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and improving the quality of open space.”
On page 26, under the heading “Create More Bike and Pedestrian Ways to Connect Parks and Boulevards,” (PDF) the plan suggests that bike lanes be installed on many streets including Logan Boulevard (in the main roadway) between Milwaukee and Western Avenues. The new free parking zone conflicts with this sensible bike lane location. Bike lanes cannot coexist with variably timed parking lanes.
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The boulevards may soon look like this. Photo taken on Palmer Square looking towards Kedzie Avenue which is not part of the new free parking zone. Photo by Jennifer.
Bicyclists who ride on the main roadways of these boulevards will be at increased risk of dooring during the free parking hours. Bicyclists should ride assertively and away from the door zone wherever cars are parked.
3. Kedzie bike lane stops at Palmer
These two ordinances may be one reason the new bike lane on Kedzie Avenue, starting at North Avenue on the south end, goes only as far north as the south side of Palmer Square. The southern end of the new free parking zone on Kedzie at Belden Avenue is 970 feet away. Cyclists do not stop at Palmer Square if their destination is further north at Fullerton Avenue, or Logan Boulevard, or points further north.
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This bike lane is also a missed opportunity. The space was available to create a buffered bike lane, but instead the bike lane was placed in the door zone and the remaining travel lane was widened, negating the benefit of narrower travel lanes.*
An on-street bicycling facility should be extended on Kedzie Avenue from its current terminus at Palmer Square, through or around the Logan monument circle, to connect with the also-new bike lane on Kedzie Avenue at Milwaukee Avenue to Barry Avenue (this is yet another instance where bike lanes end before advancing bicyclists through intersections).
4. Parking is readily available at Emmett Street
Lynn Stevens, author of Peopling Places, pointed out to me today that the City-owned parking lot –but managed by Chicago Parking Meters, LLC/LAZ Parking – on Emmett Street at Kedzie Avenue has about 115 parking spaces. She notes that it often has many open spaces and costs the same as on-street parking. Lynn said that with signage near the parking lot would notify drivers that the parking lot exists. If LAZ Parking installed smart systems, drivers could even be alerted to the number of spaces remaining in the lot. Drivers can stay longer in the lot than on the street: 10 hours versus 2.
5. Free parking encourages more driving
Logan Square has been made more attractive to visitors thanks to the pair of ordinances. Now with hundreds of new free parking spaces, a large portion of new and existing visitors will come to Logan Square in their cars. This in a neighborhood that has easy access to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line and several CTA bus routes; it also has a high number of people riding bicycles to and within the area.
The relevant signs will be posted within three weeks. The ordinance numbers are OR2011-2204, passed March 9, 2011, and OR2011-5435, passed June 8, 2011.
New parking schedule:
Logan Boulevard between Sacramento and Maplewood avenues; 7 to 9 PM Wednesdays; 7 AM to 9 PM Saturdays and Sundays.
Logan Boulevard (south side only) between Maplewood and Campbell avenues; 7 to 9 PM Wednesdays; 7 AM to 9 PM Saturdays and Sundays.
Kedzie Boulevard between Linden Place and Belden Avenue; 7 to 11 PM Thursdays and Fridays; 7 AM to 11 PM Saturdays and Sundays.
Humboldt Boulevard between Shakespeare Avenue and Cortland Street; 7 to 11 PM Mondays through Saturdays; 7 AM to 11 PM Sundays.
*This is because on narrowed roadways, drivers tend to drive slower, thus reducing the severity of any collisions that occur.
Reverend Stein’s letter to the editor
Rev. Paul C. Stein, Pastor, St. Sylvester Parish, Chicago, wrote a letter to the Chicago Tribune editor, published on Wednesday, August 10, 2011, in response to the newspaper’s editorial published on the previous day.
I was very disappointed to read the Aug. 9 editorial regarding the ordinance sponsored by Alderman Colón for parking on the boulevards of Logan Square, specifically on Sundays. The editorial states that the alderman “should listen to ideas for a better solution. I ask: a better solution for whom? Frankly, those who expressed opposition to the ordinance do not represent the majority of people who live in the neighborhood. What ultimately makes a city great is not the buildings, but the people who form the community.
Read the full letter. In it he also states the reasons for the long hours: AA programs and soup kitchens.Sears Holdings is closing an additional 20 money-losing stores, a sign of the mounting problems faced by the iconic but troubled retailer.
The move includes 18 Sears stores and two Kmart stores. The plan was disclosed early Friday in a filing by Seritage Growth Properties (SRG), the landlord for more than 200 Sears and Kmart properties.
"Sears Holdings continues to actively manage our real estate portfolio to identify additional opportunities for reconfiguration and reduction of capital obligations," Sears said in a statement. It said it will begin liquidation sales next weekend and that the stores are expected to close by mid-September. The company did not give details as to which stores are closing.
Related: How Sears changed America
The 20 closings bring the company's total so far this year to 236, or roughly 17% of the stores it had in January. In addition, it shut down pharmacy operations at 92 Kmart stores as well as Sears Auto operations at 50 stores, although it kept the stores at those locations open. Sears closed 240 stores last year and 53 in 2015.
Sears warned in March that there is "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain in business due to losses that have topped $10 billion since 2010, the last time it turned a profit.
Sears is hardly the only retailer shuttering locations. There have been about 5,300 store closing announcements so far this year, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail think tank.
Related: Retail bloodbath - Bankruptcies are piling up
On Thursday, Sears Canada, a separate company that Sears spun off in 2012, filed for bankruptcy protection. It said it plans to close 59 of its more than 200 stores, and to lay off 2,900 of its 17,000 employees as part of its restructuring efforts. Sears Holdings owns about 12% of Sears Canada, while Sears CEO Eddie Lampert owns about 45% of its shares both personally and through his hedge fund.
Seritage is a real estate company that was created by Lampert in 2015 in order to buy Sears Holdings (SHLD) properties and then lease them back to the retailer to free up cash. Lampert is chairman of both Sears and Seritage.I’ve had a fondness for Daryl Bem ever since his coauthored paper appeared in Psychological Bulletin back in 1994: a meta-analysis purporting to show replicable evidence for psionic phenomena. I cited it in Starfish, when I was looking for some way to justify the rudimentary telepathy my rifters experienced in impoverished environments. Bem and Honorton gave me hope that nothing was so crazy-ass that you couldn’t find a peer-reviewed paper to justify it if you looked hard enough.
Not incidentally, it also gave me hope that psi might actually exist. There’s a whole shitload of things I’d love to believe in if only there was evidence to support them, but can’t because I fancy myself an empiricist. But if there were evidence for telepathy? Precognition? Telekinesis? Wouldn’t that be awesome? And Bem was no fruitcake: the man was (and is) a highly-regarded social scientist (setting aside the oxymoron for the moment) out of Cornell, and at the top of his field. The man had cred.
It didn’t really pan out, though. There were grumbles and rebuttals about standardisation between studies and whether the use of stats was appropriate — the usual complaints that surface whenever analysis goes meta. What most stuck in my mind back then was the point (mentioned in the Discussion) that these results, whatever you thought of them, were at least as solid as those used to justify the release of new drugs to the consumer market. I liked that. It set things in perspective (although in hindsight, it probably said more about the abysmal state of Pharma regulation than it did about the likelihood of Carrie White massacreing her fellow graduates at the high school prom).
Anyhow, Bem is back, and has made a much bigger splash this time around: nine experiments to be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, eight of which are purported to show statistically-significant evidence of not just psi but of actual precognition. The New York Times picked it up; everyone from Time to the Huffington Post sat up and took notice. Most of the mainstream reaction has been predictable and pretty much useless: Time misreads Bem’s description of how he controlled for certain artefacts as some kind of confession that those artefacts weren’t controlled for; the Winnipeg Free Press simply cites the study as one of several examples in an extended harrumph about the decline of peer-reviewed science. Probably the most substantive critiques hail from Wagenmakers et al (in a piece slotted to appear in the same issue as Bem’s) and an online piece from James Alcock over at the Skeptical Inquirer website (which has erupted into a kind of three way slap-fight with Bem and one of his supporters). And while I by no means dismiss all of the counter-arguments, even some of the more erudite skeptics’ claims seem a bit suspect — one might even use the word dishonest — if you’ve actually read the source material.
I’m not going into exquisite detail on any of this; click on the sources if you want details. But in general terms, I like what Bem set out to do. He took classic, well-established psychological tests and simply ran them backwards. For example, our memory of specific objects tends to be stronger if we have to interact with them somehow. If someone shows you a bunch of pictures and then asks you to, say, classify some of them by color, you’ll remember the ones you classified more readily than the others if presented with the whole set at some later point (the technical term is priming). So, Bem reasoned, suppose you’re tested against those picture before you’re actually asked to interact with them? If you preferentially react to the ones you haven’t yet interacted with but will at some point in the future, you’ve established a kind of backwards flow of information. Of course, once you know what your subjects have chosen there’s always the temptation to do something that would self-fulfil the prophecy, so to speak; but you get around that by cutting humans out of the loop entirely, let software and random number generators decide which pictures will be primed.
I leave the specific protocols of each experiment as an exercise for those who want to follow the links, but the overall approach was straightforward. Take a well-established cause-effect test; run it backwards; if your pre-priming hit rate is significantly greater than what you’d get from random chance, call it a win. Bem also posited that sex and death would be powerful motivators from an evolutionary point of view. There weren’t that many casinos or stock markets on the Pleistocene savannah, but knowing (however subconsciously) that something was going to try and eat you ten minutes down the road — or knowing that a potential mate lay in your immediate future — well, that would pretty obviously confer an evolutionary advantage over the nonpsychics in the crowd. So Bem used pictures both scary and erotic, hoping to increase the odds of significant results.
Note also that his thousand-or-so participants didn’t actually know up front what they were doing. There was no explicit ESP challenge here, no cards with stars or wavy lines. All that these people knew was that they were supposed to guess which side of a masked computer screen held a picture. They weren’t told what that picture was.
When that picture was neutral, their choices were purely random. When it was pornographic or scary, though, they tended to guess right more often than not. It wasn’t a big effect; we’re talking a hit rate of maybe 53% instead of the expected 50%. But according to the stats, the effect was real in eight out of nine experiments.
Now, of course, everyone and their dog is piling on to kick holes in the study. That’s cool; that’s what we do, that’s how it works. Perhaps the most telling critique is the only one that really matters; nobody has been able to replicate Bem’s results yet. That speaks a lot louder than some of the criticisms that have been leveled against Bem in recent days, at least partly because some of those criticisms seem, well, pretty dumb. (Bem himself responds to some of Alcock’s complaints here).
Let’s do a quick drive-by on a few of the methodological accusations folks have been making: Bem’s methodology wasn’t consistent. Bem log-transformed his data; oooh, maybe he did it because untransformed data didn’t give him the results he wanted. Bem ran multiple tests without correcting for the fact that the more often you run tests on a data set, the greater the chance of getting significant results through random chance. To name but a few.
Maybe my background in field biology makes me more forgiving of such stuff, but I don’t consider tweaking one’s methods especially egregious when it’s done to adapt to new findings. For example, Bem discovered that men weren’t as responsive as women to the level of eroticism in his initial porn selections (which, as a male, I totally buy; those Harlequin Romance covers don’t do it for me at all). So he ramped the imagery for male participants up from R to XXX. I suppose he could have continued to use nonstimulating imagery even after realising that it didn’t work, just as a fisheries biologist might continue to use the same net even after discovering that its mesh was too large to catch the species she was studying. In both cases the methodology would remain “consistent”. It would also be a complete waste of resources.
Bem also got some grief for using tests of statistical significance (i.e., what are the odds that these results are due to random chance?) rather than Bayesian methods (i.e., given that our hypothesis is true, what are the odds of getting these specific results?). (Carey gives a nice comparative thumbnail of the two approaches.) I suspect this complaint could be legit. The problem I have with Bayes is that it takes your own preconceptions as a starting point: you get to choose up front the odds that psi is real, and the odds that it is not. If the data run counter to those odds, the theorem adjusts them to be more consistent with those findings on the next iteration; but obviously, if your starting assumption is that there’s a 99.9999999999% chance that precognition is bullshit, it’s gonna take a lot more data to swing those numbers than if you start from a bullshit-probability of only 80%. Wagenmakers et al tie this in to Laplace’s famous statement that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof” (to which we shall return at the end of this post), but another way of phrasing that is “the more extreme the prejudice, the tougher it is to shake”. And Bayes, by definition, uses prejudice as its launch pad.
Wagenmakers et al ran Bem’s numbers using Bayesian techniques, starting with standard “default” values for their initial probabilities (they didn’t actually say what those values were, although they cited a source). They found “substantial” support for precognition (H 1 ) in only one of Bem’s nine experiments, and “substantial” support for its absence (H 0 ) in another two (they actually claim three, but for some reason they seem to have run Bem’s sixth experiment twice). They then reran the same data using a range of start-up values that differed from these “defaults”, just to be sure, and concluded that their results were robust. They refer the reader to an online appendix for the details of that analysis. This is what you’ll find there:
Notice the figure caption: “… the results in favor of H 1 are never compelling, except perhaps for the bottom right panel.” Except perhaps? I’m sorry, but that last panel looks pretty damn substantial to me, if for no other reason than that so much of the curve falls into the evidentiary range that the axis itself labels as, er, substantial. In other words, even assuming that these guys were right on the money with all of their criticisms, even assuming that they’ve successfully demolished eight of Bem’s nine claims to significance — they’re admitting to evidence for the existence of precognition by their own reckoning. And yet, they can’t bring themselves to admit it, even in a caption belied by its own figure.
To some extent, it was Bem’s decision to make his work replication-friendly that put this particular bullseye on his chest. He chose methods that were well-known and firmly established in the research community; he explicitly rejected arcane statistics in favor of simple ones that other social scientists would be comfortable with. (“It might actually be more logical from a Bayesian perspective to believe that some unknown flaw or artifact is hiding in the weeds of a complex experimental procedure or an unfamiliar statistical analysis than to believe that genuine psi has been demonstrated,” he writes. “As a consequence, simplicity and familiarity become essential tools of persuasion.”) Foreseeing that some might question the distributional assumptions underlying t-tests, he log-transformed his data to normalise it prior to analysis; this inspired Wagenmakers et al to wonder darkly “what the results were for the untransformed RTs—results that were not reported”. Bem also ran the data through nonparametric tests that made no distributional assumptions at all; Alcock then complained about unexplained, redundant tests that added nothing to the analysis (despite the fact that Bem had explicitly described his rationale), and about the use of multiple tests that didn’t correct for the increased odds of false positives.
This latter point is true in the general but not in the particular. Every grad student knows that desperate sinking feeling that sets in when their data show no apparent patterns at all, and the temptation to inflict endless tests and transforms in the hope that please God something might show up. But Bem already had significant results; he used alternative analyses in case those results were somehow artefactual, and he kept getting significance no matter which way he came at the problem. Where I come from, it’s generally considered a good sign when different approaches converge on the same result.
Bem also considered the possibility that there might be some kind of bias in algorithms used by the computer to randomise its selection of pictures; he therefore replicated his experiments using different random-number generators. He showed all his notes, all the messy bits that generally don’t get presented when you want to show off your work in a peer-reviewed journal. He not only met the standards of rigor in his field: he surpassed them, and four reviewers (while not necessarily able to believe his findings) couldn’t find any methodological or analytical flaws sufficient to keep the work from publication.
Even Bem’s opponents admit to this. Wagenmakers et al explicitly state:
“Bem played by the implicit rules that guide academic publishing—in fact, Bem presented many more studies than would usually be required.”
They can’t logically attack Bem’s work without attacking the entire field of psychology. So that’s what they do:
“… our assessment suggests that something is deeply wrong with the way experimental psychologists design their studies and report their statistical results. It is a disturbing thought that many experimental findings, proudly and confidently reported in the literature as real, might in fact be based on statistical tests that are explorative and biased (see also Ioannidis, 2005). We hope the Bem article will become a signpost for change, a writing on the wall: psychologists must change the way they analyze their data.”
And you know, maybe they’re right. We biologists have always looked at those soft-headed new-agers over in the Humanities building with almost as much contempt as the physicists and chemists looked at us, back before we owned the whole genetic-engineering thing. I’m perfectly copacetic with the premise that psychology is broken. But if the field is really in such disrepair, why is it that none of those myriad less-rigorous papers acted as a wake-up call? Why snooze through so many decades of hack analysis only to pick on a paper which, by your own admission, is better than most?
Well, do you suppose anyone would be eviscerating Bem’s methodology with quite so much enthusiasm if he’d concluded that there was no evidence for precognition? Here’s a hint: Alcock’s critique painstakingly picks at every one of Bem’s experiments except for #7. Perhaps that seventh experiment finally got it right, you think. Perhaps Alcock gave that one a pass because Bem’s methodology was, for once, airtight? Let’s let Alcock speak for himself:
“The hit rate was not reported to be significant in this experiment. The reader is therefore spared my deliberations.”
Evidently bad methodology isn’t worth criticising, just so long as you agree with the results.
This leads nicely into what is perhaps the most basic objection to Bem’s work, a more widespread and gut-level response that both underlies and transcends the methodological attacks: sheer, eye-popping incredulity. This is bullshit. This has to be bullshit. This doesn’t make any goddamned sense.
It mustn’t be. Therefore it isn’t.
Of course, nobody phrases it that baldly. They’re more likely to claim that “there’s no mechanism in physics which could explain these results.” Wagenmakers et al went so far as to claim that Bem’s effect can’t be real because nobody is bankrupting the world’s casinos with their psychic powers, which is logically equivalent to saying that protective carapaces can’t be advantageous because lobsters aren’t bulletproof. As for the whacked-out argument that there’s no theoretical mechanism in place to describe the data, I can’t think of a more effective way of grinding science to a halt than to reject any data that don’t fit our current models of reality. If everyone thought that way, earth would still be a flat disk at the center of a crystal universe.
Some people deal with their incredulity better than others. (One of the paper’s reviewers opined that they found the results “ridiculous”, but recommended publication anyway because they couldn’t find fault with the methodology or the analysis.) Others take refuge in the mantra that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”.
