC Persian has not explained its decision not to publish those documents, which has not helped the scepticism among Iranian critics, but the reporter who broke the story, Kambiz Fattahi, answered questions by email.
“The documents clearly show that Khomeini was less heroic, and far craftier, behind the scenes,” Fattahi said. “He quietly courted the US government, making all kinds of promises about the future of core US interests in Iran.”
“The documents are significant because they show Khomeini’s legacy is complicated, as it involves the ayatollah courting two US presidents behind the scenes. They illustrate a pattern of behaviour – that Khomeini at critical moments during his long struggle for an Islamic republic, secretly engaged what he would call ‘the Great Satan’.”
Gary Sick, a member of the National Security Council staff during the period of the Iranian revolution, said “the documents are genuine” but to the best of his knowledge he never saw the CIA study about the 1963 contact, and had no knowledge of the alleged communication.
“As far as I can tell, assuming the report is accurate, the message from Khomeini to the US government had no effect on actual policy – either in the Kennedy administration or later. So I regard this as an anomaly,” he told the Guardian.
Sick said the US wanted to preserve the Iranian military as an institution and ensure that the transition would be orderly and not collapse into bloodshed and civil war, but said the talks with an American emissary in 1979 had little significance.
“The Khomeini forces were concerned that the Iranian military would launch a coup, which they definitely wanted to avoid at all costs. The US side tried to preserve the threat of a coup as a bargaining lever.”
Stuart Eizenstat, a former chief White House domestic policy adviser to Carter, said talks of the US abandoning the shah was “not historically accurate”. He said: “We did everything we could to keep the shah in power. There was no notion that we were trying to facilitate the Ayatollah coming into power.”
He also commented: “Ebrahim Yadzi, the first foreign minister under Khomeini, was making regular public statements on behalf of Ayatollah Khomeini saying this will be a tolerant democracy, nothing about an Islamic revolution. I believe that Yadzi believed that.”
Mark Toner, deputy spokesperson at the state department, was asked about Khomeini making contact with the Carter administration. “I apologise. I’m not – I’m not aware of that and I don’t have any updates to offer,” he said.
The Guardian also approached Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was national security adviser to Carter from 1977 to 1981. He declined an interview on the subject, but said “there were a lot of maneuvers by people at that time and I do not have any special information particularly on the Ayatollah and his role in it. Probably in some fashion there was some involvement but nothing specific that I can recall.”In the last few years, the Temescal District has been heralded as one of the most culturally diverse communities in the city. Its growing popularity has resulted in increased interest from business owners and residents who are vying for a space within the community. But over the last few months, the number of robberies and thefts that have been reported to the Temescal Telegraph Avenue Community Association and the Temescal Merchants’ Association has shown an increase, the members of those associations say, leaving local merchants frustrated and asking for more help from the police and the city.
The two associations have received email notices and other forms of communication from merchants indicating that between March and July, at least eight merchants have reported incidents of theft, vandalism and assault, including a robbery at Marisa Haskell Jewelry, destruction of private property at Tanjia Restaurant, break-ins or attempted break-ins at The Mixing Bowl and Sacred Wheel Cheese Shop, and the mugging of two employees from 17 Jewels Salon & Spa.
Many of the merchants are blaming the crime on the decrease in the number of police officers in the area and the lack of response Temescal business owners say they receive when reporting a crime. According to several business owners who spoke with Oakland North, merchants’ calls to the police station go unanswered, or, should they speak with an officer, they are advised to document crimes that do not involve a physical assault via an online crime report. The neighborhood associations have started a letter writing campaign to request that the Oakland Police Department (OPD) assign a regular patrol officer to the area. The associations are currently asking their members to write letters documenting incidents of crimes so that the letters can be bundled together and sent to the OPD and the mayor’s office.
As of press time, OPD spokesperson Officer Johnna Watson had not returned responses to interview requests seeking more information for this story.
Darlene Drapkin, executive director of the Temescal Telegraph Avenue Community Association, said that merchants feel the police are focused on responding to violent crime rather misdemeanor cases. “One of the problems we’re having is the City of Oakland continues to shift its police resources to kind of reactive-type activities, as opposed to being proactive,” said Drapkin. “Temescal is a relatively safe neighborhood, but certainly incidents will happen. Unfortunately, Temescal is no longer getting that much attention and community policing appears to be going by the wayside.”
“A few years ago, a lieutenant told us that Temescal is Hawaii to them and East Oakland or West Oakland was Iraq, so that’s were they had to spend their time,” Drapkin continued.
Temescal merchant Grace Lee, who owns The Mixing Bowl, a shop specializing in salads, sandwiches and baked goods, said she now reports only serious crimes to the OPD. “The small petty crimes I just handle on my own,” she said. She said the merchants notify each other about shoplifters and other situations that could be harmful. “At this point I don’t think any of us even bother calling the OPD anymore,” Lee said. “What’s the point?”
“A few months ago someone broke in through the back door,” Lee said of her own shop. “I identified him, we had camera footage of him, called the OPD. Three different police officers came down here, looked at the footage, took my statement and zero follow up.” A few days after the first incident, the same person attempted to break into the shop for a second time, Lee said.
Last week someone attempted to break into Jena Davidson’s store, The Sacred Wheel Cheese Shop, which is approximately five blocks away from the Mixing Bowl, but was caught by a neighbor, Davidson said. “I didn’t even bother to call the police because they won’t come,” said Davidson. “I understand they’re busy, they’re very overworked and very understaffed, but it has put me in a position where I know that if something is happening and it is not addressed immediately, there is really no point.”
Davidson has lived in the area for more than seven years. When she opened her business a little more than one year ago, it appeared to her that the area was gradually improving with the arrival of new businesses, she said. But now she wonders if the recent rise in crime is because Temescal is receiving more publicity about the new businesses.
“My mother was robbed in a Safeway parking lot two weeks ago,” Davidson said. “She called the police. They said they were coming, [but] no officer ever responded or even helped her file a report. She dealt with the security guard in the parking lot. It has been three weeks since this happened.”
Julie Stevens, who owns 17 Jewels Salon & Spa, just a few blocks away from The Sacred Wheel, said that within the past two weeks, “Two of my employees were robbed half a block from my salon. … One was at gunpoint, the other was tackled and assaulted for her cellphone.”
Stevens, who is also on the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District board of the directors, said she and the residents down the street from her were able to identify one of the men who attacked one of her employees. After filing a report and giving the police a description, they saw the man parked on the street in their area. They were able to document part of his license plate number. But, she said, she is frustrated and concerned because trying to get the OPD to move forward on the case has been like “a fucking shut door.”
Stevens said she has heard of a total of five robberies in the past two months, including one last week at the bus stop in front of the Bank of the West during which someone’s phone was taken.
Property crimes are up this year throughout the city. According to the weekly OPD crime report submitted for July 16 to July 22, the number of robberies citywide this year is up from 1,677 to 2,075 at the same time last year, an increase of 24 percent. According to the report, the number of burglaries has gone from 4,574 at this time last year to 6,380 so far this year, increasing 39 percent.
The website Oakland.Crimespotting.org, an interactive map that provides crime reports and alerts for locations throughout the city, shows that during the week of July 23 through July 30 there were 47 reports of theft in the entire city, with 8 occurring in and around the Temescal area. These included four on MacArthur Boulevard between Broadway and Jackson Street, three on Telegraph Avenue between 44th and 54th Streets and one on Adeline Street.
There were 68 robbery reports in the entire city throughout this time period, with, seven in the Temescal area: One on West MacArthur Boulevard, one on 40th Street, two on Telegraph and 45th Street, one on Telegraph Avenue and 45th Street near Market, one on 53rd Street and one on 53rd and Telegraph Avenue.
There were 46 burglaries city-wide during this time period, one in the Temescal area on Telegraph Avenue and 45th Street.
Temescal merchants feel that the recent crime rate in their neighborhood is unusually high. “I’ve lived in Temescal for 14 years now and I have never experienced this level of crime that is happening right now,” Lee said. “It’s bad and everybody wants to do something about it, but what that is is unclear.”
In an effort to gain support for the Temescal District, the merchants have decided to have each business owner write a letter recounting criminal incidents that have occurred in the last few months. Lee is in the process of compiling all the letters that merchants have sent to her and will put together a packet to deliver to city officials, requesting that the OPD assign a police car or a problem-solving officer to patrol the area daily and in the evenings.
In the letters, the merchants lay out the details of the criminal activity they have witnessed and what steps they have taken to work with law enforcement. “My shop in Temescal Alley was robbed for the second time in the last year this weekend,” wrote Marisa Haskell, owner of Marisa Haskell Jewelry, in an email sent to the Temescal Merchants’ Association, which will be passed along to city officials. “Roughly $1,500 in jewelry was stolen as well as my bicycle and some personal possessions. I am increasingly concerned about the safety of the neighborhood.”
Davidson wrote one about the break-in at her cheese shop. “At 3:00 a.m., Saturday July 21 a man was stopped by our neighbors [from] cutting the glass out of a window on the side of the building,” she wrote. “Though our neighborhood is thriving in many positive ways, it seems that crime is thriving as well!”
Drapkin said that the Temescal Merchants Association and the Temescal Community District Association have been notified that a new problem-solving officer has been assigned to the area, which has been without one for several months after the previous problem-solving officer was reassigned to another location. The officer would be the liaison between the police department and the merchants in the area, and would patrol the neighborhoods to help resolve issues like loitering, shoplifting or disturbing the peace. But, said Drapkin, “One of the problems we have is that we keep getting a new one [problem-solving officer] every few months so we can’t develop any real relationship.”
In the past, Lee said, “We invited an officer to come and speak at our group [meeting]. He was to specifically address safety but he never showed and didn’t call and there’s been no follow up.”
The merchants have had several meeting to discuss ways to improve safety in the community. One option that has been discussed as an alternative to a police presence in the area would be to hire a private security firm. But the community associations do not have the funds for such an expense, so the business owners would pay the costs, said Stevens.
“Something needs to improve here, because they are keeping their eye off the ball in the neighborhoods that generate a lot of sales tax revenues for the City of Oakland,” Drapkin said of the city. “We want to keep people feeling safe about coming to Temescal and these little rash of crimes is just not good. It’s stuff that can be ‘nipped in the bud’ with just a little bit more police presence.”3 of 64
decision by UT to allow perpetrators of sexual assaults, particularly varsity football and basketball players, to delay and altogether avoid sanctions and discipline for sexual assault by the use of a discriminatory TUAPA procedure that allows only accused perpetrators of sexual assaults (and not victims) to have the right of confrontation, cross-exam ination and a right to an evidentiary administrative hearing. 7. UT, in clear violation of Title IX and the constitutional right to equal protection, is unique among U.S. colleges and universitie s by virtue of its use of a one-sided TU APA administrat ive hearing procedure (“contested case”) that denies victims the rights to a hearing and to the same equal procedural, hearing, and process rights as given to perpetrators of rape and sexual assault. UT further acted (and acts) intentionally and in clear violation of Title IX by acts of custom and an official policy whereby Chancellor Cheek appoints administrative judges and hearing officers favorable to athletes and then
also dec ides an y appe als
from TUAPA hearings in a clear conflict of interest. A hostile sexual environment was created by this procedure and policy as varsity athletes were condoned and encouraged to ha ve parties with alcohol and drugs, entertain recruits, provide alcohol to underage female students and commit sexual assaults with no discipline or deterrence against committing sexual assaults as perpetrators of assaults faced no serious consequences. 8. Athletes knew in advance that UT wou ld: support them even after a co mplaint of sexual assault; arrange for top quality legal representation; and then direct them to the TUAPA process, which was and continues to be a one-sided and unfair system of adjudication. Varsity athletes knew that they (not victims) would be fully supported by the UT athletic department and administration’s process and that the perpetrators and athletic department could deter and discourage victims from pursuing complaints by: having their lawyers depose female victims; subjecting victims to extensive discovery; cross-exam ining sexual assault victims in a full blown hearing before an administrative law judge(appointed by Cheek); and delaying the investigation process until the athlete perpetrators transferred to another school or graduated without sanction or discipline. This is precisely what happened in the cases of Does I, II, IV, and VI and is the very reason that UT Vice-Chancellor Tim Rogers resigned from UT in March 2013 in protest over the violation of Title I X and the UT administration ’s and athletic department’s deliberate indifference to the clear and present danger of sexual assaults by UT athletes. 9. UT administration (Chancellor Cheek), athletic department (Dave Hart) and footballThose NHL coach’s challenges for blown offside calls on scoring plays?
Kill them.
End them. As soon as possible.
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Sometimes it takes a while before one sees the error of their ways, and such is the case with NHL rules changes. It took the Brett Hull incident in 1999 … um, we mean “a desire to regain some of the time and spontaneity lost to review” to end that insipid video review process for skates in the crease. It took a decade before the NHL did something to reduce those inane exhibitions of anti-hockey known as shootouts by applying 3-on-3 overtime as the antidote.
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But in the case of the offside coach’s challenge, it’s only taken one season to see what a mistake it’s been.
It’s a mistake to overturn goals on offside plays that hardly affect their outcome, or when a dozen other missed calls on a play aren’t subject for review. It’s a mistake to scrutinize human error on plays that last a millisecond; and it’s a mistake to delete dynamic scoring plays from memory at a time when goal scoring is so tenuous that we’re talking about shrinking goalies and widening nets.
Let’s take it back to the start: For the first time, the NHL decided to allow coach’s challenges for the 2015-16 season, with NHL bench bosses anteing up a timeout in exchange for the chance to confirm or deny the legality of a goal.
Reviewing goalie interference was an obvious move, given how much is missed by the naked eye on plays that directly affect a goal from being scored. (Save that emphasis for later.)
Reviewing blown offside calls probably wouldn’t have been considered were it not for a 2013 game in which Matt Duchene scored a goal for the Colorado Avalanche that was a country mile offside.
Duchene
Story continues
Now, no one would want that goal to stand. It should have required the linesman to immediately be shipped off for lasik surgery. It was embarrassing. It was egregious.
Great word, that one: “egregious.”
It’s actually become synonymous for the types of offside plays the NHL hoped would be eliminated with the coach’s challenge.
"You want to use video replay to get egregious plays, not close calls where it's 50-50. [Coaches] can live with some of the close plays that happen in our sport. It's what make our sport so great. It travels so fast,” said Mike Murphy, NHL vice president of hockey operations, last October. "The reason we instituted it was so that we could get the egregious calls particularly right, ones that everybody alive sees and says, 'This is the wrong call, it's a screw-up.'"
Or as Stan Bowman said, “The whole point of the coach’s challenge was to get rid of those [calls] that were egregious.”
Goalie interference? Egregious, no question. The physical jostling of a goaltender before a puck crosses the line, or confirmation that the jostling didn’t affect the play, is something video review should and does scrutinize. It’s something that directly affects a goal being scored.
Offside calls, by and large? Not egregious.
The Jori Lehtera offside in Game 2 of the St. Louis Blues’ series against the Chicago Blackhawks is a play that wasn’t caught by the naked eye, and probably wasn’t the 500 or so times it went undetected in the regular season.
NHL
They say hockey is a game of inches, and this was, what, four or five at most above the blue line?
The point isn’t whether the play was offside (and it was). The point is whether this is a myopic, desperate technicality (and it is) rather than an “egregious” flouting of the rulebook or blown call, which was the impetus for the offside coach’s challenge.
On the “myopic technicality” evidence pile, please toss Sunday night’s wiped-out Aaron Ekblad goal against the Islanders.
On that play, the goal was disallowed on video review after Jonathan Huberdeau appeared not to have control of the puck as he entered the zone before it did. But after he entered the zone, it was another 10 seconds before the goal was scored! In that time, the Islanders could have:
1. Had Travis Hamonic take the puck from Huberdeau.
2. Had either John Tavares or Frans Nielsen support Hamonic and prevent Huberdeau’s pass.
3. Had Tavares or Kyle Okposo take the puck away from Sasha Barkov instead of both whiffing on stick checks.
4. Had Calvin de Haan take on Barkov, physically altering the play rather than sliding out of position and watching Barkov dance by him.
5. Had any of the four Islanders standing to Thomas Greiss’s right mark Ekblad.
6. Had Greiss in better position to make a save attempt on Ekblad’s admittedly great shot, rather than shrugging as it went by.
Again, all of this happened after the Huberdeau offside, which put the puck in the attacking zone but hardly directly led to the goal. Yet the goal was taken down, turning a 3-0 lead back into a 2-0 lead, and eventually setting up an Islanders’ rally for the win.
“That was probably the turning point in the game. As stupid as it sounds,” said defenseman Thomas Hickey, who scored the OT winner.
Stupid is as stupid does … and the offside coach’s challenge is stupid.
There were 99 of them in the regular season, 88 initiated by the coaches and 11 more from the War Room in Toronto. Of those, 62 were upheld. Which means that 37 of them changed a goal to a “no goal,” i.e. 37 percent of all challenges.
Thirty-seven goals discounted because of human error that, frequently, did little to impact the play.
(The comparison to the goalie interference challenges is stark: Of the 168 goalie inference challenges, 28 were switched to “no goal,” a paltry 16.6 percent. And here we see the difference between linesmen reviewing a black-and-white call and referees reviewing their own subjective work.)
The battle cry from those who want to see the offside coach’s challenge continue is that it’s paramount to get the calls “right” when they affect a goal.
So then why not review a pick play, or any other interference? Why not review a missing tripping call? Or a high-stick? We view these calls as subjective because referees call them at their discretion, but in fact they’re written in the rule back as starkly as an offside call. A missed call that leads to a goal is a missed call that leads to a goal.
But there’s no outcry to review these blown calls because we’ve come to expect that on literally every play in the NHL there’s something illegal happening. And we accept that in many cases, calls aren’t made because the on-ice officials aren’t all-seeing automatons programmed to catch every infraction.
Referees miss stuff. Then they make up for it. Rise and repeat.
Offside, too, are missed every game. It’s a fast game. There’s human error. Reviewing an offside play is akin to reviewing an umpire’s strike zone:
via Larry Brown Sports
We can draw a box, identify what constitutes a strike out and have video review confirm or deny an umpire’s call. Or we can admit that 100 MPH fastballs are difficult for the human eye to track to within inches, and that the batter had several other chances to avoid the strike out in his at-bat.
A play at the plate, of course, directly leads to a run counting or not counting, much like a goalie interference call. And that’s why they’re tolerated, while a strike zone review would be laughed out of the stadium.
When the coach’s challenge was instituted, I was a “get it right” guy. We had the technology – well, outside of those silly Nintendo DS’s they use to review footage – so why not get use it to confirm the legality of scoring plays.
I still feel that way about goalie interference coach’s challenges, which lead directly to goals and whose chaos can benefit from an instant replay parsing.
I no longer feel that way about the offside coach’s challenges, which now feel narrow rather than egregious, petty rather than important and, above all else, completely unnecessary in a league fraught with human error and starved for offensive artistry.
Kill the NHL coach’s challenge for offside. Kill it with fire.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEYEdith Louisa Cavell (; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Triple Entente soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.
The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." These words were later inscribed on a memorial to her near Trafalgar Square. Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, both German and Allied soldiers. She was quoted as saying, "I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved." The Church of England commemorates her in its Calendar of Saints on 12 October.
Cavell, who was 49 at the time of her execution, was already notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium.
Early life and career [ edit ]
Cavell in a garden in Brussels with her two dogs before the outbreak of war
Cavell (seated centre) with a group of multinational student nurses whom she trained in Brussels
Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston, a village near Norwich, where her father was vicar for 45 years. She was the eldest of the four children of the Reverend Frederick Cavell (1824–1910) and his wife Louisa Sophia Warming (1835–1918). Edith's siblings were; Florence Mary (b. 1867), Mary Lilian (b. 1870) and John Frederick S. (1872–1923).
She was educated at Norwich High School for Girls, then boarding schools in Clevedon, Somerset and Peterborough (Laurel Court).
After a period as a governess, including for a family in Brussels from 1890 to 1895, she returned home to care for her father during a serious illness. The experience led her to become a nurse after her father's recovery. In April 1896, at the age of 30, Cavell applied to become a nurse probationer at the London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes. She worked in various hospitals in England, including Shoreditch Infirmary (since renamed St Leonard's Hospital). As a private travelling nurse treating patients in their homes, Cavell travelled to tend patients with cancer, gout, pneumonia, pleurisy, eye issues and appendicitis.
In 1907, Cavell was recruited by Dr Antoine Depage to be matron of a newly established nursing school, L'École Belge d'Infirmières Diplômées (or the Berkendael Medical Institute) on the Rue de la Culture (now Rue Franz Merjay), in Ixelles, Brussels. By 1910, "Miss Cavell 'felt that the profession of nursing had gained sufficient foothold in Belgium to warrant the publishing of a professional journal' and, therefore, launched the nursing journal, L'infirmière". Within a year, she was training nurses for three hospitals, twenty-four schools, and thirteen kindergartens in Belgium.
When the First World War broke out, she was visiting her widowed mother in Norfolk. She returned to Brussels, where her clinic and nursing school were taken over by the Red Cross.
Return to Brussels [ edit ]
Cavell had been offered a position as matron in a Brussels clinic. She worked closely with Dr Depage who was part of a "growing body of people" in the medical profession in Belgium. He realised that the care that was being provided by the religious institutions had not been keeping up with medical advances. In 1910 Cavell was asked if she would be the matron for the new secular hospital at St Gilles.
First World War and execution [ edit ]
In November 1914, after the German occupation of Brussels, Cavell began sheltering British soldiers and funnelling them out of occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands. Wounded British and French soldiers as well as Belgian and French civilians of military age were hidden from the Germans and provided with false papers by Prince Réginald de Croÿ at his château of Bellignies near Mons. From there, they were conducted by various guides to the houses of Cavell, Louis Séverin, and others in Brussels, where their hosts would furnish them with money to reach the Dutch frontier, and provide them with guides obtained through Philippe Baucq. This placed Cavell in violation of German military law. German authorities became increasingly suspicious of the nurse's actions, which were further fuelled by her outspokenness.
She was arrested on 3 August 1915 and charged with harbouring Allied soldiers. She had been betrayed by Gaston Quien, who was later convicted by a French court as a collaborator. She was held in Saint-Gilles prison for ten weeks, the last two of which were spent in solitary confinement. She made three depositions to the German police (on 8, 18 and 22 August), admitting that she had been instrumental in conveying about 60 British and 15 French soldiers, as well as about 100 French and Belgian civilians of military age, to the frontier and had sheltered most of them in her house.
In her court-martial she was prosecuted for aiding British and French soldiers, in addition to young Belgian men, to cross the Dutch border and eventually enter Britain. She admitted her guilt when she signed a statement the day before the trial. Cavell declared that the soldiers she had helped escape thanked her in writing when they arrived safely in Britain. This admission confirmed that Cavell had helped the soldiers navigate the Dutch frontier, but it also established that she helped them escape to a country at war with Germany. Her fellow defendants included Prince Reginald's sister, Princess Marie of Croÿ.
The penalty, according to German military law, was death. Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code determined that "at time of war, anyone who with the intention of aiding a hostile power, or of causing harm to the German or allied troops" commits any of the crimes defined in paragraph 90 of the German Penal Code "shall be punished with death for war treason". Specifically, Cavell was charged under paragraph 90 (1) no. 3 Reichsstrafgesetzbuch, for "conveying troops to the enemy", a crime normally punishable by life imprisonment in peacetime. It was possible to charge Cavell with war treason as paragraph 160 of the German Military Code extended application of paragraph 58 to foreigners "present in the zone of war".
While the First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel, that protection was forfeit if used as cover for any belligerent action. This forfeiture is expressed in article 7 of the 1906 version of the Convention, which was the version in force at the time, and justified prosecution on the basis of German law.
The British government could do nothing to help her. Sir Horace Rowland of the Foreign Office said, "I am afraid that it is likely to go hard with Miss Cavell; I am afraid we are powerless." Lord Robert Cecil, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, advised that, "Any representation by us will do her more harm than good." The United States, however, had not yet joined the war and was in a position to apply diplomatic pressure. Hugh S. Gibson, First Secretary of the U.S. legation at Brussels, made clear to the German government that executing Cavell would further harm Germany's already damaged reputation. Later, he wrote:
We reminded [German civil governor Baron von der Lancken] of the burning of Louvain and the sinking of the Lusitania, and told him that this murder would rank with those two affairs and would stir all civilised countries with horror and disgust. Count Harrach broke in at this with the rather irrelevant remark that he would rather see Miss Cavell shot than have harm come to the humblest German soldier, and his only regret was that they had not "three or four old English women to shoot."
Baron von der Lancken is known to have stated that Cavell should be pardoned because of her complete honesty and because she had helped save so many lives, German as well as Allied. However, General von Sauberzweig, the military governor of Brussels, ordered that "in the interests of the State" the implementation of the death penalty against Baucq and Cavell should be immediate, denying higher authorities an opportunity to consider clemency. Cavell was defended by lawyer Sadi Kirschen from Brussels. Of the twenty-seven defendants, five were condemned to death: Cavell, Baucq (an architect in his thirties), Louise Thuliez, Séverin and Countess Jeanne de Belleville. Of the five sentenced to death, only Cavell and Baucq were executed; the other three were granted reprieve.
Cavell was arrested not for espionage, as many were led to believe, but for "war treason", despite not being a German national. She may have been recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), and turned away from her espionage duties in order to help Allied soldiers escape, although this is not widely accepted. Rankin cites the published statement of M. R. D. Foot, historian and Second World War British intelligence officer, as to Cavell having been part of SIS or MI6. The former director-general of MI5, Stella Rimington, announced in 2015 that she had unearthed documents in Belgian military archives that confirmed an intelligence gathering aspect to Cavell's network. The BBC Radio 4 programme that presented Rimington's quote, noted Cavell's use of secret codes and, though amateurish, other network members' successful transmission of intelligence.
When in custody, Cavell was questioned in French, but her trial was minuted in German; which some assert gave the prosecutor the opportunity to misinterpret her answers. Although she may have been misrepresented, she made no attempt to defend herself, but responded |
feet of right-of-way from each side of the existing street. The bus lanes and light-rail-style stations will go in the median:
***
Notably, the Uptown District presentations never use the phrase “Bus Rapid Transit,” or BRT in describing the upgrades, though a BRT system has been pitched as a replacement for Metro’s earlier proposal for an Uptown light-rail line. Uptown Houston got approval for a $61.8 million federal grant to fund the street reconstruction last year. It appears that the lanes will be used for commuter buses as well: “This joint project of the City of Houston and Uptown,” an executive summary of the program reads, “will develop a system designed to connect workers to Uptown via Houston’s highly successful HOV network.” The dedicated bus lanes are an additional piece of the project.
The program intends to preserve, relocate, or replant the existing median’s oak trees. Here’s a plan showing the stations along the route:
The buses will still have to stop at intersections, and move through lights only when cars do. “All travel time savings for the buses will be generated by simply being the ‘first-in-line’ at the signalized intersections made possible by the dedicated bus lanes,” the summary notes.
Images: Uptown Houston
Uptown TransitOn 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
Report: Justice Dept. seized multiple Fox News, White House phone records
The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza has uncovered more details about the Justice Dept.'s investigation into the former State Dept. contractor who is accused of leaking classified information to James Rosen, the Fox News reporter.
According to Lizza, the Justice Dept. also seized phone records of numbers associated with two White House staffers and at least five Fox News reporters.
"The document uncovered today suggests the government seized 'call detail' records from Rosen’s work and cell phones, which would show whom he called, who called him, how long they spoke, and the times of the calls," Lizza reports. "The document suggests that the government was seeking only the subscriber records for the two White House numbers targeted, information that a government source said would include the name of the official who used the specific line."
On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Dept. had searched Rosen's personal e-mails and tracked his visits to the State Dept in 2009. The court affadavit described Rosen as “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator" of his government source, presumably because he had solicited classified information from that source.
See Lizza's full report here.Canada's federal party leaders set their sights on families and small businesses Tuesday, offering money to students, tax breaks to employers, and help for people managing credit card debt.
The Liberals unveiled a $1 billion campaign plank Tuesday that would help fund university and college educations for Canadian students.
Called the Canadian Learning Passport, the program would give $1,000 a year for up to four years tax-free to every high school student who chooses to go to university or college. The money would not have to be repaid. The annual stipend would rise to $1,500 a year, or $6,000 over four years, for students from low-income families, the party said.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper reintroduced a plan that would give a one-year employment insurance tax break for small businesses to hire new employees.
The Hiring Credit for Small Business would give a one-time credit of up to $1,000 against the increase in an employer’s EI premiums in 2011. The incentive credit will be available to approximately 525,000 employers, reducing their 2011 payroll costs by about $165 million. The plan was part of the 2011 federal budget that died with the last parliament.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff made his announcement at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., at the start of the federal election campaign's fourth day.
"I can say without exaggeration that this is a real revolution in learning and training in Canada — and that will give us the means of becoming the most competitive society in the world," Ignatieff said.
A Liberal Party release Tuesday morning said the Learning Passport "will be $1,000 in every RESP account in each of the four years leading up to the typical start of post-secondary education, when the recipient is 14 to 17 years of age."
At an afternoon briefing, however, Liberal party spokesmen said no money would actually change hands until students enter university or college, meaning a Liberal government wouldn't be adding to RESPs in advance. No interest would be earned, therefore, they said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers a speech during a campaign stop in Regina on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) While the earlier release had praised the value of "putting Learning Passport funding directly into their RESP when students are in high school and still making decisions about their educational choices," in fact the CBC was told later that this wouldn't happen.
The Liberals would start the program immediately, allowing students entering post-secondary institutions this fall to receive the full $1,000 amount this year, a party spokesman said.
Ignatieff was to leave Ontario and Quebec for the first time in the campaign, heading to Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon for a town hall-style event in Vancouver South, followed by a nighttime rally in Richmond, just outside Vancouver.
Vancouver South, held by Liberal MP and former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh, is expected to be a close race. Dosanjh won by 20 votes in the 2008 election.
Layton takes aim at credit card debt
A sign in Brantford, Ont. promotes NDP Leader Jack Layton's plan to cap interest rates on credit cards at five percentage points above the prime rate. Layton made the announcement Tuesday. (CBC) NDP Leader Jack Layton said he is committed to capping credit card rates and fees as a way to control the household debt of Canadian families, as he announced his party's first platform plank at a news conference in Brantford, Ont.
The NDP proposal would cap credit card rates at five percentage points above the prime interest rate and extend powers to federal regulators to control "excessive fees on credit cards."
That would mean a Canadian with a credit card would be paying closer to eight or nine per cent interest, instead of the common 20 per cent that they are paying now.
Layton also said he would make a voluntary code of conduct on transaction fees implemented by the Conservative government a law.
"It will allow banks to recoup a profit while keeping family debt loads manageable," Layton said in his speech.
"And unlike Stephen Harper's latest idea, my plan will help Canadians families now — not in 2015," said Layton, in reference to a the Conservatives' announcement Monday they would allow income-splitting for parents of children under 18 after the deficit is eliminated.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was canvassing in her Saanich, B.C., riding and had an evening event planned.Image caption Hungry yet?
They have been around for hundreds of years but now Yorkshire puddings have found themselves thrust into the culinary spotlight.
This week a BBC video about a Yorkshire pudding wrap was viewed more than 13 million times online, making the dish and how to eat it a real talking point.
It's polarised opinion, with some saying it's food heaven and others claiming it is sacrilege and food hell.
But what's behind the revival of this humble recipe?
And who is qualified to say how it's best eaten?
What is a Yorkshire pudding anyway?
The Yorkshire pudding is made from a simple batter of eggs, flour and milk and needs to be light yet crispy and well-risen. The general rule is that the fat - often dripping or goose fat - needs to be red hot in the tin before the batter is added, avoiding the much-feared soggy bottom.
According to Yorkshire food historian Peter Brears, the recipe first appeared in a book called The Art Of Cookery by Hannah Glasse in 1747. She *whisper* came from Northumberland.
How did it get its name?
As for how it got its name, Mr Brears said it is likely to have come from Yorkshire miners, who worked incredibly hard but were well paid enough to be able to afford meat and be given free coal to keep a fire going. "A fire and roasted meat were essentials for making Yorkshire pudding," he said.
It started to be taken up as a Yorkshire symbol in the 1890s when it started appearing on postcards - yes, postcards. From then on, well, it is just folklore.
How is it traditionally served?
The Yorkshire pudding is usually made in a rectangular tin and cut into squares to be served with a roast dinner. It can also be made with whole sausages cooked within it, a dish known as toad-in-the-hole.
Image copyright Getty Images
The baked batter treat is believed to have been originally served as a starter with gravy. That way diners were filled up before the main course so whoever was feeding them could get away with serving less meat.
Some people also like to eat it cold the next day with jam.
What are the new incarnations of the regional speciality?
So far, so good. For the uninitiated, that's the basics covered. But if the idea of eating something called a "pudding" with a savoury course isn't mind-bending enough, how about trying it in even more exotic forms from wraps to burritos?
The wraps have been on sale for a while, with a stall dedicated to selling them in Leeds Kirkgate Market and a cafe in York has reportedly had customers queuing out of the door for one since being featured in the online video.
The Yorkshire pudding burrito is also a thing, which is possibly similar to a wrap but with more stuffing. Both feature the elements of a roast dinner encased in a fluffy light batter wrap, and are proving extremely popular.
Earlier this month it was reported a diner in Beverley, Hull, was serving a Yorkshire pudding pizza. The huge pudding is used as a base before a layer of sausage and tomato is added with a cheese topping. Not quite as traditional maybe, but does it work?
Maybe the proof of the pudding really is in the eating.
Has it actually always been a kind of fast food?
Mr Brears who has published several books on the history of food and worked with The National Trust and English Heritage, said the thought of a Yorkshire wrap reminds him of how it was eaten as factory food in the mid to late-19th Century.
Image copyright Empics Image caption Yorkshire pudding wraps have been on sale in Leeds Kirkgate Market since last year
He said: "When you'd have your Sunday roast you would always cook more potatoes and more veg, and when you went to the mill you took a basin with meat and potatoes and gravy in the bottom and a piece of Yorkshire pudding on top.
"You would wrap it up and then during the day you would stand it on the steam pipes to warm it up."
How has the Yorkshire pudding wrap gone down online?
Commenting on the BBC News video, Alice Elizabeth Ruggiero said: "My grandmother was a true Yorkshirewomen, she served individual puddings before a dinner of stew - she filled the pudding with the gravy and we ate it like a starter with the meat and vegetables after. It was delicious."
Shona Court said: "I want our town to have a least three of these places. I would be in heaven as, according to my son, I don't have blood, I have gravy!!!!"
Image caption The Yorkshire pudding wrap is basically a roast dinner, wrapped in a Yorkshire
Not everyone is a fan. Jan Starkey Dean said: "Isn't anything sacred anymore, why does everything have to be on the go? Are people so busy they can't sit down to eat? I think a lot of it is laziness."
And Patricia Pope said: "Think I will stick with the traditional Sunday roast beef dinner and Yorkshire pudding sitting down at the dinner table so that I can enjoy it thoroughly."
What does the rest of the world make of a Yorkshire pudding?
US resident Jim Cotton said: "As an American I must admit we don't understand Yorkshire pudding (although I had some once in the UK and enjoyed it).
Image caption Love them or hate them, you can't go on social media this week without seeing one
"But this does look great. Maybe a new franchise operation in central Texas?"
Camden Gilbreath added: "I'm American, I had no idea what a Yorkshire pudding was and not super clear on the broad definition of the word "pudding" in the English language, because I think creamy slightly gross dessert.
"All that said call it whatever you will that looks just delicious, idk [I don't know] what a regular Yorkshire pudding looks like but man that looks good all wrapped up."
Ok, so enough about actually eating them. What else can you do with a Yorkshire pudding?
These tasty treats make pretty good sporting props, it turns out.
Across the Pennines in Ramsbottom they are used as targets in the annual World Black Pudding Throwing Championships, which celebrates the historic rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Image caption In Ramsbottom, contestants throw black puddings at a stack of Yorkshire puddings on a high platform
Contestants throw black puddings with the aim of knocking off as many Yorkshire puddings as possible from a 20ft (6m) platform.
Last year on Yorkshire Day, a Yorkshire pudding throwing contest was held in York to celebrate the region.
They made the sport headlines in April, when Sheffield's Danny Willett, who won last year's opening major of the year, promised to include Yorkshire pudding on the menu of the Masters Champions Dinner.
Staying in sport, the parents of triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee joke that the secret of their sons' success is "roast beef and Yorkshire puddings".MICHAEL Rischitelli says his hardline leadership approach in recent weeks has been driven by his ambitions for the Suns and not personal designs on the captaincy.
Rischitelli has become embarrassed at the publicity he has generated for his stance to stamp out cultural problems within elements of the playing group.
He has also expressed his angst at the pressure that has mounted on skipper Gary Ablett, whose leadership credentials have come under fire.
Former Melbourne captain Gary Lyon said on a Melbourne TV show on Thursday night that Ablett should not be captain.
Lyon said it was “Rischitelli who “put his foot down’’.
media_camera Coach Rodney Eade chats with Harley Bennell. Picture: Colleen Petch
“They need strong, directive leadership right at the top, and I don’t think Gary has been able to display that,’’ he said.
But Rischitelli insists Ablett remains the leader of the club and said his own duties were just a temporary match-day arrangement.
“What has happened over the last week is solely about doing what is right for our football club,’’ he said.
“I’m standing in as captain while Gary is out injured, that’s all.
“He (Ablett) and the rest of the leadership group have been driving our standards for some time and he has been as vocal as anyone in driving our values.’’
Rischitelli won the eternal support of the football department in the early years when he battled through two seasons of chronic hamstring tendonitis, when he was unfit to play, to provide a big body and cool head in support of the club’s younger players.
He is a quietly spoken family man who is not a regular at social gatherings.
He can be blunt but has managed to elevate himself in the eyes of his peers with his passionate leadership style.
He was a central figure in driving a player honesty session last week that led to the Suns’ first win of the season against the Lions.
Several egos were left bruised.
He also attended a media briefing during the week that also included CEO Andrew Travis, coach Rodney Eade and football manager Marcus Ashcroft where it was revealed Harley Bennell, Trent McKenzie and Brandon Matera would be stood down.
In that meeting he revealed his unease at how some unprofessional practices had become common place and admitted it took him a while to find his voice because he was still a young player himself when he arrived at the Suns.
Ablett was offered the opportunity to attend the meeting but abdicated the responsibility to Rischitelli.
Suns officials are empathetic that it is the first serious injury of his career and have given him space to focus on his recovery.
But Lyon said his absence spoke volumes about his leadership shortcomings.
“This club needs a strong visible leader and Gary Ablett is not that,’’ he said.
“He hasn’t been that.
“He has been absent throughout the upheaval over the past couple of weeks.’’
Originally published as Team not captaincy drives RischitelliOn a steaming hot summer morning around three years ago, Guy Brucker, a student from the Haifa University, traveled the 165 kilometers from Bangkok to Pattaya, the sex tourism capital of Thailand. The silence of the other passengers in his taxi - an Israeli in his 50s, two German men and a Japanese man - made it unclear what they were after. Or not.
"People go to Pattaya for only one reason," Brucker, 35, said. "Everybody knows that, but nobody talked about it on the way. I felt like I was climbing mental and physical mountains. I felt so very alone."
Unlike his fellow passengers, Brucker was not searching for sex in Pattaya, at least not in the customary sense. Brucker had traveled there within the framework of an anthropological study of Israeli men seeking sex services in Thailand. Over the course of three months, Brucker did not leave the city, which is viewed as heaven by some and as hell by others. Today he says he will not be traveling in Thailand in the future.
Brucker stayed at the "Mai Travel" hotel in the city, which accommodates, almost exclusively, Israeli sex tourists. He visited sex clubs, dined with Israeli sex tourists and played pool with them. In between activities, he interviewed some 60 men.
Amir (not his real name), a 39-year-old bachelor, said "I heard about Pattaya the same way everyone hears about it. But only when you arrive, and you breathe in the atmosphere and live the place, only then do you understand how much everything you were told is nothing, a pathetic tiny nothing of nothings, compared to the amazing and wondrous reality that awaits you here."
"The openness," Amir continued, "the humanity, the smiles of the beautiful sexy and open-minded women. It's not like the Israeli women, with their nose so far up in the air that it slaps Jumbo planes flying by in the sky."
Brucker, formerly a member of the Sha'ar Ha'amakim kibbutz, currently lives in Ramat Gan. He traveled to Pattaya alone after spending a week in Thailand with his girlfriend, Hila, a clinical psychologist. "I was afraid that Guy would get bored, and wouldn't be able to last three months," Hila said. "It wasn't that I was afraid he would do something, but three months seemed like too long to me. When we sat with Israelis and I heard them speak about the Thai women I was disgusted. I thought it was the most vulgar thing. Later, it became apparent that this kind of talk was the acceptable norm."
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Do whatever you want
Brucker, an introverted type, overcame his natural shyness and bought a ticket to the infamous city through the Israeli Connection travel agency. "When the Thai driver called out 'Pattaya' I got a flashback of seven-year-old Guy breaking a soup bowl in the middle of the kibbutz dining hall during Shabbat dinner and the eyes of half the kibbutz turn to him, asking 'what's going on with Shmuel's son?'" Brucker writes in his report.
The hotel was not very striking, he writes. "You can see pictures of men hugging Thai women on the walls alongside thank you notes from former clients thanking the hotel owners for their hospitality. There are wooden tables in the lobby and a small room with three computers," he describes the scene. The room was the closest thing he could imagine to a whore house, he adds. "Inside there is a television, a DVD and a refrigerator with a box of condoms resting on top. Just in case, there is another condom on the bed, alongside burned DVDs of Israeli television shows and movies. The first thing I did was buy new sheets at the local supermarket. Just the thought of what previous guests had done on them?"
The first night, he writes, was a jarring experience. "A large number of women standing in the streets, touching you, inviting you, calling out to you. There is a sense of a lack of boundaries. I have never seen anything like it."
"It is difficult to reconcile all the papers I've read with the feeling this place gives me. With sex out in the open and seductive women, the defenses and the theories don't silence the libido. The city invites you. It tells you 'go do whatever you want' - there are girls here at your service and around you everyone is affirming the very behavior you've always criticized. Think of Eilat, an entire city, only all the streets are part of an enormous brothel. There is no where to run other than into your room and inside your head. Even when I went to buy food at the mall."
What happened there?
"I thought I could get a break. Everything is very sterile there, except perhaps the many pairs of Thai women and tourists. So I sat down at a restaurant to eat, and two women were making eyes at me for the duration of the entire meal. You could say men are sexually harassed in Pattaya. This way you can really understand how women feel."
On the second day, the city looked a little less inviting. Brucker describes his work as a defense mechanism protecting him from the feelings raised by his first encounter with the city. Maybe it was this defense mechanism that left him with no real friends during the three months he spent on the island. "Most of the time I was unhappy," he said. "The worst days were the ones during which no one wanted to be interviewed. I would find myself spending most of the day in the hotel room in front of the television. After that I would go to another restaurant, and another restaurant, and no one wanted to talk."
He managed to convince the Israeli men to talk to him relatively easily, during the afternoon hours at the hotel. Though most men were reluctant to divulge information about their lives in Israel, they were happy to describe their activities in Pattaya. There were those who even approached him voluntarily. The interviewees ranged from age 17 to 50s and 60s, from trash collectors to students to businessmen. Some of the men were permanent residents of the city - retired policemen or Israel Defense Forces officials who bought apartments in town and stayed for several years.
"They say that the economic situation in Israel is killing them and that the women are killing them. They have no sex lives. So in Pattaya, they say, they have relief on both fronts. They come to a vacation spot and feel like life is a vacation," Brucker said.
The Israelis he met were not ugly or repulsive in any way. However, many of them complained of having undergone a crisis over their manhood. They said they were disappointed by the economic situation, the loss of their youth, the materialistic culture, but more than anything they blamed the feminists and the Israeli women. The comparison between Israeli and Thai women always took center stage in his conversations with the Israeli men.
"I think it's the exact opposite of what happens in Israel," said Assaf, a 39-year-old bachelor. "In Israel women wait until they are 150 years old, and by then they have been eaten by worms in their graves for about 60 years. In Pattaya, women give off the signal 'we want to devour you, we're ready for anything with you, sex and romance too, so let's live because there are a lot of nuclear bombs in this world and some idiot could push a button and the world could go to hell.'"
"I felt handsome," said Ran, a good looking man of 21 who spent most of his time without a shirt on. "All the things that make you feel ugly at a young age - I stopped thinking about that nonsense a long time ago, thick eyebrows and all that crap. For a long time now I have thought that I have nice eyebrows after 20 thousand Thai women told me they were nice. This whole thing about maybe my hair is nasty, all those dumb thoughts you have about yourself: maybe this doesn't suit me, maybe this is why girls don't whistle at me, maybe because of this I have to work harder to get the girls, be cuter inside. But then you arrive here, and suddenly your hair is the most beautiful in the world."
Brucker emphasizes in his study that the victims of the sex trade, first and foremost, are the women, but he adds that men, too, have become the victims of the society they belong to. They suffer not only from the social requirements around them - to be rich, to be handsome, to be a chauvinist - but also from the merciless social requirement to get laid. "People there don't rest," he said. "They feel the need to have sex with more and more women. They don't care that they're tired, they don't listen to what their bodies are telling them."
Could this situation lead to positive things too, such as a more critical view of Israel?
I think that some of the men are extremely critical of Israel long before they arrive in Thailand, and their stay only reaffirms their criticism. The problem is that when they talk about being unhappy, they blame the women. If they complain about the value placed on having money, they'll eventually end up complaining about women and the feminism that has reared its head, about the fact that the man is not given his rightful place."
Like a rag for you
In his study, Brucker describes at length the otherworldly quality the men that visit Pattaya attribute to the city. They feel as though they are leaving the familiar world and moving into a parallel universe with an entirely different set of rules than the ones they are accustomed to. The anonymity and the lack of social restrictions are two key elements in their experience.
"Imagine me coming to Israel and suddenly becoming a different person," said Haim, a 54-year-old married insurance agent. "Think about it, I have to disconnect myself. I disconnect from what happened here, I don't recount experiences, I don't tell my wife. Here I am disconnected. It's hard because I have a family. I try? If it were up to me, I wouldn't call anyone at any time, I would disappear. But I call because I have a commitment, I call my parents, I call my family, but not too much. As little as possible."
Many of the men think of Pattaya as a liberal open space that allows them to overcome the inhibitions that characterize their sexual relations in their home country. Brucker was surprised to find how prevalent the cultural relativism theory, which originated in the social sciences departments, was among the tourists, and often used to justify. "They recruit the ideas of relativism to see an openness that doesn't really exist in Thailand, and by that justify their deeds," Brucker said.
Yoram, 60, married with two children, fifth time in Pattaya: "In Buddhism there is no taboo on sex, it's not a sin, not a crime, it's nothing, so these girls enjoy themselves from the get go. When you're with someone you can tell that she wants to have sex."
Moshe, a 24-year-old Jerusalem resident, added "Here, it is the most natural thing there is, that's how they are. They don't know any other way. It is the way they see things, they think that this is the way it should be. When you bring a girl to your hotel room nobody looks at you as if you're doing something wrong, because it is the most normal thing that could be."
These descriptions ignore the pain and the humiliation that define prostitution, like the physical and psychological violence prostitutes endure. Pattaya sees a very high incidence of murder and violence, Brucker said. Some of the interviewees even told him about bullying the women as though it were a natural part of the relationship between a tourist and a prostitute. "You feel that you can do anything," said Eli. "You come and you do everything, all the things you don't do with your wife out of respect, you let yourself do here. Because here they are like a rag for you. If one doesn't want to do something she can go home. There will be another one within seconds, so you can do whatever you want."
"We are our head, we have fantasy," said David. "We want to realize our fantasies, and we can't make them happen at home. With the Thai women you can do anything. You can bang her in the ass, she sucks you off, you can put your penis in her ear, her mouth, her nostril. You can do everything and everything alright. And why is that? Because with my employees, when I tell them to do something, they better do it. So even if she's a really good employee, she has to get up in the morning and go to work and she has to make my fantasies a reality because I am paying her money."
Against this background, it is easy to understand what Pattaya brings out in men. Brucker explains that more than anything, he was embarrassed by the treatment the hotel waitresses received. "These are 17-year-old girls from Laos. I felt the most shame over the way they were treated, more than other things, because I sat with men that they gave service to, I was part of them. You see them smack the waitresses on the back side, people telling the waitress she's stupid or ugly. I sat with them at the table and didn't tell anyone to stop, so I felt much more complicit in it than in other things."
Giving them Zionism
Despite the distance from Israel, tourists in Pattaya bring much of home with them. It's not only the Israeli hotels, with menus in Hebrew. "There was a group of paratroopers who came straight from reserves duty to the island," Brucker related. "One of them said that one day he didn't feel like leaving the hotel so he ordered a girl by telephone. He said 'I called the enlistment officer' referring to the woman who sends prostitutes to men."
Another interviewee, 26, went even further when he explained to Brucker about the ideological messages he insists on relaying to the prostitutes. "I give them a lot of Zionism, lots of Zionism. I talk about Israel constantly, about the army, how much I don't like Arabs and that they shouldn't go with Arabs? I tell them I was a paratrooper and that I fought the Arabs who killed my commander. I tell them that in Israel, radical Muslims carry out terror attacks. Somehow it isn't easy to explain it to them, but I try."
Brucker surmises that Israeli sex tourism, like domestic violence and sexist attitudes towards women, is directly connected to service in the IDF. As a combat fighter who was wounded during his service in the Israel Air Force's elite Shaldag commando unit, and through his work at a facility researching behavior of IDF troops, Brucker sees a clear connection between IDF service and sex tourism.
"You see how we have a culture of personal glorification, of saying that who you are is related to the occupation of the other. This is how people grow, through the subjugation of others. It's possible to see this in the way we don't acknowledge what is happening in Gaza or the failures of the Second Lebanon War. We see these as the result of us not finishing the job, because the resistance of the prostitute was too strong. She said there was a limit to how much you can trample on her."
One of Brucker's surprising revelations in his research was the way sex tourists in Pattaya would avoid or ignore the concept of prostitution, often crafting elaborate fantasies of romantic relationships with the women whose services they had purchased. Many of these men don't pay for the women's services outright, instead buying them gifts, inviting them to restaurants, and sending money to their families. Brucker sees this as a form of denial and personal fraud carried out by the men.
"This allows them to be present physically, while at the same time detached from the act," Brucker says.
"She really enjoys it," says Kobi, 40.
"I also love to tell her nice things, to whisper them to her, to hug her after sex, I love spoiling her before the sex. I do things for her that no one has ever done?She knows how to appreciate this," Kobi says, adding that he sees this as why "she didn't ask for money the first time. The sex was so good and she enjoyed it so much that at some point she just turned away the money?On many occasions, she tried to pay for things, but I prevented her from doing so, even when she said it's alright. I like giving her things, with the knowledge of course that she stays with me and doesn't go out with any other men."
One man, Dekel, says "she's in it for the fun" though he did admit that "I did pay her rent and bought her clothes, she can't say I owe her anything. I buy her food, buy her what she wants, little things of course."
But does Thailand allow men to pursue relationships they couldn't find with an Israeli woman who is only interested in their money? According to Brucker, "On a basic level, the place [Thailand] doesn't allow for relationships that aren't based on the exchange of money." Brucker added "this place doesn?t allow you to think of relationships in the same way they're thought of in Israel."
Brucker insists that a trip to Pattaya has a lasting effect on men after they return to Israel, in the way they treat women.
"The boss who returns from Pattaya will treat his female employees differently, he will treat women he meets at work, the pharmacy, the mall differently. One man told me, after Patayya, even when his wife tells him no he knows she really means yes."
Would these women still be considered prostitutes if they were to return to Israel with men they met in Thailand?
"For many women, this is the dream," Brucker says, "but in reality, its like winning the lotto, there is almost no chance it will happen." Still, Brucker says even in such hypothetical cases, he doesn't see any likelihood that the relationship would become any more equal than it was as a prostitute-client arrangement back in Thailand.
Brucker says that today there is a need to change legislation in order to prosecute men who travel to Thailand to take part in the sex trade, but in the meantime, it is up to women to prevent their husbands from going on such trips, or at least to tell them they are not naïve, and know the real reason they are flying to Thailand with their friends for "a two week trip to take in the sights."Almost four months after he left his 11-year-old son in the middle of the night and headed to California, Steven Cross says he still doesn't understand what all the fuss is about -- or why authorities won't allow him to see the boy.
After all, he instructed his son to go stay with their Lakeville neighbors, where he assumed he'd be taken care of.
"I really felt in my mind that he would be safe there," Cross said Wednesday. "That they would take care of him and that there would be no traumatizing experience for him."
After his case sparked nationwide media coverage, Cross is telling his side of the story publicly.
He's not likely to get any sympathy from authorities, who issued a warrant for his arrest shortly after he left. The Dakota County attorney's office has charged him with child neglect. And the county's child protection services placed the boy in protective custody and foster care. The county still prohibits Cross from having any contact with the boy.
Cross says he was severely depressed, confused about his life and about to become homeless when he kissed his son, Sebastian, goodbye and left, instructing him by letter to ride his bike to a neighbors' home so he wouldn't have to live out of a van with his dad.
"I still want to see my son," Cross said. "I still want to hear from him that he is OK."
A Dakota County judge has already denied one motion to allow him to see the boy. Cross will try again at a December hearing, after he completes a psychiatric examination.
Cross's actions also ignited a national controversy -- a fact the 60-year-old architect discovered while in the San Luis Obispo jail in California awaiting extradition.
"I'm unbelievably surprised at the attention this has gotten," Cross said. "I told the jailer, this has gone national."
A lapse in judgment?
On Wednesday, Cross detailed what he did and where he went in an effort, he said, to get people to understand that he was in a dire situation financially and emotionally.
"Mr. Cross was under an overwhelming amount of stress, suffering from situational depression," said Jeffrey Priest, the attorney representing Cross. "I think he had a temporary lapse in judgment."
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, who charged Cross with child neglect, refused to comment Wednesday. But at the time Cross was arrested, Backstrom characterized Cross' actions as "extra unusual" and "disturbing."
Cross said he left just days before the Dakota County Sheriff was to take his home, a foreclosure he kept from Sebastian for almost two years.
He left a letter to his son telling him to ride his bike to the home of neighbors John and Joanne Pahl and give them letters he had left explaining what he was doing and why.
"I didn't have any other relatives to turn to," said Cross, now living with ex-neighbors in Lakeville. "The Pahls were like his family. Riding over there on his bike alone, it was something he did all the time."
But the Pahls, who declined to comment on Wednesday, were unaware of Cross' predicament or that Cross intended for them to keep Sebastian. They called police, who immediately called in child protection services.
Cross said he was in a daze as he drove west for days, heading to Cambria, Calif., to find distant relatives he had not seen in decades and whose names he did not even remember. He never found |
energy.
To make matters worse those Nuclear Energy supporters in the UK find that the obvious way to finance the safe building and operation of reactors, through state owned companies (as the French do it), conflicts with they’re (largely right wing) politics. Consequently we’re likely to end up with a twisted mess of a situation where we have a privately owned (on paper anyway) nuclear industry which is wholly dependent on various stealth subsidies, but without the sort of controls necessary to ensure proper waste management and safety, nor that the electricity produced (which wee will effectively be subsidising) is sold to the public at a reasonable price (the “privately” run nuke industry will be able to charge whatever they like and pocket the money as profit….going to their principle shareholder…the French government!). All in all if it’s a case of no more nuclear reactors, or some reactors but ones run by this group of deluded zealots, I’d rather see no more nuclear reactors and a phase out of nuclear energy as soon as possible.
And thus my advice to anyone reading this is not to take anything you hear from the nuclear cheerleaders seriously, until that is we start to hear the right sort of policies coming out of the nuclear industry. Nevermind you’re Nuclear renaissance, what we need is a bathroom ceiling painted mat white!
———–
A quick note on references, I’ve included a couple of links to online sources, notably Wikipedia, but I do that primarily because I recognise that anyone reading this is unlikely to have a library handy. iwould note that my primary sources of information are often good old fashioned books and reports, these include:
Energy by G. J. Aubrecht (an excellent one stop shop for all energy related facts & figures!)
Into the Atomic Age by J. M. Pincher (old and dated, but a gem of a book relating the earlier pioneering days of nuclear energy)
Going Critical: An Unofficial History of British Nuclear Power by W. Patterson (again dated, but a nice blow by blow account of the development of nuclear power in the UK)
Sustainable Energy without the hot air by G. Mckay (another excellent resource, now online too!)
Cool Energy by Micheal Brower
Civil nuclear energy : fuel of the future or relic of the past? by M. C. Grimston
I also relied on a number of reports from the IEA and REN for my various facts and figures. Archive material from the NRC and the DoE was also utlised.
http://www.iea.org/stats/index.asp
http://www.ren21.net/
AdvertisementsYou probably wouldn’t know it from reading U.S. media today, but a major diplomatic incident erupted on Wednesday between Turkey and Russia. Russia’s Foreign Ministry is warning of measures it may take in retaliation for Turkish F-16 jets forcing a Syrian airliner bound from Moscow to Damascus to land in Turkey with 16 Russian passengers on board. The Turks are insisting that the plane was carrying military equipment and ammunition for the besieged forces of Syrian President Bashir Assad to use against Syrian rebels. But the Russians are dismissing this allegation, claiming that if they wanted to send weapons to Assad they would’ve used their ships and existing port facility at Tartus as with recent arms shipments. Russia also says its 16 citizens on board the plane were traumatized by the experience and were not allowed to contact the Russian consulate for help within the first eight hours of the plane landing in Turkey, in violation of diplomatic accords with Turkey. The Syrian government claims the plane was carrying only what was listed on its cargo manifest and that the Turkish action constitutes ‘air piracy’ in contempt of international civilian aviation treaties.
Turkish businesses to pay dearly for poking the Russian Bear
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no shortage of options he may use to punish Turkey for turning up the heat on the Assad government in Syria. Turkey sells over a billion dollars of fruits and vegetables and other agricultural goods to Russia per year. The Russian government could easily block those imports -- and, to further humiliate the Islamist government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Russians will likely buy their winter produce from Israel instead. Russia could also cancel authorization for tourist charter flights that take thousands of tourists from Russia to Turkish Mediterranean resorts like Antalya or Izmir every month. For Turkish businessmen, the risks that they could soon feel pain in their wallets over their government’s aggressive support of the Syrian rebels are very real, and that is motivating a growing opposition within the Turkish parliament to Erdogan’s interventions in neighboring Syria. But in addition to embarrassment ahead for Erdogan, there are also larger repercussions -- and ironies -- looming for Washington’s eternal Cold Warriors, including the advisors to Mitt Romney who told their man to describe Russia as America’s number one geopolitical adversary. In addition to being a wily veteran of the KGB, the 60-year-old Putin is also a practicioner of judo. The Japanese martial art involves grappling with an opponent and using an adversary’s own momentum to throw him. It is also a concept familiar to Chinese students of The Art of War -- exploiting an opponent’s arrogance and allowing him to blunder onto the terrain of one’s own choosing. By allowing Washington egg Turkey on into a confrontation with Russia it cannot win, Putin is also “creating daylight” (to use Mitt Romney’s phrase) between the U.S. and once close American allies in the Near East, ranging from Greece to Iraq to (in the biggest shocker of all for the Romney camp) -- Israel.
Rocking the Crumbling Cradle of Civilizations -- Russia Woos Greece Away from EU/NATO
First Greece. While many neocon advocates for U.S. intervention in Syria were fixated on the action in Damascus and a looming confrontation with Assad’s ally Iran, a growing opposition chorus in Greece is calling for the bankrupt country to leave the eurozone and turn toward Russia, China and Israel for economic support. While the Greek government insists it has no choice but to agree to European Union austerity measures, unemployment in the cradle of democracy has risen for 35 consecutive months, to the U.S. Great Depression level of over 25%. Hunger has become a very real problem in Athens and other Greek cities, and the opposition is starting to ask what Greece has left to lose by dumping the euro and adopting a devalued drachma to revive the economy. While all of this is taking place in Greece, the Russian government has shrewdly extended a multi-billion euro loan to the Greek-aligned government of Cyprus, which shares a border with Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus. The island in the eastern Mediterranean has also become one of the single largest ‘foreign investors’ in the Russian Federation -- thanks to Nicosia being a major banking center for Russian companies, in industries ranging from shipping to mining to oil and gas. And the Russian investment in Cyprus is likely to grow thanks to the recently discovered Leviathian natural gas field nearby that Israel plans to tap.
While some Western media mindlessly parrots a line about ‘massive’ capital flight from Russia, what is in fact happening is Russian companies are recycling billions in profits through European and Cypriot banks, and then repatriating the capital to Russia. Given Russian support for the Cypriots and a shared Orthodox Christian religion, it is quite possible that a bankrupt Greece will turn to Russia for investment when it finally defaults on its bad euro-denominated debts. What that likely means, in practice, is that Washington neocon efforts to push the Russians out of their base at the Syrian port of Tartus will backfire, leading to an even better Russian naval base in Greece. A twenty-year lease for the Russian navy at Athens’ port of the Pireaus, for example, could probably be negotiated right now for less than 10 billion euros.
Given the historic enmity between Greece and Turkey which almost resulted in war during the 1970s while both countries were members of NATO, there is no sympathy for a Turkish invasion of Syria in Athens. Any NATO support for such an invasion could find itself undermined by leaks from Greek military officers or other NATO militaries sympathetic to the Greeks at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium (such leaks purportedly happened during NATO’s offensive war against the Serbs over Kosovo in 1999). As it is, Syria’s pro-Assad journalists as well as the Russia media have already pointed to the persecution of Orthodox Christians and Eastern rite Catholics by the Syrian rebels to win the sympathies of those not subject to an Anglo-American media blackout on that topic.
Iraq turns to Saddam’s old patron, Moscow
Meanwhile in Iraq the U.S.-installed government of Nouri al-Maliki has turned on Washington by signing a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Russia this week. Instead of flying new or used Lockheed F-16s like Turkey, the Iraqi Air Force will fly Russian MiG-29 jets instead, and will also be buying Russian helicopters. After staying somewhat neutral on the Syrian civil war, Maliki has come out against any Turkish intervention in the conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives. The Maliki government has also started pushing U.S. oil major ExxonMobil out of a field in southern Iraq near Kuwait in favor of Russian oil companies. Iraq has also allowed overflights of Iranian planes carrying troops and weapons for the Assad government to use in its fight against Saudi, Qatari, and Turkish-backed rebels. The fact that Iraq is refusing to support the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in their plans to install a Sunni-Islamist government in Damascus after the minority Allawite-Shi’a government of Assad is overthrown must be infuriating to the Saudis. On top of that the Iraqis are pumping more oil which cuts into Saudi Arabia’s profits, which have been artificially boosted by all the Western sanctions against rival oil producer Iran.
Dobre pozhalavut Jerusalem, Mr. Putin!
In what should be the most troubling development for the neocons that surround Mitt Romney who presume to be Israel’s strongest supporters, even the Israelis may no longer be on board with a U.S. or NATO-led intervention in Syria. Israel may prefer the ‘devil it knows’ in Bashir Assad, who has kept its Golan Heights border quiet, to the ‘devils it does not know’ in the opposition, many of whom have ties to Al-Qaeda and have sworn to reconquer the Golan or even destroy Israel. Even the members of the so-called Free Syrian Army who are not card carrying members of Al-Qaeda are aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Arab movement that recently captured the government of Egypt. While it’s quite easy to blame Obama for the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across North Africa and the Middle East, it would be a great irony if Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who both support arming Syria’s rebels, would facilitate the creation of Muslim Brotherhood-dominated governments on two of Israel’s three borders. For Israel, such an alignment would recreate the nightmare of a two-front war like the 1973 Yom Kippur War that claimed hundreds of Israeli lives and pushed the Jewish state’s armies to the brink of exhausting their ammunition.
Into this breach between Washington’s hawks and Israel has stepped one Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. In a story downplayed by most of the Anglo-American media (with the honorable exceptions of Breitbart.com and The Daily Beast) the Russian President was feted this summer at Israel’s historic King David Hotel. The Russian delegation in June included so many businessmen that it booked 233 rooms at the hotel in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Russian leader pushed all the right buttons with his hosts, telling a Jewish man that he prayed the Jews would one day rebuild their ancient Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Putin also described Israel as a country with close ties to Russia, as more than one fifth of the population speaks Russian. What Putin said to Benjamin Netanyahu behind closed doors we can only speculate about, but it’s likely he told Netanyahu he may prefer Assad to his likely hardline-Islamist successors. Putin may also have told the Israelis the 2009 Gaza flotilla incident provoked by Islamist elements in Turkey (the same elements that have a history of supporting jihadists in Russia’s troubled Caucuses region) was unfortunate.
Moscow will be denouncing an Israeli strike on Iran all the way to the bank
Looking at the recent leaks by the Obama Administration to Foreign Policy magazine that many Israeli security thinkers complained about this summer, it’s also possible that Russia has agreed to turn a blind eye to Israeli moves into Azerbaijan in preparation for a war with Iran. After all, any Israeli strike on Iran would be much more effective if Israeli Air Force jets and drones could refuel in or over Azerbaijan, which borders Iran to the north. Without refueling, it is doubtful that any strike by Israel going to alone would accomplish much against Iran’s dispersed network of hardened bunkers. Furthermore, Russia maintains a very powerful radar station inside Azerbaijan at Gabala and could effectively control Azeri air space via a fighter base in neighboring Armenia (this is the part of the story embarrassing to both Washington and Jerusalem that Foreign Policy’s editors left out). For the neocons to claim if Israel strikes Iran that Russia via Azeri air space that Russia was not in on it would defy all bounds of credibility, and permanently damage their eternal Cold War narrative that Russia is an implacable enemy of the West allied with Iran. And naturally, since Russia maintains one of the most ruthlessly pragmatic foreign policies on Earth, Moscow could denounce the Israeli aggression all the way to the bank as oil prices spiked (Russia is the world’s largest oil producer). Netanyahu likely wouldn’t care, so long as Israeli vegetables and technologies would continue to flow due north to Russia. Perhaps in that scenario the neocons would simply flip their script and shamelessly claim that Iran after years of being America’s worst enemy was now simply a victim of Russian aggression.
All of these contradictions between what neoconservative hawks claim about the Middle East, Israel, and the postures of American allies towards “America’s number one geopolitical adversary” are coming to a head. In his speech at the Virginia Military Institute this week, Mitt Romney vowed that there would be “no daylight” between Israel and the United States during his Administration. Whether Romney was referring to the daylight that Moscow has shrewdly exploited in recent months is unknown. But what is clear is that the policies advocated by Mitt Romney, including support for Turkey’s aggressive moves and arming of the Syrian rebels, will push the Jewish State into more friendly consultations with Moscow. Thus while D.C. elites obsessed over failed outreach to the Muslim Brotherhood (Obama) or spending money the U.S. doesn’t have to maintain raw military power (Romney), Moscow like Beijing is shrewdly playing the long game with clever diplomacy and investment.
Publius is a disillusioned former member of the U.S. conservative movement and a journalist who’s previously lived and worked in Washington D.C. The views expressed here are solely his own.Spread the love
Oklahoma City, OK — Ruth Temple called out Oklahoma police officers Sunday night after her boyfriend started acting strangely.
That 9-1-1 Call would eventually lead to Temple’s boyfriend, Darrell Gatewood’s death.
Police say they were called to the residence because Gatewood was breaking glasses and other things inside the apartment. When police arrived, they found Gatewood lying on broken glass on the floor of the apartment.
At one point, Gatewood appeared to be “shadow boxing” and throwing punches in the air, police said. A clearly mentally distraught Gatewood was then dragged into the street and pepper sprayed and tasered.
“They kept saying you’re resisting and fighting. So they kept pulling the trigger on the taser over and over again,” said witness Leeann Mize.
“They should have restrained him inside the house because they could have.” Mize urged. “They could have put his hands in handcuffs and put him in the back of the police car but instead they drug him out and electrocuted him in a puddle of water.”
“He would release, Taser again, release, Taser again.” said Mize. “It was scary and out of line. They killed a husband, a father and a grandfather in front of the grandbabies, wife and the daughter.”
“They kept tasing him until his heart blew out… It was too much. They did too much,” Mize added. “He was not a bad person,” said Mize. “Yes he had a record and none of it was violent. He was a family man. He was a good sweet family man.”
“I wish I never called the police,” said his girlfriend. “They shouldn’t have tased him.”
Gatewood’s death has led to three police officers being suspended pending an investigation.
The official cause of death has yet to be determined.
“In this case we don’t know what caused him to die,” said Oklahoma City police Capt. Paco Balderrama. “We’re not saying that the Taser was the cause,” he added. “We’re saying that a Taser was one of the things that was utilized to try to get the person into custody, but there were also many other factors ultimately contributing to the death of that person.”
Gatewood has a history of drug abuse, and his family believes he was acting under the influence of K-2, a synthetic version of marijuana.
We often ask, “why didn’t that cop use a taser instead of his gun?” However, it is important to remember that while a person is less likely to die from a taser shock than a gun shot, they are still an often fatal weapon and should be treated as such.
According to Amnesty International, between 2001 and 2008, 351 people in the United States died from being shocked by police tasers. Electronic Villiage has documented another 283 taser-related deaths in the United States from 2009-2014. That means there have been at least 634 documented taser-related deaths in America since 2001. You can view the list here.
There are 50,000 volts of electricity that shoot out of a police issued Taser and into their target. The American Heart Association has been vocal about the fact that tasers can cause cardiac arrest and death.Team Freedom signs Grandmaster Jackets
Team Freedom announced today they have signed Grandmaster Jackets for the HGC 2017 season.
The team is made up of half veterans and half new players to the professional scene. Zugrug, Insomniaa and KilluZiion have both seen their fair share of competition, while Nazmas and Daneski are fairly new.
Grandmaster Jackets qualified for HGC in the second qualifier, taking out both Gust or Bust and Vox Nihilli.
In the announcement a statement from Insomniaa reads:
"We understand that some might consider us underdogs going into HGC, but we expect to come out on top through the hard-work and perseverance that helped us to qualify in the first place.”
Team Freedom, under eSports.Us, also vets a Dota 2 team.
Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS and on Facebook for more competitive Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.
QUICKPOLL Will Team Freedom be a strong contender come HGC 2017 time? Yes! They'll be a strong blowout team
Thank you for voting! No. I don't have much faith in them.
Thank you for voting!Starting with the class of 2021, all New Jersey students will have to pass the PARCC tests to graduate from high school, under regulations adopted by the state Board of Education Wednesday morning.
The approval comes despite more than two years of vocal opposition to the tests from parents and teachers and in spite of the fact that fewer than half of the students who have taken the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests have achieved a passing score.
Both the Asbury Park Press and NJ Advance Media reported the vote to approve the requirement.
Students entering eighth grade this school year would be required to eventually pass both the Algebra I and 10th-grade English tests from the PARCC.
The NJ.com report said the requirement makes New Jersey the only state in the country to require a passing score on the tests. The only option for New Jersey students who are unable to pass the exams will be to seek portfolio approval from the state, APP.com reported.
There are just eight states remaining as full participants in the consortium that at one point had 24 states plus the District of Columbia; none of New Jersey's neighbors participate in PARCC.
Among other states still administering the PARCC, none are using it as the sole litmus test for graduation readiness.
In Illinois, state educators have opted to replace the PARCC exams with the SAT and will provide it to all public high school juniors to reduce testing "redundancy and maximize the value of test-taking time," the state said. Neither test is used as a graduation requirement. Colorado's graduation requirements for the Class of 2021 offer a menu of test options; PARCC is not mentioned by name among them. Maryland offers options for assessment scores, including the SAT and ACT tests, to meet graduation requirements. Massachusetts,which administers the PARCC, requires passing scores on its own state assessment tests but still offers options for proving graduation readiness.
In New Mexico, students have to have taken the PARCC twice but the state offers a menu of options to meeting assessment graduation requirements, while in Rhode Island, graduation requirements include testing but do not mention PARCC.
Some states have dropped standardized testing altogether as a graduation requirement. California recently rescinded its requirement for high school students to pass a standardized test after more than a decade of court battles and debate, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Pennsylvania shelved any decision on utilizing tests as graduation requirements until 2019.
The PARCC tests have been under fire for more than two years, with critics saying they are often not developmentally appropriate and test skills that are not acquired by students until much later. But state Commissioner of Education David Hespe has held firm, insisting the tests will ensure "our children gain the knowledge and skills they need to lead successful lives."
Thousands of students have skipped the tests during its first two years of full administration in New Jersey. And this year, nearly 10,000 graduating seniors were forced to seek portfolio approval to receive their high school diplomas as a result of changes in January to graduation requirements for the class of 2016.
The test refusals resulted in most school districts in the state having to come up with plans to increase participation in the tests.
The second year of tests showed improved scores across the board, Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday in an announcement about the results of the 2016 tests.
But among high school students, fewer than 50 percent achieved either a 4 or 5 on the tests; the state requirement to be considered passing is a 4.
Among ninth-graders, the 35.6 percent achieved a 4, and 13.2 percent achieved a 5. For 10th-graders, the figures were 31.0 percent and 13.4 percent, and among 11th-graders, 31.7 percent scored a 4 and 8.4 percent scored a 5, according to the governor's office.
"More than 65,000 additional students took the math test this year and more than 56,000 additional students took the English language arts exam, and in fact, numerous educators and researchers have reviewed PARCC and have concluded that it is undoubtedly an effective assessment tool," Christie said in remarks about the increased scores.
The test scores also are being released months earlier than the 2015 scores. Preliminary information was released to districts in October 2015, but parents did not receive score reports until late December and January, forcing high school seniors who had not taken either the SAT or the ACT to scramble for qualifying graduation scores on an alternate test.
Hespe told the Asbury Park Press the low passing rates were not cause for concern because scores are expected to rise as students and schools grow more accustomed to the tests. He said the state had given a five-year timeline for passing the tests with the expectation that scores would improve, the Press reported.
Proponents of PARCC say the test is a better measure of college readiness and critical thinking skills and that too many students have graduated needing remedial classes before they can start college. Officials also say that PARCC tests yield useful information on students' weaknesses and strengths that can be used to improve classroom instruction.
The first year of testing — and the complaints and issues surrounding the administration of two rounds of the tests — led to changes for the 2016 assessments that shortened the testing time and reduced the administration to just one round of testing.
Karen Wall photoSAN SALVADOR — Seven bus drivers are killed in four days. A morgue worker slowly counts 224 stab wounds on a murder victim. Police officers post memorials to slain comrades and photographs of “eliminated” suspects on Facebook.
El Salvador is convulsed in violence at levels not seen since the civil war of the 1980s. Murder rates have soared while the government struggles to rein in the powerful criminal gangs that control neighborhoods in many of the country’s cities and towns.
In an offensive started at the beginning of the year — the latest front in a decades-long struggle to control crime — the police have pushed deep into the slums where gangs hold sway and three units of elite troops stand by to join the battle on the streets for the first time.
But the strategy has backfired, and the violence is intensifying.
In June, 677 people were murdered — twice as many as six months earlier — in a population of just over six million. About 300 gang members have been killed by the police this year.The fourth Assassin’s Creed game is out on PC now, for once merely weeks rather than months behind the console version. I’ve been dragging old man Ezio across its rooftops and into its underground lairs of conspiracy for the last few days, and as such… well, you know how this goes.
Experimentation, calibration, celebration and now stagnation: that’s been the course Assassin’s Creed games have taken, and until Revelations it’s been a course of sustained improvement. In some ways, and when looked at alone, Revelations is the best of the bunch, but it’s also the most unnecessary. Especially on PC, where delays meant we only saw the last game, Brotherhood, a piffling eight months ago. After a half-decade of tinkering, AssCreed has settled on its formula and Revelations presents an impasse – stay the course, do the COD-style franchise thing and hope the fanbase is loyal enough to stump up for iterative updates, or return to the reinvention it once embraced.
On the other hand, I can understand why the series’ original plan – to see a new historical setting and protagonist every time – ended up being abandoned in favour of keeping Ass Creed 2’s past-hero Ezio around for what’s now become three games. Ezio, you see, is a total dude. AssCreed’s other player characters to date, 12th Century assassin Altair and his and Ezio’s modern-day descendant Desmond, are a bore and a whiner respectively. Ezio? Dude. To throw out a likeable character in favour of starting afresh again must have seemed like a terrible waste.
Ezio’s at his most charming yet in AssRev, as we join him during the onset of old age. Grey-bearded, distinguished, no longer hot-headed or quite so led by the desires for vengeance and naughty cuddles with ladies, fatherly when the so-so, exposition-crazed script remembers to paint him as such… He’s an unusual videogame hero, and refreshingly posture-free as action protagonists go. It’s sad the game’s free-running, flow-fighting mechanics, being broadly a repeat of AssCreed 2 and Brotherhoods’, more or less don’t address his fading strength and speed, bar having a reason to once again reset his health to bare minimum and have the player incrementally pick up upgrades.
But rather than a tale of Ezio facing up to his own encroaching mortality, AssRev is, depressingly, another tale of digging up increasingly oblique titbits of mystic information ultimately aimed at minutely moving on the tiresome tale of Desmond in the present day. If you haven’t played the series to date, AssRev will almost immediately be nonsensical to you; I have played it all, and I only just grasp what it’s wittering about, but can’t begin to care.
Even the original sci-fi twist – that Altair and Ezio’s adventures are Desmond reliving his noble assassin ancestors’ memories via a clever computer wired up to his brain – has been lost to increasingly absurd mysticism. As the game begins, Desmond is lost in his own mind due to having apparently offed his special lady friend by mistake at the end of the last game, and must explore his way back to consciousness via – you guessed it – reliving yet more of Ezio’s roof-running and man-stabbing, occasionally interspersed with abstract, Portal-for-dummies first-person puzzle-platforming sequences in which Desmond recalls bits of his own childhood and more of the overarching babble-prophecy. I DON’T CARE SEND ME BACK TO THE PAST.
Actor Nolan North does his level best to make Des’ sustained WHAT WHERE HOW WHO WHY confusion and complaint likeable, but there’s no escaping that modern-boy still doesn’t do much of note even after four games. Why are we expected to care about someone whose primarily role is waiting, whining and listening? It was always mystifying that AssCreed went down the sci-fi and prophecy route when it had a perfectly serviceable setting and plot already, but doubly so that it’s still failed to do anything meaningful (let alone meaningfully interactive) with that aspect of the game except drown it in ever-more demented exposition.
As has always been the case, the ultimate outcome of this latest AssCreed is essentially a crude statement of “yes there will be another game and you’d better buy if you want to find out what happens.” Revelations? Don’t take the piss. AssRev does, at least, seem to mark the last we’ll see of both Ezio and Altair. I’ll miss the good-natured Italian geezer, but the promise of a new protagonist and time period is far more appealing than another chance to wear his manky old hood.
Ezio’s swansong takes him to Constantinople, which in some respects – probably due to the engine and reused assets – doesn’t look or feel a million miles away from Rome and other Italian cities he’s dragged us around previously. Areas of it offer new variety though – civilians in rich, coloured silks, a ramshackle wooden poor district, hulking, ornate mosques and a division by waterways into islands. It’s a pleasant, pretty place to be, as AssCreed cities have always been, but it does feel all-too-familiar. That’s mostly because this old dog hasn’t learned many new tricks, so Ezio’s up to pretty much what he was up to in Brotherhood. The major new additions are a mini-grappling hook built into his sleeve that means he can jump about a foot higher and perform a couple of new moves that you won’t use unless a navigation puzzle specifically demands it, and bombs.
Bombs can be thrown, and bombs can be built from parts you collect in your travels, but once again it’s just needless feature creep, one more optional tactic on top of what’s almost too many. The sheer complexity of AssCreed game’s controls means by this point, once again, the first few hours of the game are basically one long tutorial. It was necessary though – having recently been playing Arkham Asylum, I experienced real discombobulation about how to climb onto rooftops and drop onto men’s spines from afar, hands reaching for different controls and frequently hurling Ezio off the side of a hundred-foot tower to his messy doom. Ezio could really do with a batrope, I have to say.
Also new is an infrequent tower defence mini-game wherein you’re defending your territory from invading Templars by placing an assortment of archers, riflemen, leapy death-guys, barricades and all sorts on either side of a road. ‘Morale’ is generated from kills, and then spent on more units. It’s very silly, especially because it’s hard to not think ‘if Ezio would only get down in the street himself he could sort out all these lads single-handed’, but it adds more context to the game’s territory-seizing meta-game. It doesn’t need to be there, but the game isn’t hurt for it being so.
AssCreed 1’s Altair also gets a look-in, with Ezio occasionally reliving hitherto unchronicled parts of his predecessor’s life. So that’s Desmond reliving Ezio reliving Altair, just to be clear. Oh, and the whole thing’s being puppeteered by some quasi-goldlike race that preceded humanity, right. Sigh. Altair’s sequences aren’t anything to shout about, as to control he’s just Ezio with less toys, but I suppose it’s nice to nod back to the series’ roots.
So, AssRev is just a retread with a few unnecessary new growths stuck to the side, but I don’t mean that it’s a bad game. It’s a very good game if taken on its own merits rather than those of its series. Not to mention that it’s a lovely-looking, huge and generous game-world. Constantinople is packed with content and relative freedoms and things to collect and mini-games (restoring the cities’ businesses in order to make money; recruiting and upgrading apprentices to aid you in battle) that offers hours and hours and hours of distraction and kleptomania if you elect to indulge yourself rather than carve through the main missions.
It’s a wonderful time-sink, it really is. It’s just that it’s almost totally redundant if you already own Brotherhood – but sadly it makes little to no sense if you don’t. As such, I’d recommend Brotherhood as the AssCreed to get if you’re going in cold – it’s a confident expansion of what the previous game got right, without suffering the slow entropy and outright repetition that Revelations does.
Its hours of play, its elaborate city, its many side-quests and money-making opportunities are ultimately only there to delay the arrival of a pseudoscience-mired final cutscene that sets up the next game. It’s fallen into the Lost trap, endlessly stringing us along in pursuit of answers that could take forever to arrive. I’m fond enough of the journey so far, but I do need it to make a sudden turn if I’m to remain interested.It didn’t take long for a decision to be made.
The Ottawa Senators held a news conference early Sunday morning, confirming the long-awaited speculation that Bryan Murray would step down from his role as General Manager. After bidding what was an emotional goodbye and confirming he would be taking on a lesser role at the Senators’ Senior Advisor, Murray officially announced that former Assistant GM Pierre Dorion would be filling his role. Dorion is now the team’s eighth general manager in history, after first joining the team’s staff back in 2007.
"I'm stepping into big shoes." – new #Sens GM Pierre Dorion — Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 10, 2016
While other news may have been expected – in regards to more clean-ups within the organization’s staff – Dorion made it clear the Senators’ wanted this day to be about Murray and the legacy of his career.
Ottawa Senators’ Looking Back Before Moving Forward
Before moving forward to a new GM, many paid lots of respect to Murray’s career. After working countless years as both a head coach and general manager, Murray spent the last 12 years of his career in Ottawa working in both capacities. And though his career is not yet over, it’s certainly what it feels like. Murray was sent well wishes from many throughout the NHL community today over social media.
This may be the first of many steps towards turning Ottawa’s hockey team around after a miserable season, but it was a courteous decision to give this day to Murray before making more changes within the organization. Although to some he’s become a polarizing figure, his hockey career, his personality, and his public fight against cancer deserve the world’s respect.
Pierre Dorion – The Pressure for Change
Looking forward to a future with a new general manager, Dorion comes into a situation with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Following a disappointing season that had the team’s owner expressing their desperate need for change, the offseason has many waiting on those words. It can be expected that some of Dorion’s first public moves will involve his evaluation of head coach Dave Cameron – many of whom believe he will be fired – along with evaluating the needs within the current roster.
With pending decisions on the future of many players including Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad, Patrick Wiercioch and more, Dorion has his hands full. And, you can expect the entire city will be eagerly awaiting his every move.
Whether or not he will show much of a difference from having Murray in his position remains to be seen. But, speculation has already gone south.
Does it matter who the GM is or should the question be: can any person be a successful GM under Eugene Melnyk? — The 6th Sens (@6thSens) April 10, 2016
An organization that’s desperate for change. Let’s see what the summer holds.Five people were wounded in shootings across the city Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning, and one person was stabbed.
The most recent shooting left a 23-year-old man in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was shot about 3:50 a.m. Sunday at an Englewood neighborhood party in the 5800 block of South Wolcott Avenue after two people outside a car he was sitting in started fighting, police said. Someone started shooting and the man was wounded. A friend dropped him off at Holy Cross Hospital and he was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he remains.
A man walked into Norwegian American Hospital with a gunshot wound to his hip about 11:15 p.m. Saturday. He told police he was wounded near Augusta Boulevard and Washtenaw Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood but police found no crime scene there. The 26-year-old is in good condition, police said.
Someone shot a 36-year-old in the abdomen about 8 p.m. It's not entirely clear where he was shot: he told police he was wounded at Independence Boulevard and Harrison Street on the West Side but then called police from the Eisenhower Expressway. He gave investigators from the Illinois State Police and the Chicago Police Department conflicting stories. He was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County with an abdomen wound.
In an earlier attack, in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the Far North Side, a 24-year-old man was shot in the 1700 block of West Farwell Avenue about 1:30 p.m., said Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Thomas Sweeney. The man was shot in the left calf and his condition had been stabilized at Presence St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Sweeney said.
CTA buses were temporarily rerouted from Clark Street in the area, according to the CTA.
In the Back of the Yards neighborhood about 12:45 p.m |
has another purpose in mind. Human beings desperately need a powerful appreciation of the natural world; otherwise the destructive forces will have their way. Hopefully, Robert’s photographic work will be a force for good in this epic struggle that now confronts us.
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A Good Look at ROBERT'S Artwork available for rewards
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CLICK HERE TO SEE LARGER PHOTOS: FlickrFor the most part I seriously enjoyed Mass Effect despite the initial problems I wrote about in my previous post. After the first couple of missions I had a handle on the gameplay and was at a point where I had the freedom to shoot things up or have deep conversations with my crew at my own whim. I completed most of the side quests and finished the game wanting more; I immediately began a renegade playthrough, though I did not have time to get very far.
Overall, Mass Effect took huge steps forward for inclusiveness in games. Its racial diversity is unlike any I have seen in a game: nearly all of the major and minor human NPCs are people of color, and none of them are stereotypes. In another impressive step, not only is there an important character—the Normandy's pilot, Joker—who happens to be disabled, but a conversation with him reveals the many different layers of ableism he has experienced throughout his life. Unfortunately, the game stumbles when it comes to gender inclusiveness. While the game seems quite egalitarian on the surface, notably in the ability to choose whether to play as a male or female character, I have noticed some deep sexism in the world-building (galaxy-building?), some subtle and some not. I will be writing about how the game explicitly addresses sexism, racism, and other social issues in a future post; for now I want to examine how the fiction of the game has been influenced by sexism on the part of the developers.
I. The Alien Race of Women—I Mean, Asari
The Asari are the all-female race of blue aliens that are iconic to the game. The Asari member of Shepard's crew is Dr. Liara T'Soni, a (relatively) young scientist and possible romantic interest for both male and female Shepard. Liara is a frustrating character because she is likable, but she was clearly designed to be as likable as possible—to a certain type of male gamer. Go on any gaming forum discussing her and there will be multiple posts talking about how hot she is because she is so “innocent." This perception of her seems to stem from her nervousness when talking to Shepard and her implied virginity.
The positioning of innocence as an attractive trait in women has its roots in patriarchy, related to how patriarchy encourages the infantilization of women: women are portrayed as childlike and unable to make decisions for themselves, necessitating a male protector and provider who knows what's good for her (thus maintaining patriarchy, despite how insulting and inaccurate this characterization is). The infantilization of women is seen in many aspects of our culture, and a quick Google search turns up examples in law, religion, advertising, and fashion. For this reason, I find the obsession with Liara's innocence to be creepy, not to mention in contradiction with other aspects of her personality, namely her actual age—over 100—and her extensive experience as a scientist. (For the record, I also think rompers are awful.)
In addition, while some have praised BioWare for including the option of a lesbian relationship in the game, Liara is, frankly, a cop-out, a way to have hot girl-on-girl action for straight men without actually having any gays: both Liara and the codex explain at length how the Asari don't really have a gender (by which I assume they mean "sex", since sex and gender are two different things and the Asari are clearly gendered female) and they mate through psychic mind connections. While I don't think the actual development of the relationship or even the sex scene is outrageously exploitative (though I would note that the sex scene with Liara is slightly longer, with more nudity than the others), when contrasting the romance options for male and female Shepard, I found the lack of a romance option between two men to be conspicuous. The absence of a gay male romance, which is due at least in part to the gaming community's reputation as a notoriously homophobic space, implies that the female Shepard/Liara romance is mostly for straight male titillation rather than a concern for the inclusion of LGBTQI folks.
Obviously, my problems with how one Asari character is written shouldn't condemn an entire species, but the Asari as a race are also problematic. In short, they are every female stereotype or cliche rolled up into one new species. According to the codex, the Asari have three stages of life: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Matriarch (otherwise known on Earth as the "crone"). These stages just so happen to correspond with what were, until fairly recently though arguably still today, the three acceptable roles for women in society. Making these archetypes an explicit aspect of an alien race that just happens to be all-female is at worst sexist and at best lazy and uncreative.
In addition, the Asari are sexualized to a much farther extent than any other species (partially as a result of point two, below). The first Asari the player meets in the game is called the "Consort," and yes, she runs what amounts to a brothel: clients meet her for her "services," which may or may not be sex. Walking through the Consort's chambers, the player overhears nervous aliens telling the Consort's aides that this is their "first time." While the consort is not explicitly a prostitute, the situation is clearly meant to humorously resemble a brothel. The player can also watch Asari strippers dance at the club called Chora's Den. Thirdly, Liara and the codex both describe how Asari can mate with any intelligent being through a sort of psychic mind-meld. Now, I am all for science fiction experimenting with different kinds of sexuality and sexual practices, but this is another case of pandering to straight men. It's no coincidence that the all-female race is the one that can mate with anybody.*
Even Matriarch Benezia, one of the most powerful and wise beings in the galaxy, is sexualized. She had to have huge breasts and a revealing outfit because even though she is old and powerful, she still needs to be sexy, as the primary purpose of the Asari (just like women here on Earth) is to be attractive to straight men. Their second purpose is to serve men: as Liara drops her research to serve Shepard, as the Consort serves her clients, as the dancers serve the bar's patrons, Benezia serves Saren and Sovereign. This turns her into a villain, but not even a willing one—she loses all agency because of Sovereign's mind control, breaking it just enough to tell her daughter that she is not worth saving.
In another frustrating move, the Asari are known for their skills with Biotics, Mass Effect's science fiction version of magic. This isn't a problem in and of itself, but in the context of video games as a medium and RPGs in particular, there is a sexist trend of always putting women in the role of magic user, with few exceptions, ever since White Mage was the only female character in the original Final Fantasy. The codex also pays lip service to Asari Commandos, who are described as extremely deadly; the player encounters them in one battle in the entire game, during which they didn't nearly live up to the hype.
As another detail that serves to emphasize how stereotypically feminine the Asari are supposed to be, the Asari member of the Council is representative of compassion and diplomacy. Where the Turian member represents military action and strength, and the Salarian represents intelligence and strategy, both men, the Asari member of the Council is the only woman and occupies the traditional role of women: peacemaker. Because she's so good at understanding peoples' feelings. Again, this isn't bad in and of itself, but combined with all the other ways in which the Asari are stereotypically feminine, it belies the sexist assumptions about women in the mind of the people who created them, namely that the creators buy into gender essentialist arguments about how women are. (That article even cites the sexist and simply wrong idea behind the arrangement of the Council [emphasis original]: "A common corollary belief is that while men are physically and rationally superior, women are morally superior.")
The Asari are the only alien species in the game with visible females, so they were made to be "hyper-female", encompassing the stereotypical roles for human women. This is not only sexist and gender essentialist but a failure of imagination: why would an alien race conform to our (incorrect, arbitrary) human assumptions about what women are or should be? Good science fiction challenges our deepest-held assumptions, including those about gender, femininity and masculinity. With the Asari, Mass Effect only reinforces the idea that all women are a certain way, and that way should be as pleasing to straight men as possible.
II. Why Are There No Ugly Female Aliens?
In general, the portrayal of women in Mass Effect is better than many games. It meets the required minimum of having female characters that aren't hypersexualized: they have relatively realistic proportions and their clothing is appropriately similar to the male characters', for the most part. There remains, however, a notable discrepancy between men and women in the galaxy of the game: all the women are hot, but not all of the men are.
Look at the varied body types we see among male aliens in the game. In addition to the humans (most of whom, I will grant, are meant to be attractive—Kaiden certainly is), we see the lizard-like Turians, the hulking and reptilian Krogan, the large and cattle-like Elcor, the amphibian Salarians, the squat Volus, and the jellyfish-like Hanar.
All the female aliens present in the game, aside from a single female Quarian (who I will get to in a moment), are Asari**. The Asari, a species with all the issues I outlined above, that seem to be a space representation of femininity. This is Othering via world-building: male is the default for most races, but the ones that have females at all are so female they encompass female archetypes, run brothels, strip in bars, and have sex with anyone and anything.
Go ahead and do a word search for "female" on those Wikia articles linked above. It isn't even mentioned on the Elcor or Volus pages; the only mention on the Hanar page is to say that there is "no discernible difference" between male and female Hanar, which is only problematic because of human sexism—see the side note about gender presentation below.
The only mention of "female" on the Krogan page is how all the Krogan females are on the Krogan homeworld trying to have as many babies as possible. Convenient! The only mention of "female" on the Salarian page is to note that the species is 90% male, and the females also all stay on the Salarian kitchen—I mean, home word, but it's okay because they are all powerful politicians. Of course, this means they needn't appear in the game. How convenient!
The only mention of "female" on the page about the Turians is in the "trivia" section, and it says: "No female turians are seen in the game. This is because there was insufficient development time and memory budget to support two different versions of the same species."
This explains everything. The reason the stuff about Krogan and Salarian females seems like convenient excuses is because they are: when time and budget were tight, the non-hot females were the first to go. Other than humans, there was only room for one model for each species, and for the most part, the females were disposed of—except for Tali, the only Quarian in the entire game. Having only males did not stop the developers from having many Turian and Krogan NPCs, so why does the player never encounter even one other female Quarian? I mean, other than the convenient excuse that all the Quarians never venture outside of their own fleet (except when they do). Tali is saved from the chopping block because, unlike Turian or Krogan females, she is acceptably attractive: she has an hourglass figure, a sexy accent, and her mask allows fans to imagine that she has a face like their favorite actress.
The absence of something as insignificant as females may be explained, but that doesn't mean it is excused. And it certainly doesn't mean that Mass Effect's depiction of a galactic society where every single woman, both alien and human, just so happens to have a humanoid body a supermodel would be jealous of isn't sexist, messed up, and wrong.
A side note on gender presentation
The thing that kills me about the "we didn't have time to make any females!" excuse is that there is no real reason male and female Turians, for example, couldn't look just alike above their clothes. Not all animals on Earth have sexual dimorphism; why should all aliens?
Technically some of those Turian or Krogan or Hanar NPCs in the game could be female, despite having deep voices and no breasts. There is no reason an alien society should have the same ideas about femininity or masculinity as we do (or have such ideas at all!). The catch is, only humans are playing Mass Effect; therefore, any creature lacking sufficient feminine markers are going to be assumed (in this unfortunate case, correctly) to be male. The developers could, however, have easily challenged players' ideas about femininity by casually referring to the ugly, deep-voiced Elcor ambassador as "she".
As I said above, good science fiction challenges our most basic assumptions. Unfortunately, Mass Effect is not good science fiction. In fact, it seems to embrace our own societal "common wisdom" about women and femininity all too wholeheartedly. I can only hope someone on the development team has read Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness or some Octavia Butler before writing Mass Effect 2.
* One thing I do find interesting about the Asari is the idea that "purebloods"—Asari who mate with other Asari—are lesser, as they don't bring anything new to the species. It's an interesting inversion of the "Mudblood" idea; the term is from, but it's a common trope in fantasy: see the vast number of stories about half-elves angsting that they don't belong to either the elf or human cultures.
** Some may object that the Rachni Queen is a female "ugly" alien; while this is true, they aren't part of Citadel culture in any way; they aren't meant to be seen as equal to humans or the other intelligent species. Not only that, but, as an insectoid species, the Rachni Queen's only purpose is to breed lots of children—quite patriarchal. Also, one exception does not outweigh the six other species that are "ugly" and all male.
Thank you to Kateri, Simon Ferrari, and Ryan Gan for their help in the preparation of this post.
Read more on the While!Finished blog.In prohibition-era USA, paying to watch a blind animal being paraded on stage was one of the few ways a reveller could get access to his/her favourite tipple. The thinly veiled entertainment meant the host could throw in a complementary bottle of bootleg.
It was thanks to this bizarre ritual that, over time, underground drinking haunts came to be known as 'blind pigs'.
My biggest fear is that it grows too big too quickly and that might sound a little bit odd... A short term boost will kill it forever
Fast forward 95 years and Heineken is borrowing from that history with the launch of 'Blind Pig, a craft cider/spirit blend inspired by the underground drinking scene of the 1920s.
Heineken marketing director, Jacco van der Linden, said the brand - made at a craft cidery in Belgium - is a significant development for the brewer because it signals a change in company culture towards braver, risk taking NPD. The new product comes in three flavours: Bourbon and Blueberry; Whisky, Honey and Apple; and Rum and Poached Pear.
No 'big bucks' marketing push
Unlike Heineken's other portfolio of brands, including giants Kronenbourg and Bulmers, it has been seeded in just 27 bars. By the summer distribution will reach 3,000. But there won't be any above the line, big bucks marketing spend from the world's third largest brewer. Van der Linden wants people to "discover" it.
"This is for me a new level of innovation," he says. "A lot of our innovation has been catching up with the market or scaling certain trends that we knew were in the market. For me, this is more of a risk but more interesting innovation where you start to find new boundaries and take the lead in growing and shaping the category."
We’re trying to hide the fact there’s a big company behind it, which in terms of our business model makes it much more challenging
Cider has been in growth over the past decade, contrary to beer sales which have been struggling over that same time period. Trends including sweet fruit blends have seen cider take off. With Blind Pig, Heineken is trying to call the next trend.
Van der Linden hopes that will be cider blended with spirits. The concept has already taken off in beer - with the likes of Desperados, for example, and Blind Pig is designed to tap into a multitude of trends: craft, premiumisation, spirit flavouring and sophistication.
"Blind Pig is something that we’ve taken from idea to concept, completely developed ourselves inspired by the 1920s speakeasies... When you see that cider is a bit more at the end of the curve then you have to launch something else that you believe can add value," he explains.
The branding is all about theatre. The bottles, modelled on vintage American whisky, come wrapped in 1920s style US newspaper design and sealed with illustrated stickers. The co-ordinates of the producer are printed on the glass. Even the crates look like vintage wood.
Heineken is trying to get the on-trade to buy into the concept. With an RRP of £4.95 and some bars selling it for as much as £7.50 a bottle, it is being positioned as a premium product.
A counterintuitive move?
The move to seed a high end product with limited distribution is almost counterintuitive for a business of Heineken's scale. But Van der Linden says that this is the point. The product will be marketed at 21-27-year-old "cultural influencers" who like to go against the mainstream and "digital natives" who want to "be in the know". It is intended to be gender neutral to tap into the growth of mixed gatherings, Van der Linden adds.
Blind Pig is a concrete testimonial that the company culture has changed. We used to be a really risk averse company
"My biggest fear is that it grows too big too quickly and that might sound a little bit odd," he says. "We have a very good reputation and very good capability in driving awareness from a brand marketing point of view and driving distribution rapidly.
"That’s exactly what we shouldn’t do with this brand. Because then we’ll have a short term boost but then we’ll kill it forever."
A TV ad, he explains, would destroy that brand strategy. Instead, Heineken will roll out a storytelling focussed digital and social media campaign with Instagram as the main platform. Heineken is marketing like a start-up with a low profile launch designed to add credibility to the product.
"It’s a fine line between consumers being aware of it and asking for it and staying true to this concept of discovery," he explains.
"It’s less obvious that we’re trying to leverage our strengths as a big company. We’re trying to hide the fact there’s a big company behind it, which in terms of our business model makes it much more challenging."
Blind Pig as a'strategy brand'
Over the next three years, distribution will build, with the potential for selected high-end retailers to sell Blind Pig, he says. Heineken, he insists, is committed to building scale in the long run. The concept has been more than two years in the development.
The launch is part of Heineken's plans to grow through NPD and innovation. Some 35% of its revenues currently come from NPD, though the business wants to increase this figure and has accelerated innovation seven fold over the past four years.
Blind Pig is labelled internally as a "strategy brand". This means it will be given increased focus and resource.
"Up until now we had an unwritten rule that if we didn’t sell 'X' amount of a new innovation in the first few months, we would qualify it as a failure," he says. "The fact we’ve even launched this rewrites the definition."
"For me the most important thing is that Blind Pig is a concrete testimonial that the company culture has changed. We used to be a really risk averse company where the risk of failure was dominating what we were doing.
"The culture today is the realisation that if failure is not an option, success isn’t either."
RecommendedMalcolm Turnbull announced the nation's major banks will have to face the House of Representatives Economics Committee, but there will not be a royal commission.
Tens of thousands of Australians have had their lives ruined by the major banks. If there's no need for a Royal Commission because ASIC has greater powers, then why is the Turnbull Government wasting time and money on a parliamentary inquiry that has less power than both? Ian Verrender writes.
Welcome to this week's edition of Monday Conundrum. Today we have a real doozy.
Let's see if you can twist your mind around this: If there's no need for a Royal Commission into banks because the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has greater powers, then why is the Turnbull Government wasting time and money on a parliamentary inquiry that has less power than both?
You'll need quite some time to think through that one.
In salad terms, rather than the rocket, the newly elected government instead has opted for the iceberg; and a particularly wet and limp sample of the family Asteraceae it is too.
Given the admirable speed with which the government responded to the disturbing images emanating from the Northern Territory's juvenile detention centres, its longstanding reluctance to bring bankers to heel is perplexing.
You'll forever hear financiers argue that because of its strength, our banking system sailed through the financial crisis. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Surely it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that our financial services industry is the biggest political donor in the country. The big four alone donated more than $730,000 in the year to June last year. And that's before bank and finance industry lobby groups kicked the tin.
The comparison with the NT inquiry is entirely valid. Tens of thousands of Australians have had their lives ruined by the mounting toll of atrocities that have come to light in the past decade from the major banks' role in the Storm Financial meltdown, the financial planning and insurance scandals through to rigging of the interest rate setting markets.
For the past decade, we have been regaled with tales of rampant fee gouging, conflicts of interest and falsification of loan documents driven by a sales culture that has elevated profits above all else.
While last week's decision to not pass on the full Reserve Bank rate cut reignited community anger, it was merely a continuation of the cartel-like behaviour that has seen the big banks once again acting in unison, just as they have for the past 20 years.
Here are a couple of myths the banks love to perpetuate that need busting.
1. Bank funding costs
If you believe the big four banks, they simply can't pass on Reserve Bank cuts in full because the rate it sets only partially determines their cost of raising money. And the cost from other sources is rising.
That's entirely true. But before we start, it's worth remembering that banks are like every other kind of business. They buy money cheaply and make a profit by selling it at a higher price.
In a normal competitive market, businesses are price takers. They have no power over what they charge. The only businesses that can fix prices are monopolies or oligopolies, where a couple of big players act in unison. Sound familiar?
Tuesday was a classic case. Within minutes of the Reserve Bank decision, the Commonwealth Bank announced that it would pass on just half the cut to borrowers but would bump up the rate it pays to investors for some term deposits.
Blow me down, if during the course of the next hour or so, the other three did exactly the same. It was uncanny.
2. We need a strong banking system
Who has ever argued we need a weak one? This little smokescreen belches across the media every time there is any criticism about the huge profits our banks generate.
The Commonwealth Bank is hurtling towards a record $9 billion annual profit, due to be unveiled this week. There is no denying the enormity of the earnings. But that's just one measure of its heavyweight status. It is the amount it generates off its capital base that is truly astounding. Last year, it managed a return on equity of 18.2 per cent.
Compare that to Citi, one of the world's biggest banks. While its earnings were larger, Citi could only generate a return of about half that of the CBA.
The other three local banks aren't too far behind the CBA on that measure. In short, they are cash generating machines, the likes of which global banking behemoths can but dream.
A study by The Australia Institute released last week puts those earnings in another light. Our banks generate an annual income equivalent of 2.9 per cent of GDP. That's Olympic gold and puts them in a class of their own. In the US, American bank earnings - massive as they are - pull in around 1.2 per cent of GDP.
The reason they can achieve these magnificent results is because of their pricing power and their stranglehold over not just banking but insurance, superannuation and almost every other form of financial service you can think of.
We need a strong banking system, not one that exerts too much power.
3. No other industry is subject to this kind of scrutiny
That's debateable. What isn't up for argument is that no other industry enjoys the kind of taxpayer support that our financial sector enjoys.
Farmers and small businesses can go broke. The car industry can be told to pack and leave. But not the banks.
You'll forever hear financiers and their apologists argue that because of its strength, our banking system sailed through the financial crisis eight years ago unscathed.
Nothing could be further from the truth. After furious lobbying, initially from Macquarie Group, the Rudd government imposed a ban on short selling of bank and finance stocks in an effort to stave off collapsing share prices. It then guaranteed bank deposits.
On top of that, it handed our banks the keys to the country's AAA credit rating. If it hadn't done so, our entire banking system was in danger of collapse. Having borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars from wholesale credit markets offshore, they were facing ruin because credit was frozen and no-one would lend them the cash to refinance.
Taxpayers rode to the rescue. Our banks borrowed $120 billion using that taxpayer guarantee, a bailout never before seen and unlikely to ever be witnessed again. They've since argued it wasn't a bailout because they had to pay fees to use the guarantee. You have to chuckle; bankers complaining about being charged a fee.
It doesn't end there. A Reserve Bank study released as part of a FOI request in May revealed our four major banks get an annual $4 billion leg up as a result of that emergency GFC action. Foreign lenders give them a rate discount because they now know Australian taxpayers will bail them out if anything goes wrong.
4. The bad behaviour is overstated
It's all the fault of a few bad apples. Why are orchardists tarnished in this manner?
Globally, banks have been fined a collective $US200 billion and, while admitting criminal behaviour in the manipulation of interest rates, foreign exchange and gold markets have seen a mere handful of employees end up behind bars.
At least the UK and US regulators were on the front foot in those cases. Our corporate cop has only just gotten around to launching action on the rate rigging and so far, the case appears far from solid.
So, ask yourself this: Why are our banks so afraid of a Royal Commission, especially if it's all the fault of those few bad apples? The answer lies partly in the enormous bonuses paid to those interest rate traders now accused of being rogue.
You only score a $5 million annual bonus for generating vast amounts of wealth to the organisation, which in turn bumps up the bonuses for everyone above you. How much wealth? That's what our banks don't want you to know.
Ian Verrender is the ABC's Business Editor.Photo
For casual skiers of the Northeast, names like Aspen, Vail and Breckenridge carry a near-mystical quality. For me, those towering peaks with vast lift networks and seemingly infinite trails of deep powder were mere fantasies, to be fulfilled in a future life, when I own a private jet and finance super PACs for kicks.
Nevertheless, I decided to find out how much it would cost to fly out from New York for a two-day trip of skiing and ski-related fun in Colorado. When I asked friends for estimates I heard a lot of figures in the $1,500 to $2,000 range — decidedly not frugal.
But when I looked into it, it seemed that the answer — for a single traveler, including door-to-door transportation, two nights’ lodging, ski rental, lift tickets, food and Colorado microbrews — was more like $800 (as long as you don’t go over Christmas). A couple sharing a car and a room could do it for under $700 each.
So I went, spending two days in Breckenridge and Vail in late November, venturing into a place I didn’t belong, hoping to ruin East Coast skiing forever.
It didn’t quite work out that way — Colorado has had a terribly snow-bereft early season — but I still had a great time and spent $821.96 for absolutely everything, except a private bathroom.
For $250, I booked a round-trip flight to Denver on JetBlue, picked up a dirt-cheap car rental ($20 for two days, plus whatever insurance you need) from Fox Rent a Car. I chose the Vail-Breckenridge area over Aspen mainly for logistical reasons — it’s half as far from Denver, which means you save not only on time but on gas, too.
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The best lodging option in the resort towns was fairly obvious: the Fireside Inn, Breckinridge’s odd combination hostel and bed-and-breakfast run by the English expats Niki and Andy Harris and patrolled by their gentle poodles Gaspode and Angua. Hostel beds cost $31, and my early-season price for a compact but cozy private room was just $75 plus tax, with a pancakes-and-eggs breakfast and excellent and plentiful French press coffee. (Upstairs, rooms with private bathrooms start at $113.) The price edges up as the season goes on, but not by much.
At Andy and Niki’s recommendation, I had booked equipment rental at Carvers Ski and Snowboard Shop, an independent outfit just a few blocks from the Fireside, where you get 20 percent off for booking in advance; in my case, that meant a total of $29 a day for intermediate equipment. Alas, there were few bargains to be had for lift tickets on a two-day trip — I paid $90 a day, and it goes up as the season goes on. But that fee does allow you to ski at most resorts in the area.
The first morning, after eggs and toast, I walked over to Breckenridge for my first day of skiing. All anyone could talk about was the lack of snow. On my first ride up on the chairlift a man with a Polish accent who skis Breckenridge regularly was frustrated. “This season is absolutely terrible,” he said. “Two years ago at this time you were skiing down in powder from the top. Now, it’s East Coast skiing.” Ouch.
Breckenridge did have a few trails open, and the artificial snow cover was as good as that stuff gets. There were also no waits, so after motoring through a dozen or so runs, I ate a $5 sandwich (bought at a small market, not at the slopeside restaurants, where even a slice of pizza was $8.95) and walked back to the Fireside to my car. I had heard the nearby Keystone resort had better snow-making and longer runs open — and it was covered by my pass.
On the 15-mile drive from Breckenridge, I turned on the radio in the car and happened upon a Spanish station playing tropical cumbias. Ah, a nice break from thinking about snow — until the D.J. came on. We should have had a big storm by now, he said, adding “pero lamentablemente, no es así.” (“But lamentably, it is not so.”)
Breckenridge is all about après-ski happy hours, and I had it on good intelligence that the best local go-tos were the South Ridge Seafood Grill and Mi Casa. I went to the first, which is in a building with a pretty pressed-tin ceiling and a bar full of people who seemed to know one another. The happy hour menu was as far from chicken wings and nachos as a bar could be without losing its license. My dinner consisted of five peel-and-eat shrimp ($1.50), a sizable Korean-style beef taco ($3.50), a huge plate of smoked trout dip with pita chips ($3) and two pints of crisp First Cast IPA from the Elevation Beer Company, a Colorado microbrewery ($4 each).
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Before I was even served I found myself chatting with a local couple, Doug Polanski and his girlfriend, Janette Mikity. Once a ski instructor, he is now a real estate agent; she is a property manager — all three common professions in these parts. Doug took me through how Breckenridge had changed in his two or so decades there. It had gotten more expensive and more crowded, he said, but has maintained its more down-to-earth feel compared with the hoity-toity, C.E.O.-level scene at Vail.
Speaking of chief executives, we were soon joined by Bryan Nolt, C.E.O. of the Breckenridge Distillery and a regular at South Ridge happy hours. I mentioned I liked rye, and soon a generous free sample of the distillery’s low-proof rye-heavy bourbon was in my hands. It was just my style, packing a punch without being harsh, and I would have bought it in a snap the next day, when I stopped by the distillery’s Tasting Room in town (137 South Main Street), if it hadn’t cost $39 a bottle — not a bad price, but beyond my budget.
The next morning I was off to Vail, about 45 minutes from Breckenridge through beautiful mountain scenery. But as soon as I got there, I knew that I had made the right decision to stay in Breckenridge. The resort itself reminded me of a fancy mall in an exurb.
I’m sure the skiing is sublime, but its reputation will have to stand in here. With only 2 percent of trails open and not enough powder to coat a doughnut, it was like going to the best espresso bar in the world to find out they’re out of everything but Folgers.
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Vail is not, I should note, devoid of personality. I had a beer at Bart & Yeti’s, which looks worn-in enough to have seen the resort built up around it. I once again was immediately recruited into a barstool conversation, in which bearded locals were regaling visitors from Denmark and Sweden with anti-snowboarder screeds. (In summary: snowboarders run you over and then don’t stop to see if you’re O.K.)
Since skiing Vail was also included in my pass, and since you can avoid the $25 parking fee by parking in outlying areas connected by a free shuttle, it actually cost me no more than another day at Breckenridge would have, minus gas costs.
I even have good reason to believe I found the cheapest lunch in town.
My evidence?
“That’s the cheapest lunch in town,” said the guy in the General Store, as he rang up my microwaved red chili chicken burrito from Tamale Connection in Antonito, Colo., and a bag of Pretzel Crisps for $4.89. I ate it at a little table outside while I read The Vail Daily — its front page headline: “Dry Weather Pattern Continues.”
I was due back at Denver International Airport by 11 p.m. to catch the red-eye, so my last remaining decision was where to have dinner. The answer was in Minturn, barely 10 minutes from Vail, and yet a world apart. It’s an old railroad town, population 1,000, with a handful of hotels (look here if $150 a night is in your range), shops and restaurants. I was thinking of having barbecue at Kirby Cosmo’s, but I noticed a long line — maybe 30 folks — outside a restaurant I hadn’t read about: the Minturn Country Club.
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A line of 30 in a town of 1,000 is the equivalent of about 240,000 New Yorkers, so something was up. “It’s customer appreciation night,” one woman told me. “Everything’s really cheap.” Indeed, steaks (or chicken or shrimp or mussels) were just $2.99, and the all-you-can-eat salad bar $2.50. The décor was a pure goofy fun: trophy heads adorned the walls, playing cards were stuck to the ceiling in clumps.
Even better was how you got your food: you order meat from one of two “butcher shops” set up, and cook it yourself on a communal grill, trading tongs, spice shakers and grilling advice with your fellow diners. I achieved a medium-rare sear on my New York strip steak, and it came out perfectly, which I attribute much more to the extraordinarily flavorful dry-aged meat than to my grilling skills. Total tab: $8, plus tax and tip. Two hours later I was dropping off my rental car at the airport.
Was my weekend worth $822? Without fresh snow, it’s |
can produce themselves as ONE full witness. Have you ever heard of a woman having issues with this? No, right? Then why would they care about no longer getting to sign their name to a permission form for a second wife?
More proof that women absolutely don’t care about such trivial details is their supposed right to an inheritance in Pakistan. The son’s share is always to be twice that of a daughter’s. Now, this may offend some people, but who are those people? What women care about this? It is the media that is to blame. It’s gone and started this entire fiasco against the poor men down at the CII without actually stopping to ask whether women even care about these problems. This is a country where the large populace of women couldn’t give two hoots about their right to an inheritance even with a gun to their head – and we’re expecting them to revolt against their mjiazi khudas because of a second wife? Not going to happen.
A storm unfolded after the CII announced that underage marriages being illegal was also problematic. Several people pointed out the potential that this could hold for pedophiles and child abuse. These people are only spouting western values – there is no child abuse in a valid nikah between a fully grown man and a young child in Pakistan. Even if we were to entertain this argument, what difference would the revision to the law make? By and large the ages of minors are already misquoted and falsely added to documentations when they are being pulled together in a lifelong bond. If the parents and Qazi involved in the child marriage are caught they can face up to a teeny tiny month in prison and they are fined the large sum of a full Rs1,000. The nikah, on the other hand, stands valid after all this is said and done. There is no question of the dulha’s right over his wife. The CII is only trying to weed out useless laws that have no place in our comfortably patriarchal society.
What is the media going to do next in the name of their shameful gender equality escapades? Start asking why women can’t have multiple husbands if men can have multiple wives? Where will this madness end? A lot of pseudo intellectuals and self-proclaimed liberals have been harassing the CII and making jokes at the organisation’s expense. Some have gone as far as suggesting that the next request from the CII will involve needing legal sex slaves, and to those people we must ask the question: where’s the harm, really? Is it not something that men had a right to from the get go? This country needs to wake up and smell the air, one cannot cherry pick one’s way through divinity, there would be nothing divine left if that were allowed. So, yes, let’s welcome the change in family laws with open arms and wish the CII the best in its future endeavours for the rights of men in Pakistan.The Peoria Chiefs will be hosting their first ever Going Yard Sale and Select-A-Seat Event featuring a fan batting practice fundraiser for the Midwest Food Bank on Thursday, October 16 from 4pm-8pm at Dozer Park. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase a variety of items straight from the Clubhouse and Equipment room including: 2014 player-worn game jerseys, Player jackets, pants, helmets, cleats, bats, broken bats, bases and more! Also on October 16 you have the opportunity to Choose-Your-Seats for 2015 season tickets and packages or renew season ticket packages from last season! In addition, for a $10 donation to the Midwest Food Bank, fans will be able to take 10 swings from home plate off the pitching machine in your very own Batting Practice from 6pm-730pm! Fans are also encouraged to bring a non-perishable item to donate to the Midwest Food bank as well. Plus all regular merchandise in the Firehouse Team Store is 25% off!The huge hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer reached its maximum this year in September, and this year NASA said it was 19.6 million square kilometres. The hole size shrinks after mid-September.
WASHINGTON—The ozone hole over Antarctica shrank to its smallest peak since 1988, NASA said Thursday.
This year’s maximum hole is more than twice as big as the United States, but it’s 3.4 million square kilometres less than last year and 8.5 million square kilometres smaller than 2015.
Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said stormy conditions in the upper atmosphere warmed the air and kept chemicals chlorine and bromine from eating ozone. He said scientists haven’t quite figured out why some years are stormier — and have smaller ozone holes — than others.
“It’s really small this year. That’s a good thing,” Newman said.BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh economic offences wing (EOW) has registered a case against former chief minister Digvijay Singh and the then technical education minister Raja Pateria for allegedly misusing their official position and unduly favouring a private institute.Singh and the then technical education minister Raja Pateria have been accused of reducing the penalty on RKDF College (a private engineering institute) from Rs 24 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.EOW, on the basis of a complaint, has registered an FIR and started investigations.Complainant Radhavallabh Sharda had alleged that the then chief minister and minister had landed into a criminal conspiracy with RKDF College to waive off the penalty of Rs 24 lakhs that was slammed for irregularities in admissions.RKDF had requested the then CM to reduce it to Rs 5 lakh. But the then chief minister went a step ahead reducing it to Rs 2.5 lakhs by violating all set norms.RKDF chairman Sunil Kapoor has also been made an accused in this case.During investigations, the EOW had refused to entertain Digvijay Singh's request for more time to appear before the agency in connection with a complaint wherein he has been accused of giving undue favours to a private educational institute.Singh had requested the agency to give him any date after Diwali. EOW turned down his request and issued him a fresh summon asking him to appear on October 30. “He did not appear for recording his statement,” said an EOW official.Danielle Ryan is an Irish freelance writer based in Dublin. Her work has appeared in Salon, The Nation, Rethinking Russia, teleSUR, RBTH, The Calvert Journal and others. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleRyanJ
The media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover terrorism so much, because then people “wouldn’t know what’s going on.” That little bit of wisdom comes courtesy of US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Kerry’s offhand remark was made during a visit to Bangladesh last week, prompting immediate criticism and even subsequent clarification from State Department spokesperson John Kirby.
The secretary of state’s suggestion that simply ignoring terrorism might help it go away and that an ignorant public is somehow desirable is ludicrous – but maybe it just came out wrong.
Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt on that. Let’s assume what Kerry meant to say is that if the media didn’t make ‘insta-celebrities’ out of terrorists and play wall-to-wall coverage of major terrorist events, it would inspire fewer copycats and lone wolf attackers of the kind we’ve seen in recent months. If that’s what Kerry meant to say, he’d have a fairly reasonable point.
Ignorance isn’t a solution
Undoubtedly, terrorist groups crave attention and notoriety. They rely on the coverage they receive to sow fear and recruit for their cause. Recall the last time you were watching the news after a terrorist attack. In the heat of the moment, the media response is panicked and confused. False information and conflicting reports are rife. The few available clips are played over and over. Experts are immediately called on to decipher the motives of the ‘mastermind’ who could do such a thing. Wall-to-wall coverage, in that sense, is like one big free advertising campaign for the perpetrators. The networks win because you’re glued to the screen, and the terrorists win for the same reason.
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The media, driven by ratings, are in a bit of a bind here. It’s their duty to report on events which are believed to be in the public interest. Terrorist attacks no doubt fall into that category. But there’s no hard and fast proof that watching a successful terrorist attack on TV makes someone want to be a terrorist — and even if there were, is less coverage really a solution? Just because certain information might make us afraid — or might inspire something worse — is ignorance really the answer?
Kerry’s comment assumes that media coverage and notoriety is the only (or at least overriding) motivation for would-be terrorists to “go out and kill some people.” That assumption is wrong. Terrorism experts and psychologists have painted a far more complex picture of the reasons people join terrorist groups or are drawn to extremist ideologies. So, even if Kerry was trying to make a legitimate point about his distaste for the particular way in which the media cover terrorism, he is still 100 percent wrong to ever have suggested that the public would be better served by not knowing “what’s going on.”
Then there is the bias factor. Terrorist attacks in non-Western locations aren’t given nearly as much coverage as those in cities such as Paris or Brussels. To an extent, this is just human nature. Regrettable as it is, we identify more with people who look like us. We’re more likely to fix our eyes on the screen after an attack in France than an attack in, say, Pakistan or India. Are we ‘better off’ because we aren’t fed a constant stream of information about attacks that are seen as less relevant to us? Or does it just make us self-involved and uninformed? It’s easier to argue the latter.
Shaping our reality
There are no easy answers for broadcast journalists when deciphering just how much coverage to dedicate to terrorist attacks. But let’s not give them too much sympathy. Going overboard from time to time with excessive coverage of terrorism isn’t their greatest sin.
The power of the media is immense. Journalists shape our reality with the narratives they propel. To that end, there is something they could very easily do that would genuinely and immediately serve the public interest: They could be honest about the origins of terrorism and the role their own governments play in feeding it.
Instead of breaking down in tears from their anchor desks while telling only half the story, they could start to actually provide their viewers with some much-needed context. Proper evaluation of Western foreign policy and its effect on fueling the rise of Islamic extremism would be a good start. Critical analysis of the practice of overthrowing Middle Eastern governments using jihadist proxies would be great, too. Explaining that terrorism is often fueled by genuine grievances in no way excuses or justifies those who engage in it, but does provide context for the viewing public that is mostly lacking from mainstream media.
What created terrorists wasn't the media but arming jihadists from Libya to Syria. pic.twitter.com/T5x5EtKDw5 — Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) August 30, 2016
Contrary to Kerry’s suggestion, people don’t usually just “decide one day” they’re going to go out and become a terrorist for no reason. This kind of obfuscation is understandable from a US government official, but less understandable from the journalists whose job it is to hold them accountable.
There is hope, however, that the media will be able to manage it if they try really hard. You see, rather mystifyingly, they are all too happy to provide ample context when the target of a terrorist attack is a ‘rival’ nation. Take the bombing of a passenger jet full of Russians last winter. Journalists were all too keen to make viewers aware that this was blowback from the Russian military engagement in Syria. They stopped just shy of actually running an on-screen banner that said, “the Russians brought it on themselves!” But somehow, blowback from Western military interventions simply doesn’t exist. We, of course, never bring it on ourselves — and if you say we do, you’ll find David Cameron calling you a disgusting “terrorist sympathizer.”
Until the media provide the full context for terrorism and explains how it is fueled time and again by the hideousness of Western policies, there will be no change, because the public will never be incensed enough to demand better of the people for whom they vote. If that happens, then yes, the media will truly have done us a service.
But until then, we can all keep changing our Facebook profile pictures in solidarity with victims while we wait for the problem to miraculously disappear.UL's Joe Robbins bunts Friday against Texas State in the Sun Belt Tournament in San Marcos, Texas. (Photo: Stephanie Schulz/Sun Belt Conference)
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – UL won its Sun Belt Conference Tournament opener Wednesday night with the long ball, getting a late three-run home run from Kyle Clement to break a tie and beat Arkansas State.
On Friday morning, with the flags blowing in hard at Bobcat Ballpark here and a respected opposing pitcher on the mound, Ragin’ Cajuns coach Tony Robichaux suspected his club might have to rely on some small ball to beat Texas State.
Robichaux was right, even if it did not necessarily come naturally for UL.
The top-seeded Cajuns have not been a great small-ball team all year long, but they drew on three big bunts – one each from Joe Robbins, Stefan Trosclair and Brenn Conrad – during a three-run eighth inning en route to a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over the Bobcats.
“I think it’s real important,” Robichaux said of UL showing both quality deep-ball and small-ball play so far in the tourney, “because we really want to shorten the field and lengthen it, you know, and we haven’t been real good throughout the season at bunting.”
The win pushes the 39-19 Cajuns into a 12:30 p.m. game Saturday against No. 8 seed Arkansas State, which beat Texas State 4-3 in a loser’s-bracket game Friday night to eliminate the Bobcats.
Friday’s game originally had been scheduled for Thursday night, but was postponed by inclement weather.
Down 2-0 going into the eighth, No. 17 UL got its first run when Hunter Kasuls – moved down from the leadoff spot to the No. 9 hole in UL’s batting order Friday – singled, advanced to second on Brian Mills’ single, moved to third on Robbins’ bunt and scored on first baseman Ryan Newman’s same-play fielding error.
Mills then scored on Trosclair’s one-out suicide squeeze bunt to tie it, and Robbins scored on Conrad’s safety squeeze to put UL up by a run.
The Bobcats seem ill-prepared for the bunt from Trosclair, a power hitter also quite capable of putting one down.
“I’m sure them looking at the situation (they’re) probably thinking he’s gonna hit, because of who he is,” Robichaux said. “But when all your hitters can bunt, that’s what it does to people. Now it gives you another weapon, and we need that.”
Trosclair didn’t initially go to the plate thinking bunt, though.
“I just was doing what I was told – you know, just finding a way to get the job done,” he said. “It didn’t matter what it was.
“If I had to wear a pitch, bunt, hit one anywhere – I was just trying to do my job.
“I was just looking for a ball to drive in the right-center gap,” the senior added, “and then he (hitting coach Jeremy Talbot) gave me the sign and I locked in and I got the bunt down.”
UL had opportunity in the top of the first, but left the bases loaded after Kennon Fontenot sent a shot straight at Texas State shortstop Luke Sherley.
Cajuns starter Nick Lee, the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year, retired in order the first six batters he faced.
But Derek Scheible broke up the short no-hit bid with a double to open the bottom of the third, and after he moved to third on a sacrifice bunt Scheible scored on a double to left from No. 9 hitter Nick Perez.
Bobcats starter Cory Geisler, meanwhile, retired 16 straight Cajun batters starting when he got out of the first and ending only when Trosclair broke it up by singling to open the seventh.
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“We knew we were gonna face a good arm today,” Robichaux said. “But we also knew that they were gonna face a good arm too.”
Geisler also threw a complete-game four-hitter in a 2-1 win over UL earlier this season.
“He’s a good arm. He throws strikes with multiple pitches,” Trosclair said. “He hits his spots, makes the big pitch, makes you get yourself out. … Similar to (UL starter) Gunner (Leger). He’s a competitor.”
Texas State made it 2-0 in the fifth, when Sherley was hit by a pitch and later scored on Jonathan Ortega’s RBI fielder’s choice.
UL had another chance in the seventh, but Granger Studdard robbed Alex Pinero of two RBI with a nifty catch in left and both Cajun runners – Trosclair and Fontenot – later were stranded.
Geisler exited after UL took its lead, and the Cajuns added an insurance run in the ninth when Nick Thurman singled, advanced on Kasuls’ single and took third and home on a pair of wild pitches from Bobcats closer Pasquale Mazzoccoli.
Lee (7-1) went 7.0 innings to get the win, allowing just the two earned runs on five hits, then handed off to closer Dylan Moore, who gave up only hit in his 2.0 innings to earn his 12th save of the season.
“I thought Coach Talbot did a great job of handling the bunts to break that inning wide open,” Robichaux said, “then we were able to get to DMo (Moore) with six outs, and when you can do that with one or two runs you’ve got a great opportunity to win.”
No. 1 seed UL (39-19, 21-9) vs. No. 8 seed ARKANSAS STATE (28-28)
WHAT: Sun Belt Conference Tournament game
WHERE: Bobcat Ballpark (2,400); San Marcos, Texas
WHEN: 12:30 p.m. SaturdayNorthern Territory's dwarf crocodiles fighting back against 'toxic prey' by nibbling cane toad's back legs
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A miniature and rare species of crocodile is fighting back against a common Northern Territory pest by nibbling on the back legs of cane toads.
The dwarf crocodile was first discovered in Arnhem Land in the early 1980s.
It is also known as a pygmy crocodile due to its size and grows up to just a metre long.
There are thought to be only hundreds of the freshwater crocodiles across northern Australia.
In 2006, researchers were excited to confirm a new cluster of dwarf crocodiles near Bullo River, about 11 hours' drive south of Darwin.
After an infestation of cane toads moved into the river in 2008, there were grave concerns for the small crocodiles' survival.
The introduced American cane toad has toxic glands in its shoulders, eyes, ovaries and eggs.
Charles Darwin University crocodile researcher, Dr Adam Britton, said the notorious pest presented a "toxic prey" for the rare reptiles.
"If these crocodiles...grab [the cane toads] in their mouths and bite down into their toxin glands, they get enough toxin to kill them," he said.
Dwarf crocodiles adapt
One year after the cane toads arrived, Dr Britton and his partner recorded a 75 per cent drop in the Bullo River crocodile population.
"We were worried that they were completely going to disappear," Dr Britton said.
Yet they were also intrigued to discover the bodies of some unusually dismembered toads near the river.
"[My partner] found a large number of toads with twisted back legs and they had little teeth marks on them," he said.
There are no toxins in the hind legs of cane toads, meaning this part of its body is able to be consumed.
The nibbled cane toad bodies were therefore a hopeful sign that the dwarf crocodiles were figuring out how to safely eat their prey.
"If any crocodile actually seizes a toad by its back legs and successfully rips them off and eats them, it's going to learn that it can get a meal without being poisoned.
"They were learning and adapting to this toxic prey."
Last month, the team once again surveyed the area and found more dead cane toads with either whole or partial missing back legs.
They also found dwarf crocodiles in areas from which they had previously disappeared, adding weight to the team's cane toad adaptation theory.
"It's pretty conclusive that's what is going on," Dr Britton said.
Dr Britton and his partner are hoping to return to Bullo River next year to survey the region's more inaccessible areas by helicopter.
He said learning more about the elusive dwarf crocodile would help highlight broader issues with the environment and the impact of cane toads.
"It takes a lot to kill a crocodile but if their numbers decline you know that something serious is going on."
Topics: human-interest, environmental-management, environmental-impact, animals, crocodile, darwin-0800Ever been walking along the street, approached by a police officer and asked what you were doing, where you were going or to provide identification?
The controversial and widely utilized police practice known as street checks or carding has been a flashpoint for anger – especially in racialized communities where this policing technique is all too commonplace.
The controversial practice is currently under review at the Peel Regional Police and the subject of provincewide public consultations launched by the Liberal government to help rewrite regulations.
Critics have complained arbitrarily stopping and questioning people violates their charter rights and the disproportionately high number of racial minorities that find themselves subject to street checks suggests police are engaged in racial profiling.
There has been widespread and loud public outcry for a halt to carding and street checks.
Motorists pulled over for traffic violations are required to provide some information, but what are your rights when stopped walking down the street and questioned by police?
Often people are unaware of their rights and coming under questioning by police for no apparent reason, which is inherent in street check or carding encounters, can be an intimidating experience, explained Laura Berger, a lawyer and Interim Director of Public Safety at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).
The CCLA is a national organization working to defend civil liberties and constitutional rights.
"In most cases, assuming you're on foot, you don't have to answer questions. You don't have to provide I.D. and you're free to go," said Berger.
There are instances when police are entitled to stop someone on the street and hold them briefly for questioning. But for this "investigative detention" police must have reasonable legal grounds.Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
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Robert Trump — who disappeared from the social scene after divorcing his popular wife Blaine a decade ago — is alive and well and living on Long Island.
And he can’t wait until his older brother, Donald, is in the White House.
“I support Donald one thousand percent,” Robert, 67, told me. “I think he’s doing a great job. I think he’s got a great message.”
Robert, who described himself as “gainfully retired,” ended his 25-year marriage to Blaine when he fell in love with his secretary, Ann Marie Pallan, and bought her a $3.7 million house in Garden City, NY. None of his friends on the Upper East Side have seen much of him since.
“Blaine is so well loved, people were very sympathetic to her,” said one friend. “Robert was no longer welcome.”
Robert isn’t required yet by Donald on the campaign trail. But he’s willing.
“If he were to need me in any way, I’d be there,” Robert said. “Anything I could do to help.”
Of the five children of Fred and Mary Trump, Fred Jr. died of alcoholism, Elizabeth is a retired Chase Manhattan Bank exec, and their oldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, is a senior judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Because Maryanne doesn’t give interviews, Donald once said, “Maybe they mixed us at birth.”What is the texture of a disaster? What are the earliest moments of grief, masquerading as shock?
Vine, which launched less than three months ago, is an app that lets people record six-second snippets of video that play over and over. And today it came of age. I would submit that this six-second loop, captured from the local news, tweeted tens of thousands of times, left open in a browser window to repeat endlessly, re-engaging the trauma of an event still in progress, has the potential to become what was previously the preserve of still photographs: the iconic image of a disaster. It is just short enough to be burned into the memory in its entirety, while capturing far more of an event than a single image can. It is the scratchy, penny-arcade version of today, playing again and again, until, like memory, it’s extinguished.
As Don DeLillo wrote in Underworld, describing footage of a murder: ”The more you watch the tape, the deader and colder and more relentless it becomes. The tape sucks the air right out of your chest but you watch it every time.”
Whatever the outcome—whatever the source of this terror, the subsequent debates, the scoring of cheap political points—maybe this becomes the image by which we will all remember.Just to cope with the most recent slipping revenue projections, Michigan is preparing to close eight prisons or prison camps (and despite the political risks, release some inmates as soon as they are eligible for release), as well as drop state support for dental and podiatric care, glasses and hearing aids for poor adults. State grants for doctors who agree to live in rural, underserved places and counseling for teenage parents will likely end, too.
On the revenue side, all sorts of notions have been entertained — Michigan, the new Hollywood? Michigan, the wind turbine state? — even an idea offered in a closed meeting this year by John Engler, the former governor, that Michigan ponder housing detainees from the prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, raising perhaps $1 billion. (Mr. Engler, through a spokesman, declined to discuss the matter.)
Most people tie the state’s lasting fiscal woes to the collapsing auto industry, and by some measures, Michigan seems to be marching backward. While much of the country emerged from a downturn that started in 2001, Michigan never really seemed to do the same.
The state has cut 10,000 employees since 2000, leaving it with a staff comparable to the early 1970s. Annual general fund revenues, when adjusted for inflation, have shrunk in all but one of the last nine years. They are expected to be $6.9 billion next year, a level last seen in 1991 (and with the inflation adjustment, more like the 1960s).
Announcements of ever-shrinking revenue estimates have grown so common that some lawmakers complain they have little time to cope with anything else.
“Michigan led the nation’s recession, and we continued to live a lifestyle we couldn’t afford,” said Michael D. Bishop, the Republican majority leader in the State Senate, where his party has sparred with Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and her fellow Democrats over money and especially tax increases. “It has all come crashing down.”
On paper, the state’s overall spending has remained fairly steady and even increased at times this decade, but budget officials say those figures reflect necessary spending increases for Medicaid and corrections.
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And while Michigan’s expected $1.8 billion gap next year hardly compares with California’s $26 billion puzzle, the new cuts here come as lawmakers say they are already well past finding any budget fat and will have to cut to the bone. What is needed, in the words of one lobbyist, is more of a bone-marrow transplant.
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“You’ve already done all your good ideas — in ’03 and ’04 and ’05,” said Janet Olszewski, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, which, among other cuts, expects to stop financing a program that helped doctors pay back student loans if they moved to towns desperately in need of doctors.
The problems have trickled down to cities across the state because of cuts in state revenue sharing of more than $3 billion over eight years, according to the Michigan Municipal League. Those cuts cost some 2,000 local police officers and 2,400 local firefighters their jobs.
“It just keeps going down and down and down,” Charles M. Brunner, the mayor of Bay City, said of the state’s revenue sharing with his city, “and we’ve done nothing but cut, cut, cut.” He said the city expected $4.8 million from the state next year, down from the $6.4 million it got in 2001.
In Brighton, leaders say they are all but shutting down their community center, requiring employees to take one furlough day a month for the next two years and suspending street sweeping. Dana W. Foster, the city manager, said his city could not withstand any more cuts. “The streets right now are looking terrible,” he said.
The proposed prison closings have left the fewer than 2,000 residents of Standish, home for 19 years to a maximum-security prison that may now close, wondering about their future. Hundreds of people from the area work at the prison, and local residents have held rallies and candlelight vigils and have picketed in recent days. “For a small community like this, there’s just no chance of making up for this,” said the Rev. James M. Fitzpatrick, a local priest.
For the moment, Michigan does have one thing going for it — time.
Unlike California and other states still scrambling to solve budget gaps even as their budget year began July 1, Michigan’s budget year begins in October. There is still time to shed the $1.8 billion shortfall, and federal stimulus money is likely to help — although, critics are quick to note, only for the time being.
In one small clue to the breadth of the problem here, Mr. Emerson, the budget director, unhappily finds himself recommending that the state stop paying for a before- and after-school program he sponsored as a legislator more than a decade ago.
Searching for more ideas, Mr. Emerson has assigned a staff member to look for lessons from the past: What were the essential items Michigan could not live without back in 1991, when it last had so few dollars coming in? He is still awaiting the results.
Meanwhile, some outlines of what Michigan may look like in 2011 are emerging, including what Mr. Emerson called another “billion-dollar-plus” deficit.
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“The problem,” he said, “is our tomorrow looks no different than today.”Back to Development!
Hrm, I haven’t gone this long without an update in a while… After working on the same project for a few years now, I found I needed a break doing something else for a while as well as a little time away from the screen. It’s probably good for me.
I’ve also been working on a lot of different things, which certainly slows down visible progress down when there’s only one developer working. I’m still working on the ports, but also a few fixes for the mod kit, and a few gameplay bugs, game dev tools, some brand new code for future projects, various experiments, and new game designs and prototypes.
I’m planning on doing an beta patch/update to Banished in the next couple weeks, which should include the following:
– The game (and modkit) will properly use the Textile limit, which should make some mods easier to play once updated. It also allows configuring places like farms, foresters, and orchards a type of resource it creates, so a mod could have a farm that grew cotton that obeys the textile limit.
– The game will use my SRSL language for materials, so any future ports to other platforms will hopefully just work graphics-wise.
– Lots of internal changes to the tech that shouldn’t actually change anything but need beta testing. Most of these are things that were changed to enable other platforms, such as using UTF8 for text, rendering changes to support OpenGL and other graphics APIs, and versioning code to load old save games and mods, which have changed format slightly.
– Various bug fixes that I’ll detail later when I release a beta patch.
I’m doing internal testing of all these changes and playing the game a bit to make sure I didn’t break anything too obvious. Once I’m satisfied I haven’t done anything too bad, I’ll release a beta patch for modders and anyone that wants to test the new code.A huge part of fully transitioning from an infant diet to a toddler diet is changing to a new source of milk. Most families easily transition their toddler to cow’s milk by the first birthday. However, with many new products in the dairy aisle, more parents are asking questions about cow’s milk options. And, some of these alternative non-dairy products are raising more questions than answers.I call them the “alterna-milks”.
Before we discuss the merits of the alterna-milks, let’s review my rules about milk for healthy toddlers.
Dr. Natasha’s Milk Rules for Toddlers:
Toddlers don’t need milk. (gasp!) And, most toddlers don’t need whole milk. (double gasp!) Unlike the dietary needs of an infant, milk is no longer a source of complete nutrition after a child’s first birthday. Milk provides a convenient source of fat, protein, calcium, and vitamin D for growing bodies. But, in today’s average food lifestyle, these building blocks can be more than adequately supplied in other areas of a balanced diet. Therefore, this discussion is not promoting nor validating the need for milk in a toddler’s diet. The goal of this post is to simply discuss options for parents. Offer milk with meals, and water everyplace else. Regardless of the type of milk consumed (animal, plant, or human), the amount of milk should be limited to a maximum of 24 ounces per day (3, 8 ounce servings). Too much milk puts children at risk of vitamin deficiencies, anemia, and poor weight gain due to the changing growth needs of a toddler. Get rid of the bottles as soon as possible. A bottle is simply a receptacle to deliver a beverage, not a necessity of life. Using a bottle for any beverages after a year of age increases the child’s risk of cavities, teeth mal-alignment, and overconsumption. So after the age of 1-year, offer milk to toddlers in a sippy/straw cup. Breast milk is not an alterna-milk. Breast milk is still a wonderful option for those who continue to nurse after the age of 1 year. The medical benefits of breast milk after the first year of life, however, are less firmly established. It can be generally agreed upon that if breast milk is continued to be offered to toddlers, providing whole food sources of vitamin D and iron are important. Alternatively, offering a multivitamin to provide these nutrients may need to be considered. These rules are not universal. For any child who is not growing normally, has issues with weight gain, has significant food allergies, or has other dietary restrictions; these rules may not apply. As always, your child’s pediatrician should partner with you in making nutrition recommendations, so ask what she thinks best for your toddler as the first birthday approaches.
So, why would a family choose an alterna-milk?
Most families choose an alterna-milk for personal reasons. Some families have chosen a vegan diet, or have allergies or intolerances to various dairy items. Some families simply don’t like the taste of cow’s milk.
Whatever the reason, alterna-milks are just that - alternatives. They are not nutritional replacements for a typical glass of cow’s milk.
All alterna-milks need to be supplemented with vitamins and minerals to come close to the nutrition provided by cow’s milk. Since all companies supplement differently, label reading is very important. Look for the key ingredients of fat, calcium, vitamin D, iron, and vitamin B12 in all of these products. Of note, none of these milks provide complete nutrition for infants, and should never replace breast milk or infant formula for children 0-12 months.
The alterna-milks are divided into 2 groups: Plant-based and animal-based.
Plant-based: Soy, nut, and grain milks
Plant-based “milks” are technically not milk at all because milk comes from mammals. So, plant-based “milks” are simply beverage alternatives made from the seeds of various plants. Plant-based beverages have very distinct tastes, textures, and colors. They are all cholesterol-free and contain little saturated fat.
Plant-based beverages can be loaded with sugar (cane juice or brown rice syrup as ingredients) to mask some of the naturally bitter taste. They are fortified with a less-potent vitamin D than animal-based milks, because the more potent vitamin D comes from an animal source and cannot be used in vegan beverages.
Overall, they vary in their nutritional content based upon how the beverage is fortified.
Soy milks
Soy milk is the most commonly available and popular of the alterna-milks. Soy milk has about the same amount of protein as cow’s milk and some iron, but little calcium unless fortified. Soybean crops are often heavily treated with pesticides, so an organic product may be preferred.
A debate among researchers is the presence of isoflavones in soy products. These components in soy products have been shown to modestly decrease LDL-cholesterol or“bad cholesterol” levels. However, some isoflavones (called phytoestrogens) have been associated with problematic stimulation of the reproductive systems of animals and humans. Therefore, it is under very rare and specific circumstances that soy milk and soy infant formulas are recommended for children.
Nut milks
Nut |
area of concern,” says Anthony Cordesman, former Pentagon intelligence chief and now chair of strategy at the think-tank CSIS in Washington. “But the challenge in space is going to affect virtually every aspect of the country’s strategy... the absolutely critical point is that in a world where geoeconomics are as important as geopolitics and strategy, we need to worry about the spectrum of vulnerability. It is not just military assets that [weaponising] space is a problem for, but our entire societies.”
Almost every cutting-edge technology being adopted in highly developed economies increases their dependency on undefended satellites. According to one senior British government official, the UK’s intelligence assessment is that 67 per cent of the country’s economy is dependent in some way on space-based communications. A report produced for the US Department of Homeland Security in June estimated that at least $1.6tn of business revenues in America were “heavily influenced” by satellites.
“Space,” says assistant secretary Rose, “is vital to just about everything we do here on Earth.”
The original satellite killer programme was the brainchild of Vladimir Chelomey, the Soviet Union’s chief designer of aviation equipment. In 1960, the Soviets shot down an American spy plane, prompting Washington to reconsider its intelligence-gathering strategy. As the US turned to space, Moscow needed a means to stop it conducting its surveillance unimpeded.
Right now, a lot of the activities we are seeing are exploiting the grey areas... So maybe we’ll see an accidental collision. Or something being “misplaced” in orbit
By 1967, Russia’s programme was on a firm footing. A special directorate was formed within the general staff with responsibility for “space defence”. Russia performed its first fully functional anti-satellite weapon or ASAT test that year, launching a manoeuvrable payload into orbit where they used it to trial an attack. The principle was simple enough: a nimble, light kill-vehicle, capable of firing a heavy, non-explosive projectile at a designated object in space, and destroying it.
Over the next decade, 15 more ASAT payloads would be launched by the USSR. By the 1970s, the Russians were ramping up their testing further. They even sent special armoured satellites, loaded with sensors to measure shrapnel damage, into space to act as targets for their anti-satellite weapons.
For its part, the US spent the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s primarily focusing on ballistic missile technology. Systems were developed that were primarily designed to hit other rockets — but some had the capability to reach into space as well. In 1959, a Bold Orion missile was launched from a B-47 Stratojet but only made it within four miles of its satellite target.
For the next decade, the US experimented with using nuclear weapons to wipe out enemy satellite arrays but the programme never captured the imagination of the Pentagon’s military strategists. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when CIA intelligence unveiled the extent of Russia’s ASAT operations, that the US took the threat seriously. A programme rapidly developed a new generation of air-launched rockets that could strike targets in outer space. In 1985, the ASM-135 rocket was launched successfully for the first time from an F-15 jet to blow up Solwind P78-1. Three years later, the entire US ASAT programme was mothballed.
Telecoms satellites clustered in the orbit known as the geostationary ring at an altitude of about 36,000km, April 2008
As both Washington and Moscow became keen to curb the excesses of their prohibitive arms race, Russia’s ASAT programme had also begun to wither. Major General Anatoly Zavalishin, the head of Baikonur cosmodrome, recalled the death-knell for the ASAT programme in his 1999 memoir. He told Mikhail Gorbachev he could conduct all his tests in secret, without the Americans discovering their activities. The Soviet premier, the general recalled, gave a polite and “resolute” refusal.
It would not be until 20 years later that satellite killing came back on the agenda — put there by a whole new power.
On January 11 2007, 865km above the Chinese mainland, a weather satellite was blown to smithereens by an object blasted into space from Base-27, the Xichang spaceport. Debris was sent hurtling around the atmosphere. More than 2,300 pieces of golf ball size or larger — each lethal to anything it hit — were released into orbit, according to Nasa. At least a third will circle the Earth until 2035. “Have you seen the film Gravity?” asks Quintana, referring to the hurtling mass of spoilage from an accidental collision that spells the undoing of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. “It’s literally like that.”
Frank Rose, US assistant secretary of state for arms control ‘We don’t want conflict in outer space... but we will do what is necessary to protect the space assets of the US’
Some scientists have even posited the possibility of a lethal shrapnel chain reaction as a result of future ASAT detonations. The detritus from one explosion could spread out to hit other satellites, which in turn would fragment, and so on. Eventually much — if not all — of the world’s critical satellite constellations would be inadvertently wiped out.
The Chinese insisted the project — known as SC-19 — was benign. “China will not participate in any kind of arms race in outer space,” foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao told Reuters. But the effect on both Washington and Moscow was nevertheless electric.
In the US, the National Security Council castigated China almost immediately. In private, the Pentagon put its own ASAT capabilities back on the high-priority list and on February 20 2008, it authorised Operation Burnt Frost. The USS Lake Erie launched a missile at USA-193, a national reconnaissance office satellite. The test was a success. The satellite, Washington said, was defunct, and posed a risk of crashing to Earth. Informed observers noted, though, that USA-193 would probably have disintegrated on re-entry anyway. The cost of launching a ballistic missile to intercept it instead was $100m.
Meanwhile, amid a broader plan to modernise the country’s decaying military, Russian media began referring to the country’s “latent” ASAT systems in 2009. In 2010, the plan to revive them was articulated. Oleg Ostapenko, the commander of Russia’s space forces, told Itar-Tass, the news agency, that the military was developing a new generation of “inspection and strike” weapons. “Our policy is that there should be no war in space,” he said. “But we are military people and we should be ready for everything.”
A BX-1 observation satellite by China in 2008 was positioned ‘dangerously close’ to the International Space Station (above)
China has gone on to push further and further with its efforts. In 2008, a highly manoeuvrable nano-satellite, the BX-1 — a 40cm cube — was positioned dangerously close to the International Space Station. Officially the BX-1 is for inspection and observation. But it also has potential as a weapon. Had it been directed to do so, it could have destroyed the space station and killed the astronauts on board.
Then in 2013, China launched the Dong Neng — another ASAT interceptor. It currently has three ASAT-capable vehicles positioned in space.
Firing rockets into the outer atmosphere is not the only way to destroy things in space. “ASAT until recently has been entirely kinetic, but what we’re seeing a lot more of now is a cyber component to the approach,” says Patricia Lewis, research director at the international security department of Chatham House. “If you can hack into a satellite’s control systems there are plenty of things you can do — turn the solar panels so they fry up in the sun, move the satellite into a destructive orbit, turn it into a weapon to smash other satellites with, or perhaps most insidious of all, you could just insert changes into the data it was transmitting back to Earth, so the operators would act on it and perhaps you could cause even more damage back on Earth that way.”
Launching a cyber attack on satellites has three key benefits. Most obviously, attacks do not have to result in an uncontrollable debris cloud in outer space. But perhaps more significantly, cyber is also far cheaper for would-be assailants and, if done well, it can be almost anonymous. This opens up a worrisome prospect for strategic planners — attacks that disrupt or spy on their countries’ infrastructure without the ability to respond and therefore without the prospect of deterrence.
Patricia Lewis, research director at the international security department of Chatham House ‘If you can hack into a satellite’s control systems there are plenty of things you can do to cause damage back on Earth’
Last September, hackers broke into the data system of the US federal weather satellite network, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Information from the satellites is used in everything from daily weather reports to environmental emergency planning and ballistic missile flight navigation calculations. The control systems were protected, officials said, and no critical data were affected, but just two months before, US government inspectors warned in an official report that an NOAA satellite system breach “could have severe or catastrophic adverse effects”. According to two senior cyber security officials, the Chinese were responsible. But there has been no public US government response.
“Attacks on satellites,” says one US cyber security official, “are one of the fastest-growing areas of threat. The satellite network is like a great big open back door into almost every nationally important computer network or infrastructure out there.”
The US is spending billions improving its defences — primarily by building more capacity into its constellations and improving its tracking abilities. A $900m contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2014 to develop a radar system capable of tracking objects as small as baseballs in space in real time. But there are also hints that the US may be looking to equip its satellites with active defences and countermeasures of their own, such as jamming devices and the ability to evade interceptions.
A purely offensive anti-satellite programme is in fast development as well. High-energy weapons and manoeuvrable orbiters such as space planes all open the possibility of the US being able to rapidly weaponise the domain beyond the atmosphere, should it feel the need to do so.
A NOAA satellite image of weather systems above Central America, August 13 2010; the network’s data system was hacked in 2015
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty had one glaring omission: it has no limits on the use of conventional weapons. Even as militaries around the world work hard to build their space weaponry arsenals, many are now wondering whether the treaty needs to be broadened.
Just moments after President Obama’s inauguration in 2009, the White House website was updated with a raft of new policy measures, including a desire for a comprehensive international ban on space weapons and anti-satellite technologies. It was a remarkable volte-face for Washington, which, angered by the Chinese test of 2007, was already racing to redevelop its space might.
Now, with Russian and Chinese test activity peaking, Washington has become increasingly hawkish. Efforts by the state department to try to secure some kind of diplomatic agreement have been paralleled by a fast-track military development programme. There is no way to stop the weaponisation of space, US military chiefs say, except by maintaining the US’s overwhelming military superiority there. As relations with Moscow deteriorate, and friction between China and the US mounts over issues such as cyber espionage and the South China Sea, hopes of any kind of international treaty for space are fading fast.
The satellite network is like a great big open back door into almost every nationally important computer network or infrastructure out there
“You won’t get the Pentagon to agree a treaty... but sooner or later Washington is going to have to realise something needs to be done,” says Lewis of Chatham House. “We are only increasing our dependence on space. The Pentagon is envisaging a world of single-country dominance, but these emerging technologies are equalisers. They reduce the gap and they make developed countries the most vulnerable... The state department know that. They know the US can’t dominate and in the long run it’s a losing battle. By fighting it, all that happens is you push others to develop their capabilities faster than they might otherwise.”
A tangle of diplomatic efforts hobbles on. In Vienna, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Copuous) is negotiating a set of “long-term sustainability guidelines”, while in Geneva, the UN Conference on Disarmament is debating a proposal submitted jointly by Russia and China last year: the Treaty on the Prevention of Placement of Weapons in Outer Space (PPWT). In New York, the first and second committees of the UN General Assembly are jointly meeting — for the first time last month — to broadly tackle space security. A Russian resolution known as the “No First Placement” proposal (NFP) is currently under review.
There is significant opposition to all three. The Copuous proposal is too broad and outdated. The PPWT proposals are treated with scepticism by Washington and Europe because they ignore current existing ASAT capabilities, while the NFP rule has been dismissed as a Russian ruse. An international pledge for no first placement, one European diplomat joked, is the same thing as a Russian pledge for second placement.
Efforts are now turning on trying to strike some kind of agreement before any formal international accord. The EU has a proposal — but it is moving slowly. Discussions on a new “code of conduct” for space, proposed by the bloc, began in earnest in July.
Jacek Bylica, the EU special envoy for non-proliferation and disarmament ‘What we are proposing is a set of traffic rules for space. But we are facing considerable scepticism’
“There is an urgent need for something cross-cutting and politically binding now,” says Jacek Bylica, the EU’s special envoy for non-proliferation and disarmament. “Negotiations on any treaty can carry on for decades — it has been decades since the last one was agreed. The problem we see too is that many of the initiatives at the moment are addressing the weaponisation of space in the future but not the real issue right now, which is existing anti-satellite technologies.
“What we are proposing is a set of traffic rules for space. It would be a political commitment... rules on principles for the operation of all objects in space. But we are facing considerable scepticism.”
The EU has its supporters elsewhere. Countries such as India and Brazil — both of which are increasingly dependent on civilian and commercial space activities for their economic development — want safeguards.
“We have to focus on the practical,” says US assistant secretary Rose. “We don’t like the PPWT. But we are prepared to work with [the Russians and the Chinese] when it’s in our mutual interests. We see a lot of merit in the EU [code of conduct] proposal, but they’ve had some challenges in the diplomacy there. There’s no silver bullet. But we need strategic restraint.”
As with any international effort at arms control, however, it may be that the only way to secure the consensus is for the threat to crystallise. Until a serious incident occurs, some rationalise, the chances of getting powerful militaries to start thinking about their limitations, rather than their capabilities, is slim.
“Whether someone would go for an in-space or missile attack, I don’t know,” says Quintana. “But right now in international conflicts, a lot of the activities we see are exploiting the grey areas. Incidents which are deniable, for example. So maybe we’ll see an accidental collision. Or something being ‘misplaced’ in orbit. Something that is an attack, but not something that anyone can necessarily respond directly to.”
“It might not be widely known about but it is critical,” says Bylica. “Our societies, our economies, they depend on this. For a long time our use of space was gradual — first it was for national security and then telecoms. But now everything uses it, from your GPS to your ATMs, to things you would never suspect, like gas pipelines. It’s a spectrum. And we are very vulnerable.”
Sam Jones is the FT’s defence and security editor
Illustration by Justin Metz
Photographs: Alamy; US Mission Geneva; NOAA
Letter in response to this article:
Nuance and context are key in any space race / From Nick WatkinReplacement refs made their debut last night in the Hall of Fame Game.
Later this week, more history will be made.
Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports Shannon Eastin will be part of the crew for Thursday’s Green Bay at San Diego game.
Eastin, who has called college games in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, will be the first woman to work as an on-field official in any NFL game.
While there were some missteps last night, there wasn’t the ridiculous show of ineptitude some expected. As we get deeper and deeper into the bench of the retired and tier-two (or three or four or five) officials, that may happen.
Until then, the outcry over the stalemated officials doesn’t seem to be the kind that will generate pressure on the league to back off its previous offers.
(Photo credit: sesportsofficiating.wordpress.com)This is an artist's diagram of the structure seen around an active asteroid designated P/2013 P5, which has sprouted six dust tails.
Astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen phenomenon in our solar system's asteroid belt: a space rock with six tails, spewing dust from its nucleus like spouts of water radiating from a lawn sprinkler.
Scientists using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at the summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano in Hawaii first detected the six-tailed asteroid in August. They dubbed it P/2013 P5 and noted that it looked fuzzier than typical asteroids, which usually appear as tiny points of light. More detailed observations with the powerful Hubble Space Telescope in September revealed a clearer picture of asteroid, showing it had six comet-like tails.
"We were literally dumbfounded when we saw it," researcher David Jewitt of the University of California at Los Angeles said in a statement from NASA. "Even more amazing, its tail structures change dramatically in just 13 days as it belches out dust. That also caught us by surprise. It's hard to believe we're looking at an asteroid." [The Strangest Asteroids in the Solar System]
In the time between Hubble's first observation on Sept. 10 and its second peek at the asteroid on Sept. 23, the tails appeared to have completely swung around. Jewitt said he and his colleagues were "completely knocked out" by this finding.
The tails seem to have formed in bursts and not all at once, which is why the researchers don't think they formed as the result of an impact with another asteroid.
Rather, P/2013 P5 could have sprouted dust tails after it started spinning out of control. The researchers suspect radiation pressure caused the asteroid to start rotating faster and faster until its weak gravity no longer could hold it together, sending the surface material of the space rock flying off at several points in the asteroid's recent history.
The researchers even pinpointed when they think these recent dust-ejection events may have occurred, in a series of spurts from April to September.
Though seeing a six-tailed space rock is a first for astronomers, the new research hints that there could be more asteroids with debris trails emanating from their center.
"In astronomy, where you find one, you eventually find a whole bunch more," Jewitt said in a statement. "This is just an amazing object to us, and almost certainly the first of many more to come."
P/2013 P5 has only lost a fraction of its mass, about 100 to 1,000 tons of dust, which represents a tiny portion of the 1,400-foot-wide (425 meters) asteroid, the scientists said.
While P/2013 P5 likely isn't a victim of a recent collision, researchers think the asteroid may be one of the leftover fragments of a much larger space rock that broke apart 200 million years ago. And the space rock likely doesn't contain any water, the scientists believe, based on previous examinations of collision fragments that were in orbits similar but have to P/2013 P5 have made it down to Earth's surface in the form of meteorites.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency. The observations were detailed online in the Nov. 7 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @SPACEdotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.by Giacomo Sanfilippo
One of the more useful insights of postmodernism, so self-evident that it hardly needs to be said, is that reframing one’s fundamental question will produce a different answer. To the question, “Can two persons of the same gender ‘have sex’ with each other?” we hear from Holy Tradition a resounding no. Yet if we ask, “Can two persons of the same gender form a bond in which ‘the two become one?’” the scales begin to fall from our eyes. Holy Tradition possesses in germinal form everything necessary to articulate, thoughtfully and cautiously, an Orthodox theology and spirituality of what we now call same-sex love, adequate to the pastoral needs of the 21st century and fully consistent with the ascetical ethos of Orthodox life for all.
Father Pavel Florensky, in his 1914 essay “Friendship,” was the first in all Christendom to attempt such an articulation in modern times. His biographers identify his beloved dedicatee and addressee in The Pillar and Ground of the Truth, in which “Friendship” figures as Letter Eleven and the thematic culmination of the book, with the deceased Sergei Troitsky. Florensky and Troitsky had shared a dormitory room at the Moscow Theological Academy, and planned to spend the rest of their life together in an izba deep in the forests of Kostroma after completion of their studies. “Friendship” stands as a perpetual testimony to their relationship, its nuptial language and playfully homo-romantic emblem all the more remarkable if we consider that Florensky was a married priest and father of his first child when he prepared Pillar and Ground for publication.
Florensky’s ideal of friendship as constitutive of “one soul in two bodies,” making of a man’s unique Friend his “other I,” has its roots in the writings of Plato and Aristotle. He traces this theme like a golden thread through Holy Tradition, from David and Jonathan to Christ and John, the pairing of the apostles, the pairing of saints in hagiography and liturgy, the prevalence of monks living in twos in Byzantine and Coptic monasticism, patristic encomiums to friendship that have an almost romantic quality about them, and finally—evolving out of monastic practice and adapted to lay needs—a fully developed rite of brother-making that precedes by a century or two that of marriage.
Implicitly in St. Maximus the Confessor and explicitly in St. Symeon the New Theologian, we find the use of male-male intimacy as a metaphor for the union of Christ with the male believer in the Eucharist and the vision of uncreated light. St. Symeon Metaphrastes, a near contemporary of the New Theologian, introduces erotic language into his account of SS. Sergius and Bacchus, read in whole or in part as the synaxarion for their annual commemoration. A 14th-century mural icon in Macedonia’s Holy Transfiguration Monastery, perched on the edge of a cliff high above the town of Zrze and the Pelagonian Plain, depicts SS. Theodore of Tyre and Theodore Stratelates in military attire holding hands like any modern couple.
Yet to project “sexual orientation” anachronistically onto a time and place where such a thing was unknown as a marker of personal identity is historically inaccurate and theologically unhelpful. If conceived as indiscriminate carnal desire for members of the opposite, one’s own, or both genders, all sexual orientations originate in the fall of human love from its primeval capacity to reflect and participate in the ecstasy of divine eros. The genius of Florensky, who wrote at a time when the idea of sexual orientation had already gained widespread currency in Russian society, resides in his transformation of the concept into a radiant vision of the spiritual orientation of one person to another. When the attraction is reciprocal, each Friend yearns to step outside of himself to enter into the very being of the other, and to receive the other into his own being, that the two might become more perfectly a single I. Thus begins their joyful but arduous task of lifelong co-ascesis towards “preliminary consubstantiality,” grounded in their frequent co-partaking of the Holy Mysteries. Florensky affirms the couple’s natural need to express their love through some form of bodily intimacy: we see this in David and Jonathan’s kisses, in Christ and John’s embrace in icons of the Mystical Supper.
In building upon the foundation laid by Florensky, I introduce conjugal friendship as a theological substitute for “same-sex union.” This allays any ambiguity concerning the kind of friendship that Florensky envisions as an exclusive union between two men, differing from marriage in no way except for procreation. It harks back to the original meaning of the Latin conjugalis as co-yoked, of which the Greek equivalent, σύζυγος (syzygos), applies to a range of male partnerships in classical, scriptural, and monastic usage in addition to its marital connotation. Despite the androcentrism of Florensky’s essay and the traditional sources upon which he relies, he sets forth a method that lends itself equally well to a theology and spirituality of same-sex love that includes female couples no less than male couples.
Giacomo Sanfilippo is a PhD student in Theological Studies at Trinity College, University of Toronto. He has his BA in Sexuality Studies from York University and his MA in Theology from Regis College. He also completed the course requirements for the MDiv at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the founding editor of Orthodoxy in Dialogue.
Public Orthodoxy seeks to promote conversation by providing a forum for diverse perspectives on contemporary issues related to Orthodox Christianity. The positions expressed in this essay are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Orthodox Christian Studies Center.
Photo Credits:
Christopher Walter, “The Sts. Theodore holding hands. Zrze, Macedonia,” Plate 41, in The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003): between pp. 144-45.
Игумен Андроник (Трубачев) [Igumen Andronik (Trubachev)], “П. Флоренский и С. Троицкий во дворе МДА, 1906 [P. Florensky and S. Troitsky in the courtyard of the Moscow Theological Academy, 1906],” Plate 42, in Путь к Богу: Личность, жизнь и творчество священника Павла Флоренского [The Way to God: The Person, Life, and Work of the Priest Pavel Florensky], книга вторая [vol. II] (Сергиев Посад: Фонд науки и православной культуры священника Павла Флоренского, 2015 [Sergiev Posad: Priest Pavel Florensky Foundation for Science and Orthodox Culture, 2015]): between pp. 416-17. Igumen Andronik is Florensky’s grandson.
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PrintGUWAHATI: Bodies of three more people kidnapped by suspected NDFB (S) militants were recovered from Beki river in Assam's Baksa district on Sunday even as police fired in the air to disperse a mob holding a protest against the kidnapping in violation of indefinite curfew in Salbari subdivision.
"We have recovered three more bodies this morning (Sunday) from Beki river. We do not know what type of injuries these bodies have. The details will be known after the investigation," Baksa deputy commissioner Vinod Seshan said.With this, the bodies of all the four kidnapped on Saturday, including two teenaged boys have been found.The first one, bearing a cut mark on the head, was recovered on Saturday evening from the river in Barpeta district.The bodies recovered on Sunday were identified to be those of Ataur Rahman (27), Rubul Amin (45) and Saddam Ali (13), while that of Bakar Ali(13) was found Saturday.Family members and villagers in Barpeta district, from where the four hailed, have refused to conduct last rites, demanding that chief minister Tarun Gogoi visit the area to address their grievances.Meanwhile, police fired in the air to disperse a mob protesting against the kidnap ignoring the curfew at Anand Bazar area, Seshan said, adding that no one was injured."Police had to use force as people violated the curfew and refused to leave the place," he added.Indefinite curfew has clamped in Salbari subdivision and Anand Bazar in Baksa since Saturday morning following kidnapping of four people on Friday night by suspected NDFB (Songbijit) militants.Police and CRPF jawans have been deployed in large numbers to maintain peace in the district. Army has been called in and kept as stand by.Top Tory Michael Fallon had a bitter row today with a TV interviewer who nailed his twisting of Jeremy Corbyn's words about terror.
The Defence Secretary was barracked by ITV political editor Robert Peston when he tried to claim Jeremy Corbyn said terror attacks were "our fault".
Mr Corbyn drew a link between terror and foreign policy after the Manchester attack that killed 22, but he also clearly said: "The blame is with the terrorists."
Tory attack dog Mr Fallon has already been ambushed after he slated a quote on the subject, only to discover it was Boris Johnson's.
But today he came back for more.
(Image: Rex Features)
(Image: Rex Features)
(Image: ITV)
It began when Mr Peston dismissed the claim Mr Corbyn said terror attacks were Britain's fault, telling the Tory minister: "He said no such thing!"
Mr Fallon replied: "He did," claiming Mr Corbyn said: "Foreign policy has been increasing the threat to this country."
But a clearly exasperated Mr Peston replied: "That is not the same thing as saying the terrorist attacks are our fault!
"Boris Johnson the foreign Secretary made exactly the same point a few years ago."
(Image: PA)
Mr Fallon pressed on, saying: "No he didn't."
That is incorrect.
Both Mr Peston and the Tory minister had brought along the quotes by Mr Johnson, made a week after the London bombings of July 2005.
Top Tory Mr Fallon jumped in first, reading out the quote: "The Iraq War did NOT create the problem of murderous Islamic fundamentalism."
But his quote was selective, and didn't even finish Boris Johnson's sentence.
That sentence ended: "... though the war has unquestionably sharpened the resentments felt by such people in this country, and given them a new pretext."
Mr Peston said: "Michael, don't argue with me about it, I've got it."
Despite this, Mr Fallon then carried on even further.
He said Mr Johnson had said foreign wars gave attackers a "fabricated pretext" - yet the Foreign Secretary didn't use the word "fabricated".
The interview ended with Mr Peston saying they would have to agree to disagree.
And he was shown bashing his head on his desk in apparent frustration as the credits rolled.
It comes after Boris Johnson branded Jeremy Corbyn's comments on terror "monstrous" despite his own similar views in 2005.
BOJO CALLS CORBYN 'MONSTROUS' FOR LINKING TERRORISM TO FOREIGN POLICY
Labour campaign chief Ian Lavery accused the Conservatives of making "brutal politics" out of the Manchester terror attack.
During today heated interview, Mr Fallon also defended the Tory U-turn over the so-called " dementia tax ", saying: "This was Theresa May leading our party”.
And he refused to say it was wrong to attend a reception with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad a decade ago.
Instead he replied: "Ten years ago we all hoped Assad would be a better leader than his father... It wasn't a mistake to talk to Assad."Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. You may have seen that there’s a fiery debate raging in the world of eSports, one that is leaving gamers furious. Let us explain.
What is ‘Battlefront 2’?
Star Wars Battlefront II is the long-awaited sequel to the 2015 re-boot Star Wars Battlefront. Its 2015 prequel earned favorable reviews and good sales, so the sequel was excitedly anticipated by fans.
What’s the problem?
According to multiple gamers playing the Beta of the new game (which releases officially on Friday, November 17), a number of the game’s key characters are painfully hard to unlock.
PCGamer.com has a good recap about the entire Reddit feed on the game, but in short, users detail that they’re either forced to pay more for iconic characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker — after already purchasing the game — or to play a hefty number of hours in order to unlock them for free. Because in-game credits are handed out on a time-played basis, rather than an accomplishment basis, one user calculated it would take 40 hours of playing just to unlock Luke Skywalker’s character.
What’s next?
EA Sports itself entered the debate on Reddit with the following statement, which promptly became the most down-voted post in Reddit history:Just few hours back, we reported about some more images of Samsung Galaxy S8 leak with Protective cover giving us a sneak peek of the upcoming flagship device from Samsung. Rumor mills have just leaked one more live image of Samsung Galaxy S8 in powered on condition which shows majority of the apps that are installed on the device along with on-screen navigation buttons for the first time.
The on-screen navigation buttons appear just above the bottom bezel and it seems similar to navigation buttons on other devices such as Nexus 4. The icons for Multitasking, Home and Back buttons, though look different from what we have seen till date in any other device. The leaked image also show the number of apps that are installed on the Galaxy S8 and can see at least 50 applications already installed on the device. We are not sure if all these apps comes pre-installed or the user installed some of them later on. These apps include some basic apps on Android smartphones, Google apps, Samsung apps and few others such as Kindle.
Update:
Here is one more.
Guys, so this is just edited picture of S8 protective glass! But this also gives idea of what S8 will look like. Sorry for wrong title pic.twitter.com/esMTnBw1T2 — Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) February 22, 2017
Galaxy S8 and S8+ is rumored to come with 5.8 inch / 6.2 inch display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 / Exynos processor along with 4 GB / 6 GB of RAM with at least 64 GB of internal storage. The smaller 5.8-inch variant is backed by 3000 mAh battery, while the bigger 6.2-inch variant is backed by a 3500 mAh battery.
We need to wait for the official launch of Galaxy S8 and only then we will be able to know that how credible these leaks are. As with any other leak, take this with a pinch of salt. Stay tuned at Androidpure and we will keep you updated.Plato (Ancient Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, "wide, broad-shouldered"; c. 428/427 – c. 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the second of the trio of ancient Greeks including Socrates and Aristotle said to have laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture.[1]
Little can be known about Plato's early life and education due to the very limited accounts. Plato came from one of the wealthiest and most politically active families in Athens. Ancient sources describe him as a bright though modest boy who excelled in his studies. His father contributed everything necessary to give to his son a good education, and Plato therefore must have been instructed in grammar, music, gymnastics and philosophy by some of the most distinguished teachers of his era.
The specific birthdate of Plato is not known. Based on ancient sources, most modern scholars estimate that Plato was born between 428 and 427 BC. The grammarian Apollodorus of Athens argues in his Chronicles that Plato was born in the first year of the eighty-eighth Olympiad (427 BC), on the seventh day of the month Thargelion; according to this tradition the god Apollo was born this day.[2] According to another biographer of him, Neanthes, Plato was eighty-four years of age at his death.[3] If we accept Neanthes' version, Plato was younger than Isocrates by six years, and therefore he was born in the second year of the 87th Olympiad, the year Pericles died (429 BC).[4]
The Chronicle of Eusebius names the fourth year of the 89th Olympiad as Plato's, when Stratocles was archon, while the Alexandrian Chronicle mentions the eighty-ninth Olympiad, in the archonship of Isarchus.[5] According to Suda, Plato was born in Aegina in the 88th Olympiad amid the preliminaries of the Peloponnesian war, and he lived 82 years.[6] Sir Thomas Browne also believes that Plato was born in the 88th Olympiad.[7] Renaissance Platonists celebrated Plato's birth on November 7.[8] Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff estimates that Plato was born when Diotimos was archon eponymous, namely between July 29 428 BC and July 24 427 BC.[9] Greek philologist Ioannis Kalitsounakis believes that the philosopher was born on May 26 or 27, 427 BC, while Jonathan Barnes regards 428 BC as year of Plato's birth.[10] For her part, Debra Nails asserts that the philosopher was born in 424/423 BC.[8]
Plato's birth |
has played at his typically high level.
Through six contests, the redshirt senior is averaging 16.0 points and 6.2 assists per game. The 5’9’’ spark plug is also grabbing 3.0 RPG and hitting 42.3 percent of his three-point shots, all while logging a team-high 33.7 minutes a contest.
Lalanne, who many thought would continue to emerge this season as a dominant low-post player, has exceeded even those lofty expectations.
The 6’10’’, 250-pound center spent a lot of time this offseason refining his post moves with assistant coach and Minutemen great Lou Roe, and building muscle with the help of strength and conditioning coach “Big” Rich Hogans.
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Lalanne’s offseason efforts have paid off, as he is UMass’ leading scorer at 17.8 PPG and leading rebounder with 11.3 per contest. Possibly the most promising aspect of Lalanne’s newfound dominance is his offensive rebounding ability. More than half of his 11.3 rebounds per game are earned on the offensive glass, and he is currently one of three players in all of Division I averaging at least six offensive boards per game.
UMass has already passed some of its toughest tests this season, but the Minutemen still have plenty of resume-building opportunities remaining in their nonconference slate. A matchup with high-scoring BYU looms on Dec. 7 in Springfield, Mass., then UMass is set to take on Florida State two weeks later in Sunrise, Fla. The Minutemen also host Providence on Dec. 28 in their last marquee nonconference contest.
With two legitimate stars in Lalanne and Williams, along with a solid supporting cast, it is reasonable to assume that UMass will remain in the national picture all season.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rory Cellan-Jones's avatar interviews Microsoft executive Reena Kawal's avatar
If you spent $9bn a year on research and development and employed 900 of the world's top computer scientists to come up with new ideas, what would you expect in return?
More than a new way of playing video games, a cynic might say.
But Microsoft - a company that may well spend more on R&D than any other business - believes its strategy is paying off, and the proof is the XBox Kinect system.
Pick your avatar
On a visit to the company's headquarters, I had a chance to see some of the projects that Microsoft scientists at its laboratories in Redmond, in Beijing and in Cambridge, England, believe will change the way we see computers.
And the striking thing about what Microsoft's research chief Craig Mundie picked to show off to a group of technology journalists was that almost all of them involved Kinect.
The system which turns a player's body into a games controller was developed with the help of seven different research groups at the company's three main labs, some working on voice recognition, others on motion sensors and a range of other technologies.
Now they are looking at what Kinect could do next.
Image caption This photo-realistic avatar is designed to be able to be put into a game or social network
We saw a system which would allow two people to see different images on the same screen, their eyes tracked by the Kinect camera.
Other scientists showed off ways that the camera could capture objects and people in 3D, which might have applications in future telepresence systems.
And there was plenty of work on avatars, for use in either games or in video-conferencing. Two Chinese researchers demonstrated a photo-realistic talking head - type in some text and he'll say anything you want, blinking and moving almost like a real person.
Craig Mundie says the success of Kinect, which racked up 8m sales in its first 60 days, is proof that the sheer scale of Microsoft's R&D strategy is paying off.
"Microsoft is at a point where many of the things that we've been researching for twenty years are starting to add up and produce solutions," he says. "You can't rely on two guys in a garage to make all the changes, some of these things require a huge amount of technology and a lot of scale."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Microsoft's Craig Mundie: "We have produced consistent business results, and new technology in many ways"
'Holy war in search'
But Microsoft desperately needed a hit from its research labs.
Ever since Bill Gates decided 20 years ago that the company would spend big bucks on trying to see into the future, there have been ideas aplenty but few stand out products. A decade ago, for instance, Gates was showing off tablet computers - but it took Apple and its iPad to make them mainstream.
Peter Lee, who runs the Redmond lab, says the research operation has a wide remit, from dealing with instant fixes to current products to blue-sky thinking.
Professor Lee, who joined Microsoft last year after a distinguished academic career and a spell at the US defence agency DARPA, insists the labs are having an impact on a daily basis.
Some call it navel-gazing, we call it pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge Prof Peter Lee, Microsoft
He cites the contribution to what he describes as the "holy war in search", the battle between Google and Microsoft's Bing.
"Hour by hour we have a large group of researchers actively involved in Bing, constantly adding new research advances into the product."
But he thinks the long-term research is equally important.
"Some call it navel-gazing, we call it pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge," he says with a smile, predicting that his lab will one day win a Nobel prize.
Natural user interfaces
His boss Craig Mundie is Microsoft's big thinker, charting the path of its future research. His current obsession is what he calls natural user interfaces, new ways of interacting with computers, of which Kinect is one example.
There is, he says, a shift about to happen from the old graphical user interface to a trend where "the computer is more like us - it sees, it listens, it speaks, it understands, it even seeks to do things on our behalf."
It is an intriguing vision, but here's a sobering fact. All these clever ideas, smart people, and major investment have not stopped Microsoft from being overtaken in the last year in terms of market value by Apple, which seems to focus on the customer experience now, rather than five years down the line.
Image caption Rory Cellan-Jones shakes hands remotely, using a 3D projection
Big, sleepy, and dull, I suggested to Mr Mundie, is how many people now perceive Microsoft.
"We don't feel big and sleepy or dull," he responded, "but if people perceive us that way I think looking at the stuff that Kinect brings should change that view."
And he insists that firms that do not have the patience to spend on long-term research will lose out in the end.
"I don't think any company is going to prevail over a long period of time in giving good business returns, if they aren't making these kind of investments. They'll come and go in a generation if they don't have the staying power that's produced by having real mastery of the underlying technologies."
Microsoft, which still generates huge revenues from its core products, Windows and Office, can well afford to keep spending on its blue-sky thinking. But having made such a big bet on science, it will be hoping that the coming years will produce more Kinects, and fewer tablet PCs.Britain's Conservatives have lost their majority in a snap general election that has resulted in a hung parliament.
With just a handful of seats left to declare, Thursday's poll shows gains for the opposition Labour Party.
This is seen as a humiliation for PM Minister Theresa May, who chose to call the election to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the EU on Brexit.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign, but she said her party would "ensure" stability in the UK.
Election results: Live updates
UK election result: How the world reacted
What the election result means for Brexit
However Ms May does not plan to stand down, says BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Earlier on Friday, the prime minister said: "At this time more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May says the UK needs a period of stability
Mrs May - who had a small majority in the previous parliament - had called an early election to try to improve her negotiation positions on Brexit.
But EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the vote had plunged the talks - due to start later this month - into further uncertainty.
"One year after their referendum, we still don't know the British position in the negotiations on Brexit and it seems difficult to predict when we will," she said.
Mr Corbyn earlier said: "If there is a message from tonight's results, it's this: the prime minister called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence."
"I would have thought that's enough to go, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country," he added.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: "I'm very, very proud of the campaign my party has run"
Final election results are expected by Friday lunchtime.
The biggest shock of the night so far has been Liberal Democrat MP Nick Clegg losing his seat to a Labour candidate. He was deputy prime minister of the UK from 2010 to 2015 in a coalition government with the Conservatives.
Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond was also defeated, losing his seat to a Conservative.
A total of 650 Westminster MPs are being elected, with about 45.8 million people entitled to vote. A party needs 326 seats to have an overall majority.
What are the results so far?
The Conservatives are projected to win 42% of the vote, Labour 40%, the Lib Dems 7%, UKIP 2% and the Greens 2%.
In the House of Commons, the Conservatives are predicted to be about 10 seats short of an overall majority. Labour are set to gain about 30, the Lib Dems five and the SNP are predicted to lose 22 seats.
The Green Party would be unchanged with one seat and Plaid Cymru still have three MPs in Wales, according to the poll.
Northern Ireland has different political parties.
Full UK results breakdown
What the result means for Brexit - By James Landale, BBC diplomatic correspondent
Britain's exit from the EU has been plunged into uncertainty. Theresa May has not secured the clear mandate that she sought for her version of a hard Brexit.
It will now be difficult for the government - whatever shape that government will be - to start talking to the EU in nine days' time as planned without rethinking its strategy.
If the Tories form a minority government, Theresa May could start negotiations but she might have to water down her plans if she wanted to get any Brexit-related legislation through the House of Commons, where she will need the support of other parties.
Much will depend on the wishes of the Democratic Unionist Party MPs from Northern Ireland who would be her most likely allies. This would be a recipe for survival, not stability.
If Mrs May stands down as prime minister, then any negotiations over Brexit may have to be delayed while the Conservative party chooses a replacement and discusses if or how to change its approach to Brexit.
This would not be straightforward because Tory divisions over Europe would remain and potential leadership contenders would have to decide whether to argue for a soft or hard Brexit.
Where UK's parties stand on Brexit
How have other parties reacted?
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the election "has been a disaster for Theresa May".
"Her position I think is very, very difficult. We have to wait and see how things shake out," Mrs Sturgeon said, adding that she was "disappointed at the SNP losses".
Leader of UK Independence Party Paul Nuttall tweeted: "Theresa May has put Brexit in jeopardy. I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris."
Image copyright EPA Image caption In Glasgow, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon voted at a local community hall
Image copyright AFP Image caption Lib Dem leader Tim Farron looked cheerful despite the rain after voting in Kendal, Cumbria
Lib Dem President Baroness Brinton said her party could not work with either Labour or the Tories as both are pushing for a "hard Brexit".
Green co-leader Caroline Lucas earlier said: "Greens will never support a Tory government."
What about a possible impact on the UK economy?
When the election exit poll was revealed, the pound immediately dropped by 2% as investors took a position that a hung parliament was a possible outcome, writes BBC's Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed.
Election catches investors off guard
Why would that lead the currency to decline? Because a hung parliament means that the government's direction of travel would be less certain.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The pound fell sharply against the dollar after the exit polls were released.
Deals would have to be done. And those vital Brexit negotiations could become all the more difficult.
Nervousness in the markets is likely to increase and investors could decide to move their money to more attractive places, such as the eurozone where growth has picked up and political risk has reduced, our editor says.It is a different world we are all living in this morning, as the Duchess of Cambridge has now, as scheduled, visited the set of Downton Abbey. We presume everyone has been up since six A.M. this morning, watching their homemade mash-ups of Lady Mary-Kate spin-off story lines, and writing Dowager Countess-Duchess of Cambridge-banter-centric fan fiction, in preparation for this occasion.
Kate, who has publicly expressed her affection for the show in the past, arrived this morning in a cream Jojo Maman Bebe coat, and was greeted immediately by Zac Barker, one of two twin four-year-olds who plays Lady Mary’s son George (we’re not sure why Zac was chosen over his brother for this honor, but we do know that his twin brother is going to doubtlessly need a lot of therapy over the course of his life as a result of this). Kate was then greeted by the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes, before she met a receiving line of production crew members. Robert James Collier, who plays Thomas, joked, when Kate entered the hair and makeup trailer to see Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes) getting her makeup done, “You’ve come just at the right time, Phyllis is about to have her Botox put in,” which is as Thomas a comment as we could possibly imagine. (Dame Maggie Smith called in sick today, and was not present on set.)
Here’s a shot of Kate with the entire cast, in front of that servant bells switchboard wall. (Mr. Carson is no doubt horrified they couldn’t do the photo in the drawing room.)
Here she is chatting with Joanne Froggatt (Anna) and Michelle Dockery (Mary). We know Kate is very tactful, but we bet she couldn’t help herself from exclaiming, “I’m sorry, I love the show, Anna, but I gotta admit I pick up my phone and open Instagram whenever it’s a Bates scene…
And then there is this picture, of Kate, Lady Mary, and Mary’s George, which has actually, we’ve gotten word from the palace, just officially been made the new British flag.
Related: Our First Clues About Downton Abbey’s Sixth Season
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD Newsletter Sign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood. E-mail Address SubscribePolice Regularly Use Stingrays Without A Warrant To Find Petty Criminals, Then Try To Hide That Fact
from the more-of-the-same dept
The records show that the city's police used stingrays to catch everyone from killers to petty thieves, that the authorities regularly hid or obscured that surveillance once suspects got to court and that many of those they arrested were never prosecuted.
Defense attorneys assigned to many of those cases said they did not know a stingray had been used until USA TODAY contacted them, even though state law requires that they be told about electronic surveillance.
“I am astounded at the extent to which police have been so aggressively using this technology, how long they’ve been using it and the extent to which they have gone to create ruses to shield that use,” Stephen Mercer, the chief of forensics for Maryland’s public defenders, said.
Over the last few years, we've published a ton of stories about the growing police reliance on Stingray cell site simulator devices (also known as IMSI catchers), that mimic a real cell phone tower and help provide the location of a certain mobile phone. As we've written, these devices have been super popular with police departments, who often receive them from the federal government with strict non-disclosure agreements, which means law enforcement has been known to lie to courts or simply drop cases where the usage is at risk of coming out in court.It seems that this story is getting more and more national attention. Brad Heath, over at USA Today, has a fairly deep dive into the fact that police are using these devices to solve petty crimes all the time, without a warrant, and then refusing to tell defendants how they were caught (which is a bit of a constitutional no-no). Heath specifically was able to get a police surveillance log in Baltimore, which detailed how the devices were used there.Some of the cases are absolutely ridiculous -- such as the one where an angry husband grabbed his wife's phone and left the house. Police declared it a theft and used an IMSI catcher to track it down... but by that point, the husband had already given it back to his wife, so the police just showed up at her home where she already had the phone. Also, because it's so easy to use these devices to just go and locate anyone, Baltimore police sometimes used it just to find the location of(i.e., people who haven't committed any crimes). That's going way over the line of what's appropriate.These things are being used so often in so many cases with so little transparency, one hopes that the growing press attention will finally lead to much more accountability on how these devices are useda requirement for a warrant.
Filed Under: baltimore, cell site simulators, imsi catchers, law enforcement, police, privacy, stingraysSecret footage shows race horses being shot
Updated
Animal activists have secretly filmed horses being shot at a knackery, a fate shared by an estimated 10,000 racehorses around the country each year.
The majority are used for pet food, and horse sales around the country are attended by meat buyers.
Welfare groups say racing has an appalling attrition rate and more needs to be done to find a suitable life after the track for thoroughbreds.
Ward Young from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses says he believes it shows the racing industry are not animal lovers.
"The racing industry can't stand up and say they love these horses and then the next day when they can no longer earn money at the races get a bullet in the head and be killed for dogmeat," he said.
"It's just unconscionable that this industry tries to portray itself as animal lovers when in fact its actions speak much louder than words when its actions say the complete opposite."
At the Echuca sales this month, about 100 horses were sold at auction, including failed racehorses.
The sales can still become a dumping ground for injured racehorses.
But auctioneer John Moyle says the sales do not solely rely on knackers to buy the horses.
"We would go broke if we relied on the knackery to support our business," he said.
"The knackery would say the same thing. They would only buy between 10 and 20 per cent of the horses that we process through here."
'Wastage'
There are currently about 15,000 thoroughbred foals born every year. The industry calls the number of horses lost to racing each year "wastage".
Hugh Wirth, the Victorian president of the RSPCA, says the racing industry is breeding too many horses.
"We are breeding lots and lots and lots of horses," he said.
"Some of them fall by the wayside for things that should never happen and that causes wastage."
While a Clydesdale cross can sell for thousands of dollars in the main ring, racehorses in the rear saleyards can fetch much less.
Rachel Beatson bought a horse at the Echuca sales for just $300.
"The breeder came up to me and had a chat to me and said she raced a week ago in Wodonga and came 400 metres behind last place," she said.
"She's pretty slow. She's not born to be a racehorse... I knew I had to take her home. She's just gorgeous."
Ms Beatson says the horse would have been turned into dogmeat if she had not bought her.
"Dogmeat man was bidding against me and I said: 'I'm just going to keep going, so you might as well stop, buddy'."
New home
But finding a new home for a thoroughbred is easier said than done. They cost between $50 and $100 per week to keep and are often difficult to handle.
Bill Saunders runs a racehorse retraining program west of Melbourne and has found new homes for 50 former racehorses in the past two years.
"A lot of horses are often quite frazzled by racing," he said.
"You find that they quite often need two or three months to come down out of the clouds and eat some grass and generally get used to being a horse again.
"Some of them are quite badly injured or really difficult in the head in terms of being quite mad, and those horses are probably better off put down. But of the ones that are left, many are very suitable riding horses and a lot of them do go out and do exactly that.
"We've had many owners here where owners have been prepared to pay money to get the horses retrained in order to give them a good home. Unfortunately it's not as widespread as I would like it to be."
Room for improvement
While it is difficult enough to re-home a racehorse, about a third never even reach the track.
Mr Wirth says about 8,500 are excluded from the racing industry at an early age.
"[It's] usually due to injury, mostly due to injury, due to the fact they are prepared for racing when they were juveniles and not mature in bone and limb," he said.
Racing Victoria admits there is room for improvement and is considering an owners' levy as part of a new strategic plan on horse welfare.
Mr Young says something must be done.
"The racing industry needs to realise by breeding these animals and by profiting from them while they're racing, they owe a responsibility to that animal to look after it for its entire life, not just its life while racing," he said.
"We believe that a superannuation fund, if you like, needs to be established, so part of the prize money that a horse earns and other horses earn is contributed to ensuring that horse doesn't go to slaughter when it can no longer earn money."
Topics: animal-welfare, horse-racing, echuca-3564, vic, australia
First postedI
I began this book to the tune of German bombs, and I begin this second chapter in the added racket of the barrage. The yellow gun-flashes are lighting the sky, the splinters are rattling on the housetops, and London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. Anyone able to read a map knows that we are in deadly danger. I do not mean that we are beaten or need be beaten. Almost certainly the outcome depends on our own will. But at this moment we are in the soup, full fathom five, and we have been brought there by follies which we are still committing and which will drown us altogether if we do not mend our ways quickly.
What this war has demonstrated is that private capitalism – that is, an economic system in which land, factories, mines and transport are owned privately and operated solely for profit – does not work. It cannot deliver the goods. This fact had been known to millions of people for years past, but nothing ever came of it, because there was no real urge from below to alter the system, and those at the top had trained themselves to be impenetrably stupid on just this point. Argument and propaganda got one nowhere. The lords of property simply sat on their bottoms and proclaimed that all was for the best. Hitler's conquest of Europe, however, was a physical debunking of capitalism. War, for all its evil, is at any rate an unanswerable test of strength, like a try-your-grip machine. Great strength returns the penny, and there is no way of faking the result.
When the nautical screw was first invented, there was a controversy that lasted for years as to whether screw-steamers or paddle-steamers were better. The paddle-steamers, like all obsolete things, had their champions, who supported them by ingenious arguments. Finally, however, a distinguished admiral tied a screw-steamer and a paddle-steamer of equal horsepower stern to stern and set their engines running. That settled the question once and for all. And it was something similar that happened on the fields of Norway and of Flanders. Once and for all it was proved that a planned economy is stronger than a planless one. But it is necessary here to give some kind of definition to those much-abused words, Socialism and Fascism.
Socialism is usually defined as ‘common ownership of the means of production’. Crudely: the State, representing the whole nation, owns everything, and everyone is a State employee. This does not mean that people are stripped of private possessions such as clothes and furniture, but it does mean that all productive goods, such as land, mines, ships and machinery, are the property of the State. The State is the sole large-scale producer. It is not certain that Socialism is in all ways superior to capitalism, but it is certain that, unlike capitalism, it can solve the problems of production and consumption. At normal times a capitalist economy can never consume all that it produces, so that there is always a wasted surplus (wheat burned in furnaces, herrings dumped back into the sea etc. etc.) and always unemployment. In time of war, on the other hand, it has difficulty in producing all that it needs, because nothing is produced unless someone sees his way to making a profit out of it.
In a Socialist economy these problems do not exist. The State simply calculates what goods will be needed and does its best to produce them. Production is only limited by the amount of labour and raw materials. Money, for internal purposes, ceases to be a mysterious all-powerful thing and becomes a sort of coupon or ration-ticket, issued in sufficient quantities to buy up such consumption goods as may be available at the moment.
However, it has become clear in the last few years that ‘common ownership of the means of production’ is not in itself a sufficient definition of Socialism. One must also add the following: approximate equality of incomes (it need be no more than approximate), political democracy, and abolition of all hereditary privilege, especially in education. These are simply the necessary safeguards against the reappearance of a class-system. Centralized ownership has very little meaning unless the mass of the people are living roughly upon an equal level, and have some kind of control over the government. ‘The State’ may come to mean no more than a self-elected political party, and oligarchy and privilege can return, based on power rather than on money.
But what then is Fascism?
Fascism, at any rate the German version, is a form of capitalism that borrows from Socialism just such features as will make it efficient for war purposes. Internally, Germany has a good deal in common with a Socialist state. Ownership has never been abolished, there are still capitalists and workers, and – this is the important point, and the real reason why rich men all over the world tend to sympathize with Fascism – generally speaking the same people are capitalists and the same people workers as before the Nazi revolution. But at the same time the State, which is simply the Nazi Party, is in control of everything. It controls investment, raw materials, rates of interest, working hours, wages. The factory owner still owns his factory, but he is for practical purposes reduced to the status of a manager. Everyone is in effect a State employee, though the salaries vary very greatly. The mere efficiency of such a system, the elimination of waste and obstruction, is obvious. In seven years it has built up the most powerful war machine the world has ever seen.
But the idea underlying Fascism is irreconcilably different from that which underlies Socialism. Socialism aims, ultimately, at a world-state of free and equal human beings. It takes the equality of human rights for granted. Nazism assumes just the opposite. The driving force behind the Nazi movement is the belief in human inequality, the superiority of Germans to all other races, the right of Germany to rule the world. Outside the German Reich it does not recognize any obligations. Eminent Nazi professors have ‘proved’ over and over again that only nordic man is fully human, have even mooted the idea that non-nordic peoples (such as ourselves) can interbreed with gorillas! Therefore, while a species of war-Socialism exists within the German state, its attitude towards conquered nations is frankly that of an exploiter. The function of the Czechs, Poles, French, etc. is simply to produce such goods as Germany may need, and get in return just as little as will keep them from open rebellion. If we are conquered, our job will probably be to manufacture weapons for Hitler's forthcoming wars with Russia and America. The Nazis aim, in effect, at setting up a kind of caste system, with four main castes corresponding rather closely to those of the Hindu religion. At the top comes the Nazi party, second come the mass of the German people, third come the conquered European populations. Fourth and last are to come the coloured peoples, the ‘semi-apes’ as Hitler calls them, who are to be reduced quite openly to slavery.
However horrible this system may seem to us, it works. It works because it is a planned system geared to a definite purpose, world-conquest, and not allowing any private interest, either of capitalist or worker, to stand in its way. British capitalism does not work, because it is a competitive system in which private profit is and must be the main objective. It is a system in which all the forces are pulling in opposite directions and the interests of the individual are as often as not totally opposed to those of the State.
All through the critical years British capitalism, with its immense industrial plant and its unrivalled supply of skilled labour, was unequal to the strain of preparing for war. To prepare for war on the modern scale you have got to divert the greater part of your national income to armaments, which means cutting down on consumption goods. A bombing plane, for instance, is equivalent in price to fifty small motor cars, or eight thousand pairs of silk stockings, or a million loaves of bread. Clearly you can't have many bombing planes without lowering the national standard of life. It is guns or butter, as Marshal Goering remarked. But in Chamberlain's England the transition could not be made. The rich would not face the necessary taxation, and while the rich are still visibly rich it is not possible to tax the poor very heavily either. Moreover, so long as profit was the main object the manufacturer had no incentive to change over from consumption goods to armaments. A businessman's first duty is to his shareholders. Perhaps England needs tanks, but perhaps it pays better to manufacture motor cars. To prevent war material from reaching the enemy is common sense, but to sell in the highest market is a business duty. Right at the end of August 1939 the British dealers were tumbling over one another in their eagerness to sell Germany tin, rubber, copper and shellac – and this in the clear, certain knowledge that war was going to break out in a week or two. It was about as sensible as selling somebody a razor to cut your throat with. But it was ‘good business’.
And now look at the results. After 1934 it was known that Germany was rearming. After 1936 everyone with eyes in his head knew that war was coming. After Munich it was merely a question of how soon the war would begin. In September 1939 war broke out. Eight months later it was discovered that, so far as equipment went, the British army was barely beyond the standard of 1918. We saw our soldiers fighting their way desperately to the coast, with one aeroplane against three, with rifles against tanks, with bayonets against tommy-guns. There were not even enough revolvers to supply all the officers. After a year of war the regular army was still short of 300,000 tin hats. There had even, previously, been a shortage of uniforms – this in one of the greatest woollen-goods producing countries in the world!
What had happened was that the whole moneyed class, unwilling to face a change in their way of life, had shut their eyes to the nature of Fascism and modern war. And false optimism was fed to the general public by the gutter press, which lives on its advertisements and is therefore interested in keeping trade conditions normal. Year after year the Beaverbrook press assured us in huge headlines that THERE WILL BE NO WAR, and as late as the beginning of 1939 Lord Rothermere was describing Hitler as ‘a great gentleman’. And while England in the moment of disaster proved to be short of every war material except ships, it is not recorded that there was any shortage of motor cars, fur coats, gramophones, lipstick, chocolates or silk stockings. And dare anyone pretend that the same tug-of-war between private profit and public necessity is not still continuing? England fights for her life, but business must fight for profits. You can hardly open a newspaper without seeing the two contradictory processes happening side by side. On the very same page you will find the Government urging you to save and the seller of some useless luxury urging you to spend. Lend to Defend, but Guinness is Good for You. Buy a Spitfire, but also buy Haig and Haig, Pond's Face Cream and Black Magic Chocolates.
But one thing gives hope – the visible swing in public opinion. If we can survive this war, the defeat in Flanders will turn out to have been one of the great turning-points in English history. In that spectacular disaster the working class, the middle class and even a section of the business community could see the utter rottenness of private capitalism. Before that the case against capitalism had never been proved. Russia, the only definitely Socialist country, was backward and far away. All criticism broke itself against the rat-trap faces of bankers and the brassy laughter of stockbrokers. Socialism? Ha! ha! ha! Where's the money to come from? Ha! ha! ha! The lords of property were firm in their seats, and they knew it. But after the French collapse there came something that could not be laughed away, something that neither cheque-books nor policemen were any use against – the bombing. Zweee – BOOM! What's that? Oh, only a bomb on the Stock Exchange. Zweee – BOOM! Another acre of somebody's valuable slum-property gone west. Hitler will at any rate go down in history as the man who made the City of London laugh on the wrong side of its face. For the first time in their lives the comfortable were uncomfortable, the professional optimists had to admit that there was something wrong. It was a great step forward. From that time onwards the ghastly job of trying to convince artificially stupefied people that a planned economy might be better than a free-for-all in which the worst man wins – that job will never be quite so ghastly again.
II
The difference between Socialism and capitalism is not primarily a difference of technique. One cannot simply change from one system to the other as one might install a new piece of machinery in a factory, and then carry on as before, with the same people in positions of control. Obviously there is also needed a complete shift of power. New blood, new men, new ideas – in the true sense of the word, a revolution.
I have spoken earlier of the soundness and homogeneity of England, the patriotism that runs like a connecting thread through almost all classes. After Dunkirk anyone who had eyes in his head could see this. But it is absurd to pretend that the promise of that moment has been fulfilled. Almost certainly the mass of the people are now ready for the vast changes that are necessary; but those changes have not even begun to happen.
England is a family with the wrong members in control. Almost entirely we are governed by the rich, and by people who step into positions of command by right of birth. Few if any of these people are consciously treacherous, some of them are not even fools, but as a class they are quite incapable of leading us to victory. They could not do it, even if their material interests did not constantly trip them up. As I pointed out earlier, they have been artificially stupefied. Quite apart from anything else, the rule of money sees to it that we shall be governed largely by the old – that is, by people utterly unable to grasp what age they are living in or what enemy they are fighting. Nothing was more desolating at the beginning of this war than the way in which the whole of the older generation conspired to pretend that it was the war of 1914-18 over again. All the old duds were back on the job, twenty years older, with the skull plainer in their faces. Ian Hay was cheering up the troops, Belloc was writing articles on strategy, Maurois doing broadcasts, Bairnsfather drawing cartoons. It was like a tea-party of ghosts. And that state of affairs has barely altered. The shock of disaster brought a few able men like Bevin to the front, but in general we are still commanded by people who managed to live through the years 1931-9 without even discovering that Hitler was dangerous. A generation of the unteachable is hanging upon us like a necklace of corpses.
As soon as one considers any problem of this war – and it does not matter whether it is the widest aspect of strategy or the tiniest detail of home organization – one sees that the necessary moves cannot be made while the social structure of England remains what it is. Inevitably, because of their position and upbringing, the ruling class are fighting for their own privileges, which cannot possibly be reconciled with the public interest. It is a mistake to imagine that war aims, strategy, propaganda and industrial organization exist in watertight compartments. All are interconnected. Every strategic plan, every tactical method, even every weapon will bear the stamp of the social system that produced it. The British ruling class are fighting against Hitler, whom they have always regarded and whom some of them still regard as their protector against Bolshevism. That does not mean that they will deliberately sell |
-` (the key directly above tab) to switch between documents. The developers seemed to envision that the way to keep apps separate would be to put them on different virtual desktops. A virtual-desktop-switcher bar occupies the right edge of the primary screen, and there's an indefinite number of virtual desktops available – always one more than you're using.
The only way to navigate between windows with the mouse is an overall, Apple Exposé-like thumbnail view. So, if you have lots of windows, all on your first virtual desktop, the overview will be indistinct. The old hierarchical application menus have been replaced with a full-screen search-driven app-picker. Even windows' minimise or maximise buttons are gone.
GNOME Shell is like nothing else – which is brave, but confusing. It's a huge shift, and its developers weren't interested in Ubuntu's offers of contributions and suggestions, so Ubuntu chose a different route.
Unity, Son of Netbook Remix
For some years, Ubuntu had been developing its own "netbook launcher," originally intended to be an easy, simple, single-click sort of interface for small screens and low-spec systems.
Over several releases, this evolved from a full-screen menu-cum-file-manager to a simple panel down the side of the screen which combined the functions of program launcher and task switcher. All programs ran maximised to fill the screen, so as to make best use of 1024×600 netbook screens.
Now, though, the humble netbook launcher has evolved further, into a fully-fledged desktop for general-purpose PCs: Unity. And in April this year, Ubuntu switched the default desktop of version 11.04 of its eponymous flagship OS to the new GUI.
Like the old netbook remix, the Unity desktop has a Launcher down the left edge of the screen – an efficient use of space, now that most people are switching to widescreen monitors. To get at apps not in the Launcher, there's the "dashboard," another full-screen search-driven app and document picker, rather like that of iOS and Android – or GNOME Shell, come to that. The dash also shows apps that can be installed from Ubuntu's online repositories, which is a little confusing but makes software installation easy and even tempting for novices.Bloomberg takes a look at who President Obama might name to replace Justice Stevens should he announce his retirement as expected:
April 4 (Bloomberg) — The Obama administration, contemplating the possible retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, is focusing on three candidates to succeed him, a White House official familiar with the deliberations said.
The group includes U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appellate judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
(…)
Kagan, 49, and Wood, 59, interviewed with Obama last year before he appointed Sonia Sotomayor to succeed David Souter on the high court, according to a different White House official. Garland, 57, was one of nine candidates the White House considered for that vacancy, though he didn’t meet with Obama.
Kagan is the first woman to serve as solicitor general, the federal government’s top Supreme Court advocate. She took that post after serving as the first female dean of Harvard Law School, her alma mater.
Kagan won praise from conservatives and liberals alike for smoothing over the ideological tensions that plagued Harvard Law School before she became dean in 2003.
(…)
Wood, a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago since 1995, has developed a reputation there as an intellectual jurist willing to take on her more conservative colleagues Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook.
A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Wood is an antitrust expert, serving as deputy assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton.
Garland, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is perhaps the most conservative of the trio, often siding with the government on criminal questions.
A Harvard Law School graduate, he worked in the Clinton administration’s Justice Department, overseeing the Oklahoma City bombing investigation and the successful prosecution of Timothy McVeigh.Quicksilver Changelog
Changes - 1.6.0 (4025) 2018-09-19
New
Touch Bar support (#2366)
Provide descriptions when permission to access Contacts, interact with other applications, etc. is requested (#2446)
Changed
Improvements to the disk image used during installation (#2451)
Fixed
Small fixes for the default string ranker (#2450, #2452)
Changes - 1.5.9 (4024) 2018-03-12
Fixed
Recent documents are available on a clean install of macOS 10.13 (#2431, #2432)
Changes - 1.5.8 (4023) 2018-03-06
New
URL Scanner catalog source allows scanning links from a remote address (#767, #2408)
Objects grabbed with ⌘⎋ and ⌘G are added to the history (#2265, #2421)
A “Log Object to Console” action (disabled by default) has been added to improve our ability to troubleshoot (#2424)
Fixed
Show the number of plugins being downloaded (#2409, #2410)
Prevent the third pane from appearing when nothing is selected (#2417, #2420)
Prevent a few crashes (#2415)
Lines from a text file are indexed correctly (#2364, #2369)
Improved trigger behavior for items that aren’t in the catalog (#2419, #2426)
Fix a text label that was getting truncated (#2425, #2430)
Development
Catalog API cleanup (#2255)
Allow more of an actions’s properties to be manipulated (#2423)
An action’s method can be defined using a block, which allows programmatically creating several very similar actions (#2423)
Changes - 1.5.7 (4022) 2017-11-06
New
A new trigger is available to relaunch Quicksilver. It's activated with ⌃⌥⌘Q by default. It can be reconfigured in Preferences → Triggers → Quicksilver (#2399, #2404)
Allow searching of non-latin scripts using latin characters (transliteration). E.g type 'zhongguo' to search for '中国' or 'hangeul' to search for '한굴' (#2395)
Changed
The menu item to Relaunch Quicksilver and its shortcut (⌃⌘Q) have been removed because that shortcut is used by macOS now (#2404)
Checking for updates happens in the background and won't lock up the interface (#1596)
Fixed
Code signing for Gatekeeper is working again
Prevent a crash when notifying users of a new version (#2379, #1596)
Recent documents are available via right-arrow (#2396, #2403)
Recent and Favorite catalog scanners are working (#2403)
Small bug fixes for the updater (#2402)
Changes - 1.5.6 (4021) 2017-09-06
Fixed
Additional safety checks and crash prevention (#2383)
Development
Include FMDB in the core application to avoid conflicts between different plugins. It should be possible to remove FMDB from your plugins in the next release. (#2348)
Changes - 1.5.5 (4020) 2017-06-12
Fixed
Keyboard shortcuts for Quicksilver activation and triggers couldn't be changed (#2362)
Development
Removed requirement for xctool (#2353)
(#2353) Configured Travis to use Xcode 8.3 and removed xctool (#2362)
Changes - 1.5.4 (401F) 2017-05-24
Fixed
Update watched files and folders in the background (#2345)
Prevent some crashes (primarily related to icon loading) (#2339)
Development
Fixed several deprecation warnings (#2346)
Clean up and consolidate code related to ranking (#2342)
Changes - 1.5.3 (401E) 2017-03-03
New
Commands scheduled using "Run at Time…" and "Run after Delay…" can be viewed and cancelled in the Task Viewer (#1767, #2247)
Fixed
Various performance enhancements to prevent Quicksilver from freezing (#2312)
Proxy objects should refresh as needed instead of after a delay (#2322)
Strings in commands saved to disk should preserve their value instead of getting replaced by an internal identifier (#2306, #2325)
Eliminate some "deleted thread with uncommitted CATransaction" warnings (#2275, #2347)
Changed
Removed support for Internet Explorer (#2320)
Development
The notification sent when the interface is dismissed will now include a reason for the dismissal. The reason will be available in userInfo[kQSInterfaceDeactivatedReason]. Possible values are "execution", "cancel", and "fade". (#2322)
Changes - 1.5.2 (401D) 2017-01-18
Fixed
Abbreviations are remembered more reliably (#2301, #2308)
Fixes for command execution (#2300, #2302, #2304)
When creating a collection with the comma trick, ⌫ will clear the selection even if it hasn't been added to the collection (#2308)
Performance improvements (#2303)
Changes - 1.5.1 (401C) 2016-12-24
This release requires 10.10.
New
When renaming a file and the new name conflicts with an existing file, you will be asked what to do (#519, #2293)
Fixed
Keep the third pane visible when it contains something, even if it's optional (#2234, #2235)
Improve the results in the third pane for AppleScript actions (#2071, #2232)
Removed potential deadlocks related to the task viewer (#1611)
Improved reliability when automatically showing/hiding the task viewer (#1611)
Avoid a hang during catalog indexing (#2016, #2241)
Correctly reset the third pane (#2201, #2239)
Avoid a hang when getting the string value for multiple selected objects (#2242, #2243)
Make the left arrow key do something useful in more contexts (#2228, #2229)
Prevent duplicate items from appearing in the interface (#2097, #2231)
Make sure mnemonics are updated before resetting the search string (#2269)
Icons for proxy objects are shown more reliably (#2069, #2179)
Icons for objects in a collection are shown more reliably (#2179)
Crash prevention and general improvements for the file conflict panel (#2293)
Fixed a bug related to alerts (#2296)
When dropping multiple files on the interface, turn them into a collection (#2263)
Changed
Quicksilver now requires OS X 10.10 or later (#2146)
Don't show a "Relaunch Required" alert for plug-ins when the application itself is being updated (#2224)
The main section of the Preferences is now called "General" instead of "Preferences" (#1306, #2237)
The ⌫ key only removes a single character from the search string by default. The old behavior of clearing the entire string can be restored in Preferences → General → Extras (#177, #2249)
If the search string is empty, pressing ⌫ will remove the selected object from the interafce (#2249)
The option to show other results with ↓ is now called "Manually" instead of "Never" (#1878, #2244)
Tasks appear in the task viewer briefly after completing so you can at least see what they were (#1611)
The real object referred to by a proxy object will be remembered as long as the proxy is selected in the interface. Previously, the proxy would "expire" and look up the real object again. (#2179)
Disable App Transport Security to allow right-arrowing into URLs (#2251, #2292)
Development
Clean-up to reduce deprecation warnings (#2238)
Fixed the unit test for QSObject equality (#2240)
Tell Travis to use a specific Xcode version (#2237)
Major cleanup of the QSTask class and its API (#1611)
class and its API (#1611) Added a method to test for macOS Sierra (#2248)
Deprecate some table view methods Apple provides equivalents for (#2254)
Define formal protocols for QSObjectSource and QSObjectHandler (#2250)
and (#2250) Add a method to the NSApplication interface to make Xcode 8 happy (#2270)
interface to make Xcode 8 happy (#2270) Proxy object no longer use cacheTimeForProxy: (#2179)
(#2179) Overhaul of QSAlertManager and notifications (#2146)
and notifications (#2146) Modernized methods that report OS version (#2295)
Deployment target changed to 10.10 (#2295)
Deployment for most NIBs changed to track the project's deployment target (#2295)
Changes - 1.4.2 (401A) 2016-06-21
Fixed
Items are added to history when you drag them out of Quicksilver (#2203, #2204)
Prevent an exception for non-keyboard events in the results list (#2205)
Building Quicksilver under OS X 10.10 so Gatekeeper won't complain on older versions of the OS (#2196)
Changed
The Toggle Application action is enabled by default (#2215)
Changes - 1.4.1 (4019) 2016-04-13
New
Preferences to control text appearance (#2162) Underline Matched Text Add Glow to Matched Text Always Show Name (#1391) Compress Long Names (#2133)
When a collection is (re)selected in the interface, it appears as a collection that can be managed, as though you had just created it with the comma trick, instead of a single combined object (#2092)
Collections can be "exploded" into a list of individual items with ⌃⌘]. This is the inverse of ⌘A. (#2092)
. This is the inverse of. (#2092) An "Explode Selection" action has been added to split collections into individual items (#2188)
You can browse through a collection to get a better look at each item using ⌃[ and ⌃] (#2092)
and (#2092) Internal command to clear Quicksilver history (#2092)
Fixed
Prevent a crash when scanning Spotlight entries with an empty query (#2158, #2160)
Avoid mounting network volumes to resolve aliases (#2020, #2178)
Triggers based on the Quicksilver Selection proxy can be used on other proxy objects (#2161, #2163)
Recent documents are shown in the correct order on El Capitan (#2181)
Keep the Preferences window on screen when switching displays (#2182, #2183)
Abbreviations are remembered for items you've actually "used" (#2092)
Better handling of collections when browsing history (#2092)
More reliable tracking of position when browsing history, especially when going back for the first time (#2092)
The collection tray will be hidden if the number of items collected drops to one (#2092)
Show the search string when browsing history (#2092)
Clear the search string when switching items in a collection (#2092)
Improved interface when showing all history with ⌃⌘[ (#2092)
(#2092) Clearing interface with ⌃U will also remove comma-trick collections (#2092, #2189, #2190)
will also remove comma-trick collections (#2092, #2189, #2190) Finder Sidebar Items, Recent Applications, Recent Documents, Recent Servers, Favorite Servers now work under El Capitan (#2187, #2191)
Fixed numerous crashes and freezes (#2177)
Changed
History only stores items you've actually "used" (#2090, #2092)
Multiple items selected with comma will be added to Recent Objects individually (#2092)
Reusing a recent item will make it the most recent in the history instead of adding a duplicate (#2092)
When a proxy object is used, the item it points to will be added to Recent Objects instead of the proxy object itself, which should already be in the catalog (#2092)
When an item is removed from a collection, the next object in the collection will be selected (#2092)
Removing objects from collections should be more intuitive (#1123, #2092) ⌫ removes the last selected item and selects the next in line (allowing multiple items to be quickly removed in order) ⌥, removes the most recent item from the collection, but preserves the curent selection
If an action shows a result in the first pane (like Get Path), the result will be added to history (#2092)
The string value for a collection of multiple items will now be the string values of each, separated by new lines, instead of "combined objects" (#2092)
Development
New code will be checked for tab indents (#2050, #2105)
Configure Xcode and TextMate to use tabs by default in this project (#2093)
Allow spaces in comment blocks (#2169)
Add support for combined objects to -[QSObject isEqual:] (#2092)
(#2092) New unit tests for -[QSObject isEqual:] (#2092)
(#2092) Eliminated some unnecessary mutable arrays (#2193)
Changes - 1.3.4 (4016) 2015-11-16
Fixed
Warn users that Quicksilver requires 10.9 (#2096)
Symbolic links to applications will work correctly with Path Finder (#2030, #2157)
Avoid hangs caused by accessing unavailable network volumes (#1977, #2157)
Fixed right-arrowing into symbolic links for the first and third panes (#1884, #1952, #2157)
More reliable indexing of symbolic links to applications (#1498, #2157)
Correct release notes to show fixes from #2142 were actually in #2157
Changes - 1.3.3 (4015) 2015-11-14
Fixed
Prevent a crash when switching to text-entry mode (#2111, #2152)
Allow $ variables in Spotlight queries (#2140, #2141)
Development
Reduce deprecated code and warnings (#2075, #2144, #2150)
Changes - 1.3.2 (4014) 2015-10-15
Fixed
HTTP connections to qsapp.com now use TLS to work with App Transport Security in El Capitan (#2114, #2123)
Development
Change the deployment target to OS X 10.9 (#2118)
Changes - 1.3.1 (4013) 2015-10-01
Fixed
Checking "Hide" in Login Items will no longer prevent Quicksilver from appearing (#1170, #2094)
Recent documents are available under OS X 10.11 (#2079, #2100)
Changes - 1.3.0 (4012) 2015-08-03
New
"Smart" spacebar behavior in Command Preferences: When hitting spacebar, Quicksilver will attempt to choose the desired behavior between Quick Look, right-arrow, text-entry mode, jump to third pane (#925, #1803, #2072)
Menu bar icon tweaked to be more consistent with Yosemite (#2017)
Hidden preference to disable the crash reporter (#1837, #2082)
Fixed
Update grabicon.com API for web search favorite icons (#2024)
Change the location used to get Finder sidebar items (#2038)
Droplets no longer fail with an error on the Console (#2060, #2061)
Correctly ignore "concealed" pasteboard items (#2061)
Quicksilver won't ignore / when typing quickly (#2077, #2078)
when typing quickly (#2077, #2078) Holding / too long won't descend into the hard drive (#2078)
too long won't descend into the hard drive (#2078) Quicksilver won't hang if a string value is unavailable (#2080)
Large Type that appears behind the screen saver can be dismissed without relaunching Quicksilver (#1903, #2081)
Fixed placeholders in localized string formats. Localizers should re-check translations (#1907, #2083)
Changed
Remove the work-around from #2003, as it's no longer needed (#2026)
Remove the Finder Toolbar Items catalog preset (#2038)
References to "hot key" changed to the OS X standard "keyboard shortcut" (#1359, #2070)
Right-arrowing into a URL will now include links to anchors (#2005)
Development
Catalog Entry API clean-up and modernization (#2049, #2063)
Use Travis to test builds (#2021)
Changes - 1.2.2 (4011) 2014-12-23
Fixed
Avoid a crash in Yosemite when loading certain icons (#2002, #2003)
Changes - 1.2.1 (4010) 2014-12-22
Fixed
Double modifier activation is reset when keys are pressed between modifiers (#1950, #1969)
Building with a deployment target > 10.7 now works (#1953, #1955)
Prevent a hang when loading icons (#1957, #1970)
Prevent getting into a state where actions don't do anything (#1984)
Changed
Quicksilver now requires OS X 10.8 or later (#1965)
Development
New QS_DEPRECATED and QS_DEPRECATED_MSG macros (#1966)
and macros (#1966) Wrap the branch name in quotes when determining version (#1973, #1974)
Changes - 1.2.0 (400F) 2014-10-16
New
Added a "Default Browser" proxy object (#1638)
Text ending with / will be recognized as a URL. Entering qsapp/ will be expanded to http://www.qsapp.com/. This emulates the behavior of Safari 6's address bar. (#1594)
will be recognized as a URL. Entering will be expanded to. This emulates the behavior of Safari 6's address bar. (#1594) Modifier-only activation is more reliable and now works in password fields and Terminal with "Secure Keyboard Entry" enabled (#1586, #1713, #1715, #1712, #1723)
Show more detail when moving or copying files fails (#1668)
Ignore incomplete downloads from Opera (.opdownload ) when identifying the Latest Download (#1676)
) when identifying the Latest Download (#1676) Include and exclude files using UTIs (#1708)
The Reveal action can be used with multiple files (#1745)
The Type Text action can be used with multiple text items (#1828)
Append “(alias)” to the details of file aliases (#1770)
Append “(symlink)” to the details of symbolic links (#1770)
Allow moving restricted files to the Trash (#28, #1770)
The results list will wrap when scrolling (#1928)
The status bar icon supports Yosemite's dark theme (#1940)
Includes the latest translations from Transifex project (#1900)
Fixed
Fix the Type Text action when typing non-ASCII characters (#1536)
Fix for accented characters on non-US keyboards (#1696)
Fix a crash with the Relaunch action (#1604, #1605)
Better recognition of URLs containing a colon (#1594)
Text proxies are created with a safe default value (#1624)
Renaming no longer fails on folders with '.' in their name (#1586)
Renaming no longer fails when only capitalization is changed (#1586)
Fix "Allow capitalized keys to select the action" behavior under 10.8 (#1030, #1586)
Fix a bug that prevented preferences from opening on 10.7 (#1628, #1630)
Fix a crash in the Primer Interface (#1608)
Make sure new triggers are selected after creation (#1637)
Ensure that the correct default interface is used on a new installation (#1639)
Load icons on the main thread to silence a warning on 10.9 (#1655, #1656)
Update views on the main thread (#1832)
Update results list on the main thread (#1770)
Run the Update Manager on a background thread (#1847)
Fixed some visual problems with the plugin updater (#1642, #1647)
Fixed some bugs that prevented changing trigger settings (#1650)
Prevent a crash related to the plugin updater (#1664)
Prevent user-disabled items from appearing in the interface (#1685, #1688)
Prevent corruption of pasted strings in triggers (#1597, #1730)
Fix a crash when running some Internal Commands (#1724)
Including/excluding files using unregistered extensions now works (#1469, #1708)
Folders that that appear to have file extensions are correctly identified as folders when excluding/excluding (#1742, #1708, #1753)
Correctly identify documents in iCloud (#1745)
Don't advertise application launches when scanning processes (#1756, #1758)
Clear the search string when clearing the first pane (#1760, #1772)
Prevent crashes when using the Setup Assistant (#1731, #1772)
More reliable matching of actions with items in the first pane under 10.9 (#1740, #1779)
File actions appear when multiple files are selected (#1747, #1755, #1740)
Prevent a crash when accessing items recently copied to the clipboard (#1716, #1774)
Restore the ability to drag and drop objects from the Quicksilver interface (#1780, #1774)
Make the Type Text action work with more items (#1779)
Make sure actions are assigned correctly when an application claims support for files that literally have and extension of * (#1777, #1779, #1807)
(#1777, #1779, #1807) The Finder Selection proxy will now correctly refer to symbolic links instead of the links targets (#1729, #1748)
Improved efficiency and reliability for the Current Selection proxy object (#1748)
The Automator actions (Get Quicksilver Selection and Send to Quicksilver) are updated and working (#915, #1786)
Prevent the plugin updater from going off screen (#1769, #1797)
Update AppleScript definitions to eliminate a warning (#1810)
Fixes for the number of items an action should support (#1815)
Fix service actions that work with files (#1805, #1822)
Small tweaks to text file handling and the Large Type action (#1804, #1808)
Partially fix the Type Text action in applications like XQuartz and MS Remote Desktop (#1792, #1827)
Fix the Get File URL action (#1844, #1845)
Clear the first pane when an action returns results (#1846, #1847)
Clear the first pane when a trigger creates a new search (#1846, #1847)
Fix a bug that erased history when a pane was cleared (#1847)
Prevent a crash when opening Trigger preferences (#1843, #1854)
Fix a crash when creating a new trigger (#1848, #1860)
Fix a crash during startup (#1860)
Perform keyboard switching on the main thread (#1865)
Remember how triggers are sorted across relaunches (#1867, #1868)
Make QSResourceManager thread safe to avoid a number of crashes (#1861, #1871)
thread safe to avoid a number of crashes (#1861, #1871) Fix for dragging multiple files from Quicksilver (#1866, #1874)
Fix for translucency in the results list under OS X 10.9 (#1838, #1877)
Revert some changes to the results list (#1930)
Bug fixes for sorting catalog entries (#1882)
Add symbolic links to applications to the catalog (#1507, #1882)
Don't add http:// to auto-detected hostnames when pasting or dragging (#1887, #1892)
to auto-detected hostnames when pasting or dragging (#1887, #1892) Fix triggers that get loaded before the catalog is fully populated (#1858, #1886)
AppleScripts that specify direct and indirect types now accept UTIs (#1916, #1917)
Open URL is no longer the default for files that are dragged or pasted into the interface (#1824)
Fix a crash with the Open at Login actions (#1893, #1894)
Fix a crash when determining default web browser (#1922)
Allow right-arrowing into /var, /tmp, and /etc (#1922)
,, and (#1922) Better handling of arrays returned from AppleScript (#1825, #1826)
Fixed missing preference icons under Yosemite (#1932, #1933)
Fix version comparison so 10.10 isn't treated like 10.1 (#1938, #1939)
Internal Improvements (#1583, #1584, #1585, #1586, #1665, #1625, #1648, #1638, #1695, #1714, #1763, #1765, #1740, #1771, #1775, #1794, #1828, #1839, #1770, #1784, #1922)
Changed
The way files are represented has changed. Check any triggers, Shelf, items, etc. that have references to files (#1740)
The third pane for Assign Abbreviation… defaults to the matched string (#1548)
A friendly error is shown when assigning an abbreviation fails (#1586)
Running Applications & Processes now includes those that aren't part of application bundles (#1559)
MacOS (Classic) applications are no longer indexed (#1559)
Cleaned up AppleScript support to eliminate a repeated log message (#1617)
Use integrated graphics hardware whenever possible (#1645, #1646)
Improve the format of the User-Agent String (#1699)
Applications added to trigger scopes are displayed more clearly (#1531, #1705)
Types specified in the include/exclude options are displayed more clearly (#1708)
The catalog items cached to disk will be recreated on application downgrades as well as upgrades (#1762)
The "Scanned" date for groups in the catalog will be taken from the group member with the most recent date (#1765)
Use display names in command descriptions (#1779)
The Finder Selection proxy object will only be cached for 0.5 seconds (#1748)
The Latest Download proxy object will only be cached for 0.5 seconds (#1748)
Default cache time for proxy objects reduced from 3 seconds to 2 (#1748)
Avoid manual rescans of folders that are kept up-to-date automatically (#1806)
Increase the timeout for plugin downloads to 30 seconds (#1856)
Use the CDN directly for plugin downloading/checking (#1857)
Use UTI instead of extension to get generic file icons (#1770)
Get more file information using NSURL instead of LSInfoRecord (#1770)
instead of (#1770) The appearance of the results list has been updated (#1877)
Development
Changes to fundamental types. Make sure you use the constants instead of hard-coding the values. Property lists (where the values must be hard-coded) are backward-compatible, but should eventually be updated. (#1740, #1828, #1832) QSFilePathType changed from "NSFilenamesPboardType" to "public.data" QSTextType changed from "NSStringPboardType" to "public.utf8-plain-text"
Make sure you use the constants instead of hard-coding the values. Property lists (where the values must be hard-coded) are backward-compatible, but should eventually be updated. (#1740, #1828, #1832) Convert to Automatic Reference Counting (#1433, #1539, #1541, #1627, #1683, #1710, #1739)
Add a script called stringstool to assist with localization (#1222)
to assist with localization (#1222) The functions in QSGCD have been renamed (#1598): runOnMainQueueSync → QSGCDMainSync runOnQueueSync → QSGCDQueueSync
Remove the architecture checks from qs-push-plugin (#1620)
(#1620) Add shared schemes to the project (#1693)
Track an updated version of VDKQueue (#1697)
Fix the unit test related to file types (#1698)
Reduce the number of pop-up notices when using the Debug configuration (#1709)
You can now specify directTypes for an action using UTIs (deprecating directFileTypes and the need to first specify NSFilenamsPboardType ) (#1638)
for an action using UTIs (deprecating and the need to first specify ) (#1638) New macro to get a localized string from the current bundle NSLocalizedStringForThisBundle() - useful for plugin localization (#1638)
- useful for plugin localization (#1638) The QSDownloads class is available to plug-ins (#1714)
class is available to plug-ins (#1714) New QSUTI functions (#1708): QSIsUTI() determines if a given string is an existing UTI or not QSTypeConformsTo() is an improved wrapper around UTTypeConformsTo() that is more reliable when dealing with unregistered types
functions (#1708): QSUTIForAnyTypeString() can now accept a file extension, type code, or UTI (#1740)
can now accept a file extension, type code, or UTI (#1740) It is no longer necessary to hard-code the "Product Name" in plug-ins. Just "delete" the bold setting and it should automatically take on the Target's name. Make sure the "Executable file" in Info.plist matches, or set its value to "${EXECUTABLE_NAME}". (#1738)
matches, or set its value to "${EXECUTABLE_NAME}". (#1738) New QSThreadSafeMutableDictionary class (#1794)
class (#1794) Deprecated the replaceString:with: method (#1821)
method (#1821) Allow plugins to define both minimum ( minHostVersion ) and maximum ( maxHostVersion ) supported build number for Quicksilver (#1835)
) and maximum ( ) supported build number for Quicksilver (#1835) New isExecutable method for file QSObjects (#1770)
method for file QSObjects (#1770) New canBeExecutedByScript method for file QSObjects (#1770)
method for file QSObjects (#1770) Add more file UTI unit tests (#1853)
Changes for compatibility with Xcode 6 (#1864)
Removed PkgInfo files to allow code signing under Xcode 6 (#1931)
files to allow code signing under Xcode 6 (#1931) Rebuild and signed Automator actions using Xcode 6
New method for running unit tests (#1939)
Changes - 1.1.3 (4007) 2013-11-05
Fixed
Fix a bug that prevents the results list from appearing on a second display (#1304, #1667)
Changes - 1.1.2 (4006) 2013-10-04
Changed
Correctly handle clipboard contents from 1Password 4 (#1632)
Changes - 1.1.1 (4005) 2013-10-04
Fixed
Remove the focus ring that appears in the main interface under 10.9 (#1579)
Development
Add a method to test for Mavericks (#1591)
Allow plug-ins to define which OS version is required and which is unsupported (#1629)
Changes - 1.1.0 (4004) 2013-09-06
This release requires 10.7+ and is 64-bit.
T-SHIRT COMPETITION
With the release of Quicksilver v1.1.0 we will be celebrating a t-shirt competition. See the blog post, and get designing!
New
New improved plugin updater (#1354)
Better support for retina displays (#1044, #1378)
New Internal Commands for "Show Guide" and "Show Plugins Preferences" (#1448, #1449)
Individual lines from multi-line text can be accessed with → or / (#1505)
Translations for Russian, Thai, and Indonesian as well as updates for many others (#1577)
Fixed
Fix a problem with missing metadata on URLs (#1422)
Prevent the third pane from constantly opening and closing while typing (#1467, #1468)
Fix searching for items with long names (#1042, #1475)
Select the correct trigger when navigating the list with arrow keys (#1473, #1475)
Allow the column that shows the type of trigger to be wide enough to show all the text (#1474, #1475)
Don't constantly load and unload icons that never change (#1488)
Better management and display of clipboard history items (#4, #1406)
Respect the "Run tasks and actions in the background" setting when running triggers (#1477, #1501)
Avoid delays when external drives are connected (#1431, #1490)
Always load "slower" icons in the background (#1369, #1438)
Faster loading of initial file icons (#1490, #1552, #1554)
Improved recognition of URLs and e-mail addresses (#1462, #1509, #1512, #1508, #1514)
Fix the appearance of some hi-res images (#1518)
Prevent duplicates in Recent Commands/command history (#1532)
Crashes and hangs (#1425, #1544, #1545)
Internal improvements and bug fixes (#1468, #1475, #1479, #1505, #1542)
Creating an alias in the same folder as the original won't overwrite it (#1547, #1549)
Creating a symbolic link in the same folder as the original results in a relative link (#1549)
Further attempts to prevent two Dock icons (#1152, #1408)
Fix a cosmetic issue when the Actions preferences are resized (#1560, #1561)
Entering text in text-entry mode won't replace previously entered text (#1424, #1504, #1525, #1564)
For triggers that expect text in the third pane, make sure the inerface starts in text-entry mode (#1587, #1553)
Prevent duplicate files in the catalog (#1566)
Changed
Quicksilver will not run in 32-bit mode (#1408)
Quicksilver will not run on Mac OS X 10.6 or older (#1408)
Set the default browse mode to "Filter Results" (#1456)
Improved appearance for the results list (#1446, #1565)
Improve left-arrow behavior (#1286, #1493): � |
about this phone.
One of the other unique features on the Fire Phone is “Dynamic Perspective.” Inside certain apps, this visual trick is applied to give onscreen objects a sense of depth and a 3-D look; you can “peer around” onscreen objects and peek around corners in some games without touching the screen. The Fire Phone’s menu icons, lock screens, maps, and a few games support these tricks. To do this, it uses four cameras on the front of the phone to track the position of your face relative to the screen. Tilting the phone has the same effect, and I found myself doing that instead of moving my head. It’s a gimmick now, but there is potential for future games to make better use of Dynamic Perspective’s sorcery. I wasn’t feeling the magic with the launch offerings, but some of the lock screens are pretty cool. You can turn all the effects off in the “Configure Low Motion Settings” menu.
There are gesture controls in the mix that are more useful, designed to make the phone easier to use with one hand without touching the screen. With a quick flip to the left or right, the phone displays context-sensitive menus depending on the app you’re in; the best use of it is in email, where a right-flip lists all the attachments in your inbox or shows a message thread. You can also tilt the phone slightly to surface information in some apps and the home screen: Remaining battery life, star ratings for apps and music, that sort of thing. In fact, the slight tilt is the only way to see the battery life indicator or the connection bars at all, which is odd.
Its 13-megapixel camera, which has an F2.0 aperture and optical stabilization, is among the best smartphone cameras I’ve used. It excels in low light, its HDR mode is excellent, and its lens captures shallow depth of field. There’s also a “Lenticular” setting that lets you shoot a sequence of photos, and the phone creates an animated GIF out of them. You also get free cloud storage and backup for all photos shot with the phone. Those are great features. Less great is the camera’s minimum focus distance; you’ll need to be at least half a foot away from your subject for the AF system to work. It’s better for landscape shots than it is for extreme close-ups, and the shutter isn’t as fast to fire as it is on the iPhone 5s.
Like the company’s tablets, the Fire Phone runs the Fire OS operating system, which is a heavily customized version of Android. That means it has its own app ecosystem that isn’t as robust as those of iOS or Android. You download everything from the Amazon Appstore, which means you’re missing some of the big titles in the Google Play Store: Google Maps, YouTube, Google Now, and Google Drive, for example. Still, there are 185,000 compatible apps available in Amazon’s own store, and Instagram and Uber were just added to the mix.
No Google Maps means you’ll have to download MapQuest or use the phone’s built-in Maps app, which is solid. It has spoken turn-by-turn directions and public-transportation information, although the latter requires a tap to see the trains or buses that stop at each station. Dynamic Perspective effects are also enabled in the Maps app, with 3D landmarks that appear to pop out of the screen.
The phone’s case is not impressive. It’s just a cheap, black rectangle with an Amazon logo on the back. True to its name, the Fire Phone gets hot. When the battery dipped below 30 percent or I used Firefly a lot, the back of the phone heated up. Also, its side buttons—volume controls and a button to launch the camera (or with a long press, Firefly)—are too close together and similarly shaped. Different textures or shapes for each one would have helped operate the phone by feel.
The included earbuds are more ambitious. They attach together magnetically at the butt end to prevent tangling, and the scheme actually works. The earphones themselves are similar to Apple’s “EarPods” in terms of design and build materials. They sound surprisingly good, but they’re also slick plastic and are less comfortable than rubber-tipped earbuds. The phone’s built-in speakers, on the other hand, were a bit of a disappointment. There are two on the bottom and one on the top, and they get very loud. But describing them as “tinny” is an understatement. The sound like something that comes out of a clock-radio.
AMAFŌN runs on a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU with 2GB RAM—not the latest components, but plenty fast and fluid. Its 4.7-inch, 1,280 x 720 screen also won’t win any spec battles, but its 315 pixels per inch display looks sharp. Its battery life will get you through the day, but that’s about it. With heavy use, it got me around 8 to 10 hours per charge. For some reason, it does not do Bluetooth 4.0 LE, which is something to keep in mind if you were planning to use it with a fitness tracker. It does support Bluetooth 3.0, however.
As with all Amazon hardware, the Fire Phone is a conduit. That’s not a surprise. What is surprising is the cost: Amazon normally keeps prices low to woo consumers into its ecosystem, and this phone is less of a technological statement than other phones that cost $200 with a two-year contract.
You buy iPhones for the ease-of-use, the app ecosystem, and the design language. You buy Android phones for the freedom of choice and the tinkerability. You’d buy this phone for the free Amazon Prime and a quick fix for shoppin’ fever. It’s not a bad phone, it just isn’t in the same league as a top-tier Android phone or iPhone. When you look past its purchasing powers and its fringe benefits—which can’t be ignored—what you have left is a relatively unexciting handset.
When you buy something using the retail links in our product reviews, we earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about how this works.Anthony Hopkins famously walked away from stage work decades ago — but he finally returns (sort of) in Starz’s “The Dresser,” which premieres May 30. The TV movie is an adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s 1980 play set in World War II-era London about an aging actor, Sir (Hopkins), who’s struggling to prepare for his upcoming performance of King Lear. His ever-loyal dresser, Norman, played by Ian McKellen, pushes and prods him, along with a supporting cast of A-list British thesps (Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire).
It’s ultimately a heartbreaking tale, says Hopkins. “Disappointment, loss, love that’s never fulfilled itself. And drudgery of just going on and on.” In the end, he calls his character “just a lonely, misguided old man.”
Why did you decide to take on this project?
I’d seen Freddie Jones and Tom Courtenay doing it on stage many years ago. Wonderful performances. And then I’d seen the film. Ronald Harwood told he’d wanted me to do it on stage. I hadn’t forgotten. But I didn’t want to do it on stage. By that time I’d packed my bags and left the British theater. So when they asked my agents “is it possible to do it as a film,” I said, let’s ask Colin Callender. A wonderful producer, one of the best, because he keeps everything quiet to himself, and then he comes up with the goods. And then Sir Ian came on board. And I thought, “that’s right. Now I know how to do this.”
Talk about working with Ian McKellen. What was that experience like?
I’d never worked with Ian. I’d seen him, I’d admired him. We were sociable, friendly. I’d gone backstage to see him in Iago. If we were at the National Theater together, we’d say hi. But we didn’t know each other. This was the best time of my life. He was a stunning actor to work with. Generous and kind. He did say to me, “I wasn’t sure how you were going to be. I thought maybe you’d be demanding.” It wasn’t at all gladiatorial (between us). If you admire someone, you have mutual respect for them. You get on with it. You don’t fight. You can’t function (like that). It becomes a real collaboration of respect, love. And that’s what we had on this. A wonderful time. All actors have ego. You have to have that. But Ian’s not that. He’s dedicated. He loves doing it. I love doing it. That’s all it takes.
How did you feel about the prospect of this being made for television?
I loved the idea. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work. Richard (Eyre, the director) said it was going to be for the BBC so we’ve got it on a contained set. We’re not taking it outside on location as they did on the film. We’re just keeping it on the boxed set of the dressing room. And then the theater. I don’t see much difference between TV and film. Television is faster. But this one, I was amazed that Richard had plotted it out so we could film it quickly. When I talked to him he said we have a shooting schedule that’s ridiculously short, maybe 21, 25 days. I thought “that’s impossible” but he did it. He prepared his camera, and he did it.
Does TV appeal to you more than film today?
I’m doing a show for HBO called “Westworld,” and I’m enjoying the HBO work. I’d like to do another one with the BBC. Ian said he hopes they do more of these classic plays. The audiences in London loved it, as did the critics. There’s not much going on, it’s all talk. But audiences like it. And American audiences will like it, too. You watch a film, and you don’t know who’s chasing who in a car scene. I can’t watch it. I try to watch these films and I’m so bored. Who cares? They have sex. Give me a break! I wasn’t born yesterday. And these car chases. God almighty! It’s all too much. It’s so boring. Everyone talks in a whisper now because it sounds so sexy. It doesn’t sound sexy. You can’t hear! I’m just an old grinch. You watch, and you can see the attitude of the actor. They think, “I am hot s–t.”
What can you reveal about “Westworld”?
I’ve enjoyed it. Do you remember “Jurassic Park,” the Richard Attenborough guy? I play that kind of man. He runs Westworld. What’s interesting about doing TV this way is I never know where the story is going. I play Dr. Ford who’s built Westworld and all these robots. He has total control over everything. But I’m not sure which way it’s going. I’m just a man obsessed. I don’t play evil parts.
What roles do you still want to take on?
I’d like to have a go at Lear again one day. I want to do it again one day on film. We’re talking about it right now with Colin Callender. When I was doing “The Dresser,” I thought, “God, I know how to play this part now. I know how to do it now.” I saw in myself, there’s my father and my grandfather. Because they were tough. Stubborn. That’s in me. And I know that’s in me as well. Life has been good to me. I’ve mellowed out a bit but I can appreciate it. And Lear sums up the total life and death experience. Impatience. Arrogance.
“The Dresser” premieres Monday, May 30 at 9 p.m. on Starz.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
Indian villagers have ordered a man to marry off his five-year-old daughter as punishment for the “sin” of accidentally killing a cow, officials have said.
The man was reportedly ordered to arrange a marriage for his daughter when summoned before a council of elders in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which deemed his killing of a calf to have cursed the community.
He allegedly threw a stone at the animal in his village to shoo it away, but the calf later died.
The man’s family was originally ordered to go on a pilgrimage and organise a feast for the entire village, but the council was not satisfied.
The council reportedly told him that since the calf’s death, eligible youths in the village had failed to find brides.
The bizarre incident, which happened in January this year, only came to light after the girl’s mother approached the district’s administration last week to complain of the marriage.
Additional District Magistrate Niyaz Ahmed Khan told the Indian Express: “The marriage would have taken place had the girl’s mother not approached us."
The family was reportedly ostracised by the community when the village found out about the incident, forcing the man to visit temples and take a bath in the sacred Ganges river.
The father then arranged a marriage to a minor boy about four months ago.
In Hinduism, the cow is believed to be a sacred animal.Four-year-old Dylan Hayes is alive and well today after falling out of third-story apartment window and landing on his feet. The boy, who is from Aurora, Colo., was standing on a couch talking to neighbors when the fall occurred.
Jessica Hayes, the boy's mother, was doing some cleaning around the house when her son took his tumble.
“I was terrified,” Jessica said. “I didn’t know what I was going to see when I got down to the ground floor.”
Dylan did two somersaults on his way down and landed on the rocks underneath the window unharmed and on his feet. He did go to the hospital after the fall as a precaution but was released shortly thereafter, according to CBS Local
“I didn’t know what I was going to go down to, like a child who was just lying there, or a child with blood coming out of him,” Jessica said. “I feel beyond lucky. There must have been something watching over Dylan that day,”
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A neighbor who was talking to Dylan wasn’t sure quite what had happened.
“I heard a crash, and the next thing I know I just saw a blur,” neighbor Pat Roush said.
Dylan’s grandmother was at the apartment as well. She was cleaning out the refrigerator when she saw her grandson fall out of the window. “There had to have been angels watching over him,” Kelli Hayes said.
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Dylan was certainly lucky not to be hurt in fall
“I fall … really, really far,” he said.
The incident happened a few weeks ago. Jessica has moved out of the apartment and is now looking for a place on the first floor. She hopes that her story can be a cautionary tale for other parents with young children.
“It’s gotten easier since it happened two weeks ago to not blame myself,” Jessica said. “I wish the danger would have crossed my mind, which it didn’t.”
Source: (CBS Local)
undefinedOf the two Wimbledon semifinals played in the year 1995, the second semifinal is remembered a little bit more than the first. In that one, two of tennis’ most charismatic figures with no love lost between them, Andre Agassi and Boris Becker, squared off. Agassi was thrashing Becker, up a set and two breaks, and seemed to be on his way to another Grand Slam final. However, Becker fought back and won the match in four tight sets, setting up what Agassi dubbed his ‘summer of revenge’, as he was hell-bent on exacting some revenge on the brash German. Revenge was eventually served in the semifinals of the US Open, as Agassi returned the favor in four tight sets, withstanding Becker’s game as well as Becker’s ‘tactics’ of blowing kisses to his then-girlfriend Brooke Shields. Then, Agassi was able to do what he hadn’t in London, look into the camera and say “I’m coming Pete!”
Speaking of Pete, this article is about a match of his, so we should probably start talking about that. Yes, rambling aside I’m going to take you through the other lesser remembered, but in my opinion higher quality, 1995 Wimbledon semifinal. This match was between two more subdued personalities than Andre and Boris, but in their own ways these two men were probably the two best grasscourt players in the world at the time, as they had squared off in the previous year’s Wimbledon final, with Sampras winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. They would also square off in the 1998 final, with Sampras winning a serve dominated contest in the fifth set. However, this match was easily the best of the three, as it was much closer than 1994 and of a far higher quality than 1998, but the result was no different as Sampras, despite being three inches shorter than his opponent, was once again the bigger man in the biggest moments, pulling out a hard fought 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win to reach another Wimbledon final, where he would give the aforementioned Boris a tennis lesson, free of charge, in the last three sets of the final to pull off his own three-peat at Wimbledon – picking up the slack from the other three-peat king of the 90s, who was busy swinging and missing in minor league baseball. In short, this semifinal match was arguably the best grass court match of the 1990s between the two most prominent figures of the decade on grass, and it really did summarize the dynamic of grass court play at the time. Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
First Set:
The match began with a routine hold by Sampras, to the surprise of no one. Ivanisevic then raced out to a 40-15 lead in the next game, but Sampras then hit a brilliant angled block return right past the Croat as he charged the net. After a few Ivanisevic misses, Sampras had a break point, but it was snuffed out by some sturdy serve and volley play, and Ivanisevic held after a couple of big serves. The next game continued this entertaining passage of play as on the first point, Sampras was forced to sky for two overheads and then finished off the game with an absolutely jaw dropping lunging forehand drop volley.
Two fairly routine holds followed, but again they featured some brilliant shot making, highlighted by a stunning running forehand pass down the line by Ivanisevic off a quality Sampras backhand volley.
The entertainment continued in the next game, and with Sampras serving at 15-15, Ivanisevic once again connected on a brilliant running pass off a Sampras forehand volley. Pistol, at full stretch, laid out and dove for the ball, but it was not enough as the ball died just before the net. Sampras took the next point with a big serve, but then Ivanisevic hit a tough return at Sampras’ feet to generate a break point, which Sampras saved with a major helping hand from the powers above as once again Ivanisevic hit a low return, but Sampras’ reply hit the tape and died on the opposite side, mere millimeters in front of the net. Sampras made good on this stroke of luck with two big serves to go ahead 4-3. The next game mirrored the previous one, as Sampras generated a break point at 30-40 in part due to a brilliant forehand lob. However, Sampras was then a little late on a running forehand pass, and after a few thundering serves and a quality stretch volley off of an excellent Sampras running pass attempt, Ivanisevic levelled the first set at 4 games apiece.
A tiebreak looked imminent, as one would expect from these two, and indeed the two traded pairs of relatively simple holds to send the set into a tiebreak. The breaker provided a fitting conclusion to the set. Sampras secured the first minibreak at 1-1 as he won an entertaining cat and mouse exchange with a rocket backhand pass. However, he would then miss a tough backhand half volley, and Ivanisevic would secure himself a minibreak with a forehand passing shot. In classic Ivanisevic fashion, the Croat followed with a double fault and an ace. Down 3-4, Sampras then fired two aces to surge ahead 5-4, and after a low angled return that Ivanisevic could not handle, Sampras had two set points. The first was saved by a spectacular angled backhand drop volley from Ivanisevic.
What would then follow was a point that had the Centre Court crowd buzzing. Sampras approached the net off a serve and went into another full dive to dig out a stinging Ivanisevic pass. This time, the ball made it just over the net, but Ivanisevic, showing off his underrated quickness, barely avoided crashing into the net to get to the ball and lob Sampras. The American then showed off his explosive speed as he got to his feet, despite stumbling in the process, and then sprinted diagonally to hit another lob over Ivanisevic. However, his lob landed just long, and the tiebreak was level at 6-6, after a point as entertaining as any you will see.
The two then traded missed returns, but at 7-7 Sampras connected on a key forehand return winner, and after a strong serve and volley play on the next point, he had the first set 7-6, winning the tiebreak nine points to seven. Despite no breaks of serve, these two men and their shotmaking ability and athleticism produced a spectacular display of grasscourt tennis.
Second Set:
This pattern continued to start the second set. The men traded holds until 5-4. While there were no truly spectacular points here, this was still grass court tennis at its apex. There were big serves, crisp volleys, and athletic passing shot attempts. It was clean play with very few mistakes and very few long rallies, and while some may view this as boring, this reactionary tennis style featuring quick strike athleticism and lightness of foot in abundant display is a treat for those like me who still appreciate this now unfortunately archaic version of the sport. Anyways, nostalgic reminiscing aside, in this set Goran Ivanisevic showed why he was such a terror to play against on grass. Possessing perhaps the most untouchable first serve tennis had ever seen before a certain 6’11” countryman named Ivo Karlovic came along, Ivanisevic was simply unbreakable when he was serving as he was in this set. It didn’t matter how good a returner you were, Ivanisevic would simply fire missile after missile with that fearsome left-handed delivery, and the only recourse was to wait him out, as Andre Agassi had done three years earlier to win his maiden Grand Slam title. However, what separated Ivanisevic from the likes of Karlovic was his athleticism. He was capable of connecting on returns and passes on the run, and when he did a set could be over in a blink of an eye. This is exactly what happened here. At 4-5, with Sampras serving, Ivanisevic bludgeoned two returns past Sampras to help him get to set point, and although Sampras saved one with a big serve, Ivanisevic won the next one, finishing a back and forth exchange with a rocket right at Sampras’ feet that the Pistol could not handle. Ivanisevic had put forth a vintage display of classic grass court tennis with gargantuan serving and timely returning to win the second set 6-4, and it was game on.
Outgunning the Pistol himself:
Third Set:
For as much as I extol the virtues of Goran Ivanisevic, there is a reason it took him until his fourteenth attempt to win Wimbledon, despite his ready-made game for fast grass. One of course was Pete Sampras, but possibly an even bigger reason was his inconsistency and lack of a killer instinct to truly put his foot on the throat of the opponent. This tragic flaw was on full display in the third set. After an economical second set win, instead of putting pressure on his opponent, Ivanisevic handed Sampras a break in the very first game of the third set with a double fault and several silly mistakes at the net. Pete Sampras, on the other hand, was a man who defined the term “killer instinct”. Give him any kind of opening and he would make you pay. True to form, Sampras immediately consolidated the break with two aces and a pair of scintillating winners at net, the first an angled backhand drop volley, and the second a deft forehand half volley that grazed the sideline. Ivanisevic then responded with some big serves, and after an entertaining exchange on game point where Sampras sprinted forward to hit an angled return off a drop volley only for Ivanisevic to cut off his reply into the open court, Ivanisevic got on the board in the third set.
Ivanisevic would mount considerable resistance in the next game as a stinging return got him to break point, which Sampras saved. Another rocket of a return, this time off the backhand, brought Ivanisevic another break point, but he then barely sent a backhand pass wide. Ivanisevic generated yet another break point with another backhand return winner, but Sampras once again kept his cool and put away a forehand ground stroke winner at net. Ivanisevic threw his racket into the turf in disgust, surely realizing that in order to beat an opponent who consistently raised his game in the biggest moments and would not give him an inch, he had to be perfect. This disgust was well warranted, as an ace whistled past Ivanisevic and Sampras then aired for a slam dunk overhead to survive a tumultuous game and lead 3-1 in the third set. The two then traded holds, both punctuated by delicate volleys on game point. With Sampras serving at 4-2, Ivanisevic slapped a forehand return winner to get to deuce, but once again Sampras gave him no openings, and two first serves gave the American a 5-3 lead. The next game mirrored the first one of the set, as several loose errors by Ivanisevic got Sampras to set point, which he took full advantage of with an angled return and a backhand pass to seal the third set 6-3. It was a set that was of lower quality than the first two but perfectly encapsulated the dynamic between these warriors. Ivanisevic had all the weapons but inexplicably made mental mistakes, while Sampras continually came up with calculated, yet aggressive, plays in pressure spots that only he could pull off with consistency. This trait made Sampras a grass court genius without question, and he now led this match two sets to one. However, on grass against a loose cannon like Ivanisevic, it is difficult to truly feel safe.
Fourth Set:
Sampras and Ivanisevic traded holds to start the fourth, punctuated by an awe inspiring flying Sampras slam dunk to help close the third game.
Pistol Pete takes flight:
At a time when ‘Air Jordan’ had just returned from his hiatus and was shaking off rust, preparing to embark on his second three-peat, ‘Air Sampras’ showed that he still had plenty of tricks in the bag too. The set continued onward with brutally efficient serving. However, due to the clean serving and crisp net play interspersed with moments of brilliance such as an Ivanisevic backhand lob, the play was still very entertaining. At 3-3, Ivanisevic took it up a notch. He traded in his two-hander for a rare one-handed backhand to draw an error from Sampras at net. He then followed with two forehand rockets past Sampras at net to get to break point. Another strong backhand return had Sampras reaching for a volley, and the American sent it long, giving Ivanisevic an impressive break of serve. The next game continued this high quality and terse passage of play. Sampras opened with a laser-like backhand pass down the line, but Ivanisevic followed with a volley winner and an ace. The Croat then connected on a tremendous reaching backhand volley off an angled return. Sampras had a look on a running forehand pass, but it hit the tape. At 40-15, Ivanisevic dumped an easy volley in the net, but held his nerve and held to 5-3 with a huge first serve. Sampras held in the next game with some lovely shot-making, including a tough overhead and an angled backhand drop volley off another Ivanisevic one handed backhand pass attempt. However, he was merely delaying the inevitable. Unreturnable serve, ace, unreturnable serve, monster second serve – game and fourth set Ivanisevic. In almost identical fashion to the second, Ivanisevic had captured the fourth set 6-4, and one set remained to determine this classic contest.
Fifth Set:
The fifth set opened with an entertaining game that Sampras won with some big serves and delicate volleys. The next game defined the match. A double fault gave Sampras footing in the game, and then he blasted a backhand passing shot past Ivanisevic. Two big serves followed, but then Ivanisevic drew Sampras in with a drop volley, and Sampras hit a lunging forehand volley winner at full stretch past Ivanisevic to give himself a break point. On break point, Ivanisevic had a makeable forehand volley but sent it wide, albeit not by much. Sampras had hit some excellent shots there, but once again a double fault and a missed forehand volley were silly mistakes from Ivanisevic at a crucial time. Perhaps he could have gotten away with them against lesser players, but Sampras gave you no margin of error, no room to breathe – because you knew that any mistake would be punished and taken advantage of to the fullest extent.
Ivanisevic hit a forehand return winner in the next game, but Sampras once again kept his cool in a big moment and held after a series of big serves and drop volleys. It was now 3-0, and the result seemed inevitable due to Sampras’ ability to cruise on serve when he had a lead. Again, not much separated these two on grass, but similar to the previous year’s final when Sampras won a few key points to pull out the first two sets in tiebreaks, Ivanisevic could not quite come up with the goods in the biggest moments, while Sampras kept his cool and raised his game like no other when he needed it most. Though some may accuse Ivanisevic of being a choker, no one could question his fighting spirit, and indeed even though he had, by some definition, “choked”, he kept battling by diving for volleys and raining down serves. However, Sampras had the finish line in sight and the lead in hand, a deadly combination, and he held without issue for 4-1. Despite a brilliant Sampras forehand lob in the next game, Ivanisevic held with a series of strong serves and a backhand volley winner. Ivanisevic was not going away, but Sampras was simply too cool and confident. An ace, two unreturnable serves and a volley winner later, and Sampras held for 5-2.
Ivanisevic stayed in the match with a hold to 15, capped off by his 36th ace. It would be his last, and Ivanisevic seemed to know that as a hint of resignation spread across his face. He knew better than anyone how cold-blooded Sampras was when the finish line was in sight, and the bagel he suffered in last year’s final after two tightly contested sets was a painful reminder. Although Ivanisevic won the first point of the next game with a strong return, a service winner and two aces promptly followed, and Sampras had finally arrived at victory’s doorstep. However, this match had a little more magic left as on the first match point, Ivanisevic’s return clipped the net and floated over.
Not the most heroic way to save a match point and Sampras, wasting no time, stepped to the line on the second match point and thundered a first serve right to the Ivanisevic forehand as if to say “try that again”. He tried and he failed, and Sampras had won his 20th consecutive match at the All-England Club. Two days later, he would win his 21st and give us this indelible image.
The last man to beat him? Goran Ivanisevic, but 1992 seemed like an eon ago, given what had happened when these two met in 1994 and on this day. Ivanisevic had hung in the match tenaciously today, unlike in 1994, but once again on the big points there was no questioning who was the boss. It went to five sets, but Ivanisevic never really had a chance, as he was always behind, and the break in the first game of the fifth sealed the deal. The extremely sloppy game by Ivanisevic to begin the third set was also a difference maker. This match, in quintessential grass court fashion, really did come down to two games and a couple of points in the first set tiebreak. It was a match that was of very high quality and featured well-rounded play and shotmaking behind extremely strong serving (64% with 36 aces for Goran, 66% with 20 aces for Pistol, very rare to see a match with that many aces that had percentages that high in that era), something which was not the case in their much-maligned, thoroughly serve- dominated 1998 match. However a melodramatic finish, largely attributable to how good Sampras was in pressure situations, and the lack of truly epic rallies after the first set delineates this match to the honorable mention section of the annals of great grass court matches, behind the classics that we’ll be covering throughout this week.
Much of this match was a clinic in how to play grass court tennis, but what separated the two was that Sampras knew not only how to play on grass, but also how to win on the surface. Grass court tennis before the advent of polyester strings and slowed courts was really all about winning a few key points, and the ability to consistently bring your best to these select points in big matches. No one was better at recognizing these moments and elevating his game to seize them than Pete Sampras. However, this was an area in which Ivanisevic definitely fell short, which provides part of the explanation as to why Sampras finished with six more Wimbledons. Indeed, this contrast was on full display in this match and their final three years later. Both matches truly could have gone either way, but Ivanisevic fell short in the big moments with mental mistakes while Sampras held his nerve. Switch the outcomes of those matches, or the mentality of these two competitors, and it is fully possible that Ivanisevic sits today with three Wimbledon titles and Sampras with five.
Tennis truly is a sport played on the margins, and nothing embodies that more than grass court tennis in the 1990s – and perhaps nothing embodied grass court tennis during that decade more than this match between the two most consistent grass performers of the time. Indeed, Sampras won just one more point than Ivanisevic, 146 to 145, but at the end it felt like a comfortable victory in the fifth for Sampras, a direct reflection of how these two men played on the biggest points. Sampras would survive this topsy-turvy encounter and would go on to win his third consecutive Wimbledon. For Ivanisevic, it would be six long years before he would finally realize the ability that Sampras had perfected, and parlay that into surviving several tight matches to finally taste Wimbledon glory as a wild card in what was surely one of the most memorable and emotional runs of all time. Tennis has a way, doesn’t it?A London heritage activist vows to “go medieval on them” if city council allows the demolition of a core property linked to the city’s black history, the Underground Railroad and the American Civil War.
“This is the birthplace of the Civil War and the last stop on the Underground Railroad,” an agitated Joe O’Neil said Thursday.
“This should be an international historic site,” he said of the modest bungalow on Thames St. that Aboutown Transportation wants to level.
The company has applied for a demolition permit for 275 Thames St. and two adjoining properties, the London advisory committee on heritage learned this week.
Jim Donnelly, owner of Aboutown, says the buildings are too far gone to save and were uninhabitable when he bought them for storage and parking.
“It’s time to close a chapter,” said Donnelly, who says he would replace them with parking for his nearby business.
Donnelly said he’d be willing to have a marker or cairn erected on the site.
But O’Neil, a former chairperson of the heritagse body, sees red in any bid to take down the modest frame bungalow that has such a rich history.
Built as a house of worship in 1848 by American slaves who fled to Canada along the famous Underground Railroad, 275 Thames was the original African Methodist Episcopal Church. It played a key role in the lives of blacks living in “The Hollow,” an area of swamp land and sulphur gases.
With the arrival of the railway in the early 1850s, the land alongside it there rose in value dramatically and the community became the richest black community in Canada.
It was to this community that famed U.S. slavery abolitionist John Brown came in 1858 while raising money for his campaign as he sought support for his cause.
O’Neil said the meeting at the church, renamed the British Methodist Episcopal Church in 1856, provided money Brown used to launch his raid on the armoury at Harpers Ferry, Va., in late 1859, a move generally seen as the “spark” that ignited the Civil War.
The one-time chapel is among the top candidates for heritage designation in the city and O’Neil said he values it even more than Eldon House, home of one of London’s first settlers.
In 1986, he notes, London Public Library placed a plaque on 275 Thames noting it historical significance but the marker has disappeared.
When confronted with the demolition request from Aboutown representative Dawn Erskine, a former city councillor, the heritage group referred it for study by its stewardship group. It is expected the matter won’t reach |
lot of motion (notably with DeSean Jackson) and crossing routes in the middle of the field. This made it difficult for the Cowboys’ defenders as they had to fight through a lot of bodies to stay in tight coverage, creating opportunities in the passing game.
An example of this came on the Eagles first drive as Nick Foles completed a 34 yard pass to running back Chris Polk out of the backfield. On this play, Desean Jackson is going to come across the field in motion before the snap, clearing out the right side of the field. Wide receiver Jason Avant runs a slant route right at Dallas linebacker Devonte Holloman who is covering Polk on this play. This forces Holloman to have to run around his own defender to try to get to Polk, is covering Polk on this play, but he has to run around his own defender, giving Nick Foles all the space he needs in order to hit Polk in stride on this wheel route. This drive eventually lead to an field goal for the Eagles to take a 3-0 lead.
On the Eagles’ next drive, runningback LeSean McCoy gashed the Cowboys’ defense for a 20 yard gain (another common theme of the night). On this play, the Eagles’ offensive line does a great job of sealing off their blocks to create a clean hole for McCoy to run through. But there was another factor that lead to the success of this run. Jason Avant is going to run across the field behind the line to seal off the weakside of the line from any potential blitzers. As you’ll see in the clip below, Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick follows Avant across the field, completely taking himself out of the play. Safety Jeff Heath makes a great open field tackle on LeSean McCoy, keeping this play to a 20 yard gain instead of a potential 55 yard touchdown.
A few plays later, the Eagles capped off this drive with a 3 yard touchdown pass to LeSean McCoy. Once again, the Eagles send DeSean Jackson in motion, causing confusion and hesitation in the Dallas defense. On this play, Nick Foles is going to fake a handoff to Jackson to the left, meanwhile LeSean McCoy goes out for a pass to the right. The play action fake causes defensive end/linebacker Kyle Wilber (circled in yellow) to take his initial steps towards the center of the field, leaving McCoy wide open for the easy touchdown.
A few drives later, the Cowboys got their first points of the game, as Kyle Orton connected with tight end Gavin Escobar on a 17 yard touchdown pass. The Eagles send 6 rushers on this play, leaving Escobar completely uncovered. Escobar then shows off his athleticism as the 6’6 tight end dives over safety Nate Allen to get into the endzone.
Not to be outdone, the Eagles answer back on a blown coverage touchdown of their own as Nick Foles connects with tight end Brent Celek for a 14 yard touchdown. Similar to the play above, no one covers Celek, leaving him wide open for an easy touchdown catch.
Jason Witten has been a thorn in the Eagles’ side for years, and on the ensuing drive the Cowboys were able to get him involved as he caught 3 passes for 47 yards to set the Cowboys up to kick a field goal as the 2nd quarter expired. One of those catches was the 11 yard catch shown below. Watch Witten go to work on Eagles’ linebacker Mychal Kendricks on this play. Kendricks initially has great coverage on as Witten runs across the field, but then Witten abruptly stops and changes direction, creating separation from Kendricks to make a play.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys started to bring pressure on quarterback Nick Foles, sacking him twice on his first 5 passing attempts, including their opening play of the half shown below. On this play, linebacker Devonte Holloman blitzes and comes in untouched to get the sack on Nick Foles. LeSean McCoy would have been the only one to have a chance to block Holloman, but he was forced to block DeMarcus Ware who had gotten past Jason Peters on an inside move.
On the ensuing drive for the Cowboys, once again it was Jason Witten going 1 on 1 against Mychal Kendricks, and once again it was Witten winning the battle. This time, he’s able to get inside position on a slant route as he takes this pass 19 yards on a drive which eventually lead to another field goal for the Cowboys.
On the next drive for the Eagles, once again the Cowboys were able to sack Nick Foles, this time forcing and recovering a fumble. This play starts off with George Selvie beating right tackle Lane Johnson with an inside move. Nick Foles is able to sidestep Selvie, reset his feet, and just as he’s about to uncork a pass downfield, Jason Hatcher hits him, forcing a fumble.
With the Eagles leading 17-16 early in the 4th quarter, and with the Cowboys defensive line getting good pressure on Nick Foles, they decided to put their offense on the back of their running game, as they ran it 9 times out of their 11 play touchdown drive to take a 24-16 lead. The drive was capped off with a 6 yard touchdown run by Bryce Brown. The first thing to note about this play is that the Eagles are in an unbalanced line, with Lane Johnson lined up at left tackle, Jason Peters at tight end on the left side of the line, and tight end Brent Celek playing right tackle. The second thing to note on this play is the excellent job of blocking by tight end James Casey, who you will see come into the picture midway through the play. It looks like linebacker Devonte Holloman might have a chance at preventing Brown from turning the corner, but look at how Casey blocks Kyle Wilber into Holloman, knocking him out of the play. When 1 guy is able to take 2 defenders out of a run play, you can bet that it’s going to have success.
Now trailing by 8 points, once again the Cowboys go back to Jason Witten as he hauls in a 34 yard catch from Kyle Orton on a post route. Kendricks actually has pretty good coverage on this play, but a perfect pass almost always beats perfect coverage, and Orton is able to put this ball in a spot where only Witten can get to it.
A few plays later, the Eagles had a chance to ice the game as Dallas was faced with a 4th and 9 (which should have been a 4th and 4 but a playclock error caused the refs to hit Dallas with a 5 yard delay of game penalty which shouldn’t have happened). The Eagles send the house on this one, leaving the Cowboys’ receivers all in single coverage, which included leaving Patrick Chung 1 on 1 with Dez Bryant, advantage Cowboys. Orton hits Bryant on a slant route, who makes the catch and breaks the attempted tackle by Chung and scampers in for a 32 yard touchdown.
A failed 2-point conversion and a defensive stop by the Cowboys on the Eagles ensuing drive left Dallas with the ball at their own 32 yard line, trailing by 2 points, with 1:49 left in the game. And then next came a moment that Dallas fans are all too familiar with recently, a heart breaking game-ending interception. On this play, the Eagles finally decide to take Jason Witten out of the equation as they double team him with Patrick Chung and Mychal Kendricks. Orton decides to go to Miles Austin on a slant route, but the ball is thrown a little behind, and cornerback Brandon Boykin does an excellent job of jumping this route to pick off the pass and seal the win, and the NFC East division title. for the Eagles.
That’s it for this week’s All-22 Film Review. Make sure to join me next week as I break down one of the wildcard playoff games from this weekend.On March 3rd, Donald Trump made a series of tweets. Three were about a wiretap at Trump Tower. Two, however, were about Jeff Sessions meeting the Russian ambassador. Those tweets got lost in the resulting storm.
Over the past week, Devin Nunes obstructed justice on TV, both announcing that one White House staffer was under investigation and that “a transition team member” was recorded in a FISA intercept.
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As we exclusively reported, that staffer was almost certainly Boris Epshteyn, named by Comey in his first failed FISA application in June.
Also as we exclusively reported, Michael Ellis is suspected of having leaked this material to Nunes.
But what would be so bad that it would cause Nunes to rush to the White House to illegally receive top-secret FISA evidence?
I believe that Jared Kushner is on tape talking to a Russian spy. Worse, I believe that as part of entirely legal and admissible FISA evidence, Donald Trump is also on tape talking to a Russian spy about money laundering.
Here is my reasoning. First,the facts. I reported that two Russian banks, SVB Bank and Alfa Bank, were the subjects, the named targets, of the FISA warrant looking at Russian money being laundered into the Trump campaign. This was a world exclusive on November 7th.
Permission was granted for the FBI to look at intercepts that involved US persons as they related to this campaign / money laundering.
Boris Epshteyn was named in an earlier version of this case to the court, and the warrant was then denied. But it is not a different case; rather, minimization was applied by the FBI before the warrant was granted.
Those are the facts of the matter on the warrant. It is also factually true that Jeff Sessions met with Kislyak, a spy recruiter, and perjured himself over it. It is further factually true that Jared Kushner snuck Kislyak into Trump Tower. Lastly, it is factually true that Jared Kushner met Gorkov, an FSB spy, at the request of Kislyak,
Second, informed speculation.
I believe that on March 3rd, Michael Ellis, newly placed in the White House, gave Donald Trump some very bad news (illegally). First he told him that Kislayak’s phone calls had been intercepted and his meetings taped – as is normal. Hence Jeff Sessions’ conversations with the spy-master were on tape. Worse, Ellis told Trump, members of Donald Trump’s own family had been taped talking to that same Russian ambassador. Lastly, he, Donald Trump, was also recorded – his phone was recorded – in Trump Tower – talking to Kislyak.
Trump would have blustered and demanded to know how this was legal. Ellis would have told him about the FISA warrant. My world exclusive stated this was granted in October, hence Trump’s squeals that “Obama” had him “tapped” “right before the victory”.
I believe that here Trump referred to the granting of the warrant as described by Ellis. Ellis may have said, for example, that the Justice Department had to authorize the application to FISC. Trump garbled this because he is galactically stupid.
I believe that the references to Trump Tower are because Jared Kushner’s meeting with Gorkov and Kislyak was indeed taped because SVB Bank is a direct target of the warrant. Epshteyn led an ‘invest in Moscow’ trip in 2014, Gorkov’s bank and SVB had signed a memo to “invest in US startups”. The latter bit is mentioned in the Steele Dossier.
As a named target, SVB Bank is legitimate – and US persons caught up in this are legitimate. Jared talking to Gorkov was fair game.
Kushner had snuck the Russian ambassador secretly into – Trump Tower. And Trump said “MY phones were tapped.” That means – I believe – that legal FISA intercepts involve not only Jared Kushner talking to Russian spies but also, because Trump called in to this secret meeting or meetings within Trump Tower, Donald J. Trump.
Michael Ellis probably called Nunes in with urgency because he saw Trump and Kushner named in intercepts. This explains why the equally galactically stupid and treacherous Nunes said that he read top secret FISA evidence ‘not to do with Russia’ and ‘Russia was never mentioned’. When you are looking at money-laundering and RICO offenses – as I report the FISA warrant was – you do not need to NAME Russia. You discuss dates, amounts of money and deals.
But (at the risk of repeating myself) this was indeed a FISA warrant, and was both a national security and criminal case. It was, as I reported in November, not about common or garden oligarch corruption or the Russian mob – it was about Russian money being funneled into the Trump campaign, as Paul Wood of the BBC makes clear in his exclusive report of January 12th.
When Ellis saw the actual intercepts involving Trump and Kushner, I postulate, he panicked and rang Nunes for a quiet midnight stroll in the White House grounds – because Trump needed some way to attack the legal and incidental evidence collected under FISA, and “fruit of the poisoned tree” is, quite literally, all these people have left.
But the tree is not poisoned, and the fruit is legally top notch.
How do you like them apples, Mr. Putin?A group called Urban Fox Hunters has posted a video on the internet that appears to show a fox being clubbed to death in an east London park.
The video, which the group claims was shot in Victoria Park, appears to show the fox being drugged and chased before it is beaten with a cricket bat.
The police said they had received a number of complaints about the video.
The group said it was "performing a public service" to "keep our streets safe."
The Metropolitan Police's wildlife crime group said it had received a number of complaints which were being looked into by the local Tower Hamlets force.
Urban Fox Hunters claims on its blog to be a group of local residents who "hate foxes" and "are now doing something about it".
URBAN FOXES In Britain, foxes were first found in cities such as London and Bristol during the 1940s
Estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) may be living in the London area alone
Foxes principally come into gardens for food and shelter - householders are advised to make sure that foxes get neither on their properties
One concern about foxes is the possibility of the spread of disease to humans and pets
Another concern is'mange', caused by mites, which can live on foxes
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is asking people to report sightings of urban deer and foxes in the first nationwide survey to look at where animals are invading gardens How common are fox attacks?
Its video has been removed from YouTube but is still available on the group's blog.
Writing on the blog, one member, who calls himself Lone Horseman, claimed they drugged the foxes before killing them.
He added: "We are performing a public service, which is a bit unpleasant, but it has to be done to keep our streets safe.
"I have kids and I don't want them being bitten by a diseased vermin scum, what's wrong with that?"
The RSPCA said it was investigating the video to try to determine if it was genuine.
A spokesman for animal welfare group League Against Cruel Sports said: "If the video's true then we're horrified people are behaving in this way."
"There has been over-reaction to the apparent fox attacks because they're so uncommon.
"The public in Tower Hamlets are more at risk from the idiots who wielded cricket bats and produced this than foxes."
Two baby twins were attacked by a fox at their home in Hackney, east London, on 5 June.
Last month, their mother Pauline Koupparis said nine-month-old Isabella and Lola were recovering "really well" and had returned home from hospital.Luis Buñuel, filmmaker, surrealist, iconoclast, moralist, and revolutionary, thought a lot about death. “Sometimes,” he wrote in 1982, a year before he died at 83, “I think the quicker the better—like the death of my friend Max Aub, who died all of a sudden during a card game. But most of the time I prefer a slower death, one that’s expected, that will let me revisit my life for a last goodbye.”
How do you want to die? You must think about it.
Buñuel was clear about how he didn’t want to die. “I’m not afraid of death. I’m afraid of dying alone in a hotel room, with my bags open and a shooting script on the night table. I must know whose fingers will close my eyes.”
“An even more horrible death,” he wrote, “is one that’s kept at bay by the miracles of modern medicine, a death that never ends. In the name of Hippocrates, doctors have invented the most exquisite form of torture ever known to man: survival.”
Buñuel saw how Franco died and found himself pitying a man he hated. Franco’s death in 1975 still stands for the most horrible medical death, a death that only doctors could devise. Organ after organ failed, and the doctors tried to compensate. As a medical student a year before graduation, I watched in horror. I think of the death as an incompetent carpenter trying to get a table level, sawing something of one leg, then the next, and eventually ending with the table on the floor.
Buñuel died of pancreatic cancer in Mexico City in 1983. He spent his last week discussing theology with a Jesuit brother.
His long time friend and collaborator, Jean-Claude Carrière, wrote: “Luis waited for death for a long time, like a good Spaniard, and when he died he was ready. His relationship with death was like that one has with a woman. He felt the love, hate, tenderness, ironical detachment of a long relationship, and he didn’t want to miss the last encounter, the moment of union. ‘I hope I will die alive,’ he told me. At the end it was as he had wished. His last words were ‘I’m dying’.”
Will you be ready? Will I be ready?
There are, as I endlessly repeat, essentially four ways to die: sudden death; the long, slow death of dementia; the up and down death of organ failure, where it’s hard to identify the final going down, tempting doctors to go on treating too long; and death from cancer, where you may bang along for a long time but go down usually in weeks. Suicide, assisted or otherwise, is a fifth, but I’m leaving that on one side for now.
I often ask audiences how they want to die, and most people chose sudden death. “That may be OK for you,” I say, “but it may be very tough on those around you, particularly if you leave an important relationship wounded and unhealed. If you want to die suddenly, live every day as your last, making sure that all important relationships are in good shape, your affairs are in order, and instructions for your funeral neatly typed and in a top draw—or perhaps better on Facebook.”
The long, slow death from dementia may be the most awful as you are slowly erased, but then again when death comes it may be just a light kiss.
Death from organ failure—respiratory, cardiac, or kidney—will have you far too much in hospital and in the hands of doctors.
So death from cancer is the best, the closest to the death that Buñuel wanted and had. You can say goodbye, reflect on your life, leave last messages, perhaps visit special places for a last time, listen to favourite pieces of music, read loved poems, and prepare, according to your beliefs, to meet your maker or enjoy eternal oblivion.
This is, I recognise, a romantic view of dying, but it is achievable with love, morphine, and whisky. But stay away from overambitious oncologists, and let’s stop wasting billions trying to cure cancer, potentially leaving us to die a much more horrible death.
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004. He is now chair of the board of trustees of icddr,b [formerly International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh], and chair of the board of Patients Know Best. He is also a trustee of C3 Collaborating for Health.
Competing interest: RS will die, perhaps soon: he’s 62.
Note from The BMJ’s digital editor: “All comments to blogs published by The BMJ are pre-moderated. They are only published if they meet the same terms and conditions as article responses, including around patient consent.TL;DR, Rewards suck, and cannot improve, because of the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard must be broken.
Heart of Thorns has finally released, after months of anticipation and a seeming promise to provide increased rewards across multiple sections of the game, while demanding more skill from the player base to acquire those rewards.
Only, rewards are less than they were before release. Far less. Amidst all the changes a consistent trend is emerging: loot still sucks.
This begs the question “why?” Why, after an expansion marketed, pitched, and executed (at least on the skill side) as “building a foundation for endgame progression,” does loot that rewards beating difficult content functionally not exist?
It all chains back to gold, and its lockstep relationship with gems and the money that buys them.
Unrewarding Rewards
Several forms of content in Heart of Thorns have been intentionally re-tuned to retain scarcity and the resulting value (read: cost) of particular items. Ultimately, it all boils down to nerfs to the rate of gained value*. Of the types I’ve seen, there are three ways that rewards have been reduced in actual value:
Direct Nerfs (e.g., dungeons) Convoluted RNG-esque mechanisms (e.g., fractals) Lack reward for success in the first place (e.g., new open world events)
*Getting all economic here, but the gist is that while gold is the main currency, items of value that a player acquires (T5/T6 crafting materials, rares, ectos, etc.) can be turned into gold by using the Trading Post. It’s all ultimately gold, and it’s all much less valuable than it was.
However, there has been a good case of reward utilized several times in the expansion: account binding the reward. Let’s go over each in turn.
Dungeons
ArenaNet was upfront about this: dungeon gold and experience, the most liquid forms of reward in dungeons (and what made them popular with a large section of the player base) was getting nerfed. Per the wiki, it’s an average 50% nerf those rewards.
It can be argued that dungeons were extremely easy for the gold reward they provided, and to an extent that was true. Which wouldn’t be that big a deal to the player base, economically speaking, were this statement not in the same paragraph announcing the nerf:
The shift in rewards is a direct representation of our focus on raids and fractals and our commitment to make them the best they can be. – John Smith
Fractals
Fractals are viewed “as our infinitely expandable, endgame version of 5-man dungeon content” by the developers. Coupled with the quote above, there is a reasonable expectation that Fractals should have gained a lot of the value that dungeons deliberately lost, with the best rewards gated around increasing difficulty.
But they didn’t. They got worse. Ascended gear drops of all flavors are massively down, and the gold reward, such that it is, all but requires a convoluted approach. And due to 10-level tiers being replaced by 3 expanding tiers of casual, core, and master, the “increasing difficulty” expectation is completely gone.
The Open World
The new zones of Heart of Thorns are maps with purpose and constant activity. While interlocked metas occur, the skill required to accomplish most events has drastically increased over the majority of original Tyria.
Just like Fractals, this builds the expectation that rewards will match the skill required. An expectation that isn’t reflected in the rewards. Instead of genuinely rare loot to align with the difficulty of organization and execution, it’s a slightly higher number of bags that may or may not provide anything noteworthy.
Of special note, if poorly represented*, is the generosity of the account bound rewards in Heart of Thorns. Success at the difficult events carries with it a proper reward. It is faster, and more worthwhile, to attempt and succeed at the hard parts than to repeat the easy things over and over. But only for account bound rewards.
*Poorly in that the number of ley line crystals awarded does not change between success and failure (Or at least didn’t when I read this post). From a crystal standpoint, it’s more intelligent to deliberately fail the event and start the meta over again then to spend a lot of time possibly failing.
Account-Bound Collections
The common thread of most of these poor rewards is their connection to the economy. Bags or not, the vast majority of bag contents dumps into the economy in the form of materials, or valuable gear.
This thread breaks down, in a positive way, the instant rewards are account bound. Take the specialization collections, where a bunch of account-bound things (and a couple of unbound) are combined to give the achieving player a cool weapon skin of the type the elite specialization unlocks*.
*This is also generally true of the legendary backpack track, the merchant rewards from mastery tracks, and other account-bound-on-acquire elements littering the expansion.
With these, a player has set in stone, but relatively simple guideposts. Acquire some items by completing specific content that’s related to the end item, and it’s yours. Minimal grind*, specified reward, and no need (nay, the inability) to jump onto the Trading Post and buy all the elements for completion.
*Can’t discount the possibility of extremely bad RNG.
Though I can’t reference any specific feedback, this is an approach much more in line with expected progression and reward systems. Put in the time to check off a few items that individually don’t take that long, and a good reward comes out the other side.
A Look Back
My first post as the Tough Love Critic was The Gold Standard. In it, I noted the problem of having total gold equivalency. In other words, balancing rewards and loot around gold’s ability to functionally buy everything.
This gold standard makes the most efficient farm the driver of the overall economy. If a player does not use the most efficient farm, or put in more time than those who do use it, they lose pace getting to the reward they want.
At the time, I said that account binding is the only way to remove the “most efficient farm” as the gatekeeper of a player’s rewards. As shown above, that is still very much true in Heart of Thorns. And it still has the negative reaction from a sizable portion of the player base that there is no sense of reward in the game.
The Unmentioned Wrench
If the gold standard removes the sense of achievement in favor of homogeneous “farm enough gold,” why is it still being held to in the “new foundation to build upon” expansion? Because as I didn’t mention in that post, gold is itself driven by gems and the money that buys them.
NOTE: The following data was pulled off of gw2spidy, using the moving average of all data, and for items only tracking sell listings. Missed dates are a result of missing data on gw2spidy that occurred for some of the gems to gold conversion data. It is not presented as a complete set of data, but as an illustrative sample. I do not have the means to scrape the data en masse, and realize that the data is not as strong as a result. I excluded data prior to January 2013 from the graphs because the economy had not settled yet. My source spreadsheet is available here.
The Weakening Gold Coin
Gold within Guild Wars 2 has been increasing since release. Generally speaking, that’s a necessity to prevent rare items from retaining practically no premium value over simply uncommon ones. Sinks to remove gold from the economy have been known to be too few for a very long time. Even the hefty 15% “TP Tax” hasn’t stopped the increase in gold cost of most high-end items in the game.
Aiming to slow down or stop inflation is a worthy goal, and if the economy was self-contained to just the game, pushing deflation, as stated by John Smith*, is just as good. This push is most clear with dungeons, but shades of it are in the various reward systems mentioned earlier.
*Stating an intent to reduce demand points to a deflation mindset. As do the phrases “adding scarcity to items that have none (and therefore no value), those items will now gain value” and “less often, but they’ll be worth much more.” Shifting the actual value proposition to the item, rather than the resource that can purchase the item (gold), is what points to deflation most clearly.
Based on a selected set of precursors (see graph), deflation is already in progress. While pre-expansion release reduction in value can be attributed to fewer people playing (no new content), the net reduction in the value of precursors is sizable over the previous year.
This deflation aspect is less clear when legendaries are considered, due to the vast number of materials, all separate “markets,” that are required for their creation:
More telling is the fact that legendary value, despite the ever-increasing amount of gold in the game and unchanging desirability of legendaries, has more or less stabilized. Some of the highest-value items in the game, driven by dozens of items, are at about the same price today as they were 4 months ago. A trend that hasn’t been replicated on the exact same items previously in Guild Wars 2‘s history.
The Strengthening Dollar
Guild Wars 2‘s economy is not self-contained. The currency exchange between gems and gold functions both as a large sink* and an interface between real money and game currency. Because it is an interface, it reflects the overall size of the in-game economy based on the value of the exchange itself:
*Gold exchanged for gems always takes money permanently out of the economy, on the order of 35% of the transaction, based on the current exchange rate.
It’s not a perfect reflection, as is visible in the massive spike at the start of September, at the tail end of the 3rd anniversary sale. But the overall trend is up.
In other words, real money turned into gold is worth a lot more today than it was 3 years ago. At first glance, this is fine, as the in-game economy has likewise gained value at more or less the same rate.
Exchanging (Too) Favorably
Except it hasn’t:
Compared to the existing, “inflated” economy, it’s cheaper than ever to buy a legendary or precursor, and by extension any other high-cost or rare item. Gold has lost its value already against real money, on the order of 3 to 4 times today compared to January 2013.
Pair the intended deflation of the economy with the increasing value of real money, and a perverse incentive emerges: it’s easier to pay cash than farm the gold from the game itself. An equation that is swinging more and more in favor of cash.
It’s perverse because making cash more valuable is a terrific method of monetizing the game. At the same time, reducing the in-game reward rate drains a sense of progression and accomplishment. To keep the game running players have to literally get less from it.
Aye, There’s the Rub
This incentive has existed since release day, always phrased as the choice between spending time or money to acquire desired rewards.
And it works fine when gold generation stays roughly in step with the increasing value of gems. Purchasing power is functionally constant, and a player can vote with their wallet whether time or money is more important to them.
But deflating gold flips that on its head. Gems never lose their value relative to the economy, because they always cost the exact same in real money. And due to the exchange, they also hold the previous value of gold in the economy.
The worst part of this approach is that it disproportionately affects the majority of the player base, while functionally exempting a small portion.
Market Magnates and Industrial Farmers
There are two types of people who, while few, through sheer force of effort, exempt themselves from all effects of less gold available.
On the one hand are those who take the time to patiently and steadily gain money on the Trading Post, extracting money from players who are uncaring of their profit (those who fill buy orders) and impatient to receive an item now (those who fill sell orders).
Due to the percentage-based nature of Trading Post profit, “gold per hour,” a reasonably fixed metric for all types of content, doesn’t apply. With enough time, a person willing to play the economy rather than the game can have more money than they could reasonably spend.
On the other hand are those that find the most efficient farm in the game at a given point in time, and farm it up until another farm replaces it. Rather than the farming necessarily being toward the typical goal of an item, it’s for the goal of having as much gold as possible. For some, that is enough.
Because of this, these “industrial farmers” outpace the rate of gold gain of all but market magnates. When the economy rebalances around the gold gain of the median, everything is cheaper for them. And the longer they don’t “cash in” to an item, the greater the gap between their raw wealth and the items they may want.
Playing (Only) for Fun
High-end rewards don’t interest everybody. Some people are happy with their “cheap but close” skins, and still others play for the enjoyment of playing the game, no reward required. Their playtime might be short, their “efficiency” nonexistent, but they don’t care. If they end up with a high-end reward as a goal, they’ll be more than happy to stick it out for the extreme long term.
These people will almost never be affected by major changes to the overall economy, damaging or otherwise. If it takes longer to get something, they might not even notice.
The Majority Middle
Between these two extremes is everyone else. This includes those who like investing time, want rewards, enjoy playing the content, and all manner of other descriptors. This is the majority of players that not just play the game, but are interested in spending money on it.
And these are the people who are always affected by economic changes, who have to constantly weigh the time and money choice. They also notice when the economy shifts the goalposts on them, moving a previously difficult reward further away. They are simultaneously the hardest to please, and the most lucrative to do so.
The reliance on gold for nearly all rewards, and the intended decreased rate of getting said gold, combines to shackle the majority of the player base to boring rewards that take far too long to turn into something they want.
Breaking the Shackles
The Gold Standard cannot continue to be the way that rewards, the economy, and most importantly, the exchange interact. It reduces the sense of reward to a gold grind, a fact all the more evident (and grating) in a deflating economy where gold now is harder to get than gold acquired previously*. Furthermore, it makes the choice between time or money a false one for many, as money is far more efficient.
*This is its own problem that I could go on at length for, but this post is long enough.
At the same time, simply ending the Gold Standard, when it undergirds the entire economic foundation of the game, will not work. There are three ways to go about it, two with disadvantages for either players or developers. The third I believe strikes a center balance that most people can be satisfied with.
Bind it All Up
My original solution to the Gold Standard was to increase the amount of account-bound options for similar, high-value items. The example I gave of precursor crafting released…with all old precursors sellable. This removes any possibility of it breaking the Gold Standard, especially since it required making sure the collection-gained precursors had equivalent cost to avoid crashing the RNG-gained precursor market.
This solution can be extended, rather than avoided: account bind everything that’s not simply high value for high value (e.g., Black Lion weapon skins), but has a value. This would include legendaries and precursors, but also prestige skins acquired by doing specific content*, like Aetherpath weapons.
*Or having lots of money to afford the exorbitant costs.
To an extent, this approach is already coming into the game en masse, with new precursors (and legendaries) account bound from the start, and most of the weapon and armor sets within Heart of Thorns attached to specific achievements. Not to mention the Ambrite weapons of Dry Top and Carapace/Luminescent armor of the Silverwastes.
However, saying the “old content,” which is still a large part of the game, has to stay under a bad reward scheme because it’s always been that way, continues to keep the player base shackled. The long term health of the game can’t wait until enough new, better-crafted content is around to offset the original, poorly rewarding content. The original game needs a fresh start as well.
This approach favors players. Sure, many people will get a raw deal by having to have gotten something “when it was harder,” but never changing anything because people might get angry is a recipe to satisfying nobody at all.
On the other hand, it reduces a major incentive to buy gold for some of the well-off among us: you can’t buy pretty much everything with a sufficient deposit of dinero. This could reduce the amount of money the gemstore generates, but it could also not affect it as much if players continue to want Black Lion skins and other gemstore-based cosmetics.
Unbound Generation
The Gold Standard relies on gold maintaining essential parity to the real money that can purchase it. As previously covered, switching to a deflation approach to the economy prevents that from happening, and actively amplifies a growing disparity already present before deflation became a priority.
In this approach, simply reverse the intent to deflate. Shift rewards where they are desired by ArenaNet, which based on communication is Fractals, raids, and open-world challenging content like Heart of Thorns has in spades.
This keeps things reasonably balanced between gems and gold, and since the mentioned forms of content are major priorities, won’t create a disconnect between the most rewarding content and what’s getting development love.
The downside is on the players’ end. Over time, the inflation inherent in this will make players who aren’t willing to jump on the “new content” bandwagon unable to catch up. Real money turned into gold will always retain its |
even noble-minded military interventions bring a whole set of consequences, such as instability and civilian deaths, to the very population the international community is trying to help.
American policymakers say Patriota has long demonstrated a far-reaching vision for the responsibilities that come with Brazil's rising global power.
"I think he has been a critical voice in modernizing Brazil's foreign policy," Bruce Jones, a former United Nations official now with New York University and the Brookings Institution, told Yahoo News in an interview.
When Jones worked for Annan and Patriota as chief of staff to then Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim, Patriota "took a strong position that any international security challenge was something that [Brazil] should help to contribute to try to solve--whether it was directly affected by the problem (such as international terrorism) or not. He saw it as an essential part of the responsibility of a modern state. That we need to help each other."
Other popular Yahoo! News stories:
• IAEA ends Iran visit with no agreement
• U.S. officials wary of arming Syrian opposition
• Turkish envoy: The decision that inspired Obama's trust in Erdogan
Want more of our best national security stories? Visit The Envoy or connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.Agency issues interim advice
The European Medicines Agency has started a review of the safety and efficacy of Tredaptive, Pelzont and Trevaclyn, identical medicines that are used to treat adults with dyslipidaemia (abnormally high levels of fat in the blood), particularly combined mixed dyslipidaemia and primary hypercholesterolaemia.
The review was triggered because the Agency was informed by the pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp & Dohme of the preliminary results of a large, long-term study comparing the clinical effects of adding these medicines to statins (standard medicines used to reduce cholesterol) with statin treatment alone. The study raises questions about the efficacy of the medicine when added to statins, as this did not reduce the risk of major vascular events (serious problems with the heart and blood vessels, including heart attack and stroke) compared with statin therapy alone. In addition, in the preliminary results a higher frequency of non-fatal but serious side effects was seen in patients taking the medicines than in patients only taking statins.
The Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) will assess the data and make a recommendation to the Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which will issue an opinion on the regulatory action required. An opinion is expected in January 2013.
While the review is ongoing, the Agency recommends that no new patients should be started on treatment with these medicines or enrolled in clinical trials involving these medicines, pending the outcome of the Agency's assessment.
Patients currently using Tredaptive, Pelzont or Trevaclyn should not stop their treatment. Patients who have any questions should speak to their doctor at their next appointment.
Healthcare professionals in the European Union (EU) will receive a letter outlining the updated information on the use of these medicines.
This review of Tredaptive, Pelzont and Trevaclyn has been initiated by the European Commission and will be considered by the PRAC and CHMP at their January 2013 meetings. This is the first referral under Article 20 since the entry into force of the new pharmacovigilance legislation in July 2012. This type of procedure is triggered for medicines that have been authorised via the centralised procedure.
NotesWith housing prices to income levels running 35% above historic norms, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, had some words of advice to heavily indebted households, telling them Tuesday to use “prudence and caution” because borrowing costs can only go up.
‘Household spending is expected to remain high relative to GDP as households add to their debt burden, which remains the biggest domestic risk’
Speaking to the House of Commons finance committee one week after the central bank again held its key interest rate at a near-record low of 1%, Mr. Carney said “mortgage rates are extremely attractive and that accounts for some of the move-up in [housing] valuation.”
But he added that consumers cannot rely on lending costs “staying there forever.”
Mr. Carney said when it comes to household debt “the message is one of prudence and caution,” adding that the average home price in Canada is about 4.75 times people’s income, while the historic average is closer to 3.5.
Household debt to disposable income is running at about 152.9.
“Household spending is expected to remain high relative to GDP as households add to their debt burden, which remains the biggest domestic risk.”
Mr. Carney also had some cautious words on the economy, saying “despite recent improvements to the outlook for the global and Canadian economies, risks remain elevate.”
[np-related]
“The three main upside risks to inflation in Canada relate to the possibility of higher-than-expected oil prices, stronger-than-expected growth in the U.S. economy and stronger momentum in Canadian household spending,” he said.
But he reiterated recent statements that “reduced slack in the economy and firmer underlying inflation, some modest withdrawal of the present considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate, consistent with achieving the two percent inflation target over the medium term.”
Mr. Carney’s comments came as global markets clawed back some of their losses from Monday ‘s dramatic selloff, sparked by new eurozone debt fears and a spate of weak economic data.
Added to that is political uncertainty in France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy — a strong supporter of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s austerity drive — was defeated in the first round of elections by Socialist challenger François Hollande, who has balked at Merkel’s insistence on drastic spending cuts and other measures to stem the tide of debt engulfing the eurozone’s weaker members.
Even Germany, traditionally the powerhouse of Europe, is seeing a weakening in its manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, other relatively strong economies, such as Holland’s, have been hit by contagion concerns. Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned after his coalition government failed to reach a consensus on that country’s austerity measures.
In the U.S., the robust recovery in the country’s labour market stumbled badly in March, with the economy creating just 120,000 jobs, compared to expectations for 205,000, and in sharp contrast to an unexpected surge in Canadian employment for the same month.
But Canada has not been immune to disappointing economic news.
Earlier Tuesday, Statistics Canada reported that retails sales declined 0.2% in February, short of economists’ forecast for an actual gain of 0.1%. On the same day, Conference Board of Canada said its consumer confidence fell 4.5 points in April, following three consecutive monthly increases.While the dunk contest isn’t everyone’s favorite competitions at the moment, no one is complaining about in-game dunks, especially those like DeAndre Jordan crushing little guards helplessly trying to block him and other notable aerial performers around the NBA.
Jordan, like Tyson Chandler and JaVale McGee, is one of the players who relies on dunking to get more than half of his points this season, while others like Blake Griffin and LeBron James, while known for their dunking in terms of frequency and quality, have other things to lean on as well.
Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks – 97
Every 9 shots (932 field goal attempts), Josh Smith tries to dunk one as well, making 97 of 100 this season for the Atlanta Hawks, with his 97% success ratio being the 11th best in the league among the top 100 most frequent dunkers.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder – 97
One of every 11 shots Kevin Durant takes (1132 field goal attempts this season) is a dunk attempt, making 97 of his 101 attempts to dunk. His 96% success ratio is 20th among the league’s top 100 most frequent dunkers.
Andre Iguodala, Denver Nuggets – 100
Iguodala is 100 for 103 this season when attempting a dunk, 97.1%, which is 10th among the top 100 most frequent dunkers in the NBA. With 683 field goal attempts this season, he goes up for the easy yet impressive two points once on every 7 shots he takes.
Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets – 107
Faried didn’t really do great this season in the NBA Dunk contest, but he gets more than a third of his field goals through dunking, making 313 this season. He attempts a dunk (114) less than once every five shots (567), making 93.9% of them, ranked 35th in the league.
LeBron James, Miami Heat – 111
One of the more recognizable NBA visions in the last few seasons is LeBron James finishing a fast break with a powerful yet ordinary dunk (he keeps the special ones for the warm-up sessions) while a group of opponents chase him without a lot of hope. He’s 111-113 this season, attempting a dunk once every 10 shots more or less, with 1100 field goal attempts this season. His 98.9% success rate is the second highest in the NBA behind Nene, although he has only 32 dunk attempts this season.
Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks – 131
Chandler is 131 for 138 when going up for the dunk this season, making 94.9% of his attempts, putting him at 30th among the top 100. More than half of his field goals (242 made) have been from dunks, attempting one on less than every three shots he takes.
Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers – 135
Just over 39% of Dwight Howard’s field goals come from dunks this season for the Lakers, attempting one every 4.15 shots he takes. Howard makes 93.1% of his dunk attempts, 40th among the top 100 in the NBA.
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers – 157
The man of the hour at the moment, with everybody wanting his alley oop dunk, crushing a guard about a foot shorter than him to be the dunk of the season. Jordan gets 57.3% of his field goals through dunks, and attempts one every 2.5 shots. He makes 89.2% of them this season, 70th among the top 100.
JaVale McGee, Denver Nuggets – 143
With 143 dunks in 159 attempts, McGee is ranked 60th among NBA dunkers, making 89.9% of his attempts. He takes one every 1.6 shots, and has scored 66.1% of his field goals this season through dunking.
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers – 173
Although Blake Griffin has improved in quite a few areas of his game this season, he’s still mostly known for his aerial prowess, averaging 2.7 dunks per game. He makes 95.3% of them, good enough for 25th in the NBA among the top 100. He attempts one every five shots he takes.In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to leave confinement to continue working at their current place of employment, returning to prison when their shift is complete. The concept was introduced in Wisconsin in 1913 under a law written by state senator Henry Huber. The program is often referred to locally as the "Huber Law" program.[1]
Some work release programs allow greater freedom for the prisoner, allowing prisoners who follow a Monday–Friday workweek to attend work and live at their homes on those days, and serve their sentences two days at a time on weekends. Depending on the terms of the program, the prisoner may serve their sentence in a halfway house or home confinement while not working. Other work release programs can be offered to prisoners who are nearing the end of their terms and looking for a reintegration into civilian life, with a possible offer of full-time employment once the prisoner is released.[2]Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts Wednesday, saying his presence had become a distraction in a city that needs to focus on ending a dramatic spike in homicides.
"Too many continue to die on our streets, including three just last night and one lost earlier today," Rawlings-Blake said. "Families are tired of feeling this pain, and so am I.... We need a change."
The mayor's decision to replace Batts on an interim basis with Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis — effective immediately — came as the City Council was preparing to send her a letter calling for Batts' resignation. And the city's police union was poised to hold a no-confidence vote next week.
Batts was under attack on multiple fronts amid the disclosure that some police stations have been closed to the public after 7 p.m. and news that three people were shot to death Tuesday night near the University of Maryland's downtown campus. On Wednesday morning, the Fraternal Order of Police issued a highly critical report of police leadership during the recent rioting.
In her late afternoon news conference, Rawlings-Blake said she was responding not to that report, but to her concern about continued violence. "Recent events have placed an intense focus on our police leadership, distracting many from what needs to be our main focus, the fight against crime," she said.
Her timing surprised some. Just hours before announcing that she had fired Batts, the mayor's office issued a statement denouncing the union's report as "no more than a trumped up political document full of baseless accusations, finger pointing and personal attacks."
Batts, who was confirmed to a full six-year term last September, told The Baltimore Sun that he leaves the job proud of his service.
"I've been honored to serve the citizens and residents of Baltimore," he said. "I've been proud to be a police officer for this city."
Under the terms of his contract, he will get $190,000 in severance plus a payout for unused leave. He had been earning $201,700 a year.
Rawlings-Blake's decision was applauded by many church and political leaders, some pointing to the rise in homicides, which reached a 25-year high in May when 42 people were killed. In June, 29 were killed.
But others pointed to the commissioner's rocky relationship with the community — and with rank-and-file officers.
"It's very clear that the coach has lost the locker room," said Councilman Brandon M. Scott. "Once the coach has lost the locker room, it's up to the manager to the make the decision that either the coach goes or the locker room goes."
The Rev. Jamal H. Bryant, a civil rights activist and pastor of Baltimore's Empowerment Temple, praised the "incredibly good decision on the mayor's part to start the process of healing between the community and the police department."
Rawlings-Blake, who hired Batts in October 2012, described much of his record in positive terms Wednesday, saying he had instituted many reforms. She said he put more officers on the streets during the hours when crime is more likely to occur, brought more transparency to the agency and improved police accountability. "This was not an easy decision," she said.
Under his six-year contract, if Batts were fired for "just cause" — defined as alcoholism or drug use, committing a felony or being persistently negligent — he would not be entitled to severance. In being terminated without cause, he is entitled to the severance and payout. Sean Naron, a Rawlings-Blake spokesman, said Batts' immediate dismissal Wednesday is considered a firing.
It's unclear how soon the mayor may look to name a permanent replacement for Batts. She hailed Davis, who previously held police leadership positions in Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties, for his "decades of distinguished service and results."
"Under his leadership, we will continue to take guns off of our streets. We will continue our focus on repeat violent offenders," Rawlings-Blake said. "We'll continue to look for ways to hold officers who act out of line accountable for their actions."
Warren Alperstein, an attorney who represents about 30 Baltimore police officers who were injured during the rioting after the death of Freddie Gray, warned that officers may associate Davis with Batts, potentially stalling progress.
"The resentment is not just toward the commissioner himself," Alperstein said. "It certainly extends throughout his administration."
While some focused on the deteriorating relationship between the police union and the commissioner, state Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat, saw Batts' chief failing as not being able to reform the culture of the department. A Baltimore Sun investigation last year found that city taxpayers had paid nearly $6 million since 2011 to settle 102 lawsuits alleging police brutality and other misconduct.
"I know there was a lot of frustration over what was going on in Baltimore," Anderson said. "Clearly when the discussion about the police commissioner becomes more important than actual problem, the mayor has to remove that obstacle."
Anderson counseled Davis to get a strong leadership team in place so he can carry out his agenda. If Davis is unable to take control, Anderson said, it will raise the question of whether the lower ranks are the department's real problem rather than its leadership.
Still, Anderson, the co-chair of the General Assembly's new working group on public safety, said he'd prefer someone from outside the agency be chosen as Batts' permanent replacement.
"I'm not sure a person who's in the system can see it for what it is," he said.
Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector said Davis' appointment, with his knowledge of the area, is promising. Batts had relocated to Baltimore from California, where he had long worked in law enforcement.
Davis is "closer to home, so I am hoping that makes a big improvement," Spector said. "We do have a problem when you bring someone in who doesn't know North Avenue from Northern Parkway."Survival scenarios come in many different forms. If you’re someone who likes to be prepared for a worst case scenario, then owning a survival backpack is a no brainer.
Whether you’re an active hiker who wants to have an adequate pack for escaping a wilderness survival scenario or an urban dweller who wants to be prepared for a city wide crisis or natural disaster — we’ve got you covered with some pretty righteous backpacks meant to equip you with everything you’ll need to survive in an effective manner.
If you’re adding safety or survival equipment to your backpacking gear or home survival kit make sure to check out our top lists of the best emergency radios, food rations and general items for your home shelter.
Those who wander deep into the great outdoors really oughta be wearing a pack that is capable of enduring and supporting you through a survival situation. On a different note, a lot of households these days are wise to put together an emergency kit for any potential disaster scenario that could arise.
If you need to evacuate your home in a hurry, you’ll need a reliable backpack to gear up with your essential belongings and survival gear. Our top ten list has compiled a few different style backpacks for various survival scenarios that could prove pivotal in how you manage to get out safe.
The best way to pull through dangerous situations is to be prepared — so consider what you might need a survival backpack for as you read through these carefully selected options.
1. Best Value, All Around Survival Backpack: Teton Sports Scout 3400 Internal Frame Backpack
This is a great quality backpack by Teton Sports that is a great fit for an array of survival scenarios. It’s one of the highest reviewed internal frame backpacks out there — and is in my opinion, the ideal size.
This 55 liter pack has quite a few internal and external pockets, as well as spaces to externally fasten additional gear. It’s only four and a half pounds in weight, so this pack isn’t going to weigh you down too much. Multi position torso adjustments and open cell foam lumbar pad ensures this pack will fit comfortably once fitted properly.
It’s a good fit for both men and women, as well as youth and adults. The internal frame makes it a solid bag for really loading up and hiking to safety. If you’re looking for a highly packable, comfortable and affordable survival pack, this could be a good place to start.
Price: $69.15 & Free Shipping
Pros:
Teton Sports offers a limited lifetime warranty on this product and has excellent customer service reviews
The internal frame makes this a good pack for long treks
All the compression straps and internal pockets allow for packing large loads and effective organization
Cons:
Some complaints about stiffness of the clips and zips
2. Best Survival Backpack for Hauling Large, Awkward Loads: ALPS OutdoorZ Commander
Here’s a seriously tough pack by ALPS. This bag is designed for hunting expeditions, but it’s also perfectly suited as a survivalist pack depending on your needs. It’s a heavier pack at about seven pounds and built to accommodate gear such as firearms and ammunition/arrows.
The unique fastening system employed for securing a rifle, crossbow or traditional bow could be used to secure a wide range of equipment, making this a pretty versatile backpack.
There’s an awesome array of pockets, pouches and strapping for packing tons of gear — so if you’re looking for a bag to truly load up then you might consider this pack. The frame can be worn alone without the pack and used as a freighter frame, a pretty neat concept that could be used to accommodate a bunch of different loads. The idea here is to be able to load up the pack with the game you shoot in the wilderness — but having the option to use this pack as a bare frame could come in handy for a variety of reasons.
The bag also loads from the top and front so there’s a lot of ways to pack and unpack it. For the expedition, survivalist hiker who requires a rugged, high capacity backpack, this option from ALPS is a great go-to.
Price: $129.99 & Free Shipping (19 percent off MSRP)
Pros:
Tons of storage capacity between the interior compartments and exterior strapping and pouches
This pack is firearm compatible and designed to properly carry guns and ammunition
Pack can detach and frame can be worn alone and loaded with large, awkward items that will not fit in a backpack
Lower door and top access to the interior of the bag for easy packing/unpacking and organization
Lots of thought has gone into the design of this pack — it’s truly designed to accommodate for the storage needs of a serious outdoorsman
Cons:
Fairly heavy and large in size, this thing is the real deal so don’t purchase if you don’t require a BIG pack
The set up, sizing and proper use of this bag take a little practice to master
3. Best Survival Backpack for Long Hikes or Treks: Osprey Men’s Atmos Backpack
This backpack by Osprey is a top of the line product. If you have the funds to spring for a pack of this caliber, then you’ll most definitely feel the difference in how it fits and operates compared to less expensive packs. This bag employs Osprey’s anti-gravity suspension system that’s designed to provide maximum ventilation and carrying comfort.
It’s a highly reviewed backpack that is praised for its use as a thru-hiking pack on longer treks. The internal pockets are very well thought out for organization and capable of stashing all sorts of equipment orderly and effectively.
I feel that the exterior of this pack could use a few more pouches or some more strapping considering the high price tag — but it’s still a highly capable backpack when it comes to stowing gear.
Customer reviews insist this pack if sized properly has a really great fit and is ideal for traveling long distances. It’s crafted with freedom of motion in mind and meant to keep you highly active. In a survival scenario where moving fast with all your gear is key, this bag is an excellent choice.
If you’re looking for a high end backpacking pack for some serious treks, then considering spending the extra dollars on a pack of this quality — you get what you pay for with this one.
Price: $169.97 – $412.57
Pros:
Ideal bag for long treks and thru-hiking — travel far without the backpack becoming uncomfortable
Awesome internal storage schematic
Provides a highly sporty fit once sized properly
Internal compression straps help to stabilize heavy loads
Cons:
Quite expensive
Not a ton of exterior storage space
4. Best Smaller Sized Survival Backpack: Kelty Redwing 50 Backpack
I really dig the design of this backpack by Kelty and feel it’s a great pack to include as a staple in a family emergency kit. It’s comparable to a regular style backpack but has a lot of the features you would want in a survivalist pack.
At 50 liters its almost large enough to take backpacking, but probably better suited for slightly lighter loads. It’s a smaller sized pack compared to most of the bags listed here — but it’s a great option to have on hand in an emergency or disaster scenario. It’s a simple and comfortable to wear backpack that could be ideal for loading up with some emergency scenario equipment in a pinch.
The main compartment, side pouches and side pockets all add up to quite a bit of capacity that’s easily organized. The back panel is designed with airflow in mind to keep you cool and the shoulder and waist straps are also ventilated for added breathability.
This bag is compatible with a hydration system so you can plan on bringing some water along the convenient and easy way — ready to drink from within the pack!
This intermediate sized bag also loads from the front and top, so it’s easy to get in and out of. I personally think this bag is the ideal size for packing a good bit of gear before having to quickly leave the house in an emergency or disaster scenario.
At around $125, Kelty offers a pretty good deal considering the high quality on this one.
Price: $103.14 — $139.95 & Free Shipping (up to 26 percent off MSRP)
Pros:
Hydration system compatible
Can load from front and top for easy access and organization
Great intermediate size at 50 liters for use as a high capacity daypack or emergency scenario pack
Built with breathability in mind
Cons:
Complaints that the zippers are cheaply made
Some customer reviews mention pinching of the neck from the shoulder strapping when heavily loaded
5. Best High Capacity Pack for Long Treks: Badlands Rifle & Bow Compatible Summit Pack
Here’s a top quality hunting backpack by Badlands designed for some rugged trekking. This is an expedition backpack with almost 90 liters of capacity that will fit a TON of gear. You can carry some heavy loads with this pack, so if you’re looking for something that can handle a lot of strain, this one is worth checking out.
The Summit Pack has been designed for back country big game hunting — it’s meant for multi day treks and supporting heavy gear loads. Badlands has employed airtrack suspension, a unique anatomically shaped waist belt and some nicely crafted shoulder straps to ensure you can handle the heaviest of loads.
The ultralight rip-stop fabric of this pack is built tough to withstand years of abuse and also is also inherently highly water resistant. This is a pack you can beat on — one of the most important stats for an effective survival pack. The clips, zips and strapping on this unit are all built with superior quality making for a long lasting product.
This unit is crafted by a high quality outfitter that supports sportsmen in the field, definitely a wise choice of brand if you’re looking for something long lasting and thoughtfully designed. Carrying your rifle, shotgun or bow is of course no issue with this pack — a potentially pivotal feature for those longer treks in the wilderness.
As a high capacity hunting backpack designed for transport of large, heavy loads this unit from Badlands is tough to beat for survival applications.
Price: $299.99 & Free Shipping
Pros:
This is a seriously high capacity backpack at 90 liters
Materials and hardware used are top notch — this pack should last for years of heavy use
Overall schematic is well thought out for packing a large array of gear allowing for good organization
Properly equipped to safely and effectively carry a firearm or bow
Cons:
At $300 this pack is quite expensive — you pay for top quality with this one
6. Best Highly Packable, Smaller Sized Survival Pack: Pisfun Tactical 40L Camping Backpack
This 40 Liter tactical backpack by Pisfun is a pretty bad ass pack. Pisfun claims all of the stitching and webbing on this pack are military grade, and customer reviews support that this is a tough backpack. There’s a great array of pockets for stowing all kinds of gear when trekking into the wilderness or wherever you might roam.
The material of this pack is highly water resistant, so if you want to go out in some rain it shouldn’t be a problem, but don’t plan on letting this bag go directly into any water, it won’t keep its contents dry in the event of a full soak. The material won’t rot or mold if it gets saturated which makes it a great choice for an outdoor bag.
The buckles and strapping are very rugged, so plan on having this pack for years. I like this bag as a survival backpack because of all the external and internal storage spaces — it allows for bringing along and effectively organizing a lot of gear for being such a small pack.
Price: $55.00 & Free Shipping
Pros:
Constructed with tough nylon material and good quality buckles and straps
Lots of well thought out pockets and compartments — high capacity for gear
Great size for a camping or hiking pack
Customer reviews claim this pack is capable of carrying fairly heavy loads (30+ pounds)
Cons:
Water resistant, NOT truly waterproof
There is no support strap to clip across your abdomen if you want some help carrying heavier loads
At 40 liters, this pack won’t fit a TON of gear despite its thoughtful design
7. Best Cheap Survival Backpack: Mountaintop 40 Liter Hiking Backpack with Rain Cover
This 40 liter backpack by Mountaintop is included here for its great value. At just $35 and with free shipping, its hard to find such a solid backpack at this affordable a cost. It’s a pretty standard pack, but well reviewed and silly inexpensive, so I found it worthy as an item to include here.
It might not be the greatest pack to truly rely on in a survival scenario — but if your budget is low this bag is pretty adequate for some heavy trekking. For $35 I think it’s a great item to have on hand in case you need it.
This pack has some good internal dividers and also has a space that is suitable for holding a water bladder and tube. Mountaintop includes an adjustable hip belt on this bag that fits waist sizes 25–55 inches. If your torso is longer than 52 centimeters, then Mountaintop recommends you seek a different pack.
An adjustable sternum strap, breathable molded foam back panel and S-shaped shoulder straps ensure you can properly carry the weight of your gear. It comes in nine different color options so there should be one for you.
Mountaintop also includes a 90 day limited warranty on this item — so don’t let the super small price tag scare you out of checking this bag out it — it’s worthy!
Price: $38.99 & Free Shipping
Pros:
Very reasonably priced — great pack to own as a spare or to tuck away in case of emergency
Wide range of color options
Cons:
No internal smaller pockets
Side pockets are inadequate for stowing a water bottle
Likely won’t last as long as most of the other packs listed here due to the materials used
8. Best Survival Backpack for Carrying Handguns and Ammunition: Explorer Tactical Gun Concealment Backpack
This backpack is a great option for the survivalist who wants to safely and effectively carry handguns and ammunition. If you frequent wilderness that is home to dangerous predators, or want to prepare for emergency or disaster scenarios where other people might be a threat to you or your family, then this backpack offers an effective way to carry your sidearms.
It’s a polyester pack with a six zipper pocket in front as well as four side pockets. There’s an additional two back pockets for stowing smaller items. This is an excellent bag for stashing a plethora of smaller items and survival gear, as well as some bigger pieces of equipment or larger belongings.
At 56 liters this is a pretty decent sized pack you can really load up. The strapping is nice enough and the pack itself is built tough, so it should be able to handle some fairly heavy abuse.
Whether you have a need to pack hand guns and ammo in your survival pack or not, this is an excellent backpack for the highly organized survivalist.
Price: $65.36 & Free Shipping (29 percent off MSRP)
Pros:
Provides effective storage and easy access to hand guns and ammunition on the waist straps
This pack has a Ton of smaller sized pockets and compartments as well as an adequately sized main pocket
Handles and fabrics are built tough
Cons:
There’s no rigid support to this bag, so heavy loads may cause it to sag
9. Best Waterproof Survival Backpack: Phantom Aquatics Premium Waterproof Backpack
This roll-top backpack by Phantom Aquatics is a great option for a dry bag survival backpack. A pack like this could REALLY come in handy when things get wet and it’s easy enough to fold and store with an additional, larger capacity survival pack. This bag is designed to safely float, so it’s a good choice for traveling by boat.
The large outer elastic storage space as well as the mesh side pocket allow you to store some gear on the outside of the pack. This bag also has two methods of sealing depending on what you’re trying to do with your pack.
The back panel is constructed with an air flow design to minimize the uncomfortable heat and stickiness that some waterproof packs can generate. Adjustable sternum and waist straps make this bag as comfortable as possible. I think the quality of the straps on this pack is what makes it the best waterproof option — as well as its low cost of just $39.
If you want to be prepared for wetness and need to keep electronics and other sensitive items bone-dry, then consider adding this pack to your survival gear.
If a waterproof backpack is a little excessive for you, then maybe consider purchasing a highly packable dry bag to include in your larger capacity survival backpack. If you like the idea of a waterproof backpack but this one doesn’t quite fit the bill than make sure to check out our top list of the best waterproof backpacks.
Price: $36.95 — $55.58 & Free Shipping
Pros:
Solid, well built shoulder straps
Sternum and waist straps for added support
Truly waterproof pack that will float if dropped into the water
Has reflective accents as an added safety feature
Cons:
The elastic exterior storage space is of course not waterproof and may or may not be suitable for your needs
Only a 25 Liter pack
10. Best Cheap, Military Style Survival Backpack: Orca Tactical 40L Military Survival Backpack
Here’s one more smaller sized backpack that could function great as a survival pack. It’s a pretty standard military style backpack, but it has a few features that make it suitable as an item to include in your emergency scenario kit. It’s ruggedness is really why I chose to include this pack — it should be able to handle the abuses of being heavily loaded and knocked around.
It’s made from 600D polyester material with water resistant and scratch resistant coating.
The zippers are nice quality and designed not to rust. This is a pretty no-frills bag that isn’t terribly impressive as a piece of survival equipment, but is also everything you need in an emergency pack. There’s a solid amount of external pockets and the pack is also hydration bladder compatible.
The strapping is definitely nice enough and although there’s no internal frame this bag carries weight well. At 40 liters you should be able to pack most of or all of what you need.
Another solid and affordable option for adding to the family emergency kit for when you might need it.
Price: $44.99 & Free Shipping
Pros:
Built tough with durable fabrics, clips and zips
Nice intermediate size for use in an emergency kit
Nice external and internal storage schematic — plenty of pockets for effectively organizing gear
Very reasonably priced
Cons:
Although this is a well built bag — there’s no internal frame for supporting particularly heavy loads
See Also:
Heavy, Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon. Our product recommendations are guided solely by our editors. We have no relationship with manufacturers.Think of it as a Google Self-driving car, but that's 130-feet long and built for hunting submarines. And it got one step closer to real operations this week.
The Sea Hunter was christened Thursday, and the capabilities are incredible: It's designed to operate at sea for months at a time, travel thousands of miles, all while follow navigation rules and avoiding collisions.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research are getting ready to take their new toy for a spin in the open ocean. The 130 foot trimaran is designed with a ton of advanced features that the Navy envisions it can use for hunting subs and mines, but could just as easily be used for surveillance.
Known as the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (or ACTUV), the ship boasts a virtual deck department to steer the ship and stand lookout, the release said — with virtual junior officers to stand officer of the deck to boot.
"Through at-sea testing on a surrogate vessel, ACTUV's autonomy suite has proven capable of operating the ship in compliance with maritime laws and conventions for safe navigation — including International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or COLREGS," the release said. "ACTUV accomplishes this feat through advanced software and hardware that serve as automated lookouts, enabling the ship to operate safely near manned maritime vessels in all weather and traffic conditions, day or night."
But the Sea Hunter won't be working sailors completely out of a job, said the project head.
"Although ACTUV will sail unmanned, its story is entirely about people," said Scott Littlefield, DARPA program manager. "It will still be Sailors who are deciding how, when and where to use this new capability and the technology that has made it possible. And we could not have overcome the massive technical challenges to reaching this point without the creative, committed teamwork of our commercial partners and the Office of Naval Research."
The ship is moving from Oregon to San Diego, where DARPA and ONR plan to test it. If all goes according to plan, the program will transfer to the Navy in 2018, the release said.
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insight problems, which tend to be figured out via “aha” moments or bursts of creative thought. (Brief pause for an example insight problem: An antique coin dealer gets an offer to buy a bronze coin with the date 544 B.C. stamped on one side, but instead of buying it he calls the police. Why? We’ll give you a moment. No coin truly made in B.C. would label itself B.C.—that’s an A.D. construct) Test participants were better at analytical problems, but had a higher success rate for insight problems at non-optimal times. via Thinking and Reasoning. In the journal Thinking and Reasoning, Wieth and Zacks report that, overall, people were more successful at the analytical problems. But participants had a higher solution rate for insight problems when doing them at their non-optimal time of the day—say, an owl doing the test in morning—than at the time that aligned with their chornotype. The results lend support to the incubation theory of creativity: taking a break from a problem, often out of mental fatigue, can produce unexpected insights.
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Maybe even insights about morning and night people. Related: How Much Does Lack Of Sleep Really Affect Your Work?Supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been engaged in running street battles in the centre of Cairo after the pro-Morsi camp staged massive protests in the capital and other places across Egypt.
A crowd of Morsi supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge over the Nile River in Cairo after nightfall on Friday and clashed with opponents of the deposed president.
One man was seen apparently firing a gun, while gunshots could he heard in the area. People were seen throwing rocks as the two sides advanced and retreated in turn on the bridge near Tahrir Square.
At least two people were killed and more than 70 injured, a state TV reporter said, quoting medical personnel at a makeshift hospital in the square.
Another 17 people were killed in clashes around the country involving Morsi opponents and backers, as well as security forces, state TV reported, quoting health ministry officials.
Three of the victims were Morsi supporters who were killed by gunfire as a crowd of several hundred tried to march towards the military barracks after the Friday afternoon prayer in Cairo where Morsi is believed to be held.
News agency AFP reported five policemen had been killed in the northern Sinai town of El-Arish, after a soldier was also killed in the region.
Egyptian armed forces denied reports that a state of emergency had been declared in the troubled Sinai Peninsular, and that curfews had been imposed.
Army intervention
Meanwhile, a deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, former presidential candidate Khairat El-Shater, has been arrested, security sources, his party and state news agency MENA said on Saturday.
Security sources said Shater, a wealthy businessman seen as the movement's main political strategist, was taken into custody on suspicion of incitement to violence.
Military armoured vehicles raced onto the bridge late on Friday in the first major attempt to break up the clashes.
Several armoured vehicles, at least one with young Morsi opponents sitting on the roof, deployed on the bridge, aiming to chase away Morsi supporters. Military helicopters also flew toward Tahrir.
The street battles began after a large crowd of Morsi supporters marched from Nasr City towards the Maspero state TV building and clashed with anti-Morsi protesters on the October 6 Bridge near Tahrir Square in the centre of the capital.
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from near the bridge, said the situation was increasingly tense.
"There are thousands of people on the streets. [...] When people heard pro-Morsi people were on their way, they came towards the bridge and that's where clashes started happening. People are throwing whatever they can and it is a very intense situation."
Live TV pictures showed how hundreds of protesters clashed and cars were set ablaze, as both sides kept throwing fireworks at each other.
Riots were also reported in Al Manial district, an island in river Nile, between Cairo and Giza, according to state TV said.
A state TV reporter said that some pro-Morsi protesters in Giza decided to stop marching towards Maspero after hearing about the clashes.
'Sacrifice for Morsi'
Earlier on Friday, Mohamed Badie, the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, spoke of his intention not to give up on Morsi's presidency.
The dramatic appearance by Badie on stage before tens of thousands of supporters in the capital's Nasr City was his first in public since Morsi was forced from office.
In a defiant speech he said, "We are willing to sacrifice ourselves to protect our President Mohammed Morsi."
Badie also addressed the Coptic pope, Tawadros II of Alexandria, saying that he was not qualified, "to speak on behalf of the Christians of Egypt. When it comes to politics you are just a religious symbol."
Morsi, "is my president and your president and the president of all Egyptians," Badie proclaimed, thrusting his arms in the air.
"God make Morsi victorious and bring him back to the palace," he said in the speech, which was partially aired on state TV. "We are his soldiers, we defend him with our lives."
Badie's speech appeared to be aimed at not only firing up his supporters but also at trying to win support within the military against army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the defence minister who announced the president's removal on Wednesday night.Measuring Endemic Risk in AppSec
Mike Shema Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 10, 2017
Software has vulns. It will always have vulns. Try writing a multi-paragraph email without typos or grammatical blunders. People make mistakes.
Security testing should discover these mistakes — whether by static code analysis, dynamic scanners, pen tests, bug bounties, or other activities. Security teams also strive to evaluate just how bad those mistakes are. They go through risk exercises such as determining the various ways a vuln impacts an app.
Quantifying risk remains more art than science. One challenge is that a component like impact contains several dimensions — loss of revenue, loss of users, loss of data, and so on. For this article, we’ll consider risk as a simplified combination of likelihood (how easy it may be to successfully exploit a vuln) and impact (how exploitation of a vuln affects an app’s data or business operations).
Peer Plots
Even rough metrics can be useful. One use is to track trends and examine whether particular security efforts influence them. Another is to compare them against peers, essentially asking, “Am I doing better or worse than someone else?”
The following graph weakly answers this question. It shows risk as a combination of impact and likelihood, plotting the average risk of all findings within each pen test (R) along those axes.
For these pen tests, there seems to be a slight bias towards likelihood over impact. This could be explained by the nature of pen testing since valid findings have some degree of demonstrated exploitability. When a vuln is theoretical or based on conjecture, there’s often pushback to ensure that its threat (or attack) model is justified.
Concise Charts
Sometimes, we can use more data to convey a stronger message. (And must be careful not to dilute the message with too many dimensions or irrelevant data.) A successful visualization will tell a compelling story, or at least be the seed for a rich discussion.
The following graph attempts to answer a slightly different question: “How worried should I be about my app?”
Each point (R) represents the number of findings and average risk of those findings for a pen test. Note how the interplay of axes shifts our perception of risk when we display them against averages within the overall population.
By showing the number of findings in each pen test, we hope to add context about the potential effort to reduce the app’s risk. Lots of findings might imply lots of different vulns to fix, but they might also be indicative of a single design flaw. Either way, there’ll be lots of work to do.
A lower-risk app lands in the lower-left quadrant. The riskiest ones land in the the upper-right quadrant. In all cases, landing in an above-average area leads to questions like, Does this app have fundamental design flaws? Does it have a significant type of vuln skewing its risk?
Qualifying Quadrants
Despite claiming that software always has bugs, we shouldn’t accept buggy software. In epidemiological terms, we expect there to be a baseline or endemic level of flaws within apps. A mature security development lifecycle should help an app fall below that baseline.
I have a strong preference for using a health metaphor for application security — treating vulns as treatable and preventable dangers. In this way a security team might be like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC tracks things outbreaks. Important things. Things that threaten our health. Things like zombie outbreaks.
One way this idea might inform security is acknowledging that some level of baseline vulns will always exist and that perfect security is a misguided goal. (Just as people are never “100% healthy”. At the very least, we all age.)
Another way this metaphor might inform security is by reconsidering the previous risk chart in terms of endemic disease occurrence — the amount of disease (vulns) in a community (app). In other words, if we expect that some vulns will be present in an app, how should our response change when we find one? How does its presence inform priorities or change our understanding of the app’s risk?
The CDC defines different levels of disease occurence. From an appsec persepective, we might reinterpret these levels as follows:
Sporadic — Infrequent and irregular; the lower left quadrant (below-average risk & findings). This might imply that vulns are due to easily-addressed implementation mistakes.
Hyperendemic — Persistent, high levels of occurence; the upper left quadrant (below-average risk, above-average findings). This might imply that vulns are less often impactful to the app, but that devs keep introducing them — perhaps due to lack of testing that would otherwise catch regressions, or lack of reusable code to centralize security barriers.
Epidemic — Increase in occurrence above normal expectations; the lower right (above-average risk, below-average findings) quadrant. This might imply that a few significant vulns are putting the entire app at risk.
Pandemic —A widespread epidemic; the upper right (above-average risk & findings) quadrant. This might imply that the app’s design has significant issues, such that the implementation is weak and not easily fixed. It’s often what happens the first time an app goes through a pen test.
The following chart overlays endemic quadrants onto the pen test risks.
Looking at relative pen test results can inspire many questions and suggest many hypotheses to test. It also helps us estimate how much effort may be required to reduce risk, and shows us progress over time as we invest resources into shifting an app’s risk into the lower-left corner.
It’s most important to discover the root cause for how vulns crept into production apps, and to conduct postmortems to determine when a vuln might be due to an easily correctable mistake or the consequence of a weak design. Vulns happen. Work to make them a rare occurrence. Conduct security tests often. Measure risk. Prevent outbreaks.MLG: Columbus 2016 qualifiers day one recap
Today was first round of matches between the sixteen teams who are scrambling for their final chance at one of the few remaining spots for MLG Columbus 2016 that is slated for the end of March. Only half of the teams will survive the gauntlet, and today already saw the first few dropping like flies. Group A saw two tight matchups in the upper bracket with G2 and FlipSid3 both squeezing past their opponents 16:13 on de_dust2 and de_inferno respectively. The two losers, Tempo Storm and Selfless are now set to fight tomorrow for their survival.
In group B, Team YP took a pummelling by mousesports on de_cobble in the upper bracket, taking only a single round and then dropping to face Liquid (who themselves fell to Hellraisers) in the first elimination match of the day to get smashed once again, this time 16:2.
The matches in group C were much more competitive; Counter Logic Gaming took on the suprise addition to event, Splyce, on de_cache where the two fought until the bitter end where Splyce came out on top 16:14. Meanwhile, Vexed Gaming managed to overcome SK Gaming even with a stand-in on de_train 16:10, meaning that SK will face CLG tomorrow in the elimination match.
Finally, Group D saw a surprising upset as the CIS-based Gambit took out Cloud9, the favourites of the group by a significant margin, defeating the North American titans 16:9 on de_cache in the upper bracket. Renegades and dignitas faced off next, with the Australians edging them out to stay in the upper bracket.
Remember to visit GosuGamers for more MLG Columbus qualifiers news and match results as they become available.'Israel Can Do No Wrong': Jewish Dissent, Jewish Repression
By Stanley Kutler
January 03, 2014 " Information Clearing House - " Huffington Post " - American Jews are expected by the Israeli government and by its American lobbying arms, such as AIPAC, to unequivocally support Israel against its very real enemies, but also any against criticism whether from abroad or within the American Jewish community. The prevailing mode is "Israel can do no wrong," and AIPAC demands American Jews march in lockstep. But Israeli policies of the moment can and do betray values held by a large swatch of American Jewry, including their independence of mind, and the right to dissent, whether as Americans or as Jews.
The moment is difficult. Benjamin Netanyahu's embarrassing, intemperate outbursts following the interim agreement between the United States and its allies and Iran further isolated Israel diplomatically. But the Israeli Prime Minister continues to work the back door as he recently announced that he had dispatched a delegation of Israeli military and intelligence experts to "advise" their American counterparts on Iran. We can be certain that he did not send any prominent and numerous Israeli experts who have courageously opposed his adventurism.
Now comes a "bipartisan" group of U.S. senators determined to join Israel in isolation. They are motivated from little else other than electoral fears and campaign contributions. They have offered legislation imposing new, more severe sanctions on Iran at a most inopportune time, and a pledge of American diplomatic and military support if the Israelis attack Iran. Talk about blank checks. Israeli lobby groups such as AIPAC actively support the measure, meaning so does the Israeli government. It seemed inconceivable that anything could surpass Netanyahu's audacity and obtuseness. Maybe Congress's dysfunctional is better than functional.
Since Barack Obama emerged on the national political scene, there has been a sub-current of belief that he was "bad for the Jews," and would undermine the Israelis. Given Obama's circle of Jewish friends, financial backers, and ardent supporters, this was absurd on its face. But the underlying motivation is obvious -- start with racism and the belief that Obama is a covert Muslim. Such whispered sentiments became commonplace in influential Israeli circles -- the governing Likud party, religious parties, and settlers. The proposed congressional action is intended to embrace an Israeli alliance as never before, and added bonus, embarrass the President of the United States, which makes for good spin in Israel.
American Jews do not support such knee-jerk reactions. Polls consistently show support for Obama at a very high level of; further, they reject (albeit passively) the Israeli maintenance of the Occupation and oppose an Israeli air strike against Iran. It is not rocket science to see the downside for both Israelis and Americans if Iran is attacked. Who wants radioactive clouds over the entire region? Would it destroy Iran's future capability to develop nuclear weapons? Would it destroy Iran's nuclear development -- which it has every right to do notwithstanding Israel's singular objections? And then what of Israel's place in the international community -- let alone the United States's preeminent role in international leadership?
Fortunately, a counterweight of 10 other senators, significantly including the committee heads of the Senate Banking, Intelligence, Armed Services, Appropriations, Judiciary, and Energy, warned that additional sanctions now only would "play into the hands of those in Iran who are most eager to see negotiations fail." Only fear and possibly politeness prevented them from saying that it also played into the hands of Israeli elements who oppose any settlement with Iran. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Carl Levin (D-MI) -- and not insignificantly, they are Jewish -- only delicately criticized their bellicose colleagues, as did the administration's chief spokesman, Secretary of State John Kerry.
Beyond the international flap, American Jews ought to be concerned how controversial Israeli positions and statements are causing significant cleavages within our own Jewish community. An undeservedly little-known website, MuzzleWatch, which is devoted to tracking the stifling of open debate about US - Israeli foreign-policy is most instructive.
MuzzleWatch reported an incident at Harvard in November 2013, when Harvard's Hillel "student organization," barred a talk from Avraham Burg, the former speaker of the Israeli Knesset. The governing body, not the students, complained that the talk was co-sponsored by the Palestinian Solidarity committee, as well as several Jewish pro-peace groups. A Harvard student appropriately responded that this was "an attack on free speech in its most naked form."