I’ve always thought that was a pretty good mantra. If someone told me that my friend had gotten drunk and run his car into a telephone pole I might evince skepticism out of loyalty to my friend, but a photo of the accident scene would probably convince me. People get drunk, after all (especially my friends); accidents happen. But if the same source told me that a flying saucer had used a tractor beam to force my friend’s car off the road, a photo wouldn’t come close to doing the job. I’d just reach for the Photoshop manual to figure out how the image had been faked. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
The question, here in the second decade of the 22nd Century, is: what constitutes an “extraordinary claim”? A hundred years ago it would have been extraordinary to claim that a cat could be simultaneously dead and alive; fifty years ago it would have been extraordinary to claim that life existed above the boiling point of water, kilometers deep in the earth’s crust. Twenty years ago it was extraordinary to suggest that the universe was not only expanding but accelerating. Today, physics concedes the theoretical possibility of time travel (in fact, I’ve been led to believe that the whole arrow-of-time thing has always been problematic to the physicists; most of their equations work both ways, with no need for a unidirectional time flow).
Yes, I know. I’m skating dangerously close to the same defensive hysteria every new-age nutjob invokes when confronted with skepticism over the Healing Power of Petunias; yeah, well, a thousand years ago everybody thought the world was flat, too. The difference is that those nutjobs make their arguments in lieu of any actual evidence whatsoever in support of their claims, and the rejoinder of skeptics everywhere has always been “Show us the data. There are agreed-upon standards of evidence. Show us numbers, P-values, something that can pass peer review in a primary journal by respectable researchers with established reputations. These are the standards you must meet.”
How often have we heard this? How often have we pointed out that the UFO cranks and the Ghost Brigade never manage to get published in the peer-reviewed literature? How often have we pointed out that their so-called “evidence” isn’t up to our standards?
Well, Bem cleared that bar. And the response of some has been to raise it. All along we’ve been demanding that the fringe adhere to the same standards the rest of us do, and finally the fringe has met that challenge. And now we’re saying they should be held to a different standard, a higher standard, because they are making an extraordinary claim.
This whole thing makes me deeply uncomfortable. It’s not that I believe the case for precognition has been made; it hasn’t. Barring independent confirmation of Bem’s results, I remain a skeptic. Nor am I especially outraged by the nature of the critiques, although I do think some of them edge up against outright dishonesty. I’m on public record as a guy who regards science as a knock-down-drag-out between competing biases, personal more often than not. (On the other hand, if I’d tried my best to demolish evidence of precognition and still ended up with “substantial” support in one case out of nine, I wouldn’t be sweeping it under the rug with phrases like “never compelling” and “except possibly” — I’d be saying “Holy shit, the dude really overstated his case but there may be something to this anyway…”)
I am, however, starting to have second thoughts about Laplace’s Principle. I’m starting to wonder if it’s especially wise to demand higher evidentiary standards for any claim we happen to find especially counterintuitive this week. A consistently-applied 0.05 significance threshold may be arbitrary, but at least it’s independent of the vagaries of community standards. The moment you start talking about extraordinary claims you have to define what qualifies as one, and the best definition I can come up with is: any claim which is inconsistent with our present understanding of the way things work. The inevitable implication of that statement is that today’s worldview is always the right one; we’ve already got a definitive lock on reality, and anything that suggests otherwise is especially suspect.
Which, you’ll forgive me for saying so, seems like a pretty extraordinary claim in its own right.
Maybe we could call it the Galileo Corollory.Despite getting trashed by critics, Marvel’s Iron Fist appears to be a hit in terms of popularity on Netflix.
The kung fu superhero show is generating higher demand than Marvel’s Daredevil or Jessica Jones did in their launch week, according to Parrot Analytics, and it’s falling just short of Luke Cage. That’s pretty good, given that Luke Cage was the 16th-hottest show across all platforms in 2016.
Third-party analysis is necessary because Netflix doesn’t share viewership data, except in selected cases. Parrot tracks viewership by evaluating streaming video, P2P-sharing, social chatter, and more. (The company assures us that it is able to distinguish between positive and negative social chatter to avoid potentially overrating a show like Iron Fist.)
Here’s a comparison of demand for Netflix’s four Marvel shows in the days leading up to and after launch:
Meanwhile, here’s how those shows have tracked over time, with “Iron Fist” being by far the most popular right now:
Oh yeah, and also, despite getting trashed by critics, “Iron Fist” seems to be pretty popular with fans. Netflix’s predicted rating for me (which is supposedly an objective value based on my viewing history and the behavior of similar users on the platform) is five stars. My actual rating for it? Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I’m still going to finish it within the week.Today we constantly switch from one text to another: news, blogs, email, workplace documents and more. But a new book by an MIT professor reveals that this is not a new practice: In the 14th century, for instance, many people maintained eclectic reading habits, consuming diverse texts in daily life.
Consider Andrew Horn, the chamberlain for the city of London in the 1320s — meaning he was essentially the lawyer representing London’s interests in court against the king, who was Edward II for most of that time. The bound manuscripts in Horn’s possession, handed down to the city and preserved today, reveal a rich mixture of shorter texts: legal treatises, French-language poetry, descriptions of London and more.
Perusing such diverse texts, within bound volumes, was all in a day’s reading for a well-educated person, asserts Arthur Bahr, a professor of literature at MIT. Now in his book “Fragments and Assemblages,” published by the University of Chicago Press, Bahr says we must reconstruct how medieval people compiled these bound volumes in order to best grasp how they thought and wrote.
“Medieval manuscripts usually survive as fragments, and at the same time they are also very often assemblages of multiple, disparate works,” Bahr says. “The interesting literary-historical question is why specific assemblages got put together the way they did.”
When we realize that individuals read this way, Bahr notes, we can see that the practice of throwing together all kinds of texts in a single bound manuscript may have influenced the composition of the most famous piece of literature of the period, Geoffrey Chaucer’s late-14th-century work “The Canterbury Tales,” a rich collection of linked stories.
“The ability to see the potential of textual juxtapositions is the cultural ground out of which the Canterbury Tales springs in the late 14th century,” Bahr says. “Chaucer’s invitation to readers is a kind of interactive process of composition. He has an idea about what ordering of the tales makes sense, because he creates links between them, but he’s encouraging us to participate. We don’t think of older writing as being that radical, but it is.”
Reading before the printing press
To see why readers 700 years ago jumped between texts so much, recall that this was prior to the invention of the printing press, which was introduced in Europe in the middle of the 15th century. Before single books could be mass-produced more easily, manuscripts were copied out by hand, then bound together. This process led people to have many different types of texts bound together, rather than a single text being the entirety of a bound volume.
In the case of Horn’s manuscripts, Bahr says, London’s chamberlain collected “detailed records of all the rules and legal precedents that give the city power and autonomy. But he included poetry, and bylaws for a poetic society, and a little Latin poem that doesn’t seem to go with anything else. Thinking about the literary, and being able to read in literary ways, as well as practical ways, was a skill he thought was important.”
But Horn was not just throwing a bunch of texts together and expecting readers to bounce around wildly from one to another, Bahr observes. He had a deliberate method to his assemblages of texts.
“Horn actually uses the construction of his books to create literary puzzles for his reader,” Bahr says. “One poem just doesn’t make sense, but if you read the poem in juxtaposition with the legal treatise that comes after, then the two pieces make sense. He’s suggesting that the law and literature are sort of the yin and the yang, you need both. And that is kind of amazing, really.”
In the book, Bahr looks at additional 14th-century manuscripts that compiled works of many authors, but also reinterprets Chaucer through the lens of these reading practices.
“Chaucer is able to conceive of the literary project that he undertakes in large part because those early figures created a literary culture that was attuned to these sorts of textual juxtapositions within literary manuscripts,” Bahr says.
Consider, Bahr adds, the Miller’s Tale, in the prologue of Chaucer’s great work. “It’s a very funny tale about a miller, his adulterous wife, and her lover,” Bahr says. “As Chaucer is getting ready to tell it, he says, [in effect], ‘If you don’t like dirty stories, just turn the page and look at something else.’ This has been taken as a joke, but it’s a serious joke, because we can turn the page, and we’re being invited to think about the effect of different textual juxtapositions. If we put these pieces in a different order, what would that do to the work as a whole?”
Among other things, Bahr points out, it would lead readers to skip about more freely within “The Canterbury Tales” and, in effect, create their own distinctive versions of it.
A polyglot culture
“Fragments and Assemblages” has been well-received by other medievalists. James Simpson, a professor of English at Harvard University, calls it “deeply learned and technically skillful,” while Maura Nolan, a literature professor at the University of California at Berkeley, says that Bahr successfully “stitches together the divided 14th century and demonstrates that literary production during the period was an ongoing and continuous project.”
Among other insights we can glean from reading medieval manuscripts, Bahr notes, is the polyglot culture that existed among learned people in the 14th century. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, French was the language of the aristocracy and upper bourgeoisie, and Latin was the language of the church and most of the state.
“It’s interesting how multilingual these manuscripts can be,” Bahr says. We tend to think of England as having one language, but … if you were a social climber, you needed good French. You have at least a trilingual nation, and then there is Welsh, and other [regional] languages. Because Chaucer wrote in English, it’s easy to lose sight of how, even in the Middle Ages, people were still actively engaged with French and Latin.”
So medieval readers browsed around a lot, read linked stories in creative ways, and lived in a diverse, even globalized intellectual milieu: plus ça change.In America, much like God, Satan works in mysterious ways. Just how mysterious depends on who you talk to.
For instance, a good number of Christians became convinced that Satan made an appearance at last month’s Grammy Awards. While Christians detecting Satan’s presence at large music gatherings is hardly novel, the fact that Satan showed up right smack in the middle of a performance by Katy Perry and Juicy J. caused this particular sighting to be deemed more buzzworthy than most. Some evangelicals even speculated about whether or not Perry, while singing “Dark Horse,” had enacted an ancient satanic ritual, one that had actually summoned the Prince of Darkness to join her on the Grammy stage.
So, did Perry & Co. really usher in forces of demonic destruction? Nobody knows for certain. The presence of Satan is difficult to confirm. Besides, among most Satan-fearing Christians, things like confirmation and proof are overrated.
That said, not only did Perry’s alleged invite to Satan cause a gnashing of tweets, but the spectacle was demonic enough to send one well-known Christian artist in attendance darting for the exit, tweeting to her fan base as she bolted. One religious broadcaster called the performance satanic and then blamed the Beatles. Jesus-loving conspiracy theorist, Mark Dice, called Perry a “Babylonian bimbo” and then went on to declare her a “slithering servant of Satan.”
In 2013, a poll conducted by YouGov found that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe in a literal Devil. It’s no surprise that, of those surveyed, believing in Satan was most popular among those who identified as Protestant, Catholic, or Christian. Eighty-six percent of the participants who identified as the latter answered “yes” to believing in Satan. But much like belief in God is weaved throughout our country’s history, so to is our national history intertwined with a strong belief in the Devil.
In 1638, according to John Winthrop, mysterious ways meant that the Prince of Darkness caused several “rebellious” Puritan women to give birth to stillborn monsters, babies Winthrop described in his diary as having “horns, hard and sharp,” a “back full of sharp pricks and scales” and “on each foot three claws, like a young fowl.”
To Jonathan Edwards, the man that many call America’s greatest theologian, Lucifer was an almighty “counterfeit,” one who could mimic even the “graces of the Spirit of God” with miraculous precision. A mouthful, even for a Calvinist.
Billy Sunday, America’s favorite preacher in the early 1900s, used Satan as a comedic device. Sunday’s most famous sermon—a fundamentalist ditty called “Fighting the Devil” —was an almighty one-two punch of hardcore preaching and aw-shucks sensibilities. Nonetheless, Sunday’s message not only convinced thousands of people to become very afraid of the devil; the action-packed boxing match with Satan that Sunday performed in the middle of that sermon also entertained them, often concluding to thunderous applause.
In the 1950s, as popularized by a wide range of American preachers and evangelists, Satan became the mastermind of popular culture, especially music. Not only was the Great Tempter deceitful, dangerous, and hoping to help us reserve our spots in hell, the devil was also extraordinarily creative. And quite connected, too. From Elvis to the Beatles to even Pat Boone, according to one preacher or another, Satan was using most popular singers and musicians to coax us into sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, recreational drug use, and dancing. In the late 1970s, a Louisiana preacher named Jacob Aranza proclaimed that Satan had began hiding devilish messages on some of Rock & Roll’s most popular albums. According to Aranza, the subconsciouses of America’s youth were being controlled—or at best negatively affected |
to take her rightful place. She will show mercy to the Starks and allow Jon to take his family’s name and become the new warden of the North.
Andy, 29, High Wycombe
‘Tyrion will end up buried under a carpark in Leicester’
Since the books are based on the Wars of the Roses, Tyrion will end up buried under a carpark in Leicester.
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This is the shocking moment a woman accused of sleeping with someone else's husband was savagely beaten in broad daylight as passers-by watched on.
It's the latest in a string of copycat attacks in China, including one a month ago when a half-naked woman was stamped on by a stiletto-wearing rival.
Locals say such scraps go ignored because there is an acceptance that love cheats are deserving of a beating having caused a man to cheat on his partner.
In this latest incident, accused Lin Yao Li, 38, was ambushed by four women as she walked home from shops in Puyang, in eastern China's Henan Province.
(Image: CEN)
Punching and kicking her to the ground while she writhed in agony, her attackers then ripped her clothes off and continued the beating, pulling her hair and kicking her in the breasts and groin.
Local reports say the sickening attack was carried out by the scorned wife of the man Lin is accused of sleeping with and her three friends.
Meanwhile, as the stomach-turning drama unfolded, scores of people pass by without making an attempt to help the outnumbered and defenceless victim.
Local man Jun Feng, 30, who helped the woman after spotting her lying on the ground told local TV: "This type of thing is becoming quite normal.
"Angry wives and girlfriends get their revenge on their cheating men by attacking the other woman.
"People don't tend to get involved because they see it as being an argument of the heart."
(Image: CEN)
The woman was later taken to hospital where she was treated for cuts, severe bruising and shock.
Last month's attack in Jinan city, in Eastern China's Shandong Province, saw three women caught on camera attacking an alleged mistress.
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And another attack was caught on camera in July in China's south-eastern city of Yulin, Guangxi province.
A police spokesman declined to comment, saying they had not received any complaint from any of those involved.Guidetti: Man Utd stopped playing football and were not far superior to Celta
The Swede remains optimistic of dashing the Red Devils' Europa League dreams at Old Trafford following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg on Spanish soil
John Guidetti has already vowed to keep Manchester blue and claims United “were not superior” to in the first leg of their semi-final.
The Swedish forward stoked the fires ahead of Thursday’s meeting in by drawing on his former ties to.
Why Belotti should be Ibra's successor
He said: "[United are] a very good team. Obviously they've got a good manager, a fantastic stadium, and they're one of the favourites to win the Europa League but, as they say, 'Manchester is blue' and that's how it will be when we visit there as well, because we are Celta Vigo and we will try to keep the city blue."
Guidetti will now get the opportunity to make good on that promise after seeing Celta suffer a 1-0 defeat on home soil.
They have it all to do at Old Trafford in order to reach the final, but their 25-year-old frontman insists there is little to choose between the two teams in terms of quality.
He told Marca : “It was difficult for both teams. It was a very tough game and both defended very well.
"After the goal we hardly played a minute as they stopped playing football.
Fellaini: Man Utd deserved Celta win
“They have lots of experience and it’s going to be difficult.
“They were not far superior from us and we were close so it’s not impossible.”
Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick separated the two teams in a tight first-leg encounter, with United heading back to Old Trafford with a narrow lead and a priceless away goal.An earlier version of this post included an outdated column from Frank Graves. We apologize for the error and any confusion it caused.
The political landscape appears to be shifting in subtle but important ways. The Liberals seem to have stopped the bleeding and are now statistically tied with the floundering Conservatives who are over 12 points back from their majority achievement in 2011.
The NDP continues to hold on to a narrow but significant lead which would be more decisive save for the entry of Gilles Duceppe into the Quebec race. An elevated ‘other’ reflects dissatisfaction with any of the above and perhaps those who would prefer a ‘more than one party’ answer.
The NDP rise continues to be the most impressive feature of our recent time series data, but the declines of the Conservatives and the Liberals have also pretty clear over the past month. The Liberals, however, have shown a rebound whereas the Conservatives are once again headed downward.
There is nothing dramatically different in the regional patterns but a few points are in order
The NDP strength is distributed across the country but they would have good seat efficiency in Quebec and British Columbia.
The tight three-way race in Ontario remains the critical unknown, but we can now certify the NDP rise there as more than an overnight sensation.
The Liberals are looking competitive in Quebec, but the Bloc Québécois is the big question mark. Will their ascension continue? If not, that will favour the NDP as the default option. The Conservatives appear to be receding badly in Quebec as the terror and culture themes that revitalized them fade from public priority.
The NDP continues to do well across the demographic spectrum but their concentration with younger voters may be a concern in terms of turnout. The Liberal vote shows almost no significant differences across age or gender. The NDP’s continued advantage with university educated voters remains a major and revealing asset.
Finally, the fate of two smaller parties is also up in the air. The Green Party has fallen back and really needs something to get back in the fray. There is a big difference between ten points and eight points, particularly in pivotal ridings where they could aspire to be the best non-Conservative choice for progressive voters. The Bloc Québécois has definitely been invigorated by the return of Gilles Duceppe and this has been largely at the expense of the NDP. This dynamic will be important to watch in coming months.
The Canada Day effect?
Turning to directional measures, we see a slight improvement in Canadians’ satisfaction with where their government is headed. There are a number of factors that could be driving this modest reversal, but the most likely explanation is that Canada Day, with its myriad of celebrations endless displays of red and white, has re-kindled Canadians’ appreciation for the country in which they live – at least for the time being. However, this is not the first time that we have seen a temporary Canada Day boost and the perceived direction of both the country and its government are still very poor by historical standards.
Liberals improve standing on best/clearest plan
Finally, we updated our tracking on which party holds the best and clearest plan. While no party holds a distinct advantage here, it is notable that the Liberal Party has succeeded in improving its standing by two to four points on all three indicators. While none of these improvements on their own is statistically significant, the fact that the party has improved its reputation across the board is highly noteworthy. Indeed, it appears that the Liberals have managed to raise the volume and clarity of their plans for Canadians and this previously muted connection was probably as or more important than any other factor in their fall from voter grace over the past few months.