"I'm not sure what they were afraid of -- people with all kinds of political views had a very constructive conversation with Mr. Burg," she added. Are we to believe that nearly 8 million Israeli Jews think alike?
Burg is a well-known Israeli political figure; his father was the longtime Minister for Religious Affairs in Israel's founding decades. Views such as his apparently are dangerous for the tender minds of Harvard students. In 2003, he published an article in of all places, Israel Today, a right-wing Israeli newspaper owned by casino owner Sheldon Adelstein, in which Burg observed:
Israel, having ceased to care about the children of the Palestinians, should not be surprised when they come washed in hatred and blow themselves up in the centers of Israeli escapism.
Burg is reviled in Israel for breaking Israel's long-standing "nuclear ambiguity" and denounced as a "self hating Jew" because of his criticism of the religious establishment and the Occupation, among other deviations from the now-prevailing nationalist, right-wing Israeli ideology. Commentary magazine denounced his attempt to define a post-Zionist Israeli state as an exercise "despising Israeli democracy."
Swarthmore College's Hillel chapter also tried to have a balanced discussion of the Palestinian question, but the governing body prevented it. Later, apropos nothing, the chapter was vigorously denounced by the notoriously intemperate John Podhoretz, the hereditary editor of Commentary.
Parenthetically, the latter affair illustrates only too sadly what the media chooses to report. Politico described a public panel discussion as strictly a personality clash between some well-known names in the Jewish community over snubs and insults, real or alleged. MuzzleWatch, however noted that the outburst was over the very real repression at Swarthmore.
The Swarthmore Hillel student board's reaction to the clumsy attempt at censorship undoubtedly triggered Podhoretz's outburst. Hillel International's declared policy prohibited student groups from partnering or hosting anyone who denied Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, or who "delegitimizes, demonizes, or applies a double standard to Israel, "or who supported any boycott or sanctions against Israel.
The students responded with a direct attack on the barring of speakers such as Burg and from Jewish Voice for Peace. Such policies, they declared, insulted the memory of their namesake, Rabbi Hillel, "who was famed for encouraging debate." They attacked attempts to present "a monolithic face pertaining to Zionism that does not accurately reflect the diverse opinions of young American Jews." The Swarthmore chapter then declared itself to be an "Open Hillel," one that would encourage "dialogue within the diverse and pluralistic Jewish student body" -- meaning that they would host a partner or any speaker at their own discretion and retain "the values of open debate and discourse espoused by Rabbi Hillel."
Beyond AIPAC's destructive lobbying efforts -- and let us hope, self-defeating -- American Jews should be concerned with what is happening in their own communities. AIPAC and its like-minded allies can praise Israeli democracy but first they must respect it at home. The Israeli government and the various lobby groups in the United States would do well to heed the stark reality of polls revealing ever-declining support for Israel among younger American Jews.
Stanley Kutler is the author of The American Inquisition: Cold War Political Trials and Dissent, among other writings. - E. Gordon Fox Professor of U.S. Institutions, University of Wisconsin.
What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Support Information Clearing House Monthly Subscription To Information Clearing House Option 1 : $5.00USD - monthly Option 2 : $10.00USD - monthly Option 3 : $15.00USD - monthly Option 4 : $20.00USD - monthly Option 5 : $35.00USD - monthly Option 6 : $50.00USD - monthly Option 7 : $100.00USD - monthly Search Information Clearing House Gadgets powered by GoogleDespite a flat denial, issued by an ADF spokesman last week, that there had been any attempt to derail the Fairfax assignment, Mr Ayil said in an interview: “The [ADF] guy went around the table getting everyone to say they had refused, and then he demanded to know why we were taking you.” Vigilant: Australian soldiers patrol and search the Puza bridge in Oruzgan province for improvised explosive devices after an insurgent was arrested there the previous night with explosives. Credit:Kate Geraghty The unnamed ADF representative had then presented a litany of reasons to back his argument – the Fairfax team was in Oruzgan to ‘‘write wrong stories’’; it had travelled to Tarin Kowt ‘‘without permission’’; and it had entered Afghanistan ‘‘without a letter from the Australian government’’. The ADF media doctrine is based on maintaining tight military control on the movement of journalists and their access to military and civilian interview subjects. And as Geraghty and I worked our Kabul and Tarin Kowt contacts to find an Afghan agency that might host us in the provincial centre, it became apparent that unseen hands were working to thwart us. A series of invitations that had been issued warmly were curtly withdrawn – in most cases, within hours. Mr Ayil said that after canvassing a decision by the provincial governor to withdraw his initial approval for us to lodge in his guest house, and an offer by an Afghan National Army general to arrange an ANA billet which also had fallen through, he was put under pressure.
What followed, as he recalled, was a reversal of what might have been expected – instead of the more worldly Australians encouraging their skittish Afghan counterparts to be open and cooperative with the news media, it was the reverse. "I told them you were free journalists – that you didn't need to ask for permission to be here, and that we didn't need to ask for permission to host you," Ayil said a few days after the meeting in Tarin Kowt. "I couldn't figure out why it was such a problem for them. I asked why they were making such a big deal out of it. I told the guy not to worry, because your security was our responsibility – we're good at security and you'd write the real story of Oruzgan." On arriving at Tarin Kowt on a commercial flight in mid-January, Geraghty and I were approached on the tarmac by several Australian military officers. Geraghty was asked to identify herself and then told: "you have no permission to be here." We were not formally detained. But it was made clear that we would not be allowed to leave the makeshift terminal, while the Australians checked whether or not the ANA would host us. While they made their inquiries, our resourceful Afghan translator, who had accompanied us from Kabul, called his contacts and was able to confirm that we were to be guests of the police chief.
Even before the Australians had completed their inquiries with their Afghan counterparts, Matiullah Khan had dispatched a police pick-up to move us to an elaborate and very safe guesthouse at his sprawling compound, which is adjacent to the foreign forces base on the outskirts of Tarin Kowt. Ayil said that in the subsequent days there had been so many phone calls, by Afghan translators on behalf of the ADF, inquiring about our whereabouts, that his colleagues took to refusing to divulge information on our movements. Later, a bemused Matiullah Khan chuckled, seeming to enjoy what had the appearance of a power play with the Australians – if only for a bit of political sport, it made good sense for him to allow us to remain on the ground, when the Australians were so determined to block us. More often the butt of criticism for displaying a low regard for the niceties of democracy and human rights, the police chief seemed genuinely puzzled that such an effort was being made to block a news team. "You're journalists - right?" he said on our first meeting. "As far as I'm concerned, you have a right to come here to talk to the Afghan people – why are they trying so hard to stop you?"
The ADF charge that we were in Afghanistan 'without a letter from the Australian government' suggested an Australian operation that went beyond the ADF to include the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. All foreign journalists arriving in Kabul are expected to register for accreditation with the Afghan Foreign Ministry – which has hit upon requesting a pro-forma letter from a journalist's embassy stating that Reporter or Photographer X indeed works for Publication Y in their home country. The Australian embassy in Kabul has issued such a letter for me in the past. However, in a phone message which I was told came from the acting ambassador in Kabul, but was relayed through the emergency consular hotline staff in Canberra, I was told that because we had entered the country 'under [our] own steam' and not by invitation of the ADF or DFAT and because we were not accompanying a minister or officials of the Australian government, we would not be issued a letter. Given that its Australian component is perhaps just one per cent of the Afghanistan story, the embassy was effectively denying our right as journalists to cover any of the story – because most arms of the Afghan security establishment require that visiting reporters have the Foreign Ministry accreditation. Loading
To move without restriction, we had decided not to subject ourselves to ADF control by formally requesting an ADF embed at Tarin Kowt – but we did request an interview with the Australian commanding officer. Despite our presence on the ground for 10 days in accommodation about 100m from the gate to his base, his media staff informed us that he was not available. In response to written questions issued on March 4, the ADF said that “your request for an interview... was approved; however, we understand that you had already departed Tarin Kowt”.
The statement finished cheerfully – “We look forward to working with you for future visits and hope that you are able to provide us with sufficient notice to allow appropriate planning to occur.”Several Redditors discovered decompiled code in the Android and iOS versions of Pokémon Go earlier this week that indicated a potential sponsorship deal with global burger chain McDonald’s. Now a well-placed source has confirmed with Gizmodo that the sponsorship is moving forward, and is set to launch in one country in Asia.
Gizmodo has learned that, as part of the sponsorship, every McDonald’s restaurant in this country will either be a PokéStop or a gym. We were unable to confirm which country would debut the partnership, but several compelling reasons point to Japan. Not only is Japan the birthplace of the Pokémon franchise and current home of The Pokémon Company, but Pokémon Go’s launch has been delayed in the land of the rising sun for seemingly no reason, leaving eager fans pissed.
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Sponsored locations are old hat for Niantic, which used the same business model for its prior game Ingress—with popular Japanese convenience chain Lawson among the partners. Likewise, McDonald’s has paired with both Nintendo and The Pokemon Company for previous promotions. And some players on Reddit have pointed out that McDonald’s locations are often within walking distance (at least for city-dwellers) and have wi-fi, which could be a boon for players. What’s unclear, however, is why the partnership would only launch in one country—McDonald’s is, after all, pretty much everywhere—but it might simply be a trial of a promotional plan that Niantic hopes to push out more broadly.
Niantic and Google (a major investor) did not respond to requests for comment. McDonald’s declined to comment.
If you have information about this or other sponsorship deals, send a tip to bryan.menegus@gizmodo.comPerhaps the most well-known ghost producer in electronic music and possibly all of music behind the legendary Max Martin (The man behind the Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, and basically anyone from the top pop charts), is Maarten Vorwerk. His rise to fame as a ghost producer came with the internet frenzy that came about when the world found out he was the producer behind Sandro Silva and Quintino’s track “Epic” (It was later found out that Sandro Silva did “help” however Quintino was not even involved). Other tracks soon followed with rumors that he was the sole producer behind “Wakanda” by Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike and several other big time tracks.
Earlier this year, another controversial contract was released on the internet claiming to be the contract used by Maarten Vorwerk in producing two tracks for a rising duo, DVBBS. The tracks were later discovered to be the chart topping, festival smashing tunes “Stampede” and “Tsunami” produced by Maarten Vorwerk for the low price 15,00 Euros a piece. Quite the price for the two tracks, however, the success of the tracks allowed DVBBS to opportunities to headline world-wide and enter the DJ Mag top 100 at number 20 and we are going to assume they have made back their 30,000 Euros ten times over in booking fees. Of course Maarten Vorwerk has denied making the tracks and that the contracts are fake, for the sake of protecting all parties involved and ensuring future business with the duo.
Vorwerk is often cited as the producer behind all of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s tracks as well as almost everything released behind DVBBS. It is no surprise that Vorwerk is perhaps the most well known ghost producer in electronic music. Next time you are at a festival, just know that no matter who the headliner is, you are probably going to hear some Maarten Vorwerk tracks 😉
#Epic #Maarten #Vorwerk #GhostProducer #Sandro #Silva #Quintino #DVBBSIn 2012, the congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein wrote a column for the Washington Post diagnosing what they saw to be the central problem in modern American politics.
"The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics," they wrote. "It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
"When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges."
The op-ed hit like a bomb. Mann and Ornstein were institutionalists with wide respect in both parties — Ornstein, in fact, worked (and still works) for the conservative American Enterprise Institute. For them to call out one party as "the core of the problem" in American governance was to violate all the rules of polite Washington society. Their diagnosis was controversial at the time, to put it lightly.
It is obviously correct now.
This week, it became clear that the Democratic Party will nominate Hillary Clinton — a politician about as mainstream in her beliefs and methods as you will find in American politics. It also became clear that the Republican Party is overwhelmingly likely to nominate Donald Trump — a man who is, by any measure, "ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of [his] political opposition."
To put it differently, the Democratic Party, for better or worse, is practicing politics as usual. The Republican Party is embracing what David Brooks calls "antipolitics": leaders with "no political skills or experience" who are "willing to trample the customs and rules that give legitimacy to legislative decision-making if it helps them gain power."
If this were just about Trump, it could be dismissed as an aberration. But it's not just about Trump.
This week, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by Justice Antonin Scalia's death. Garland leans left, but he's a clear compromise choice: older, more moderate, and with a long history of support from Republican senators.
As of now, Senate Republicans are refusing to give Garland — or any other Supreme Court nominee — so much as a hearing. Their position is, flatly, that they will refuse to confirm any nominee, no matter how qualified or appealing, until the next president is inaugurated.
In practice, what this means is they are hoping to hold the Supreme Court vacancy so it can be filled by... President Donald Trump. They are refusing to do their institutional duty so that the decision can be made instead by a committed anti-institutionalist.
There is a deep pull in political punditry toward asserting symmetry between the two political parties — whatever sins one party is guilty of, surely the other party is no better. But this was a week in which the pretense of symmetry between the modern Democratic and Republican parties fell away.
The Democratic Party is acting like the political parties we have traditionally known in American politics: It is backing familiar politicians with deep institutional ties and, amidst divided government, nominating compromise figures with the potential for bipartisan appeal.
The Republican Party, however, is moving in a different and worrying direction: It is nominating an inexperienced demagogue whose appeal is precisely that he has no institutional ties, and it is refusing to even consider compromise with the sitting president.
In their 2012 column, Ornstein and Mann wrote, "When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges."
Yep.Originally published September 29, 2011 at 9:35 AM | Page modified September 30, 2011 at 6:22 AM
Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.
NEW YORK —
Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.
Paying to use a debit card was unheard of before this year and is still a novel concept for many consumers. But several banks have recently introduced or started testing debit card fees. That's in addition to the spate of other unwelcome changes checking account customers have seen in the past year. Bank of America will begin charging the fee early next year.
Bank of America's announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits.
The fee will apply to basic accounts, which are marketed toward those with modest balances, and will be in addition to any existing monthly service fees. For example, one such account charges a $12 monthly fee unless customers meet certain conditions, such as maintaining a minimum average balance of $1,500.
Customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month, said Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman. Those who only use their cards at ATMs won't have to pay.
The debit card fee is just the latest twist in the rapidly evolving market for checking accounts.
A study by Bankrate.com this week found that just 45 percent of checking accounts are now free with no strings attached, down from 65 percent last year and 76 percent in 2009. Customers can still get free checking in most cases, but only if they meet certain conditions, such as setting up direct deposit.
The study also found that the total average cost for using an ATM rose to $3.81, from $3.74, the year before. The average overdraft fee inched up to $30.83, from $30.47
The changes come ahead of a regulation that goes into effect next month.
Starting Oct. 1, the regulation will cap the fees that banks can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards. Those fees generated $19 billion in revenue for banks in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks the payments industry.
There is no similar cap on the merchant fees that banks can collect when customers use their credit cards, however. That means many banks are increasingly encouraging customers to reach for their credit cards, in hopes of reversing a trend toward debit card usage in the past several years.
An increasing reliance on credit cards would be particularly beneficial for big institutions like Bank of America, which have large credit card portfolios, notes Bart Narter, a banking analyst with Celent, a consulting firm.
"It's become a more profitable business, at least in relation to debit cards," Narter said.
This summer, an Associated Press-GfK poll found that two-thirds of consumers use debit cards more frequently than credit cards. But when asked how they would react if they were charged a $3 monthly debit card fee, 61 percent said they'd find another way to pay.
With a $5 fee, 66 percent said they would change their payment method.
Several banks are nevertheless moving ahead with debit card fees.
SunTrust, a regional bank based in Atlanta, began charging a $5 debit card fee on its basic checking accounts this summer. Regions Financial, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., plans to start charging a $4 fee next month.
Chase and Wells Fargo are also testing $3 monthly debit card fees in select markets. Neither bank has said when it will make a final decision on whether to roll out the fee more broadly.
The growing prevalence of the debit card fee is alarming for Josh Wood, a 32-year-old financial adviser in Amarillo, Texas.
Wood relies entirely on debit cards to avoid interest charges on a credit card. If his bank, Wells Fargo, began charging a debit card fee, he said he would take his business to a credit union.
If a debit fee became so prevalent that it was unavoidable, Wood said |
crazy, and I ran out too because I didn't want to get killed," he said.
Shopper Patrick Carnes is moved from the Walmart by SWAT medics. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)
Guadalupe Perez was inside the store with her young son when she heard what she thought was a balloon popping. A Walmart employee told her someone was shooting, and then Perez saw people running away yelling, "Let's go. Let's go. Leave the groceries."
"You see all these things in the news and you go through it, it's scary," she said. "But thank God we're OK and nothing happened to us."
Investigators, including special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were reviewing security video and interviewing witnesses. Avila said police don't yet know how many rounds were fired.
Ragan Dickens, a Walmart spokesman, said the company is working with investigators.Trump says he is'very flattered’ by the effort. Report: N.Y. GOP wants Gov. Trump
State Republican leaders in New York are pushing for Donald Trump to run for governor, according a report Monday.
“There is only one prospective candidate who could run on the GOP line and win against Cuomo in 2014 — Donald Trump,” a memo circulated by a GOP assemblyman read, as quoted by the New York Post.
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Trump said he was “very flattered’’ by the effort, which the paper reported is backed by state GOP Chairman Ed Cox and other party leaders.
( PHOTOS: 11 politicians with Donald Trump)
However, Trump also noted that running for governor is “not something that I’ve ever even thought about.’’
Trump echoed his response in a TV appearance on Monday.
“We have a lot problems, but it’s not something that is of great interest to me, I will say,” Trump said on “Fox and Friends.”
“It’s a first, it would be very interesting, but New York has some very serious problems, with taxes that are through the roof, we have energy sitting under our ground that we’re not getting,” Trump said.
The three-page memo was circulated to other Republican leaders by Rochester-area Assemblyman Bill Nojay and aims to make the case for a Trump bid, calling him an “iconic figure.”
“In many respects, Trump is not considered a Republican — he is his own brand, an almost iconic figure of Rockefellerian proportions,” the memo said. “This will benefit him because many people who could never bring themselves to vote for a Republican would vote for Trump as Trump.”
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to run for reelection next year.- Police in Denver arrested a suspected drug dealer Tuesday after they said he threw 17 bags of heroin over a fence as he was being chased by officers.
On the other side of the fence is a doggy day care called Bark and Play, and one of the dogs ate an entire bag of the drug.
"You can't process the fact that your dog ate heroin," the dog's owner told KMGH. She was at work when she got the call.
"'She's high on heroin,'" the woman said the day care told her. "'We're treating her but you need to come as soon as you can.'"
Surveillance video shows a golden retriever named Charlie eating the full bag of heroin.
"You can see her chewing on it as she walks away," said owner of the Bark and Play, Garrett Bishop.
A few seconds later, an employee can be seen picking up several heroin baggies from the ground.
"All in all, 17 baggies were found in our playroom, not including the five that the guy tried to swallow," further explained Bishop.
"The employee saved her life," said Charlie's owner. "I know she'd be dead. I'm really happy she's not because they were so fast-acting."
The day care had to rush Charlie to the vet, where she was treated with charcoal and the heroin antidote Narcan.
"I could have lost my dog yesterday because some stupid idiot decided to sell drugs, run from the police and throw them," the dog's owner said.
"This whole heroin problem around here is ridiculous," Bishop said.
Denver police confirmed the suspect is in custody.For the past two decades, urban planners and architects in Vienna have been considering how women and men use the city. An article in the Atlantic earlier this year explained that, when asked about their daily lives in a planning survey, “The majority of men reported using either a car or public transit twice a day -- to go to work in the morning and come home at night. Women, on the other hand, used the city’s network of sidewalks, bus routes, subway lines and streetcars more frequently and for a myriad reasons." "The women had a much more varied pattern of movement," city administrator Ursula Bauer told the Atlantic. "They were writing things like, 'I take my kids to the doctor some mornings, then bring them to school before I go to work. Later, I help my mother buy groceries and bring my kids home on the metro.'"
As a result, Vienna is a friendlier city for women and easier and safer for them to navigate. Their use of the city isn’t biologically mandated, but squarely pegged to gender roles and their effects, like women’s desire for better lighting to improve their safety. It’s also useful to men who are now more involved in daily childcare.
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What Vienna did is known as gender mainstreaming. It’s a strategy for creating more equitable societies that fairly allocate resources by considering a diversity of needs. Vienna’s urban planning initiative is a good illustration of how gender mainstreaming not only considers how certain goals impact everyone, but how goals actually change when you give everyone consideration.
The approach, however, is still not typical. Not even in seemingly simple and intuitive ways. For example, until relatively recently, using only male body crash test dummies resulted in the deaths of many more women in car accidents. Having “unisex” military uniforms built for men endangered female soldiers. Thinking of female bodies as exceptional, basically as a preexisting condition, meant our insurance and healthcare solutions failed us disproportionately. There is no shortage of examples where focusing on the male body alone creates problems or makes existing ones worse.
Consider, for example, what happens in the wake of war or natural disaster. International aid efforts are designed to ensure security and help governments return their countries to some semblance of normalcy. After a disaster we know that everyone affected suffers. We read news stories that talk about water shortages, lack of medical care, food crises and more. However, according to “In Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls and Disasters,” a study released in October by the aid organization Plan International, girls and women are at significantly higher risk for dying and violence after natural disaster. How much more? In disasters, girls and woman are 14 times more likely to die than boys and men. And they're more vulnerable to a whole host of other ills as well.
The report cites the findings of a 2007 study conducted by researchers at the London School of Economics, "The Gendered Nature of Natural Disasters," which describes the impact of male preference on survival. This thinking also affects the distribution of valuable relief resources, like food and medicine. Girls are less likely to be fed or to get critical medical health in the wake of disasters. In the Philippines right now, 1,000 women are giving birth a day with almost no medical care as a result of their disastrous typhoon having destroyed virtually every care facility. Medical teams who have gone to the area are not necessarily prepared or equipped to deal with critical obstetrics and gynecology issues. The U.N. estimates that as a result of last month’s record-breaking Pacific typhoon, 65,000 Filipino girls and women are at significantly heightened risk for what were already high rates of rape and sexual assault. After wars and natural disasters, young adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual predators. A No. 1 reason cited by Syrian refugees for fleeing their country is fear of sexual violence. Media and governments both minimize what these realities mean in planning courses of action.
In addition, social ideas about gender, purity and honor – so crucial to patriarchal organization - also have a dangerous effect. Aid workers in Pakistan report that girls and women made up 85 percent of those displaced by the tsunami. The LSE study cited above explained the ways in which aid is affected because for women it can be shameful to ask for help from unrelated men. This exacerbated already extreme harms and magnified suffering tremendously.
Lastly, as things improve and communities attempt to achieve a sense of normalcy by sending children to school after disaster and displacement, girls continue to pay a high price. Boys are often sent back to school first, either because educating girls is seen as unnecessary, or because they are needed to provide labor and childcare, or because the threat of rape and assault are considered too high. This is happening in Syrian refugee camps. Instead of going to school, many Syrian girls are being forced into early marriage – where they face sexual and domestic violence and a high likelihood of pregnancy and maternity-related illness and death.
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Failing to make gender analysis a part of problem-solving is how we end up with benighted State Department officials who think of “women’s issues” as peripheral and, when asked about women in Afghanistan, say things such as “There's no way we can be successful if we maintain every special interest and pet project,” instead of understanding, as Professor Valerie Hudson and others have spent decades documenting, that state security, and international peace, are intimately bound with the status of women.
Which brings us closer to home. Two weeks ago, the immigration reform organization We Belong Together: Women for Common Sense Immigration Reform, hosted a panel on the status of reform. The purpose of the panel, which included the organization's co-chair Pramila Jayapal, Gloria Steinem, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and a host of other activists and policymakers, was to share information about why gender matters and to correct distorted media portrayals of what immigrants and immigration looks like.
Women and their children make up more than 50 percent of undocumented immigrants and fully 75 percent of those hoping to emigrate to the United States. While they make up the bulk of immigrants, only 27 percent of U.S. work visas are granted to women, nearly 60 percent of whom are involved in domestic and care work. Demand for this work is predicted to grow by 48 percent during the next 10 years.
If you’d listened to congressional debates a few months ago, or read everyday news coverage, none of these facts were taken into account by lawmakers. The reforms favored highly educated, temporary foreign workers, who are disproportionately likely to be single men. Not only do female immigrants have fewer educational and employment opportunities both in their home countries and in the U.S., but they face a whole host of dangers and issues that men do not. For example, up to 70 percent of women crossing the border illegally and alone are abused by “border rapists.” Female immigrants are far more likely to be accompanied by children, forced into sex trafficking, experience domestic violence and struggle with debilitating poverty – all of which affect U.S. domestic policy. Sen. Mazie Hirono formed a coalition, mainly of bipartisan women in Congress, to address the intrinsic bias in the proposed law. There have been important improvements since, but reform is stalled.
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Now consider how we talk about our ever-widening wealth gap. Here, too, the media, far more often than not, slaps “unisex” on everything and calls it a day. Mainstream media assessments rarely, if ever, mention defining gendered dynamics as crucial to finding solutions. It’s impossible to understand the wealth gap without looking at systemic biases along multiple dimensions like gender and race.
Several years ago, in her book "Shortchanged," professor Mariko Chang made the compelling case that closing racial wealth gaps is contingent on closing gender wealth gaps, and that closing the gender gap is essential to closing the overall gap. Women, for a whole host of reasons, are “wealth poor.” Chang demonstrated that every measured racial category, single women accrue only a fraction of the wealth that men do in the same categories. For every dollar in wealth that African-American and Hispanic men have, their female counterparts own one penny. Even if the pay gaps were closed, as Chang explains, women would not be able to accumulate wealth in the same measure as their male peers because of gendered expectations.
Looking at problems this way is important. Instead, this CNN piece about race and poverty is typical. It includes a lot of information about differences in home ownership and why it matters, but nothing about wealth, women and mortgage discrimination. According to a study conducted in Chicago and released earlier this year, women are 24 percent less likely to get approved for mortgages. When black women list their names first on mortgage loan application they are "34 % less likely to be approved than if their applications first list a black man.” When the application was for refinancing, that number went up to 44 percent.
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Internationally, the U.S. is formally committed to gender equality, making sure, for example, that women are included in peace process considerations in foreign conflict resolutions. We have a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security to assist in those efforts. However, our just released National Action Plan 2.0 has no domestic initiatives tied to similar ideas. This may help explain why our country continues to lag in measures of gender equity. On an informal basis, U.S. government entities sometimes take on gender audits of their own accord. However, unlike many other countries, we have no department or division whose purpose is to understand gender inequality in the law and distribute resources more fairly so that everyone’s needs are met. The EU, by comparison, has a detailed gender mainstreaming toolkit that all member states employ. Anything that remotely hints at gender considerations in the U.S., such as the Violence Against Women Act or Title IX, remains mired in controversies that persistently demonstrate a willingness to portray the dismantling of entitlements and the loss of sex-based privileges with oppression. Today, the issue with both the VAWA and Title IX is that people are demanding not just the formal recognition of equal access and protection under the law, but the normative expression of both in daily life.
Gender mainstreaming does have a downside. As Angela McRobbie points out in her book, "The Aftermath of Feminism," despite grass-roots implementations, the practice is “increasingly interpreted as a neo-liberal reorganization strategy.” Additionally, it can be used to perpetuate gender essentialist dichotomies that are, in the end, causing many of the problems it seeks to address. Lastly, particularly from a North/South global perspective, the implementation of gender mainstreaming can replicate the worst aspects of colonialism.
As it is, however, here in the U.S., we are still often stuck with a “let’s get input from some women’s groups” mind-set that does nothing to alter the fundamental framework that women’s lives and needs are shoehorned into. It’s only when women get angry and outraged, either with public policy or in the private sector, that policymakers are forced to confront bias.
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Last Thursday morning, Twitter quietly announced a change to the way people could block abusive users. Before the day was done, avoiding a potential P.R. nightmare, they’d reverted to their earlier policy. The company appeared to not take into account the response of users who felt that the change enabled harassers, stalkers and cyber bullies and made the platform an unsafe space. These users were primarily vocal women, who make up 75 percent of those targeted online and are 25 times more likely to be harassed with malice than men are. Understanding needs from a gender inclusive perspective hurts no one -- and it has the potential to help so many.Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
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Editor’s Note: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here. Ad Policy
The most surprising development in our political debate isn’t the gaggle of Republican presidential contenders or the ceaseless attacks on Hillary Clinton. What is stunning is the emergence of a populist reform agenda that is driving the debate inside and outside the Democratic Party.
A range of groups and leaders are putting forward a reform agenda of increasing coherence. Today, the Roosevelt Institute will present a report by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is to release a “Progressive Agenda to Combat Income Inequality.” These follow the Populism 2015 Platform, released in April by an alliance of grass-roots groups and the Campaign for America’s Future. Also in April, the Center for Community Change (CCC) joined with several grass-roots allies to launch Putting Families First: Good Jobs for All.
Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), now contending for the Democratic presidential nomination, released his Economic Agenda for America last December. And while Hillary Clinton has chosen a slow rollout of her agenda, the Center for American Progress published the report of the Commission on Inclusive Prosperity headed by former treasury secretary Larry Summers, widely seen as a marker of where Hillary might move.
Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.There’s a gentleman who automaton works with who doesn’t play Diablo 3 himself anymore, he has a bot instead. Each morning he starts up his bot so that it can play the game for him while he’s at work, killing mobs in the hopes that one will drop a rare item he can sell on the auction house.
Every day we see him he says, “You guys should play Diablo 3, it’s great,” because in his mind he’s still playing the game. He looks forward to interacting with his bot like you would a pet. “Hey boy, what’s that item you have in your mouth? Is it a legendary? No!? Bad. Bad botty! Now you play all night and think about what you did.”
He sounds genuinely concerned when he talks about the bots’ well-being. “What happens when the server goes down?” we ask him. He droops his head, “Yea, that’s a problem. The bot doesn’t like that.” He is often afraid Blizzard will discover his bot and shut down his account. But what can he do? He loves that bot. People do crazy things for love.Have you ever heard about a game called Custom Maid 3D? If you haven’t, well let’s start by saying that it is definitely not a game for kids, and it is definitely NSFW. The basic premise is that you can create a custom maid in 3D and do sexual things to them using the Ju-C Air Support controller. For those unfamiliar, the Ju-C Air controller is a device where male gamers get to stick their privates in, and from there they get to pleasure themselves and the game will respond in kind. In any case this is somewhat old news as the game and device was revealed back in February, but what’s interesting is that while we’ve seen the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset used for more conventional games, it seems that the developers behind Custom Maid 3D have released an update that will allow the headset to be used in conjunction with the game!
Erotic games are not new to the Oculus Rift and some of you might have heard of Wicked Paradise, so technically this update to Custom Maid 3D will make it the second erotic game to support the Oculus Rift headset. While we have to play the game for ourselves, and with no plans to at the moment, we can’t really comment on what the experience is like, but assuming it was pleasurable before, we can only imagine the sensation will be kicked up a notch thanks to a more immersive gameplay.
Filed in. Read more about Oculus Rift.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
A 52-year-old man is claiming to have the longest penis in the world.
Roberto Esquivel Cabrera’s penis is allegedly 18.9 inches long – making it the longest reported appendage in the world.
However, far from his long penis being a source of pride for Mr Carbera – from Mexico – he has claimed that its length has left him plagued with medical issues and resulted in him not being able to seek employment or provide for himself, reports TMZ.
He has since been offered his first role as an adult film actor – set to star in a hospital porno.
Although Mr Cabera’s claim is currently unverified, he said he would like the Guinness Book of World Records to recognise his impressive size.
Amid claims he was lying, Mr Cabera recently underwent a medical examination and had an X-ray to prove that he was telling the truth.
Is it actually a long penis?
Despite this, doctors are said to claiming that the actual penis is only 6 inches long and that the rest is in fact just excess skin.
However, the wannabe record holder remains adamant, saying: “Look where it is, it goes far below the knees.
“I cannot do anything, I cannot work, and I am a disabled so I want authorities to declare me as a disabled person and give me support.”
“Then, I want to go to the Guinness to get recognition.”
Prior to his claim to having the longest penis in the world it is believed America Johan Falcon held the record – measuring up at 13.38 inches.
Watch the full video – which contains some graphic content – below.A Democratic congresswoman was not pleased with President Trump’s remarks about the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia yesterday and has called for the president to be removed from office. No, it’s not Maxine “Ragin’” Waters (D-CA); it’s Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI).
The president blamed both sides for the violence that occurred last Saturday, where white nationalists were protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. Left wing counter protesters arrived and brawls broke out. Many were sent to the hospital, but the day took a very tragic turn when a white nationalist—James Alex Fields Jr.—plowed through a bunch of counter protesters, injuring 19 and killing one woman. There is no doubt that the fact that a white nationalist killed a woman changes the game. Antifa and their left wing allies are bullying thugs. They’re violent. They cause trouble, but their absurd antics didn’t lead to someone’s death in this case. Overall, yes, you cannot have a discussion about the heated political rhetoric and anti-free speech antics occurring in this country without talking about and condemning Antifa as well. Yet, that’s in a general sense. With regards to Charlottesville, you can still say Antifa are thugs, which they are, but the level of violence committed from both sides was not equal due to the vehicle attack. That being said, I don’t feel that a statement with which you find disagreement is cause for impeachment (via The Hill):
On Tuesday, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) took that argument a long step forward, urging the removal of Trump, as well. Moore, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said Trump’s remarks on Tuesday defending some of the white nationalist protesters in Charlottesville — while blaming counter-protesters, in part, for the eruption of violence — is evidence enough that Trump is unfit to serve as president of a country derived of multiculturalism. “As we once again hear Donald Trump defend those responsible for the deadly riot in Charlottesville and receive praise by hate groups like the KKK and neo-Nazis, the time has come for Republicans and Democrats to put aside our political differences and philosophical debates for a higher cause,” Moore said in a brief statement. “For the sake of the soul of our country, we must come together to restore our national dignity that has been robbed by Donald Trump’s presence in the White House,” she added. “My Republican friends, I implore you to work with us within our capacity as elected officials to remove this man as our commander-in-chief and help us move forward from this dark period in our nation’s history.”
Trump removed from office because you don’t like what he said; that’s not going to happen.[W]e were told by a high up staffer who works for Joe Biden that Obama did it [endorsed Patrick Murphy] to get contributions to his uber-expensive presidential library, ostensibly from Murphy's rich, crooked father, from the super-wealthy Saudi family that sponsors Murphy (the notorious Al-Rashids ) and from Schumer's Wall Street patrons. ( source
Does Obama want to pass TPP so badly because Americans need it?
Does he want to pass TPP because his party needs it?
Or because he needs it personally?
Obama's TPP campaign could drag down Democrats
How much is President Obama willing to harm the Democratic Party in order to win approval for the deeply unpopular Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "trade" agreement? We may soon find out.
On Tuesday, Politico broke the story that the White House will be "making an all-out push to win passage of the deal in the lame duck session of Congress, organizing 30 events over the congressional recess." The effort will be designed to put pressure not only on Democratic members of Congress, but also on swing Republican votes, by lobbying important business interests in their districts.
Trump is far behind Clinton in the polls, and it seems unlikely that Obama would have launched a public campaign of this magnitude for the TPP in the heat of an election season if the race were looking like a serious contest. But there is more at stake: millions of potential Republican voters will stay home in November if Trump is losing by a wide margin. Many others will stay home simply because they don't like him.
[M]any of these disaffected voters could be rallied to the polls if they think that Clinton, and her party, are going to bring them another failed "trade" agreement. (On the other side, some potential Democratic voters could abstain or switch sides for the same reasons). All this could make the difference between the Democrats taking the Senate, and in a big enough landslide, even the House of Representatives.
So [TPP] is looking like a very close vote. (For procedural and political reasons, Obama will not bring it to a vote unless he is sure he has the necessary votes). Now let's look at one special group of Representatives who can swing this vote: the actual lame-ducks, i.e., those who will be in office only until Jan. 3. It depends partly on how many lose their election on Nov. 8, but the average number of representatives who left after the last three elections was about 80.
Most of these people will be looking for a job, preferably one that can pay them more than $1 million a year. From the data provided by OpenSecrets.org, we can estimate that about a quarter of these people will become lobbyists. (An additional number will work for firms that are clients of lobbyists).
So there you have it: It is all about corruption, and this is about as unadulterated as corruption gets in our hallowed democracy, other than literal cash under a literal table. These are the people whom Obama needs to pass this agreement, and the window between Nov. 9 and Jan. 3 is the only time that they are available to sell their votes to future employers without any personal political consequences whatsoever. The only time that the electorate can be rendered so completely irrelevant, if Obama can pull this off.
Why is Obama willing to risk so much to get the TPP passed this year? Many press reports insist that it is because he wants it for his legacy. It is strange to think that he would want such an unpopular agreement for his legacy. There are less flattering reasons that seem much more plausible.
[W]e were told by a high up staffer who works for Joe Biden that Obama did it [endorsed Patrick Murphy] to get contributions to his uber-expensive presidential library, ostensibly from Murphy's rich, crooked father, from the super-wealthy Saudi family that sponsors Murphy (the notorious Al-Rashids) and from Schumer's Wall Street patrons
It is all about corruption, and this is about as unadulterated as corruption gets in our hallowed democracy, other than literal cash under a literal table.
There's always a question about who politicians are primarily working for. Are they working mainly for the country and its people, for their political party and its access to power, or for their own personal fortunes? In the case of Obama and his headlong rush to pass the billioinaire-written TPP, I think we have a perfect petri dish for isolating the answer, at least in this one case.Again, the questions are:Obviously, the answer could be Yes to all three. In the case of the TPP, however, we're going to find two No answers, leaving just one candidate. I'm going to keep this as brief as I can. It's really not a hard question to answer.No. It's been documented here and a great many other places that the country not only doesn't need TPP to pass, it desperately needs itto pass. It really will be a NAFTA-style job killer, as well as a killer of national sovereignty (see also here ). If you doubt me, check the links, or read anything from Public Citizen's Eyes on Trade pages.Again, no. In fact, the Democratic Party also needs TPP not to pass. As Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, wrote recently in The Hill (my emphasis):And yet...After looking at how close the Fast Track vote was, Weisbrot makes a striking point — to pass TPP, Obama will need the help of politicians in both parties whoin the 2016 election, not those who won — politicians who can, in effect, trash their political futures and that of their party for lucrative personal next-jobs as lobbyists:But note, it's not just the electorate that will be "rendered completely irrelevant" —. Including Obama's Democratic Party. Were Donald Trump to develop a surprisingly competent campaign, the push for TPP could lose the White House for Democrats, and with it, the Senate.Obama is asking the Democratic Party to take a huge risk. Even if they win the White House in 2016, 2018 could shape up as brutal for them. Pushing for, and passing, TPP will spark another Sanders-like backlash, in both parties.For the final question, Weisbrot hints at the answer:I'll do a little more than hint. The Obama Library (and any future foundation he may launch with other people's money) is his ticket to the next phase of his life. Not his party's life; just his own and his family's. As Howie Klein wrote in the quote at the top of this piece:TPP offers a much larger payday than endorsing Patrick Murphy, a mere senator. TPP is wanted by nearly every American industry with money, from Wall Street to Big Pharma to Silicon Valley to Hollywood and every stop in between. As Weisbrot said above about the Congress people Obama is targeting:As Weisbrot hints (and I'm willing to say), that statement is also true about Obama. The Big Money people who want Congress to pass TPP also want Obama to make it pass, even if he sacrifices his own party's future to do it, and they're clearly willing to pay to "make it so." (After all, what's the point of having too much money if you can't buy things with it.) Obama's obviously on board; his recent actions scream how eager he is. To see if I'm right, watch his presidential library list of donors, if he releases it.Money doesn't talk, it swears. Though maybe its song is sweeter when Democrats listen.GP
Labels: Barack Obama, corrupt Democrats, Gaius Publius, lameduck session, TPP, Trans-Pacific PartnershipWe’ve all seen the big headlines over the few past few years proclaiming various new oil fields. These stories often go on to claim how the Age of Oilquarius is now upon us and we will swim and bath in seas of energy until the sun explodes and the universe ends. We are often showered with numbers and statistics that upon closer inspection don’t mean anything useful at all.
Case and point is the announcement earlier this year that a large oil field had been discovered in the Australian outback. Check out these three headlines and bylines below:
Pretty heady stuff. The first headline goes straight for the Benjamins, mentioning an undefined ‘trillions of dollars’ and then follows up with the astronomical number of 233 billion barrels. It ends with the George Clooney of the oil world, the country that everyone wants to be, Saudi Arabia. Where do I sign up?
The second headline also carries the money line and adds that holy grail in energy circles of ‘ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.’ The headline asks us to dream of the Australian oil utopia where true blue Ozzies no longer have to buy oil from those troublesome Arabs. Neither does anyone else because Australia is now a net oil exporter! Hooray! Unfortunately they also mention that pesky detail that Coober Pedy has somewhere between 3.5 billion and 233 billion barrels of oil. One of those numbers is quite a bit bigger than the other one (we will revisit this later).
Finally we have the slightly more sober ‘transform world’s oil industry’ which isn’t really that much more sober when you consider that the revenue for Conoco Phillips is larger than the GDP of Pakistan, the revenue for Chevron is larger than the GDP of the Czech Republic and the revenue for Exxon Mobil is larger than the GDP of Thailand, i.e when we we talk about transforming the world’s oil industry we are talking about some major world changing activities.
So I hear you ask: why are these headlines so fantastic? The first reason is just one word. Hype.
1. Hype
Hype is what marketers do to sell people things they don’t really want or need. The above headlines are the news story equivalent of a store proclaiming ‘up to 70% off selected items.’ Never mind that once your in the store you find you don’t actually want any of those luckily selected 70% off items: half the battle is already won. You are already in the shop and that greatly increases the likelihood of you buying something else.
Like stores, oil companies want people to buy their product. Although in the case of oil exploration companies initially the product they are selling is an investment with the potential to have a large pay off down the line. Of course the larger they can hype the market the more people will be interested and more likely to invest. A few might be turned off by deeper reading into the flaky numbers but there are more than enough people out there with wads of cash who are willing to take a gamble. Hence the company attracts investors and the board of directors live sweet for a couple of years on the investment capital until the next big find.
2. Most people don’t understand basic mathematics
The second reason why oil companies get away with overblown estimates is because most people don’t understand basic mathematics.
Taking the example above the Coober Pedy could hold somewhere between 3.5 billion and 233 billion barrels. Most people don’t stop and think about how huge the difference in those numbers actually is. If we converted that to a salary of $3,500 and compared it to $233,000 we see very easily how the former wouldn’t last more than a few months while latter would provide a wealth of excess. Another way of thinking about it is that 233 billion is over 6550 percent larger than 3.5 billion.
Scientifically the confidence intervals would be so wide as to be absolutely meaningless. But most people don’t get this and so oil companies continue to pedal this hogwash.
3. The bystander effect
It’s basic human nature to avoid a problem until it starts affecting you personally. It is also basic human nature to avoid a problem if everyone else is also avoiding the problem. The is called the bystander effect or Genovese syndrome. For example an accident with a crowd standing around: because the majority of bystanders are doing nothing about it, the less likely it is for anyone individual to break the mold and help those involved in the accident. This is occurs because as the number of bystanders increases an individual is less likely to notice the situation, interpret it as a problem and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action.
In the realm of energy activism there are only a small number of people willing to risk their careers and reputations in calling for an end to the status quo. The majority of people don’t even notice our addiction to oil let alone see it as a problem. Therefore the oil companies throw around any numbers they like and barely anyone not already interested in energy takes any notice.
4. Keeping business as usual
Given that we live in an age of sound bites and miniscule attention spans what we read in the form of headlines is incredibly powerful. This creates problems when those headlines aren’t entirely truthful and we can’t even have a frank and open discussion about our energy future because “everything’s fine, they keep finding big ones everywhere.”
If we look at the figures above comparing oil company profits to countries GDP’s we can see that oil companies are doing pretty darn well for themselves. They don’t want anything to change that could threaten their profit margin. They have a vested interest in keeping business as usual.
There is a concerted effort to downplay the occurrence of peak oil and to reinforce that there is plenty of affordable oil left in the world. Because if people really start getting spooked en mass then governments could be forced into seriously looking into alternative energy, the last thing any oil company really wants.
By reporting overblown field estimates oil companies keep people passive and unconcerned about their future. This means oil companies can get on with making as much money as they possibly can while cheap oil is still relatively accessible.
5. Warding off effective action on climate change
There is a wealth of evidence that oil companies have invested huge amounts of money in disinformation campaigns to confuse the public about climate change. By downplaying climate change and continuing to attract investment with overblown field estimates oil companies can |
Environment earlier this year, but the CVRD is determined to continue with the litigation to protect its ability to control land use through its zoning bylaws.Luis Enrique spoke about two players in particular in his press conference ahead of Barcelona's trip to face Osasuna. Sergi Roberto and Andre Gomes.
Of the former he said that he will keep playing at right-back despite'recovering' Aleix Vidal and of the Portuguese that in the future he could be a pivot, but for now he is going to be used more often as an interior.
On Sergi Roberto Lucho said: "Sergi gives us different possibilities, he's a wildcard of a player because of how easy it is for him to play in different positions. This year he's been more of a right-back and he will keep this role in principle, but I can't rule out playing him in another position. But in principle, his position this season, and as we have designed the squad, is as a full-back."
On Gomes, when asked if he could one day play in the Sergio Busquets role full-time, Lucho added: "Yes, in fact, when we put him there we understand he has the qualities to do it, later we will have to see with a number of games under his belt if it's his position. I think, however, that his best position is interior and that's where he can give the team the most, not just for how he works on the ball but for how he arrives [in the box] and the shot he has. He helped us as a pivot. I think in the end it's something that helps the players, to be able to feature in various positions, and of course the team, as I have more resources and more options."Earlier this year, Gizmodo UK scored ourselves a scoop, as we exclusively revealed some of the findings from last year’s wifi tracking trial, in which Transport for London analysed wifi data picked up from our phones as we travel on the London Underground - and was able to track our movements across the tube network.
Many months on and TfL has decided to share more details on what it learned during the trial in an official capacity - and today marks the publication of a report that has been led by TfL’s Chief Data Officer, Lauren Sager Weinstein.
Why analyse wifi data in this way? “There are a lot of questions we've been mulling over for some time about how we can run a transport network as efficiently as we can, how can plan for the future and how can we give customers more information about travel”, she says.
She told me that the idea to analyse wifi data to gain customer insights has its origins in the original Oyster card system. Starting in 2005, she first started to scrutinise the Oyster data using data science - and this was at a time when TfL was solely reliant on paper surveys and stopping passengers at stations and asking them about their journeys.
“As the world of data has exploded and as computer power has [increased] we've built up a practice of looking at customer patterns and movements through the ticketing data, and [we] said there's a gap here, right?”
The gap she noticed was that Oyster data didn’t paint a complete picture. “You touch in and you touch out... but that meant there was a big question mark about travel within central London in particular when you have multiple different ways of travelling around the network”, she explains. “So we thought: Is there some potential here to use this as a data source when we have the wifi on the tube to take patterns and look at the patterns from this dataset as well?”
Imagine trying to make sense of 500m lines like this.
As it turns out, using this wifi data TfL has been able to learn an awful lot. In the month in which the trial took place last year, it logged more than 500m (anonymised) wifi connection requests from around 5.6m devices. That’s a lot of data! So what did they learn? Read on to find out more.
Tracking Journeys Around The Network
(Insert ultra-niche Unown reference here.)
Just as we revealed earlier in the year, one of the most eye-catching aspects was that it enables TfL to essentially fill in the gaps - and figure out how we got between A and B. To show just how useful this is, Lauren explains that they took one of the most complex routes: Kings Cross to Waterloo. There’s a myriad of different ways to get between the two - and using the wifi data they can now tell that 32% of passengers travel via Oxford Circus, and 26.7% go via Green Park. Perhaps most bewilderingly, apparently 1.2% of passengers during the trial chose to go to Baker Street, take the Bakerloo to Oxford Circus, then the Victoria to Green Park… before finally taking the Jubilee to Waterloo. If that’s you then please do write in as I’d like to know what is going on inside your head.
And yes, just in case you’re wondering, as an expert tube traveller Lauren says that she would take the route via Oxford Circus - especially because she knows that there is a relatively short interchange there.
Seeing How Delays Affect Demand
Knowing how people behave is one thing: But what about when something goes wrong? When the Waterloo and City Line went down on the morning 9th December, thousands of commuters were suddenly shaken out of the sort of robotic trance you go into when you repeat a journey so many times. Instead, they had to get to work by alternative means - but which route did they choose?
The above diagram shows how adjacent routes were impacted - and how the increased demand rippled out across the tube network as a whole. In terms of actual numbers, this meant that 4000 people decided to take the Jubilee, 3000 took the Bakerloo to Embankment. By the time everyone got to Embankment, the tube network had to cope with an extra 6000 people taking the Circle and District line eastbound to Monument. The TfL report reckons that translates to approximately 150 extra people on board each train arriving. At what was already rush hour. Yikes.
It’s easy to imagine how, if the wifi tracking system was live, it could be used to monitor demand in real time, and could instruct frontline staff in stations on the best places to redirect passengers to.
“You're really able to see with the data itself what was otherwise reliant on your eyes and operational teams feeding back”, Lauren explains. Taking this data driven approach, in other words, is going to be much more effective.
Moving Around Stations
We also revealed earlier this year that wifi data could be used to make heatmaps of which parts of stations are particularly busy. TfL’s official report makes the same point - and also points to how the data is so fine-grained that it is possible to see the routes people take between different platforms and so on.
In the above example, showing Euston (just as our FOI’d images did), it shows two possible routes between the northbound Northern Line platform and southbound Victoria. Apparently in this case, 68% of passengers take the shortest possible route - up a set of stairs - which takes between 1 and 3 minutes, whereas others are lazy and go all the way up the escalator to the next level, and then take the other escalator back down again. (Have a look at this excellent 3D map from StationMaster if you can’t quite picture it.)
Read More: Major museums are using wifi to track you too.
TfL was also able to see how disruptions impacted stations too: Apparently when mega-congested, the walk times increased from 3 minutes to more than ten minutes. Which creates a whole array of second-order problems for the poor staff on the ground trying to squeeze everyone in.
The wifi data also enables TfL to generate more accurate data on crowding in stations. The above graph compares the number of Oyster touch-ins with wireless device detections over the course of the day.
Previously, how busy a station was could only be measured using Oyster touch in data but there’s a fairly big flaw in using this: There’s a fairly hard limit on how many people can use a set of ticket barriers at any one time. So measuring it by touch-ins doesn’t account for hundreds or thousands of grumpy commuters in the queue.
The wifi data, by contrast, accounts for these people as it still picks up their phones - and comparing it with Oyster touch-ins gives a really immediate and stark example of when it is particularly crowded, such as at Oxford Circus during morning and evening peak.
Read More: Remember the Holborn'standing only' escalator trial? Here's the results of that experiment too.
Crowding On Trains
Crowding data doesn’t just work for stations - it could work on trains too. Earlier this year we revealed that TfL had figured out how to use the data to work backwards and track a specific user on a specific train as they travelled through many stations. Using this data, TfL could better inform passengers about how busy their trains are likely to be - and using it, help shape passenger behaviour to, say, encourage them to travel at different times or not all crowd on to the first train that arrives, if the one just behind is significantly less busy.
The graphic above shows just how detailed the data can get - taking one set of peak trains from the southbound Victoria line at Euston station on the 9th December 2016. Even during rush hour. It is clear that there is some fairly significant variation in just how rammed each train is. Below is an example of how the data could then be presented on screens to passengers.
Better Journey Planners
And finally, what about giving commuters more control in the journey planner? Rather than simply present the options of the different routes available, by using wifi data the planner could also offer details on which route will mean the most pleasant journey. Sure, you could take the Victoria Line to Victoria, as shown in the mock-up above - but maybe it’d be less sweaty if you took the District Line instead?
Seeing this did make me wonder, though: What if we’re all using these apps? If everyone using CityMapper and Google Maps took the quiet routes, wouldn’t the alternatives… not be so quiet? Isn’t there a risk of creating a feedback loop?
“We need to think about how we effectively communicate going forward. [...] We want people to have information at their fingertips”, Lauren says, but she admits that it isn’t easy as there can always be feedback loops. “People will go one way and that will have an effect, and a secondary effect... so it’s complicated. Just to do the analysis requires some thinking about how you analyse what is going on on the network and how you take all of these movement patterns and create an overall pattern.”
“I'm sure that we'll have to think about all that, but it’s a great challenge to have”, she explains.
The other big challenge ultimately is to figure how best to use the data and the models that the data creates. And this gives Lauren tonnes of questions for her team to answer: “What does a front end visuals that use this data look like? How would it be used to provide customer information, and what format would customers want to consume it? How can we work with our operations team so they can have it as a tool in their arsenal for when they're running our network? How do we feed this into the models and plans for thinking about the transport network? Can we model far into the future?”
So what’s next? Will TfL be switching on the wifi trackers full time? Following the publication of the report, TfL is now recommending that TfL switches on wifi tracking for “continued use”. But don’t expect them to switch it on for Monday morning - as now the project needs to go from proof of concept to something more robust, and the agency is clearly trying to be responsible and keep the public informed along the way about what it wants to do and the potential benefits, given the obvious potential privacy concerns.
“I don't have a specific date but we're keen to move forward on this because there is real value in it”, says Lauren.
So who knows? Perhaps one day in the future you might be travelling from Kings Cross to Waterloo - but before you board your train a notification might pop up to warn you about crowding. So you might decide there is only one sensible option: Going via Baker Street and Green Park.
James O'Malley is Interim Editor of Gizmodo UK and tweets as @Psythor.
Read More: Our original Tube wifi tracking post.“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”―Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
After Fight Club was published in 1996, our dreams have further devolved and divorced themselves from aspirations of talent. Now we just want to be loved and famous. Why aim high and put all the work into becoming a rock star, when you can just ride someone’s coat-tails Entourage style or become the next Kim Kardashian?
Are Millennials the most narcissistic generation yet? Fueled by our self-esteem obsessed culture, and exemplified by children’s song lyrics like “I am special, I am special, look at me…” That’s the argument San Deigo State personality psychology professor Jean Twenge has been making in several books, and recently, where I heard it, on NPR’s Brain Matters podcast. I’ve heard this sentiment made before. Indeed, most Millennials have heard this sentiment and have internalized it[1].
But is it true?
Are Millennials really narcissists? Let’s look at the data. Because if anything defines Millennials, it’s our trust of data over gut feelings. (I don’t have any data to back this up, but it feels right doesn’t it?)
Google a simple question, like “Are Millennials really narcissists?” and you’ll find a range of answers. Like almost any subject, you can find red-faced experts shouting at one another, carefully-crafted think pieces that “finally resolve the controversy,” and laymen tiredly telling us that the answer is obvious–in this case just look at the selfie-stick.
Whether narcissism has increased is murky, like many questions in psychology, but not unanswerable (if we’ve been collecting the right data). Perhaps though the question of “Are Millennials really more narcissists than previous generations?” is too vague to have a clear yes or no answer. Do you find that disappointing? Unsatisfying? Does the lack of simple answers in the real world feel like just yet another way you were lied to in your childhood and the world has disappointed you?
However, if we define our terms well, we can arrive at a satisfying answer to the question “Are Millennials really narcissists,” or at least I can show you some data and you can come to your own conclusions.
So let’s start by defining the terms: (afterwards we’ll dig into the data itself)
First, who are “Millennials”
Urban dictionary defines the Millennial[2] as: “Special little snowflake. Born between 1982 and 1994 this generation is something special, cause Mom and Dad and their 5th grade teacher Mrs. Winotsky told them so…” As Millennial is a term from pop culture crafted by Steve Bannon’s favorite pop demographer’s[3] and not real academics, Urban dictionary’s definition seems as good as any.
As of 2016, when I’m writing this article, Millennials are the approximately 80 million 21 to 34-year-old adults[4], who got this label because they became adults roughly around the year 2000. I fall right smack in the middle of the Millennial generation, and as such, I will speak for all Millennials[5] (/s). But now that I’ve established my Millennial street-cred, I will refer to Millennials with the pronoun ‘we.’
Also known as Gen Y (since the previous generation was Gen X), we are largely the children of Baby Boomers, the generation defined by the population spike following World War 2. We grew up with home computers, witnessed the Internet bloom beyond email into the modern web, and saw cell-phones shrink from antennaed monstrosities that only existed on TV into the sleek smart-phones in everyone’s pocket. When September 11th happened, we were young and impressionable but old enough to understand and remember exactly[6] where we were when we heard it happened—8th grade, in the hallway between 3rd and 5th period (Why do Millennials always have to make things about themselves). We stressed out in high school about college and if we went, we entered the work force near the Great Recession of the late 2000s.
(If you want to learn more about how Millennials talk and think from a first-hand source, check out the Millennial podcast.)
On average, we are more educated, more diverse, and more single than previous American generations. This we know. These sorts of traits are easy to determine from surveys, but are we more narcissistic? That’s a harder question for reasons we’ll see.
Okay, so what is narcissism?
In the Greek myth, Narcissus fell loved gazing at his reflection so much he transformed into the flower we call the narcissus.
In everyday life we tend to the use the word ‘narcissism’ to describe behavior and a way of thinking similar to Narcissus in the myth: self-admiration and obsession with one’s appearance. Similarly, it’s first use in psychology, was by British sexologist, Havelock Ellis who in 1898 used the term to describe a patient sexually fixated on his own image.
However, in modern psychology, narcissism has a different meaning that goes beyond physical appearance, and pathological narcissism is defined as “extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s talents and a craving for admiration, as a characterizing personality type.”[7] Essentially, narcissists are selfish people who want to be told how great they are, but they’re not as great as they think they are.
Subdivisions of narcissism
Recently, personality psychologists have made a distinction between “normal” and “pathological” narcissism. While “normal,” narcissism is associated with increased self-image and a go-get-em attitude, “pathological,” narcissism goes too far. Pathological narcissists ignore the feelings and wishes of others and expect to be treated as superior, regardless of their actual status or achievements. To be diagnosed as a “pathological narcissist” medically by a psychiatrist, a person’s behavior must deviate significantly from what is expected, and it must cause significant personal or interpersonal problems across situations, and not be due to drugs, medications, or medical conditions.
Pathological narcissism can itself be further split into two categories: grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism.
Grandiose Narcissism
When you think of a narcissist, you are probably thinking of a grandiose narcissist. Sometimes labeled as “oblivious narcissists,” grandiose narcissists seem unaware of the impact they have on others. They are arrogant, conceited, and domineering, and in constant search for admiration. Grandiose narcissists are often exhibitionists who deny their weakness. They demand entitlement and angering at unmet expectations. They devalue people who threaten their self-esteem, and feel intense envy towards those who exceed them. When their inflated self-image conflicts with real world outcomes, they blame the world not themselves.
Vulnerable Narcissism
Also known as the “closet narcissists,” vulnerable narcissists may appear shy or empathetic, suffer from low self-esteem, depend on validation from others, and experience a hypersensitivity to criticism. Doesn’t sound like a narcissist does it?However, paradoxically, underneath all this, “vulnerable narcissists” harbor grandiose fantasies, unrealistic expectations, and feelings of entitlement. Vulnerable narcissists are more aware of their failures than grandiose narcissists, but failure can cause them to get angry, make hostile outbursts, and then feel shame and depression. They also have increased anxiety in developing relationships, and sometimes this can lead to social withdrawal or avoidance.
A recent study showed vulnerable narcissists feel more comfortable communicating online through social media, and spend more time online, where presumably they can exert more control over their self-image and protect their egos. They are also more likely to self-report problematic relationships with social media—e.g. thinking about it excessively, having difficulty cutting back on using it. Another study showed general narcissism was strongly associated with having more friends on social media. So one reason for the seeming prevalence of narcissism in the modern world may be because vulnerable narcissists are over-represented on social media.
Interestingly, in these studies narcissists didn’t tend to spend more time online, perhaps because it didn’t distinguish between grandiose, vulnerable, or the non-pathological adaptive narcissists, which brings us to the next issue, one that is crucial for determining if narcissism has increased in Millennials—how, exactly, do we measure narcissism?
Narcissistic Personality Inventory.
The most widely used tool measure narcissism is a survey, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Originally a 223-question survey, developed in 1979 to meet the Narcissistic Personality Disorder definition of the upcoming DSM-III, it was pared down to a 40-questions version in the ’80s, which is widely used today.
This survey measures narcissism in a broad sense, so it includes the positive traits of adaptive narcissism, like being assertive, in addition to measures of maladaptive narcissism. Therefore it is hard to distinguish from the results of this survey alone, whether a person displays maladaptive narcissism.
So we collected a ton of results using the NPI, but but we weren’t exactly sure what they meant. Some researchers came along and decided to deeply analyzed results. They looked at how answers on one question influenced answers on other questions. For example, the type of person who answers yes to “I see myself as a good leader,” probably also agrees with the statement “I am a born leader,” but this seems to have no relation with whether they agree with the statement “I like to look at myself.” By doing this they showed that their tended to be groups of questions where an individual’s answers where if a person answered “yes,” on one question, they could predict if that person would answer “yes” or “no” on other questions in the other questions in the group. source: modified from Ackerman et al. 2011
If narcissism, was a single-dimensional measure, they argued, all of the answers should be equally, related, but instead they saw 3 clusters of questions that grouped together. And based on this finding they proposed that narcissism isn’t a single-dimensional measure, but rather a group of inter-related personality traits such as Leadership/Authority, Grandiosity/Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness. When the study divided up the question, 11/40 questions fell into the adaptive Leadership/Authority category, more than did so for either Grandiosity/Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness, showing that this survey isn’t great for detecting maladaptive narcissism.
So perhaps we shouldn’t think of narcissism as a one-dimensional line that goes left to right, with low self-esteem on the left, adaptive narcissism in the middle, and maladaptive narcissism on the right, but rather a three three dimensional space, with the x-axis representing Leadership/Authority, y-axis Grandiosity/Exhibitionism, and z-axis Entitlement/Exploitativeness.
To make this more concrete, let’s imagine that two people, Peter and Sarah, got equal scores on the NPI:
However, when we breakdown their answers we see very different patterns. Peter’s score resulted largely from his grandiosity and entitlement, whereas Sarah’s resulted from her belief in her leadership abilities:
This example illustrates an extreme case of how NPI-lump-sum scores can be difficult to interpret.
Another way to look at whether the NPI lump-score is a good measure for pathologic narcissism is to give people the NPI survey, but then test them for the traits we are interested in to see how the NPI correlates with those traits. The NPI lump-score shows more correlation with normal personality traits like extroversion than it does with the more recently developed and specific Pathological Narcissm Inventory, Pincus et al. 2009, which was specifically designed and validated to separate between pathological and normal narcissism. This lined up with a review by Pincus and Lukowitsky 2010, which suggested that NPI lump-score measures normal adaptive narcissism more than pathological narcissism.
source: modified from Ackerman et al. 2011
source: modified from Ackerman et al. 2011
However, while the NPI had a low correlation with the Pathological Narcissism Inventory, it did correlated with traits like entitlement rage, exploitative-ness, and grandiose fantasies.
How Do Scientists Measure Changes to Narcissism Over Time?
Narcissism can change over-time between generations, but it can also change over-time as an individual ages. Because of this it is important to look at studies that use a time-lag method, which analyzes people of the same age at different points of time. And because the NPI is an old survey and widely used, a lot of the data that exists, comes from the NPI, and most of the information available is just the lump-scores, not the actual results of each question. The NPI may not be ideal, but it’s what we’ve got, and we can’t generate data backwards in time with surveys that better measure what we’re probably more interested in, characteristics like grandiosity and entitlement.
So finally… Are Millennials More Narcissistic Than Previous Generations
Well, something is changing, that much is sure. Twenge, the San Diego psychologist and “Millenials are narcissists” alarm-sounder I mentioned before, conducted a meta-analysis on the mean reported NPI-lump-sum scores from 85 studies (which together totaled 16,475 students), and showed a statistically-significant increase in their NPI scores over time[8]:
Source: Twenge et al., 2008
Remember though, the NPI doesn’t just measure pathological, mal-adaptive narcissism, but also adaptive narcissism which is associated like extraversion, assertiveness, self-esteem, and agency—all of which, as Twenge notes in the study had been reported to increase over this same time period. Also note, the rise is continuous, there is no sharp rise denoting some generational split or the sudden effect of a new technology or parenting fad.
Also, a smaller subset of the data allowed responses to be separated between male and female students. This data showed that: “College men’s NPI scores are not significantly correlated with year (β=.16, ns; k=44, d=0.12), but college women’s scores are (β=.46, p<.002, k=44, d=0.28).” The lack of significance does not indicate that a trend did not exist for men[9], suggesting that the increases in NPI scores may have been larger in women, and could relate to positive trends like increasing assertiveness, self-esteem, and leadership in young women. Indeed, the sex differences significantly declined over this period, though men still show higher NPI scores, as of 2006.
Conclusions
So the most often-mentioned data of this trend shows that the NPI is increasing over the time. Whether this is due to increases in gender equality or entitlement seems unclear. Is it due to extroversion or exploitative-ness, I don’t know. Also, whether it is a change that has only occurred in the new generation, or a general trend is unclear. Are the baby-boomers more narcissistic than their parents were at the same age?
A Chinese co-worker once recounted to me her mother’s advice, which shocked me as it contrasted starkly with my American self-esteem valuing childhood. When she was a child, her mother told her, “You’ll never be the best at what you do–someone will always be better than you. So, you need to learn to come to terms with that and find enjoyment in what you do outside of achievement and being the best.” This woman went on to be a high school track star, get a PhD in biology, and become a staff scientist at MIT, the whole time clinging to her mother’s words as good advice.
Maybe as a result of similar cultural attitudes, Twenge points out that Asian Americans report the lowest self-esteems, but also the highest achievement in many domains. Twenge argues Asian Americans show esteem is not necessary for achievement, and therefore blindly praising our children will not make them more successful. Instead we should praise their efforts when they succeed.
Somewhere in between my Chinese coworker’s mother’s advice and the esteem-boosting lies we were fed as American Millennials, is the ideal parental advice according to a show I adore, Community:
“Jeff’s Mom: Jeff, you’re a normal person. There’s nothing very special about you at all. You’re going to be great at a few things, but really crappy at many more. And that takes a lot of the pressure off, so you can live a full, happy life. Oh, and sorry it took me so long to tell you that, and it was only in your imagination. My bad. Kind of a sloppy mom.
Jeff: That’s okay, Mom. Nobody’s perfect.”
If you liked this blog post, you might also like another I wrote on intergenerational differences, happiness and life satisfaction: Frames of Reference – Why Smart People Feel Stupid, Money Buys Happiness, and You Will Never Feel Truly Satisfied
Also, I researched and wrote this for free out of the goodness of my heart (and an insatiable need for the approval of strangers), so if you liked this article please share it, or follow me to get notified about future articles. And if you didn’t like the article, write a comment if you please about why it was a piece of shit.
Footnotes (Tangents/Bad Jokes)
[1] Though older generations rate Millenials as more narcissistic than Millenials do themselves.
[2] This line is to be read in a self-aware ironic voice, perhaps imitating of a middle-schooler giving a presentation in class
[3] It was first coined in 1982 by pop-historians, demographers, and business-partners Neil Howe and William Strauss, according to USA Today. Mr. Howe also states the generation spans from about 1982 to 2004. In their 2000 book, Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, they assigned the generation seven “core traits”: special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured and achieving. Now Howe gives about 60 speeches a year at schools and corporations, and consults on ways that these institutions can better engage and communicate with Millennials.
[4] Which means notable narcelebs Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are Gen Xers.
[5] Interestingly, Howe and Strauss, who coined the term Millennials, based their portrait of the generation on surveys of high-schoolers and teachers from my home town, Fairfax County, VA, so in a strange way maybe I am particularly representative of this generational stereotype.
[6] Or think we remember exactly where we were anyway. The intense “flashbulb memories” that accompany events like Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, or the O.J. Bronco Chase are just as susceptible to distortion as other memories.
[7] Of course many definitions of narcissm exist, especially because it is studied by a variety of fields: psychiatry, clinical psychology, personality psychology, etc., and research into narcissism is said to suffer from a “criterion problem,” where different definitions of what narcissism is used by different researchers make it difficult to compare and interpret data.
Narcissism and narcissist also exemplify the problem for taking already existing words and giving them precise scientific meanings. Although, scientists are often called out for inventing new unnecessary jargon to describe simple concepts for which words already exist, terms like narcissism illustrate how words that have cultural baggage that can cause scientific findings to be misinterpreted.
[8] The mean increased one third of a standard deviation.
[9] Note, statistical significance with one gender and not the other does not prove a gender difference. For example, perhaps the sample was too small and the trend was lost in the noise of the data, especially if they both trended the same direction. To prove a gender difference that has to be assessed specifically with a different statistical test.Following an extended period of controversy, Reddit has just rolled out a list of rules for the site. One of those rules bans the posting of illegal content such as copyrighted material. While the posting of such content has never been explicitly permitted, it's going to prove impossible to stop moving forward.
Many sites go through periods of turmoil and Reddit is no exception. The past several weeks have seen the site and its management team battered by controversy.
The job of putting things back together has now fallen to Steve Huffman, the guy who co-founded Reddit in 2005. Following a six year absence, Huffman returned last week as chief executive and immediately embarked on a mission to tidy up the site and win back the favor of the masses.
Last evening posting under his Reddit handle ‘Spez’, Huffman laid out a fresh set of guidelines for users of the site. While there is bound to be some dissent, few will argue with the rule that “anything that harasses, bullies, or abuses an individual or group of people” should be banned alongside “sexually suggestive content featuring minors.”
However, the interesting inclusion of banning anything illegal, and the specific mentioning of copyright material, is likely to generate more debate.
While not mentioned at all in the site’s rules, previous Reddit user agreements have included clauses that require users not to post copyrighted material. The latest from Jan 2015 notes that users may not “infringe any person or entity’s intellectual property or any other proprietary rights.” It also highlights what will happen in response to a valid DMCA-style copyright complaint from a third party.
So if we presume that yesterday’s announcement is a signal that Reddit is today more serious about its ‘new’ rules than it’s ever been, how will the “no copyrighted material rule” affect the site? Well, to be frank, at this point that’s anyone’s guess. The start, beginning and end of the rule is shown in the image above and no further elaboration has been offered. That is somewhat problematic.
While linking to Hollywood movies and TV shows in /r/fullmoviesonyoutube is often a questionable activity, it’s clear that users of the /r/illegaltorrents sub have little idea whether they can continue or not. Whatever the outcome, Reddit has more immediate problems in plain view.
Currently Reddit’s second most popular sub, /r/pics links to many thousands of pictures hosted on sites such as Imgur which have been legitimately uploaded by their copyright owners. However, countless others might be infringing, either by virtue of being reuploaded by a third party without permission or simply due to the fact that they’re someone else’s images culled from licensed sources elsewhere.
Of course, if everyone takes the rule absolutely literally that poses huge problems for the site, since almost the entire point of Reddit is to point people to (often copyrighted) content hosted elsewhere. Luckily, users of the site can link to copyrighted content quite legally, by taking full advantage of their Fair Use rights in the areas of news reporting, commentary, criticism and parody etc.
So, the Reddit “no copyrighted content rule” doesn’t actually mean that users can’t link to copyrighted content, it just means that in some circumstances linking to copyrighted content is disallowed. And herein lies the problem.
Each instance of linking to copyrighted content, whether that’s an image, piece of audio or video, is open to debate whether such linking is allowed under the law. This will make it not only incredibly time-consuming for moderators to enforce this “no copyrighted content” rule, but in some cases almost impossible.
On a torrent site striving to be legal, for example, the question of whether a leaked copy of the latest Jurassic Park movie is legal is a relatively easy one to answer. However, given the incredibly broad range of subject matter and debate possibilities on Reddit, the same scenario is entirely more complex.
In reality, the only people who know whether content is infringing or not are the copyright holders themselves and they are catered for comprehensively under Reddit’s existing user agreement. Like any other user-generated content site, Reddit allows copyright holders to spot an infringement and file a complaint to have that content removed. That’s the DMCA in action and while rightsholders say it’s cumbersome, it does the job it was supposed to do.
Finally, some people will quite rightly argue that the whole point of having a rule is so it can be enforced. But if that’s the case and Reddit is in no position to sensibly enforce its “no copyrighted material” rule, what exactly is its point?
Well, it sets out ground-rules, and it helps Reddit to portray a more responsible image to potential advertisers and other corporate allies. They will appreciate the public signal being sent and hope that something positive comes from it, even if the end result is not very different from what we already have today.With three games in the books, a consensus is starting to emerge and teams are settling in to their respective rankings. There is still a bit of movement, and a few surprises.
Three weeks in and we're one step closer to knowing everything there is to know about all 32 teams in the NFL. Or so we think, if the prominent storylines in the mainstream media are to be believed. The real 49ers have shown up, the 49ers in week 1 were just pretenders. The optimism for Miami has all but died. Oakland has won two games now? They're finally good again! Maybe we were wrong to bury the Eagles and call Chip Kelly a failure after just two games?
That's the beauty of the NFL, each week the narrative changes and keeps things interesting.
The big question this week seems to be: just how good are the Arizona Cardinals? Are they an elite team? Have they proven themselves?
Personally, I've always liked the Cardinals. When the Chargers were looking for a new head coach after they fired Norv Turner, I didn't like the idea of Bruce Arians. Boy was I wrong. Arians is playing football the right way: balls out. "We're up by 3 scores? So what!? Keep the foot on the gas and obliterate our opponent!" Playing like a coach who has nothing to lose, I can respect that.
Notable Quotes
2015 is shaping up to be just like 2014. Everyone is hurt, play calling is predictable, no O-line. The defense is holding out as best they can, but there is little to no offensive support, thus leading to a tired defense. In Chargers fashion, they are losing games they are supposed to win and will probably win games they are supposed to lose |
of nine, I was very serious about what I believed to be a unique life-saving religion. I was also deeply concerned by the coming “great tribulation” and the battle of Armageddon that I was assured would occur in my lifetime – a theme I heard constantly at the Kingdom Hall and from other JW’s who were glued to every word the Watchtower published.
At the age of fourteen, I received permission to stop attending public school and begin “pioneering”: first temporarily and a year later, a full-time pioneer. Most JW’s were expecting the “great tribulation” to break out in 1975, so I was trying to save lives by spending a 100 hours a month in the door-to-door ministry. It was an exciting time, because I was part of a tight-knit community convinced that the long hoped for “new order” would arrive any day.
Even the City Overseer sold his business and was pioneering, by October of 1975. I clearly remember stopping for a break in field service and having coffee with him, along with two other elders. It was the weekend of October 4th and 5th and we were sitting in the coffee shop of a Holiday Inn, certain the “great tribulation” was imminent, perhaps that very weekend.
Of course, nothing happened that remotely approached what the Watchtower had strongly suggested, both in print and through its appointed representatives. But, like most true-believing Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are handicapped by their lack of understanding of cognitive dissonance, I was able to consciously discard this reality. So, I continued pioneering, trying to save lives from an impending just-around-the-corner Armageddon, for another two and a half years.
However, something that would forever alter my path in life was happening. A friend in the congregation I attended was diagnosed with Leukemia, the same condition that, years before, had prematurely claimed the life of my Witness grandmother after she had refused blood.
Like my grandmother, Candy also refused blood and became gravely ill. She knew she was going to die, and asked me if I would be a pallbearer at her funeral. Candy was just fifteen years old when she died, and I was only sixteen when I helped carry her coffin out of the Kingdom Hall. That experience left a profound impression on my young mind.
Tough questions – no answers
In 1996, after being a JW elder for about nine years, I started to research the Watchtower’s blood doctrine independently. This extensive research convinced me that the blood policy was seriously flawed, and had resulted in needless premature death and disability for thousands of JW’s – many of them children, like my friend Candy.
Early on in my research, I suspected that Watchtower writers and policy makers also saw flaws in the blood policy. This was evident by the use of so many blood plasma products, the many changes in policy, and the way the changes in the blood doctrine were justified. So I decided to try to “reform” the policy from within the organization.
In 1997, I built the first version of ajwrb.org which I called: “New Light on Blood”. I also created a pseudonym for myself, the “Liberal Elder”, later shortened to Lee Elder. If I had used my real name, I’d have been coerced by the other elders (acting under the direction of the Watchtower’s policies) to desist from this kind of activity. If I had refused to desist, I’d have been disfellowshipped and shunned.
I was immediately contacted by many JW’s – many of them elders and Hospital Liaison Committee members. They had arrived at the same conclusion, with similar goals as mine. That was the birth of the Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood or AJWRB, which took the Watchtower Society by surprise.
The Watchtower had never seen the likes of this before: it was a movement within the organization to reform the blood policy, spearheaded by elders and Hospital Liason Committee (HLC) members who were eyewitnesses to the suffering and death of their fellow believers. We were an organized group with a voice that the Watchtower could not simply silence by excommunicating us.
As time passed and I expanded my research, I learned about the Watchtower’s troubled past and other doctrinal irregularities, which are difficult to avoid once a Witness opens the Pandora’s Box. One of the early books I read was Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz, a former Governing Body member. I later read Ray’s book, In Search of Christian Freedom, where the chapter on the Watchtower’s blood doctrine gave some excellent insights into this issue.
Disillusionment sets in – the Watchtower commits perjury
In 1998, I began receiving regular reports about a controversy between the Watchtower and the Bulgarian government. Then I received news that Bulgaria had banned Jehovah’s Witnesses, in part because of the blood policy. The Watchtower then filed a complaint with the European Commission on Human Rights (ECHR).
In this written complaint, the Watchtower argued that the government’s claim was false and without merit because there were no sanctions ever taken against a JW who accepted blood; that individual JW’s had a free choice in the matter. They even argued that a child could not be considered a member.
Sadly, these misrepresentations caused the ECHR to side with the Watchtower, and they issued the following ruling:
This assertion, which the Watchtower had presented to the ECHR, was a complete surprise to me, as it ran counter to everything I had been taught and experienced as a Witness and an elder. At that time, the use of any non-Watchtower approved blood product was a “gross sin” which required an investigation by a judicial committee, and possible disfellowshipping with subsequent full-scale shunning. I also knew that children were considered to be members, because my brother and I were baptized as minors (me at age nine), along with many other JW children I grew up with, like my fifteen year old JW friend Candy, who was baptized and died over the issue.
After the situation in Bulgaria was publicized, with the Watchtower claiming that the taking of blood would not result in “disfellowshipping”, some notable journalists concluded that the Watchtower was abandoning its blood policy – or at the very least radically modifying it. Based on Watchtower briefs to the European Commission on Human Rights, this was a reasonable conclusion. The only other possibility was that the Watchtower was maintaining two separate blood policies – one for Bulgaria and one for the rest of the world.
Once the first press reports were published, the phones started to ring at Bethel branches around the world, as individual JW’s and journalists sought confirmation regarding what had transpired. The Watchtower was forced to act quickly to try and correct the understandable confusion, and limit damage for perjuring themselves, by issuing a press release denying anything had changed.
Here is that press release:
This was a clear example of Watchtower officials talking out of both sides of their mouths. One story was for the government of Bulgaria and the European Commission on Human Rights, but there was an entirely different story for inquiring JW’s and the press. The Watchtower refers to this tactic as “Theocratic Strategy”.
Nothing newsworthy about Watchtower lying
I phoned former governing body member Ray Franz to discuss the situation in Europe, and he suggested that I contact John Dart, who was the religion editor for the Los Angeles Times. After explaining what had occurred, Mr. Dart said: “There is nothing newsworthy about the Watchtower lying.” He explained that Watchtower officials had a long history of lying, and this was well known among journalists who covered them. I was stunned.
This was an epiphany for me. Up until this point, I was hopeful about the prospects for genuine reform of the Watchtower’s blood policy. I had believed that the Watchtower, despite its problems, could be a force for good if we reformed a flawed policy. However, from this point on, I was realistic about the true nature of the Watchtower’s leaders, their motivations and the culture of undue influence.
Reforms to the blood policy would come only when the Watchtower concluded they had no other choice, or that reform served their best interests. Clearly, the Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood (AJWRB) had to be at least as much about reforming the thinking of individual JW’s, and the medical community, as it was about reforming Watchtower policy.
Ratcheting up the pressure on Watchtower
I started working closely with Dr. Osamu Muramoto, M.D. “Sam” as I called him, became a friend, and a trusted adviser. And he did more to advance the cause of AJWRB within the medical community than any other single individual. It was clear that he genuinely cared about saving the lives of JW’s. Dr. Muramoto took the time to understand the Watchtower’s policy on blood, and saw the importance of educating other physicians about the discrepancies and ethical problems created by the policy.
That marked the beginning of a very active period for AJWRB. Together with Dr. Muramoto, we collaborated on a series of important articles that were published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, the Western Journal of Medicine and the British Medical Journal. We hosted exhibits at the annual meetings of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American College of Anesthesiologists where we spoke with countless physicians regarding the Watchtower’s blood policy and the work of the Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood (AJWRB). We distributed thousands of reprints of the journal articles, as well as brochures designed to assist physicians in talking with their JW patients.
The impact we were having on the Watchtower was significant. Where they had previously been able to simply shut down inquiries from questioning elders and Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) members, they were now forced to answer for the irrational aspects of their policy, as well as the manner in which they enforced it. Previously, troublesome elders and HLC members could be silenced through disfellowshipping for “apostasy”. The anonymity of the Internet, combined with the ease of information sharing, changed that forever, but the Watchtower was slow to grasp that fact.
Never again would the Watchtower be able to blatantly misrepresent its position without challenge. Thousands of JW’s were learning what we knew, and chose to leave the organization. This was not our goal: it was simply the way things worked out. There would be shock waves as this rippled through the Jehovah’s Witness and the medical communities, and many people made use of the resources that Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood (AJWRB) provided.
Editor's Note: While we at OMF value all free expression of opinion, the views expressed by our contributing authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OMF, its board members, or trustees.
What do you think about this article? Do you agree? Do you have a story about the Watchtower’s blood policy that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!
Here is the full press release from which the above snippet was excerpted:What Are triads?
Triad chords, as their name implies, are made up of three notes. They are divided in 4 categories according to wether they are minor, major, augmented or diminished.
Minor triads are built with a root (1), a minor third (b3) and a perfect fifth (5).
are built with a root (1), a minor third (b3) and a perfect fifth (5). Major triads are built with a root (1), a major third (3) and a perfect fifth (5).
are built with a root (1), a major third (3) and a perfect fifth (5). Diminished triads are built with a root (1), a minor third (b3) and a flat fifth (b5).
are built with a root (1), a minor third (b3) and a flat fifth (b5). Augmented triads are built with a root (1), a major third (3) and an augmented fifth (#5).
What Are Close Position Chords?
Close voiced chords are chord played with all its tones as close together as they can be. If the notes are spread out, then it is called "open position." An open position chord has some "air" between one or more of its tones. Please note that this guitar lesson contains only "close positions".
What Are Root Position Chords?
The tones of a root position chords are in the right order, for example, with a major triad : root - third and fifth.
What Are Inverted Chords?
The tones of inverted chords are in a different order than the root positions. Inverted chords don't have the root note in the bass, instead they have the third or the fifth as the lowest note of the chord shape.
Here is an example with the C major chord built with C-E-G, respectively the root (1), the major third (3) and the fifth (5). The bass note (the lowest note) is the root. This is the basic position also called "root position". This chord can be inversed in two different ways. One with the third in the bass and one with the fifth in the bass. Thus giving two inverted voicings.SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) – There was some concern in Southfield Sunday morning after an ISIS flag was seen hanging from the side of a truck near the United States Army Reserve Center.
Officials told WWJ Newsradio 950 that the flag was being used as a part of an anti-terrorism training exercise, and the truck had briefly left the property.
Such a vehicle wouldn’t normally leave the base, and officials understand why there would be confusion and apologized.
They say using foreign flags and symbols make their exercises authentic.
It happened as tensions were high following a group claiming to be the Islamic State Hacking Division reportedly posting information on the Internet, including photos, of about 100 members of the Air Force, Army and Navy, according to SITE Intelligence.
The US Marine Corps urged members of the military, in a statement, to be especially cautious online and limit the amount of personal information available about them.Two Hindu men were arrested for commenting on a Facebook post in Bangladesh.
The men in question belong to Bangladesh Ansar-VDP and their names are Kumar Mondal and Ramesh Roy.
They have been arrested on the charge of insulting Islam in their Facebook account.
It is being alleged that when both the victims were serving as Temporary Ansar-VDP at Mongla Port last year, they made a comment on a post made someone else.
Their comments were seen by their Muslim friends who became angry on their participation in a blasphemous post and started a campaign against them which even endangered their lives.
One of these Hindu men’s colleagues a Muslim woman named Arifa has lodged FIR at Mongla Police station at Bagerhat District.
The Hindu men are now in custody.
Advocate Rabindra Ghosh of Bangladesh minority Watch (BDMW) just contacted Md. Lutfur Rahman – Officer in Charge of the Mongla police station who said that he arrested the two Hindu men on the basis of case No.10 dated 26.01.2017 filed by Arifa Begum as Muslims were agitation against the two. Arifa was contacted by the advocate as well but her phone was found switched off.
Many Hindus have fallen victim to these blasphemy charges often levied to settle personal scores.
Many times Hindus have fallen prey to the extremists for their Facebook activities:This article is over 4 years old
Newspaper says plain packaging led to an increase in tobacco sales, but this claim has been attacked by a number of people
The Australian Medical Association has accused Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian newspaper of promoting smoking and “big tobacco” by publishing a series of articles undermining the nation’s plain packaging legislation.
The Australian, owned by News Corp, has previously argued that plain packaging deprives tobacco firms of their intellectual property rights, and earlier this month went further and claimed that plain packaging had led to an increase in tobacco sales.
“The AMA urges the government to restate its support for the plain packaging laws and tobacco control generally, and we urge the Australian and other media to stop giving Big Tobacco a free ride in promoting its killer products,” the AMA president, Associate Professor Brian Owler, said.
The intervention of the peak medical body came after The Australian published another five articles on Wednesday critical of public health initiatives to decrease smoking rates, including plain packaging.
The series of news reports and opinion pieces were in response to the ABC’s Media Watch program, which slammed The Australian’s earlier exclusive story claiming that there had been an increase in consumption as “garbage”.
On 6 June The Australian ran a front-page story headlined “Labor's plain packaging fails as cigarette sales rise”.
“Labor’s nanny state push to kill off the country’s addiction to cigarettes with plain packaging has backfired, with new sales figures showing tobacco consumption growing during the first full year of the new laws,” the newspaper reported.
But the accuracy of the evidence presented in the report was immediately called into question by some economists and health experts, as it directly contradicted government figures.
One of the economists who condemned the story, Stephen Koukoulas, said tobacco consumption in the first quarter of 2014 was the lowest ever recorded.
The professor of health policy at Curtin University, Mike Daube, also condemned the report: “Every bit of the report is dodgy, from the way it was set up, to what’s in it, to the lack of analysis.”
Media Watch quoted the two experts in its story, and suggested The Australian had been influenced by the views of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a right-wing thinktank.
Undeterred by the Media Watch report, The Australian returned fire, publishing a full broadsheet page of stories on Wednesday.
One of the opinion pieces was written by Professor Sinclair Davidson, an economist at RMIT and a senior fellow at the IPA, which has reportedly received funds from the tobacco industry. British American Tobacco Australia told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2012 it was a member of the IPA.
Davidson wrote that plain packaging policy introduced by the previous Labor government was “state-sponsored persecution of that minority who consume tobacco”.
Davidson was also quoted in the newspaper as saying: “I have no doubt that the consumption of cigarettes has risen since plain packaging was introduced; we just can’t be sure whether it is by existing smokers or new smokers.”
But according to the department of health, recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that total consumption of tobacco and cigarettes in the March quarter 2014 is the lowest ever recorded.
It has dropped from $3.508bn in December 2012 to 3.405 billion in March 2014.
The Guardian's Data Blog analysed the figures used by The Australian on June 6 and found there was indeed a small 0.28% increase in sales year on year but the paper had failed to account for the increase in the population between 2012 and 2013.
"Adjusted for population, tobacco sales per person have actually continued to decrease from 920.4 in 2012 to 906.9 in 2013," the Data Blog reported.
The AMA was joined by the Cancer Council in pointing the finger at the tobacco industry for driving a misinformation campaign to undermine the effectiveness of plain packaging, but stopped short of naming the Australian.
The Cancer Council CEO and medical oncologist, Professor Ian Olver, cited new Treasury figures which he said were a further indication of a decline in smoking, with tobacco clearances (including excise and customs duty) falling by 3.4% in 2013 relative to 2012, when tobacco plain packaging was introduced.
“The so-called data being spun by the tobacco industry to claim that plain packaging has not worked is plain wrong," Olver said in a statement.
“If we used tobacco industry claims to guide health policy, life expectancy in Australia would be much lower than it is today.”
The Cancer Council said the tobacco industry’s misinformation campaign was “aimed at undermining the introduction of plain packaging in the UK”.
“In a country of 63 million people, plain packaging would be a major blow to the tobacco industry’s profits,” Prof Olver said.
In Wednesday's report The Australian claimed that the government's anti-smoking measures were driving a boom in cheap cigarettes because smokers were "buying more cigarettes from the lowest market segment".
"Neilsen data indicates that 42.3 per cent of all cigarettes now purchased are priced at less than $15 a pack, a rise from 25.6 per cent of the market in 2011 and 35.2 per cent at the end of last year," the report said.
The report quoted tobacco industry executives to back this claim. The managing director of Philip Morris, John Gledhill, told The Australian: “As industry and market experts have previously warned, the government’s forced removal of tobacco brands and trademarks has triggered intense price competition.”Two more universities among latest organisations to quit business lobby to protect their political neutrality
The CBI is facing a mounting crisis in its membership, with the Law Society of Scotland (LSS) and three other public bodies quitting on Tuesday to protect their neutrality in the Scottish referendum debate.
The LSS became the latest high-profile organisation to resign after the CBI registered with the Electoral Commission for the no campaign in the independence referendum. Public bodies have said rules preclude their membership of a political organisation, and some businesses have quit in opposition to the anti-independence stance.
The LSS was quickly followed by two universities, Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian, and the quango Skills Development Scotland.
The CBI had 80 members headquartered in Scotland. Eight, including VisitScotland and Edinburgh University, quit over the bank holiday weekend, and another two are expected to follow on Wednesday.
The CBI insists it was legally obliged to register as it had already publicly declared that it opposed independence and planned to make that clear in the runup to September's referendum.
John Cridland, its director general, said it was a compliance issue. "We have to operate within the law," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday. "The decision we took was that simply to do our normal activities on behalf of our members, including events and public statements between now and the referendum, we were advised that we needed to comply with the Electoral Commission's rules because we have a position on the issues."
Lorna Jack, chief executive of the LSS, which represents Scotland's solicitors, said: "We do not believe we could credibly retain our impartiality whilst being a member of and actively contributing to another organisation which is formally registered with the Electoral Commission to campaign for a no vote. That is why we have resigned from the CBI today."
Registering with the Electoral Commission allows organisations to spend up to £150,000 during the 16-week campaign. The CBI is one of the first to register, along with the official campaigns Yes Scotland and Better Together, the Tory party and a small anti-independence group in the Borders.
Dozens of other pro-independence and pro-UK groups, likely to include many trade unions expected to support a no vote, will be expected to register before 30 May, when the formal campaign period starts.
The CBI refused to comment on the latest resignations. On Monday three of Scotland's largest universities – Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow – quit on the same grounds.
Executives at Dundee and Heriot Watt universities are expected to follow, but Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen has said it will stay with the CBI because it wants to keep in close contact with business and industry.
The broadcaster STV resigned over the weekend, saying its neutrality could be compromised. Two companies whose directors have direct links to the pro-independence movement, Balhousie Care and Aquamarine Power, also resigned, accusing the CBI of failing to fully consult its Scottish members.
Strathclyde University's decision on Tuesday was doubly embarrassing as the CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan is chairman of Strathclyde business school's advisory board.Healthy Feet 19 October 2016
We cover a lot of technique in these Ballroom Guide articles, but something that is often neglected by younger dancers until it is too late is health. You can practice every day, become a great dancer in your 20's, retire in your 30's, and have chronic pain for the rest of your life, or you can keep your body healthy so you can continue to develop your skills and enjoy dancing for longer. Today we are going to focus on two of the largest problems dancers end up getting with their feet, and the best ways to prevent them.
Bunions
A bunion is when the big toe join pushes out to the side, and the toe comes inward toward the other toes. This can result in extreme pain when walking, and make it difficult to fit into shoes. In severe cases, surgery is needed to remedy the bunion.
While doctors disagree about certain aspects of the cause of bunions, it is known that wearing tight fitting shoes that squeeze the big toe inward greatly increase your likelihood of getting bunions. Dance shoes are exceptionally good at doing just this to your toes.
Foot Wakers
To counter bunions, you want to create space in between the joints of the ball of the foot. You can do this by standing on these spiky plastic things (available on Amazon), called Foot Wakers. By standing on these and relaxing your foot over top, it allows the bones to slowly separate and stretches out the connective tissue in your feet. In truth, these help with more foot problems than just bunions. If you don't feel like spending the cash on these, you can stand on a pair of tennis balls. While these won't help relax the connective tissue all along the bottom of your feet, they will separate the toe joints.
The best time to use these is after practice for about five minutes.
Toe Separators
Kind of like the ones used for painting your toe nails, these help to keep your toes in line with metatarsals. It is really when the big toe bone starts kinking inward, and loses alignment with the metatarsals, that the bunion starts to develop.
Try wearing these for an hour or two, while doing work or watching TV, and then feel your toes as you walk around afterward. Chances are, your toes aren't used to working separately, and learning to use them will strengthen the foot muscles and help you resist bunions, while giving you stronger feet overall.
Five Finger Shoes
These shoes may not be the next fashion craze, but they are great for your toes. Just like the toe separators, these keep your toes apart, but they go one step further. Stretching your toes is great, but having to use your toe muscles while the toes are separated is far, far better. These shoes force you to use small muscles in your feet you didn't know you had, and are one of the best things you can do to prevent bunions. Walking for 30 minutes per day in these shoes will strengthen your toes, resulting not only in healthier feet, but probably better balance in dancing, as that is one of the primary functions of your toes.
It should be noted, though, that these shoes have very little padding in the heel. While they are great for helping your toes, you should not be walking on cement or pavement with these. Man evolved to walk heel to toe in the savana, not on flat stone surfaces, which causes a shock wave to travel into the spine with each step. If possible, walk on the grass with these shoes, or at least walk slowly and smoothly.
Plantar Fasciitis
Pronounced PLAN-tar fa-shee-EYE-tiss, this condition occurs when the long band of connective tissue (called the plantar fascia) that attaches the ball of your foot to the heel gets too tight. This results in pain in the heel, typically in the morning after waking up, when the tendon is the tightest in fact, according to one study, 80% of heel pain is caused by plantar fasciitis.
In severe cases, the plantar fascia can become so tight that it pulls at the bones and creates microfractures all over the foot.
Foot Wakers
In addition to helping you with preventing bunions, the little spikes grab into the bottom of your foot and by standing on them for about 30 seconds at a time, they stretch out the plantar fascia in a way that stretching cannot.
Tennis balls are no substitute here.
Stretch your Calves
Stretch your calves. The Plantar Fascia runs from the ball of the foot to the heel, but that is just the area of tissue that doctors have named Plantar Fascia. In fact, the tissue continues past the heel, into the Achilles Tendon, and into the calf muscles. To stretch the calf muscle, pull the ball of the foot back as much as possible while the knee is straight. This can be done on a wall or on the stairs.To increase the stretch, lean forward at the hip as if to touch your toes. If you are flexible enough, use your hands to pull the toes back. By actually pulling the toes back, not just the ball of the foot, you will stretch the plantar fascia itself. By flexing the knee, you will move the stretch to the Achilles Tendon. You may have to increase the force applied to feel the stretch here, but it will never the same to stretch a tendon as to stretch muscle, although both are beneficial.
Stretching the calves is important for another reason as well, shortened calves. When you wear high heels all day, and especially when you dance in them, you train your muscles to function only within a certain framework. This can result in permanent shortening of the calf, if you aren't careful, and that can lead into problems in the upper leg, hip, and lower back later in life. If you have ever known someone who when bare footed preferred to walk on the balls of the feet rather than the whole foot, that person was suffering from shortened calves.
But stretching is only part of the solution. Strengthening and stretching go hand in hand, so check out this BGBB Article to assess your ankle strength, and see some great exercises to improve.Suzanne Porter, the child protective services worker who was under a domestic violence restraining order when she was hired, no longer works for Contra Costa County. Her final day on the job was April 4.
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Borenstein: Stop deepening Bay Area transportation, housing crisis But the saga of the social worker, who physically abused her ex-husband and participated in an infamous “Dirty DUI” scheme to entrap him for drunken driving, continues.
Porter has been directed to continue testifying later this month in a contentious case involving a restraining order and allegations of abuse for which she was the county social worker.
Meanwhile, revelations in this column last month about Porter’s past have prompted the county to re-examine its hiring practices to ensure better screening of applicants for sensitive jobs.
“We failed to do an adequate investigation in this particular case and we’re redrafting our policy to address it,” said County Administrator David Twa.
Porter did not return calls seeking comment and Twa, citing confidentiality rules, said he could not comment on whether Porter was fired or resigned after 2 1/2 years on the job.
County officials were not aware of Porter’s history until last month, Twa said. Had they looked, they would have found a substantial paper trail about Porter’s troubled past.
For starters, when she was hired as a social worker in November 2014, Porter was under a civil domestic violence restraining order issued by a judge in the same county.
Porter was named in a 2013 article in this newspaper about the Dirty DUI plot. And Porter and Contra Costa County were even co-defendants in a lawsuit stemming from the entrapment scheme, which involved a corrupt county sheriff’s deputy.
Her ex-husband had sued her and the county for civil rights violations. The litigation was ongoing when Porter was offered the job. Porter and her father eventually settled their part for undisclosed terms. The county paid $260,000 to settle its portion of the case
After Porter was hired, she was promoted twice. In her last position, she investigated domestic violence allegations. In March, she began testifying in the restraining order case for which she was the social worker. She is scheduled to return April 28.
In her own domestic violence restraining order case, a judge ruled that Porter pushed her way into her ex-husband’s home and hit him in the head with a shoe. In another altercation, she injured his face and shoulder. Porter never faced criminal charges, but the judge in her restraining order case described those actions as misdemeanor batteries.
In a third incident, Porter violated an earlier order to stay away from her ex-husband when she went prowling in his neighbor’s yard. Finally, the judge cited Porter’s participation in the Dirty DUI scheme — to gain “a significant tactical advantage in her on-going child custody conflict” — as another reason for issuing a three-year restraining order against her.
Private investigator Christopher Butler and former county Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Tanabe went to prison for their roles in the DUI scam. Butler said he attempted similar schemes about a dozen times to entrap men who were embroiled in child custody battles.
Porter was one of his clients. According to court testimony of Carl Marino, an actor who participated in the scheme and turned police informant, Porter was a major player in two meetings at which the plan to ensnare her ex-husband was concocted.
With an accomplice, Marino plied Porter’s ex-husband with alcohol at a Danville wine bar in early 2011. When he left, Tanabe was alerted to arrest him as he drove away.
So how did the county miss these details about Porter’s past? Simple. They never asked or looked. No matter how sensitive the position, the department only does background checks for criminal convictions. Porter’s domestic violence case was in civil court.
“We don’t consider it relevant what’s going on in their personal lives,” Kathy Gallagher, director of Contra Costa Employment and Human Services Department, for which Porter worked, said last month.
That’s apparently going to change. Twa, the county administrator, directed Gallagher and Dianne Dinsmore, county personnel director, to develop a new countywide policy for review by the Board of Supervisors.
“In the hiring policy for sensitive positions such as this,” Twa said, “we need to do more of an investigation and determination before we hire somebody.”THERESA MAY'S lead over Labour has slipped to just six points, a new poll reveals today - but she is still on course to increase her majority.
An exclusive survey for The Sun confirms that the election race is tightening even though the public still prefers Mrs May to Jeremy Corbyn as a leader.
3 A new poll for The Sun suggests that Theresa May will boost her majority
The poll by SurveyMonkey puts the Tories on 44 per cent of the vote, with Labour on 38 per cent.
That would give Mrs May's party roughly 346 seats - a majority of 42 - while Mr Corbyn would win 228.
If the result is repeated at next Thursday's election, the Prime Minister may feel vindicated at increasing her majority, but would fall short of the landslide victory she wanted.
Getty Images 3 Theresa May is cruising to victory with an increased majority, the poll suggests
In the poll, the Liberal Democrats are on 6 per cent - suggesting they could lose every seat - with Ukip on 4 per cent.
In the crucial measure of which leader voters would prefer as Prime Minister, 58 per cent choose Mrs May with only 39 per cent preferring Mr Corbyn.
There remains a strong regional split in the parties' ratings, with the Tories crushing Labour in the South-East while Mr Corbyn's party leads in London.
The survey also suggests that the top issues for voters are Brexit, the NHS and - in the wake of the Manchester bombing - national security.
PA:Press Association 3 Jeremy Corbyn's Labour remains six points behind the Tories
Mrs May and the Tories are preferred to Labour to handle terror, with large majorities backing them on the issue.
The poll was conducted among nearly 19,000 voters over the past week, and has a margin of error of 1.5 points.
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It comes in the wake of a highly controversial YouGov analysis predicting that the Tories will fall short of a majority.
That poll, based on a complex computer model, flies in the face of every other survey carried out in the past year.
Although the Tories' lead has been falling for the past 10 days, the party is still expected to stay in power after June 8.Vocaloid (ボーカロイド, Bōkaroido) is a singing voice synthesizer software. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project led by Kenmochi Hideki at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain in 2000 and was not originally intended to be a full commercial project.[1] Backed by the Yamaha Corporation, it developed the software into the commercial product "Vocaloid".[2][3]
The software enables users to synthesize "singing" by typing in lyrics and melody. It uses synthesizing technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors or singers. To create a song, the user must input the melody and lyrics. A piano roll type interface is used to input the melody and the lyrics can be entered on each note. The software can change the stress of the pronunciations, add effects such as vibrato, or change the dynamics and tone of the voice.
Various voice banks have been released for use with the Vocaloid synthesizer technology.[4] Each is sold as "a singer in a box" designed to act as a replacement for an actual singer.[1] As such, they are released under a moe anthropomorphism. These avatars are also referred to as Vocaloids, and are often marketed as virtual idols; some have gone on to perform at live concerts as an on-stage projection.[5]
The software was originally only available in English starting with the first Vocaloids Leon, Lola and Miriam by Zero-G, and Japanese with Meiko and Kaito made by Yamaha and sold by Crypton Future Media. Vocaloid 3 has added support for Spanish for the Vocaloids Bruno, Clara and Maika; Chinese for Luo Tianyi and Xin Hua; Korean for SeeU.
The software is intended for professional musicians as well as light computer music users.[6] Japanese musical groups such as Livetune of Toy's Factory and Supercell of Sony Music Entertainment Japan have released their songs featuring Vocaloid as vocals. Japanese record label Exit Tunes of Quake Inc |
the league.
Diego Costa regained his form in the 2016-17 season and scored 20 league goals to guide Chelsea to a 2nd Premier League title in three years.
At the start of the 2017-18 season, Costa was told that he’s no longer a part of the plan at Chelsea. He left Chelsea for Atletico Madrid in January 2018.
8. Daniel Sturridge [74 Goals] [144.51 mins/goal]
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Despite being hampered by injuries so frequently, Daniel Sturridge still boasts one of the best goals per game ratios in Premier League history.
He has scored 74 goals in the Premier League for Manchester City,Chelsea and Liverpool at the rate of 144.27 mins per goal. It took the England striker a few seasons to settle in the top-flight, when he joined Liverpool after spells with Bolton, Manchester City and Chelsea. He made a great start to his life at Liverpool but now injuries have taken its toll on him again.
7. Edin Dzeko [50 Goals] [141.6 mins/goal]
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Edin Dzeko joined Manchester City in 2011 and spent four seasons with the club scoring 50 goals.He won two league title and a FA Cup during his time with the club.
He is most notably remembered for his equalising goal against QPR on the final day of the 2011-12 Premier League season, before Sergio Agüero won it for City with seconds to go, ensuring the team won a league title for the first time in 44 years.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rebekah Brooks' text to David Cameron: "We're definitely in this together"
Ex-News International executive Rebekah Brooks told the PM "professionally we're definitely in this together", after the Sun paper switched loyalty to his party, the Leveson Inquiry heard.
Mrs Brooks sent the text to David Cameron on the eve of his speech to the 2009 Conservative Party conference.
But Mr Cameron said ex-PM Gordon Brown's claims about a Tory deal with the company were "complete nonsense".
And he said hiring ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson had "haunted" him.
Mr Coulson became Mr Cameron's communications chief after resigning from the paper when its royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed for phone hacking.
'Proud friend'
Mr Cameron said Mr Brown's claim - that the Tories agreed to cut funding for the BBC and media regulator Ofcom in return for political support from News International - had been made because he was "very angry and disappointed" at the Sun's decision to switch support from Labour ahead of the 2010 general election.
Questioned about the Murdochs, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and Jeremy Hunt, he looked "tense, edgy, uncomfortable and again and again said he couldn't recall events" Hunt appointment 'not botched'
Mr Cameron said the message from Mrs Brooks, dated October 2009 and submitted as part of his written evidence, was a reflection the Sun had the previous week decided to support the Conservatives.
Mrs Brooks said in the text to the then opposition leader: "I am so rooting for you tomorrow, not just as a proud friend but because professionally we're definitely in this together."
The text refers to how they should have a "country supper soon".
Despite the friendship, Mr Cameron said there had been "no overt deals", "no covert deals" and "no nods and winks" with the company.
He said he did have some conversations with editors in which he told them "we'd love a bit more support from your paper", but "not very often".
Legal advice
Speaking about Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's appointment to handle the bid by News International's parent company News Corporation to buy BSkyB, Mr Cameron said: "It was not some rushed, botched, political decision. If anyone had told me Jeremy Hunt couldn't do the job I wouldn't have given him the job."
He said he "definitely asked the cabinet secretary's [Sir Jeremy Heywood] view and my memory is that he sought legal advice."
The BSkyB bid was eventually abandoned in July 2011 amid outrage over the phone-hacking scandal.
Rebekah Brooks's message to David Cameron on eve of conference speech "But seriously I do understand the issue with the Times. Let's discuss over country supper soon. "On the party it was because I had asked a number of NI (News International) people to Manchester post endorsement and they were disappointed not to see you. But as always Sam was wonderful (and I thought it was OE's [Old Etonians] were charm personified!) "I am so rooting for you tomorrow not just as a proud friend but because professionally we're definitely in this together! Speech of your life? Yes he Cam".
The Conservatives have been accused of having a biased view in favour of the bid by News Corporation.
The prime minister's witness statement reveals he had 1,404 meetings with "media figures" - 26 a month on average - while in opposition between 2005 and 2010. Once in government, that fell to an average of about 13 a month.
In 2008 he took a trip to the Greek island of Santorini for a dinner with News International boss Rupert Murdoch because it was a chance to "build a relationship" with him.
When asked by Robert Jay QC, counsel for the inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press, how frequently he had seen Mrs Brooks between 2008 and 2009 when he was at home in his constituency in Oxfordshire, Mr Cameron was not specific.
He replied: "Not every weekend... um, in 2008/09, I'd have to check, I might be able to go back and check but I don't think every weekend, I don't think most weekends."
'Controversial appointment'
When he returned to give evidence in the afternoon however he said he had more details, after checking his wife Samantha's diary.
It suggested the couple were "in the constituency" 23 weekends in 2009 and 15 in 2010, meaning "we probably did not see [the Brooks] more than once every six weeks".
Lord Justice Leveson replied: "The great value of wives, prime minister."
Image caption Charlie and Rebekah Brooks appeared in court on Wednesday
Mrs Brooks and her husband Charlie - who went to school with Mr Cameron - have both been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in relation to the phone-hacking scandal surrounding News of the World. Both deny wrongdoing.
The prime minister told the inquiry he accepted hiring Mr Coulson was "a controversial appointment" which had "come back to haunt both him and me".
However, Mr Cameron said had been given "assurances" at the time by Mr Coulson that he had no knowledge of phone hacking at the paper.
Earlier Mr Cameron said politicians "have to take care when you have personal friendships [with individuals in the media] but that can be done and I have done that".
Mr Cameron said the relationship between politicians and the media had deteriorated. "How we get it to a better place, I think part of it will be about transparency, better regulation, having a bit more distance, that will be part of respect."
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said some of the key moments in Mr Cameron's testimony were when he was asked about Mr Murdoch, Mrs Brooks and the Sun, saying his answers were often "terse" and that he looked "tense".
Meanwhile Mr Hunt, responding to a Parliamentary question, said the Leveson Inquiry has so far cost taxpayers £3.2 million, with the total cost for part one of the investigation expected to reach £5.6 million.Overlooked in last week's revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) is harvesting hundreds of millions of e-mail address books around the world was this surprising factoid: Apple makes this mass collection easier because the Address Book app that by default manages Mac contacts doesn't use HTTPS encryption when syncing with Gmail accounts.
As a result, addresses that automatically travel between Macs and Google servers are sent as plain text, independent privacy researcher Ashkan Soltani wrote in The Washington Post last Monday. He provided the above screenshot demonstrating that Address Book contents appear in the clear to anyone who has the ability to monitor traffic over a Wi-Fi network or other connection. His observation came 15 months after another Mac user also warned that the Mac app offered no way to enable HTTPS when syncing e-mail address lists with Gmail.
"It appears that it's an Apple issue," Soltani told Ars, referring to the inability to enable HTTPS when Apple's Address Book is updated to a user's Gmail account. "Their other products support Gmail via HTTPS, so I suspect it would be a three-line fix in the contacts to alleviate this problem."
In fairness to Apple, Soltani pointed to this description of the Google contacts programming interface, which was officially discontinued in April 2012. It indicated HTTP as the sync mechanism for address books. It's possible Apple developers haven't updated their code since Google introduced the change. It's also possible the lack of HTTPS encryption will be fixed in Mavericks, the upcoming version of Mac OS X that Apple is expected to unveil Tuesday.
Once the current version of Address Book is configured to sync with Google's popular e-mail service, the Apple app checked in about once an hour on Macs Soltani tested. Any time the app contained an address not found in Gmail, it would send the data unencrypted. Interestingly, the program uses the HTTPS protocol to cryptographically authenticate the machine advertising itself as a Gmail server, but the app goes on to send the addresses in plain text over an unencrypted HTTP connection, he said.
According to The Washington Post, the NSA’s Special Source Operations branch collected 444,743 e-mail address books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook, and 33,697 from Gmail during a single day last year. The comparatively low number of contact lists acquired from Gmail is noteworthy considering it is among the most widely used online e-mail services. A key contributor to that low rate is almost certainly Google's default use of HTTPS to encrypt e-mail traffic. Soltani said the protection is not available unless applications that connect to Gmail support encryption. The application programming interface (API) that makes that capability possible is missing from Apple's address book, he added.
"There's still a lot of areas where developers just rely on insecure APIs, and this data shows that," he told Ars. Soltani said he found no evidence that Thunderbird and other popular apps didn't provide a way to encrypt data when working with Gmail.
Cryptography expert and security analyst Bruce Schneier said in a recent blog post that NSA spies acquire the address lists by tapping the Internet backbone.
"Once they have the data, they have powerful packet inspectors—code names include TUMULT, TURBULENCE, and TURMOIL—that run a bunch of different identification and copying systems," he wrote. "One of them, code name unknown, searches for these contact lists and copies them. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc., have no idea that this is happening, nor have they consented to their data being harvested in this way."
Apple representatives didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment for this post......... with similar experience as me asap.
I love to play duel but i can only seem to find players who are much much better than me to play against.
my elo is embarrassing 774. the last 2 weeks iv played 112 duels and lost 91 of them.
the few i won was against players of my level or bellow.
I dont mind losing at all but when its 40 to nill it becomes quite disheartening.
I have a very experienced player who have tought me alot about the game. I have a nice config and a nice custom hud that i love and i honestly believe im better than my elo suggests but like i said, anyone i play against have been playing for years, even if their profile says otherwise you can just tell by how they time and play the game.
I understand timing and my movement is getting better. i understand to hold back and stack up before i think about a fight but im obviously to inexperienced to play these people.
Iv put a post on ql forum looking for duel partners but they dont seem to be as commuted to getting better as me and ignore me when i ask for a game. Or they are again experienced players looking for easy wins. 90% of the games i play is against players who shouldn't even be playing me, some have elo of 1600 +. some say they been playing quake since it started.
where is everyone where is just learning the game? why can i only play players who are far to good for me? can anyone help me find players at my level that we can both learn off?Balotelli calmly slotted home the decisive penalty to give City the points
Mario Balotelli's injury-time penalty gave Premier League leaders Manchester City a vital victory after Tottenham's stirring comeback looked set to earn them a point at Etihad Stadium.
City set the platform for a win early in the second half with two quick goals from Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott - but Spurs delivered a devastating response as an opportunist goal from Jermain Defoe and a magnificent strike from Gareth Bale drew them level in a burst of four goals in nine minutes.
Balotelli emerged from the bench and into the chaos that seems to be his constant companion - picking up a booking for a foul on Benoit Assou-Ekotto then escaping punishment after appearing to stamp on Scott Parker, an incident which went undetected by referee Howard Webb.
Media playback is not supported on this device Mario Balotelli should have been sent off - Harry Redknapp
Defoe was then inches away from putting Spurs back in front in stoppage time before Italian Balotelli was inevitably the central figure in the final twist that ensured Roberto Mancini's side maintained the gap ahead of their pursuers at the top of the table.
Spurs' backroom staff were enraged by Balotelli's clash with Parker and their burning sense of injustice would have been made even more acute when he calmly strode forward to score from the spot with only seconds remaining after he had been hauled down by Ledley King.
The visitors clearly felt he should not even have been on the pitch, adding to their frustration after they had demonstrated considerable character and resilience to fight their way back into the game.
PHIL MCNULTY'S BLOG Balotelli might win Man City the title but there's a danger his unpredictability could potentially lose it for them Read more of Phil's blog
City boss Mancini will have had mixed emotions - delight at a crucial three points but also anxiety at the manner in which his side allowed Spurs back into the game.
Defoe, as expected, was Redknapp's selection in attack ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor, who was unable to figure against City, his parent club, during his season-long loan period.
In a first half that was fiercely contested, the only striker who got the chance to shine was City's Sergio Aguero as Spurs outnumbered City in midfield and contained the league leaders in relative comfort.
BAD BOY BALOTELLI? Only Grant Holt has conceded more fouls per minute than Mario Balotelli in the Premier League
The Argentine saw his goalbound shot inadvertently blocked by Edin Dzeko, then demonstrated great strength and awareness to hold off Younes Kaboul and find David Silva, who dragged his shot just wide.
Aguero was frustrated by Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel after Richards forced his way into area - but there was still no indication of the torrent of goals that were to hit the Etihad after the break.
Tottenham allege Mario Balotelli stamped on the head of Scott Parker
The first came after 56 minutes when Silva, with trademark creation, threaded a pass through for Nasri to thump a finish past Friedel. And when Lescott bundled home Dzeko's flick from a Nasri corner three minutes later, City could see daylight.
Not for long, however, as Spurs were back in business within seconds as the hour approached. Stefan Savic failed miserably in his attempt to deal with a clearance, heading straight to Defoe, who accepted the gift with relish as he rounded City keeper Joe Hart to score.
City's fans had gone from elation to anxiety, but Dzeko should have eased their concerns when he was played in by Silva. The Bosnian never looked convincing as he lashed his effort way over the top.
Bale showed no such uncertainty when he put Spurs level in spectacular style after 65 minutes. He took Aaron Lennon's pass and clipped a finish that possessed pace, power and precision high into the top corner beyond Hart, who had no chance.
Media playback is not supported on this device Mancini delighted and unhappy - Platt
City had introduced Balotelli for Dzeko, but his first meaningful contribution was to pick up a yellow card from referee Webb for a foul on Assou-Ekotto.
The coming together with Parker that provided a major talking point followed soon after, before a thrilling second half received the climax it deserved.
Defoe could not stretch far enough to turn Bale's cross into an open goal - leaving the stage clear for the turbulent Balotelli to write another chapter into his eventful Manchester City story.
Live text commentaryOver the past two months, a small team within CoinJar has been working on the next chapter for the company. Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the new CoinJar.com. The site rolls out today for all major browsers.
This redesign represents an important shift in philosophy for our company. We believe in bitcoin, and as we’ve grown, we’re hearing incredible stories from our customers. It is undeniable that digital currencies are profoundly changing the world, and we are proud to be so meaningfully involved in this for Australians.
We think that the human chapters of the bitcoin story are even more important than the technology itself. From now on all of our design and products will reflect this; celebrating Bitcoin not just for the technical marvel it is, but for the impact it is having on individuals, businesses and communities worldwide.
The CoinJar team have put in a lot of work on this project, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved. We worked closely with Glen Maddern, Piers Holt and Muc Nguyen to make this first major step possible. With a development time of only six weeks, I am blown away by how quickly everything has come together. This would not have been possible without the skill and expertise of all involved.
I can’t wait to hear what you think about the new website. Please get in touch with your thoughts. And perhaps, more importantly, I can’t wait to hear about how bitcoin is changing your life.
Cade.
Creative Director.Kenwyne Jones scored for the second successive Championship game for Cardiff
Cardiff City collected their first Championship away win of the season at Nottingham Forest to move into the top six.
Kenwyne Jones rose highest to meet Peter Whittingham's lofted ball and give Cardiff a first-half lead.
Joe Mason doubled the advantage shortly after the break by diverting Anthony Pilkington's shot with his head.
Michail Antonio scored from a long ball to set up a frantic finish but Cardiff held on to win.
It was an unnecessarily nervous ending to what had been a comfortable and controlled performance by the unbeaten visitors.
Forest were restricted to shots from distance that rarely troubled goalkeeper David Marshall, who remains a transfer target for West Brom.
The Bluebirds are also braced for potential bids for Jones before the end of the transfer window, and the striker again proved his worth with his second goal in as many games on 23 minutes that rewarded Cardiff's early dominance.
Mason, who had a first-half penalty claim ignored, continued his fine start to the season by doubling the lead four minutes into the second half. Pilkington's shot may well have beaten Dorus de Vries in the Forest goal, but Mason made sure by adding the final touch with his head.
But the game was transformed four minutes from time when a long, hopeful ball found Antonio behind the Cardiff defence and he stroked the ball past Marshall.
Antonio's goal gave Forest hope of salvaging an unlikely point, although Mason then wasted a glorious chance to give Cardiff a third by miss-controlling in Forest's six-yard box.
Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman: "The difference, in a nutshell, was that they had two very good strikers, who got them goals, and an excellent keeper who kept them in the match.
"I cannot be disappointed in the way we are playing or in our spirit because we gave it a go. We have a lot of young players and that was the difference today, when it came to our decision making in the opposition box.
"For most of the second half, we were knocking on the door. It was just their keeper who saved them a few times. Had we made better decisions in the final third, we might have got a better result.
"But we are working away with the younger players and don't feel sorry for me. This is where we are. We have three or four good strikers on the treatment table."
Cardiff City manager Russell Slade told BBC Wales Sport: "We dominated possession, we looked the better team and then just caused ourselves some problems towards the end when Forest got a goal back.
"We should've put the game to bed really. Mason won't get a better chance to wrap the game up in the later stages as Forest were trying to get the equaliser.
"But it was a really good performance. A couple of players who played 120 minutes on Tuesday night started to look a bit tired but full credit to them they stuck together, did their jobs and we got the reward."
Forest goalscorer Michail Antonio gave the Cardiff defence most problems
Cardiff forward Joe Mason fires an effort towards Forest goalkeeper Dorus de VriesTired of hearing all the negativity in the news? Here’s a really uplifting story! Lift More Fitness, a gym devoted to power-lifting and bodybuilding, off of SR 50 in Brooksville, is helping some local residents lift their spirits. Owner, Mike Oliva, wanted to do something positive for Hernando county and make a difference, so his gym is currently offering free membership to Special Olympics athletes. They can work out for free any day, any time, but Mondays and Wednesdays are specifically dedicated to them. Most usually show up around 5 pm. The average age of the Special Olympics athletes who regularly work out at Lift More ranges from 18 to mid-30’s.
The idea was born when Oliva’s longtime friend, Coach Jim Coleman, of Special Olympics Hernando county inquired if a few of his athletes could come in once in awhile.
Since Mike was looking for a way to give back to the community, of course he said yes, and the momentum grew from there. He says “it’s important to give back to the people who support you.” Coach Jim leads his team by example. He not only coaches his athletes, but regularly trains with them as well. He even comes in and works out extra days to make sure he can keep up with them. Mike adds, “These guys are athletes in every essence of the word. It’s really impressive.”
Lift More Fitness used to be on Mariner, but just moved to their new location in June. It’s Oliva’s ideal vision of what a gym should be. He describes it as “an old-school gym.” He continues, “ We have an air conditioned side that has a daycare, lounge, tanning room, showers, yoga room/ fitness studio with a padded floor and all that good stuff. But the heart of the gym is inside the warehouse with free weights and cardio equipment, no air conditioning… Simply old-school principals.” One interesting thing about Lift More Fitness is that they are “pro-dog.” That’s right- they allow dogs at the gym!
Oliva says that the Special Olympics athletes are not the only ones who are getting to benefit from this offer. “It’s a two way street,” he explains. Members who frequent the gym on a regular basis are inspired by the Special Olympics athletes. Seeing how hard they work and never giving up despite their disabilities, motivates the other gym members to persevere no matter what. Mike adds, “Those guys are an inspiration and I’m happy to be a part of what they do.”
If you want to sweat and get an intense workout, enjoy loud music and camaraderie this is the place to be. Feel free to grunt while lifting weights or cheer each other on. You don’t have to be quiet like at the trendy fitness centers. Both women and men are free to join, however currently the majority of the clients are men.
Want more info? Give them a call at 352-610-3152. Lift More Fitness is located at 13484 Chambord St, Brooksville, FL 34613Nationwide Action Targets Rite Aid’s Record on Workers’ Rights
Jen Doe from Jobs with Justice trying to deliver a letter from customers and community supporters to a local Rite Aid manager in Boston. Rand Wilson
Rite Aid workers, union activists and community supporters mobilized for a national "Day of Action" on December 15th to focus attention on the company's culture of corporate greed and disrespect for workers' rights.
More than 40 actions took place at Rite Aid stores in eleven states across the country along with an action by employees inside the company's giant Southwest Regional Distribution Center in Lancaster, CA.
More than 70 UFCW Local 1776 members gathered in downtown Philadelphia to leaflet the public about how Rite Aid is trying to cheat its employees and the communities where they work out of good jobs that support working families.
In Massachusetts, delegations of Jobs with Justice supporters crowded into four stores to give Rite Aid managers letters of concern.
"Most Americans are fed up with the way that corporate greed is wrecking America," the letter said. "Rite Aid is becoming an example of what's wrong with our country—when it could be an example of a well-managed company that treats its workers with respect."
United Students Against Sweatshops got many of its supporters to bombard Rite Aid's corporate Facebook page with messages of support for workers. Read the comments (and maybe leave one of your own) at: http://www.facebook.com/riteaid
"Rite Aid executives are taking millions of dollars for themselves—then telling employees to pay for management's mistakes by gouging workers for health insurance," said Craig Merrilees, spokesperson for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union that is assisting more than 500 Rite Aid warehouse workers in Lancaster, CA to win their fight for respect and a first union contract. "This kind of corporate greed is wrong; it's ruining Rite Aid and wrecking America. Citizens across the country are volunteering to help Rite Aid workers stand up and fight back against corporate greed."
The nationwide actions are being sparked by a rash of poor decisions by Rite Aid officials across the country:
• In Cleveland, OH, executives are trying to dramatically increase employee health care costs. The company announced plans to impose higher costs on Jan. 1 that could possibly lead to a strike.
• In Lancaster, CA, Rite Aid executives stalled talks with 500 warehouse employees for nearly two years. Now officials are proposing to gouge employees by "marking-up" the cost of health insurance 28 times over the increases charged by insurers.
• In Rome, NY, Rite Aid is closing a distribution facility that pays family-sustaining wages and benefits and provides workers with a voice on the job. Work is being shifted to a nearby location that pays low wages with few benefits and no job rights.
• In Pennsylvania, thousands of Rite Aid workers are trying to reach a fair settlement.
The December 15 "National Day of Action" was organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the AFL-CIO, Jobs with Justice and United Students Against Sweatshops.
Photos from a few of the actions can be seen here and here. A video of the action at a Rite Aid store in Oakland, CA can be seen here.
For a copy of the community letter to Rite Aid managers, the flyer distributed at stores, a list of locations where actions took place and an "investor Alert" prepared by the ILWU and the AFL-CIO, contact Rand Wilson at rand.wilson@gmail.com.
Rand Wilson is a campaign coordinator for AFL-CIO.Ed’s Note: The Raptors Weekly podcast for this week will be airing on Tuesday on account of Thanksgiving.
Bismack Biyombo, despite not doing anything spectacular, has been an early success this preseason. Never one to light up the box score, Biyombo has made his mark by adding a subtle spine to the Raptors defense. He’s making plays that don’t show up in the box score and even the analytics movement which keeps track of how much distance a player travels, to how many cheeseburgers he eats, can’t quite quantify Biyombo’s contributions. Here are three plays that won’t show up in the box score.
Play 1: Stay home, stop drive, box out
On this end-of-quarter play, Biyombo does three things very well:
He has the discipline to stay home when his man goes out to set the screen for Lou Williams. The Lakers want Biyombo to come out and expose the paint so that Williams has space to drive. Biyombo staying home eliminates that possibility. When Williams drive, Biymobo steps up to stop Williams in his tracks, forcing a pass with time running out. After challenging Williams, he goes back to the guy he’s supposed to be guarding and boxes him out, ensuring he doesn’t get the offensive rebound.
None of these plays show up in the box score, yet are the main reason this possession didn’t result in points for the Lakers.
Play 2: Seal baseline, challenge drive
A lot of players often just worry about their check on defense, and think that if their man didn’t score, they played good defense. Wrong. Here’s another example of Biyombo helping out his teammates responsibly. On this play he:
Helps Cory Joseph by sealing the baseline by recognizing an opportunity to trap a player. It would be very easy for him to just stay home and nobody would’ve complained, but he made the extra effort towards making a play. He recovers well to get back to his man after the ball is kicked out of the baseline trap, and contests the oncoming drive. The pass is made and Scola is late rotating and commits the foul. For Biyombo’s part, though, full marks.
Play 3: Protecting the rim
Here’s Biyombo helping out his teammates again. Scola goes for the steal, overreaches, and is well out of position. Randle, being the smart player he is, takes immediate advantage and attacks the rim. Biyombo’s following this action and steps in to contest the shot, forcing the miss.
—
The defensive utility man that Biyombo is proving out to be has already put him well ahead of the man he replaced, Tyler Hansbrough, at least on defense. On offense, however, you’ll never see me creating a post like this featuring his scoring prowess, because that would be classified as satire.By John Hale Chipman, Class of 1919
"September 30, 1917, Sunday.
Today is Bob's birthday, I believe. Well, Bob, I've got all sorts of presents for you when I get home, May it be soon!
Today we got a call for M s.P again so we left at 8 A.M. and got back at 5:30 P.M. after a disinteresting trip. However, I took some great pictures, --one of a house with a shell hole in the corner of it, and others showing munition bases to batteries in the woods. After they're printed I'll show them to you.
Well, folks, I got some might welcome mail tonight, --Mother's, Sept. 14, Mattie's Sept. 6 & 13, Wilda, 6 & 14, Muddy Marsh, Sept. 14 and Marje Humphries, Sept. 11; also your song-book Mattie, and the Sunday paper of Sept. 9. Roy Youmans [Dartmouth class of 1920] came back from camp yesterday so the quartette christened the new song-book and extends its heartiest thanks to Sister Mattie. After singing our throats sore, we all went to bed."
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To see the actual diary, come to Rauner Special Collections Library in Webster Hall and ask to see MS-1229 during normal hours of operation.From restaurants to hotels to dry cleaning to blacktop to his countless club affiliations and association memberships, Pete Vonachen was one of Peoria’s most prolific businessmen of the 20th century.
From restaurants to hotels to dry cleaning to blacktop to his countless club affiliations and association memberships, Pete Vonachen was one of Peoria’s most prolific businessmen of the 20th century.
But it was baseball that brought him his greatest visibility, both locally and nationally.
His elegant 1998 eulogy at the funeral of his best friend, Harry Caray, is memorialized on a video featuring famous broadcasters. Baseball people far and wide know the name Pete Vonachen from Caray’s frequent on-air mentions of him.
Others remember Vonachen as the man who saved professional baseball in Peoria twice by turning poorly managed franchises into popular moneymakers.
Old-timers recall Pete’s hilarious on-field antics and quick wit that led to suspensions and fines from the Midwest League when he was owner and general manager of the Peoria Chiefs during the 1980s and 1990s.
Vonachen’s tirades against umpires at old Meinen Field were the stuff of legend. One night, mild-mannered organist Rox Bucklin was ejected for playing “Three Blind Mice” following a questionable call.
Grabbing the screen behind home plate, Vonachen retorted to the umpire, “I just learned one thing about you. Your hearing is a lot better than your eyesight.”
Another night when he disagreed with the man in blue, Vonachen flung folding chairs against the screen. An inning later, the Chiefs boss stormed onto the field and argued with the umpire vehemently, finally punctuating his anger with a tossed bat.
Then there was the unforgettable evening when Pete got down on one knee to plead for an ejection from an umpire that never came.
So Pete ejected himself. He stomped off the field and began wildly tossing batting helmets. Although he didn’t get officially thrown out of the game, he would receive an 18-day suspension and a $1,000 fine from the league office for his display.
Once suspended, Vonachen made lemons from lemonade. He had Chiefs workers construct Pete’s Perch atop a maintenance shed beyond the left-field fence so he could watch games because he wasn’t allowed inside the park.
The spectacle yielded sellouts in the first two games and a radio contest to earn a night up there with Pete. The party perch quickly became the hippest bar in town.
Vonachen was 58 when he first bought the Chiefs for a $100,000 bargain in 1983, but his involvement in local sports began long before that transaction.
Early sports life
The oldest of seven children born in Peoria to Dr. and Mrs. Harold Vonachen, Harold Albert Vonachen Jr. was nicknamed Pete by nuns while in the hospital as a child.
No standout athlete, Vonachen played on football, baseball and basketball teams growing up and was a junior on the unbeaten 1942 Spalding football team that has been inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.
Baseball? Let Pete tell it, from an old Journal Star story: “I went out for baseball at Spalding. (As a freshman), the coach put me in at second base. They hit a ground ball to me that went through my legs. I came to bat and struck out. After the game, the coach asked if anybody knew how to keep the scorebook. I said, ‘I do.’ So for four years I got a uniform and it was just as clean as the day I put it on.”
When Vonachen graduated from Bradley in 1949, he took a job as the concessions manager at Robertson Memorial Field House. It was in that position that he first met Caray, who was in town to cover a St. Louis U.-Bradley basketball game. Vonachen’s job was to drive Caray to the airport. After a late night on the town, Vonachen slept on the floor of Caray’s hotel room to make sure they got to the airport on time.
“That was the bond that kept us together,” he said later.
In the 1960s, Vonachen became president of the Peoria Pacers of the Central Illinois Collegiate League and gained notoriety for trading away future major-league Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.
“I traded Mike Schmidt for Wyman Jones,” Vonachen recounted years later. “It’s now 2003. Wyman Jones has not got to Peoria yet.”
It was during those years that Pete and his wife, Donna, who married in 1957, were raising their five kids.
“Dad worked nights at the restaurant (Vonachen Junction),” said Rocky Vonachen, the oldest of four boys born to the couple. “But he always had time for us, whether it was taking us to a ballgame or playing catch in the yard.”
Legacy in the Chiefs
After building the Chiefs’ franchise from a wretched operation when he bought it to a top-10 ranking on Baseball American’s list of best-run minor-league teams five years later, he would sell the team to Chicago businessman Clar Krusinski for about $1 million.
Pete bought the team back six years later when poor management left the club with red ink and a black mark on its name around town.
Before writing the check for the franchise, the stubbornly persuasive Vonachen forced Krusinski to pay back all the money he owed local vendors.
“We marched down to the bank together,” Vonachen said. “It was the longest walk I ever made in my life because he was very, very upset that I would make him do this.”
Against his objections, in 1991 Meinen Field was renamed Pete Vonachen Stadium for his immense contributions to pro baseball in Peoria.
Four years later, Pete turned day-to-day operations over to Rocky and became the club’s chairman, spending game nights chatting with fans and giving away balls to kids. And six years after that, through much wrangling, the Chiefs were approved for a new Downtown ballpark.
“I’m going to die a happy man now because this is the climax of 18 years of professional baseball here,” Pete told the Journal Star in a story that ran May 24, 2002 — the day the formerly named O’Brien Field opened. “I’ll go to my grave knowing that generations ahead in Peoria will be able to enjoy baseball. Good family entertainment is what we need.”
In 2005, Vonachen was bronzed for eternity when a one |
a9c705adf9a941b175631a5e6f11eb575f067e6 long: ADqccFrfmpQbF1YxpebxHrV18Gfm short: 8Gfm size: 46 status: expired sunset: 2016-03-22T17:17:50.395000+00:00 url: https://ptpb.pw/8Gfm terminal recording Create and upload a recording using asciinema: $ asciinema rec term.json ~ Asciicast recording started. ~ Hit Ctrl-D or type "exit" to finish. $ echo tralalalala tralalalala $ exit ~ Asciicast recording finished. $ curl -F c = @term.json https://ptpb.pw/ digest: f9704e9ae63bb5f5aad145a871f260557673d185 long: APlwTprmO7X1qtFFqHHyYFV2c9GF short: c9GF status: created url: https://ptpb.pw/c9GF uuid: 9dffb318-04f5-437c-9899-6e7c7eed04af Then watch the playback with the t handler (https://ptpb.pw/t/c9GF in this case).
shell functions Like it? Try the pb_cli for maximum convenience: command | pb pb < /path/to/file You could further extend this by creating more shell functions around it; here's one for asciinema: pb_rec () { asciinema rec /tmp/ $$.json pb < /tmp/ $$.json }STEP 1
Open the Settings and then open VPN.
STEP 2
Tap on VPN set up.
STEP 3
Tap on +.
STEP 4
Here is a link to all Astrill VPN servers. To make setup even easier, server names are the same for all VPN types. https://members.astrill.com/tools/vpn-servers
1. For Server name or IP address type in GST.ASTRILL.NET (always check Servers List)
2. For Type select IKEv2.
3. For Connect using select user name + password
4. For User name type in Your Astrill VPN membership email
5. For Password type in Your Astrill VPN membership password
6. Once you are done, tap on Save button
STEP 5
Windows mobile automatically establishes a VPN connection, if the connection has been established successfully it should look like this.
STEP 6
Let's check our IP address just to be sure. https://www.astrill.com/what-is-my-ipIt’s now almost a month into the 2015 Jimmy Paredes experiment and the man is still on fire. The man who was once packaged with Mark Melancon in exchange for Lance Berkman has been hitting the stitches off the ball. Through Sunday’s game, he was batting.355/.380/.684 with five home runs, six doubles, and two triples. That’s good for a 194 wRC+. When you factor in his above-average speed, offensively he’s been worth 9.5 runs above average. That’s 17th-best in baseball among players with at least 70 plate appearances, better than Miguel Cabrera and just behind Joey Votto. Not too shabby.
There’s no question he’s hitting the ball hard. His hard-hit rate is at 36.8%, the highest of his career by far, and is 26th-best in baseball -- ahead of Chris Davis, Buster Posey, and David Ortiz (just to cherry pick some names). As a result his ISO is an astounding.329 and his line-drive rate is a superlative 28.8%. The hard-hit rate coupled with his speed has boosted his BABIP to an otherworldly.400.
When evaluating Paredes it’s important to remember that we don’t know much about him. At 540 career PA, he’s just now reaching the threshold for a full season in the majors. And in 2015 he’s played for just over three weeks. Anyone can get hot for three weeks. These short periods of time mean we need to heavily regress to the mean when looking at the future. That’s nerd-speak for, "expect him to be average more often than not over the coming months".
Paredes has never had success at the major-league level. He’s in his age-26 season and is basically starting all over again. He began his career with an execrable three-year stint with the Houston Astros where he hit.234/.274/.311 with three home runs in 118 games. They put him on waivers. It has to be humbling to get waived by a team that is losing 100+ games three years in a row.
After passing through waivers three times, including a two-day stint in the Orioles organization before sticking with Kansas City, he was claimed by the Orioles again and, when rosters expanded last September, has stuck with the team. He smashed.364/.368/.636 in spring training but had to start the year on the DL. He returned to Baltimore when Jonathan Schoop went down with a knee injury and has been smacking the ball all around the park ever since. His lackluster defense means that he’s been the starting DH against righties, and although he’s technically a switch-hitter, he’s so bad against lefties (career.210 wOBA) that if you ever see him start a game against a southpaw it means Buck Showalter has been forced into some terrible Faustian bargain involving his immortal soul.
Digging into the traditional indicators of luck reveals that he is benefitting from chance. As I mentioned above his BABIP is an absurd.400. Some of that is to be expected when you’re hitting the ball so hard and have above-average speed, though. I would guess a BABIP in the.310 range is more his talent level; his speed should keep him at the high end of average until we know more about him. Steamer and ZiPs think basically the same thing.
His HR/FB rate is a whopping 25%, which isn’t surprising. He put up a 20% rate in his 27-game stint last year, so we know he can hit the ball hard for a month or so. Again, since he’s just now reaching a full season in the majors and hasn’t even played that much this year, it’s reasonable to expect that going forward he’ll hit closer to an average rate until he proves otherwise. HR/FB rate tends to stabilize around 50 fly balls; Paredes has hit only 20 this season.
What’s concerning is that his outward plate discipline has remained the same. His walk rate is a paltry 3.8% which, while bad, is in line with his career levels. His strikeout rate is at 20.3%, below his career norm but not so far below that we should think he’s changed his approach. Remember, he hasn’t even had 80 plate appearances yet (although he will by the time your read this).
Indeed his approach at the plate is still not that great. His O-Swing rate is 47% above major-league average while his O-Contact rate is 16% below average. That’s a lot of swings and misses. Paredes is basically combining the worst traits of Adam Jones (chase pitches outside the zone) and Chris Davis (swing and miss a lot).
Sure, he’s flashed some pop, but when you dig deeper, you see his power has mostly come from balls heaved over the middle of the plate:
So Paredes can punish mistake pitches from righties, which is a useful trait. But it doesn’t distinguish him from other lefty bats out there. Pitchers can't always hit their spots, but most can avoid the middle of the plate.
Look at how right-handed pitchers think of him: so far this year, they aren’t scared. They’re trying to work him outside and below the zone, given his tendency to chase, but they’ve come inside the zone enough to indicate they aren’t scared of him:
This means they don’t believe his breakout is for real. And unfortunately, neither should Orioles fans, at least not for awhile. Savor what Paredes has done so far this year, because it’s really helped the club. The runs he’s pushed across the plate definitely count. And with his above-average speed, he should maintain a good BABIP and ISO, turning a few singles into doubles, going from first to third on a single, and so on.
But he has to get on base in the first place, and nothing in his track record suggests he’ll continue to be this good. Steamer and ZiPS agree: the former projects him for an 81 wRC+ for the rest of the season; the latter, 83. If Paredes is still hitting this good in July, maybe August, fans will know to expect more from him than this.I got chance to sit down with Chris "Studio" to talk about his time in league of legends and about his showcase Studio daily, where he analyses replayes from diffrent elo. I also wanted to ask him about his newly started casting career.
Please tell us a bit about yourself
Studio: Well, my name is Chris, but I go by Studio online. I'm 22-years old living in Southern California, and I make League of Legends guides based off analyzing high level replays as well as just starting a casting career in the past month.
All right how long have you been playing league of Legends?
Studio: Since September 1st 2009, back in the days of Blitzcrank having a 4 second silence on his ultimate and Twisted Fate tossing out double Gold Cards (which AoE stunned)
Awesome, for how long time have you been streaming, and doing your show studio daily then?
Studio: Well, I'm not actually streaming right now, but will be towards the beginning of June once the Kickstarter for the show has processed. I've been making the daily since early February of 2012
What started the whole idea of you doing a league of Legends showcase?
Studio: I post on the forum Something Awful, and in the LoL thread in January I made a comment that there was no sort of daily style show for League of Legends like there is for Starcraft 2, or even what Warcraft 3 used to have. The immediate response was "You're high Elo. You do it." And that comment was pretty spot on. Why not just try it and see if it works?
So did you begin the work immediately or did you prepare some sort of guidelines for the program, something that you had to add every time, or something specifically you would not do at all in your program?
Studio: I started work right away, and messed with various formats. I went with the raw ideas rather than any sort of extensive planning since I knew that whatever I did right at that moment, wasn't actually going to be that good. That may sound odd, but with a project like this and the fact that I had no experience, it meant that I'd learn as I go along. The question wasn't so much "Will I make a product people think is awesome?" It was more "Will I make something that people think can be awesome?"
The guidelines have slowly been adding there way in thanks to the community and the very important feedback I got. Most changes ranging from how I speak, to annotations are partially inspired by the community (if not fully). However that was very specific to this project and the fact that it was "Unknown Territories" in the LoL community.
Awesome, I would also like to ask you something about what you think people might take from your show rather from a normal high elo stream, who might try to explain his gameplay while playing?
Studio: Well the high Elo streams where people explain are interesting, but it's all about looking at the gameplay from different angles. The streamer is going to be focused on their mindset, and it's almost in a way going to be explaining "gut feelings." You reach a level in play where you end up relying more on trained instinct rather than thinking most actions out.
Looking at the replay gives the chance to explain in a more global sense, and to more explicitly state what those gut feelings are, why you should have them, and the results being more controlled (since they already happened). Also factor in that a streamer is limited to their role in the game, and while I may not be the best jungler in the game for example, if I watch a replay 3 times in-detail, I know why the jungler is doing what he does.
It'll be a bigger difference once a replay system ends up rolling out too. Right now there's still some bad interactions with spectator and LoLReplay, so something I'd like to do but can't (Which streamers can't), is look at the other teams perspective and vision.
All right, what it is like to cast some of the bigger tournaments; I understand you have recently been casting the 4PL, can you please describe what that was like?
Studio: Short answer: Awesome
Long Answer. Really Awesome. I've casted the past four 4PL weekly tournaments, as well 3 or so side events. Livecasting was a bit of a jolt for me because unlike a replay, I don't know what's going to happen. So a slew of problems that just didn't exist cropped up for me. Same thing as before though. Figure out what I'm doing wrong, fix it. Figure out what I'm doing okay in, make it better.
The coasters really make it much more fun and exciting though. I've casted with AL Panky and Qu1ckSh0t, and it was awesome casting with both. Panky helping me out until I started getting the hang of collor commentating. And in a way the reverse for Qu1ckSh0t, where i was his first cocaster. The AL and 4PL Staff are also pretty awesome. The games and teams that compete are great, and even if I'm waking up at 6:30 AM to cast a European tournament, I'm excited and glad to do it.
Cool, do you think you will be doing more casting, especially now that you have gotten the hang of it?
Studio: Totally. I will primarily be focusing on the show, but any casting I can do is always a blast and something I'd like to focus on in addition to the show
What do you think someone who might try to do some kind of League of Legends showcase or perhaps want to start a casting career should do to try and create awareness of their particular show, or their stream?
Studio: Casting career is tricky. Unless you're already well-known people aren't inclined to listen to you. If you are really good (and I mean, really good) and have your own unique quality people are more inclined to start following you. Qu1ckSh0t for example is a great caster, but he also has his distinct South African accent. If you don't there's a problem since there are A lot of casters trying to grow out there. I could list probably 25 or so, and that's only the people I know.
If you have something else to offer it follow a similar process. If you want to make, for example, a "League of Legends Top 5 Plays of the Week" showcase, well it's already been done. There's no reason it couldn't be successful, but you've set yourself up to be compared to someone that's already established. If you can find your own unique show though, go for it. Having a cool idea and being the first one to go through with it can get you really far. Look at both Mobafire and Solomid's guides. They're simple ideas, but the fact that they were early to it means they've both become incredibly successful.
Awesome so where do you see yourself in a year? Doing more casting, or still doing you awesome series?
Studio: Both! If all goes well I'll hopefully be able to balance a schedule pending 5-6 days a week doing the series or casting. The ideal balance would be 4-5 spent on the series, with occasional weekends being devoted to casting.
That sounds like a great plan, and last I would like to ask you do you have anything you would like to add?
Studio: If you want to make something, to do something, go for it. If it works, then hey you've done something cool. If it doesn't you can learn from the experience. If you don't try though then what's the fun in that?
Awesome I would like to thank you for this great interview
Studio: If you would like to check out Studios show then go a head and watch this clip.This article is about the player Dan Salvato. For the player formerly known as Dan, see Smasher:Super Dan.
Dan Salvato, previously known as Internet Explorer, is a former professional smasher from New Jersey. He was known as one of the best Melee Link players in the United States, and was also considered one of the best Project M Link players in the world. He is known for his high technical precision and development of a new Link metagame. He was one of the founding members of Rutgers Maylay as an undergraduate. Salvato was also a developer on the Project M Development Team and he is currently the lead developer of 20XX Tournament Edition.
Dan Salvato retired from playing Smash in 2015, though he has infrequently attended tournaments for Melee since, still using Link; he has since continued to work on 20XX Tournament Edition, adding in additional features such as Universal Controller Fix.
Outside of Smash, he is best known as the creator of Doki Doki Literature Club!, a 2017 visual novel that quickly gained mass popularity upon release.
Tournament placings [ edit ]
Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner Zenith 2012 May 26th-27th, 2012 33rd — — Apex 2013 January 11th-13th, 2013 257th — — KTAR 7 July 6th-7th, 2013 7th — — Zenith 2014 August 2nd-3rd, 2014 49th — — Apex 2016 June 17th-19th, 2016 13th — —
Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner Zenith 2013 June 1st-2nd, 2013 13th — — KTAR 7 July 6th-7th, 2013 9th — — Apex 2014 January 17th-19th, 2014 25th — —
Trivia [ edit ]
Dan Salvato also speedruns various games, and currently holds four world records for Yoshi's Story. [1]
. There is an Easter egg in Doki Doki Literature Club! referencing Project M. When the game is loading, the warning screen may say "PM died for this."
referencing Project M. When the game is loading, the warning screen may say "PM died for this." Dan Salvato is also the creator of FrankerFaceZ, the Twitch emote provider.Nov 26 2015
I may be the only evil (bit) user on the internet
Almost every year a joke RFC is made on April 1st (these have caught on so well, that it’s now common to see more than one of these every year), or April Fool’s Day, and some of them are pretty great. Here are some of my favourites:
SONET to Sonnet Translation RFC1605
Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0) RFC2324
UTF-9 and UTF-18 RFC4042
TCP Option to Denote Packet Mood RFC8541
The Null Packet RFC6592
Scenic Routing for IPv6 RFC7511
Though you can find a full list here: link
However my favourite one so far is RFC3514 or the “The Security Flag in the IPv4 Header”
One of the things that make RFC like the RFC3514 and RFC2324 (and others) great is that they are actually implementable, as in the case of the “Evil bit”. There is nothing stopping you from actually doing it.
Curious by this as of late, I wondered if anyone out there actually sets the bit. It isn’t a very well acknowledged RFC: even though it’s under the “Informational” category (as are all April Fool’s RFCs) it’s not even recognized by Wireshark and other systems
Some would say that Wireshark isn’t RFC3514 aware :) (Though someone tried to make it link)
It’s even harder to look for these kind of packet in tools like tcpdump, you have to resort to a rather unobvious filter of ip[6:1] & 0x80 = 0x80
In FreeBSD someone actually did the work and made it a option for your IP stack link however the patch was only in FreeBSD for around 24 hours before being reverted link
I have not been able to find any attempt at having this in the Linux kernel, so I made a patch link for it. Very rudimentary, forces you to always have the evil bit enabled on your outgoing packets (good enough for myself).
ben@metropolis:~$ uname -v #110+evil SMP Sat Oct 24 19:08:01 BST 2015
Now that I have my home desktop recompiled with my new “evil” kernel, I am now sending almost all of my outbound packets with the evil bit set.
Am I alone in this?
In the RFC it mentions the following:
Devices such as firewalls MUST drop all inbound packets that have the evil bit set. Packets with the evil bit off MUST NOT be dropped. Dropped packets SHOULD be noted in the appropriate MIB variable.
After spending 2 weeks browsing normally with my hacked kernel, I found only one site that I could not access only from my desktop. freedesktop.org appears to have rules set to drop evil bit packets. freedesktop.org is in the IP space of Portland University, so after even more digging I found that all of the Portland University address space drops evil bit packets!
This inspired me to go searching for sites that also had done this in the alexa 100k (at the time of writing, freedesktop ranks 35,426 on there link). After doing scans if I could connect to port 80 from a PC that had no evil bit kernel, and a normal one on the same network, I found the following list of domains that only failed on my evil bit computer, some of the interesting domains are:
Universities:
cf.ac.uk
pdx.edu
skku.edu
shmtu.edu.cn
tc.edu.tw
cardiff.ac.uk
upf.edu
uq.edu.au
usc.edu
chapman.edu
kctcs.edu
lonestar.edu
missouristate.edu
Banks/money handling companies:
citruspay.com
rbs.co.uk
rbsdigital.com
natwest.com
Software Sites/Companies:
kaspersky.co.jp
kaspersky.com
kaspersky.ru
teamviewer.com
caniuse.com
unicode.org
You can find the full list of top alexa 20k domains to look at here: link
I highly suspect the thing that links all of these sites together is a common appliance, since most of these sites are not under a security service, with the one exception of ddos-guard.net who seem to filter it on all inbound to their network. None of the listed sites above (other than the full list) use ddos-guard.net.
So now we know that sites target this bit to block, but the real question is why? Is it that someone didn’t see the date of the RFC, maybe sarcasm doesn’t translate very well, possibly someone in the real world actually sent the evil bit when doing evil things, and cause some products to target it?
Time for some security by obscurity
Now, it’s fairly obvious at this point that this is a bit that isn’t used that much. However lucky for you we can use that to lock down a port so it is only visible to “evil” people, meaning that most (if not all I suspect) scanners will never see this port, but people using the kernel patch can see it perfectly fine and without IP blocking.
Unfortunately iptables itself does not have a way to target the IP flags on a packet, however there is a useful u32 module for iptables link that you can use to target random bits in packets for your own use. The following IPTable chain whitelists people who use the evil bit to access a port:
iptables -N evil iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --destination-port <port> -j evil iptables -m u32 --u32 "3&0x80>>7=1" -A evil -j ACCEPT iptables -A evil -j DROP
Obligatory tester
Please load javascript!
Closing
If you see a green “Evil is set” thing above ( aka this ), do let me know on either my email, ben+ccox@benjojo.co.uk or tweeting me. Do let me know what equipment you also use.
If you happen to run one of the sites I have mentioned that drop “evil” traffic, please also let me know what firewall/router setup you use, I would love to know what drops the evil bit by default.Transport and public services across Greece have been severely affected by a general strike.
The walkout was called by the country’s two biggest trade unions over new austerity measures.
The industrial action comes a day before parliament is set to vote on controversial reforms which will cut pensions and end tax breaks.
In Athens, thousands of people took to the streets in protest.
“If these measures are passed things will be very difficult, and the growth they are talking about is not for us or our children, but for the capitalists,’‘ one demonstrator said.
‘‘This looting of the workers and pensioners has gone on for too long. They have taken us to the lowest of levels,” another protester said.
Along with hospitals, the nationwide strike has seen metro, ferry and other public transport services grind to a halt.
The Greek government needs to make further savings before its eurozone lenders agree to handover more loans as part of the country’s latest bailout deal.MADISON, Wis.—Wisconsin union leaders scored a win when a Madison judge ordered state labor relations officials to stop enforcing portions of Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining restrictions, but it could be a hollow victory, as unions still can’t force concessions from the state and the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court could reverse the decision within weeks.
Union attorneys say Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas’ ruling means school districts and municipal employers must again sit down with unions to discuss wages, hours and workplace conditions. But it doesn’t require employers to agree with the unions’ proposals and didn’t restore the unions’ ability to force employers into binding arbitration. Since public unions can’t legally strike in Wisconsin, employers could dictate the terms of any new deal.
“That was always our key request, please give us some relief from the arbitration,” said Dan Thompson, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. “If the unions have a right to go to arbitration, the arbitrator can choose the union package. That can cost us more.”
Union attorneys and leaders said the ruling at least forces employers back to the bargaining table.
“The big thing is we can at least talk to the employers again,” said Rick Badger, the executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 40. “Right now, we had employers who said we’d like to sit down with you but we can’t. This at least allows that dialogue. If that happens, good things happen.”
Walker, a Republican, proposed a bill in 2011 that stripped most public workers on the state and local levels of almost all of their collective bargaining rights. The plan sparked massive protests at the state Capitol but the GOP-controlled Legislature passed it anyway.
Colas last year found sections of the law unconstitutional as they applied to two unions representing Madison teachers and Milwaukee public workers, including provisions that barred negotiations on workplace conditions and hours, limited bargaining on wage increases to the rate of inflation, outlawed automatic withdrawals of union dues from members’ paychecks and required union members to vote annually on whether their wanted their organizations to continue to represent them.
The state has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission continued preparations for recertification elections for hundreds of unions next month, arguing that Colas’ ruling applied only to the Madison and Milwaukee unions.
Colas ruled Monday those preparations amounted to contempt of court, saying the commission knew his ruling applied statewide. He barred WERC from enforcing the provisions against any local public union.
The ruling doesn’t affect state workers. But it means next month’s local union recertification elections are off and local government employers must sit down with unions and negotiate in good faith again, said Lester Pines, an attorney for the Madison teachers and the Kenosha Education Association.
The KEA sent a letter to its school district on Tuesday morning seeking to start contract negotiations. A district spokeswoman said Colas’ ruling has created confusion about how to proceed with the request and district officials are seeking legal advice.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday how many other local union chapters might seek to reopen negotiations. Most teacher unions are still trying to understand Colas’ new ruling, said Christina Brey, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers union.
Wisconsin Counties Association attorney Andrew Phillips said he thinks some unions will seek to reopen negotiations, but he wasn’t sure how many.
Since unions can’t force arbitration and can’t strike, though, they could be left with the employers’ best offers.
“Without a dispute resolution process, the employer is in charge,” Pines said.
The Supreme Court could render Colas’ ruling moot. Conservative-leaning justices control the court and they’ve already upheld the bargaining restrictions once, rejecting arguments that Republican lawmakers violated the state’s open meeting laws during the run-up to passage.
The court has scheduled oral arguments in the Colas case for Nov. 11. It’s unclear when the court might release a decision; the justices face no deadlines. WERC attorney Peter Davis said the commission plans to ask the high court to stay Colas’ contempt ruling as well, but it’s unclear when the panel might file that request.
“We have an obligation to bargain in good faith,” Thompson said, “but it’s difficult to bargain when you’re not quite sure what the ruling will be … We are in a very fluid, unsettled legal environment and both sides know that.”
———
Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1Two devastating global ransomware outbreaks, WannaCry and Petya, spread quickly because of a vulnerability in one of the internet's most ancient networking protocols, Server Message Block version 1 (aka SMBv1).
Click to enlarge
Your PCs that run Windows 10 are protected from that exploit, but that doesn't mean you'll be so lucky the next time.
In the interests of implementing a comprehensive, multi-layer security policy, Microsoft recommends that you disable the SMBv1 protocol completely. The world has already moved on to SMBv3, and there's no excuse for continuing to let that old and horribly insecure protocol run on your network.
To permanently remove SMBv1 support from Windows 10, use either of these two approaches.
Open Control Panel (just start typing Control in the search box to find its shortcut quickly). Click Programs, and then click Turn Windows features on or off (under the Programs heading). Clear the check box for SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support, as shown here. That's it; you're protected.
(Note that you can use that same procedure in Windows 8.1. For Windows 7, you can't remove SMBv1, but you can disable it using the instructions in this article: How to enable and disable SMBv1, SMBv2, and SMBv3 in Windows and Windows Server.)
As an alternative in Windows 10, open a Windows PowerShell prompt with administrative privileges. In the Windows 10 Creators Update, version 1703, right-click the Start button and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin) from the Quick Link menu.) If you're running an earlier Windows 10 version, enter Windows PowerShell in the search box, then right-click the Windows PowerShell shortcut and click Run as administrator.
From that elevated PowerShell prompt, type the following command:
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName smb1protocol
Press Enter and you're done.
On a Windows domain, of course, you can use Group Policy. Full instructions (along with links to help management understand why this is a good idea) are in this Microsoft TechNet article: Disable SMB v1 in Managed Environments with Group Policy.
Disabling SMBv1 shouldn't have any effect on modern, fully updated hardware. Some consumer-grade network attached storage devices use this protocol by default, but a firmware update or a change in settings might allow you to change it to something more secure. Unfortunately, some older database programs and even new devices such as those from Sonos require SMBv1.
If you discover that you have an app or a network device that won't work without this feature, use Control Panel to turn the feature back on. Then consider whether that app or device is worth the impact on your network security and whether it's time to look for a replacement.
Previous tip: Use filters for faster and more accurate searches
Next week: Another Windows 10 tip from Ed BottEarlier this week, Mike WiLL Made-It let the world know he's releasing his long-awaited Ransom 2 album on March 24. Now, ahead of an iTunes pre-order going up tonight, we get a peek at the tracklist, and it features Kendrick Lamar, Future, Chief Keef and more.
As previously reported, Kendrick, Gucci Mane and Rae Sremmurd have a collab on the album, and the song he dropped with 21 Savage, Migos and YG "Gucci On My" will be included as well.
Future and Swae Lee both have solo tracks, and Pharrell (!) has a song on there too. Plus, we're getting a Chief Keef and Rae Sremmurd collab, as well as a Trouble and Problem collab. Lil Wayne, Young Thug and Lil Yachty are also scattered across the project.
Peep the whole tracklist below and listen to a preview of the intro featuring Big Sean after that. Plus, listen to snippets of Lil Yachty and Swae Lee's solo songs off the album.
Mike WiLL Made-It's Ransom 2 Tracklist
1. "On the Come Up" Feat. Big Sean
2. "W Y O (What You On)" Feat. Young Thug
3. "Hasselhoff" Feat. Lil Yachty
4. "Gucci On My" Feat. 21 Savage, YG and Migos
5. "Oh Hi Hater (Hiatus)" Feat. Fortune
6. "Perfect Pint" Feat. Kendrick Lamar, Gucci Mane and Rae Sremmurd
7. "Razzle Dazzle" Feat. Future
8. "Bars of Soap" Feat. Swae Lee
9. "Burnin'" Feat. Andrea
10. "Y'all Ain't Ready" Feat. 2 Chainz
11. "Ariges (YuGo)" Feat. Pharrell and Station Wagon P
12. "Emotion Unlocked" Feat. Eearz
13. "Big God" Feat. Trouble and Problem
14. "Faith" Feat. Lil Wayne and Hoodybaby
15. "Come Down" Feat. Chief Keef and Rae Sremmurd
16. "Outro"
17. "Nothing Is Promised" Feat. RihannaThe founder of notorious Chinese cracking forum 3DM is warning that given the current state of anti-piracy technology, in two years there might be no more pirate games to play. The claims come after attempts to breach the Denuvo security protecting Just Cause 3 pushed the group's cracking expert to breaking point.
Piracy can never be stopped. Piracy will always be around. Where there’s a will to break copy protection, there’s a way. These are all comments regularly heard in piracy circles and to date, they’ve largely been proven accurate.
But while trying to protect movies and music using technological measures is by now almost a lost cause, the same cannot be said about video games. While copying a title was a trivial process several years ago, in many cases more and more roadblocks are now being put in pirates’ way.
In the past most games would be playable for free before their official debut but increasingly pirates are being made to wait for big titles to have their protection defeated, or ‘cracked’ as it’s more commonly known. In fact, aside from many dozens of dedicated piracy forums, there’s even an entire sub-Reddit community dedicated to providing the status of cracks.
One of the hottest topics involves the Avalanche Studios/Square Enix title Just Cause 3. Released on December 1, 2015 and despite massive demand, the game has still not been cracked. The problem appears to lie with the robustness of the technology protecting the game.
Just Cause 3 uses the latest iteration of Denuvo, an anti-tamper technology developed by Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH. While its secrets are best known to its creators, Denuvo is a secondary encryption system which protects existing and underlying DRM products.
In 2014 the product made the headlines after successfully protecting Dragon Age: Inquisition for almost a month, a very respectable time in cracking circles.
In the end it was Chinese cracking group 3DM that brought down that instance of Denuvo but the Austria-based company continued to tweak and achieved increasing protection periods on recent games in the FIFA series. FIFA 16 is currently Denuvo protected and that game still hasn’t been cracked, despite being released in September.
But Just Cause 3 is the current hot potato and despite having released an endless supply of cracks for other titles (and having had success against Denuvo in the past), the cracks (excuse the pun) are beginning to show at 3DM.
In a posting on her blog, 3DM forum founder ‘Bird Sister’ (also known as Phoenix) has revealed the frustrations being experienced with Just Cause 3.
“Recently, many people have asked about cracks for ‘Just Cause 3’, so here is a centralized answer to this question. The last stage is too difficult and Jun [cracking guy] nearly gave up, but last Wednesday I encouraged him to continue,” Bird Sister explains.
While games pirates everywhere will be willing Jun on to complete what 3DM ultimately believe will be an achievable task, Bird Sister isn’t optimistic about the future. In fact, she paints somewhat of a doomsday scenario.
“I still believe that this game can be |
driven by increased US imports from China passing through the canal en route to ports on the US East and Gulf coasts. But it is increasingly recognized in both the US and China that this imbalance in trade is unsustainable and will be reduced via some sort of adjustment in the coming years[12] (although such an imbalance need not be made up by physically shipped goods, but could be made by other trade such as intellectual property as China upgrades its intellectual property protection laws). The ACP, however, presumes that trade will continue to grow for a generation as it has for the past several years.[citation needed]
One of the central points made by critics of canal expansion, most prominently former canal administrator Fernando Manfredo, is that it is unrealistic to attempt to predict canal usage trends over a generation, improbable to expect that US imports from China will continue to grow for a generation as they have the past few years, and irresponsible to bet Panama's financial future on such a projection.[citation needed]
Competition [ edit ]
Container ship routes to North America from Asian Pacific
The most direct competition to the canal comes from alternative routes that present options for transporting cargo between the same points of origin and destination.
The opening of the Russian Northern Sea Route and the Canadian Northwest Passage to commercial traffic could pose an alternative to the canal in the long term. Warmer waters in the Arctic Ocean could open the passage for an increasing number of months each year, making it more attractive as a major shipping route. However, the passage through the Arctic would require significant investment in escort vessels and staging ports. The Canadian commercial marine transport industry does not anticipate that this route will be a viable alternative to the Panama Canal within the next 10 to 20 years.[13]
The two main current competitors of the Panama Canal are the US intermodal system and the Suez Canal. The main ports and merchandise distribution centers in these routes are investing in capacity, location, and maritime and land infrastructure to serve post-Panamax container ships and their larger cargo volumes. According to the ACP, the growing usage of such ships in transcontinental routes competing with the canal is irreversible. It was estimated that by 2011 approximately 37% of the capacity of the world's container ship fleet would consist of vessels that did not fit through the current canal, and a great part of this fleet could be used on routes that compete with Panama.[1]
The proposal states that strengthening the canal's competitive position will allow it to accommodate demand and serve its customers. If the canal had the capacity to serve the growing demand, Panama could become the most important connectivity hub on the continent by joining together north–south continental routes and east–west transcontinental routes. Accordingly, the canal will continue to be viable and competitive in all of its routes and segments, and contribute significantly to Panama's development and growth while maintaining its position as a major world trade route.[1]
Predictions [ edit ]
According to the studies conducted by the ACP in 2005, the canal would reach its maximum sustainable capacity between 2009 and 2012. When it reached this capacity it would not be able to continue to handle growth in demand, resulting in a reduction in the competitiveness of the Panama maritime route.
As approved by the Panamanian people, construction for the expansion project was slated to conclude by April 2016. The ACP said it would use all possible means to stretch capacity until the construction is completed.
The proposed expansion of the canal by the construction of a third set of locks will allow it to capture the entire demand projected through 2025 and beyond. Together, the existing and new locks will approximately double the capacity of the present canal.[1]
Critics such as former legislator Keith Holder, co-author of the legislation that created the ACP, pointed out that canal usage is seasonal and that even during the few months when it is most crowded, the bottleneck that slows traffic is not the locks but the narrow Culebra Cut, which has a limited capacity for large ships to pass one another.[14]
Although the canal was nearing its maximum capacity, it did not mean that ships were unable to transit it. Rather, the canal's growth capacity stagnated and that it could not capture additional cargo volumes.[1]
The former head of the Panama Canal's dredging division, Thomas Drohan, a critic of the expansion plan, discounted allegations that this is a problem in the short term. He argued that if the supply of any good or service becomes short, businesses can raise their prices; this would apply to Panama Canal tolls as much as it does to petroleum.[15]
The project [ edit ]
Aerial view of Gatun Locks. On top, several vessels at the Gatun Lake waiting to cross the locks. At the bottom is exit canal to the Atlantic Ocean. At the left of the existing locks is the construction area for the new locks and water-saving chambers part of the Panama Canal expansion project.
Locks [ edit ]
The original canal has two lanes, each with its own set of locks. The expansion project added a third lane through the construction of lock complexes at each end of the canal. One lock complex is located on the Pacific side, southwest of the existing Miraflores Locks. The other is located east of the existing Gatun Locks. Each of these new lock complexes have three consecutive chambers designed to move vessels from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake and back down again.[1]
Each chamber has three lateral water-saving basins, for a total of nine basins per lock and 18 basins in total. Just like the original locks, the new locks and their basins will be filled and emptied by gravity, without the use of pumps. The location of the new locks uses a significant portion of the area excavated by the United States in 1939 and suspended in 1942 because of World War II. The new locks are connected to the existing channel system through new navigational channels.[1] The new lock chambers are 427 m (1,400.92 ft) long, 55 m (180.45 ft) wide, and 18.3 m (60.04 ft) deep. They use rolling gates instead of miter gates, which are used by the original locks. Rolling gates are used in almost all existing locks with dimensions similar to the new ones, and are a proven technology. The new locks use tugboats to position the vessels instead of electric locomotives. As with rolling gates, tugs are successfully and widely used for these purposes in locks of similar dimensions.[1]
Water saving basins [ edit ]
Diagram of water-saving basins (descending)
Diagram of water-saving basins (ascending)
The new locks have water-saving basins to reduce the volume of water that is needed in lock operation. The operation of both the old and new locks uses gravity and valves. There is no pumping involved.