In conclusion
The newly tightened political landscape provides a fascinating mix of opportunity and risk for the political parties as we enter the vacation and barbeque season. Here are the three most important points to bear in mind:
The NDP rise is real and, while it has plateaued, it leaves the NDP with a modest but clear advantage. This advantage is reinforced by their leader’s clear lead on approval, a good demographic and regional mix of likely voters, and a concentration of voters in some regions which will yield seat dividends.
The Liberals appear to be in recovery and can legitimately aspire to close the modest gap they now suffer. Their leader scores well and more importantly, they are showing significant improvement on getting their messages about the future out. As with the NDP, the Liberals have ample head room in terms of second choice to aspire to form government.
The Conservatives, while insignificantly ahead of the Liberals, are the party with the sternest challenges ahead. They have extremely scant second choice consideration and, as such, they have very meagre room to grow. Their leader has by far the lowest approval ratings, the economy is stalled, and they are mired at 27 points, more than 12 points short of their result in 2011 election. They have virtually no political capital left to spend if they encounter any further missteps. It is really hard to imagine what rabbits they have left to pull out of a pretty empty hat at this stage.
In closing, the directional, approval, and best plan numbers show the same patterns of a very tight race with a clear NDP lead, but the Conservatives and Liberals are basically tied for second and are not far back. The overall sense we have is that nothing is very clear in terms of next fall, but barring another security shock, it is increasingly hard to see a path to victory for the Conservative Party.
Approval Ratings
Frank Graves is founder and president of EKOS Polling.
Methodology
This study was conducted using High Definition Interactive Voice Response (HD-IVR™) technology, which allows respondents to enter their preferences by punching the keypad on their phone, rather than telling them to an operator. In an effort to reduce the coverage bias of landline only RDD, we created a dual landline/cell phone RDD sampling frame for this research. As a result, we are able to reach those with a landline and cell phone, as well as cell phone only households and landline only households.
The field dates for this survey are June 24-28, 2015. In total, a random sample of 1,752 Canadian adults aged 18 and over responded to the survey. The margin of error associated with the total sample is +/-2.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Please note that the margin of error increases when the results are sub-divided (i.e., error margins for sub-groups such as region, sex, age, education). All the data have been statistically weighted by age, gender, region, and educational attainment to ensure the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual population of Canada according to Census data.This article is from the archive of our partner.
Hillary Clinton criticized the Supreme Court's decision to invalidate part of the Voting Rights Act on Monday, launching a series of speeches the almost certain 2016 presidential candidate will give in the next few months on policy issues. Monday's speech, at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in San Francisco, was a pretty direct attack on a series of legislative efforts to enact stricter voting regulation over the past few months.
Addressing the claim by conservatives that voter ID laws — seen as disproportionally detrimental to minority voters in the U.S. — are needed to protect against voter fraud, Clinton dismissed the threat of voter fraud as a "phantom epidemic" adding, “Anyone that says that racial discrimination is no longer a problem in American elections must not be paying attention." She continued:
“We do — let’s admit it — have a long history of shutting people out: African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities. And throughout our history, we have found too many ways to divide and exclude people from their ownership of the law and protection from the law.”
Noting that over 81 bills restricting voting have been introduced in states this year alone, Clinton urged Congress to come up with a new formula for determining which districts are subject to federal "pre-clearance" under the Voting Rights Act. If not, she argued, "“citizens will be disenfranchised, victimized by the law instead of served by it, and that progress — that historical progress toward a more perfect union — will go backward instead of forward.” Just today, North Carolina signed sweeping voter restriction provisions into law. The Justice Department has pledged to fight to regain federal oversight over districts and states previously determined to have a history of discrimination. Texas has pushed back against Attorney General Eric Holder's attempts to take back oversight of the state's election reform by, among other things, arguing that their district maps discriminate based on political party, and not by race.
The AP explains that her next speech is scheduled a month out in Philadelphia, where she plans to discuss transparency and national security. She's also slated in future appearances to talk about "global leadership and the nation’s moral standing around the world." The former Secretary of State was on a "hiatus" from politics until now, even though everyone pretty much knows she's probably running for president in 2016.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.Journalists who joined the Society’s conversations about ethics last week noticed some interesting posts popping up on Twitter.
Many of the posts were links to articles about gaming, some were links to graphics and some posts were links to other Twitter posts.
The posts were from an online community known as GamerGate, which generally claims to be people interested in game culture concerned about ethics in journalism that covers the gaming industry. Others often point to the movement’s history and notoriety as a roving gang that engages in sexist, homophobic and threatening online attacks.
I – along with some other people in the Society’s leadership – decided to abandon the Twitter hashtag #SPJEthicsWeek, which we planned to use throughout the week, to minimize noise for people who wanted to engage in a broader conversation about journalism ethics.
I also urged people not to address the chorus of posts for the protection of the Society, its leaders and its members who would engage with each other over the Internet throughout the week. After all, the week’s theme was “minimize harm.” I did not want to take the risk of exposing anyone within the organization to harassment or threats. All other Ethics Week activities and engagements went on as planned.
This post is not meant to legitimize or endorse GamerGate, but I’d like to address the people who posted to the Twitter hashtag with engaging and lucid thoughts. I don’t want those people to think their contributions to our conversations about journalism ethics went unnoticed.
In fact, some of those people were the most active and contributive during the Society’s two Twitter chats last week.
Abandoning the Twitter hashtag was simply the best course of action once the posts became sexist, homophobic, threatening, pornographic and – frankly – disgusting. I received some concerning messages, which were mostly deleted within a few hours. One person told me on Twitter, “man have you seen the giant mudslide of reckage[sic] we know as your (expletive) wake?”
As the chair of the Society’s ethics committee, I hate shutting out any people who want to have a discussion about journalism ethics. The point of the committee I lead is to teach people about the Society’s Code of Ethics.
Over the past year, I received several emails about the GamerGate movement. In fact, I’m quoted in a Nieman Reports story sparked by the movement about handling so-called “Twitter storms.”
Most of the emails I received dealt with getting permission to use the Society’s Code of Ethics to “score” gaming journalists on their ethics. In each case, I responded that it’s not possible to score a person’s ethics.
Some emails – and Twitter posts – called for gaming journalists to be fired. The Society is a professional organization that supports journalists and journalism. It does not have the power to fire journalists. Also, I do not comment on whether people should be fired.
Many of the emails – and Twitter posts – were also from anonymous accounts. In general, calls for transparency in journalism are not effective when they come from people who are anonymous.
This is not limited to GamerGate. I receive emails every now and then from people who – according to Google searches – do not exist. Sometimes I also receive emails from people who appear to misrepresent themselves. I’m very cautious and hesitant about responding to those emails.
People – journalists and non-journalists – who want to interact with others about the topic of journalism ethics should be transparent, courteous and civilized. One person should never harass, threaten or demean another.
Also, people in the U.S. are not forced to read, view or listen to stories from news organizations. If a person believes the information from a certain organization is inaccurate, they’re free to find other sources. People can support and encourage good and ethical journalism with subscriptions, views and listens – not harassment or threats.
The Society and its ethics committee will continue to work toward educating journalists about the Code of Ethics. We will also encourage its use. As is the tradition in U.S. journalism, I hope readers, viewers and listeners hold journalists to those standards, but through a transparent and civil dialogue.
Andrew M. Seaman is the chair of the Society’s ethics committee.
Tags: Code of Ethics, ethics, Ethics Week, GamerGate, Harassment, Journalism, Journalism ethics, SPJ, Twitter
Defending the First Amendment and promoting open government are more crucial now than ever. Join SPJ's fight for the publics right to know either as an SPJ Supporter or a professional, student or retired journalist.Judge Ishii, though, said that California was entitled to set its own stricter standards under the Clean Air Act, if the Environmental Protection Agency grants a waiver from federal law, which it has done dozens of times in the last 35 years. California applied to the Bush administration for a waiver in December 2005. The White House has said that it will issue a decision by the end of this month.
While Republican and Democratic administrations have routinely granted California waivers on pollution programs, this one is more controversial because the auto companies and other industries are lobbying heavily against it, saying it will cost them too much to comply. The White House has not tipped its hand on California’s application.
The judge also rejected the automakers’ claim that the state law usurps the federal government’s right to conduct foreign policy because climate change is a global problem. He said there was no legal precedent for the claim.
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. of California called the ruling “a major victory.”
“This is the fourth defeat for the Bush administration and the auto companies,” Mr. Brown said, “and I hope it sends a powerful message to the White House and to Congress that California’s role as an innovator should be appreciated and not negated.”
He was referring to an April decision by the United States Supreme Court affirming the E.P.A.’s authority to regulate vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions; a federal court ruling from Vermont in May upholding California’s law; and a federal appeals court ruling in November chastising the Department of Transportation for failing to enforce its vehicle mileage rules and for not taking the impact of exhaust gases into account.
In 2002, California adopted the first state law requiring auto makers to begin reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. In 2004, it issued rules for achieving the reductions. Vermont adopted the same standards, as did other states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Fran Pavley, a former member of the California State Assembly who wrote the emissions bill, said on Wednesday that Judge Ishii’s ruling represented a legal tipping point, leaving the automakers and the Bush administration isolated on the regulation of gases that scientists say contribute to global warming.
“What we’re finding is that this is a bipartisan issue,” Ms. Pavley said. “The states have moved on and they are working together to be responsible in doing their fair share to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”ALTERNATIVE health practitioners such as homeopaths and healers could be fined or jailed for breaching professional standards, under new powers for Victoria's health watchdog being considered by the state government.
The scheme would allow Victoria's Health Services Commissioner to ban or restrict alternative therapists' practices if they breached a statutory code of conduct, and take court action to enforce the orders where necessary.
At present commissioner Beth Wilson is limited in her ability to deal with alternative therapists who behave unethically, because they are not regulated by national boards that can remove their right to practise - unlike doctors, nurses and dentists.
The problem is highlighted by Noel Campbell, a former dentist found by Victoria's Court of Appeal to have made deceptive and misleading claims about his ability to cure or treat cancer using alternative treatments, including ozone therapy.
Mr Campbell has vowed to continue treating patients and said the finding that he had breached fair trading laws - after a two-year investigation by Ms Wilson - only prevented him from advertising his services in a certain way.The City of Vancouver is finally admitting that they cannot build their way out of the housing affordability crisis. The supply myth has been driving ever-escalating amounts of market housing, but affordability is getting worse, not better. The city now says that “we have plenty of supply — what we need is the right supply.”
This is the conclusion of a recent report to council that proposes a housing reset. Although they correctly identify that a change of direction is needed, the city instead proposes more of the same.
The city has been approving market development at a record pace, yet prices continue to escalate. The new supply is not bringing affordability and never will if we continue doing the status quo.
In fact rezoning has been inflating land values while demolishing the older more affordable housing stock. People are being displaced and priced out of their city. This is what happens when the real estate market is disconnected from the local economy.
Many of the needed solutions are out of the city’s jurisdiction. However, the city’s own land-use policies of promoting unsustainable levels of market redevelopment has been largely responsible for enabling this crisis to escalate.
Incentives to retain character houses such as more secondary suites and infill can improve affordability for renters and owners while accommodating growth.
The problem is that they don’t seem to know what the right supply is, other than it needs to be affordable. And they do not know how to achieve that affordability. So it still falls back to the same old doctrine.
By engaging with limited interest groups and insiders, the city has set emerging directions before broader public input. This is putting the cart before the horse. The focus of the emerging directions is of course reflecting that feedback, which is — the same old response — more supply. But none of the income levels identified as needing housing options will likely be able to afford the proposed new housing options.
One positive move by the city is to link housing affordability targets to income. But new construction is often more affordable only when it is small units. When the city is trying to encourage larger units for families, these new units will be out of the reach of most of the targeted income levels unless they are subsidized. There is no way that the city can produce subsidies to address the numbers of units they are targeting.
Although the status quo is not the answer, the emerging directions are in fact more of the status quo. Examples are: more area planning around transit stations for high-density development; Cambie corridor Phase 3 development; and expanding the rental 100 program off the arterials. All of these actions are more of the same and will continue producing unaffordable market rentals and ownership while inflating land values.
In anticipation of these emerging directions, there already are proposals for large-scale tower development that are currently not allowed under existing policy. At Alma Street and Broadway there is a new proposal by Westbank for a 12-storey tower on a six-storey podium under the interim rezoning policy.
Only the six-storey podium is currently under application as per the existing policy, but the applicant is proposing to go to 12 storeys as an anticipated next phase under upcoming changes to policy. A subway may be decades off before it is extended to UBC, if ever. Yet the city is already considering substantial transit-oriented development without the transit.
Also included in the emerging directions is building new duplexes, row houses and townhouses. These housing forms are not even affordable on the east side, where they go for close to or over the million-dollar mark, far less the west side which will be substantially more expensive. More new built market strata will not address the kinds of affordability targeted.
Cambie Corridor condos are abundant, but they are not affordable. Pre-sales advertise starting at $1.55 million for a two bedroom plus den and $2.15 million for a 2 bedroom and den. And many units are vacant as recently confirmed by the 2016 census.
There are some groups emerging who claim to represent the millennials. But they are calling for more new market development that most millennials will never be able to afford. So either these groups are being duped into believing otherwise, or they are promoting the interests of the industry in the name of the millennials.
Ironically, the one action that the city could have taken to help affordability has been sidelined. The character house zoning review was underway to create more incentives to retain character houses such as more secondary suites for rentals and mortgage helpers through conditional zoning.
Now this has been given a back seat to adding more new strata market duplexes, townhouses and row houses which will be expensive. Inflated land values will lead to more incentives for increased demolitions of the character housing stock rather than more sustainable adaptive reuse.
Although new market multi-family may not be affordable, it still may make sense to have some variety of housing types in some locations. This was identified in each community through CityPlan, but rather than implementing these types through a neighbourhood-based process, the city is considering to rezone on a city-wide basis.
Realtor Bob Rennie has been head of fundraising for the B.C. Liberals and a supporter of Vision Vancouver. He has been advocating rezoning of all RS zones across the city to multi-family development. It looks like he may be getting his wish.
The industry must be pleased that the same supply myth continues to be applied even though the city admits it doesn’t work. More expensive market supply will not make things more affordable. It will, in fact, continue to intensify the affordability crisis as millennials are demo-victed from their older housing and priced out of Vancouver. How many more times will the city do the same things expecting different results?
Elizabeth Murphy is a private sector project manager and was formerly a property development officer for the City of Vancouver’s Housing and Properties Department and for B.C. Housing.“The finale will satisfy fans,” teases Emmy-winning director Mimi Leder during our recent webcam chat (watch the exclusive video above) about HBO’s “The Leftovers.” Leder, who also serves as an executive producer of the critically acclaimed series, adds, “It certainly satisfied me and it was very satisfying to all of us.” Although she remains tight-lipped about specific details about the series finale, which is due to air on June 4, she believes it will be embraced by fans of the show: “I can’t tell you anything, except that I think you’re in for a very special hour of ‘The Leftovers.’ I would just be open to watching it and experiencing it.”
In “The Leftovers,” two percent of the world’s population (140 million people) suddenly and inexplicably disappeared off the face of the Earth, in what is known as the “Sudden Departure.” As the world nears the ominous seventh anniversary of that global cataclysmic event, the show shifts location to Australia, as each of the main characters embark on their own personal journeys of grief, healing and redemption.
For Leder, working on this show for the past three years “has been a life changing experience… It has been one of those times where everything just works… The extraordinary group of actors, the mind-blowing writing. It was one of those moments when everything in the universe just hit. It was an experience where I felt very free to expand my wings and direct the hell out of the show as I saw it and felt it. It was like shooting a movie every 12 days… It was one of the greatest experiences of my career I must say. And I am very proud of it.”
When asked what she felt she most contributed in her role as producer and director, Leder admits that she “brought a bigger palate to the show.” However, the helmer is quick to praise the writing, which provided her “with a beautiful map to tell a story,” and gave particular credit to the ensemble of actors. “You’re only as good as your actor. Yes you can cover up stuff,” she reveals, adding that “you can trick your audience into a great performance.”
She adds, “Each and every one of our actors are so incredibly brilliant. They’re so incredibly deep, and they’ll go for anything. Justin Theroux is fearless and he’ll go to the deep end and he’ll stay there to find the character and the honesty of the character, and Carrie Coon is also just a super mega-star. She’s a pot of every flavor you could have and she is an extraordinary actor. Scott Glenn, well that face just draws you in, every crevice and every line in his face tells a story of a warrior and he truly is one, on set and off set.”
Leder won an Emmy Award for Best Drama Directing in 1995 for “E.R.” She has also received four nominations for producing and directing “China Beach,” an additional three bids for “E.R.,” and one for directing “The West Wing.”
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions. Weigh in now with your picks so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our Emmy odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before nominees are announced on July 13. And join in the fierce debate over the 2017 Emmys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums.
Related: HBO episode submissions for the 2017 Emmys
Related: Watch our interview with Carrie Coon (‘The Leftovers,’ ‘Fargo’)
Related: Watch many interviews with 2017 Emmy contenders
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experts’ latest predictions and breaking newsDocument in the "Hale-Ramsey Murder Case", from the Oklahoman Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society Photo Archives.
The Osage Indian murders was a series of murders of Osage people in Osage County, Oklahoma in the early 1920s; newspapers described the increasing number of unsolved murders as the "Reign of Terror". Estimates are that 60 or more wealthy, full-blood Osage native Americans were killed from 1921 to 1925.[1] The murders appear to have been committed by people intent on taking over the great wealth of the Osage, whose land was producing valuable oil, and who each had headrights that earned lucrative annual royalties. Investigation by law enforcement, including the predecessor to the FBI, also revealed extensive corruption among local officials involved in the Osage guardian program. Most of the murders were never prosecuted, but some men were convicted and sentenced.
Congress changed the law to prohibit non-Osage from inheriting headrights from Osage with half or more Native American ancestry. The US government continued to manage the leases and royalties from oil-producing lands, and the tribe became concerned about these assets. In 2000 the Osage Nation filed a suit against the Department of the Interior, alleging that it had not adequately managed the assets and paid people the royalties they were due. The suit was settled in 2011 for $380 million and commitments to improve program management.[2][3]
Overview [ edit ]
In 1907 each tribal member received an allotment of 657 acres (266 ha), and they and their legal heirs, whether or not Osage, earned royalties on the "headrights" from their portion of oil-producing land. The tribe held the mineral rights communally, and paid its members by a percentage related to their holdings. By a law of 1921, Congress required most Osage of half or more Native American ancestry to have court-appointed guardians until they demonstrated "competency"; all minors were required to have guardians appointed by the court, whether or not they had living parents. The guardians were generally local white lawyers and businessmen, who made money off their fees and sometimes set up criminal means to defraud the Osage of their wealth. The Osage wealth attracted many other opportunists, some of whom had criminal intent.
In 1925 the tribal elders, with the help of James Monroe Pyle, a local law officer, sought assistance from the Bureau of Investigation (which later developed as the FBI) when local and state officials could not solve the rising number of murders. Pyle presented his evidence of murder and conspiracy and requested an investigation. In its undercover investigation, the Bureau found that several murders in one family were found to have been committed by a gang led by William "King of Osage Hills" Hale. His goal was to gain the oil royalty headrights and wealth of several tribe members, including his nephew's Osage wife, the last survivor of her family. Three men were convicted and sentenced in this case, but most murders went officially unsolved. A late twentieth-century investigation by the journalist Dennis McAuliffe revealed deep corruption among white officials in the county at the time. Incidents included failure of law enforcement to conduct post-mortem exams, falsified death certificates issued by the coroner's office, and other activities among white officials to cover up the murders.
Osage County officials sought revenge against Pyle for his role in bringing the murders to light. Fearing for his life, Pyle and his wife fled to Arizona, where he again served as an officer of the law. He died there in 1942.
In 1925, Congress passed a law prohibiting inheritance of headrights by non-natives from Osage of half or more Native American ancestry, to reduce the threat to the Osage. From 1926–1929, Hale and an associate were convicted of the murders, with one nephew pleading guilty. They were sentenced to life in prison, but later received parole, although the Osage objected.
Background [ edit ]
In 1897 oil was first discovered in Osage County. The United States federal government's Department of the Interior managed leases for oil exploration and production on land owned by the Osage Nation through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and later managed royalties, paying individual allottees. As part of the process of preparing Oklahoma for statehood, the federal government allotted 657 acres (266 ha) to each Osage on the tribal rolls in 1907; thereafter, they and their legal heirs, whether Osage or not, had "headrights" to royalties in oil production, based on their allotments of lands.[4] The headrights could be inherited by legal heirs, including non-Osage.
By 1920 the market for oil had grown dramatically and the Osage were wealthy. In 1923 alone "the tribe took in more than thirty million dollars, the equivalent today of more than four hundred million dollars."[5]
People all across the United States read about the Osage, called "the richest nation, clan or social group of any race on earth, including the whites, man for man."[1] Some Osage used their royalties to send their children to private schools; others bought fancy cars, clothes and jewelry, and traveled in Europe; and newspapers across the country covered their activities.[1] Along with tens of thousands of oil workers, the oil wealth attracted many white opportunists to Osage County; as the writer Robert Allen Warrior characterized them, some were entrepreneurial, while others were criminal, seeking to separate the Osage from their wealth, by murder if necessary.[6]
Believing the Osage would not be able to manage their new wealth, or lobbied by whites who wanted a piece of the action, by 1921 the United States Congress passed a law requiring that courts appoint guardians for each Osage of half-blood or more in ancestry, who would manage their royalties and financial affairs until they demonstrated "competency". Under the system, even minors who had less than half-Osage blood had to have guardians appointed, regardless of whether the minors had living parents. The courts appointed the guardians from local white lawyers or businessmen. The incentives for criminality were overwhelming; such guardians often maneuvered legally to steal Osage land, their headrights or royalties; others were suspected of murdering their charges to gain the headrights.[4][6]
At that time, 80 lawyers were working in Pawhuska, the Osage County seat, which had 8,000 residents; the number of lawyers was said to be as great as in the state capital, which had 140,000 residents.[7] In 1924 the Department of Interior charged two dozen guardians of Osage with corruption in the administration of their duties related to their charges, but all avoided punishment by settling out of court. They were believed to have swindled their charges out of millions of dollars. In 1929 $27 million was reported as still being held by the "Guardian System", the organization set up to protect the financial interests of 883 Osage families in Osage County.[8]
Murders in Osage County [ edit ]
In the early 1920s, the Western United States was shaken by the murders of eighteen Osage Indians and three non-natives in Osage County, Oklahoma within a short period of time. Regional Colorado newspapers reported the murders as the "Reign of Terror" on the Osage reservation. Some murders seemed associated with several members of one family.
On May 27, 1921, local hunters discovered the decomposing body of 25-year-old Anna Brown in a remote ravine of Osage County[citation needed]. Unable to find the killer, local authorities ruled her death as accidental, due to alcohol poisoning, and put the case aside.[9][a] Brown was divorced, so probate awarded her estate to her mother, Lizzie Q. Kyle.[10] A petty criminal, Kelsie Morrison, admitted to murdering Anna Brown and testified that William “King” Hale had asked him to do so.[11][b] Along with his admission, Morrison implicated that William Hale's nephew and Anna Brown's ex-boyfriend Bryan Burkhart[12] was also involved in her murder.[13] After meeting Anna Brown earlier that night at her sister Mollie's home, Burkhart and Morrison took a heavily intoxicated Anna Brown to Three Mile Creek where Morrison shot and killed her.[12]
The body of another Osage, Charles Whitehorn (also known as Charles Williamson), was discovered near Pawhuska on the same day. Williamson, a cousin of Anna Brown, had been shot to death.[10] Two months later, Brown's mother, Lizzie Q. Kyle, was killed as well.[c] By that time, Lizzie had headrights for herself, and had inherited the headrights from her late husband and two daughters. Her heirs became fabulously wealthy.
On February 6, 1923, Henry Roan, also known as Henry Roan Horse, a cousin of Anna Brown, |
turns out, from video and an arrest, that at least one shot was fired.] The local and state police had a huge challenge on their hands, and their task was very difficult. In my fields of observation, they did not seem present to intervene quickly when skirmishes broke out. They seemed to stay back in the background. Perhaps this was intentional and strategic for reasons I don’t understand. Be that as it may, I couldn’t help but think about the contrast between the hands-off way heavily armed white supremacists were treated by police in Charlottesville and how unarmed African Americans in other demonstrations have been beaten and arrested around the country over the years … or how unarmed Native Americans were treated at Standing Rock a few months ago. That contrast is haunting, itself an expression of white privilege.
On Next Steps: The young age of many of the white supremacists and Nazis suggests two things to me: first, that young white people are being radicalized in America today, radicalized to the point of using the ISIS tactic of killing people with a car; and second, that this problem isn’t going away fast – especially if radicalizing influences continue or increase their activities among younger generations.
What does this mean?
First, it means that white mothers, fathers, grandparents, wives, sisters, brothers, children, and pastors need to speak up when their loved ones are being radicalized. Every white American family needs to realize that radicalization isn’t simply something that happens in the Middle East – it is happening today, in Ohio and Kentucky and Florida and Virginia.
In addition, clergy around the country must prepare now for when an event like this comes to their area – which may be sooner than they think. (I understand that Richmond has already been targeted for another such rally in a few months.) Just as male mammals seek to “mark territory,” these human groups seem determined to maintain their markers of white supremacy – namely, statues and flags associated with the era and culture of slavery. Their oddly ambiguous slogan “You will not replace us” seems to mean, “You will not replace our white supremacy.”
All of us, especially people of faith, need to proclaim that white supremacy and white privilege and all other forms of racism and injustice must indeed be replaced with something better – the beloved community where all are welcome, all are safe, and all are free. White supremacist and Nazi dreams of apartheid must be replaced with a better dream – people of all tribes, races, creeds, and nations learning to live in peace, mutual respect, and neighborliness. Such a better world is possible, but only if we set our hearts on realizing the possibility.
We Christians, in particular, need to face the degree to which white Christianity has failed – grievously, tragically, unarguably failed – to teach its white adherents to love their non-white neighbors as themselves. Congregations of all denominations need to make this an urgent priority – to acknowledge the degree to which white American Christianity has been a chaplaincy to white supremacy for centuries, and in that way, has betrayed the gospel. Our Christian leaders need to face the deep roots of white Christian supremacy that go back to 1452 and the Doctrine of Discovery, and before that, to the tragic deals made by 4th Century Bishops with Emperor Constantine, and before that, to the rise of Christian antisemitism mere decades after Jesus. This tense season of our history needs to be, quite literally, a come-to-Jesus moment for Christianity in America.
Along with this theological and spiritual work, we have very urgent practical work to do, including 1) pre-empting the continuing development of white supremacist and Nazi-Fascist groups through preventative measures, 2) building relationships among groups that oppose racism and Naziism – both religious and secular, 3) improving planning and coordinating among these groups, and 4) addressing the ways that white supremacists and Nazis are seeking to use us as foils to win over conservative people through fear and division (which is the strategy behind Unite the Right). What is needed in all these areas (and more) will be the subject of many future conversations.LOS ANGELES — After a six-month search that fueled intense speculation, the Museum of Contemporary Art here has confirmed that Philippe Vergne, director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York, has been chosen as its new director.
It is the second time in a row that the museum has looked to New York for a new leader. Mr. Vergne will replace Jeffrey Deitch, the former New York art dealer who generated fierce controversy as the museum’s director from 2010 until last summer.
Mr. Vergne, 47, who was born in Troyes, France, is a veteran curator with experience both in Europe and in the United States and an extensive background in museum administration. He was director of the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Marseille from 1994 to 1997, and then a senior curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
He went back to Europe briefly to run the private François Pinault Foundation for contemporary art, but returned to the Walker as its deputy director and chief curator in 2005. In 2006 he was one of the curators of the Whitney Biennial, which was generally well received, though regarded by some critics as dry and didactic.A Catholic university in Ottawa is under fire from its students after it prevented the student association from offering free condoms.
The student group at Saint Paul University, which is connected to the University of Ottawa, recently received a letter from the school administration demanding it remove a bowl of condoms from the main office.
Saint Paul University statute The Association seeks to conform its spirit to the message of the Good News proclaimed by Jesus, the Christ. The Association, in the same spirit of Christian faith, hope and charity, endeavours to serve its members.
The letter reads, "It is evident that the distribution of condoms must cease and the use of the name 'university' needs to be completely abandoned from your sign, especially when it contravenes with the Statutes."
Condoms were first offered last year.
The student association believes the administration is putting ideology before practicality.
"I was shocked that it's 2012 and we're still having this conversation of science versus ideology," said Zach Zimmel, who wrote an open letter to the university about the issue this week.
More than 100 students have supported Zimmel so far.
"Moving forward, conversations need to be had about how we can meet the needs of all of these students," he added.
Catholic mandate at odds with condom use
Saint Paul University has a Catholic mandate, but students of all religions and ethnicities now study at the school.
The administration told CBC News the students are expected to abide by and uphold the Catholic values.
Offering free condoms to students does not fall within the statutes of Saint Paul University, the administration says. (iStock)
"We never said that it was not a good idea to use condoms, it's only because we're talking about Saint Paul," said Danielle Tessier, the school's vice-rector, who also wrote the letter to the student association.
"We have to stand behind what is Saint Paul."
The students also say the school has complained about a "Pride centre" it opened on campus for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual students.
The student association and the school administration began what are expected to be several days of talks Wednesday to determine a solution to the issue.BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) – Two massive earthquakes triggered back-to-back tsunami warnings for Indonesia on Wednesday, sending panicked residents fleeing to high ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles. There were no signs of deadly waves, however, or serious damage, and a watch for much of the Indian Ocean was lifted after a few hours.
Women and children were crying in Aceh province, where memories are still raw of a 2004 tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province alone. Others screamed "God is great" as they poured from their homes or searched frantically for separated family members.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first magnitude-8.6 quake was 270 miles from Aceh's provincial capital. The tsunami watch that followed from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii advised countries all along the rim of the Indian Ocean, from Australia and India to as far off as Africa, that a tsunami could be generated.
The only wave, however, was less than 30 inches high, rolling to Indonesia's coast.
But just as the region was sighing relief, a magnitude-8.2 aftershock hit.
"We just issued another tsunami warning," Prih Harjadi, from Indonesia's geophysics agency, told TVOne in a live interview.
His countrymen were told to stay clear of western coasts.
Again, the threat quickly passed.
Experts said both quakes were geologically different than the one that spawned the 2004 tsunami, occurring horizontally, with the tectonic plates sliding against each other, creating more of a vibration in the water.
The other type of earthquake, a mega thrust, like the one that also hit off Japan last year, causes the seabed to heave and displaces water vertically, sending towering waves racing toward shores.
Roger Musson, seismologist at the British geological survey who has studied Sumatra's fault lines, said initially he'd been "fearing the worst."
"But as soon as I discovered what type of earthquake it was … I felt a lot better."
The tremors were felt in neighboring Malaysia, where high-rise buildings shook. Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh and India also were rattled.
But it was the streets of Aceh where real chaos broke out.
Patients poured out of hospitals, some with drips still attached to their arms. In some places, electricity was briefly cut.
Hours after the temblor, people were still standing outside their homes and offices, afraid to go back inside.
"I was in the shower on the fifth floor of my hotel," Timbang Pangaribuan told El Shinta radio from the city of Medan. "We all ran out. … We're all standing outside now."
He said one guest was injured when he jumped from a window.
Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center issued an evacuation order in six provinces along the country's west coast, including the tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.
India's Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for parts of the eastern Andaman and Nicobar islands. In Tamil Nadu in southern India, police cordoned off the beach and used loudspeakers to warn people to leave the area.
The quake was felt in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where many people in the city's commercial Motijheel district left their offices and homes in panic and ran into the streets. In Male, the capital of the Maldives, buildings were evacuated.
Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.
The magnitude-9.1 quake and tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, killed 230,000 people in about a dozen nations.This report is for media and the general public.
At 10:10 on 2 August, an armed man at a known Ukrainian Armed Forces position wearing military-style clothing with no markings stopped two SMM vehicles in government-controlled areas travelling east on the road from Lopaskyne (government-controlled, 24km north-west of Luhansk) to Lobacheve (government-controlled, 17km north-west of Luhansk). When one of the SMM monitors stepped out of the vehicle to speak with the man, the latter chambered a round into his submachine gun (AKSU-74) and after removing the weapon’s safety, pointed it at the SMM monitor and put his finger on the trigger. Speaking in Russian, the armed man told the SMM “Stop. You are not going anywhere”.
The SMM requested the armed man call his commander, which he did. Standing approximately two metres away, the man kept his gun pointed at the SMM monitor and spoke to someone in Russian on his handheld radio. Approximately five to seven minutes later, another man arrived at the scene carrying an assault rifle (AK-74) with a silencer. He was accompanied by three other armed men carrying assault rifles, some of whom appeared to be intoxicated, and appeared to be in a position of authority. Some of the men were dressed in military-style clothing. Using Russian and speaking in an aggressive manner, the man said that he and the other armed men present were members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The SMM monitor asked the man who appeared to be in charge to order the armed man to lower his weapon. He did so but the weapon was not made safe.
Speaking with the commander of the group, the SMM monitor tried to diffuse the situation by explaining the Mission’s mandate and after approximately fifteen minutes, the SMM was allowed to leave the area and proceed to Lobacheve to complete their tasks.
The SMM returned safely to its base at 16:00. The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination was informed.To understand the gravity of the danger facing Louisiana's coast from the oil that began washing ashore Thursday, pollution clean-up veterans offered this starting point: Forget the word "spill."
"This isn't a spill," said Kerry St. Pe, who headed Louisiana's oil spill response team for 23 years. "This isn't a storage tank or a ship with a finite amount of oil that has boundaries. This is much, much worse."
Complete oil spill coverage
It's a river of oil flowing from the bottom of the Gulf at the rate of 210,000 gallons a day that officials say could be running for two months or more. If that prediction holds, much of the state's southeastern coast will become a world-watched environmental battleground that hasn't been seen in the United States since
ran aground in Alaska 21 years ago.
For residents of coastal communities and the vast fleet of commercial and sports fishers that call those wetlands home, that fight will become part of the daily scene. Coastal scientists and clean-up experts say the source and volume of the pollution combined with seasonal wind directions and tides have the potential to push oil deep into local estuaries, bringing the army fighting the oil and its miles of containment booms to much of the marsh. And, it has the potential to spread to every state along the Gulf Coast.
"Oil floats on water, so it goes where the water goes," said Roger Helm, chief of the
. "This is going to be big, very big. They have announced it's five times the release they originally thought, and that release will go on for some extended period of time. Do the math."
The timing couldn't be worse, Louisiana clean-up experts said, because the warm weather months will bring stiff southerly breezes, which can push the oil deep into the long, shallow estuaries.
"In a lot of places tides are the key for moving oil but we have very small tides here -- a 2-foot tide is a big deal to us," said St. Pe, who now is executive director of the Barataria-Terrebonne national Estuary Program. "So wind is everything in Louisiana. A stiff southeastern blow will defeat a falling tide here. And we're going into the season when we get strong southeasterly winds.
"So, if we've got a steady flow of 210,000 gallons a day and southerly winds pushing it, it's going to get over the marsh into a lot of areas."
Given the volume and the extended flow period, St. Pe said he would expect oil sheets to invade the marshes on the east side of the river north into the Delacroix area, the western reaches of Lake Borgne and most of the Bird's Foot delta. If stiff winds blow more from the east, the oil could flow to the west of the river, and quickly invade the wetlands in Barataria Basin, already battered by erosion, canal dredging and subsidence.
"If this thing comes west into Barataria, there's nothing really to stop it," he said. "The area from Buras to the (Barataria Seaway) is pretty much just open water now."
St. Pe said the public should not expect containment booms to keep all oil from the wetlands.
"Oil gets through, especially in rough weather - it just washes over these things," he said. "With the volumes we're talking about here, and the length it will be coming into the coast, you can see that almost every area in the southeastern coast could be impacted.'