Operation of the locks, old and new, uses water from Gatun Lake. Even in the current situation with two lock lanes, water supply can be limited at the end of Panama's dry season, when the lake's water level is low. The addition of a third set of locks meant that this water supply issue needed to be addressed.
Three basins are associated with each lock chamber. The volume lost per cycle is two-fifths of the "moving water" chamber volume. The other three-fifths is reused. An equal savings of water, based on the same principle, could be reached by adding more lock chambers. Constructing a stair of eight chambers (instead of three) to elevate 85 ft (26 m) would use an 11 ft (3.25 m) water slice per cycle. However, this would require ships to travel through eight locks, making ship handling less efficient.
Water usage is calculated per single lock cycle. It is determined by the water volume in a lock chamber between the levels it handles. Essentially, each cycle uses the volume of water discharged by the lock chamber (its width multiplied by its height and depth). When the locks are in stairs, as in the Panama Canal, only the first (highest) lock chamber matters for this calculation. None of the lower locks use additional water; they have the same volume. Moreover, the ship's underwater volume does not matter, because that volume is present both before and after the change in water level and thus is part of the non-moved volume.
The water used per lock operating cycle is therefore equal to the amount of water that flows into the first (upper) lock chamber when filling it from Gatun Lake. Reducing this volume requires reducing the chamber's width, length, or elevating height. Note that the elevating height has already been reduced by staging the total 85 ft (26 m) elevation change into three locks. Were this change done in a single lock chamber, the water volume lost would be three times as much.
The water-saving basins function as follows: The volume of water moved by the lock chamber (e.g., a height of 30 ft (9 m)) can be divided into five equal horizontal "slices" (here, 1.8 m each). When the canal begins operation, the chamber is filled once from Gatun Lake. Then, when emptying the chamber, the top three slices (1, 2, and 3) are emptied, one by one, into three basins, each at a successively lower elevation. That is, water slice 1 is emptied, using gravity and valves, into a basin that is at the same level as water slice 2. Then water slice 2 is emptied into a basin at the same level as water slice 3, and slice 3 is emptied into a basin at the same level as slice 4. Water slices 4 and 5 are emptied into the next lock chamber and "lost" (as in the original canal locks).
When the lock moves a ship upward, the chamber is closed, and the water from the basin at level 4 is let into the chamber, filling slice 5. Then basin level 3 fills level 4, and basin 2 fills level 3. Next, from levels 2 and 1 are filled from Gatun Lake, "costing" a volume of 12 ft (3.6 m) instead of 30 ft (9 m) over the chamber area (2/5 of the elevation height). The ship is now at the level of Gatun Lake and can cross it.
Navigational channels [ edit ]
According to the plan, a 3.2 km (2.0 mi)-long access channel was excavated to connect the new Atlantic locks with the existing sea entrance of the canal. To connect the new Pacific-side locks with the existing channels, two new access channels were built:
The 6.2 km (3.9 mi) north access channel, which connects the new Pacific-side lock with the Culebra Cut, circumventing Miraflores Lake. This channel runs along the new Borinquen Dam that separates it from Miraflores Lake (which has a water level that is 9 m lower, due to the dislocation of the Pedro Miguel locks).
The 1.8 km (1.1 mi) south access channel, which connects the new lock with the existing sea entrance on the Pacific Ocean (fig. 5).
The new channels on both the Atlantic and the Pacific sides are at least 218 meters (715 feet) wide, permitting Post-Panamax vessels to navigate in a single direction.[1]
Maximum operating level of Gatun Lake [ edit ]
Canal elevations are referred to using the Precise Level Datum (PLD), which is close to the mean sea level of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances. The maximum operational level of Gatun Lake was raised by approximately 0.45 meters (1.5 feet) from the previous PLD level of 26.7 meters (88 feet) to a PLD level of 27.1 meters (89 feet). Combined with the widening and deepening of the navigational channels, this has increased Gatun Lake's usable water reserve capacity and allows the canal's water system to supply a daily average of 165,000,000 US gal (625,000 m3; 137,000,000 imp gal) of additional water. This additional water volume is enough to provide an annual average of approximately 1,100 additional lockages without affecting the water supply for human use, which is also provided from Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes.[1]
Construction timeline [ edit ]
The construction of the third set of locks project was originally slated to take seven or eight years, with the new locks beginning operations between fiscal years 2014 and 2015, roughly 100 years after the canal first opened.[1][16] In July 2012, however, it was announced that the expansion project had fallen six months behind schedule, pushing the opening date back from October 2014 to April 2015.[17] By September 2014, the new gates were projected to be open for transit at the "beginning of 2016."[18][19][20][21]
In October 2011, the Panama Canal Authority announced the completion of the third phase of excavation for the Pacific access channel.[22][23]
In June 2012, a 100-foot-tall reinforced concrete monolith was completed, the first of 46 such monoliths that line the new Pacific-side lock walls.[24]
Sixteen new lock gates had to be installed as part of the canal expansion: eight on the Atlantic side, and eight on the Pacific. The installation process began in December 2014, with a 3,285-ton gate's installation on the Atlantic side; it concluded in April 2015, with the installation of a 4,232-ton gate on the Pacific side.[25][26]
In June 2015, flooding of the new locks began: first on the Atlantic side, then on the Pacific; by then, the canal's re-inauguration was slated for April 2016.[27][28][29][30]
In August 2015, a crack was reported in a concrete sill at the new Cocoli locks, but it was not initially anticipated to affect the project completion timeline.[31][32] By November 2015, however, cracks discovered over the previous months threatened to delay project completion.[33] Sill reinforcements were, however, anticipated to be completed by January, 2016.[34] In early February 2016, the ACP reported that sill reinforcements, repairing the cracks detected earlier, were complete.[35][36]
By January 2016, Panama's President Varela indicated that he anticipated the expansion to be complete around May 2016.[37] The expanded canal began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The first ship to cross the canal using the third set of locks was a modern New Panamax vessel, the Chinese-owned container ship "Cosco Shipping Panama."[38] The United States dispatched a navy ship to Panama to demonstrate U.S. naval power to the Chinese ship.[39]
Finances [ edit ]
The main purpose of the canal expansion program is to increase Panama's ability to benefit from the growing traffic demand. This growing demand is manifested in both the increased cargo volumes and the size of vessels that will use the Panama route. In this sense, with a third set of locks, the canal will be able to manage the traffic demand forecast beyond 2025;[40] total inflation-adjusted revenues for that year are predicted to amount to over USD $6.2 billion.[1]
Estimated cost [ edit ]
In 2006, ACP estimated the cost of the third set of locks project at US$5.25 billion.[1] This figure includes design, administrative, construction, testing, environmental mitigation, and commissioning costs, as well as contingencies to cover risks and unforeseen events, such as accidents, design changes, price increases, and possible delays. The cost of interest paid on loans during construction is not included. The largest cost is that associated with constructing the two new lock complexes—one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides—with estimated costs of US$1.11 billion and US$1.03 billion each, plus a US$590 million provision for possible contingencies during their construction.[1]
Opponents contend the project is based on uncertain projections about maritime trade and the world economy. Roberto N. Méndez, an economist at the University of Panama, alleges that the economic and financial projections are based on manipulated data.[41] Independent engineers, most notably Humberto Reynolds[42] and Tomás Drohan Ruiz,[43] the former head of engineering and dredging of the Panama Canal, say that the project will cost much more than currently budgeted and that it is too risky for Panama. M. A. Bernal, a professor at the University of Panama, argues that confidence in the ACP's budget is undermined because of the involvement of engineering and consultancy firm Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Estimated profitability and financing [ edit ]
According to the ACP, the third set of locks will be financially profitable, producing a 12 percent internal rate of return. The project's financing is separate from the governmental budget. The state, which has a lower credit rating than the ACP, does not guarantee or endorse any loans borrowed by the ACP for the project. Assuming that tolls increase at an annual average rate of 3.5 percent for 20 years, and according to the traffic demand forecast and construction schedule deemed most likely by the ACP, the external financing required will be temporary and in the order of US$2.3 billion to cover peak construction activities between 2009 and 2011.[1]
The ACP's revenue projections are based on questionable assumptions about increased canal usage and shippers' willingness to pay higher tolls instead of seeking competing routes. In a bid to attract new business as well as keeping the current customers, the ACP is looking to implement financial incentives in their toll programme, including a loyalty scheme, which are expected to combat the problems raised by increased fees.[44] With the cash flow generated by the expanded canal, investment costs are expected to be recovered in less than 10 years, and financing could be repaid in approximately eight.[1]
The $2.3 billion financing package for the canal expansion, signed in December 2008 in the midst of the global financial crisis, includes loans from the following government-owned financial institutions:
The financing is not tied; that is, contracts can be awarded to firms from any country. The loans are for 20 years, including a 10-year grace period. Under a common terms agreement, all five financial institutions agreed to provide the same loan conditions to the ACP. Shortly before, credit rating agency Moody's gave the ACP an A1 investment grade rating. Mizuho Corporate Bank and the law firm Shearman & Sterling helped put the financing package together.[45]
Environmental impact [ edit ]
The ACP's proposal claims that the project will not permanently harm the environment, communities, primary forests, national parks or forest reserves, relevant patrimonial or archaeological sites, agricultural or industrial production areas, or tourist or port areas. It says that any harm can be mitigated using existing procedures and technology.[1]
The proposal says that the project will not permanently reduce water or air quality. The proposed water supply program maximizes the water capacity of Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes and is designed to use water efficiently so that no new reservoirs will be required and no communities need to be displaced.[1]
Critics of the project contend that there are many environmental issues to be considered, such as the link between El Niño (ENSO) and the threat to water supplies posed by El Niño. The ACP has commissioned studies by several consultants about water supply and quality problems. Some of the most prominent critics of the canal expansion plan from the point of view of water quality issues are Eric Jackson[46] (editor of the online Panama News), Gonzalo Menendez[47] (former head of Panama's National Environmental Authority), and Ariel Rodriguez[48] (a biologist at the University of Panama), and former Vice Minister of Public Works Grettel Villalaz de Allen.[49]
Jackson contends that the ACP's public statements often do not match the findings of their studies. He argues that studies by Delft Hydraulics,[50] WPSI Inc.,[51] and DHI[52] all say that the proposed water-saving basins will allow more salt water into Gatun Lake, from which about half of Panama's population takes its drinking water. The ACP says that the problem can be reduced by "flushing" the new locks with fresh water from Gatun Lake, but this would defeat the water-saving feature.
However, one of the leading environmental organizations in Panama, the National Association for Nature Conservation (ANCON), says that the studies and projections of operations of the third set of locks, including the water-saving basins, credibly state that there will be very low levels of salinization of waters of Gatun Lake and that these levels will preserve the biological separation of the oceans while safekeeping biodiversity and water quality for human use.[53]
Employment generation [ edit ]
According to the ACP, the canal expansion's impact on employment was first to be observed in jobs directly generated by its construction. Approximately 35,000–40,000 new jobs were created during the construction of the third set of locks, including 6,500–7,000 additional jobs that were directly related to the project during the peak years of construction. However, officials state that the most important impacts on employment will be medium and long term, and will come from the economic growth brought about by extra income generated by the expanded canal and the economic activities produced by the increase in canal cargo and vessel transits.
The labor required for construction of the third set of locks was largely done by Panamanians. To ensure the availability of Panamanian labor necessary for the third set of locks project and its connected activities, the ACP and public and private authorities worked jointly to train the required workforce, with sufficient lead time, so that it had the necessary competencies, capabilities, and certifications. The costs of these training programs were included in the cost estimates of the project.[1]
Critics dismiss this as demagogy, noting that according to the ACP's own studies, at the peak of construction there would be fewer than 6,000 jobs created, and that some of these would be highly skilled posts filled by foreigners because there are no Panamanians qualified to fill them.[citation needed]
Among those who opposed the canal expansion proposal is Panama's construction workers' union, SUNTRACS. The union's secretary general, Genaro Lopez, argued that while some construction jobs would be created by the project, the debt that Panama incurs to build a third set of locks will not be defrayed by increased canal usage and thus an increased part of canal revenues will go toward paying the debt, reducing the waterway's contributions to the national government's general fund, in turn reducing the money available for road projects, public schools, police protection, and other government services.[citation needed]
Critics also claim that the project lacks an accompanying social development plan. Then-President Torrijos has since accepted the request to develop one with the mediation of the United Nations Development Programme.[54]
In support of the project [ edit ]
ANCON (the National Association for Nature Conservation)[53] approved the environmental studies of the proposal and gave some recommendations before the project was approved. The following had also endorsed the proposal:
Against the project [ edit ]
Former President Jorge Illueca, former sub-administrator of the Panama Canal Commission Fernando Manfredo, shipping consultant Julio Manduley, and industrial entrepreneur George Richa M. said that the expansion was not necessary; they claimed that the construction of a mega-port on the Pacific side would be sufficient to meet probable future demand. Such a port would be the second in the American Pacific deep enough to handle post-Panamax ships, the first being Los Angeles. As Panama is already a natural trading route, it would be able to handle the movement of containers from the Pacific to the Atlantic side via railroad, where containers would be reloaded to other ships for worldwide distribution.[61] In addition, the following organizations and people oppose the project:
The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) stated in a press release that under the Torrijos government, the expanding Panama Canal would not likely serve the needs of the vast majority of Panamanians. Many of the benefits would be tied to the commercial interests of the country's accountants, bankers, and lawyers, as well as their US counterparts, and world trade. They also said that the administration's rampant corruption and other flaws raised questions about Panama's capacity to supervise such an enormous project. [62] COHA has received some letters pointing out factual errors in its statement, and plans to modify its statement in response. [63]
COHA has received some letters pointing out factual errors in its statement, and plans to modify its statement in response. Former President Guillermo Endara and his Vanguardia Moral de la Patria Party, [64] MOLIRENA, [65] a conservative, business-oriented party that normally gets about 10 percent of the vote.
MOLIRENA, a conservative, business-oriented party that normally gets about 10 percent of the vote. Most of the Panamanian left and most of the labor movement, including CONUSI [66] (National Independent Syndicate Union) and FRENADESO [67] (the National Front for the Defence of Social and Economic Rights).
(National Independent Syndicate Union) and FRENADESO (the National Front for the Defence of Social and Economic Rights). Most members of the nationalist Panameñista Party (Grettel Villalaz de Allen and Gonzalo Menendez, mentioned above, and former legislator Gloria Young [68] are prominent examples).
are prominent examples). Proponents of Liberation Theology, in part because they suspected that poor farmers among whom they have a social base would be adversely affected. The canal expansion issue has aggravated the breach between this mainly Catholic strain and the Catholic hierarchy.[69]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
English
Spanish
Coordinates:Background Edit
Murder Edit
Arrests and trial Edit
McKinney and Henderson were arrested and initially charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery. After Shepard's death, the charges were upgraded from attempted murder to first-degree murder, meaning that the two defendants were eligible for the death penalty. Their girlfriends, Kristen Price and Chasity Pasley, were charged with being accessories after the fact.[29] At McKinney's November 1998 pretrial hearing, Sergeant Rob Debree testified that McKinney had stated in an interview on October 9 that he and Henderson had identified Shepard as a robbery target and pretended to be gay to lure him out to their truck, and that McKinney had attacked Shepard after Shepard put his hand on McKinney's knee.[31] Detective Ben Fritzen testified that Price stated McKinney told her the violence against Shepard was triggered by how McKinney "[felt] about gays".[31] In December 1998, Pasley pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.[32] On April 5, 1999, Henderson avoided going to trial when he pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping charges. In order to avoid the death penalty, he agreed to testify against McKinney and was sentenced by District Judge Jeffrey A. Donnell to two consecutive life terms. At Henderson's sentencing, his lawyer argued that Shepard had not been targeted because he was gay.[32] McKinney's trial took place in October and November 1999. Prosecutor Cal Rerucha alleged that McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay to gain Shepard's trust. Price, McKinney's girlfriend, testified that Henderson and McKinney had "pretended they were gay to get [Shepard] in the truck and rob him."[12][33] McKinney's lawyer attempted to put forward a gay panic defense, arguing that McKinney was driven to temporary insanity by alleged sexual advances by Shepard. This defense was rejected by the judge. McKinney's lawyer stated that the two men wanted to rob Shepard but never intended to kill him.[9] Rerucha argued that the killing had been premeditated, driven by "greed and violence", rather than by Shepard's sexual orientation.[34] The jury found McKinney not guilty of premeditated murder but guilty of felony murder and began to deliberate on the death penalty. Shepard's parents brokered a deal that resulted in McKinney receiving two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.[35] Henderson and McKinney were incarcerated in the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and were later transferred to other prisons because of overcrowding.[36] Following her testimony at McKinney's trial, Price pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor interference with a police officer.[37]
Subsequent reporting Edit
Anti-gay protests Edit
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, led by Fred Phelps, received national attention for picketing Shepard's funeral with signs bearing homophobic slogans, such as "Matt in Hell" and "God Hates Fags".[50] Church members also mounted anti-gay protests during the trials of Henderson and McKinney.[51] In response, Romaine Patterson, one of Shepard's friends, organized a group that assembled in a circle around the Westboro Baptist Church protesters. The group wore white robes and gigantic wings (resembling angels) that blocked the protesters. Despite this action, Shepard's parents were still able to hear the protesters shouting anti-gay remarks and comments directed towards them. The police intervened and created a human barrier between the two groups.[52] Angel Action was founded by Patterson in April 1999.[52][53]
Legacy Edit
See also Edit
References Edit
Further reading EditTuesday, October 1, 2013 Endura Racing reaffirms anti-doping stance after alleged Tiernan-Locke passport anomalies by Ben Atkins at 8:36 AM EST
Categories: Pro Cycling, Doping Former British team tried and failed to get additional testing in successful 2012 season Endura Racing, the former Continental team of Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (JTL), has released a statement to declare its anti-doping stance, and the measures it tried to take in the 2012 season. The majority of the team joined the newly formed NetApp-Endura team as Endura merged with German Team NetApp in 2013. Some remained at Continental level with other UK-based teams, but Tiernan-Locke was the one rider to take the step up to the top level with Sky Procycling.
It was reported in the Sunday Times this week that the British rider had received a letter from the International Cycling Union (UCI), asking him to provide an explanation for some apparently irregular blood values on his biological passport. This has since been confirmed by Team Sky, and has been given as the reason behind Tiernan-Locke’s withdrawal from Great Britain’s team for the World championship road race.
“At this early stage, without detailed information, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the reasons for inconsistencies in JTL’s biological passport data although it is known that there are many possible legitimate causes including fatigue and ill-health both of which we understand JTL has suffered from in the last year,” reads the statement from the former Continental team.
Tiernan-Locke’s irregularities reportedly date from September last year, when he was riding for Endura Racing, but the Continental team’s management claims that the British rider was training - and being observed by - two ProTeams at the time, in the shape of both Team Sky and Garmin-Sharp.
“JTL joined Endura Racing in January 2012 and, when it became clear he had WordTour potential, was made available to Team Garmin-Sharp in April for physiological tests,” the statement continues. “No adverse results were reported back.
“He then accompanied Team Sky on their Tenerife training camp in May,” it adds. “Team Sky had full access to JTL from the point it was agreed for him to train with them at this camp. This includes the period covering the last quarter of 2012. According to JTL, he undertook physiological tests for Team Sky directly after the World Championships in 2012 and although Endura never received any data from these tests, neither was anything raised by Team Sky as unusual or concerning.”
As a Continental team, Endura Racing was not part of the UCI’s biological passport system, and therefore was not subject to the same controls as those at Professional Continental and ProTeam level. Endura Racing, as part of its own anti-doping stance, tried to overcome this, it claims, but was unsuccessful.
“Endura Racing previously made attempts to arrange for additional spontaneous testing for its riders through [UK Anti-Doping],” the team’s statement affirms. “Unfortunately this request was rejected however Endura Racing’s willingness to fund additional testing to expose its riders to a more prolific test regime than the mandatory requirements is clear evidence of Endura’s position on the matter.
“Endura, with the full support of JTL, also made a request to the UCI to be allowed to pay to have him put on a biological passport in order to counter the rumours of PEDs that circulated after his wins in Tour Méditerranéen and Tour du Haut Var in early season racing during 2012 however this request was refused by the UCI,” it adds.
While reaffirming its own stance on anti-doping, the team’s statement emphasises that Tiernan-Locke himself had chosen to either sign with Garmin-Sharp or Team Sky - both of who have zero-tolerance anti-doping stances - and ends with the statement that it will make no further comment until the process has been completed.
-----------------------------------------
Endura Statement on Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
In response to The Sunday Times article published on Sunday 29th September, Endura Ltd, owners of Endura Racing Professional Cycle Team during 2012 when Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (JTL) was riding for the Team, make the following statement:
At this early stage, without detailed information, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the reasons for inconsistencies in JTL’s biological passport data although it is known that there are many possible legitimate causes including fatigue and ill-health both of which we understand JTL has suffered from in the last year.
A process, that ought to have remained confidential, is underway and we obviously hope that JTL is able to provide information that is acceptable to the UCI for their enquiry in order for him to clear his name.
As regards Endura Racing’s team culture relating to PEDs, the team owners and management have always been explicit and vociferous in condemnation of their use and although limited in its resources as a UCI Continental licensed team, Endura Racing previously made attempts to arrange for additional spontaneous testing for its riders through UKAD. Unfortunately this request was rejected however Endura Racing’s willingness to fund additional testing to expose its riders to a more prolific test regime than the mandatory requirements is clear evidence of Endura’s position on the matter.
Endura, with the full support of JTL, also made a request to the UCI to be allowed to pay to have him put on a biological passport in order to counter the rumours of PEDs that circulated after his wins in Tour Méditerranéen and Tour du Haut Var in early season racing during 2012 however this request was refused by the UCI.
Endura Racing’s culture has always been entirely at odds with cheating in any form including the use of PEDs and nothing in JTL’s conduct during his 2012 season with the Team gave rise to concerns that his approach was at odds with this in any way.
JTL joined Endura Racing in January 2012 and, when it became clear he had WordTour potential, was made available to Team Garmin-Sharp in April for physiological tests. No adverse results were reported back.
He then accompanied Team Sky on their Tenerife training camp in May. Team Sky had full access to JTL from the point it was agreed for him to train with them at this camp. This includes the period covering the last quarter of 2012. According to JTL, he undertook physiological tests for Team Sky directly after the World Championships in 2012 and although Endura never received any data from these tests, neither was anything raised by Team Sky as unusual or concerning.
JTL chose Endura Racing in 2012 in the full knowledge that the Team was committed to ensuring that its riders were all clean and that it had made efforts to provide additional scrutiny of its riders through UKAD. In April 2012, when presented with expressions of interest for many WorldTour teams, JTL chose to narrow his options to Team Garmin-Sharp and Team Sky, both of which have well documented zero tolerance positions on doping.
Endura will make no further comments on the matter until the process is complete.
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There has been bombing all night until the sun rises in the morning. Thanks to the lack of electricity we listen to the radio to find out where the next attacks are. I only get one or two hours of sleep a night now.
At 7am, I go to my job, helping with translation, visiting places that have been under attack or have been attacked. We’ve met with victims, and have been in touch with relatives, visited lots of damaged buildings and factories. This morning I went to see Gaza’s only power station, there was only one tank of petrol, and it was on fire, and smoke everywhere.
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The US created the FSA to take down the Syrian Government and over the years it has changed its name several times. After each so called ‘friends of syria’ meetings they decided to call them by a new name, so they would keep the terrorist element away from their own Syrian opposition party the FSA.
There has only been one opposition and that is what is now call ISIS. The creation of the US.
And here those who carry the same flag, which we see at the bottom of the image, it is McCain the Republican Senator of the United States, and who is in the circle? It is Abu Baker Al Baghdadi, the leader of the takfiri terrorist EI (Islamic State) which carried out ethnic cleansing in Iraq.Do you run kitchen test when you push a new commit to your Chef repo? Testing everything is a good way to be confident that a change will work, but it takes a long time (especially with large Chef repos with many test-kitchen suites).
Today, we are able to open-source our answer to this problem. A relatively basic but tremendously effective part of our Chef workflow, chef-relevant-tests is a Ruby gem that analyzes the differences between two commits in a multi-cookbook Chef repo and outputs only the test suites that depend on things that have changed.
At Brigade, our single Chef repository has (as of writing) 19 test-kitchen suites, but many of them are not relevant to the average commit. It takes over an hour and a half to run all our suites, even with maximum concurrency allowed by our integration servers. We want to encourage the addition of more integration test coverage by reducing the per-commit cost of adding a new suite, so, for every commit we want to filter out the unaffected test suites as much as possible.
This commonly brings the test suite length to under ten minutes.
Without further adieu:
How it Works
chef-relevant-tests works through the usage of explicit dependencies in Chef cookbooks. Whenever comparing multiple commits, the following algorithm is applied:
1. Find changed cookbook versions between those commits.
By analyzing the Berkshelf dependency graph before and after a commit, we can determine which cookbooks have changed version in that commit.
2. Expand each test-kitchen suite’s run list into a full list of cookbooks that will be tested in that suite.
It may not be a perfect reproduction of your final configuration (in the case of environment-pinned cookbooks, or any diff between your Chef repo and server), but we’ve found that most changes are caught this way.
3. Return any suites that contain changed cookbooks.
Since various commands accept formats in different formats (kitchen test [suites…]), there is an interface that allows customization for new libraries.
Compatibility
Right now, the gem is only compatible with our specific use-case: limiting test-kitchen suites based on changes in your Berksfile.lock. But if you don’t use these technologies, fear not, adding new support is as easy as:
Write a ChangeDetector (e.g.) that compares the current state of your Chef repository to a prior ref and returns a list of cookbooks. Write an Expander (e.g.) that takes a list of cookbooks and returns a list of strings to output to the calling script.
…or just make an issue for it.
There is usage information in the README, and pull requests are welcome!Some of the most consequential fights over Colorado government finance in the coming years won’t happen at the state legislature or at the ballot box, but in a courtroom, where fiscal conservatives and business groups are contesting government fees of as little as 20 cents.
In Aspen, a taxpayer advocacy group is fighting a 20-cent surcharge on grocery bags in a lawsuit that’s now gone all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.
At the state government level, a small business coalition is arguing that the secretary of state’s office for decades has been illegally using business filing fees to finance a slew of unrelated government services.
And — perhaps most significantly — the TABOR Foundation is challenging the constitutionality of a $264 million hospital fee that generates another $264 million in matching funds from the federal government to pay for uncompensated care.
At issue in each of these cases is a seemingly simple question: What’s the difference between a tax and a fee?
But no matter how small some of the contested fees are, the answer could have wide-ranging consequences for taxpayers and virtually every level of Colorado government.
“Enormous implications”
The tax-vs.-fee debate is not unique to Colorado, but the ramifications here are amplified by the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which requires voter approval to raise taxes.
After the landmark constitutional measure was passed in 1992, lawmakers have increasingly turned to fees to fund government services ranging from higher education to bridge repairs to hospitals. The simplest explanation: Fees don’t require voter approval.
The most high-profile example of the tax-vs.-fee debate in recent years has been the political fight over the hospital provider fee — a charge imposed on hospital stays that other states refer to as a “bed tax.” A 2015 lawsuit challenging that fee is still pending in Denver County District Court.
“If in the aggregate, it was judicially determined that a fee is a tax — and if a fee is a tax, it’s got to go before the voters — that would have enormous implications,” said John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University. “It would put more stuff on the ballot, and probably lead to more defeats, and more problems in providing basic public services.”
Straayer is a vocal TABOR critic, but his assessment is largely shared by TABOR supporters.
“I think the impacts are huge,” said William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which is representing the plaintiffs in the bag and hospital fee lawsuits. “And that’s why tax-and-spend officials have fought so hard on this.”
The newfound importance of the tax-vs.-fee distinction has led to a slew of legal challenges since TABOR was adopted. And in cases over the years, the courts have given some general guidance. Taxes fund a wide range of services that benefit the general public. Fees are supposed to provide a benefit to the fee payer and fund a service that’s directly related to the fee itself. But courts have stopped short of defining how strictly those guidelines should be enforced.
“We don’t think the court has ever answered the question of how exact a fee has to be to be a fee,” said Suzanne Staiert, the deputy secretary of state, whose office is defending a lawsuit brought by the National Federation of Independent Business.
Where’s the line?
In its suit filed in 2014, the small business association complains that the secretary of state’s office has been improperly using a slew of business filing fees to fund things that have nothing to do with the agency’s enforcement of business regulations — namely, elections.
To Jason Dunn, NFIB’s attorney, that makes the charges more akin to taxes than fees.
“Roughly 90 percent of the money goes to something other than managing the business documents,” Dunn said. “Our argument is, Look: That, by definition, is a tax.”
Complicating the matter, the filing fees were established before TABOR took effect. They may not have increased since then, but they have grown as the number of business filings has increased. So, too, has the scope of government services they’ve been used to finance.
So one question Dunn is posing is, where’s the line? If state lawmakers can use business fees to fund Colorado’s new mail-in ballot program, why not other programs? Why not roads, or courts, or schools?
“Conducting elections is perhaps the most fundamental thing the government does,” Dunn said. “That ought to be an expense borne by the general public and therefore paid out of the general fund.”
The secretary of state’s office, too, wants the court to offer clearer guidance. Both sides are petitioning the state Supreme Court to take up the case, after the Court of Appeals ducked the tax-vs.-fee issue in its ruling this spring that overturned a lower-court finding in the secretary of state’s favor.
“If the courts limit their holding to just, ‘Well, this all predated TABOR,’ then it never answers the question of how nimble we can be as an agency,” Staiert said. “Are we bound by these fees that were in place back in the ’90s, or can we adjust fees based on the needs of the office? That’s not the question the courts have answered.”
‘Potentially crippling municipalities’
The state Supreme Court hasn’t decided whether it will take up the filing fee issue, but its decision in another case will be closely watched by policymakers and TABOR defenders alike.
The high court in June heard oral arguments in the Aspen bag fee dispute, which the Colorado Union of Taxpayers appealed after its case against the 20-cent grocery bag charges was twice rejected in lower courts.
The city of Aspen argues that the fees are directly related to the services they help fund — a waste reduction and recycling program.
But the taxpayers’ union says the bag fee is basically a sin tax, like the special sales tax on cigarettes, which is used to discourage a harmful behavior — in this case, the use of wasteful grocery bags.
Pendley, whose firm is representing the taxpayers’ union in the dispute, says that if this fee and others pending in the courts are upheld, other governments will be emboldened to raise fees of their own in order to circumvent TABOR.
“If we are unsuccessful, it will give carte blanche to those officials to raise taxes however they want, whenever they want,” said Pendley, whose firm is representing the taxpayers’ union.
During oral arguments in June, several justices said they were having difficulty differentiating the bag fee from things like court fees, which benefit both the fee payer and the public as a whole. And in the past, the courts have typically sided with the government in challenges brought under TABOR.
One exchange in particular highlighted the outsized stakes of the tiny fee.
“If this court changes the definition of fee and tax … we are going to be calling into question all of those other fees and potentially crippling municipalities’ and local government’s ability to fund those essential services,” said Andrea Bryan, Aspen’s assistant city attorney.
In reply, Justice William Hood noted that TABOR was designed to be interpreted in a way that restrains government.
“Would we be doing that, or has TABOR already effectively done that?” he said.Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss.
The PlayStation 4 edition of Capcom's upcoming free-to-play role-playing game Dragon's Dogma Online will run at 1080p with a target frame rate of 60fps, it has now been confirmed.
Game director Kent Kinoshita revealed the resolution and frame rate details during a recent event in Tokyo, DualShockers reports. The PlayStation 3 edition of the game, meanwhile, will output at 720p/30fps.
DualShockers points out that, of course, Dragon's Dogma Online--like other PS4 games--can't guarantee 60fps for every scene. In fact, the socially inspired game will accommodate as many as 100 players on screen at once, which will more than likely result in some level of frame rate drop.
Also during the event, it was confirmed that Dragon's Dogma Online will support cross-platform play. PS4, PS3, and PC users will all play together on the same servers.
Announced in January, Dragon's Dogma Online is scheduled to launch in Japan later this year. An open-world game, the title appears to play similar to the original Dragon's Dogma (2012) and its Dark Arisen (2013) expansion. Capcom has not yet announced if Dragon's Dogma Online will be released in the West.
You can watch a new trailer for the PS4 edition of Dragon's Dogma Online above. It comes by way of GamesHQMedia.Urad, that black skin lentil, wonderfully creamy coloured under the skin, is a hard dal that takes a Life (Time) of Cooking (haha). Seriously, it does take a while to cook.
Most people know Urad through Dal Makhani. There are three versions here. One came from Nilgiris Restaurant, that iconic Indian restaurant in Sydney. One was given by the chef at the Oberoi in Bangalore. And the last one was given by a young man working at an Indian grocery. He recited it from memory, and it is very simple but rich in flavour.
Are you looking for similar Dal recipes? Try Urad Dal with Onions Four Ways, Simple Monk’s Dal, Urad with Tomato, Coconut and Coriander, Urad Dal Sundal, and Urad Dal Garlic Rice. Or try Moolangi Tovve (Daikon Dal).
Browse all of the Urad recipes and our Indian recipes. Check out our Indian Essentials. Our Dal dishes are here. Or explore and be inspired by our easy Late Autumn recipes.
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Urad is a favourite in the Punjab. However, this recipe is an adaptation of a Rajastani recipe, where chilli and asafoetida powder are essential ingredients of any urad recipe. It takes a while to cook, but very little attention during that time. Good for Sunday Afternoon At Home cooking.
It is another gentle dal recipe. We thrust so many robust flavours at our tastebuds every day, from strong black coffee to salty foods, to hot spicy foods, to tangy lemony dressings, to peppery pasta sauces, and so it goes on … and on … To find gentle dishes like this one and pay attention to the subtle flavourings is a very different way of eating.
This is a good, simple dal of medium consistency. Good served with rice and yoghurt. Add a small salad. Alternatively, thin it down slightly and eat as a soup. Yum.
Urad Tamatar Dal | Urad Dal with Tomatoes
Source : inspired by Lord Krishna’s Cuisine
Cuisine: Anglo-Indian
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 1.5 hrs
Serves: 4 – 6 people, depending how you use it
ingredients
0.66 cup split urad dal, without skins
6 cups water (1.5 litres)
0.5 tspn turmeric
3 Tblspn ghee – use vegetable oil for a vegan dish
3 medium tomatoes, each cut into 8 – 10 pieces
1.25 tspn salt
2 Tblspn finely chopped coriander/cilantro or parsley
for tadka
1.5 tspn finely chopped or minced ginger
1.5 tspn cumin seeds
1 – 2 whole red dried chillies broken into bits
pinch asafoetida powder
method
Sort out any foreign material from the urad dal, wash under running water for several minutes, and drain the split urad dal.
Place the water, turmeric and a dab of the ghee into a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add the dal and bring back to the boil.
Reduce the heat to moderately-low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Cover and continue cooking for 1 hour or until the dal is soft and fully cooked. Remove from the heat and add the salt. Stir well.
Heat the ghee in a small pan over moderately high heat. Add the ginger root, cumin seeds and red chilli. Fry until the cumin and chilli turn brown. Add the asafoetida powder, sauté for 2 seconds and then quickly pour the tadka into the dal. Stir the dal, cover and allow to sit for 1 – 2 minutes.
Add the parsley or coriander, stir and serve. Nice with rice.
Enjoy!
SaveRT, the Russia-based oppositional TV and Internet broadcaster, announced Thursday that the US Department of Justice has forced it to register as a “foreign agent” under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Washington has given the outlet until Monday to register as a foreign agent or its director could be arrested and its assets frozen.
The move is a product of the ongoing anti-Russia witch hunt being led by the Democratic Party, together with the US intelligence agencies, aimed at delegitimizing and outlawing domestic political opposition.
The Justice Department’s actions will have a chilling effect on the numerous independent journalists who have either worked for or appeared on RT, as well as on press freedom in the United States as a whole.
“In demanding RT America register as a foreign agent, the government has produced no evidence that RT qualifies as a foreign lobbying outfit, nor has it bothered to explain how this network is different from Al Jazeera, the BBC, or other state broadcasters,” Max Blumenthal, senior editor for AlterNet’s Grayzone Project, and a regular guest on RT America, told the World Socialist Web Site. “The only conclusion to draw is that the US government is targeting RT on political grounds, on the basis of its role as a platform for critical perspectives on American foreign policy, and as a test case for a wider campaign of media suppression,” he added.
On January 6, the US Director of National Intelligence issued a report on “Russian intervention” in US politics, which denounced RT as a platform for oppositional sentiment in the United States.
The report alleged that the “channel portrayed the US electoral process as undemocratic and featured calls by US protesters for the public to rise up and ‘take this government back.’”
The report continued, “In an effort to highlight the alleged ‘lack of democracy’ in the United States, RT broadcast, hosted, and advertised third-party candidate debates and ran reporting supportive of the political agenda of these candidates. The RT hosts asserted that the US two-party system does not represent the views of at least one-third of the population and is a ‘sham.’”
The Director of National Intelligence report further denounced favorable coverage by RT of the Occupy Wall Street movement, declaring, “RT framed the movement as a fight against ‘the ruling class’ and described the current US political system as corrupt and dominated by corporations.”
The World War II-era Foreign Agents Registration Act required companies or individuals considered to be working on behalf of a foreign government in the US to disclose their funding and relationship with foreign governments or actors with the DOJ. According to RT, over 400 entities are registered under the act, but not a single media outlet is included in the list.
The DOJ originally sent a letter to RT America in September suggesting that the company was obligated to register under FARA. Registration under the law would require the outlet to disclose confidential information, including the personal information of its staff. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated the action would “have serious legal consequences” and “compromise the safety of [RT] employees.”
RT America has announced that it will comply with the DOJ’s demand, but will challenge the decision in court. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan claimed the decision placed freedom of speech in the US under question.
“We believe this requirement is not just contrary to the law, and we intend to prove it in court. This requirement is discriminatory, it contradicts both the principles of democracy and freedom of speech,” she said. Simonyan added, “It deprives us of fair competition with other international channels, which are not registered as foreign agents.”
In his statement to the WSWS, Mr. Blumenthal condemned the silence of international human rights organization on the crackdown against RT. “So far, liberal civil liberties and human rights organizations have said nothing about the government’s assault on RT America. In their silence, groups from the ACLU to Amnesty International to the Committee to Protect Journalists, have made themselves accomplices in a McCarthyite crusade that is whittling away at press freedom.”
In last week’s congressional hearings on “extremist content,” lawmakers demanded that social media companies take decisive action in censoring “harmful content.” Members of Congress chastised representatives from Google, Facebook, and Twitter into testifying their social media platforms had been used by a foreign power to influence the 2016 elections.
Earlier this month, Google removed Russia Today from its list of “preferred” channels on YouTube. At one of the hearings, Senator Dianne Feinstein pressed Google’s legal counsel on why it took so long for YouTube to revoke the status of Russia Today as a “preferred” broadcaster. She demanded,
“Why did Google give preferred status to Russia Today, a Russian propaganda arm, on YouTube? … It took you until September of 2017 to do it.”
California Democratic representative Jackie Speier asserted that RT “seeks to influence politics and fuel discontent in the United States.” She asked:
“Why have you not shut down RT on YouTube? … It’s a propaganda machine… the intelligence community says it’s an arm of one of our adversaries.”
In addition to its crackdown on RT, Google has made sweeping changes to its search engine and news service that have dramatically slashed traffic to left-wing, antiwar, and progressive web sites, including the World Socialist Web Site, which has had its search traffic from Google fall by 74 percent since April.
The Justice Department’s action will dramatically intensify this campaign for online censorship, targeted first and foremost against left-wing political opposition.Bungie talks “no recoil on guns on PC” in Destiny 2
Nathan Lawrence 22 June 2017 NEWS
The PC port of Destiny 2 has had to lose some features to make it “feel” right, including gun recoil.
Unlike the original game, Destiny 2 is coming to PC. We’ve played it on PC in all its 4K glory, and the PC port of Destiny 2 is a thing of beauty. It’s a smoother experience on PC than on console (courtesy of 60fps on 4K screens, with the option for unlocked frame-rates on non-4K screens), and for PC aficionados, pulling off headshots is a breeze thanks to mouse aiming.
But the PC community is very specific when it comes to how multiplatform games are treated when it comes to their beloved gaming platform. For instance, questions abound about core concerns, such as graphical settings, the importance of a field-of-view (FOV) slider, how anti-cheat will be handled, and whether Destiny 2 will have support for dedicated servers.
Some of those questions have positive answers. We can confirm that there’s a vast array of graphical settings for Destiny 2 (and we were encouraged to look at them). Also, even though it wasn’t in the build we played, an on-hand developer from Vicarious Visions (the developer handling the Destiny 2 PC port) confirmed there will be an FOV slider for the PC version of Destiny 2. Similarly, though details are murky, it’s been confirmed that Bungie and Vicarious Visions are taking anti-cheat very seriously, and there will be a viable solution for Destiny 2 when it launches on PC (after the console version).
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Unfortunately, there won’t be dedicated server support, but that’s universal to Destiny 2 on all platforms, which means Bungie is using peer-to-peer instead of a client-server networking structure.
As if mouse aiming wasn’t easy enough, project lead Mark Noseworthy mentioned something that’ll make pulling off headshots in Destiny 2 even easier for PC players: there’s no recoil. Read on for the full quote from Noseworthy on how recoil is being handled on PC for Destiny 2, and why the decision was made.
Do you find that you’re having to balance the PC version differently, especially in terms of difficulty? If elite PC players are just able to crack off headshots every time, then the highest difficulty might not be the same challenge as something that’s on console. Yeah, we’ve thought about that quite a bit. Ultimately, we have one design for the game. And so, if you’re playing the Raid on PC or you’re playing it on PlayStation [4], it’s the same Raid. It’s the same experience. And we’re going to try and keep them as similar as possible, because hopefully we want this to be the best experience. We may look in a few places where weapons need to be handled differently, and we’ll treat them slightly differently. For instance, there’s no recoil on guns on PC because recoil on the controller feels really good. ‘I’m firing, I’m firing, I’m firing, oh, I’m losing control of my gun a little bit.’ That feels great, especially with magnetism and all the magic in the controller that makes you feel it. With a mouse and keyboard, you don’t want the mouse moving without you moving it, so recoil doesn’t feel good, so there is no recoil on PC. There are a couple of key ways we’re going to try and change it, make it so it feels native to that platform, because we want people to feel like Destiny 2 is built for PC. We want them t
We asked Noseworthy to clarify whether the “no recoil on guns on PC” carried over to all weapons, or just certain weapons.
So, no recoil for any weapons from pistols and shotguns right down to the fully automatic weapons; is that correct? I think that’s accurate. I don’t want to go down in history as the guy promising that… The basic idea is that some things don’t work that don’t feel good, and those places there are going to be little forks in the road.Syrian antigovernment activists said Wednesday that government forces and insurgent factions in the Damascus suburbs planned to announce a Russian-brokered deal for a 15-day cease-fire that could begin as soon as Thursday. United Nations officials and international negotiators are trying to hammer out a countrywide cease-fire as world leaders gather in Vienna in an effort to renew peace talks, and it was unclear whether the Russian-brokered effort was separate and parallel, or a step toward reaching a more comprehensive agreement. The Russian involvement was seen as a sign that it now had the upper hand — more so than Iran, President Bashar al-Assad’s closest ally. The truce would cover the East Ghouta suburbs that have been cut off from Damascus by the fighting. The truce would open checkpoints into East Ghouta, allowing humanitarian aid to get in and civilians to leave, according to several antigovernment activists reached in the area.President Obama used his final national security speech to not only thank U.S. troops for their work over the past eight years, but also appeared to send a message to his successor, President-elect Donald Trump.
In his speech at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Obama seemingly touched on a variety of concerns about the president-elect that emerged during the campaign trail, including Trump’s support of torture and generalizations about the Muslim community.
The president also said the U.S. should uphold its values both at home and abroad, explicitly saying that stigmatizing Muslims would be counterproductive to the larger goal of fighting terrorism.
“We are fighting terrorists who claim to fight on behalf of Islam, but do they do not speak for over a billion Muslims around the world,” Obama said. “If we stigmatize Muslims, that just feeds the terrorist narrative.”
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The U.S., he added, is not “a country that imposes religious tests as a price for freedom.” Aides to the Trump transition team have suggested that under the incoming administration, there could be a registry for Muslims in the U.S. Obama also said the U.S. is “a society where we can criticize a president without threat of retribution.”
“We are a nation that—at our best—has been defined by hope, and not fear,” Obama said.
The president also spoke to what he believes should be the path forward for the future administration, from keeping the threat “in perspective,” to upholding American values by favoring seeking justice instead of torture to remaining transparent. The president said his administration’s decision to release a memo that outlined the legal framework around military action—which many viewed as a hint to Trump—was an example of that in practice.
At the beginning of his speech, Obama said the U.S. should be proud of the work his administration has done on national security during what is being billed as his final speech on the subject. “We should take great pride in the progress that we’ve made over the past eight years,” he said.
In touting his record, the president said that there has been no “successful attack” carried out by a major terrorist organization on the U.S. homeland over the past year years and that new partnerships have been built overseas. “All of this progress is due to the work of men and women like you,” the president told the crowd of troops. “It’s thanks to you.”
The president acknowledged that there have been setbacks. And though there have been no attacks at the same level as 9/11, he said, the threat of terrorism has and will endured due to the spiderweb reach of groups like ISIS that use social media to recruit and spread hateful ideology. Obama said the threat is compounded by the ease with which people in the U.S., including those with terrorist leanings, can get their hands on powerful weapons. “To say that we’ve made progress is not to say that the job is done. We know that the threat persists,” Obama said. “We have to take a long view of the terrorist threat, and pursue a smart strategy that can be sustained.”
Contact us at editors@time.com.Every BlizzCon®, we give out a treasure trove of in-game goodies to attendees and Virtual Ticket holders to commemorate the occasion. Take a look at what you’ll get for your favorite Blizzard games when you join us for BlizzCon X.
World of Warcraft® – Legionnaire Murky & Knight-Captain Murky
There comes a time when every murloc must choose a side. Will you mrglgglllgl for the Horde alongside Legionnaire Murky, or dive into battle for the Alliance at Knight-Captain Murky’s command?
Overwatch® – BlizzCon 2016 Bastion Skin
A curious automaton has been spotted exploring the halls of a local gaming convention. Cosplay as a BlizzCon-bound Bastion unit in your next match of Overwatch with this commemorative skin.*
Diablo® III – Diablo 20th Anniversary Pet
Celebrate two decades of terror with this anniversary-themed Diablo pet, based on the Dark Lord’s design from the original game.*
Hearthstone® – "Welcome Inn" Card Back
Pull up a chair by the fireside at BlizzCon’s Hearthstone Tavern, then play a few hands with this year’s convention-innspired card back.
Heroes of the Storm® – Nexus Tiger Mount
Introducing the latest BlizzCon mount to add to your menagerie—the Nexus Tiger! Dash onto the Battlegrounds riding this ferocious beast and show the opposing team they’re in for a fight.
StarCraft® II – Mystery Goodies
Show your opponents you were at BlizzCon with a new portrait—and as a bonus, be among the first to unlock a fun new piece of upcoming StarCraft II content.† Stay tuned for more details!
This cache of in-game goodies will be available to you when you join us for BlizzCon X via the Virtual Ticket or in person (just redeem the Digital Bonuses code you received when you purchased your tickets).
They’ll be unlocked in-game closer to the show—stay tuned for more information, and we’ll see you at BlizzCon!
*Diablo III in-game content for PC/Mac version only. To redeem Overwatch in-game content for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, players must link their Battle.net account to a PlayStation Network® account or Xbox Live® account respectively. For more information on account linking, visit https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/linking-your-battlenet-account-on-consoles.
†Bonus StarCraft II goodie will also be available separately—more details to come.The monsters, they say, come out at night. And right now, we’re in a long, dark night of the economy.
So to a stage crammed with the now familiar-pantheon of modern-day monsters — the clueless chairmain of the board, the narcissistic chief executive, the proudly sociopathic investor, the servile, principle-less politician — let me introduce a minor new setpiece: the playhouse for the super-rich (which can easily cost more than the average income of the people formerly known as “the middle class”), as described in an eyebrow-raising New York Times piece, beginning:
Apart from the open bar by the swimming pool, the main attraction at parties held at the Houston home of John Schiller, an oil company executive, and his wife, Kristi, a Playboy model turned blogger, is the $50,000 playhouse the couple had custom-built two years ago for their daughter, Sinclair, now 4.
If $50,000 seems a bit off for that kind of purchase, don’t worry — other playhouses in the piece went for as much as a cool $250k.
Call me a heretic, fire up the kindling and ready the stake, but I’d say this particular item — which I’ll readily hold up my hands and admit hit a nerve — is a peculiarly apt metaphor for what’s gone wrong with the economy today: the super-rich, whose gains reflect little social value creation, have gotten richer — and are hyperconsuming the stuff of idle, yawning luxury with an appetite that makes Caligula look like a blushing bride.
There’s something wrong with this picture: the neatly-groomed children of the super-rich cavort in designer playhouses while right under their patrician noses, the poverty rate for the children of the not-so-rich has spiked to its highest level in half a century. Perhaps those kids without designer playhouses are part of the 44 million using food stamps to try and make increasingly threadbare ends meet, or one of the 41% of all American children whose families don’t have enough income to meet their basic needs. Throw in a broken education system that’s not just unaffordable, but slightly pointless, a frightening tax bill for their parents and grandparents’ profligacy, and a global youth unemployment crisis, and it becomes clear why economists are increasingly dubbing today’s young a “lost generation.”
If you ask me, let alone those participating in the wave of dissatisfaction and dissent rippling across the globe from Cairo, to Tunis, to Madrid, to Athens: it’s a heartless, cruel divide that’s the accelerant for revolution, whether social, cultural, economic, or political.
And yet, before we throw a match on that fuel, consider this possibility: our monsters are reflections of us.
The economy is a social construction, built and re-built every day, with every tiny decision we make. No, the average Joe and Jane don’t demand designer playhouses — but they do demand the stuff that make the super-rich, well, super-rich. J-Lo perfume, fast-fashion, oil — lots and lots of oil — and all the mass-made “product” lining the shelves of exurban big-box stores. The inevitable ultimate consequences of demand that fails to weigh human, social, natural, and personal costs of such so-called “goods” are public “bads”: unemployment, inequality,
pollution, isolation — and capital flowing upwards faster and faster. Designer playhouses aren’t a first-order consequence of our preferences, but they probably are a last-order consequence, an ultimate result.
How can we slay our modern-day monsters? Whether as consumers, investors, voters, or citizens it might just be that if not the lion’s share, then at least the cub’s share of responsibility for this Great Stagnation lies with us and our predilection for more, bigger, cheaper, faster, nastier — an industrial-age, mass-produced approach to prosperity I call opulence.
Michael Porter’s landmark diamond model of national advantage — backed by mountains of macroeconomic research — suggests that one of the most critical factors for the enduring prosperity of a nation isn’t just what resources it’s lucky enough to be endowed with, or how fiercely its companies are encouraged to compete: but also how complex, nuanced, and ultimately sophisticated its demand is. Once, American consumers were among the world’s most sophisticated. They demanded nothing less than the latest technological wizardry, married to state of the art design, coupled with bleeding edge service. But that’s no longer enough. Today, sophisticated, nuanced, careful, worthwhile demand is that in which the people formerly known as “consumers” carefully weigh the social, natural, and personal costs of the economic decisions they make, becoming fundamentally more demanding of politicians, beancounters, and marketroids alike.
If we’re disgusted by ex-defense contractors erecting gazillion dollar playhouses (complete with zip line, rock wall, firefighers’ pole, and slide!), we’ve got to up our own game. Instead of merely demanding more, bigger, faster, cheaper, nastier, we — people, communities, and finally entire societies — must begin to make fundamentally wiser decisions. We’re begin to demand not mere opulence, but an approach to 21st century prosperity I call eudaimonia — lives that are meaningfully well lived, instead of merely more faux-designer mass-luxe junk to shove endlessly into the back of the closet.
Our monsters are reflections of us. And our modern-day monsters are a reflection of our own monstrous appetites. They might just be shadows on the wall, reflections of our insatiable thirst for self-destructive stuff. But that just means that the power to vanquish them is already resting gently in our hands.Author Message
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the engine one winter. My aging diesel mechanic was supportive — he offered use of his shop and help, if necessary — but he wasn’t up to the job.
After a decade of living aboard, I moved ashore in 1998. Perhaps it was the best decade of my life. I hope not, but all these years later, I still have weak moments when I trawl the boats-for-sale listings until I come to my senses.
Deborah Holt lives in Boston not too far from the waterfront. Send comments and a 550-word essay about your first home to Address@globe.com. Please note: We do not respond to submissions we won’t pursue.By Arvind Panagariya
Cash transfers enjoy two major advantages over in-kind transfers. First, they empower the beneficiary instead of placing her at the mercy of the provider, as is the case under in-kind transfers.
Second, they foster efficiency by reducing corruption and leaks in the long distribution chains under inkind transfers. Nevertheless, critics like Lant Pritchett and Shrayana Bhattacharya have alleged that they are not a ‘cure-all ’ solution.
Surely, the proponents understand that cash transfers are only one instrument among many to combat poverty. Indeed, if Pritchett and Bhattacharya have a cure-all solution, I will be the first to give up cash transfers in its favour.
They also argue that in-kind transfers are better because they nudge the beneficiary towards the consumption basket the government considers healthy. This is a false claim.
Just because the transfer is affected in rice does not mean that the beneficiary will consume more rice. If she prefers ice-cream, instead, he will simply sell part of the rice for cash and use the cash to buy ice-cream. India’s poor may lack money but they have the brains to figure out that the market allows two-way conversion: cash into kind and kind into cash.
They bolster their claim by citing an obscure experimental study from Honduras in which in-kind transfers led to increased calorie consumption while cash transfers did not.
They neglect the fact that the existence of a massive food-distribution programme for decades in India has not prevented a steady decline in calorie consumption across all income classes. Perhaps the Honduras experiment was not run long enough for the beneficiaries to discover the conversion possibilities that the market offers.
The idea that in-kind transfers can transfer purchasing power while additionally imposing a specific consumption basket on the beneficiary thereby killing two birds with one stone is an enticing one. But, alas, you can get such a kill only in the rare case when the shooter and the two birds are aligned along a straight line and the shooter also has a strong arm and a good aim. In most cases, you need two or more stones to kill two birds.
Public policy is no different. Regardless of whether the government transfers purchasing power in cash or kind, it must additionally run an effective campaign to inform the target population of what constitutes a healthy basket of goods and why it is good for them.
As India’s own experience testifies, distribution of heavily subsidised rice and wheat will not guarantee even increased calorie consumption, let alone a balanced diet.
Pritchett and Bhattacharya also contend that whereas the poor can self-identify under in-kind transfers, cash transfers lack this attribute. But this is a hugely exaggerated claim since self-identification under in-kind transfers is only possible if the transfers consist off rotten food or lowquality education and health services for which only the poor might line up.Halloween is around the corner and people are preparing for costumes. It seems that walking into a Halloween store, however, is indicative of walking into a Victoria’s Secret: scant cloth and seductive poses are all that women often have to choose from. There is acceptance of objectification of women in the cosplay realm because it’s “just a costume”. Nonetheless, it is a desolate landscape for those cosplayers looking to empower themselves without the need to be sexualized. A Mighty Girl has developed a wonderful come back to the scarce selection, though I think it’s prudent to discuss the general cosplay community and the growing notion of “sexy cosplay” used to empower women.
When I came across the Girl Empowerment Halloween Costume Guide, on A Mighty Girl’s site, for all ages, I was impressed by the initiative. What A Mighty Girl has done is take back Halloween for those of us who want a variety of choices. They have costumes from a multitude of styles: fairy tale, humorous, literary, historical, animals, etc. The costumes aren’t limited to gender, either. Above, they show a woman in Faora (Man of Steel) costume. Below, they show a girl dressed as Robin Hood.
As a cosplayer and an attendee of several conventions, it is rather difficult to find costumes, or even inspiration, that don’t involve your lady parts on display. I make almost all my costumes and so I can afford to be more picky about how it fits, how it covers my body and what material I use. However, not everyone wants to tackle sewing, ergo their options are far more limited if they do not embrace what has now been termed “sexy cosplay”. Before I discuss my views, please let me explain that this is not meant to attack anyone. This is intended as a discussion so we can learn from both sides what it means to be empowered as a female cosplayer and why it’s important.
I mentioned above that there is nothing wrong with embracing sexuality, however, I have found myself and other cosplayers the victims of an over-sexualized culture. Let me reiterate, it is NOT the woman’s fault. That is not what this is intended to convey or should be used in such a way. While many arguments are made that women should take the good with the bad when dressing sexually, it assumes that it’s okay for anyone to comment on how a woman dresses. It dismisses people’s behaviors, the person as a human being, people’s comfort levels and the grueling work put into a cosplay. For example, some women like the cosplay, but they do not want to tease, flirt or “get into character”. They chose the cosplay because they love the character and/or it has technical merit and demonstrates their skills. How, then, should we approach the obvious issues with over-sexualization and objectification in cosplay? There is no denying some women do indeed feel empowered by “sexy cosplay” while others feel diminished by the type of attention it garners. Cosplayer Kat, interviewed by Kotaku, is one such cosplayer that enjoys the sexiness of her favorite characters, but noticed that for some it is not an empowering experience.
“I find it’s a hard balance because I am a very sexual person and I enjoy characters like Ivy and Black Cat where I get to play around a little bit with that, but at the same time I know a lot [of] cosplayers aren’t like me and I don’t want to perpetuate this idea that if you’re in a ‘sexy’ cosplay, you HAVE to be flirtatious and want to flirt….making some people think it’s okay to assume all the other cosplayers at the convention are going to act the same and be okay with that kind of interaction.”
Other cosplayers are empowered through the new skills they learn or enjoy the problem solving that goes into the development of a cosplay. Chaka is one such learner enthusiast and she mentioned that cosplay was “constantly presenting new problems for me to solve, new skills for me to learn, and new trades to acquire. I’m always learning something new, and it keeps me going.”
Our brains are trained to categorize and so we focus on physical traits because this is what our eyes see; yet this is merely the status quo, the accepted way. Instead, we can train ourselves to focus beyond the image we see, to see the human being underneath the costume. What skills did that person use for creating their costume? How did they deviate from the character, if at all? What do you see reflected in that person’s personality because of their cosplay? From the male perspective, a Bane cosplayer quoted from Advanced Media Writing 2014 mentioned that ““Sex sells, that person looks good but they only see just the costume and that’s all they consider, that’s a problem. You need to say ‘yes I like your costume and your character but I like the fact that you put the effort into it’.” His comment supports the idea that we can venture beyond the image that is fed into our brain,and that there is more to appreciate. As he said, we often see the cosplay but we rarely see the person. Mandy Caruso has had a generally positive experience cosplaying until recently when she played Black Cat. Her words reflect a sad fact about conventions for women: women are accepted into the cosplay community only if they fall into the “sexy object” men desire.
“It’s because many people at these cons expect women cosplaying as vixens (or even just wearing particularly flattering costumes) to be open/ welcoming to crude male commentary and lecherous ogling…”
When I cosplayed Morrigan from Dragon’s Age, I got a lot of requests for pictures from both men and women. While I am not an attention seeker, this was a somewhat empowering experience for me because people could appreciate my costume. The thought of people enjoying the costume because it was revealing, however, was not a comfortable feeling for me. I made my costume modest (see below), but there were still unwarranted looks. I am not flirtatious like Kat, though, so I didn’t attract attention to myself. My behavior was not the catalyst for said looks. While my experience was overall positive, unfortunately not everyone’s experience is positive or empowering.
I believe it is important to embrace sexual freedom and be comfortable with your own sexuality, but I find the idea of “sexy cosplay” used as an empowering aspect for women disheartening. It encourages geek culture to perpetuate this expectation that women are merely sexy objects to be regarded, judged and ogled. Is it possible this phenomenon is causing or encouraging objectification? How do we change the culture to allow women their freedom to cosplay without stigmas? There is this assumption that because it is “just a costume” or fantasy that women should have to put up with lewd behavior, that it is the only form of flattery or that women should feel empowered because of that “flattery”.
Finally, there is a great lack of non-sexy costumes for women to purchase. Nevertheless, there is an upside to this double-edged sword of cosplay for women despite the lack of choice and A Mighty Girl has shown us that it is possible to fight back against the commercialization of “sexy cosplay”. Women deserve a variety of options and the voice to demand them in the cosplay world. What I love about conventions is the diversity you see in costumes and the courage with which people wear them. I hope eventually, through empowerment and a change in the cosplay culture, that people will wear their costumes not with courage but with comfort. A culture in which women can choose whatever cosplay they wish without demeaning comments and instead be seen as the individual, human being they are. I encourage companies such as A Mighty Girl to help change that dynamic and disparage the acceptance of “sexy cosplay” as the sole form of flattery or recognition of women in the culture.
I would love to hear from all you readers, men and women. What has been your experience as a cosplayer? If you choose “sexy cosplay”, how do you feel it empowers you? Why? If not, why do you choose different cosplay? How would you like the cosplay community to change? Please be honest, polite and respectful.
Happy cosplaying!
Want to keep up with Her Story Arc? Follow us on Facebook or TwitterSurvey: Non-Religious Americans on the Rise in Every State
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The percentage of people who claim no religion has nearly doubled since 1990. Meanwhile, the percentage of Christians is on the decline, according to a new study on American religious life.
The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), released on Monday, shows that the percentage of Americans claiming no religion, which jumped from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 14.2 in 2001, has now increased to 15 percent.
The findings were based on over 54,000 interviews conducted between February and November of last year. The 2008 survey was a continuation of ARIS surveys in 1990 and 2001, which are part of a landmark series by the Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
The survey was conducted by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, director and associate director, respectively, of Trinity's Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture.
Additionally, the survey found that the non-religious population, or "Nones," has shifted away from the Pacific Northwest to Northern New England.
Vermont has become the least religious state in the country with 34 percent of "Nones," leading all other states by 9 percentage points. Between 1990 and 2008, the Green Mountain State had the largest percentage increase of non-religious people (21 percent), beating out New Hampshire (20 percent), Delaware (16 percent) and Massachusetts (14 percent).
"Many people thought our 2001 finding was an anomaly," Keysar said. "We now know it wasn't. The 'Nones' are the only group to have grown in every state of the Union."
Despite a small proportion (1.6 percent) of Americans calling themselves atheist or agnostic, a review of stated beliefs shows that 12 percent are deistic (believe in a higher power but not a personal God), and 12 percent are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unsure).
Over the past seven years, the number of outright atheists has nearly doubled, from 900,000 to 1.6 million, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, the percentage of Christians in America has declined from 76.7 in 2001 to 76 percent, down from 86.2 percent in the 1990s. The shrinking proportion of Christians is largely attributed to the decline in the non-Catholic segment of the Christian population, largely from the mainline denominations, including Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian/Anglican churches, and the United Church of Christ.
But other segments of the Christian population, including those who identify themselves as "Christian," "Evangelical/Born Again," or "non-denominational Christian," are on the rise.
Non-denominational Christians, associated with the growth of megachurches, has dramatically jumped from an estimated 200,000 in 1990 to 2.5 million in 2001 and to over 8 million today. This group now accounts for 11.8 percent of the U.S. population today compared to only 5 percent 18 years ago.
Another trend indicated in the survey is the shifting of mainline Protestants to evangelicalism. The data shows that 38.6 percent of mainline Protestants now also identify themselves as evangelical or born again.
"It looks like the two-party system of American Protestantism — mainline versus evangelical — is collapsing," commented Mark Silk, director of the Public Values Program. "A generic form of evangelicalism is emerging as the normative form of non-Catholic Christianity in the United States."
Baptists, which constitute the largest population within the non-Catholic Christian tradition, have increased their numbers by two million since 2001, but continue to decline as a proportion of the population, the survey also shows.
The 2008 ARIS study reveals that the Catholic population in the country has shifted away from the Northeast and towards the Southwest, with Texas (9 percent), California (8 percent) and Arizona (5 percent) posting the biggest percentage gains since 1990.
Kosmin cited "immigration and natural increase among Latinos" as reasons for the shift.
The 2008 ARIS survey was based on interviews of adults in the 48 contiguous states and carries a margin of error of less than 0.5 percent. Funding for the study was provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc. and the Posen Foundation.Florida ska punk outfit Teflon Don are in a tight spot. Some weeks ago, their Facebook page was deleted from the web based on a complaint from Memphis rapper Donald Askew. The rapper claimed to own the trademark to the name Teflon Don, and without further investigation by Facebook, the ska band’s page was immediately taken down.
A statement by the band sheds some light on the unfolding events:
“The band immediately reached out to Facebook and notified them the rapper didn’t currently own the trademark...Facebook responded that the only way they could restore the page, which housed tons of media posted by fans and friends of the band, was to be notified by the Memphis rapper. When the band reached out to Askew, both personally and legally, they received written permission to re-name the ska band Tef London, but he refused to notify Facebook to restore the band’s page and refused to discuss the matter.”
Tef London will launch a new Facebook page on Monday, May 27, 2013 at facebook.com/teflondonskaband and will be giving away CDs and t-shirts at random for every 100 likes they receive in attempt to offset their huge loss of connections on social media.
Individual band members had their own comments on the issue:
Chris King (trumpet): “We’re bummed. It’s hard. We sing songs about sticking up for what’s right, and the challenges we find in the face of what’s wrong. We’re a band built on community, and doing the right thing- which may not always be easy, but it’s what the music industry needs.”
Jenny Morrison (bass/vox:) “It’s been tough and disheartening; I know we’ve all lost a lot of sleep over it. We know the industry can beat you down, but I hope that we’ll never be the ones who beat down others in return. We want to support fellow musicians- or anyone pursuing something they’re truly passionate about.”
Angel Santiago, (bari sax): “Re-branding is expensive – especially in an industry where we’re often offered very little money to perform. The very least we can do is give back to the fans who’ve supported us through all of this.”
Donald Askew, the Memphis rap artist, is allegedly pursuing legal action against Rick Ross(whose fourth album is entitled Teflon Don), DJ Khaled, Def Jam Recordings, Universal Music Group, Slip-N-Slide Records and Maybach Music Group.
In the meantime, click here to check out some of the band’s music.Seventh and FINAL North American Open Division Cup Tonight at 18:00PDT!
Today the seventh and FINAL North American Open Division Cup begins as teams play for the best seeding going into the playoffs in two weeks where the top 16 will fight for the chance to take on the lowest two HGC Premier teams in The Crucible in May.
Looking at the registered teams for this final cup, Even in Death, LFM, Imported Support, Miasma eSports and UT-A all return.
While UT-A was dethroned from missing several cups due to their Heroes of the Dorm competition, they still have a chance to slide into the second seeding if they play their cards right.
You can catch all the action today at 18:00 PDT on twitch.tv/arcane8.
Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS for more Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.Introduction
During 2014 and 2015, Novus Partners migrated the entire front-end for its flagship Portfolio Intelligence application, Alpha, from a traditional server-side HTML web application to a single-page web app model using AngularJS.
Undertaking such a large project – nothing less than a complete re-write of our core product in a modern web technology – carried a huge risk. The re-write was a “pixel-perfect” recreation of our existing application. Our core business requirement was that the end-user would experience a seamless transition on the cutover date, and of course that it would be bug free.
We were able to complete this project – and even move to a continuous deployment model for our front-end releases – because from the start of this ambitious project we maintained a disciplined methodology of TDD (Test Driven Development).
TDD is a well-known best practice in modern software development, but for browser-based JavaScript applications, it is still relatively new. Fortunately, AngularJS provides a strong foundation for implementing TDD in your development – but writing unit tests for AngularJS can be confusing for the uninitiated. In this tutorial, we hope to explain the more nuanced aspects of testing your AngularJS application.
This tutorial applies to AngularJS 1.2 and above, and is not applicable to AngularJS 2.0.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes a working knowledge of the following technologies:
AngularJS
CoffeeScript – which Novus chose for its clean, bug-resistant syntax
Chai.js – a TDD/BDD JavaScript library
Software Requirements
To run the sample project, we will be using a build pipeline consisting of:
Grunt
node and npm for package management and build
Karma – the test runner
Mocha – a JavaScript test framework
For the most part, you just need to have npm installed in your development environment. If you’re able to clone my tutorial repository, run npm install and run grunt, you’re good to go.
Karma – what is it?
The purpose of Karma is to link together the AngularJS libraries, the application code and your unit tests.
The Karma configuration lives in the Gruntfile, and you can see an example here.
ngMock – the Key to Testing
Angular Mocks (or ngMock for short) is the library you need to make testing possible. This library provides several key features:
The ability to load an AngularJS module
The ability to inject services into your unit test
The ability to stub HTTP backend requests and responses
Testing a Simple Service
Let’s say you have defined a service that takes a string and capitalizes it:
app = angular.module 'exampleApp', [] app.factory 'capitalizeStr', -> capitalize = (str)-> str.toUpperCase() 1 2 3 app = angular. module 'exampleApp', [ ] app. factory 'capitalizeStr', -> capitalize = ( str ) -> str. toUpperCase ( )
In a separate file, you would write the unit test like this:
describe 'My Application', -> beforeEach angular.mock.module 'exampleApp' it 'has service to capitalize strings', angular.mock.inject (capitalizeStr)-> result = capitalizeStr 'hello World' result.should.equal 'HELLO WORLD' 1 2 3 4 5 6 describe 'My Application', -> beforeEach angular. mock. module 'exampleApp' it 'has service to capitalize strings', angular. mock. inject ( capitalizeStr ) -> result = capitalizeStr 'hello World' result. should. equal 'HELLO WORLD'
The first takeaway here are the two ngMock methods, module and inject. These methods are automatically placed on the window object, so you can actually omit the angular.mock namespacing. I use it in my examples simply as a way to distinguish them.
module – this method loads the AngularJS module into your testing scaffold. Without this, you will be unable to load any of your application code.
– this method loads the AngularJS module into your testing scaffold. Without this, you will be unable to load any of your application code. inject – this method returns a new function, but with the listed arguments injected into the function’s scope.
You can view the full working code example here.
Directives
One of the reasons Novus Partners chose AngularJS, is because of the power of AngularJS directives. This construct enables the programmer to define reusable ‘components’, which can then be placed anywhere on your HTML document.
Continuing from our previous example, let’s say you have created the following widget:
app = angular.module 'exampleApp' tmpl = """ <div class='title'>{{ titleText() }}</div> <button id='widget-button'>Click</button> """ app.controller 'WidgetCtrl', ($scope, capitalizeStr)-> $scope.title = 'Calendar' $scope.titleText = -> capitalizeStr $scope.title app.directive'myWidget', -> restrict: 'E' scope: {} controller: 'WidgetCtrl' template: tmpl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 app = angular. module 'exampleApp' tmpl = "" " <div class='title'>{{ titleText() }}</div> <button id='widget-button'>Click</button> " "" app. controller 'WidgetCtrl', ( $ scope, capitalizeStr ) -> $ scope. title = 'Calendar' $ scope. titleText = -> capitalizeStr $ scope. title app. directive'myWidget', -> restrict : 'E' scope : { } controller : 'WidgetCtrl' template : tmpl
To render the directive in memory and test that the proper DOM elements are present, you need to use the $compile service. This service takes in an HTML string and a scope object, and returns an AngularJS bound DOM element.
describe 'Directive Tests', -> element = null scope = null beforeEach module 'exampleApp' beforeEach inject ($compile, $rootScope)-> htmlStr = """ <my-widget></my-widget> """ scope = $rootScope.$new() compiledElem = $compile(htmlStr)(scope) element = $(compiledElem[0]) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 describe 'Directive Tests', -> element = null scope = null beforeEach module 'exampleApp' beforeEach inject ( $ compile, $ rootScope ) -> htmlStr = "" " <my-widget></my-widget> " "" scope = $ rootScope. $ new ( ) compiledElem = $ compile ( htmlStr ) ( scope ) element = $ ( compiledElem [ 0 ] )
In the example above, I’ve included jQuery in my Karma test runner so that manipulating DOM elements is easier.
Once you have a compiled element, you can check its properties:
it 'widget contains a button that says "Click"', -> button = element.find 'button' button.length.should.equal 1 button.text().should.equal 'Click' 1 2 3 4 it 'widget contains a button that says "Click"', -> button = element. find 'button' button. length. should. equal 1 button. text ( ). should. equal 'Click'
To retrieve the scope from the element, use element.isolateScope():
it 'has a title variable the scope', -> scope = element.isolateScope() scope.title.should.equal 'Calendar' 1 2 3 it 'has a title variable the scope', -> scope = element. isolateScope ( ) scope. title. should. equal 'Calendar'
When to Use $scope.$digest()
One of AngularJS’ more powerful features is the scope digest cycle. This feature enables the programmer to change a data model and have it reflected in the DOM.
The mechanism by which you test this feature is with the $scope.digest() function.
Let’s look at an example:
it 'widget title stays capitalized', -> scope.title = 'Clock' scope.$digest() element.find('.title').text().should.equal 'CLOCK' 1 2 3 4 it 'widget title stays capitalized', -> scope. title = 'Clock' scope. $ digest ( ) element. find ( '.title' ). text ( ). should. equal 'CLOCK'
In this unit test function, the scope variable was defined previously when we invoked scope = $rootScope.$new(). We then passed this scope object into the $complile function.
In the unit test, you can make any number of changes to the scope object. When you’re ready to test the effects of scope on the DOM, you call scope.$digest(), which forces AngularJS to undergo a full scope digest cycle. If you don’t call scope.digest(), you won’t see any changes happening to the DOM element in your test. It’s a very common mistake.
Testing $timeout
AngularJS’ service $timeout is simply a scope digest wrapper around window.setTimeout. It will defer execution of a function for a specified period of time.
It turns out that it is possible to write unit tests for these situations.
Suppose your controller has the following scope variables defined:
$scope.title = 'dog' $scope.autoChangeTitle = (msg)-> $timeout -> $scope.title = msg, 1000 1 2 3 4 5 $ scope. title = 'dog' $ scope. autoChangeTitle = ( msg ) -> $ timeout -> $ scope. title = msg, 1000
Your goal is to write a unit test that calls autoChangeTile(), waits one second, and checks if $scope.tile was set. Here is how you do that:
it 'test ability to change title after one second', inject ($timeout)-> scope.autoChangeTitle 'cat' # one second hasn't passed yet, so scope.title is same as before scope.title.should.equal 'dog' $timeout.flush 1000 scope.title.should.equal 'cat' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 it 'test ability to change title after one second', inject ( $ timeout ) -> scope. autoChangeTitle 'cat' # one second hasn't passed yet, so scope.title is same as before scope. title. should. equal 'dog' $ timeout. flush 1000 scope. title. should. equal 'cat'
The key takeaway is that you inject the $timeout service into your unit test, and then invoke $timeout.flush([milliseconds]) when you want to execute the deferred function. This gives you very fine-grained control.
You can see a real example of this code here.
Testing Events
Events in AngularJS are essential for allowing different components to communicate with each other. Events can be emitted in two distinct ways:
* $scope.$broadcast() * $scope.$emit() 1 2 * $ scope. $ broadcast ( ) * $ scope. $ emit ( )
The differences are documented here.
Events are listened to by using the $scope.$on method.
As an example, suppose we have a directive defined as follows:
app.directive'myWidget', -> scope: {} type: 'E' template: "<div></div>" controller: ($scope)-> $scope.$on 'update:title', (e, title)-> $scope.title = title $scope.$emit 'title:updated' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 app. directive'myWidget', -> scope : { } type : 'E' template : "<div></div>" controller : ( $ scope ) -> $ scope. $ on 'update:title', ( e, title ) -> $ scope. title = title $ scope. $ emit 'title:updated'
Here’s how you would write a unit test to check that the widget responds to the update:title event:
//assume that 'element' was created using the $compile service it'responds to update:title event', inject ($rootScope)-> scope = element.isolateScope() $rootScope.$broadcast 'update:title', 'Apples' scope.title.should.equal 'Apples' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 //assume that 'element' was created using the $compile service it'responds to update:title event', inject ( $ rootScope ) -> scope = element. isolateScope ( ) $ rootScope. $ broadcast 'update:title', 'Apples' scope. title. should. equal 'Apples'
If you want to test that an event was emitted due to some action, you can add an event listener in your unit test:
it 'emits title:updated', (done)-> inject ($rootScope)-> scope = element.isolateScope() $rootScope.$on 'title:updated', -> done() $rootScope.$broadcast 'update:title', 'Test' 1 2 3 4 5 6 it 'emits title:updated', ( done ) -> inject ( $ rootScope ) -> scope = element. isolateScope ( ) $ rootScope. $ on 'title:updated', -> done ( ) $ rootScope. $ broadcast 'update:title', 'Test'
The important difference is the addition of the done argument in the unit test. This is a Mocha construct that enables you to write unit tests with async callbacks. If done() doesn’t get called in the unit test body, the test will fail after a timeout.
Testing Backend APIs
Real world AngularJS applications almost certainly require backend resources, usually acquired via a RESTful API service. In AngularJS, the $http service provides the ability to make REST calls (GET, POST, DELETE, etc).
A unit test that invokes code with a $http call will generate this error:
Unexpected request: GET /api/resource/foo/bar/ No more request expected 1 2 Unexpected request : GET / api / resource / foo / bar / No more request expected
To avoid this error, the unit test should mock out any expected backend calls. The ngMock service $httpBackend provides this ability (and it is fully documented here).
$httpBackend has methods on it that allow you to define expected API urls and their associated responses. Here is an example:
it 'can make a backend call', inject ($httpBackend)-> testResponse = {foo: 'bar'} $httpBackend.whenGET('/api/resource/foo/bar/').respond 200, testResponse //...Invoke code that makes $http calls... $httpBackend.flush() //...Test the effects of the $http calls... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 it 'can make a backend call', inject ( $ httpBackend ) -> testResponse = { foo : 'bar' } $ httpBackend. whenGET ( '/api/resource/foo/bar/' ). respond 200, testResponse //...Invoke code that makes $http calls... $ httpBackend. flush ( ) //...Test the effects of the $http calls...
The whenGET method accepts a URL string or regex as an argument, and returns a new object with a respond function. The respond function accepts an HTTP status code and a response data object. This allows you to write tests to see how your code responds if a backend API returns an error.
It’s important to also call $httpBackend.flush() at some point during the test. This behaves similarly to $timeout.flush(). Calling flush essentially simulates the backend returning a response, and executes all the callbacks attached to any $http promises.
Conclusion
Writing unit tests for AngularJS applications isn’t difficult, and is well worth the investment. We highly encourage you to use test-driven development principles when building your application. At Novus, our strong use of unit tests has given us a robust, scalable and fun frontend codebase to build on.A Tibetan restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue, which is the most diverse commercial corridor in the country, a researcher found. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Katie Honan
One man, three months, 394 Queens restaurants.
Noah Allison can say he tried them all — for research.
The doctoral student has spent much of his academic career studying urban planning, with a focus on the influence of food and cuisine in changing immigrant neighborhoods.
After arriving in New York City as a PhD candidate in the New School's urban policy program in 2014, he decided to continue that work on Roosevelt Avenue, which he called the most diverse commercial stretch in the country.
His investigation into the avenue's culinary diversity appears in the March issue of the Graduate Journal of Food Studies, featuring color-coded maps of restaurants on the Queens corridor and its closest side streets. It also includes research on surrounding neighborhoods
Recalling his first visit to Roosevelt Avenue, Allison said he was "astonished by the heterogeneity of the different communities along the corridor."
"Anxiety grew as I headed east along Roosevelt Avenue," which extends from Sunnyside to Flushing, "for I knew that in order to better understand this new environment, I had to try all of these restaurants," he wrote in an email to DNAinfo.
So Allison dutifully set off on foot and bike, with his camera in tow, to catalog every eatery. Between Aug. 23 and Nov. 14, 2015, he visited a total of 394 restaurants featuring 25 different types of cuisines. His research efforts focused on brick-and-mortar stores, with plans to save the avenue's many street vendors for a future project.
Over three months of reporting, Allison said he found his interactions with restaurant owners and workers to be the most rewarding part of his work.
"Along the way, I met tons of foreign-born restaurateurs who decided to use cultural traditions of taste as a way to support themselves, their families, and achieve upward mobility," he explained.
Their restaurants contribute billions of dollars to the city and often become "a particular type of public space where cultural diversity is constructed, consumed, and negotiated," Allison added.
He hopes his work may help influence government policy in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Woodside and Elmhurst, which often suffer from a lack of resources.
"By understanding what is going on in areas where immigrants are playing a vital role in the revitalization and growth of communities around the world, this study will illustrate how global immigrant neighborhoods are shaping the city," and how local policies and planning may be failing them, he noted. Documentation of unequal resources is the first step to fixing the problem, Allison added.
Finally, understanding the significance of immigrant-owned businesses is vital for any city, but it's particularly important now with federal policies that could threaten new immigrants and those already living and working in the country, he explained.
Allison said he sees Roosevelt Avenue as "an important place to study the region given its super-diversity, especially at a time when the nation’s president is defiantly instilling fear in 'otherness' and 'difference.'"
He'll complete his study within the next two years.
Explore Allison's favorite restaurants on or near Roosevelt Avenue using the map below:The Mercedes-Benz 300SL glistening like a giant, exquisite paperweight hewn from a solid piece of precious metal outside our Portakabin office at the track was not the only car I was lined up to drive. Alongside it were a scattering of others, some of which had brought their owners with them to lounge about, looking on as I drove and assessed their pride and joy. A Peugeot 205 GTi, an elderly Ford Capri and a splendid old Lotus Cortina all awaited my attention, and I reassured their anxious owners that I would be gentle with Their Precious and would return it without a blemish or a pulled muscle. What, then, must they have thought when I screamed onto the track in front of them in the rare, half-million-quid Mercedes Gullwing and proceeded to abuse the thing like it was a fifty quid hot hatch at a grass-track day?
This feature originally appeared in the December issue of Top Gear magazineIncreasingly, the copyright industry has tried to assert that “the free market will sort it out” in the field of culture sharing. The problem is that the copyright industry’s monopol |
, Kenneth Mitchell.
Tabacco faced two separate challenges. Like all candidates running in nonpartisan elections, Tabacco had to select a symbol for his "party." He made the mistake of selecting a five-pointed star, the official ballot sign of the New York State Democratic Party, which contributed to his unstable ballot status.
The other challenge involved the board assessing the validity of his signatures. The board re-examined some of Tabacco's petition signatures and decided that many of the signatures he collected were invalid; therefore his total collection failed to meet the number needed to appear on the ballot. After much legal wrangling, the day before the election, the Appellate Division restored his name to the ballot.
In preparation for the election, the board had already sent the voting machines to the poll sites, without Tabacco's name listed. With the legal decision coming less than 24 hours before the polls were set to open, the board had to swiftly shift to conducting the election on paper.
These last minute changes can be costly to candidates and taxpayers alike. In Tabacco's case, he said the petition challenges claimed 75 percent of his time during the special election in February, leaving him little to no opportunity to fundraise and campaign. He eventually lost to Mitchell, coming in fourth.
Of the total $179,983 he spent on the campaign, Tabacco said, approximately 28 percent went for election lawyers, political consultants and campaign volunteers related to meeting the petition requirement and defending the signatures in the legal process. "It's a completely outrageous, disgusting process," Tabacco said
The lengthy back and forth that can sometimes happen with ballot disputes, does not just cost the candidates. In District 49, the expense of all the paper ballots with the last-minute changes was eventually passed on to taxpayers. After including the cost of transporting the unused machines to and from the poll sites, staff to coordinate the move, and the printing of paper ballots for all the voters, the Board of Elections spent $132,564 on this election. Over $50,000 of that went for paper ballots.
Insiders' Perspectives on Ballot Access
Another candidate who ran in a Feb. 24 special election, George Dixon, a long-time resident of East Elmhurst and a former member of Community Board 3, has a slightly different take than Tabacco about the petitioning process -- probably because he had an election lawyer and didn't spend as much time in court as Tabacco.
"The upside is that you get someone out there and recognized in the community. The downside is that there are various reasons why a signature may not be considered valid," he said, noting that signatures can be removed if a piece of required information is missing, like the date or the county of the voter. "When you challenge a community of signatures, you're not challenging the candidate, you're challenging the voter," Dixon said.
Jerry Goldfeder, an election lawyer at Stroock, Stroock and Lavan LLP who worked on Julissa Ferreras' campaign against Dixon and other candidates in the Queens special election, said that there are better systems than petitioning for getting a candidate on the ballot. "I've been a long-time advocate of abolishing the requirement that one needs petitions to get on the ballot," Goldfeder says. "There are other ways to show community support to become a candidate, such as the number of donations, or perhaps a filing fee."
Election lawyer Henry Berger, agreed. "The petitions' challenges in New York are one of the tactics used to discourage people from running for office," he said.
Some claim the city's nonpartisan special elections present even more burdensome signature requirements than regular elections because candidates have to rush to get the required number of signatures in a much shorter time period. If challenged, the time period to appeal and stay on the ballot is much shorter as well.
Reforming New York's Ballot Access Law
Proponents for changing the ballot access laws argue that, under the current system, candidates are required to collect too many signatures with too little time, a task that can be difficult if you do not have the support and resources of a political party behind you. They say that, in effect, these laws diminish voter choice by only leaving one or two names on a ballot and excluding community members who might be credible candidates, but are unable to raise the funds necessary to withstand aggressive ballot-bumping. Candidates whose signatures are challenged, have to spend time in hearings with the Board of Elections and in the courts, taking precious time away from increasing their name recognition and campaigning. Perhaps more importantly, it drains financial resources.
One recommendation for reforming the state's labyrinth ballot access laws calls for reducing the number of signature candidates needed to appear on the ballot. Good government advocates also argue that other broad changes to elections can create a more level playing field for new candidates. Proposals include nonpartisan elections, ranked voting, independent redistricting and public campaign financing. Getting the access laws changed, though, poses a real challenge. Whatever they may cost voters and the public, these laws also benefit incumbents who want to remain in office and stymie competitive elections. Given that, it's no wonder that these laws have not been reformed.
DeNora Getachew is the director of public policy and legislative counsel and Andrea Senteno is the program associate for Citizens Union Foundation, which publishes Gotham Gazette. Additional reporting for this article was provided by Alex Kane, an intern for Gotham Gazette.500 miles of bikepacking down the Lost Coast of California, captured with film.
By Erik Mathy
Day 0
Departing San Francisco, arriving Crescent City. Glenn and I had never met in person before this, while Andrew and I had been great friends for over a decade. It was going to be an interesting trip. I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect.
The only hotel on the beach is where we stayed. It was cheap, comfortable, and exactly what we were looking for!
Day 1
We got up fairly early, packed up and ate breakfast while enjoying one last view of the ocean. Little did we know what was in store for us.
We rolled straight into something that was so much harder than any of us expected, compounded by an early onset of rain that wouldn’t stop for the entirety of the day.
On skinny tires, Andrew promptly proved himself more than worthy!
The reward, however, was well worth the price of admission. Thousand year old redwood groves seen while riding on the remnants of the original Highway 1.
The Coastal Trail dominated the majority of Day’s route. It was unrelentingly hard, rugged and beautiful.
Towards the end of the day we were short of our intended goal by nearly 30 miles. We were tired, wet and exhausted.
At the odd little Palm Motel & Cafe we found much needed shelter, food and warmth for the night.
Day 2
We rolled out with into a mix of sun and rain. Our first real destination was Arcata, where Glenn and I could get our bikes looked at. Neither of them were shifting exceptionally well. Which was worrisome, considering that we were only on Day 2 of the ride!
In a recurring theme throughout the trip, the views on the Lost Coast never disappointed.
The second recurring theme of the trip was people’s reaction to Glenn’s Salsa Mukluk. The 4” tires caught everyone’s eye, and the comments would rapidly ensue. Two college age guys working for the local municipality even chased us for miles just to ask about it. And, of course, once we got to Arcatca Andrew just had to know the mechanic at Adventure’s Edge. We have a running joke about Andrew: You can’t go anywhere with the guy without him knowing somebody. There we were, Day 2…and he knew someone. It was inevitable!
At the end of the day we were completely spent. We’d turned inland after Arcata. The increasing heat and wind, combined with rolling hills and traffic, sucked the energy right out of us. When laying in a gravel parking lot is better than being on your bike, you know you’re cooked.
Day 3
After sharing a campsite at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds with an Aussie named John, we changed our route on the advice of some locals and tackled the infamous climb up and over Mattole Road to the coast.
The Mattole Road climb was brutal and seemingly never ending. Near the top a local let us refill our bottles from a tap on her barn. She then warned us about the road ahead. It was rough, strewn the potholes, short gravel sections and random crevices. The logging trucks drove like mad men and the locals weren’t much better. If we went too fast on the descent, she said, we’d end up off the side of a cliff and she’d have to call 911, so don’t go too fast was her obvious advice. The views of the valleys were a rich, rich reward for all the work and the risk.
On the other side was the coast, it’s fog and black sand beaches. They were so, so, so good!
After continuing on the coast, the route made it’s way to Petrolia, a tiny little town made famous by being the site of the first oil well in California. From there the effort of climbing over Mattole Road started to take it’s tole. We got to Honeydew and camped nearby at a state park campground.
It was there that we were joined, not just for the evening but for the rest of the trip, by Ryan and Elisha, a wonderful couple from Colorado Springs. They were celebrating their 11th wedding anniversary by bike touring down the coast to San Francisco. They lightened our spirits tremendously!
Day 4
The next morning Glenn, Andrew and I were debating on what path to take. Continue on the rough Lost Coast roads to Shelter Cove, or head inland and take the smoother Avenue of the Giants. As we packed and debated, Ryan and Elisha were quietly hanging out, reading books. This in and of itself was an eye opener. Here we were, hustling and being aggressive with our time to GET GOING…and there they were, relaxing. Ryan, overhearing us, said, ”There is something in this book I am reading that could help you with your choice. Can I read it to you?” And so he did, and our choice was made. We were riding inland with Ryan and Elisha. Our party had gained two more people, and our trip got more entertaining as a result.
On the Avenue of the Giants, we looked up in awe at the redwoods, hit the tourist spots, ate a civilized lunch (while ordering extra meals for dinner), picked up supplies and eventually made our way to our campsite.
Day 5
The first half of the day was filled with surreal man made sites. Stickerd up Blue Brothers cop car replicas, giant carved wooden statues, and the abandoned Hobbiton were amongst the highlights.
Making our way down the coast, travelling a path well worn by cars, motorcycles, bicycles and a lone hiker who was going much farther than I can imagine. Well, at least on foot, anyway!
We ended the day in Ft. Bragg. The beaches in MacKerricher State Park were breath taking! As well as wind swept and cold.
Day 6
After a short stop in the little town of Mendicino, it was all Highway 1, all day long. Which, I have to say, now that I’ve done it once? I don’t feel the need to ever do it again. Take a narrow, winding road with little to no shoulder, plus traffic, and you get not a whole lot of fun. We eventually made it to Gualala and checked into a little hotel there. They had a fire pit and the local grocery store was well stocked. The scene was set for possibly one of the best nights of the entire trip!
We had an amazing sunset, a fire pit, wine, bourbon, bread, cheese, salami, and good friends. I don’t think any of us could have asked for much more!
Day 7
On the second to last day, I think all of us were feeling the miles in our legs. The infamous rolling terrain of Highway 1 was brutal, as was the continued traffic.
Bodega Bay was a welcome respite. The miles from there to our campsite at Dillon Beach were crushing. We passed out, in the lowest spirits of any point in the trip, looking forward to one last day in the saddle.
Day 8
On the final day, after hitching a ride in a pickup from Dillon Beach to Tomales, we set out.
Under Andrew’s guidance we rolled the pure bliss of the Cross Marin Trail. We were literally laughing with joy to be on that after so many miles on the highway.
There was both great joy and sadness upon reaching our destination. Joy for all of us to have finished such a long and hard journey. Joy, in particular, for Andrew to get back to his two little ones and his wife, Jessica. But also sadness that, like all good bike trips, it had to end. We learned alot over the course of those 9 days…about ourselves, the world and each other. Life long friendships were forged. We three, now five, are going to meet again. You can count on it!
finish
To view other work by Erik Mathy, visit his website, A Sometimes Photographer: http://www.asometimesphotographer.com/In a surprising turn of events, the World MMA Association (WMMAA) announced that Fedor Emelianenko's latest victory against Fabio Maldonado would be overturned to a draw after the Brazilian's appeal to the association.
Maldonado, who initially lost a majority decision to Fedor despite a dominant opening round, later appealed the decision to the Russian MMA Union. He suggested a conflict of interest between Fedor, president of the Russian MMA Union, and the officials assigned by the same union to work the fight. The union denied the appeal because the Brazilian didn't file it within 40 minutes of the decision's announcement, even though he was never informed about this particular rule. The appeal was denied by vice president Radmir Gabdullin, a former M-1 Global fighter who has a well established working relationship with Fedor.
Maldonado later took his appeal to the WMMAA, the governing body for international amateur competitions. Russia is one of the member nations involved in the WMMAA and the Russian MMA Union is the regulatory body responsible for the sport in Russia. The entity suspended Gabdullin and assigned three officials to re-evaluate the match. The selected officials were Youri Lamoureux (CAN), Lukasz Bosacki (POL), Alexey Zemskov (RUS). All three judges offered an identical 28-28 result.
According to the WMMAA, the officials' advice to "change the result to "Unanimous Draw" will be applied by the WMMAA. This decision will be announced to Fight Nights and communicated with Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian MMA Union and Stefano Sartori. With this decision I will consider the Appeal to be official closed."
The scorecards are available below:
The association, headed by Fedor's former manager Vadim Finkelchtein, also agreed that the heavyweight legend's position as the president of the Russian MMA Union could have brought about a conflict of interest. While they did not suggest that Fedor's position led to a different outcome in the fight, it was deemed an "unfortunate choice."
Both Fight Nights Global and Fedor have been informed about the WMMAA decision. The Russian MMA Union, however, decided not to implement the altered decision. Gabdullin informed Tass.ru that the "result cannot be overturned."
"The WMMAA can express their views, but do not have the right to influence the judge's decision on the Russian professional promotion. This situation I regard as an unfounded attempt to take away a well-deserved victory from Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko."Rep. Kanjorski has proposed that federal regulators have the power to dismantle firms "too big to fail," even if they’re not financially at risk. Breaking up 'too big to fail' firms
Just when Wall Street thought it couldn’t get worse for them on Capitol Hill – it did.
Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Penn.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, has proposed the most explosive provision so far in the debate over financial reform, seeking to empower federal regulators to preemptively break up financial firms deemed "too big to fail."
Story Continued Below
The powers Kanjorski is proposing are sweeping – he wants to hand the federal government a measuring stick to figure out which companies are a threat to the larger financial system, then give the feds the authority to break them up regardless of their financial health.
Kanjorski said during Tuesday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing that his provision would make it “so that nowhere in the world in the future will there be gigantic tsunamis coming out of nowhere and striking the entire world economy.”
Kanjorski insisted in a later interview that he wasn’t out to get the financial industry, even though one New York Democrat warned that such wide ranging authority would signal the “death knell” for financial markets.
There are 15 or 20 firms, Kanjorski said, particularly in the financial industry, that are “so large that every body knows that we can’t allow them to fail.” He declined to name names.
Financial industry officials say Kanjorski’s proposal would kill American jobs, send top financial companies fleeing for foreign shores and generally imperil the American economy. Large multi-national corporations would bypass hobbled American banks for competitors in Hong Kong or Europe that are still big enough to provide the multi-billion-dollar lines of credit global firms require.
“That type of bill is going to send a near-death knell through the financial markets,” said Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.), who’s Staten Island district relies heavily on Wall Street and the broader financial industry. “It’s akin to a doctor diagnosing a patient to be sick without even doing an examination and it clearly puts way too much power into the hands of the federal government.”
But Kanjorski has piqued the interest of one ally on the other side of the Capitol — Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, who said he liked Kanjorski’s idea, as far as he understood it.
Shelby said he supports regulators having the power to make financial firms “stronger or smaller” before they pose a threat to the economy.
The U.S. government has broken up its share of big comanies. Teddy Roosevelt busted more than 40 trusts during his presidency and the Department of Justice forced "Ma Bell" to sell off the "Baby Bells."
"It's not a real new idea," said Rep Brad Miller (D-N.C.), a supporter of Kanjorski's idea.
Kanjorski said he would unveil the actual legislative language in the next week or two, and industry lobbyists aren’t yet sure how far his proposal will actually go.Denis Pushilin, leader of the insurgent Donetsk People’s Republic attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 19, 2014. Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin admits the pro-Russian fighters are significantly weaker than the Ukrainian army. Pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane Saturday, killing all 49 crew and troops aboard in a bloody escalation of the conflict in the country's restive east. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Denis Pushilin, leader of the insurgent Donetsk People’s Republic attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 19, 2014. Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin admits the pro-Russian fighters are significantly weaker than the Ukrainian army. Pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane Saturday, killing all 49 crew and troops aboard in a bloody escalation of the conflict in the country's restive east. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) MORE HIDE
Denis Pushilin, Ukraine Rebel Leader, Resigns; Now in Moscow
Denis Pushilin, a rebel leader in the restive Donetsk region in Ukraine, resigned from his post on Friday night.
“Dennis is now in Moscow. He sent a letter addressed to me with a request for resignation from his post at his own request. In the council session, the question was put to the vote. MPs supported Pushilin’s resign,” vice-speaker Vladimir Makovich told Interfax Russia.
Pushilin was described as “chairman” of the Donetsk “Supreme Council.” He’s also been described as the leader of the insurgent, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
The reasons for his departure are unclear.
The departure comes just after he said that his group is willing to let the international community in to look at the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which crashed in the area on Thursday.
“We are ready to let the international commission into our territory to look into the tragedy more thoroughly and properly,” he said, according to the Washington Post.”This is in our interests, as we do not feel guilty.”
–
What we know and don’t know:
BRUSSELS (AP) — One day after the crash of a Malaysian jetliner carrying 298 people in eastern Ukraine, here’s what is known, and what has been claimed:
THE CAUSE
U.S. officials and an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister have said a surface-to-air missile brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew Thursday from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people aboard died. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council in New York on Friday the missile was likely fired from a rebel-held area near the Russian border. Independent aviation experts have agreed a missile was the likely cause, but so far, there’s been no proof. Ukraine’s government, the pro-Russia rebels who oppose it and Russia have all denied shooting down the passenger plane. The official investigation into the crash and its cause has only begun.
___
THE “BLACK BOXES”
The whereabouts of the plane’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder remained unknown Friday. The rebels gave conflicting reports about whether they had found them. Russia’s foreign minister said his country had no intention of acquiring them and that they should be given to international aviation organizations. Experts in air accident investigations said the boxes’ contents could be key to establishing what happened to the Boeing 777 in the moments before it crashed. The thud of a missile hit or the acoustic shock wave emitted by an explosion could have been picked up by the cockpit recorder, they said.
___
THE INVESTIGATION
According to international civil aviation regulations, Ukraine should take the lead in investigating an air crash on its territory. Ukraine has called for an international probe, and the United States has offered to assist. But access to the site in rebel-held lands 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Russian border remained difficult and dangerous Friday. It was still uncertain whether the rebels would allow Ukrainian government officials to pass through their checkpoints. A spokeswoman for Ukraine’s emergency services accused rebel militiamen of interfering with recovery operations.
___
THE VICTIMS
By midday, 181 bodies had been recovered, according to emergency workers. A Ukraine Foreign Ministry official said remains of the dead would be taken to government-controlled Kharkiv for identification. Andrei Purgin, a leader of the pro-Russian separatists, said the bodies will be taken to the Black Sea city of Mariupol, also controlled by the government. Malaysia Airlines and relevant governments said the passengers included 192 Dutch, 29 Malaysians, 28 Australians, 12 Indonesians, 10 Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three Vietnamese, three Filipinos and one person each from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong. These likely include some with dual nationalities. Some passengers were researchers and activists heading to an AIDS conference in Australia, news that sparked an outpouring of grief across the scientific community. Among them were the well-known Dutch researcher and former president of the International AIDS Society, Joep Lange, and World Health Organization spokesman Glenn Thomas, based in Geneva. Malaysia Airlines regional vice president Huib Gorter told reporters at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport the carrier was making an initial payment of $5,000 to families of all victims to cover their immediate costs.
The Associated Press contributed to this articlle.To mark his contribution to the hallowed halls of management comedy, we profiled Dilbert creator, Scott Adams, in the November 2013 issue of HBR. He was kind enough to lend us his 550-page tome Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert, where he reveals that more than a handful of the comics documented in his legendary workplace strip actually came straight – sometimes verbatim – from his readers’ work-lives, and his own.
Adams started cartooning while working at Pacific Bell Telephone Company (later acquired by AT&T), after being repeatedly passed over for promotion. “The day you realize that your efforts and rewards are not related, it really frees up your calendar,” he says in his book, “I had time for hobbies.” Some of the first Dilbert doodles appeared on the whiteboard in Adams’ cube, and it was one of his coworkers who suggested the name of the title character.
As you may have guessed, the office milieu gave Adams all the material he needed.
In the early days of Dilbert – March 1990, when the strip appeared only in a few newspapers – Adams included a direct quote from a memo written by the then-VP of engineering at Pacific Bell.
Inevitably, an employee of the VP mocked in the strip shared copies with his staff. But because it would be a strike to morale to fire a popular employee for making jokes, Adams insists that his bosses opted for a different management approach.
This, of course, backfired. “The more absurd my job got, the funnier my comics became,” the cartoonist mentions in the book. Adams’ boss once sent him to a budget meeting in his place, where he told the meeting leader point-blank that slashing the budget wouldn’t matter “because my project wasn’t terribly important.” The project wasn’t funded, but the experience inspired this cartoon:
Adams also recounts that he sat in on pretty much the exact meeting below. “I played the part of Dilbert,” he says.
As the strip gained in popularity, reader suggestions started flowing in. One of his most requested themes was that classic corporate IT dilemma of a lost password.
Sometimes he didn’t even have to write any text himself – the following slogan was taken verbatim from a company mission statement:
In the book, Adams reports that “many of the suggestions I get from readers start with, ‘A coworker of mine has this annoying habit.’ No matter how random or obscure that habit is, I always feel like I know that person too.” Like the colleague he calls “the Topper”:
Then there’s the ruthless HR director, who deals lethal blows with a smile:
Or that employee whose sick-day excuses are just barely passing:
Yup, we’ve all been there. And, of course, that’s where Dilbert’s appeal comes from. Scott Adams just made the humdrum funny, and without much exaggeration. “People who haven’t experienced the corporate world surely think I make up this stuff,” he says. But, as those who have been soothed by Dilbert’s workplace satire over the years know: Management truth can be stranger – and funnier – than management fiction.
For more, read the full Life’s Work interview with Scott Adams, or listen to the podcast version: Scott Adams on Whether Management Really Matters.Most virginity auctions attract a great deal of money and press attention—but rarely, if ever, does the subject ever go through with it. That turned out to be the case with Elizabeth Raine, the now-28-year-old medical student who announced she would be auctioning off her virginity online.
Although bidding for Raine’s auction closed yesterday at $801,000, Raine announced in a recent blog post that she no longer intends to lose her virginity to the winning bidder, citing the swirl of press attention surrounding her story as one of the factors behind her decision.
“I am here to tell you that the terms of the auction will not be fulfilled,” Raine wrote. “With the blessings of my management and the high bidders, I have decided to put a stop to this kerfuffle (to describe it nicely) and return my focus to my medical training.”
Raine’s announcement that she would be shutting down her auction comes shortly after she “came out” to the Huffington Post, revealing her face in a series of photos. (Previously, Raine had insisted on remaining anonymous by obscuring her face in photos, disclosing only select biographical details on her blog.)
Photo via Elizabeth-Raine.com
In the piece, Raine revealed that she had been born in the American southwest and spent her childhood in Saudi Arabia, and that her mother had been killed in a plane crash when she was 10. She told the Huffington Post that her decision to come out was prompted in part by increased speculation that she would be involuntarily outed. “I wanted to do it on my own terms,” she said. Raine also expressed her concern that she would be ejected from her medical school if her identity was revealed.
Although Raine insisted that she had “every intention” of going through with her virginity auction back in April, the announcement that she’s backing out comes as no surprise to those who’ve followed similar stories in the past.
Natalie Dylan, the San Diego woman who tried to auction off her virginity at Nevada’s Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel in 2009, also backed out of her auction shortly after receiving the winning bid of $3.7 million. Catarina Migliorini, a Brazilian bikini model who appeared in the 2012 documentary Virgins Wanted, also seemed to have gotten cold feet, shutting down her own virginity auction after a Japanese businessman offered her more than $700,000.
It’s unclear whether Raine’s decision to shut down her auction was prompted by nervousness or increased concern that her career in medicine would be endangered by the auction’s publicity. When the Daily Dot spoke with her last month, Raine hinted at the latter concern, saying that she’d “probably shut down the auction” if it posed a threat to her future career.
It’s also certainly possible that Raine’s auction was a hoax and she never intended to fulfill the terms of the auction in the first place, a concern that many skeptical commenters addressed when the story broke last month. (We’ve reached out to Raine and her publicity rep for comment, and will update if we hear back.)
But whatever her reasons for shutting down the auction, or even initiating it in the first place, Raine wants to make one thing clear: “I still do possess some spitefully strong beliefs about virginity, prostitution, and a woman’s right to do as she damned pleases,” she writes in her blog post, “but school is my first priority (as it has been for my entire life). At this point, I no longer care about the auction, at all. This was a very easy decision.”
Photo via Elizabeth-Raine.comMadonna is on the cover of People this week. In the magazine, she talks about her kids, her philanthropy, and recalls being in the middle of the AIDS crisis during the 1980s at a time when even the president of the United States wouldn’t even help.
“When the AIDS epidemic first came to New York and I was living on the Lower East Side, my best friend was HIV-positive,” Madonna says, adding that she went to St. Vincent’s Hospital to see her HIV-positive friend and could smell death all over the AIDS ward.
Madonna says she felt a sense of responsibility and compassion since everybody else was casting HIV-positive men aside. This helped Madonna become known as one of the pioneers of the gay rights movement. She used the experience and the death of her friend Martin Burgoyne to speak out about AIDS and gay rights during the 1980s — a time when doing so could have killed a career.
Billboard recently praised Madonna’s AIDS activism.
“Back in the ’80s, we were hard up for celebrities who spoke out against AIDS. But in 1989 Madonna and her Detroit-era dance instructor Christopher Flynn, who was then diagnosed with AIDS, fired up New York with a major benefit dance marathon.”
The article didn’t mention that two years prior, Madonna was the first to hold an AIDS benefit concert, which attracted more than 13,000 people and raised several million dollars.
The same article also talks about Madonna mainstreaming gay culture with her anthem “Vogue” at a time the LGBT community was at its weakest.
“Either way, Madonna accomplished something astounding with ‘Vogue’ — she ushered an audacious, unapologetically queer art form into mainstream America, and that means gays everywhere got to witness (and recognize) a rare kind of performative ebullience,” writes columnist Louis Virtel.
The interview comes just as Madonna announced that she had moved to Portugal. The Queen of Pop claims that she is not only working on a new film that deals with LGBT discrimination, but a new album as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYizwHnBWkg/?hl=en&taken-by=madonna
Fans are more excited about Madonna’s new musical direction than her new movie. But that should be expected since Madonna has experienced only minimal success in films. Musically speaking, Madonna is the biggest-selling international female artist with more than 300 million albums and singles sold since 1983. Still, Trump supporters aren’t impressed with the singer and only cheer at the fact she has moved from the United States. In addition, they have made several misogynistic comments.
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Trump supporters are also asking Madonna to take her friend Rosie O’Donnell with her. But it’s quite possible that while Madonna may live in Portugal most of the time, she will still be back in New York City as she still hasn’t sold her house there, and many of her business associates live in New York as well. Her fans don’t really seem to care where she lives; they just want a new album as soon as possible.
[Featured Image by Theo Wargo/Getty Images]This is one of the most interesting surprises I have ever noticed in recent times.
Jack’d, the world’s leading social app for gay/bi men, announced its support to Civil Rights leader DeRay McKesson’s mayoral bid for the city of Baltimore. The app has pledged $6,000, the maximum allowed from a single campaign donor, and began its campaign to canvass its thousands of users in Baltimore to support McKesson.
Would you have ever imagined that a platform that gay/bi men use to find dates and random sex hookups would engage its users to be politically and socially aware? Though I am still wrapping my head around this news, I am here for it.
“DeRay Mckesson is a voice for this generation,” said Hector Camacho, CEO of Online Buddies, the parent company of Jack’d, at this morning’s announcement. “His passion, activism and relentless commitment for justice have forced the nation to reflect and respond. We applaud DeRay’s courage and dedication in the demand for equal rights, not only in Baltimore, but throughout the nation.”
“Over 30,000 LGBTQ students attend Maryland’s public schools,” explains Phil Henricks, the VP of Strategy and Business Development at Jack’d. “A vast majority of them face harassment by students and faculty on a daily basis. A third report that they skip school due to fear. We need a leader who will be committed to implementing anti-bullying policies.”
Do you think that McKesson would turn his nose up against the support? If you thought so, you are underestimating McKesson’s sense of community and his relatability to the people he desires to serve. McKesson understands where he has to meet his constiuents unlike most politicians – through cyberspace.
“The fight for justice is long,” explained DeRay Mckesson. “It is a fight to ensure equity within systems and structures that affect so many of us from communities that have traditionally been marginalized because of race and/or identity. As a proud Black gay man, I’m honored by the support of Jack’d to help mobilize the young, LGBTQ voters of Baltimore. Let’s use our platforms to continue to build community and honor the complexity of our identities.”
I hope that this endorsement, while very necessary, will not hurt McKesson’s bid from Black voters, especially the influence of homophobic church pastors and their impressionable congregations.
Baltimore’s democratic primary will take place on April 26.I’m not sure I’ve ever been as embarrassed of the Broncos as I am right now. I’ve seen enough. I could have written this after the first 5 minutes of the game and the narrative would be the same: The Denver Broncos are a broken team. The Defense has to shoulder too much of the burden. The offense gets excuse after excuse, and the Special Teams is broken. Our offense is so terrible that the Tebow led, 2 completions in an entire game offense just called... It says we have a piss pore offense.
What does the special teams unit do on opening kickoff? Oh yeah, exactly what I HATE HATE HATE: Run the ball out from deep in the end zone. How did that work out for you? Oh yeah, you cost us 17 yards of F’in field position! You should be cut! I thought we were through with that garbage when Latimer was benched, but nope! And that makes me think its coached, which means Olivio needs to be shown the door. Better yet, shoved in a human sized potato cannon and shot the F out of Dove Valley. Where will he land? I don’t care. Just don’t land anywhere in Colorado.
Oh, and then there’s AJ Derby. Hey, how about you hold onto a ball? Think you can manage that pee wee football maneuver? Or is that too far above your pay grade?
Or or or, how about our special teams punt coverage? I swear, you make Travis Benjamin look like Forrest F*cking Gump playing punt returner. Say what you want about Forrest, but he caught the ball and scored! Just like Benjamin! How? HOW? The legend of Andy Janovich allowed that crap! News flash, not all legends are good!
Here’s a bit of “Pete Truth Rampage” as it’s been coined.... Trevor Siemian SUCKS. There, I’ve said it. ANYBODY, ANYBODY who dares defend his play needs to just go ahead and admit the harsh truth: You are either a) blind, b) stupid, or c) a family/friend of Siemian. That’s it. There is no d) option.
He’s a 7th round pick for a reason. The feel good story MUST END NOW! I don’t care where he came from, what he overcame, or anything of that nature. He is a backup QB AT BEST! No more of this Trevor experiment. He’d rather throw into quadruple coverage to DT on a busted screen pass where he needs to throw side armed than progress past his |
of millibars, also called hectopascals) at T, P s (T), and the actual vapor pressure (also in units of millibars), P a (T), which can be either found with RH or approximated with the barometric pressure (in millibars), BP mb, and "wet-bulb" temperature, T w is (unless declared otherwise, all temperatures are expressed in degrees Celsius):
P s ( T ) = 100 R H P a ( T ) = a e b T c + T ; P a ( T ) = R H 100 P s ( T ) = a e γ ( T, R H ) ≈ P s ( T w ) − B P m b 0.00066 ( 1 + 0.00115 T w ) ( T − T w ) ; T d p = c ln P a ( T ) a b − ln P a ( T ) a ; {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}P_{\mathrm {s} }(T)&={\frac {100}{\mathrm {RH} }}P_{\mathrm {a} }(T)=ae^{\frac {bT}{c+T}};\\[8pt]P_{\mathrm {a} }(T)&={\frac {\mathrm {RH} }{100}}P_{\mathrm {s} }(T)=ae^{\gamma (T,\mathrm {RH} )}\\&\approx P_{\mathrm {s} }(T_{\mathrm {w} })-BP_{\mathrm {mb} }0.00066\left(1+0.00115T_{\mathrm {w} }\right)\left(T-T_{\mathrm {w} }\right);\\[8pt]T_{\mathrm {dp} }&={\frac {c\ln {\frac {P_{\mathrm {a} }(T)}{a}}}{b-\ln {\frac {P_{\mathrm {a} }(T)}{a}}}};\end{aligned}}}
For greater accuracy, P s (T) (and therefore γ(T, RH)) can be enhanced, using part of the Bögel modification, also known as the Arden Buck equation, which adds a fourth constant d:
P s, m ( T ) = a e ( b − T d ) ( T c + T ) ; γ m ( T, R H ) = ln ( R H 100 e ( b − T d ) ( T c + T ) ) ; T d p = c γ m ( T, R H ) b − γ m ( T, R H ) ; {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}P_{\mathrm {s,m} }(T)&=ae^{\left(b-{\frac {T}{d}}\right)\left({\frac {T}{c+T}}\right)};\\[8pt]\gamma _{\mathrm {m} }(T,\mathrm {RH} )&=\ln \left({\frac {\mathrm {RH} }{100}}e^{\left(b-{\frac {T}{d}}\right)\left({\frac {T}{c+T}}\right)}\right);\\[8pt]T_{dp}&={\frac {c\gamma _{m}(T,\mathrm {RH} )}{b-\gamma _{m}(T,\mathrm {RH} )}};\end{aligned}}}
where
a = 6.1121 mb, b = 18.678, c = 257.14 °C, d = 234.5 °C.
There are several different constant sets in use. The ones used in NOAA's presentation[11] are taken from a 1980 paper by David Bolton in the Monthly Weather Review:[12]
a = 6.112 mb, b = 17.67, c = 243.5 °C.
These valuations provide a maximum error of 0.1%, for −30 °C ≤ T ≤ 35°C and 1% < RH < 100%. Also noteworthy is the Sonntag1990,[13]
a = 6.112 mb, b = 17.62, c = 243.12 °C; for −45 °C ≤ T ≤ 60 °C (error ±0.35 °C).
Another common set of values originates from the 1974 Psychrometry and Psychrometric Charts, as presented by Paroscientific,[14]
a = 6.105 mb, b = 17.27, c = 237.7 °C; for 0 °C ≤ T ≤ 60 °C (error ±0.4 °C).
Also, in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology,[15] Arden Buck presents several different valuation sets, with different minimum accuracies for different temperature ranges. Two particular sets provide a range of −40 °C to +50 °C between the two, with even greater minimum accuracy than all of the other, above sets (maximum error at extremes of temperature range):
a = 6.1121 mb, b = 17.368, c = 238.88 °C; for 0 °C ≤ T ≤ 50 °C (error ≤ 0.05%). a = 6.1121 mb, b = 17.966, c = 247.15 °C; for −40 °C ≤ T ≤ 0 °C (error ≤ 0.06%).
Simple approximation [ edit ]
There is also a very simple approximation that allows conversion between the dew point, temperature, and relative humidity. This approach is accurate to within about ±1 °C as long as the relative humidity is above 50%:
T d p ≈ T − 100 − R H 5 ; R H ≈ 100 − 5 ( T − T d p ) ; {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}T_{\mathrm {dp} }&\approx T-{\frac {100-\mathrm {RH} }{5}};\\[5pt]\mathrm {RH} &\approx 100-5(T-T_{\mathrm {dp} });\end{aligned}}}
This can be expressed as a simple rule of thumb:
For every 1 °C difference in the dew point and dry bulb temperatures, the relative humidity decreases by 5%, starting with RH = 100% when the dew point equals the dry bulb temperature.
The derivation of this approach, a discussion of its accuracy, comparisons to other approximations, and more information on the history and applications of the dew point are given in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.[16]
For temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit, these approximations work out to
T d p, ∘ F ≈ T ∘ F − 9 25 ( 100 − R H ) ; R H ≈ 100 − 25 9 ( T ∘ F − T d p, ∘ F ) ; {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}T_{\mathrm {dp,^{\circ }F} }&\approx T_{\mathrm {{}^{\circ }F} }-{\tfrac {9}{25}}\left(100-\mathrm {RH} \right);\\[5pt]\mathrm {RH} &\approx 100-{\tfrac {25}{9}}\left(T_{\mathrm {{}^{\circ }F} }-T_{\mathrm {dp,^{\circ }F} }\right);\end{aligned}}}
For example, a relative humidity of 100% means dew point is the same as air temp. For 90% RH, dew point is 3 °F lower than air temperature. For every 10 percent lower, dew point drops 3 °F.
Frost point [ edit ]
The frost point is similar to the dew point in that it is the temperature to which a given parcel of humid air must be cooled, at constant atmospheric pressure, for water vapor to be deposited on a surface as ice crystals without undergoing the liquid phase (compare with sublimation). The frost point for a given parcel of air is always higher than the dew point, as the stronger bonding between water molecules on the surface of ice requires higher temperature to break.[17]
See also [ edit ]A Texas health clinic serving low-income patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Medicaid program, already the nation's largest insurer, has quickly added millions to its rolls since the start of Obamacare's coverage expansion. And it appears that Medicaid enrollees are generally happy to have coverage, though many are encountering roadblocks to receiving the care they want, according to new research that provides one of the earliest insights into people's experiences under the expanded health insurance program for low-income Americans.
The new insight comes from the research firm Perry Undem, which held six focus groups in Chicago, Denver and Portland, Ore., over the summer. Focus group participants were all newly enrolled in Medicaid this year, although many have also had past experience with private insurance or been previously enrolled in Medicaid before dropping off.
The findings, which were presented on Friday to an independent panel advising Congress on Medicaid issues, can't fully capture the national experience under the newly expanded program. Even across these three cities, Medicaid enrollees' experiences have differed in important ways — access to care was much less of an issue in Denver, for example. The findings are still instructive, though, for those trying to understand what having new Medicaid coverage actually means.
"We really want the personal stories, the human face of what's going on with new Medicaid enrollees," said Mike Perry, partner with Perry Undem.
Before obtaining new coverage, most people in the focus groups said they delayed medical care while they had been uninsured, and some in the focus group said they're facing medical debt for care that they couldn't delay. Preventive care, in particular, had been a challenge for this group – many said they hadn't received a checkup in years.
All the study participants said they feel better off with free or low-cost Medicaid coverage, and they worry less about being able to afford bills or see a doctor for ongoing health problems. The majority said they've already used their coverage and feel healthier because of it.
Still, most said they didn't even know they were eligible for Medicaid — they went looking for coverage hoping to qualify for "something." They knew little about Medicaid before they enrolled, and they still didn't know about it much later. There's some confusion about what the program actually covers, and researchers found some feared receiving low-quality or limited care.
The enrollees' biggest problem has been finding a primary care doctor, which has been a major concern in the health policy community. A Health Affairs study found just one-third of doctors in 2011 would take new Medicaid patients, and this problem was greater in states with lower Medicaid reimbursement rates. It's also why the Affordable Care Act temporarily boosts traditionally low Medicaid reimbursement to primary care doctors as the program expands.
Some new enrollees in the focus groups said they had to call at least six practices to find a doctor, some had to choose doctors far from where they live, and some said they suspect providers are limiting how many Medicaid patients they'll take. Others said they weren't used to the process of finding a primary care physician, and others didn't try because they didn't see an urgent need to find one.
Other enrollees said finding a specialist or a dentist was even tougher — as has typically been the case in the Medicaid program. Enrollees also found unexpected limits to the dental care that was actually covered, which came as a "big disappointment" since enrollees especially wanted this coverage, Perry said.
Portland study group participants in particular had trouble receiving mental health-care services. They reported not being able to see a psychiatrist, instead having to rely on student counselors or receiving their medication through clinics.
Issues aside, the Medicaid enrollees said they'd rather have the coverage than not have it. They all said they would re-enroll in the program if they couldn't get other insurance over the course of the year, and they've been spreading the word to friends and family to sign up.
"They don't want to be uninsured again." Perry said.With speculation growing that Israel or America might strike Iran's nuclear sites, Major General Mohammed Ali Jafari also said Iran would consider launching missiles at the Jewish state and attacking any neighbouring countries that helped American forces.
"Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy," said Maj Gen Jafari in the local Jam-e Jam newspaper. "Regarding the main route for exiting energy, Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz."
About 40 per cent of all world oil exports flow through the 35-mile wide Strait of Hormuz, banked along its northern side by Iran. With world oil supplies already constricted, any Iranian action could push energy prices through the roof.
"After this action, the oil price will rise very considerably and this is among the factors deterring the enemies," said Maj Gen Jafari, whose forces have already installed missiles on the island of Abu Musa in the middle of the strait. Crude oil is now trading for more than $130 a barrel.
Military analysts have often speculated that Iranian sea mines, artillery or rocket attacks could imperil tankers. During the Iran-Iraq war in the eighties, shipping came under attack, forcing the United States to intervene and defend oil supplies.
Although some Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Saudi oil could theoretically be moved across land instead, it would take precious weeks to bring the necessary pipeline into operation, testing the limited reserves held by Western governments in case of emergencies.
Some Western countries believe Iran is using an ostensibly peaceful nuclear programme to try to build an atomic bomb. They accuse it of enriching uranium in underground bunkers not to supply fuel for a nuclear power plant, as Iran says, but to feed a nuclear warhead.
So far, diplomatic attempts to stop Iran enriching uranium have drawn a blank, as the country insists it is allowed to use the process under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
As a result, Israeli and American politicians have publicly discussed blowing up Iran's nuclear sites. Last week it was revealed that Israel has even rehearsed air strikes against Iranian facilities in wide-ranging aerial manoeuvres.
"This country [Israel] is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's missiles," said Maj Gen Jafari. "Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist regime - despite all its abilities - cannot confront it."Authoritarian regimes the world over reacted to protests with thinly disguised glee, noting scenes of unrest in Missouri undermined US credibility to criticise other countries on human rights
Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes around the world reacted to violent protests in Ferguson with thinly disguised glee and schadenfreude on Tuesday, noting that the scenes of unrest in Missouri undermined the US’s credibility to criticise other countries on human rights.
The liberal use of teargas by police, the firing of non-lethal rounds and the enveloping sense of chaos featured extensively in coverage by international state media, including the Kremlin-backed news channel Russia Today, which often concentrates on highlighting deficiencies in western society.
RT broadcast live from the scene and ran a picture-gallery from Ferguson under the headline: “Ferguson burning: Torched cars, tear gas, clashes in massive night riots (DRAMATIC IMAGES).” RT also quoted UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein decrying America’s “troubled” record on race relations and pointing out that African Americans ended up in jail – or worse – in disproportionate numbers.
Russian commentators and state media implied that the disorder in Ferguson was a kind of cosmic payback for the US’s meddling in Ukraine, currently the scene of a war in the east of the country. The Kremlin blames the conflict on the west and “neo-Nazis” in Kiev, rather than on Moscow’s covert invasion of Ukrainian territory. Russia’s “human rights ombudsman” Konstantin Dolgov, meanwhile, fired off a series of tweets accusing the US administration of hypocrisy and serial failure.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A demonstrator sits in front of a street fire during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in the Ferguson. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters
He observed: “Racial and ethnic tensions continue to rise in US society. It’s about time the US authorities paid attention to this rather than focusing on lecturing the rest of the world on human rights.”
China’s foreign ministry also took the opportunity to poke Washington in the eye. Its spokeswoman Hua Chunying initially described the trouble, which began after a grand jury refused to prosecute a white police officer for the shooting of a black teenager, as an internal US affair. She then went on to hint, however, that the US might be better served by a little humility: “I would like to say that there’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to human rights regardless of whatever country you’re in,” Hua said. She added: “We have to improve the record of human rights and promote the cause of human rights. We can learn from each other in this area.”
In Egypt, social media users drew comparisons between Ferguson and events in Cairo, where rampant police brutality since the 2011 revolution has only once resulted in a conviction, and which has consequently often sparked bloody clashes between police and protesters. “Ferguson now looks like police assaults in Egypt,” tweeted the Cairo-based former Human Rights Watch researcher, Scott Long. “Our world is melding into a single military regime.”
Egypt’s government did not comment on the most recent violence in Ferguson, though during a previous round of protests, the Egyptian foreign ministry issued a barbed statement urging US officials to exercise restraint in their treatment of demonstrators. It was payback for the many times the US has criticised the excesses of the Egyptian police, who have killed around 2,000 protesters since 2011.
Egypt’s police force has itself previously issued five top tips to American police about how to deal with the unrest in Ferguson. “I ask the American police not to use excessive force in dealing with peaceful demonstrators,” said General Hany Abdel Latif, the police spokesman, in an interview this summer. Abdel Latif also suggested opening a dialogue with protesters, and bringing errant policemen to swift justice.
Ordinary citizens across the Middle East expressed solidarity with Ferguson’s unhappy residents. In particular, Palestinians expressed their support – and even offered handy tips as to how protesters might best deal with attacks by cops using tear gas. @MariamBarghouti advised:
مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) Always make sure to run against the wind /to keep calm when you're teargassed, the pain will pass, don't rub your eyes! #Ferguson Solidarity
Twitter users shared photos of Palestinians who had made homemade signs expressing solidarity with protestors in Ferguson. One held by a girl in a headscarf read: “Ferguson with love from Palestine”; another sign written by a young man read: “The Palestinian people know what it mean [sic] to be shot while unarmed because of your ethnicity #Ferguson #justice”.The catalyst for Liz Mputu’s latest project was frustration. The nursing student was spending time in New Orleans, and living behind a Voudou priestess’ house. “Once I heard drumming and chanting that sounded like African music, and I looked outside and there were a group of white people. She was white herself, even though she called herself a modern Marie Laveau, a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voudou. I felt upset. I wanted to make something like that for black people, by black people.”
The annoyances from that day bore the fruits that became LVLZ Healing Center, Mputu’s current exhibition at the Georgetown art space Interstitial. The show features “portals of healing”—what Mputu calls “art therapy pods.” The space is dim except for light emanating from egg-shaped chairs and the pods themselves, delineated by opaque, surgery-room curtains. Each pod “has a different healing attribute”: an assortment of video media and physical objects such as Himalayan salt lights, Mputu’s handcrafted Voudou dolls, apothecary bottles, and “affirmation apples” (which when squeezed play a prerecorded confirmation from Mputu ).
As a holistic health purveyor and a person of Congolese descent, Mputu has been studying African spirituality, seeking insight into how their ancestors viewed illness and well-being. “I was so desperate to find gods in my image. In my research, I’ve found Kimpungulu, and Maman Brigitte in Voudou.” Mputu also notes that they’re informed by mentors in their current city, Orlando, who incorporate agriculture and harvesting into African healing practices.
Mputu wanted the space to resemble a clinic and invoke a hospital as the typical association for “health” or “care.” Yet the health-care industry and wellness are often two distant matters, the former dominated by profit-driven interests and prohibitive medical expenses. Mputu positions the pods in LVLZ Healing Center in dialogue with the shortcomings of hospitals by appearing on the screen to guide viewers through relaxation exercises. This creates a new relational possibility for intimacy in what for many is a sterile and hostile environment.
While Mputu calls on the past for long-enduring spiritual practices, their stylistic choices reflect a strong connection with contemporary media. The videos in the pods are bombastic and flashy, with liberal samplings of gifs and stock photos, rough editing techniques, and plenty of emojis. For Mputu, the aesthetic is a rhetorical choice. “It’s reflective of the visuals of memes, how people connect and share ideas online,” Mputu tells me. “Laughing at these kinds of rough images is healing for me, because I often feel isolated in Orlando. I like how playful it can be to learn, it doesn’t always have to be academic.”
The exhibition is supported by Black Embodiment Studios, started by UW assistant professor Kemi Adeyemi, who focuses “on the methods black queer women have for creating space for themselves in the contemporary city.” BES offers opportunities for students to write long-form pieces of cultural criticism and a peer group for workshops and edits. As an extension of the partnership, Mputu will give an artist talk to BES members in October.
“It just feels energized,” Adeyemi responds when I ask her what she liked about Mputu’s work. “I can’t really explain it. It’s not the kind of thing that can be distilled in a neat, eight-word headline. My lack of facility with explaining it is exactly why I like it.”
Mputu’s work eludes classification: It moves through different media and platforms, from YouTube to the niche new-media hub New Hive to secret groups in the cobwebbed corners of Facebook. Mputu is often lumped with other new-media artists such as Molly Soda, Amalia Ulman, and May Waver, who similarly gained recognition for exploring femininity, sexuality, care, and knowledge through the physical body through social-media platforms. Mputu could be called a “feminist net artist,” a category that swelled large in the early 2010s and has been deflating ever since; however, the reception of works within this canon is uneven.
Take, for instance, the Argentinian-born Ulman’s Excellences & Perfections (2014), a project wherein Ulman posted Instagram photos that gradually depict the artist undergoing a drastic makeover to a growing audience. When the project concluded, the art world celebrated. The piece is archived as an online exhibition by New Museum, and Ulman was lauded by publications like Elle as “the first great Instagram artist.” Mputu’s similar project in the same year, The Stages of My Black Social Awakening: An Instagram Guide, presents a similar examination of the self-monitorization and performativity that social media encourages, specifically in relation to black people. Not only was the reception more sparse, but Mputu even received backlash. Mputu’s creative outputs online are often followed by commenters who accuse the artist of being driven by attention, doubting any intentionality outside of narcissism.
To Adeyemi, the denial of Mputu’s artistic legitimacy is related to a general dismissal of black artists. “It makes me hot with rage, the concept that it isn’t performance at all. And that’s my drive to start Black Embodiments Studio. Let’s take these people seriously, let’s treat their work with rigor. Let’s assume that when black artists are using their bodies, they have thought about all the ways that their bodies will be read.”
“I honestly wouldn’t care if suddenly the art world forgot about me tomorrow,” Mputu tells me casually toward the end of our conversation. For Mputu, the purpose is healing and building community, no matter your geographic location. Art-making and technology have been a means to do so, but not an end in themselves.
LVLZ Healing Center: IRL Application of Digi-Manifestation, Interstitial, 6007 12th Ave. S., 3rd floor. Ends Oct 28.
visualarts@seattleweekly.comImagine, then, the surprise and disappointment of the laws' supporters when for nearly twenty years following the laws' passage, the ratio of women's pay to men's pay remained almost exactly 60%. Here is a graph (from June E. O'Neill and Dave M. O'Neill, "What Do Wage Differentials Tell Us About Labor Market Discrimination?" NBER Working Paper No. 11420 ).
In response, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Together they established in federal law the principle of "equal pay for equal work". A man and a woman doing the same job must be paid the same. I'm open to references claiming otherwise, but I've read that these laws are enforced strongly and that compliance has been, and is, high.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s research had established that U.S. women working full-time outside the home earned, on average, only about 60% of what U.S. men working full-time outside the home earned. Research also suggested that in many workplaces women doing the same jobs as men were paid less. Observers therefore attributed some or all of the gender gap in wages to discrimination against women. (And these observers were not comforted at all when someone pointed out that, in a striking coincidence, God told Moses-- Leviticus 27:3-4 --that women were worth only 60% of what men were worth.)
I would have complied anyway, but inasmuch as she is currently an invited guestblogger on the top-ranked blog in the world, I am especially eager to help out.
My wife, among others, noted that the headline to a Washington Post story, "Roberts Resisted Women's Rights," was based in part on Roberts's strong opposition to "comparable worth". My wife briefly described some of the economic analysis of comparable worth but asked me to add some details.
Activists then argued that the principle of equal pay for equal work should be extended to "comparable worth": different jobs, but jobs that were judged comparable, should also have to pay the same. I recall a television show long ago that used as an example tax assessors and librarians. Tax assessors were mostly males and they earned more than librarians, mostly female, did. But according to a multidimensional test devised by work experts, the education, intellect, and skills required to be a librarian were comparable to those required to be a tax assessor. A comparable worth law would thus make it illegal to pay librarians less than tax assessors.
I'll comment first on what economics has to say about what the likely effects of a comparable worth law would be and second on what we think we know about why women earn less on average than men.
A comparable worth law is analytically identical to a minimum wage law, a minimum wage imposed on jobs held primarily by women. Economists' theoretical and empirical research on minimum wage laws suggests the law would therefore have the following effects.
1) Some women would receive increased pay and, especially in the short run, would be unambiguously better off. 2) Other women, however, would be worse off. They would bear two kinds of costs: some would have their work hours cut below what they would like to have, or they would lose their jobs altogether; some would see their working conditions worsen (fewer fringe benefits and more effort demanded). These costs would tend to grow over time. 3) Which women would win and which would lose? Experience suggests that less educated, younger, and minority women would be more likely to lose. 4) The number of people needed to enforce the law would grow, and the legal apparatus needed to enforce the law would broaden and become more convoluted.
Why do women earn less than men to begin with? Discrimination is a possibility. Economics cannot rule it out. But theoretically and empirically, another explanation is more appealing: women earn less because of their choices. Specifically, many women choose to combine a career with family responsibilities. Those responsibilities induce women to accept lower wages in exchange for the flexibility--"family friendliness"--offered by certain occupations.
This "choice" hypothesis seems more consistent with a number of observations than does raw discrimination. For one, never-married women who have never had children earn about the same amount as never-married men who have never had children. (See the O'Neill and O'Neill paper referenced above.) These women presumably are freer to devote the same amounts of time and energy to their careers as men, and the market seemingly rewards them accordingly.
(I know, discrimination might explain this, too. Maybe men--we filthy dogs--discriminate more against married women. Because they are less "available"? But this seems like a stretch. And I won't deal here with the objection instantly raised by one of my female MBA students: "That proves nothing other than that never-married men are losers!")
Two other stylized facts are that the male-female wage gap tends to increase up to about age 40 and then it starts to decline, and that holding constant the number of children a working woman has, her wage gap compared to men is larger the further apart in time her children are born. I'm sorry, but I don't see discrimination easily fitting with either of these facts, but these facts do follow rather readily from the choice theory. See Fischel and Lazear, "Comparable Worth and Discrimination in Labor Markets," University of Chicago Law Review, Summer 1986.
One of the country's leading experts on this topic, June O'Neill (former director of the CBO, former vice-president of the American Economic Association, and currently Wollman Distinguished Professor of Economics at Baruch College), has concluded that the vast majority of the wage gap can be attributed to differences between women and men in their work experience and occupational/family choices. A short, non-technical article on comparable worth by Professor O'Neill is here. In the concluding paragraph of the paper referenced above, the O'Neills state (p. 33):
... the gender gap is attributable to choices made by women concerning the amount of time and energy to devote to a career as reflected in years of work experience, utilization of part-time work, and workplace and job characteristics. There is no gender gap in wages among men and women with similar family roles. Comparing the wage gap between women and men ages 35-43 who have never married and never had a child, we find a small observed gap in favor of women, which becomes insignificant after accounting for differences in skills and job and workplace characteristics. What the average woman sacrifices in earnings from choosing jobs that allow for part-time work and flexible work conditions is presumably offset by a gain in the utility of time spent with children and family.
Should the reader not completely trust economists and their econometric tricks--perish the thought, but there's no accounting for taste--I suggest a recent column by Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post (2/23/05, p. A19). Ms. Applebaum writes:
It isn't ability or discrimination that hold women up most, in other words, but the impossibility of making a full-time commitment to work in a culture that demands 80-hour weeks, as well as to family in a society unusually obsessed with its children. We all know this anecdotally, but research confirms it. A British sociologist, Catherine Hakim, recently concluded for example that out of 3,700 working-age women she surveyed, about a third were fully focused on their jobs, about a third were fully focused on their families, and about a third wanted a mix -- meaning, invariably, that they took the sort of job that doesn't lead to fast-track promotion. If these numbers hold there never will be a 50-50 split between men and women at the highest professional or managerial levels of anything: The ratio will always hover around 2 to 1. Is this nature or nurture? I don't see that it matters. What matters is that those women who want to become high achievers can do so, but those who want to stay home some of the time aren't forced, by economics or social pressure, to take high-pressure jobs.
Finally, let's look briefly at long-standing reasoning in economics that suggests discrimination, alone, can't explain the wage gap. Suppose, for the sake of argument, we think the wage gap is due entirely to discrimination. Currently, women earn about 75% of what men earn. If discrimination alone explains this wage gap, an entrepreneur--Teresa Heinz Kerry? Barbra Streisand? Carly Fiorina?--could replace an all-male firm with an all-female firm and immediately reap a 25% reduction in labor cost with no loss in productivity. Even if labor cost equaled only 20% of the firm's revenues, this change would raise the firm's net income as a percentage of sales by five percentage points. Is that a lot? Yes. A rough estimate is that the average U.S. firm's earnings equals five to ten percent. (I don't have a cite for the overall average; a quick Googling turned up this data on chemical firms' earning about 9 to 10% on sales.)Everything you need to know from the Penguins' 4-2 victory over New Jersey:
A STAAL ORDER
Penguins center
Staal scored two goals, including his 100th career NHL goal on the second tally, to lead the Penguins offensively, and adding five shots and three hits in over 22 minutes of ice time.
“I felt good tonight,” Staal said. “My legs felt good. My hands felt good. I just had a good game. … I was very excited when they announced 100 tonight. It’s a milestone, but I want to keep moving forward.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY ON STAAL. Penguins center Jordan Staal has always had a big body at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. But his play was even bigger than that in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win over New Jersey at CONSOL Energy Center Saturday night.Staal scored two goals, including his 100th career NHL goal on the second tally, to lead the Penguins offensively, and adding five shots and three hits in over 22 minutes of ice time.“I felt good tonight,” Staal said. “My legs felt good. My hands felt good. I just had a good game. … I was very excited when they announced 100 tonight. It’s a milestone, but I want to keep moving forward.”
QUICK RESPONSE
The Penguins earned a four-minute power play just 37 seconds into the third period when
But an interesting sequence of events would follow. It began with Petr Sykora going to the box to serve the penalty although the replay showed it was actually Patrik Elias who committed the infraction.
To make matters worse, it would be Elias who would score a potentially game-changing shorthanded goal to even the score at 1-1.
But the Penguins kept their cool and remained focus, responding in the best way possible – by getting the goal back with a beautiful one-timer from
“I thought it was a great response by our team,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “On a four-minute power play, they get a shorthanded goal and pull even in the game … I thought that was a big goal for them. I thought the answer back was huge for our team.
“Our power play responds right after that to get that goal, get back the lead. I think that really kind of energized our bench in jumping right back out and getting the lead.”
The team viewed the odd sequence of events as something that had no control over. All they could do was control their game, and they did that perfectly.
“These things happen, but we can’t lose our focus over that,” defenseman
Added Kunitz, “They came out and scored a shorty. That put us 1-1. It was key for us to get the power-play goal and just go forward from there. It’s tough to take when they can score a shorty. It’s something we want to capitalize on and go forward and get the win. But they caught up. We were just fortunate going on the power play.” The Penguins earned a four-minute power play just 37 seconds into the third period when Steve Sullivan got a hi-stick to the face.But an interesting sequence of events would follow. It began with Petr Sykora going to the box to serve the penalty although the replay showed it was actually Patrik Elias who committed the infraction.To make matters worse, it would be Elias who would score a potentially game-changing shorthanded goal to even the score at 1-1.But the Penguins kept their cool and remained focus, responding in the best way possible – by getting the goal back with a beautiful one-timer from Chris Kunitz just 1:20 later to regain the lead.“I thought it was a great response by our team,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “On a four-minute power play, they get a shorthanded goal and pull even in the game … I thought that was a big goal for them. I thought the answer back was huge for our team.“Our power play responds right after that to get that goal, get back the lead. I think that really kind of energized our bench in jumping right back out and getting the lead.”The team viewed the odd sequence of events as something that had no control over. All they could do was control their game, and they did that perfectly.“These things happen, but we can’t lose our focus over that,” defenseman Kris Letang said of Elias’ goal. “Just keep playing and we got our goal back.”Added Kunitz, “They came out and scored a shorty. That put us 1-1. It was key for us to get the power-play goal and just go forward from there. It’s tough to take when they can score a shorty. It’s something we want to capitalize on and go forward and get the win. But they caught up. We were just fortunate going on the power play.”
POWERFUL PLAY
Bylsma said this morning that the Penguins would be trying some new looks on the power play tonight, namely |
ました
She walked beside her grandmother.
彼女に付き添っている男性は誰ですか？
Who is the man escorting her?
たいしょう (対称 VS 対照)
"たいしょう" can be written as 対称 or 対照.
対称 means "symmetry."
この建物は左右対称じゃない
This building is lacking symmetry.
対照 means "contrast."
赤は青と美しい対照をなすと思いませんか
Don't you think that red contrasts well with blue?
たえる (耐える VS 堪える)
"たえる" can be written as 耐える or 堪える.
耐える means "to withstand hardship or external pressure."
このプレッシャーにこれ以上耐えられそうにない
I won't be able to handle this pressure any more.
堪える means "to have ability or value" or "to suppress an emotion."
この映画は見るに堪えない作品だったよ
This movie was unbearable to watch.
たずねる (尋ねる VS 訪ねる)
"たずねる " can be written as 尋ねる or 訪ねる.
尋ねる means "to inquire," "to seek," or "to investigate."
誰かに道を尋ねた方がいいよ
We should ask someone for directions.
訪ねる means "to visit."
父の故郷を訪ねる旅行を計画しているんです
We are planning a trip to visit my dad's hometown.
たたかう (戦う VS 闘う)
"たたかう" can be written as 戦う or 闘う.
戦う means "to wage battle using weapons or wits" or "to battle for supremacy."
彼らは血まみれになって戦った
They fought bloodily.
闘う means "to fight to overcome an obstacle or barrier."
彼は癌と闘っています
He is combatting cancer.
たつ (断つ VS 絶つ VS 裁つ)
"たつ " can be written as 断つ, 絶つ or 裁つ.
断つ means "to sever a connection" or "to bring an end to."
元彼との連絡を断つことはできたの？
Were you able to sever the connection with your ex boyfriend?
絶つ means "to end midway" or "to interrupt."
彼は自ら命を絶った
He killed himself.
裁つ means "to cut cloth according to measurements."
最初に、型紙を裁ちます
We'll cut a pattern first.
It should be noted that 断つ is usually used to talk about "cutting ties," but if the speaker is emphasizing the abruptness of that situation, 絶つ is more appropriate.
たつ (立つ VS 建つ)
"たつ" can be written as 立つ or 建つ.
立つ means "to stand up straight," "to exist in a condition," "to occupy a position," "to leave a place," or "to establish."
計画を立てましょう
Let's make a plan.
彼女は何も言わずに席を立った
She left her seat without saying anything.
建つ means "to construct a building" or "to build a country."
私達は家を建てています
We are building a house.
東京タワーの横にコウイチの銅像を建てませんか？
Why don't we erect a bronze statue of Koichi next to the Tokyo tower?
たま (玉 VS 球 VS 弾)
"たま" can be written as 玉, 球, or 弾.
玉 means "jewel" or "round object."
私は日本の学校の運動会で玉入れを楽しみました
I enjoyed playing catch on Sports Day in Japanese
それはシャボン玉です
It's soap bubbles.
球 means "ball used in sports" or "light bulb."
家にピンポン球ってあったっけ？
Do we have ping-pong balls at home?
電球を買いに行かなきゃ
I've gotta go to buy a light bulb.
弾 means "bullet."
拳銃の弾はどこで買えますか？
Where can I buy handgun bullets?
私の兄は、流れ弾に当たって大怪我をしました
My older brother got seriously injured by a stray bullet.
たまご (卵 VS 玉子)
"たまご" can be written as 卵 or 玉子.
卵 refers to any type of "egg."
私の叔父が、産みたての卵を持ってきてくれました
My uncle brought us fresh eggs.
玉子 refers only to "cooked eggs."
風邪をひいている時に、卵酒を飲みます
I drink eggnog when I have a cold.
It should be noted that, even though it's cooked, ゆでたまご (boiled egg) is most commonly written as 茹で卵, not 茹で玉子. This is likely due to the fact that a 茹で卵 retains its original eggy shape.
Also, while 卵 can be used for all kinds of eggs, products at grocery stores mostly use 玉子"because 卵 has more of a biological perception attached to it.
つかう (使う VS 遣う）
"つかう" can be written as 使う or 遣う.
使う means "to use a person or thing."
いくらお金を使ったの？
How much money did you spend?
遣う means "to utilize something well."
正しい仮名遣いを覚えた方がいいよ
You should learn the proper Kana usage.
使 is most commonly used for the verb form of つかう, whereas the noun form—where つかう is used as a suffix, as in まほうつかい (magic-user)—utilizes the kanji 遣.
つくる (作る VS 造る VS 創る)
"つくる" can be written as 作る, 造る, or 創る.
作る means "to make."
あいつは自分の会社を作ったって聞いたよ
I heard that he made his own company.
造る means "to manufacture" or "to mass produce."
船を造る工程を勉強しています
I'm learning the process of building a ship.
創る means "to create something original."
これは彼が自分で創った問題だ
This is a problem of his own making.
つとめる (勤める VS 務める VS 努める)
"つとめる" can be written as 勤める, 務める, or 務める.
勤める means "to work for pay" or "to perform a buddhist ceremony."
どちらの会社にお勤めですか？
Which company are you working at?
務める means "to fulfill a role or responsibility."
私は彼女が社長としてちゃんと務まるのか不安です
I'm worried if she can fulfill her role as the company president.
務める means "to put in effort" or "to exert oneself."
私は健康維持に努めています
I'm trying to maintain my health.
とくちょう (特徴 VS 特長)
"とくちょう" can be written as 特徴 or 特長.
特徴 means "distinguishing or distinctive feature."
このワインの特徴をご説明して頂けませんか
Could you explain the characteristics of this wine?
特長 means "strong point or forte" or "a merit."
スウィングスピードが私の特長です
My swing speed is my strong point.
ととのう (整う VS 調う）
"ととのう" can be written as 整う or 調う.
整う means "to put in order" or "to straighten up."
彼は、髪を整えるのに三十分かかります
It takes him thirty minutes to set his hair.
調う means "to get together what's necessary" or "to create a pleasant situation."
仕上げに塩と胡椒で味を調えます
Finish with salt and pepper to taste.
とぶ (飛ぶ VS 跳ぶ)
"とぶ" can be written as 飛ぶ or 跳ぶ.
飛ぶ means "to move through the air," "to move far away," or "to be spread out."
飛行機が空を飛んでいます
An airplane is flying in the sky.
デマが飛んでいるようですね
It seems that false rumors are spreading.
跳ぶ means "to leap."
彼は跳び上がって喜んだ
He jumped for joy.
子犬は溝を跳び越えた
The puppy jumped over a ditch.
とまる (止まる VS 留まる VS 泊まる)
"とまる" can be written as 止まる, 留まる, or 泊まる.
止まる means "to halt movement."
どのくらい息を止めていられますか？
How long can you hold your breath?
私は車を止めた
I stopped my car.
留まる means "to become fixed in place," "to remain in your senses," or "to stay somewhere."
念のため書き留めておきました
I wrote it down just in case.
これをその留め金で留めてください
Please fasten these with the latch.
泊まる means "to stay overnight."
今夜泊まらせてもらってもいい？
Can I sleepover at your place tonight?
とる (取る VS 採る VS 執る VS 捕る VS 撮る)
"とる" can be written as 取る, 採る, 執る, 捕る, or 撮る.
取る means "to hold or acquire," "to write down," "to connect," "to remove," or "to omit."
メモを取った方がいいんじゃない？
Shouldn't you write a memo?
シャツのシミ、取れるかなあ
I wonder if I can remove the stain from the shirt.
採る means "to collect," "to harvest," "to use," or "to take over."
砂糖楓の木から樹液を採ります
We tap maple trees.
決を採りましょう
Let's vote to decide.
執る means "to take in your hand and use" or "to perform a role."
彼がオーケストラの指揮を執ります
He will conduct our orchestra.
あなたは後方で指揮を執ってもらえますか？
Can you lead from the rear?
捕る means "to capture."
どうやって鮪を捕ったんですか
How did you catch the tuna?
撮る means "to take photos or a video."
私達の写真を撮ってもらえませんか
Could you take a picture of us?
ながい (長い VS 永い)
"ながい" can be written as 長い or 永い.
長い means "long" or "lengthy in terms of distance or time."
彼女は髪が長い
She has long hair.
永い means "eternal" or "forever" in a metaphorical sense.
彼女は永い眠りに就いた
She fell into an eternal sleep.
As you can hopefully tell from the examples above, when speaking about time, 長い describes time that can be objectively set and measured, whereas 永い implies a more subjective view of time or the "feeling" of length.
におい (匂い VS 臭い)
"におい" can be written as 匂い or 臭い.
匂い means "pleasant odor."
メープルシロップの匂いが好きです
I like the smell of maple syrup.
臭い means "unpleasant odor."
ガスの臭いがする
I can smell the gas.
のる (乗る VS 載る)
"のる" can be written as 乗る or 載る.
乗る means "to get into or ride vehicle," "to respond to," "to trick," or "to go with the flow."
今電車に乗っています
I'm on a train now.
図に乗ってんじゃねーぞ
Don't press your luck.
載る means "to load," "to place on top," or "to put up."
私の記事がこのウェブサイトに載っています
My articles are put on this website.
車に荷物を載せるのを手伝ってもらえませんか？
Can you help me load luggage into the car?
のばす (伸ばす VS 延ばす)
"のばす" can be written as 伸ばす or 延ばす.
伸ばす means "to straighten or extend" or "to increase."
時々手足を伸ばす方がいいよ
You should stretch out your arms and legs from time to time.
雑草が伸びている
The weeds are growing.
延ばす means "to move to a later time," "to accumulate," "to widen or spread," or "to increase length by addition."
会議の開始時間が、予定より十分延びた
The start of the meeting was 10 minutes later than planned.
出発を延ばすことはできません
I can't push back my departure.
のぼる (上る VS 登る VS 昇る)
"のぼる" can be written as 上る, 登る, or 昇る.
上る means "to go upwards," "to reach," "to achieve," or "to be a topic of discussion." It is also the most general of the three variations used for expressing upward movement
階段を上りたくありません
I don't want to climb the stairs.
誰が梯子を上りますか？
Who will climb the ladder?
登る means "to reach a high location through one's own effort" and it emphasizes the effort of surmounting a sharp incline.
今週末、山に登りませんか？
Do you want to climb a mountain this weekend?
彼は木に登るのが上手です
He is good at climbing trees.
昇る means "to rise upwards all at once or in a single action."
エレベーターで昇りましょう
Let's ride an elevator.
日が昇っている間、涙が止まらなかった
I couldn't help but cry as the sun rose.
はかる (図る VS 計る VS 測る VS 量る VS 謀る VS 諮る）
"はかる" can be written as 図る, 計る, 測る, 量る, 謀る, or 諮る.
図る means "to plan in order to achieve a goal."
あの会社はイメージアップを図っています
The company is working on improving their image.
計る means "to count time or numbers" or "to think over."
俺の分度器で角度を計ればいいよ
You can measure the angle with my protractor.
測る means "to measure length, height, depth, width, or level" or "to estimate."
しばらく身長を測っていない
I haven't measured my height for a while.
量る means "to measure weight or volume" or "to make a guess." (Note: If body weight and height are taken together as a series of measurements, like at the doctor's, the more general 計る is used.)
みんなの前で体重を量るのは嫌です
I don't want to weigh myself in front of people.
謀る means "to craft a sinister plot."
誰があの暗殺を謀ったのか暴き出さなくてはいけない
We have to find out who plotted the assassination.
諮る means "to ask for an opinion."
我々はこの件について委員会に諮る必要がある
We have to refer this matter to the committee.
はじめ (初め VS 始め)
"はじめ" can be written as 初め or 始め.
初め means "early stages," "beginning," or "first."
お寿司を食べるのはこれが初めてです
This is my first time eating sushi.
始め means "the act of starting," "the very first stage," or "key player."
夕食を食べ始めたところです
I just started eating supper.
はな (花 VS 華)
"はな" can be written as 花 or 華.
花 means "flower" or "something that grabs attention like a flower."
桜の花が咲いている
The cherry blossoms are in bloom.
華 is used to compare things to flowers metaphorically. It can also refer to "the part best representative of the whole."
彼女はその夜、とても華やかに着飾っていた
She was dressed gorgeously that night.
はね (羽 VS 羽根 VS 翅)
"はね" can be written as 羽, 羽根 or 翅.
羽 means "bird wings or feathers."
鶴は羽を羽ばたかせた
The crane fluttered its wings.
羽根 means "loose bird feathers."
彼は誕生日に羽根ペンを買ってくれました
He got me a quill for my birthday.
翅 means "insect wings."
私は昆虫の翅を集めています
I collect the wings of insects.
はやい (早い VS 速い)
"はやい" can be written as 早い or 速い.
早い means "early," "ahead of schedule," or "short" in relation to time.
私の両親は朝が早いんです
My parents wake up early.
あんたってほんと気が早いわねえ
You are so hasty.
速い means "speedy" or "accelerating."
もう少し速く喋れますか？
Can you talk a little bit faster?
ふえる (増える VS 殖える)
"ふえる" can be written as 増える or 殖える.
増える means "to increase in number or amount."
私は体重が十キロ増えました
My weight increased by 10 kilograms.
殖える means "to increase wealth or assets" or "to increase an animal or plant population."
ゴキブリが殖えている
The cockroach population is increasing.
ふく (吹く VS 噴く)
"ふく" can be written as 吹く or 噴く.
吹く means "to dispel air," "to breathe out," or "to show outwardly."
僕の妻は口笛が下手です
My wife is bad at whistling.
噴く means "to discharge air or liquid in copious amounts."
エンジンが火を噴いて、俺の車は止まったんだ
The engine belched fire and my car stopped.
ふね (舟 VS 船)
"ふね" can be written as 舟 or 船.
舟 means "large sea-faring vessel."
船を買いました
I bought a ship.
船 means "small or simple boat."
私は笹舟を作りました
I made a bamboo boat.
へいこう (平行 VS 並行 VS 平衡)
"へいこう" can be written as 平行, 並行 or 平衡.
平行 means "parallelism." Therefore, when a debate never ends we say that "the argument is parallel," or 議論が平行する (ぎろんがへいこうする).
線路と並行の道路を作っているんだよ
They are making a road parallel to the railroad.
並行 means "adjacency" or "synchronicity."
二台の車は並行して走った
Two cars drove side by side.
平衡 means "equilibrium" or "balance."
突然、平衡を失ったんです
I suddenly lost my balance.
ほか (外 VS 他)
"ほか" can be written as 外 or 他.
外 means "outside" in reference to a scope or area.
思いの外事がうまく進んだ
Things went better than I expected.
他 means "something different" or "something else."
他の女を探すよ
I'm going to look for another girl.
まざる (交ざる VS 混ざる)
"まざる" can be written as 交ざる or 混ざる.
交ざる means "to mix together such that the original elements are still discernible or discrete."
トランプを交ぜたのは誰ですか？
Who shuffled the cards?
漢字仮名交じりの文章はまだ読めません
I can't read sentences written in kana and kanji yet.
混ざる means "to mix together such that the original elements become indiscernible."
わさびと醤油を混ぜてください
Please mix the wasabi and soy sauce.
彼女はカフェラッテで珈琲をかき混ぜた
She stirred her latte with a spoon.
To clarify further, if you mix multiple kinds of coffee beans together, you would use 交ざる, as the beans remain whole and (to a degree) separate. If you were to make coffee from that blend, however, you would use 混ざる to describe the state of the coffee types.
まち (町 VS 街)
"まち" can be written as 町 or 街.
町 means "district with boundaries determined by the government" or "neighborhood."
私は町役場に勤めています
I work at the town hall.
私達は同じ町で育ちました
We grew up in the same town.
街 means "downtown area" or "bustling city streets."
あの街角に立っている美しい少女は誰だい？
Who is the beautiful girl standing on the street corner?
ここは学生の街として知られています
This downtown is known for its bustling student life.
まるい (丸い VS 円い)
"まるい" can be written as 丸い or 円い.
丸い means "spherical" or "peacefully."
古代の人々は地球が丸いことを知らなかった
Ancient people didn't know that the earth is round.
円い means "circular," "complete," or "friendly."
『ホビット』のような丸いドアを作りたいんです
I want to make a round door, like in The Hobbit.
The Japanese national flag is referred to as 日の丸 (ひのまる), even the symbol is a circle. The reasoning behind it is that the red circle is meant to represent the sun, which is spherical.
まわり (回り VS 周り)
"まわり" can be written as 回り or 周り.
回り means "rotation" or "the area around something."
それを時計回りに回すんだ
Turn that clockwise.
周り means "surroundings" or "perimeter or circumference."
池の周りをジョギングしました
I jogged around the lake.
みる (見る VS 観る VS 診る)
"みる" can be written as 見る, 観る, or 診る.
見る means "to view or look at" or "to tend to."
私の車のエンジンの調子を見てもらえませんか？
Could you check the engine of my car?
観る means "to actively watch a performance, sports, or a movie."
今夜はサッカーの試合を観に行きます
I'm going to watch a soccer game tonight.
診る means "to examine."
一度医者に診てもらう方がいいよ
You should have a doctor look at you (at least) once.
めざめる（目覚める VS 覚醒める）
"めざめる" can be written as 目覚める or 覚醒める.
目覚める means "to wake up or be awake" or "to be rid of a mistaken idea".
今日は十時に目覚めた
I woke up at 10am today.
悪い夢から目覚めた
I woke up from a bad dream.
覚醒める also means "to wake up or be awake", but it is more-often used to mean "to lose one's illusions or come to one's senses". It can also refer to awakening someone's special powers or abilities.
国民が覚醒める時が来た
The time has come for the people to awaken.
彼女は自分の超能力にまだ覚醒めていない
She hasn't realized her ESP yet.
もと (下 VS 元 VS 本 VS 基)
"もと" can be written as 下, 元, 本, or 基.
下 means "beneath, below, or down" or "subordinate or junior."
全ての人は法の下に平等である
All are equal under the law.
元 means "source," "former or ex-," "nearby area," or "funds."
俺の元妻です
She is my ex-wife.
本 means "root or foundation."
全て本を正さなくてはいけません
Everything must be corrected from the ground up.
基 means "platform or basis."
より詳細なデータを基に判断しましょう
We'll make a decision based on more detailed data.
や (屋 VS 家)
"や" can be written as 屋 or 家.
屋 means "building or place of business," "-store," or "character trait."
お花屋さんでバイトをしています
I'm working part-time at a flower shop.
家 means "dwelling."
家賃のことで、家主と話さなくてはいけないんです
I need to talk to the homeowner about the rent.
あの空き家で会いましょう
Let's meet up at the empty house.
やさしい (優しい VS 易しい)
"やさしい" can be written as 優しい or 易しい.
優しい means "empathetic," "kind or gentle," or "dignified."
彼は誰にでも優しいんです
He is nice to everyone.
易しい means "easy."
これは誰でもできる易しい仕事です
This is an easy job that anyone could do.
やぶれる (破れる VS 敗れる)
"やぶれる" can be written as 破れる or 敗れる.
破れる means "to fall apart or be damaged."
パンストが破れた
My pantyhose are torn.
敗れる means "to lose."
彼は選挙で敗れた
He lost the election.
やわらかい (柔らかい VS 軟らかい)
"やわらかい" can be written as 柔らかい or 軟らかい.
柔らかい means "fluffy," "elastic," "gentle," or "soft" in relation to to surface texture.
この毛布、とっても柔らかい
This blanket is so soft.
軟らかい means "offering little resistance to touch, penetration, or compression."
地盤が軟らかくなってきている
The ground is getting soft.
よい (良い VS 善い)
"よい" can be written as 良い or 善い.
良い means "superior" or "favorable."
あなたの英語の発音はとても良いですね
Your English pronunciation is so good.
善い means "virtuous."
私は何か世の中のために善いことをしたいんです
I want to do something good in the world.
よむ (読む VS 詠む)
"よむ" can be written as 読む or 詠む.
読む means "to read," "to understand content," or "to predict or guess."
父は新聞を読んでいます
My dad is reading a newspaper.
私の心を読もうとしないでください
Don't try to read my emotions.
詠む means "to compose a song or poem."
俳句を詠みましょう
Let's compose a haiku.
わかれる (分かれる VS 別れる)
"わかれる" can be written as 分かれる or 別れる.
分かれる means "to separate into parts" or "to differentiate."
どうして敵と味方に分かれなくてはいけないんですか？
Why do we have to separate into enemies and allies?
別れる means "to separate from another person."
幼い時に父親と別れました
I was separated from my father when I was child.
喧嘩別れになってしまったんです
We broke up over a fight.
わずらう (煩う VS 患う)
"わずらう " can be written as 煩う or 患う.
煩う means "to worry."
良い家が見つからないんじゃないかと思い煩っています
I'm worried we won't find a good house.
患う means "to suffer from illness."
彼女は大病を患いましたが、今は完全に回復しました
She suffered from a serious illness, but she has completely recovered.
A Japanese Homophones Postlogue
Congratulations! You made it to the end of this pretty meaty list and are surely wiser for it.
One thing to keep in mind, though: While understanding these differences will certainly enrich your overall understanding (and help you with your WaniKani reviews), don't stress out too much about trying to keep them in your head during normal speech. For the most part, you'll be able to puzzle out which version of each word is being used based off of context clues.
Good luck, and if you have any questions for me about anything covered in this article, don't hesitate to email us at hello@tofugu.com!M@
London Facts That Aren't Actually True
The small nose on the inside of Admiralty Arch is a monument to the Duke of Wellington
Legend has it that the Household Cavalry touch this strange protrusion every time they pass through the arch, as a mark of respect to the Iron Duke. In fact, it's one of several prosthetic noses placed around London by artist Rick Buckley and only dates back a decade or so.
There's a gas lamp on Carting Lane, off the Strand, powered by sewerage gas from the Savoy
There is indeed a curious lamp at the lower end of Carting Lane. However, it is not quite correct to say that it's powered by sewer gas. The Webb Patent Sewer Gas Lamp, of which this is the only example left in London, was chiefly fueled by the mains supply of gas. However, a flue from the sewers did draw up waste gases for combustion along with the mains gas. The existing lamp on 'Farting Lane' is a replica.
The tower commonly known as Big Ben is actually called St Stephen's Tower
We've dealt with this one ad nauseam. In short, it's not. Since 2012 it has officially been called the Elizabeth Tower, and was previously called the Clock Tower. It was never officially called St Stephen's Tower, but this name seems to have gained some currency. We reckon Big Ben should be acceptable as it's by far the commonest label people use for the tower, even though it more properly refers to the bell (actually 'a' bell — there are five in there). Big Ben has gained a kind of authority by way of overwhelming popular usage, much as it angers pedants when people use it. More here.
The Union Flag flying from Buckingham Palace means the Queen is at home.
Actually, it means the opposite. You're looking for the Royal Standard if you want confirmation of the Queen's residancy. The Union Flag above the Palace means she's elsewhere, doing other Queenish things.
Old London Bridge was sold to a gullible American who thought he was buying Tower Bridge
This factlet remains popular as it plays into stereotypes of wide-eyed Yanks with no sense of history. But there are several problems with the idea. It's true that the predecessor to the current London Bridge was bought by US businessman Robert P McCulloch and transplanted to Lake Havasu City in Arizona, where it can still be seen today. However, it wasn't 'Old' London Bridge, a term usually reserved for the medieval span, which was demolished in the 1830s to make way for the John Rennie structure eventually purchased by McCulloch. There's also no evidence that he mistook his acquisition for Tower Bridge, a rumour that the American always denied (although most people would, to be fair).
There are 109 journeys between London’s Tube stations that are quicker to walk
This urban myth is only hours old, but looks set to gain currency. The figure is based on a blog post by Diamond Geezer from three years ago. Researchers from the TV show QI tweeted the 'fact' to their 131,000 followers. Diamond Geezer has followed up with a new post explaining how the original number is blanketed in caveats and certainly not definitive. It'll be interesting to see if this one grows.
The entrance to the Savoy is the only place in the UK where vehicles must drive on the right
It's true that the Strand entrance to the Savoy has reversed driving directions. It's not the only place in the UK, though. We give you Hammersmith bus station, whose entrance and exit both force drivers to the right. All very confusing for pedestrians.
Look, see, 'drive on right'.
The Viaduct Tavern contains old cells from Newgate prison (or Giltspur Street Compter) in its basement.
Not so, according to Peter Berthoud, who reckons the famous'secret London' mainstay is just a cellar.
There are no roads in the City of London
Traditionally, this was the case. Plenty of Streets, Alleys and Squares, but no Roads. Since boundary changes in 1994, however, the eastern half of Goswell Road sits within the City. Technically, though, you can still say there's not a single road in the Square Mile, as it only counts as a half road. More here.
Further spurious facts are welcomed in the comments. As is the inevitable remark spotting an error in our post.
This article has now been worked up into a book, with dozens of further examples.
See also: The Top 10 Tube MysteriesToday’s post is by Gerry Canavan, author of the new UIP book Octavia E. Butler. Canavan is an assistant professor of twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature at Marquette University, specializing in science fiction. He blogs at gerrycanavan.wordpress.com and tweets at @gerrycanavan.
As with similarly uncanny precognitions of Donald Trump’s unbelievable ascension to the presidency—a throwaway joke on The Simpsons in 2000, the terrible reign of the Trump-inspired bully Biff Tannen in the evil version of 1985 in Back to the Future Part II, the uncanny similarities between the Trump election and the fascist President Gentle in David Foster Wallace’s 1996 Infinite Jest—many were incredibly disturbed earlier this summer to recall the now eerily familiar slogan of the odious and dictatorial President Jarrett in Octavia Butler’s dystopian Parable of the Talents (1998): MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Jarrett rolls into power on a wave of Christian ethno-nationalism, inspiring roving vigilante lynch mobs of genocidal supporters before, eventually, introducing formal concentration camps. Set in the 2020s and 2030s in a collapsing and crashed America, the Parables books (tracing Lauren Olamina’s development of a twenty-first century religion that has the power to inspire and console in the face of disaster) have always seemed incredibly and disturbingly prescient—and in the wake of November 8, 2016 they now seem downright spooky, the actual and accurate history of the future. “I have read,” writes Taylor Franklin Bankole, the character who eventually becomes Lauren’s husband, “that the period of upheaval that journalists have begun to refer to as ‘the Apocalypse’ or more commonly, more bitterly, ‘the Pox’ lasted from 2015 through 2030—a decade and a half of chaos.” Well, here we go.