Birds, fish and shellfish will feel the effects, St. Pe said.
"If you get a thick sheet of oil over a large area, the first thing that happens is it cuts off the oxygen exchange with the water column," he said. "You get low dissolved oxygen in the water, so the fish respond by coming to the surface to try to get oxygen, and of course they get their gills coated with oil, and they die."
Birds become fouled with oil by diving on food in oil-slicks, or wading and walking through contaminated areas, then preening feathers, further spreading the oil.
And while birds, fish and marine mammals are the victims most noticed, there is even more damage going on below the surface, St. Pe said. "Shrimp die and crabs die and oysters die, but they don't float to the top. You just never see them, but the damage is often severe."
And in this case, the impact could be long-lasting.
"The worst spill I ever worked was a 10,000 barrel spill in 1997 that was inshore in Lake Barre, and that was terrible," he said.
"But that was a spill. This is worse. This isn't one spill. It's a constant flow for months. This is something a lot of people will be living with for a long time."The Texas Department of Public Safety released a dashboard video taken of the arrest of Sandra Bland from a police officer’s cruiser.
The Chicago-area woman was pulled over in Prairie View, Texas, during a routine traffic stop on July 10. After being held in the local jail for three days, she was found dead in her cell.
Officials say Bland hanged herself with a plastic garbage bag, but family members are disputing that.
The Bland case is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents around the country that have highlighted the strained relationship between the African-American community and local police.
Around two minutes into the 52-minute video, Bland changes lanes without signaling, and the police officer pulls her over. After several minutes while the officer sits in his cruiser, presumably going over paperwork, he returns to the vehicle to find Bland is upset.
“You seem very irritated,” he says. She responds by saying that she only changed lanes because she felt the officer was speeding up behind her.
The officer then asks Bland to put out her cigarette, and when she refuses, he orders her to step out of her car. When she refuses, he opens her car door and orders her repeatedly to step out, while she argues that she did nothing wrong.
The encounter soon turns physical.
“Step out or I will remove you,” he says repeatedly. “Get out of the car now, or I’m going to remove you. I’m going to yank you out of here.”
The officer can then be seen reaching into the car. It’s unclear exactly what happens inside the car but the two tussle, then the officer pulls out what appears to be a Taser and Bland leaves the car. The two continue arguing, with Bland shouting she “can’t wait until we go to court” and using salty language to insult the officer.
Several key moments happen off camera, such as when the officer puts handcuffs on Bland and when the two tussle again on the sidewalk.
As two other officers arrive on scene, the police officer tells them that Bland tried to yank away and then kicked him so he “took her straight to the ground.”
“Well one thing for sure it’s on video,” one of the other officers says.
You can watch the video here on YouTube. Caution: Contains offensive language.
Read More: Everything We Know About the Sandra Bland Case
Contact us at editors@time.com.SHANGHAI — A former executive at China Mobile, one of this country’s biggest state-owned telecommunications companies, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve Friday for accepting bribes, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
Zhang Chunjiang, the former vice chairman of China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, was charged with accepting more than $1.15 million in bribes while working at a series of state-run telecom companies between 1994 and 2009, when he was removed from his post. The two-year reprieve means that with good behavior his sentence could be commuted to life in prison. The sentence, which was handed down by a court in north China’s Hebei province, is the latest development in an unfolding corruption investigation into this country’s powerful telecom oligopoly.
While state executives and government officials are regularly arrested on corruption charges, only a handful have received the death penalty in recent years. Four years ago, the head of China’s Food and Drug Administration was executed for corruption and failing to protect consumers.
Photo
In 2009, the former chairman of Sinopec, the Chinese oil giant, was also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting millions of dollars in bribes. And this week, two former vice mayors in China were executed for accepting millions of dollars worth of bribes.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Beijing is in the midst of a major corruption sweep ahead of a leadership change expected next year. In some cases, analysts say those charged with corruption may be singled out because of their relationships with high-ranking officials who are engaged in power struggles.
Recently, prosecutors have focused their attention on the telecom industry. At least seven other executives from China Mobile are under investigation in corruption cases, according to the nation’s state-run news media. And investigators are also looking into the role of several prominent Chinese businessmen, including Zeng Liqing, one of the founders of Tencent, a top Chinese Internet company, according to Caixin magazine, one of the nation’s most respected publications.WANTED IN EVERETT May 31, 2016 —
Everett detectives say they have identified one of the suspects they believe torched an ATM at an Everett bank Tuesday, May 30th as Jason Kovar — and say surveillance video shows him trying to urinate on the flames after the money inside is set on fire.
Detectives say the surveillance video shows Kovar and an unidentified second suspect in the ‘Monster’ energy drink jacket outside the Coastal Community Bank. “They attempted to get into the ATM and it looks like they used a blowtorch, which caught the currency on fire and created a little fire damage,” said John Dickson, the executive VP and COO of Coastal Community Bank. Police say the blaze set off three alarms and again — it seems Kovar got creative with trying to save the cash by urinating on the machine, then jumping back. We’re not sure if he got burned a little.
Everett detectives say Kovar is also wanted for questioning in relation to several other commercial burglaries in Snohomish County, including possibly another crime at the very same bank. “There was an attempt on the night drop a couple weeks ago and the perpetrators had masks and everything was covered, so all we saw was two individuals and a truck,” said Dickson. In the surveillance video from that night, you see the two suspects attach a rope to the night drop and then to a pickup truck. Their plan was to yank the machine right out of the wall. The truck backs up to get a good running start and then the rope breaks — but they weren’t done — they tried several more times with no luck. You can even see debris go up in a puff of smoke when they tried the final time.
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Whether Kovar and his buddy are the same suspects responsible for this attempted theft, Everett Police need your help tracking them down. "The damage to the building's estimated at $35,000. That includes the damage to the ATM, the burnt money and then as well the building itself," said Everett Police Ofc. Aaron Snell. "They are wanted for other possible commercial burglary crimes by other departments, so their capture would be an excellent thing."
Crime Stoppers and the bank are offering a total of $6,000 in reward money for information leading to their arrest and prosecution.
If you know where Kovar is hiding, or the name of the second suspect, call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS, or use the P3 Tips App to submit your information.
Please enable Javascript to watch this videoNOW THAT THE DRACONIAN Digital Economy Act has been passed into UK law, it seems none of the main political parties want to have much to do with it, even though they were all happy enough to vote it through earlier in April.
The Act, which contains the controversial 'three strikes' policy to cut off the Internet access of suspected illegal downloaders, was high on the agenda today as the UK's three major political parties took part in an online audio debate to discuss issues important to voters.
Climate change secretary Ed Miliband, Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrats' chief of staff, and shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt were questioned on the fairness of the Digital Economy Act, and all did their best to blame each other for it.
Speaking on behalf of the Tories, Hunt came out firmly against the Act, agreeing it was rushed through and pointing to a "light timetable for the last six months" in which it could have been properly debated. He also cited the absence of a proper House of Commons scrutiny stage, allowing a small group of MPs to thoroughly dissect the proposals.
Hunt referred to the most contentious parts of the act - blocking access to certain websites and cutting off the Internet access of those accused of illegal downloading - as areas of significant change that merited further scrutiny.
"I think it was an absolute disgrace," he said. "I think it could have really done with that extra debate."
Some might feel this is an example of the Tories being hypocrites, as it was their support that helped get the bill passed into law. Hunt attempted to justify this by stating they were put in an "invidious position" of either striking down a bill that contained some aspects they supported, such as the video games certification, or letting the whole thing go through.
It was then the Liberal Democrats' turn to distance themselves from the Act. "We pushed to strike out the provisions on piracy and those that let Internet users be cut off," Alexander said. "We'd want to repeal that."
Alexander also played down Hunt's accusations that Lib Dem peers could have blocked the bill during the wash-up, and that the piracy provisions were a Lib Dem amendment.
"They were put forward by [Lib Dem peer Lord] Tim Clement-Jones in an effort to improve a rotten bill," Alexander said.
As Labour was the key instigator of the Act, Miliband was on weaker ground than the other two and apparently decided that the best approach would be to evade the question of fairness altogether. He instead focused on repeating the need for a balance between Internet freedoms and funding for the creativity of the music, video and software industries.
Miliband's only response to the concerns raised by the public and rights groups was that there would be another chance to debate the issues, and that either the Tories or the Lib Dems could have previously blocked the Act.
The online audio debate, which was presented by the Guardian and the grassroots campaign group 38 Degrees, was designed to engender proper debate away from the TV cameras between the three main political parties on the most important issues, as voted for by the people. µRunning around trying to get everything for the perfect Valentine’s Day? Worse, looking for the right words to entice that young lad or lady into being your valentine at the last minute? WFNY is here to help, along with some of our favorite Cleveland sports figures.
Try these cards out and see if your bones don’t get jumped in a jiffy.
(Some of the cards allude to adult-ish content—you’ve been warned.)
Delly’s star isn’t the only thing that’s rising.
Austin’s stuff is not weak.
Maybe we had the wrong idea about the tweets all along.
Dion is gone, but never forgotten.
Corey Kluber: humanoid of passion.
Nick Swisher: actual man of passion
Typical Dolan amirite?
Kyle Shanahan likes to declare his feelings with visual aids.
What Ray Farmer wants, Ray Farmer gets, rules be damned.
There’s still time to turn it around, you crazy kids in love.
Some call he and his company predatory. I’m afraid to ask what he’s hunting.
Some things write themselves.
Happy Valentine’s Day.Fox News reports that the Teamsters union has decided not to endorse Hillary Clinton for president at this time. According to James Rosen, the union’s 26-member board decided unanimously to withhold endorsing Clinton.
Rosen’s Teamsters source cited three reasons. First, the Teamsters are unhappy with Clinton’s recent announcement that she opposes construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Second, they want to see whether Joe Biden will enter the race.
Third, and most ominously for the Dems, the Teamsters reportedly want to talk to Republican candidates. They are particularly interested in Donald Trump, who has worked with unionized workers throughout his career.
The Teamsters have backed Republicans for the presidency in the past, and when they have, it’s been good news for the GOP. Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and the first president Bush all received backing for the Teamsters.
The importance of the Teamsters’ endorsement is obvious. Political analyst Larry Sabato told Fox News, “You’re talking about well over a million unionized workers, a lot of them in key states.” The decision not to endorse Clinton now is “one more piece of evidence that [her] effort[s] to lock down the nomination have utterly failed,” Sabato added.
The Teamsters’ decision looks almost like an invitation to Biden to join the race. If the union were to support the vice president, it might well put him over the top, assuming a fairly close race.
Long-term, the Teamsters’ decision looks like evidence of a potential Democratic crackup. Slavish adherence to the demands of environmentalists, backed by the upscale, elitist wing of the party, seems destined to put the Dems at odds with the desires of the working class, the party’s traditional constituency.
David Frum sees another important fissure in the Democratic party — the division between minority groups pushing for a softer approach to crime and the desire of Americans for safe streets and homes. I’ll have more to say about this matter in an upcoming post.Obamacare health plans have been getting a bad rap this year. Critics say the premiums are too high, the out-of-pocket costs are out of control, and the requirements and red tape are too thick.
But now the Obama administration is pushing back.
A study released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services argues that the cost-sharing isn't nearly as heavy as previous analyses have shown, because most consumers get subsidies that limit their deductibles and copayments.
"This comprehensive analysis makes clear that two key misconceptions about the market are incorrect," said Christen Linke Young, principal deputy director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at CMS.
She said those misconceptions are that deductibles are very high and that out-of-pocket costs for consumers are out of control.
The median deductible that consumers actually pay for Obamacare health plans is $850 this year, $50 less than last year, the CMS report shows. A deductible is the amount of health costs a person must cover before insurance kicks in.
The CMS report contrasts with a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis from November 2015 that shows the average deductible for a midlevel health plan, including prescription drugs, is $3,064. That survey didn't take into account the financial assistance that about 60 percent of Obamacare customers get to cover health costs.
"This shows that the marketplace is more attractive to lower-income people," says John Holahan, a fellow in health policy at the Urban Institute in Washington.
He said for people with higher incomes, health plans sold on the government run exchanges are often still out of reach because of high premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The report found that 17 percent of people are paying deductibles of more than $5,000 per year.
People whose incomes are 250 percent of the federal poverty level or below qualify for "cost reduction subsidies" under the Affordable Care Act. These subsidies are designed to protect lower-income consumers from unexpected high costs after they buy insurance.
Young says that level can reach families whose incomes are as high as $60,000 a year.
"We're really not talking about the lowest-income enrollees," she said on a conference call with reporters.
The CMS report also argues that the health plans are less expensive than the public perception because many services come free to patients even before they meet their deductible. The plans cover annual checkups and vaccines for children and cancer screenings for adults with no copayments. Most also cover primary care visits for adults, most prescription drugs and some specialist visits — with a copay, but before a patient meets a deductible.
"They are able to get the basic services they need without even thinking about the deductible," Young said.The Liberal government’s decision to remove the visa needed for visitors to Canada from Mexico is making it easier for criminals to enter the country.
According to figures from the Canada Border Services Agency obtained by Global News, the number of Mexican citizens with a criminal background or security risk increased since Justin Trudeau relaxed the visa requirement on Dec. 1, 2016.
In the first six months of this year, 65 Mexicans involved in "serious" crimes were identified, more than the 53 in 2016 and 28 the year before.
In addition, 15 Mexicans were tagged for national security reasons, more than the last two years combined.
"These individuals were drug smugglers, human smugglers, recruiters, money launderers and foot soldiers," the CBSA wrote in an intelligence report dated April 2016, two months before the visa exemption was announced.
Officials also wrote that associates of various drug cartels and theft rings were already entering Canada and lifting the visa requirement would "facilitate travel to Canada by Mexicans with criminal records."
Trudeau made a 2015 federal election campaign promise to lift the visa requirement for people visiting from Mexico to "deepen ties" between the two countries.
Visas are still required for Mexicans to work and study in Canada.Babylon Babies is the third novel by French-born naturalized Canadian writer Maurice G. Dantec, published in 1999. It follows La Sirène rouge (1993) and Les Racines du mal (1995).
Plot [ edit ]
Set in 2013, the main character, Hugo Cornelius Toorop (hero of The Red Siren), is a mercenary whose mission is to escort a young woman with schizophrenia, Marie Zorn, from Siberia to Quebec on behalf of a sect. It appears that the young woman is the surrogate mother of twins, representing the next stage of human evolution.
Publication [ edit ]
The novel was published by Gallimard on 12 March 1999 in the collection La Noire.[1] A paperback edition was then published on 4 April 2001 in the collection Folio SF.[2]
Film adaptation [ edit ]
Mathieu Kassovitz and Éric Besnard developed an English-language adaptation of Dantec's novel[3] with financing from StudioCanal and Twentieth Century Fox.[4] Vin Diesel was cast to play the lead.[5]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
"Maurice G. Dantec". Archived from the original on Feb 4, 2012.Psychologist Jesse Bering is best known for his often risqué (and sometimes NSFW) Bering in Mind blog for Scientific American, which examines human behavior — frequently of the sexual sort. But he’s also the director of the Institute for Cognition and Culture at Queen’s University in Belfast and his new book, The Belief Instinct, examines an entirely different subject: why our brains may be adapted to believe in gods, souls and ghosts.
How do you go from writing about sex to writing about religion?
Morality is probably the common denominator.
What does “theory of mind” — the ability to understand that other people have intentions and perspectives — have to do with believing in God?
I think [perspective-taking] originally just evolved as a social cognitive tool to help us interact with other human beings. My model suggests that this was co-opted by these supernatural beliefs and then that in itself became adaptive.
Theory of mind was so useful and so influential in our success with other humans, and with reasoning about other animals in terms of exploiting and predicting behavior, that it was overgeneralized to all sorts of inanimate objects — even to the universe itself having a mental state and interest in us.
There’s a basic configuration of psychological traits that gives rise to the impression that there’s a morally interested observer watching us.
Juan Quiles
Many theories about the origins of religion have suggested that it all starts with fear of death.
I think fear of mortality is a central part of people’s susceptibility to belief and faith, but I don’t think it’s the entire story. In the past, I think we overemphasized that fear as a prime motive. I think it’s just part of the puzzle. One really telling thing, at least with surveys, is that there is absolutely no relationship between people’s fear of death and their religiosity and belief in an afterlife. You would expect more [correlation] but there is no connection whatsoever at least in an explicit sense.
[Theory of mind] does foster a sense of an afterlife. Even when we are absolutely convinced that there is nothing after death, we’re mortal, our minds stop working, it’s hard to not take a third-person perspective over your own death, thinking about your funeral, etc. It’s a cognitive limitation that we have. The fact that we so easily take the role of a third-person perspective fosters the illusion of an afterlife.
No matter how convinced people are that there’s no God, [many] still ask, “What’s the meaning of life?” What I’m trying to do is to show why it’s a non-question. We have this tic in our psychology to ask that question. It’s the adaptation that creates the sense that we have a relationship with a supernatural other, having a purpose to life that extends indefinitely gives us this vague sense that something wants us to do something, and that entails some other mind.
No “meaning of life?” Wouldn’t that be a very depressing way of seeing the world?
Somehow understanding this illusion for what it is can make you appreciate life more. If you really are convinced this is the only life we live, you take life more seriously and it’s easier to apply your individual experience and not be so uptight with being eternally judged. To be selfish for selfish purposes and not take into consideration other people’s experience, that’s not natural for us either — that’s the [real] guardrail for not going overboard with a hedonistic lifestyle.
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War was a righteous struggle and it’s a very good thing that ‘we’ won it. (From my own point of view, life was much better as long as there was a Soviet threat, and I miss it badly.)
All of us — even those who, younger than me, weren’t around for the event — have a kind of vague brainstem memory of Jack’s oratory. Memory tends to flatter it. Here’s the original:
“Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle…”
Oh boy oh boy. For tinselly, tin-eared, grandiose rodomontade, this is hard to beat. “Arms we need”! “Embattled we are!”
One can’t help thinking of Yoda.
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(*) Other peoples’ Fascism, that is. Our own — quite another matter.TALKS to shape an independent Scotland would begin within two weeks of a Yes vote, Alex Salmond will say today.