One can only begin to imagine what Butler would have thought of President Trump, much less what she would have made of this bizarre and sickening election season and its final, dizzying, almost incomprehensible transformation of American politics. But we can find in her books and manuscripts what she had to say about another president whose rise she found both inscrutable and utterly horrifying, Ronald Reagan (another unlikely president, who also promised to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN). As I found in my study of Butler’s papers at the Huntington Library, Butler reserved special contempt for Reagan in her personal journals and notebooks, not simply while he was president but over the course of the next twenty years. The Parables’ President Jarrett—a figure she refers to in her notes as “President Hitler”—is in fact described in her notes as “a Reagan, young, vigorous, and utterly unencumbered by conscience.” Another personal notebook containing sketches of “the basic character types” includes Reagan alongside the “intelligent monster” (Trump lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn) and “the semi-intelligent monster/betrayer” (Clarence Thomas); the Reagan archetype is “amoral, ambitious [….] Would sell his mother but then convince people she wanted to be sold.” A short, haiku-like poem from one of her journals, paralleling the ones in the Parables written by Lauren Olamina, is even more succinct: “Arrogant and Ignorant / Powerful and Stubborn / Ronald Reagan.”
As she frequently told interviewers, the election of Ronald Reagan was a partial inspiration for her Xenogensis books as well, which detail the first contact with an alien species following a nuclear holocaust:
I tell people that Ronald Reagan inspired Xenogenesis—and that it was the only thing he inspired in me that I actually approve of. When his first term was beginning, his people were talking about a “winnable” nuclear war, a “limited” nuclear war, the idea that more and more nuclear weapons would make us safer.(McCaffery and McMenamin)
The Reagan administration’s interest in strategic nuclear defense was even the subject of one of Butler’s frequent letters to the editor, published on May 24, 1981 in the Los Angeles Times, in which she argued that “anything that promotes a false sense of security with regard to nuclear weapons should be handled carefully.” Although the letter ultimately argued for new civil defense measures on the grounds that they were needed to combat rogue states and terrorist networks that might acquire nuclear weapons, the letter regrets this determination insofar as it could “ |
to undermine the EU and to bolster support for extreme right-wing parties.
Credulity and gullibility are also of great commercial importance when it comes to marketing and advertising. For example, much brand name advertising subtly appeals to our need for social status and identity. Yet, we obviously cannot acquire real status or identity just by buying an advertised product.
Even water, a freely available colourless, tasteless, transparent liquid is now successfully marketed as an identity product, a multi-billion dollar industry built mostly on misleading advertising and gullibility. Dietary supplements are another large industry exploiting gullibility.
Explaining gullibility
Gullibility occurs because we have evolved to deal with information using two fundamentally different systems, according to Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman.
System 1 thinking is fast, automatic, intuitive, uncritical and promotes accepting anecdotal and personal information as true. This was a useful and adaptive processing strategy in our ancestral environment of small, face-to-face groups, where trust was based on life-long relationships. However, this kind of thinking can be dangerous in the anonymous online world.
System 2 thinking is a much more recent human achievement; it is slow, analytical, rational and effortful, and leads to the thorough evaluation of incoming information.
While all humans use both intuitive and analytic thinking, system 2 thinking is the method of science, and is the best available antidote to gullibility. So, education tends to reduce gullibility and those who receive scientific training in critical, sceptical thinking also tend to be less gullible and less easily manipulated.
Differences in trust can also influence gullibility. This may be related to early childhood experiences, with the idea that trust in infancy sets the stage for a lifelong expectation the world will be a good and pleasant place to live.
Does our mood make a difference?
Many factors, including mood, influence how we process incoming information. Positive mood facilitates system 1 thinking and gullibility, while negative mood often recruits more careful, cautious and attentive processing.
In several experiments we found that people in a negative mood were less gullible and more sceptical, and were actually better at detecting deception.
Although detecting deception was always important to human groups to identify cheats and freeloaders, it has become much more critical in our modern age.
Given unlimited access to dubious information, combating gullibility and promoting critical thinking is one of the major challenges of our age.
There are worrying signs that lack of education, poor ability to think rationally, and the massive amount of doubtful and manipulative information we encounter may combine to threaten our impressive cultural achievements.fullscreen continue view fullscreen close
Over 40,000 bees were discovered under a woman's bedroom floor in Flushing, Queens last night, according to retired NYPD bee detective Anthony "Tony Bees" Planakis. "This was a bad one," Planakis told us this morning during a phone interview. "The bees were in a cavity right underneath her bedroom."
Planakis says the woman, Mary Jean Dyczko, contacted him in July of last year because she saw a "humungous" amount of bees swarming in and out of her house near her bedroom. But he declined to do the extraction out of concerns the bees would not survive the winter. Planakis instead asked Dyczko to wait until spring, and last night he came out of retirement for one last job (but probably not).
"I'm getting too old for this," Planakis says.
Using Heatgun To Find Bees In NYC Home (Roy Renna / BMR Breaking News) by Gothamist
The extraction took over three hours, and involved scaffolding, a camera, a stethoscope, a heat gun, and a special vacuum to separate the bees from the hive. Fortunately Planakis was able to recover the queen bee unharmed, and he intends to take the hive upstate, where a retired NYC firefighter/beekeeper will take them under his wing.
"I'm very relieved they're no longer in my house," Dyczko tells us, explaining that she lived with the knowledge of a bee hive under her bedroom for almost a year. "Thanks goodness I didn't know there was about 40,000. I had no idea there were that many. When he opened up the boards and I saw the size of that hive it was amazing. I'm glad I know it now as opposed to then because I probably wouldn't be living there! It was pretty frightening."
Lots of bees removed from NYC home (Roy Renna / BMR Breaking News) by Gothamist
Planakis just turned 53, and while he says he's retired, he explains that he's not "retired retired." He's no longer with the NYPD—he claims he was falsely accused of stealing and selling bees—but says he's willing to help if the city is confronted with a serious bee emergency.
"Public safety is my main concern. One out of every six people is allergic to a bee sting," Planakis says. "When people see a swarm in Manhattan, they don't see that truck coming down 57th Street, they only remember what happened to them last year when they got rushed to the hospital after they got stung, and they run right into traffic."
But Planakis tells us he grew weary of the dismissive attitude he says he encountered at the NYPD. "When I tried to bring this point [about public safety] across, they looked at me and laughed it off. I said, 'You know something, you have the luxury of sitting here behind a desk, hanging out in an air conditioned office. You're not out there with these people. You've been off patrol for a damn long time. You really need a taste of patrol.'"
Honeycomb from NYC home (Roy Renna / BMR Breaking News) by Gothamist
Would he ever rejoin the NYPD if they asked him back? "I think that's the furthest thing from their mind," Planakis says. "A couple of people have asked me if I miss it. I tell them I miss the clowns but I don't miss the circus."
40,000 Bees Removed From NYC Home (Roy Renna / BMR Breaking News) by GothamistTORONTO — A legal battle is brewing over the use of TV boxes that grant access to web streaming content in a standoff that raises questions about the need to protect copyright while fostering innovation.
The David-and-Goliath standoff pits some of the country’s biggest cable companies against small, little-known firms that sell set-top boxes, devices that come preloaded with software that allow customers to watch shows on their TVs — legally or not.
Bell, Rogers, Videotron and Groupe TVA Inc. argue in a statement of claim that the distributors of the set-top boxes are infringing on their copyright by selling the devices and are asking the courts to permanently force them off the market.
Last month, a judge ordered an injunction that prevents five defendants and any future ones named in the lawsuit from selling set-top boxes until the case is resolved. After the injunction was granted, the cable companies added 11 defendants to their lawsuit.
Two of the 16 defendants, WatchSaveNow Inc. and MTLFREETV.COM, have filed a statement of defence denying allegations including that they advertised their services as a way to watch free TV. They also rejected accusations that they developed, produced, serviced or maintained the software loaded onto the boxes.
They have also filed an appeal of the injunction and a counterclaim for yet-to-be-determined damages for loss of business, business reputation and goodwill.
Ariel Katz, an associate professor and innovation chair in electronic commerce at the University of Toronto’s faculty of law, said it’s not clear that what people are doing with the devices is illegal.
Even if it were, the seller is not authorizing copyright infringement by providing equipment that could be used to obtain copyrighted material, said Katz.
Computers, for example, often come with preloaded content that can be used to reproduce copyrighted materials, he said.
"In order to prohibit the sale of something … there needs to be a legal basis for doing that, and the fact that people can use it for illegal purposes is not necessarily a good enough reason," he said.
It’s hard to know how the injunction can apply to other products, he added.
Jacqueline Michelis, a spokeswoman for Bell, said the case boils down to the need to protect copyright.
"Loading uncertified TV boxes up with off-the-shelf piracy apps isn’t innovation, it’s illegal," she said in an email.
Jennifer Kett, a spokeswoman for Rogers, said in an email the company is an innovator "at heart" and the TV industry will continue to evolve to meet customer needs, but this is a "very obvious" case of piracy.
But Meghan Sali, a digital rights specialist with advocacy group OpenMedia, said fears of costly legal battles could further stifle innovation in Canada by preventing entrepreneurs from receiving capital during the start-up phase of their business or discourage them from pursuing innovative solutions.
Katz agrees.
"If you’re a small business and you can’t afford the millions that (you) might require to properly defend such a case, then you just decide, ‘OK, it’s not really worth it,’" said Katz.Any discovery of an ideal type is naturally followed by social network reconnaissance.
f(x) Amber, who recently discovered her ideal type on “Real Men” in the form of a drill instructor with pretty eyes, has completed her mission and is now following said drill instructor, Kim Hyun Gyu, aka @KHG0226, on Instagram.
She really noticed him for the first time on the latest episode of “Real Men,” aired March 1, when he took off his sunglasses, which completely transformed him from a stern drill instructor to, well, Amber’s ideal type.
Incidentally, Kim Hyun Gyu’s followers have grown significantly since Amber added herself to his follower list. No doubt his own fan club is growing as we speak!
Kim Hyun Gyu’s profile
Amber’s “Following” list
Thanks to Airam for the tip!Four times this past summer, in a spare room on the top floor of the headquarters of the National Science Foundation (NSF) outside of Washington, D.C., two congressional staffers spent hours poring over material relating to 20 research projects that NSF has funded over the past decade. Each folder contained confidential information that included the initial application, reviewer comments on its merit, correspondence between program officers and principal investigators, and any other information that had helped NSF decide to fund the project.
The visits from the staffers, who work for the U.S. House of Representatives committee that oversees NSF, were an unprecedented—and some say bizarre—intrusion into the much admired process that NSF has used for more than 60 years to award research grants. Unlike the experts who have made that system work so well, however, the congressional staffers weren’t really there to judge the scientific merits of each proposal. But that wasn’t their intent.
The Republican aides were looking for anything that Representative Lamar Smith (R–TX), their boss as chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, could use to support his ongoing campaign to demonstrate how the $7 billion research agency is “wasting” taxpayer dollars on frivolous or low-priority projects, particularly in the social sciences. The Democratic staffers wanted to make sure that their boss, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX), the panel’s senior Democrat, knew enough about each grant to rebut any criticism that Smith might levy against the research.
The peculiar exercise is part of a long-running and bitter battle that is pitting Smith and many of his panel’s Republican members against Johnson and the panel’s Democrats, NSF’s leadership, and the academic research community. There’s no end in sight: The visits are expected to continue into the fall, because NSF has acceded—after some resistance—to Smith’s request to make available information on an additional 30 awards. (Click here to see a spreadsheet of the requested grants.)
And the feud appears to be escalating. This week, Johnson wrote to Smith accusing him “of go[ing] after specific peer-reviewed grants simply because the Chairman personally does not believe them to be of high value.” (Click here to see a PDF of Johnson’s letter and related correspondence from Smith and NSF.)
Smith, however, argues he is simply taking seriously Congress’s oversight responsibility. And he promises to stay the course: “Our efforts will continue until NSF agrees to only award grants that are in the national interest,” he wrote in a 2 October e-mail to ScienceInsider.
Ask, answered
How did things get to this point? For the past 18 months, Smith has waged a very public assault on NSF’s storied peer-review system. He’s issued a barrage of press releases that ridicule specific awards, championed legislation that would alter NSF’s peer-review system and slash funding for the social science programs that have supported much of the research he has questioned, and berated NSF officials for providing what he considers to be inadequate explanations of their funding decisions.
NSF has defended itself at congressional hearings, in personal meetings with committee staff and the chair, and with a stream of letters and e-mails. White House officials, university leaders, and Democratic legislators have joined the fray, roundly criticizing Smith for what they see as an attempt to impose his political judgment on a process that draws upon the wisdom of scientific experts. But that nearly universal condemnation hasn’t stopped Smith, who was first elected to Congress in 1986 and last year was named chairman of the science committee.
Smith describes his growing frustration with NSF in a 27 August letter to NSF Director France Córdova. (The committee made this and another letter available to ScienceInsider.) Smith notes that he first asked for materials relating to several grants in the spring of 2013, soon after Cora Marrett became acting NSF director following Subra Suresh’s resignation to become president of Carnegie Mellon University.
But after being rebuffed by Marrett, Smith writes that he “set aside the request … until a permanent NSF director was installed.” Córdova was confirmed by the Senate this past March, and on 7 April Smith wrote her a letter containing a list of 20 grants that he wanted to examine.
Smith’s request created a major dilemma for NSF. On the one hand, Córdova knew that Congress has the authority to obtain information as part of its job to oversee the actions of federal agencies, a right that federal courts have repeatedly upheld. On the other hand, NSF constantly assures scientists that every aspect of the peer-review process will remain confidential. (NSF’s website contains abstracts of projects it has funded, and the public can obtain a copy of a successful application. NSF does not share any information about, or even acknowledge the existence of, proposals that have been rejected.)
Smith wanted the material shipped to his offices on Capitol Hill. But Córdova made a counteroffer that the Texas legislator grudgingly accepted. First, the committee staff could see everything related to the grant except for the names of the reviewers, which would be redacted. Second, the material would remain at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Third, the staff could take copious notes, but none of the information could be photocopied or otherwise reproduced.
Judy Gan, head of public and legislators affairs at NSF, says the arrangement “preserves the integrity of the merit review process.” Even so, NSF officials have sent letters to the president of each university with a grant on Smith’s hit list, hoping to reassure them that everything is under control. NSF had no choice but to comply with the committee’s request, the letters explain. But NSF chose to tell each institution about the request “so that you may take appropriate action to inform your principal investigator and other potentially impacted parties about this production of documents.”
In many cases, NSF staffers had already sounded the alarm. Steven Folmar, a cultural anthropologist at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, recalls getting a call from his program manager last month alerting him to the science committee’s pending review of his 2012 grant, titled “Oppression and Mental Health in Nepal.” The 3-year, $160,000 award supported him and two colleagues in a study of how social status affects the mental health of Nepalese adolescents. Folmar has worked on and off in Nepal since 1979, and he says the country’s economic and cultural divisions are so striking that it’s an ideal place to measure the impact of discrimination on those in the lowest caste.
Folmar says that his first reaction after hearing that his grant had been singled out was to hunker down and keep quiet. “I felt like somebody in a war movie, with bullets whizzing over my head.” But after further reflection, he thinks that speaking up may not be such a bad idea.
“I’d tell [Smith] that our work has a great deal of relevance to this country,” he says. Measuring how social inequality can cause depression and anxiety is valuable information for U.S. public health officials, too, he explains, noting that some Nepalese victims display symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder.
The project was a bargain, he adds. The grant covered several months of field work by three senior researchers and their graduate students, he notes, “all for about $50,000 a year. That’s pretty cheap science.”
Parsing the list
The scientific community is scratching its head over how Smith compiled his list of questionable grants. Many have also been flagged by other legislators, notably Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK), who issue annual lists of what they consider to be wasteful government spending. Research grants often appear on such lists. Decades ago, former Senator William Proxmire (D–WI) created what he called the Golden Fleece Awards to poke fun at such supposed boondoggles. In fact, the practice has become so widespread that 3 years ago a coalition of scientific organizations created a counterpoint, called the Golden Goose Awards, which honors federally funded basic research that later turned out to have huge societal benefits.
But Proxmire’s awards were never meant to fundamentally alter NSF’s peer-review system, according to Folmar. “This sounds like Golden Fleece with a much more dangerous twist,” he says.
Smith so far has asked to take a look at 50 grants. (Note: ScienceInsider was able to identify just 47 unique awards.) And the list is hard to characterize. One grant goes back to 2005, and 13 appear to have expired. The total amount of money awarded is about $26 million. The smallest grant, awarded in 2005, is $19,684 for a doctoral dissertation on “culture, change & chronic stress in lowland Bolivia.” The largest, for $5.65 million, is for a project that aims to use innovative education methods to educate Arctic communities about climate change and related issues.
More than half of the grants appear to involve work outside the United States. The largest number—29—were funded through NSF’s social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences directorate. Of those, 21 came from SBE’s behavioral and cognitive sciences division, including a number of grants in archaeology and anthropology. But six of NSF’s seven directorates also funded grants on Smith’s hit list.
What the science committee expects to learn from its investigation is a burning question from scientists. A committee representative declined to answer repeated queries about the criteria used to select the grants. In his written statement to ScienceInsider, Smith said only that “there are many grants that no taxpayer would consider in the national interest, or worthy of how their hard-earned dollars should be spent. … The public deserves an explanation for why the NSF has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on musicals about climate change, bicycle designs, and a video game that allows users to relive prom night.”
Mont Hubbard is the “bicycle designs” grantee on Smith’s intended list of shame. An emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Davis, Hubbard received $300,000 in 2009 to study the feedback system that allows humans to control a vehicle, in this case a bicycle. And Hubbard has a ready answer to Smith’s question about how his research could possibly serve the national interest.
“It’s easy to learn to ride a bicycle, but it’s hard to explain how we do it,” Hubbard says. His broader research into operator control of mechanical systems has applications across many areas, he explains. Substitute “pilot” for “rider” and “airplane” for “bicycle,” he says, and it’s clear that helping humans do a better job of manipulating machines has the potential to greatly improve performance, reduce safety risks, and promote economic growth.
Present stalemate
What’s next? So far, neither side has shown any signs of backing down. In his 27 August letter to Córdova, Smith declares that “the current review work is 5% complete, which implies that this oversight initiative will span at least 12 months.” He accuses her of reneging on a promise to provide the committee with everything it requested and speculates that she “may be banking on a cumbersome, time-consuming federal court process” to back her up. That approach puts NSF “in an indefensible position,” he says, predicting that such tactics will ultimately fail and that NSF will be forced to give in to his demands.
In her reply 2 weeks later, Córdova denies withholding any pertinent information. “To the contrary,” she writes, “NSF has provided the Committee full and complete access to our files for each of the grants of interest.” She disagrees with his assertion that “NSF does not trust the Committee.” But she acknowledges that “we are balancing this access with the need to preserve the trust of the scientific community, whose participation in the merit review process occurs in a confidential environment.”
With such strong rhetoric on both sides, it’s hard to see a quick or quiet ending to this confrontation. Johnson certainly seems prepared to continue defending NSF and, in particular, its funding of the social sciences. “This campaign against NSF’s merit-review system is indefensible absent some compelling explanation of what you are trying to accomplish,” she tells Smith in her 30 September letter. “If your ultimate goal is to cut funding for social and behavioral sciences …I respect your right to try to make that case as Chairman. But please do not compromise the integrity of NSF’s merit review system as part of this campaign.”
WIth reporting by David Shultz.
Correction 3 October, 8:05 a.m.: Steven Folmar studies how social inequality can contribute to, not treat, depression.The British public has reacted with fury after footage of the Queen performing a Nazi salute as a young girl was published by The Sun.
The shocking film from 1933 shows Edward VIII teaching his nieces the seven-year-old future Queen and her three-year-old sister Princess Margaret how to do the salute in the gardens at Balmoral.
The publication of the 17-second film has outraged thousands across the nation who believe that the Queen cannot be held responsible for her actions as a girl playing with her family.
Scores of Twitter users vented their anger this morning, saying The Sun had'sunk to a new low' and calling for the newspaper's owner Rupert Murdoch to be banned from the UK.
Buckingham Palace last night slammed The Sun for the publication of the footage, from the family's private archive, saying it was 'disappointing' that the film had been 'obtained and exploited in this manner'.
Scroll down for video
Nazi salute: A grainy photograph has emerged of the Queen performing a Nazi salute with her family in the gardens at Balmoral
Outrage: The shocking 17-second clip of the Royal family playing on the lawns at Balmoral, shows Edward VIII (right), the Queen Mother (left), Queen Elizabeth (centre left) aged seven, and her three year old sister Princess Margaret (centre right) performing the salute
Sieg heil: The footage, released by The Sun, is sure to cause outrage across the country, but a Buckingham Palace spokesman has slammed the 'exploitation' of the film
Appalled reader Rachel Hawkins wrote: 'If I was the Queen, I'd ban that absolute vile individual; Rupert Murdoch from ever entering this country again. #TheSun #gutterpress.'
Another user said: 'The Sun has sunk to a new low in insinuating that the Queen has Nazi sympathy's with the head line "Their Royal Heilnesses."'.
Others said the footage had been taken out of context, with Josh Cook tweeting: 'horrible journalism, pre world war 2, before anybody knew anything about nazi behaviour.'
Angela Jariwala added: '@TheSun Great! Enough bloody hatred in the world and you go and use this picture to incite more of it. Cheers.'
Columnist Hugo Rifkind tweeted: 'I suppose there's always a chance that Queen Elizabeth II hadn't really thought her politics through when she was 7?'
Labour MP Barbara Keeley retweeted a message which said: 'Hey @TheSun, if you want to stir up some moral outrage about a misjudgement in history, look a bit closer to home.'
The tweet included an image of The Sun's controversial 1989 front page which criticised Liverpool fans during the Hillsborough disaster.
Matt SW added: 'All this "Queen does the Nazi salute" thing is ridiculous. She was 7. Are we really judging people based on what they did when they were 7?'
Buckingham Palace said last night said the seven-year-old Queen was simply 'playing' with her family in the archive video.
'It is disappointing that film, shot eight decades ago and apparently from her Majesty's personal family archive, has been obtained and exploited in this manner,' a spokesman said.
A Palace source added: 'Most people will see these pictures in their proper context and time. This is a family playing and momentarily referencing a gesture many would have seen from contemporary news reels,'
'No one at that time had any sense how it would evolve. To imply anything else is misleading and dishonest.
'The Queen is around six years of age at the time and entirely innocent of attaching any meaning to these gestures.
'The Queen and her family's service and dedication to the welfare of this nation during the war, and the 63 years The Queen has spent building relations between nations and peoples speaks for itself.'
The clip, released by The Sun last night, shows the Queen Mother also saluting proudly alongside Princess Margaret, aged three. They are encouraged by Edward VIII, who is known to have harboured Nazi sympathies.
The grainy black-and-white photograph was taken just as Hitler was rising to power in Germany, seven years before the outbreak of the Second World War and before the atrocities of the Third Reich terrorised Europe.
At the age of seven, the Queen is unlikely to have understood the full the implications of making a Nazi salute.
Royal commentator and the Queen's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter said there would be great interest in royal circles in finding out how the footage - from the monarch's private archives - was made public.
He told Sky News: 'I would like to think it was released inadvertently as a bit of harmless 1933 footage without anybody really knowing what was on it.
'I think what they (Buckingham Palace) would probably like to know is where it came from and who gave it to The Sun.'
The Palace is expected to look into whether a crime has been committed in the leaking of the film, which belongs to the royal family.
Controversy: Edward VIII was a known Nazi sympathiser, and once described Hitler as 'not a bad chap'
Youngsters: Many argue that the future Queen and her sister Margaret can not be held responsible for their actions, as they were simply children playing with their family
RUPERT MURDOCH: THE STAUNCH REPUBLICAN WHO OWNS THE SUN Anti-monarchist: Rupert Murdoch, the head of News UK that owns The Sun, is a well-known opponent of the Royal family Rupert Murdoch, head of News UK that owns The Sun, is well known for his anti-Monarchy stances - with Saturday's outrageous front page only the latest example of their bias. Australian Murdoch has a dislike for the British establishment, wrote the left-leaning Guardian newspaper in 2014, quoting one insider saying: 'He admires the Queen, but in his heart he's a republican, he'd like to be left wing,' Murdoch has described the British Royal family as 'irrelevant'. and as a stauch Republican urged that his homeland of Australia abandon the monarchy. And despite commentators bemoaning the wealth of the Royal family, his amassed wealth from his media empire is much higher - worth a whopping $77billion, according to this year's Forbes Rich List.
But The Sun defended its use of the footage, saying the photographs 'provide a fascinating insight in the warped prejudices of Edward VIII and his friends in that bleak, paranoid, tumultuous decade'.
It added that the footage casts 'important new light on the Royal Family's attitudes towards Germany in the 1930s – and the influence of Nazi-loving Edward'.
The newspaper's managing editor Stig Abell said the footage was obtained by the newspaper 'in a legitimate fashion' and that its publication was 'not a criticism of the Queen or the Queen Mum'.
'It is a historical document that really sheds some insight in to the behaviour of Edward VIII,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He added: 'I understand that they (Buckingham Palace) don't like this coming out but I also feel, on a relatively purist basis, that the role of journalists and the media is to bring to light things that happened.
'What we have done is just brought to light an historical document and we have sought to present it in a contextual fashion around Edward VIII and have made the point relatively clearly I hope that we recognise, of course, that the Queen and the Queen Mum went on to become heroes of the Second World War and there are no aspersions being cast upon them by the Sun.'
The Nazi salute became a symbol of fear across Europe after the rise of Hitler, but in the years leading up to the Second World War it did not have the universally recognised connotations that it has today.
Respected military historian James Holland told The Sun: 'They are all having a laugh, there are lots of smiles, so it's all a big joke.
'I don't think there was a child in Britain in the 1930s or 40s who has not performed a mock Nazi salute as a bit of a lark.
'It just shows the Royal Family are as human as the next man.'
The historian added that while it was no secret that Edward VIII met Hitler and was known to have been sympathetic to Nazism, the same cannot be said about the Queen Mother or King George VI.
He continued that both the Queen Mother and King George were 'completely steadfast from start to finish' in their opposition to the Nazis, in the 'fight against that tyranny'.
Mucking in: The future Queen helps replace a wheel on a car during the Second World War
Helping out: The Queen served in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service during WWII as a mechanic and driver
The Queen, Queen Mother and Princess Margaret wave to crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day in 1995
Salute: The Nazi salute became a symbol of fear across Europe after the rise of Hitler. But at the time the footage was taken there was not 'a child in Britain in the 1930s or 40s' who had not 'performed a mock Nazi salute as a bit of a lark', according to historian James Holland
Before the war: The English football team performing a Nazi salute in May 1936, in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, before a friendly game with Germany
Members of the Royal Family were not the only British citizens to perform the salute in the pre-war period. In 1936, the English football team did so in unison before the start of a friendly game against Germany in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
The footballers’ action was met with derision, because by then Hitler had annexed Austria and his anti-Jewish measures were already advanced.
The leaked footage is the only pictorial evidence of Edward VIII doing the Nazi gesture, but he is also known to have performed it at other times.
Edward VIII, faced numerous accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser, abdicated in 1936 less than a year after becoming King to marry Wallis Simpson.
He once gave a Nazi salute to Hitler and claimed he was 'not a bad chap'.
Edward was photographed meeting Hitler in Munich in October 1937, less than two years before the Second World War broke out.
In January 1933, the year the footage was filmed, Hitler became chancellor of Germany and by August 1934, he had declared himself Führer, the leader of Germany.
The Sun quotes prominent German historian Dr Karina Urbach, a top Nazi expert, who described the film as'remarkable'.
EDWARD VIII: THE KING WHO WAS ALSO A NAZI SYMPATHIZER The former King of England, Edward VIII with Wallis Simpson, for whom he abdicated in 1936, less than a year after becoming King The extent of former King of England Edward VIII's Nazi sympathies were laid bare in the Mail On Sunday in March - in addition to the efforts made by the Establishment to destroy vital documents they feared could bring down the House of Windsor. Edward began communicating with Hitler shortly after he was elected Chancellor in 1933 - the same year Queen Elizabeth II, then seven, was pictured making a Nazi salute. Hitler even tried to marry Edward, then Prince of Wales, to a young German princess as he increasingly became seen as a friend and ally of the Nazi regime. After his abdication in 1936, Edward became an outspoken critic of Churchill and was convinced that if he had stayed on the throne war would have been averted in Germany. He spent his honeymoon in Austria before the war and visited Germany in October 1937 as Hitler's honoured guest - with the Fuhrer hoping he would become his 'puppet king'. The Nazis even had a code name for the plot – Operation Will. Pro-Nazi comments made by Edward were 'tantamount to treason', historian John Costello said, as the then-Duke even told a reporter during the war: 'It would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown, Hitler is the right and logical leader of the German people. Hitler is a very great man.’
'Edward was already welcoming the regime as Prince of Wales in 1933 and remained pro-Nazi after war broke out in 1939.'
She added: 'Hitler's movement had been growing fast since 1929 and many German relatives of the Royal Family were attracted to it.'
The University of London academic added that the royals could have ‘seen the salute on newsreels’ and that they were copying it.
She said the ‘issue of Edward’s politics and their impact upon his generation within the Royal Family’ should be ‘brought into the open’ for serious research.
Dr Karina Urbach has previously claimed that Edward VIII wanted Britain to be bombed into an alliance with the Third Reich and blamed 'Jews and Reds' for World War II.
The black-and-white footage, which lasts around 17 seconds, shows the family playing with one of the two royal corgis, named Dookie and Jane, on the lawn.
Margaret waves excitedly with both hands before Elizabeth breaks into a Scottish jig.
The Queen Mother can then be seen performing a Nazi salute, and Princess Elizabeth follows suit, both standing straight-backed holding their right arm aloft. Prince Edward joins in before the clip cuts to a close up of the faces of the two princesses.
Juliet Gardiner, former editor of History Today and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, said: ‘It’s an insight into British attitudes towards Germany at that time in 1933, long before everyone really realised Hitler’s designs on Europe. It is absolutely right that the public sees it.’
The Queen and the Queen Mother pictured together in 1968. The footage that has emerged of the family performing Nazi salutes at Balmoral will cause outrage across the nation
As she is now: Queen Elizabeth has been revealed performing a Nazi salute as a seven-year-old girl in the gardens at Balmoral
On a state visit to Germany last month, The Queen visited the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and met some of the survivors and liberators.
The Queen, who is patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, had not visited a concentration camp before and it is believed she requested the trip.
After The Sun published the footage, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would be leading the VJ Day celebrations in London next month alongside the Duke of Edinburgh.
Serving during the Second World War herself, the Queen joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as a mechanic and driver.
The last scandal linking the royals to Nazi Germany involved Prince Harry being photographed in 2005 wearing a Nazi uniform to a friend’s fancy dress party in Wiltshire.
The Prince, 20 years old at the time, was shown holding a drink and a cigarette and dressed in a shirt altered to look like a German uniform by the addition of collar flashes and an eagle insignia on the chest.
He was forced to apologise for the incident after it made headlines around the world.It has not been a good year for Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro. That might be the understatement of the season. We’ll get to the ugly numbers in a moment, but it doesn’t take a page of statistics to realize he’s simply not striking the ball well.
Castro is hopeful his dismal first half can be replaced with an extraordinary second half. There’s work being done behind the scenes, and the next 71 games will tell us if something can be salvaged in 2015.
"I know my talent," Castro said over the weekend. "I know what I can do. I know I can do a lot. Have to forget about the first half."
He might want to forget about the first four days of the second half as well. Castro is 2 for 17 with five strikeouts, but has shown a few good signs. He drove a ball to deep center field in Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds, allowing a runner to tag up and get to third base. Before that, he took two balls to right in Atlanta, but in between there were those ground outs he’s become known for. We saw a whole first half of them as his ratio to fly balls is the highest of his career, 1.50. He's hit a total of 65 ground balls to short, three have gone for infield hits.
"He has a high ground ball rate this year, and a lot of it is the contact point on the ball away," hitting coach John Mallee said. "He’s making contact too far out in front. His front hip and shoulder are pulling off a bit and causing him to lose posture and reach and make contact in front."
Castro wouldn’t be the first hitter to be "opening up." It happens. It’s the length of the "slump" that has the Cubs -- and Castro -- perplexed.
"My front hip is open a little bit," Castro said. "That’s what I’m working on. Watching the video from last year. Trying to stay closed and think middle all the way."
Mallee added: "It happens to a lot of guys, but he’s been prolonged into it."
Some might wonder how April (.325/.349) went so well for Castro, but |
GNU/Linux, use your package manager.
If you’re using Windows, download it from the Oracle website. Make sure you right-click the.exe installer, click Properties, and click Digital Signatures. It should be signed by Oracle America, Inc. If it is not, do not install it.
We’re not sure about OS X. If anyone can contribute instructions for OS X, let us know.
If you’re using Windows, you will need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package.
Preliminary instructions are here.
Known Issues
Relies on patches to ConsensusJ that are not yet upstreamed.
Proxies are not yet supported.
Build is not yet reproducible.
Electrum-NMC
Electrum-NMC is the Namecoin port of the lightweight Bitcoin wallet Electrum.
Preliminary Electrum-NMC documentation is here.
Known Issues
AuxPoW support is still experimental.
P2SH and SegWit are not yet disabled in the GUI. Don’t use those features, since P2SH and SegWit aren’t enforced on Namecoin yet, meaning that coins sent to such addresses can trivially be stolen.
Hardware wallets other than Trezor and Safe-T mini are untested and probably don’t work.
Name transactions are not yet supported for hardware wallets.
macOS binaries are not yet available.
Build reproducibility is not yet tested.
ncdns
ncdns is software for accessing.bit domain names. If you want to access.bit domain names, ncdns is most likely what you want to install.
See the ncdns documentation.
The ncdns Windows installer also automatically installs and configures a Namecoin client (Namecoin Core or ConsensusJ-Namecoin) and Dnssec-Trigger/Unbound, and sets up TLS certificate validation in any supported web browsers that are installed (see documentation for a list of supported browsers). It’s basically all you need for browsing.bit domain names.
Before running the ncdns Windows installer, you will need to install the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012.
ncdns plain binaries are also available for most major operating systems. These are useful for advanced users or for users who are not on Windows. Using these will require setting up Namecoin Core and a recursive DNS resolver (e.g. Unbound) separately; they can sometimes be used for TLS certificate validation, but additional setup is required.
Known Issues
Build is not yet reproducible.
cross_sign_name_constraint_tool
This tool applies a name constraint exclusion to a DER-encoded TLS trust anchor via cross-signing, without that trust anchor’s consent. The intended use case is to disallow a CA from issuing certificates for a domain name that it has no legitimate business issuing certificates for. For example:
Disallowing a public CA from issuing certificates for the.bit TLD used by Namecoin.
TLD used by Namecoin. Disallowing a public CA from issuing certificates for a TLD controlled by your corporate intranet.
Disallowing your corporate intranet’s CA from issuing certificates for a TLD allocated by ICANN.
Namecoin users will probably want to use cross_sign_name_constraint_tool to disallow any non-Namecoin CA’s that they have manually imported to their system from signing.bit certificates. For CA’s that are on your system by default, you probably instead want tlsrestrict_nss_tool (see below) or tlsrestrict_chromium_tool (bundled with ncdns, see above).
Known Issues
Build is not yet reproducible.
tlsrestrict_nss_tool
This tool applies a name constraint exclusion to an NSS sqlite database for all CKBI (built-in) TLS trust anchors, without those trust anchors’ consent. The intended use case is to disallow public CA’s from issuing certificates for TLD’s with unique regulatory or policy requirements, such as:
The.bit TLD used by Namecoin.
TLD used by Namecoin. A TLD controlled by your corporate intranet.
Namecoin users will probably want to use tlsrestrict_nss_tool to disallow all CA’s that are on their system by default from signing.bit certificates. For CA’s that you manually imported yourself, you probably instead want cross_sign_name_constraint_tool (see above).
Known Issues
This tool will probably prevent HPKP from working as intended, unless HPKP is applied to user-defined trust anchors. Firefox is capable of doing this (though it’s not the default); Chromium is not (as far as we know).
Build is not yet reproducible.
dns-prop279
This is a tool that permits Namecoin naming (or any other naming method that speaks the DNS protocol) to be used with Tor, via the draft Prop279 pluggable naming API..bit domains can point to IP addresses (A/AAAA records), DNS names (CNAME records), and onion services.
See the Namecoin Tor resolution documentation
Binaries distributed with ncdns.
Source code at GitHub.
Known IssuesThe map above combines the NOAA temperature anomaly map with the UNISYS SST anomaly map. There is a lot of anomalously cold air and water right now.
But we know this is impossible for the following reasons.
Hansen tells us that the oceans have been gaining heat at an unprecedented rate for the last 50 years. This raises the humidity and amplifies the greenhouse effect.
The Arctic has warmed 4-8 degrees. As a result, incursions of Arctic air are much warmer than they used to be.
Arctic Sea ice is at the lowest level in a million years. This further amplifies Arctic warming.
Snow cover has been declining for 40 years. This allows sunlight to warm the ground and further aggravate global warming.
The Antarctic Peninsula is the fastest warming place on the planet, due to all the hot water in the Southern Oceans.
This leaves only two options.
You are imagining all the cold. Climate science is defined by a spectacular disinformation campaign, needed to maintain the $2.5 billion in funding.
AdvertisementsAs gold fever grips Guyana, a small country in South America, people are coming more and more into contact with one of the most secretive of the big cats: The jaguar.
Since the 2008 global recession, gold mining in the heavily forested nation has skyrocketed, with miners and loggers setting up camp in remote forests that are already home to jaguars, according to University of Texas-Dallas geographer Anthony Cummings.
And since he was starting from scratch, Cummings had to go to the source.
So in December 2014, Cummings went to Guyana and conducted more than 85 interviews with people involved in the new mining or logging operations. He asked them when jaguars have been killed in the past decade, and also if the big cats had killed or injured people. (Learn more about National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative.)
View Images A gold miner blasts soil into a sluice with a water hose in Mahdia, Guyana. Photograph by Randy Olson, Nat Geo Image Collection
We talked to Cummings about his preliminary findings, which he presented in August at the International Congress for Conservation Biology in Montpellier, France.
What did your results show, and did they surprise you?
Over the past decade, upward of 90 jaguars have been killed in Guyana—that’s what my data suggested talking to stakeholders, [including] miners, loggers, and hunters. One gold miner was killed by jaguar, and two persons were injured by a puma or a jaguar. These events amplify the level of fear of big cats among the Guyanese population. Around 65 percent of the people I spoke with suggested they had some fear of big cats. Their reaction is, 'If I see a jaguar or puma and I have access to a gun, I'm going to kill it.' This is one of my biggest concerns—how to educate people to react when they see a big cat, and what measures they can put in place to keep cats away from their homes, other places of dwelling and livestock. (See "Pictures: Jaguars Spotted on Colombian Plantation—A First.")
For the second question of where incidents are being reported, I found a stronger [pattern] of big cat killings around areas that livestock, primarily cattle, are reared. That’s not surprising, it’s very similar to what we see throughout Latin America. More surprising is what I saw for big cat killings in gold mining areas—it's a much more dispersed pattern across the landscape. Given the nature of Guyana with its highly forested landscape, reaching gold miners for conflict resolution and educational purposes becomes a lot more challenging and this is what I want to address going forward.
What is gold mining like in Guyana, and how does it impact jaguars?
When the global economy crashed between 2007 and 2008, what happened on the other side of the coin is the price for gold started to go through the roof. All precious metals tend to do well when there’s an economic crisis. The price of gold almost increased substantially. Because of the higher demand for land for gold mining, the chances of being able to have a profit has substantially increased—the scale of gold mining has gone upward and in fact gold mining is the highest driver of deforestation in Guyana. As that has happened,more people have had encounters with jaguars.
There are three levels of gold mining in Guyana: Small scale that is very manual labor intensive—taking an axe and pick, going into the forest and riverbed to seeing what gold can be found—medium scale, and large scale, in which larger companies with more capital investment and equipment essentially removes vegetation and all overburden to access the gold below.
The small and medium scale miners gold miners take dogs and poultry into the forest with them as they are often moving into terrain where food supply can be problematic. Showing up with a dog introduces a new dynamic for a jaguar who essentially says, 'Lunch has shown up.' It’s a challenge: the gold miner needs the dog for protection and hunting services because he’s so far from a grocery or town, but he’s introducing this easy target for the big cat. We're just beginning to map all these variables and working through solutions.
I want to underscore the point that gold miners recognize that they can do more for the environment. All of the miners I spoke with are extremely enthusiastic to work on ways to reduce big cat interactions. Their attitude is 'If we could do better we would do better.' This is therefore one of my biggest concerns: How to keep them engaged in conservation while maintaining their high sense of pride in their craft. (See National Geographic's big cat pictures.)
I was surprised to hear that you discovered there's apparently a demand for jaguar meat and parts. Is that something that could be a concern?
Absolutely, it remains the biggest surprises I've had. [According to my independently verified interviews], recent immigrants to Guyana [and also Guyanese] have been eating big cat meat. I was born and raised in Guyana, I have never heard of anyone eating cat meat. My initial reaction was, 'You guys are messing with me.'
Is the jaguar dwindling in Guyana due to human activity?
There is some concern, but I think it extends to all wildlife on the whole. The simple answer though, is that we need to have a better sense of the current population. Now that I have a sense of the conflict side, we need to attempt to answer the question of how many jaguars we have in Guyana and what patterns are associated with their distribution across the landscape. I've never seen a big cat live in the forest of Guyana, and I've been in the forest a lot. (See "'Indomitable' Jaguars May Have Lessons in Survival for Us.")
Big Cat Week is this week. What do you want our readers to know about your work with jaguars in Guyana?
The most important thing I want readers to understand, especially the global audience, is that their actions and decisions have an impact on biodiversity and wildlife in places they don’t necessarily think about. The global economic crash we think of as a North American problem, but it translates down to the ground in little towns across the world.
The second big thing is people are not necessarily always against conservation—in fact they’re ready to embrace conservation. But we need to figure out ways to work with them, understanding they have their own livelihood challenges. And we've got to figure out how to take care of their needs if they’re going to help us to protect and conserve wildlife.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Follow Christine Dell'Amore on Twitter and Google+.We are a Jedi church and international ministry of the religion Jediism and the Jedi way of life. Jedi at this site are not the same as those portrayed within the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars Jedi are fictional characters that exist within a literary and cinematic universe. We are a recognized International Ministry and Public Charity; a tax exempt (donations are US income tax deductible) 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
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Pokémon Stadium (Japanese: ポケモンスタジアム Pokémon Stadium, subtitled in English as Pocket Monsters' Stadium) is the first game of the Pokémon Stadium series. It was released exclusively in Japan on August 1, 1998.
Gameplay
The game starts with a keyboard, and it asks if the player or players would like to use their Game Boy Pokémon. If not, the player can only access the Battle Mode.[2]
Battle ( バトル ): Players can battle against other humans or computer-controlled opponents.
( ): Players can battle against other humans or computer-controlled opponents. Organize ( せいとん ): Players can transfer Pokémon and items between their party, PC boxes, and storage boxes in the game.
( ): Players can transfer Pokémon and items between their party, PC boxes, and storage boxes in the game. List ( いちらん ): A list of a player's Pokémon and their stats can be examined.
( ): A list of a player's Pokémon and their stats can be examined. Pokédex ( ずかん, or Encyclopedia ): Players can view their Pokédex in 3D.
(, or ): Players can view their Pokédex in 3D. Register ( とうろく ): A team can be registered.
( ): A team can be registered. Party ( てもち ): The player can examine their current party.
( ): The player can examine their current party. GB (Game Boy Tower in international versions): A Generation I game can be played on the Nintendo 64.
Many of these features were integrated into Oak's Lab in future Pokémon Stadium games.
Title screen.
The main menu. An error message that tells the player that the game has not/cannot access game data from a Generation I game cartridge.
Transfer Pak compatibility.
Battle Mode
Battle Mode features two modes: Free Battle (フリーバトル) and Tournament (トーナメント).
Free Battle
In Free Battle, a player can battle against another human or a computer-controlled player under one of three rulesets: the L1-30 Division, the L50-55 Division, or Free Battle, where Pokémon of any level may be used.
Aside from battling with their own Game Boy Pokémon, there are eight pre-configured Trainers that players may use, with Pokémon ranging from level 20 to 100.
Tournament
This mode features two tournaments based upon official Pokémon tournaments.
L1-30 Division: This tournament is based on the Nintendo Cup '98. There are four divisions: the Monster Ball, Super Ball, Hyper Ball, and Master Ball.
,,, and Master Ball. L50-55 Division: This tournament is based on the Nintendo Cup '97. The total levels of the three Pokémon selected cannot exceed 155. The opponents in this mode are based on actual competitors in the 1997 tournament.
Unlike future Pokémon Stadium games, there are no Continues.
The credits roll after a tournament is cleared.
After one of the tournaments is cleared, the player obtains a Doduo Game Boy upgrade that allows the Game Boy games to be played with frame skip at double speed. When both tournaments are cleared, the Dodrio Game Boy is obtained, allowing the games to be played with frame skip at triple speed.
Pokémon
Pocket Monsters Stadium only featured 42 Pokémon available for play. Most of these Pokémon were used in official tournaments, with a few Pokémon added for type balance.[3] Below is a list of the Pokémon that were included in the game.
# Pokémon Type 003 Venusaur Grass Poison 006 Charizard Fire Flying 009 Blastoise Water 015 Beedrill Bug Poison 022 Fearow Normal Flying 025 Pikachu Electric 031 Nidoqueen Poison Ground 034 Nidoking Poison Ground 051 Dugtrio Ground 057 Primeape Fighting 059 Arcanine Fire 065 Alakazam Psychic 068 Machamp Fighting 076 Golem Rock Ground 082 Magneton Electric 091 Cloyster Water Ice 094 Gengar Ghost Poison 095 Onix Rock Ground 097 Hypno Psychic 101 Electrode Electric 103 Exeggutor Grass Psychic 113 Chansey Normal 115 Kangaskhan Normal 121 Starmie Water Psychic 123 Scyther Bug Flying 124 Jynx Ice Psychic 127 Pinsir Bug 128 Tauros Normal 130 Gyarados Water Flying 131 Lapras Water Ice 132 Ditto Normal 134 Vaporeon Water 135 Jolteon Electric 136 Flareon Fire 142 Aerodactyl Rock Flying 143 Snorlax Normal 144 Articuno Ice Flying 145 Zapdos Electric Flying 146 Moltres Fire Flying 149 Dragonite Dragon Flying 150 Mewtwo Psychic 151 Mew Psychic
While the other 109 Pokémon cannot be used in battle, their 3D models can still be viewed in the other modes.
Move Tutor
If the player clears the Master Ball division of the L1-30 Division with a Pikachu in his or her party, that Pikachu can learn Surf.
Since this game was only released in Japan, Pikachu can be taught Surf in the international Pokémon Stadium, whereas it cannot in the Japanese version of that same game.
Staff
Trivia
Nintendo's flyer for the retail release of Pokémon Blue
References
See alsoThis vegetable noodle soup is as simple, direct, and delicious as it gets. Served extra hot and plump with pasta noodles, it's the kind of soup that comforts minds and bolsters spirits. If you're vegetarian or vegan looking for an alternative to chicken noodle soup, this should be in your wheelhouse.
Use whatever short pasta you like here. Alternately, you can uses angel hair pasta broken into short segments, or long chubby udon noodles. Hard to go wrong. If you don't have nutritional yeast on hand (and don't mind a bit of cheese), you can grate some Parmesan over each bowl.
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, pat dry with paper towels, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
2 cups celery, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried turmeric
1 tablespoon thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
1 teaspoon oregano (fresh or dried)
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (or see headnotes)
8 cups water
12 ounces dried pasta, cooked per package instructions
To serve: fresh cilantro, chopped kale, chopped chives
Heat the oven to 375F, toss the tofu with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake 15 minutes, or until slightly golden in color. Transfer the tofu to a bowl, and set aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 10 minutes or so, just until the onions start to take on a bit of color. Add the turmeric, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of salt, nutritional yeast, and some freshly ground pepper. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Taste the broth and add more salt and pepper, don't under salt or the soup will taste sad and flat.
I like to cook the pasta separately (it just keeps the broth cleaner and brighter), but you can certainly cook it in the broth*. Either way, add the pasta at this point. If you haven't pre-cooked the noodles, simmer until cooked through. Stir in the tofu, and serve the noodle soup extra hot, in individual bowls, topped with lots of fresh cilantro or chives, or chopped kale for added greens.
Serves 6.Just out of curiosity: who did you hire in final? The only super geek that knows how to write unmaintainable obscure, and probably undocumented, code or another one that nicely demonstrate how to write a well architectured, easily maintainable application using only the core 20% of java API? No offense, just curious to know where people think the true value is.
It was not 70+ interviews for just one position. The interviews were done over a few years for several positions. Asking questions like this does not decide the outcome of the interview - unless you have 2 possible candidates that are absolutely equal in knowledge and personality. But it is interesting to see how far their knowledge goes. However, I stopped asking questions like this a while ago because most candidates already fail at more basic java or general development questions. Now-a-days programming seems be taught and treated like, say, plumbing, especially since the demand for cheap developers has risen due to the rise of big outsourcing companies. If you are lucky someone has told them how to do things but very rarely they know why they should do things in a certain way. And if you ask questions that are more about design and logical thinking rather than java technicalities most of the candidates fail catastrophically. At least that is my experience.CNET
If you've got an Amazon Fire TV, say goodbye to using it to watch YouTube.
The Google-owned video service is cutting access to the Amazon device on Jan. 1, a Google spokeswoman said on Tuesday. YouTube is also cutting access Tuesday for a second time to Amazon's Echo Show video device.
The moves signal that the ongoing battle between the world's biggest search engine and the world's largest online retailer may get messier in 2018.
Now playing: Watch this: YouTube to disappear from Amazon Fire TV
"We've been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other's products and services," the Google spokeswoman said in a statement. "But Amazon doesn't carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn't make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest's latest products.
"Given this lack of reciprocity," she said. "We are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon."
Google and Amazon have been in an intensifying competition on multiple fronts, with Amazon pushing deeper into Google's turf of online advertising and Google moving into Amazon's territory of e-commerce and smart speakers. This competition over the years has spilled out into public view and often resulted in fewer options for customers. Still, it's unclear whether Google's latest move should be seen as a negotiating tactic by the search giant or a sign of more fighting between the two companies.
In one of the most recent spats between the two tech powerhouses, YouTube vanished from Amazon's Echo Show device in September, with Google saying Amazon's implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violated its terms of service. The Show, unveiled in May, is essentially an Amazon Echo smart speaker with a built-in touchscreen display. YouTube returned to the Show last month, just in time for Black Friday, by directing users to YouTube's website, but Google is cutting access again.
"Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube's existing website," an Amazon spokeswoman said. "Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible."
Two years, ago, Amazon banned Google's Chromecast and Apple TV from its website, helping Amazon direct its customers toward its own Fire TV and away from competing devices. Amazon at the time said the move was to ensure its customers were buying the best devices for watching its Prime Video service and to help "avoid customer confusion."
Apple said earlier this year that Prime Video is coming to Apple TV. Prime Video isn't available on Google Chromecast or Android TV devices, but it is on mobile Android devices.
Google and Amazon have been in a high-stakes battle to get their devices into your home. Amazon released the Echo, a voice-controlled speaker and smart home hub, in 2014. Google followed suit last year with its rival Google Home. Apple plans to join the market with its $350 HomePod. Still, Amazon is the dominant leader in the smart speaker world, with Echo devices owning 73 percent of the market. Google is far behind with 27 percent, according to a report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
In September, Amazon unveiled a new line of Echo devices, including the Echo Plus, the Echo Spot and an updated Echo. In October, Google unveiled a slew of hardware products to get its Assistant, a digital helper akin to Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, to more users. The new devices include an updated version of the Google Home smart speaker and a Google Home Mini device.
Despite the direct competition between the Google Home and the Amazon Echo, the two companies continue to work together for some connected home devices. For instance, Google's parent company, Alphabet, continues to let people control their Nest thermostats and cameras using an Echo. The Nest thermostat is available on Amazon, but last month other Nest products disappeared from the site, including the Nest Thermostat E, a cheaper version of the device, and the Nest Secure alarm system.
Right now Google Home can't be bought on Amazon either. Neither can Google's Chromecast video streaming device. Google has been in negotiations with Amazon to try to get both company's products on each of their platforms, a person familiar with Google's thinking told CNET. That could mean, for example, having Prime Video, Amazon's streaming video service, on Google's Cast streaming products.
"It should be about users of Google and Amazon, not Google and Amazon," the person said.
First published Dec. 5, 11:15 a.m. PT
Update, 1:48 p.m.: Adds comment from Amazon.
The Smartest Stuff: Innovators are thinking up new ways to make you, and the things around you, smarter.
Special Reports: CNET's in-depth features in one place.The Xbox One has taken the top spot in the US sales charts for April.
While Sony's PlayStation 4 temporarily held the number one sales position in March, Microsoft revealed in a statement from corporate VP of marketing Mike Nichols that Xbox sales increased significantly over the previous year.
"As the best-selling console in the U.S. in April, fans set record April sales and engagement for Xbox One last month. Xbox One console sales in the U.S. increased 63 percent in April 2015 compared to April 2014 and Xbox Live comparisons showed the number of active global users (Xbox One and Xbox 360) grew 24 percent. We are grateful to our fans for their passion and support and are looking forward to sharing more on the best game lineup in Xbox history at E3."
Despite having higher sales numbers for the month, the larger number of software sales went to the PlayStation 4. Sony, in its own statement regarding the NPD, also pointed out that it remains the number one console in overall sales. A representative for SCEA wrote in a statement to GameSpot, "According to NPD, PlayStation continues to lead software sales for April 2015 and PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader in the US. We are looking forward to an amazing E3."
Direct comparison between Sony and Microsoft's console worldwide are a little difficult; while Sony has revealed that the PS4 has sold over 22 million units to date, Microsoft combines both the 360 and Xbox One when reporting on its financials.
The NPD Group's Liam Callahan noted that for April 2015, that "hardware sales decreased by 4 percent due to the 55 percent decline in sales of seventh-generation console hardware [Xbox 360 and PS3]." However he noted that current-gen console sales were "stable" and "portable hardware increased by 36 percent."
While the recent trend toward deals and discounts undoubtedly helped Microsoft's console pull ahead, Callahan writes that it has started to have an effect on sales numbers. "Declines in hardware dollar sales were due to a decrease in average price of 4 percent, due to a drop in console hardware pricing." Back in January the Xbox One permanently fell to $350. The PlayStation 4 continues to retail for around $400.
The Xbox One and PS4 have both been out for 18 months now, and, in a postive note, Callahan writes that, "cumulative hardware sales [are] over 50 percent higher than the combined sales of Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same point in their lifecycles."
While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS showed up in the April NPD physical retail top 10, Nintendo did not send out a separate release commenting on its April sales.
In a month of few huge, new releases, the number one selling game for April went to Mortal Kombat X followed by the unsurprisingly successful Grand Theft Auto V.In recent years, Google has taken its self-driving car technology out of the lab and begun testing it out on real roads. And that means that the company's robotic vehicles are having all the same experiences human drivers do. Including getting pulled over:
Presented without comment.Image ©2015 Aleksandr Milewski Posted by Zandr Milewski on Thursday, 12 November 2015
This image was taken by Facebook user Zandr Milewski in Mountain View, California, where Google has its headquarters. The car is a new type of vehicle Google designed specifically for its self-driving technology. For safety reasons, Google has limited this model to a top speed of 25 miles per hour. In a Facebook comment, Milewski says the Mountain View police officer pulled the car over to figure out "why they were all going so slow."
This kind of publicity is priceless for Google, which needs to convince the public that its cars are not only more convenient than conventional cars but safer too. And so far, the PR campaign has gone pretty well. Earlier this year, one Mountain View resident blogged that Google's autonomous cars "drive like your grandma," scrupulously following traffic laws and giving other drivers plenty of space.
(Hat tip to Kevin Roose.)
Disclosure: My brother is an executive at Google.The old invisible ink cheat.
According to reporting from The Day, a New Jersey gambler was busted early Sunday for allegedly cheating at the Mohegan Sun. His method according to the police: marking the cards with a ink-like substance that could only be seen with special contact lenses.
Fifty-nine-year-old Bruce Koloshi, who hails from Summit, New Jersey, also allegedly used the tactic in a game of stud at a casino in Louisiana in August. Koloshi has been caught cheating before in Las Vegas, Reno and in the state of Iowa.
The Day reported that after his most recent arrest in Connecticut he gave authorities a fake name, though his fingerprints eventually revealed to the cops his real name.
He reportedly has been charged with a slew of crimes, including cheating, conspiracy, criminal impersonation and “being a fugitive from justice when the computer check revealed that Louisiana state police had issued a felony arrest warrant for him.”
For the alledged crimes, he is being held on $510,000 bond.
His arraignment is scheduled for Monday in Connecticut’s Norwich Superior Court.
It’s unclear how much he was able to win using the invisible ink.
As reported by The Advocate, Louisiana police described the ink in Koloshi’s warrant. “The markings were small finger pad markings made from invisible luminous ink. The markings were invisible to the naked eye and could only be seen when viewed with the infrared filter.”JAMES SUROWIECKI takes Floyd Norris to task for the assertion that American corporations borrowed recklessly to finance an increase in dividend payments:
I think the reason the column doesn’t include any data is because the numbers don’t support Norris’s argument. While the financial sector was remarkably reckless in recent years, nonfinancial companies (that is, most American public companies) were, for the most part, disciplined. As a result, they entered this recession with what were, by historical standards, quite healthy balance sheets. At the advent of the 2001 recession, industrial companies in the S. & P. 500 had just $352 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand. At the beginning of the 2008 recession, by contrast, they had $616 billion on hand.
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Did companies amass those cash holdings via reckless borrowing? Historical comparisons suggest not. When the 1990-1991 recession started, nonfinancial companies' debt was 93% of their net worth. In 2001, it was 68%. For this recession, it was 61%. And as a percentage of GNP, nonfinancial corporate debt was well below where it was in 2001. In other words, there's little evidence that nonfinancial companies were taking on foolishly high levels of debt in order to pay off shareholders.
So why did firms start paying so much in dividends? Mr Surowiecki believes the dividend payments stemmed from large corporate cash holdings. Firms suddenly decided to pay shareholders rather than use their cash elsewhere. That story makes sense because during the period in question there was a large exogenous shock that suddenly made dividend payments more attractive. In 2003, dividend taxes were lowered to 15%, down from as high as 35%. The justification for this was that firms that pay dividends, rather than repurchasing shares or retaining earnings, are more efficient. Raj Chetty and Emmanuel Saez found the 2003 tax cut did cause the surge in dividend payments, reversing a twenty-year trend.
So then, was this policy a mistake? Not necessarily. As Mr Surowiecki points out, non-financial firms maintained healthy balance sheets during this period (especially compared to previous business cycles). Further, Mssrs Chetty and Saez found that the tax cut increased capital efficiency. Just because something changed in corporate finance during the last eight years does not mean it contributed to the current situation.
Mr Norris reckons companies increased dividends to signal profits and healthy balance sheets (hiding their fundamental weaknesses):
In the late bull market, dividend payments provided one of the seemingly strongest arguments for the bulls. Maybe earnings numbers could be manipulated, but dividend payments required cash. If the company had the cash to hand out, you could be confident the earnings were real. It was a lie. It is now becoming clear that the great news on the dividend front from 2004 through 2006 was not an indication of solid corporate performance; it was just another sign of lax lending standards.
Nope, it was really just a sign of a change in tax policy.WASHINGTON — As Republicans took control of an unprecedented 69 of 99 statehouse chambers in the midterm elections, they did not rely solely on a bench of older white men. Key races hinged on the strategic recruitment of women and minorities, many of them first-time candidates who are now learning the ropes and joining the pool of prospects for higher office.
They include Jill Upson, the first black Republican woman elected to the West Virginia House; Victoria Seaman, the first Latina Republican elected to the Nevada Assembly; Beth Martinez Humenik, whose win gave Republicans a one-seat edge in the Colorado Senate; and Young Kim, a Korean-American woman who was elected to the California Assembly, helping to break the Democratic supermajority in the State Legislature.
In Pennsylvania, Harry Lewis Jr., a retired black educator, won in a new House district that was expected to be a Democratic stronghold; he printed his campaign materials in English and Spanish. Of the 12 Latinos who will serve in statewide offices across the nation in 2015, eight are Republican.
“This is not just rhetoric — we spent over $6 million to identify new women and new candidates of diversity and bring them in,” said Matt Walter, the executive director of the Republican State Leadership Committee. “Most of these chambers were flipped because there was a woman or a person of diverse ethnicity in a key targeted seat.”University of Florida researchers have finally put a long-standing hypothesis about rudeness to the test. The history to this is a study published in 1999 [pdf] that showed rudeness can create a vicious circle between individuals – if you’re rude to someone, they’re more likely to be rude back at you. What the authors of that paper also speculated though, and the new research investigates, is that an initial act of rudeness creates a “secondary spiral” where offended parties end up dumping on the innocent – meaning, effectively, that rudeness can spread like a contagion.
For the new research, Trevor Foulk and his team began by studying the interactions of 90 graduate students during negotiation training, which was conducted in pairs. After each negotiation, students rated the rudeness and likability of their negotiation partner and then played a series of nine trials that each involved splitting a cash sum with that same partner, either fairly, selfishly, or spitefully accepting a poor prize in order to deny the other any cash at all. Each participant then repeated the same procedure – negotiation followed by financial game – with ten more partners.
To walk through the main finding, let’s take a rude student called Alan. The data showed that if Bella interacted with rude Alan, she would find him less likeable |
British telegraph network, which was rebuilt with more redundancies.[127] In 1902–1903, Britain and the U.S. completed the circumtelegraphy of the planet with transpacific cables from Canada to Fiji and New Zealand (British Empire), and from the US to Hawaii and the occupied Philippines.[128] U.S. reassertions of the Monroe Doctrine notwithstanding, Latin America was a battleground of competing telegraphic interests until World War I, after which U.S. interests finally did consolidate their power in the hemisphere.[129]
World railway and telegraph system, 1900
By the turn of the century (i.e., circa 1900), Wolff, Havas, and Reuters formed a news cartel, dividing up the global market into three sections, in which each had more-or-less exclusive distribution rights and relationships with national agencies.[130] Each agency's area corresponded roughly to the colonial sphere of its mother country.[131] Reuters and the Australian national news service had an agreement to exchange news only with each other.[132] Due to the high cost of maintaining infrastructure, political goodwill, and global reach, newcomers found it virtually impossible to challenge the big three European agencies or the American Associated Press.[133] In 1890 Reuters (in partnership with the Press Association, England's major news agency for domestic stories) expanded into "soft" news stories for public consumption, about topics such as sports and "human interest".[134] In 1904, the big three wire services opened relations with Vestnik, the news agency of Czarist Russia, to their group, though they maintained their own reporters in Moscow.[135] During and after the Russian Revolution, the outside agencies maintained a working relationship with the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, renamed the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) and eventually the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS).[136]
The Chinese Communist Party created its news agency, the Red China News Agency, in 1931; its primary responsibilities were the Red China newspaper and the internal Reference News. In 1937, the Party renamed the agency Xinhua, New China. Xinhua became the official news agency of the People's Republic of China in 1949.[137]
These agencies touted their ability to distill events into "minute globules of news", 20–30 word summaries which conveyed the essence of new developments.[136] Unlike newspapers, and contrary to the sentiments of some of their reporters, the agencies sought to keep their reports simple and factual.[138] The wire services brought forth the "inverted pyramid" model of news copy, in which key facts appear at the start of the text, and more and more details included as it goes along.[123] The sparse telegraphic writing style spilled over into newspapers, which often reprinted stories from the wire with little embellishment.[18][139] In a 20 September 1918 Pravda editorial, Lenin instructed the Soviet press to cut back on their political rambling and produce many short anticapitalist news items in "telegraph style".[140]
As in previous eras, the news agencies provided special services to political and business clients, and these services constituted a significant portion of their operations and income. The wire services maintained close relationships with their respective national governments, which provided both press releases and payments.[141] The acceleration and centralization of economic news facilitated regional economic integration and economic globalization. "It was the decrease in information costs and the increasing communication speed that stood at the roots of increased market integration, rather than falling transport costs by itself. In order to send goods to another area, merchants needed to know first whether in fact to send off the goods and to what place. Information costs and speed were essential for these decisions.[142]
Radio and television [ edit ]
The British Broadcasting Company began transmitting radio news from London in 1922, dependent entirely, by law, on the British news agencies.[143] BBC radio marketed itself as a news by and for social elites, and hired only broadcasters who spoke with upper-class accents.[144] The BBC gained importance in the May 1926 general strike, during which newspapers were closed and the radio served as the only source of news for an uncertain public. (To the displeasure of many listeners, the BBC took an unambiguously pro-government stance against the strikers).[143][145]
In the USA, RCA's Radio Group established its radio network, NBC, in 1926. The Paley family founded CBS soon after. These two networks, which supplied news broadcasts to subsidiaries and affiliates, dominated the airwaves throughout the period of radio's hegemony as a news source.[146] Radio broadcasters in the United States negotiated a similar arrangement with the press in 1933, when they agreed to use only news from the Press–Radio Bureau and eschew advertising; this agreement soon collapsed and radio stations began reporting their own news (with advertising).[147] As in Britain, American news radio avoided "controversial" topics as per norms established by the National Association of Broadcasters.[148] By 1939, 58% of Americans surveyed by Fortune considered radio news more accurate than newspapers, and 70% chose radio as their main news source.[148] Radio expanded rapidly across the continent, from 30 stations in 1920 to a thousand in the 1930s. This operation was financed mostly with advertising and public relations money.[149]
The Soviet Union began a major international broadcasting operation in 1929, with stations in German, English and French. The Nazi Party made use of the radio in its rise to power in Germany, with much of its propaganda focused on attacking the Soviet Bolsheviks. The British and Italian foreign radio services competed for influence in North Africa. All four of these broadcast services grew increasingly vitriolic as the European nations prepared for war.[150]
The war provided an opportunity to expand radio and take advantage of its new potential. The BBC reported on Allied invasion of Normandy on 8:00 a.m. of the morning it took place, and including a clip from German radio coverage of the same event. Listeners followed along with developments throughout the day.[151] The U.S. set up its Office of War Information which by 1942 sent programming across South America, the Middle East, and East Asia.[152] Radio Luxembourg, a centrally located high-power station on the continent, was seized by Germany, and then by the United States—which created fake news programs appearing as though they were created by Germany.[153] Targeting American troops in the Pacific, the Japanese government broadcast the "Zero Hour" program, which included news from the U.S. to make the soldiers homesick.[154] But by the end of the war, Britain had the largest radio network in the world, broadcasting internationally in 43 different languages.[155] Its scope would eventually be surpassed (by 1955) by the worldwide Voice of America programs, produced by the United States Information Agency.[156]
In Britain and the United States, television news watching rose dramatically in the 1950s and by the 1960s supplanted radio as the public's primary source of news.[157] In the U.S., television was run by the same networks which owned radio: CBS, NBC, and an NBC spin-off called ABC.[158] Edward R. Murrow, who first entered the public ear as a war reporter in London, made the big leap to television to become an iconic newsman on CBS (and later the director of the United States Information Agency).[159]
Ted Turner's creation of the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980 inaugurated a new era of 24-hour satellite news broadcasting. In 1991, the BBC introduced a competitor, BBC World Service Television. Rupert Murdoch's Australian News Corporation entered the picture with Fox News Channel in the US, Sky News in Britain, and STAR TV in Asia.[160] Combining this new apparatus with the use of embedded reporters, the United States waged the 1991–1992 Gulf War with the assistance of nonstop media coverage.[161] CNN's specialty is the crisis, to which the network is prepared to shift its total attention if so chosen.[162] CNN news was transmitted via INTELSAT communications satellites.[163] CNN, said an executive, would bring a "town crier to the global village".[164]
In 1996, the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera emerged as a powerful alternative to the Western media, capitalizing in part on anger in the Arab & Muslim world regarding biased coverage of the Gulf War. Al Jazeera hired many news workers conveniently laid off by BBC Arabic Television, which closed in April 1996. It used Arabsat to broadcast.[160]
Internet [ edit ]
The early internet, known as ARPANET, was controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense and used mostly by academics. It became available to a wider public with the release of the Netscape browser in 1994.[165] At first, news websites were mostly archives of print publications.[166] An early online newspaper was the Electronic Telegraph, published by The Daily Telegraph.[167][168] A 1994 earthquake in California was one of the first big stories to be reported online in real time.[169] In 1995, the release of web browser Netscape made news sites accessible to more people.[169] On the day of the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, people flocked to newsgroups and chatrooms to discuss the situation and share information. The Oklahoma City Daily posted news to its site within hours. Two of the only news sites capable of hosting images, the San Jose Mercury News and Time magazine, posted photographs of the scene.[169]
Quantitatively, the internet has massively expanded the sheer volume of news items available to one person. The speed of news flow to individuals has also reached a new plateau.[170] This insurmountable flow of news can daunt people and cause information overload. Zbigniew Brzezinski called this period the "technetronic era", in which "global reality increasingly absorbs the individual, involves him, and even occasionally overwhelms him."[171]
In cases of government crackdowns or revolutions, the Internet has often become a major communication channel for news propagation; while it's a (relatively) simple act to shut down a newspaper, radio or television station, mobile devices such as smartphones and netbooks are much harder to detect and confiscate. The propagation of internet-capable mobile devices has also given rise to the citizen journalist, who provide an additional perspective on unfolding events.
News media today [ edit ]
News can travel through different communication media.[17] In modern times, printed news had to be phoned into a newsroom or brought there by a reporter, where it was typed and either transmitted over wire services or edited and manually set in type along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term "breaking news" has become trite as commercial broadcasting United States cable news services that are available 24 hours a day use live communications satellite technology to bring current events into consumers' homes as the event occurs. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via radio, television, mobile phone, and the internet.
Speed of news transmission, of course, still varies wildly on the basis of where and how one lives.[172]
Newspaper [ edit ]
A newspaper is one of the most common ways to receive the latest news.
Most large cities in the United States historically had morning and afternoon newspapers. With the addition of new communications media, afternoon newspapers have shut down and morning newspapers have lost circulation. Weekly newspapers have somewhat increased.[173] In more and more cities, newspapers have established local market monopolies—i.e., a single newspaper is the only one in town. This process has accelerated since the 1980s, commensurate with a general trend of consolidation in media ownership.[174] In China, too, newspapers have gained exclusive status, city-by-city, and pooled into large associations such as Chengdu Business News. These associations function like news agencies, challenging the hegemony of Xinhua as a news provider.[137]
The world's top three most circulated newspapers all publish from Japan.
About one-third of newspaper revenue comes from sales; the majority comes from advertising.[175] Newspapers have struggled to maintain revenue given declining circulation and the free flow of information over the internet; some have implemented paywalls for their websites.[167]
In the U.S., many newspapers have shifted their operations online, publishing around the clock rather than daily in order to keep pace with the internet society. Prognosticators have suggested that print newspapers will vanish from the U.S. in 5–20 years.[167] Many newspapers have started to track social media engagement for trending news stories to cover. Spain's Público has reshaped their social media strategy and grew their audience by 40 %.
Television [ edit ]
Internationally distributed news channels include BBC News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Sky News. Televisions are densely concentrated in the United States (98% of households), and the average American watches 4 hours of television programming each day. In other parts of the world, such as Kenya—especially rural areas without much electricity—televisions are rare.[172]
The largest supplier of international video news is Reuters TV, with 409 subscribers in 83 countries, 38 bureaus, and a reported audience of 1.5 billion people each day. The other major video news service is Associated Press Television News. These two major agencies have agreements to exchange video news with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Eurovision—itself a sizeable video news exchange.[176] CNN International is a notable broadcaster in times of crisis.[162]
Internet [ edit ]
Online journalism is news that is reported on the internet. News can be delivered more quickly through this method of news as well as accessed more easily. The internet era has transformed the understanding of news. Because the internet allows communication which is not only instantaneous, but also bi- or multi-directional, it has blurred the boundaries of who is a legitimate news producer. A common type of internet journalism is called blogging, which is a service of persistently written articles uploaded and written by one or more individuals. Millions of people in countries such as the United States and South Korea have taken up blogging. Many blogs have rather small audiences; some blogs are read by millions each month.[177] Social media sites, especially Twitter and Facebook, have become an important source of breaking news information and for disseminating links to news websites. Twitter declared in 2012: "It's like being delivered a newspaper whose headlines you'll always find interesting—you can discover news as it's happening, learn more about topics that are important to you, and get the inside scoop in real time."[178] Cell phone cameras have normalized citizen photojournalism.[179]
Michael Schudson, professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has said that "[e]verything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought in the Digital Age."[180] Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop. In that way, journalistic authority seems to have become more individual- and less institution-based. But does the individual reporter always have to be an actual journalist? Or can journalistic work be done from anywhere and by anyone? These are questions that refer to the core of journalistic practice and the definition of "news" itself. As Schudson has given emphasis to, the answer is not easily found; "the ground journalists walk upon is shaking, and the experience for both those who work in the field and those on the outside studying it is dizzying".[180]
Schudson has identified the following six specific areas where the ecology of news in his opinion has changed:
The line between the reader and writer has blurred.
The distinction among tweet, blog post, Facebook, newspaper story, magazine article, and book has blurred.
The line between professionals and amateurs has blurred, and a variety of "pro-am" relationships has emerged.
The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have blurred, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed.
Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office has blurred.
The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition.[181]
These alterations inevitably have fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. "The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, and this blurring, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices",[182] Schudson puts it. It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.
Online news has also changed the geographic reach of individual news stories, diffusing readership from city-by-city markets to a potentially global audience.[167]
The growth of social media networks have also created new opportunities for automated and efficient news gathering for journalists and newsrooms. Many newsrooms (broadcasters, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV) have started to perform news gathering on social media platforms. Social media is creating changes in the consumer behaviour and news consumption. According to a study by Pew Research, a large portion of Americans read news on digital and on mobile devices.
Because internet does not have the "column inches" limitation of print media, online news stories can, but don't always, come bundled with supplementary material. The medium of the world wide web also enables hyperlinking, which allows readers to navigate to other pages related to the one they're reading.[167]
Despite these changes, some studies have concluded that internet news coverage remains fairly homogenous and dominated by news agencies.[183][184] And journalists working with online media do not identify significantly different criteria for newsworthiness than print journalists.[23]
News agencies [ edit ]
Reuters office in Bonn, Germany, 1988
News agencies are services which compile news and disseminate it in bulk. Because they disseminate information to a wide variety of clients, who repackage the material as news for public consumption, news agencies tend to use less controversial language in their reports. Despite their importance, news agencies are not well known by the general public. They keep low profiles and their reporters usually do not get bylines.[18][185]
The oldest news agency still operating is the Agence France-Presse (AFP).[186] It was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas. By the end of the twentieth century, Reuters far outpaced the other news agencies in profits, and became one of the largest companies in Europe.[187] In 2011, Thomson Reuters employed more than 55,000 people in 100 countries, and posted an annual revenue of $12.9 billion.[18]
United Press International gained prominence as a world news agency in the middle of the twentieth century, but shrank in the 1980s and was sold off at low prices. It is owned by the Unification Church company News World Communications.
News agencies, especially Reuters and the newly important Bloomberg News, convey both news stories for mass audiences and financial information of interest to businesses and investors.[188][189] Bloomberg LP, a private company founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, made rapid advances with computerized stock market reporting updated in real time. Its news service continued to exploit this electronic advantage by combining computer-generated analytics with text reporting. Bloomberg linked with Agence France Presse in the 1990s.[189]
Following the marketization of the Chinese economy and the media boom of the 1990s, Xinhua has adopted some commercial practices including subscription fees, but it remains government-subsidized. It provides newswire, news photos, economic information, and audio and video news. Xinhua has a growing number of subscribers, totaling 16,969 in 2002, including 93% of Chinese newspapers.[137] It operates 123 foreign bureaus and produces 300 news stories each day.[190]
Other agencies with considerable reach include Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Germany), Kyodo News (Japan), the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (Italy), the Middle East News Agency (Egypt), Tanjug (Serbia), EFE (Spain), and Anadolu Agency (Turkey).[191]
On the internet, news aggregators play a role similar to that of the news agency—and, because of the sources they select, tend to transmit news stories which originate from the main agencies. Of articles displayed by Yahoo! News in the U.S., 91.7% come from news agencies: 39.4% from AP, 30.9% AFP, and 21.3% Reuters. In India, 60.1% of Yahoo! News stories come from Reuters. Google News relies somewhat less on news agencies, and has shown high volatility, in the sense of focusing heavily on the most recent handful of salient world events.[183] In 2010, Google News redesigned its front page with automatic geotargeting, which generated a selection of local news items for every viewer.[192]
Global news system [ edit ]
In the 20th century, global news coverage was dominated by a combination of the "Big Four" news agencies—Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Press, and United Press International—representing the Western bloc, and the Communist agencies: TASS from the Soviet Union, and Xinhua from China.[193] Studies of major world events, and analyses of all international news coverage in various newspapers, consistently found that a large majority of news items originated from the four biggest wire services.[183]
Television news agencies include Associated Press Television News, which bought and incorporated World Television News; and Reuters Television.[176][194] Bloomberg News created in the 1990s, expanded rapidly to become a player in the realm of international news.[188] The Associated Press also maintains a radio network with thousands of subscribers worldwide; it is the sole provider of international news to many small stations.[176]
By some accounts, dating back to the 1940s, the increasing interconnectedness of the news system has accelerated the pace of world history itself.[195]
New World Information and Communication Order [ edit ]
The global news system is dominated by agencies from Europe and the United States, and reflects their interests and priorities in its coverage.[196] Euro-American control of the global news system has led to criticism; that events around the world are constantly compared to events like the Holocaust and World War II, which are considered foundational in the West.[197] Since the 1960s, a significant amount of news reporting from the Third World has been characterized by some form "development journalism", a paradigm which focuses on long-term development projects, social change, and nation-building.[198] When in 1987 the U.S. media reported on a riot in the Dominican Republic—the first major news item regarding that country in years—the resulting decline in tourism lasted for years and had a noticeable effect on the economy.[199] The English language predominates in global news exchanges.[200] Critics have accused the global news system of perpetuating cultural imperialism.[164][201][202] Critics further charge that the Western media conglomerates maintain a bias towards the status quo economic order, especially a pro-corporate bias.[201]
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has promoted a New World Information and Communication Order, which envisions an international news exchange system involving national news agencies in every country. UNESCO encouraged the new states formed from colonial territories in the 1960s to establish news agencies, to generate domestic news stories, exchange news items with international partners, and disseminate both types of news internally.[203] Along these lines, the 1980 MacBride report, "Many Voices, One World", called for an interdependent global news system with more participation from different governments. To this end, also, UNESCO formed the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool.[204]
The Inter Press Service, founded in 1964, has served as an intermediary for Third World press agencies.[205] Inter Press Service's editorial policy favors coverage of events, institutions, and issues which relate to inequality, economic development, economic integration, natural resources, population, health, education, and sustainable development.[206] It gives less coverage than other agencies to crime, disasters, and violence. Geographically, 70% of its news reporting concerns Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.[207] IPS has the most subscribers in Latin America and southern Africa.[206] IPS receives grants from organizations such as the United Nations Development Program and other United Nations agencies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, the Diocese of Graz, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the W. Alton Jones Foundation to report news on chosen topics, including the environment, sustainable development, and women's issues.[208]
Beginning in the 1960s, the United States Agency for International Development, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and UNESCO developed the use of satellite television for international broadcasting. In India, 1975–1976, these agencies implemented an experimental satellite television system, called the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, with assistance from the Indian Space Research Organisation, and All India Radio.[209]
Further transformation in global news flow [ edit ]
By the 1980s, much of the Third World had succumbed to a debt crisis resulting from unrepayably large loans accumulated since the 1960s. At this point, the World Bank took an active role in the governance of many countries, and its authority extended to communications policy. The policy of developing Third World media gave way to a global regime of free trade institutions like the World Trade Organization, which also protected the free flow of information across borders.[210] The World Bank also promoted privatization of national telecommunications, which afforded large multinational corporations the opportunity to purchase networks and expand operations in the Third World.[211][212]
In countries with less telecommunications infrastructure, people, especially youth, tend today to get their news predominantly from mobile phones and, less so, from the internet. Older folks listen more to the radio. The government of China is a major investor in Third World telecommunications, especially in Africa.[213] Some issues relating to global information flow were revisited in light of the internet at the 2003/2005 World Summit on the Information Society, a conference which emphasized the role of civil society and the private sector in information society governance.[214]
News values [ edit ]
News values are the professional norms of journalism. Commonly, news content should contain all the "Five Ws" (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) of an event. Newspapers normally place hard news stories on the first pages, so the most important information is at the beginning, enabling busy readers to read as little or as much as they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time constraints.
Journalists are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide opinion or personal points of view. The resulting articles lay out facts in a sterile, noncommittal manner, standing back to "let the reader decide" the truth of the matter.[215] Several governments impose certain constraints against bias. In the United Kingdom, the government agency of Ofcom (Office of Communications) enforces a legal requirement of "impartiality" on news broadcasters.[216] Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments. Many single-party governments have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views.
Mid-twentieth-century news reporting in the United States focused on political and local issues with important socio-economic impacts, such as the landing of a living person on the moon or the cold war. The focus similarly remains on political and local issues; the news mass media now comes under criticism for over-emphasis on "non-news" and "gossip" such as celebrities' personal social issues, local issues of little merit, as well as biased sensationalism of political topics such as terrorism and the economy. The dominance of celebrity and social news, the blurring of the boundary between news and reality shows and other popular culture, and the advent of citizen journalism may suggest that the nature of 'news' and news values are evolving and that traditional models of the news process are now only partially relevant.[217] Newsworthiness does not only depend on the topic, but also the presentation of the topic and the selection of information from that topic.
Although newswriters have always laid claim to truth and objectivity, the modern values of professional journalism were established beginning in the late 1800s and especially after World War I, when groups like the American Society of Newspaper Editors codified rules for unbiased news reporting. These norms held the most sway in American and British journalism, and were scorned by some other countries.[218][219] These ideas have become part of the practice of journalism across the world.[220] Soviet commentators said stories in the Western press were trivial distractions from reality, and emphasized a socialist realism model focusing on developments in everyday life.[221]
Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a favourable impression.[222] Because each individual has a particular point of view, it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news reporting.[223] Journalists can collectively shift their opinion over what is a controversy up for debate and what is an established fact, as evidenced by homogenization during the 2000s of news coverage of climate change.[224]
Some commentators on news values have argued that journalists' training in news values itself represents a systemic bias of the news. The norm of objectivity leads journalists to gravitate towards certain types of acts and exclude others. A journalist can be sure of objectivity in reporting that an official or public figure has made a certain statement. This is one reason why so much news reporting is devoted to official statements.[225] This lemma dates back to the early history of public news reporting, as exemplified by an English printer who on 12 March 1624 published news from Brussels in the form of letters, with the prefacing comment: "Now because you shall not say, that either out of my owne conceit I misliked a phrase, or presumptuously tooke upon me to reforme any thing amisse, I will truly set you downe their owne words."[226]
Feminist critiques argue that discourse defined as objective by news organizations reflects a male-centered perspective.[227] In their selection of sources, journalists rely heavily on men as sources of authoritative- and objective-seeming statements.[228] News reporting has also tended to discuss women differently, usually in terms of appearance and relationship to men.[229]
The critique of traditional norms of objectivity comes from within news organizations as well. Said Peter Horrocks, head of television news at BBC: "The days of middle-of-the-road, balancing Left and Right, impartiality are dead. […] we need to consider adopting what I like to think of as a much wider 'radical impartiality'—the need to hear the widest range of views—all sides of the story."[216]
Social organization of news production [ edit ]
News organizations [ edit ]
Viewed from a sociological perspective, news for mass consumption is produced in hierarchical organizations. Reporters, working near the bottom of the structure, are given significant autonomy in researching and preparing reports, subject to assignments and occasional intervention from higher decision-makers.[230] Owners at the top of the news hierarchy influence the content of news indirectly but substantially. The professional norms of journalism discourage overt censorship; however, news organizations have covert but firm norms about how to cover certain topics. These policies are conveyed to journalists through socialization on the job; without any written policy, they simply learn how things are done.[231][232] Journalists comply with these rules for various reasons, including job security.[233] Journalists are also systematically influenced by their education, including journalism school.[234]
News production is routinized in several ways. News stories use familiar formats and subgenres which vary by topic. "Rituals of objectivity", such as pairing a quotation from one group with a quotation from a competing group, dictate the construction of most news narratives. Many news items revolve around periodic press conferences or other scheduled events. Further routine is established by assigning each journalist to a beat: a domain of human affairs, usually involving government or commerce, in which certain types of events routinely occur.[235]
A common scholarly frame for understanding news production is to examine the role of information gatekeepers: to ask why and how certain narratives make their way from news producers to news consumers.[236] Obvious gatekeepers include journalists, news agency staff, and wire editors of newspapers.[237] Ideology, personal preferences, source of news, and length of a story are among the many considerations which influence gatekeepers.[238] Although social media have changed the structure of news dissemination, gatekeeper effects may continue due to the role of a few central nodes in the social network.[239]
New factors have emerged in internet-era newsrooms. One issue is "click-thinking", the editorial selection of news stories—and of journalists—who can generate the most website hits and thus advertising revenue. Unlike a newspaper, a news website has detailed data collection about which stories are popular and who is reading them.[185][240] The drive for speedy online postings, some journalists have acknowledged, has altered norms of fact-checking so that verification takes place after publication.[185][241]
Journalists' sometimes unattributed echoing of other news sources can also increase the homogeneity of news feeds.[242] The digital age can accelerate the problem of circular reporting: propagation of the same error through increasingly reliable sources. In 2009, a number of journalists were embarrassed after all reproducing a fictional quotation, originating from Wikipedia.[242][243]
News organizations have historically been male-dominated, though women have acted as journalists since at least the 1880s. The number of female journalists has increased over time, but organizational hierarchies remain controlled mostly by men.[244] Studies of British news organizations estimate that more than 80% of decision-makers are men.[245] Similar studies have found 'old boys' networks' in control of news organizations in the United States and the Netherlands.[246] Further, newsrooms tend to divide journalists by gender, assigning men to "hard" topics like military, crime, and economics, and women to "soft", "humanised" topics.[247]
Relationship with institutions [ edit ]
For various reasons, news media usually have a close relationship with the state, and often church as well, even when they cast themselves in critical roles.[50][51][248] This relationship seems to emerge because the press can develop symbiotic relationships with other powerful social institutions.[248] In the United States, the Associated Press wire service developed a "bilateral monopoly" with the Western Union telegraph company.[121][249]
The news agencies which rose to power in the mid-1800s all had support from their respective governments, and in turn served their political interests to some degree.[141] News for consumption has operated under statist assumptions, even when it takes a stance adversarial to some aspect of a government.[250] In practice, a large proportion of routine news production involves interactions between reporters and government officials.[251] Relatedly, journalists tend to adopt a hierarchical view of society, according to which a few people at the top of organizational pyramids are best situated to comment on the reality which serves as the basisi of news.[252] Broadly speaking, therefore, news tends to normalize and reflect the interests of the power structure dominant in its social context.[253]
Today, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rival and may surpass governments in their influence on the content of news.[254]
State control [ edit ]
Governments use international news transmissions to promote the national interest and conduct political warfare, alternatively known as public diplomacy and, in the modern era, international broadcasting. International radio broadcasting came into wide-ranging use by world powers seeking cultural integration of their empires.[255] The British government used BBC radio as a diplomatic tool, setting up Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese services in 1937.[256] American propaganda broadcasters include Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, set up during the Cold War and still operating today.[257] The United States remains the world's top broadcaster, although by some accounts it was surpassed for a time circa 1980 by the Soviet Union. Other major international broadcasters include the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, North Korea, India, Cuba, and Australia.[258] Around the world (and especially, formerly, in the Soviet bloc), international news sources such as the BBC World Service are often welcomed as alternatives to domestic state-run media.[259][260]
Governments have also funneled programming through private news organizations, as when the British government arranged to insert news into the Reuters feed during and after World War Two.[261] Past revelations have suggested that the U.S. military and intelligence agencies create news stories which they disseminate secretly into the foreign and domestic media. Investigation into the Central Intelligence Agency pursued in the 1970s found that it owned hundreds of news organizations (wire services, newspapers, magazines) outright.[262][263] Soviet news warfare also involved the creation of front groups, like the International Organization of Journalists. The Russian KGB heavily pursued a strategy of disinformation, planting false stories which made their way to news outlets worldwide.[264]
Broadcasts into Iraq before the Second Gulf War mimicked the style of local programming.[265] The US also launched Middle East Broadcasting Networks, featuring the satellite TV station Alhurra and radio station Radio Sawa to beam 24-hour programming to Iraq and environs.[266]
Today, Al Jazeera, a TV and internet news network owned by the government of Qatar, has become one of the foremost news sources in the world, appreciated by millions as an alternative to the Western media.[267] State-owned China Central Television operates 18 channels and reaches more than a billion viewers worldwide.[268] Iran's Press TV and Russia's Russia Today, branded as RT, also have multiplatform presences and large audiences.
Public relations [ edit ]
If important things of life to-day consist of trans-atlantic radiophone talks arranged by commercial telephone companies; if they consist of inventions that will be commercially advantageous to the men who market them; if they consist of Henry Fords with epoch-making cars—then all this is news. Edward Bernays, Propaganda (1928), pp. 152–153.
As distinct from advertising, which deals with marketing distinct from news, public relations involves the techniques of influencing news in order to give a certain impression to the public. A standard public relations tactic, the "third-party technique", is the creation of seemingly independent organizations, which can deliver objective-sounding statements to news organizations without revealing their corporate connections.[269] Public relations agencies can create complete content packages |
curb operating costs and try to extract synergies from their impending merger. Shareholders will vote to approve or reject the deal next week.
Reporting preliminary fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Shell said it cut $4 billion in operating costs last year and expects to shake out another $3 billion in costs this year. The company says synergies – cutting redundant costs as part of its corporate merger – will support its efforts to cope with the worst downturn in half a century.
“Shell’s drive to improve competitive performance is delivering at the bottom line,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a written statement.
Shell last year had announced it will cut 7,500 jobs and says it will cut another 2,800 jobs after its BG Group deal closes. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant and BG Group, a British gas producer, had a combined 99,000 employees at the end of 2014, regulatory filings show.
In the fourth quarter, Shell collected between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion in earnings on a current cost of supplies basis, which is a measure of net income used by some oil companies. That’s down from $4.2 billion in the same three-month period in 2014.
Income from Shell’s oil exploration and production business dropped from $1.73 billion to a range of $400 million to $500 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Shell’s downstream income held steady from $1.55 billion to a range of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion.
As crude sinks further below $30 a barrel on Wednesday, Shell said it plans to peel spending plans back further. Its capital investment budget combined with BG Group’s will come in at $33 billion this year, about 45 percent lower than its peak in 2013.
Shell expects its acquisition of BG Group, subject to shareholder approval, will close in a few weeks. The transaction was originally valued at more than $70 billion but the price tag fell as Shell’s share price declined amid anemic crude prices. The Big Oil firm plans to sell off $30 billion in assets over the next three years, on top of $20 billion in sales last year.Ford Fiesta and Focus transmission lawsuit will be settled concerning PowerShift transmissions.
March 27, 2017 — A Ford transmission lawsuit settlement is on the way as the automaker agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit concerning Ford Focus and Fiesta dual-clutch "PowerShift" transmissions that jerk, hesitate and shudder.
The settlement, once approved by a federal judge, will include about 1.5 million model year 2011-2016 Ford Fiesta and 2012-2016 Ford Focus cars with automatic transmissions that caused Ford to issue two customer satisfaction programs.
Customer satisfaction program 14M01 extended the warranty coverage for the transmission’s input shafts, clutch and software calibration in Fiesta and Focus cars manufactured prior to June 5, 2013.
Then the 14M02 program extended the warranty on the transmission control module to 10 years or 150,000 miles for specific 2011-2015 Fiesta and 2012-2016 Focus cars, but the plaintiffs say neither program fixed the shuddering and jerking.
Lead plaintiff Omar Vargas filed the initial transmission lawsuit after complaining about the PowerShift transmission lunging or jerking forward when attempting to decelerate. The plaintiff says the transmission also hesitated and jerked when attempting to accelerate.
Ford marketed the Focus and Fiesta transmissions as combining the best features of automatic and standard transmissions, but Vargas said he started having problems with his 2011 Ford Fiesta soon after his lease began and made multiple visits to Ford dealers to have the transmission repaired.
The lawsuit alleges Ford knew the PowerShift transmission was defective and a safety hazard but concealed that knowledge from consumers. However, Ford denies there are problems with the dual-clutch transmissions and has agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit to save on the time and expense of additional litigation because the automaker had already dealt with other similar lawsuits.
Another suit alleging the same claims, (Klipfel v. Ford Motor Company), was first filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court in 2015, then that suit was moved to the Central District of California and Ford promptly filed a motion to dismiss. Ford’s motion to dismiss was denied and the parties later agreed to consolidate the Vargas and Klipfel lawsuits.
Ford Fiesta and Focus Transmission Lawsuit Settlement Terms
Owners and lessees of 2011-2016 Ford Fiesta and 2012-2016 Ford Focus cars will have options such as cash payments and reimbursements, credits towards the purchase of new vehicles and the repurchase of affected cars through an arbitration process that allows claims to be submitted for up to six years from the date of original sale.
The settlement, once finalized, entitles affected owners to cash payments from Ford for the hassle of taking their cars to dealers for repairs that didn't work, even where owners have incurred no out-of-pocket costs. In addition, the transmission settlement provides affected Fiesta and Focus owners two types of repairs.
Owners who have three or more service visits for a replacement of one of the primary transmission parts will receive $200 for the third service visit, with increasing payments for each additional visit. Instead of cash, an owner may receive a discount certificate toward the purchase of a Ford vehicle for twice the cash value.
All total, owners may collect up to $2,325 in total cash payments or $4,650 in discount certificate value.
Affected owners who have had at least three software flashes performed by Ford dealers will receive $50 starting with the third software flash, with an additional $50 for each subsequent software flash, up to $600.
The settlement also provides owners a way for Ford to repurchase or replace their defective Fiesta or Focus through a settlement-created private dispute resolution (arbitration) program paid for by Ford. This program will allegedly resolve the claims of each qualifying owner based on his or her state’s lemon law and do it in one or two months, compared to a typical lemon law action in court that would take a year or longer.
And finally, the transmission lawsuit settlement provides owners who believe they were either improperly charged for repairs or denied repairs that should have been covered under Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty a way to pursue these warranty claims in a more limited arbitration.
Ford will also cover the cost of the arbitration and the arbitrator is authorized to award an owner reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs and complimentary repairs or warranty extensions by Ford.
Additionally, the settlement provides full reimbursement to owners who replaced a third clutch after having had two clutches replaced within the 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty for certain vehicles. The replacement clutch will come with a 2-year warranty.
Although Ford has agreed to the settlement terms, a judge still must make the settlement final. Fiesta and Focus owners with questions should contact one of the law firms that represent the plaintiffs, or wait for mailed notifications.
The plaintiffs are represented by Capstone Law APC, Berger & Montague P.C., and Zimmerman Law Offices P.C.
The Ford transmission lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - Omar Vargas, Robert Bertone, Michelle Harris and Sharon Heberling, et al, vs. Ford Motor Company.Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
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Pope Francis’ address to the United Nations on Friday engaged robustly with world politics. He presented a carefully reasoned, systematic philosophy of peace, conflict, and the environment, driven by a few central principles such as multilateralism, reasoned faith, and care for human life. This philosophy drove him to support the Iran deal and to take the stance of a climate hawk. On virtually every issue, he came down against the key talking points of the Republican presidential candidates, who had counted on culturally conservative Catholics to support their belligerence toward Iran and their climate-change denial. Ad Policy
The Republican candidates universally proclaim themselves “pro-life,” as does the pope. But if life is sacrosanct, then surely war should be avoided, too, and assassinations and capital punishment should be banned. With the exception of Rand Paul, the GOP field for the most part strongly supported George W. Bush’s unilateral and unprovoked attack on Iraq, which has left hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced, and the region in turmoil. It is hard not to hear a critique of that war of aggression in the pope’s pronouncement that “hard evidence is not lacking of the negative effects of military and political interventions which are not coordinated between members of the international community.”
Worse, the Republican candidates seem positively eager for another such war, this time with Iran. Ted Cruz, even as Francis was speaking at the UN, was rattling sabers and announcing his intention to murder Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even the more soft-spoken Jeb Bush spoke of wanting a “better deal” with Iran, and then went on revealingly to say that the United States had gotten a “pretty good deal” with regard to Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein (executed by US-backed Shiites). Pope Francis is not even in the same universe with these candidates except on the narrow issue of abortion, which most of the Republicans only oppose to attract Catholic and evangelical votes (this point is obvious in the cases of Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina).
Pope Francis framed his support for the UN Security Council’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran precisely in anti-war terms. He grounded the search for peace, moreover, in the rule of law. The pontiff observed, “there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm.” THE NATION IS READER FUNDED. YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL TO OUR WORK. DONATE NOW!
The pontiff praised the multilateral, law-based activities of the United Nations, which he called “necessary” for all its shortcomings, insisting, “All these achievements are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness” [emphasis mine]. Unrestrained ambitions and collective selfishness have been amply on display in the circus of the US political campaign season. Donald Trump has whipped up a dangerous anti-immigrant fervor, and the candidates are outbidding each other in criticisms of President Obama for not having been more warlike. All of the Republican candidates have pledged to undo the careful UN Security Council negotiations that led to the Iran deal.
The complete disregard in the Republican Party in particular, and in American politics in general, for the rule of law when matters of security are allegedly at stake is startling when considered against the European Union, for instance. The enthusiasm in Washington for George W. Bush’s Iraq War was an incredible affront to this principle, since Iraq had not attacked the United States and no Security Council resolution authorized the use of force. This severe violation of the basic norms of the UN Charter was not even an issue inside the Beltway.
Pope Francis sees war and environmental degradation as intertwined. That is, both menace human life and the web of nature in which it flourishes. Indeed, war always itself damages the environment in addition to piling up human bodies. He said: “War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.”
The worst kind of war of all, both for the environment (can you say, “nuclear winter”?) and for human beings is war pursued with atomic bombs. Pope Francis condemned nuclear proliferation. But he went beyond this warning to critiquing the doctrine of “mutual assured destruction,” which some political scientists have argued maintains peace among nuclear-armed states. He complained that any system of ethics founded on this strategy is “self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as ‘nations united by fear and distrust.’”
This careful chain of reasoning led the Pope to his approbation of the JCPOA with Iran, saying, “The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy.” Unlike the Republicans, who want to undo the deal immediately, the Pope said, “I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.” He sees the Iran deal as exemplary of multilateralism (it was negotiated by all the permanent members of the Security Council as well as Germany, which unofficially represented the European Union). He sees it as a product of respect for the rule of law. He sees it as an important step in the struggle against proliferation. He sees it as an alternative to war and thus as an affirmation of life.
These values—of international law, working closely with allies, and preferring careful and effective diplomacy to unilateral, aggressive war—are virtually the opposite of the ones we usually hear from the GOP field (again, Rand Paul and to some extent John Kasich are exceptions). Pope Francis was not speaking ex cathedra or on behalf of the church, or laying down church doctrine, so many right-wing US Catholics will ignore his political stances. But by his consistency in affirming the supremacy of life in all spheres—including diplomacy, climate change, and taking care of refugees and the poor—he has modeled a profound critique of Republicans’ hypocrisy in supporting war, Scrooge-like policies toward the disadvantaged, and the wrecking of the UN Security Council’s Iran accord, while proclaiming themselves pro-life on one narrow issue.The reason I moved to London was to give myself mental space after coming out to my Asian family. My parents were devastated as they had planned an arranged marriage for me, their only son, and the cultural significance of my wedding was huge. Even though they came from a place of love, these expectations were causing me immeasurable stress and upset. I had no choice but to leave the family home for the sake of my mental health.
Today, after having left home and ingratiated myself with the ‘gaysian’ scene, my relationship with the family is slowly mending.
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What does 'gaysian' mean, you ask? It's an amalgamation of the words 'gay' and 'Asian' that describe me and a whole underground LGBT scene. Our scene only exists in larger cities like London. It’s usually confined to a few monthly club nights in an obscure venue – but it’s about to get bigger.
These club nights are an opportunity for Asian LGBT people to meet and socialise. But perhaps more importantly, it’s a place to dance the night away accompanied by a heady mix of Bollywood and bhangra tunes. It may seem like that’s not so different from what happens on the mainstream gay scene, albeit with different music – but the gaysian scene is unique, as there’s an emphasis not only on expressing one’s sexuality but on celebrating Asian culture. When many Asian people grow in families with extremely conservative views, we can end up feeling like our identities are torn in two by the realisation that we’re gay, bi or trans. Gaysian celebrations work to reconcile both sides of our identities.
When I first moved to London after leaving my family home, I thoroughly researched the gaysian scene and clocked a place to go. I caught three buses to a north London club that was reminiscent of my secondary school’s PE hall. Glamorous it wasn’t, but it didn’t matter as I got to see many LGBT Asian people be happy and carefree. I marvelled at the existence of so many people living perfectly contentedly who were exactly like me. It was supremely liberating.
Shape Created with Sketch. Controversial Channel 4 programmes Show all 10 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Controversial Channel 4 programmes 1/10 Benefits Street The first series of Benefits Street made a star of James Turner Street resident White Dee (pictured). Last year, the programme caused as much controversy as Top Gear, being criticised for benefiting the ratings rather than the people who are in it. Channel 4 2/10 The Undateables It first aired in 2012, featuring disabled singletons on a quest for love. Critics attacked the marketing of the reality TV show as "sensationalist", "harmful" and akin to exploitative Victorian "freak shows", but Channel 4 argued that the campaign and title was a reflection of society's own prejudices. Channel 4 3/10 Dogging Tales The show was the most watched programme by 16-34 year olds, causing reactions on the disturbing range of animal masks worn by the “doggers”, and on the statistic reported on the show that 70 per cent of lorry drivers go dogging. Channel 4 4/10 Big Fat Gypsy Weddings The show has been a ratings winner for Channel 4, but it was criticised by the Traveller community, saying it fuels discrimination and portrays their lives inaccurately. 5/10 The Paedophile Hunter The documentary shone a light into the murky world of internet vigilantism. In it, online vigilante Stinson Hunter and his associates lure and trap sexual predators by posing as underage children online, and then pass evidence on to the police and post it online. Channel 4 6/10 Sex Box In the show couples have sex in a soundproofed box and then discuss it with a panel of experts afterwards. Our reviewer called it a titillation that masquerades as serious television. 7/10 Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial Hosted by Jon Snow, the programme showed people trying Ecstasy live on air. Actor and comedian Keith Allen volunteered to help the live study on the effect of the drug. 8/10 Angry White and Proud The documentary showed some of the less salubrious sides of far right groups and activities in this country, showing evidence that whilst it is true that actual street base support has dropped, this does not take into account how the narratives of these extreme groups has pervaded and spread across the internet. Channel 4 9/10 Ukip: The First 100 Days The documentary received over 6,500 complaints after it imagined former Ukip leader Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. 10/10 Married at First Sight Documentary programme featured three couples, two of whom decided to get married without having previously met. Cameras followed them through their wedding night, honeymoon and their first few weeks of living together. Channel 4 1/10 Benefits Street The first series of Benefits Street made a star of James Turner Street resident White Dee (pictured). Last year, the programme caused as much controversy as Top Gear, being criticised for benefiting the ratings rather than the people who are in it. Channel 4 2/10 The Undateables It first aired in 2012, featuring disabled singletons on a quest for love. Critics attacked the marketing of the reality TV show as "sensationalist", "harmful" and akin to exploitative Victorian "freak shows", but Channel 4 argued that the campaign and title was a reflection of society's own prejudices. Channel 4 3/10 Dogging Tales The show was the most watched programme by 16-34 year olds, causing reactions on the disturbing range of animal masks worn by the “doggers”, and on the statistic reported on the show that 70 per cent of lorry drivers go dogging. Channel 4 4/10 Big Fat Gypsy Weddings The show has been a ratings winner for Channel 4, but it was criticised by the Traveller community, saying it fuels discrimination and portrays their lives inaccurately. 5/10 The Paedophile Hunter The documentary shone a light into the murky world of internet vigilantism. In it, online vigilante Stinson Hunter and his associates lure and trap sexual predators by posing as underage children online, and then pass evidence on to the police and post it online. Channel 4 6/10 Sex Box In the show couples have sex in a soundproofed box and then discuss it with a panel of experts afterwards. Our reviewer called it a titillation that masquerades as serious television. 7/10 Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial Hosted by Jon Snow, the programme showed people trying Ecstasy live on air. Actor and comedian Keith Allen volunteered to help the live study on the effect of the drug. 8/10 Angry White and Proud The documentary showed some of the less salubrious sides of far right groups and activities in this country, showing evidence that whilst it is true that actual street base support has dropped, this does not take into account how the narratives of these extreme groups has pervaded and spread across the internet. Channel 4 9/10 Ukip: The First 100 Days The documentary received over 6,500 complaints after it imagined former Ukip leader Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. 10/10 Married at First Sight Documentary programme featured three couples, two of whom decided to get married without having previously met. Cameras followed them through their wedding night, honeymoon and their first few weeks of living together. Channel 4
But once I became a regular on the scene, I noticed that Asian LGBT liberation was limited. Outside of the relative safety offered by gaysian spaces, many men and women still experience deep anxiety around coming out. It’s not unusual – or unreasonable - to fear being disowned by one’s family, shunned from religious society or even ending up with threats to one’s life. It can often feel as though it would be easier if we were white.
Excitingly this week, the gaysian community’s existence came to public attention in Channel 4’s ground-breaking Muslim Drag Queens documentary. I was initially nervous watching it; I felt protective of the gaysians involved who were baring their lives on national TV. My fears, however, were quickly quelled. It’s impossible not to feel warmth towards those who have expressed their deepest fears and desires throughout the programme, and I feel thankful for their courage.
Admittedly, my own mind was opened by watching the footage. As a non-religious gaysian, at times I find myself guilty of perching on my high horse, judging religious LGBT people. I assumed their faith held them back from progression - but I was wrong. These Muslim drag queens proved that their religious beliefs didn’t compromise their sexuality. They came across as empowered and fearless spokespeople for a community that can act as a literal lifesaver for so many. If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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Subscribe nowThe extremely pretty Eidolon is out now – an explore-them-up set in a future Washington that has been reclaimed by Nature. Unquestionably looking like Shelter meets Proteus, it plays differently to both, this game primarily a survival simulator. However, with no information at all, including that bit, I started playing and recorded my efforts. You can watch them below.
Just before I started recording, I fell off a mountain. It left me not very well. Soon after I started recording, something ate my face. And so it was to be that this became a 45 minute explore and slow degradation unto death. But gosh, such a pretty one.
Since recording I’ve played some more, and learned that I was a little unfair regarding food – it seems my rapid hunger was more to do with my injuries, and restarting as a healthier figure has seen my cooked fish consumption drop significantly. I’ve also discovered that the game does rearrange itself somewhat to adjust for your walking from pre-ordained paths, and provide items in different ways. Which is rather ace. I shall write more about the game soon.
You can buy Eidolon directly from Ice Water via their Humble widget, which is the best way to make sure they get the most money. Or you can pick it up on Steam for £11.The British government has just published statistics revealing that thousands of people seeking welfare benefits died within weeks of being found “fit to work” and having their benefits cancelled.
The release of the statistics follows a protracted campaign from journalists and activists, including a Change.org petition that garnered almost 250,000 signatures. Many have already accused the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) of stalling its response until after this year’s election in May.
The most shocking mortality data comes from a document about disability-related benefits. Between December 2011 and February 2014, 81,140 people died within six weeks of “flowing off” benefits such as ESA (Employment and Support Allowance), which the government pays to people who cannot work due to illness or disability.
The DWP emphasized that readers should assume “no causal effect” from these figures, because they do not list reasons for each death. However, they will surely fuel the widespread belief that many of these deaths are a direct result of drastic cuts to the government’s welfare budget.
Over the past five years, the DWP has made a public effort to reduce the number of people claiming government benefits. This included the introduction of “fit to work” assessments, which are used to determine whether people are qualified to receive disability benefits.
The newly published documents show that 2,380 former ESA claimants died within two weeks of being declared “fit to work.” A further 1,360 people died after appealing that decision and seeking to have their support allowance reinstated.
ESA payments range from £73 ($113) to £109 ($169) per week and are the only source of income for many people who are too ill to work.
gov.uk
There have been several highly publicized cases of people dying after being declared “fit to work,” such as Jacqueline Harris, a 53-year-old former nurse who was partially sighted and suffered from arthritis. Harris took her own life after losing an appeal to regain her incapacity benefits. Hers was one of many suicides linked to benefits sanctions.
Scotland’s Herald newspaper reported last week that, in preparation for further welfare reforms, some DWP call-center employees had been given guidelines for dealing with suicidal callers.
These employees, who are not counselors or social workers, were given a “laminated pink card” advising them to gather information about callers who say they want to harm themselves, including finding out “whether the customer has the means to hand.” The guidelines indicated a clear awareness that welfare cuts were directly endangering people’s lives.
Commenting on the long delay in releasing updated mortality statistics, opposition welfare minister Kate Green said, “The shenanigans in the DWP around the release of these statistics are concerning and puzzling if the department has nothing to hide.”
DWP officials explained the delay by citing a need for rigorous fact-checking.
Photo via Reddingpa/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)Yesterday a federal appeals court upheld Maryland's ban on so-called assault weapons, saying ownership of such guns is "not protected by the Second Amendment." The decision, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, overturned a 2016 ruling by a three-judge panel of the same court that said Maryland's law should be subject to "strict scrutiny" because it imposes a "substantial burden" on the right to keep and bear arms.
Maryland's "assault weapon" ban, which it expanded after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, bans the sale or transfer of 81 listed gun models, along with "their copies," plus all semiautomatic centerfire rifles that accept detachable magazines and have two or more of these features: a folding stock, a grenade/flare launcher, or a flash suppressor. The law also bans the sale or transfer of magazines than can hold more than 10 rounds. Violators (buyers as well as sellers) can go to prison for up to three years.
The question at the heart of the case, Kolbe v. Hogan, is whether the guns and magazines that Maryland banned qualify as "dangerous and unusual weapons," which the Supreme Court has indicated are outside the scope of the Second Amendment. That category, the Court said in the landmark Second Amendment case District of Columbia v. Heller, includes "weapons that are most useful in military service—M-16 rifles and the like." By contrast, weapons "in common use for lawful purposes" are included in the constitutional right to armed self-defense.
In Kolbe, the 10-judge majority concludes that the guns and magazines covered by Maryland's ban are "dangerous and unusual" because they are "exceptionally lethal weapons of war" that are not appropriate for civilian use: "We are convinced that the banned assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are among those arms that are 'like' 'M-16 rifles'—'weapons that are most useful in military service'—which the Heller Court singled out as being beyond the Second Amendment's reach." The four dissenters, by contrast, note that "assault weapons" and "large-capacity magazines" are indisputably "in common use for lawful purposes," since they are owned by millions of law-abiding Americans: "As long as the weapon chosen is one commonly possessed by the American people for lawful purposes—and the rifles at issue here most certainly are—the state has very little say about whether its citizens should keep it in their homes for protection."
Contrary to the majority's assertion that the guns Maryland banned are similar to the M-16, none of them is capable of automatic fire. The majority's judgment that folding stocks, flare launchers, and flash suppressors make rifles "exceptionally lethal" is dubious. It is also irrelevant, because the Supreme Court did not say the Second Amendment allows bans on exceptionally lethal weapons. It said the Second Amendment allows bans on "dangerous and unusual" weapons that are not "in common use for lawful purposes," and that description plainly does not apply to rifles that are among the most popular in the country. The argument that magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds are more lethal than smaller magazines is more logical but still irrelevant, since "large-capacity magazines" are very common, sold standard with many handguns and rifles.
Despite the apparent conflict with Heller (and with McDonald v. Chicago, which extended Heller's logic to state and local governments), the Supreme Court so far has not agreed to review any decisions dealing with "assault weapon" bans. In addition to the 4th Circuit, two other federal appeals courts—the D.C. Circuit and the 7th Circuit—have upheld such laws since Heller, while the 9th Circuit has upheld a local law restricting magazine size.
In 2015, when the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 7th Circuit's decision, Justice Clarence Thomas vigorously dissented. "The Seventh Circuit ultimately upheld a ban on many common semiautomatic firearms based on speculation about the law's potential policy benefits," Thomas wrote. "If a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing....The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and use such rifles do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense and target shooting. Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons."
While both the D.C. Circuit and the 7th Circuit recognized (or assumed) that "assault weapon" bans implicate the Second Amendment, even if they ultimately pass constitutional muster, the 4th Circuit says Maryland's law has nothing to do with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. "In concluding that the Second Amendment does not even apply," the dissenters say, "the majority has gone to greater lengths than any other court to eviscerate the constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms."NBC/"Saturday Night Live"
James Franco hosted "Saturday Night Live" this weekend and opened the show by addressing last week's massive Sony hacks.
"Something pretty crazy happened this week. I have this movie called 'The Interview' coming out at Sony and this week Sony Studios got all their computers hacked. This is true. These hackers have leaked real personal information about everybody that works at Sony. Social security numbers, emails, and I know eventually they're going to start leaking out stuff about me. So before you hear it from someone else, I thought it would be better if you hear it from me."
Franco joked: "Soon you'll know that my email is CuterThanDaveFranco@AOL.com. My password is LittleJamesyCutiePie — and this is all just a real violation of my personal life."
Then Seth Rogen joined Franco on stage, to warn his "Interview" co-star: "It's much, much worse than we thought it would be. You're not going to believe this but an hour ago they released some of our private photos from our phones."
NBC/"Saturday Night Live" "Like the one I took of you in your dressing room?" asked Franco.
NBC/"Saturday Night Live" Rogen jokingly replied, "Yes, but they also leaked this one of me teaching you how to read."
NBC/"Saturday Night Live"
The two also joked that the hackers released photos of them pretending to be John and Yoko.
Earlier this week, leaked Sony documents revealed Rogen was paid $8.4 million and Franco $6.5 million for their roles in "The Interview," a Sony movie about two journalists who land an interview with the North Korean leader and are then recruited by the CIA to take part in a plot to poison him. North Korea reacted furiously in June when Sony announced its plans for the film, denouncing it as the work of "gangster moviemakers."
Franco closed the monologue by adding: "Oh and also, all the girls who got any Instagram messages from me last year, the hackers did it! It was the hackers!"
In April, Franco was busted for trying to pickup a teenage fan on Instagram.
Watch Franco's full SNL monologue here:CBC News has learned the man charged in connection with a baseball bat attack on an immigrant family is a Toronto personal injury lawyer and the great-grandson of former Toronto mayor Nathan Phillips.
Mark Phillips, 36, was charged on Dec. 8 with aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon in connection with the incident in the parking lot of a St. Thomas, Ont., strip mall.
The family said the man charged at them, unprovoked, before they recorded the confrontation on a cellphone, which has been widely circulated through news outlets and social media.
The video shows a man yelling about terrorists, ISIS and swinging his bat, leaving local man Sergio Estepa with a cracked rib and severe bruising on his back.
None of the allegations against Phillips has been proven in court.
A family in southwestern Ontario was attacked and called terrorists by a man wielding a bat. Sergio Estepa is nursing a cracked rib and a large bruise after the incident in a mall parking lot. Mark Phillips, 36, has been charged with aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon. 1:28
'Mayor of all the people'
Philips' great-grandfather, dubbed "the mayor of all the people," was Toronto's first Jewish mayor. Nathan Phillips' election was viewed as a move toward tolerance and diversity in the city. The public square in front of Toronto city hall is named in his honour.
His portrait still hangs in the accused's parents' home in Toronto, a childhood friend told CBC News.
His family is shocked and saddened, said uncle Jeff Phillips, a London, Ont., lawyer.
"His father is very upset," he said, noting there was not much else he could say because he had lost contact with his nephew over the years.
"I honestly don't know," he said. "I'm not involved with him."
Nathan Phillips was the first Jewish mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. Some credit his friendly nature and promotion of tolerance as the foundations of the city's current-day cultural diversity. (City of Toronto)
Like his great-grandfather, Mark Phillips chose law as a career, and was called to the bar in September 2008 after graduating in 2007 with a degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., according to his LinkedIn page.
Phillips landed his first job as a personal injury lawyer at the Toronto firm Mazin Rooz Mazin and stayed for about a year, before working at three other firms, never staying longer than three years at a time.
He used his pull at one of those firms to help his childhood friend Chun-Yun Liu land his first job as a paralegal.
"You know how hard it is to get a job in this business, especially when you have no experience," Liu said. "I was looking for work and he was always pretty supportive. The rest is history."
CBC News has identified the suspect 0:09
Liu has known Phillips since they were Grade 7 students. They went to high school together before parting ways. Still, the two men kept in touch, meeting on average once every few months.
"He always seemed to me pretty sensible, pretty level-headed," Liu said. "He was the type of guy who wouldn't hurt anybody. He was always there for me."
Liu said it was with disbelief when he first read of Phillips' arrest.
A woman poses for a picture in the square outside Toronto city hall that bears Nathan Phillips' name. (Rebecca Blackwell |
uline draws from. There are a total of 7 guest guitarists that provide solos throughout the album. Players range from The Fringe’s Randy McStine to Stanley Whitaker (of Happy the Man). One of my favorite guitar solos on the album is from the very accessible and melodic song “Forbidden Planet”, provided by Alek Darson from Fright Pig.
Circuline was recognized in last year’s Progressive Music Awards in the Limelight category, and it is clear to see why. Good progressive rock is a perfect mixture of certain key elements. Almost all progressive rock bands feature musicians with above-average technical ability, with ambitious visions to make epic, unique, daring compositions. But good progressive rock follows the same rules as any music, really:the songwriting has to feel intentional and strong, there has to be some hook, whether instrumental or vocal, and finally, the vocals have to be strong, even if they are unique. And Circuline is doing quite well in each of these categories. Counterpoint is a very solid sophomore effort, but I think even better things are in store for this group of artists.
Circuline’s latest album Counterpoint (released May 5, 2016) can be purchased on Amazon, or directly from their website.
AdvertisementsOver at the Wall Street Journal, Sara Murray crunches the Census data and finds that 48.5 percent of U.S. households, nearly half, now receive “some type of government benefit.” That category, she notes, includes mean-tested programs like food stamps, subsidized housing, cash welfare, and Medicaid, as well as retirement programs like Medicare and Social Security.
And, as Burman argued when I chatted with him last month, tax expenditures are functionally equivalent to direct spending programs. Giving a person a $1,000 tax break for employer-provided health care isn’t terribly different from handing that person a $1,000 check to buy more health insurance. But politicians often prefer to conduct social policy through tax expenditures because it can be sold as a “tax cut” rather than as a spending program.
Still, the net effect, as Suzanne Mettler has argued, is that Americans have a somewhat distorted view of the size of the U.S. welfare state. Check out her chart here showing that most people who benefit from what she calls “the submerged state” insist that they have never used a government program. And this set-up makes it easy to believe that only the bottom 48.5 percent (and rising) relies on Uncle Sam. But, in principle, there’s no reason why government benefits should be split into different tiers.Late last year another Saint, Jason Gram, was sacked after police intervened in a personal relationship involving Gram. Coach Scott Watters said later: ''We tried very hard to work through the situation that Gram was involved in. But when it gets to the point when the Victoria Police were involved, there is a gravity to that sort of situation.''
The Saints have a history of dealing with scandals of a sexual nature but they appear to have not seen this one coming. The last time they had a player charged with rape - Andrew Lovett in 2010 - the player was sacked immediately and his career effectively finished. The AFL backed the Saints.
Club chief executive Michael Nettlefold, who was handling the situation from overseas with the AFL, his board and the players' union. He refused to comment.
The St Kilda board had scheduled an emergency meeting on Tuesday night and Milne was expected to attend a meeting at the club. The AFL refused to comment on Milne's future but had not ruled him out from playing.
Lovett had endured a short, unhappy time at the club and with Gram, too, there were mitigating factors. But Milne is a beloved Saint in his 13th season with the club with 268 games and 564 goals to his name. A social media comment on Lovett's Instagram stated: ''Wow! I wonder if Milney will get the arse like I did??? #sacked #unfair #innocentuntilprovenguilty…''
The dilemma facing the competition was not lost on anyone. The Milne investigation, which included his teammate Leigh Montagna, prompted the AFL to introduce changes to its code of conduct rules which included a clause allowing players to be stood down, suspended or sacked before being judged by a court of law.
Footballers are suspended for missing training, drinking too much or becoming involved in fights. The AFL pushed Carlton to suspend Brock McLean for an unsavoury tweet. This makes the prospect of a man charged with four counts of rape representing his football club a strange dilemma indeed. Should Milne be forced to wait until his committal that should see out this season which is expected to be his last.
Only last week Milne appeared to be taking cautious steps towards becoming an unlikely poster boy for villification as part of the competition's campaign against crowd abuse, something he puts up with on a regular basis.
He met the league's football boss Mark Evans to discuss his situation after admitting on Channel Nine: ''I cop a few words which aren't good for anyone. I've got a couple of kids and they go to the footy and my family and parents have to cop the abuse. So the sooner we can stamp it out the better.''Share this...
By Frank Bosse and Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt
(Translated and edited by P Gosselin)
Also last month the sun was relatively inactive. The observed sunspot number (SSN) was 44.7, which was just 64% of what is the average for the previously observed 23 cycles.
The average cycle has a duration of 11 years. The current cycle number 24 is depicted by the red curve in the following chart:
Figure 1: The current solar cycle 24 is shown in red. The mean of the previous 23 cycles is shown by the blue curve. The black curve depicts solar cycle 5, which had a similar behavior as the current cycle 25.
What stands out is that the last 18 months of activity of the current cycle has been consistently weaker than during the same period of solar cycle 5, which ushered in the Dalton-Minimum in 1795.
So what can we say about the upcoming solar cycle 25, which is expected to begin around 2020? Next month we will take another look at the solar polar field because its strength is a leading indicator for what the sun has in store for us. Up to now everything looks like the situation we saw in the early 19th century.The comparison of the individual cycles with respect to their sunspot deviation from the mean after 94 months into the cycle follows:
Figure 2: The accumulated monthly sunspot totals for each cycle and their respective deviation from the mean (blue curve in Figure 1), 94 months into the cycle. Only 2 cycles were less active than the current cycle: cycles no. 5 and 6 – some 200 years ago! The second half of the 20th century was the most active phase with respect to amplitude and duration.
Beginning with solar cycle 18 in the year 1944 until the mid 1990s (SC22) there were 4 strong cycles. The peak was SC 19, which ended in 1964. SC 21 was the third strongest cycle and 1986. The strong cycles ceased in 2005, and one is not expected with strong certainty until 2033.
===================================
Note from NTZ: Yesterday Kenneth Richard posted on 18 very recent papers showing a strong correlation between solar activity and global temperature over the past centuries. Many accept that periods of low solar activity lead to periods of global cool-offs. But some experts caution that the effects from the series of the powerful solar cycles of the late 20th century will not be offset by the single weak cycle we are currently experiencing.Here at Above the Law, we write all the time about crappy law job postings. A good deal of these awful employment listings come from law school career services offices (which is not at all impressive!).
We recently received word about a law school career services job posting that was so horrendous, so ridiculous, that we could not help ourselves but to write about it. After all, writing about crappy law jobs is like opening a can of Pringles: once you pop, you can’t stop.
And this job — well, let’s just say that it takes the cake, or the potato chip, as the case may be….
This is an email we received from a tipster at Widener Law School:
Law School Career Development Offices can be pretty low. They are notorious for inflating numbers and not helping graduates find jobs. Well, the Career Development Office at Widener Law just hit an all-time low. Check out this job that they have posted on the Career Development website. I mean are you kidding me?
Well, with that kind of an introduction, we knew that this was going to be interesting. Readers, allow me to present you with today’s sign of the end of days for your viewing pleasure (and disdain, and mockery, and all of the other good things that go hand in hand with terrible job listings):
Yup. You’re reading that correctly. This law school is recruiting an unpaid potato chip tester. Widener Law to 190K calories! No wonder Team Strauss/Anziska is trying to sue the school over its post-graduate employment rates.
I need not say more. I’m just going to leave it all to our tipster:
A Potato Chip Tester!? Really Widener? Is this earth? I’m not even making this up, this was ACTUALLY posted on Widener’s Career Development site. But you want to know what the best part is? Look under compensation. Unpaid! So you’re telling me that I went through 4 years of college, three years of law school, got myself in about $100,000.00 worth of unforgivable student loan debt, to become an unpaid potato chip tester/taster? I mean potato chips are delicious and all, but wtf. This is what my school thinks of its students. They aren’t even pretending to care anymore.
My favorite part of our tipster’s rant definitely has to be: “Is this earth?” It reminded me of the YouTube video, David After Dentist, where the little boy asks: “Is this real life?” And unfortunately for our tipster, the answer is “yes.”
We live on an earth where law schools are trying to pawn off unpaid, potato chip tester jobs on law students. And yes, I can pretty much guarantee that if you take this job, you will be counted as gainfully (at least in terms of poundage) employed at graduation.
Perhaps a change in slogan is in order? Widener Law: Two great campuses. Countless paths to success. Millions of potato chips to taste.In an effort to address a number of concerns we have been hearing from
the media and community at large, we at SourceForge would like to note
that we have stopped presenting third party offers for unmaintained
SourceForge projects.
While we had recently tested presenting easy-to-decline third party
offers with a very small number of unmaintained SourceForge projects,
we discontinued this practice promptly based on negative community
feedback. At this time, we present third party offers only with a few
projects where it is explicitly approved by the project developer, or
if the project is already bundling third party offers.
As a company, we at SourceForge pride ourselves on being highly
responsive to our community members and, with that in mind, do our
best to respond to all communications and address all concerns in a
timely manner. We encourage anyone that would like additional
information about our practices or specific issues they have to reach
out to us directly by using the “Help” link in the header of the
SourceForge site, which provides contact information for our Support
team and which will ensure any questions or issues you may have are
resolved in an efficient manner. As usual feel free to contact us also at communityteam@sourceforge.net.Pau Gasol was a beast last night during Chicago’s 91-85 win over the Bucks. Chicago’s big free agent acquisition finished with 20 points, 11 boards and three blocks in less than 30 minutes. But it was Derrick Rose who really stood out and showed he’s still got nitrous tanks in his engine.
Mid-way through the third quarter, Joakim Noah stripped the ball in the paint and turned to go the other way. Rose was behind Noah — and everyone else — at the time of the steal, but he churned past him to receive the mini outlet in mid-stride. Then, Rose simply runs past two Bucks and sliced through three more for the easy layup.
Just look at how fast Rose’s legs are moving in comparison to the other players in this slowed down version:
Crazy.
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Yes, the Bucks were lazy in their transition defense — after the play, the camera pans over to coach Jason Kidd with a grimace on his face — but when Rose shifted gears near mid-court everyone else looked stuck in concrete while he was Chuck Yeager in the X-1.
Rose finished with 16 points (5/10 overall and 3/4 from three), five rebounds, four assists, two steals and three turnovers in a little over 22 minutes.
He’s still shaking some rust off, and the concerns about his health over the long haul of his first full regular season in two years will remain in the back of our minds throughout the year. Still, this sequence shows Rose has got that extra gear only one or two other players in the NBA can reach, and that’s great news for Bulls fans.
(video via Basketball Orbit and Dawk Ins)
What do you think?
Follow Spencer on Twitter at @SpencerTyrel.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning
“In the need to develop a capacity to know what potential enemies are doing, the United States government has perfected a technological capability that enables us to monitor the messages that go through the air. Now, that is necessary and important to the United States as we look abroad at enemies or potential enemies. We must know, at the same time, that capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left such is the capability to monitor everything—telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no place to hide.
If this government ever became a tyrant, if a dictator ever took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how privately it was done, is within the reach of the government to know. Such is the capability of this technology.
I don’t want to see this country ever go across the bridge. I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.” – Frank Church on Meet the Press regarding the NSA – 1975
Ever since Edward Snowden burst onto the worldwide stage in June 2013, I’ve been wondering how he fits into the fabric of this ongoing Fourth Turning. This period of Crisis that arrives like clockwork, 60 to 70 years after the end of the previous Fourth Turning (Civil War – 66 years after American Revolution, Great Depression/World War II – 64 years after Civil War, Global Financial Crisis – 62 years after World War II), arrived in September 2008 with the Federal Reserve created collapse of the global financial system. We are now five and a half years into this Fourth Turning, with its climax not likely until the late-2020’s. At this point in previous Fourth Turnings a regeneracy had unified sides in their cause and a grey champion or champions (Ben Franklin/Samuel Adams, Lincoln/Davis, FDR) had stepped forward to lead. Thus far, no one from the Prophet generation has been able to unify the nation and create a sense of common civic purpose. Societal trust continues to implode, as faith in political, financial, corporate, and religious institutions spirals downward. There is no sign of a unifying regeneracy on the horizon.
The core elements of this Fourth Turning continue to propel this Crisis: debt, civic decay, global disorder. Central bankers, politicians, and government bureaucrats have been able to fashion the illusion of recovery and return to normalcy, but their “solutions” are nothing more than smoke and mirrors exacerbating the next bloodier violent stage of this Fourth Turning. The emergencies will become increasingly dire, triggering unforeseen reactions and unintended consequences. The civic fabric of our society will be torn asunder.
In retrospect, the spark might seem as ominous as a financial crash, as ordinary as a national election, or as trivial as a Tea Party. The catalyst will unfold according to a basic Crisis dynamic that underlies all of these scenarios: An initial spark will trigger a chain reaction of unyielding responses and further emergencies. The core elements of these scenarios (debt, civic decay, global disorder) will matter more than the details, which the catalyst will juxtapose and connect in some unknowable way. If foreign societies are also entering a Fourth Turning, this could accelerate the chain reaction. At home and abroad, these events will reflect the tearing of the civic fabric at points of extreme vulnerability – problem areas where America will have neglected, denied, or delayed needed action.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe
Debt
The core crisis element of debt is far worse than it was at the outset of this Crisis in September 2008. The National Debt has risen from $9.7 trillion to $17.5 trillion, an 80% increase in five and half years. It took 215 years for the country to accumulate as much debt as it has accumulated since the start of this Crisis. We continue to add $2.8 billion a day to the National debt, and the president declares it is time for this austerity to end. The total unfunded liabilities of the Federal government for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, government pensions and now Obamacare exceeds $200 trillion and is mathematically impossible to honor. Corporate debt stands at an all-time high. Margin debt is at record levels, as faith in the Federal Reserve’s ability to levitate the stock market borders on delusional. Consumer debt has reached new heights, as the government doles out subprime auto loans to deadbeats and subprime student loans to future University of Phoenix Einsteins. Global debt has surged by 40% since 2008 to over $100 trillion, as central bankers have attempted to cure a disease caused by debt with more debt.
All of this debt accumulation is compliments of Bernanke/Yellen and the Federal Reserve, who have produced this new debt bubble with their zero interest rate policy and quantitative easing that has driven their balance sheet from $935 billion of mostly Treasury bonds in September 2008 to $4.2 trillion of toxic mortgage garbage acquired from their owners – the insolvent Too Big To Trust Wall Street banks. This entire house of cards is reliant upon permanently low interest rates, the faith of foreigners in our lies, and trust in Ivy League educated economists captured by Wall Street. This debt laden house of cards sits atop hundreds of trillions of derivatives of mass destruction used by the Wall Street casinos to generate “riskless” profits. When, not if, a trigger ignites this explosive concoction of debt, the collapse will be epic and the violent phase of this Fourth Turning will commence.
Civic Decay
The core crisis element of civic decay is evident everywhere you turn. Our failed public educational system is responsible for much of the civic decay, as a highly educated critical thinking populace is our only defense against a small cabal of bankers and billionaires acquiring unwarranted influence and control over our country. Our children have been taught how to feel and to believe government propaganda. The atrocious educational system is not a mistake. It has been designed and manipulated by your owners to produce the results they desire, as explained bluntly by George Carlin.
“There’s a reason that education sucks, and it’s the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It’s never going to get any better, don’t look for it. Be happy with what you’ve got. Because the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now, the big, wealthy, business interests that control all things and make the big decisions. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else. But I’ll tell you what they don’t want—they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interest.”
The urban ghettos become more dangerous and uninhabitable by the day. The inner cities are crumbling under the weight of welfare spending and declining tax revenues. The very welfare policies begun fifty years ago to alleviate poverty have hopelessly enslaved the poor and ignorant in permanent squalor and destitution. The four decade old drug war has done nothing to reduce the use of drugs. It has benefited the corporate prison industry, as millions have been thrown into prison for minor drug offenses. Meanwhile, millions more have been legally addicted to drugs peddled by the corporate healthcare complex. The culture warriors and advocates of new rights for every special interest group continue their never ending battles which receive an inordinate amount of publicity from the corporate media. Class warfare is simmering and being inflamed by politicians pushing their particular agendas. Violence provoked by race and religion is growing by the day. The fault lines are visible and the imminent financial earthquake will push distress levels beyond the breaking point. Once the EBT cards stop working, all hell will break loose. Three days of panic will empty grocery store shelves and the National Guard will be called out to try and restore control.
Global Disorder
The core crisis element of global disorder is evident everywhere you turn. The false flag revolution in the Ukraine, initiated by the U.S. and EU in order to blunt Russia’s control of natural gas to Europe, has the potential to erupt into a full blown shooting war at any moment. The attempt by Saudi Arabia, Israel and the U.S. to overthrow the Syrian dictator in order to run a natural gas pipeline across their land into Europe was blunted by Russia. Iraq is roiled in a civil war, after the U.S. invaded, occupied and destabilized the country. After 12 years of occupation, Afghanistan is more dysfunctional and dangerous than it was before the U.S. saved them from the evil Taliban. Unrest, violent protests, and brutal measures by rulers continue in Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, Venezuela, Bahrain, Brazil, and throughout Africa. American predator drones roam the skies of the world murdering suspected terrorists. The European Union is insolvent, with Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal propped up with newly created debt. Austerity for the people and prosperity for the bankers is creating tremendous distress and tension across the continent. A global volcanic eruption is in the offing.
It is clear to me the American Empire is in terminal decline. Hubris, delusion, corruption, foolish disregard for future generations and endless foreign follies have set in motion a chain of events that will lead to a cascading sequence of debt defaults, mass poverty, collapsing financial markets, and hyperinflation or deflation, depending on the actions of feckless bankers and politicians. There is no avoiding the tragic outcome brought on by decades of bad choices and a century of allowing private banking interests to control our currency. The “emergency” QE and ZIRP responses by the Federal Reserve to the Federal Reserve created 2008 financial collapse continue, even though the propaganda peddled by the Deep State tries to convince the public we have fully recovered. This grand fraud cannot go on forever. Ponzi schemes no longer work once you run out of dupes. With societal trust levels approaching all-time lows and foreign countries beginning to understand they are the dupes, another global financial crisis is a lock.
The Snowden Factor
With ten to fifteen years likely remaining in this Fourth Turning Crisis, people familiar with generational turnings can’t help but ponder what will happen next. Linear thinkers, who constitute the majority, mistakenly believe things will magically return to normal and we’ll continue our never ending forward human progress. Their ignorance of history and generational turnings that recur like the four seasons will bite them in the ass. We are being flung forward across the vast chaos of time and our existing social order will be transformed beyond recognition into something far better or far worse. The actual events over the coming decade are unknowable in advance, but the mood and reactions of the generational archetypes to these events are predictable. The actions of individuals will matter during this Fourth Turning. The majority are trapped in their propaganda induced, techno distracted stupor of willful ignorance. It will take a minority of liberty minded individuals, who honor the principles of the U.S. Constitution and are willing to sacrifice their lives, to prevail in the coming struggle.
Despite fog engulfing the path of future events, we know they will be propelled by debt, civic decay, and global disorder. Finding a unifying grey champion figure seems unlikely at this point. I believe the revelations by Edward Snowden have set the course for future events during this Fourth Turning. The choices of private citizens, like Snowden, Assange, and Manning, have made a difference. The choices we all make over the next ten years will make a difference. A battle for the soul of this country is underway. The Deep State is firmly ingrained, controlling the financial, political and educational systems, while using their vast wealth to perpetuate endless war, and domination of the media to manipulate the masses with propaganda and triviality. They are powerful and malevolent. They will not relinquish their supremacy and wealth willingly.
Snowden has revealed the evil intent of the ruling class and their willingness to trash the Constitution in their psychopathic pursuit of mammon. The mass surveillance of the entire population, locking down of an entire city in pursuit of two teenagers, military training exercises in major metropolitan areas, militarization of local police forces by DHS, crushing peaceful demonstrations with brute force, attempting to restrict and confiscate guns, molesting innocent airline passengers, executive orders utilized on a regular basis by the president, and treating all citizens like suspects has set the stage for the coming conflict. Strauss & Howe warned that history has shown armed conflict is always a major ingredient during a Fourth Turning.
“History offers even more sobering warnings: Armed confrontation usually occurs around the climax of Crisis. If there is confrontation, it is likely to lead to war. This could be any kind of war – class war, sectional war, war against global anarchists or terrorists, or superpower war. If there is war, it is likely to culminate in total war, fought until the losing side has been rendered nil – its will broken, territory taken, and leaders captured.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe -1997
It appears to me the Deep State is preparing for armed conflict with the people. Why else would they be utilizing Big Brother methods of surveillance, militarization of police forces and Gestapo like tactics of intimidation to control the masses? This doesn’t happen in a democratic republic where private individuals are supposed to know everything done by public government servants, not vice versa. They know the cheap, easy to access energy resources are essentially depleted. They know the system they have built upon a foundation of cheap energy and cheap debt is unsustainable and will crash in the near future. They know their fiat currency scheme is failing.They know it is going to come crashing down.
They know America and the world will plunge into an era of depression, violence, and war. They also know they want to retain their wealth, power and control. There is no possibility the existing establishment can be purged through the ballot box. It’s a one party Big Brother system that provides the illusion of choice to the Proles. Like it or not, the only way this country can cast off the shackles of the banking, corporate, fascist elites, and the government surveillance state is through an armed revolution. The alternative is to allow an authoritarian regime, on par with Hitler, Stalin and Mao, to rise from the ashes of our financial collapse. This is a distinct possibility, given the ignorance and helplessness of most Americans after decades of government education and propaganda.
The average mentally asleep American cannot conceive of armed conflict within the borders of the U.S. War, violence and dead bodies are something they see on their 52 inch HDTVs while gobbling chicken wings and cheetos in their Barcalounger. We’ve allowed a banking cartel and their central bank puppets to warp and deform our financial system into a hideous façade, sold to the masses as free market capitalism. We’ve allowed corporate interests to capture our political system through bribery and corruption.
We’ve allowed the rise of a surveillance state that has stripped us of our privacy, freedom, liberty and individuality in a futile pursuit of safety and security. We’ve allowed a military industrial complex to exercise undue influence in Washington DC, leading to endless undeclared wars designed to enrich the arms makers. We’ve allowed the corporate media and the government education complex to use propaganda, misinformation and social engineering techniques to dumb down the masses and make them compliant consumers. These delusions will be shattered when our financial and economic system no longer functions. The end is approaching rapidly and very few see it coming.
Glory or Ruin?
The scenario I envision is a collapse of our debt saturated financial system, with a domino effect of corporate, personal, and governmental defaults, exacerbated by the trillions of currency, interest rate, and stock derivatives. Global stock markets will crash. Trillions in paper wealth will evaporate into thin air. The Greater Depression will gain a choke-hold around the world. Mass bankruptcies, unemployment and poverty will sweep across the land. The social safety net will tear under the weight of un-payable entitlements. Riots and unrest will breakout in urban areas. Armed citizens in rural areas will begin to assemble in small units. The police and National Guard will be unable to regain control. The military will be called on to suppress any and all resistance to the Federal government. This act of war will spur further resistance from liberty minded armed patriots. The new American Revolution will have begun. Leaders will arise in the name of freedom. Regional and local bands of fighters will use guerilla tactics to defeat a slow top heavy military dependent upon technology and vast quantities of oil. A dictatorial regime may assume power on a Federal level. A breakup of the nation into regional states is a distinct possibility.
With the American Empire crumbling from within, our international influence will wane. With China also in the midst of a Fourth Turning, their debt bubble will burst and social unrest will explode into civil war. Global disorder, wars, terrorism, and financial collapse will lead to a dramatic decrease in oil production, further sinking the world into depression. The tensions caused by worldwide recession will lead to the rise of authoritarian regimes and global warfare. With “advances” in technological warfare and the proliferation of nuclear warheads, this scenario has the potential to end life on earth as we know it. The modern world could be set back into the stone-age with the push of a button. There are no guarantees of a happy ending for humanity.
The outcome of this Fourth Turning is dependent upon the actions of a minority of critical thinking Americans who decide to act. No one can avoid the trials and tribulations that lie ahead. We will be faced with immense challenges. Courage and sacrifice will be required in large doses. Elders will need to lead and millennials will need to carry a heavy load, doing most of the dying. The very survival of our society hangs in the balance. Edward Snowden has provided an example of the sacrifice required during this Fourth Turning. How we respond and the choices we make over the next decade will determine whether this Fourth Turning will result in glory or ruin for our nation.
“Eventually, all of America’s lesser problems will combine into one giant problem. The very survival of the society will feel at stake, as leaders lead and people follow. The emergent society may be something better, a nation that sustains its Framers’ visions with a robust new pride. Or it may be something unspeakably worse. The Fourth Turning will be a time of glory or ruin.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning
Click these links to read the first two parts of this three part series:
Do No Evil Google – Censor & Snitch for the State
Google, China, the NSA and the Fourth TurningWhatever happens with Alex Rodriguez, no matter how many players baseball suspends, the debate over the sport’s investigation of Biogenesis does not figure to end anytime soon.
Article continues below...
To some, Ryan Braun’s acceptance of a 65-game suspension indicated that for baseball, the end justified the means. An even longer suspension for Rodriguez, which could happen this week, according to the New York Post, might be interpreted the same way.
But Scott Boras, Rodriguez’s former agent, told FOXSports.com that baseball, by cutting a deal with Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, is providing motivation for others to distribute performance-enhancing drugs without fear of reprisal.
Bosch, according to ESPN, agreed to cooperate with baseball only after receiving assurances that the sport would drop a lawsuit against him, indemnify him for any liability arising from his cooperation, provide personal security and offer assistance with any law-enforcement agents that might bring charges against him.
“To preserve the integrity of the game we need to assure that drug dealers and the devious creators of future Biogenesis-like schemes are prosecuted,” Boras said.
“If drug dealers can use the currency of player evidence as a means to gain immunity and even more money, then our system of policing and protecting baseball has incentivized the people and the very behavior that was the genesis of the problem.”
Rob Manfred, an executive vice-president for baseball, said that only state and federal prosecutors can grant immunity, and that baseball has no such power.
“Mr. Boras’ comments make no sense,” Manfred said. “We have no control over who gets immunity. Our job is to attempt to determine whether players use performance-enhancing drugs. And we use every means available to us in order to do that job.”
Boras, though, said that he was talking about immunity “to the extent that baseball can offer.” He made it clear that he does not object to enforcement of the Joint Drug Agreement or the discipline of players who break the rules. But he said that baseball should assist the government by providing evidence that it collected from Bosch and other aspects of its investigation. Instead, according to the ESPN report, baseball is assisting Bosch.
The counter-argument, of course, is that baseball needed to give Bosch such assurances to secure his cooperation. Boras, however, raises a valid concern: What would discourage the next Bosch from selling PEDs, then cutting a deal with baseball in exchange for information about the players who were his customers?
As baseball prepares to issue suspensions to Rodriguez and others, a number of other questions are unresolved:
* Would A-Rod fight a suspension?
The answer hinges on how Rodriguez and his attorneys view the evidence against him and the type of settlement offer that he receives, assuming that he receives one at all.
The timing was right for Braun, 29, to accept his suspension, which runs through the end of the season – he was nursing a thumb injury, his Milwaukee Brewers were out of contention and he wanted closure.
Rodriguez, 38, is in a different position. He has yet to play this season, is coming off hip surgery, and now has had operations on both hips. If he accepts a suspension for, say, the rest of this season and part or all of 2014, he might never return to form.
Appealing a suspension, on the other hand, should enable Rodriguez to rejoin the Yankees immediately after he recovers from his latest ailment, a left quad strain. If he plays – and plays well – he might even regain a measure of credibility, proving that he can still perform.
First-time offenders generally are permitted to play through appeals, but sources indicate that in A-Rod’s case, baseball might challenge that practice. Though this would be Rodriguez’s first suspension, he may have lied to baseball about his alleged use of PEDs. Rodriguez has admitted to using PEDs only from 2001 to ’03, when no penalties were in effect.
Perhaps the larger question is, does A-Rod even want to play again?
He went to great lengths last week to suggest that the answer is “yes,” challenging the Yankees’ diagnosis of his left quad strain. But conspiracy theorists wonder if Rodriguez fears that he no longer can produce at a high level, or without PEDs.
About $96 million remains on Rodriguez’s contract, which runs through 2017. The money is guaranteed, so he will collect the entirety from the Yankees whether he plays, is declared permanently disabled or gets released by the club.
Insurance would defray the Yankees’ obligation if doctors determine that A-Rod is permanently disabled, but such an outcome seems unlikely; A-Rod played in a rehab game as recently as July 20.
* How much will other suspensions affect the pennant races?
A general manager recently posed a series of questions about Texas Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz and Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta, both of whom play for contenders, were linked to Biogenesis and face possible suspensions.
What happens if one of the players accepts his penalty while the other appeals so that he can stay on the field? How much would the pennant races be affected? How would the union respond to such an awkward position?
First, the decision rests with the player, not the union, which acts only in an advisory role. Each player maintains the right to either appeal or negotiate a settlement. And in truth, any number of things — injuries, trades, etc. — can alter pennant races.
Teams are not privy to the details of baseball’s investigation. The Rangers are trying to add a right-handed hitting outfielder to possibly replace Cruz, but the Tigers do not appear to be seeking a replacement for Peralta. But both teams essentially are guessing at what the outcomes of the investigation might be.
Oakland Athletics right-hander Bartolo Colon, another player from a contending team linked to Biogenesis, is likely to avoid discipline, sources say.
Colon and two other players named in Biogenesis documents — Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Melky Cabrera and San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal — already served 50-game suspensions for positive tests.
Players cannot be disciplined for the same offense twice. In each case, |
ommitPageFunc* ptr,size MemorySpace* CreateMemorySpace(
size_t initialCapacity,
ReserveSegmentFunc reserveSegmentFunc,
ReleaseSegmentFunc releaseSegmentFunc,
CommitPageFunc commitPageFunc,
DecommitPageFunc decommitPageFunc,
size_t pageSize,
size_t segmentGranularity,
size_t segmentThreshold );
These two extensions are implemented without any additional memory overhead compared to dlmalloc and with very little computational overhead. The added cost is a few percent in targeted tests, but in a real-world scenario the performance difference between dlmalloc and dsmalloc isn’t even measurable.
The great thing about these two changes to dlmalloc is that they enable a wide range of allocation strategies that otherwise wouldn’t be feasible.
Individual systems within the Despair Engine are free to create separate dsmalloc instances (or regions) for their own use. Because dsmalloc instances are so aggressive about returning memory to the system, they incur minimal internal fragmentation costs and can coexist gracefully with other system allocators. Thread-safety is left to the users of dsmalloc, so individual systems can bypass thread synchronization costs entirely or at least use local locks to avoid contention with other allocators. Using separate dsmalloc instances also provides systems with easier tracking of memory allocations, tighter enforcement of budgets, and, if their allocation patterns exhibit temporal or spatial locality within their own systems, reduced external fragmentation.
For systems that don’t want to bother with using a custom allocator (which, frankly, most don’t), Despair Engine provide a common allocator which services request from the tradition global allocation functions like operator new, malloc, and XMemAlloc. This common allocator also utilizes dsmalloc instances under the hood.
The common allocator creates one dsmalloc instance for allocations larger than 256 bytes and 20 dsmalloc instances covering allocations at every 8 byte size interval less than 64 bytes and every 16 byte interval between 64 and 256 bytes. The instance for large allocations uses a 32 megabyte segment size and 64 kilobyte pages whereas the small allocation instances use 64 kilobyte segments. Using page-sized segments for the small allocation regions is a minor optimization that removes the need for dsmalloc to track address reservation and memory commission separately for these regions.
Bucketing small allocations into so many discrete regions significantly reduces external fragmentation in our games, despite creating a modest increase in internal fragmentation. Since only allocations within a single region need to be synchronized, it also has a side benefit of greatly reducing contention between allocations from multiple threads.
It is worth noting that since the various small allocation regions are essentially used for fixed-size allocations, they could be more efficiently implemented as dedicated fixed-block allocators. We have such an implementation in the engine, but dsmalloc (like dlmalloc) already implements an internal small, fixed-block allocation optimization, so in practice it is more convenient to use dsmalloc instances for everything and almost as efficient.
One key benefit of using dsmalloc instances for small allocations instead of a pure fixed-block allocator is that it offers us more flexibility in how the small allocation regions are configured. At the time I was implementing this in FEAR 3, minimizing fragmentation was our top concern, but in the future we might choose to prioritize thread synchronization efficiency over memory consumption. Instead of routing allocations to regions based on their size, we could create just a few small allocation regions and cycle between them based on thread contention. The idea is to allow a thread to try to lock a region for allocation, but rather than waiting if the region is already in use by another thread, simply move on to another region and try again.
Dsmalloc is flexible enough to support both of these strategies efficiently or, in fact, any hybrid combination of the two.
The dsmalloc callbacks are designed to be easily mappable to OS functions such as VirtualAlloc in Windows, but sometimes these functions are too expensive to be used directly. To improve performance, on some platforms the Despair general allocator utilizes a commit cache. The commit cache is a simple direct-mapped cache that sits between the dsmalloc commit callback and the OS. Dsmalloc already optimizes allocation order to maximize cache efficiency, and this benefits the commit cache as well. A 32 megabyte commit cache is probably overly generous, but it guarantees that OS-level calls don’t show up in our profiles even during content streaming transitions.
Having the cache implemented external to dsmalloc is also useful. When memory is extremely tight, anything that doesn’t utilize the general allocator could fail even though memory is still available in the commit cache. In those extreme cases the commit cache can be manually prompted to return pages to the system ensuring that OS-level allocations never fail because the memory they need is held in a cache.
There is one additional complication that plagues the consoles. On both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, the GPU does not share the CPU’s memory mapping unit. On the Xbox 360 the GPU requires physically contiguous memory for all resources and on the PS3 the GPU has a separate MMU with only 1 megabyte page granularity. Since we use dsmalloc with 64 kilobyte pages to minimize fragmentation, this means we’re susceptible to physical memory fragmentation when it comes to resources allocated for the GPU. On the Xbox 360, unbeknownst to many developers, the OS copes with this automatically. When a physical allocation request can’t be satisfied due to physical memory fragmentation, the Xbox 360 operating system locks the entire address space and defragments physical memory pages (by memcpy’ing physical pages and remapping virtual addresses) to accommodate the request.
On the PS3 the OS doesn’t provide this service automatically, but the same basic need exists. 64 kilobyte pages must be locked and relocated to generate contiguous 1 megabyte pages appropriate for the GPU. Thankfully with a little bit of acrobatics it is possible to do just that without violating certification requirements.
Although the operation is every bit as expensive as it sounds, it proved necessary to keep FEAR 3 from crashing. FEAR 3 ran dangerously close to the limits of memory on the Playstation 3 and survived only by allowing flexible budgets for every kind of memory. GPU allocations in main memory varied by over 100% between streaming regions so not only did CPU addressable memory need to be defragmented for use by the GPU, GPU addressable memory had to be defragmented continually and returned to the CPU. The really expensive CPU defragmentation provided a safety net against crashes at all times, but thankfully it was only needed at major chapter transitions where a load screen was expected and a 100 ms hitch was infinitely preferable to an out and out crash.
When I undertook to rewrite the Despair memory allocator near the end of FEAR 3, the overarching goal was to never fail to satisfy an allocation request due to prior memory usage patterns. If a level fit just barely into memory after a fresh boot, we wanted it to fit equally well in memory after a hundred hours of continuous play. While I can’t pretend that fragmentation doesn’t exist at all in the system I devised, I can say that it was so dramatically reduced that we were able to establish an upper bound on fragmentation and enforce budgets for our content that were reliable regardless of the order or duration in which the game was played.
The new Despair memory allocator based on dsmalloc ran the same content as the old memory allocator on all platforms with a slightly lower lower bound on memory, a much lower upper bound on memory, and it even managed a slightly lower run-time performance cost.Game Update 1.7 will introduce Galactic Reputation to all players. This is a new way for your character to advance in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. In a time of widespread conflict and political strife, disparate organizations throughout the galaxy seek allies in the struggle for peace... or conquest. Reputation measures how your character is perceived by these organizations it reflects the prestige you've earned through your heroic contributions to each cause.
The Reputation track for each organization is divided into six ranks - Outsider, Newcomer, Friend, Hero, Champion, and Legend. You will start with no rank at all, but as you earn Reputation Points, your rank will increase. When you've earned the top rank in a particular organization (i.e. Legend), you will no longer earn Reputation Points with that particular organization. You will have become a living legend among those represented by that organization; an avatar of their cause.
As your Reputation Rank increases, new rewards will become available to you. Throughout the galaxy, you will find Reputation Vendors associated with each organization. Special rewards with Reputation Rank requirements can be purchased from these vendors. Items and equipment with a Reputation Rank requirement can only be purchased, used, or equipped if you meet or exceed the rank requirement.
Legacy Titles
When you achieve specific Reputation Ranks, you will earn a new type of reward called a Legacy Title. Legacy Titles are a new kind of title that is displayed beneath your character's name, in place of your Legacy surname title (e.g. "The Skywalker Legacy"). For example, by achieving Friend rank with The Voss, you will unlock the Legacy Title, “Honored Voss-Friend.” Unlockable Legacy Titles are displayed in the Galactic Reputation tab of your Legacy window.
A Legacy of Heroism
A key feature of Galactic Reputation is the fact that it is bound to your Legacy instead of your character. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, the consequences of your character's actions can span generations, and heroism is hereditary. This means that all Reputation Points and ranks that you earn are shared across your entire Legacy, and all characters in your Legacy contribute Reputation Points to the same shared pool. Once you've unlocked rewards or titles, all characters in your Legacy will have access to them.
Reputation and the Galactic War
Certain organizations represent one side of a two-sided conflict in the Galactic War. For example, the "Republic Hyperspace Armada" represents the Republic's war effort in space, whereas the "Imperial First Mobile Fleet" represents the Imperial opposition in the same conflict. The Reputation track for these two conflicts is shared, even though the Republic and the Empire have competing goals. A Republic character advancing his rank with the “Republic Hyperspace Armada” indirectly advances the rank of Imperial characters in his Legacy with the “Imperial First Mobile Fleet.”
Your Reputation Rank measures the impact that characters in your Legacy have had on the conflict - even if they were on the opposite side of the war. You will never lose Reputation Points by aiding one side of the conflict - you will only increase the notoriety and political significance of your Legacy in the conflicts to come.
Earning Reputation Points
Reputation is earned by collecting a new kind of item called a Reputation Trophy. Reputation Trophies are consumable items that grant a small, medium, or large amount of Reputation Points when consumed. The amount of points granted by a Reputation Trophy is indicated by the quality of the item - Premium (small), Prototype (medium), or Artifact (large). Every Reputation Trophy is tied to a specific organization. For example, to increase your standing with The Voss, you can collect Gormak Power Cells, which are rewards for completing Heroic Missions on Voss.
The amount of Reputation Points you can earn with each organization is limited by a weekly cap which provides a natural endpoint for your Reputation Trophy collection each week. You can still acquire Reputation Trophies after you hit your weekly cap, but you will not be able to consume additional Reputation Trophies for points until your cap is reset. If consuming a Reputation Trophy would put you over your weekly cap, you will still be granted the full amount of points from that Reputation Trophy. Weekly caps are specific to each organization, so even if you hit your weekly cap with one organization, you can continue earning points with others.
Subscriber Bonus
You can earn additional Reputation Points each time you consume a Reputation Trophy if you have a Reputation Bonus in effect. All Subscribers get a natural +50% bonus to all Reputation Points earned. This value is displayed in the Galactic Reputation tab of the Legacy window.
Reputations in Game Update 1.7
Game Update 1.7 will launch with four organizations represented in the Galactic Reputation system:
Organization How to Earn Reputation The Voss [WEEKLY] Defending Voss-Ka Voss Heroic Missions Organization How to Earn Reputation The Gree Enclave "Relics of the Gree" Event Missions "Relics of the Gree: Event Bosses Organization How to Earn Reputation Republic Hyperspace Armada Hard Mode Space Missions Organization How to Earn Reputation Republic Fifth Assault Battalion [WEEKLY] Section X Crisis Section X Missions Organization How to Earn Reputation Imperial First Mobile Fleet Hard Mode Space Missions Organization How to Earn Reputation Imperial Guard on Belsavis [WEEKLY] Section X Crisis Section X Missions
And that’s our new Reputation System in a nutshell. Players can look forward to us adding more Reputation organizations in the future that will include new and familiar locations!
Jesse Sky
Lead Flashpoints and Operations DesignerBuild Your Own Dunshire
So you’ve left my warnings unheeded? Very well, let’s get to it then.
To follow along, you’ll probably want to look at the components list from the rules PDF. There’s actually 2 versions of the rules there: the authentic version and the “Oh God, my eyes! Make it stop!” version.
So let’s talk about the board first. The first step is going to Michaels and getting three 1/2″-thick foam boards. I don’t remember the exact dimensions, but they were something around 30″ x 15″. Two of these boards served as two halves of the base of the board, and the third I cut up to form the mountain in the middle. Basically you want to cut the base and the mountain up so that it accommodates the following array of hexes, which each measure 2 3/4″ inches side-to-side:
For the mountain, basically each increase in elevation (the numbers are the elevation and the base is at zero) is going to be an extra layer of 1/2″ foam, so that the summit of the mountain of the mountain is 3″ off the table. You can use thicker foam or multiple layers for each elevation change if you want the mountain to be taller.
Next you’ll want to decorate your board with hex tiles. You can look at the above image for a reference on what colors go where, but, honestly, as long as there’s an even distribution of yellow, blue, red and green tiles thrown in (along with some doom points), you should be fine. The trick for authenticity is to cut out the colored hexes from construction paper, and then print off octagons of slightly different color with the land labels and tape those on top of the construction paper hexes.
Here’s a PDF for the octagons. A point of order here: I looked everywhere I could for the font they used for all the text. It’s not exact, but Devinne Swash is pretty darn close.
Now that the board is squared away, let’s talk about the cones. Obviously in the video they used foam cones from Michaels, as well, which is fine except they are expensive, and you’ll need 32 of them. So unless you want to drop $150, I’d highly recommend investing in construction paper instead. You can even use the same kind you were using to make the hexes. And the bonus here is that they’re already colored so you don’t even have to spray-paint them.
Just take a 12″ x 17 3/4″ sheet (also available at Michaels) and cut from the center of a short side to an opposite corner. Now roll up the paper so the short side becomes a point and the opposite side becomes the base, then put a single piece of tape on the top right corner – which is now somewhere in the middle of your contraption – to keep it from unraveling. You’ll need to cut some excess off the base so that the cone stands up straight, but that’s pretty much it!
Now just do that ~30 more times for all the cones, using one of those sheets cut in half for the smaller subcones. You’ll need a total of 8 cones and 8 subcones in each of the 4 colors, as well as a white cone and a black cone for the central cone of decision. An added bonus for using construction paper is that they’re hollow and are much easier to store away.
Next we’re gonna need a lot of other little bits. You can cannibalize your other games for some of the other bits like wood, stone and iron resources and the irrigation/famine tokens (thanks Agricola!). Also hopefully you’ve got some minis laying around to use for the 8 avatars. I used my minis from Mage Knight, plus some others from my D&D box. It helps if they somewhat vaguely match the player colors (red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, grey and purple)
The real problem is that you need 7 other different bits in each of those colors to represent the buildings and troops of each player. I couldn’t think of a good cost-effective solution for this, so I went to Print and Play Productions and was able to find all the bits I needed. It ended up being, like, $80 or something, which was sad. Except the troops. For the troops I used this fine little product, which I had laying around from other projects.
You’ll also need 12 each of 6-sided, 8-sided and 4-sided dice. And the 8-sided and 4-sided needed to be altered so that they display a color on whatever side or corner is rolled. For the d8s, you want an even distribution of yellow, blue, red and green on each one, and for the d4s you want every combination of two of those four colors, where one color is on three corners, and the second color is on one corner. I did this by applying blank labels to the sides, cut to size, and then drew on the labels with colored pencil (markers might be better, though).
And now all that’s left is the cards. There are a lot of cards, but you can find a print-and-play PDF here. It alternates front and back sides of cards, so you’ll want to print double-sided. You’ll notice that the cards look rather mundane, and I’m sorry for that. The cards in my game had a bunch of cool art instead of monochromatic boxes, but it was stuff I lifted off of deviantART and I don’t feel comfortable distributing that around without the artists’ consent.
Oh! And I almost forgot! You also need representations of the 4 gods. I left this until the last minute for my game and had to get creative during a late-night trip to Target.
The rules say you’ll need a dragon:
But I think you should also have on hand a kraken:
a minotaur:
and a lava worm:
I ended up eating the lava worm with hummus and black bean dip after our first session,
so we had to make another one when we finished the game 2 weeks later. He didn’t last very long, either.
And that’s it! If there’s something else you need help with or are confused about, please let me know in the comments. Also I’d love to see pictures of your own Cones of Dunshire creations!“Manosphere” Community Beliefs: Truths and Nonsense
Roosh V, a pick-up artist, and one of the foremost voices in the “manosphere” – especially its reactionary wing, has been getting some attention lately. This past evening, ABC’s 20/20 featured an exposé into the “manosphere”, the world of men who make an effort to improve their romantic/sexual success with women and discuss their frustrations with such.
The “manosphere”/”Game” world overlaps to a degree with the HBD-sphere. Many of its adherents and key voices are individuals with reactionary/paleoconservative ideology (one which I – as a fairly unique Left-leaning HBD’er – do not share), as is the case with the overarching community that includes HBD. And like the HBD-sphere, it has its own conventional wisdom that may not necessarily adhere to facts. RooshV recently posted a list of “Community beliefs”, encapsulating some of this community wisdom in one place. In this post I will do a quick analysis of these beliefs to see how well they hold up to the facts.
Here are the stated “Community Beliefs.” Let’s break them down one by one:
1. Men and women are genetically different, both physically and mentally. Sex roles evolved in all animals. Humans are not exempt.
True. Indeed, that men and women are genetically different is in fact tautological: it is this genetic difference (XY vs. XX chromosomes) that defines male vs. female. But, in the sense that this genetic difference entails biological mental differences, this is correct (see my page HBD Fundamentals: On biological sex differences).
2. Women are sluts if they sleep around, but men are not. This fact is due to the biological differences in gender.
True with caveats. As Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, John Edwards, and Arnold Schwarzenegger could tell you, it’s not like our society gives a pass to philandering men. That said, promiscuous women are looked down upon more than promiscuous men for one simple reason: paternal uncertainty. Unlike women, men have no way (prior to DNA testing, anyway) to guarantee that a child they have putatively fathered is in fact theirs. Human males invest in their children, but any investment in a non-biological child is wasted, evolutionarily. As such, female fidelity became a valued trait, since it increases the chances that any children born to a woman’s mate are in fact biologically his.
3. Men will opt out of monogamy and reproduction if there are no incentives to engage in them.
Muddled. In the absolute sense (all men), it’s clearly nonsense. In the particular sense (some men), it’s unclear. For one, which men? How big a fraction of all men are we talking about? In which societies (“different peoples is different”)? But the most confused bit the claim “no incentives.” What would it mean for men to have “no incentives” to engage in monogamy or reproduction? Are biological drives not incentives? Men are continuing to marry and have children. Indeed, the most monogamous men may be having the most children.
If taken in the weaker sense, that some men will forgo monogamous mating if given the option, this may be partially true. We do have some evidence that effective sex ratios impact male/female mating behavior. Particularly, when there is an excess of single females relative to single men, men become less likely to commit and exhibit greater preference for short-term mating. Females may adjust their behaviors accordingly, as perhaps Latvian women have.
4. Past traditions and rituals that evolved alongside humanity served a net benefit to the family unit.
Muddled. Whose traditions and whose family units are we talking about?
Even if we restrict ourselves to Europe and the Near East, a whole slew of “family units” and accompanying traditions evolved:
As documented by Emmanuel Todd (discussed further by HBD Chick and by Craig Willy), even in fairly recent history, humans have invented all sorts of family arrangements. Each may have been a response to the circumstances each group faced in their various environs, or they may be a reflection of the underlying traits of these peoples, or both. As we can see, what constitutes the “family unit” has varied greatly across various human societies.
5. Testosterone is [one of] the biological cause[s] for masculinity. Environmental changes that reduce the hormone’s concentration in men will cause them to be weaker and more feminine.
True, as corrected. While testosterone is the most well-known and arguably primary androgen, it’s not the only one nor is it the only one which is important. The other androgens, which “are of equal importance in male development,” include:
Testosterone, or even the other androgens, aren’t quite the “things” that makes males male. Testosterone is found in women, for example. Further, while testosterone levels do indeed fluctuate in men in response to the environment, and while testosterone supplementation does alter male behavior, male-typical behavior cannot be simply reduced to the presence of testosterone. Giving a woman testosterone or other androgens will affect her behavior, but it won’t be enough to turn her into a man (see belief #1).
6. A woman’s [mate] value is mainly determined by her fertility and beauty. A man’s [mate] value is mainly determined by his resources, intellect, and character.