In a bold statement of intent, the First Minister will tell the SNP's spring conference in Aberdeen that a vote for independence on September 18 would trigger negotiations with the UK Government by the end of the month.
An "all-party Team Scotland" panel of negotiators comprising figures from across the political spectrum and independent experts would be assembled under the SNP's plans.
Mr Salmond will stress the discussions would seek a settlement in the interests of everyone in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
He will add: "The campaigning rhetoric will be over. The real work will begin."
The announcement is designed to help build a sense of momentum behind the Yes campaign.
However, a number of experts have questioned whether complex negotiations to divide up the UK's assets and debts could be achieved by Mr Salmond's proposed "Independence Day" deadline of March 24, 2016.
The SNP insist talks would also take place about sharing the pound in a currency union, though the UK Government has ruled out the proposal.
Mr Salmond will also use his final conference address before the vote to reach out to non-SNP supporters.
He will say: "This referendum is not about this party, or this First Minister, or even the wider Yes campaign. It's about putting Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.
"It's a vote for a government in Scotland that the people of Scotland choose, pursuing policies the people of Scotland support. That may be the SNP. It may be Labour. It may be a coalition.
"I tell you what it won't be. It won't be a government led by a party with just a single MP in Scotland. The era of unelected Tory governments handing out punishment to the poor and the disabled will be gone, and gone for good."
His comments will echo an appeal by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for Labour voters to back Yes.
She used her conference speech yesterday to claim Labour supporters could "reclaim" their party in the event of independence.
Earlier, Mr Salmond decried the UK Government's "campaign posturing" over the currency union, saying it had proved "spectacularly counter-productive" for the Westminster parties, and rounded on former Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson, the Labour peer, who this week warned a Yes vote would be "cataclysmic" for the West and that the "forces of darkness would simply love" a move to Scottish independence.
The First Minister said: "The sort of apocalyptic nonsense that Lord George Robertson was spouting in Washington over the last few days is an indication that the pressure seems to be getting to the No campaign as the Yes vote steadily increases month by month."Upcoming #msleg Special Elections Put Supermajority in Question by Frank Corder
As a result of the municipal elections last week, a total of three special elections are likely in the House over the next few months. A loss in one could send the Republican supermajority into the history books in Mississippi.
Special elections are non-partisan, however, candidates usually let it be known as to where they align on policy matters and what side of the aisle they plan to caucus with once elected. Plus, if you follow the money and endorsements it's not that difficult to figure out.
In Pearl River County, the House District 108 seat has a July 25 date set for its special election to replace Mark Formby, a 24 year member of the lower chamber who was appointed to serve on the Worker’s Compensation Commission by Gov. Phil Bryant.
Formby soundly won reelection over Democrat Leavern Guy 77% to 23% in 2015.
The
Two other vacancies will set up special elections this fall following last Tuesday's municipal election results.
The PineBelt's House District 102 seat currently held by Hattiesburg Mayor-Elect Toby Barker is one to watch.
Barker has been able to hold this seat amid shifting demographics, meaning that while he has won the last two legislative elections by 65% or higher over Democrat challengers,
In Warren County, the House District 54 seat will be vacated after Alex Monsour's South Ward Alderman win in Vicksburg.
Given the
As disjointed as Democrats have been on a statewide level, Republicans should be well aware that there will be a fight. Recruiting good candidates who are adequately funded and well staffed will mean everything to both sides.
And if HD 102 does somehow go blue, expect a push by House leadership to bring a sitting Democrat over into the fold so Republicans can remain with the coveted 74 seats.
Regardless, this should be a wakeup call for Republicans in the Mississippi legislature that nothing lasts forever. Supermajorities are indeed perishable and kicking the can down the road on major items can come back to bite you.
Posted June 12, 2017 - 8:32 am
The Mississippi GOP could be a victim of its own success in local races.As a result of the municipal elections last week, a total of three special elections are likely in the House over the next few months. A loss in one could send the Republican supermajority into the history books in Mississippi.Special elections are non-partisan, however, candidates usually let it be known as to where they align on policy matters and what side of the aisle they plan to caucus with once elected. Plus, if you follow the money and endorsements it's not that difficult to figure out.In Pearl River County, the House District 108 seat has a July 25 date set for its special election to replace Mark Formby, a 24 year member of the lower chamber who was appointed to serve on the Worker’s Compensation Commission by Gov. Phil Bryant.Formby soundly won reelection over Democrat Leavern Guy 77% to 23% in 2015.The population make up in HD 108 tends to be tailor-made for conservatives, leaving no reason to believe Republicans will not hold on to this seat.Two other vacancies will set up special elections this fall following last Tuesday's municipal election results.The PineBelt's House District 102 seat currently held by Hattiesburg Mayor-Elect Toby Barker is one to watch.Barker has been able to hold this seat amid shifting demographics, meaning that while he has won the last two legislative elections by 65% or higher over Democrat challengers, HD 102 has a population that could give a Democrat a decent shot with Barker not on the ballot.In Warren County, the House District 54 seat will be vacated after Alex Monsour's South Ward Alderman win in Vicksburg.Given the population of the district and that Monsour has largely been unopposed during his terms (2 out of 3 times), Republicans should feel confident in keeping HD 54 but they cannot phone this one in and expect to win.As disjointed as Democrats have been on a statewide level, Republicans should be well aware that there will be a fight. Recruiting good candidates who are adequately funded and well staffed will mean everything to both sides.And if HD 102 does somehow go blue, expect a push by House leadership to bring a sitting Democrat over into the fold so Republicans can remain with the coveted 74 seats.Regardless, this should be a wakeup call for Republicans in the Mississippi legislature that nothing lasts forever. Supermajorities are indeed perishable and kicking the can down the road on major items can come back to bite you. YallPolitics.Com now uses Facebook for comments. Log into Facebook to comment here.Scientists in India have named a new species of spider after famed (fictitious) wizard Godric Gryffindor from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels due to its resemblance of Hogwarts’ magical Sorting Hat.
The new species, which measures just 7mm, has been named Eriovixia Gryffindori, after Gryffindor, one of the founding wizards of Hogwarts, and original owner of the hat used by the wizarding school to sort students into their houses.
"We are very excited to have found this new spider whose shape is very similar to the magical sorting hat worn by the wizard (Gryffindor) in Harry Potter,” lead author Javed Ahmed told the Times of India.
"As a youngster, I was very fond of reading the Harry Potter books. So, when I encountered this tiny spider, I thought of the magical hat," he said.
The new “fantastic beast” was discovered in the Kans forest area of Western Ghats, Karnataka by a team already responsible for discovering five new spider species in the last two years. Their study is published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology.
The tiny creature has a magical power of its own, too: camouflage. Its unusually shaped sub-triangular abdomen allows it to look like a dried leaf, which it hides amongst to avoid predators when it sleeps during the day as it is nocturnal.
Ahmed even shared his exciting discovery with JK Rowling on Twitter. With typical enthusiasm, Rowling tweeted in response “I'm truly honoured! Congratulations on discovering another #FantasticBeast!"
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Discussing the name choice on Twitter with other Harry Potter fans, Ahmed suggested the possibility of naming another discovery after Aragog. For those of you who know what that means, we’re not sure whether we should be excited, or terrified.
[H/T: Mashable]How to Say, “No” In Difficult Situations
and build better personal boundaries.
George Halachev Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 11, 2017
The problems we have with productivity are not always due to lack of organization or time management. Sometimes it’s just because we commit to more things that we can handle. We end up spread out too thin, like butter scraped over too much bread, and lacking focus to finish what we started.
Often we don’t even make the conscious decision to commit to that many things, it just happens because we can’t say, “No.”
Here are some scenarios in which that happens often.
Your friend asks you for a favor that you hate doing, but you can’t say, “No” because he will think you’re a bad friend.
Your boss asks you to do a task you hate doing, but you can’t say, “No” because you’re afraid you’ll get fired.
Your partner asks you to do something that you hate doing, but you can’t say, “No” because you don’t want them to get mad and start an argument.
The two problems we’ll focus on here is when you should say “No” and how to say it to get the best possible outcome.
When you should say, “No.”
There are 3 types of situations where we should consider saying, “No”.
We want to do it but we don’t have time for it. We don’t want to do it and there are no better alternatives We don’t want to do it but we’re afraid of the outcome.
1) Know Your Availability
The first case where you should say “No” is when you’re already overcommitted and taking on more responsibility will make things even worse. The typical fear is that we’re going to miss on a good opportunity.
While this is true, think of what you might lose if you take on the challenge and you fail. Even worse, what if you fail not only the new responsibility but also the ones you’ve had before because you’re spread out too thin.
A great concept, in this case, is the opportunity cost. Most newbie investors think only about the gain. If there’s a high chance of success, they make the investment. They don’t consider the cost of the time and resources they’re putting in or the other available opportunities they can do instead.
So if you’re already booked a 100% think of the opportunity cost before saying “Yes” to something new. A good way to do that is to keep an always up to date calendar, to-do list, and budget. That way with one glance you can see if you can fit in the new opportunity without having to compromise something else.
2) No Better Alternative
These are the cases where you just don’t have a better choice and all other options seem worse. For example, when your boss says, “You either do this or you’re fired” and you don’t have another source of income.
These are the extreme cases where saying, “Yes” and sucking it up is fine. However, you shouldn’t leave it at that and accept the same thing over and over again. Work on coming up with an alternative solution the next time it happens.
Next time your boss goes into, “My way or the highway” mode, maybe you will have an alternative source of income and you’ll be fine with being fired.
3) Fear of the Outcome
This one is an emotional problem. We intellectually know that saying “Yes” in some cases is bad for us, but we just can’t bear the pain of saying “No”.
Those are the cases where you know you’re not going to get anything good out of it. You’re doing it just so you don’t hurt somebody else’s feelings or avoid a conflict.
Why is it so hard to say, “No”?
A big part of the problem is delaying the emotional pain. Even though we know that saying, “Yes” to something we don’t want is bad long term, sometimes we can’t bare the pain so we delay it. We rather suck it up, do something unpleasant to avoid the pain of disappointing someone.
As a result, we get to deal with more pain for doing something unpleasant, but it’s delayed. Since we’re not going to experience it in the moment it doesn’t seem so bad than saying, “No” right now.
None of this is conscious of course, that’s just how our subconscious mind works in the background. It does anything it can to avoid and delay the immediate pain.
So how do we deal with it?
Make the Decision In Advance
Be proactive about it. Don’t wait until the moment you have to say, “No” to make the decision. A lot of the things that we have to decide are recurring and happen over and over again.
If it’s something your boss is making you do, it’s probably not for the first time. If it’s your partner making you take out the trash, it’s probably not for the first time. So you can do some preparation in advance and figure out a good solution for when it happens next time.
How about figuring out an alternative way for the work to get done and offering that solution to your boss? Or trading the responsibility with one of your colleagues for something that you like more? How about hiring someone to help with the cleaning in the house so you don’t have to take out the trash?
These are just simple examples, but the point is that you can come up with a more intelligent solution when you’re thinking about it in advance. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself just because you don’t want to offend the person asking.
Building Healthy Boundaries
You know those people that seemingly have “come take advantage of me” written all over them? We tend to call them pushovers and people pleasers. That happens if a person doesn’t have healthy boundaries.
Having boundaries means being clear what you’re willing to do for other people and what you’re not. It also means you have to clearly define it in advance. It’s not really a boundary if you start building it when someone asks.
A good principle to use for the boundaries is to make sure it’s a win-win. If you help somebody out you should also be a winner. That doesn’t necessarily mean always wanting something in return, but making sure that what you give is worth it.
Doing something for a friend that you hate doing is a lose-win. Working on tasks that you hate doing is a lose-win.
Make sure you set boundaries to automatically reject all requests that are a lose-win. If you don’t let everybody know what your boundaries are, they will try to take advantage of you.
Rejecting other people seems harsh at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Make sure you communicate your motives well. Let the person you’re rejecting why you’re doing it. Help them find a better option and let them know what you are willing to help them with instead.
That way it won’t look like you’re throwing a hissy fit or you’re just in a bad mood. People will learn that you have strong boundaries and will respect you more for it.Barry Thew “paraded” through his home town in a white T-shirt bearing the handwritten slogans "One less pig; perfect justice" and "Killacopforfun.com haha".
He made the statement just three hours after PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone died in a gun and grenade attack less than 20 miles away on the other side of Manchester.
Police welcomed the prison term handed down to Thew, a serial offender who was given a further four months for breaching the terms of an earlier sentence.
Inspector Bryn Williams, of the Radcliffe Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “While officers on the ground were just learning of and trying to come to terms with the devastating news that two colleagues had been murdered, Thew thought nothing of going out in public with a T-shirt daubed with appalling handwritten comments on.
“Thankfully the overwhelming response from the public - who have inundated us with messages of support and condolence - prove that Thew is the exception and not the rule and our communities were right behind us at our darkest hour.
“To mock or joke about the tragic events of that morning is morally reprehensible and Thew has rightly been convicted and sentenced for his actions.”
But civil liberties campaigners said merely wearing an offensive T-shirt should not be an imprisonable offence, and pointed out that it followed similarly tough sentences given to internet users who made tasteless comments, rather than threats, on Facebook and Twitter.
Peter Tatchell, who is campaigning for reform of public order offences, said: “Barry Thew’s t-shirt was offensive but in a free society the public should have the right to criticise - and even insult - the police. His four month jail sentence is disproportionate. No one should be jailed for a mere insult.
“Mr Thew sounds an unpleasant character, with a long criminal history. It was insensitive and distressing for him to wear his anti-police t-shirt on that day. I empathise with the loved ones of the officers who were killed. However, four months in prison is excessive for a few poisonous words.
“The price of free speech is that we sometimes have to put up with views we find offensive."
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Thew was arrested at 2.15pm on September 18th as he walked through the streets of Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, while wearing the Reebok T-shirt on which the anti-police slogans had been daubed in black pen.
He had been spotted by members of the public who had only just heard about the killing of the female officers on an estate in Mottram, with one witness telling police: “I just caught sight out of his shirt out of the corner of my eye. I literally have no words to describe what I thought of it.”
But Thew, 39, told police: “I'm not bothered.”
He claimed he had been wearing the T-shirt in response to the death of a policeman who was accidentally shot dead in a training exercise in 2008.
Thew later admitted displaying or writing on offensive message with intention of causing harassment, alarm or distress.
The court heard he had 77 previous convictions dating back to 1983 and was in breach of a suspended jail term for cultivating cannabis.
His barrister said Thew had a grudge against the police because he partly blamed them for the death of his young son.
Judge Peter Lakin sentenced him to four months in jail for the public order offence, and another four months for the breach of the earlier sentence.
The judge told him: “On September 18 of this year two young, female police officers going lawfully about their duties were tragically murdered in the most appalling of set of circumstances.
"Their deaths have left their families distressed and have caused enormous upset to every level of the police and to the general public at large.
"Your response to the shocking events of that was to parade round in a T-shirt in the centre of Radcliffe which had on it the most disgusting slogans.
"Your mindless behaviour has added to the pain of everyone touched by the deaths of those young officers. You have shown no remorse - even when you were arrested your response was that you weren't bothered.
"Whatever thoughts you have about the police of whatever personal animosity towards them, gave you no excuse whatsoever to behave in the way that you did."Studies on race are a dime a dozen: researchers examine its relationship to everything from elementary school test scores to who's most likely to develop diabetes to which groups are overrepresented in ethnic militias to who Americans vote for, and we read about the results in news stories that are supposed to help us makes sense of the world.
But two Ivy League scholars say race is actually much more complicated than decades of social science research has acknowledged, and they're working to change that.
In their paper, "Race a Bundle of Sticks: Designs that Estimate Effects of Seemingly Immutable Characteristics," which will be published in the Annual Review of Political Science, Harvard's Maya Sen and Princeton's Omar Wasow explain that people who do quantitative research on race typically treat it as a single, fixed trait — what scientists call an "immutable characteristic."
Instead, they argue, quantitative researchers should acknowledge that any one person's racial identity is more like a collection of many different factors — from skin color, to neighborhood, to language, to socioeconomic status. With this insight, it becomes possible to study race not as a single, unchanging variable, but rather as a "a bundle of sticks" that can be pulled apart and carefully examined one by one.
The problem with oversimplifying race
Political science and other social science researchers often treat race as an "immutable characteristic" —something that we're born with and keep throughout life. That's how a lot of people do think about it. But this view makes studying the impact of racial categories on our lives really hard.
Why? First, it means race can't really be manipulated the way other variables can: you can't assign some people to be white, or black, or Latino for the purpose of a controlled experiment.
Second, because race is assigned at birth, it's tied up with a lot of other things in our lives. It can affect how a person is raised, how they're educated, the opportunities they have, and their outlook. This means that when researchers say they're looking at race, they're also getting all the stuff that goes hand in hand with it, making it impossible to tell whether they're seeing the effects of race itself or something that's a side effect of race or corollated with race.
Finally, racial labels can mean different things to different people. "Latino" can refer to a first-generation Mexican American from Los Angeles and a fourth-generation Puerto Rican from the Bronx. So research based on a racial category can capture broad swaths of people who have little in common except the way they choose to describe themselves, creating messy results.
How oversimplifying race makes for unhelpful research
When researchers ignore all the individual "sticks" and treat race as an immutable characteristic, it "misses a lot of the story," Wasow says.
Imagine a study that measures racial disparities in test scores by simply comparing results for black kids and white kids. It might tell us that there's a gap between these two groups. But it says very little about why. The lives of African American and white children tend to differ in so many ways that observing such a gap raises more questions than it answers.
"In a lot of traditional social science, by using a simple measure of race, we are often smoothing over all of this complexity and ignoring all of the ways that what we're calling race might be class, it might be neighborhood, it might be the experiences of our forbearers — it is really the composition of many, many experiences," Wasow says.
Worse, he says, these studies that simply point to race as a cause of different life outcomes miss the chance for policy interventions. For example, you can point to a black-white test score gap, but that doesn't tell you anything about what you might fix to close it. However, if you were to look at race in more detail and identified one "stick" that was responsible for black kids having lower test scores — say, access to better nutrition — that might provide something to work with in terms of solutions.
Here's another example: imagine a study that measures the impact of a campaign ad in which racial cues are being manipulated to change voting behavior. Wasow says this type of research can produce confusing results, too, if it doesn't look deeper into what exactly about race is being triggered by the ad and causing people to vote differently. Is it possible that it's a signal related to just one or two sticks, like socioeconomic status, or language? In the paper, he and Sen argue that researchers need to be precise about what type of cues are at work in their studies on bias, what "sticks" they relate to, and how these sticks are associated with race as a whole.
Why it makes sense to think of race as a "bundle of sticks"
"The core idea in the paper is that it is possible to study effects of race if we move away from a simple, fixed, biologically-determined model to a more complicated, fluid and socially-determined model," says Wasow.
The proposal is to take the idea that race is a social construct — which is gaining a cultural foothold as more people realize how complicated racial identity can be — and translate it to research.
Wasow and Sen propose that the "bundle of sticks" that make up racial categories includes things like societal values, status hierarchies, culture traits, physical attributes, diet, religion, ancestry, institutional power relationships, and education. Many of those traits are tightly linked to what we think of as race, but the key is that they can also be manipulated in the context of an experiment.
We could get better information on how race affects our lives, they argue, if researchers who study race would acknowledge this and carefully examine just one "stick" at a time: "Thinking about race as having constituent parts can clarify what precisely is being estimated when scholars attempt to understand how race and ethnicity operate in the world."
Here's a chart from their paper that contrasts the popular framework of looking at race with the constructivist/"bundle of sticks" one they embrace:
Which stick in the racial bundle is really affecting our lives?
Wasow and Sen write that, by focusing their studies on a single element (or stick), researchers can get much better information on the particular ways in which race as shapes life outcomes.
Remember when polls showed that African-Americans in California voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage at higher rates than whites? Wasow said examining the impact of the individual sticks that make up race helps revealed the actual factors that influenced opinions on the issue. In this case, religiosity was much more strongly associated with being against gay marriage than was race. Understanding the role that one stick played gives us much more accurate and richer information about voting behavior than simply saying, "black voters oppose gay marriage."
This "bundle of sticks approach" can also be useful when researchers are trying to determine how racial bias affects public opinion, political behavior, and hiring choices. Using signals of race — such as by varying a dialect over the phone when inquiring about housing or by varying the apparent ethnicity of a name on a resume when applying for jobs — they can measure levels of racial discrimination without needing to expose someone to the whole bundle that is race.
Wasow acknowledges that there are many important questions that are beyond the scope of this approach. "The framework we outline is particularly useful for scholars attempting to measure effects of race in experiments or studies that are like experiments. To study the role of race in historical processes or institutional bias where it may not be possible to run experiments, other methods may be more appropriate."
Either way, says Wasow, the key is recognizing that race is comprised of many parts, and that opens up the possibility of studying some individual "sticks" in isolation. This, he said, "helps us see what's actually doing the work," when it comes to how race affects our lives - which after all, is really what most of us want to understand.
Further reading: 11 ways race isn't realMonsanto's growing monopoly What the Supreme Court got wrong: Patents on self-replicating seed are unethical, dangerous and anti-competitive
When the Supreme Court unanimously sided with Monsanto recently, it upheld the company’s right to prohibit the replanting of patented seed – handing the biotech giant a major victory. The court ruled that the doctrine of “patent exhaustion,” which an Indiana farmer argued should apply after the first sale of patented seed, “does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.”
It’s not surprising the court ruled in Monsanto’s favor. Still, the case had merit: The farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, wasn’t challenging Monsanto’s claims that he knowingly planted seed with its protected genetics. Instead, he challenged the way patent law is currently applied to self-replicating products – a worthy effort, considering the injustices patents on seed have sown across America.
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It’s relatively well understood that simply using seed with patented genetics – especially widely planted genetically engineered varieties, such as Roundup Ready soybeans – enters the user into a restrictive licensing agreement. Farmers sign these agreements at the time of sale, which includes a prohibition on planting more than one crop. The seed packaging also states that simply opening the bag binds the user to the agreement.
But Bowman thought that by purchasing soybean seed from a grain elevator he had found a legal way to plant seed from subsequent generations. He assumed the seed contained patented genetics but argued that the patent exhaustion doctrine allowed him to plant them anyway. Nevertheless, the Federal Circuit Court ruled, and the Supreme Court agreed, that Mr. Bowman must pay Monsanto more than $80,000.
Needless to say, Bowman is not alone in his desire to use seed from subsequent generations. More than 150 farmers have been targets of patent infringement lawsuits filed by Monsanto. And legislative initiatives at the federal level also highlight the demand. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of Ohio, introduced legislation in 2004 and again this year to establish a registration and fee system that would allow farmers to legally save patented seed. “Companies deserve a fair return, not an exorbitant return,” Kaptur has said.
She’s right. Should developers of new seed varieties earn returns on their research and development investments? Yes, absolutely. But patents on self-replicating seed – and any living organism, for that matter – are unethical and dangerous.
The law needs to change. In the meantime, there is an important role for the judicial system to play in teasing out the injustices of the current patent system. Indeed, the outcome of another Supreme Court case that challenges patents on human genes will be telling.
Whether the recent ruling leaves a door open to further challenge how patents are applied to seed remains to be seen. Justice Elena Kagan’s comments suggest it does. “Our holding today is limited – addressing the situation before us, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product,” she wrote. “We recognize that such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex and diverse.”
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Bowman’s case reflected that complexity. He was not only trying to save money, but challenging a relatively new paradigm in agriculture. It is only since another Supreme Court decision in 2001 that patent law – that is, the U.S. Patent Act governing utility patents, or “patents for inventions” – has applied to living organisms.
Think about it. In less than 15 years, many commodity crop farmers went from saving and replanting a portion of their harvest to largely buying new seed each year. This has increased farmers’ dependence on a highly consolidated and narrowly focused seed industry. The transition has also eroded farmers’ self-sufficiency and financial security. And the trend is spreading across the globe.
Congress long opposed the inclusion of plants under the Patent Act. A 1966 congressional committee report states that while its members “acknowledge the valuable contribution of plant and seed breeders, it does not consider the patent system the proper vehicle for the protection of such subject matter.”
Soon after, Congress passed the Plant Variety Protection Act. The law, passed in 1970, represented a compromise between their hesitance to patent seed and mounting pressure to provide seed developers stronger intellectual property protections. Before the 2001 ruling, seed developers largely relied on protections afforded through “Certificates of Protection” under the PVPA, providing seed developers exclusive marketing rights of their new varieties for 20 years (like a patent). But the law includes two critical exemptions: Farmers can save seed and breeders can use protected varieties to innovate, including the development of new varieties. The Patent Act provides no such exemptions, with devastating consequences.
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Owners of utility patents enjoy far-reaching control over access and use of their protected products. A single patent, for example, can cover a plant, tissue cultures, seed, future generations, crosses with other varieties, and the methods used to produce it. Such broad claims are not possible under the PVPA. And, even more troubling, these broad patents cover traits that can also exist in nature, such as “heat tolerant broccoli” and “pleasant taste” in melons.
Patents have grave impacts on innovation, despite Monsanto’s assertion to the contrary. Public researchers note the constraints of patents and the restrictive licensing agreements tied to them. These onerous agreements dictate what kind of research on patented seed can be conducted and published. The result is that patents effectively remove valuable seed varieties from the pool breeders rely on for improving our food crops.
That’s why it was disconcerting to read the court’s belief that if it didn’t protect how patents on seed are applied, the result would be “less incentive for innovation than Congress wanted” under the Patent Act. It’s clear that the oligopolies fostered by patent law have hindered innovation and competition in the marketplace.
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The profits earned from the exclusive ownership and licensing of patented seed products – bolstered by the right to restrict research and seed saving – has led to numerous buyouts. The Independent Professional Seed Association estimates the U.S. has lost at least 200 independent seed companies in the last 15 years. The seed industry is now one of the most concentrated in agriculture, where two chemical firms command more than 60 percent of the retail markets for both corn and soybeans. This level of concentration has left farmers with fewer choices and paying higher prices, and less control over what they plant.
The growing evidence that patents on seed are detrimental to the public good should raise eyebrows at the U.S. Department of Justice. And at the agency’s first of five public hearings “to explore competition issues” affecting agriculture, held in Ankeny, Iowa, it appeared that it had. Assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division Christine Varney highlighted the problem of patents in her opening remarks: “Patents have in the past been used to maintain or extend monopolies, and that’s illegal, and you can be sure, Secretary, that we are going to be looking very closely at any attempt to maintain or extend a monopoly through an abuse of patent laws.”
But hope that meaningful action would follow was short-lived. Neither the DOJ, nor its investigative partner, USDA, have provided a meaningful response to the 18,000 public comments they received.
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The agencies’ inaction, combined with the court ruling, creates a situation in which our government protects corporate control over seed.
Make no mistake: While the DOJ may have focused its investigation on the GMO marketplace, patent and competition concerns in seed are much broader. Conventional (non-GMO) varieties of seed are also increasingly being patented. And with Monsanto’s 2005 acquisition of the largest vegetable seed company, Seminis, the same contract that Mr. Bowman violated now appears on seed packets of vegetable varieties that are popular among backyard gardeners and farmers alike, including ‘Big Beef’ tomato, a variety that, as far as we know, doesn’t contain patented genetics.
And so we’re left with another important question: If our regulatory agencies are unwilling to confront the misuse of patent law in the context of seed, then what recourse do we, the people, have to ensure access to, and innovation in, seed?
For starters, despite a lack of acknowledgement in the Supreme Court ruling, there are appropriate intellectual property protections already available, including the PVPA. Congress could amend the PVPA to clarify its purpose to provide an exclusive means of intellectual property protection for self-replicating plant varieties.
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Organic Seed Alliance (where I work) is also exploring contracts, along with its partners, that adhere to principles of an “open-source” seed model. We believe it is possible to receive fair returns on investments while fostering new research that addresses our most pressing agricultural needs. We also believe farmers have the right to save seed from their harvest.
The seed patent issue is not just about GMOs or Monsanto. It is a seed issue that impacts us all, regardless of our decisions on the farm or in the grocery store. Seed is as fundamental to life as the food and fiber it produces. By way of order, then, seed is more fundamental. And it belongs in the hands of the people, not the patent holder.Posted By Kartik Mudgal | On 05th, Oct. 2012 Under News | Follow This Author @KartikMdgl
343 Industries has revealed a lot of new information on Halo 4 Flood Mode and have also released a bunch of new screenshots which shows the infected Spartan IVs in action.
Halo 4’s Valhalla Map has been renamed to Ragnarock, and has been remastered as well. It looks gorgeous, don’t believe us? Check out the screenshots here.
“Flood is the spiritual successor to Infection, a fan-favorite game type from Halo 3 and Reach. Our goal was to recreate it and push the mode to be new and different from previous versions,” they wrote on their blog.
“As both War Games and Spartan Ops fit within the fiction of the UNSC Infinity, we wanted to use Halo fiction in this mode too, which led to us to create the Flood form in Multiplayer. Flood-converted humans are much faster and focus on melee attacks, so they were a natural fit for Infection’s successor.”
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Michigan 119; South Florida 118, Notre Dame 85. Youngstown State is FCS. ‘Nuff said.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has played Alabama, which is averaging 35 points per game and scored just 14 offensive points against the Hokies (we’re excluding the punt return, kick return, and interception returns for touchdowns). Georgia Tech is averaging 36.5 points per game and managed just 10 against the Hokies -- at home.
Need more?
Virginia Tech’s front seven has created tremendous pressure and opened opportunities up for the secondary. Virginia Tech is tied for the FBS lead in interceptions (11) and sacks (17). According to ESPN’s Stats & Info crew, the Hokies are snagging one interception every 12.2 passes -- by far the best rate in the nation. The next closest is Nebraska (1 every 15) and the national average is 1 every 31.2. In other words, the Hokies are picking off passes at a rate almost three times the national average.
Good luck, North Carolina.
Now that Virginia Tech fans are gloating and floating on air, here’s your reality check: The Hokies can have the best defense in the world and it’s not going to matter if the offense can’t get a first down. Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas and his supporting cast took a major step forward against Georgia Tech and looked the best they have all season, but it has to continue as the Hokies enter the heart of their ACC schedule.
Virginia Tech’s identity has long been a lunch-pail defense and mediocre offense, and it’s been good enough to win four ACC titles and make five appearances in the ACC championship game.
With the nation’s best defense, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to make it six.The man shot by Winnipeg police in a downtown skywalk Monday is no stranger to the justice system, CBC News has learned.
Josh Pardy, 25, has been identified by family as the man shot by Winnipeg police on Monday.
He doesn't have a criminal record in Manitoba, but has been convicted in Newfoundland and Labrador at least 29 times since 2010. His crimes include theft under $5,000 to assault, obstructing a police officer, impaired driving, sexual interference and possessing property obtained by crime.
Pardy was born in Winnipeg but was apprehended by Child and Family Services when he was very young, his uncle told CBC. He was adopted by a family in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., and spent most of his life there.
Last year Pardy came to Winnipeg to reconnect with his biological father, a former RCMP officer who died months later, according to his relatives.
"His dad passed away after six months … So I guess everything went boom," said Pardy's biological aunt, Barbara Disbrowe.
Lawrence Disbrowe, Pardy's uncle, said Pardy moved in with him for a few months last winter but started using drugs. He called his nephew a "good kid" who got caught up with the wrong crowd.
Shooting justified, says family
Witnesses said Pardy was holding a handmade "spear" when he was confronted by officers in the second-floor skywalk attached to the Winnipeg police downtown headquarters.
Police then shot Pardy, witnesses say. He was taken to hospital in unstable condition after the shooting, but has since been upgraded to stable.
Josh Pardy was raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L, but came to Winnipeg last year to reconnect with his biological family, his uncle says. (Facebook) CBC News is told the officers involved were police instructors who specialize in use of force training techniques, and were on lunch break when they spotted Pardy acting strangely in a Subway restaurant.
Witnesses said police approached Pardy but he walked away to an optometrist's office next door and kicked in the door, swearing and waving around a weapon.
"Police kept telling him, 'Drop your weapon, drop your weapon,' but he ignored them," said Nicelyn Romero, who works at the optical office.
"We were in jeopardy," said optometrist Robert Lecker. "We were glad the police were here. That's really how it shakes out."
"I don't like what he did but he's family," said Lawrence Disbrowe, who on Tuesday questioned the actions of the officer who shot his nephew, but is now expressing gratitude that Pardy's life was spared.
"I'm kind of glad the guy who did it didn't kill him," Disbrowe said. "I know it was justified … If I had the chance I would shake the officer's hand."
When asked if charges will be laid in the incident, Winnipeg police Const. Rob Carver said, "We will not lay charges until such time as he is medically released. Once that occurs, and charges are laid, we can advise you as to the details, and the legal status of the male."
Investigation unit lacks transparency, says police union
Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit is investigating, as is the protocol in a police-involved shooting. The investigative unit has not provided any details on this case but did confirm the man who was shot was 25 years old.
"The IIU appreciates the public and media interest in this case. However, the present matter is currently under investigation and its integrity must be maintained at all times while all relevant information and facts are gathered and assessed," said IIU spokesperson Barbara Czech in a statement to CBC.
"The IIU's mandate is to investigate the circumstances of this matter and determine what consequences, if any, are to be ascribed to the subject officer(s). That is its sole concern in this regard," the statement said.
The Winnipeg Police Service has also been tight-lipped. The Winnipeg Police Association said that's because the Police Act forbids the service from talking about the case once it's in the hands of the IIU. Association president Maurice Sabourin called that a shame.
"We have another layer of oversight now that was supposed to improve transparency when it's actually had the opposite effect," said Sabourin.
"The public won't hear of the details of this incident until IIU is finished investigating and as we've seen in other lethal force encounters or officer-involved shootings it's months down the road. So it's actually in effect decreasing the transparency for a certain period of time."
Sabourin said no police officer wants to intentionally harm anyone. He is confident the officers involved in Monday's shooting relied on their training and acting accordingly.The report, titled “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” says that “available evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid as legally defined in instruments of international law.”
Jerusalem’s envoy urges UN chief to reject ‘biased and deceitful’ report by Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations slammed the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on Wednesday after the commission released a report accusing Israel of establishing “an apartheid regime that oppresses and dominates the Palestinian people as a whole.”
The report, titled “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” says that “available evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid as legally defined in instruments of international law.”
The Beirut-based commission slammed Israel’s Law of Return, “conferring on Jews worldwide the right to enter Israel and obtain Israeli citizenship regardless of their countries of origin and whether or not they can show links to Israel-Palestine, while withholding any comparable right from Palestinians, including those with documented ancestral homes in the country,” as a policy of “demographic engineering” meant to uphold Israel’s status as the Jewish state.
The report further accuses Israel of “practices” that have fragmented Palestinians, arguing that it is the “principal method by which Israel imposes an apartheid regime.”
“This fragmentation operates to stabilize the Israeli regime of racial domination over the Palestinians and to weaken the will and capacity of the Palestinian people to mount a unified and effective resistance,” the report reads.
Danny Danon, Israel’s UN envoy, hit back at the report, saying the “attempt to smear and falsely label the only true democracy in the Middle East by creating a false analogy is despicable and constitutes a blatant lie.”
“It comes as no surprise that an organization headed by an individual who has called for boycotts against Israel, and compared our democracy to the most terrible regimes of the twentieth century, would publish such a report. We call on the Secretary General to disassociate the UN from this biased and deceitful report,” he said in reference to ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, a Jordanian national.
The report was compiled by Richard Falk, a Princeton professor emeritus with a long track record of vehemently anti-Israel rhetoric who previously was the UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Palestine, and by Virginia Tilley, an American political scientist who authored the book “The One-State Solution” in 2005.
At a press conference accompanying the release of the report, Falk said the document and its findings “come after 50 years of frustrated diplomacy that failed to find a way to liberate the Palestinian people from oppression and denial of rights.”
Tilley said “it has become entirely clear that we’re longer talking about risk of apartheid but practice of apartheid.”
“There is an urgency for a response as Palestinians are currently suffering from this regime,” she said.