True (as corrected) with caveats. First, even when corrected, it’s an oversimplification. “Mainly” is too strong of a word. Health is an important quality in both sexes. Intelligence is valuable for women as well men, as is a woman’s character (particularly her fidelity – see belief #2).
7. Elimination of traditional gender roles and the promotion of unlimited mating choice in women unleashes their promiscuity and other negative behaviors that block family formation.
Sort of. As discussed in the posts by Peter Frost linked under belief #3, unbalanced sex ratios can often lead to later marriage and more preference towards short-term mating. To the extent that this now occurs, we like to think that this is a modern phenomenon. But, as M.G. once discussed, a similar period occurred in America before – incidentally during of a time of great societal inequality and national strife in the turbulent Interwar years.
Further still, despite the loosening of sexual mores, as Frost noted, there are racial constraints on how much it can change. Despite whatever prevailing trends, family formation is going to remain the norm among slower life-history groups, like Europeans. Family formation may be less common among say Blacks, who have traditionally had unstable polygynous pairings.
8. Socialism, feminism, and cultural Marxism cause societies to decline because they destroy the family unit, decrease the fertility rate, and require large entitlements that impoverish the state.
Nonsense. Let’s take a look at something from some of my earlier posts:
The countries with the most “socialist” policies in place also have the highest fertility rates. Now before any of you criticize the NW Euro fertility rates being driven by non-European immigrants, in all the more fecund NW Euro countries, native fertility rates are 1.7 children/child-bearing woman or higher. Fertility rates are lower – indeed much lower – in the less feminist, less socialist Southern and Eastern European countries.
Even the other aspect of fertility that (rightly) concerns people – eugenic fertility – may be best achieved with “socialist” policies (as I’ve previously explained). These include programs to help working mothers, such as state supported day care and paid maternity leave. (Though of course, even these cannot completely compensate for basic effective cost of living – which, in the developed world, is the main driver of fertility rates.) Many in the right-wing corners of the manosphere wish for a return to the pre-sexual revolution days. That is simply not going to happen. Women in the West aren’t going to completely abandon education and careers – that’s here to stay. The best ways to encourage eugenic fertility is to reduce the conflict between education/work and family for high-IQ women. I will take up this issue again in a future post.
As with the HBD community, the manosphere circulates truths not necessarily known to the mainstream world, but it also propagates a fair amount of rubbish. As I do with HBD and the human sciences in general, I try to seek out the truth of the matter, and set the record straight whenever I can.
Some food for thought:SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to delay raising interest rates, pending a clearer picture on the performance of emerging economies, has dismayed investors who believe the U.S. rate cycle and global markets are now hostage to Chinese fortunes.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s comments that U.S. rates were kept on hold on Thursday partly over concerns that China’s slowdown may be more abrupt than expected prompted some investors to fret that the Fed was becoming too reactive, and focusing on China would prolong current market uncertainty.
The thought of having to monitor China’s notoriously opaque policy-making process to get a better reading of Fed policy and global liquidity has left investors flustered and dismayed.
“It’s not clear what to watch,” said Richard Jerram, chief Asian economist at Bank of Singapore. “Say, if the next China PMI is not that bad, is that reason for the Fed to go in December?” he asked, referring to the widely followed purchasing managers’ index indicator of global demand.
“I don’t know what the basis for their (Fed’s) decision is anymore because they seem to have abandoned rigor. They seem to have become much more subjective, much more reactive, when policy is meant to be forward-looking,” Jerram added.
While others said the Fed was merely buying time, waiting for improvement in domestic prices even while the U.S. labor market strengthens, analysts at Citi said the September meeting was a “bunker buster”, and the Fed’s new reaction function to global market developments will take time to comprehend.
Most frustration lies in the way policy is decided and communicated in China, the world’s second largest economy - from the secretive, centralized policy-making process and doubts over how far to trust official data to the ruling Communist Party’s heavy-handed market intervention. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) doesn’t even say when and how often it reviews rates.
“People are concerned because in developed economies, generally, government intervention is very scary,” said Zhou Hao, economist at Commerzbank in Singapore. “This is a kind of different mindset between different regulators in different countries. From a Westerner’s viewpoint it’s very risky.”
Zhu Haibin, China economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong, also highlighted investors’ concerns over Beijing’s ability to judge market response to its policies, as was seen during this year’s stock market collapse.
Chinese stocks.SSEC have fallen 39 percent since mid-June. A scattergun regulatory response has involved a series of rate cuts, a surprise yuan currency devaluation and back-tracking of measures on trading and stock issuance.
“Beijing is not doing a good job in policy communication. It is not transparent... So, from that perspective, policy regulators are still in a learning process,” Zhu said.
PROLONGED UNCERTAINTY
Citi economists are pushing out the timing of a Fed rate rise, its first in almost a decade, to 2016, saying it will take time for uncertainties around China and the related slowdown in emerging markets to clear.
“The Chinese authorities have no track record of successfully dealing with such a structural slowdown, nor a track record of not exacerbating such a well anticipated economic weakness,” Citi said.
That risks prolonging the uncertainty and market volatility.
“This means China and its regulators are now in the driver’s seat and that isn’t a thought that brings down uncertainty, quite the contrary,” said Olivier d’Assier, Asia-Pacific managing director at risk management firm Axioma in Singapore.
“The PBOC is one of the least transparent regulators, and it appears now that it’s the one that’s going to influence a lot of the others.”
“Fed-watching is a science and people have been doing it for decades. It’s not the same in China. You can watch the PBOC, but you won’t get any signal until they do something, and it might be something totally different,” he said.Mike Maddux (left) talks to Tanner Roark (center) during a game. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
During Joe Ross’s start on Sunday, Max Scherzer sat on the Nationals’ bench like he always does. But he had a clipboard with an intricate scorecard on his lap. As Ross pitched, Scherzer kept track of Ross’s pitches, what happened in each count and how the Marlins’ hitters reacted. At one point, pitching coach Mike Maddux walked over to Scherzer to check something on the chart.
During Scherzer’s Monday start, Gio Gonzalez sat in the dugout doing the same thing, but with Scherzer on the mound this time and facing the Braves. Stephen Strasburg, who is slated to start Wednesday, will then take his turn doing the same with Gonzalez on the mound.
Charting pitches may seem like such a simple or antiquated practice, something done in the minor leagues. But to Maddux there is a meaningful reason: it forces the next day’s starter to pay closer attention to the game and visualize patterns.
“It’s a learning tool, man,” Maddux said. “You can see tendencies on hitters just by writing it down. Because if you write stuff down, you retain it better. It’s more of a learning tool than anything. I think the guys, once they see it, they go, ‘Oh man, yeah, look at this.’ All of sudden you get guys paying more attention to what’s going on pitch by pitch.”
Nationals starters may not be used to this because they didn’t do it before. But Maddux, who is known for working with players on the mental side of pitching, said he has always done it so he brought it to Washington this season. Gonzalez said it will “absolutely” help him this season and his fellow starters are open to the practice.
“It keeps you in the game the entire time,” Gonzalez said. “Something we all agree on. It’s not individual anymore. It’s pretty cool just seeing everyone go about it.”
While Scherzer worked through his six innings, Gonzalez sat in between fellow starters Tanner Roark and Ross on the bench and marked on the chart what pitches were thrown in what count. Although the Nationals electronically record mounds of data about each pitch thrown, the paper and pen will be useful for Gonzalez because Maddux hopes to use it in their pre-game preparation Tuesday.
“I’m going to look at it,” Maddux said. “Just to show that these guys swung at the first pitch every time or this [guy] took the first pitch every time. What he hit, what he didn’t hit, what he fouled off. It shows you right there in black and white.”
Washington’s starters used to watch the game from the dugout, taking mental notes on the opposing lineup. But now, they have a hand-made, easy-to-reference guide.
“It’s part of the program and I think it’s healthy,” Maddux said. “It’s something that we always did back before everything was StatCast and stuff. It was right there in front of us and you’d look, ‘What did I do last time? Okay, I’m going here.’ It gives you a good idea of what you’ve done and what to do moving forward.”
IN TODAY’S POST
Nationals overcome Max Scherzer’s shaky start for a 6-4 win, writes Chelsea Janes
IN YESTERDAY’S JOURNAL
Jonathan Papelbon pleased with Nationals Park reception so far
Dusty Baker dances, Bryce Harper walks and Ryan Zimmerman returns
Minor League Monday Report. Week 1
Bryce Harper goes 100 with the emoji stickers on his batThe White House and a federal ethics watchdog agency are in a standoff over ethics waivers for executive branch officials.
It began on April 28, when Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics, asked the White House and federal agencies for the names of anyone who had been granted an exemption from ethics rules.
For example, if an administration official once worked as a lobbyist, an ethics waiver could allow that person to bypass rules restricting the issues he or she can work on.
Mick Mulvaney, President Trump's top budget official, asked Shaub last week to stop the inquiry and questioned his authority to ask for the names. That request was first reported Monday by The New York Times.
On Monday, Shaub insisted that the White House turn over the names by June 1.
"The unusual nature of your letter highlights OGE's responsibility to lead the executive branch ethics program with independence, free from political pressure," Shaub wrote to Mulvaney. "Public confidence in the integrity of government decisionmaking demands no less."
The ethics office works with executive branch officials to avoid conflicts of interest, though it has no enforcement power.
Shaub has clashed repeatedly with the Trump administration.
In January, he blasted Trump's refusal to sell his business holdings and place them in a blind trust. In March, he rebuked the White House after presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway plugged Ivanka Trump's line of clothing and accessories in a TV interview.
Because the Trump administration is keeping ethics waivers secret, it's unclear how many have been granted. Outside watchdog groups and Democratic lawmakers have pressed the White House for an answer and encouraged the ethics office to stay on top of it.
Trump signed an executive order in January that prohibits former lobbyists from participating in anything directly related to their former employers or clients for two years. The order relaxed Obama-era rules that more tightly restricted lobbyists in government.
In his letter Monday, Shaub told Mulvaney that dozens of agencies had already complied with his request, well in advance of the June 1 deadline. It wasn't clear what records Shaub's office had recovered.
Before Shaub's letter was made public Monday night, the budget office said in a statement that it "stands firmly in support of the highest ethical standards." But it said the request on the waivers had an "expansive scope and breathless timetable."BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist/height 0.5 (WHT.5R) were measured and calculated for 81 adults (40 women, 41 men; mean (SD) age: 38.4 (17.5) years; 94% Caucasian). Total body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry with Corescan (GE Lunar iDXA, Encore version 15.0) was also performed to quantify %FM and VAT mass. Linear regression analysis, stratified by sex, was applied to predict both %FM and VAT mass for each anthropometric variable. Within each sex, we used information theoretic methods (Akaike Information Criterion; AIC) to compare models. For the best anthropometric predictor, we derived tentative cut-points for classifying individuals as obese (>25% FM for men or >35% FM for women, or > highest tertile for VAT mass).
The conventional measurement of obesity utilises the body mass index (BMI) criterion. Although there are benefits to this method, there is concern that not all individuals at risk of obesity-associated medical conditions are being identified. Whole-body fat percentage (%FM), and specifically visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass, are correlated with and potentially implicated in disease trajectories, but are not fully accounted for through BMI evaluation. The aims of this study were (a) to compare five anthropometric predictors of %FM and VAT mass, and (b) to explore new cut-points for the best of these predictors to improve |
aden. Gilbert’s presence will also put a damper on Skrine’s passes defensed total while pushing him to slot. After being a top 20 fantasy corner in leagues last season, Skrine will likely fall outside the top 50 this season, and potentially further if he can’t at least get 15 PDs while being heavily targeted by opposing defenses.
60.) Champ Bailey (NO) – The CB2 position behind Lewis is far from settled, but Bailey
should see the majority of snaps, health provided. The Saints also added rookie corner Jean-Baptiste and Jairus Byrd via free agency, in an effort to further bolster their defense and make another title run. If Bailey is able to stay healthy, it’s not inconceivable that he’ll manage 3 interceptions and 15 passes defensed, but he’s no longer the ball hawk and shutdown man he used to be. Corey White and Jean-Baptiste will also see playing time this season in the slot and opposite Lewis when Bailey is given a breather. (Photo courtesy of i.a.cnn.net)
That’s a wrap for corners. Next up is punt and kick returners. Honestly, I think you could make an argument that another 15 guys could be on this list over some others on this list, but, like I stated these rankings reflect MLFF scoring. I envision a ton of rookie corners making fantasy impacts this season (real-life impacts as well), and I believe I have accurately projected that feeling through my rankings. Continue to tune in for great analyses of baseball and football as we near the start of the football season, and don’t forget to like us on Facebook, tell your friends and co-workers about us, and give us a tune-in on our radio.
Peace!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Major League Fantasy Football Radio This Sunday August 3rd from 11:30am-12:30pm EST we will have two guests – Chase Jacobs and Ryan Ingram. Chase is a writer for majorleaguefantasysports.com and an owner in MLFF Champions League. Ryan is a writer as well and also an owner in MLFF league one. We will be discussing Tight Ends and Running Backs primarily. Sports Palooza Radio Network is who we owe thanks to in providing the platform. You can call in live at 646.915.8596, you can listen online live, or you can download the podcast.
Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio This Monday August 4th from 1pm-2pm EST we will have two guests – Bryan Luhrs and Ryan Bishop. Bryan is the owner of Real Deal Dynasty Sports, an author for MLFS, and also an owner in baseball & football. Ryan is one of the original owners in our leagues who is in year 7 with us, and he is a good source of information and opinion. We will be discussing potential minor league call ups, what impact they could have, and the latest fantasy relevant information. You can call in live at 646.915.8596, you can listen online live, or you can download the podcast.
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WhatsAppWGAL is set to post it’s 1-millionth slide show this year, and is currently at 999,952 shit clickbait posts.
POL reached out to Hearst Television, who owns WGAL, among more than 30 other combined NBC and ABC affiliate stations across the nation. “These slide shows are great, each click artificially boosts our web ranking so we show up higher on web searches, and at the same time maximizes squeezing every last dime out of our advertisers when we show ads on each page, oh and we didn’t stop there, our news sites are literally riddled with web tracking software, and we turn around and sell all of our readers’ Facebook information and browsing habits to advertising agencies, it’s a win-win-win!” Said the head of Hearst’s marketing. “Why spend all of that money investing in actual journalism when we can show slideshows of cute cats, or expensive houses for a fraction of the cost? Idiots eat that up, and idiots are our biggest demographic.”
WGAL is set to have 4 simultaneous town hall meetings in Lancaster, York, Harrisburg, and Adam’s county with live team coverage of all of the events in celebration of their 1-millionth Slide Show Bonanza Count-On-Us Susquehanna Valley Celebration.
Here are some of WGAL’s greatest hits:New Delhi: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence has been chosen as Dassault Aviation’s Indian strategic partner and will form a joint venture that will “be a key player in the execution of offset obligations” that arise from the recent purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
The 36 fighter jets that were acquired by India recently were purchased for almost 8 billion euros and came with a 50% offset clause: this offset clause ensures that 50% of the deal’s amount needs to be invested into the Indian defence ecosystem.
The joint venture announced today is a major feather in the cap of Reliance Defence: Although it was formed over a year ago with the acquisition of Pipavav Defence, the Dassault JV will represent its first, official and major defence order.
Reliance Defence, according to a press release issued, will be one of the primary Indian partners that will “develop major Indian programs with high levels of technology transfer” as a result of the Rafale offset clause. The joint venture, according to Reliance executives, will indirectly benefit the entire aerospace sector.
“The proposed strategic partnership between Dassault and Reliance will also focus on promoting research and development projects under the IDDM program (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured), a new initiative of India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar,” the statement read.
Ambani, in a statement, announced that this was a transformational moment for the Indian aerospace sector and for Reliance Infrastructure’s subsidiary Reliance Aerospace.
The Wire had earlier reported how in early 2015, three companies were in talks with Dassault and the Indian government for possible co-production opportunities that could have arisen from the Rafale deal. The three companies were Bharat Electronics, Noida-based Samtel and Reliance Defence Systems.
Not just Reliance
According to sources, while Bharat Electronics and Samtel and other defence companies will also a piece of the offset money, it is Reliance Defence that will execute a decent portion of the Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 30,000 crore that will flow in as a result of the Rafale deal.
“This is obviously a great step forward. However, the four companies that have offset obligations are Dassault, Thales, MDBA and Saffra. So it is likely that the technology transfer component and platform-specific work-share components will be distributed across a broad-base and a variety of companies,” Rahul Gangal, Partner, Roland Berger, a Munich-based strategic consulting firm told The Wire.
According to analysts, the work distributed to other companies could come in the form of simple outsourcing or even other joint-ventures, which should be announced shortly.University of Glasgow project taps plasma power to protect products and people
Scientists at the University of Glasgow have developed a new method to make packaged food safer for consumers and more long-lived on the shelf by harnessing the germ-killing power of ozone.
Dr Declan Diver and Dr Hugh Potts of the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy have prototyped a system to rapidly, safely and temporarily turn some of the oxygen inside the sealed packaging into ozone, a very effective germicide.
Plasma generated by a retractable device held briefly against the surface of plastic or glass packaging splits the bonds between oxygen molecules (O 2 ) inside the packaging which then reform as ozone (or O 3 ). The ozone naturally returns to its original state after just a couple of hours – more than enough time for any mould, fungi or bacteria on the packaging’s contents to be destroyed without adversely affecting its taste.
The product’s effectiveness as a germ-killer also extends food’s shelf-life by at least one extra day, which could go a significant way to cutting down on the seven million tonnes of food discarded in the UK each year.
The product is being brought to market by a University spinout company called Anacail, which means ‘shield’, ‘preserve’ or ‘protect’ in Gaelic. Anacail was founded in January 2011 and has recently raised £750,000 of seed funding from leading technology commercialisation company, IP Group, and the Scottish Investment Bank, a division of Scottish Enterprise. Half of the funding is subject to satisfaction of certain technical and commercial milestones.
Anacail Chief Executive Officer Dr Ian Muirhead said: “We’re very excited about the applications of our product. It’s safe and easy to use, doesn’t require any change in current packaging of food products to be effective, and it doesn’t require any chemical additives – the sterilisation effect comes directly from oxygen already in the package which is treated by our plasma head.
“Although ozone can be harmful to humans, it has a very limited lifespan before it returns to oxygen and it doesn’t leave behind any dangerous residues so it’s perfectly safe to use in food decontamination. It’s a very effective way to destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses.
“We’re currently seeking development partners to scale our product into full manufacture. Although we’re initially concentrating on offering Anacail products to the food industry, the process could be equally useful in for the sterilisation of medical and dental equipment and perhaps even for use in the home.”
The efficacy of Anacail’s prototype has been proven at leading UK test labs including Campden BRI in Gloucestershire. Tests have shown an increase in shelf-life for products including bread and muffins, and a significant reduction of many pathogens in poultry including campylobacter, pseudomonas, and E.coli.
Scottish Enterprise, through its Enterprise High Growth Start Up unit, has supported Anacail from the beginning of the spin-out process; contributing to its business strategy and plan; making introductions to industry experts, key suppliers and sub-contractors; and offering advice on R&D grants and financial support for the CEO Designate. The latest round of funding from the Scottish Investment Bank demonstrates that SE’s support will continue as the company develops its team, products and markets.
Anacail would also like to acknowledge STFC, EPSRC, SUPA and Glasgow University School of Physics and Astronomy for their support in this research activity.
For more information on Anacail, visit www.anacail.com
ENDS
For more information contact Ross Barker in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 8593 or email ross.barker@glasgow.ac.uk
About IP Group plc (www.ipgroupplc.com)
IP Group is a leading UK intellectual property ("IP") commercialisation company, developing technology innovations primarily from its research intensive partner universities. The Group offers more than traditional venture capital, providing its companies with access to business building expertise, networks, recruitment and business support.
The Company's portfolio comprises holdings in over 60 companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the DNA sequencing development company, Revolymer, best known for its removable chewing gum and Xeros, which has received many accolades for its revolutionary clothes washing techniques with a much reduced requirement for water.
The portfolio includes early stage to mature businesses and has exposure to five main sectors - Energy & Renewables, Medical Equipment & Supplies, Pharma & Biotech, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date, fifteen of the portfolio companies IP Group has backed have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and one on ISDX.
Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. The Group now has long-term partnerships with twelve core universities including those under its commercialisation agreement with Fusion IP plc.
About the Scottish Investment Bank
The Scottish Investment Bank is a division of Scottish Enterprise operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It manages a suite of funds including the Scottish Seed Fund; the Scottish Co-investment Fund; the Scottish Venture Fund; the Scottish Plastics Loan Fund and the Renewable Energy Investment Fund. It is the cornerstone investor in the privately-managed Scottish Loan Fund. These support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to capital. SIB also provides a team of financial readiness specialists to help companies prepare for new investment and more easily access finance from the private sector. See www.scottish-enterprise.com/sib for more.NBNCo is now just nbn, with a silly TM mark applied to it, set to confuse the NBN with nbn even though nbn sells no NBN service to end users.
In what is yet another example of pointless Government-inspired waste, NBNCo has rebranded itself from NBNCo with a green coloured website to nbn with a TM trademark symbol on a blue coloured website.
I guess we’ll next be told that TM stands for ‘trust me’.
Did some PR/re-branding firm charge big bucks for this pointless rebranding? How much money has been wasted on printing new business cards, designing company logos and other paraphernalia?
Of course, with NBNCo - or rather, nbnTM, funded by public money, Australians have paid for nbn to change its name.
Will this deliver faster broadband? No.
Will this deliver FTTN or FTTP to your house faster? No.
Will it have any impact on NBN Co operations? No.
Did anyone ask Australians whether NBN Co should rebrand? No.
Are Australians likely to think better of the nbn company now? No.
Does TM after anything made it look better or simpler or clearer? No.
Can I think of any true benefit to nbn as the new logo? No.
Will it confuse the physical NBN network with the nbn company? Yes.
Did people get paid for this useless rebrand? Yes.
Are brand names written solely in lower case letters naff? Yes.
Is it a nice logo? Sure, but who honestly cares, especially if they're still stuck on ADL2+?
The NBN Co’s big announcement wasn’t its new brand name, for which I can see no media release, but I noticed it was part of a detailed study done by KPMG Demographics and its demographer’s demographer, Bernard Salt, who spoke of GenNBN. Maybe Genbn would have been a better name, but Australia will get its GenNBN by 2020 while the rest of the FTTP-connected world goes through its various GenNBN's now.
Yesterday, NBN Co’s website still had the old brand, but today, it’s the new brand.
It has a big black hole at the centre of Australia as part of its logo, which is incredibly apt seeing as Australia is a giant black hole of superfast broadband connectivity.
As in, there’s very little of it around. The FTTP network has been sucked into the black hole of FTTN mediocrity, with FTTN so incredibly bad when compared with FTTP connections that are offered at speeds of 100Mbps minimum in all of Comcast’s markets in the US.
Perhaps the big black hole also looks like the pupil of an eye, with the eye of NBigBrotherN spying on us all on behalf of the Government.
As noted in my article on AT&T in the US deciding to stop rolling out FTTN and roll out FTTP instead because it is much faster, with Comcast offering 2Gbps to select customers - just as some ISPs in various Asian countries are also now offering to their customers.
Aside from some Fibre to the Basement and Fixed Wireless trials, Australia is pushing ahead with the slowest form of fast broadband available - an FTTN network.
And all NBNCo will have to show for it is a shiny new logo, and bits of a poxy FTTN network that will struggle to deliver 100Mbps to anyone.
nbnTM should have annoucned Australia will get FTTP. The cheers, the excitement, the sheer happiness would have been palpable.
Afer all, even AT&T’s own stats linked to in the article above say its FTTN network delivers an average of 45Mbps and never exceeds 75Mbps anywhere in its FTTN footprint. This is what we have to look forward to in our Netflix enabled new world? This?
Congratulations, nbnTM. Australia desperately needs vastly faster broadband and the best you can do is come up with a naff new logo.
Yep, that’s what Australia needed. A new logo for NBN Co.
The once clever country has become the clueless country.
We should be the cabled country, but instead we’re the loser chumps in that fictional Hollywood movie ‘Revenge of the Nodes’, where all the ‘Fibre to the Nerds’ in Asia and elsewhere whip our butts competitively.
Yay Australia. The Liberal National Coalition is supposed to be better than this. They’re supposed to fix Labor’s messes, not make them worse.
But don’t worry, fellow citizens. nbnTM to the rescue with a Node-able Broadband Network that will be notable for being the slowest in the world, but at least it has a new logo.136 SHARES Share Tweet
The band is in Poland right now, and while details are coming in we do know that a fan-driven GoFundMe has been put up for groundbreaking mathcore band Dillinger Escape Plan – though the band has requested to wait instead for an official statement. The link below is translated from Polish to English, as well as the screenshots – this is a good time to support the band by sharing the news, and buying merch if you have the means. We will keep you updated as more reports come in.
The following screenshots come from a Polish website. We are also hearing from unconfirmed sources via Twitter that the band is not seriously hurt, so let’s hope these reports are true.
LEAVE A COMMENTOAKLAND (CBS/AP) — A 500 gallon water tanker has been stolen from a landscaping site in the Oakland hills.
The Oakland Tribune reports that the half-full Marksman tanker-trailer belonging to Marina Landscape disappeared overnight and was missing when workers arrived early Thursday morning.
A Marksman representative said the tankers cost between $4,500 and $4,900.
Oakland police can’t remember a similar theft of a water tanker. They believe someone hooked the tanker up to a truck or other vehicle and drove onto the freeway.
Authorities speculate that a farmland, garden or similar business might have benefited from the theft.
Under a new law taking effect May 29, the fine for stealing water from the Oakland utility is $1,000 for the first offense and $2,000 the second time.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Herbal Earth: Western Hemisphere
NASA/NOAA
The still image is a snapshot of the Earth created from a year’s worth of data from April 2012 to April 2013. Subtle differences in shades of green in this animation reflect vegetation conditions worldwide. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation, and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. This image was released June 19, 2013.
Earth Vegetation
NASA/NOAA
World map of vegetation created with Suomi NPP data
Herbal Earth: Nile Delta
NASA/NOAA
Urbanized areas of northern Egypt are visible amidst the deserts of Egypt. The image captured July 9-15, 2012 also shows the Nile River, which provides life-sustaining water to the region. The image was created from the Visible-Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership or Suomi NPP satellite, a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. This image was released June 19, 2013.
Herbal Earth: Eastern Hemisphere
NASA/NOAA
Subtle differences in shades of green in this animation reflect vegetation conditions worldwide. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation, and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. The still image is a snapshot of the Earth created from a year’s worth of data from April 2012 to April 2013. This image was released June 19, 2013.
Herbal Earth
NASA/NOAA
Subtle vegetation changes are visible in this year-long visualization. Large-scale patterns vary with seasons, but the local variations in green are also sensitive precipitation, drought and fire. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. This image was released June 19, 2013.
Herbal Earth: Florida Everglades
NASA/NOAA
A "river of grass" extending south of Lake Okeechobee shows how the area was modified by man with visible areas of dense agriculture, urban sprawl and water conservation areas delineated by a series of waterways that crisscross Southern Florida. The image was created March 18-24, 2013 from the Visible-Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership or Suomi NPP satellite, a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. This image was released June 19, 2013.
NPP Climate and Weather Satellite
NASA
Artist's conception of NASA's NPP satellite in orbit. NPP — short for National polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system Preparatory Project — is the first satellite designed to collect data for both short-term weather forecasting and long-term climate monitoring.Wang Liqin (simplified Chinese: 王励勤; traditional Chinese: 王勵勤; pinyin: Wáng Lìqín; born June 18, 1978, Shanghai) is a retired Chinese table tennis player. As of January, 2014, he is ranked 12th in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). He began playing at the age of 6 and was picked for the Chinese men's national squad in 1993 when he was only 15 years old. He holds three majors (3 World Championships). He has been ranked #1 by ITTF for 25 consecutive months, from September 2000 to September 2002, which is the second longest period for being consecutive #1 of the world as of January 2011. At the end of 2013, Wang Liqin retired from the national team.[1]
Wang is the type who changes his playing equipment often. He has perhaps used more than 10 different model of rackets, some of them for a longer period of time, e.g. The Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, Stiga Clipper CR, Offensive CR, Rosewood V, DHS Hurricane King II, III, and some Nittaku's models. His main forehand rubber is DHS Hurricane II, III, TG III. It is said that he had used Nittaku Hammond, the Tenergy series, and many other rubbers for his backhand.
Wang Liqin uses the shakehand grip. He plays a forehand dominated style with the occasional backhand loop to open a topspin rally. His above average height allows him additional leverage for acceleration and momentum, creating more powerful shots. Many often describe him as possessing one of the most unusual and powerful forehand shots.
Awards [ edit ]
Wang won the gold medal in doubles at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the bronze medal in singles at the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece, as well as at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. At the 2008 Summer Olympics Wang won gold medal in team competition with Ma Lin and Wang Hao. For most of 2004–6, he ranked as the world's best table tennis player.
Wang Liqin won his first World Championship in Osaka, Japan in 2001. In 2003, Wang made it to the quarter-finals of the World Table Tennis Championships. He has since won two more World Championships – 48th WTTC 2005 in Shanghai, China and 49th WTTC 2007 in Zagreb, Croatia. Wang Liqin is ranked #12 in the world for Men's Singles, based on the ITTF World Ranking page as of January 2014(www.ittf.com).
Pro Tour winner (×21): Lebabon Open (1998), Swedish Open (1999), USA Open, China Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open (2000), China Open, England Open, Sweden Open (2001), China Open (2002). Germany Open, Swedish Open (2003), China Open, Korean Open, Singapore Open (2004), Qatar Open, China Open (Shenzen), China Open (Harbin) (2005), Qatar Open, Japan Open (2006), Qatar Open (2010) Runner-up (×10): Qatar Open, Japan Open (1997), France Open (1999), China Open (Kunshan), China Open (Guangzhou) (2006), Qatar (2007), China Open (2007), China Open (2008), China Open (2009), China Open (2012)
Men's Doubles Pro Tour winner (23): France Open (1996), Yugoslavian Open (1997), Japan Open (1997), Qatar Open (1998), China Open (1999), China Open (2000). Sweden Open, China Open (2001), Denmark Open, Qatar Open (2002), Japan Open (2004), China Open (2005), Qatar Open, China Open (Kunshan), China Open (Shenzen) (2006), Hungarian Open, Japan Open, German Open (2007), Korea Open (2008), England Open (2009), Sweden Open, Qatar Open (2011), China Open (2012) Runner-up (23) Sweden Open, Japan Open, Austrian Open, Brazil Open (1997), Malaysia Open, China Open, Australia Open (1998), USA Open, Denmark Open, Brazil Open (2000), China Open (2002), Japan Open (2003), Japan Open, Singapore Open (2006), China Open (2007), Qatar Open (2009), China Open, Kuwait Open, Qatar Open (2010), UAE Open (2011)
He is included in ITTF hall of fame. Currently he is serving as a coach of his Shanghai team at Chinese super league.
See also [ edit ]Texas Gov. Rick Perry was right. Members of the Texas Legislature who last year shot down his plan to require that schoolgirls be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus were shortsighted. The evidence for this is a shocking statistic: One in four American girls and young women are infected with at least one of four common sexually transmitted diseases, including the cancer-causing HPV.
This jaw-dropping conclusion was the finding of a recent federal study into infection rates of sexually transmitted diseases among girls aged 14 to 19 who participated in a health survey conducted in 2003-04. The teens were tested for HPV, chlamydia, trichomoniasis and genital herpes.
Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 18 percent of the young women were infected with human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer. Another 4 percent carried chlamydia, which can lead to infertility. Another 2.5 percent of the young women were found to have trichomoniasis, and 2 percent had genital herpes.
An astonishing 50 percent of black teens studied were infected with at least one STD. The figure for white teenagers — 20 percent — was also high.
The inescapable conclusion is that teens need more help in avoiding the serious consequences of having sex before they are ready and without adequate protection.
Last year, Gov. Perry called on Texas to mandate that sixth-grade girls receive the only vaccine approved to prevent HPV as a means to cut their risk of getting deadly cervical cancer. The outcry from Texans to Perry's executive order was as ferocious as lawmakers' speed in shooting it down.
Some parents expressed fear that the HPV vaccine would encourage young girls to have sex. The results of the CDC study show conclusively that no encouragement is needed. Lawmakers should look again at requiring the vaccine before girls become sexually active. It would be a sensible means of improving public health.
...Yesterday, the Minnesota House of Representatives was debating whether or not to pass an amendment to a omnibus tax bill that would have closed offshore tax loopholes. As it stands, companies can use that loophole to avoid paying taxes in the state, which means there’s more pressure on working class citizens to make up the difference.
Democratic State Rep. Paul Thissen, who supported the amendment, had a fairly straightforward question for Republican State Rep. Abigail Whelan, who opposed it: “… Do you think benefiting people who are hiding money in Liberia is worth raising taxes on your own constituents?”
She didn’t even try to answer that one.
Instead, Whelan used her time to tell everyone about Jesus.
… It might be because it’s late and I’m really tired, but I’m going to take this opportunity to just share with the body something I have been grappling with over the past several months, and that is, the games that we play here. I forgive you. It is okay, because I have an eternal perspective about this. I have an eternal perspective and I want to share that with you and with the people listening at home, that at the end of the day, when we try to reach an agreement with divided government, we win some, we lose some, nobody is really happy, but you know what? Happiness and circumstances – not what it’s about. There is actual joy to be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus loves you all. If you would like to get to know him, [if] you’re listening at home, [or] here in this room, please email me, call me. Would love to talk to you about Jesus. He is the hope of this state and of this country.
That… that didn’t answer the question. Furthermore, it’s completely inappropriate for an elected official to proselytize on the House floor. Christians like her would be fuming if a Muslim or atheist politician dared to do anything even close to what she did.
And then Whelan, along with every other Republican, voted to protect the offshore tax loopholes.
It’s just like Jesus always said: “Blessed are the corporations.”
(via ThinkProgress)UC Berkeley was ranked the No. 4 public university in the United States — below UCLA, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill — in the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education’s joint college ranking released Tuesday.
UC Berkeley was ranked No. 40 overall, tying with Boston University and dropping five spots since the 2017 Wall Street Journal ranking. UCLA was ranked at No. 25, UMich at No. 27 and UNC Chapel Hill at No. 33 in the new 2018 ranking.
The ranking combines 15 different performance indicators to create an overall score, according to the methodology outline. UC Berkeley’s most significant decline is reflected in the “outcomes” category, which measures graduation rates, academic reputation and value added to graduate salaries and loan defaults. The outcomes category is the most heavily weighted category, and UC Berkeley’s outcomes score dropped from 36.3/40 in 2017 to 34.6/40 in 2018.
According to campus spokesperson Michael Dirda, the Wall Street Journal ranking does not set public universities up to score highly because of how heavily it weighs the amount of resources available per student. Dirda said institutions with large student bodies, such as UC Berkeley, tend to underperform in this category.
“We try not to get too worked up or too excited any time a new set of rankings comes out,” Dirda said. “We don’t reprioritize our core goals just to score on these kinds of lists.”
Dirda added that the UC Berkeley Office of Planning and Analysis had expressed concern that it was not involved in the Wall Street Journal’s ranking process. According to Dirda, the office found the ranking to be “fairly skewed” because it might not have represented student perspectives.
Dirda said he felt that prospective campus students will look beyond rankings and weigh other factors when deciding on which college to attend.
Campus freshman Erica Shin said she felt UC Berkeley could have been ranked higher if the campus funds used to provide security for speakers such as Ben Shapiro and Milo Yiannopolous were instead allocated toward funding research or hiring professors.
“(My roommate and I) were really mad about the ranking,” Shin said. “We thought that Berkeley should be ranked so much higher on the list. … We were the No. 1 public university for so long.”
Other students, however, said they thought the ranking was insignificant. Campus junior Ezra Alanis called rankings “arbitrary” and said he felt they are a publicity tactic used by magazines.
Dirda emphasized that despite the ranking drop, the list still shows that UC Berkeley is among the best public institutions in the country.
“We’re happy to see UCLA performing well alongside us,” Dirda said. “I don’t want to make this all doom and gloom.”
Contact Hannah Piette at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @Hannah_PietteDC.This commentary was originally published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on 1 June 2016.
The problem of Nagorno-Karabakh is arguably the most acute issue in the Caucasus today. The outbreak of fighting in April 2016 is the worst since the 1994 ceasefire. Without a political shift in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in the absence of peacekeepers or effective international monitoring on the ground, maintenance of the new ceasefire agreement will be difficult.
The onset of a full-fledged war between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be much more destructive than the original conflict in the 1990s. Over the last 5 years Armenia and Azerbaijan have heavily militarized the border areas and built up substantial arsenals. In the event of a major conflict, the war would take on a regional dimension with the possible involvement of Russia and Turkey. Georgia, too, would likely be drawn into the conflict due to its large Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities. The region’s shifting security dynamics and the role of regional powers, particularly Russia, Iran, Turkey, the EU and the USA, deserve close examination as possible alternatives are explored.
On 29 April SIPRI, together with the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS), organized the workshop 'Shifting Conflict and Security Dynamics in the Caucasus: the Role of Regional Powers' in Tbilisi, Georgia. The workshop explored recent developments in the conflicts of the Caucasus region and this blog is based on discussions from the workshop.
Russia’s struggle to maintain regional control
Driven by broader foreign policy goals and security objectives, Russia’s engagement in the South Caucasus is heavily focused on protecting its sovereignty and the practice of non-interference in its domestic affairs, maintaining border security and securing its interests in the ‘near abroad’. Moscow’s resistance to NATO and EU efforts to promote liberal norms and external models of security governance in the eastern neighbourhood is an effort to assert itself in what Russia’s elites consider an unstable and inhospitable security environment. Despite trying to maintain stability and order in its neighbourhood, Russia lacks a clear strategy to underpin its approach to the region.
Recently, Moscow has tried to promote constructive narratives, both in terms of trade and development and its role as a security provider. For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the creation of a Eurasian Union—a multilateral economic organization modelled after the EU—as a means of increasing regional prosperity. At the same time, Russia’s efforts to promote itself as a security provider and a negotiator are apparent both in its engagement in the Geneva talks (on Georgia’s protracted conflicts) and in its brokerage of a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan with regard to the newly revitalized Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In the region, however, Russia is neither viewed as a reliable security actor nor as a viable leader of a new model of economic integration. To this end, its perception limits Russia’s ability to enforce its agenda. In August 2014, President Putin invited the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to talks in Sochi over growing tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, but the meeting failed to produce a final joint statement, indicating an inability to move the sides towards a peace agreement. Similarly, after the upsurge in violence around Nagorno-Karabakh in April 2016, Russia’s largescale supply of arms to Azerbaijan created a strong anti-Russian backlash in Armenia, thwarting President Putin’s plans to persuade the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to meet in Moscow.
Despite the impediments to Russia extending its position within the South Caucasus, two factors stand to increase its influence. First, a ramp up of Russian ‘soft power’, which counters the West’s liberal values in favour of promoting the pro-Russian world and its conservative Orthodox and Eurasian values, might be more effective than hard power alternatives. Second, largely as result of the Russia–Georgia war of 2008, integration with the EU and NATO is not seen as a realistic prospect for the countries of the South Caucasus. With Euro–Atlantic integration off the table, Russia’s influence in the region could grow.
Iran and Turkey efforts to re-engage
Iran strives to overcome years of isolation and disengagement in order to become a third power in the region, together with Turkey and Russia. Although Iran’s borders with the South Caucasus states have been relatively stable, unlike its borders with Afghanistan and Iraq, Tehran has security concerns in the region. Any intensification of violence in the South Caucasus, for example over Nagorno-Krabakh, would have important repercussions for Iran in terms of border security, refugee flows and damage to energy infrastructure it has constructed together with Armenia.
Turkey, which has substantial economic and security interests in the region, is tangentially engaged in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia’s military build-up in Armenia, which grew out of its intervention in Syria, remains a significant concern for Turkey and has ensured the latter’s support for Baku. Turkey’s close relations with Azerbaijan are also partially the product of ethno-linguistic ties, mutual economic and energy interests and domestic politics.
Nevertheless, the Caucasus is not the primary strategic security arena either for Turkey or for Iran. Iran’s engagement in the South Caucasus is only marginally related to its primary objectives of returning to the world stage and re-entering the global economy. Meanwhile, Turkey is occupied by other theaters, namely Syria, as well as internal security concerns related to the refugee crisis, attacks near its borders and domestic terrorism in its urban centers. Both countries, however, are worried by and wary of Russia.
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with all the expenses involved in buying and running the machines when you can just move money around databases?If they were legit they would have lots of overhead and are limited by the amount of hashpower they actually have. By "going virtual" they have no expenses and can just keep collecting money as long as people are willing to give it.
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Full MemberActivity: 140Merit: 100 Re: GAW Miners Paybase Paycoin unofficial uncensored discussion.ALWAYS MAKE MONEY :) April 15, 2015, 04:15:54 PM #31392 Quote from: maildir on April 15, 2015, 04:11:10 PM
HeAr ARe meyE pLan by HomEro GarZa
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Received: by 10.112.145.105 with HTTP; Sat, 27 Dec 2014 22:03:15 -0800 (PST)
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 01:03:15 -0500
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Subject: Here is my plan
From: Josh Garza <josh@gaw.com>
To: Christian Gogol <christian@gawminers.com>, Rami Abramov <rami@geniusesatwork.com>,
Joe Mordica <joe@geniusesatwork.com>, Jonah Dorman <jonah@geniusesatwork.com>
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target: get xpy over $20 for paybase launch
Naturally, I will use people's excitement as the primary fuel for my plan
Tomorrow morning I will start dropping lines that the storm is coming.
Throughout the day, I will build the momentum.
Tomorrow afternoon will be act one. We will release the new paybase site,
and an announcement about the launch promotion. We will also announce the
Paybase Prime program. The paybase prime program is an invite only club
that offers first dibs on new features, rare promotions, voting on future
features and more. We will give it out to those that hold their xpy and
only use it to purchase with.
We will start creating buy walls and get everyone supper amped.
I hope to end the night around 14
Then Monday comes. Hopefully we will start the day around the same $14.
Naturally we will keep pumping out messages through the whole day. Building
the price.
Monday afternoon will be my final climax. We will announce people's wallets
to stake at the prime rate. Plus, the new Amazon integration. Presented
right, that can be the ko
I am hoping by then the price will be at $20, then paybase launches.
Joe, I will likely tell people that we are going to start rolling out the
Amazon integration in order of those that hold and
--
*Josh Garza*
*CEO- *GAW Corp
--089e014943107ca63f050b4083a6
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
target: get xpy over $20 for paybase launch=C2=A0<div><br></div>Naturally, =
I will use people's excitement as the primary fuel for my plan=C2=A0<di=
v><br></div><div>Tomorrow morning I will start dropping lines that the stor=
m is coming.=C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>Throughout the day, I will buil=
d the momentum.=C2=A0</div><div><br></div>Tomorrow afternoon will be act on=
e. We will release the new paybase site, and an announcement about the laun=
ch promotion. We will also announce the Paybase Prime program. The paybase =
prime program is an invite only club that offers first dibs on new features=
, rare promotions, voting on future features and more. We will give it out =
to those that hold their xpy and only use it to purchase with.=C2=A0<div><b=
r></div><div>We will start creating buy walls and get everyone supper amped=
.=C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>I hope to end the night around 14=C2=A0</d=
iv><div><br></div><div>Then Monday comes. Hopefully we will start the day a=
round the same $14. Naturally we will keep pumping out messages through the=
whole day. Building the price.=C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>Monday after=
noon will be my final climax. We will announce=C2=A0people's wallets to=
stake at the prime rate. Plus, the new Amazon integration.=C2=A0Presented =
right, that can be the ko</div><div><br></div><div>I am=C2=A0hoping by then=
the price will be at $20, then paybase launches.=C2=A0</div><div><br></div=
><div>Joe, I will likely tell people that we are going to start rolling out=
the Amazon integration in order of those that hold and=C2=A0</div><br><br>=
-- <br><div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div><b style=3D"font-size:small"><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(204,0,0)">Josh Garza</span></b><br style=3D"font-family:arial=
;font-size:small"><b style=3D"font-family:arial;font-size:small"><span styl=
e=3D"color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:arial,sans-serif">CEO</span>-=C2=A0</b=
><span style=3D"font-size:small;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Georgia,ser=
if">GAW Corp</span><br></div></div><br>
--089e014943107ca63f050b4083a6--
This is the only email the SEC need to put josh in cuffs, the rest of the info would determine if he gets life or execution. This is the only email the SEC need to put josh in cuffs, the rest of the info would determine if he gets life or execution.(do the boneheads even have a surname??? I'd assume Gaster if the dadster hc held true but IHDK)
Sa
T
r
e
Generally, he may behave like a clone of sans, although his sense of humor leans just a bit more towards sarcasm than puns. He's honestly far more emotional and quicker to miff than Sans, and is pretty bad at hiding that. Sater has roughly just as much culinary talent as Tori, though hasn't made it clear if he plans on making that a career.
infact, as far as attitude and personality he may as well be a Soul Eater expy (consider that his voice)
as far as a battle could go, it'd prolly be something like torched bone obstacles and projectiles (I lack a better description, so maybe use your imagination xP). I can imagine he'd be spared by joining in on his jokes or asking to hang out- if not just constant sparing ("C'mon, man... Don't make me feel bad for tryin' to obliterate you.")
(only if it's a universe where Asriel is resurrected...) He'd probably be a tad paranoid about Asri seeing him as a replacement, when tbh I personally see Asriel as the sort who'd welcome premuch anyone with open arms. I can sorta see them mirroring the boneheads almost completely, and by the time Skie's in the picture he goofs around with her all the time
tradmark favorite food/addiction joke; for now I can't help but think mayonnaise
say hello to...Asriel's younger half-brother and thusly Skie's uncle!EDIT: OKAY, INFO-MAY-SHUN!Name:...it's taken from/is an intentional misspelling of satyr, just with the Y swapped with an E so it looks a bit more like a bit of a mash-up ofns andl's namesSater the zombiegoat - le moiLillian Mongeau: You've dedicated yourself to the issue of caring for young children for 40 years at this point. Why is early childhood such an important issue for you?
Hillary Clinton: Every child deserves the chance to fulfill their God-given potential. In law school, I was deeply inspired by Marian Wright Edelman’s work to give children the best possible start in life, and it led me to the Yale Child Study Center. After law school, I went to work for the Children’s Defense Fund, where I documented the challenges facing children with disabilities. Later, I had the opportunity to apply these ideas in Arkansas when I helped launch a home visiting program called HIPPY, which teaches parents to be their kids’ first teachers.
In the 1990s, scientific breakthroughs led us to understand more about early brain development and the importance of early learning from birth. I lifted up this scientific research as first lady by hosting the first ever White House conference on early learning and brain development, and then fought for the creation of Early Head Start to help low-income children receive the support they need from infancy. As a Senator, I called for a national pre-K initiative to provide funding to states to establish high-quality pre-K programs. And, after I left the State Department, I started a program called “Too Small to Fail,” to raise awareness about the “word gap,” which refers to the fact that children from higher-income families hear 30 million more words than their low-income peers by the time they are 3 years old. As a result, higher-income children start school with double the vocabulary. But we know that parental awareness coupled with real early learning supports can close this word gap.
Just last week we learned that our collective efforts have paid off: researchers from Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Virginia found that from 1998 to 2010, the school readiness gap between low-income and high-income children shrunk by 10 percent in math and 16 percent in reading. They attributed this narrowing of the school readiness gap to the collective investments our country has made in preschool and the awareness we have brought to low-income parents who may not have previously known the importance of talking, reading and singing to their children from birth to engage their brains during this critical time.
Throughout my career, I have been guided by a strong belief, backed by rigorous research, that what happens in the early years has a profound effect on overall child well-being and success in school and life—and that every child deserves a fair shot at achieving their dreams, no matter what they look like or where they are born.
Mongeau: The title of our series, “Little To Nothing,” is a reference to how much we invest in the country's youngest children. You've visited many other developed countries and know how far behind we are. What is your perspective on why other OECD countries are spending so much more on young children than we are in the U.S.?Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat has suggested that the detective will not be facing his original nemesis Moriarty in future series.
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As far as fans know, Moriarty died at the end of series two, having shot himself ahead of Sherlock’s now legendary dive from the top of a hospital building.
But if Sherlock can survive that – and we know that he does – could his arch-enemy also have faked his death?
While Moffat doesn’t answer that question for sure, he has made it clear that Moriarty (Andrew Scott) will not feature heavily in future series of Sherlock and that fans should expect new adversaries for Benedict Cumberbatch’s detective.
“Moriarty’s a one-shot deal in the original [books]. I don’t want [Sherlock] to turn into a show that’s about one villain and one hero,” said Moffat.“Moriarty was great because he was a surprise. Every time you bring him back he won’t be as big a surprise.
“We need to find new villains, we need to find new ideas, otherwise the show doesn’t keep growing,” he added, in an interview by Delphine Rivet for French websites reviewer.fr and Le Village.
And Moffat suggested he would be returning to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories to seek inspiration for Sherlock’s future adversaries.
“There are other great villains in [the Conan Doyle books] that we want to visit. We have to keep the show growing otherwise it won’t surprise you. Once you get the measure of it you’ll just get critical – if we keep surprising you and keeping you off balance you won’t.”
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A transmission date for the new run of Sherlock is yet to be announced. Following the finale in January, Moffat and co-creator Mark Gatiss took to Twitter to reveal that the third series had been commissioned at the same time as the second.A young Israeli Arab man from the central town of Qalansuwa was caught and tortured by the ruling regime in Syria as he tried to join the opposition forces, it was revealed Monday after a gag order on the affair was lifted.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
It appears 20-year-old Yusef Nasrallah was captured by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad as he tried to enlist with either the Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front or the Islamic State. He was tortured and questioned about Israeli security facilities. About a month ago he returned to Israel, and was arrested.
Yusef Nasrallah in court in Peth Tikva on Monday. (Photo: Ido Erez)
According to the indictment against him, Nasrallah travelled to Jordan in April of last year, and from there went to Syria. He managed to hide for a few days until he was captured and taken in for questioning by the authorities. A few months later, he was transferred to the Palestinian embassy in Damascus and from there taken to Jordan. He was arrested in Israel upon his return, about a month ago.
The charge sheet states that Nasrallah was asked where Israel had hospitalized wounded Syrian rebels, and he said that he had no information on this subject. He was also asked about the existence of an IDF base along Israel's main coastal highway, and had told his interrogators what he knew.
Narallah before his trip. Syrian officials asked him about rebels hospitalized in Israel.
The Syrian interrogators wanted to know how people entered the Palestinian terrotiries from Israel, and whether there were any violent clashes during this process. Nasrallah was also was asked whether he had Jewish friends, and if any of his family had served in the IDF.
"With the actions outlined above, the defendant behaved negligently… his forbidden departure for Syria was a clear risk and led to his capture and interrogation by the enemy, thereby giving the enemy information that could be to its advantage," the indictment said.
Upon his return to Israel, Nasrallah questioned by members of the Shin Bet and police officers from the Central District. He admitted the accusations against him, including leaving the country illegally and passing information to the enemy.
He was indicted by prosecutors from the Central District, who simultaneously filed a request the suspect be held in detention until the end of his trial at Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court.
Nasrallah's family were in court Monday, and his father told Ynet: "My son went to Syria by mistake and was arrested there. He had no ulterior motives. He reached to a certain place and did not know how to return so he had to go on towards Syria. I talked to him after the Syrians released him. He said, 'I really miss you, I came back safe and sound. I don't know how I ended up in Syria."
According to his father, Yusef Nasrallah told him he had been jailed with 120 other prisoners, and because of the harsh diet had lost 20 pounds since his arrest.
"He said that they cursed him and beat him there," his father said.
According to the prosecution, the departure of Israeli citizens or residents to join the jihad in Syria has become a phenomenon that poses a real danger as military and ideological training could be utilized for operations in Israel. Last summer, a resident of Majdal Shams also tried to join the rebel forces, but was also caught by Assad's troops and asked to provide information on the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Moshe Aloni, Nasrallah's attorney says his client is an "abnormal mental state."
Arguing against ongoing detention for his client, Aloni said that Israel had medical documentation of bruises on different parts of Nasrallah's body, which he incurred due to violent treatment during his captivity in Syria.For a more in-depth look at student data privacy, our infographic shows a day in the life of the most measured and monitored students in the history of education. -
Listen To The Story Marketplace Embed Code <iframe src="https://www.marketplace.org/2015/05/01/education/learning-curve/proposed-legislation-would-protect-student-data/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe>
Update May 1: The student data privacy bill was introduced April 29 after more than a month of delays, following criticism that lawmakers fell short of creating a strong national law. This story was originally reported March 23, 2015.
A student privacy bill long in the works is scheduled to be introduced in Congress March 20, by U.S. Representatives Luke Messer and Jared Polis.
The Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015 is expected to prohibit companies from selling students’ personal information to third parties, or from using data for non-educational purposes, like marketing.
Khaliah Barnes, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Student Privacy Project, says there are not enough current restrictions when it comes to student data.
"We're in, unfortunately, the wild west when it comes to student privacy," she says. "We're hopeful the upcoming legislation will correct the current wrongs."
The proposed bill would not prevent states from passing even tougher laws themselves, making some industry giants worried, though so far 125 companies including Google and Apple have signed the Student Privacy Pledge, vowing, among other things, not to sell student data.
Student data privacy laws around the nation
In 2014, many states considered or passed new legislation protecting student data. You can see which states responded to which issues by clicking on the icons below. You can also click on each state for more details about its laws.
Cloud-computing restrictions States which have passed or considered legislation restricting cloud-computing services and vendors. Limits marketing to students States which have passed or considered legislation restricting the use of student data for marketing Limits data sharing States which have passed or considered legislation restricting how student data is shared. Increases transparency States which have passed or considered legislation making the data-collection process more transparent. Limits data collection States which have passed or considered legislation limiting the kind of information that schools and agencies can collect.
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Laws: Bills:
States with new privacy laws
States with new privacy laws States with legislation introduced in 2014
States with legislation introduced in 2014 States where legislation was defeated
States where legislation was defeated States which rely solely on federal laws
New laws or legislation restricting cloud-computing services and vendors.
New laws or legislation restricting cloud-computing services and vendors. New laws or legislation restricting the use of student data for marketing
New laws or legislation restricting the use of student data for marketing New laws or legislation restricting how student data is shared.
New laws or legislation restricting how student data is shared. New laws or legislation making the data-collection process more transparent.
New laws or legislation making the data-collection process more transparent. New laws or legislation limiting the kind of information that schools and agencies can collect.
Sources: Marketplace research and Data Quality Campaign data
“I think the best compliment I can give is not to say how much your programs have taught me (a ton), but how much Marketplace has motivated me to go out and teach myself.” – Michael in Arlington, VA As a nonprofit news organization, what matters to us is the same thing that matters to you: being a source for trustworthy, independent news that makes people smarter about business and the economy. So if Marketplace has helped you understand the economy better, make more informed financial decisions or just encouraged you to think differently, we’re asking you to give a little something back. Become a Marketplace Investor today – in whatever amount is right for you – and keep public service journalism strong. We’re grateful for your support. BEFORE YOU GOYou can't blame LG for not trying something new. This spring, the company strayed away from the beaten path of monolithic smartphones, and launched a modular phone — the LG G5 — with a sizable ecosystem of additional devices that extend the phone's functionality.
There's a problem, though: It's not selling.
Following The Korea Times' report last week that LG is reshuffling key execs in its mobile division due to the G5 failing to generate sales, we've reached out to LG for clarification. And while a company rep insisted that this was a partial mistranslation, he did say that the G5 "did not meet the expectations of the market."
The mid-year management realignment, the LG spokesperson told Mashable, is "not unheard of," but it definitely is a result of LG G5's slow sales. LG's focus in mobile, he said, is "not just about one flagship smartphone but the entire lineup," meaning LG's V-series phones and other devices in the company is offering up.
The simple truth is that the LG G5 is the only mass-produced smartphone that's truly different from the pack, but that doesn't appear to have helped convince people to buy it.
What does this tell us about modular smartphones? While it's possible that the G5 hasn't been selling well for reasons other than its modularity, we've found it to be quite a capable phone — especially in the camera department — despite being modular.
Do we really need modular phones?
I believe the answer, at least partially, is in the concept of a modular phone itself. It sounds like a great idea — after all, who wouldn't want to be able to upgrade their phone after a year or two? The LG G5, however, is more about expandability than modularity. You're not going to be able to replace the LG's processor or camera, ever. You can add new functionality, such as camera controls with the camera module, or a hi-fi chip with B&O's module, but those additional modules cost money, and not everyone is prepared to dish additional cash for a few extra features after purchasing a new smartphone.
It makes G5's modularity sound much more like a marketing gimmick than a feature.
The fact that only one G5 module — the LG Cam Plus — is available in the U.S. doesn't help. Frankly, it makes G5's modularity sound much more like a marketing gimmick than a feature that could actually be useful in multiple situations.
As far as true modularity goes, the only part of the G5 you can actually replace is the battery, and this is where it becomes obvious that LG's idea of a modular phone is painfully incompatible with the way the smartphone market works today.
Ask any user whether they'd like to be able to replace their phone's battery, and I'm willing to bet most will say yes. But when? After a year, two or even three, when the battery life dwindles — all reasonable answers that don't help the G5's sales today. And with carrier contracts and payment plans generally being two-year affairs, many users simply switch their phone for a new one when their contract is up.
Buying a modular phone is investing in the future. You're getting it now because you hope great things will happen down the line. You also hope you'll be able to save money by simply replacing a part instead of buying a new phone. But are smartphone users today willing to chose a phone based on its upgradeability, or will they simply go for the option they like the most? If G5's sales are any indication, upgrading their phone is the last thing on smartphone buyers' minds.
What about project Ara?
Besides the LG G5's semi-modular approach, another high-profile modular phone concept comes from Google — Project Ara. While the concept is very different from LG's idea of modularity (Ara lets you replace nearly all of the phone's major components), Ara has an entirely different set of problems.
Namely, it's just not here yet.
Not only that — it's been delayed for what seems like forever. Initially announced by Motorola in 2013 (Google had acquired Motorola in 2011), it was shown as a prototype in 2014. I saw another prototype at Mobile World Congress in 2015. But it was then delayed into 2016. And then into 2017.
There's hope for Project Ara, however. An official developer version should arrive this fall, and then we'll know a lot more about Google's vision of a modular smartphone.
Google will have to face a similar set of problems to LG's — the fact that paying for extra modules at smartphone purchase might not sit well with a lot of buyers, coupled with the fact that it might take a long time before customers start thinking about upgrading their modular phones.
But Google has one key advantage over LG — Ara is not a make-or break product for the company. Sure, Google isn't likely to bleed money on it for years, but it can afford to slowly upgrade Ara and push it forward until a portion of the market starts appreciating the benefits of a modular phone. Perhaps, by then, a G6 or a G7 will get more love from buyers as well.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham appears in a YouTube video (Screenshot)
Creationist Ken Ham lashed out at Bill Nye this week after the science advocate noted in a recent video that opposition to abortion was based on outdated beliefs.
In a Big Think video published last week, Nye had pointed out that men were passing anti-abortion laws based on a “deep scientific lack of understanding.”
“I know it was written or your interpretation of a book written 5,000 years ago, 50 centuries ago, makes you think that when a man and a woman have sexual intercourse they always have a baby,” Nye said. “That’s wrong and so to pass laws based on that belief is inconsistent with nature.”
“So I just really encourage you to not tell women what to do and not pursue these laws that really are in nobody’s best interest,” he advised. “Just really be objective about this. We have other problems to solve everybody. Come on. Come on. Let’s work together.”
On Monday, Ham fired back in a column on his Answers In Genesis blog accusing Nye of attacking the Bible.
“[T]hrough the whole video clip he is telling women what to do—that they should abort (murder, really) a baby if they want to,” Ham wrote. “In this video, Bill Nye attacks the Bible because his starting point is that man determines his own worldview—that there is no God who owns us. Then using his religion, his starting point that all life is the result of natural processes, and therefore one’s worldview is moral relativism, he proceeds to plead (yes, plead) that women be allowed to abort their babies.”
“Now Bill Nye also tells us that saying we should not abort (murder) babies is ‘bad science,'” the creationist continued. “He tries to make out that discussing moral issues (like abortion) is on the same level as observational science that builds our technology. What a load of nonsense.”
Ham added: “We do believe the Bible is the Word of God and that God created us and owns us! We do acknowledge it is God who sets the rules and determines right and wrong! And we do admit that humans are made in God’s image, and murdering one made in God’s image is sin!”
He concluded by demanding that Nye “admit you have a religion called humanism—that you believe everything happened by natural processes and man determines right and wrong.”
“You need to admit that your ‘deeply held beliefs’ determine your worldview which is why you are telling women what to do—they should abort (murder) a baby if they want to!”
Watch Bill Nye’s video below.Illegal immigration across the southwestern U.S. border increased 15 percent in July over the previous month, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.
"The short answer is we don't know what all of those causes are," DHS spokesman David Lapan told reporters, particularly in light of claims by President Donald Trump that illegal immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico has plummeted since his inauguration.
The DHS data was reported by The Washington Times.
Just last month, Trump claimed that illegal immigration was down 78 percent since January.
"The border is down 78 percent," Trump told law enforcement officers in New York last month. "Under past administrations, the border didn't go down — it went up.
"But if it went down 1 percent, it was like this was a great thing. Down 78 percent.
"The southern border of Mexico, we did them a big favor. Believe me.
"They get very little traffic in there anymore, because they know they're not going to get through the border to the United States," Trump said.
According to the agency, Border Patrol agents arrested 13 percent more illegals in July versus the previous month — while officers at various ports of entry saw a 23 percent increase.
July usually experiences a drop, the Times noted, so the increase signaled a change in general seasonal patterns.
In addition, the number of arrests of families and unaccompanied alien children also gained in the month.
Arrests of minors rose 27 percent, while family apprehensions rose 46 percent.
Regarding ports of entry, Border Patrol officers arrested 6,833 aliens trying to enter the U.S. in July — and 18,198 illegals who snuck across the border.
The total, 25,031, while the highest under Trump, remains lower than any other month under former President Barack Obama since December 2011, the Times reports.Jeff Hughes | November 27th, 2017
Five years ago the Chicago Bears fired a head coach because they deemed 10 wins in 16 games that season were not enough. Through 30 games of his Bears tenure, John Fox has 12 wins.
On October 16th 2016 this space advocated for the firing of Fox for many valid reasons. But primary among them was the Bears seemed ready to move into a new era – with a new, young quarterback – and Fox was clearly not the man to usher the organization through that era. It wasn’t so much an indictment of Fox’s job performance as a recognition that he’d done his part to bring the Bears back to respectability post-Argonaut and the time had now come to transition from respectable to competitive.
That was 2016. This is 2017. And now it’s ENTIRELY about job performance. Because the Bears are a terrible football team.
Is it worth going through the litany of things wrong with John Fox’s approach to game day football? No. We’ve been talking about the lack of preparedness and penalties and awful mismanagement every day over the three years he’s run the show in Chicago. But the deal breaker for the organization has to be that for the first time Fox has young offensive talent to work with and develop and he, as well as offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, are squandering that opportunity on a weekly basis.
Mitch Trubisky is being relegated to an old school, drop deep and survey the field offense that neither fits his skill set nor helps him adjust to the NFL. Twelve games through the season, the Bears have relegated their most explosive offensive player, Tarik Cohen, to a gimmick back. Adam Shaheen. One target. One. One.
Sunday night I received a text from a friend, a high ranking pro personnel guy with a different NFC team. Sunday, he was in Philadelphia. He texted me this: “This Bears offense is the easiest to defend in the league. And there’s no close second.”
Fox must go. Today. Otherwise the Bears and their fans will have to wall in the mud-laden slop that has become the 2017 campaign for the next five weeks as any hope for the 2018 turnaround drifts further and further away. Firing Fox won’t fill Soldier Field against the Niners or the Browns. Giving away $100 bills at the gate wouldn’t do that. But despite the belief that firing a coach in-season achieves nothing, firing Fox would achieve three important goals.
It would allow the Bears to effectively turn the page on 2017. Fans will be more willing to accept the coming results if they know a new coach and philosophy are ’round the bend.
It would send a message to the fan base that ownership will not tolerate performances like the Bears have given two of the last three weeks. Yes, it’s common knowledge George McCaskey does not want to fire a coach in-season. That’s why doing so today could have such a remarkable impact.
It allows the Bears to take the lead in finding his replacement and they should start that process by flying to Stanford and gauging David Shaw’s interest in returning to the NFL.
Fans would love to get angry about the 2017 Bears but, unfortunately, they don’t care enough to express that level of emotion. And as long as John Fox remains the head coach the fan base will remain apathetic to his team’s results. If Fox isn’t removed before the Bears face the 49ers Sunday, it’s an insult to everyone following this team.It was the last semester of senior year and all the cool kids were boycotting prom in favor of something better.
Why rent a limousine when you could make an entrance in an art car shaped like a pumpkin? Why break the bank on a pastel dress when you could wear a piece designed by one of your friends? Why go to a twerk-a-thon in a hotel ballroom when you could go to a masquerade in the Hollywood hills?
Moira promised carriage rides around her estate, vaudevillian cabaret dancers, and a hard rock cello quartet. She promised sword swallowers, contortionists, and devils on stilts. She promised a magician with body modifications who did tricks with his magnetic hands, a pain proof man that hammered nails into his nostrils, and a death defying woman who escaped coffins buried underground.
She promised memories worth making, which was more than our school was offering.
Moira came from wealth and fame. She was the queen bee of our hedonistic hive. If she wanted to live out her Victorian carnival fantasy us drones had, to lace up our corsets, and come a-buzzing.
Tonight we were going to party like it was 1929.
At least that’s what I’d heard. The carrier pigeon must have gotten lost with my invitation, my locker had come up empty, and Moria spent the week avoiding me.
But here’s the thing about masked affairs: it’s hard to keep them exclusive when a disguise is part of the dress code.
I stood in line with the Goth kids from neighboring schools. Each of their black fingernails clutched the wax seals with Moira’s initials. Everyone was looking for an alternative to the Under the Sea dance their district was putting on, and who could resist a party when the demigod of gothery himself would be in attendance?
Moira’s father was a rockstar back when there was still money in the music industry. Kurt Cobain had offed himself and the labels were scrambling to find the next big thing. Moira’s father seemed to be the dark savior they were looking for. You’ve heard of him, but I’m not going to inflate his ego by namedropping him here.
Most of the guests dressed to impress Moria’s dad.
While all the quarterbacks rented tuxes these lads raided the costume shops instead. They wore industrial goggles with screws lining the eye holes, leather gas masks with open stitching, and long plague doctor beaks. Their outfits were a mix of straightjackets, bondage pants, and capes.
Most of the girls erred on the side of burlesque. They wore pieces of lace that barely covered their faces. Those designs matched the floral patterns on their stalkings. They wore leather boleros, corsets, and tight satin skirts with laces that ran from their thighs to their hips.
The bouncer must have learned his trade from the LA club scene, because he made a point to check every boys’ invitation before waving them in, and merely checked the girls out.
He stepped back to scan my ensemble from slippers to bodice. My dress was yellow, a powerful color to my people. It symbolized change, knowledge, and most importantly: clarity. My apron was orange and my gloves were red. Those color symbolized other things.
The bouncer shined his light at my blank ceramic mask.
“What are you supposed to be?”
I curtsied. “I eat, I live, I breathe, I live, I drink, I die. What am I?”
The bouncer shook his head. “I give up. What are you?”
“You’ll see.”
I didn’t need to see behind the revelers’ masks to know where Moira’s entourage would be. They’d be where the lights were lowest and the music was slowest.
You know how every party has a room where people are passing a pipe of skunk weed around, snickering like they’re getting away with murder? My friends were in the room behind that room, doing drugs with names that mirrored the fickle fashionability of internet slang: Chron Fleek, Vitamin OMG, and Snowlo.
The room was hidden in a dark corner of the study. Moira’s father prided himself on having the largest collection of gothic fiction in the region, from Aikin to Zhukovsky and everything in between. He’d kept the room dark to deter drunken revelers from stumbling in and bringing the leather bound library down on top of them.
I used my phone to light the way. I wish I could say I tilted a copy of the Necronomicon and a secret door popped open, but my destination was barely hidden behind some shelving.
The door was |
a short metal gate.
The stocky 62-year-old Army veteran greets old friends who drive by. When Butler was young, the front yard of 1539 W. 69th St. in South Los Angeles was covered in rosebushes grown by his mother. Today, it’s overgrown with crabgrass, the last living rosebush about to expire.
In the past five years, the house has passed through the hands of five confidants of President Donald Trump on its journey from homeownership to rental, from single-family house to investment commodity, from a symbol of faith in the future for a family that moved west to a dilapidated rental for a terminal cancer patient.
“I would have wanted to pass the house on,” Butler said. “That’s what we were taught when we were younger. You get a house, you pay for it, then you pass it on to the next child or grandchild, try to keep the house in the family.”
Marcus Butler lives in an apartment in Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills neighborhood with his wife, adult son and baby granddaughter. For nearly five decades, Butler’s family had owned a home in South Los Angeles, but a bank run by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin foreclosed on it after Marcus’ mother died in 2012. (Photo: Stuart Palley for Reveal)
The Butler family owned this home for nearly five decades. But after Marcus’ mother died in 2012, the house became a pawn in a real estate game that last year helped plunge America’s homeownership rate to its lowest level since 1965.
While soaring home prices, stagnating wages and tough loan requirements surely have contributed to historically low homeownership, the story of this modest bungalow suggests a more deliberate force at work, one commandeered by a cabal of Trump’s closest associates.
It was foreclosed on by a bank run by Steve Mnuchin, now Trump’s treasury secretary, and Joseph Otting, whom Trump nominated to be America’s chief bank regulator. The bungalow was then sold on the courthouse steps to a company created by Tom Barrack, a Southern California real estate mogul and one of Trump’s oldest friends.
Eventually, the home was bundled, along with more than 3,000 other single-family homes, into a $514 million mortgage-backed security, which holds the deed to the house. The company that created that security, JPMorgan Chase & Co., is led by Jamie Dimon, vice chairman of an economic advisory panel that met regularly with Trump until it disbanded last month in the wake of the president’s comments blaming “both sides” for violence at an alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Also last month, a firm founded by the chairman of that same economic panel, Stephen Schwarzman, announced that it was merging with the company Barrack founded — creating the largest single-family-home rental company in America.
The result is that the bungalow on West 69th, like tens of thousands of others touched by these Trump cronies, is now off the market for working-class and first-time homebuyers. It bears witness to a grim reality of housing policy under America’s first real estate magnate president.
Nearly eight months into the Trump presidency, the signs point in one direction: The administration no longer promotes homeownership as key to the American dream. Instead, it seems, Americans should be satisfied to simply live in a home; in some cases, one that enriched the president’s inner circle. Now with their man in power, these confidants of the president are exploring ways to put taxpayers on the hook should their financial schemes fail.
Trump himself encouraged this sort of behavior, cheering a potential crash in 2006. “I sort of hope that happens,” he said in a seminar for Trump University, his now-defunct real estate seminar program. “People like me will go in and buy like crazy.”
***
On an early morning in April, Shawn Pruett answered the door of the Butler family’s old home. Gaunt and dying of cancer at 46, he was wearing a T-shirt and boxers, so weak he could barely restrain his 70-pound Labrador, Wilson.
Shawn Pruett, shown in April, rented the Butler family home in South Los Angeles after it was sold to a company founded by Tom Barrack, a close friend of President Donald Trump’s. Pruett died of cancer in August. (Photo: Stuart Palley for Reveal)Pruett used to own a house on a small Texas farm, where he kept a coop full of chickens, two donkeys and three goats.
“I had a wonderful garden with some beautiful flowers that I planted,” he said. He planned to take up beekeeping, “but that never happened” — because he got sick: AIDS, then lymphoma.
In 2013, Pruett sold the farm for $98,000 and headed out West, hoping treatment at the University of California, Los Angeles hospital could extend his life.
He found the house on Craigslist and rented it sight unseen. By April, when a reporter with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting visited, the house was crammed with art from an antique store Pruett once owned. The carpet was frayed. The property’s winning attribute for Pruett was that it allowed pets and had a backyard where his dogs — Wilson and four dachshunds — could play.
“That’s why we’re here,” he said, swinging the screen door open for them.
He had no idea it was owned by a new breed of corporate landlord.
The Corporate Landlord
Tom Barrack started buying houses in 2012, the year Beulah Butler died. Before long, the company he founded — which became Colony Starwood Homes — had scooped up and rented out more than 30,000 single-family homes across 10 states. Most of them were foreclosures lost by families during the housing bust.
“It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” Barrack told a real estate conference in 2012.
Tall and tan, with a vineyard in Santa Barbara and a passion for surfing, Barrack is the archetype of a Southern California billionaire. Although he’s dabbled in Hollywood — once flipping the Miramax film studio from Disney to a group of Qatari investors — his main business always has been real estate, often buying distressed assets, such as Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
Barrack and Trump have been friends and business partners for decades, starting in the 1980s when Barrack facilitated Trump’s purchase of New York’s famed Plaza Hotel.
When Trump decided to run for president, Barrack was among the first business leaders to endorse him. Barrack ultimately raised about $130 million to help his friend: nearly $23 million for a pro-Trump super political action committee and another $107 million for the inauguration. Barrack introduced Ivanka Trump at the Republican National Convention and stood behind the New York tycoon as he took the oath of office.
Since the campaign, Barrack has emerged as a Zelig-like figure in Trump’s inner circle, helping the family at critical moments: finding a lawyer to help Trump defend himself in the Trump University fraud case, introducing Trump to fixer Paul Manafort and even granting a break to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, when Kushner’s Manhattan office tower teetered on the brink of foreclosure.
Although Barrack declined to talk to Reveal, another longtime Trump confidant, Roger Stone, said Barrack could have taken on a more official role in the administration, such as treasury secretary.
“I don’t think he has any belly for public service,” Stone said of Barrack, who turned 70 in April.
Public service doesn’t pay as well, either. In the private sector, Barrack has continued to profit off the housing bust. In June — one day after an exposé by Reveal found rampant evictions and poor conditions in many homes owned by the company he founded — Barrack sold his stock in Colony Starwood Homes and resigned from its board.
His final stock sale alone was worth $135 million.
Dying and Facing a Rent Increase
Barrack’s departure did not change a central feature of the company, which has since announced a merger with Dallas-based Invitation Homesthat would create the largest owner of single-family homes in the nation, 82,000 houses strong. Like Colony, Invitation Homes was created by a private equity fund, the Blackstone Group, led by Stephen Schwarzman.
The company remains a far-removed, out-of-state landlord interested solely in profit. Unlike mom-and-pop landlords, who know their tenants, it is a distant publicly traded company. Its primary interest: maximizing profits from properties such as the bungalow at 1539 W. 69th St. and tenants such as Shawn Pruett.
The company’s standard lease agreement, which Pruett signed, is a case in point. It required him to pay for, and manage, a host of repairs that are normally the landlord’s responsibility — including sewer blockages and broken glass “regardless of cause.”
But back in April, Pruett didn’t have the energy or means to stay on top of repairs. After four rounds of chemotherapy, UCLA doctors had told him that he didn’t have much more time.
“I’m beyond helping at this point,” he said one Sunday in his living room, surrounded by cigarette butts, with the shades drawn and the television on mute. “Basically, you’re just watching me die. I know that sounds macabre, but it’s true.”
Shawn Pruett — shown with his Labrador, Wilson, and one of his four dachshunds — said the corporate landlord that owns his home, Starwood Waypoint Homes, raised his rent every year. His lease agreement required him to pay for and manage repairs that are normally the landlord’s responsibility. (Photo: Stuart Palley for Reveal)
Inside, the home was run down. Records from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety show that no work permits had been taken out since Barrack’s company bought the property four years earlier.
Fronds from a palm tree on the neighbor’s property were tangled in the electrical wire that leads to the house — a potential fire hazard. But the lease Pruett signed made fixing that his responsibility, too.
And he said he didn’t have the money. In the kitchen, his cupboards were filled with Campbell’s soup and Jif peanut butter he got from the local food bank. Pruett lived on a fixed income, federal disability insurance.
Colony had raised his rent every year since he moved in. Another rent increase was due at the end of August. Pruett died first, on Aug. 2.
“Greed; it’s just greed,” Pruett said in April. “You’d think you’d be praised and rewarded for paying your rent on time and not having any problems and all that, but instead, they raise your rent and punish you, basically, for being a good tenant.”
The company declined to discuss Pruett’s case. In a written statement, Colony said it provides an “exceptional living experience through the highest servicing standards.” Invitation Homes sent a similar statement, saying the merger would “benefit our residents and the communities and neighborhoods in which we do business.” In Starwood Waypoint Homes’ most recent shareholder prospectus, however, company executives touted raising rents and spending less on maintenance.
That’s what happens when a house becomes a commodity instead of a home.
A House That Dreams Are Made of
It wasn’t so long ago that the bungalow represented a family’s hopes and dreams.
When Beulah and M.L. Butler drove from the small town of McComb, Mississippi, to the big city of Los Angeles in 1948, they were among the hundreds of thousands of African Americans who came West looking for economic opportunity and an escape from the Jim Crow South.
Undated portraits of Beulah and M.L. Butler were taken when they still lived in McComb, Miss. In 1948, the couple drove from the Jim Crow South to Los Angeles. Fifteen years later, they would buy a home on West 69th Street. (Photo: Courtesy of the Butler family)
M.L. landed a job at the post office, while Beulah went to work as a maid, taking the bus daily from her home near the city center to cook and clean for a woman in Pacific Palisades. Six years after they arrived, Beulah gave birth to Marcus. The couple worked hard, and in 1963, when Marcus was 10, they bought their first home — the bungalow on West 69th Street.
The redwood-framed house had two bedrooms, one bathroom and an apricot tree out back. It was built in 1923, the same year news baron Harry Chandler put up the famous Hollywood sign.
For four decades, it had been owned by a succession of white, working-class homeowners. In 1960, three years before the Butler family bought it, then-owners Barney and Frances Barnett covered the stucco exterior with the white aluminum siding that still sheaths it today.
The house wasn’t much, Marcus said, but “it was ours.”
“We were one of the first black families in the neighborhood,” he said. Soon they were joined by others.
When he turned 18, Marcus joined the Army and decamped to Texas, where he helped coordinate logistics for war in Vietnam. When he returned three years later, the Crips and Bloods were fighting in the streets. The neighborhood kids no longer played at Harvard Park. Police-community relations, never great, deteriorated.
In 1992, when riots broke out after the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers for the videotaped beating of Rodney King, the epicenter was five blocks away. At the corner of Florence and Normandie avenues, a mob attacked dozens of motorists, including Reginald Denny, a white truck driver.
Through it all, the Butler family stayed in the bungalow, making mortgage payments.
Losing the Dream
Forty-five years after the Butlers moved from Mississippi, the home finally was paid off. By then, Marcus’ father, M.L., had died.
Beulah returned to school and launched a career in the defense industry, working as an electrician for the Hughes Aircraft Co. and later Raytheon Co. She retired with a pension and a home in the clear. Then things started to go wrong. Marcus put it simply: “She had a gambling problem.”
Beulah loved the slots, and in retirement, she was constantly gone to Las Vegas or Southern California’s American Indian casinos. Sometimes she drove her Buick Regal. Other times, she boarded a special casino bus that stopped in the parking lot of Ralphs grocery store at the corner of Western and Manchester avenues. Her favorite casino was the former Binion’s Horseshoe, a frontier-themed affair with low ceilings and velvet wallpaper, away from the Strip.
In their weekly lunches at Red Lobster and Olive Garden, Marcus reprimanded his mother, warning her of the dangers of gambling. But as the years dragged on, Beulah continued to play the slots, even as her mental faculties slipped.
“She was struggling with dementia,” said Marcus’ daughter, Jessica Butler. “She was so used to being independent, but she didn’t remember anything. She would forget to wash. She would forget to shower.”
Beulah also suffered from kidney failure, which required dialysis three days a week. Two years before Beulah’s death at 82, Jessica, then 27, moved into the bungalow. She had just graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in social work and agreed to take care of her grandmother full time.
It was then that Jessica spotted the mail from Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. Soon she would learn that in 2007, at the height of the real estate bubble, her grandmother had taken out a reverse mortgage, which allowed her to take up to $544,000 out of the family home, including fees and compound interest. Public records show the loan came with an adjustable interest rate that topped out at 16.6 percent.
Enter Steve Mnuchin
The financial tsunami that took out Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual in 2008 also led to the collapse of Financial Freedom’s parent company, IndyMac. The U.S. government’s Office of Thrift Supervision closed the company and turned over conservatorship to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. When IndyMac failed, it had $32 billion in assets, making its collapse one of the largest in American history.
Eight months later, the FDIC put IndyMac up for auction and sold it for $13.9 billion. The buyer? An investment group led by hedge fund manager Steve Mnuchin.
He renamed it OneWest Bank and made himself chairman and CEO.
Like Tom Barrack, Mnuchin is a Trump confidant who’s worked in Hollywood. His executive producer credits include “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Lego Movie.”
Last May, after Trump won the Indiana primary, all but clinching the Republican nomination, he tapped Mnuchin as his campaign finance chief. Mnuchin’s selection surprised many observers because the former Goldman Sachs investment banker had a long history of donating to Democrats, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
But in an interview with Bloomberg, Mnuchin cited his personal relationship with Trump. The 54-year-old financier said he and Trump had known each other for 15 years and had done business together. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mnuchin once invested in a Trump property near Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach. In 2007, two years before he bought IndyMac, Mnuchin tried, and failed, to buy Trump’s casino properties in New Jersey.
As campaign finance chief, one of Mnuchin’s first acts was to announce a major fundraising push. The launch would be at Barrack’s walled estate on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica, 15 miles from the former Butler family bungalow on West 69th Street.
After Trump beat Clinton, he nominated Mnuchin to be his treasury secretary. Mnuchin added a $12.6 million Washington, DC, mansion to a personal real estate portfolio that also includes a sprawling 21,000-square-foot Bel Air estate and a Park Avenue apartment in New York.
When Mnuchin married for the third time in June, Barrack and Trump both attended the black-tie wedding in Washington, DC.
The “Foreclosure King”
As the head of OneWest, Mnuchin was famously aggressive. He earned the nickname “Foreclosure King” for the speed with which OneWest seized the homes of his borrowers. Many, like Beulah Butler’s South Los Angeles bungalow, were Southern California homes with reverse mortgages. Others were homes purchased with subprime adjustable-rate loans. In one infamous case, the company’s successor, with Mnuchin heading up the board, threatened to take the house of a 90-year-old woman for failing to pay 27 cents.
Documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show Financial Freedom foreclosed on at least 16,000 homes between spring 2009, when it was acquired by OneWest, and the end of 2015.
Although its share of the reverse mortgage market was 17 percent, it was responsible for nearly 40 percent of reverse mortgage foreclosures. The bank currently is being investigated by HUD for discriminating against nonwhite borrowers in its lending.
In May, it settled a federal fraud complaint for $89 million. The Justice Department alleged that the company had bilked taxpayers for excess insurance payments on the federally insured mortgages.
By then, Mnuchin was Trump’s treasury secretary. During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Mnuchin bristled at the characterization that he profited from other people’s pain.
“Since I was first nominated to serve as treasury secretary, I have been maligned as taking advantage of others’ hardships in order to earn a buck,” he told lawmakers. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Foreclosing on Women and Orphans
In June, three weeks after Financial Freedom paid to settle the federal fraud charges, Trump announced he was appointing Joseph Otting, a former executive of the company’s owner, OneWest, as comptroller of the currency — the nation’s top banking regulator.
When Otting was its board chairman, the California Chamber of Commerce successfully killed legislation that would have made it more difficult for banks to foreclose on widows, orphans and other relatives. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be charged with making sure banks provide fair credit opportunities to low-income borrowers and people of color.
After Beulah Butler died in 2012, OneWest foreclosed on the home — but not before it sent the dead woman a letter demanding more than $326,000. Reverse mortgage analysts told Reveal that much of it was likely money she never actually saw — soaked up in fees and compound interest.
There was no way the family could come up with enough money to save the house, so Jessica Butler packed up her grandmother’s belongings and rented an apartment in the nearby Crenshaw neighborhood.
The bungalow sat empty for nearly a year. Squatters moved in. Marcus drove by, called the police.
“He was just heartbroken,” Jessica said.
On April 13, 2013, when OneWest sold the Butler family home outside the county courthouse, the buyer was Colony — the real estate company founded by Barrack.
The purchase price was $180,000 — about half what OneWest had demanded from the Butler family.
Four months later, Shawn Pruett signed a lease and moved in. But collecting rent from tenants is only one way that Barrack made money. Another involved bundling the properties into financial products reminiscent of the lead-up to the Great Recession.
And for that, Barrack teamed up with a Wall Street banker who met regularly with Trump at the White House.
The Wall Street Banker
Jamie Dimon is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. Like most elite Wall Street bankers, he owns two homes in New York: a luxury condominium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and a sprawling estate in Westchester County, which Zillow says is worth $17 million. A prominent Democrat, Dimon quickly found a home in the new administration as vice chairman of the White House Strategic and Policy Forum, until it disbanded in August.
Like other Trump associates, Dimon has been betting big against middle-class homeownership. In 2014, JPMorgan Chase began pioneering a new type of mortgage-backed security on rental homes owned by corporate landlords.
Under the terms of these deals, tens of thousands of homes once owned by families have been bundled and leveraged. After that, those bundles are cut into pieces and sold to investors.
To date, JPMorgan Chase has extended $3.2 billion in credit to the company founded by Barrack. Its mortgage-backed securities now cover more than 20,000 of the company’s homes.
The first of these deals included the Butler family’s bungalow in South Los Angeles, along with 3,398 others spread across seven states. Under the terms of the deal, JPMorgan gave Colony $514 million in cash.
The deals present a win-win for Barrack and his investors. They can pull money out of the homes, enriching the company’s directors and shareholders — all while tenants pay back the debt to JPMorgan Chase through their monthly rent checks.
“That’s good for them, but it’s horrible for the future of equity and the middle class,” said Jesus Hernandez, a licensed real estate agent who teaches sociology at the University of California, Davis.
“Historically, homeownership has been the key to generational accumulation of wealth, and now all that wealth is going to corporate landlords,” he said.
And at the same time Dimon’s bank was bundling homes with Colony, the bank’s lending to working-class homebuyers dried up. From 2010 to 2015, government data shows the number of Federal Housing Administration-backed home loans originated by JPMorgan Chase dropped by 91 percent.
JPMorgan Chase extended four times as much credit to Barrack’s rental home empire in 2015 as it did to government-backed loans to working-class Americans. Barrack’s company was able to pull money out of nearly 4,000 homes by creating mortgage-backed securities, while the bank made just 813 loans through the Federal Housing Administration.
Changing the Rules
On June 12, a week after Otting’s nomination by Trump, Mnuchin releaseda 149-page report recommending a wholesale weakening of consumer protections enacted since the housing bust.
Among the changes proposed by Mnuchin: Allow the president to fire the head of the currently independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, remove data and details of consumer complaints from the bureau’s website, and loosen reporting requirements on banks that track whether they are discriminating against borrowers because of their race.
The report was but one of the administration’s actions designed to benefit those who profited off the pain on West 69th Street and the decline of homeownership in America.
Analysts say Trump’s tax plan would make the mortgage interest tax deduction worthless to all but the richest Americans. The Trump administration also has reversed an Obama-era rule that made mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration more affordable to borrowers with good jobs.
“Most presidents have viewed homeownership as an accomplishment,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Reveal.
But Zandi said he can’t “discern that the Trump administration has any policy around homeownership one way or the other.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae, has launched a new initiative in which taxpayers backstop mortgage-backed securities on rental homes.
The first such deal, a $1 billion security agreed to in the waning days of the Obama administration, went to Invitation Homes, the company founded by Trump associate Stephen Schwarzman, which in August announced that it was merging with Barrack’s old company.
The End of Homeownership
Jessica Butler still can’t believe her family lost her grandmother’s home and the wealth that came with it.
“I loved that house,” she said. “I grew up in that house. I remember my grandma making ice cream in the back. Until the last year, we cooked together. When she passed away, I thought it would pass to my father. But that’s not what happened.”
Marcus Butler wishes his family could have kept their old home. “That’s what we were taught when we were younger,” he said. “You get a house, you pay for it, then you pass it on to the next child or grandchild, try to keep the house in the family.” (Photo: Stuart Palley for Reveal)
For his part, Marcus Butler has never owned his own home.
After returning from the Army in 1974, he built a life in Los Angeles, working for 20 years loading luggage onto jets at Los Angeles International Airport. The pay was decent, but he never managed to save.
Marcus has declared bankruptcy three times to erase debt from high-interest credit cards. Today, he rents a small concrete-block apartment in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood with his wife, Sharon, an adult son and his baby granddaughter.
Last year, Sharon had a stroke, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. She sleeps on a hospital bed in the living room.
Shown the pile of documents that trace the legal path of his childhood home, Marcus said: “I guess I can see how the game is played now, through the banks and through these companies. It’s a lot harder to get the American dream now, to own your own home.”
This story was produced by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization. Learn more at revealnews.org and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, at revealnews.org/podcast.Shortly after 8 o'clock Wednesday we will know if someone is taking home the popular "Queen of Hearts" Jackpot at an Austintown Bar and Restaurant, or if the pot of cash will continue to grow.
As of Wednesday night, the jackpot at Barry Dyngles on Raccoon Road was at $705,000
About 70,000 of tickets were sold Wednesday.
The General Manager says on average people are buying about $100 worth of tickets but, there are those risking thousands.
With only 9 cards remaining on the board some feel their chance of finding the lucky Queen of Hearts and winning the jackpot is better than ever before.
"All these people can go home because I'm going to get the winning tickets right, here I got the winning number right in my hand," said John Vivo of Youngstown.
Some feel it only takes one ticket.
"One ticket is as good as a thousand, so you never know," said Fidel Gutierrez of Struthers.
Others, like Cody Ray of Southington estimate he's spent upwards of $7-thousand to better his odds of winning.
"I got $700 the week before, $500 the week before that," said Ray. "I bought $475 yesterday and I'm here to buy another $100."
And when it comes to putting his name and information on all those tickets...
"If I write my name on it, it takes me an hour and half for a hundred if I do it with my stamper it takes 7 minutes," said Ray.
Those without a stamper say hand cramps are quick to come by and pens are hard to find.
"I came with a pen. Last week, I waited in line plus waited in line for a pen. So this week I stole mine from the bank and I got my pen in my pocket," said Vivo.United States of America
The United States now operates 10 Nimitz-class "supercarriers," aircraft carriers that dwarf all other flat-tops worldwide both in size and capability.
The Nimitz carriers are 1,092 feet long and weigh a whopping 101,600 tons—60 percent larger than their nearest counterparts, the Queen Elizabeth class. Each ship is propelled to speeds in excess of 30 knots by a pair of nuclear reactors, giving them nearly unlimited range. The ships are built with high-tensile steel for protection, with layers of Kevlar over vital spaces.
Each Nimitz typically carries an air wing consisting of 24 F/A-18C Hornets, 24 F/A-E/F Super Hornets, 4 to 5 E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, 4 E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, 2 C-2 Greyhound transport aircraft, and 6 Seahawk helicopters.
In addition to the Nimitz-class, the United States Navy also operates nine landing helicopter dock ships of the Wasp and America classes. These ships are 843 feet long and displace roughly 40,000 tons. The ships are designed to carry air and land elements of a U.S. Marine corps landing force and have full-length carrier-like flight decks.
Each ship can carry 10 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor transports, 4 CH-53E heavy transport helicopters, 3 UH-1 Huey helicopters, 4 AH-1Z attack helicopters, and 6 AV-8B Harrier jump jets. With minimal modification, each Wasp can carry 24 Harriers. The America class is optimized towards carrying Marine aviation units and can carry a few more Ospreys. In the near future the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter will replace the Harriers on a 1:1 basis, and the America class will be capable of supporting up to 20 F-35Bs at once.
Two new carriers, USS Gerald R. Ford and USS John F. Kennedy, are under construction, as well as an America-class ship, USS Tripoli.Less than 24 hours after missing out on Shane Victorino, the Cleveland Indians have set their sights on another free agent outfielder: Nick Swisher.
Swisher, who turned 32 last week, hit.272/.364/.473 with 24 home runs, 93 RBI, and 3.9 fWAR in 148 games with the Yankees last year. The switch-hitting former first round pick owns a.256/.361/.468 triple-slash with 207 home runs, 665 RBI, and 26.3 fWAR since he first became a regular player in 2005.
Swisher is primarily a right fielder, but he has experience at all three outfield positions and played 41 games at first base in 2012. He is generally regarded as a good defender except in center field. He is known for his plate discipline and power and would immediately shore up the Tribe’s weakness at first base, left field, or (if Shin-Soo Choo is traded) right field.
General consensus seems to be that Swisher can get a four-year deal, with speculated annual salaries ranging from $11 million to $16 million. But the market for his services may be drying up after the Red Sox signed Victorino, the Orioles signed Nate McLouth, and the Giants re-signed Marco Scutaro, so perhaps the price will come down.
Will the Indians sign Nick Swisher? Yes (50%, 101 Votes)
No (50%, 100 Votes) Total Voters: 201NEW DELHI: Consent to indulge in unnatural sex is “immaterial” as it is against the order of nature, a trial court said while convicting a man of raping and committing unnatural acts with a woman on the pretext of marriage. The convict was already married.Additional sessions judge Virender Bhat held Noida resident Prashant Kaushal guilty of the offences saying although sexual relations between him and the woman were consensual, but her consent, “is immaterial so far as carnal intercourse against the order of nature between a man and a woman is concerned and therefore, every act of unnatural sex committed by the accused with the prosecutrix is an offence under section 377 (unnatural offences) of the IPC.”The court, which is yet to pronounce the quantum of sentence, said that the woman was having sexual relations with the man under the belief that he has filed a petition for divorce and will marry her at any cost.The court said it was not just the man but also his parents who had deceived the woman and persuaded her to continue her relations with their son on the false promise that he would marry her. “Kaushal would also force her to consume alcohol before having sex with her so as to ensure that she does not offer much resistance and he gets more pleasure and satisfaction from it,” the court noted, adding that her consent was not free and voluntary.The prosecution said when Kaushal kept delaying the divorce and marriage proceedings and later threatened to ruin the woman’s life, she lodged a complaint in June 2014.There’s more to wine than sips by the glass. This month, we’re partnering with Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt to share tips, insights and recipes featuring wine as the main ingredient.
Who doesn’t enjoy a fine piece of dark chocolate alongside a glass of sturdy red wine? Well this sauce takes those two simple pleasures and marries them even more intimately.
Or, perhaps you’re feeling less sweet and more savory. Thanks to wine’s ability to play both sides of the culinary equation, it’s just as easy to skip the sugar and spike it with spices, some salt and maybe a hit of umami.
But for now, let’s stick to sweet.
In the same form as the classic method for making a ganache (cream plus chocolate), warm the red wine with a cinnamon stick and star anise and then add it to bittersweet chocolate. With a bit of whisking, you’ll have a luxurious sauce that pours over ice cream and is the perfect end to an indulgent meal.
As the holidays approach, this sauce makes a lovely hostess gift in lieu of a bottle of wine. Encourage your recipients to refrigerate the sauce, and if they listen to your instruction, it will keep for at least two weeks.How did the word for a common kitchen instrument become slang for marijuana?
Actually, the origin of pot has nothing to do with the culinary tools. The word came into use in America in the late 1930s. It is a shortening of the Spanish potiguaya or potaguaya that came from potación de guaya, a wine or brandy in which marijuana buds have been steeped. It literally means “the drink of grief.”
Tonight, this grief drink will be the topic of hot debate when city council members in Oakland, California vote on a historic measure that would create licensed medical marijuana factories.
If the plan is approved, the city would license four production plants that would grow, package, and process medical marijuana. Supporters say the plan will provide the city with two things it direly needs: tax revenue and jobs. Opponents decry the wholesale legitimization of a substance that is a narcotic in most of the United States.
Like pot, the word marijuana refers to cannabis, the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. The plant grows naturally in central Asia and other warm regions. Its uses vary from recreational to medicinal to religious.
Marijuana is the dried leaves and female flowers of the hemp plant. The word’s origin dates back to the late nineteenth century. It is an Americanism for the Mexican Spanish marihuana or mariguana, which is associated with the personal name María Juana.
Another name for marijuana is Mary Jane, the English version of María Juana. Mary Jane also refers to a small, round sponge cake and a brand of young girls’ patent leather shoes.
The origin of the word “coffee” is much more mysterious than the names for marijuana. Learn the beautiful name for coffee in Arabic in this earlier post.
Whatever you call it — ganja, weed, reefer, tea, bhang, leaf, or skunk — it may soon be legally factory farmed in record amounts in Oakland. What do you think?
[Source]Just-hired Giants general manager Dave Gettleman thinks highly of Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as a top candidate for New York's head coaching opening, according to league sources, but ownership may prize past head-coaching experience after a failed experience with Ben McAdoo.
Wilks is well-regarded around the league and will be positioned to interview for many jobs; the Giants are a destination franchise and their history of stability and loyalty makes this still a coveted job. Owner John Mara will play a pivotal role in this hire, with the organization at a low point, in line for the second-overall pick and dealing with one crisis after the next in the locker room. Given the issues between players, and between players and coaches, that have festered there, landing someone who has previously done the job could be a best-case scenario for ownership.
Several NFL executives have mentioned former Titans coach Mike Munchak as a darkhorse candidate for the job. Munchak has not received as much hype as other current assistant coaches with head-coaching experience -- Josh McDaniels, Jim Schwartz, Pat Shurmur -- but he has several attributes that position him well for the job. Owner John Mara is close with the Rooney family, and Munchak, the Steelers' offensive line coach, is highly regarded by the Rooneys. His expertise in fixing the offensive line is precisely what the Giants need. He played the game at a very high level, has a strong leadership presence and wouldn't present any issues dealing with the New York media, either.
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The Giants were focused on getting their GM search done well before the competition for head-coaching candidates began -- hence the hiring of Gettleman on Thursday -- to be able to start lining up |
your way from Adventureland to Fantasyland. It’s certainly not my number one destination, and I certainly couldn’t see spending a whole day let alone two weeks there no matter how realistic it was.
But say being a sheriff of a Wild West town is your ultimate fantasy, and well worth fourteen thousand dollars to you, what if some other guests had that same fantasy? Do you draw straws to see who gets to be sheriff, or if someone was there first are you stuck playing the deputy or the possibly the barkeep?
“I’m paying a thousand dollars a day to serve you drinks.”
So if you manage not to be injured or killed during your stay you still have to worry about being bored to death. Medieval World and Roman World would at least have a few more fun activities than what you’d get in Westworld, but after a few tournaments or an orgy or two you’d probably be ready to go home, or at least visit one of the other parks. Staying two weeks in only one park doesn’t seem that attractive to me, even if the sexbots are superbly well programmed.
This robot does seem to capture the despair of a real 19th Century prostitute.
Westworld is a fun movie but as an actual park attraction it makes the safety parameters of the Star Trek Holodecks look exemplary. Even without the computer malfunction we see in this move the park would be seeing lawsuits due to guest injuries on a daily basis. What if a guest of Roman World tried to rape a slave girl who just so happened to be another guest? How could jousting in Medieval World not result in multiple fatalities? What if a guest of Westworld mistook a real rattlesnake for a robot one and let it bite him? With the park’s immense operating costs, it’s proportionally low revenue stream, and the multiple lawsuits they’d be trying to settle out of court each day, this park would be out of business within the first year if not sooner.
“Where’s my refund?”
Michael Crichton certainly created an interesting world with this movie, but one that is not all that realistic, even by science fiction standards, so it will be interesting to see what the HBO series starring Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris will be like and how they address the problems inherent with the concept.
Westworld (1973) 7/10 Movie Rank - 7/10 7/10 Summary Westworld is one of those fun high concept science fiction movies; it’s great entertainment as long as you don’t think too hard on how any of it would really work.Getting rich- the ideas are generally the same with little twists. Billionaire Mark Cuban; odds are you know who he is, echoes many of the things I and others say. I have made little notes on them for you as well to add a little. All the advice is out there, learn it, then take action!
1. Live like a student— IE like much of this site states, it’s about saving and then letting the money work for you.
2. You Shouldn’t Use Credit Cards– Easiest way to get in debt is to spend money that you don’t have. That said, if you are totally responsible, and pay your bill IN FULL every month ON TIME then the credit card bonuses actually do start adding up.
3. Save up 6 Months of Income–if for no other reason than if something bad happened, and you needed money in a pinch, you wouldn’t have to use your credit cards.
4. Put Savings into SPX Mutual Fund— Let your money work for you!
5. Invest 10% into a Riskier Asset Class– in the video Cuban mentions Bitcoin and Ethereum, but pretending as though you’ve already lost your money. Just write it off, and if things go well, then fantastic. IE- you can take a limited risk.
6. Buy Consumable Products in Bulk– if you are going to use something, like toilet paper or toothpaste, and it is on sale for 40% off the normal price, but in order to reap this savings percentage have to buy a 6 month supply, then absolutely, GO FOR IT. That will save you over those 6 months a ton.
7. Negotiate with Cash– look, there is a posted price and what you can negotiate for. Although Cuban doesn’t mention it, one of the incentives for taking Ca$h for a business owner is that they can pocket it directly, and don’t have to pay the taxes. That acts as incentive.
8. Read Books– if you can invest a small amount of money into a book and that book gives you One idea, a slightly different way to see the world, then by golly, you’ve made a worthy investment.
9. Nice works– You will get more deals, better service, exchanges, and have more fun in life if you are simply nice! Or, along these lines, simply leave people a little better off than when you found them.
10. Work hard– this is the one thing you control. Obviously the harder you work, the more likely you are to get positive results. They aren’t guaranteed, but eventually they will come.Unlike most people writing reflections on the late Garry Shandling, I had no personal or professional connection to him. Of course I thought he was funny, in a pioneering cringe-inducing way. And like many people I am of course sorry that he has died.
But here is why I am stepping outside my normal realm of discourse to say something more in the wake of his death. In his wonderful and touching “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” segment with Jerry Seinfeld, filmed not long before his death, Shandling mentions that he’s been diagnosed with an obscure disorder called hyperparathyroidism. He makes it a joke: “The symptoms are so much like being an older Jewish man, no one noticed!” But I noticed this mention, and I think it’s worth broader attention.
* * *
The parathyroid (PT) glands, as I have come to know, have nothing to do with the much more famous thyroid gland. Most people have four of them, usually located in the neck; they are very small, and they regulate the level of calcium in the blood. For most healthy people, the blood-calcium level is confined within a narrow range. If your reading goes above that range, it likely means that something has gone wrong with one of your PT glands, usually because of a noncancerous tumor called an adenoma. If that is so, it likely means that you won’t get better until the gland is surgically removed. As long as it is there, it will keep pumping out hormones that direct your body to keep raising the blood-calcium level, even though that is already too high. Usually just one of the glands has developed a disorder, and usually people can get along fine after having one, two, or even three of the four PT glands removed. But until the bad one is taken out, your health is going to get worse and worse and worse. One of the ways it might deteriorate is through a premature tendency to heart attacks—and a heart attack appears to have been what felled Garry Shandling at age 66.
I know all this because the only real health problem I’ve ever had was a parathyroid disorder, starting ten years ago. When I was just about to move to China in 2006, my American doctor said that a blood-calcium level looked high, and we should keep an eye on it. When I was back for a visit a year later, he said it was a little higher. After that, at his advice, I went to a clinic in Beijing every few weeks for a blood reading. (When they draw blood in Chinese clinics, at least the ones I went to, they don’t use the rubber strap that makes your veins pop out and thus easier to find and pierce. I never could figure out the explanation, but I can tell you that having the technician prowl around in your arm with the needle, in search of a vein, adds a whole new attention-getting aspect to having your blood drawn.)Taking advantage of Xbox One's cloud capabilities, Double Helix's fighting game Killer Instinct will receive balance updates and changes instantaneously throughout its life, according to a Game Informer interview with producer Torin Rettig.
"All of our variables that go into how a character behaves are going to exist basically in the cloud," Rettig told Game Informer. "Without having to content update or patch the game at all, we can just go in on the cloud and tweak these variables without the player having to know."
Double Helix wants all updates to be "behind the scenes," dismissing the necessity for an official title update download. According to Rettig, the game will check for the latest version of gameplay parameters and automatically update if one is found.
Removing the need for download and confirmation dialogues, Rettig said the files will be so small that players won't notice the difference. However, any changes and additions made to the game's content or assets will require a downloadable update. As Game Informer points out, numerous Electronic Arts’ sports titles already receive changes through minor updates, bypassing patch downloads through Microsoft’s Xbox Live servers.
Killer Instinct is a free-to-play title set to launch alongside the Xbox One in November. Players will pay from $4.99 for individual fighters with multi-character packs available for $19.99. The game will receive a second season of playable characters in 2014.Get information on education programs that could help you increase your earning power.
Enlarge By Joe Raedle, Getty Images A pre-foreclosure sign is seen in front of a home in Miami on Sept. 16. The decision by Old Republic National Title Insurance to stop writing new polices for certain foreclosures could have major ramifications for the housing industry. Old Republic National Title Insurance, among the nation's largest title insurance companies, will no longer write new policies for homes foreclosed upon by J.P. Morgan Chase and Ally Financial's GMAC Mortgage unit –– a sign that concerns about faulty foreclosure paperwork could now endanger new sales of foreclosed homes. Old Republic issued a bulletin to some agents stating that "the company will not insure title to any property which has been foreclosed by Ally Financial, Ally Bank or GMAC until further notice," according to a Sept. 29 copy of the memo. The concern is that other title companies will also refuse to issue policies for major lenders, which could have major ramifications for the housing industry. And Maryln Weiner, a title agent and real estate lawyer in Boca Raton, Fla., said she received a bulletin saying that Old Republic would also not insure title policy to a purchaser who has bought a property from Chase when the bank has foreclosed on the home and are now selling it to third parties. "They won't insure it after completion after the foreclosure," Weiner says. "This is going to set us back years. It's really going to be a mess. I think you're going to see actions to reopen foreclosures that already took place. This will have tremendous consequences and all title companies will do the same thing. We've never seen anything like this before." Mark Stopa, a lawyer in Florida who represents homeowners, says the implications are huge. Buyers will not purchase homes that have been foreclosed upon if they don't have insurance that it's a clear title, he says. "Would you buy the house? If there's questions about the title, you can't sell it, so who's going to buy it?" Stopa says. And homeowners who have purchased properties that were foreclosed upon could also find their ownership challenged. A bank could have foreclosed upon a property and sold it to a third party. Later, the former homeowner may now come forward and say the foreclosure judgment has to be set aside because of faulty documents. The current homeowner could find they no longer have any right to a home they had paid for, Stopa says, and in that case, they're likely to go to the title insurer and ask that their financial losses be covered. "That's why title insurers don't want to stick their necks out," Stopa says. And distressed homes, which include foreclosed properties and that now make up a significant number of housing sales, rose to 34% of sales in August from 32% in July; they were 31% in August 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. If homes that are foreclosed upon don't sell, that will also lead to more housing inventory. About 1.9 million first-mortgage loan defaults, the first step in the foreclosure process, are expected in 2010, according to Moody's Analytics. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more1 #1 Nahanni 72 Frags – +
This is now the official announcement that Apocalypse Gaming is back! Please enjoy the video below that was made by Kirby, who did an amazing job and the voice of GGGLYGY! There is a poster as well that was made by Goldenhearted who is so talented and has always done great work for AG and Community vs Pros! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRQNvLg1mM Poster: http://www.abload.de/img/welcomebackagr8qz5.jpg As mentioned before AG is only sponsoring at this point. We have picked up SteveC Games as our invite team and we are still confirming our IM team, but we have our eye on 3 teams at the moment. A decision will be made next week. In addition, we are planning to do some mini tournaments with prizes and those will be announced as soon as possible. Please join our steam group http://steamcommunity.com/groups/agsponsors. We will be announcing the website www.agsponsors.com as soon as it finalizes. Until then if you want to know more of the history of AG the old website www.agcommunity.org is still up! Thanks again to the community for the warm welcome and we are looking forward to a new exciting season! AG Management - Nahanni and Meo http://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/13pf57/apocalypse_gaming_competitive_na_tf2_sponsor_and/ -- Please upvote this and have your friends do the same. http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3013570 -- If anyone has a SPUF account, 5 stars + a bump would be appreciated. These links should be put up in the OP soon, I believe.
This is now the official announcement that Apocalypse Gaming is back! Please enjoy the video below that was made by Kirby, who did an amazing job and the voice of GGGLYGY! There is a poster as well that was made by Goldenhearted who is so talented and has always done great work for AG and Community vs Pros!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRQNvLg1mM[/youtube]
Poster: http://www.abload.de/img/welcomebackagr8qz5.jpg
As mentioned before AG is only sponsoring at this point. We have picked up SteveC Games as our invite team and we are still confirming our IM team, but we have our eye on 3 teams at the moment. A decision will be made next week. In addition, we are planning to do some mini tournaments with prizes and those will be announced as soon as possible. Please join our steam group http://steamcommunity.com/groups/agsponsors. We will be announcing the website www.agsponsors.com as soon as it finalizes. Until then if you want to know more of the history of AG the old website www.agcommunity.org is still up!
Thanks again to the community for the warm welcome and we are looking forward to a new exciting season!
AG Management - Nahanni and Meo
http://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/13pf57/apocalypse_gaming_competitive_na_tf2_sponsor_and/ -- Please upvote this and have your friends do the same.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3013570 -- If anyone has a SPUF account, 5 stars + a bump would be appreciated. These links should be put up in the OP soon, I believe.Lawmakers in the Delaware House have introduced a bill that would allow guns to be taken away from those at risk of hurting themselves or others.
The measure, House Bill 222, was proposed by Democratic Rep. David Bentz and has been assigned to the Delaware House Administration Committee, WMDT reported.
“This bill would allow people in Delaware to petition a court for an order that would temporarily remove guns from a person that the court has determined to be a danger, a credible danger to themselves or to others,” explained Allison Anderman, managing attorney for Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
In essence, law enforcement and family members would be given the ability to determine when someone is at risk of hurting themselves or others and file a restraining order. If the court approves the order, then law enforcement officials would seize firearms from the individual.
“If the person is determined as a credible risk of harm to themselves or others then they are no longer allowed to purchase or possess firearms and if they have one, they have to relinquish the firearm to law enforcement or to a federally licensed dealer,” says Anderman.
Sponsors and drafters of the legislation said they hoped the bill could play a part in preventing suicides and other violent crimes.
While some Delaware citizens spoke to WMDT in favor of the bill, the National Rifle Association has come out strongly against it.
The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action described the legislation as “ripe for abuse by individuals that disagree with the Second Amendment, and the mere insinuation that gun ownership makes you a danger to yourself or others is offensive and insulting.”“Trouble usually finds me.”
Now that the T-800 and T-1000 action figures from last week’s Terminator Giveaway have been time-warped into the hands of one lucky winner, we here at Hollywood Video are ready for a little contest sorcery. This time we’re honoring everyone’s favorite wand-wielding schoolboy wizard, Harry Potter! Keep reading to learn more about the assortment of Harry Potter film toys and accessories you can win!
Here’s what you get!
Order of the Phoenix 7″ Harry Action Figure
From the fifth Harry Potter film, Order of the Phoenix, comes this action figure of “The Boy Who Lived.” Before Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts even begins, he battles Dementors and is tried before the entire Wizengamot. Although many students at Hogwarts do not believe his account of Lord Voldemort’s return, a steadfast few help Harry form Dumbledore’s Army and join the greatest battle yet. This 7″ scale action figure comes with Harry’s wand and display base.
Golden Snitch Logo Metal Keychain
Deathly Hallows Symbol Black Ring
Welsh Green Dragon Plush
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the very first challenge in the TriWizard Tournament is to defeat a deadly dragon… but there’s no reason to be afraid of our stuffed versions! We’ve reproduced the Welsh Green Dragon drawn by Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour as an adorable and cuddly plush that’s sure to steal your heart. Approximately 20″ long, and ferociously cute! We’re also throwing in a keychain featuring Harry’s Quidditch snitch, and a ring with the Deathly Hallows symbol!
HOW TO ENTER
In order to enter the giveaway you must answer the following question: “What is the name of Hagrid’s giant half-brother?”
a Rafflecopter giveaway
FINAL DETAILS
In order to enter the contest, you must first answer the trivia question correctly. You can gain more entries with Facebook and Twitter!
This contest will run from 03/19/13 until 03/25/13
The winner will be selected randomly and notified via email
People outside the US may participate, but we can only ship the prize within the USA functional brain imaging technique known as positron emission tomography (PET) is a promising tool for determining which severely brain damaged individuals in vegetative states have the potential to recover consciousness, according to new research published in The Lancet.
Surprisingly, this is the first time that researchers have tested the diagnostic accuracy of functional brain imaging techniques in clinical practice.
“Our findings suggest that PET imaging can reveal cognitive processes that aren’t visible through traditional bedside tests, and could substantially complement standard behavioral assessments to identify unresponsive or ‘vegetative’ patients who have the potential for long-term recovery,” says study leader Professor Steven Laureys from the University of Liége in Belgium.*
Misdiagnoses of level of consciousness
In severely brain-damaged individuals, judging the level of consciousness has proved challenging. Traditionally, bedside clinical examinations have been used to decide whether patients are in a minimally conscious state (MCS), in which there is some evidence of awareness and response to stimuli, or are in a vegetative state (VS) also known as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, where there is neither, and the chance of recovery is much lower. But up to 40% of patients are misdiagnosed using these examinations.
“In patients with substantial cerebral edema [swelling of the brain], prediction of outcome on the basis of standard clinical examination and structural brain imaging is probably little better than flipping a coin,” writes Jamie Sleigh from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and Catherine Warnaby from the University of Oxford, UK.
PET vs. fMRI
The study assessed whether two new functional brain imaging techniques — PET with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and functional MRI (fMRI) during mental imagery tasks — could distinguish between vegetative and MCS in 126 patients with severe brain injury (81 in a MCS, 41 in a VS, and four with locked-in syndrome — a behaviorally unresponsive but conscious control group) referred to the University Hospital of Liége, in Belgium, from across Europe.
The researchers then compared their results with the well-established standardized Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CSR-R) behavioural test, considered the most validated and sensitive method for discriminating very low awareness.
Overall, FDG-PET was better than fMRI in distinguishing conscious from unconscious patients. (Mental imagery fMRI was less sensitive at diagnosis of a MCS than FDG-PET (45% vs 93%), and had less agreement with behavioral CRS-R scores than FDG-PET (63% vs 85%). FDG-PET was about 74% accurate in predicting the extent of recovery within the next year, compared with 56% for fMRI.)
Importantly, a third of the 36 patients diagnosed as behaviorally unresponsive on the CSR-R test who were scanned with FDG-PET showed brain activity consistent with the presence of some consciousness. Nine patients in this group subsequently recovered a reasonable level of consciousness.
According to Professor Laureys, “We confirm that a small but substantial proportion of behaviorally unresponsive patients retain brain activity compatible with awareness. Repeated testing with the CRS–R complemented with a cerebral FDG-PET examination provides a simple and reliable diagnostic tool with high sensitivity towards unresponsive but aware patients. fMRI during mental tasks might complement the assessment with information about preserved cognitive capability, but should not be the main or sole diagnostic imaging method.”
The authors point out that the study was done in a specialist unit focusing on the diagnostic neuroimaging of disorders of consciousness, so getting it used in less specialist units might be more challenging.
Commenting on the study, Sleigh and Warnaby add, “From these data, it would be hard to sustain a confident diagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome solely on behavioral grounds, without PET imaging for confirmation…[This] work serves as a signpost for future studies. Functional brain imaging is expensive and technically challenging, but it will almost certainly become cheaper and easier. In the future, we will probably look back in amazement at how we were ever able to practice without it.”
Abstract of The Lancet paper
Background – Bedside clinical examinations can have high rates of misdiagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (vegetative state) or minimally conscious state. The diagnostic and prognostic usefulness of neuroimaging-based approaches has not been established in a clinical setting. We did a validation study of two neuroimaging-based diagnostic methods: PET imaging and functional MRI (fMRI).
Methods – For this clinical validation study, we included patients referred to the University Hospital of Liège, Belgium, between January, 2008, and June, 2012, who were diagnosed by our unit with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, locked-in syndrome, or minimally conscious state with traumatic or non-traumatic causes. We did repeated standardised clinical assessments with the Coma Recovery Scale—Revised (CRS—R), cerebral 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, and fMRI during mental activation tasks. We calculated the diagnostic accuracy of both imaging methods with CRS—R diagnosis as reference. We assessed outcome after 12 months with the Glasgow Outcome Scale—Extended.
Findings – We included 41 patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, four with locked-in syndrome, and 81 in a minimally conscious state (48=traumatic, 78=non-traumatic; 110=chronic, 16=subacute). 18F-FDG PET had high sensitivity for identification of patients in a minimally conscious state (93%, 95% CI 85—98) and high congruence (85%, 77—90) with behavioural CRS—R scores. The active fMRI method was less sensitive at diagnosis of a minimally conscious state (45%, 30—61) and had lower overall congruence with behavioural scores (63%, 51—73) than PET imaging. 18F-FDG PET correctly predicted outcome in 75 of 102 patients (74%, 64—81), and fMRI in 36 of 65 patients (56%, 43—67). 13 of 42 (32%) of the behaviourally unresponsive patients (ie, diagnosed as unresponsive with CRS—R) showed brain activity compatible with (minimal) consciousness (ie, activity associated with consciousness, but diminished compared with fully conscious individuals) on at least one neuroimaging test; 69% of these (9 of 13) patients subsequently recovered consciousness.
Interpretation – Cerebral 18F-FDG PET could be used to complement bedside examinations and predict long-term recovery of patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome. Active fMRI might also be useful for differential diagnosis, but seems to be less accurate.
Funding – The Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research (FNRS), Fonds Léon Fredericq, the European Commission, the James McDonnell Foundation, the Mind Science Foundation, the French Speaking Community Concerted Research Action, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Liège.An average of 38.7 million viewers watched the London Games on Tuesday night, nearly 5 million more than watched on the comparable day four years ago in Beijing and almost 9 million more than tuned in on the first Tuesday night of the Athens Games in 2004.
Through five nights, including the opening ceremony, NBC is averaging 35.6 million viewers, more than any Summer Olympics from outside the United States since the 1976 Montreal Games.
The results are considerably better than NBC expected. In Comcast’s earnings call with analysts Wednesday, Steve Burke, NBC Universal’s chief executive, said that the company had projected ratings would fall 20 percent from Beijing compared with the first five days in London, but that they were up 9 percent.
He said the forecasts surmised that the tape-delayed prime-time broadcast’s ratings would suffer for not having the live gymnastics and Michael Phelps races that NBC had from Beijing.
NBC also thought its London ratings would be like those from Athens, but they are up 26 percent.
Burke predicted that instead of losing as much as $200 million on the London Games, NBC might break even. NBC lost $223 million on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics soon after Comcast announced it was acquiring a controlling interest in NBC Universal from General Electric.Video
NEW ORLEANS — It’s a great time to be an activist, but there are signs that things will get a little bumpier.
At the Tulane Corporate Law Institute here, that was the viewpoint of advisers to both hedge funds and to the companies they seek to shake up.
For now, activists are doing well, members of a panel discussion on the topic agreed. Nearly two-thirds of proxy fights are settled, with hedge funds getting at least a seat on corporate boards.
Why? In part because they have such strong support from other investors. Victor Lewkow, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, cited a recent article in DealBook, noting that institutional investors feel more emboldened not only in supporting activists, but also in sometimes giving them tips.
“It’s unfortunate, but if you look at shareholders lists, there’s no one there you can count on,” said Daniel Burch, the chief executive of the proxy solicitor MacKenzie Partners. “You may be starting at 30 percent against you and you don’t have anyone on your side.”
And Joele Frank, the founder of the public relations firm Joele Frank, Wilkinson, Brimmer, Katcher, added: “We used to have a 50-50 shot of winning. Until this year.”
Such is the state of activist confidence that many are now seeking majority control of a board, rather than seeking a “short slate” of a few directors.
But there were also some notes of caution, including from an adviser to activists. As activism’s popularity has grown, so have the number of new entrants into the field, many who aren’t as talented as proven winners like Carl C. Icahn or William A. Ackman.
“A lot of people coming to this space where I question their skills,” said Steve Wolosky, a partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky and a frequent adviser to activists. “I do have concern about less-than-intelligent activists.”
And much of what dissident investors have demanded in recent years — returning cash to investors through dividends or buybacks — has already been done. “Balance sheet activism” will always be around, the panelists said, but hedge funds are turning to operational activism, a more difficult task.
Coupled with the growth in activist funds, there may be fewer opportunities for those who fancy themselves the next Daniel S. Loeb.Socceroo Brad Smith has ended months of speculation by signing a contract extension with EPL outfit Liverpool overnight.
Smith confirmed the deal on Twitter this morning (Wednesday).
The 21-year-old from the west of Sydney has made one appearance in the EPL back in 2013 in a 2-1 away loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Smith had a loan spell at Swindon Town - where he was team-mates with Massimo Luongo – back in 2014 before he was recalled to the Reds by midway through last season.
He will now be hoping to impress new manager Jurgen Klopp enough to try and break into the first team.
Klopp has an excellent track record at bringing youth players through which augurs well for Smith who'll be hoping for game time to boost his fledgling career in the national team.Chicago aldermen Thursday voted to set new boundaries for the city's wards. A compromise map won support from 41 out of 50 aldermen, a lopsided enough vote to ensure there will not be a referendum where voters would pick between competing maps. (The new maps will take effect in 2015. If you're looking for the current ward map, click here.)
Source: This map was created using source data from the City of Chicago. Shape files | KML file
Just FYI:
Here's a breakdown of the demographics by race on this map.
Here's an amended ordinance submitted to the City Clerk.
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Descriptions not matching the above map? Hear what Ald. O' Connor has to say about that:A British former air hostess has become a star of Nigeria's 'Nollywood' film industry after mastering pidgin English.
Claire Edun, from Winchester, Hampshire, became interested in the language - a version of English spoken in West Africa - after visiting the country through work.
Her almost-flawless use of the dialect led to her being scouted by one of Nigeria's top directors and she has now become a hit in the country's flourishing film industry.
The 31-year-old's new movie has become such a success that she is now famous with cinema-goers in the African state and has been nicknamed Oyinbo Princess - meaning 'White Princess'.
Claire Edun has become a huge star in Nigeria after a top film director heard her speaking pidgin English
The former air hostess taught herself the language after visiting while flying into the West African Nigeria
She admits that tredding the red carpets of Lagos is a million miles from the village pantos and school plays which she first acted in, but she has grown a love for Nigeria, which she now considers a home from home.
She told MailOnline: 'It's very weird. I still have to pinch myself sometimes and remind myself that this is actually happening.
'When I am in Nigeria, people often recognise me and stop me for selfies. Even in London the other day, I was stopped by a Nigerian in Woolwich and asked for a photo.
'One of my first memories of acting was of me on a stage in a panto in a community hall in Titchfield, a small village in Hampshire, so I've come a long way since that.'
Claire, whose family has no connection to Africa, went to private school and then college in the UK and has always had a passion for acting and drama.
After working in Greece, she got a job as an air hostess and says she 'fell in love' with Africa while stopping there overnight between flights.
She says she starting swapping routes with other stewardesses so that she could visit Nigeria as much as possible and became interested in its films and music.
She has been dubbed Oyinbo Princess, meaning 'White Princess', in Nigeria and is loved by cinema-goers
She says she hopes to build bridges between the two countries and show that Nigeria isn't 'all Boko Haram'
Claire said: 'I lived in Peckham [south London] which is like little Africa and got to know pidgin by watching subtitled Nigerian films and listening to songs.
'I was so impressed with Africa because I had always been told that it was this dangerous place where everyone was starving and I guess I just believed that.
'But when I started visiting I discovered it was the most amazing place, people are so friendly. You have to be careful about your security, but it's not all Boko Haram like we hear in Britain.'
She posted a video of herself speaking pidgin on Facebook which was shared by a friend and seen by a top director in Nigeria, Lancelot Imasuen, who was hugely impressed with how she spoke.
He got in touch with her and made her the star of a hit romantic comedy, ATM, alongside one of Nigeria's most famous actors, Alexx Ekubo.
The film is about a Nigerian man who plans to use an English girl as a route out of the country, but learns to love his homeland through the eyes of his new wife.
The 31-year-old grew up in Hampshire, performing in village pantos, but is now on billboards around Africa
She has been attending premieres of her hit romantic comedy, which will now be shown in Britain
Despite having no African heritage, she has completely mastered pidgin, which she speaks in the film
She said: 'It's about a British girl who comes to Nigeria and marries a Nigerian man who wants to live in Britain.
WHAT IS PIDGIN ENGLISH? Pidgin began when European traders started visiting the West African coastline to barter for slaves in the 15th century. Similar to Creoles found in the Caribbean, it spread as English became a language of prestige in colonial times. In a country whose inhabitants speak a hundreds of different dialects, it is used as a lingua franca, or bridge language. Widely-used phrases include 'How you dey?' (how are you?), 'I dey fine' (I’m okay) and 'wahala' (problem).
'It's got some good messages in it, like having pride in where you come from rather than thinking the grass is always greener elsewhere.'
Claire is herself married to a Nigerian man, Richard Edun. The couple tied to knot four years ago with photos showing the bride wearing both a traditional white gown and African wedding robes.
The actress now divides her time between her home in Portsmouth and Lagos, where she attends film premieres and has become a hit with the country's media.
She added: 'My parents are obviously really worried about me every time I come over here. My dad especially, he's always looking at the Foreign Office advice online and telling me which areas I can and can't go.
'But they know I'm following my dream and so understand.'
Her film has become such a hit that a UK premiere is planned for the Nigerian community in London.“The mythical status of the hymen has caused far too much harm for far too long,” the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) said in a statement.
“The new term in English is vaginal corona.”
The linguistic declaration comes on the heels of what RFSU considers a successful campaign carried out in Sweden aimed at dispelling a number of myths surrounding the hymen and virginity.
“There are lots of questions about the hymen throughout the entire population of young people in Sweden,” RFSU secretary general Åsa Regnér told The Local.
“Both among girls and boys, and among people born in Sweden as well as those born in other countries.”
In an attempt to correct some of the myths surrounding the hymen, RFSU last spring published an informational pamphlet on the female reproductive organs which featured a new Swedish term for the hymen, slidkrans.
“Krans is a Swedish word for something shaped like a circle,” Regnér explained.
“Language has power over how we think. The point is to provide information about how the body works.”
The group hoped the new term would displace the traditional Swedish word used for the hymen, mödomshinna, which translates literally as “virginity membrane” and led to misconceptions about female sexuality, according to RFSU.
“The old Swedish term indicated that there is a membrane covering the vaginal opening that needed to be broken,” said Regnér.
“It was portrayed as the boundary between guilt and innocence…girls have been raised to protect their hyman, not to run, jump, |
AlertMeCanada will be keeping a close eye on Russia's involvement in the turbulent Ukraine as the Winter Olympics get ready to begin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.
Canada will continue to vigilantly monitor developments in Ukraine as the world spotlight shifts to Russia this week, Baird told a news conference Monday.
"The Olympics are an exciting time for the athletes, for the world and for the Olympic spirit, we will very much be keeping an eye on the situation throughout Ukraine," he said.
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"We will not be taking our eye off Ukraine for one moment during the Sochi Games."
Baird also registered Canada's outrage at the kidnapping of an opposition activist who was reportedly crucified by his Ukrainian captors.
"The abduction and abuse of pro-democracy activists is a cruel and crude attempt to deter peaceful protest through fear," he said in a statement. "We call for an independent investigation into this case and all other crimes against protesters."
The Harper government has barred Ukrainian officials from entering Canada because it says the government is suppressing dissent.
For two months now, Ukraine has been rocked by raucous anti-government protests, some of which have turned violent.
The dissent erupted after the government bowed to Russian pressure and abandoned an economic co-operation agreement with Europe.
Baird reiterated the government's position that Ukraine faces a prosperous economic future if it embraces Europe, instead of bowing to its old Soviet Union master.
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"Obviously, Ukraine matters to Canada. We want to see peace, prosperity and freedom for the people of Ukraine. We think the European Association agreement, and the government's previous commitment to support that, was the best path forward."
Baird repeated his warning to Canadians attending the Olympics to exercise caution. The threat of terrorist attacks by Islamic militants from the nearby North Caucasus continues to hang over the Games, which get underway Thursday.
A massive military buildup is underway in Russia to provide security, including two American warships that have been deployed to the Black Sea, as well as tens of thousands of police and military forces, backed by warships and aerial support.
"While we're tremendously concerned about security, we've obviously got to remain focused that this is about the athletes and about the Games," said Baird.
Canada is consulting with its allies on possible next steps towards the Ukraine government, he added.
Canadians of Ukrainian descent have called on Ottawa to target the Ukrainian government with sanctions and asset freezes.
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Baird said he is keeping in touch with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his European Union counterpart, Catherine Ashton.
Ashton has said she would return to Kiev this week, her third visit since the crisis began.Jeans are a must-have in any woman’s wardrobe. They come in every shape and colour, from skinny to flare, boyfriend, bootcut, distressed, coated to washed-out, light, blue, grey, black – you name it, they have it.
I am a fan of denim, always looking for the latest trends and at the end of the day, I stick to the black ones.
The great thing about wearing black jeans, is that they go basically with everything. Black is a basic colour and it can be mixed in several ways and worn to many occasions, outings.
Here are a few ideas on how I wear my black jeans:
Added a bit of colour by wearing it with a red jacket.
In this post, I wore my coated jeans with a turtleneck jumper and wool coat.
Added a touch of animal print to the outfit.
All black with nude.
Camel coat and black jeans combination.
You can find some of my favourite jeans on Amazon too:
True Religion Women’s Misty Legging Jean in Supervixen Black,
AG Adriano Goldschmidt Women’s Farrah Hi-Rise Skinny Jean, Raven, 25.
5 tips on how to wear black jeans for different occasions
Casual, laid-back Look
For a fun, relaxed day, wear the jeans with something basic, simple. This way you will be comfy and relaxed.
What is basic and simple? It can be either a plaid t-shirt ( white, grey, pastel, blue….) or shirt ( chambray, oversized, boyfriend, nothing formal ) paired with a pair of sneakers or ballet flats. Finish the look by wearing either a denim / biker or parka jacket.
Another great option is wearing it with a camel coat. I always loved the idea of wearing a wool coat with sneakers, and I’ve incorporated it in one of my looks. You can find this look here.
Chic Look with Black Jeans
Whenever I opt for a chicer look, I add a touch of femininity to it. This means mixing the black jeans with a white (silky ) blouse and a pair of either high heels or ballet flats. Even if they are flats that doesn’t mean it’s not feminine.
Accessorize it with a statement necklace or something sparkly ( bracelet, bangles, or even a sparkly blazer).
Finish your great look with either a leather biker jacket or tailored blazer!
Office Look
There are companies, where the dress code policy says you can wear your jeans only on Friday. The great thing about black jeans is that you can wear them not only on Fridays, but on other days as well. It’s only a matter of how you need to wear them, not to look just like a pair of jeans.
Tip: Mix the jeans with a tailored shirt, which is already official and choose a pair of heels.
Night Out In The Town
Try an all-black ensemble for a night out in the town. Wear the jeans with a silky tank-top and black heels or heeled sandals.
Add some edge by mixing it up with a black leather biker jacket.
Add Some Colour to your Black Jeans
Add a bright colour to an all black look. This means wear it with either a pair of bright coloured heels, a fuchsia blazer or a bright clutch.
Hope you loved my tips on what to wear with black jeans be it skinny or flare or boyfriend.
If you have your own favorite look, let me know in the comments below.
Love, IldiJ. L. Pomeroy has flown long enough to know that there are limits to how obliging she will be to her fellow passengers, especially those who want her seat.
“I always pretty much just say no,” she said. She rarely gives her decision a second thought.
“I always pick a very specific seat for very specific reasons, and somebody’s fleeting whim at the last minute isn’t something I want to accommodate on a long flight,” said Ms. Pomeroy, who runs a film and event production company.
For passengers in increasingly stratified plane cabins, the scramble for the right seat has become more intense than ever.
Just asking to switch remains a popular choice, but increasingly, frequent travelers say that fellow passengers are breaching long-established etiquette and simply plopping down in a seat of their choice.Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Pan Am Games officials are stressing the importance of using anything but a car to get around the Toronto region as the multi-sport event gets underway.
"Help get this message out: Please take transit," said games spokesman Allen Vansen at a press conference Tuesday.
The words "take transit" were uttered several dozen more times at a press conference Tuesday.
Games and transit officials put a positive spin on traffic, but admitted commutes have been affected by new high occupancy lanes on surrounding highways.
Vansen said drivers must change their behaviours, and implored residents and spectators to carpool, walk, cycle and take transit.
"Go to work early and leave late," he said.
Andrew Posluns, with the Ministry of Transportation, said drivers are adjusting to the new lanes, but Toronto's highways are clogged.
"We've seen some roads travel faster and others, like the (Queen Elizabeth Way), Gardiner (Expressway), (Don Valley Parkway), moving 10 to 12 minutes slower than they would normally," Posluns said.
The goal is to have a commute about seven minutes longer than usual through the duration of the games, but he said he has seen anecdotal evidence that commute times have improved over the past week.
Vansen also warned of road closures during the games for specific events -- such as the triathlon that will close down a major downtown artery -- that will also cause traffic headaches.
Meanwhile, pedestrians are also adjusting to the new reality of the Pan Am Games.
Toronto police Staff Sgt. Devin Kealey said there was a "security breach" in the fence surrounding Toronto's Pan Am Park, one of the main sporting venues.
Kealey said it was not a threat and was simply a pedestrian trying to take a short cut.
Competition in some Pan Am sports began Tuesday, with the games set to officially kick off on Friday.This totally vegan, totally delicious cauliflower fried rice is packed with flavor and veggies that will leave you completely satisfied!
Not fried rice with cauliflower, although that would be good too. This is cauliflower fried rice. The rice is cauliflower. It’s not really rice. It’s cauliflower disguised as rice. I know. Kinda mind boggling.
Okay, I’ll admit, not so long ago the idea of cauliflower fried rice might not have appealed to me all that much. But trust me, this stuff is good. Not good, as in, oh I’m on a diet and this isn’t a bad substitute for carb-laden rice good, but good as in, have some self control and don’t eat the whole batch good.
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See, I didn’t make this because I was on a diet. I’d never do that to you guys. I made this because it’s summertime and I like to experiment with lighter versions of meals I might eat during the cooler months when it’s warm out. You know, stuff that’s just as delicious, but a little less filling. Well, guess what? This isn’t one of those meals. Oh, it’s delicious, but I failed on the less filling part. I really didn’t expect that to happen at all, but my husband and I both polished off big plates of this before looking up at each other, rubbing our bellies and nodding our heads. “Damn, that’s filling.” We were in agreement.
So yeah, let’s quickly debrief:
Make this dish if you’re on a diet and want to cut out carbs.
Make this dish if you’re not on a diet and want something delicious.
Make this dish whether or not you’re on a diet, and you want something filling.
Make this dish. And enjoy it.(JTA) — A camp affiliated with the Conservative movement apologized after flying a Palestinian flag “as a sign of friendship and acceptance” to visiting Palestinian Muslim and Christian students.
Camp Solomon Schechter in Washington State last week hosted members of Kids 4 Peace, including Christian and Muslim Palestinian children.
In a letter sent to parents and supporters following the visit the camp wrote: “For the sake of a teachable moment, we did raise the Palestinian flag as a sign of friendship and acceptance. It was met with uncertainty by some campers and staff, especially the Israeli’s [sic], but all understood that the message of hope for peace by flying the Israeli flag alongside helped develop empathy.” The letter also said that the camp “remain(s) unabashedly pro-Israel and we are celebrating Israel alongside our new friends.”
In the letter of apology sent Sunday and posted on the camp’s Facebook page, the camp indicated that the Kids 4 Peace group requested the raising of a Palestinian flag, alongside the U.S., Canadian and Israeli flags that are raised daily.
“We sincerely apologize that we upset some in our CSS and larger Jewish community by introducing the Palestinian flag into our educational program. Camp Solomon Schechter reiterates our unwavering support for the State of Israel as the Jewish homeland,” the apology said,
Parents who responded to the apology on Facebook were divided between those that applauded the camp for trying to be a positive force toward peace and those angry that the camp would raise the flag waved in support of terrorists carrying out attacks against Jews.A couple of days ago, T-Mobile launched a brand new page for checking the progress on Android software updates. With most phones in the carrier’s lineup still waiting for Android 5.0 Lollipop, it was a smart move to have one place to go to check the process status. When it went live only nine handsets populated the list. Now, two more have been added.
LG’s impressive G2 and G3 are now both on the list, and that means one thing: Android 5.0 Lollipop is on its way. The software is still in the first stages of development. But at least it’s on its way.
On T-Mobile’s Software Updates page, software updates are organized in three stages: Manufacturer Development, T-Mobile Testing and Completed. In order for the latest version of Android to make its way to customers’ handsets, the software needs to be submitted to T-Mobile, who test it and make sure everything’s working.
I don’t know exactly what timeframe we’re looking at with the update, it could be weeks. But for those of you with the devices, at least you know now that the software update is coming for both the current generation LG flagship, and the previous one.
Source: T-MobileJanuary 18, 2013 was the deadline to exchange filing numbers with their arbitration eligible players. The Rays had four players (Matt Joyce, Ryan Roberts, Sam Fuld, and Jeff Niemann) that were arbitration eligible. Now that the deadline has come to pass, we’re pleased as peach to announce that the Rays have avoided arbitration with the aforementioned players. The details are below.
Jeff Niemann: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Rays have avoided arbitration with the tall RHP, signing Niemann to a one-year, $3MM contract.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Rays have avoided arbitration with the tall RHP, signing Niemann to a one-year, $3MM contract. Sam Fuld: Marc Topkin of the Times has reported that the Rays have avoided arbitration with Sam Fuld, agreeing to a one-year, $725K deal.
Marc Topkin of the Times has reported that the Rays have avoided arbitration with Sam Fuld, agreeing to a one-year, $725K deal. Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts: MLB Trade Rumors has reported that the Rays avoided arbitration with Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts. Joyce will earn $2.45MM and Roberts will earn $2.95MM plus incentives.Apple says it's fixed a server bug that was affecting "some" former iMessage users who had tried to switch to Android or another OS. However, it admits there's another problem with its messaging platform that it still hasn't managed to address. According to Re/code, the first bug was making it difficult for Apple staff to keep track of which phone numbers are currently associated with an iPhone -- information that is essential for the proper running of the iMessage system. Without an accurate database, ex-iPhone users could find that some of their SMS messages are mistakenly treated as iMessages and sucked into the bowels of an Apple's datacenter, from whence they may never return. As for the remaining flaws, and iMessage's broader dependence on up-to-the-minute record-keeping, Apple says it's working on a fuller solution that will come in a "future software update." In the meantime, the best advice for any iPhone leaver is still to manually disable iMessage and return to regular SMS before they power down for the final time.If Tron 3 were to ever happen, its star would want to see it as a virtual reality movie.
When talking about the media that’s influenced the current VR landscape, there are a handful of names that can’t go unmentioned. Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is one such source, but it’s impossible not to acknowledge Tron, the iconic 1982 sci-fi movie in which people entered a game world to compete in virtual sports.
Rumors about a third film in the franchise have been rampant since the release of 2010’s Tron: Legacy. Actor Jeff Bridges, who starred in both movies, was recently asked about those rumors by Entertainment Weekly. His reply will surely entice VR fans.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard those rumors too,” Bridges said. “I hope that happens. I think Joe’s [Kosinski, Tron: Legacy director] got the script and everything, you know. Yeah, I don’t know that I’m supposed to talk about it or not. I don’t know. It should be the first virtual reality movie, you know? Wouldn’t that be cool… to see Tron in that world?”
Now there’s a thought. Could a Disney-helmed third film in the series really be a big budget, feature-length VR movie? If there’s any franchise that would be a perfect fit for it, it’s this one, but there’s still so much work to be done to make VR mainstream and VR movies full engaging experiences that it has to be some way off. Would it be a 360 degree live action film or a fully VR experience? Would viewers be able to interact with the world around them or would they be simply onlookers?
Even a few years into the industry, Tron’s influence can be felt coursing through the VR scene. CCP Games’ upcoming Sparc, for example, is its own VR eSport that owes a lot to Tron’s basic concept and even its neo-retro visual aesthetic. That’s why we’d love to see the original inspiration embrace VR in this way.Nearly 850,000 Canadians are unemployed or underemployed, more than 60 per cent of whom are immigrants, because their credentials are not being fully recognized, according to a new report from the Conference Board of Canada.
If their credentials were recognized, they could, as a group, earn $13.4 to $17 billion more annually, according to the report, Brain Gain 2015: The State of Canada's Learning Recognition System.
"We estimate that over 844,000 Canadian adults now face learning recognition challenges, including over 524,000 with international credentials, almost 200,000 with out-of-province credentials and 120,000 with experiential learning not recognized in a credential," the report states.
Up to $17B in lost earnings
The $17 billion in potential earnings is a dramatic increase from a previous study the board did in 2001, which estimated Canadians could earn $4.1 to $5.9 billion more if their credentials were recognized.
"The challenge has risen faster than the rate of change," said Michael Bloom, vice president of industry and strategy for the board.
"Even if you discount things like inflation, growing population, you still end up with a bigger problem than ever before."
The report suggests that improving how credentials are recognized could potentially increase the annual incomes of those affected by an average of $15,000 to $20,000 per person.
"The big driver here is the fact that there are more high-skilled jobs that ever before and fewer low-skill jobs," Bloom told B.C. Almanac host Gloria Macarenko.
"So the more we depend on skill and knowledge in our economy, the more we need our credentials recognized, and that means every time someone isn't recognized it costs them more, and ultimately it costs all of us more."
The recommendations in the report include modifying the immigrant selection process so that learning credentials are recognized and exporting Canadian post-secondary education curriculum and programs into other countries.
Labour market information
Nick Noorani, the founder of Canadian Immigrant Magazine, said it is just as important for immigrants to have access to comprehensive labour market information as having their credentials recognized.
Noorani, who is also a managing partner of Prepare for Canada, said this information would help, for example, immigrants who are doctors realize the steps they have to go through to practice medicine in Canada, and what demands different regions have for doctors.
"When immigrants arrive there's insufficient emphasis on follow up, how they can enhance their soft skills, what are alternative careers," Noorani said.
To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: New study finds that Canada has much to gain by recognizing immigrants' learning credentialsRonda Rousey’s nearly nonstop mainstream media blitz continued earlier this week with an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
The UFC’s women’s bantamweight champion talked with Patrick about her rise to superstardom, dating, pressure, the potential for her to one day have a movie career and how her she is “refreshingly unfiltered” when it comes to the things she says and does.
Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is coming off an historic fight, headlining UFC 157 as the first women’s fight in UFC history. She stopped Liz Carmouche (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with yet another first-round armbar, but not before a slightly harrowing moment early in the fight that had Carmouche on her back looking for a choke.
Outside the UFC, Rousey’s rise to fame since beating Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce title a year ago has included an appearance on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue,” stories in mainstream magazines like Time and Rolling Stone, Showtime specials, HBO appearances, guest-hosting on TMZ, an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show and much more.
As for her next fight, Rousey very likely will meet the winner of next month’s fight between Tate and Cat Zingano, which will be the second women’s fight in UFC history.
Check out the Dan Patrick interview in the video above.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.Washington (CNN) A new chapter is about to be opened in the up-and-down relationship between President Donald Trump and former FBI Director James Comey.
But that relationship has largely been defined by Trump's words about Comey -- his criticism and his praise -- and his account of their relationship. On Thursday, Comey will get a chance to fill in some of the blanks with his own account.
Here's a timeline of the roller coaster that is the Trump-Comey relationship
July 5
Comey announces in a news conference that he recommended no charges be filed against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but says her handling of classified information was "extremely careless."
Trump criticizes Comey's announcement at a political rally hours later: "Today is the best evidence ever that we've seen that our system is absolutely, totally rigged. It's rigged."
"He talked about 'extremely careless.' She was 'extremely careless,' " Trump said, echoing Comey's words to describe Clinton's actions. "That's a tremendous word."
JUST WATCHED Trump: Clinton is guilty and she knows it Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Trump: Clinton is guilty and she knows it 01:28
October 28
Trump pounces: "What happened today, starting with the FBI, maybe the system will become a little less rigged. Beautiful."
"I've had a lot of words about the FBI lately, but I give them great credit for having the courage to right this horrible wrong," he added.
October 29
Trump praises Comey : "I respect the fact that Director Comey was able to come back after what he did. I respect that very much."
October 31
"It took a lot of guts," Trump said. "I really disagreed with him. I was not his fan. But I'll tell you what, what he did, he brought back his reputation. He's got to hang tough, because there's a lot of people want him to do the wrong thing. What he did was the right thing."
JUST WATCHED Comey: FBI has not changed conclusions on Clinton Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Comey: FBI has not changed conclusions on Clinton 01:30
November 6
The FBI announces that it concluded a review of the newly discovered Clinton emails and that the review found nothing that would change the conclusions of its original investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server.
Trump goes on the attack again: "Hillary Clinton is guilty. She knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know it."
"She is being protected by a rigged system. It's a totally rigged system," he said.
January 22
Trump and Comey interact publicly for the first time since Trump's inauguration two days earlier, during an event honoring law enforcement officials at the White House.
"Oh, and there's James, he's become more famous than me," Trump said, singling out Comey before shaking the FBI director's hand and pulling him in for an embrace and a few whispered words.
Comey friend Benjamin Wittes would later explain that Comey had tried to "blend into the background" to avoid a one-on-one interaction with Trump and wanted to avoid "any show of warmth."
"Trump grabs his hand and attempts an embrace. The embrace, however, is entirely one-sided. Comey was disgusted. He regarded the episode as a physical attempt to show closeness and warmth in a fashion calculated to compromise him before Democrats who already mistrusted him," Wittes wrote last month
JUST WATCHED Friend: Comey was disgusted by Trump hug Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Friend: Comey was disgusted by Trump hug 01:43
January 27 -- The dinner
Trump and Comey break bread together at the White House in what Trump would later describe as one of three times Comey told him he was not the target of the FBI's investigation into potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials.
Trump has denied making that request and those close to Comey have denied he offered any assurances to the President about whether he was under investigation.
And while Trump said he believed Comey "asked for the dinner," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Comey told him Trump had invited him to dinner.
Clapper said Comey was "uneasy with it, both from a standpoint of the optic of compromising his independence and the independence of the FBI."
Wittes, Comey's friend, wrote recently that Comey "did tell me in general terms that early on, Trump had 'asked for loyalty' and that Comey had promised him only honesty. He also told me that Trump was perceptibly uncomfortable with this answer. And he said that ever since, the President had been trying to be chummy in a fashion that Comey felt was designed to absorb him into Trump's world -- to make him part of the team."
February 14 -- The Oval Office meeting
This date is likely to be a major focus of Comey's hearing because it's when -- according to a memo Comey wrote at the time -- Trump asked Comey to drop the federal investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go," Trump said, according to the Comey memo several of his associates shared with reporters.
Comey only replied: 'I agree he is a good guy," according to the memo.
The White House has only said that the memo did not amount to a "truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation."
March 20
Comey testifies before Congress, confirming that the FBI is investigating "the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts."
He also says he has "no information" to support Trump's recent claim that President Barack Obama ordered his phones tapped during the campaign.
April 12
Trump tells Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that "it's not too late" for him to fire Comey, but says that he has "confidence in him."
"We'll see what happens. You know, it's going to be interesting," he said.
May 2
FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017
On the eve of Comey's testimony before Congress, Trump tweets: "FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!"
May 3
Comey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but demurs on a slew of questions about the FBI's investigation, particularly in questions about Trump.
"I hope people don't over interpret my answers, but I just don't want to start talking about anything -- what we're looking at and how," Comey says.
May 9
Trump fires Comey.
In a letter informing him of his firing, Trump writes that Comey informed him "on three separate occasions that I am not under investigation."
May 11
Calling Comey a "showboat" and a "grandstander," Trump says he had decided to fire Comey regardless of the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
"When I decided to just do it, I said to myself -- I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story," Trump said.
May 12
James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Trump tweets: "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press."
June 6
When asked what message he had for Comey ahead of Thursday's hearing, Trump said: "I wish him luck."A stay-at-home dad punched his baby in the head and shook him violently because he "felt like he was doing a woman's job", a court has been told.
The 31-year-old Auckland man - who cannot be named because it would identify the victim - attacked his 3-month-old son several times while his wife was at work.
The boy was admitted to Kidz First Hospital in Papatoetoe and diagnosed with fractures to his skull, femur and two ribs on January 16 last year.
In reports submitted to the court doctors said the type of injuries seen were "almost never seen outside the context of child abuse" and would have involved significant force.
When initially interviewed by police, the man, who has three other children, denied physically harming the boy.
The only possible explanation was that his wife had dropped the baby while bathing him, he said.
Both he and his wife, who also faces a charge of ill-treating a child, claimed they had noticed "a soft patch" on the boy's head and taken him to the doctor the next day.
Six months later, armed with more medical evidence, police re-interviewed the pair.
The man admitted punching the baby when he was not feeding properly. He acknowledged it happened more than once when he got frustrated with the crying child.
"You felt like less of a man because you were doing a woman's job," Judge Anna Johns said, referring to his pre-sentence report.
The man was subsequently charged with causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard and ill-treating a child.
His wife also confessed she had witnessed him assaulting their child "on numerous occasions, including shaking him violently".
She also said she had told her other children to lie when they were asked by police about abuse in the household.
Judge Johns said the man's interview with probation was particularly concerning as he appeared to minimise the offending; referring to his punches as "tapping".
"It's an attitude I find somewhat disturbing... I infer you don't understand what you did to your young son and the risk you could have caused him long-term, permanent damage," she said.
The offender had been on bail with his parents on the North Shore for the last few months.
His lawyer, Shane Cassidy, said the couple had had the mistaken belief the family would be reunited after the sentencing.
Child, Youth and Family would not allow him to serve a sentence of home detention with his wife and children and with no other available address.
Cassidy asked for an adjournment to try to find somewhere else.
However, Judge Johns said jail was the only option as horrendous examples of child abuse continued to crop up around the country.
"We're one of the worst in the Western World and it simply has to stop," she said.
The man was jailed for two years and given a first-strike warning.September 30, 2007
Media Blackout:
161 Federal Tax Charges, 0 Convictions
IRS Suffers Staggering Defeat Tax Questions Raised Regarding
Gold and Silver Coins Used to Pay Wages Around noon on Monday, September 17th, a Las Vegas federal jury returned its verdict refusing to convict nine defendants of any of the 161 federal tax crimes they had been charged with. The charges included income tax evasion, willful failure to file and conspiracy to evade taxes.
The four-month trial centered around the family businesses of Robert Kahre who paid numerous workers for their labor with circulating gold and silver U.S. coins, and did not report the wages. The payments took place over several years, allegedly totaling at least $114 million dollars.
On September 20, 2007, three days after the federal trial's dramatic conclusion, the Las Vegas Review Journal, reportedly under a degree of public pressure, ran its first (and last) story about the outcome of the trial. To this day, with exception of the single article by the Review Journal, no major media entity has published a news story regarding the outcome of this important federal criminal tax case.
The censorship of this important news story is, unfortunately, not unexpected given the continuing, worldwide onslaught against the U.S. "dollar" -- specifically the Federal Reserve variety, and the ever growing numbers of Federal Reserve Notes required to trade for an actual ounce of silver, gold, oil, or for that matter, anything.
In short, this failed prosecution has coalesced and exposed truths our Government desperately needs to hide from the People: the truth about our money, the truth about our (privately-owned) central bank, and the truth about the fraudulent nature of the operation and enforcement of the federal income tax system.
Click here to read the April, 2005 DOJ press release announcing the prosecution.
Click here to read the 9/20 story by the Review Journal about the trial. According to defense attorney Joel Hansen, who represented co-defendant Alex Loglia, the primary "willfulness" defense was that the defendants believed they had no legal obligation to withhold, pay income taxes or report anything to the government because, in part, the nominal (i.e., face value) of the gold and silver coins is so small as to fall beneath the reporting thresholds set by the Internal Revenue Code.
The Defendants also argued that regardless of the valuation of the coins for internal revenue purposes, there is no law that requires average American workers to file or pay direct, un-apportioned taxes on the fruits of their labor.
The Government argued that the payments in solid gold and silver U.S. coins must be considered at their bullion (i.e., intrinsic full-market) value when considering the worth of the wages for purposes of the internal revenue code.
Attorney Hansen cited two Supreme Court cases bolstering Defendant's monetary argument at the heart of the defendants "willfulness" defense.
The essence of the argument is that under the Constitution Congress is obligated by law to mint and circulate such coins as demand requires, and must establish the value of coins as they are used as legal tender, but the coins' market value, arising as valuable personal "property," is a distinct, separate attribute of such coins, and is of no legal consequence if the coins are used as legal tender.
In other words, if a worker is paid with such coins, his taxable "income" (if any) can only be the face value indicated upon the coin money paid -- i.e., $1.00 for a circulating silver dollar or $50 for a circulating gold U.S. coin. Not surprisingly, the IRS has never issued any public guidance regarding this significant issue. The first case, Ling Su Fan v. U.S., 218 US 302 (1910) establishes the legal distinction of a coin bearing the "impress" of the sovereign: "These limitations are due to the fact that public law gives to such coinage a value which does not attach as a mere consequence of intrinsic value. Their quality as a legal tender is an attribute of law aside from their bullion value. They bear, therefore, the impress of sovereign power which fixes value and authorizes their use in exchange." The second case, Thompson v. Butler, 95 US 694 (1877), establishes that the law makes no legal distinction between the values of coin and paper money used as legal tender: "A coin dollar is worth no more for the purposes of tender in payment of an ordinary debt than a note dollar. The law has not made the note a standard of value any more than coin. It is true that in the market, as an article of merchandise, one is of greater value than the other; but as money, that is to say, as a medium of exchange, the law knows no difference between them." Defense attorney Hansen confirmed that members of the jury were able to actually hold and inspect the gold and silver U.S. coins paid to the workers.
After almost four months of testimony and three and a half days of deliberation, the jury did not convict any of the defendants of any of the 161 crimes alleged. Although some defendants were acquitted of multiple counts, and several were acquitted completely, others may have to stand for a retrial if the Government brings charges a second time.
The Review Journal reported the jury foreman claimed DOJ prosecutors admitted they were "shocked" by the outcome. In March 2007, the primary defendant, Bob Kahre, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the prosecutor and IRS agents who had conducted what he alleges to be an unlawful search and seizure raid. In 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn a previous District Court ruling holding that the federal prosecutor is not entitled to absolute immunity for the unlawful raid. Read more. Click here to execute a Google News search to attempt to locate recent news stories about the Kahre tax trial.
The media suppression of this story is similar to the widespread mainstream media suppression of the July 11, 2007 acquittal of Louisiana attorney Tommy Cryer who was also charged with multiple federal income tax crimes and relied upon numerous Supreme Court precedents and U.S. tax laws to establish his "willfulness" defense. Click here for a previous WTP update containing a link to Cryer's 100-page Motion to Dismiss which details his legal arguments.
Click here to execute a Google News archive search to attempt to locate news stories about Tommy Cryer's tax trial.
PLEASE NOTE: Following recent statements by the DOJ, most of the content of the WTP websites (including our on-line store) has been fully restored for public access. The "6700" case is currently being appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
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23 |
National Security Council Principals Committee Makeups Are "100 Percent The Same"
LIE 6: Spicer Claimed CNN Retracted Statements Questioning Kellyanne Conway’s Credibility
LIE 7: Spicer Claimed There Wasn’t Concern With Obama’s Criticism Of The Supreme Court
LIE 8: Spicer Claimed Trump’s Travel Ban Was Always About Specific Countries
LIE 9: Spicer Claimed There Could Be More Than 15 Million People In The Country Illegally
LIE 10: Spicer Claimed Obama Administration Tapped Fox News Reporter’s Phone
LIE 11: Spicer Falsely Claimed That Most Bush-Era Gitmo Detainee Releases Were Court-Ordered
LIE 12: Spicer Claimed That The Reason The Secretary Of State’s Plane On His Trip To Asia Can’t Accommodate Reporters Is Because Of The Cost
LIE 13: Spicer Claimed Manafort “Played A Very Limited Role” In The Trump Campaign
LIE 14: Officials Have Reached The “Conclusion” That There Was No Collusion Between The Trump White House And Russia
Spicer Pledges To “Never Knowingly Say Something That Is Not Factual” As White House Press Secretary. During the January 23 White House press briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer pledged that his “intention is never to lie” to the press, adding, “I’m going to come out here and tell you the facts as I know them. And if we make a mistake, we’ll do our best to correct it.” From the January 23 White House press briefing:
JON KARL: Before I get to a policy question, just a question about the nature of your job. SEAN SPICER: Yeah. KARL: Is it your intention to always tell the truth from that podium? And will you pledge to never to knowingly say something that is not factual? SPICER: It is. It’s an honor to do this. And yes, I believe that we have to be honest with the American people. I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts.There are certain things that we may not fully understand when we come out. But our intention is never to lie to you, Jonathan. [...] We’re going to do our best every time we can. I’m going to come out here and tell you the facts as I know them. And if we make a mistake, we’ll do our best to correct it. [White House press briefing, 1/23/17]
Spicer: “I Don’t Think There’s Any Question That It Was The Largest-Watched Inauguration Ever.” When asked if he stood by his claim that Trump’s inauguration “was the most-watched inaugural address,” Spicer doubled-down, claiming, “I don’t see any numbers that dispute that.” Spicer added, “I don’t think there’s any question that it was the largest-watched inauguration ever.” From the January 23 White House press briefing:
JON KARL: Do you stand by your statement that was the most-watched inaugural address? SEAN SPICER: Sure, it was the most-watched inaugural. When you look at just the one network alone got 16.9 million people online. Another couple of the networks, there were tens of millions that watched that online. Nevermind the audience that was here. Thirty-one million people watched it on television. Combine that with the tens of millions of people that watched it online on a device? It’s unquestionable. And I don’t see any numbers that dispute that. When you add up attendance, viewership, total audience in terms of tablets, phones, on television. I’d love to see any information that proves that otherwise. [...] If you add up the network streaming numbers, Facebook, YouTube, all of the various livestreaming that we have numbers on so far, I don’t think there’s any question that it was the largest-watched inauguration ever. [White House press briefing, 1/23/17]
FACT: “There’s No Evidence” To Support Spicer’s Claim
Wash. Post: “There’s No Evidence” That Spicer’s Claim Is “True.” The Washington Post’s Philip Bump said of Spicer’s claim, “There’s no evidence that’s true.” Bump pointed out that Spicer ignored the “maximum number of concurrent viewers” online and that “CNN’s live-stream numbers for Obama[’s inauguration] were even bigger” than Trump’s. From the January 23 fact check (emphasis original):
After walking through various metrics that he suggested bolstered Trump’s point (though without reiterating the 1.5 million figure [that Trump had cited]), Spicer declared, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.” There’s no evidence that’s true. During a news conference on Monday, Spicer clarified that his assertion extended beyond just the in-person audience. Even including TV watchers, Trump trailed several prior presidents. He falls into fifth place since 1969, behind Obama in 2009, Richard Nixon in 1973, Jimmy Carter in 1977 and the high-water mark of Ronald Reagan in 1981. [...] On top of television, Spicer added online streaming numbers in his news conference on Monday. He cited CNN’s number of streams, which the network pegged at 16.9 million. Add that to Trump’s Nielsen numbers, Spicer suggested — 30.6 million — and you’re already past Reagan and everyone in the pre-Internet era. That 16.9 million number, though, was streaming starts, meaning that someone popped into the stream and then left it. The maximum number of concurrent viewers — a more comparable number to Nielsen metrics — was 2.3 million at the time Trump took the oath. That would put Trump still 6 million views behind Obama in 2009 and far behind Reagan. Spicer’s argument also ignores that, eight years ago, CNN’s live-stream numbers for Obama were even bigger. As the Associated Press reported at the time, CNN had 21.3 million streams (presumably starts) in partnership with Facebook that year. The AP had 8 million and the White House 1.3 million. (Update: A reader points out different numbers from CNN in 2009: 27 million total for the day — but 1.3 million concurrent, a million fewer than Trump.) [The Washington Post, 1/23/17]
Spicer: It’s A “Myth” That Trump Had A “Rift” With The Intelligence Community. Spicer alleged that Trump’s visit to the CIA on January 21 was meant to “dispel the myth that there was a quote-unquote ‘rift’ between the president and the intelligence community.” From the January 23 press briefing:
SEAN SPICER: [Trump] kept hearing about this rift that existed. He talked about it a couple weeks ago after his briefing, how proud he is and how much he respects the intelligence community. And I think when he walked into that, and he saw it, he wanted to make sure the people knew that what you’re hearing on television or in reports about this rift, I have the utmost respect for you, I honor your service, I’m proud of what you’re doing and the sacrifices that you’re making. And I think that he wanted them to know that you see and hear all this stuff on TV about this rift that so-called exists. And clearly it doesn’t matter. Like, don’t believe what you’re hearing. Know that I have a tremendous amount of respect for you. I appreciate everything that you’re doing. And I think that’s why he wanted to do it, was to make sure that they understand, and they heard first-hand, how much he respects them, how much he wanted to dispel the myth that there was a quote-unquote “rift.” [White House Press Briefing, 1/23/17]
FACT: Trump Disparaged The Intelligence Community Several Times And Compared Intelligence Officials To Nazis
PolitiFact: There Are “Several Specific Instances” Where Trump “Publicly Disparaged The Intelligence Community.” PolitiFact laid out “several specific instances when” Trump “publicly disparaged the intelligence community.” In the fact check, PolitiFact pointed out that Trump “said that intelligence officials had used Nazi-like tactics against him and belittled the agencies as a whole for their incorrect belief that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction” and that he “also openly doubted their conclusions during the campaign that Russia was trying to interfere with the presidential election.” From the January 22 fact check:
We count several specific instances when he publicly disparaged the intelligence community. [...] Trump’s language took a sharper tone when CNN reported on Jan. 10, 2017, about a file claiming that the Russians had embarrassing personal and financial information on Trump. According to reports, the file had actually been compiled by people working for Trump’s American political opponents and leaked to the press. CNN reported that intelligence officials also received the file and had briefed both Trump and President Barack Obama about its existence. On Jan. 11, Trump tweeted "Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to ‘leak’ into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?" [...] Trump didn’t back down when he was asked about the Nazi comparison at a press conference later that day. "I think it was disgraceful — disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out," he said. "I think it’s a disgrace, and I say that — and I say that, and that’s something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do." Trump also tweeted his suspicions that intelligence officials were behind the leaked file. "Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans - FAKE NEWS! Russia says nothing exists. Probably released by ‘Intelligence’ even knowing there is no proof, and never will be." Throughout the campaign, Trump consistently expressed doubt that Russia had meddled in the election at all. Allegations that Russia had stolen emails off the Democratic National Committee server were circulating by September. [...] National security historian Stephen Walt at Harvard University’s Kennedy School told us no other modern president has attacked the intelligence community in the way Trump has. "Trump went well beyond the norm in this charge and now pretends he didn’t pick a fight with them, even though his remarks are a matter of public record," Walt said. [...] While he did call himself a "big fan" and respected the service of the members of the intelligence community, he also lashed out on several occasions. He said that intelligence officials had used Nazi-like tactics against him and belittled the agencies as a whole for their incorrect belief that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Trump also openly doubted their conclusions during the campaign that Russia was trying to interfere with the presidential election. [PolitiFact, 1/22/17]
Spicer Claimed A Pew Study “Showed 14 Percent Of People Who Voted Were Non-Citizens.” When asked about Trump’s persistent claim that “millions voted illegally” in the 2016 election, Spicer claimed that Trump “does believe that.” Spicer cited a study “that came out of Pew in 2008 that showed 14 percent of people who had voted were non-citizens.” From the January 24 press briefing:
CECILIA VEGA: Does the president believe that millions voted illegally in this election and what evidence do you have of widespread voter fraud in this election, if that’s the case? SEAN SPICER: The president does believe that. He has stated that before. I think he’s stated his concerns of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and he continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence that people have presented to him. VEGA: But exactly what evidence? Speaker Ryan today said there’s no evidence, the National Association of Secretaries of State say that they don’t agree with the president’s assessment.What evidence do you have? [...] SPICER: I think there’s been studies. There’s been one that came out of Pew in 2008 that showed 14 percent of people who had voted were non-citizens. There’s other studies that have been presented to him. It’s a belief he maintains. [White House press briefing, 1/24/17, 1/24/17]
FACT: There’s No Evidence That Millions Voted Illegally
Author Of The Pew Study Spicer Mentioned: “That Report Made No Findings” Concerning Voter Fraud.
[Twitter, 1/24/17, 1/24/17]
NY Times: Officials Found “Next To None” When Searching For Voter Fraud Cases. A New York Times report stated that “the overwhelming consensus” among election officials who “have been adding up how many credible reports of fraud they actually received” is that there were “next to none.” From the December 18 New York Times report:
After all the allegations of rampant voter fraud and claims that millions had voted illegally, the people who supervised the general election last month in states around the nation have been adding up how many credible reports of fraud they actually received. The overwhelming consensus: next to none. In an election in which more than 137.7 million Americans cast ballots, election and law enforcement officials in 26 states and the District of Columbia — Democratic-leaning, Republican-leaning and in-between — said that so far they knew of no credible allegations of fraudulent voting. Officials in another eight states said they knew of only one allegation. [The New York Times, 12/18/16]
Spicer: Trump Is “Very, Very Pleased” With His Overwhelming Electoral College Victory. Spicer claimed during a January 24 press briefing that Trump “won overwhelmingly with 306 electoral votes, the most since any Republican since Reagan.” Spicer added that Trump is “very comfortable with the depth and breadth of the support that he got from the American people:”
SEAN SPICER: He won overwhelmingly with 306 electoral votes, the most since any Republican since Reagan. He's very comfortable with the depth and breadth of the support that he got from the American people and the 33 states that voted for him, the nine of 13 battleground states, the 2,600 counties. He's very, very pleased with that. [White House press briefing, CNBC, 1/24/17]
FACT: GOP President George H.W. Bush Won More Electoral Votes, And Trump’s Electoral College Victory Ranks In Bottom Third In History
H.W. Bush Received 426 Electoral Votes In 1988. Despite Spicer’s claim that Trump won more electoral votes than any Republican candidate since Reagan, “Trump's victory wasn't the largest GOP win since Reagan — George H.W. Bush won 426 electoral votes in 1988,” notes NPR:
THE FACTS: While Trump should have gotten 306 electoral votes according to the state by state results, he in fact will only end up with 304 because two electors in Texas defected when Electoral College voters cast their ballots; Clinton had several defectors, too. And Trump's victory wasn't the largest GOP win since Reagan — George H.W. Bush won 426 electoral votes in 1988. [NPR, 1/29/17]
NY Times: “Trump’s Electoral College Victory Ranks 46th In 58 Elections.” According to a New York Times analysis, “[t]here have been 45 presidential elections [out of 58 total] in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote” than Trump did:
President-elect Donald J. Trump has claimed he won the electoral vote in a “landslide,” but he ranks below most presidents in the electoral vote and popular vote margins. [...]
Mr. Trump won 30 states, gathering 306 of 538 electoral votes. There have been 45 presidential elections in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote. [The New York Times, 12/18/16]
Spicer Claims That Nothing Has Been Changed In Principals Committee List From Previous Administrations. In an effort to defend Stephen Bannon's appointment to the National Security Council Principals Committee, Spicer said that the "language" of the "makeup of the Principals Committee" from 2001 and 2017 are "literally 100 percent the same. 2001 and 2017 are identical." From the January 30 press conference:
SEAN SPICER: In terms of the Principals Committee, as you can see from the various -- language here, and this is, I'll give you 2017 on Principals Committee. This is the Principals Committee in 2017, and this is the 2001 Principals Committee. It is literally 100 percent the same. 2001 and 2017 are identical. So this idea that there's been a change or a downgrade is utter nonsense. [White House press briefing, MSNBC, 1/30/17]
FACT: The 2001 Principals Committee List Did Not Include "A Chief Strategist," Bannon's Current Role
NPR: Having Bannon On The NSC Principals Committee “Is A Departure From Any Past Administration.” An NPR fact check said that Spicer’s claim that “the makeup of the Principals Committee” in 2001 and 2017 were “100 percent identical” was “not true,” writing that Bannon’s appointment to the Principals Committee of the NSC “is a departure from any past administration.” From the January 30 fact check:
Holding up papers with highlighted text, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said little has changed as it relates to the National Security Council between the Trump, Obama and Bush administrations. He thundered of "identical language" between (parts of the) 2017 and 2009 memos organizing the NSC. And he went further when it came to George W. Bush's administration. "The makeup of the Principals Committee from 2017 is exactly as it was in both 2017 as it was in 2001," Spicer boasted, brandishing the texts in both hands. "100 percent identical, except we add the word also." But that's not true. [...] Compared with George W. Bush's, Trump's has far more people in the Principals Committee. The director of national intelligence and the Homeland Security Department did not exist yet. And, of course, there was no "chief strategist" designated on the Principals Committee[.] Bush's initial organizational order forming the NSC (above) designates that the CIA director and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would attend on an as-needed basis. But that was before Sept. 11. "In effect, after 9/11 the practice was they were in almost every meeting," David Rothkopf, CEO and editor of the FP group, which publishes Foreign Policy magazine, told NPR's Scott Horsley. "The structure changed again in the Obama administration. And the big difference between this NSC and past NSCs [is] not really with regard to that particular issue." The bigger issue is Bannon. Having the president's chief strategist designated to be on the Principals Committee is a departure from any past administration. [NPR, 1/30/17]
Spicer: “My Understanding” Is That CNN “Retracted” Their Concerns About Conway’s Credibility. During the February 7 press briefing, Business Insider’s Hunter Walker asked Spicer about CNN “reportedly declin[ing] to interview Kellyanne Conway… because of questions about her credibility.” Spicer claimed that it was his “understanding is [CNN] retracted that, they walked that back, or denied it”:
HUNTER WALKER: CNN reportedly declined to interview Kellyanne Conway on Sunday because of questions about her credibility. Is the White House willing to offer alternative representatives to networks that refuse to work with specific spokespeople? SEAN SPICER: Well, frankly, I think that -- my understanding is they retracted that, they’ve walked that back or denied it, however you want to put it, I don’t care. But I think Kellyanne is a very trusted aide of the president. I think for any characterization otherwise is insulting. I don’t think, if they choose not to work with someone, that's up to them, but I think we're going to continue to put out key leaders of this administration including Kellyanne that can articulate the president's policies and agenda. [White House Press Briefing, 2/7/17]
Fact: The CNN Communications Team Confirmed Via Twitter They Never Retracted Their Comments About Conway’s Credibility
CNN Communications: “CNN Was Clear, On The Record, About Our Concerns About Kellyanne Conway’s Credibility … We Have Not ‘Retracted’ Nor ‘Walked Back’ Those Comments.”
[Twitter, 2/7/17]
LIE 7: Spicer Claimed There Wasn’t Concern With Obama’s Criticism Of The Supreme Court
Spicer: “When President Obama Criticized The Supreme Court For Its Citizens United” Ruling, “There Was No Concern From This Briefing Room.” During the February 9 press briefing, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan asked Spicer about President Trump’s “attacks on the judiciary,” given Judge Neil Gorsuch’s “confirmed remarks” that Trump’s attacks on judges were “disheartening and demoralizing.” Spicer claimed that “when President Obama criticized the Supreme Court for its Citizens United comments in the State of the Union, there wasn't a similar concern about that." Spicer doubled down by stating "When President Obama did it, there was no concern from this briefing room," and suggesting that there is “clearly a double standard” in the media’s criticism of Trump’s comments:
MARGARET BRENNAN: I mean you just said [President Trump] doesn’t regret his past attacks on the judiciary, but now you have these confirmed remarks [from Judge Neil Gorsuch], which you were saying were exactly what the judge was talking about. And that’s not changing the president’s -- SEAN SPICER: No, no. But -- hold on. But, again, I think it's important to understand, the judge was very clear that he was not commenting on any specific matter. Right? And then he was asked about his general philosophy. So you can't then take that, equate it back to the specific. He literally went out of his way to say, “I'm not commenting on a specific instance.” So to take what he said about a generalization and apply it to a specific is exactly what he was intending not to do. BRENNAN: But in order words, the president will continue to speak like this? SPICER: Of course he will. The president’s going to speak his mind. It goes back to Thomas Jefferson that presidents have commented on judicial nominees. I mean the idea of one branch talking about or commenting on another branch is as old as our republic. So, I don't know why -- and I find it interesting when President Obama criticized the Supreme Court for its Citizens United comments in the State of the Union, there wasn't a similar concern about that. [...] I get it, I mean, look, but at some point it seems like there's clearly a double standard when it’s how this is applied. When President Obama did it, there was no concern from this briefing room. When he does it, it's a ton of outrage. So, I just, with all due respect, I think the president’s made very clear that he was concerned about how that executive order in particular, which is what we’re talking about, was applied. [White House Press Briefing, 2/9/17]
Fact: "Trump's Rebuke Was Far More Intense Than Obama's," Which Was Brought Up "At The First White House Press Briefing After The State Of The Union."
Wash. Post: Spicer “Falsely Accused Journalists Of Holding President Trump To A Different Standard Than They Applied To Former President Barack Obama, When It Comes To Criticizing The Judiciary.” The Washington Post’s Callum Borchers debunked Spicer’s claim of a “double standard” in the media’s coverage of Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, noting that not only was “Trump’s rebuke” of the judiciary “far more intense than Obama’s,” but that Obama’s comments about the Citizens United ruling in his 2010 State of the Union address were “dissected at length on cable news,” "covered on the front page," and were brought up "at the first White House press briefing after the State of the Union." According to Borchers, "Once again, Spicer stood before a roomful of journalists and made an assertion that is totally at odds with the facts." From the February 9 article:
White House press secretary Sean Spicer in his daily media briefing on Thursday falsely accused journalists of holding President Trump to a different standard than they applied to former president Barack Obama, when it comes to criticizing the judiciary. [...] Trump's rebuke was far more intense than Obama's. Obama, a lawyer, merely labeled the Supreme Court's decision “wrong” and called on Congress to pass a bill that would reverse it. Trump cast aspersions on Robart's qualifications by referring to him as a “so-called judge” and blamed him for a hypothetical, future terrorist attack. It is one thing for a president to disagree with a ruling, on the merits; it is another to suggest that a “so-called” judge could have blood on his hands. Still, Obama's critique of the Citizens United decision was a big deal — especially because Justice Samuel Alito could be seen on camera shaking his head as Obama spoke. The episode was dissected at length on cable news[.] [...] And at the first White House press briefing after the State of the Union, it, of course, came up[.] [The Washington Post, 2/9/17]
Spicer: Trump’s Travel Ban Has Been A “Country-Focused Issue” “From The Beginning.” During the February 22 press briefing, Los Angeles Times reporter Noah Bierman asked why Trump “decided to back down” on his Muslim ban and instead make it a ban on immigration based on specific countries. Spicer falsely replied, “I think he’s made it very clear … from the beginning that this was a country-focused issue, a safety-focused issue, and that’s why he issued. I don't see anything other than that with reference to that.”
NOAH BIERMAN: When talking about fulfilling [Trump’s] promises, can you explain why he decided to back down from [making his travel ban about Muslim immigration]? SEAN SPICER: I think he's made it very clear, Noah, from the beginning that this was a country-focused issue, a safety-focused issue, and that’s why he issued. I don't see anything other than that with reference to that. [White House press briefing, 2/22/17]
Fact: Trump Initially Proposed A Muslim Ban And Repeatedly Referenced Banning Muslims Throughout The Campaign
Trump’s Original Statement Calling For “A Total And Complete Shutdown Of Muslims Entering The United States” Is Still On His Website. On December 7, 2015, Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.” The statement, titled ”DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON PREVENTING MUSLIM IMMIGRATION,” is still on his website, DonaldJTrump.com. [DonaldJTrump.com, accessed 2/22/17]
Trump Repeatedly Said He Would Ban Muslims Throughout The Campaign. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly declared his intent to ban Muslims from entering the country, publicly discussing banning Muslims at least nine times with media figures. [Media Matters, 2/13/17]
Spicer: “When You Have 12, 14, 15 Million People In The Country Illegally … There Has To Be A System Of Priority.” Spicer gave various estimates throughout the February 21 press conference about the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. While explaining the DHS’ list of priorities for deportation, Spicer first claimed that there are “12, 14, 15 million people in the country illegally.” Later, he suggested there are “13 or 14 million” undocumented immigrants living in the country. The final estimate he offered during that briefing was “13, 14, 15, potentially more, millions of people” in the country illegally. From the February 21 press briefing:
SEAN SPICER: I think this is -- yeah. And this is what I was basically talking to Cecilia about, which is the president's made clear, when you have 12, 14, 15 million people in the country illegally, that there has to be a system of priority, and right now ICE's priority is going to make sure that we focus first and foremost on that. [...] SPICER: When you have 13 or 14 million people that are in the country -- I think it’s one thing to say prioritize people who pose a threat to public safety and go after this individual or that individual or whatever, that is -- there’s no question. You have to have priorities in anything. What do you first, what do you do second, what do you do third. And when you’re talking about 13, 14, 15, potentially more, millions of people in this country, the president needed to give guidance, especially after what they went through in the last administration where there were so many carve-outs that ICE agents and CBP members didn’t -- had to figure out each individual whether or not they fit in a particular category and they can adjudicate that case. [White House Press Briefing, 2/21/17; 2/21/17]
FACT: The Official Estimate Of Undocumented Immigrants In The US Is 11 Million
Wash. Post: “Research From DHS And Independent Research Groups Estimate The Unauthorized Population At Just Over 11 Million, Plus Or Minus 1 Million.” The Washington Post Fact Checker gave Spicer’s claim "three Pinocchios" -- the rating assigned to a statement with "significant factural error and/or obvious contradictions" -- noting that "the official U.S. government estimate" is 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country. The Fact Checker wrote that "Spicer’s statement that there are about 12 million people in the country illegally is safely within the margin of error," but that "once he enters the realm of ‘13, 14, 15 million’ or ‘potentially more,’ his claim becomes problematic.” From the February 23 article:
Spicer’s statement that there are about 12 million people in the country illegally is safely within the margin of error in credible demographics research. But once he enters the realm of “13, 14, 15 million” or “potentially more,” his claim becomes problematic. [...] Research from DHS and independent research groups estimate the unauthorized population at just over 11 million, plus or minus 1 million. The number could be as high as 12 million. Even calculations by the Center for Immigration Studies, which the administration frequently relies on as its source for immigration data, said any estimate of 13 million or more is not credible, given the flows of unauthorized people. Spicer’s claim does not rise to Four Pinocchios, but he would be on factually safer ground sticking to the 12 million figure, rather than some one-off reference made by a since-departed Obama administration official. Even better, since he is the chief spokesman at the White House, Spicer could cite the official U.S. government estimate of 11 million. [The Washington Post, 2/23/17]
Spicer: Fox’s James Rosen “Had His Phones -- Multiple Phones Tapped” During The Obama Administration. In response to a March 8 press briefing question about whether CIA cyber tools were ever used against the American people, Spicer replied claiming that Fox News correspondent James Rosen “had his phones -- multiple phones tapped” during the Obama administration. From the March 8 press briefing:
JOHN ROBERTS: Will you confirm that there's a criminal investigation into this alleged theft of cyber tools from the CIA by WikiLeaks? What can the White House tell us about the situation, particularly the fact that it seems like there's another leak from the intelligence community that’s on the scale of Edward Snowden? And can you assure the American people that none of these tools have ever been used against them? SEAN SPICER: Well, there’s a couple of things in that. Number one, for obvious reasons, it is our policy as a government not to confirm the authenticity of any kind of disclosure or hack. That would be highly inappropriate for us. But all of these occurred under the last administration, that is important. All of these alleged issues. And I think it's interesting to have it asked this way about the damage that could have occurred or what tools could be used in light of what's been going on recently. We’ve had your own network’s correspondent James Rosen had his phones -- multiple phones tapped. Was that appropriate back then? I think there's a lot of concern out there about alleged leaks. [White House Press Briefing, 3/8/17]
FACT: Rosen’s Phones Were Not Wiretapped
CNN: Rosen Himself Debunked The Myth That His Phones Were Wiretapped. CNN reported that Rosen himself “shot down” the myth that his phones were wiretapped while appearing on “Fox & Friends on Sunday after the show’s hosts claimed his phones were tapped.” In reality, Rosen’s emails and phone records were subpoenaed by the Department of Justice after he “received classified information from a former State Department contractor.” From the March 8 article:
White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrongly claimed Wednesday that a Fox News reporter had his phones tapped while Barack Obama was president. [...] That claim, which has been propagating in conservative media for several days, was shot down by none other than Rosen himself during a recent appearance on Fox News. "I was not wiretapped, my parents were not wiretapped, which is where you place a listening device on someone's telephone line and you listen to their conversations," Rosen told Fox & Friends on Sunday after the show's hosts claimed his phones were tapped. Instead, Rosen explained, former Attorney General Eric Holder had secretly designated Rosen a criminal co-conspirator -- because he had received classified information from a former State Department contractor -- thereby giving the government permission to subpoena Rosen's emails and phone records, including those of his parents. When asked to clarify the administration's stance, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told CNNMoney, "There are multiple reports on this matter." [CNN.com, 3/8/17]
Spicer Claimed “Under The Bush Administration, Most Of” The Detainees Released From Gitmo “Were Court Ordered.” During the March 8 White House press briefing, NBC News reporter Chris Jansing asked Spicer to clarify Trump’s false claims that Obama released 122 detainees from Guantanamo Bay. In response, Spicer contrasted the release of detainees under George W. Bush and Obama, saying, “Just to be clear, there is a big difference -- under the Bush administration, most of those were court ordered.” From the March 8 briefing:
CHRIS JANSING: Since you’re talking about whether things are true or not, let me ask you -- following up on something yesterday, you seemed to acknowledge that the President was wrong when he tweeted that 122 prisoners released by the Obama administration from Gitmo had returned to the battlefield. In fact, it was mostly by the Bush administration. Will he retract, or even apologize for that, given that he also called it a “terrible decision” by the Obama administration, and given that that was incorrect? That there still has been no proof either of his tweets about widespread voter fraud or the wiretapping? Does the President have a credibility problem? SEAN SPICER: No, look, I said yesterday -- I think Trey asked the question -- that the President meant the total number of people. JANSING: But he said the Obama administration. SPICER: I understand that, I’m actually explaining it. That’s why you asked the question. He meant that the total number of people released from Gitmo was 122. What the President -- but just to be clear, there’s a big difference -- under the Bush administration, most of those were court ordered. The Obama administration took great steps -- they talked about -- it was a campaign promise, frankly, from day one to close Gitmo. This President is very clear that he understands the nature of the threat that the people in Gitmo pose to our nation, and the recidivism rate that there are among people that we have released. [The White House, 3/8/17]
FACT: Less Than A Dozen Of the 532 Detainees Released Under Bush Were Court-Ordered
FactCheck.org: “Less Than A Dozen” Detainees Who Were Transferred Or Released Under Bush “Were Court Ordered.” FactCheck.org corrected Spicer’s false claim, quoting a Bush-era National Security Council legal adviser who said, “Only a handful of Guantanamo detainees were released during the Bush Administration pursuant to court order.” From the March 9 fact check:
While correcting President Donald Trump’s tweet about Guantanamo Bay detainees who have returned to the battlefield, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer incorrectly claimed that in contrast to the detainees transferred or released by the Obama administration, “under the Bush administration, most of those were court ordered.” The Bush administration released or transferred 532 Gitmo detainees, and less than a dozen were court ordered. Spicer’s false narrative came while correcting incorrect information tweeted out by President Trump on March 7. [...] John B. Bellinger III, a National Security Council legal adviser in Bush’s first term and a legal adviser to the State Department in Bush’s second term, said Spicer’s claim that under Bush most detainees were released due to a court order is simply incorrect. “Only a handful of Guantanamo detainees were released during the Bush Administration pursuant to court order,” Bellinger told us in an email. [FactCheck.org, 3/9/27]
Spicer: Secretary Tillerson’s Plane Can’t Accommodate Reporters Because “There’s An Element Of Cost-Savings At This Point That The Secretary Is Trying To Achieve.” CBS News’ Margaret Brennan asked Spicer during the March 10 press briefing if the White House “sign[ed] off” on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s plan to travel to Asia without the press. Spicer told Brennan that members of the press corps would be “traveling commercially” and that the reason the plane couldn’t accommodate reporters was because of “the size of the plane” and because “there’s an element of cost-savings at this point that the secretary is trying to achieve.” From the March 10 press briefing:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Did the White House sign off on Secretary [Rex] Tillerson’s decision not to take the press with him on what should be an important trip to Asia -- the growing North Korean threat -- And what are his marching orders? You talked a lot about the flexibility the president has given to his generals. What flexibility has he given for diplomatic initiatives to his secretary of state? SEAN SPICER: As I mentioned at the beginning, the president was having lunch with Secretary Tillerson. I know that the trip was one of the topics of discussion, and so I will try to follow up with that |
all VR now.
So there are some updates on VR that we need to integrate in. It’s a little more complicated because we’ve changed the engine so much, we’ve changed the rendering pipeline to enable us to do a lot of things that we need to do so it’s not very easy. Nowadays we’ve diverged from CryEngine where we don’t take regular updates from them any more although we will cherry pick certain features that maybe we’re not working on that we think would help out well and VR is a good example of that.
So it’s really just a matter of getting some engineering time in the Frankfurt team. The Frankfurt team… [includes many of] the guys that originally did the VR work at Crytek so they know it pretty well but I would be expecting it to get up to speed with the most recent [VR] stuff sometime early next year.
Roberts further says that the goal is to support all major VR headsets. With Crytek’s growing focus on VR for CryEngine and now more than $100 million raised in on-going crowdfunding efforts for Star Citizen, it certainly seems like they should be able to deliver. The real question is the timeline… with the Rift set to launch in Q1 2016, it’s unclear if VR support for the title will be ready by the time the first headsets hit consumers.(21 votes, average: 4.57 out of 5)
votes, average:out of 5)
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This article by Wayne Purdin examines how the pineal and other endocrine glands secrete other hormones during sungazing, which create not just a high, but greater energy, longevity and experiences of samadhi or higher consciousness.
Endocrine Secretions During Sungazing
by Wayne Purdin
In the last issue of The Sun Gazette, the article “Imbibe Sunshine for a Natural High” examined how sungazing and sunbathing cause the secretion of “feel good” hormones serotonin beta-endorphins, and dopamine. This article will examine how the pineal and other endocrine glands secrete other hormones during sungazing, which create not just a high, but greater energy, longevity and experiences of samadhi or higher consciousness.
There’s more to the pineal gland than what meets the eye, or, I should say, optic nerve. The effect of sunlight on the pineal is something that needs to be researched more. It is already one of the most researched glands of the body. Scientists know that bright light stimulates the production of seratonin and melatonin in the pineal, but there are other neurochemicals produced by the pineal that have more profound effects than just the mood, sleep, reproductive and body temperature effects of serotonin and melatonin.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, including Dr. George C. Brenard, a leading authority on the pineal gland, observed sun yogi HRM for 130 days in 2002. They found that his pineal exhibited growth and reactivation. The average size of the pineal is 6×6 mm, but in HRM’s case it was 8×11 mm.
Scientists refer to the pineal gland as the “atrophied third eye.” Indeed, it, along with the pituitary, is the third eye chakra or energy center, but they’re just dormant, not atrophied. According to Max Heindel’s Rosicrucian writings, in the distant past, man was in touch with the inner worlds through an activated pineal and pitutary gland. Considered the most powerful and highest source of ethereal energy available to humans, the third eye has always been important in initiating psychic powers (e.g. clairvoyance and seeing auras).
To activate the ‘third eye’ and perceive higher dimensions, the pineal and the pituitary must vibrate in unison, which is achieved through meditation or sungazing. When a correct relationship is established between the personality, operating through the pituitary, and the soul, operating through the pineal, a magnetic field is created. The pineal can generate its own magnetic field because it contains magnetite. This field can interact with the earth’s magnetic field. The solar wind at dawn, charging the earth’s magnetic field, stimulates the pineal gland. This is why the period between 4 and 6 am is the best time to meditate and why sunrise is the best time to sungaze. At these times, the pineal stimulates the pituary to secrete Human Growth Hormone. That’s why sungazers experience rapid nail and hair growth, restoration of hair color, and general rejuvenation. Cleopatra used to place a magnet on her forehead to stimulate the pituitary to restore her youth and good looks. She didn’t know she already had a magnet in her head. Also at dawn, the negative and positive forces interact and become strong enough to create a “light in the head” while meditating.
This light has been seen by mystics, initiates, prophets and shamans throughout the ages, and they refer to it as the experience of God or of a universal intelligence. Many cultures and mystics have induced this experience through the use of hallucinogenic substances, such as soma, mushrooms, Mescalin, and LSD. However, these experiences tend to be short-lived and require repeated usage to re-live the experience. Most mystics agree that natural methods, such as intense meditation, visualization, deep-breathing, chanting and sungazing combined with physical purification are the best way to induce third eye activation and can have life-transforming effects.
Drugs and certain yogic techniques can force the pineal open prematurely before the mind is ready for psychic powers, and this can lead to psychosis. Sungazing, if done correctly, gradually awakens the pineal, along with the pituitary so that the person is not shocked by experiences of higher consciousness, and these experiences are not colored by negative images in the mind.
The use of mantras and chanting can also gradually awaken the pineal because it sits above the mouth suspended in the third ventrical, a chamber filled with cerebrospinal fluid, what some esotericists have called “the grail.” Its location above the mouth in a fluid chamber makes the pineal gland quite uniquely positioned to respond to sonic vibrations. Manly P. Hall, in The Opening of the Third Eye stated that the pineal gland “vibrating at a very high rate of speed, is the actual cause of true spiritual illumination.” The pineal governs energy level. Thus, the more it is stimulated, the higher a person’s energy level. Monks at a monastery in France were told by a new abbot to stop chanting. The found that they no longer were able to get up before dawn to work in the fields after only a few hours of sleep. When chanting was restored, so was their energy. You can find chanting and singing practices in many cultures that activate the third eye. Take, for example, this quote from The Dialogues of Kabir, “In the center between the two eyes is the seat of eternal music, the music of the spheres. One who practices this sound principle gains entry into this kingdom.” And a more recent teaching from Sri Chinmoy states that “There are quite a few mantras that also help in opening the third eye. The Gayatri Mantra, for example, helps in opening the third eye, for it invokes the infinite knowledge, wisdom and light.” Sun yogis usually recite the Gayatri mantra while sungazing. The last line of this mantra can be translated as “May it [the sun] activate the brain.” Jonathan Goldman in Tantra of Sound wrote that “Sound can act like a psychoactive substance, altering and enhancing consciousness.” Perhaps this is because certain sounds can stimulate the production of psychoactive substances in the pineal.
Dr. Rick Strassman, who conducted research at the University of New Mexico from 1990 to 1995 on the effects of the psychoactive drug Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), suggested that the pineal gland is involved in DMT production, because the precursors and enzymes necessary for its formation are quite high in the pineal. He says DMT may be released from the pineal during dreams, near-death, death, birth, and during meditation and mystical experiences. Near death experiences are identical to DMT trips. HRM says that at the moment of death, the pineal gland collapses, releasing all it’s peptide contents. I propose that during sungazing, meditation, or chanting, the pineal secretes not only DMT, but other peptides as well that have psychoactive effects. The mixture of these secretions has been called various names: nectar of the gods, ambrosia, the living water, and amrita. It is said that to experience amrita is to be bestowed with immortality, that is, to be freed from the cycle of birth and death…hence liberated. The term Amrita is Sanskrit for “elixir of immortality,” it literally means “deathlessness”. This has obvious parallels to “ambrosia” the name of the classical Greek “food of the gods” which means “no death.”
During sungazing or in deep meditation, this nectar is produced, fills the grail chamber and drips down the back of the throat. David must have experienced this when he wrote in Psalm 23:5 “thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Related phenomena are an intensely sweet taste and the brilliant inner light. Its taste is described as nectar, honey, gold dust, euphoric, ecstatic, intoxicating and gives the feeling of being imbued with holiness. People report that it usually is secreted while practicing the Khedari Mudra (tongue upward on palate).
The following is the account of an initial amrita experience by a sungazer, Lillie, who had been sungazing up to 23 minutes: “I have had an awesome experience 10 or 12 times that I have not yet read about. This will happen most often in the morning. I will get this taste in my mouth that will last anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. It is the most wonderful taste I have ever experienced! I can assure you that there is NOTHING to describe what may be similar, or at least nothing I have ever tasted. It is just so divine I find myself getting lost in it, and wanting it to never go away. I don’t know if there’s any connection, but I now have less anxiety, and much better eating habits. Also, I can strongly feel others’ emotions before they even look at me and I have begun to see colored auras on people and animals.”
After reading about amrita and continuing sungazing for three more months, this is Lillie’s update: “The amrita has not become more often, but it lasts longer (the longest being almost three hours now). My emotions during amrita are extreme joy and happiness. The taste is still so amazing it takes my breath away. The only way I can describe even a hint of the taste is like a milk-sugar-nutty, and that’s still not even close! If I’m not at work or in the public and can find a quiet place, the taste seems much stronger.
I have energy surges that seem pretty powerful. Not nervous energy, but like a blissful energy. Kind of like when I was a happy child. I believe it stems from sungazing and meditation. I meditate twice a day. While sungazing, I do a light meditation that consists of expressing gratitude for everything. At night, I meditate on colored balls of light before going to sleep. I do deep breathing before sungazing and walk barefoot for 15 minutes afterwards. When I eat just a little fruit or nothing in a day is when I usually notice the blissful energy. I truly am more loving and grateful since I started sungazing. I now get by on five hours of sleep instead of eight. I used to be a light smoker. My cravings went away at only 7 minutes of sungazing [after about two months]. I mean they completely went away. It’s like I never smoked, and I’m amazed that I ever did that. Being able to see auras is still pretty mild. I usually can see it on an angry person, and it’s kind of like pulsating shades of reds and oranges from the head and chest area. I can see other colors on occasion when I am paying close attention. (I also can see mostly blue and white on my dogs). As far as feeling and knowing other emotions, this has become very powerful, almost to the point of frightening me on occasions. Sometimes I think I can almost physically feel the emotions of others.”
I have not been blissed out to the extent that Lillie has, nor have I experienced any indescribable taste in my mouth. However, I have experienced sensations of bliss during and after sungazing, also feel more love and gratitude, and am more sensitive to the feelings of others. I suppose that amrita is being produced and collected in the grail during sungazing, but not to the extent that it overflows down the back of my throat. It is nonetheless, being transported through the gland ducts to the blood and lymph and throughout my body.
To get back to the biochemistry of amrita, DMT increases all pituitary homones and beta-endorphins, vasopressin, prolactin, Growth Hormone, and corticotrophrin (cortisol). It is possible that a DMT-induced surge of beta-endorphins creates the euphoria of an amrita experience. Serotonin receptors are activated by DMT and serotonin receptors regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, pupil diameter. Apparently DMT is a small molecule not much larger than glucose and Strassman says that it is like brainfood that is rapidly transported across the blood brain barrier.
As far as the primary active ingredient of amrita goes, besides the opiates which give a profound analgesic effect, the “wakefulness” chemical is probably a phenethylamin similar to Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethyla-mine). Our bodies can convert the amino acid phenylalanine to tyrosine and phenethylamine. Mescaline made from the peyote cactus is one of the oldest psychedelics known to man and is used in spiritual ceremonies. Curiously it can produce a bright internal light. Tyrosine is also a precursor to the excitatory neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine. The “wakefulness” chemical could also be a tryptamine that the body produces, perhaps similar to 5-MeO/DMT. The essential amino acid tryptophan is the precursor for tryptamine, which is slightly psychedelic. Tryptamine is a naturally occurring compound found in both the animal and plant kingdoms. Tryptamine and LSD have a common mode of action.
Research will probably find that many secretions from about five different organs including the pineal and pituitary may contribute to the mixture. Thus, the production of amrita may be a joint effort of the circumventricular organs secreting into the cerebro-spinal fluid of the grail. High levels of opiates, oxytocin, vasopressin, phenethylamine and tryptamine would render the individual into the extreme heart expanding unitive experience of Samadhi or Cosmic Consciousness.
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/isisaz/
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Tags: aging, amrit, amrita, brain, chakras, Dimethyltryptamine, DMT, Dr. Rick Strassman, glands, Hira Ratan Manek, hormones, HRM, immortality, Jonathan Goldman, Kabir, lighting, Manly P. Hall, mantra, melatonin, mind, mood, news, Research, Rosicrucian, samadhi, sleep, Soul, Sun Gazing, sun yoga, sunbathing, sunlight, technique, water, Wayne PurdinTottenham to offer £14m for Sevilla's Alberto Moreno with Roberto Soldado on loan as part of deal
Spurs join race for left-back with Liverpool and Chelsea also interested
Flop striker Soldado offered to Sevilla on season-long loan
Reds lead chase thanks to offer of Champions League football
Moreno part of Spain's provisional World Cup squad, but cut from final 23
Tottenham have hijacked Liverpool's move for Sevilla left back Alberto Moreno by tabling a £14million offer plus Roberto Soldado on loan and including midfielder Etienne Capoue.
Moreno is one of the hottest properties in Spain at the moment and has attracted interest among England's elite including Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Anfield club were thought to be leading the race to sign the exciting 21-year-old. But new Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino wants to make Moreno his first summer signing and has given the green light to the lucrative offer.
VIDEO Scroll down for Pile on! Alberto Moreno celebrates with Spain team-mates in training
Things are hotting up: Roberto Soldado, pictured on holiday in Ibiza, could be used in a swap deal
Sea change: Soldado was bought by Spurs for £26m last summer but now will be used as a makeweight in the deal for Sevilla full back Alberto Moreno
Premier League bound? Tottenham have joined the race for Alberto Moreno (right)
Attracting attention: Moreno's (left) performances for Sevilla have also alerted Chelsea and Liverpool
Cut: Moreno (back) is a Spain international but narrowly missed out on their World Cup squad
Pochettino has made the capture of a new left-back a top summer priority and will now go toe-to-toe with Brendan Rodgers to get his man.
Liverpool have offered £20m for the defender, but Sevilla value Moreno at £25m.
However the Reds are still favourites to land Moreno due to their participation in next season's Champions League.
It remains unclear what Sevilla's response to Spurs' offer has been, but the Spanish club will hope for a bidding war between Liverpool and Tottenham in the coming days.
Future potential: Moreno has three caps for Spain at just 21-years-old
Anguish: Roberto Soldado has been offered to Sevilla on loan as part of the deal having scored just two Premier League goals from open play in his first season at Tottenham
Frustration: Soldado joined Spurs in a £26million move from Valencia but struggled to adapt to the first team
They have also thrown in Capoue, who cost £8million, but will move to Seville for nothing, although Spurs retain 50 per cent of his re-sale fee.
Interestingly, Tottenham's decision to include Soldado as part of the deal raises serious question marks over the striker's future at White Hart Lane.
The forward arrived from Valencia last summer with the reputation of being a prolific goalscorer, but failed to live up to his billing as he struggled for goals in his first season.
And it now looks like he has been deemed surplus to requirements by Pochettino.
Sweeping changes: Mauricio Pochettino is preparing for his first season as Spurs boss after resigning from SouthamptonImage caption Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn appear in the same TV specials, but not at the same time
The major broadcasters are offering additional programmes with under a week left in the general election campaign.
On Friday it's the Question Time leaders' special with Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May answering questions from an audience in York on BBC One.
The Lib Dems' Tim Farron and the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon take part in another Question Time special on Sunday.
They are in addition to a traditional Question Time that was staged on Thursday from East Barnet, London.
On Sunday evening the leaders of UKIP and the Green Party will take part in a programme called Election Questions with Paul Nuttall and Jonathan Bartley, hosted by Jo Coburn, followed by a separate Election Questions with Leanne Wood, featuring the Plaid Cymru leader, also on BBC One.
Viewers in Wales will see the same programmes but in reverse order.
Friday's Question Time special will be the last big set-piece programme featuring the Conservative and Labour leaders before the country goes to the polls on 8 June.
And the last major pre-election broadcast will be The Newsbeat Youth debate in Manchester on 6 June with an audience of 16 to 34-year-olds. That will air on BBC Radio 1, BBC News Channel and BBC One.
On Monday evening, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn separately faced Jeremy Paxman and an audience for 45 minutes each, in a joint programme between Channel Four and Sky News.
And on Wednesday, Labour's Mr Corbyn appeared along with the Plaid, Green, UKIP and Lib Dem leaders, the SNP's Angus Robertson and Conservative Amber Rudd in a live leaders debate on BBC One.
Andrew Neil has been conducting a series of five interviews with party leaders. Those with Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have already aired, but can still be viewed on iPlayer.
He interviewed Nicola Sturgeon on Sunday, Paul Nuttall on Monday, with Tim Farron the last to be grilled by him on Thursday.
Jeremy Corbyn was interviewed by BBC1's One Show on Tuesday, 30 May, following Theresa May's appearance on the show alongside her husband, Philip, on 9 May.
As well as these additional programmes, the Daily Politics has returned after the bank holiday and will run every weekday at 12:00 on BBC2, Andrew Neil presents This Week on Thursday from 23:45 and Sunday Politics from 11:00 next weekend, with Newsnight on weeknights from 22:30, and Radio 4's Any Questions from 20:00 on Friday.
The latest line-up for extra election programmes:
Sun 28 May, 18:00: Andrew Neil interview with Nicola Sturgeon (BBC1)
Mon 29 May, 19:30: Andrew Neil interview with Paul Nuttall (BBC1)
Mon 29 May, 20:30: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn (Sky News and Channel 4)
Tues 30 May, 19:00: Jeremy Corbyn interview on BBC1 One Show
Tues 30 May, 20:30: BBC Wales Leaders' Debate (BBC 1 Wales and BBC News channel)
Wed 31 May, 1930: BBC debate with key figures from seven parties (BBC1)
Thu 1 June 19:00: Andrew Neil interview with Tim Farron (BBC1)
Fri 2 June, 20:30: Question Time with Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn (BBC1)
Sun 4 June, 18:00: Question Time with Nicola Sturgeon and Tim Farron (BBC1)
Sun 4 June, 22:35: Election Questions with Paul Nuttall and Jonathan Bartley (BBC1 England, 22:05 in Wales)
Sun 4 June, 23:35: Election Questions with Leanne Wood (BBC1 England, 22:35 in Wales)
Tue 6 June, 2030: BBC Newsbeat youth debate (Radio 1 and News Channel, later on BBC1)
Thu 8 June, 2155: Rolling coverage for results on BBC1 and News Channel through the evening and across Friday
Fri 9 June, 2100: Additional Question TimeAlamo BBQ Alamo Pork Cuban: Our Zagat-acclaimed creation is a twist on tradition. We place a hearty portion of our award-winning pulled pork BBQ in a freshly baked bun, along with a flavorful combination of pickles, onions, cheddar jack cheese, Sriracha, jalapenos, and mustard. Then it’s pressed to toasty perfection. $6 2202 Jefferson Ave. • 592-3138
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Graduate Richmond
Fried Byrd Sandwich: Crispy fried chicken breast, smoky Sriracha aioli, purple cabbage slaw, house made B&B pickles, served on a Flour Garden potato bun. $6
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Brookfield Café in Lobby: Mon-Sun 11am-10pm
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Greenleaf’s Pool Room Porchetta: With pickled fennel slaw and paprika aioli on Antbear Bakery ciabattini. $6. 100 N. 6th St. • 303-7102
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Liberty Public House
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Metro Bar & Grill
Pork Schnitzel: With arugula, red cabbage, pickled red onion and pickled mustard seed on toasted hoagie roll. $6
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The Boulevard: Medium-rare roast beef sliced thin and piled high on a Kaiser roll with pickled red onion, feta cheese, mixed greens and roasted garlic aioli. $6
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Potbelly Sandwich Shop
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Union Market
Five-Mile Tomato Sandwich: Local heirloom tomatoes and zesty greens from our neighbor The Community Food Collaborative*, Duke’s Mayo, and salt and pepper on Lyon Bakery multigrain bread. Vegan option available. $5
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Wood & Iron
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Mon-Thurs 11am-12am; Fri-Sat 11am-2am; Sun 11am-11pmThe shake-up at Fox News is also potentially problematic for Ryan: Eric Bolling, who is as big a Trump cheerleader as Sean Hannity, is getting his very own show at 5 p.m. starting next week, as "The Five" moves into the 9 p.m. hour. During Trump's transition, Eric was reportedly in the mix for a top job at the Commerce Department. Most important, though, he's been an on-air critic of PDR. He blamed the failure of the AHCA last month on the speaker, who he named as one leader of "the establishment, old-school Republicans in D.C." As the Post's Callum Borchers reported, Bolling then insisted that the failure of the bill — which the president aggressively pushed for — was actually "a win for Donald Trump" by the nature of being a loss for the establishment. Bolling is coming out in June with a book called, The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It.David Gergen is a pendulum that swings both ways.
Earlier today, after President Donald Trump‘s two hour plus meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Gergen bit the lyrics of CNN co-hort Van Jones by stating that Trump “seemed presidential today.”
Perhaps he was looking at the hell he caught on the Mediaite Twitter timeline as a result of that statment, or maybe his takes are just more nuanced that the average cable news pundit, but later today he seemed to hedge a bit on his previous assessment, when he told John Berman “this is the first time I’ve seen a president come to the G20 meeting in which he’s no longer regarded as the leader, no longer regarded as the world leader.”
To be fair, he prefaced his comment with perfunctory plaudits towards a President Trump who seemed to outperform Gergen’s very low expectations…but if Gergen’s plan was to play it both sides? This comment (coupled wth his earlier “presidential” declaration) seemed to work perfectly.
Watch the clip above, courtesy of CNN.
[image via screengrab]
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comThe Animal Rescue Site
When you hear about dogs getting into a fight, we must remember there is a difference between dogs fighting and dogs arguing.
We know what you were picturing when you read “fight.” Something with growling, teeth, and wrestling on the ground. But that is definitely not the type of fighting we’re talking about here!
Just like humans, sometimes when two dogs are together, they instantly know they will be friends and become best buddies. Sometimes it takes a while for the two to get to know each other, but soon they become friends. Well, I think these dogs are like an old married couple: they know each other, they like each other, they even love each other. But they bicker QUITE A BIT!
Could you help us translate what these precious pooches are saying? Mischka and her pal Laika are in the middle of a heated debate. We really don’t know who started the debate and who is winning the argument, but we do know this is hard to NOT laugh at.
We think these two need to have their own comedy show on TV, don’t you?MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government have been shelling and carrying out air strikes on the centre of Sirte city in a siege of Islamic State militants there, an official said on Tuesday.
Militants defending Islamic State’s last stronghold in Libya have been keeping Libyan forces back with sniper fire and mortars in Sirte where they are now surrounded after a two month campaign to take the city.
The fall of Sirte would be a major blow to Islamic State, which took over the city a year ago in the chaos of a civil war between rival factions who once battled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
“Our forces have...targeted militants with artillery and air force around Ouagadougou complex, Ghiza Asskariya district, and in the city centre,” said Rida Issa, spokesman for Misrata forces fighting in Sirte.
“They have targeted Islamic State members, vehicles, ammunition stores, and control rooms.”
He said one Misrata fighter was killed and 20 others wounded in a mortar strike on their position in the Zaafran frontline, near the roundabout where Islamic State once crucified victims.
The bodies of around 13 Islamic State fighters were found, but Misrata forces were driven back by sniper fire.
Western powers are backing Prime Minister Fayaz Seraj’s government that moved into Tripoli three months ago in an attempt to unify two rival governments and various armed factions. Seraj is working with a unified National Oil Corporation to restart the oil industry.
But while powerful brigades from Misrata city support Seraj for now and lead the fight to liberate Sirte, other hardliners to the east are still opposing him and his government has made little progress in extending its influence.
After a rapid success in driving Islamic State back from a coastal strip of territory it controlled, the battle for Sirte has slowed to street-by-street fighting as Misrata forces clear out residential areas.
Misrata commanders say a few hundreds militants are dug in around the Ouagadougou complex, the university and a city hospital. They are cautious of advancing rapidly after more than 200 fighters died in the campaign so far.
While forces from the city of Misrata are fighting Islamic State in Sirte, rival brigades allied to Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army are fighting to the east on another front in Benghazi and around another eastern town. Haftar’s hardline backers reject Seraj’s government.September has been a doozy for Ivanka Trump.
From interrupting meetings, to needing a grown-up's permission to talk to her dad, to the revelation that she used a private email to conduct government business, this has been a bad few weeks for the first daughter. September's not even over, but here's a roundup of the 35-year-old's very bad month:
GettyImages-825618584 More
Reuters
Trending: Moms Reward John McCain With Cupcakes for Crushing Republican Health Care Efforts
Busting up a party in the Oval Office
Trump interrupted a key meeting between her father and bipartisan lawmakers focusing on raising the debt ceiling.
"Toward the end of the meeting Ivanka Trump entered the Oval Office to ‘say hello’ and the meeting careened off topic," a Democratic aide said, NBC News reported Sept. 6. "Republican leaders were visibly annoyed by Ivanka’s presence."
Related: Here's How Donald Trump Could Actually Be Impeached
The first daughter was supposedly meant to enter the meeting and pitch her child care plan. More on that later.
How about those emails?
Trump began emailing the heads of major organizations like the United States Small Business Administration, asking to work with them and “explore opportunities to collaborate” after her father won the election—all the while using a private email account. The emails were obtained by the non-profit American Oversight and shared exclusively with Newsweek.
Don't miss: Will Virtual Reality Save Movie Theaters? AMC Makes Big Investment in Struggling Industry
"Yet again we see that there’s one rule for the Trump family and another for everyone else," American Oversight's Executive Director Austin Evers said Monday. "It’s simply breathtaking that both Ivanka and Jared Kushner would conduct government [work] on a personal email account after running a campaign centered on that very issue. The fact that they would brazenly ignore rules governing email use raises even more questions about their judgment and fitness to hold positions in the White House."
It's even more ironic, given that the Trump campaign made a major issue of Hillary Clinton's use of private email during her time as Secretary of State. This week, Clinton slammed Trump's use of non-government email as the "height of hypocrisy."
Failure to launch child care
The first daughter’s child care plan would provide thousands of dollars in additional support to some of the nation’s wealthiest mothers, while working class families see as little as $5.55 extra annually, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress. The initiative is seemingly dead on arrival, despite pleading with her father to work on the legislation since before his election. “Daddy, daddy, we have to do this,” the president recalled her saying during an Iowa rally last year.
Her failure has provided Democrats an opportunity to live up to their "Better Deals" platform, unveiling the Child Care for Working Families Act on Sept. 14.
"Instead of helping the one percent in this country with a new child care tax cut as some in the Trump administration are pushing," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "Democrats are offering a better deal on the high cost of child care for working families, families in the middle and those trying to get to the middle, who need |
very niche.
Her HP is kinda inconvenient to play against due to it being 250, so it’s good in that sense, but she does not allow the ability to burst down heroes, and so she’s hard to fit in a lineup where you can excel of closing out 1 or 2 heroes.
She can be played very well, just give it some time. Top teams have already been experimenting with her on primarily first point defenses.
How would you personally rank the viability of the different tanks and furthermore, what are their specialaties, what do they counter and how do you use them efficiently?
The current tanks in Overwatch are just considered tanks because of their big HP pool compared to other heroes in the game, but in truth they’re all very different from each other in how they’re supposed to be played, and thus they almost deserve 3 sub-categories.
Splitting these tanks up I’d have Roadhog & Zarya as off-tanks, Reinhardt as main tank, and then Winston and D.Va as flanking tanks.
It might sound odd, but let me explain.
Reinhardt is your baseline tank that protects all your teammates from enemies using this massive shield that can be hard to deal with in matchmaking, and he’s by far the best at his job, thus considered by me as the main tank. On almost 90% of the maps you can’t go wrong with a Reinhardt pick.
Then you have heroes like Roadhog and Zarya, that do well to be in the frontline to take damage due to their survivability, and in a way, they’re protecting their teammates, but not in the same way a Reinhardt does.
And finally you have Winston and D.Va. Winston can very well be used as a frontliner that places his shield and beats down anyone that comes close, but in competitive play both these heroes shine when they’re used to jump on the back-line, primarily heroes such as Widowmaker, or Mercy and Zenyatta.
After the chaos has begun, Winston then has a lot of mobility to get around and zap anyone down that is relatively weak in the enemy team, but he’s not seen in the frontline as much as the 3 other tanks I listed if used correctly. A smart way to deal with damage dealers is to place your shield, and then continously walk in and out of your shield to make sure you can attack your target, but there’s always one layer of the shield between you and your enemy, it becomes almost like a dance with your enemy (don’t forget the shield is also great to block McCree’s flash).
I’d say all tanks are viable, and you should never shy away from picking any of the tanks, although Winston is used a bit more than D.Va due to him getting around faster and his bubble is in general a bit better than D.Va’s defense matrix. However, if you’re having trouble dealing with a Bastion, the best tank, is probably D.Va in my personal opinion.
Thanks for your writeup. I love D.Va and in these pubs you can still get dem plays with her ult.
I love D.Va! And I’d love to play more of her, but unfortunately my beloved Reinhardt and Winston are simply too strong!
When it comes to maps, what are some things that affect the tanks that should be kept in mind?
There’s not a bunch of things to consider when it comes to maps really.
If you’re struggling to get through a choke point, consider swapping to a Reinhardt and have a Lucio speed-boost you and the team through it together. Easy counter to say Junkrat, and works on a majority of the maps.
If you’re playing a map with a lot of vertical ground such as Gibraltar, Winston is very useful!
Finally, if you’re playing defense and don’t feel like a Reinhardt, consider a Roadhog as he’s effective in preventing the enemy team to move forward onto a point.
I’m curious as to the roles that need to be filled in pro teams. I’m a mostly aggressive player going with the Pharah, Mcree, Widow, and D.va as my main heros so it’s curious to me how I should be contributing to the team (perhaps beyond just the killing haha). This game may just become a goal for me especially if the Esports scene really takes off, I want to try all I can to make it up. What should I be doing to try and improve and any specific things I should be looking for or studying about my play?
As a side note I know Pharah is strong and a meta pick, what role does she fill and when should she be picked? (just a general idea, curiosity sake)
In competitive you usually structure your team according to 1 Main Tank, 1 Flex Player, 2 offensive players and 2 support players. You sound sort of as a flex player, playing Widow, Pharah and D.Va.
The hardest and most important part of succeeding is playing off your teammates actions.
Even if you’re not necessarily in group with someone, try to understand what someone is trying to do and play off it. If someone gets a pick, try to utilize that situation and make something happen, and then do the same back and setup plays for your teammates. Sometimes they won’t understand or know what you’re trying to do, but it’s important to try.
Try to look at the enemy composition a lot and figure out why they’re winning. What heroes has the most impact in their team, and how should you go by shutting them down?
As to Pharah, she’s a really strong pick but fairly easy to counter, and so she’s hard to manoeuvre. Primarily you’d play her when the enemy team doesn’t have a sniper or a Zenyatta or a lot of hitscan heroes, and you can freely just fly in the air and shoot at people, dealing tons of damage.
Try to play her alongside a Mercy :)
What is the best hero to carry teams at lower levels?
I know in higher levels, you have to adapt to the enemy etc, but, in lower levels, people hardly change heroes and they dont really use strategies
The easiest heroes would probably be Zarya or McCree. They can deal out tons of damage while having the skillset to get-away or take down threats easily.
Before, a lot of people would have argued Tracer or Genji, but it’s really hard to make a lot of things happen by yourself on those heroes if your team can’t play off your picks.
A hero like Widowmaker is also very good at carrying, but her skillset doesn’t necessarily allow your to carry games, it’s more about hitting your shots the best you can.
I mainly play support heroes. I am struggling to find the situations when symmetra and zenyatta are the optimal choice. From your perspective, is there any situation where they you want one of them to be your ( only ) support hero? If yes, when?
Symmetra and Zenyatta are undoubtely inferior supports compared to Lucio and Mercy, but they still have their small niche.
To begin, let me explain why people pick so much Lucio and Mercy. Lucio does not only have a good ult, but his speed-boost is simply so good for controlling the “flow” of the game. With his speed-boost you can as a team decide when you want to easily engage into the enemy team, or even disengage when you want to bait the enemy team into a bad position, and then take the fight when you’re in a better spot. This does not really apply as much in matchmaking as it’s not as organized, but the speed still helps you a great deal in picking off heroes that over-extend and are caught in the open.
Mercy is just good in general with her healing per second, but her ultimate is the game-changer. A team can theoretically wipe five members of the enemy team using 3–4 ultimates, and Mercy can come in by herself and nullify all of it, it creates big tempo-swings and can save a team so many times, over and over.
Zenyatta is still a great support, but he’s a big harder to make use of as efficiently. His low HP and lack of mobility makes him pretty easy to pick off, but if the enemy team doesn’t have any flanking heroes or heroes that can reach him quickly, he can deal tons of damage, especially with his Discord orb. His healing orb also allows you to heal very mobile in your team, such as Tracer, Genji and Pharah, without much hassle.
When playing Zenyatta, try to stay further back than your back-line, literally as far away as you can while being able to apply orbs to enemies and teammates, and when you’ve charged up your ultimate you can group up with your teammates and use it very effectively.
The key to playing Zenyatta is knowing your limits and not dying, sometimes you’ll just have those games when you get picked of repeatedly by annoying heroes, and there’s just nothing you can do about it, but don’t be discouraged! Learn to identify the situations in where it’s safe to pick a Zenyatta, and practice from there.
Symmetra stands out a lot from the other supports in that she doesn’t have a heal ability. Her shields just aren’t powerful enough to make up for it, even though the small HP can do a lot for a Tracer and Zenyatta whose base HP is already very low.
Playing Symmetra to the best of her ability is utilizing her when you have a long way to run from spawn to the point. First point defenses on maps like King’s Row, Route 66, Numbani, Hollywood or Dorado. Then make sure you have 6 turrets out as often as you can, no matter the placement in most cases, and from there play close-quarters. Spam your right-click orb, but whenever combat unleashes try to play in stairs, small rooms, where you can charge up your left-click and deals tons of damage. It’s all about again, knowing your limits and play very defensively, knowing when to move onto an enemy and beam him down.
Apart from Genji. are there any solid heroes that hard counter bastion that you could recommend. (Still very satisfying to kill them with there own bullets though)
Countering Bastion is a hard one, especially by yourself, and the only heroes that come to mind at first really are Genji or perhaps a Widowmaker if you can get in a good position where you can get a few shots on him for free.
If he plays with a Reinhardt shield, it becomes much harder to deal with, and you’ll have to team up with your comrades to deal with him. A D.Va is really good to neglect Bastion’s shots for a few seconds, and in that time you could maybe hope to beat him down with a large variety of heroes.
Maybe get a Pharah to knock the Reinhardt away from Bastion? Maybe pick double Winston with a friend and just jump on top of him while running around in circles? Otherwise there’s always the option to play around him if possible.
Esports Questions
Have you ever scrimmed against IDDQD and what are your thoughts on why they had dominated the scene?
I scrimmed a lot vs. IDDQD.
The reason they won so much was because they had a lot individual skill. Tviq, Taimou/Mendokusaii were pretty much the best DPS players in the game.
Then you had Chipshajen with pretty much the best Zenyatta in the game with a meta that fit him. And Cocco and Internethulk as strategists.
With Mendo and Tviq they had without a doubt the best flankers in the game, during a meta where you played 2 flankers. And even beyond that they were really good on other heroes.
I think the long-term problem for IDDQD was their players didn’t have a lot of flexibility in picks. They excelled at a small amount of heroes, but what happens when the meta changes?
I don’t know how long their domination would have lasted, but I can’t help but feel a better team would have appeared ahead of Blizzcon and won it ahead of them.
Pretty much all pros in the current scene focus on Blizzcon as the #1 goal, and the current tournaments are just mentality boosters.
I’m really curious to know what someone in your position thinks about the future of Overwatch as an eSport. A lot of people consider it to be a “casual” game, lacking in the mechanics that can set pro players apart in games like CS:GO. This perception could really stop it from getting off the ground in a serious way. Do you think this view has any truth to it?
Another issue is the ability to switch heroes throughout the match. This could have matches devolve into a rock-paper-scissors game, constantly switching to counter-pick the opposing team. While being able to switch on the fly is very fun when I’m playing the game, it could make for a confusing or unentertaining viewer experience. How do you think this problem could be solved (if it is a problem)?
This is a topic that is very dear to me. My background prior to Overwatch is that I worked in esports for The GD Studio, and freelanced for companies such as DreamHack and ESL, and so I consider myself knowing what it takes for an esports title to be successful.
The biggest problem Overwatch is facing right now is that it’s not fun to watch competitive Overwatch. A lot of this is because of the game mode being used, Stopwatch (you can take turns pushing the payload and fastest wins). I wrote an opinion piece on this matter, so if you’re intrigued, feel free to check it out:http://www.gosugamers.net/overwatch/features/4859-pushing-overwatch-in-the-right-direction-guest-editorial
To sum it up, Overwatch needs a game mode where the objective is a lot more clear than pushing a payload. It’s not that it would be hard for viewers to understand, but that the objective doesn’t help to build hype surrounding what is happening in the game. In Counter-Strike, you know that a kill can very crucial because it can essentially win a round, but in Overwatch that’s very loosely defined. How much impact does a Widow kill really have? 5 meters of Payload? The objective takes away the significance of what is happening in game, and so I argued that control point or “King of the Hill” is the better game mode for Overwatch esports. However, that’s still not as perfect as the top-tier games out there. I do not envy Blizzard in this matter, as it’s a very hard task to get right, and I understood why they tried to push the ruleset they had in their ranked mode, however, it just wasn’t it.
As to hero-switching I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I wouldn’t say that there are any heroes that strictly counters another hero from not having any impact on the game, and so sure it’s sort of a rock-paper-scissors game, but it’s still pretty even, and I don’t think it’s a big issue as long as your team manages to play around certain heroes and help you if you’re in trouble.
This reminds me of an article I read about the comparison of spectating American sports vs European sports. American sports devolve into statistics and numeralising and measuring all actions into gains and losses, but European sports are more about instances of skill and ability that can’t be quantified in the greater scheme of the match.
10 yards in football mean one thing, and a double duke in soccer mean something completely different, but yield the same response in their respective fans.
Do you feel that this is the issue with payload for spectators? Or is it more how difficult it is to directly compare the affects of a great play to actual objective progress? Would being able to numeralise the gains and losses of every kill in relation to the objective help solve this?
I think that the game mode in general just doesn’t cater to building hype.
Stopwatch is about completing two rounds of both teams pushing, and if you competed with Stopwatch then the first round, regardless of team, would always lack a huge amount of hype because you wouldn’t know how good of a time they’d have to set in order to win the game. It doesn’t matter if it’s 4 minutes or 8 minutes, it’s so vague in determining what a team has to do in order to win.
I’m very tired so I can’t draw any direct comparisons to the facts you just presented, but to simplify things in a very direct matter, pretty much all sports known to man (few exceptions), the objective is so straight-forward at all times.
There’s a reason why Curling is much less popular than say golf. Curling just doesn’t have the same hype in every stone “curled”(?), compared to every golf shot. The outcome based on the action going on is too uncertain for a viewer to get excited about it.
Probably butchered this subject at 2:30 AM
I don’t understand how this game has competitive players when the game isn’t even out yet.
There isn’t a ranked mode, how do you set yourself apart from others. The open beta closes in like a day how will you practice or even play. Do people already have tournament realm servers to play on?
We’re a collective of teams scrimming each other 8–10 hours a day non-stop. We mostly go through all the payload maps and all the king of the hill maps.
It’s not like there hasn’t been a lot of time to play competitive Overwatch, most of us has been here from the start of closed beta and are still here.
For example if you check the Gosugamers Rankings http://www.gosugamers.net/overwatch/rankings, a team like REUNITED already has over 100 OFFICIAL matches in tournament etc.
GosuGamers have been arranging weekly beta tournaments, and a lot of other organizers coming in offering prize money, and we’re simply the teams that keep on finishing the top places, winning the money that is to be won.
Matchmaking in CS:GO, Ranked in HotS or even League of Legends are just gimmicks to create a competitive environment for casual players that want more, most of the time the top teams barely play it themselves, because they’re so busy playing each other on private servers or custom lobbies.
During breaks we can’t play, just like you guys, but we go through strategy, recorded VODs of us playing and write down notes how to improve our team-coordination, chemistry, hero compositions or approach to the game.
The definition of competitive players is just players that simply play to win and be the best, and there’s always going to be players with that mindset regardless what state the game is in. From there on there has been small tournaments organized with prize money, and that already attracts viewership that’s in the thousands, and from there organisations come into the scene and pick up the most talented teams because it’s like any exposure that can be found in any other game.
What you said about hots and lol is just plain wrong.
I’ve been an observer for Heroes of the Storm esports for almost a year now and from meeting HotS pros they certainly aren’t spending their practice time queueing together in ranked mode.
If you were looking into getting into competitive how do you start and how do you practice?
Try to get a few friends or other players together as a team and try to just play together rather than running in one by one as people usually do in matchmaking. There are a few Discord channels set up for people trying to get into competitive, and even the /r/Overwatch Discord channel has a few channels for this.
Actively look for other members interested in competitive, play together, try to play smart, and from there practice vs. other teams. Check out the Discord channel that I mentioned and make some noise, get in there and look for practice partners and enemy teams to skirmish vs. in hosted lobbies, and try to do it as often as you can.
Follow-up to OP, how much do you think it will help in the long run to practice on console? Obviously I’ll have to get a PC at some point, but what should I focus on in the meantime?
Reading up on strategy and think about hero compositions!
PC and console compositions will vary quite a lot due to mechanical obstructions, so make sure you follow the tournaments on PC if you’re planning to become a competitive player!
Study and become a smart player and you’ll go a long way!
Balance Questions
Do you have a general Tierlist for all the characters for their viability?
Personally, nope!
But you should check out Icarus’ weekly meta analysis!
What do you think of the balance in the game? Does it favor a meta? Any hero’s or common hero composition that are considered really strong now in competitive play?
I personally the balance is very good in Overwatch, in competitive play you pick heroes based on their skillset, and there’s not really a hero with a skillset that is incredibly superior to anyone elses. Before we had issues with Genji slicing and dicing like never before, but with the nerf to his survivability the only thing really “overpowered” about him is his ultimate, as he can just destroy a team and capture a point by himself (Blizzard pls).
There’s been a lot of discussion in competitive Overwatch regarding implementing hero limits into the game, as the recent meta has favored a lot of teams running double McCree, double Winston or even triple Winston. He’s simply so hard to deal with due to his shield blocking out any possible healing or assistance from your backline, and together they pretty much kill any hero within a few seconds.
My opinion on hero limits is that it should only be implemented to prevent teams from cheesing, for example it’s easy to cheese and win on the first point on King’s Row because you simply don’t know what the attacking team is going to pick for the first wave of attack.
A big majority of the top teams are tired of encountering this double Winston “bullshit”, and thus they’re trying to convince Blizzard to implement a 1 hero-limit, however, I believe that great play can counter these sort of picks later down the road when you’ve adjusted your playstyle and know what you’re supposed to do, so I would favor a 2-hero limit.
Common heroes in competitive play: Lucio, McCree, Reinhardt, Winston, Mercy, Pharah, Widowmaker.
Most heroes have their niche and can be picked, but I’d say the ones listed on top are picked more frequently than others.
As for a straight up composition: Reinhardt, Winston, McCree, McCree, Lucio, Mercy. This should do you good without really relying too much on any hero in the composition.
I would love that Blizzard finds a way to balance the game without heroe limit. I really don’t know how but I think this type of play and possibility it’s one of the best things of Overwatch.
It’s a very hard task, and I don’t think it’s possible to outright balance it. I think we’ll have to rely on the players finding ways to play around most things.
Misc Questions
Why is D.Va so bad? ; _ ;
Because she’s a bad Winston ;_;
rip ❤
What games did you play before Overwatch and at what level? How many hours have you clocked in the game so far?
I didn’t really play any other games at a high level. Sure, I hit global elite on CS:GO, but that’s about it.
On a casual level I played a range of different games, CS:GO, Quake, Heroes of Newerth, Heroes of the Storm and tons of World of Warcraft growing up, but I’ve never really excelled in any as much as I have in Overwatch. I think the most optimal background you can have for playing good Overwatch is being a MOBA player, with the tactical mindset, that has managed to nail down the mechanical aspect of an FPS.
Overwatch is most of the time decided by smart ability-usage, rather than good aim, and so a smart guy that knows when and where to use his abilities will probably win most of the time.
Is Zarya the best waifu of Overwatch?
Zarya is literally the best waifu of Overwatch. Probably one of the best heroes in the game when it comes to winning games by yourself.
What can’t McCree do (besides kill Bastion)?
Brew coffee.
(Route 66 reference)
I hope you learnt something from all of these responses. If you have any further questions, feel free to hit me up on social media:
@Rogue_Reinforce on Twitter.Reconstruction of a Ming dynasty Kaiyuan bow by Chinese bowyer Gao Xiang. This is a horn, bamboo, sinew composite.
Heon Kim using a modern Korean composite bow.
A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, cf. laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stretched on the outside) and horn (compressed on the inside) store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. The strength can be made similar to that of all-wood "self" bows, with similar draw-length and therefore a similar amount of energy delivered to the arrow from a much shorter bow. However, making a composite bow requires more varieties of material than a self bow, its construction takes much more time, and the finished bow is more sensitive to moisture.
Composite bows have been known from archaeology and art since the second millennium BCE, but their history is not well recorded as they were developed by cultures without a written tradition. They originated among Asiatic pastoralists who used them as daily necessities, classically for mounted archery although they can also be used on foot. Such bows spread among the military (and hunters) of civilizations that came into contact with nomad tribes; composite bows have been used across Asia from Korea to the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa, and southwards in the Arabian peninsula and in India. The use of horn in a bow was even remarked on in Homer's epic, The Odyssey, believed to have been written in the 8th century BCE.
The details of manufacture varied between the various cultures that used them. Initially the tips of the limbs were made to bend when the bow was drawn. Later, the tips were stiffened with bone or antler laths; post-classical bows usually have stiff tips, known as siyahs, which are made as an integral part of the wooden core of the bow.
Like other bows, they lost importance with the introduction and increasing accuracy of guns. In some areas composite bows were still used and were further developed for leisure purposes. Later Turkish bows are specialized for flight archery (shooting for distance). Composite bows are still made and used in Korea and in China, and the tradition has been revived elsewhere. Modern replicas are available, often made with fiberglass bellies and backs with a natural or man-made core.
Construction and materials [ edit ]
The wooden core gives the bow its shape and dimensional stability. It is often made of multiple pieces, joined with animal glue in V-splices, so the wood must accept glue well. Pieced construction allows the sharp bends that many designs require, and the use of woods with different mechanical properties for the bending and nonbending sections.
The wood of the bending part of the limb ("dustar") must endure intense shearing stress, and denser woods such as hard maples are normally used in Turkish bows.[1] Bamboo, and wood of the mulberry family, are traditional in China. Some composite bows have nonbending tips ("siyahs"), which need to be stiff and light; they may be made of woods such as Sitka spruce.[2]
A thin layer of horn is glued onto what will be the belly of the bow, the side facing the archer. Water buffalo horn is very suitable, as is horn of several antelopes such as gemsbok, oryx, ibex, and that of Hungarian grey cattle.[3] Goat and sheep horn can also be used. Most forms of cow horn are not suitable, as they soon delaminate with use. The horn can store more energy than wood in compression.[2]
The sinew, soaked in animal glue, is then laid in layers on the back of the bow; the strands of sinew are oriented along the length of the bow. The sinew is normally obtained from the lower legs and back of wild deer or domestic ungulates. Traditionally, ox tendons are considered inferior to wild-game sinews since they have a higher fat content, leading to spoilage.[1] Sinew has greater elastic tension properties than wood, again increasing the amount of energy that can be stored in the bow stave.
Hide glue or gelatin made from fish gas bladders is used to attach layers of sinew to the back of the bow, and to attach the horn belly to the wooden core.[2]
Stiffening laths, if used, are attached. Both horn and laths may be bound and glued with further lengths of sinew. After months of drying the bow is ready for use. Further finishing may include thin leather or waterproof bark, to protect the bow from moisture, and recent Turkish bows were often highly decorated with colourful paints and gold leaf.
Strings and arrows are essential parts of the weapon system, but no type of either is specifically associated with composite bows throughout their history.
Advantages and disadvantages of composite construction [ edit ]
Advantages [ edit ]
The main advantage of composite bows over self bows (made from a single piece of wood) is their combination of smaller size with high power. They are therefore more convenient than self bows when the archer is mobile, as from horseback, or from a chariot. Almost all composite bows are also recurve bows as the shape curves away from the archer; this design gives higher draw-weight in the early stages of the archer's draw, storing somewhat more total energy for a given final draw-weight. It would be possible to make a wooden bow that has the same shape, length and draw-weight as a traditional composite bow, but it could not store the energy, and would break before full draw.[2]
For most practical non-mounted archery purposes, composite construction offers no advantage; "the initial velocity is about the same for all types of bow... within certain limits, the design parameters... appear to be less important than is often claimed." However, they are superior for horsemen and in the specialized art of flight archery: "A combination of many technical factors made the composite flight bow better for flight shooting."[4] The higher arrow velocity is only for well-designed composite bows of high draw-weight. At the weights more usual for modern amateurs, the greater density of horn and sinew compared to wood usually cancels any advantage.[1]
Disadvantages [ edit ]
Constructing composite bows requires much more time and a greater variety of materials than self bows, and the animal glue used can lose strength in humid conditions; the 6th-century Byzantine military manual, the Strategikon, advised the cavalry of the Byzantine army, many of whom were armed with composite bows, to keep their bows in leather cases to keep them dry. Karpowicz suggests that crafting a composite bow may take a week's work, excluding drying time (months) and gathering materials, while a self bow can be made in a day and dried in a week.[1] Peoples living in humid or rainy regions historically have favoured self-bows, while those living in dry or arid regions have favoured composite bows.
Medieval Europeans favoured self bows as hand bows, but they made composite prods for crossbows. The prods were usually well protected from rain and humidity which are prevalent in much of Europe.
History [ edit ]
Origins and use [ edit ]
Associated with charioteers [ edit ]
Early Bronze Age cultures in the Asian steppe.
Bows of any kind seldom survive in the archaeological record. Composite bows may have been invented first by the nomads of the Asiatic steppe, who may have based it on earlier Northern Asian laminated bows.[5] However, archaeological investigation of the Asiatic steppe is still limited and patchy; literary records of any kind are late and scanty and seldom mention details of bows.[1] There are arrowheads from the earliest chariot burials at Krivoye Lake, part of the Sintashta culture about 2100–1700 BCE, but the bow that shot them has not survived. Other sites of the Sintashta culture have produced finds of horn and bone, interpreted as furniture (grips, arrow rests, bow ends, string loops) of bows; there is no indication that the bending parts of these bows included anything other than wood.[6] These finds are associated with short arrows, 50–70 cm long, and the bows themselves may have been correspondingly short.[7] The Andronovo Culture, descendant of the Sintashta culture, was the first to extend from the Ural Mountains to Tian Shan,[8] and its successor cultures gave rise to the Indo-Aryan migration. It has been suggested that the Srubna culture (contemporaneous with, and a neighbour to, the Andronovo culture) used composite bows, but no archaeological evidence is known.[9]
Composite bows were soon adopted and adapted by civilizations who came into contact with nomads, such as the Chinese, Assyrian, and Egyptian. Several composite bows were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, who died in 1324 BCE.[10] Composite bows (and chariots) are known in China from at least the Shang Dynasty (1700–1100 BCE).[11] There are strong indications to believe that Bronze Age Greek Cultures like the Minoans and the Mycenaeans were using composite bows in a large scale.[12] By the 4th century BCE, chariotry had ceased to have military importance, replaced by cavalry everywhere (except in Britannia where charioteers are not recorded as using bows).
By mounted archers [ edit ]
Ottoman horse archer
The mounted archer became the archetypal warrior of the steppes and the composite bow was his archetypal weapon, used to protect the herds, in steppe warfare, and in incursions into settled lands.
Classic tactics for horse-mounted archers included skirmishing; they would approach, shoot, and retreat before any effective response could be made.[13] The term Parthian shot refers to the widespread horse-archer tactic of shooting backwards over the rear of their horses as they retreated. Parthians inflicted heavy defeats on Romans, the first being the Battle of Carrhae. However, horse archers did not make an army invincible; Han General Ban Chao led successful military expeditions in the late 1st century CE that conquered as far as central Asia, and both Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great defeated horse archer armies. Well-led Roman armies defeated Parthian armies on several occasions and twice took the Parthian capital.
By infantry [ edit ]
Composite bows can be used without difficulty by infantry. The infantry archers of classical Greece and the Roman Empire used composite bows. The military of the Han Dynasty (220 BCE–206 CE) utilized composite crossbows, often in infantry square formations, in their many engagements against the Xiongnu. Until 1571 archers with composite bows were a main component of the forces of the Ottoman Empire, but in the Battle of Lepanto in that year they lost most of these troops and never replaced them.[14]
Technical changes in classical times [ edit ]
The details of bow construction changed somewhat with time. It is not clear that the various developments of the composite bow led to measurable improvements: "the development of archery equipment may not be a process involving progressive improvements in performance. Rather, each design type represents one solution to the problem of creating a mobile weapon system capable of hurling lightweight projectiles."[4]
Scythian bows, bending tips [ edit ]
Variants of the Scythian bow were the dominant form in Asia until approximately the first century BCE. These were short weapons—one was 119 centimetres (47 in) long when strung, with arrows perhaps 50–60 centimetres (20–24 in) long—with flexible, "working" tips; the wooden core was continuous from the centre to the tip.[15]
Siyahs/kasans, stiff tips [ edit ]
From about the 4th century BCE, the use of stiffened ends on composite bows became widespread. The stiffened end of the bow is a "siyah" (Arabic, Persian),[16] "szarv" (Hungarian), "sarvi" (Finnish; both'sarvi' and'szarv' mean 'horn') or "kasan" (Turkish); the bending section is a "dustar" (Arabic), "lapa" (Finnish) or "sal" (Turkish). For centuries, the stiffening was accomplished by attaching laths of bone or antler to the sides of the bow at its ends. The bone or antler strips are more likely to survive burial than the rest of the bow. The first bone strips suitable for this purpose come from "graves of the fourth or third centuries" BCE.[17] These stiffeners are found associated with nomads of the time. Maenchen-Helfen states that they are not found in Achaemenid Persia, nor in early Imperial Rome, nor in Han China. However Coulston attributes Roman stiffeners to about or before 9 CE.[18] He identifies a Steppe Tradition of Scythian bows with working tips, which lasted, in Europe, until the arrival of the Huns, and a Near East or Levantine tradition with siyahs, possibly introduced by the Parni as siyahs are found in Sassanid but not Achaemenid contexts. Siyahs have also been described from the Arabian peninsula.[19] Composite bows were adopted by the Roman Empire and were made even in the cold and damp of Britannia.[20] They were the normal weapon of later Roman archers, both infantry and cavalry units (although Vegetius recommends training recruits "arcubus ligneis", with wooden bows).[21]
Laths stiffening the grip [ edit ]
A new bow type, in which bone reinforcements cover the handle of the bow as well as the tips, may have developed in Central Asia during the 3rd to 2nd century BCE,[22][23][24] with earliest finds from the area of Lake Baikal. Fittings from this type of bow appear right across Asia[25] from Korea to the Crimea. Such bows with reinforcement of both grip and siyahs have been called “Hun,” “Hunnic” or “Hsiung-nu” composite bows.[19][23][26] Huns did use such bows, but so did many other peoples; Rausing termed this type the 'Qum-Darya Bow' from the Han Chinese type-site at the frontier post of Loulan, at the mouth of the Qum Darya river, dated by analogy between c. 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE.[25 |
O'Toole's jurisdiction.
It is the Canadian Forces service income security insurance plan, or SISIP — a long-term disability plan that requires medically released soldiers to submit to a medical review to determine whether they are eligible for continued benefits, even in cases where the soldier has been deemed "totally disabled."
Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole has ensured he would stop the practice of requiring veterans to repeatedly confirm lost limbs. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) That program is delivered through the insurance company Manulife, and removing the requirement won't be easy.
The online policy guide tells wounded soldiers that during the two years following their release, they are subject to medical reviews at "12 and 18 months to determine your eligibility for continued benefits" and that support may continue as long as they qualify as "totally disabled."
The legislation appears to leave follow-on reviews to the discretion of the policyholder, which in this case is the chief of the defence staff. Veterans advocate Sean Bruyea says that suggests the fix ought not to be difficult.
O'Toole has asked for a meeting with the head of the Manulife program, said one government source who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Political problem for Conservatives
The issue is a political landmine for the Conservatives, who've made rebuilding burned bridges with veterans a priority before the next election.
Politically, the optics of the controversy have been awful.
Asking soldiers without limbs to repeatedly verify their injuries as part of a standard medical review has made the government look foolish and heartless, said NDP veterans critic Peter Stoffer.
"The reality is you've got at least four different agencies involved and saying different things," Stoffer said in a recent interview.
"The minister was quick to declare this fixed. It's not fixed and it's going to take some work. Nothing is stopping the minister from tapping (Defence Minister) Jason Kenney on the shoulder and saying, 'Hey, we have a problem here.'"
A spokesman for O'Toole was asked several times over the last week about the SISIP issue, and declined comment.
Bruyea said every veteran cringes when they see the brown Veterans Affairs envelope — or the white SISIP envelope — in the mail.
He said the government is in such a hurry to stamp out fires that it's resorting to "empty, baseless rhetoric" and it needs to deliver on the promised fixes.
"There is a growing, vocal portion of the veterans community — I would say predominantly ones affected by these programs — that know the difference between rhetoric and reality," he said.
"Their whole effort here could backfire well beyond the veterans community."In September, Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, started running a television ad linking his opponent, the Democrat Ralph Northam, to a murderous Salvadoran-American street gang called MS-13. The ad, which opened with the gang’s motto (“Kill, Rape, Control”), featured footage of tattooed gangsters in a Salvadoran prison. The narrator accused Northam of “letting illegal immigrants who commit crimes back on the street, increasing the threat of MS-13.” Democrats likened the ad to the infamous Willie Horton attack ad run against Michael Dukakis, from George H. W. Bush’s 1988 Presidential campaign. A number of prominent Republicans—including Al Cardenas, the former head of the American Conservative Union, and the columnist George Will—joined the critics, too, lamenting that Gillespie, a longtime G.O.P. insider who had fended off a Trump-like insurgent in the Republican primary, had adopted Trumpian tactics in the general election. A former colleague, the political consultant and author Gabriel Schoenfeld, who worked with Gillespie on Mitt Romney’s 2012 Presidential campaign, described him as “a great guy now covering himself in filth.”
The ad was effective, however. The race—in which Northam was favored—tightened, and polling suggested that voters increasingly preferred Gillespie on the issues of crime and public safety. In February, Northam cast the tie-breaking vote against a Republican-backed bill in the Virginia Senate that would have banned sanctuary cities—municipalities where local officials limit their coöperation with federal immigration authorities. Virginia doesn’t have any sanctuary cities, and Republicans had set up the vote to force Northam into taking a position on the record. As Tuesday’s election has drawn closer, he’s vacillated. Last month, during a debate, he queasily conceded that he wouldn’t support sanctuary cities if they existed in Virginia, and, last week, he backtracked further. “I’ve always been opposed to sanctuary cities,” he told a reporter. If a bill banning sanctuary cities came to his desk, he would sign it as governor, he said. I called the Northam campaign to ask how this squared with Northam’s vote in February. His communications director, David Turner, told me that Northam had consistently opposed sanctuary cities—in theory. “We’re now talking about a hypothetical about a hypothetical,” he said.
Last November, Hillary Clinton won Virginia by five points, mostly by running up sizable margins in metropolitan hubs across the state and in the northern suburbs. The rural parts of the state, which are reliably Republican, voted overwhelmingly for Trump. “Gillespie is counting on lower turnout in northern Virginia, where he has to make sure Northam doesn’t run away with it,” Geoffrey Skelley, of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told me.
Counties in the northern part of the state—like Loudoun and Fairfax—typically go for Democrats, but the area has also seen a rise in gang-related killings over the last few years. As both a candidate and as President, Trump has made MS-13 a byword for immigrant crime in the U.S. He’s called the gang’s members “animals,” and has warned that “we’ve got a lot of them out there. But the rest are coming.” (The Justice Department has estimated that there are about six thousand MS-13 members in the U.S.) Gillespie and the members of his campaign, who have otherwise avoided being associated with Trump, saw an electoral opportunity in this, and the President has been happy to help. In October, Trump tweeted, “Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie!”
The Trump Administration has made opposition to sanctuary cities one of the core principles of its immigration agenda. In January, the President tried, unsuccessfully, to ban them by executive order, and his 2018 budget threatened to rewrite a federal statute in order to strip such cities (including New York City and Los Angeles) of some of their federal funding. Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General, has crisscrossed the country this year giving speeches about how sanctuary cities contribute to crime, drugs, and other dangers. In those speeches, talk of sanctuary cities often leads into a recitation of the horrors perpetrated by MS-13. Researchers have found no connection between sanctuary policies and gang crime, but the link is intuitive: sanctuary cities are portrayed as havens for lawlessness and impunity. Since Trump’s election, at least nine state legislatures have proposed legislation against sanctuary cities, including one bill, in Texas, that was opposed by state police chiefs and sheriffs. “If the President had not talked about MS-13 as an issue, it would not have been an issue in Virginia,” Abel Nuñez, the executive director of the immigrant-aid group Carecen, and a longtime resident of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, told me. “It’s in vogue right now because of the President. Gillespie is a smart politician to use it.”
In the race for the other governor’s office up for grabs on Tuesday—in New Jersey—the Democratic candidate, Phil Murphy, has tried to make an affirmative case for sanctuary policies, and has pledged to turn New Jersey into a sanctuary state. Polls show him with a commanding lead over his Republican rival, Kim Guadagno, who has served as lieutenant governor to the extremely unpopular Chris Christie. Guadagno, for her part, launched her campaign at a Mexican restaurant, and has hewed to a centrist platform—promising to support a Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, vowing to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and defending strict gun laws. But last month, during a televised debate, she accused Murphy of defending a “child rapist” who took part in the murder of three Newark teen-agers in 2007. A subsequent TV ad, which emphasized that the criminal had been an undocumented immigrant, pilloried Murphy for having the “backs of deranged murders.”
This was a shift in rhetoric, and many observers pointed to the Guadagno campaign’s recent hiring of Adam Geller, who was the Trump campaign’s pollster in Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016. (Geller also worked on Christie’s successful 2009 and 2013 campaigns for governor.) Geller and I spoke on the phone last week. “I will tell you from my polling that Americans and New Jerseyans don’t have a problem with immigration,” he said. “They have a problem with illegal immigration, and with violent criminals like MS-13. We’re not talking about immigration or immigration policy. We’re talking about crime.” Christie, Geller’s former boss, had adopted a number of immigrant-friendly policies as governor. I asked Geller what had changed since Christie made those decisions. “That was such a different world,” Geller said. “The state is undergoing the same metamorphosis that other states are going through. There’s a different national-issue discussion taking place.”Soldier at Hebron checkpoint points gun at Hadeel Hashlamoun, 18, before she is shot
On Yom Kippur, there is one story from Israel and Palestine: the killing of 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlamoun at a Hebron checkpoint after she was confronted by soldiers pointing guns.
Below is the shocking video of Hashlamoun’s form being roughly dragged on the ground after her shooting. News accounts state that she was then still alive; she did not die for several hours, at a hospital. Israeli settlers observe her with detachment and even smiles. One of these settlers wears a blue t-shirt with the words in Hebrew on it (visible at 1:41):
MEDICINE Rescue/Medical Aid (the Hebrew word is Hatzala) Judea and Samaria
If he is a medical professional, he takes no interest in the Palestinian woman’s situation except to gawk. That organization provides emergency medical services to the settlers. Presumably only to Jews. Another settler grins at the scene at 1:38.
Toward the end of the video you can see the Palestinian community of Hebron, caged inside the checkpoint.
Electronic Intifada states:
Wattan TV reported that the young woman was left to bleed for more than 30 minutes.
Here is a photo of Hashlamoun’s funeral, today, posted by NasserZB.
The Israeli government claims that the soldiers believed Hashlamoun was going to pull a knife. But the Hebron activist group Youth Against Settlements says, “She tried to leave” before she was shot. A researcher for Amnesty, Jacob Burns, has posted this photograph of a knife he says the Israelis claim Hashlamoun was carrying when she was killed. He notes that even if she were trying to attack soldiers, they would not be justified in firing. The New York Times report is that the soldiers were not at risk.
The Times headline deceives readers about the Palestinian victims of this and another incident in the occupied West Bank– “2 Are Killed in West Bank as Jewish and Muslim Holidays Approach”– but Diaa Hadid’s reporting is precise and vivid.
[A] European activist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his employers do not permit him to talk to reporters, provided photographs of the episode. One showed a soldier pointing his weapon at Ms. Hashlamoun, and another showed her lying on the ground. He said a soldier had asked Ms. Hashlamoun to open her bag for inspection. “When she was opening at her bag, he began shouting: ‘Stop! Stop! Stop! Don’t move! Don’t move!’ ” the activist said. “She was trying to show him what was inside her bag, but the soldier shot her once, and then shot her again.” The activist said three or four other soldiers had raced to the scene and also fired. Another witness, Fawaz Abu Aisheh, 34, who appeared in the photographs taken by the activist, said Ms. Hashlamoun did not respond as soldiers screamed at her in Hebrew to step back. A soldier shot at her feet twice, but she did not move, he said. “She was like a nail, like she was in shock,” he said. “I was shouting, ‘She doesn’t understand Hebrew!’ ” Mr. Abu Aisheh said he had opened a small gate inside the checkpoint so that she could back away from the soldiers. She did so, creating more distance between her and the soldiers.
A shame that the New York Times does not include Hashlamoun’s picture in that article. The Times does include a photo of Palestinian women mourning at the funeral of the other Palestinian killed in the West Bank. At right.
Here is another photo of Hashlamoun from NasserZB’s twitter feed:
Al Jazeera’s account says that Hashlamoun was left bleeding on the ground and that the killing has fostered clashes across the occupied city.
However, a video posted by the news agency PalMedia shows the woman being left to bleed on the ground after she was shot and then being roughly pulled out of the frame of a camera. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Hebron resident Issa Amro identified the woman as 19-year-old Hadeel Salah al-Hashlamon. “Now the soldiers have increased their numbers throughout the city,” said Amro, who is the coordinator of the Hebron-based Youth Against Settlements monitoring group. According to Amro, clashes broke out between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers in the area following the shooting and “are still ongoing across the city”.
Update: A new video of soldiers dragging Hashlamoun’s body and unveiling her has emerged:
Thanks to Dena Shunra, Ofer Neiman, and James North.Bitcoin miner maker Butterfly Labs (BFL) is facing a class action suit, brought by customers from across the US.
The class action was filed through Wood Law Firm LLC by a group of BFL customers challenging the sales and advertising practices of the Kansas-based mining outfit.
Customers claim they ordered and paid BFL mining gear which they never received, or which they received long after BFL’s promised shipping date.
Not the first time for Butterfly Labs
Disputes are quite common in the world of mining hardware. Manufacturers are often keen to accept as many pre-orders as possible, often months ahead of the actual shipping date. The money is then used to complete development and manufacture the mining rigs.
Designing ASICs is a tedious process and from the design to tape-out and production, it usually takes on the order of several months – and that’s provided that everything goes according to plan.
In the world of silicon mistakes happen quite often. If the tape-out goes wrong, new chip designs need to be re-spun and put through the same process again. This often happens to big chipmakers, let alone small ASIC designers.
Even a minor glitch can result in a huge setback and due to the nature of bitcoin mining, and a short delay can result in a lot of lost revenue. BFL was forced to delay its 28nm Monarch mining ASIC last month. This was the last straw for many customers, as the ill-fated Monarch was delayed several times since it was announced in August 2013.
The second problem is not of a technical nature. Many companies accept bitcoin payments, which can prove quite risky in the long run. Price swings are just part of the story, as many consumer protection regulations simply do not apply to bitcoin purchases.
This already led to one lawsuit against BFL earlier this year. The company was sued by Martin Meissner, who ordered a couple of miners for $62,000 in March 2013. The order was delayed and there appears to have been a lot of miscommunication between BFL and Meissner, who eventually decided to get a lawyer and sue the company for damages.
Meissner sued BFL for $5m worth of lost revenue, but the company insists the claim is “highly speculative.”
Class action alleges BFL mined for bitcoins
Meissner was not alone. The new complaint, filed before the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, is seeking to recover pre-payments made to Butterfly Labs and the losses incurred by the customers due to the company’s conduct.
The lawsuit alleges Butterfly Labs required customers to pre-pay for orders of ASIC-based bitcoin mining hardware, and used portions of customer pre-payments to make loans to shareholders and purchase a house and automobile for a shareholder.
Obviously the whole point of taking pre-orders and pre-payments is to develop the actual products, not to buy cars and homes, so understandable that consumers have no understanding for BFL’s excuses. Attorney Noah Wood, one of the lawyers for the customers, stated:
“Bitcoin is an exciting and promising new technology. Unfortunately this also makes it an attractive area for people running scams and frauds. Stopping the bad actors and staying vigilant against consumer fraud is absolutely necessary for the successful development of the bitcoin ecosystem.”
The customers allege BFL may have collected over $25m in pre-payments.
Furthermore, the complaint states that Butterfly Labs violated an agreement with customers by mining bitcoins itself. The company told customers that it would not use its own gear to mine bitcoins, but it allegedly did so under the guise of testing new hardware. It is alleged that the “testing” was actually done to generate cash for BFL at the detriment of customers, as BFL used customers’ hardware to mine for bitcoins, increasing the overall mining difficulty in the process.
BFL strongly denies the allegations. A company representative told CoinDesk:
“Butterfly Labs does not believe this lawsuit has any merit, and we are working with our attorneys to clear this up as quickly as possible.”
The complaint alleges that by the time consumers actually received their equipment it was rendered useless by the increase in computational difficulty.
It remains to be seen whether customers can prove BFL actually used the rigs for more than just “testing”. Both sides appear confident that they will have the upper hand in court.Stephen Jackson is the most talented rapper in the National Basketball Association. Stephen Jackson once followed a teammate into the stands without hesitation to fight a group of fans because, in the words of the man himself, “that's the definition of a teammate, being together, being there for your teammate.” On his chest Stephen Jackson has a large tattoo of two hands that are simultaneously praying and clutching a firearm. Stephen Jackson hit six of seven 3-pointers and got fouled on two other 3-point attempts, making five of six free throws, in the decisive game six of the 2012 Western Conference Finals. As he said to Ric Bucher in 2004, moments like that are “what I live for. I make love to pressure.”
These are some of the best known “accomplishments” of Jackson’s career, the lines on his C.V. that your eyes are naturally drawn towards. All that wild picaresque is the backbone of his career, a series of gambles, measured or otherwise, that collectively defy our attempts to judge, or even fully comprehend.
Taken together, it’s enough reason to watch – no, to study – Stephen Jackson. Anyone who’s been paying attention to what has come before should realize that the remainder of his NBA career merits our rapt attention. And yet there is the fact that Jackson, peerless an exemplar of NBA over-the-toppery as he is, plays for the San Antonio Spurs, the supposedly joyless, cynical, undead franchise that has haunted postseason play for 15 years. A team that is so dull that the mere thought of actually tuning in to watch the San Antonio Spurs, even to catch a glimpse of a player as idiosyncratic and indelible as Stephen Jackson, will send many NBA fans headlong into the arms of whatever's on The Food Network.
This is stupid. Jackson only has so many years left before he leaves the Association, and of all this is likely to be the part you most won’t want to miss. Forget what you think know about the Spurs. They are not who you think they are, but that’s not what’s at stake. For the time being, concentrate on Stephen Jackson.
***
Jackson has always been a talented and deeply flawed player. Despite his booming personality and unquestioned self confidence, some of Jackson’s best years have come when he assumed a secondary role. Captain Jack hasn’t always accepted that role graciously. But when he has, he has been both especially effective and a unique joy to watch. He’s done so in San Antonio more readily than anywhere else.
At this point in his career, Jackson’s offensive arsenal is largely limited to his high-arching 3-point shot. You’ll find him perched atop the curve of the 3-point line, or slinking quietly into the corner, lurking in spots that are familiar to any San Antonio shooter. But something about Jackson’s shot provides an extra bit of electricity. Maybe it’s the fact that it sails so high yet drops in so softly. Maybe it’s the big toothy grin that follows each make, or the pinky, ring and middle fingers of each hand that he so prominently displays while jogging back down the court.
By no means are these the league’s most outlandish 3-point celebrations. There are no blown vocal chords or holstered guns. They are all rather tame, actually, when compared to the peacock-ish celebratory techniques favored by younger generations. On the court, Jackson's wild-eyed, truth-serum-soaked style achieves a certain calmness, albeit one rendered big and bold-faced by his palpable and magnetic confidence. Jackson moves with the easy, eager air of a chucker, of a guy who remembers all the makes and none of the misses, but his shot selection and personal aesthetic seem pretty sane nowadays. So does he. Jackson takes what Timmy, Tony and Manu give him, and seems happy to have it.
Not every night is a Stephen Jackson night. More often than not, the general NBA fan is in the mood for the aerial theatrics of younger, more athletic players. Having a drink with Jackson might provide the conversational equivalent of such theatrics, but over the years his playing style has lost the reckless-yet-rewarding feel that it had between his co-starring role in San Antonio’s 2003 title run and his crazed performance in the co-leading man role during Golden State’s 2007 first round upset against Dallas. Jackson’s always been quick on the draw, but nowadays he appears to have a better sense of just how many bullets are left in the chamber.
Jackson still walks with the air of an outlaw, of course. He does so because that is what he is, and because no amount of accrued time in San Antonio’s broader corporate culture of silver-and-black understatement can divest him of the renegade status he earned when he barreled into the stands of the Palace at Auburn Hills during his time with the Pacers. But unlike some members of the NBA’s untouchable caste who gave the aughts its motley vibe – Artest, Iverson, Arenas – Jackson’s relaxed transition into the winter of his career has endowed him with a certain nobility.
There’s something painful but lovely about watching a player during the closing years of his career. It’s sad to realize that Jackon, whose pathological application of principle and irreverent refusal to respect the NBA’s proscribed pecking order have provided us with so much drama and humor over the years will soon be back in Port Arthur, Texas, and so far away from the bright lights that so brilliantly illuminated both his talent and his flaws. But that realization prompts us to reflect on what that man has meant to us and to the game.
“The game.” It’s a grandiose but empty notion to reference. Yet I can’t help but feel that something about Jackson’s contributions to the league, however trivial they may seem at first glance, should endure. The ill-advised tattoos. The ill-advised shots. The ill-advised public statements. The moments of wild, careening transcendence. The long moments, the whole years, of total batshit mania. But there is steely substance hidden somewhere amidst the insanity.
I get the sense that some are anxiously awaiting the day we’ll have forgotten about all this old-weird-NBA nonsense. But it’s exactly players like Jackson, the natural show-stealers who starred in a few critically acclaimed independent productions but never landed that leading role in a big-budget Hollywood feature, whose careers we should make a special effort to remember.
When the careers of superstars come to a close, we pay attention. They get farewell tours, solemn sit-downs in which some ESPN type urges them to consider their legacies. The exits of the character actors who give the league its texture, in contrast, often slip by without much discussion. One day, one year, they simply aren’t there anymore. Jackson is of that second caste, and on that trajectory, if not quite at the end of it yet.
This likely won’t be Jackson’s last year in the league, but it may be the last high-water mark of his relevance. He will go out shooting, of course, but this may be his last chance to make those shots count. If there was ever a time to celebrate all the energy and error that Stephen Jackson has brought to his sport, it’s now. The celebrating doesn’t require much in the way of effort. Just remember to watch Stephen Jackson while you can, and he’ll give you something to watch.
Illustration by Dustin P. Watson/Darkwing Illustration. Buy a print of it here.Wearing light jackets without hats or gloves, the District’s Minnesota natives held an outdoor press conference this morning to announce plans to downplay the coming snowstorm and insult Washingtonians who are affected by it. “It’s just a little snow,” said St. Paul native Kurt Longley, rolling his eyes on behalf of Minnesotans across DC. “This so-called storm would be just another winter day in the Twin Cities. And we intend to point that out, with condescension, to absolutely everyone we see this weekend.”
“Well I’m from Minnesota, so I’m pretty used to this,” said hundreds of Minnesotans to their co-workers this morning, adding that they never had a snow day growing up. Other Minnesotans have already begun criticizing the District’s snow removal abilities, saying repeatedly that the roads would have been cleared by now if we were in Rochester or Minnetonka.
As part of their plan, Minnesotans will make a point to note the current temperature in Minneapolis whenever a Washingtonian mentions the “cold” 30 degree weather that’s expected this weekend. And those North Star State natives with vehicles intend to drive them effortlessly through unplowed Washington streets, honking and sarcastically waving out their open windows to bundled, beleaguered pedestrians.
As frenzied Washingtonians sacrificed their dignity and battled one another in the aisles of Giant last night, desperate to get their hands on the last bag of frozen broccoli florets, Minnesotans remained unconcerned, opting not to stock up on supplies and groceries. “Relax, it’s only going to be a few days, you guys,” said Duluth native Ellie Andersen. “You really think you need a whole case of toilet paper? I’m not sure what kind of plans you have this weekend, but leave me out of it.”
While some smug Minnesotans plan to stay in this weekend to needle their shivering housemates and passive aggressively turn down the heat, others intend to demonstrate how superior Minnesotans are in winter weather by show of force. “I’m so excited for the snowball fight in Meridian Hill Park on Saturday,” said Edina native Jack Baer. “A bunch of us Minnesotans are going to band together and go for blood. We’re probably going to hurt some people, but that’s winter for you.”
Only time will tell how much snow the District sees this weekend, and how many times annoyed Minnesotans will have to explain that Fargo is not in Minnesota. At press time, the District’s Floridians and Southern Californians were convening a joint press conference to announce their plans to bitch about the weather and their alleged seasonal affective disorder all goddamn weekend.The news we reported exclusively many months ago has just been officially confirmed by RIM — the company will indeed support Google Android apps on its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and on new QNX-based BlackBerry smartphones moving forward. RIM is also offering a suite of tools for Android developers that will allow them to easily port their existing apps to the PlayBook for distribution through BlackBerry App World. RIM’s full press release is after the jump.
RIM Expands Application Ecosystem for BlackBerry PlayBook
· BlackBerry PlayBook to support BlackBerry Java and Android apps
· Native C/C++ development support added, in addition to HTML5, Flash and AIR support
· Support from leading game engines: Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3)
· BlackBerry PlayBook becomes a new market opportunity for all the developers who have already created over 25,000 BlackBerry Java apps and more than 200,000 Android apps
Waterloo, ON – Developers wanting to bring their new and existing apps to the highly anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet will soon have additional tools and options to enhance and expand their commercial opportunities. Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to greatly expand the application ecosystem for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The BlackBerry PlayBook is scheduled to launch in the U.S. and Canada on April 19.
RIM will launch two optional “app players” that provide an application run-time environment for BlackBerry Java® apps and Android v2.3 apps. These new app players will allow users to download BlackBerry Java apps and Android apps from BlackBerry App World and run them on their BlackBerry PlayBook.
In addition, RIM will shortly release the native SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook enabling C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry® Tablet OS. For game-specific developers, RIM is also announcing that it has gained support from two leading game development tooling companies, allowing developers to use the cross-platform game engines from Ideaworks Labs and Unity Technologies to bring their games to the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Support for BlackBerry Java and Android Apps
“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet. The power that we have embedded creates one of the most compelling app experiences available in a mobile computing device today,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “The upcoming addition of BlackBerry Java and Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook on BlackBerry App World will provide our users with an even greater choice of apps and will also showcase the versatility of the platform.”
Developers currently building for the BlackBerry or Android platforms will be able to quickly and easily port their apps to run on the BlackBerry Tablet OS thanks to a high degree of API compatibility. The new optional app players will be available for download from BlackBerry App World and will be placed in a secure “sandbox” on the BlackBerry PlayBook where the BlackBerry Java or Android apps can be run.
Developers will simply repackage, code sign and submit their BlackBerry Java and Android apps to BlackBerry App World. Once approved, the apps will be distributed through BlackBerry App World, providing a new opportunity for many developers to reach BlackBerry PlayBook users. Users will be able to download both the app players and the BlackBerry Java and Android apps from BlackBerry App World.
The BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry Tablet OS are built on the QNX® Neutrino® microkernel architecture with a 1GHz dual core processor and a leading OpenGL solution, which allows RIM to make this incredibly broad platform support possible.
BlackBerry PlayBook users and developers who are interested in seeing the new app players for BlackBerry Java and Android apps can see demos at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Florida (May 3 to 5, 2011) (www.blackberryworld.com).
BlackBerry Tablet OS Development Tools
The BlackBerry Tablet OS already supports an incredibly robust platform with support for Web development standard HTML5, through the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK for Tablet OS, and Adobe® AIR®, through the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR. The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built from the ground up to run WebKit and Adobe® Flash® as well, giving developers a fast and true Web experience to leverage.
RIM is also announcing today that the BlackBerry Tablet OS Native Development Kit (NDK), which is currently in limited alpha release, will go into open Beta by this summer and be demonstrated at BlackBerry World. The BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will allow developers to build high-performance, multi-threaded, native C/C++ applications with industry standard GNU toolchains. Developers can create advanced 2D and 3D applications and special effects by leveraging programmable shaders available in hardware-accelerated OpenGL ES 2.0.
Other features of the BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will allow developers to:
Take advantage of the QNX POSIX library support and C/C++ compliance for quick and easy application porting and for creating native extensions for both BlackBerry and Android applications
Easily integrate device events like gesture swipes and touch screen inputs
Integrate the BlackBerry Tablet OS environment into existing code management and build systems using industry standard Eclipse CDT (C/C++ Development Tools)
Leverage work done in standard C/C++ to make it easier to bring applications to the BlackBerry Tablet OS
Find and fix bugs quickly with provided debug and analysis tools
“The response to the BlackBerry PlayBook from the developer community has been exceptional. Our commitment to supporting HTML5 and Adobe AIR development has resonated and spurred developers to create fun and innovative applications for BlackBerry PlayBook users,” said David Yach, Chief Technology Officer, Software at Research In Motion. “The upcoming BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK beta will add C/C++ tools to our repertoire and gives developers one of the broadest and deepest platforms to develop on.”
Gaming Engines
Building on the power of the BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK, RIM is working with leading gaming and application development technology providers such as Ideaworks Labs and Unity Technologies to implement their native engines and application development platforms. Developers will be able to take advantage of these engines when building games and other applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook.
The Ideaworks Labs Airplay SDK is expected to include support for the BlackBerry Tablet OS soon, making it easy for publishers and developers to use their existing code to bring their games and apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook.
“Supporting a new OS can be a challenge for developers,” says Alex Caccia, President of Ideaworks Labs, “however, integration of the BlackBerry Tablet OS with the Airplay SDK makes this a non-issue. We think this is a far-sighted move by RIM: the BlackBerry PlayBook is a great device for games and applications, and combining this with content distribution via BlackBerry App World brings an exciting new ecosystem for developers.”
RIM has also been working closely with Unity Technologies, providers of the highly popular, multi-platform Unity development platform and Union, the firm’s games distribution service. Through Union, dozens of high-quality Unity-authored games are slated to make their way to BlackBerry App World for the BlackBerry Playbook.
“With a sharp focus on the multimedia experience, very powerful hardware, and fantastic games in the pipeline, the BlackBerry Playbook has all the right ingredients to be a mainstream hit,” said Brett Seyler, GM of Union at Unity Technologies. “Through Union, Unity developers have an opportunity to reach a new audience and grow with another great new platform.”
Availability
The new app players for the BlackBerry PlayBook are expected to be available from BlackBerry App World this summer. More information and demonstrations of the new app players will be shared at BlackBerry World. The BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will be available in beta later this year and will also be showcased at BlackBerry World.US Senator Bernie Sanders said that the Saudi Arabian government must be responsible for stability in the Middle East and should send its own military to fight ISIL rather than demand that the United States undertake such actions.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Saudi Arabian government must be responsible for stability in the Middle East and should send its own military to fight the Islamic State (ISIL) rather than demand that the United States undertake such actions, US Senator Bernie Sanders said in a statement.
“I find it remarkable that Saudi Arabia, which borders Iraq and is controlled by a multi-billion dollar family, is demanding that US combat troops have ‘boots on the ground’ against ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham].” Sanders said on Friday. “Where are the Saudi troops?”
Sanders explained that Saudi Arabia, which has the third largest military budget in the world and an army much larger than that of the ISIL, must accept “full responsibility for stability in their own region of the world.”
Sanders urged the anti-ISIL Muslim nations to lead the fight “for the soul of Islam,” and said that Western nations, including the United States, should be supportive of such efforts.
During a meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said that the US-led coalition against the ISIL should have "boots on the ground" to attack terrorists’ positions.
The ISIL militant group controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate on the territories that had fallen under its control. It is infamous for numerous abductions and brutal killings.You can always tell when the president of the United States has taken up a new interest – either whispered in his ear by a close associate or mentioned at the top of every “Fox & Friends” hour – by the way he insists that the topic is suddenly the subject of newfound concern to other people.
In February, while touring the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture as part of Black History Month, Trump insisted that abolitionist Frederick Douglass, one of the most important Americans of the 19th century, “is being recognized more and more.” He tweeted last month, seemingly out of the blue, that “more and more people are suggesting that Republicans (and me) should be given Equal Time on T.V.” Now, as congressional Republicans finally begin to coalesce around their single greatest legislative priority in a generation, Donald Trump is insisting that welfare is "becoming a very, very big subject.”
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Why the sudden focus on welfare?
While Trump has evoked the favored right-wing boogeyman before, both in his inaugural address and his February speech to a joint session of Congress, he’s recently dangled the promise of so-called welfare reform as a way to woo Republicans who remain reluctant to support his tax bill.
"We’re looking very strongly at welfare reform, and that’ll all take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes," Trump said in the White House last Monday. He was backed up by his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, hours later: “This is something that the president has a great deal of interest in and I think you can |
trouble."
That afternoon, his rider, a volunteer, was Ken Kosiorek, a San Diego man known in off-road racing circles as the "Baja Turtle," for racing the Baja 1000 solo nine years in a row. "I said, 'Ken, go out there and find him," Orozco said. "Go against the course, but be careful because you'll have guys flying at 80 to 90 miles per hour. I thought he'd be back in 10 to 15 minutes. When he didn't come back for a while, I knew something was wrong."
We had no choice but to leave the area and land the helicopter. Everyone was 100 percent focused on finding Kurt. We did everything in our power. But we could not find him. Antti Kallonen
ACCORDING TO DATA pulled from the logger on Caselli's bike, at 2:59 p.m., he was accelerating through race mile 791 … 51 mph … 59 mph … 63 mph. It was a smooth, fast section of the course, a flat, dusty trail with a slight bend to the right. For about 100 yards, the trail is lined with pinyon pines, set about 5 feet back from the path. At race mile 792 -- a more accurate location than the SPOT tracker had identified to those watching online -- Caselli's bike stopped moving. Three minutes after Udall's crash and only 11 minutes after taking the bike from Ramirez, he crashed.
The next day, while examining his bike, Caselli's teammates discovered long, multicolored animal hair matted into the right throttle and side panel near the radiator, as well as some damage to the same areas. Riders reported seeing coyote on that section of the course on race day, and then there was that buckskin horse.
Although no animal was found near the accident site, Caselli's teammates and team manager said they believe he tried to avoid the animal, but hit it, lost control of the bike and rode off the course toward a tree. Marks on the tree indicated he hit it, likely with his body, was separated from the bike and landed in the brush underneath its branches. According to the bike's data logger, the bike continued to move in the opposite direction of the course for two minutes before stopping several yards from Caselli.
At 3:26 p.m., 27 minutes after Caselli's crash, Honda rider Colton Udall's tracker showed he passed the crash site going 70 mph, accelerating through the section. He said he never saw Caselli or his bike, and he and his team were not yet aware KTM was searching for their rider. At 3:26 p.m., Udall, Campbell and the Honda team -- eventual winners of their 17th straight Baja 1000 -- believed Caselli had a lead of nearly 30 minutes.
Orozco could not confirm exactly when after 4 p.m. Kosiorek spotted Caselli, but Orozco says Kosiorek reported that Caselli was breathing but in bad shape when he found him. He told Orozco that Caselli's helmet was sitting on the ground next to him, unscathed except for a broken visor and a few scratches, a fact also confirmed by Ramirez. Without a sat phone, radio or the knowledge that there was a SPOT tracker with an SOS button on Caselli's bike, Kosiorek had no way to call for help.
Kosiorek was a Baja enthusiast and race volunteer, not a trained medic or emergency rescue professional. He would have to leave Caselli to get help. According to Orozco and others, Kosiorek said he moved Caselli's bike out of the brush and onto the course in hopes of grabbing the attention of the next person to ride by, then he headed back toward his pit. At 4:44 p.m., the bike's tracker shows the bike was moved east out of the brush and onto the course.
It was one hour and 45 minutes after the crash, and Caselli was still alive, according to Kosiorek's report to Orozco and Ramirez. What transpired during the time Kosiorek spent with Caselli is unknown, as he declined to be interviewed for this story. Those who know him said he is too traumatized and heartbroken for an interview.
"When he got back, Ken told me there is no way anyone riding the same direction of the race would have found Kurt if he hadn't moved his bike," Orozco said. Ten minutes later, at 4:55 p.m., according to his tracker, Kawasaki team rider Ricky Brabec, who was in third place before the crash, spotted the orange bike leaned upright against a small tree and slowed to look for its rider. He then spotted Caselli and turned around.
At almost that exact moment, Ramirez arrived at the scene, dismounted his bike and ran to Caselli. Brabec rode to Ramirez but stayed on his bike. "I told Ivan, 'Stay strong,' and I left to go get help," Brabec said. As multiple reports began to filter in at pit stops and over the radio, the next few hours were filled with confusion, false reports and misinformation.
"When I got there, it was getting dark," Ramirez said. "Kurt wasn't breathing. When I got there, he was gone."
A few minutes later, Ramirez said Kosiorek returned and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived, followed by a group of Australian spectators he had alerted a few miles up the road. Ramirez told one of them how to access the SPOT tracker on the bike and instructed him to push its SOS button. Doing so sent a message to the GEOS Emergency Response Center in Houston, and local search-and-rescue organizations were notified.
"At 5:15, we received a medical alert from Texas, from the Coast Guard, saying there was a medical emergency," Carpenter said. The Weatherman then called out a "code red" over the radio, initiating an emergency response to the GPS location pinged by the tracker. But by then, it was too late. Caselli had succumbed to his injuries. According to the autopsy report, he suffered no head trauma and died of internal injuries.
"In those minutes when I was alone with Kurt, I started praying. Praying for his mom, for his fiancée and for his sister," Ramirez said. "While I was with him one last time, I thought of all the happy, beautiful moments I'd had with him. He was my hero."
SATURDAY NIGHT, one day after the race, Kallonen called Ramirez and told him he wanted to make a memorial for Caselli at the crash site. "We went to buy flowers, but all the shops in Ensenada were closed," Ramirez said. "So we called my dad. He has an employee who welds, and he said he could do something." It was nearly 11 p.m. When Ramirez arrived at his dad's shop the next morning before driving out to the site, he found a metal cross with the words, "Kurt Caselli 1983-2013," waiting for him. "He stayed up all night to finish it," Ramirez said.
Courtesy Ivan Ramirez The day after the accident, Antti Kallonen, Ivan Ramirez and several members of the Ramirez family visited the crash site and created a memorial.
That afternoon, Kallonen and Ramirez placed the cross and several photographs under the tree at race mile 792 where Caselli was found. "It's a beautiful place," Ramirez said. "It will be a good place to stop by and spend hours." Later that day, Kendall Norman and a friend made the same pilgrimage from Ensenada, visiting the accident site hoping to find closure and peace. "It was a really hard day," Norman said. "But it helped to go see the site for myself." Many of Caselli's friends and riding buddies repeated this ritual over the next two weeks.
Back at home a few days after the crash, White walked downstairs to find two riders, friends of Caselli's from Japan, standing in the entry to the Palmdale home she shared with Caselli. "They said when they heard, they didn't know what else to do," White said. "So they got on a plane and came here." Their home has been a steady stream of visitors ever since.
In the weeks and months to come, the decisions made in the search to find Kurt Caselli will be scrutinized and second-guessed, race plans dissected and tough questions asked. Lessons learned from this tragedy will lead to improvements in safety precautions and search-and-rescue techniques. SCORE is already testing the use of two trackers per team in 2014; one will be placed on the bike and a second will be carried by the riders and handed off at each exchange. "The technology available to us is moving at a rapid pace," Roger Norman says. "There will be more changes as a result of what happened at this race."
Adds Kallonen: "SCORE has taken a big step forward on safety, and it's a shame this did not bring us the result we wanted. This touched us so closely."
As memorial rides are held and Caselli's family works with KTM and FMF Racing to create The Caselli Foundation in his honor, KTM will decide the future of the Baja program it built around him. Ramirez says he wants to win Baja next year in Caselli's honor. But first, he plans to organize a ride to finish what he, his teammates and Caselli started on Nov. 14. "I want to ride those last 90 miles for Kurt," he says, "I want to finish his race." And celebrate the beautiful ride that was the 30 years and 138 days leading up to race mile 792.Image copyright AFP Image caption The Thai king is widely revered and protected under strict laws preventing people from criticising him
Two military courts in Thailand have sentenced a man to 30 years in prison and a woman to 28 years for insulting the monarchy.
The sentences are the harshest ever given under Thailand's lese majeste law, which prevents criticism of the king, Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The convictions relate to articles posted on Facebook.
Prosecutions for lese majeste in Thailand have surged since last year's military coup.
According to iLaw, a Thai rights group, there were only two ongoing prosecutions for the crime before the coup. That number is now at least 56, the group says.
Tour operator Pongsak Sriboonpeng, 48, was tried in camera at a court in Bangkok. The judge sentenced him to ten years for each of the six posts he made about the monarch on social media.
But the 60-year term was halved after he pleaded guilty.
In a separate case, a 29-year-old hotel worker and mother of two was sentenced to 56 years by a court in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
Her sentence was also halved after a guilty plea.
Earlier in the week, a man with a history of mental illness was given five years in jail for tearing a portrait of the king.
King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, is widely revered but, at 87, is in poor health and is rarely seen in public.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption King Bhumibol, seen here on his 85th birthday in 2012, has been in poor health for some time
Analysis: Jonathan Head, BBC south east Asia correspondent, Bangkok
Ten years ago, open criticism of the monarchy was almost unknown.
But the political polarisation of Thai society since a military coup nine years ago, which was backed by the palace, has prompted some Thais to challenge the official veneration of the king, especially on social media.
The current military government, which came to power in another coup last year, has made defending the monarchy a top priority.
The law prevents any open discussion of the succession, but uncertainty over what happens when the king dies is causing acute anxiety for many Thais.The Seattle Seahawks have lost another offensive lineman. Coach Pete Carroll announced Friday morning guard Oday Aboushi is headed to the injured reserve.
“He’s finished for the season, he’s on IR,” Carroll said on his weekly KIRO radio show. “Or he’s not yet, but he will be eventually. He’s going to have to get surgery and stuff like that.”
Aboushi suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Falcons in the Seahawks Monday night loss and did not return to the matchup. He has been listed on the injury report the last few weeks and inactive on game days.
The guard was signed to the Seahawks this March during free agency to add some depth and a veteran presence to the offensive line.
Rookie Ethan Pocic has replaced Aboushi in his absence on the right side of the line and is expected to get this start this Sunday.
Pocic missed practice Wednesday with an ankle injury but resumed full participation on Thursday.
“He practiced through the week on a limited basis,” Carroll said of Pocic. “He’s going to be OK we think. We’ll work him out at the stadium, but we think he’s going to be OK to play.”
The Seahawks face off against the Jaguars at 1:25 p.m. PT.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Corgis performed tummy rolls in the short film that preceded the Olympic Games opening ceremony
One of the Queen's corgis, which appeared in a short James Bond sketch for the Olympics opening ceremony, has died, Buckingham Palace has said.
Monty and two other corgis greeted actor Daniel Craig, playing 007 in the short film.
The death of Monty, 13, who was previously owned by the Queen Mother, leaves two corgis in the palace.
The royal family's ties with the breed began when the future George VI bought his first Pembroke corgi in 1933.
The palace announced the death of Monty and of Cider, a dorgi, or dachshund-corgi cross-breed.
In the short film, screened ahead of the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games, the dogs ran down the stairs and performed tummy rolls.
They then stood as a helicopter took off for the Olympic stadium, carrying Bond and a stunt double of the monarch.
Willow and Holly are the two remaining corgis.
And two dorgis, Candy and Vulcan, remain at the palace.Ed. note : Please welcome Above the Law’s guest conversationalist, Zach Abramowitz, of blogcasting platform ReplyAll. You can see some of his other conversations and musings here.
Spring exams are right around the corner, and for most law students, that probably means trying to figure out what went wrong first semester and how to do better this time around. Unless you’re one of the fortunate few who got all As your first semester, hopefully this conversation will give you a better road map for the upcoming exams, or at the very least, make you feel a little better about yourself.
The conversation, which is being created using a new blogging tool called ReplyAll, will develop live on Above the Law over the course of the next few days, so continue to check back as Professors Barry Friedman, John Goldberg, and I continue our discussion…
Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at zach@replyall.me. Barry Friedman is professor of law at NYU School of Law and John Goldberg is professor of law at Harvard Law School. Barry and John co-authored Open Book: Succeeding on Exams From the First Day of Law School (affiliate link).During Dylann Roof’s first court appearance after the June 17 murder of nine worshippers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, several families of the victims offered forgiveness to the man, who did not deserve it.
Why were they so quick to forgive? The families were simply exercising a fundamental Christian virtue. In so doing, they possibly changed the South forever in the process as Confederate flags and symbols are removed from state buildings across the South.
When we suffer injustice, the human heart craves revenge, vindication and retaliation. These are also desires Christ came to save us from. Christians are commanded to respond to injustice with forgiveness. This principle is central to Jesus’ teaching in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matt 6:12). Immediately after this prayer, Jesus tells his disciples, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14–15)
Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answers, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21–22) In other words, you cannot forgive someone enough.
The swift forgiveness offered by the victims’ families, as hard as that must have been, is what Christianity is all about. Forgiveness is an extension of love. Christians extend forgiving love to those who have wronged them — including their enemies — because this is God’s disposition toward them. God is love, and he calls his people to love. God forgives first and expects his people to do the same.
The grace of forgiveness, in turn, empowers forgiven people to forgive others. The irony, of course, is that the very act of Emanuel AME members welcoming a white man into their Bible study showed their deep orientation toward love, given that the AME denomination was birthed from white Christians committing unloving and unwelcoming acts against African-Americans in majority-white congregations.ANNAPOLIS — A Montgomery County delegate wants the state to examine whether to make marijuana more accessible for medicinal purposes.
Del. Henry B. Heller says concern for the safety of the elderly or impaired patients who might need to obtain marijuana is driving the issue. He wants a state task force to study a law on the books that allows anyone charged with possession or use of marijuana to introduce evidence in court related to medical necessity; that law limits any penalty to $100.
The General Assembly in 2003 adopted the law, which is dedicated to Darrell Putman, a former Army Green Beret and conservative activist from Howard County who used marijuana to treat his cancer in the final months before his death in 1999.
Now, Heller (D-Dist. 19) of Leisure World says the state should consider making it easier for people in need to obtain marijuana, which has been shown to reduce nausea in cancer patients and relieve pressure for those with glaucoma.
"The task force would look at it from a medical point of view, not a criminal point of view," he said.
One of the shortcomings of the 2003 law, Heller said, is it only allows physicians to recommend, not prescribe, marijuana for medicinal purposes. That leaves ailing or older patients to acquire the drug on their own, potentially endangering their own well-being.
"Drug dealers aren't the most ethical of people," he said. "They kill each other and rob each other all the time. What are they going to do to an impaired senior or an impaired 25-year-old?"
Former Republican delegate Donald E. Murphy, who championed the medical marijuana campaign during his time in the legislature, believes a closer look at the law is warranted "to see how it works in the real world."
More than a dozen states have similar laws allowing the medicinal use of marijuana to be entered as court evidence. Some states prevent marijuana users from being arrested if they can furnish proof that the drug is used as medical treatment.
"What it does is take away the fear of arrest and incarceration on the patient end," said Murphy, now a lobbyist who travels to other states to advocate for compassionate medical marijuana laws. "From that point, the law is good in all those states, but it could be better."
The task force also would explore whether the medical schools at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland should establish research programs to study the medical and social issues relating to medical marijuana.Racing Club's Oscar Romero has been linked with a move to MLS expansion team Atlanta United.
On the day that it selected five players in the MLS Expansion Draft, Atlanta United is set to drop an even bigger bombshell.
A league source has confirmed to ESPN FC that the expansion club is on the verge of signing Paraguay international and Racing Club midfielder Oscar Romero to a Designated Player contract, with a transfer fee in the $6-7 million range.
Paraguayan journalist Andres Rolon was among those to first report the move, with the source saying Romero will be paid a salary in the neighborhood of $2 million per year.
Atlanta has clearly been mining the contacts of manager Tata Martino, who managed Cerro Porteno from 2003-04, as well as Paraguay's national team from 2007-11.
Atlanta recently signed another Paraguayan, winger Miguel Almiron, to a deal, and it now it looks as if his compatriot, Romero, will join him. The two attack-minded players, combined with forward Kenwyne Jones, will give Atlanta a formidable offense right out of the gate as it begins MLS play in 2017.
Romero, 24, began his career with Paraguayan side Cerro Porteno, spending six years with the club's youth teams before making his first team debut in 2011. He spent three years with the Asuncion-based club before joining Argentine side Racing in 2015. At club level, Romero has tallied 29 goals in 191 league and cup appearances.
At international level, Romero has scored twice for Paraguay in 26 appearances.
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @JeffreyCarlisle.President Obama over the weekend strongly took exception to the notion that the Bush tax cuts for the rich should be extended. The president was right to do so.
Corporate taxes are not too high – they are way too low. In fact the majority of big corporations operating in the U.S. pay no taxes at all. That’s right: zero.
According to a recent report by the Government Accounting Office requested by Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, “72 percent of all foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2005.”
It gets worse: for at least two of the years between 1998 to 2005 more than one-half of foreign corporations and 42 percent of those from the U.S. paid not one red penny in taxes, despite the astronomical growth of the deficit – now $418 billion and escalating.
These guys are taking it all the way to the bank: of those who do pay taxes, some 33 percent, only 2 percent pay more than 11 percent in taxes.
However, you wouldn’t know any of this from the tea partiers and GOP spin masters who complain about government entitlements and give-aways to working-class poor, black, brown, Asian, and white people living in the U.S.
As New York Auburnpub.com recently commented, “If you want to cut entitlements, cut welfare for the wealthy. Make corporations pay their fair share of the taxes.”
None of the corporations were named in the GAO report. At a minimum it’s time for full public disclosure. The government must act in the public interest.
Moreover, with corporations only paying 15 percent on capital gains and working people paying 25 percent, the Bush tax cuts must not be extended, tea partiers and their corporate backers be damned!
Photo: CC 2.0I want to start by saying that I think the Bolt is a great initiative from GM and I am glad to see this major car manufacturer committing more seriously to pure electric vehicles. This article is not a hit piece on the Bolt, but rather a critic of the reporting around the vehicle. Recently some media have been implying that the Bolt might be a “Tesla killer” or more precisely that it is going after Tesla’s third generation vehicle currently in development, the Model 3. These claims are unfounded and derive from this bad habit of seeing all electric vehicles as one big car category.
No one in their right mind would see the Mercedes S-Class as a competitor to the Nissan Versa, for the same reasons, the Nissan Leaf is not meant to compete with the Tesla Model S. In both cases, one is a large luxury sedan and the other is a compact five-door hatchback. They don’t address the same markets regardless of both having drivetrains fueled by gasoline, in the cases of the Versa and the S-Class, and electricity for the Leaf and the Model S.
The media have this tendency of treating EVs as if they were all on the same level on which you can only compare them by range or pricing.
The Bolt is an EV in development with General Motors. It is expected to have a range of more than 200 miles and a starting price of “$30,000 after tax incentives”, meaning it will likely start at $37,500.
On the other hand, the Model 3 is an EV in development with Tesla Motors. It is expected to have a range of more than 200 miles and a starting price of $35,000. If we were to stop here, it would be clear to anyone that these two vehicles will be direct competitors, but it is not this simple.
GM unveiled the Bolt concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. It was known that the company was working on a “long-range” electric vehicle, but we didn’t know what the car would look like. EV enthusiasts were nervous ahead of the unveiling since car manufacturers have an inclination toward creating weird or unnecessary futuristic designs when it comes to electric vehicle concepts. Although not a beauty, I was glad to see that the Bolt is not a “weird-mobile”. At the unveiling, we also learned that the Bolt will be a five-door hatchback. The overall design and size are not unlike another Chevrolet, the Sonic:
I don’t think it is too far-fetched to say that the Bolt is shaping up to be an electric Sonic.
As for the Model 3, we have yet to see the concept car and the company only has “early engineering prototypes”. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, said the company is aiming to unveil the vehicle in March 2016. What we do know about the car, aside from the expected range and pricing, is that Tesla plans for the Model 3 to be a BMW Series 3 competitor. Keeping up with their luxury car brand, the company is planning on making the Model 3 a mid-luxury vehicle, for which they want to offer a sedan version as well as a crossover version.
If we rely on currently available information, the gasoline-powered counterpart of the Model 3 is shaping up to be the BMW Series 3, while the Bolt’s seems to be the Chevrolet Sonic. Much like the Nissan Versa is not competing with the Mercedes S-Class, although not as obvious, the Chevrolet Sonic is not competing with the BMW Series 3.
In other words, GM is making a $37,500 car that would sell for $20,000 if it wasn’t electric, while Tesla is trying to make a $35,000 car that would sell for $35,000 if it wasn’t electric.Doug Shulman, former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, had a really tough Wednesday. During the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party and conservative groups, Shulman was asked very specific questions by members about the scandal and why he didn’t deal with it sooner.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) went after Shulman on several aspects of the scandal, and didn’t let him get away with deflection and empty answers:
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) also went after Shulman on whether or not he was being honest with the committee about his knowledge of the scandal and if he ever conversed with the White House on the matter:
Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) asked Shulman about his knowledge of the Constitution, given that the IRS targeted these groups that focused on America’s founding document, to which the former agency commissioner replied, “I can’t recite the Constitution, sir”:
Shulman’s answers were, for the most part, less than forthcoming. It appeared at times that he still questioned that the IRS was targeting these groups because of their political beliefs — a fact which is beyond dispute. This is why there was so much indignation toward him from members of the committee. When you’re brought to answer questions in a legitimate inquiry on wrong-doing by a very powerful agency, you had better be more transparent.CHARLESTON, S.C. - Tightening polls and rising tensions between White House rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders could fuel a fiery Democratic debate on Sunday, their last face-to-face encounter until Iowa kicks off the presidential nominating race in two weeks.
The leading Democratic contenders stepped up their attacks on each other during the past week, battling over guns, healthcare and Wall Street with growing intensity as polls showed Sanders gaining ground on Clinton in key states.
Clinton, Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who lags badly in polls, will participate in the 9 p.m. EST debate on NBC, the fourth between the Democratic contenders.
Foreign policy also could play a role in the debate, which follows Saturday’s prisoner deal announced by the United States and Iran. Tehran will free five Americans including a Washington Post reporter and a Christian minister.
Republican candidates expressed relief at the prisoner release but renewed their criticism of President Barack Obama’s willingness to make deals with Tehran, particularly his earlier agreement with Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions. Sanders and Clinton have both supported the Iran nuclear deal.
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has pulled into a statistical tie with Clinton in recent polls in Iowa, which holds the first contest on Feb. 1 in the race to pick a nominee for the November election. He also leads Clinton in the next state to vote, New Hampshire on Feb. 9, according to polls.
As the race has tightened, Clinton has been on the attack. The former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York has hammered Sanders for past votes to support immunity from lawsuits for gun manufacturers and criticize his call for a national single-payer healthcare system. She demanded details on how he would pay for it.
Sanders fired back with an ad criticizing Democrats who take money from Wall Street, an obvious dig at Clinton, and touting his plan to break up the big banks.
“Will they like me? No,” Sanders said in words that recalled Clinton’s recent debate comment that everyone should like her.
An angry Clinton campaign quickly accused Sanders of breaking his pledge not to air negative ads against her.
“Clearly they are ready to sharpen their contrasts on issues with each other,” said Brad Anderson, an Iowa-based Democratic strategist who was state director for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.
“The debate is going to be enormously important given all the undecideds we are seeing in polls,” said Anderson, who supports Clinton. “People are still really, really weighing their decision here.”
Clinton is expected to step up her attacks on Sanders as too soft on gun restrictions, particularly given the site of the debate in Charleston, South Carolina. It is one block from the historic church where nine black worshipers were killed by a white gunman in June.
“My guess is Clinton will lean heavily on the gun issue, and Sanders is not going to take that lying down,” said Dane Strother, an unaligned Democratic strategist. “There are going to be distinctions drawn.”
Wins by Sanders in both Iowa and New Hampshire would be a huge blow to Clinton, long seen as a prohibitive favorite. After those two states, the race moves on to Nevada and South Carolina, where Clinton leads in polls, and a March 1 round of 11 state contests.
“Things could change radically here if Bernie wins in Iowa and New Hampshire,” said Phil Noble, a veteran South Carolina party strategist and head of the state’s New Democrats, who has endorsed O’Malley.
The sharp exchanges after months of relatively quiet campaigning, particularly in comparison to the raucous Republican nominating battle, served as a wake-up call for Democrats, Anderson said. But he warned against it becoming too nasty.
“This is good. People are now clearly paying attention and fired up,” he said. “But my unsolicited advice would be for them to watch their tone. If you want your supporters to turn out on a cold winter night, a really aggressive negative message is not something that drives them.” — Reuters
This story "Stakes Rise for Dem Debate As Bernie Sanders Closes Gap With Hillary Clinton" was written by John Whitesides.Photo
Good Friday morning from Washington, where a Supreme Court ruling on voter ID has upset election plans in Wisconsin, President Obama is enjoying a hug from Hollywood and an obsessive artist has captured a new side of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The White House is moving more quickly than anticipated to select a new attorney general and is poised to announce President Obama’s choice before the Nov. 4 election, with Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez emerging as a leading candidate.
Many on Capitol Hill expected the president to wait until after the election to avoid making the nominee a campaign issue for embattled Democratic Senate candidates. But people familiar with the administration’s planning now say an announcement could come in the next few weeks.
No final decision has been made, they said, but Mr. Perez, 53, a former Justice Department civil rights official and the son of Dominican immigrants, is at the top of the list. His nomination would be applauded by many Hispanic leaders. And he has a compelling personal story, having worked as a trash collector to help put himself through Brown University.
Other candidates, including Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, remain under consideration. Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel, is still in contention, though a possible obstacle arose for her this week over her handling of an internal review into possible misconduct by White House staff traveling in advance of a presidential trip to Colombia in 2012.
The Washington Post reported that a hotel log suggested a young volunteer had a female guest in his room, possibly a prostitute, but that in an inquiry, Ms. Ruemmler found no wrongdoing. The White House stood by her, and allies suggested the episode did not disqualify her. But Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the committee that would review the nomination, made it clear it would be an issue if she were nominated.
Mr. Perez was opposed for the labor post by Republicans, who branded him an ideologue who selectively enforced civil rights laws. But Democrats could push the nomination through in a lame-duck session on a simple majority vote. The fact that Mr. Perez went through the confirmation process and extensive background check as recently as last year is also an advantage.
— Carl Hulse
The Supreme Court’s decision late Thursday to block Wisconsin from forcing voters to produce photo identification at the polls is a setback for the man who signed the bill into law, Gov. Scott Walker.
Mr. Walker, a Republican, had been expected to benefit from a Sept. 12 appellate decision that cleared the way for the ID requirement, which courts had delayed for several years. Critics say such laws are aimed at discouraging minorities, who are often seen as reliable Democrats, from casting ballots. And Mr. Walker is in a battle with Mary Burke, a Democrat, that could hinge on which of them can turn out the most of their base voters Nov. 4.
The Supreme Court ruling is also giving the nearly 2,000 clerks who handle Wisconsin’s highly decentralized voting system another case of whiplash. Since the appeals court ruling, they have been rushing to educate voters and poll watchers about the requirement. On Friday, the clerks are expected to, in essence, tell them, “Never mind.”
Laurel Patrick, a spokeswoman for Mr. Walker, expressed confidence that Wisconsin would eventually be allowed to carry out the ID law.
— Monica Davey
Georgia has two candidates of famous lineage this cycle: Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter who is running for governor, and Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Senator Sam Nunn who is running for the Senate herself.
But the more intriguing figures behind the scenes may be the families’ matriarchs: Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady, and Michelle’s mother, Colleen Nunn.
Mrs. Carter, 87, is so eager for campaign updates that she sometimes reads them in the middle of the night so she can brief the former president when he wakes up. “He is the second-most political person in the couple,” Jason Carter said of the former president. “And he is the second-most engaged in the campaign of my two grandparents.”
As to Colleen Nunn: She is a one-time C.I.A. agent and Hawaii-based surfer who met her husband when they both worked at the United States Embassy in Paris in 1962.
She has been a frequent presence at campaign headquarters, and in an interview this year, she emerged as a fierce defender of her daughter – much more so than the mild-mannered Mr. Nunn. When a reporter mentioned that her daughter’s campaign had begun with a “rocky rollout,” Mrs. Nunn cut off the question: “I never heard that,” she said sharply. “What was the rocky rollout?”
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg
He is suddenly one of the central figures in the fierce battle for control of the Senate.
Yet former Senator Larry Pressler is running a rather homespun campaign for his old South Dakota seat. He has little money and one paid employee. His wife, Harriet, is his driver and he posts his own news releases to his website.
The never-shy 72-year-old, who was defeated in 1996, is competing in what has become a fascinating four-way race. Polls show the long-presumed victor, Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, could be defeated, maybe even by Mr. Pressler, because of a state administration scandal. Democrats this week announced they would pour $1 million into the race, in a bank-shot bid to grab the seat and hold on to the majority.
Mr. Pressler, who has taught college since leaving the Senate, said he couldn’t very well urge his students to be active in public life if he stood by with Washington in disarray.
“I didn’t like the direction the country is going, in certain areas, so I decided to get off my behind and do something about it,” said Mr. Pressler, who is running as an independent though he served in Congress as a Republican.
Mr. Pressler, who runs five miles almost daily, has been traveling around the state, after loaning his campaign $100,000 and spending another $100,000 of his savings.
“I get more applause than anyone in the parades,” reported Mr. Pressler said proudly.
He noted |
a popular, legit website and insert a tiny, almost invisible copy of their web page on as many pages of the high-traffic site as they can. Then they sit back and rely on SEO technology to do the rest.
SEO automates the process by which search engines rank web pages and prioritize search results, based on relevance. When the legit site turns up as the no. 1 or no. 2 search result for the popular search query, the hackers’ corrupted link turns up as no. 4 or no. 6. Anyone who clicks on this link will get a fake security pitch.
PandaLabs recently infiltrated another gang of SEO hackers out to spread scareware and tallied up the malicious links they managed to insert into Google search results.
PandaLabs counted 16,000 malicious links appearing in search results for the search query “YouTube;” 10,500 bad links for “France Airline Crash”; 8,930 bad links for “Microsoft Project Natal”; 3,380 bad links for “E3”; 2,900 bad links for “Eminem MTV Awards Bruno Incident”; and 2,850 bad links for “Sony.”
The SEO hacking group infiltrated by Finjan got paid $172,800 — 9.6 cents for each of the 1.8 million corrupted links people clicked on, says Ben-Izthak. Only a tiny fraction those clicks resulted in the purchase of a fake $50 program. Still, the total revenue generated was $193,320. After paying the affiliate, the top-level supplier pocketed $20,520.
Google spokesman Andrew Kovacs says the search giant works hard to preserve the integrity of search results. “We make constant improvements to our systems,” says Kovacs. “This issue is not specific to one company, and we encourage people to be vigilant about checking the URLs (web links) of the websites they visit.”
Scareware affiliates earn big bucks
The top-level groups typically work with one hundred or more affiliates, who can earn commissions many different ways. Last fall, SecureWorks researcher Stewart infiltrated a Russian group known as the Baka Software gang. He accessed documentation showing one affiliate earned $146,525 in ten days by spreading promotions for a worthless program, called Antivirus XP 2008, to more than 154,000 people, and closing sales to 2,772 of them. Another record showed five top Baka Software affiliates earning weekly commissions averaging $107,604.
Top-level scareware distributors continue to operate with impunity, mainly based in Russia. And new affiliates crop up everyday, full of fresh ideas to spread increasingly invasive promotions. “Bakasoftware is just one of many affiliate programs,” says Stewart. “The sheer amounts of money involved in installing just one rogue program are mind-boggling.”
Botnets are integrally involved. Botnets allow the automation and scaling up of all of these shenanigans. Some affiliates are major botnet controllers, who deploy their botnets some of the time to spread scareware. Some are specialists who lease botnets to spread scareware.
St. Petersburg connection
All of this got me thinking about how the thriving scareware industry is really the natural progression what Andrej Sporaw set into motion when he was tooling around St. Petersburg in 2004-2005 in his black Mercedes S600 running iframecash.biz website, one of the original top-level scareware distributors. You can read about Sporaw’s exploits in this excerpt from my award-winning book, Zero Day Threat: The Shocking Truth of How Banks and Credit Bureaus Help Cyber Crooks Steal Your Money and Identity.
Sporaw was one of the first to offer commissions to anyone who helped him spread the SpySheriff fake antivirus program. Freelancer hackers began to taint legitimate Web sites so that pop-up ads for SpySheriff would launch on the PC of anyone who visited a corrupted web page.
I’ve always wondered if Sporaw, who must be in his late 20s by now, stayed active. It would make sense that he is a leader of top-level group today. Finjan’s Ben-Itzhak, who tracked Sporaw in his iframecash.biz days, says there is little evidence connecting Sproraw to the SEO hackers.
“The look & feel of the command and control server is different. The location of the server is in Ukraine and not Russia. As I do not want to speculate without having simple evidences to support my claims, I cannot conclude that these are the same people. Affiliations like these are very popular on the web today, there is a high chance that these are two different groups,” he says.
Granted, but the SEO hackers operate more like affiliates. And my suspicion is that Sporaw, if he’s still active, would be heading up one of the main top-level groups.
Cutting-edge Twitter scareware attacks
Fast forward to June 2009. Last week, PandaLabs threat researcher Sean-Paul Correll logged on to his Twitter profile page and noticed “phish” was one of the Top 10 “trending topics” being Tweeted about by Twitterers.
It seems a music fan figured out a way to use an iPhone to stream music from the floor of the Phish concert in Wantagh, New York, generating a ton of Tweets. Correll clicked to a webpage listing real-time Tweets about this cultural milestone — and immediately spotted a suspicious one. It suggested clicking to a Web link to view a “phishtube” video on YouTube.
You guessed it: the Tweeted link was tainted.
Click on it and you’d be prompted to download a fake Adobe Flash player update. Click on the fake update, and you’d get sucked into a promotion for worthless “Privacy Center” antivirus protection.
Correll wondered how many of the other Top 10 trending topics might be similarly corrupted. He quickly discovered all Top 10 trending topics included Tweets with links to the same scareware promotion. “They were targeting every trending topic on Twitter,” says Correll.
Correll didn’t have to use any fancy forensic techniques to figure this out. He simply used the free search and sorting tools Twitter makes available to everyone, and some common sense. He tallied the number of different Twitter accounts sending out the bad links, discovering about 50 different accounts sending out more than 3,000 Tweets with scareware links. Each malicious Tweet keyed off of a Top 10 trending topic.
‘Assumed goodness’
This particular attack shut down two days later. But Correll notes that Twitter has made it child’s play for anyone with a modicum of tech savvy to replicate it.
It’s free and simple to create one, a dozen or 100 new Twitter accounts, which can then be used to broadcast malicious Tweets. What’s more, Twitter makes it very easy to automate the process of sending out malicious Tweets. “It’s pretty trivial to make something that interfaces with Twitter,” says Correll. “It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge.”
The attackers probably created a simple program, called a script, that automatically kept track of the top trending topics and then dispersed malicious Tweets with slightly differing text corresponding to each hot topic.
The bad guys thus were able to leverage the high trust quotient associated with fast-changing Tweets. “Sites like Twitter work in real time and create open dialogues with everyone in the world,” says Correll. “People tend to trust the links they see on Twitter because they view it as real-time communication. They assume goodness.”
Crippling machines to cash in
In fact, scareware promotions can be very bad, indeed. In a similar Twitter attack tracked by Kaspersky Lab virus hunter, Roel Schouwenberg, the bad guys created new Twitter accounts and began broadcasting Tweets declaring “Best video” with a web link.
Clicking on the link launched a sequence that replicated the message to everyone on the victim’s friends list. Schouwenberg says anyone who clicked on http://juste.ru got directed to a particularly egregious promotion. It shut down — and locked out — all other software programs, and insisted on purchase of a two-year license, for $49.95, to unlock the programs. A lifetime license cost $79.95. Here’s a screen shot of a similar lock-out attack:
“They’re beginning to cripple machines to make it more likely that you will pay up,” he says.
Risk vs. reward
A few scareware affiliates have been slowed by regulators. Last year, Microsoft and the Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed several lawsuits against companies for allegedly marketing fake security products. And the Federal Trade Commission last December obtained restraining orders prohibiting Innovative Marketing and ByteHosting Internet Services, which the FTC says tricked more than one million consumers into buying WinFixer, WinAntivirus, DriveCleaner, ErrorSafe, and XP Antivirus, all worthless.
While affiliates risk encounters with law enforcement, the top-level suppliers are cagey. Most shape agreements with affiliates to deflect liability, and supply rudimentary protection upon payment. That way they can argue that they are selling providing something of value, says Dan Hubbard, chief technical officer of Websense Security Lab.
“The legal boundaries are gray at best,” says Hubbard. “They may not be breaking any laws based on where they operate from.”
It took a few days to get Twitter to respond. But spokeswoman Jenna Sampson did finally send me an email acknowledging Twitter was aware of the attacks tracked by PandaLabs and Kaspersky. She noted that the company keeps users abreast of cyber threats at its Status blog.
“We take the security of our users extremely seriously and are very open with them when we discover new threats,” says Sampson. “We share the information with them, and have a team that proactively mines for threats and shuts them down immediately.”
Maybe so. But LastWatchdog believes that a USA TODAY reader commenting today’s cover story may have summarized it best: “Scareware is the very definition of terrorism for the 21st Century. Soon many will be pondering getting rid of their Internet access completely. It is almost to that point now. Whether you pay bills online or bank online do you really know that the website you are visiting is actually legit?”
–Byron Acohido
June 10th, 2009 | Imminent threats | Top StoriesThis was the final question last week at Pub Trivia, and our team won the evening with the same answer to this question that almost everyone else gave, probably the answer you’ve heard before: a blue moon means two full moons in one calendar month. This month, December 2009, has a blue moon on the 31, since it also had a full moon on the 2nd. But I had the nagging feeling that I’d read or heard somewhere (probably on QI) that the popular definition is wrong, that the real blue moon isn’t that straightforward. When I got home, Google confirmed it: We were wrong, quizmasters and all.
This idea that a month with two full moons is unusual points out the incongruity between the lunar cycle and our familiar 12 month, 365 day calendar. Month and Moon are nearly the same word–why don’t they mean the same thing? The answer, of course, is that they once did. But nature seems to hate an integer* as much as it reportedly hates a vacuum, so a year isn’t an even 365 or 366 days or 12 orbits of the moon around the Earth; neither does the moon take exactly 29 or 30 days to go around. So the problem is one of successive approximation, dividing one number by another and dealing with the remainder.
A first approximation: the lunar calendar
The moon was a useful timekeeper, despite its reluctance to synchronize with the cycles of the seasons. Instead of having to remember “day 237 after the winter solstice is wheat-planting day”, a farmer simply knew that the eighth moon is the wheat-planting moon. The wheat didn’t care much if one year’s full moon was 11 days earlier (or 18 days later) than the last year’s. Before the unveiling of the Julian calendar in 45 BC (more on that later) nearly all cultures on the planet used a calendar based on the cycles of the moon. (The Mesoamericans are a notable exception, and that 2012 thing is complete malarkey. Just saying.)
So here’s the first rounding error: Twelve cycles of the moon take between 354 and 355 days, but it’s 365 or 366 days between winter solstices. Or in other words, every two or three years will have thirteen full moons in it instead of twelve. And this is where the “blue” moon comes in, the moon that’s different from the others. (Though at this time, months and moons were the same thing so there’s not any question of having two of one in the other.) If you have a Stonehenge or other primitive-but-awesome celestial observatory handy (robed druids included) to tell you exactly when the solstice occurs you’ll notice that the phase of the moon and the solstice just about line up every 19 years. (But not exactly. Again, nature versus integers.) And even if you don’t, you’d eventually notice that, on average, 7 of every 19 cycles of the seasons need 13 months instead of 12 to keep everything in sync, or you’ll planting your wheat at the wrong time of year.
One interesting exception to this is the Islamic calendar, which has twelve lunar months and doesn’t adjust to match the seasons. This calendar is used for civil and religious purposes; a separate solar calendar must be used for agriculture. An Islamic, or hijri, year is on average 354.36 days long, so their calendar shifts forward by around 11 days each year relative to the seasons. Ramadan isn’t just on different dates every year (which would be more alarming to us if we didn’t have to deal with Easter), it crosses the seasons and returns to the same time of year every 33 years. This also means their years are counting up around 3% faster than seasonal years: It’s currently 1430 AH in the Islamic calendar, but in the year 20874 (AH and AD) their years will “catch up” with ours.
Next approximation: the solar calendar
In the Roman Republic the months were determined, as in most other cultures at the time, by priests (or imams, robed druids, etc.) who announced the presence of a new moon–and thus a new month–just after sunset. (The word “calendar” comes from the Latin calare “to call out, announce”, by way of kalends, the first day of the Roman month.) The Pontifex Maximus, high priest of the Roman religion, had the additional task of determining how long the year would be, 12 or 13 months, and therefore which day of the week important holidays would fall on–important stuff for a superstitious lot like the Romans. Originally, this was a purely religious role, but by the middle of the first century BC Roman politics had become particularly nasty and the Pontifex Maximus could use the calendar as a political tool, choosing to add an extra month to years when allies were in power or denying an extra month to his enemies.
To what extent Julius Caesar did this after becoming Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC isn’t clear, but 17 years later, in 46 BC, Caesar reformed the calendar, taking the power to define the year away from the position. The Julian reform declared that the Roman Republic would use a 365 day calendar with an extra day every 4 years. (Sound familiar?) In other words, the year was approximated at 365 1/4 days. To align the new calendar with the equinox, though, he had to add another two months to the already extended year, making 46 BC 445 days long. Cicero called this “the last year of confusion”.
One last tweak: our modern calendar
By the end of the Middle Ages, it had become apparent that the Julian calendar had drifted away from the seasonal calendar. This distressed the Catholic Church terribly because the most important thing in the world for the Catholic Church was celebrating Easter on the correct day. It had spent the previous thousand years trying to sort it out and now it found that their calendar, the calendar that Caesar had set in motion 1600 years before, was missing the equinox by more than a week.
During this time, some very clever people had figured out that the Julian calendar was moving forward around 3 days every 400 years, and came up with a modification to the leap year scheme: Every 100 years would not be a leap year, except for every 400 years. (You may remember that 2000 was a double exception year–it wouldn’t have been a leap year, but it was. So if you weren’t paying attention, you didn’t really miss anything.) In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII announced a reform of the calendar, the new leap year scheme along with a 10-day shift to get the calendar synced back up with the seasons.
The Church and a number of Catholic countries adopted the new calendar on Friday, October 15th of 1582, one day after (Julian) Thursday, October 4th. Protestant Europe resisted this papist conspiracy until the 18th century; the British Empire (including the American colonies) saw Thursday, September 14th follow Wednesday the 2nd in 1752. Sweden tried to make a gradual change by ignoring leap years until their calendar matched the Gregorian, but lost its nerve and switched back to the Julian calendar after 12 years. To make up for a day gained in the interim, they added a 30th of February to 1712. In Alaska, the change took place in 1867 when US took possession of the territory from Russia, which still used the Julian calendar. Because the international date line shifted at the same time, Friday, October 6th was followed by another Friday, the 18th of October.
Time in the future
Modern astronomy tells us that a year is, to within one day in a million years, 365.242199 days long. The Julian calendar put 1 year as 365.25 days, for an error of 7.8 days per 1000 years. The Gregorian calendar put 1 year as 365.2425 days, for an error of 0.3 days every 1000 years. The astronomer Sir John Herschel proposed that the year 4000 and every 4,000th year after should not be a leap year in order to reduce this remaining error to about half a day every 10,000 years, but the standard has not yet been adopted. New calendars have been proposed (mostly to solve the problem of figuring out which day of the week any given date is) but the Gregorian calendar’s ordering of leap years is sufficient to keep the calendar aligned to the seasons as far into the future as we need.
Well, almost. At this scale we begin to see that the speed at which the Earth rotates on its axis isn’t constant, or even predictable. The pull of the moon’s gravity is slowing the rotation of the Earth, making each day longer by a fairly constant 2.3 milliseconds per century, but other factors, most notably shifting mass on and inside the planet, add to or subtract from this by a different amount every year. Since 1967, when the length of a second was standardized in precise atomic terms, days have been between 0.3 and 1 ms longer than the traditional 24 * 60 * 60 = 86,400 seconds. As a result, every once in a while astronomers add a “leap second” to UTC, Coordinated Universal Time. Surprisingly, while just about every year between 1972 and 1999 required a leap second to keep the clock synchronized with the Earth’s rotation, there have only been two leap seconds added in the last ten years. The Earth has sped up just a bit, and no one knows why.
Time in Cocoa
Since this is a Panic Engineering post, I should probably write something about calendars and programming. If you’re not a Cocoa programmer (and even if you are), feel free to skip this–it won’t be on the test.
First, here’s the code I used to find the year that the Islamic and Gregorian calendars meet. The NSCalendar and NSDateComponents classes were introduced in OS X 10.4 to replace NSCalendarDate, and are also available on the iPhone OS. They provide calendar operations such as converting NSDate objects to and from units of years, months, days, etc., and finding the difference between two NSDates. (Since we mentioned it above, it’s worth noting that as far as the OS is concerned every day is 86,400 seconds long. NSCalendar does not know about leap seconds.)
NSCalendar * gregorian = [ currentCalendar ] ; gregorian NSCalendar currentCalendar NSCalendar * islamic = [ [ alloc ] initWithCalendarIdentifier : NSIslamicCalendar ] ; islamic NSCalendar allocinitWithCalendarIdentifierNSIslamicCalendar NSDateComponents * components = [ [ alloc ] init ] ; components NSDateComponents allocinit [ components setDay : 1 ] ; [ components setMonth : 11 ] ; [ components setYear : 20874 ] ; // Always use a format string in NSLog, even if it's just @"%@"! NSLog ( @ "%@", [ gregorian dateFromComponents : components ] ) ; NSLog ( @ "%@", [ islamic dateFromComponents : components ] ) ;
And here’s a snippet showing the jump from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar on October 15th, 1582. Be aware that the default NSCalendar uses the Julian calendar before this date. (For “fun”, check out October 1582 in iCal…)
[ components setDay : 15 ] ; [ components setMonth : 10 ] ; [ components setYear : 1582 ] ; NSDate * date = [ gregorian dateFromComponents : components ] ; dategregorian dateFromComponentscomponents NSLog ( @ "%@", date ) ; // 1582-10-15 00:00:00 -0800 NSDateComponents * offset = [ [ alloc ] init ] ; offset NSDateComponents allocinit [ offset setSecond :- 1 ] ; date = [ gregorian dateByAddingComponents : offset toDate : date options : 0 ] ; NSLog ( @ "%@", date ) ; // 1582-10-04 23:59:59 -0800
OS X 10.4 provided Gregorian, Buddhist, Hebrew, Islamic, Islamic Civil, and Japanese calendars. 10.6 added Republic of China (for calendrical operations only, not formatting), Persian, Indian, and ISO8601, the traditional calendar of ISO8601istan. NSDateFormatter can format dates in any of these calendars:
NSDateFormatter * formatter = [ [ alloc ] init ] ; formatter NSDateFormatter allocinit [ formatter setDateStyle : NSDateFormatterFullStyle ] ; ( @ "Today's Gregorian date: %@", [ formatter stringFromDate : [ date ] ] ) ; NSLogformatter stringFromDate NSDate date NSCalendar * buddhist = [ [ alloc ] initWithCalendarIdentifier : NSBuddhistCalendar ] ; buddhist NSCalendar allocinitWithCalendarIdentifierNSBuddhistCalendar [ formatter setCalendar : buddhist ] ; ( @ "Today's Buddhist date: %@", [ formatter stringFromDate : [ date ] ] ) ; NSLogformatter stringFromDate NSDate date NSCalendar * islamic = [ [ alloc ] initWithCalendarIdentifier : NSIslamicCalendar ] ; islamic NSCalendar allocinitWithCalendarIdentifierNSIslamicCalendar [ formatter setCalendar : islamic ] ; ( @ "Today's Islamic date: %@", [ formatter stringFromDate : [ date ] ] ) ; NSLogformatter stringFromDate NSDate date
Blue Moons
The article that told me I was wrong about what “blue moon” means (and hilariously refers to that definition as “trendy”) explains that the “two full moons in a month” definition is due to a misreading of the Maine Farmers’ Almanac: the real Blue Moon is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. Why the third? The first full moon of the season is particularly significant; e.g., the Easter moon. The moons before and after have names as well–the Lent Moon precedes the Easter Moon, whether it’s the third or fourth moon of the winter–so the third moon of four is the extra one. By this definition, 2009 does not have a blue moon, since the full moon on December 31st is after the solstice and belongs to next year’s winter.
For an example of the importance of the sequence of the moons to daily life, consider Charlemagne’s naming of the months of the year (a solar year, but even so), used for over 700 years after his death:
Wintarmanoth, winter month
Hornung, the month when the male red deer sheds its antlers
Lentzinmanoth, Lent month
Ostarmanoth, Easter month
Wonnemanoth, love-making month
Brachmanoth, plowing month
Heuvimanoth, hay month
Aranmanoth, harvest month
Witumanoth, wood month
Windumemanoth, wine month
Herbistmanoth, autumn harvest month
Heilagmanoth, holy month
One etymology claims “blue” comes from belewe, “betrayer”. Imagine if an extra moon showed up and delayed Wonnemanoth for 29 days. Betrayer moon!
A: The third of four full moons in a season
The next day I emailed the quizmaster to let her know how we were all terribly, horribly wrong, that we’d need to recount the scores, possibly have a do-over. She said they’d take either answer.
* A Correction
“Nature hates integers” is a gross oversimplification and ignores not just all of chemistry, where everything happens in even ratios, but the surprising phenomenon of orbital resonance. Pluto and Neptune, for example, are phase-locked in a stable 2:3 resonance: Pluto orbits the sun exactly twice for every three of Neptune’s orbits, and has for millions of years. Our moon’s rotation is locked to its orbit around the Earth due to tidal forces, which is why we only ever see one side of it. For the same reason, the Earth’s rotation is also slowing down and will eventually match the orbit of the moon. At that point, billions of years from now, both a day and a month will last for around 47 of our current 86,400-second-long days. One side of the Earth will face the moon; the other will never see it again.Loic Venance/Getty Images
Facebook is taking more responsibility over its role in the media industry.
The social network on Wednesday announced a new initiative called the Journalism Project, which seeks to put Facebook on steadier footing with the news industry. As part of the effort, the social network will work to help train journalists on how to use Facebook as a reporting tool and assist the public in figuring out how to sniff out misinformation.
"We know that our community values sharing and discussing ideas and news," Fidji Simo, director of product for the project, wrote in a blog post. "And as a part of our service, we care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive."
The initiative is part of an about-face for Facebook, which for a long time shrugged off its influence on the news and downplayed the impact of misinformation circulated on Facebook on the 2016 presidential election. The company is now acknowledging the significant role it plays in the consumption of news online, along with its ability to shape journalism's future.
The project is also in part an olive branch from Facebook to the media industry, which has reeled as news has moved from print to the internet. A big part of that upheaval has been Facebook, with its massive influence in distributing news to its 1.79 billion monthly visitors. Facebook's ever-changing algorithms play a large role in what people see on the social network, and therefore affect news outlets' viewership and revenue.
The social media giant's project has three aspects. First is the development of news "products" between Facebook and media outlets, such as new storytelling formats. Facebook also offered the example of a German media outlet that developed a free subscription trial period for Facebook users.
Next is a plan to offer tools and "best practices" training to journalists. This includes collaborations with the Knight Foundation, the Detroit Journalism Cooperative and the Institute for Nonprofit News. In addition, a Facebook-owned tool called CrowdTangle, which measures social performance, will now be free to Facebook's media partners.
The final focus is on Facebook's readers, with an emphasis on promoting media literacy. Facebook pointed to new tools designed to make it easier to report bogus news stories, along with its efforts to remove financial incentives that motivate spamming, and a collaboration with third-party fact-checking groups to help identify hoaxes.
The Journalism Project is only the latest move Facebook has made to try to ease tensions with the news media. Last week, the social network hired former CNN anchor Campbell Brown to be its head of news partnerships. In the role, she's meant to be a liaison who helps media outlets work more effectively with Facebook.
This story was first published Jan. 11 at 9:30 a.m. PT.
Update, 11:18 a.m.: Adds context throughout.
Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility. Check it out here.
Life, disrupted: In Europe, millions of refugees are still searching for a safe place to settle. Tech should be part of the solution. But is it? CNET investigates.Do you remember the good ol’ days when Donald Trump was so stinkin’ rich that he would be free from the encumbrances that come from grovelling for the finances needed to win the presidency? He told us he would personally finance the whole thing if he had to.
Good times. Good times.
Well, apparently he’s either a baldfaced liar or he’s not as wealthy as he claimed to be. Maybe both, which is perhaps another reason he refuses to release his tax returns.
As Trump continues beating the drum that the RNC is responsible for his lack of success, his monetary shortfall is very serious, as multiple reports continue to flow from the campaign about the lack of any ground organization and the unbelievable fact that he has spent ZERO on TV advertising with only 82 days to go until the election.
So, what is Trump’s plan besides his nightly appearances on Faux News to get the word out about crooked Hillary and how he will Make America Great Again. Since he apparently lacks the personal wealth he claims to have, and with the RNC directing its limited resources away from Trump in an attempt to save down-ticket Republicans facing defeat with The Donald leading the GOP ticket, Trump is now skirting the law by appealing to foreigners for direct campaign contributions.
According to a news story from The Hill, a member of the Australian Parliament received a direct solicitation from the Trump campaign this past weekend, an action that the non-profit watchdog group, the Campaign Legal Center, says is “clearly illegal.” They have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in addition to sending a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
General counsel for the watchdog group, Larry Nobel, says that Trump’s “refusal to put a stop to the solicitations is compelling evidence of the campaign’s flagrant disregard for the law.”
Foreign individuals, corporations, and governments are not allowed to give directly to US candidates or to influence US elections by advertising. But, hey, Trump’s the law and order candidate, right? So I’m pretty sure his supporters will ignore this scandal too.
Personally, I don’t understand what the big deal is. It’s not like anyone with the Trump campaign has recently been illegally involved financially with a foreign government. Right Paul Manafort?
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
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TelegramTHREE more asylum boats have arrived at Christmas Island in the hours following federal parliament's failure to agree on a way of halting the flow of boatpeople to Australia.
One boat carrying 44 asylum-seekers, believed to be from Sri Lanka, was intercepted by officials from Border Protection Command late last night and was escorted into Christmas Island's Flying Fish Cove.
Within hours another boat arrived off the island and was this morning escorted by the navy into Flying Fish Cove. Aboard were about 100 men, believed to be from Afghanistan.
Later this morning, authorities said they were preparing to intercept a third boat about 30 nautical miles from Christmas Island.
The new boat arrivals came as federal parliament broke up for its winter break with no solution to the deadlock over asylum-seeker policy.
They also follow the interception on Wednesday night of a boat carrying 93 Sri Lankan men, woman and children.
They arrived as 130 survivors from the vessel which sank north of Christmas Island on Wednesday were also taken ashore.
On Sunday, another boat from Sri Lanka arrived carrying 60 people while last week the island received 110 survivors from the boat which capsized last week in the seas between Christmas Island and Indonesia.
There are currently around 1300 detainees on the island.PSN Downtime Costs Capcom Millions of Dollars
"As an executive responsible for running a business, the resulting outage is obviously costing us hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in revenue." --- Christian Svensson, Senior Vice President, Capcom
According to Street Fighter game developer, Capcom, the continued PlayStation Network downtime is costing developers and publishers hundreds of thousands. In addition to this, the current situation brings future projects at risk. Capcom’s senior vice president, Christian Svensson, revealed at the Capcom Unity forums that the PSN blackout costs the company a huge amount of money.
“As an executive responsible for running a business, the resulting outage is obviously costing us hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in revenue that were planned for within our budget. These are funds we rely on to bring new games to market for our fans.
“The hackers appear to be trying to ‘punish’ Sony for some perceived injustice, and they’ve been effective in that I suppose. But they’re also punishing millions of other consumers and businesses which makes it impossible to be sympathetic to their cause.
“As a consumer, I also play games online on PS3, which I can’t do… and likely my personal information is also compromised. Secondly I like to buy things in the PlayStation store and that I can’t do right now.”
Yesterday, Sony cleared out that the PSN and its related services may not be fully restored until the end of the month.By
by Mike –
The Shah of Iran had a large car collection that included a Bizzarrini GT 5300 that appears to have been in a front end accident and not repaired. It also has many other dents and dings as you can see from the picture below.
I was reminded of the Shah’s collection when I read the Michael Sheehan article in the latest issue of Sports Car Market magazine. In this article he talks about his experience with the car collection of the Sultan of Brunei. It is worth reading, I have included a link below.
Here are more pictures of the Shah’s Bizzarrini which is in a museum in Tehran along with many other cars.
The front end damage is evident in this picture.
A close up of the nose badge shows the damage to the aluminum.
It is sitting on stilts. Looking at this car is especially painful for me because it has a chassis number very close to my Bizzarrini, it is the same color as mine and it has early style door handles just like my car.
Maserati Ghibli also on stilts.
Lamborghini Miura that also appears to have front end damage similar to the Bizzarrini, again on stilts.
I am sure that many of us would like to rescue some of these cars.
The Michael Sheehan article about the Sultan of Brunei is here. A link to more pictures of the cars in Iran is here.
Click on the images for a larger view.With the Alberta government set to hand down its much anticipated budget on Thursday, there have already been repeated warnings about the size of the provincial deficit, as well as many promises on how the government plans to tackle it.
In a 15-minute televised address last Thursday, Premier Rachel Notley said the government will cut costs while still investing in public services and infrastructure.
It is not clear how that will be accomplished, but we do know what the budget won't include — any kind of a provincial sales tax.
Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci confirmed that in February when he was asked how the government was planning to bring in more revenue.
Ceci began by jumping to what is not on the table: a sales tax or, as he referred to it, "the one we do not name."
Ergete Ferede, an economics professor at MacEwan University, is one of 20 academics calling on the Alberta government to introduce a sales tax. (CBC)
While the topic of PST remains the Voldemort of provincial politics, increasingly there are calls from economists who want to see one implemented.
In February, a group of 19 academics penned a letter in the Edmonton Journal, calling on the government to adopt a harmonized sales tax, arguing that it is not only a necessity, but it is already part of the "fiscal fabric" in all other provinces.
"If you ask individuals, 'Would you like to pay more taxes?' they say, 'No.' But what other options do we have? How do we come out of this problem?" says Ergete Ferede, an economics professor with Edmonton's MacEwan University and one of the signatories of the letter.
Ferede says that if the province were to implement a five per cent sales tax, which is the rate in neighbouring Saskatchewan, Alberta would generate roughly $5 billion. That is half of the province's projected deficit
"We need to have this discussion sooner or later," he says, but adds he is not surprised the government quickly shut down the group's plea.
"All political parties, all colours argue that having a sales tax in Alberta, it is political suicide."
Alberta was a PST pioneer
Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial or harmonized sales tax, but it was also the first province to impose one.
William Aberhart was Alberta's premier in 1936 when the Social Credit government introduced the country's first provincial sales tax. (Provincial Archives of Alberta)
Back in 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, Alberta was drought-stricken. Grain prices had collapsed and provincial finances were in shambles.
Alberta's new Social Credit government, led by William "Bible Bill" Aberhart, passed the Ultimate Purchasers Tax that established a two per cent provincial sales tax.
It was repealed the following year after public pressure.
Fast forward |
with G........ not sure how you spell it, but i think it goes like this (Gunesttellay)? The town is Muslim one side and Hindus on the other which was 24 years ago but might be different now.” “Ganesh Talai,” the administrator later replied. Saroo posted one more message to the Facebook group. “Thankyou!” he wrote. “Thats it!! whats quickest way to get to Khandwa if i was flying to India?” The Homecoming
On February 10, 2012, Saroo was looking down on India again—not from Google Earth this time, but from an airplane. The closer the trees below appeared, the more flashbacks of his youth popped into his mind. “I just almost came to the point of getting to tears because those flashes were so extreme,” he recalled. Though his adoptive father, John, had encouraged Saroo to pursue his quest, his mother was concerned about what he might find. Sue feared that Saroo’s memories of how he went missing may not have been as accurate as he believed. Perhaps his family had sent the boy away on purpose, so that they would have one less mouth to feed. “We knew that this happened quite a lot,” Sue later said, despite Saroo’s insistence that this couldn’t have been the case. “Saroo was quite definite about it,” she went on, “but we did wonder.” For a moment at the airport, he was hesitant to board the plane. But this was a journey he was determined to complete. He had never really thought about what he would ask his mother if he saw her, but he now knew what he would say: “Did you look for me?” Tired and drained 20-odd hours later, he was in the back of a taxi pulling into Khandwa. It was a far cry from Hobart. The dusty street teemed with people in flowing dhotis and burkas. Wild dogs and pigs roamed near barefoot children. Saroo found himself at the Khandwa train station, the very platform where he had left with his brother, 25 years before. The rest of the journey he would undertake on foot. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Saroo stood by the station and closed his eyes for a few moments, telling himself to find his path home. With every step, it felt like two films overlaying, his wispy memories from his childhood and the vital reality now. He passed the café where he used to work selling chai tea. He passed the fountain where he had cut his leg, now run-down and much smaller than he remembered. But despite the familiar landmarks, the town had changed enough that he began to doubt himself. At last, he found himself standing in front of a familiar mud-brick house with a tin roof. Saroo felt frozen as memories flickered before him like holograms. He saw himself as a child playing with his kite here during the day with his brother, sleeping outside to escape the heat of summer nights, curled up safely against his mother, looking up at the stars. He didn’t know how long he stood there, but eventually his reverie was broken by a short Indian woman. She held a baby and began speaking to him in a language he could no longer speak or understand. “Saroo,” he said in his thick Aussie accent, pointing to himself. The town had rarely seen foreigners, and Saroo, dressed in a hoodie and Asics sneakers, seemed lost. He pointed to the house and recited the names of his family members. “Kamala,” he said. “Guddu. Kullu. Shekila.” He showed her the picture of himself as a boy, repeating his name. “These people don’t live here anymore,” she finally said in broken English. Saroo’s heart sank. Oh my God, he thought, assuming they must be dead. Soon another curious neighbor wandered over, and Saroo repeated his list of names, showing him his picture. Nothing. Another man took the picture from him and examined it for a moment and told Saroo he would be right back. A few minutes later, the man returned and handed it back to him. “I will take you now to your mother,” the man said. “It’s O.K. Come with me.” “I didn’t know what to believe,” Saroo remembers thinking. In a daze, he followed the man around the corner; a few seconds later, he found himself in front of a mud-brick house where three women in colorful robes stood. “This is your mother,” the man said. Which one? Saroo wondered. Quickly he ran his eyes over the women, who seemed as numb with shock as he was. “I looked at one and I said, ‘No, it’s not you.’ ” Then he looked at another. It may be you, he thought—then reconsidered: No, it’s not you. Then his eyes fell on the weathered woman in the middle. She wore a bright-yellow robe with flowers, and her gray hair, which had been dyed with streaks of orange, was pulled back in a bun. Without saying anything, the woman stepped forward and hugged him. Saroo couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, couldn’t do much of anything other than reach up his arms and return her embrace. Then his mother took him by the hand and led her son home. The ReunionFulham signed Denis Odoi from Belgian club Lokeren last summer
Neeskens Kebano scored a stoppage-time winner as Fulham beat Championship strugglers Wigan at Craven Cottage.
Floyd Ayite put the hosts ahead from close range, but the Latics drew level when Scott Malone turned Stephen Warnock's cross into his own net.
Michael Jacobs slid in Max Power's cross to put the visitors ahead in first-half stoppage-time.
Denis Odoi's superb 35-yard shot found the bottom corner for Fulham and Kebano curled home in a dramatic finish.
Fulham, looking to extend a club record 16-match unbeaten run against Wigan, started brightly but the visitors fought back and could have been further ahead at half-time after Omar Bogle hit the side-netting with only keeper David Button to beat.
Wigan lost goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard to injury at half-time, with Matt Gilks taking over, but again went close to a third goal when Bogle was denied by Button.
Sone Aluko hit the crossbar with a shot for the hosts before Odoi's stunning strike levelled the scores.
The match looked likely to become the 11th draw between the sides in the last 17 meetings until Kebano struck on his return from Africa Cup of Nations duty with DR Congo.
Fulham move up a place to ninth - within six points of the play-off places - following their win, while Wigan remain next to bottom and five points from safety.
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic:
"I can be proud about my team on one hand that we scored goals and won the game, but on the other hand I am really disappointed with some parts of the game.
"We have to be more solid, we did not show enough of a good attitude, and we did not play well without the ball.
"At 1-1 it can be a simple lottery, they can win the game too. Then we scored the goals and we go home satisfied with the points. But I am not satisfied with what we offered today."
Wigan manager Warren Joyce:
"It's bitterly disappointing, we didn't deserve to lose. At 2-1 we were comfortable, really. It was a rush of blood, the free-kick for Fulham's equaliser was avoidable.
"It was a silly free-kick to give away. It was a long way out but we were not organised. It was a poor goal to give away.
"It didn't rattle us, we kept going even though the home crowd is up for it, and I still think we had good opportunities."On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh claimed that diet and exercise are part of left wing conspiracy that is being carried out by liberals.
Audio via Media Matters:
Transcript from Rush Limbaugh:
LIMBAUGH: It’s all political. It’s all rooted in the fact that I distrust liberals, and every one of these groups is a liberal group that is doing what they’re doing as a way of eating. This is how they live. They live on grants. And I happen to know this, too. Ask anybody that does a newsletter about the stock market, and they will tell you the best way to goose subscriptions is to forecast a disaster, to forecast a crash, to forecast crisis. Well, the food Nazi people have figured this out. X is gonna kill you, and you’ve got their attention. And maybe you’ll donate to their cause. And maybe you’ll become an evangel and you’ll start telling everybody else to stop doing that stuff and maybe these people have got something against the meat industry for political reasons and they’re just trying to make you think that they’re independently unbiased, all they’re interested in is your health.
Remember all this Oprah business and these people trying to get everybody hog-tied into not eating beef for a while on the basis it was gonna destroy the planet, that eating beef resulted in or caused all of these cattle to graze, and they were eating all the grass, and somehow this was causing global warming. Don’t tell me this stuff is not political. It’s all political. All of science is become politicized. All of education’s become politicized. All of the news media’s political. You point to me something that isn’t. The Catholic Church, in certain elements, has become politicized. It was taken in by the notion that welfare states equal charity, and socialism equals charity. So they became big believers in that stuff. I mean, you can’t avoid it.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is succeeding in banning coconut oil, which is one of the most healthful oils you can consume, and they won’t let you buy it. And all these people have to do is come up with a logo, get a fax machine, fax out a press release, the media will cover it because they will report crisis and panic and impending disaster and doom. They never tell you when an airplane lands safely. It’s no big deal. I never avoided fast food, and there has been a movement against that. You take your pick. Exercise, ditto. And look at all the conflicting evidence there is about exercise.
All I’ve done is live. I didn’t even go in for this moderation business, folks. If I like something, I like it, until I get tired of it, and I move on to something else that I like. I’m not advocating replicate me, don’t misunderstand, I’m just telling you that I just know how much better everybody would be if they understood that everything like this, that all of this originates from people of a left-wing political persuasion. And of course they’ll tell you that they’re just interested in compassion and helping people and improving people’s lives and all of that, and I would contend to you that that’s the least of what they end up doing. Anyway, forget all that ’cause I know that it’s probably thinking that I can’t bring up anything without adding politics to it, but I’m telling you it’s undeniable.It's a little too early in the season to make definitive statements about NHL players, but that doesn't mean we can't evaluate them based on their play so far.
The Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars steamrolled their competition in October, in large part due to the play of their marquee players. The Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers haven't blown the league away, but they've also benefited from the tremendous individual efforts of their stars.
Here are our top 10 players from the first calendar month of the season:
1. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
GP G A PPP CF % 11 9 8 5 56.4
The league's points leader opened the season with a six-game point streak and notched six multi-point games over the first 11 contests.
Benn has nine goals on only 26 shots, which suggests he's bound to cool off, but his hot start is a major reason the Stars have the NHL's second-best record at 9-2-0.
2. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
GP G A PPP CF % 11 5 11 4 55.1
Another reason is the stellar play of Seguin, who is riding a four-game point streak and has four multi-point games of his own. He leads the league in assists, ranks second in points, and has the third-highest shot total with 46.
Those numbers are sure to increase this week, when he faces the Toronto Maple Leafs and his former team, the Boston Bruins, on back-to-back nights.
3. David Krejci, Boston Bruins
GP G A PPP CF % 10 7 8 7 49.8
Krejci and the rejuvenated Bruins boast the NHL's best offense (3.9 goals per game) and the league's most effective power play (35 percent) through 10 games.
He should have no problem equaling his career-best of 23 goals (set in 2011-12), especially if he continues to play with another pleasant surprise, Loui Eriksson, and the dynamic David Pastrnak.
4. Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles Kings
GP G A PPP CF% 10 9 1 3 55.6
Toffoli has played like a man possessed, albeit in a small sample, scoring nine goals in his first 10 games. Like Benn, he's done it on a mere 26 shots, so enjoy the explosion while it lasts.
Still, it's impossible to ignore Toffoli's torrid pace, and he's tied with Benn for the league goal-scoring lead for a reason. His shooting percentage will come down, but there's no denying the 23-year-old can snipe.
5. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
GP W-L-OT GAA SV% SO 9 7-2-0 2.01.936 2
The Hart and Vezina Trophy winner is expected to miss a week with a lower-body injury, but his performance over the first three weeks can't be discounted.
Price is tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts, and, barring a setback in his recovery, he should continue to post them for the NHL's best team when he returns.
6. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
GP G A PPP CF% 11 0 11 3 52.1
Karlsson is as consistent as they come, and the Norris Trophy winner is on a point-per-game pace with favorable possession numbers while logging an average ice time of more than 26 minutes.
That's over two minutes more than P.K. Subban, and nearly four minutes more than Andrei Markov - both of whom are tied for the league points lead among defensemen.
7. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
GP W-L-OT GAA SV% SO 10 6-4-0 1.71.942 2
The Penguins have reeled off four straight wins after a rocky start, and Fleury isn't getting enough credit for the resurgence.
He has the NHL's best goals-against average and save percentage among qualified starters, he's started 10 of 11 games, and he's done it without much support from the NHL's sixth-worst offense.
8. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
GP G A PPP CF% 11 6 8 5 52.2
The Blackhawks haven't hit their stride yet, but Kane just keeps producing. He's riding a six-game point streak and has only been held pointless in two of the first 11 games.
Kane is one of eight NHL forwards logging more than 20 minutes per game, and he can clearly handle the load.
9. Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
GP G A PPP CF% 12 5 8 4 53.0
Connor McDavid's grabbing the headlines, but teammate Taylor Hall has been the Edmonton Oilers' best player. Hall was named third star of the week after collecting seven points in three games.
The 2010 first overall pick has excelled since being held off the scoresheet in the first three contests, and he's been able to maintain a plus-5 rating and positive possession numbers despite the Oilers' struggles.
10. P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens
GP G A PPP CF% 13 1 11 4 50.0
Subban's impact can't be understated, and the Canadiens' record-setting start has plenty to do with his contributions. He's collecting points at even strength and on the man advantage, while logging plenty of ice time and posting solid possession figures.
The 26-year-old appears primed to challenge Karlsson for the Norris Trophy for a second straight season.A rally being held by French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen faced a security risk on Monday evening after a protester attempted to storm the stage, eventually being dragged off by the Front National leader’s security detail.
Ms. Le Pen — who is expected to reach the second round of this month’s presidential election — was giving a speech to a massive crowd at a hall in the Parisian neighborhood of Aubervilliers when a female got onto the stage and attempted to throw flowers.
Marine Le Pen is cheered by crowds after a protester runs on stage and tries to approach her before being dragged off by security. pic.twitter.com/PgXm9acFwF — The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) April 17, 2017
According to reports on Twitter, the suspect was successfully detained, while Ms. Le Pen blamed the “extreme left” for the incident and reemphasized that she is a defender of women.
Marine Le Pen blasts 'extreme left' for trying to disrupt her speech after a woman ran on stage before being dragged off. — The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) April 17, 2017
Feminist protestor breaks on to stage at #LePen rally. Fast bundled off. Crowd wild. Le Pen says she is the defender of women. #France2017 — natacha butler (@natachabut) April 17, 2017
PARIS —A woman got up on stage at the #Zenith and rushed towards #MarineLePen
Suspect detained
LePen safe pic.twitter.com/fu0KlaZGKe — (@TheChiIIum) April 17, 2017
A BBC Europe producer also claimed that another protester was removed from the audience, having stripped naked in an act of defiance.
That's 2 protesters now dragged out of Le Pen rally. One off the stage & one naked from the audience. Le Pen carries on regardless. — Maria Byrne (@byrnemaria) April 17, 2017
Protests against Ms. Le Pen took place in the neighborhood of Aubervilliers, a suburb severely affected by mass immigration, as far-left activists through firebombs at police, who responded with bottles of tear gas.
Tear gas & smoke grenades as police face off with protesters ahead of Le Pen rallyhttps://t.co/od9ls9mZk5 pic.twitter.com/0SzGpFnxBt — Defend Europa (@DefendEvropa) April 17, 2017
Similar protests against Ms. Le Pen’s candidacy have taken place across France in recent months, as far-left and ‘anti-fascist’ groups organize to bring her down.
Polls ahead of this month’s election suggest that Ms. Le Pen, who is running on a candidacy of opposing mass immigration and the European Union and, will win the first round of voting, yet faces an uphill battle to win against globalist candidate Emmanuel Macron in the second round.
Some of her policies include a referendum on France’s membership of the European Union, taking tough stances on radical Islamism, as well as implementing a Trump-style “France First” form of economic nationalism.
However, polls in recent days suggest the race is tightening, with centre-right candidate François Fillon and the communist-backed left wing candidate Jéan-Luc Melechon seeing increased support.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.comViewpoint: Remote Controlled Entanglement
Kevin Lalumière and Alexandre Blais, Département de Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
Researchers create entangled states of two superconducting qubits separated by more than a meter of coaxial cable.
et al. [1] (a) APS/K. Lalumière, A. Blais; (b) N. Roch Figure 1: (a) Three main steps and schematic of the experiment showing two qubits (gray) in distinct copper cavities (orange) separated by 1. 3 meters of coaxial cable. As illustrated in panel (b) showing the low-temperature segment of the experimental setup, the cable was curled up such that, in practice, the two qubits are separated by a few centimeters. (a) Three main steps and schematic of the experiment showing two qubits (gray) in distinct copper cavities (orange) separated by 1. 3 meters of coaxial cable. As illustrated in panel (b) showing the low-temperature segment of the experimental setup, t... Show more
et al. [1] (a) APS/K. Lalumière, A. Blais; (b) N. Roch Figure 1: (a) Three main steps and schematic of the experiment showing two qubits (gray) in distinct copper cavities (orange) separated by 1. 3 meters of coaxial cable. As illustrated in panel (b) showing the low-temperature segment of the experimental setup, the cable was curled up such that, in practice, the two qubits are separated by a few centimeters. ×
Quantum entanglement is not only one of the most puzzling features of quantum mechanics, but it is also a useful resource that can be consumed to realize tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Famous examples are quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography, which are most useful when entanglement is shared between remote parties. Although nearby entangled states can routinely be created using a host of physical systems, optical photons are the natural choice for entangling spatially separated systems. But in Physical Review Letters, Nicolas Roch, from the University of California at Berkeley, and colleagues reported realizing this feat using microwave radiation to measure, and thereby entangle, superconducting circuits separated by 1. 3 meters of coaxial cable [1].
Both the Berkeley results and recent results from Delft [2] represent truly tour de force experiments, combining essentially all of the recent breakthroughs in the field of superconducting quantum circuits into a single working package. As schematically illustrated in Fig. 1(a), both experiments rely on superconducting qubits [3]—two pads of aluminum linked by a Josephson junction—that are placed inside copper cavities. While the Delft researchers put both qubits in the same cavity, the Berkeley experiment used two qubits in distinct cavities separated by 1. 3 meters of copper coaxial cable, although the limited space required that cable to be curled up so that the two cavities were within a few centimeters, as shown in Fig. 1(b). A true separation of more than a meter would help to close a logical loophole for testing quantum locality with this apparatus using Bell’s inequality, but it would almost certainly not affect the results.
Rather than using a two-step, create-then-share, approach, both groups prepared an entangled state of two superconducting qubits by jointly measuring them in such a way that the outcome is, with 50 % probability, an entangled state. Such entanglement by measurement has also been demonstrated in atomic and solid-state systems using optical photons. But how can measurement produce entanglement when, in quantum mechanics, measurement typically destroys quantum coherence? The trick is simple and consists of designing the measurement in such a way that it cannot distinguish between all states that the system might occupy, only between different subsets of states. The experiment thus starts by preparing the system in a uniform coherent superposition of all possible states. Then, a measurement probabilistically yielding a result corresponding to one of those subsets will leave the system in a fully coherent superposition of the states within that subset, a superposition that can be entangled.
This is realized by Roch and colleagues by first preparing both superconducting qubits in a superposition of their two logical states, represented by colored arrows in Fig. 1. A microwave tone, with a frequency close to that of one of the modes of the cavities but far detuned from the qubit, is then sent to the first cavity. Representing the state of the microwave field by the color of circle, this step is labeled 1 in Fig. 1. As it goes through the cavity and interacts with the qubit, the microwave tone picks up a phase shift that depends on the state of the qubit. This correlation between the qubit and the phase results in an entangled state of the qubit and the propagating microwave photons at the output of the first cavity, corresponding to step 2 in Fig 1. Such qubit-photon states have already been well characterized experimentally [4]. Measuring the phase of the field at that point would reveal the qubit state and destroy this superposition, leaving the qubit in one of its basis states.
However, rather than being measured, the field is sent via the coaxial cable to another cavity containing the second qubit which is, until then, not entangled with the field. As before, after interaction with this second qubit, the field at the output of the second cavity acquires a qubit-state-dependent phase shift, see step 3 in Fig. 1. Although the four possible states of the two qubits could, in general, be distinguished by a phase measurement, the Berkeley experiment is set up in such a way that the phase can take only one of three values. As illustrated schematically in Fig. 1, the phase will be different if both qubits are up | ↑ ↑ 〉, or both down | ↓ ↓ 〉. The phase will however take the same value (purple circle in the figure) if the qubits have opposite states | ↑ ↓ 〉, | ↓ ↑ 〉. Since the qubits were initially in a coherent superposition, measurement of the phase will therefore probabilistically lead to the entangled state ( | ↑ ↓ 〉 + | ↓ ↑ 〉 ) / 2 of the two remotely located qubits.
The degree of entanglement can be characterized by a quantity called the concurrence, which ranges from 0 % for separable states to 100 % for perfectly entangled states. Roch and coauthors find a concurrence of 35 %. This is significantly lower than what can be achieved by turning on and off direct interactions between qubits fabricated on the same chip [5,6] but is nevertheless a very encouraging start, especially because addressing technical problems such as losses and detection efficiency should increase this number to 70 % [1]. The Delft experiment measured a similar concurrence but took advantage of a feedback protocol to succeed in preparing an entangled states with 100 % probability.
An alternative remotely entangled state—a pair of photons propagating in distinct transmission lines on the same chip—has also recently been realized experimentally using the so-called Hong-Ou-Mandel effect [7]. Finally, Roch and co-workers also used the framework of quantum trajectories [8] to, in essence, “film” the entangled state as it is created by the measurement.
Both the Berkeley and the Delft experiments pave the way to quantum networks [10] in the microwave frequency range where both strong coupling to superconducting qubits [11] and large photon nonlinearities [12] are easily realizable. An important remaining challenge is to reduce losses between the two cavities, especially in components like circulators that are used to ensure directionality of the information transfer. However given that superconducting cables have essentially the same losses per meter as optical fiber, there is no reason to believe that more complicated networks cannot be realized.
About the Authors Kevin Lalumière is a Ph.D. candidate at the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. During his Master thesis, he developed a proposal for the realization of entanglement by parity measurement in circuit QED. His main research interests include the interaction of superconducting qubits in waveguide QED and measurement theory in circuit QED. Alexandre Blais is an Associate professor of theoretical physics in the Department of Physics at the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec Canada. After receiving his Ph.D. from the Université de Sherbrooke in 2002, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University (2003–2005). His research interests are at the intersection of nanophysics and quantum optics, and focus on superconducting qubits and circuit quantum electrodynamics. He is a fellow of the Quantum Information Science and the Quantum Materials programs of the Canadian institute for advanced research.There's really only one side you can take in all this: that of the plucky Gallic resisters against the invaders. The story so far: it is 2009 AD. Albert Uderzo, illustrator and, since 1977, only begetter of the Asterix series of books, has retired and sold his rights to Hachette Livre. Which means, en effet, that the company can continue to bring out new Asterix stories untouched by his hand. But his daughter, Sylvie, has now railed against his decision in Le Monde, accusing him of selling out to "those who would negate all the values he taught me: independence, fraternity, conviviality and resistance". (Any clumsiness or inaccuracies in this translation are my fault. "Fraternité" is a much more loaded word in French than "fraternity" is in English.) She points out the decision taken in comparable circumstances by Hergé, creator of Tintin, that there be no additions to the canon after his death.
As I have said on numerous occasions, the quality of the Asterix stories plunged after the death of Uderzo's partner, Rene Goscinny, who wrote them; and this latest development we could have foreseen, for one of the recurring motifs of Goscinny's narratives was an abiding distrust of rampant capitalism, expressed in the most penetrating satire available to the medium of the bande dessinée.
"These barbarians aren't interested in money," says a frustrated Julius Caesar in Asterix and the Roman Agent, as he hears a plan to undermine the Gaulish resistance by buying them off. "If they were, the magic potion would have been on the market long ago." But even by then Asterix was big business; now it's even bigger.
Six years later, in Obelix and Co, Goscinny is less sanguine about the villagers' native common sense: the economics whizz-kid Caius Preposterus from the LSE (Latin School of Economics) hatches a plan to demoralise the villagers by introducing rampant consumerism. He nearly succeeds, but in the end his plan backfires, and he starts what these days could only be called a catastrophic credit crunch, nearly emptying the Imperial coffers by stimulating a faddish demand for menhirs ("It's the right one, it's not the light one... It's a menhir!" goes the jingle during an ad break at the Circus Maximus). It should, obviously, be required reading for every student of economics, and had its lessons been taken on board, we might not be in the mess we're in now. There's a hilarious sequence that shows Caesar, for the first time, completely baffled as he listens to Preposterus's marketing bollocks:
"The following passage will be difficult for those of you unacquainted with the ancient business world to understand, especially as, these days, such a state of affairs could never exist since no one would dream of trying to sell something utterly useless..."
Well, Hachette Livre, as people love to point out, is part of an enormous conglomerate which manufactures, among other things, missiles; I once speculated that the Asterix series represented not only a wish-fulfilment fantasy about resistance during the second world war, but also subconsciously nodded to France's desire for an independent force de frappe - that is, a menhir-shaped object flying through the air causing maximum devastation to her enemies. Except in this case it is the French who are now the baddies, occupying themselves, as it were.
How Sylvie is going to allow her father's creation to rest in peace I really don't know. For in real life there is, unfortunately, no such thing as a magic potion that can thwart the aims of big business.The intruder who punched out a Chandler man while stealing beer at a keg party picked the wrong victim.
The man, who had been attempting to defend his wife during the beer theft, had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Fearing for his life and under attack, he pulled out a gun and fatally shot two men believed by police to be gang members early Sunday morning.
"People in Arizona carry guns," said Detective David Ramer, a Chandler police spokesman. "You better be careful about who you are picking on."
Ramer said police have concluded the shooter, who fears reprisals and whose name is not being released, acted in self-defense and have cleared him of any potential wrongdoing in the shooting deaths.
The names of the two men who were shot to death also have not been released by police.
The shootings occurred early Sunday morning in the 600 block of North Sunland Drive. A group of men showed up as uninvited guests at the keg party, paid a $2 admission fee, then became angry when the organizers started to shut the bash down, Ramer said.
"They thought they weren't getting their money's worth," he said.
The intruders were stealing the beer when they were confronted by a woman who had been attending the party, Ramer said.
After the men started yelling at the woman, her husband attempted to come to her defense and was punched to the ground.
"This guy was punched, he was attacked," Ramer said.
When one of the intruders threatened the man with a gun, he pulled out his own gun and shot the two men to death, Ramer said. Police said they have documents confirming that the men are gang members.
Ramer said the husband showed restraint during the incident and only fired when he was threatened with a gun.
The man involved in the shooting had passed a concealed-weapons course, Ramer said. Although he had a permit, the Arizona Legislature passed a bill earlier this year to allow residents to carry concealed weapons without one.
Chandler police have arrested seven other men and plan to recommend that they be charged not only with robbery but with murder because the slayings occurred during the commission of another crime, Ramer said.We’re opening a series of video tutorials that show you how to install OpenStack.
In this first video we’re installing OpenStack Mitaka on CentOS 7 using RDO. It’s a very easy way to install OS since the installer is doing everything for you. Here’s the video. More info below.
Another benefit of using RDO is the ease of adding compute nodes: just editing the answer file and running packstack will do the job.
Some of the weaknesses of using RDO are:
RDO doesn’t support an easy upgrade path from one OpenStack major version to the next
it’s harder to maintain a cloud with lots of compute nodes
In the upcoming tutorials we’ll analyze some other ways to install OpenStack, like OpenStack-Ansible or manual installation.
How do you install, upgrade and maintain your OpenStack cloud?
Here are the commands that we’ve run in the video:
yum install -y https://www.rdoproject.org/repos/rdo-release.rpm yum install -y openstack-packstack ip a packstack \ --install-host=192.168.1.240 \ --mariadb-install=y \ --os-glance-install=y \ --os-cinder-install=y \ --os-nova-install=y \ --os-neutron-install=y \ --os-ceilometer-install=y \ --os-gnocchi-install=y \ --os-client-install=y \ --os-swift-install=n \ --os-aodh-install=n \ --nagios-install=n \ --os-neutron-vpnaas-install=n \ --os-neutron-lbaas-install=n \ --neutron-fwaas=n \ --os-horizon-install=n. keystonerc_admin nova list glance image-list nova flavor-list nova boot --image cirros --flavor m1.tiny firstvm nova list
Leave a comment below and tell us what you’d like to see next.Intel is cutting 12,000 workers as it faces the financial consequences of underestimating a profound shift in computing from desktop computers to pocket-sized devices.
And more trouble may lie ahead. The rate at which Intel makes technological advances suddenly seems to be slowing, and other looming trends, including artificial intelligence and perhaps virtual reality, look set to benefit a different kind of computer architecture.
The job cuts are a sign that Intel misjudged the speed with which people would abandon desktops in favor of smartphones and tablets, and failed to reposition its product line to ride that revolution. Only last week the research company Gartner reported that PC shipments were down 9.6 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Intel is perhaps also guilty of focusing too heavily on wringing ever-more power out of computer chips, when power-efficiency is just as important in mobile devices. Intel does have a line of mobile processers, but most mobile devices are based on a rival architecture licensed from a British company called ARM.
The company is now finding that the rate at which it can squeeze twice as much power out of its chips, something dubbed Moore’s Law after the company’s founder, Gordon Moore, is slowing down.
And while Intel says it will refocus its attention on cloud computing and devices for the Internet of things, it risks missing out on several up-and-coming opportunities. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are already feeding demand for a completely different type of chip architectures.
Last week, I spent a few days at a developer conference in San Jose organized by Nvidia, a chip company that makes graphics processing units, or GPUs. This type of chip is especially good for the kind of parallel computations companies are harnessing to perform deep learning (a powerful kind of machine learning); and of course they are geared toward rendering the highly realistic 3-D environments needed for virtual reality. Indeed, the Nvidia event was filled with demos of self-driving cars, deep-learning systems, and virtual-reality headsets.
So beyond cutting jobs, Intel might need to think about how it can feed the industry’s |
a suspect, and asking why police had released her from custody last month.
Many of Turkey’s Kurds and opposition supporters suspect President Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling AK Party of covertly backing Islamic State against Kurdish fighters in Syria, something the government has repeatedly denied.
Protests erupted in several Istanbul neighborhoods for a second night on Tuesday, as well as cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast. At least 49 people were arrested in Istanbul alone, local media reports said.
The unrest comes at a difficult time for Turkey, with a caretaker government in charge while the AKP seeks a junior coalition partner after losing its majority in the June election for the first time in more than a decade.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected accusations that Turkey had tacitly supported Islamic State and had unwittingly opened the door to the bombing; but he said initial evidence suggested the Islamist radical group was responsible.
“Murderer Islamic State, collaborator Erdogan and AKP” some of the Istanbul protesters chanted as they marched down a major shopping avenue in the Kadikoy neighborhood, before police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.
There were also protests overnight in the capital Ankara, where demonstrators carried pictures of those killed in the Suruc attack as well as banners of the youth federation of which many of the victims were members.
Anti-government groups have vowed further demonstrations and the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), whose base support is Kurdish, has called for supporters to converge in Istanbul for a mass rally this weekend.
The lira was the worst performer among major emerging market currencies on Wednesday, falling more than one percent against the dollar, while Turkish stocks also fell as investors worried about insecurity.
Access to Twitter was blocked after a court in Suruc ordered the removal of images of the blast and its aftermath. Facebook and YouTube avoided a ban after quickly complying with the court order, according to a statement from the Turkish union of internet access providers.
A senior official said Twitter had also subsequently complied and the ban was later lifted.The non-profit Disability Rights Advocates has filed a class-action lawsuit against the MTA. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Nicole Bode
THE BRONX — Disability advocates have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the MTA over its failure to make a Bronx subway stop accessible to handicapped people during a recent $21.85 million renovation.
The suit was filed by the non-profit Disability Rights Advocates and focuses on the 6 train's Middletown Road station, which was closed between Oct. 5, 2013, and May 4, 2014, for extensive upgrades that included replacing the floors, installing a fire alarm system and replacing stairs, court papers say.
However, the MTA did not build elevators as part of this renovation that would have enabled people with mobility disabilities to use the station, even though doing so would have been "technically feasible," according to the lawsuit.
This violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and amounts to discrimination against the disabled, the suit says.
“This is not the first time that the MTA has spent millions of dollars improving a subway station while ignoring the legal mandate to simultaneously make it accessible,” Disability Rights Advocates Managing Attorney Michelle Caiola said in a statement, “which is why New York City has one of the worst public transportation systems for people with disabilities in the United States.”
Only 19 percent of subway stations in New York City are fully accessible to people with disabilities, while 100 percent of stations in Washington D.C. and the San Francisco Bay area, 74 percent of stations in Boston, 68 percent of stations in Philadelphia and 67 percent of stations in Chicago are wheelchair-accessible, according to Disability Rights Advocates.
The lack of wheelchair-accessible stations in New York includes a 4.4-mile stretch of 10 stops on the 6 train in The Bronx between the Hunts Point Avenue and Pelham Bay Park stops that includes Middletown Road, the lawsuit says.
Disability Rights Advocates filed the suit on behalf of Bronx Independent Living Services and Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, two groups that work to improve the lives of handicapped people, as well as Bronxites Robert Hardy and Rodolfo Diaz, who both have mobility disabilities.
Hardy and Diaz, who works for Bronx Independent Living Services, would use the Middletown Road station if it were wheelchair-accessible, but they rely on buses when traveling throughout the borough instead because the system is more accessible than the subway, according to the lawsuit.
"The buses, however, are a slower and less convenient method of transportation than the subway," the suit reads. "It often takes up to two hours for Mr. Diaz to travel between destinations within the Bronx for his work, using multiple buses."
Diaz said he lives nearby the Middletown Road station and would prefer to take the train if he could, as it would be a faster way to get around.
"That’s one of the stations that’s close to my house," he said, "and it would be more convenient for me to actually take the train that’s close to my home."
The lawsuit was also brought on behalf of all disabled people who would like to but cannot access the Middletown Road station.
The MTA maintained that building elevators at the Middletown Road station was technically not feasible due to physical constraints, meaning they are not violating the ADA, and stressed that accessibility improvements like stair handrails and tactile signs were part of the renovations.
The agency is committed to making 100 stations fully accessible by 2020, and all of its buses are currently wheelchair-accessible, according to the MTA.
Although the suit asks for its plaintiffs to be awarded with "reasonable attorneys' fees and costs," its main purpose is to persuade the MTA to make the Middletown Road station accessible to people with mobility disabilities.
“Many may take access to the subway system for granted, but for our members and constituents, the exceedingly few elevators is a daily reminder of how little effort the MTA has placed on making it a system open to all,” DIA President Anthony Trocchia said in a statement. “Hopefully, this suit can initiate a change in MTA priorities.”DETROIT, MI -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday in an interview with a Detroit radio station that he feels his constituents' pain as they try to recover from historic rainfall and flooding that wreaked havoc in the metro area. "I've been there myself," said Snyder, an Ann Arbor area resident. Snyder shared with
that his family residence had to deal with a leaky basement several times in the past due to weather. And Snyder, nearing the end of his first term, added that his family's vacation home recently suffered roof damage due to high winds from a recent storm that knocked down trees. "I've been through a lot of things like that, Frank," Snyder said. "We just recently had holes in our roof from storm damage to our lake house. "We have a vacation place and we had a limb come down on the roof and had water running through the whole place; those experiences are not (inaudible) once." Snyder's experience with flooding and other weather-related problems probably won't cheer up many Metro Detroiters trying to recover from
But Snyder's on-air explanation about what the State of Michigan intends to do now help those in need might at least reduce some anxiety in the region. Snyder told Beckmann he and his team are "working as quickly as possible with good people that are the experts" to assess damage done by
And Snyder didn't appear to rule out seeking federal assistance if the State of Michigan and its communities in the most need reach the "threshold the federal government requires" before that entity steps in. "The work is actually actively going on," said Snyder, when asked by Beckmann if federal assistance is an option. Snyder wasn't asked by Beckmann, known for his conservative views, if Michigan should increase spending to improve the state's roads and transportation-related infrastructure like bridges and freeway pumping stations. Snyder said he isn't aware of any permanent structural problems involved with Metro Detroit's state-operated infrastructure, but remains concerned about road beds, potential sinkholes and hazardous water runoff into local waterways. The reason some major thoroughfares stayed closed, as of Wednesday morning, was because engineers were still in the process of assessing the
"We don’t want to take any chances, and want to make sure they are properly inspected and that they will be safe," Snyder said. Snyder didn't want to speculate on reports that
during Monday's excessive rainfall due to poor maintenance, but said he is looking into the matter. "I don’t want to speculate on that because we want to get the facts," Snyder said. "People come up with lots of theories, but you have to put it in context. This was a record amount of water in a pretty short period of time, so again, even normal pumps have pumping capacity issues. "So this was a storm that hadn’t happened in over 100 years in terms of the amount of rain and potentially losing some of the power to these facilities."Following journalist and adventurer Robert Young Pelton through a conversation is a labyrinthine task, one as apparently daunting as his new project—“Expedition Kony”, a crowdfunded mission to track down Joseph Kony, the infamous Ugandan warlord and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Yes, you read that right. This is not, as the social media joke goes, news from The Onion. Pelton is raising money for a trip to central Africa—he says he will be in four countries, and is cagey about naming them. When pressed, he mentions the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There, with a team of filmmakers, journalists (Ross Fenter and Rob Swain), medics, security and translators, he plans to hunt down Kony and end a 20-year-long search for the LRA leader. As of Monday, Pelton had raised $8,407 of his $450,000 goal, but he expects private backers as well as public contributions to make up the difference.
Pelton explains that he and his team will be moving swiftly, but openly. “If he’s a human being and he has a pulse and he walks on two feet, I can probably find him—because people usually are limited by the bulk of the activity. You know what I mean?” Pelton tells me. “When you look for a fugitive and you bring in noisy helicopters and foreign troops, that tends to actually exacerbate the problem.”
The adventurer, who says he has been to “120 some-odd countries” and some two-dozen wars, claims to have met leaders of the Taliban in Afghanistan; right-wing paramilitaries in Columbia; and Somali pirate kings.
He chuckles, “I’ve been with a number of psychotic African rebel groups so I have no problem with that. I have a pretty good feel for how they think and how they work and stuff.”
A spokesman for the Ugandan military, Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, had not heard of Pelton’s mission “We wish him good luck. That’s all I can say.”
For all intents and purposes, Kony’s LRA isn’t currently a functioning militia. For years, however, it terrified the Ugandan countryside and surrounding countries as a powerful and ferocious rebel group infamous for its cultish rituals, child abductions and guerilla tactics. Besides kidnapping and indoctrinating children, the LRA’s victims were forced to kill and maim or be killed and be maimed. Child captives were allegedly forced to murder their parents, and the LRA has been responsible for several massacres of civilians.
“Has” is the key word here. It should be noted, and Pelton himself readily points out, that the LRA is largely inactive and Kony isn’t the most important war criminal to find at the moment. As Pelton says, “In terms of lethality, [Kony’s] like an ‘80’s rockstar. You know, he wishes he got the publicity. His group is basically defunct.” Even so, Pelton says the reason he’s selected Kony is because he’s so famous, thanks to the controversial Invisible Children campaign of 2012. “It’s something I want to try, because if told people … ‘I’m going to go after [Ayman] Zawahiri, they’d be like ‘What?’ and ‘Who’s he?’ and ‘Where’s he?’ and ‘How do you do that?’”
Pelton doesn’t mention that the Invisible Children campaign was widely criticized for its lack of nuance and its indulgent representation of Africa. In fact, it’s hard not to see Pelton’s trip as carrying on that same tradition. In the blog Africa Is A Country, Corinna Jentzsch, a Ph.D candidate in Political Science at Yale, and SUNY Oswego Professor Neelika Jayawardane, put Pelton in the “#Bullsh*t Files” writing in a post, “In his promo video Pelton says he won’t use the plight of people in Africa to entertain us: ‘What we’re trying to do is not to use people’s misery as entertainment, but we’re trying to solve their problems.’ Of course, we hear him saying this right as the camera shows starving children and a boy with his hand cut off. While there is an overt dissonance between images and rhetoric in the video, that’s part of the game; if anyone accuses him of the very thing he’s doing, he can say that it’s our fault for interpreting his intent incorrectly.”
To The Daily Beast, Jayawardane added, “Image critique is clearly not the "real" problem here. We are also critiquing this particular brand of one man with a penchant for adventure will solve a deep structural/poor governance/complex political problem on the Dark Continent-type of solution.”
This is not how Pelton sees his mission. “I’m not doing it because of me, I’m doing it because I want people to go ‘Hey, that guy used crowdsourcing or crowd funding, or both, to go do something in this remote region, and it got done without a lot of middlemen.’ That’s all I am trying to do. I’m using me, because I have somewhat of a reputation for finding people, and I’m using Kony, because he has a reputation for not being found.”
It’s clear that, for Pelton, finding the criminal is as much about the journey as the destination. He’s quick to discuss the logistics of the project, which he says are his major concern. He likes to talk security, his past escapades, and danger potential (he's the author of the book The World’s Most Dangerous Places), and is less interested in a conversation about Kony, the LRA and how he plans to depict the complicated and often misrepresented continent.
In fact, Pelton has “no agenda” at all, he says. He’s just going. If he finds Kony, and he expects to, what happens from there is “up to Joseph Kony”—though Pelton doesn’t think he will surrender, as he has no history of doing so. According to Pelton, everyone he has previously tracked down has dictated the conversation. He isn’t worried about violence from the LRA. He chuckles, “I’ve been with a number of psychotic African rebel groups so I have no problem with that. I have a pretty good feel for how they think and how they work and stuff.”
Pelton has a legal adviser but no mandate or authority to arrest Kony. That’s not what this trip is about. “My goal is to show why Joseph Kony hasn’t been found. There are specific reasons why he has been moving around that region for 20 years. Second thing, once you make an effort to find someone, you want to show how difficult it is. You want to meet the various players to see what they wish they had in terms of access or assets or knowledge or whatever. And then thirdly, you start making contacts with people who are in contact with Joseph Kony and then Joseph Kony will decide whether he wants to talk to me or not. But as I said, I’m just relying on my track record of hunting down and meeting with a number—two or three dozen—leaders of terrorist and rebel groups that have multimillion dollar bounties on their heads.” Indeed, in April of this year, the United States offered a reward of $5 million a head for the warlord and some of his top aides.
Pelton also says his aim with the Kickstarter campaign is to fund the media side of his project, so people can follow, film and post about his work. He’s quick to emphasize that he usually travels alone, and describes himself as the first “solo journalist.” For this project, however, Pelton is “trying to engage people so they can follow [us] around and understand how difficult or how easy or how daunting it is to find one person or a group of people in Central Africa.” Another 10 minutes into the conversation, though, Pelton says he is going to “find a mass murderer and get him off the map," which seems to contradict his previous statement about simply opening up a dialogue with the rebel.
Pelton is big on that “engagement” buzzword. “I’m always trying to do something new that engages people so that maybe they get an idea that this isn’t so scary and maybe you can actually engage in these regions,” he says.
Later in the conversation, he switches focus again, saying “The crowdfunding aspect is really to pour money into these regions,” so that if those following his trip notice that a region needs “a specific kind of medicine” for example, they can raise money to help. Pelton believes that through following him through central Africa and watching his work, his audience will be “directly linked to solutions on the ground.”
Pelton says he has been tracking the warlord through his many personal contacts on the ground since 1993. He thinks that his age—Pelton is in his late 50’s—is an advantage because lots of people from his other trips are now working in Africa. It’s the new “big thing.” He insists that he has support from international organizations and important players who prefer to remain anonymous, and who, he says, are interested in his independent project because it is free of the bureaucratic red tape that bigger organizations must deal with.
Invisible Children does not endorse Pelton’s trip and responded to “Expedition Kony” by saying, “We respect Robert Young Pelton’s recognition of the need to get information on Kony’s location but do not believe this sort of effort will provide new, valuable information currently not obtainable by these active teams.” J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, said, "One really does not know whether this scheme merits ridicule or reproach...The notion of asking the public to contribute to sending a self-promoting adventurer and two filmmakers off to find an elusive warlord whom the militaries of several African countries assisted by U.S. Special Operations Forces have not managed to catch is risible, to say the least."
Pelton is convinced that what he’s doing is different. “There [have] been advances in technology, and there’ve been advances in communication and funding and travel. Let’s harness those to see if we can solve problems.” Indeed, more than once during our conversation, Pelton seemed, for lack of a better word, behind the times. Or, perhaps, unaware of what is going at that this time. “There are things that are out there that can be fixed if you connect the dots,” he said. “I think the days as a witness thing are over and I think people are concerned and they want to know how to fix this, so I’m trying to come up with a formula, crowdsourcing and then sort of a media event to get people to focus.”
When it’s mentioned that a number of individuals and groups are already crowdfunding projects to make a positive difference Pelton agrees, unfazed. “Sure. But they’re not hunting down war criminals. They’re making electronic printers and watches that go around your wrist.”
Perhaps, for Pelton, things are just that simple. Watch him in interviews. No matter the level of controversy surrounding the topic, country or person on which he's focusing, he keeps his stance uncomplicated. “It’s the fact that I do keep an open mind, that I have so much access to these rebel groups and these terrorist groups and these freedom groups,” he reasons. “So, you know, it is what it is. If people want to turn it into a cartoon that’s cool.”Sign the Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy
Contents | Feedback | Search | DRCNet Home Page | Join DRCNet
DRCNet Library | Schaffer Library | Major Studies
by Edward M. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports Magazine
The Consumers Union Report - Licit and Illicit Drugs
Part I - The Opiates: Heroin, Morphine, Opium, and Methadone
Chapter 1 - Nineteenth Century America - "a dope fiends paradise"
Chapter 2 - Opiates for pain relief, for tranquilization, and for pleasure
Chapter 3 - What kinds of people used opiates?
Chapter 4 - Effects of opium, morphine and heroin on addicts
Chapter 5 - Some eminent narcotics addicts
Chapter 6 - Opium smoking is outlawed
Chapter 7 - The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906
Chapter 8 - The Harrison Narcotic Act (1914)
Chapter 9 - Tightening up the Harrison Act
Chapter 10 - Why our narcotics laws have failed: 1) Heroin is an addicting drug
Chapter 11 - Why our narcotics laws have failed: 2) The economics of the black market
Chapter 12 - The heroin "overdose" mystery and other occupational hazards of heroin addiction
Chapter 13 - Supplying heroin legally to addicts
Chapter 14 - Enter methadone maintenance
Chapter 15 - How well does methadone maintenance work?
Chapter 16 - Methadone side effects
Chapter 17 - Why methadone maintenance works
Chapter 18 - Methadone maintenance spreads
Chapter 19 - The future of methadone maintenance
Chapter 20 - Heroin on the youth drug scene - and in VietnamLAKE FOREST -- Rumor has it that the Nobel Prize panel is considering Jay Cutler as a recipient. The Presidential Medal of Freedom can't be far behind.
But really, after they write songs about you, how much better can it get?
Seldom has a football player's stock shot up higher while inactive than Cutler's has over the last year.
Caleb Hanie has struggled mightily while trying to fill Jay Cutler's shoes. Jason O. Watson/US Presswire
First there was the circling of wagons locally in the months following the NFC title game. In a classic example of "Only we can do that to our pledges," Cutler's popularity soared in Chicago, fiercely so, after the initial rush of national criticism over his sideline body language and questions regarding his toughness following his knee injury in that game.
Not only was Cutler now viewed as up to the task of quarterbacking the team, but he now ranked only slightly behind Aron Ralston on the toughness meter.
Currently he is being lauded in some circles as one of the top quarterbacks in the league; his injury considered the biggest reason the Bears are not Super-Bowl bound, and Bears fans are literally singing his praises with the amusing if somewhat annoying "Cutty Come Back" parody.
"It just goes back to, you don't know how good you've got it until it's gone," said receiver Roy Williams. "I don't think it would be that way if we were 3-0. It would be like 'OK, we're biding time until Jay gets back.'"
To a large extent, this is true.
Now that we see Caleb Hanie running for his life, it is apparent that Cutler was just as responsible for overcoming the offensive line's deficiencies as there was a case of the line vastly improving.
It is easier to discount Cutler cursing out offensive coordinator Mike Martz as not such a big deal. Also easier to understand why Cutler might have been a little peeved after one more seven-step drop and one more dropped pass.
"When we are smart... we are more than likely going to be successful," Cutler said at the time, eight weeks ago, in a not-so-subtle dig at Martz.
When the Bears reeled off five victories in a row, it was apparent that Cutler and the offense were finally coming together, that when he had time to throw, a reasonable game plan and his receivers held on to the ball, the Bears looked very much like a playoff team.
Cutler played through a thumb injury that Sunday against the Chargers that would require surgery, once again reinforcing his now-tough image, and turned in one of his best games with a quarterback rating of 97, his fourth-highest mark of the season.
"He's a perfectionist," Williams said of Cutler afterward. "He does what he's supposed to do and he expects everybody to play at his level."
To Cutler's credit, he never has played the martyr, has become even easier for the media to deal with, and has just generally been more pleasant over the past month. But it is still pretty amusing how much better he has become for what he has not done.
He was on such a roll there for a while that even his love life got better after he went away.
While Peyton Manning has half-jokingly been referred to lately as an MVP candidate sitting out the season with a neck injury, proof of how much he obviously means to his winless team, Cutler's ranking among the NFL's best seems to inch up with every Hanie miscue.
And this is where it starts to veer toward the ridiculous.
While Cutler was always viewed as a talented, professional quarterback, being held up next to a guy with three NFL starts has suddenly elevated him to one of the elite passers in the league.
Among Cutler's best games this season were victories over the then 3-5 Eagles, who lost three of their next four games beginning with 2-6 Arizona, and over San Diego, which was the Chargers' fifth loss in a row.
Though you figure the Bears would have beaten Kansas City and Denver with Cutler under center, Cutler would have been just as capable of throwing an interception on that screen pass on second-and-1 at the Oakland 7 and a win would not have been a gimme in the asylum they call the Coliseum.
Cutler certainly deserves to be appreciated now, but more as a future measuring stick of how much better and more consistent he can become.
Not as a candidate for sainthood.
Melissa Isaacson is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com.The documents were sent from the US embassy in Stockholm, according to a report in the Dagens Nyheter (DN) daily.
The information was dated July 2009 and details that September was considered to be the best month to exercise pressure as the Swedish foreign and defence ministries would then be busy with bills to be submitted to parliament.
The documents detail the opinion that once the parliamentary bills were submitted it would be more difficult to influence the Swedish force in Afghanistan.
A further plan was for the Swedish defence minister Sten Tolgfors to be flattered and thanked for Sweden's growing commitment in Afghanistan during a meeting in Washington on July 20th 2009.
Furthermore the documents show that a senior official at the Sweden defence ministry has forwarded advice on how the United States could influence Sweden's power-brokers to deploy more resources to Afghanistan.
The official told DN that he discussed the matter at the US embassy in Stockholm.
In the months following the attempts to influence Sweden's Afghanistan commitment, the country has dramatically increased its expenditure.
The Swedish share of the cost for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) will amount to more than 1.5 billion kronor ($220 million) in 2010, an increase of almost 50 percent on 2009.
Sweden first deployed troops in Afghanistan in the beginning of 2002 and now has around 500 troops based near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
In December the parliament passed a government bill to extend the military mission in the war-torn country until the end of 2011, allowing for the deployment of up to 855 people.
The bill required a compromise between the governing minority centre-right Alliance and the opposition Social Democrats and Greens, and came barely a week after a suicide bomber cited Sweden's troop presence in Afghanistan in a message sent shortly before he blew himself up near a crowded pedestrian street in central Stockholm.FAIRFIELD (KPIX 5) — Activists rallied Monday evening to show support for an undocumented immigrant at risk for deportation after being arrested at Travis Air Force Base.
Hugo Mejia and a co-worker, Hayward resident Rodrigo Nuñez, were arrested on May 3 after trying to get onto Travis for a job hanging sheet rock.
While going through security, military police discovered the two men were illegal immigrants and ICE was called.
The two men were later arrested.
While protesters gather outside of Travis in support of Mejia, he sits in a cell, waiting to find out if he’ll be deported.
KPIX 5 security expert Jeff Harp says immigration law is enforced by the book on a military base.
“It’s really easy to enforce the immigration laws that this administration has enacted, because they own that base. It’s a federal facility,” said Harp.
Security at the base is the second lowest level. But visitors are still required to show identification and have their social security numbers run through the California law enforcement telecommunications system before going through the gate.
“To be just rounded up and processed for immediate deportation simply because he showed up at work at a federal facility and somebody ran a database query that he was undocumented?” asked Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). “This is the kind of inhumane, summary deportation that even President Trump has said we weren’t going to see.”
Both men have been deported at least once before, according to ICE.
But those who gathered to support them and their families argued that shouldn’t matter either.
The two men could have opted not to go in, but Congressman Huffman argues they were doing the right thing. Base officials says they were as well.
“It is an Air Force base and has sensitive information and classified information,” said Harp. “They have a security protocol and you can see it when you go there, it will tell you what they are doing for various threat levels.”
While neither man had worked at Travis Air Force Base prior to being arrested and neither has a police record, Huffman did say that both have worked on federal land in the past.
Governor Brown’s revised budget proposal calls for an extra $15 million to increase the legal defense fund for people battling deportation.Meet David Both. He's a regular contributor to Opensource.com, most notable for his Linux philosophy series. There's so much goodness in this Q&A, including a long list of favorite open source tools, that I'm going to quickly pass the mic over to him. But first...
These "contributor spotlights" are a way for us to shine a light on the people who make up our great community. David once was just a reader, now he's sharing his experiences as a Linux user, and more. If you'd like to share your open source story with us, we'd love to hear from you. See what we're looking for and submit your story to us.
Now, let's hear from David...
Quick facts
Opensource.com username: dboth
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Occupation: Consultant and trainer; Millennium Technology Consulting LLC, President, Senior Consultant and Janitor
Favorite open source tool or application: vi/vim
Favorite Opensource.com channel: Business
Q&A
Open up to us.
I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, in a nice neighborhood with easy access to lots of good restaurants and shopping. We also have a section of the wonderful Raleigh Greenway System that is close to our house, and we walk there almost every day.
I took up yoga about 18 months ago, and I have found it to be very helpful as a means of staying active and healthy.
I am semi-retired, but I love working with open source software and people, so I continue to do training and consulting on a part-time basis. My favorite aspects of this are training people who are new to Linux and open source software. I especially enjoy working with small businesses to help them understand how open source can work for their business, and how they can use it to provide a competitive advantage.
What are your favorite open source tools?
I use many different tools on a daily basis, both on the desktop and the command line interface (CLI).
My favorite distributions are Fedora for my main workstation, laptop, and netbook. I generally use Centos for servers and firewalls. I have tried other distributions, but I prefer the Red Hat related ones because I started out with Red Hat 17 years ago, and I worked as a trainer for Red Hat for a while. It is what I know best.
I also use Centos and, to a lesser extent, Fedora for teaching the classes I have written myself for the training portion of my business.
I use LibreOffice Writer for writing documents like this article and the class lab projects, and I also keep records of the work I do for my customers; sort of a log of my activities. I use LibreOffice Calc for creating invoices, LibreOffice Impress for presentations, and GnuCash for my personal and business accounting needs.
Thunderbird and Firefox provide for email and Internet browsing, respectively. I have added a few plugins to each to expand their capabilities to better meet my personal and business needs. For example, I use the Lightning calendar extension for Thunderbird and a Google extension to keep my calendar synchronized on multiple devices.
Behind the scenes: I use top, htop, iotop, sar, logwatch and other CLI tools to diagnose problems. I like vi/vim as my text editor because it is always there on most any Linux or Unix environment and can be run easily when I need to work in rescue or recovery mode. I know that a lot of people really like other editors, and I have tried some of them, especially emacs, but vim works best for my style.
Although the VirtualBox extensions are closed, I use Oracle's VirtualBox which itself is open. I have several virtual machines that I use for testing various things including new releases of Fedora, Centos, and other distributions.
What do you wish were more open?
The most important thing I would like to be more open is hardware vendors.
Some hardware vendors provide poorly written closed source, proprietary drivers and assume that us folks in the open source “niche” will be happy with that. And some vendors provide no support at all. We are most definitely not happy about either situation. I strongly recommend against specific video cards based on my experiences with some of those that are not well supported. I also recommend against certain printer vendors because of their abysmal driver support for Linux.
I would also like private industry and especially government at all levels to be much more open. Some government entities, such as the Raleigh City government, are already working on that. All government data about its citizens, the military, business, and other regulated and taxed entities, and especially the government itself and all of its agencies and employees, should be open to all.
What are the biggest challenges to openness that you encounter, either at work or in your life?
The other side of that openness coin is privacy, so that sets up a very important and strong tension between the need to gather some data and the right to privacy for individuals, business, and even government itself. That is a very fine line that will probably always be moving based on various new technologies and social needs.
Now I am assuming that some personal data about individuals should be withheld for privacy and security reasons, but I think that business and government should reveal the fact that they collect that information. This would enable us to determine whether the those collectors should really have access to that information and work to improve our personal privacy and security by restricting the collection and/or use of certain information.
My basic assumption is that if someone is collecting information about me, then it will eventually be hacked by bad guys and that my information will be available to all. So the only way to prevent that is to prevent the collection of that information in the first place.
Why choose the open source way?
To me the open source way is about freedom. Whether about use and sharing of open source software, or open government, or open data—freedom is the key word.
I like the freedom I have with open source software to copy it and provide it to my customers. I usually make the installation media for them and leave it with them in case I need to talk them through a rescue mode scenario.
I like that open source software has a much faster upgrade cycle for both functional and security issues. Once they are found, bugs of all types are resolved and distributed very quickly.
Openness and freedom bring the power to the people!Calling for fresh investigations of the Minneapolis police department and the Terrence Franklin shooting, several black community leaders on Wednesday held a press conference on the front steps of Minneapolis City Hall to demand action after a series of troubling racial allegations against Minneapolis police officers.
"As a result many people in our community and in our poorest communities fear the Minneapolis police," said Mel Reeves, a columnist for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder newspaper. The press conference was held just hours before Police Chief Janeé Harteau planned to convene her "Chief's Citizens Advisory Council" to discuss the same issues. None of the people who spoke at the noon press conference are on the council, which Reeves said was indicative of a larger problem.
"While we are pleased that Chief Harteau is taking aggressive action it appears that she is using the same old template, choosing only hand-picked people who they feel represent the community, rather than allowing the community to choose who will represent it," he said.
Joining Reeves were north Minneapolis faith leaders Rev. Jerry McAfee and Pastor Brian Herron. Also present were Daphne Bolden-Brown and Calista Adeboye of the "Justice for Terrence" group that has protested his death.
The group's demands include: An independent investigation by the state Public Safety Commission of all Twin Cities police departments and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office; the firing of officers who use racist language or excessive force; the police union's cooperation that suspended officers be suspended without pay; and that an impartial investigation be conducted into the shooting death of Terrence Franklin, who was shot May 10.Perhaps my favourite usage of Ruby is as plumbing—small scripts to connect larger libraries in a way that does something interesting. Being able to whip these scripts up in an evening is an essential skill.
Today I came across an example of such plumbing in the twss gem.
Because automation knows no bounds… including lowbrow comedy.
TWSS is a simple Bayes classifer trained off of a Twitter #twss search.
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twss is exactly the sort of project that gives life and character to an ecosystem. Let’s see how it works.
Finding an entry
The documentation shows us a potential entry point into exploring the code, in that the only exposed |
21st century.
I would be remiss to not mention some significant elements of this book which will further transform the reader and truly invite them into the playground of Bell’s most sensual literary corners. The first is that, in addition to alternative spellings and grammar littered throughout (and expected of) the source text’s translation, there are typos. But unlike other books, books where perfection and “the clean” is key, the precision of the typo here, the misspellings (including one that’s on the back cover), further elevates Bell’s uncanny investment in the work. She reminds me of myself, in many ways: the surge of energy from temple to belly to toes causing the pen to shake as notes are scribbled, the urge “to publish” pushed forth to the point of implosion, where only the noise and fuzz rule the consciousness, the awareness darkened by the passions.
“a lit candle growing from each horn” (17)
Second, the book’s format is, in a style Babel/Salvage (the publisher) is known for, unlike any format you have come across. The book reads organically, organic as Quixote’s most devilish sides and smiles (see page 17), as momentous as fire, fruitful and lush and seductive. In the case of collage, we the reader must rely on the form to drive home the point of collage, the point of the mix-up, the point of the pick and choose, the push and the pull, the layer to layer. Bell has created a linear experience that demonstrates the frenzied tact in motion, and leaves out the pretentious proclivities of the literati. I imagine Bell in her apartment (which I have never seen, and thus I am imagining entirely from scratch), a hammock bundled in the corner, scraped wooden floors and a wooden chair on the verge of a collapse. I imagine Bell’s hands bruised to purple the color of rotten plums, her hair (as they say) “a mess,” and the pens entirely devoid of ink. Actually, instead of pens, it’s a laptop, but the laptop is a shattered screen, and Bell is hastily attempting to circumvent the idea of the obscured image of the screen by peering more deeply and deeply into the text, her fingers warping that which she finds through a keyboard missing keys, covered in bits of quinoa and perhaps a dried pluck of kale. It is winter and we see our breaths. No, it is summer and we have burned our skin from too many reads on the beach.
“She has therefore determined to clarify” (page 25)
Turn to Bell’s work, glossy cover reflecting your greasy eyes, as an example of the relationship you might decide to make with a language of words, a history of symbols and lustful instincts. The heroes of our most prized literary history will carry us away and before our blood has been shed or left to soak into the earth they will enjoy us and ruffle us into a tendency to be ejaculative in our creation of the rosiest ideas.
Buy the book here Stalk Terra here
Greg Bem lives in Seattle where he runs and co-runs several literary-infused event series, including Ghost Tokens, Breadline, and Seattle Poetics Lab Presents. From 2013-2014 he wrote poetry and organized literary events in Cambodia. In Fall 2014 he served as associate curator for citydrift: Portland. He is currently preparing for a residency with sound poetry group the Four Hoarse Men at Cornish and an upcoming literary exploration in the industrial area on the Duwamish river. Visit gregbem.com for more juicy, juicy details.In finance, an option (or derivative) is the common name for a contract that, under certain conditions, gives a firm the right or obligation to receive or supply certain assets or cash flows. A financial firm uses options to hedge risks when it operates in the markets. It is critical for a firm to be able to accurately price those instruments and understand their dynamics to evaluate its positions, balance its portfolio and limit exposure to potential threats. The calculation of risk and prices for options is a computationally intensive task for which GPUs have a lot to offer. This post describes an efficient implementation of American Option Pricing using Monte Carlo Simulation with a GPU-optimized implementation of the Longstaff Schwarz algorithm.
NVIDIA recently partnered with IBM and STAC to implement the STAC-A2™ benchmark on two NVIDIA Tesla K20X GPUs. It is the first system that was able to calculate the risk and pricing of this particular complex option in less than a second. A system with two Tesla K20X GPUs is up to 6 times faster than a state-of-the-art configuration using only CPUs. Even more interestingly, adding one or two Tesla K20X GPUs to a system offers speedups of slightly more than 5x and 9x, respectively, compared to the same system without GPUs.
The STAC-A2 benchmark is a well-established suite of benchmarks and micro-benchmarks developed by banks to help compare the numerical quality, performance and scaling of different implementations of a standard method to price a complex American basket option and evaluate the Greeks. In a few words, an American option is a financial option which can be exercised at any moment before its expiry date. The Greeks are standard financial tools which measure the sensitivity of the price of the option to the variation of factors like the price of the underlying stock, the stock volatility or the risk free interest rate.
To price an option based on a basket of stocks, one has to be able to determine the price of the different stocks. Mathematically, the price of a stock can be modeled with complicated stochastic differential equations. In general, there exists no closed-form solution to those equations and their solution has to be evaluated numerically. Monte Carlo simulation is one such numerical technique to price stocks. It relies on the sampling of the stochastic differential equations for a large number of independent random input values. Our implementation uses cuRAND to generate those random values.
Path Discretization (Andersen-QE Scheme)
One popular mathematical model to describe the dynamics of a stock price is the Heston model, which captures the random nature of both the price of the stock and its volatility (i.e. its rate of change). Unfortunately, it is expensive to evaluate. We have developed an optimized implementation of the Andersen Quadratic Exponential (Andersen QE) scheme – one of the most robust discretizations of the Heston model for Monte Carlo simulation.
To reach a high level of performance, each CUDA thread generates a single Monte Carlo path of the Andersen QE scheme. This way all threads can work independently, which is the optimal configuration for parallelism. To further reduce the number of memory transactions to a minimum, the data structures (random samples, path storage, etc) are laid out to guarantee perfectly aligned and coalesced memory accesses.
However, Andersen QE presents a difficulty for efficient parallel implementations. Very roughly, the technique approximates a complex probabilistic distribution of the variance with simpler distributions. The choice of formulation depends on the values computed at the previous iteration and may differ from one path to another. This requires an if-then-else block at the heart of the main loop which consecutive threads may evaluate differently, resulting in costly branch divergence. Within a warp, the GPU multiprocessor has to execute each taken branch in sequence, so that the execution cost is the sum of the costs of the taken branches.
We have finely tuned each of the branches of this code and moved as much computation outside of the block as possible to improve the performance. The details of that code are available from STAC.
Option Pricing (Longstaff-Schwartz Algorithm)
Another key component of a Monte-Carlo simulation to price American options is the Longstaff-Schwartz algorithm. At each time step, this algorithm determines if one should exercise the option or hold it for later exercise. To perform such a task, the algorithm constructs a model to predict the expected gain or loss based on the current position. Fitting linear models to existing data is a common task in computer science and is known as linear regression. Our STAC-A2 implementation uses a hybrid method running a CPU-based Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to perform the linear regression. The details are available from the STAC-A2 benchmark code.
In this blog post, we present a different implementation which runs entirely on the GPU. To maximize the performance of the linear regression we developed a technique which allows us to drastically reduce the amount of data transferred between the GPU memory and the compute cores. The algorithm starts by building a matrix decomposition for each of the time steps. Those precomputations are needed to perform the linear regression in the time-dependent loop. Since they are independent, we compute them in parallel and launch a block of GPU threads per time step, as shown in the following code excerpt.
// Prepare the decomposition. One CUDA block per timestep. prepare_svd_kernel<<<num_timesteps, 256="">>>(...); // Run the time-dependent loop. for( int i = 0 ; i < num_timesteps ; ++i ) { // Compute the coefficients beta which minimize ||Y - beta X||^2. compute_partial_beta_kernel<<<>>>(...); // Update the cashflow: Decide whether to early exercise or continue. update_cashflow_kernel<<<>>>(...); }
In order to explain the main idea to reduce memory transfers, we have to take a closer look at the SVD of a long-and-thin matrix—a matrix which has many more rows than columns. In our case, the matrix has 32,000 rows and 3 columns. The objective of the SVD is to extract three matrices such that their product is equal to the original matrix. Those three matrices have special properties which make them more suitable to efficient computations. Unfortunately, building the SVD of a long-and-thin matrix is rather costly.
However, there is a well-known method to reduce the cost of the SVD computation for long-and-thin matrices. It relies on a first factorization of the original matrix using another standard technique called the QR decomposition. That factorization produces two matrices Q and R such that R has very nice properties and is much smaller than the original matrix (in our case R has 3 rows and 3 columns). The SVD can be applied only to the R matrix and is much cheaper to compute. The SVD of the original matrix is then rebuilt from the SVD of R and the Q matrix. In our implementation, the SVD of R is computed by a single thread but requires no access to the GPU memory.
The challenging part of the algorithm is to build the QR decomposition with a limited number of memory transactions and to design the implementation in such a way that it can be performed by a single block of CUDA threads (and not exhaust all the multiprocessor resources). To achieve that objective we exploit the special structure of the original matrix to limit memory transfers. In more detail, the original matrix is a Vandermonde matrix; i.e. each of its rows is built from consecutive powers (0, 1 and 2) of a single value (the stock price on the path). A symbolic computation shows that the R matrix of the QR decomposition can be expressed in terms of 5 sums of different powers and 3 additional terms (so a total of 8 terms). These terms can easily be computed using a simple parallel reduction. The following code fragments shows how the sums are evaluated (for simplicity we exclude the detection of the three additional terms):
// Sums. int m = 0; double4 sums = { 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 }; // Iterate over the paths. Each thread computes its own set of sums. for(int path = threadIdx.x; path < num_paths; path += THREADS_PER_BLOCK) { // Load the asset price and determine if it pays off. double S = 0.0; if( path < num_paths ) S = paths[offset + path]; // Update the number of paths which are in the money or nullify S. if( payoff.is_in_the_money(S) ) ++m; else S = 0.0; double S2 = S*S; // Update the sums. sums.x += S; sums.y += S2; sums.z += S2*S; sums.w += S2*S2; } // Number of elements in the money (S^0). m = cub::BlockReduce<...>(smem_storage.for_reduce1).Sum(m); // Sums of powers (sum S^1, sum S^2, sum S^3 and sum S^4). sums = cub::BlockReduce<...>(smem_storage.for_reduce4).Sum(sums);
As shown in that code fragment, our implementation makes an extensive use of the CUB library which offers very fast implementations of GPU primitives.
Once we have computed those 8 terms, we are able to build the R matrix and compute its SVD on the multiprocessor without any further communication with the GPU memory. In total, each SVD can be built by reading the asset prices only once. The matrix Q (of the QR decomposition) is not computed at this step. It is actually rebuilt on the multiprocessor during the time dependent loop at almost no cost (the cost of a simple 3×3 triangular solve). This way, we spare a lot of memory resources by not storing Q explicitly and by saving transfers from the GPU memory to the compute core.
On a Tesla K40 running at 3004MHz (memory) and 875MHz (SM), our implementation of the Longstaff-Schwartz algorithm prices an American option on 32,000 paths and 100 time steps in less than 3ms. The complete time, including the paths generation (using a simple discretization and assuming a constant volatility), is less than 5.5ms.
Conclusion
Our STAC-A2 benchmark code and this implementation of the Longstaff-Schwartz algorithm both illustrate how NVIDIA GPUs can make option pricing and risk analysis much faster. To learn more about GPUs and how accelerate financial applications, join us during the finance sessions at GTC 2014. I will give a presentation about this work and experts in finance will present their latest accomplishments.
The source code of this implementation of the Longstaff-Schwartz algorithm is available here.
Image by Luis Villa del Campo from Madrid, Spain (Times Square – NASDAQ), via Wikimedia Commons.CLOSE The Arizona Board of Regents is suing a company called Scumdevils that markets clothing in support of the University of Arizona while at the same time bashing Arizona State University. Wochit
President Trump has nominated a local judge and a U.S. Attorney to serve on the federal bench in Arizona. (Photo: Getty Images)
The Arizona Board of Regents is suing a company called Scumdevils that markets clothing in support of the University of Arizona while at the same time bashing Arizona State University.
The online website owned by two University of Arizona alumni sells T-shirts with the words "Scumdevils" emblazoned on the front and other shirts with a version of the popular Wildcat logo.
"Show off your pride and support for the UA Wildcats while simultaneously displaying hate towards ASU," the scumdevils.com website says.
The suit, filed April 28 in federal court, accuses the owners of trademark infringement for using registered trademarks owned by the UA, including the well-known wildcat head image and the Bear Down trademark. The company is not authorized or licensed by the UA to use its trademarks.
An example from the Arizona Board of Regents lawsuit over what the board says is trademark infringement by a company called Scumdevils LLC (Photo: Arizona Board of Regents v. Scumdevils LLC)
The suit says the company uses symbols and logos that are "confusingly similar" to the UA's registered trademarks. The similarity is likely to cause confusion and likely to wrongly suggest that the merchandise is licensed or approved by the university, the lawsuit says.
MORE: Why do Arizona Wildcats 'Bear Down'?
The suit against Scumdevils LLC accuses the company of profiting by using the university's trademarks without permission.
Attorneys for UA said they informed Scumdevils owners, Manuel A. Rocha and Francisco J. Jacinto of Sahuarita, Arizona, of the trademark infringement on May 10, 2016. Since then, the parties have attempted to negotiate a settlement but have been unsuccessful, the suit says.
The suit also accuses Scumdevils LLC of trademarking the "WC" hand gesture, a symbol the lawsuit said was conceived by UA swimmer Simon Burnett in 2003 and used by UA students to refer to the university. The lawsuit seeks to cancel the defendant's trademark. Scumdevils offers shirts on its website with the WC logo.
Rocha, a 2007 graduate of UA, said he is disappointed the regents chose to sue.
"It's disheartening," he said. "We're a small business. We're a local business. We're entrepreneurs."
Rocha said issues with the university started after Scumdevils received the trademark to the "WC" hand gesture as a logo to use on printed apparel in December 2015. He said the university offered to purchase the logo, but at a very low price. He didn't accept the offer.
Rocha said he took the scumdevils.com website offline for about six months while he was negotiating with UA. When negotiations fell apart, he put the website back online in March. The regents filed a lawsuit the following month.
Regents spokeswoman Sarah Harper declined comment on the suit.
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Rocha said the initial idea behind scumdevils.com was to create a blog or rivalry site that poked fun at the ASU-UA rivalry. Then he decided to sell fan-based apparel through the site.
The intent is entertainment and "nothing malicious or anything like that," he said.
He added that sales through the site are "OK," but he also has a separate day job.
An "About Us" description on the website for Scumdevils.com gives three examples of the company's purpose: "Display Arizona pride, support the Wildcats and HATE THE SUNDEVILS," it says.
"Whether you were born a Wildcat, converted over, or baptized into being one, hating ASU is part of you, it is within you," a quote on the website states.
A screengrab of the Scumdevils.com website that is the subject of a lawsuit by the Arizona Board of Regents (Photo: scumdevils.com)
It's not unusual for the universities to sue or threaten legal action over trademark infringement, which often takes the form of someone using a mascot or university image without permission.
Reach the reporter at 602-444-8072 or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com.
READ MORE:
Quiz: How well do you know Arizona State University?
Quiz: How well do you know the University of Arizona?
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2p2cmNAAs previously reported by VRFocus, Oculus is dropping the price of its Oculus Touch bundle to $598 (USD). We caught up with Oculus VP of Content Jason Rubin to get his thoughts on the matter.
“We believe there’s two things VR needs to grow. We believe it needs better content: there’s now 100 Oculus Touch titles in our store and hundreds of Oculus Rift titles. We have more content than any other high-end PC VR platform.” Rubin said, “The second thing is price. We’ve given thousands of demos and the thing people say most if they don’t buy at the end of the demo is ‘I love it, but it’s too expensive’. We’ve now got a price point that’s attractive for those people to buy.”
Rubin has also written a full think piece on the Oculus price drop and it’s potential impact on the company on the Oculus Blog.
Further news on GDC and Oculus will continue to be here at VRFocus.Image Source: Nationalmultimedia
Sony Japan (Click here) latest press release confirms that the flood in Thailand caused the full camera production stop. The NEX-7, the A65 and the new NEX-C3 and NEX-5n double kit packages will no more released on November 11. Sony could not say at this time when the mentioned cameras will be start shipping. The good news here is that that Sony has already plenty of Sony A77 and Sony NEX-5n stocks. And the lens production is also not affected by the flood.
Here are the links of the new products that will be on sale without any delay:
A77 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay
Sony NEX-5n Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay.
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay.
Sony 50mm f/1.8 Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay.
Sony 55-210mm Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay.
NEX-5n viewfinder Amazon, B&H, Adorama, eBay.
Via Sony JapanThe long torturous wait is finally over for Bundesliga fans as the 9th of August brings in the 51st edition of the German Bundesliga. There is much to remember from the 2012-2013 season for every fan. Bayern waltzed to the title and won it in April, there were plenty of feisty mid-tables games and the battle to beat the drop turned out to be a nail-biting one. The performances of German sides in the Champions League brought praise from the world of football and loads of excitement for the fans of the Bundesliga.
But that was 2012-2013. The start of a new season brings in a whole new level of enthusiasm, anticipation and hope for everyone, gives clubs and its fans ample chances to renew rivalries and create new ones. The Bundesliga is known for its unpredictability and guaranteed entertainment value, and much the same can be expected of this season as well. TheHardTackle previews round one of the campaign.
Champions kick start the season against Gladbach
A little over three months back, on matchday 34 of the 2012-2013 season, Germany was treated to a truly spectacular game that ended 4-3 after one side raced to a 3-1 lead in the first half. Unfortunately the gameai??i??s result was of little consequence since the home side were destined for a mid-table finish and the away side had already won the league by a record margin.
Fans and neutrals will be hoping for a similar level of fun and excitement as these two teams, Bayern Munich and Borussia MAi??nchengladbach, face off again in the season opener at the Allianz Arena. There have of course been changes to both sides since then, especially in the case of the hosts of this game. Treble-winning Bayern have seen some new faces join their squad this summer, and the most noticeable one will be that of the change in management and the style of play that comes in due to this.
Ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has won plenty of lauds and trophies during his tenure with the Spanish club, and much of the limelight on the opening day will be on him as he fields his new side for his first league game in Germany. Bayern have been under the microscope since the 1st of July, and their preseason games have been closely watch and scrutinized. The Spanish gaffer has favoured the 4-1-4-1 heavily with occasional switches to a 4-3-3 involving a false nine approach. Some interesting points to note were the choice of personnel Guardiola used in the pre-season games. Full back and skipper Lahm was fielded in midfield on quite a few occasions, and a single pivot in midfield shielding the back four was preferred to the double used last season. New boys Thiago and Jan Kirchhoff were largely used in this role while versatile attacker Thomas MA?ller was used in a more central midfield role alongside Kroos or Shaqiri. This was of course pre-season and it is hard to read into such games which are generally affected by injuries and non-availability of players. Bayern will be without the services of long-term casualty Holger Badstuber, and Mario GAi??tze who has just started training with the first team after his hamstring injury.
Gladbach on the other hand will look forward to this season as one where they can build up on their existing squad and possibly challenge for a Europa League spot. Lucien Favreai??i??s men had a rather quiet campaign last season after their stormy showings in 2011-2012 when they finished 4th. The losses of Reus, Dante and NeustAi??dter hit them hard and they struggled to cope with it. Gladbach have seen further changes this summer with striker Mike Hanke and defender Niklas Dams leaving the club, but the new faces that have come in should give their fans some hope this season. Brazilian attacking midfielder Raffael, who played a key role in Schalkeai??i??s revival last season, has been brought in alongside Max Kruse from Freiburg.
Possible Line-ups:
Bayern Munich: Neuer ai??i?? Lahm, Boateng/Martinez, Dante, Alaba ai??i?? Schweinsteiger ai??i?? Robben, Muller, Thiago, Ribery ai??i?? Mandzukic
Gladbach: Ter Stegen ai??i?? Daems, DomAi??nguez, Stranzl, Jantschke ai??i?? Xhaka, Marx ai??i?? Arango, Raffael, Herrmann ai??i?? De Jong
Prediction: Bayern Munich might have a new manager, but it is hard to overlook the wealth of talent they have in their side. Bayern 3-0 Gladbach.
Early battle cry for Europe sounded at the Bay Arena
Bayer Leverkusen finished finished third last season and will kick start their new campaign against Christian Streichai??i??s Freiburg, who finished 5th and reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal. Freiburg were the surprise package of the Bundesliga in 2012-2013, impressing with their determination and strong displays, especially against the so-called big boys of the league.
But the Europa League qualifiers have come in for a rude shock this summer has their entire side has been ripped apart by a mass exodus of players. Players key to Streichai??i??s plan last time around such as Cedrick Makiadi, Max Kruse, Daniel Caligiuri, Johannes Flum and Jan Rosenthal who constituted a large part of Freiburgai??i??s midfield have all left the club for fellow Bundesliga sides. Replacements have come in the form of Admir Mehmedi, Francis Coquelin and experienced Gelson Fernandes for the middle of the pitch, while Hanke joins to shore up the striking department. Nonetheless, Streich will feel hard done by the movements just when it looked like he was building a strong Freiburg squad for the future.
Leverkusen will also feel hard done by the losses of attacker Andre SchA?rrle and full back Daniel Carvajal both of whom played crucial roles in Die Werkselfai??i??s successful campaign. But Sami HyypiAi?? should feel quite confident considering the inflow of talent they have had. Hamburgai??i??s much acclaimed attacker Heung-Min Son, who set the Bundesliga on fire last season with some blistering performances, has made his way to the Bay Arena while Robbie Kruse, Andres Palop, Emir Spahic and Giulio Donatiai??i??s inclusions should give the side some quality depth.
Possible Line-ups:
Bayer Leverkusen: Leno ai??i?? SpahiAi??, Toprak, Wollscheid, Donati/Stafylidis ai??i?? Reinartz, Bender, Hegeler ai??i?? Son, Castro, KieAYling
Freibrug: Baumann ai??i?? Hedenstad, Ginter, DiagnAi?? Fallou, Sorg ai??i?? Schuster, Fernandes ai??i?? Schmid, Klaus, PilaAi?? ai??i?? Hanke
Prediction:Ai??Leverkusen boast a well drilled side as compared to what is a newly assembled one for the visitors. Leverkusen 2-0 Freiburg
Schalke look for perfect start
The Royal Blues welcome The Dinosaurs from the North to the Veltins Arena on matchday one’s final game on Sunday. Hamburg will not be travelling with fond memories of previous visit, a game they lost 4-1 courtesy of a hat trick by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and a Michel Bastos strike. Both sides have made major changes to their roster after some rather inconsistent showings last season largely due to injuries and losses in form.
Schalke look to have done quite well in the transfer market, bringing in reinforcements for departments that proved their Achilles Heel last season. Adam Szalai, top scorer for Mainz 05 last season has been brought in to strengthen and support Huntelaar up front, while Santana has crossed the border to add steel to the defense. Young wingers Leon Goretzka and Christian Clemens have also been added to the squad, while midfielder Annan makes a return from his time at Osasuna. Hamburg on the other hand have added Lasse Sobiech from Dortmund and Swiss international Johan Djourou from Arsenal to the defense, an area Hamburg needed much addressing after last seasonai??i??s campaign. Cameroonian forward Jacques Zoua who was impressive for Basel in the Champions League should provide the goals for Hamburg.
Schalke will definitely look at this season as one of consolidation and a possible improvement on their league position in the table. Last season, the Royal Blues had one of their best starts to a Bundesliga campaign, sitting pretty behind Bayern in second after nine games before things started to go downhill for them.
Possible Line-ups:
Schalke 04: Hildebrand ai??i?? Uchida, HAi??wedes, Matip, KolaA?inac ai??i?? Jones, NeustAi??dter ai??i?? Farfan, Szalai, Draxler ai??i?? Huntelaar
Hamburger SV: Adler ai??i?? Aogo, Diekmeier, Westermann, Djourou ai??i?? RincA?n, Badelj ai??i?? Jansen, Skjelbred, van der Vaart ai??i?? RudAi??evs
Prediction:Ai??Schalke have had quite a good pre-season and their added fire power in Szalai should give them the edge. Schalke 04 ai??i?? 2-0 Hamburger SV
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga (predictions)
FC Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund ( 0 ai??i?? 3)
Hannover 96 vs VfL Wolfsburg (2 ai??i?? 2)
Hertha Berlin vs Eintracht Frankfurt (0 – 1)
Hoffenheim vs NA?rnberg (0 – 0)
Eintracht Braunschweig vs Werder Bremen ( 0 ai??i?? 1)
Mainz 05 vs VfB Stuttgart ( 1-1)
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there and Mrs. Strunk. But also everybody that's donating $5, $10. Everybody's donating whatever they can. I realize money's not easy to come by. So whatever people are donating, however generous they're being, it's unbelievable. We started out trying to raise $200,000 for this, and we're over $3.25 million."
The Titans Foundation donated $25,000 to the Red Cross over the weekend to be used in the same manner.
Shortly before 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the drive crossed the $6 million mark, and the new goal of the fundraiser was increased to $10 million.
Texans coach Bill O'Brien called Watt's efforts "incredible."
"There's really not a lot of words that can describe what he's done. And that thing that's really pretty neat about him is he's adamant about that money going towards the people that need it. And I think he's got a lot of great ideas for that money and I think he's actually putting it into action right now," O'Brien said.
On Wednesday, Jacksonville Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette announced he will donate $50,000 toward relief efforts. Fournette and his family endured the effects of Katrina in 2005.
The New York Jets made a $1 million donation on Tuesday to the American Red Cross.
On Monday, Texans owner Bob McNair pledged a $1 million donation to the United Way of Greater Houston Flood Relief. The NFL Foundation said it will match the $1 million donation.
In addition, the New England Patriots announced Monday that the Kraft family is offering to match all funds donated to the American Red Cross up to $1 million.
Other non-monetary help is being provided, too.
Houston officials said they're opening a major shelter at NRG Park, the home stadium of Watt's Texans that can accommodate up to 10,000 evacuees from Harvey.
ESPN's Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.“We the optimists.”
For years, these few, yet potent, words have fanned the flames of inspiration among thousands of eager incoming UCLA freshmen ready to conquer the world through community service and volunteering. And UCLA works hard to support this enthusiasm.
After all, there are 150 on-campus service organizations, both student- and university-run, and perusing the Campus Resource Funding Directory reveals myriad funding opportunities for campus organizations wishing to participate in community service and civic engagement. The message is clear: With an idea and a little bit of elbow grease, any Joe Bruin can obtain the resources needed to make an impact on the surrounding community.
At least, that’s what many students might think.
When dealing in outcomes that affect people’s lives, there is zero margin for error. Despite how appealing an idea may sound, its catchiness is not always a good measure of its efficacy. In fact, otherwise well-intentioned community service programs can have unforeseen negative effects ranging from an unwanted service for a community to higher criminal tendencies and lower job satisfaction rates among community members served.
While there are some safeguards put in place by different funding initiatives and organizations on UCLA’s campus, the university needs to impose a more stringent set of requirements governing all student organizations participating in community service and social intervention. Student organizations should be required to present credible research to demonstrate the efficacy of their work, and the Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement office, which oversees all official student organizations on campus, must ensure organizations have a positive impact on the communities they interact with to guarantee funding is being used for only the most effective purposes.
Laura Abrams, chair and professor of the Luskin School of Public Affair’s Department of Social Welfare, said there are ways in which even the best-intentioned community service can go awry, including entering a community without truly understanding its needs, imposing a service that was not requested on a community and overpromising positive results while underdelivering.
And there have been several analyses that attempt to characterize these effects. For example, a landmark study by Richard Cabot, M.D., a Harvard professor, sought to examine the long-term effects of mentorship on at-risk, low-income youth in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Somerville, Massachusetts. The original study lasted from 1939 to 1945, and a follow-up of the study in the 1990s found the youth who received mentorship and other intervention were worse off than the control group on a number of metrics, including likelihood to commit a crime, job satisfaction and mental health.
Now, this does not mean mentorship is always ineffective. This study, however, is a clear example of how easily a seemingly good community service idea can have negative consequences. It demonstrates the importance of using research-backed community service methods to provide positive results.
This idea stands in stark contrast to many students’ idealistic notion that they can change communities for the better with just a plausible-sounding plan and the willingness to put in the work. Rather, only careful research and deliberate planning can ensure community service programs benefit those they intend to help.
Abrams said keeping community service from going awry is fundamentally about quality control. She suggested service organizations reflect and ask: Is the service meeting a community need? Was the targeted community involved in determining that need? Is the service working in the proper manner?
These are questions UCLA can help student groups answer. SOLE could ensure campus service groups maintain quality control by requiring that student organizations find legitimate academic research demonstrating the efficacy of the type of community service programs they want to engage in. This should be coupled with clear documentation of community need and involvement by all community partners involved. Additionally, student organizations should provide clear and comprehensive plans for internal review of their methods, and submit regular evaluations examining the benefits and failures of their programs.
Furthermore, UCLA could draw on its wealth of professional expertise and set up a panel of professors experienced in the social science behind implementing effective community service in order to review student groups’ registration applications and regular updates. This would help ensure only student organizations engaged in effective and beneficial community service are allowed to register with SOLE and, by extension, apply for available funding.
Of course, stringent requirements will turn some, perhaps many, away from creating new student organizations devoted to community service. The introduction of more red tape will certainly quell the flames of inspiration in some. However, it is more important to seriously evaluate the impacts of community service programs on people’s lives than to inspire undergraduates – who should be willing to put in the work required to execute their projects effectively.
And calling on busy professors to add this responsibility to their plates could be seen as an unnecessary burden. But in order to ensure the impact of UCLA’s community service-oriented student organizations is positive, these programs must be vetted by professionals.
Implementing these requirements will help to ensure that UCLA’s community service-oriented student organizations enrich, not diminish, the lives of many.
And despite how it may seem, that’s plenty to be optimistic about.A city is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities (Tagalog: nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own specific municipal charters in addition to the Local Government Code of 1991, which specifies their administrative structure and powers. As of December 12, 2015, there are 145 cities.[1]
Cities are entitled to at least one representative in the Philippine House of Representatives if its population reaches 250,000. They are allowed to use a common seal. As corporate entities, cities have the power to take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for its general interests, condemn private property for public use (eminent domain), contract and be contracted with, sue and exercise all the powers conferred to it by Congress. Only an Act of Congress can create or amend a city charter, and with this city charter Congress confers on a city certain powers that regular municipalities or even other cities may not have.
Despite the differences in the powers accorded to each city, all cities regardless of status are given a bigger share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) compared to regular municipalities, as well as being generally more autonomous than regular municipalities.
Government [ edit ]
A city's local government is headed by a mayor elected by popular vote. The vice mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council), which serves as the city's legislative body. Upon receiving their charters, cities also receive a full complement of executive departments to better serve their constituents. Some departments are established on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the city.
Offices and officials common to all cities [ edit ]
Office Head Mandatory / Optional City Government Mayor Mandatory Sangguniang Panlungsod Vice Mayor as presiding officer Mandatory Office of the Secretary to the Sanggunian Secretary to the Sanggunian Mandatory Treasury Office Treasurer Mandatory Assessor's Office Assessor Mandatory Accounting and Internal Audit Services Accountant Mandatory Budget Office Budget Officer Mandatory Planning and Development Office Planning and Development Coordinator Mandatory Engineering Office Engineer Mandatory Health Office Health Officer Mandatory Office of Civil Registry Civil Registrar Mandatory Office of the Administrator Administrator Mandatory Office of Legal Services Legal Officer Mandatory Office on Social Welfare and Development Services Social Welfare and Development Officer Mandatory Office on General Services General Services Officer Mandatory Office for Veterinary Services Veterinarian Mandatory Office on Architectural Planning and Design Architect Optional Office on Public Information Information Officer Optional Office for the Development of Cooperatives Cooperative Officer Optional Office on Population Development Population Officer Optional Office on Environment and Natural Resources Environment and Natural Resources Office Optional Office of Agricultural Services Agriculturist Optional
Source: Local Government Code of 1991.[2]
Subdivisions [ edit ]
Cities, like municipalities, are composed of barangays, which can range from urban neighborhoods (such as Brgy. 9, Santa Angela in Laoag), to rural communities (such as Brgy. Iwahig in Puerto Princesa). Barangays are sometimes grouped into officially defined administrative (geographical) districts. Examples of such are the cities of Manila (16 districts), Davao (11 districts), Iloilo (seven districts), and Samal (three districts: Babak, Kaputian and Peñaplata). Some cities such as Caloocan, Manila and Pasay even have an intermediate level between the district and barangay levels, called a zone. However, geographic districts and zones are not political units; there are no elected city government officials in these city-specific administrative levels. Rather they only serve to make city planning, statistics-gathering other administrative tasks easier and more convenient.
Classification [ edit ]
Income classification [ edit ]
Cities are classified according to average annual income of the city based on the previous four calendar years. Effective July 28, 2008 the thresholds for the income classes for cities are:[3]
Class Average annual income
(₱ million) First At least 400 Second 320+ but < 400 Third 240+ but < 320 Fourth 160+ but < 240 Fifth 80+ but < 160 Sixth < 80
Legal classification [ edit ]
The Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160) classifies all cities into one of three legal categories:[2]
Highly Urbanized Cities (HUC): Cities with a minimum population of two hundred thousand (200,000) inhabitants, as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and with the latest annual income of at least fifty million pesos (₱50,000,000) based on 1991 constant prices, as certified by the city treasurer.
There are currently 33 highly urbanized cities in the Philippines, 16 of which are located in Metro Manila.
Independent Component Cities (ICC): Cities of this type have charters that explicitly prohibit their residents from voting for provincial officials. All five of them are considered independent from the province in which they are geographically located: Cotabato, Dagupan, Naga, Ormoc and Santiago.
Component Cities (CC): Cities which do not meet the preceding requirements are deemed part of the province in which they are geographically located. If a component city is located along the boundaries of two or more provinces, it shall be considered part of the province of which it used to be a municipality.
All but five of the remaining cities are considered component cities.
Independent cities [ edit ]
There are 38 independent cities in the Philippines, all of which are classified as either "Highly urbanized" or "Independent component" cities. From a legal, administrative and fiscal standpoint, once a city is classified as such:
its Sangguniang Panlungsod legislation is no longer subject to review by any province's Sangguniang Panlalawigan ;
legislation is no longer subject to review by any province's ; it stops sharing its tax revenue with any province; and
the President of the Philippines exercises direct supervising authority over the city government (given that the provincial government no longer exercises supervision over city officials), as stated in Section 29 of the Local Government Code.[2]
Currently, there are only four independent cities that can still participate in the election of provincial officials (governor, vice governor, Sangguniang Panlalawigan members):
Cities declared as highly urbanized between 1987 and 1992, whose charters (as amended) explicitly permit residents to both vote and run for elective positions in the provincial government, and therefore allowed by Section 452-c of the Local Government Code [2] to maintain these rights: Lucena (Quezon), Mandaue (Cebu);
to maintain these rights: Lucena (Quezon), Mandaue (Cebu); Independent component cities whose charters (as amended) only explicitly allow residents to run for provincial offices: Dagupan (Pangasinan) and Naga (Camarines Sur)
Registered voters of the cities of Cotabato, Ormoc, Santiago, as well as all other highly urbanized cities, including those to be converted or created in the future, are not eligible to participate in provincial elections.
In addition to the eligibility of some independent cities to vote in provincial elections, a few other situations become sources of confusion regarding the complete autonomy of independent cities from provinces:
A component city, while enjoying relative autonomy on some matters compared to a regular municipality, is still considered part of a province. However, there are several sources of confusion:
Some component cities form their own congressional representation, separate from their province. The representation of a city in the House of Representatives (or lack thereof) is not a criterion for independence from a province, as Congress is the national legislative body and is part of the national (central) government. Despite Antipolo, Biñan and San Jose del Monte having their own representatives in Congress, they are still component cities of Rizal, Laguna, and Bulacan, respectively, as their respective charters specifically converted them into component cities and have no provision stating a severance in relations with their respective provincial governments.
The representation of a city in the House of Representatives (or lack thereof) is not a criterion for independence from a province, as Congress is the national legislative body and is part of the national (central) government. Despite Antipolo, Biñan and San Jose del Monte having their own representatives in Congress, they are still component cities of Rizal, Laguna, and Bulacan, respectively, as their respective charters specifically converted them into component cities and have no provision stating a severance in relations with their respective provincial governments. Being part of an administrative region different from the province: Isabela City functions as a component city of Basilan: its tax revenues are shared with the provincial government, its residents are eligible to both vote and run for provincial offices, and it is served by the provincial government and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Basilan with regard to provincially devolved services. However, by opting out of joining the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Isabela City's residents are ineligible to vote and run for regional offices of the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly, unlike the rest of Basilan. Regional services provided to Isabela City come from offices in Region IX based in Pagadian; the rest of Basilan is serviced by the ARMM based in Cotabato City. Isabela City, while not independent from its province, is this outside the jurisdiction of the ARMM, the region to which the rest of Basilan belongs. Regions are not the primary subnational administrative divisions of the Philippines, but rather the provinces.
Creation of cities [ edit ]
Congress is the lone legislative entity that can incorporate cities. Provincial and municipal councils can pass resolutions indicating a desire to have a certain area (usually an already-existing municipality or a cluster of barangays) declared a city after the requirements for becoming a city are met. As per Republic Act No. 9009, these requirements include:[4]
locally generated income of at least ₱100 million (based on constant prices in the year 2000) for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance, AND
a population of at least 150,000, as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); OR a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, as certified by the Land Management Bureau, with contiguity not being a requisite for areas that are on two or more islands.
Members of Congress (usually the involving representative of the congressional district to which the proposed city belongs) then draft the legislation that will convert or create the city. After the bill passes through both the House of Representatives and the Senate and becomes an Act of Congress, the President signs the Act into law. If the Act goes unsigned after 30 days it still becomes law despite the absence of the President's signature.
The creation of cities before 1983 was solely at the discretion of the national legislature; there were no requirements for achieving 'city' status other than an approved city charter. No income, population or land area requirements had to be met in order to incorporate cities before Batas Pambansa Bilang 337 (Local Government Code of 1983) became law. This is what made it possible for several current cities such as Tangub or Canlaon to be conferred such a status despite their small population and locally generated income, which do not meet current standards. The relatively low income standard between 1992 and 2001 (which was ₱20 million)[2] also allowed several municipalities, such as Sipalay and Muñoz, to become cities despite not being able to meet the current ₱100 million local income standard.
Before 1987, many cities were created without any plebiscites conducted for the residents to ratify the city charter, most notable of which were cities that were incorporated during the early American colonial period (Manila and Baguio), and during the Commonwealth Era (1935–1946) such as Cavite City, Dansalan (now Marawi), Iloilo City, Bacolod, San Pablo and Zamboanga City. Only since 1987 has it been mandated under the Constitution that any change to the legal status of any local government unit requires the ratification by the residents that would be affected by such changes. Therefore, all cities created after 1987 – after meeting the requirements for cityhood as laid out in the Local Government Code of 1991 and Republic Act No. 9009 of 2001 – only acquired their corporate status after the majority of their voting residents approved their respective charters.
Motivations for cityhood [ edit ]
Although some early cities were given charters because of their advantageous (Baguio, Tagaytay) or strategic (Angeles and Olongapo, Cotabato, Zamboanga) locations or in order to especially establish new government centers in otherwise sparsely populated areas (Palayan, Trece Martires, Quezon City), most Philippine cities were originally incorporated to provide a form of localized civil government to an area that is primarily urban, which, due to its compact nature and different demography and local economy, cannot be necessarily handled more efficiently by more rural-oriented provincial and municipal governments. However, not all cities are purely areas of dense urban settlement. To date there are still cities with huge expanses of rural or wilderness areas and considerable non-urban populations, such as Calbayog, Davao, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga as they were deliberately incorporated with increased future resource needs and urban expansion, as well as strategic considerations, in mind.
With the enactment of the 1991 Local Government Code, municipalities and cities have both become more empowered to deal with local issues. Regular municipalities now share many of the same powers and responsibilities as chartered cities, but its citizens and/or leaders may feel that it might be to their best interest to get a larger share of internal revenue allotment (IRA) and acquire additional powers by becoming a city, especially if the population has greatly increased and local economy has become more robust. On the other hand, due to the higher property taxes that would be imposed after cityhood, many citizens have become wary of their town's conversion into a city, even if the municipality had already achieved a high degree of urbanization and has an annual income that already exceeds that of many existing lower-income cities. This has been among the cases made against the cityhood bids of many high-income and populous municipalities surrounding Metro Manila, most notably Bacoor and Dasmariñas (which finally became cities in June 2012 and November 2009 respectively), which for many years have been more qualified to become cities than others.
In response to the rapid increase in the number of municipalities being converted into cities since the enactment of the Local Government Code in 1991, Senator Aquilino Pimentel authored what became Republic Act No. 9009 in June 2001 which sought to establish a more appropriate benchmark by which municipalities that wished to become cities were to be measured.[5] The income requirement was increased sharply from ₱20 million to ₱100 million in a bid to curb the spate of conversions into cities of municipalities that were perceived to have not become urbanized or economically developed enough to be able to properly function as a city.
Despite the passage of RA 9009, 16 municipalities not meeting the required locally generated income were converted into cities in 2007 by seeking exemption from the income requirement. This led to vocal opposition from the League of Cities of the Philippines against the cityhood of these municipalities, with the League arguing that by letting these municipalities become cities, Congress will set "a dangerous precedent" that would not prevent others from seeking the same "special treatment".[5] More importantly, the LCP argued that with the recent surge in the conversion of towns that did not meet the requirements set by RA 9009 for becoming cities, the allocation received by existing cities would only drastically decrease because more cities will have to share the amount allotted by the national government, which is equal to 23% of the IRA, which in turn is 40% of all the revenues collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.[6] The resulting legal battles resulted in the nullification of the city charters of the 16 municipalities by the Supreme Court in August 2010. (See #"League of 16" and legal battles)
Changing city status [ edit ]
Throughout the years there have been instances of changes to the city's status with regard to eligibility for provincial elections, as a result of the passage of laws, both of general effectivity and specific to a city.
Before 1979 [ edit ]
Prior to 1979, all cities were just considered chartered cities, without any official category differentiating them aside from income levels. Though chartered cities were considered autonomous from the provinces from which they were created, the eligibility of their residents to vote for provincial officials was determined by their respective charters.[7]
Regarding participation in provincial affairs, there were three types of city charters:
1) those which explicitly allowed their respective residents to elect provincial officials, 2) those which explicitly prohibited participation in provincial elections, 3) and those which are silent regarding voter participation in provincial elections.
The 1951 Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections finally resolved the ambiguity surrounding the third category of cities, by confirming that the residents of cities with such charters (such as Dumaguete and Davao City) are ineligible to participate in provincial elections.[7]
Altering the right of city residents to participate in provincial elections was a power solely determined by the national legislature. Before 1979, this power was exercised in seven cases, affecting a total of six cities:
Five Acts of the National Assembly or Congress in which the residents of an existing city were restored the right to vote for officials of the mother province: 1940 August 22: Section 7 of the revised charter of the city of Iloilo ( Commonwealth Act No. 158 ) was amended in 1940 by Commonwealth Act No. 604 to explicitly state: "The voters of said City of Iloilo shall take part in the election of the provincial officers of Iloilo, but the latter shall have no jurisdiction over the City of Iloilo and the officers thereof." [8] 1950 June 10: The original city charter of Dagupan ( Republic Act No. 170 ) was originally silent on the matter of the eligibility of city residents to participate in provincial election, [9] therefore implying that residents were ineligible to participate in provincial elections. Three years later Republic Act No. 448 amended the charter to explicitly empower the city's voters to participate in the election of the governor and provincial board members of Pangasinan. [10] 1956 June 14: The city of Cabanatuan was originally explicitly excluded from electing and being elected into positions in the provincial government of Nueva Ecija [11] until its original city charter ( Republic Act No. 526 ) was amended by Republic Act No. 1445 in 1956, which enabled the city's residents to once more vote for provincial officials. [12] 1956 June 16: The original city charter of Dansalan ( Commonwealth Act No. 592 ) was originally silent on the matter of the eligibility of city residents to participate in provincial election, [13] therefore implying that residents were ineligible to participate in provincial elections. Sixteen years later Republic Act No. 1552, in addition to renaming the city to Marawi, also amended the city charter to explicitly empower the city's voters to participate in the election of Lanao Province officials. [14] 1964 June 10: Cebu City's old charter ( Commonwealth Act No. 58 ) [15] was repealed, and replaced with Republic Act No. 3857 in 1964. The law allowed the city's residents to once more become eligible to vote for officials in the provincial government of Cebu. [16] 1969 June 21: Following the Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections which upheld Dumaguete's independence from Negros Oriental, [7] Republic Act No. 5797 was enacted on June 21, 1969 by Congress to revise the city's original charter ( Republic Act No. 327 ) [17] to explicitly allow the city's residents to once again vote for provincial officials. [18]
One Act of Congress in which the residents of existing cities whose residents were previously explicitly granted the right to participate in provincial elections were deprived such a right: 1959 June 19: By virtue of Section 2 of Republic Act No. 2259, the voters of the cities of Dagupan and Iloilo were deprived of the right to participate in provincial elections. [19]
Batas Pambansa Bilang 51, approved on December 22, 1979, introduced two legal categories of cities: highly urbanized cities (HUCs) and component cities.[20] COMELEC Resolution No. 1421, which was issued to implement the provisions of BP 51 prior to the January 30, 1980 local elections, stated that a total of 20 cities were not allowed to participate in the election of provincial officials:[21] seven of these were "highly urbanized," while the remaining 13 were "component" cities.
Batas Pambansa Bilang 337 (Local Government Code of 1983), approved on February 10, 1983, further refined the criteria by which cities can be classified as highly urbanized cities.[22] Under BP 337 a city that had at least 150,000 inhabitants and an income of at least ₱30 million was to be declared highly urbanized by the Minister of Local Government within thirty days of the city having met the requirement.[22] The cities of Angeles (1986), Bacolod (September 27, 1984), Butuan (February 7, 1985), Cagayan de Oro (November 22, 1983), Iloilo (1983) Iligan (November 22, 1983), Olongapo (December 7, 1983), and Zamboanga (November 22, 1983) became HUCs in this manner. The residents in most of these cities lost their right to participate in provincial elections for the first time. The two exceptions are: Iloilo City, which had already been deprived of the right to vote for provincial officials in 1959 by virtue of Section 2 of RA 2259,[19] and Zamboanga City, which had been autonomously governed since its creation by virtue of Section 47 of its city charter (Commonwealth Act No. 39).[23]
By virtue of Section 30 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 (Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines), approved on December 3, 1985, provided that: "unless their respective charters provide otherwise, the electorate of component cities shall be entitled to vote in the election for provincial officials of the province of which it is a part."[24] This provision therefore overrides the 1951 Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections by providing voters in component cities whose charters are silent on the matter of electing provincial officials the right to again participate in provincial elections. BP 881 therefore again enfranchised voters in the cities of Bais and Canlaon (Negros Oriental), and Ozamiz (Misamis Occidental). Despite the charter of the city of Cotabato being silent on the matter of electing provincial officials, the city was not legislated to be part of any of the successor provinces of the old undivided Cotabato province. Voters of the city therefore were still not eligible to vote in the provincial elections of either Maguindanao or North Cotabato and therefore remained independent from any province.
The period between ratification of the new Constitution (February 1987) and the effectivity of the Local Government Code of 1991 (January 1992) was one of transition. During this time, BP 51, BP 337 and BP 881 were still in force: the only legal classes of cities during this period were still "highly urbanized" and "component" cities.
Altering the right of city residents to participate in provincial elections was once again exercised by the newly restored Congress in this period. A total of three cities were affected: Republic Acts No. 6641 (in 1987),[25] 6726 (in 1989)[26] and 6843 (in 1990),[27] once again allowed the residents of Mandaue, Oroquieta and San Carlos to vote for provincial officials of Cebu, Misamis Occidental and Pangasinan respectively. Since BP 51—which only considered cities as being either "highly urbanized" or "component"—was still in force at the time, the changes were not considered as switching between legal categories,[28] but rather a simple change within the "component city" classification that did not require a plebiscite. Note that the "independent component city" legal classification was only introduced through the Local Government Code in 1992.
Under the same criteria set in BP 337 (Local Government Code of 1983), a total of three cities became highly urbanized: General Santos (September 5, 1988), Lucena (July 1, 1991) and Mandaue (February 15, 1991). Lucena and Mandaue were special cases, in that because their re-classification into HUC status took place after the ratification of the Constitution (February 11, 1987) but before the effectivity of the Local Government Code of 1991 (January 1, 1992), their residents were allowed to continue to participate in the election of provincial officials as per their respective charters (as amended), by virtue of Sec. 452-c of the LGC.[2] Residents of General Santos were already excluded from voting for provincial officials of South Cotabato since achieving cityhood in 1968; they were therefore unaffected by this exemption.
The Local Government Code of 1991 came into effect on January 1, 1992, and has remained in force ever since, though some amendments have been made.[2] New requirements for creating cities, and upgrading cities to highly urbanized status, were instituted under this Act. The LGC of 1991 was also the first time the independent component city (ICC) category was introduced. These cities are those non-highly urbanized cities whose charters explicitly prohibited city residents to vote in provincial elections. They were finally made completely independent of the province from fiscal, administrative and legal standpoints.
Upgrading [ edit ]
Independent municipality to highly urbanized city [ edit ]
The municipalities of Metro Manila, having been severed from the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal and made independent units in 1975, were converted to highly urbanized cities, beginning in 1995 with Mandaluyong. The most recent, Navotas, became an HUC in 2007. Only Pateros, which does not currently meet the population requirement of 200,000 inhabitants, remains the only independent municipality in Metro Manila.
Component city to independent component city [ edit ]
All that is needed is a congressional amendment to a component city's charter, prohibiting city residents to vote for provincial officials. So far no city has been upgraded this way.
Component/independent component city to highly urbanized city [ edit ]
Since 1992, once a city reaches a population of 200,000 persons as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority and an income of ₱50 million (based on 1991 constant prices) as certified by the city treasurer, the city government can submit a request to the President to have their city declared as highly urbanized within 30 days. Upon the President's declaration, a plebiscite will be held within a specific timeframe to ratify this conversion. There are no limits as to the number of times a component city can attempt to become a highly urbanized city, should previous tries be unsuccessful.[29]
Downgrading [ edit ]
Highly urbanized city to component city [ edit ]
Reclassifying an HUC as a component city likely involves not only amending the concerned city's charter, but also the Local Government Code,[44] as currently there is no provision in the LGC that allows this, nor are there any precedents. Some Cebu City politicians have previously indicated that they wish to bring back the city under the province's control, in order to bring in more votes against the Sugbuak, the proposed partition of Cebu Province.[44]
Independent component city to component city [ edit ]
A congressional amendment to the city charter enabling city residents to vote for provincial officials is required, followed by a plebiscite. Santiago's status as an independent component city was briefly in question after the enactment of Republic Act No. 8528 on February 14, 1998 which sought to make it a regular component city.[45] The Supreme Court on September 16, 1999 however ruled in favor of the city's mayor who contended that such a change in the status of the city required a plebiscite just like any other merger, division, abolition or alteration in boundaries of any political unit. And due to the lack of a plebiscite to affirm such a change, RA 8528 was therefore unconstitutional.[28]
League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) [ edit ]
The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is a non-profit organization and is not a government agency. It has a membership of 143 cities and was founded in 1988. The organization was formed to help coordinate efforts to improve governance and local autonomy and to tackle issues such as preserving the environment and improving public works.
List of cities [ edit ]
As of December 12, 2015, there are 145 cities in the Philippines. General Trias in Cavite is the newest city, after its charter was ratified on December 12, 2015.[1]
Location of the 145 cities of the Philippines (as of June 2016)
Largest cities [ edit ]
Metropolitan areas [ edit ]
City facts [ edit ]
Defunct/dissolved cities [ edit ]
Legazpi City (1948–1954): Legazpi's cityhood was approved on June 18, 1948. Under Republic Act No. 306, Legazpi became a city after the President of the Philippines proclaimed its cityhood. [54] Comprising the present-day territories of Legazpi City and Daraga, the city was dissolved on June 8, 1954 [55] when Legazpi and Daraga were made into separate municipalities. Legazpi eventually became a city on its own on June 12, 1959.
, Legazpi became a city after the President of the Philippines proclaimed its cityhood. Comprising the present-day territories of Legazpi City and Daraga, the city was dissolved on June 8, 1954 when Legazpi and Daraga were made into separate municipalities. Legazpi eventually became a city on its own on June 12, 1959. Basilan City (1948–1973): Formerly part of the city of Zamboanga until it was made a city on its own in 1948 through Republic Act No. 288. [56] Delimited to only the downtown area of what is now Isabela City upon the creation of the province of Basilan in 1973 through Presidential Decree No. 356 by President Ferdinand Marcos. [57] Finally abolished and its territory annexed to the municipality of Isabela on November 7, 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 840. [58]
. Delimited to only the downtown area of what is now Isabela City upon the creation of the province of Basilan in 1973 through by President Ferdinand Marcos. Finally abolished and its territory annexed to the municipality of Isabela on November 7, 1975 through. Rajah Buayan City (1966): Under Republic Act No. 4413,[59] the then-municipality of General Santos in what was then the unified province of Cotabato was to be formally converted into a city named after a historical ruler in Mindanao on January 1, 1966, provided that majority of qualified voters in the municipality vote in favor of cityhood in a plebiscite. In December 1965 the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) proclaimed the cityhood of Rajah Buayan, with 4,422 people voting for |
to the ring and counted to two; Guerrero stopped the count. X-Pac kicked Test, but Test immediately took over. Albert entered the ring and gave Test a Buffalo Bomb, leading to X-Pac getting the pin. Guerrero beat up Test afterward... Cole attempted to interview Austin about the Raw main event. Austin stared him down and didn't respond, then walked away... [C]...
Mick Foley came out, making his return to the WWF. Heyman said he was fired. Foley, laying on his false humility as thick as ever, said, "I'm glad to know you all remember who I am." He held up his new book, "Foley is Good," and said it goes on sale in May. He said that's not why he was there. He said not to be egotistical, but WrestleMania wouldn't be WrestleMania without him involved. He said he has taken it upon himself to get involved in one of the really big matches at WM. Vince walked out and interrupted. He said he was in no mood, so Foley should leave the ring now or he'd have him arrested for trespassing. Foley said in June of 2000 he became WWF commissioner and the WWF enjoyed a period of prosperity and fun that was unequalled. He said just a few weeks before Christmas 2000 Vince fired him. Vince again told him to get out of the ring. Foley said the history lesson wasn't over yet. Foley said he and Linda, before she was institutionalized, had a private meeting. He said he brought the most important document to the ring with him. He said he was going to be special ref in his match against Shane.
(4) Big Show pinned Chris Jericho at 2:40. Kane attacked Big Show from behind, ramming him into the stairs. Raven then ran out and attacked Kane from behind with a trash can lid. Regal then ran to the ring and gave Jericho a neckbreaker. Big Show then gave Jericho a chokeslam and pinned him. Kane gave Raven a chokeslam and left him flat on his back alone in the ring... Rock asked a worker backstage where Austin's locker room was... [C]... Ross interviewed D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley from WWF New York... Rock entered Austin's dressing room and talked about their tag match... [C]...
After Nitro ended, Raw's over-run began...
(5) Rock & Steve Austin beat Kane & Undertaker when Austin pinned Taker at 4:35. In the end Triple H ran out with a chair and bashed Taker in the back just as Taker was setting up a Last Ride. Austin covered Taker for the win. Taker stared down Triple H as he returned to the back. Austin celebrated in center-ring with beers. Rock re-entered the ring and approached Austin from behind. Rock gave Austin the Stone Cold Stunner and then stood over him. Debra looked upset at ringside, but also confused about how she should react. Rock opened a beer, set it next to Austin, and returned to the back with his belt...
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CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTINGOn December 23, 2005 CanWest MediaWorks launched a legal challenge against the Canadian government's ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.
CanWest's Legal Claim
The company's statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court names the Attorney General of Canada as the defendent to an action that challenges the the constitutionality of the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations that ban direct-to-consumer ("DTC") advertising of prescription drugs. A legal firm summarises that statement of claim as being that "the challenged provisions are inconsistent with section 2(b) of the Charter that guarantees freedom of expression. Such advertising is permitted in the U.S., and Canadians are currently exposed to DTC through U.S. media sources. The media company has taken the position that the safety concerns addressed by the challenged provisions could be addressed within new legislation that conforms to the Charter and which does not discriminate against Canadian media outlets." [1] (The Court File number is 05-W-303001 PD2).
In a CanWest MediaWorks media release, which is not available on their website, the company states that "The current advertising restrictions are unfair, ineffective and discriminatory... Canadians are already inundated by American advertisements, making the issue one of 'basic business fairness' between the two markets... Before replacing existing regulations on direct-to-consumer advertisements, the government should first consider whether present guidelines violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms." [2]
CanWests Remedy Dismissed
Barbara Mintzes, from the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia, argues that there is a need for better enforcement of the existing legislation. "CanWest's solution is to get rid of the law. This is like saying that if corner stores are getting away with selling cigarettes to 13 year olds, we might as well get rid of the age restrictions," she told the British Medical Journal. [3] (Sub req'd).
Affadavits In Support of Union, Health & Consumer Intervenors In the Case
Other SourceWatch Resources
Reports
Women and Health Protection, "Canwest's Charter Challenge on prescription drug advertisements:A Citizens Guide", June 2006. (698Kb Pdf)Jonathan Agnew says Australian players failed to live up to Phillip Hughes' memory by sledging in India Test series
Updated
Cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew has criticised the Australian cricket team for not dumping the use of sledging in the aftermath of Phillip Hughes's death.
The former English Test bowler, who now commentates for the BBC, told the Radio Times magazine that he was disappointed in both sides' response in the Australia v India Test series following the death of Hughes.
The 25-year-old died last November, two days after being hit in the neck by a bouncer in a shield game for South Australia against New South Wales.
The death prompted an outpouring of emotion from cricketers across Australia and around the world.
Clarke, a close friend and former team-mate of the late South Australian batsman, was one of many leading cricketers to attend the funeral service in Macksville in northern New South Wales.
Agnew cited Clarke's eulogy, in which he said: "Phillip's spirit, which is now part of our game forever, will act as a custodian of the sport we all love."
"Michael Clarke said very clearly that Hughes' memory would run through the team, and would be in the way they would play their cricket," Agnew said.
"Well, I haven't seen evidence of that."
The Test series against India was delayed and rescheduled following Hughes's death.
I really hoped that out of this tragedy might have come some good. But the players haven't behaved any better, and I think that's a real disappointment. Jonathan Agnew
Although the memory of the tragedy was still fresh when play resumed, resulting in heightened concern from all players whenever batsmen were hit by deliveries, the Test series still had a number of verbal confrontations between both sides.
Agnew, who played three Tests for England and had a long country career for Leicestershire, said he believed it was time to get rid of sledging in the game.
"I really hoped that out of this tragedy might have come some good," he said.
"But the players haven't behaved any better, and I think that's a real disappointment."
Topics: sport, cricket, australia, india, england
First postedFlickr / JoePhilipson Southwest Airlines has settled a class-action lawsuit filed by a Chicago attorney over the discount carrier's decision to stop honoring vouchers for free alcoholic drinks, which it had given to travelers who bought a premium ticket. The settlement could be worth $29 million or more.
Adam Levitt, an attorney and the original plaintiff, said Southwest had for years awarded customers like him, who bought tickets through its premium-priced "Business Select" program, vouchers for drinks that otherwise cost $5 each. Vouchers did not include expiration dates.
On Aug. 1, 2010, Southwest, the third-largest airline in the Chicago market, changed its policy. It said Business Select passengers may use their vouchers only on the day of travel printed on them, essentially voiding all previously issued vouchers.
Levitt contended the policy change was a breach of contract. He filed suit on Nov. 16, 2011, on behalf of himself and all Southwest customers who earned eligible drink vouchers before Aug. 1, 2010, through their ticket purchase but didn't redeem them. The settlement does not include passengers who earned drink vouchers through Southwest's frequent-flier program, Rapid Rewards.
The settlement, approved this week by a federal-court judge in Chicago, entitles eligible fliers, even if they no longer possess the original paper vouchers, to new drink vouchers for each one they say they earned but didn't redeem. Those vouchers will be good for one year. Eligible consumers will be notified, starting in a couple of weeks. Southwest is required to set up a website about the settlement, publish newspaper advertisements about the settlement and attempt to contact eligible customers via e-mail.
"This settlement is a grand-slam result for the class, as consumers are recovering 100 cents on the dollar," said Chicago attorney Joseph Siprut, who represented the class against Southwest.
Siprut said his firm fought for a claims process in which physical possession of the old drink voucher was not required. "Class members just have to submit a form saying they had a certain number of vouchers that were never redeemed, and they can get replacement vouchers in equal number," he said.
The settlement estimates that 5.8 million eligible vouchers, issued between October 2007 and August 2010, were not redeemed. Valued at $5 each, that makes the settlement worth $29 million. Separately, Southwest is on the hook for attorney fees that could range from $1.75 million to $7 million. The court will decide that later, Siprut said.
Southwest, known for being consumer friendly, did not respond to a request for comment.
"Airline customers are very savvy," Siprut said. "They are sophisticated travelers and they don't take kindly when airlines break their promises to consumers, or pull a bait-and-switch on people."
gkarp@tribune.com ___Jack Capuano is looking ahead to the Panthers but took a moment to look back on the past weekend and some of the questioning of his and the Islanders’ integrity for resting so many regulars on the way to securing only one of four points in two games and assuring themselves of a first-round playoff date with Florida.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault noted that the Islanders “did what they had to do and we did what we thought we had to do.”
Capuano had a few observations on what the Rangers did on Saturday when their 3-2 win assured the Rangers of having to rely on the Islanders to get three points in their last two games to jump over their rivals.
“The only thing I can say is, watching his game on Saturday, I thought he did the right thing and I did the wrong thing,” Capuano told Newsday. “He benched [Derek] Stepan and [Rick] Nash with 13 minutes left in the second after [Eric] Staal got hurt. I thought that was the right thing to do.
“On the flip side, Johnny [Tavares] and his line, I put them out 17 minutes [against Buffalo on Saturday], power play, offensive-zone faceoffs and they scored to tie it and then I kept them going out until two minutes to go. I was the one that was wrong in that case.”
Capuano noted that the Rangers started Antti Raanta in goal on Saturday rather than Henrik Lundqvist and their ice-time leaders were two rookie defensemen, Dylan McIlrath (22:57) and Brady Skjei (22:04), and fourth-liner Tanner Glass and rookie call-up Marek Hrivik led their forwards in ice time.
As for Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Flyers, in which Capuano sat his entire first line and top defense pair, the Islanders coach didn’t care what anyone said. “Sunday doesn’t matter to me at all, we were sitting those guys no matter what,” Capuano said. “If anyone wants to look at Sunday, that’s the thing I get frustrated with. Nashville sat all their guys [Saturday], [Alex] Ovechkin sat in Washington, Philly sat a few guys. But there’s only two games [on Sunday], so the spotlight’s on us.”
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And, perhaps with tongue planted firmly in cheek, Capuano wished he could have run his bench on Saturday, when the Isles rallied to earn a point against the Sabres, more like Vig neault did.
“I dressed our top guys Saturday, I could have pulled back like he did and I didn’t until 2-3 minutes left because we were gun-shy with all the injuries,” Capuano said. “Sunday, some guys were going to get minutes they needed to get some work in — [Cal] Clutterbuck, [Matt] Martin, [Nikolay] Kulemin. [Calvin] De Haan played 20, [Nick] Leddy played 20 the night before. I’m the one who should look in the mirror and say, ‘Did I do the right thing?’
“He’s got his opinion and I like AV, I respect him. He’s a good guy, a great coach who’s had a lot of success. Maybe I should have taken a page out of his book and played my guys less on Saturday.”WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Supreme Court gave a convicted cop killer on Louisiana’s death row a chance to avert execution, ruling on Thursday that the man was eligible for a hearing on whether he is intellectually disabled.
The court, in a 5-4 decision, threw out a 2014 appeals court ruling that barred Kevan Brumfield from asking for the special hearing in which a lower court judge subsequently found he was intellectually disabled.
Brumfield, convicted in 1995 of murdering off-duty Baton Rouge police officer Betty Smothers during an attempted bank robbery, will remain on death row for now. The appeals court has yet to decide if the judge who held the hearing was correct to find that Brumfield was ineligible for the death penalty.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that intellectually disabled defendants are not eligible for the death penalty. Brumfield’s lawyers point to evidence showing that, among other things, he had a fourth-grade reading level and needed assistance to function normally.
The question before the Supreme Court was whether a federal district court judge had the legal authority to hold a special hearing on Brumfield’s intellectual capacity. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the court, said the judge was correct to hold the hearing.
The court’s four liberals were joined in the majority by conservative Anthony Kennedy. Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the four conservative justices who dissented, said the court should have deferred to the state courts.
Thomas also criticized Sotomayor for failing to describe the crime in detail in the majority opinion. Thomas included a photo of Smothers in his opinion and arranged for the court to post video of Brumfield’s confession on its website.
A federal law limits when federal courts can scrutinize state court judgments like the one in this case in which some evidence was presented in a Louisiana court that the state says indicates Brumfield is not, in fact, intellectually disabled.
Sotomayor, describing the state court’s findings, said “both of its critical factual determinations were unreasonable,” justifying the intervention of a federal judge.
In 2012, the federal judge in Louisiana overseeing the case found Brumfield intellectually disabled and said he should not be executed.
Last year, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the hearing should not have been held, noting evidence in the state court proceedings indicating Brumfield was not intellectually disabled.
The Supreme Court threw out that decision. The appeals court will now have to review directly the question of whether Brumfield is eligible for the death penalty.
The case is Brumfield v. Cain, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 13-1433.The Boston Red Sox open their four-game home series with the Houston Astros tonight. Can Boston keep the offensive pressure going or will they lose steam?
The Red Sox (21-13) will want to continue swinging the bats well, as they will greet the Astros (14-21) in Fenway Park, tonight.
While Boston has been red hot on offense, posting a 7-3 record in their last 10 games, some of their starting pitchers continue to give up runs easily. Fortunately for Red Sox Nation, the bats have hit a team average of.300 and drove in 47 RBIs, 49 runs in total, over the last seven games, which leads all major league teams.
Houston has won more than it has lost in the same span, posting a 6-4 record, but they find themselves 7.5 games back of the lead in the American League West division. Their 4-11 away record also doesn’t pose much promise for their own fans, as they are about to enter the cathedral of Boston.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday, May 12 @ 7:10 PM: Dallas Keuchel (2-4, 4.70 ERA) vs David Price (4-1, 6.75 ERA)
Friday, May 13 @ 7:10 PM: Lance McCullers (NA) vs Steven Wright (3-3, 1.52 ERA)
Saturday, May 14 @ 1:05 PM: Collin McHugh (4-3, 5.50 ERA) vs Clay Buchholz (2-3, 5.90 ERA)
Sunday, May 15 @ 1:35 PM: Chris Devenski (0-2, 1.72 ERA) vs Sean O’Sullivan (1-0, 6.43 ERA)
Series Notes
Thursday’s pitching matchup should have been an ace showdown, as Keuchel just edged out Price last season for the Cy Young Award. While both men are still considered the aces of their teams, both have struggled out of the gates. Opposing lineups are hitting.278 against Price while hitting.282 against Keuchel. The only difference between them is that Keuchel isn’t getting as much run support as Price has had.
To continue in that vein, run support will be the most important factor in this series. At present, teams can’t seem to keep the Red Sox off of the scoreboard, while the Astros are not producing nearly as much at the plate. With Devenski averaging less than two runs a game, one would think that he would have a winning record, instead of having only two losses in three starts.
McCullers will make his season debut for the Astros on Friday. The 22-year-old prospect has been in the minors since 2012, and is being called upon to help the Astros find some momentum. McCullers was quickly moved up from Double-A to the majors last season, posting a 6-7 record and a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts. However, after having shoulder soreness, he was sent back down to make two rehab starts before returning for this year. Between the two rehab starts, he has only pitched eight innings, striking out 11 and walking only two batters, while allowing only one run.
Key Hitters
Astros: Colby Rasmus
2016 Season (34 Games):.224/.340/.448, 7 HR, 28 RBI
Career vs Red Sox (51 Games):.228/.282/.431, 8 HR, 32 RBI
Everyone knows that the Astros’ best hitter is Jose Altuve, but wins and losses go through Rasmus and how he does at the plate. He leads his team in RBIs, driving in his teammates in crucial times. When Rasmus is able to drive in Altuve, as he’s often in scoring position, the Astros have something cooking; when Rasmus is cold, so is the dinner served up to Houston fans.
Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr.
2016 Season (33 Games):.322/.367/.610, 6 HR, 28 RBI
Career vs Astros (10 Games):.308/.349/.359, 5 RBI
He’s only one RBI shy of the franchise player himself, David Ortiz. He’s cashing in runs at important times in ballgames. And, he’s doing it all from the nine-spot in the lineup. Granted that it’s been helping that Travis Shaw, Brock Holt, and Christian Vazquez are getting on base in front of him, and doing it often, but Bradley is looking anything but junior at the plate when they do. Unless you mean like another famous ‘Junior’, a la Ken Griffey Jr. who also played center field and is going to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this summer. It’s a bit early, however, to compare the two, especially when it wasn’t so long ago that Jackie could barely hit the broad side of a barn with a pitch. It will be interesting to see if he can sustain this recent success.Farmers drive through the “coffee lands” of El Salvador, November 6, 2013. (Photo: Stuart)
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The perils of ingesting food that has any contact with a Monsanto-produced product are in the news on nearly a weekly basis.
As Dr. Jeff Ritterman has documented, Monstanto’s herbicide, Roundup, has been linked to a fatal kidney disease epidemic, and has also been repeatedly linked to cancer.
This story is part of the Climate in Our Hands collaboration between Truthout and YES! Magazine.
Recently, a senior research scientist at MIT predicted that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, will cause half of all children to have autism by 2025.
Farmers in El Salvador are acutely aware of the importance of producing their own seeds, and avoiding those from the bioengineering giant. The farmers, who have already been consistently outperforming Monsanto with their seed, as the local seed is far healthier and more productive, have just managed to bring about a giant defeat of Monsanto by preventing it from supplying El Salvador with its seeds. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture released a new round of contracts to provide seed to subsistence farmers across the country.
“Remember that Monsanto is together with DuPont, Pioneer, all the large businesses that control the world’s seed market,” said Juan Luna Vides, the director of diversified production for the Mangrove Association, a nongovernmental organization that was created to support a grassroots social movement for environmental conservation in El Salvador. “Unfortunately, many of the governments in Latin America, or perhaps the world, have beneficiary relationships with these companies.”
Vides said that his group is working to “minimize this dependency” – and the dire situation in El Salvador demonstrates the importance of doing so.
“The efforts of transnational companies are masked by other companies within small countries,” he explained. “In the case of El Salvador, this example is very obvious … the company of ex-president [Alfredo] Cristiani Burkard manages the business within the [national] market … Although you don’t see the Monsanto brand, it’s Monsanto.”
Thus, companies like Pioneer generate commercials for various media in El Salvador that market their agrochemical products, exerting great influence over the local farmer population of the country.
The Importance of Keeping It Local
“We are losing the traditions of local seed, so we are trying to maintain it here,” small-scale seed producer Santos Cayetan told Truthout. “Native seeds don’t have what these other seeds have that come with the chemicals, based in chemicals.”
Cayetan, who is a recipient of corn seed from the government program that uses local, GMO-free seeds and also works to grow native corn, said that the difference between using local seed versus Monsanto’s is stark.
“[Native seeds are] always the same, they always produce, and they’re always there,” he said. “[Native seeds] are drought resistant.”
Vides said that native seeds are also far better adapted to local conditions like droughts and floods in his country, as well as the climate and soil.
“[Native seeds] don’t need a great injection of agrochemicals in comparison to other seeds…. Seeds coming from different places, we don’t know if those seeds are GMO or modified in some way,” he said. “You can reuse native seeds and create a full cycle; you can use your own seeds for the next planting. That’s not the case with hybrid seeds.”
One of Monsanto’s insidious goals is to force farmers to purchase the company’s seeds every year, at very expensive prices.
What’s more, it is well known that Monsanto’s hybrid seeds are dependent upon a high level of toxic fertilizers, and without those the yields of the hybrids would be far, far lower.
“[Using only local seed] would be much better [for Salvadoran farmers]; they wouldn’t have to buy seeds every year,” Vides added. “It has to do with generating the conditions to promote food security … you can produce what you consume … produce and consume the same product.”
Cayetan said that many farmers in El Salvador simply cannot afford Monsanto seeds – and that is by design.
“If all the producers produced [imported] seed, [local producers] would lose their businesses … this is what [Monsanto] wants.”
Jesus Reyes Fuente, also a local seed producer in El Salvador’s Ciudad Romero, told Truthout that native seeds also taste better than hybrid seeds.
“They’re less contaminated by fertilizers,” he said. “And you can use them year after year … with hybrids, after the second year, you can’t use them.”
Like the others with whom Truthout spoke, Fuente was aware of the health dangers of Monsanto products, and stressed the importance of stopping Monsanto from forcing local farmers to use its products.
“It’s an imposition … they [Monsanto] are trying to force people to use transgenic seeds,” he said. “There’s pressure, to make us produce in a way we don’t want to.”
Evelyn Martinez is a political analyst for Salvadoran Foundation for Reconstruction and Development (REDES). REDES works to strengthen organizational capacity and advocacy among vulnerable populations who are looking to improve their quality of life.
“Before, there was a monopoly in the seed market. It was controlled by Cristiani Burkard, which today is Monsanto, and other large agribusinesses,” Martinez told Truthout. “Today, we have opened the possibility for local production. We have opened the market.”
The local seed program has also generated jobs, increased investment in equipment and infrastructure by local producers, and has had positive social impacts by preventing youths from joining gangs, as well as enabling producers to improve their production techniques and business skills.
“In economic terms, the country is less dependent on importers and has increased its autonomy,” Martinez added. “The [local] seeds are better adapted for climate change and to the soils of El Salvador and have high yield potential.”
Martinez was very clear about why any dealings with Monsanto would be harmful for El Salvador.
“At the global level, Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta have control of 67 percent of the seed and agrochemical market. Monsanto controls 23 percent of the corn market and 80 percent of the world’s GMO market,” she said. “What Monsanto wants is to take more market share … in order to increase their profits. Monsanto wants to increase the use of their seed in the country, not to benefit the small-scale producers. If you control the seed, you control the whole production process.”
Martinez also stressed the importance of food sovereignty and was blunt about what would happen politically if local farmers had to rely on Monsanto seed.
“The nutrition of the country will depend on transnational companies … We will lose our autonomy,” Martinez concluded. “In terms of democracy, this isn’t democratic; [Salvadorans] can’t decide what we eat. It’s a dictatorship.”
Local Government Support
In 2014, the US government threatened to deny all foreign aid to El Salvador unless it opened up its seed contracts to foreign businesses (i.e. Monsanto). Now, however, the United States claims that it supports the country’s contract on seed, through which domestic seed producers offer both a better and more financially competitive product.
This is not a new battle – farmers in El Salvador have also successfully opposed the use of Monsanto seeds in the past – but it is one that Salvadorans find themselves perpetually fighting.
To make protections more permanent, El Salvador Congresswoman Estela Hernandez stressed the importance of farmers continuing to have the freedom to make their own decisions.
Interestingly, she also said that the pressure to use Monsanto seeds came more from the United States than from Monsanto itself.
“Monsanto didn’t express its opinions here…. the pressure really came from the politicians from the United States, in this case the ambassador,” she said. “We don’t know if it was for the quality of seed, more likely for the businesses.”
Elias Figueroa, a technical agronomist in the Ministry of Agriculture, also strongly supports the movement to keep seed local, and to disallow companies like Monsanto from introducing their seed into the country.
“This year the government purchased corn and bean seed in accordance to CAFTA’s [Central American Free Trade Agreement] tender requirements … demonstrating that what the [US] embassy suggested, that the process was not transparent, was not true,” Figueroa told Truthout. “Under this [bidding] process, everyone can participate, as long as they meet the legal and technical requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture.”
Figueroa explained how El Salvador has a center for the investigation of El Salvador’s National Center for Agricultural and Forestry Technology, called CENTA, which since 2011 has participated in increasing the domestic production of seed.
El Salvador used to import more than 70 percent of seed used nationally, but since 2000, CENTA has worked with the Center of Investigation for Corn and Wheat in Mexico to produce a parent seed.
CENTA generated the parent seed for H-59, the hybrid variety produced domestically. The plant is created for the tropical climate: It is drought resistant, produces high yields under local conditions, and is resistant to plagues and fungi.
In contrast, GMO seeds from Monsanto, which are more susceptible to plagues and aren’t drought resistant, are clearly not designed for the tropical climate. The verdict from producers?
“According to the latest census, 84 percent of producers in the country prefer using H-59,” Figueroa said. “The most important [thing] is that it has generated employment, nearly 240,000 direct jobs.”
Still, Figueroa said, the public relations fight continues: He explained that Monsanto is “running an aggressive marketing campaign,” portraying its seed as better and spreading false claims that local seed is mediocre and not certified.
“But this doesn’t worry us,” Figueroa said. “The national seed law, approved by Congress, and CAFTA lay out the parameters for quality, and we are complying with all of these. We have the best product, the best product in all of Central America. We can outcompete them in export markets as well. We have the studies that demonstrate the quality of our seed.”
Figueroa added that 100 percent of the seed required for the country’s food security program is now provided by national producers, and that one of the ministry’s objectives is to promote native seed varieties by establishing local seed banks.
Nathan Weller, the program and policy director for EcoViva, an NGO that supports environmental sustainability, social justice and peace for communities in Central America, has been working with local farmers in El Salvador for years, supporting their efforts to produce and control their own seeds.
“El Salvador is ensuring that its national seed lineage doesn’t need to be outsourced to foreign interests, and can be developed by its own farmers,” Weller told Truthout. “It’s better for the farmers who earn access to the best product, better for the government that can stretch limited public budgets to outreach to the most farmers, and better for El Salvador’s struggling rural economy which drives many families to migrate away from their communities.”
Weller explained that the Salvadoran producers’ success came as a result of their flexibility and responsiveness to the people using the seed.
“They innovated to meet government standards, learned how to navigate administrative hurdles to earn contracts and employed hundreds of people in traditionally underserved rural areas where opportunity is scarce,” he said. “Transnational agribusiness like Monsanto treat farmers in the developing world as consumers, not partners. They have yet to demonstrate an ability to provide such sweeping benefits to El Salvador’s rural economy.”
While the recent victory for local farmers and organic seed is important, and even the US Embassy has endorsed the outcome, Vides is aware that there is still work to do.
“There doesn’t exist a [national] agriculture policy supporting alternative farming, producing organically and ecologically,” he said. “But regional efforts exist, such as La Coordinadora and the Mangrove Association, that are [supporting] local producers [in working] with alternative production techniques, such as using organic inputs and producing in an ecological manner.”
Amy Kessler, a field coordinator for EcoViva, contributed to this report.Formula 1's new-for-2016 team, Haas, is hoping to reveal its first driver by the end of next month, as the squad inches closer to its debut in the sport.
Gene Haas' eponymous outfit will join the 10 current teams next year but has yet to announce either of its drivers.
Esteban Gutierrez is understood to be the leading candidate, though Haas has spoken with several other racers regarding the vacant 2016 slots.
"We are talking with about 10 people, some higher up the list, some lower, but it is difficult to know who is available as it hasn’t been decided who is going where yet, so everyone is talking," said team boss Gunther Steiner.
"I think we will make a decision by the end of summer so we can prepare the driver, and to explain what we are doing as we are new as well - he needs to help us as well.
"By September I hope we have a decision for one, if not two, but we have interested candidates and that is nice for us, they talk to us seriously and I hope we can pull some of them off."
Steiner says that the drivers which Haas has held discussions with have been receptive to the new project.
"It was a good response, nobody was like ‘hey, this is new I don’t want to go there’, they were like ‘hey, tell me what you are doing, it sounds like a good programme Mr Haas is doing here.'"Paloma Faith's very public campaigning to sing the next James Bond theme may have "messed up" her chances, the singer told the BBC.
Faith, who was recently named the best British female artist at the 2015 Brit Awards, said that she's blown her chances of following Adele because she wasn't "cool" enough in not pretending she didn't want the gig.
James Bond Wish List: 5 Artists Who Should Sing 'Spectre' Title Song
"In the industry that I'm in, if you ask for something or you seem like you want something you don't get it," she said.
Faith publicly said it was her dream to follow the likes of Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones and Tina Turner and sing the Bond theme, adding that said she felt like she was "born to do it."
Faith though is quite certain she won't be getting the gig: "You're supposed to pretend that you're really cool as a cucumber and stuff just comes to you, but I'm not really that type of person... But now I've messed it for myself because I've told everyone that I would like to do it."
Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs Ever
The singer of the theme for the next Bond film Spectre, which opens on Nov. 6, hasn't been chosen yet, but director Sam Mendes intimated back in December that he knew who would be singing the theme song. The British speculate that Sam Smith is the current front runner but artists such as Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey and Lorde are also thought to be in the running.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.These vegan banana gingerbread muffins are moist, tender, just sweet enough, and bursting with crunchy pecans and rich dark chocolate chips.
One of my favorite things about having a food blog through the holidays: I have a great excuse to produce and share baked goods for at least a solid month. As much as I love posting savory vegan meal recipes, baked goods are my favorite to create.
I don’t usually post as many sweets as I’d like, partly because I don’t want to end up eating them all. During the holidays that’s not such a problem, as I’ve got plenty of recipients to pass my creations off on.
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I’m a little early this year.
These muffins actually did get eaten at home. Muffins are an exception to my normal baking protocol, as I make them quite a bit, and try to keep them on the lighter side so we don’t feel to bad about snacking on them. Whenever I see a banana start to develop a few brown spots, I get the urge to throw it into some vegan muffins. With the holidays coming around the corner, I thought banana gingerbread muffins might be in order.
These were a bit lighter and more cakey than your typical banana muffins. The tops were my favorite part, as they developed a delicately crispy crust.
I expect to make a few more batches of these through the fall and then the holiday season — not just to give out as gifts, but to keep around the house as well, in the hopes that if I have them around snack on I’ll be less inclined to consume my supply of Halloween candy or holiday gifting cookies.Canadian points machine Nathan Hirayama is in a time crunch to find fitness ahead of this weekend’s Sydney 7s.
The playmaker came up lame in the 3rd place match last Sunday in Wellington, as he tried to chase down Scotland’s James Fleming early in the second half.
It was a tough finish to the weekend for Hirayama, who paced |
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We’ve contacted DuckDuckGo for further comment and more details.
Headline image via Parin Sharma / Flickr
Read next: Blogging platform Svbtle moves to paid membership, costs $6 per month for new usersRussia has urged Syrian President Bashar Assad not to retaliate against Israel after an airstrike on the country's Scientific Studies and Research Center, which the Syrian regime attributes to Israel, a senior Russia official dealing with Middle East affairs told Yedioth Ahronoth in an conversation in Moscow over the weekend.
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The official said Moscow advised Syria and Hezbollah "not to respond and concentrate on the big picture."
President Putin and President Assad (Photo: AP)
The official also noted Russia is aware of Israel's concerns of Iranian entrenchment in Syria, reassuring Moscow will make sure to prevent Tehran from establishing a foothold in the Golan Heights significant enough to pose a threat to Israel.
"If Hezbollah and Iran overstep their bounds in their involvement in Syria, we will suppress them," the official said, adding that Russia is "aware of Israel's concerns. They were made clear at the last meeting between (Russian President) Putin and (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu."
Senior officials in Moscow revealed that the main argument raised by Netanyahu and Mossad Director Yossi Cohen during their meeting with Putin was that Iran was working to significantly strengthen its hold on Syria.
To that end—according to intelligence information they presented to Putin—Iran is attempting to establish a permanent presence in Syria of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and Shiite militias from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, the Islamic republic is building an exclusively contolled port in the Syrian coastal city of Tartus and is planning to build a missile factory in Lebanon.
CERS (Photo: Intelli Times)
"Iran's long term plans do not include Russia, and the Iranians will try to get you out of there as well," Netanyahu and Cohen told Putin, according to the Russian official.
A senior Russian official also praised the security coordination with Israel—especially the encrypted telephone line that was installed two years ago, which connects the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, which is currently operated by Russia, and the Kirya underground Canary Air Force headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"Our forces' ability to communicate immediately, without mediation, in direct conversation, saved us from serious mishaps that could have cost lives," the official said.
Assisted with preparing the report: Yael Wissner Levy.Given the characters this president likes to surround himself with, it’s easy to see why he might be worried.
Long before he entered politics, Trump established a managerial M.O. that came to govern his universe of aides, allies, and hangers-on. Essentially, he populated his team with a cast of scrappy, hard-charging mini-Trumps—people who idolized their boss, and sought to emulate him in every way—and then infused them all with an eat-what-you-kill ethos. Employees are rarely paid impressive salaries at first, but nor are they micromanaged. Instead, they are encouraged to hustle their way up the food chain, competing ferociously with each other to win Trump’s respect, and always seeking out new ways to prove their value.
“He likes to pit advisers against each other,” said one former campaign aide. “He likes the infighting … It’s definitely an environment where you might feel pressured to go the free-range-kid model and say, ‘Hey, let’s see what I can drum up to impress him with.’”
The aide added, “Someone could easily take it a step too far trying to gain something that no one else could gain.”
Chris Ruddy, CEO of the conservative media company NewsMax and a close friend of Trump’s, offered a similar—albeit more laudatory—characterization of Trump’s management style. “He tends to hire strong people … and gives them a lot of authority,” Ruddy told me. That kind of autonomy can produce excellence, he said, but it also comes with risks. “A lot of political campaigns attract real characters and some rogue operators, and I’m sure there were a few running around.”
In many ways, Cohen is emblematic of the Trump theory of management. Fiercely loyal and theatrically thuggish, Cohen embraces his oft-advertised role as Trump’s “pit bull”—routinely issuing outlandish threats against his boss’s critics and enemies. But even as he spent years working out of Trump Tower, people close to him say he never commanded the kind of lavish compensation and cushy perks one might expect for a billionaire’s top attorney. Instead, two sources told me, he made much of his money with a hodgepodge assortment of miscellaneous business ventures—including taxi medallions and real-estate deals—while also dabbling in Trump’s various political and entertainment ventures. He could be cutthroat about maintaining his standing in the inner-circle, and he rarely shied away from an opportunity to protect his turf by bludgeoning his fellow Trumpites. (Cohen did not respond to my request for an interview.)
People who have worked closely with Trump told me it’s not hard to imagine how this environment would lend itself to the kind of unsavory behavior by his aides that investigators are now looking for. Between his sprawling business empire and his chaotic campaign operation, Trump spent 2016 running what was essentially Uber, but for the presidency—overseeing a vast fleet of independent operators for whom the only currency that mattered was gaining an edge for the boss. Who knows how far some of them might have gone to get ahead?This year’s Iron Bowl is a big one, as the winner will go to the SEC Championship Game, while the loser will have its College Football Playoff hopes dashed.
However, Alabama QB Jalen Hurts also has some extra motivation for the big game in two weeks, thanks to a bet with NBA legend and Auburn alum Charles Barkley.
On WJOX’s “The Round Table” on Tuesday, Barkley said he has a friendly bet with the Alabama sophomore (via 247Sports):
“Jalen Hurts challenged me to a bet, and I ain’t forgot, Jalen,” Barkley said on JOX 94.5 FM’s The Round Table on Tuesday. “So, I’m either going to wear an Alabama jersey on TV or he’s going to have to wear (an Auburn jersey) on campus. … I’ve got the jersey coming. … But my Tigers need to win because I don’t want to wear that crap on TNT.”
Auburn will host this year’s rivalry game, fresh off a win over No. 1 Georgia last weekend. The Tigers are riding high, but the Crimson Tide are undefeated and likely to be the No. 1 team in the country in two weeks.
Hurts will have to play the game of his life, otherwise he’ll be sporting an Auburn jersey on campus in a couple of weeks.GE Energy Financial Services Makes Equity Investment In Japanese Solar Power Project
June 13th, 2014 by Mridul Chadha
GE Energy Financial Services is aggressively expanding its presence in solar power markets across the world. The company’s latest investment has been announced just weeks after an investment was made in the largest solar power project in India.
GE Energy Financial Services has announced that it will invest in a 32 MW solar photovoltaic power project in Japan being developed by Pacifico Energy.
According to a press release by Pacifico Energy, a loan worth about $110 million will also be provided to the project by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and the Chugoku Bank.
The project is believed to take advantage of the feed-in tariff scheme launched by the government in 2012 following the Fukushima nuclear accident.
The construction of the project is expected to start soon and commercial operation is planned for the first quarter of 2016. The power generated from the project will be sold to one of the regional power utilities through a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The project will be constructed by Toyo Engineering Corporation and the modules will be supplied by Yingli Green Energy.
GE Energy Financial Services has so far made financial commitments over $10 billion in the renewable energy sector across the world. These include investments of $8 billion in wind energy projects and $1.7 billion in solar energy projects.
In May 2014, GE Energy Financial Services invested $24 million in a 151 MW solar PV project in India owned by Welspun Energy. The equity investment was similar to the one the company has made in the Japan project with the only significant difference being that the Indian project is already operational while the construction on the Japanese project is yet to begin.
Pacifico Energy may follow the same strategy as Welspun Energy did on receiving the equity infusion and use the resources to pay off a portion of the loan acquired.
While this is the first investment made by GE Energy Financial Services in Japan, the company has ambitious plans to expand its footprint in the country. The company plans to invest in the largest solar power project in Japan, the 430 MW project to come up at Setouchi.
The Japanese government reduced the feed-in tariff for larger solar power projects by about 10% during the current financial year but the country is expected to remain an attractive solar power market. The government approved 6.7 GW of solar power capacity in 2013 and about 10 GW capacity is expected to be installed this year.A group of lawmakers is urging colleagues who are drafting spending bills to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from moving forward with its plan to close 80 more processing facilities.
The Postal Service announced last month that in January 2015 it would begin the previously delayed second phase of its “network rationalization” plan. Twenty-two senators -- nearly all Democrats -- called for a one-year moratorium on the consolidations in a letter to their colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee, saying the closures would hurt both postal customers and employees.
The senators said the closures would result in the loss of 15,000 postal jobs. The group included Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has authored a postal reform bill that focuses on growth initiatives rather than cuts; and Republican Appropriations Committee member John Hoeven, N.D.
“At a time when our middle class is disappearing, the loss of... good-paying Postal Service jobs will harm our local communities and economies,” the senators wrote.
An HSGAC postal overhaul bill, which passed the committee in February, would place a two-year pause on any plant closures. Baldwin and Tester voted against that bill. The Postal Service has shuttered 141 processing plants since it began phase one of its streamlining plan in 2012.
On Friday, USPS published a final rule laying out the changes to delivery service standards that would result from the closures. The American Postal Workers Union said the changes would permanently end all overnight delivery, but a USPS spokesman told Government Executive the agency still expects to deliver 20 percent of first-class mail in one day.
In addition to service cuts, the consolidations have led to mail arriving later in the day. This, in turn, has kept letter carriers out after dark, a potential safety risk.
The Postal Service has dramatically reduced the size of both its physical footprint and workforce in recent years, though it has not yet had to force anyone out. The agency will likely have to start laying off employees soon, however, and is hiring a manager to oversee the reductions in force.
In their letter, the lawmakers asked that any omnibus appropriations bill or continuing resolution for fiscal 2015 delay all plant closures and changes to service standards.
“This one-year moratorium will give Congress the time it needs to enact comprehensive postal reforms that are necessary for the Postal Service to function effectively in the future,” they wrote.Apple used the word ‘courage’ recently to describe its decision to remove the headphone socket from the iPhone 7, and much fun was poked at the company by those who missed the reference. But what I personally found far more courageous was Apple effectively admitting that it got the original Apple Watch user-interface badly wrong, and completely revamping it in watchOS 3.
Glances never worked. They were supposed to be a fast way to see information from your favorite apps, and to go on to quickly open those apps when required. In reality, neither objective was achieved: data was slow to load, and so were the apps.
And the side-button for immediate access to contacts was simply the waste of a button. Using the Watch Dick Tracy-style for phone calls was never more than a novelty, and sending scribbles and the like to contacts was even more of a gimmick.
So Apple had the courage to abandon both. Glances are gone, replaced by the app Dock, and the side button has been repurposed to access it. These two changes have transformed my use of my Watch …
NordVPN
I said recently that I literally couldn’t remember the last time I actually opened an app on the Watch as it was so tediously slow to do so. Instead, I used my Watch for just four things:
Glancing at Complications on the Modular watch face
Notifications
Replying to text messages
Apple Pay
Those four things were enough for the Watch to earn its keep, but I could see no benefit to me in upgrading to Apple’s shiny new hardware. What I do love, though, is Apple’s even shinier new software.
By keeping the most-used apps in memory, and providing instant access to them via the newly-repurposed side button, using apps has gone from a frustrating act of last resort to a quick and easy way to get stuff done. The result? I’m now frequently using eight different apps. Effectively, a free upgrade to my Watch has added eight ‘new’ features – features that were always there in theory but were previously too slow to use in practice.
I listen to a lot of podcasts (This American Life, Freakonomics Radio and a whole bunch of Radio 4 shows, in the main), so keep Now Playing in my dock. The Watch now makes it really easy to skip back 15 seconds if I missed something or my mind was wandering, and while pause/play is very easy on the B&W P5 wireless headphones I was assimilated into using, sometimes it’s even more convenient to pause on the Watch. That would never have been true before.
The Music app itself now comes into its own. It’s a more convenient way to start a playlist while out and about, and I frequently use the Quick Play button as an instant way to start some music.
Still on the music front, I love the convenience of being able to quickly Shazam a music track in a bar or coffee shop. I previously used to use Siri on my iPhone, but this is much easier. Siri is unfortunately useless for identifying music on the Watch.
I also love that Shazam can display lyrics on the Watch. I’m not usually a fan of using small screens to display more than a glance’s worth of info, but it’s nice when Shazamming a song to also be able to quickly skim the lyrics.
I’m not much of a selfie guy, but it’s always better to prop the iPhone up to avoid motion-blur when taking photos in low light, and using the Watch as a remote-control is much more convenient than using the self-timer.
I love the convenience of navigating by wrist-taps. It’s much more pleasant than walking along staring at your phone screen, and a lot safer in sketchy areas. You can look like you know exactly where you’re going while keeping your attention on your surroundings.
I know London well, so most places I can get to within a few streets without navigational assistance, then just use Apple Maps for the last few blocks. I tend to set the destination on my iPhone, as it’s easier on the larger screen, and to do that in advance. When I get close enough to need the help, I then set it going on my Watch.
Dark Sky is my preferred short-range weather app. I generally use it to decide whether or not I’ll need a cycling jacket, and to see whether I might be better off leaving a little earlier than planned to avoid a rain shower. Here the benefit of having the info on my wrist rather than my phone is more marginal, but interestingly it’s been one of the things that has most sold friends on an Apple Watch when they see it in action.
I have a lot of friends in other countries, and Skype is my default way of keeping in touch with them. Mostly I just keep the app in the dock to ensure it’s open so I’ll receive call alerts on my Watch. I find that otherwise it can fall out of RAM.
Finally – and this is a big one for me – I now use my Watch as a remote control when listening to music on the hifi. My MacBook Pro is my music repository, AirPlaying music to a variety of speakers in different rooms. In the living-room, I control music directly from the Mac (where it lives in the evening), but in other rooms it’s great to have the Watch as a remote control.
Around 90% of my listening is from Apple Music’s For You playlists, which has two implications. First, I won’t always know the name of the artist or track, and the Watch will show it to me. Second, if I don’t like a track, I can use the Watch to skip to the next one.
The only thing missing for me is Love and Dislike buttons for Apple Music. I do try to religiously like/dislike tracks, as that’s why Apple’s For You recommendations are so good for me, but I can’t do it from the Watch.
One small criticism: I never change watch faces, so for me the ‘swipe left/right’ UI is completely wasted. A friend (thanks, Greg!) observed that, even if you do, it’s unlikely to be something you do so often that a ‘top level’ gesture is justified. I’d prefer to see the swipe gesture used for something more useful – perhaps swipe right to access your most-used app and left for the one you used most recently?
Oh, and a kind of combined compliment and complaint, I guess: now I’m actively using the Watch so much more, I’m finding that I burn through a lot more battery power. International travel excepted, the Watch always used to comfortably make it through a day for me, but I’ve twice run out of power since watchOS 3.
But that aside, I’m blown away by how much difference watchOS 3 has made. I really feel like Apple just gave me a free upgrade to a whole new model.
You can read earlier pieces in my Apple Watch Diary series here.So, retired basketball star Yao Ming is launching his own California wine label.
Yao Family Wines is a bit different from other sports figures’ vanity wines in that it is being targeted primarily for the Chinese market. The sole wine released so far, the 2009 Yao Ming Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, will retail for $289 per bottle. The debut release consists of 5,000 cases, according to Wine Spectator, and a second 500-case limited release, Yao Family Reserve, is scheduled for early next year.
While that price range isn’t unheard of for Napa Cabernet, most wines in that price range — and we can only assume the Reserve will be a higher price than the regular Cab — typically come with a sterling provenance: a top-dollar estate farmed by one of a handful of vineyard hands and made by a star winemaker. (Look at the recent launch of Dana Estate for a by-the-numbers example of a modern Napa aspirational label.)
Yao’s approach is a bit different. He has tapped Tom Hinde to run the business. Hinde is an experienced hand in wine — he was general manager of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates through the ’90s and then president of Flowers Vineyard — but not necessarily a familiar one for the Napa realm.
As for a stately winery facility, manicured hillside vineyards, marble and fountains? Nope. They say they hope to buy property at a later date.
By any account, this is a custom crush project sourced from a handful of vineyards — including Sugarloaf Mountain, Tourmaline and Broken Rock, according to the Wine Spectator. None are notable as designates, which is odd considering that the suggested price of the wine would have made it permissible to turn a profit even while paying top-dollar rates for a site like To Kalon. Hinde told the Spectator that they have “farming input,” and for whatever they’re paying for those grapes, I hope “farming input” includes ordering the vineyard manager to drag out a harpsichord each night to play for the vines.
‘Artisan techniques’ and more
As for the rest of the winemaking, the press release sounds like a holdover from the 1980s, with its talk of “hand harvest from individual blocks,” “artisan techniques throughout the winemaking process” and “exclusively in 100% French Oak barrels.” Basically, they created just another multisource Napa Cab with a daredevil price tag.
That price tag is what the Yao story is all about. If you’re Bond Estates and you want to charge $275 for Vecina, you’re topping out around 600 cases. (You also have the brand power of Bill Harlan behind you.) But at 5,000 cases for $289 per bottle, Yao’s total revenue comes out to something close to his $17.7 million salary in his final year of basketball.
Of course, we need to factor in the significant chunk going to the Chinese government (the Journal cites a 27 percent import duty and 17 percent sales tax) although to be fair, the same could be said of Yao’s salary. Some surely will go to Pernod Ricard China, Yao’s importer. But this is a project intended to generate a lot of cash, fast. Only in Bordeaux is it permissible to make that much wine and charge that much money — which perhaps is why Bordeaux remains China’s wine grail.
From all accounts, Yao is a nice guy — and I don’t want to dismiss his commitment to this new endeavor, which evidently was brokered by his agency. In addition to owning a Shanghai basketball team, Yao made the improbable decision after his retirement to go back to school. He isn’t being rash in his decisions, and he isn’t portraying himself as a connoisseur. He said he first got into wine at dinners with his fellow Houston Rocket, Dikembe Mutombo.
Quite wisely, he also tapped into what has become California wine’s selling point not only abroad but everywhere: “California represents vacation, casual [living], sunshine—everything related to a good quality of life,” he told the Journal.
And yet the creation of Yao Family Wines is by turns peverse, brilliant and perversely brilliant. If anyone was looking for a sign of what the burgeoning Chinese wine market means, look no further.
China after all, is the grail on which all of Bordeaux, much of Burgundy and an ever larger chunk of California are pinning their future hopes.
A surefire scenario
What does the Yao deal tell us about China? That everything the wine industry has come to believe about tackling the Chinese market is on target. Brands matter. Prestige matters. Celebrity matters. Why do Lafite and Mouton still reign supreme there? Because they have the reputation. Artisanship (with all due apologies to that press release) is irrelevant. Terroir is irrelevant — although the overall brand power of Napa Valley certainly holds sway.
Yao and his partners hit on a surefire scenario: Take one of the country’s key symbols of cultural export, mesh it with the power of Brand Napa and of stately Cabernet, and price it ambitiously enough that it takes on an importance of its own.
Indeed, pricing it lower would only dent its possible prestige-symbol status among China’s new elite. Even at $289 a bottle, a case still probably costs less than an oil change on Bo Guagua’s Ferrari.
It is unlikely that anyone but Yao could pull off this bit of leveraging, of course. The California names prestigious enough to succeed on their own (Screaming Eagle, maybe a short list beyond that) in the prestige-driven world of China’s collectors are few indeed. But hitch Napa to a homegrown superstar like Yao? Bingo.
Napa in particular should take note of this deal’s particulars. The concerns about the valley’s super-luxury pricing aren’t an issue in China; the issue is whether a wine has enough immediate and built-in cachet. That claptrap about cult-level production and rarity and the crucial value of a unique estate?
It is not what China is focused on, at least not right now. What matters is the ability to sell a wine that seems important. That’s all Yao Family Wines is attempting to do.• Former Australia spinner was invited by England coach, Trevor Bayliss • Warne has also been working with Pakistan’s Yasir Shah
Shane Warne will work with England’s Adil Rashid during training on Friday before the third Test with Pakistan in Sharjah, following an invitation from Trevor Bayliss.
Shane Warne praises Pakistan’s Yasir Shah as ‘best leg-spinner in the world’ Read more
Warne, once the tormentor of England batsmen with 195 wickets in 36 Ashes Tests, is in the United Arab Emirates promoting a golf tournament but has been keen to get some net time before three exhibition matches in the United States next month.
Thursday the 46-year-old trained with Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who took eight wickets in their second Test win in Dubai to move up to second in the world Test bowling rankings. But now, at the behest of his fellow Australian Bayliss, Warne will join Rashid to similarly pass on tips about the art of leg-spin.
It is a bold move by the England coach before Sunday’s third Test. England began bringing other former leading players into the team environment at the start of the year, with Andrew Flintoff, Nasser Hussain and Sir Ian Botham among those to have addressed the team. This particular invitation is one that could not have taken place 18 months ago, however.
Warne has been a critic of the England captain, Alastair Cook, through both his commentary for Sky Sports in the UK and a newspaper column, with the issue coming to a head before the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka in 2014, when Cook said “something needs to be done” about the leg-spinner’s relentless negativity.
But following a telephone conversation that summer, instigated by Warne, the two are understood to have cleared the air and now England’s one-time nemesis will look to pass on his knowledge to Rashid and boost the Yorkshireman’s confidence before a Test England must win to draw the series.
Warne, speaking earlier in the week, compared Yasir and Rashid when speaking to the UAE newspaper the National. “They are completely different bowlers,” he said. “Yasir is a real hustle and bustle leg-spinner. To me he’s the best in international cricket at the moment and I hope Rashid will get better. He’s not as fluent as someone like Yasir but that doesn’t mean he’s not as effective. If he gets his confidence up I think he can be a real handful.”
Warne and Rashid will have common ground too, with both men having been taught by the former Australia leg-spinner Terry Jenner.
Rashid has experienced a rollercoaster start to his Test career, with five wickets in the second innings in Abu Dhabi following the worst figures, none for 163, by a debutant in the first.
In Dubai, where England lost by 178 runs, the 27-year-old took match figures of two for 191 but batted for four hours in the second innings, scoring 71 from 171 that nearly saved the Test.A costly gesture: Mr Pinho's "cuckold" insult lost him his job
Portugal's Economy Minister Manuel Pinho has resigned after making a rude cuckold gesture at an opposition MP.
Mr Pinho placed his index fingers on his head, imitating horns.
The gesture was directed at Bernandino Soares, leader of the Communist parliamentary group, who had challenged the government about a mine's future.
Mr Pinho's action came during a state-of-the-nation debate in parliament. The Socialist PM, Jose Socrates, said "nothing justifies this gesture".
"This was just an episode. One that shouldn't have happened and that affects the government's image, but which has now been corrected this way [with Mr Pinho's resignation]," he said.
Traditionally the horns signify a man whose wife is unfaithful.
Mr Pinho had been questioned about his handling of talks at the troubled Aljustrel zinc mine in the south of Portugal.
Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos will take on his portfolio temporarily, until the general election on 27 September.The Florida Bar asked for an "enhanced disbarment" in the disciplinary hearing of Jack Thompson, held earlier this afternoon. The recommendation means Thompson would be disbarred and prohibited from applying to practice law again for ten years, according to 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida spokesperson Eunice Sigler.
Thompson's disciplinary hearing apparently ended in the attorney walking out of the courtroom after saying the judge did not have the authority to hear his case, a reader who sat in on the hearing told us.
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The case proceeded without Thompson's presence and the Florida Bar issued its recommendation for the enhanced disbarment. Judge Dava Tunis' specific recommendations for sanctions will be included in her official report, to be due to the Florida Supreme Court by September 2nd.
Before walking out of the courtroom, Thompson filed what he called "Thompson's Formal Objection to June 4 Sanctions Hearing." In the rambling, 4,500-word objection, Thompson questioned Tunis' ability to preside at his hearing, calling her incompetent and arrogant and threatening to have her removed from office "in the days and weeks ahead." He also went on to call the people run The Florida Bar fascists and denied that he was involved some sort of "petty culture war."
Thompson wrapped up his 14-page objection by quoting from the bible, and saying that he and Senators Clinton and Obama understand the dangers posed by the Grand Theft Auto games.
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"I am "guilty" of being right and ahead of the curve when it came to Howard Stern and as to Grand Theft Auto. Because I took on Bar complainant, Al Cardenas, the Howard Stern Show is off terrestrial radio and his influence diminished.
Because I took on this cop-killing, woman-bashing video game, the Presidential race is now addressing the issue and this particular video game.
Try to get me disbarred. Go ahead, do your worst, Referee Tunis. I will continue to do my best. "
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We've contacted Thompson for a reaction to the recommended disbarment recommendations and will update you if and when he responds. In the meantime, hit the jump for the full letter.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
THE FLORIDA BAR,
Complainant,
v. Case Numbers SC 07 - 80 and 07- 354
JOHN B. THOMPSON,
Respondent.
THOMPSON'S FORMAL OBJECTION TO JUNE 4 SANCTIONS "HEARING"
This document is hereby submitted to the referee at the commencement of this non-hearing sanctions "hearing" and read into the record as well, and thus I depart from the traditional identification of myself, a party herein, in the third person and instead speak in my own voice in the first person directly to the referee.
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I object, strenuously, as I have in the past on the record, to the very notion that this proceeding can even occur, on various grounds any single one of which is fatal to its legitimacy, including but not limited to the following grounds:
You, the referee, are not even a judge. The law in Florida on that is clear, and it is found in Florida's Loyalty Oath Statute 876.05, et sequitur, held constitutional and binding by the United States Supreme Court in Connell v. Higginbotham.
We know now from a recently concluded State Attorney's investigation and Report that your first state loyalty oath was forged. We also know that your next two oaths, which you signed, did not conform to that statute in that the language deviated from what is required and they were not even notarized. A number of formal opinions by Florida's Attorney General state that such flaws are fatal regardless of intent.
The statute itself states that if any state official, including a judge, fails to comply strictly with the loyalty oath statute, then that judge is without legal authority to serve and must immediately be removed from office. I will accomplish your removal from office in the days and weeks ahead, as the litigation that will achieve that has already been filed by me in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The Supreme Court of Florida, which you, the referee think is your ally in what you are doing here has ruled that your loyalty oath screw-up is fatal.
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As Richard Nixon found, the cover-up is worse than the initial law breaking. When I found out about your forged loyalty oath and then about your two subsequent inadequate loyalty oaths, I moved for your recusal. You then immediately commenced a cover-up, refusing by a false, formal order to acknowledge the loyalty oath problem, pretending it did not exist. Proving the cover-up, you even more foolishly executed on February 4, 2008, finally, a loyalty oath, which I attach hereto, that complies with the state statute, but you did so too late to keep you in office, as the oath must be timely executed, and yours is years too late.
The law is clear; your post facto oath is invalid. This panicked oath is an irrefutable admission that you never had a valid oath in the first place. How could you do something so dumb? Easy; desperate people do desperate things. You will be removed from office, and all of what you have done in this Bar matter will be voided as a result.
Secondly, we know now that six of the seven Florida Supreme Court Justices never executed valid state loyalty oaths. I have proven that, as has Florida and Washington, D.C. lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley, whose own Bar referee, Judge Prescott, had his oath forged by the same person, Sayed A. Shah, who forged yours. What a coincidence.
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The Florida Supreme Court entered its order seeking to deny me my right to represent myself before it on this disciplinary matter when I alerted the Court to its loyalty oath problem. They, too, in a panic, executed too-late, post facto, wholly ineffectual loyalty oaths after the whistle was blown on them. This just proves that sitting on the highest court in the state neither make you clever. The consequence of all of this post facto oath taking is that all that the Florida Supreme Court has done in this case is invalid and will be voided, and if you think I will not accomplish that end then a) you do not understand the lawsuit already filed, and b) you don't know Jack.
Thirdly, we are here today because you issued a written document you called "Recommendations" by which you announced to the world with this document you leaked to the press, that I am guilty on 27 of 31 counts brought by The Bar. In issuing and leaking this document called "Recommendations," you have clearly violated Florida Bar Rule 3-7.6 (m) which states in pertinent part:
The referee's report shall include:
(A) a finding of fact as to each item of misconduct of which the respondent is charged, which findings of fact shall enjoy the same presumption of correctness as the judgment of the trier of fact in a civil proceeding;
(B) recommendations as to whether the respondent should be found guilty of misconduct justifying disciplinary measures;
(C) recommendations as to the disciplinary measures to be applied;
English is the greatest of all languages. It allows its users to be very precise. Any rational person conversant in English understands, upon reading Rule 3-7.6, that the document containing findings of guilt must also contain "findings of fact" as to what I am guilty of. Your "Recommendations" have absolutely no findings of fact, and yet we are here today on that invalid document. There is absolutely no provision in our Bar Rules for a document called "Recommendations" devoid of such findings of fact. You and The Bar have made it up. You and The Bar have made a lot of things up in the last four years, and this is just your latest.
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From the day this Bar effort began four years ago and in which you, the referee have become ensnared, although you have certainly warmed to the recruitment, I have been asking for a document that informs me what I have done to violate the Rules. Four years later, I still have no such document and no notice and thus no due process by virtue of that failure. You couldn't even come up with it in your "Recommendations." This is a game of "hide and seek," Referee Tunis, which you cannot win.
I have said it before, and I will say it again to you, and of course you will not listen, but the record must be made clear: You can't charge a lawyer and you can't charge a rapist with anything unless you tell him in the charging document with specificity-with facts alleged-what he has done.
We went into the trial here in November 2007 with no specific charges. The Bar said, "Here are the Rules you have violated, here are the documents, you figure it out." At the trial, there was absolutely no evidence-no facts-put forth that I violated any of these Bar Rules. My favorite "testimony," if you want to call it that, which highlights the problem of not telling an accused what he has done wrong, was from Alabama Judge James Moore, who admitted under oath, that I did not withhold any of my colorful disciplinary history from him, as Blank Rome alleged, but that in fact I gave him more facts than I was required to give. My sin was that I did not tell him how "serious" were my Bar sins.
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I didn't even have to tell him I was merely reprimanded by The Bar in 1992 for trying to protect my family from death threats, but because I did not characterize my sins as more serious than The Florida Bar itself did, when I provided him all the facts, he said I had not "see the whole picture." Believe me, I see the whole picture. I am to be punished for telling the truth because I pose a threat to this white judge who put this black teen on death row in Alabama. That's the "whole picture." I am also to be punished, you have concluded, for going on 60 Minutes and warning the American people, like Paul Revere, that, inspired by video games, "the murders are coming." And they have come.
I am to be punished for trying to save lives, over the objection of Blank Rome, which gives more money to the Bush family than any other law firm in the world. This is the |
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