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Envoy Nikki Haley says Washington outraged by publication; Sec-Gen Guterres distances self from it; Israel slams it as ‘despicable’On Tuesday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) accused the Central Intelligence Agency of violating federal law and undermining Congress’ constitutional oversight powers. She alleges that CIA officials monitored secure computers used by Capitol Hill staffers to prepare a report that reveals the agency’s Bush era legacy of black detention sites and enhanced interrogation programs – methods many have denounced as torture.
This is the latest development in a long-standing feud between the intelligence agency and Congress. Wrangling over the report, which runs over six thousand pages and cost the government $42 million to prepare, has led to what some are calling a “constitutional crisis.”
Three national security reporters in McClatchy Newspapers’ DC office — Jonathan Landay, Ali Watkins and Marisa Taylor — first reported the alleged snooping last week. BillMoyers.com caught up with Landay to get some background. Below is a transcript that has been lightly edited for clarity.
Joshua Holland: What are the allegations here, and who is making them?
Jonathan Landay: We’ve talked to people who have told us that staffers of the Senate Intelligence Committee determined that the computers they were using in a special CIA facility to review reports that were going into their study of the CIA’s now-defunct detention and interrogation program — that those computers were being monitored by the agency, in violation of an agreement that they had with the agency.
Holland: This story starts with this report about the so-called enhanced interrogation program, the detention program. What do your sources indicate is in the report that the CIA wants to keep under wraps?
Landay: That is the question at the heart of the matter, and that’s something that we have not been able to ascertain. That report is still very much locked up by the Senate Intelligence Committee, nearly 15 months after they approved a final draft. They are in a major battle with the CIA over the report, and in particular their demands for additional documents.
The Senate Intelligence Committee staff, we are told, determined that their computers were being monitored when they were confronted by the CIA over the fact that they had printed out and removed, allegedly without authorization, secret documents — documents stamped “top secret” — from an electronic reading room that they had been provided by the CIA in which to do their work and in which to review classified documents.
We don’t know exactly what’s in the report. Only people who have been able to read the report know what’s in it. And that’s because not even the executive summary has been released at this point. But members of the committee have said in public, in hearings and elsewhere, that there are very disturbing findings in this report, that the report shows that the information that was gained through waterboarding and these other so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, which a lot of experts consider to be torture, had very little value at all.
The committee chairwoman, Dianne Feinstein, has said publicly — and this would be in response to the film Zero Dark Thirty — that these interrogation methods did not produce the intelligence that led the CIA to identify Osama Bin Laden’s last hiding place in Pakistan, and they objected to the film because, in their view, the film left viewers with the impression that, in fact, it was through the use of methods like waterboarding that the United States was able to glean the information that led them to Osama Bin Laden’s last hideout.
Holland: How did the CIA come to have the final word on releasing a report that’s critical of the agency? Doesn’t Congress have explicit authority to oversee our intelligence agencies?
Landay: I’m not sure that they have the final word. After the Intelligence Committee voted, very narrowly, to approve the final draft of the report, they also gave the CIA three months in which to respond to their findings, as well as to recommend redactions of information that perhaps, in their judgment, would compromise some aspect of national security. We don’t know how much of the report we’re going to get to see. There’s a 300-page executive summary, but the report itself is massive. It’s 6,300 pages. There are thousands of footnotes. And so the committee was waiting for the CIA’s official response. They were supposed to give that to the committee within 60 days. They finally got it after six months.
But they’ve also been requesting additional documents, which they’ve not gotten. And that’s where it appears the fight was hung up — when it became clear to the CIA that the committee was asking for documents that they shouldn’t have had. Then the CIA went back and checked logs of the computers in this special facility — which is where the allegation that they were monitoring these computers came from — and determined that the staff had removed documents from this facility that they shouldn’t have had.
Holland: It seems like the agency essentially gave away the fact that they were monitoring the staffers when they confronted them over the removal of these documents, right? How else would they know?
Landay: “Monitoring” has a number of connotations. Even my computer here in our newsroom keeps logs of my use of my computer to make sure that I’m not doing inappropriate things with it. That seems to be the nature of the monitoring that the CIA was doing. And it doesn’t appear to have been real-time monitoring — there wasn’t a CIA officer who was sitting in another room watching what keystrokes the committee staffers were making.
It’s a requirement in the federal government, particularly on classified systems, to have monitoring in the form of logging computers so that they can audit the use of those computers. And the question is whether or not the CIA did this without the express permission of the congressional staff, whether the congressional staff had told the CIA, “you can’t do that,” or whether they had agreed to allow this auditing log to be compiled on the computers they were using.
Holland: Do we have any sense of what these documents the staffers removed contained — what was so important about these documents?
Landay: The documents are parts of what’s been referred to as the Panetta Review. When the agency agreed to start providing millions of pages of classified emails and reports and other materials related to the interrogation and detention program, they had a team of agency officials and contractors review documents before they sent them to the committee for its use, and this team of reviewers would read the documents and summarize what these documents were and then send the documents, through a firewall, for use by the committee staff in their database. What the committee staff appears to have gotten ahold of are the summaries of these documents, which may include analytical notes that were written by the reviewer.
We do know that, at least in public, several members of the committee, in particular, Senator Mark Udall from Colorado, have said that this so-called Panetta Review shows that the official response of the agency to the committee’s report was misleading. They said there were flaws in the committee report. But his contention — and the contention of other committee members — is that the Panetta Review broadly substantiates the findings of the committee report.
Holland: What is the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and how might it apply to this whole situation?
Landay: There’s an annual threat assessment hearing that is held by the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Armed Services Committee on both sides of the Congress. During this year’s threat assessment hearing, Senator Wyden of Oregon asked the CIA director, John Brennan, whether or not this particular act applied to the CIA, and the reply came back to Wyden that, in fact, it did. And this law basically bars accessing of protected computers by people who don’t have the authority to access those computers or exceed their authority in accessing those computers.
Holland: You and your colleagues wrote, “The extraordinary battle has created an unprecedented breakdown in relations between the spy agency and its congressional overseers and raises significant implications for the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.” Can you put this in a larger context?
Landay: The question is whether the professional staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as the legal overseers of the CIA, had the legal and constitutional power to take these classified documents and walk them out of a highly guarded CIA facility to their own very high security offices up on Capitol Hill or that they exceeded their oversight powers in doing so. And this has been a constant theme, a constant tug of war in the history of our republic between the executive and the Congress over the powers of the Congress to oversee the executive and the ability of the Congress to obtain documents from the executive. We’ve seen this many, many times before. For example, we’ve seen it in the case of the demands by the Senate Judiciary Committee — and other committees — for Justice Department memos or legal opinions authorizing the use of drones or other means to kill Americans involved in terrorism.
That’s what lies at the heart of this dispute, the ability or the power of congressional overseers to oversee what is supposed to be a very clandestine, secretive agency involved in espionage.Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is my go-to tool for malware clean-up. I recommend it as a supplementary scan to your normal antivirus (as a second opinion) and I pay for a premium license to get the real-time protection on my own PC.
I was excited when MBAM 2.0 was announced so I checked out the beta and was disappointed when the new UI made it into the final release. With updates, the program has continued to improve its malware cleanup operation but the user interface remains the same gaudy colors that look like ‘fake av’ malware.
Recently, there was a Reddit thread criticizing the new user interface of MBAM 2.0 where Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes, spoke up asking for feedback. I gladly provided my recommendations for improving the UI and a few weeks later I was sent images of a proposed face-lift to the user interface.
From my email communications with Marcin, he shares that a new version with the UI changes is planned for December of this year. Version 2.0.3 of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware just landed, so they should now be working on the user interface overhaul.
The draft UI screenshots are below and I also included other screenshots to put the evolution of MBAM in context.
MBAM 1.75
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware at version 1.75 shows a simple, even boring UI. I could see wanting to add a splash of more color or wanting to adapt the currently popular flat design but this is straight-forward and trustworthy, exactly what you’re looking for in a tool.
MBAM 2.0
I have heard from some of my IT co-workers and colleagues how they think the new design is cartoony or even panic-inducing that they installed some fake version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The orange alert status seems to indicate a much greater concern than just the fact that a scan has never ran on the system. “Of course, a scan has never been run, I just installed it!”
You similarly get the orange state when the program is out of date.
Even higher alert than orange, the red alert is heading toward DEFCON 1 just because the database is out of date. It’s even so concerned, it pops up an alert from the system tray to notify you that the database is out of date. The state of the definitions doesn’t really matter with the free Malwarebytes tool since it only scans on demand. The real-time protection is limited to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium.
Marcin said the pop-up alerts are certainly getting a face-lift, as one of the most criticized features thus far.
Even in a “happy” state, MBAM 2 still shows two red ‘X’ indicators on the Dashboard. One is if you only have the free license (nothing inherently wrong with that) and a second red indicator is that real-time protection is not enabled, which is not available with the free license.
Fake AV
The most common complaint I have heard reiterated about MBAM 2.0 has been how it looks like fake antivirus programs. For comparison, here are three examples of fake av that use the vibrant colors and “cry wolf” about infections or other states that indicate the computer is fully compromised.
MBAM 2.0 draft of new UI
Comparing the current UI to the draft screenshots, I think it is definitely moving in the right direction.
The draft screenshot of Malwarebytes 2 below shows the system in a “happy” state, which has not typically been the problem with Malwarebytes 2. Instead, when the system is unhappy – the definitions or program are out of date or a scan has not been run – is when the new UI is most noticeable and jarring.
I like:
The garish colors are gone, while the colors that are present are nicely faded/muted.
The buttons at the top have larger text, which helps the contrast of gray on black.
Flat design should fit well on Windows 8.
Clean, simple design is trustworthy and shows it knows its place as a utility and can be taken seriously.
Orange dot with Real-Time Protection not enabled is much better than a red ‘X’.
I dislike:
There is no indicator near the database version (besides the date itself) that the database may not be current.
I think ‘Last Scan’ and ‘Next scheduled scan’ should be flipped in order and size in regards to importance. When does the colored dot change to indicate a problem?
‘Buy Premium’ and ‘Activate My Premium’ should be below the Real-Time Protection status of ‘Available with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium’ for relevance.
License ‘Malwarebytes Anti-Malware’ should indicate free, trial, or premium.
“Your system is fully protected” is not great wording for a system that doesn’t have Malwarebytes’ Real-Time Protection. It should be something that indicates Malwarebytes is up-to-date but doesn’t over-promise. Malwarebytes just being installed on the computer and never running a scan might provide a false sense of security. This goes hand-in-hand with seeing how the UI changes when the software is not “happy”.
A draft screenshot of MBAM in an unhappy state:
From his emails, Malwarebytes CEO Marcin indicates that the new version should land in December but not all of the changes may make it in. The anti-malware scanner should only continue to get better as time goes on and more attention is given to the user interface, a feature I think the company has learned is more important to their customers than they may have originally guessed.https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1028/2448
The Model 700 Special was an attempt by Astra to piggyback on the popularity of the FN Model 1910 automatic pistol. Astra took their Model 100 (a renamed Ruby pistol of WWI lineage) and changed the styling to resemble the FN gun, including adding a rotating mainspring cap around the barrel, as the 1910 used. The other internal parts, however, remained pure Ruby - including the barrel installation method, the shrouded hammer, the trigger mechanism, and the mid-frame safety.
These pistols were made for sale primarily in China, although they did not prove to be very popular items. A total of 4,000 were made in 1927 and 1927, and they remained in Astra’s catalog into the early 1930s. Seeing the failure to get initial success, Astra cut off production when they introduced the Model 900 - a visual copy of the Mauser C96 Broomhandle, which would prove to be far more popular and successful.
http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forgotten-weaponsBlockchain developers ACINQ, Blockstream and Lightning Labs, are announcing the 1.0 release of the Lightning protocol and the world’s first Lightning test payments on the Bitcoin mainnet across all three implementations. These are considered to be important steps toward the standardization of the Lightning Network’s second-level, off-chain payment layer. The three teams, and others in the Bitcoin community, developed the Lightning specification through an open, collaborative process.
"Interoperability is key to making Lightning a success. We have worked for over a year to design a specification so that we and other developers can write implementations that talk to each other,” Elizabeth Stark, CEO of Lightning Labs, told Bitcoin Magazine. “This ensures that no matter which implementation a user is using, they will be connected to one Lightning Network.”
“It's the culmination of a year's work on the protocol specification, and the tests show that we have built a solid protocol that delivers on the promises of high scalability, increased privacy, and faster payments," Christian Decker, a Blockstream infrastructure tech engineer, told Bitcoin Magazine.
In parallel with protocol development work focused on interoperability and cross-compatibility, each of the three teams also developed specific Lightning implementations: ACINQ developed eclair, Blockstream developed c-lightning, and Lightning Labs developed lnd.
In a first test, the coffee shop Starblocks, a sample eclair application, accepted an incoming payment in bitcoin from a customer paying with the lnd Lightning app, routed through c-lightning.
In a second test, the developers made a payment from eclair to yalls.org, a sample lnd application, routed through c-lightning.
“This highlights another anticipated use case for Lightning: the ability to send instant, small value payments,” noted the three companies. The tests used nodes distributed around the world, including Asia, Europe, South America and North America.
It seems plausible that these and other interoperable Lightning Network implementations could be, one day, operational on the Bitcoin blockchain, but the developers are cautious about committing to a specific timeline.
“Our next steps are to continue testing and work as quickly as we can toward a mainnet beta, where users will be able to use small amounts on the Bitcoin mainnet,” Stark told Bitcoin Magazine.
Decker’s focus will be on the completion of the clients and individual releases “as quickly and safely as possible.” He emphasized that taking a patient approach and focusing on security is key. "We don't make any promises besides. We do not release immature software out of respect for our user's funds."
The Lightning Network is an overlay network built on top of an existing blockchain, in this case the Bitcoin blockchain. Similar to how the internet is built in layers, Lightning Network implementations create a new off-chain, high-throughput layer to channel near-instant payments. Interoperability will enable a single Lightning Network where payments are seamlessly routed without being isolated or incompatible.
Limited scalability is one of the main problems plaguing current Bitcoin technology. In fact, the current Bitcoin blockchain can only process a few transactions per second, far below the thousands of transactions per second processed by the main credit card payment networks. Therefore, following the first Bitcoin Lightning Network white paper, published in February 2015, developers have been working on Lightning Network implementations to enable bitcoin scalability, efficient micropayments and near-instant transactions.
This page on Github shows the latest integration test results for the three Lightning implementations.
“As we move towards a final 1.0 version of the specification, we invite the broader community to provide peer review and feedback,” concludes the announcement. “We look forward to continue working together to build the future of Layer 2 scalability technology.”Please enable Javascript to watch this video
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Feb. 3, 2015) - A type of shotgun illegal in Indiana for decades is slowly becoming legal again. An Indiana Senate bill is looking to make the manufacturing, sale, and possession of a short-barrel shotgun legal. It passed out of the senate Tuesday with a vote of 44-6.
It’s a bill getting broad support, even from lawmakers in a city where gun crime has been constant.
“You take all the factors of movies media and people that are against guns in general and they think that these guns are worse than a regular firearm for some reason, which actually they’re not,” said Brian Ludlow, Owner of the Indy Trading Post.
It was gangster films and fear over organized crime that made short-barrel shotguns illegal in the 1930s. Ludlow is anxious to see Indiana move towards legalizing short-barrel shotguns again. If made legal, not only will he be able to sell the shotguns to a whole new customer base, “We have our manufacturing license. We have to wait to renew our class 3 and we could actually manufacture them here,” he said.
Senate bill 433 aims to make manufacturing, selling, and possessing the guns, legal.
“I am a coauthor of the legislation, I do support it, and intend on voting for it,” said State Senator Brent Waltz (R – Indianapolis).
Waltz represents parts of Marion County, an area plagued by violent gun crime. He co-authored the short-barrel shotgun bill and he’s also coauthoring major anti-crime legislation.
“The reason why it does not go against anti-crime legislation, is that no class 3 weapon has been used in a crime to the best of my knowledge in the 50 states in this country for the last 81 years that this legislation has been in existence federally,” he said.
No crime has been committed with a legally registered class 3 weapon. The argument from opponents of the shotgun legislation is that problems arise when these guns fall into the wrong hands.
The bill will head to a house committee for further review.Subway on Facebook
Subway is in a downward spiral.
The sandwich chain's US store count dropped by 909 locations in 2017, according to figures that a Subway representative provided to Business Insider. That represents more than 3% of the chain's 2016 US stores.
The chain has 25,835 shops open and operating in the US, according to the representative, compared with 26,744 at the end of 2016.
In 2016 sales at the chain reportedly fell 1.7% and its store count dropped by 359 locations in the US — marking the first time in the company's history that the chain closed more stores than it opened.
Globally, Subway's store count is down 471 locations. The chain has 44,014 shops worldwide, down from its 44,485 stores in 2016.
Andrew Winning/Reuters
The 909 shuttered US locations this year could be just the tip of the iceberg for Subway closures.
Last week news broke that franchisees were protesting the chain's plan to bring back the $5 footlong deal.
On Monday, Subway's head of North American marketing, Karlin Linhardt, resigned from the company.
And traffic has fallen 25% over the past five years, according to an internal memo reviewed by The New York Post.
"The national promotional focus over the past five years … has decimated [us] and left many franchisees unprofitable and even insolvent," petitioners led by Virginia franchisee Mitesh Raval complained in a letter sent to Subway and obtained by The Post.
More than 400 franchisees have reportedly signed the petition, which protests the chain's plans to roll out its famous $5 footlong deal in January.
Subway has struggled to keep up with fast-casual competitors like Panera and Sweetgreen that many see as better suited to meet Americans' swiftly evolving health trends.
"Today, people are ever more educated on nutrition, food sourcing, and ethical holistic business models," Sara Bamossy, the chief strategy officer at ad agency Pitch, told Business Insider. "To create (or to rekindle) loyalty and sales, it is not enough to label something as 'natural' and it's not enough to be affordably priced."
The company also faced negative publicity from a scandal involving its former spokesman Jared Fogle. Fogle is serving a nearly 16-year prison sentence after being charged with having sex with minors and possessing child pornography. Subway cut ties with him in 2015.
"Subway is in the midst of a massive transformation, and change of this size takes time," a representative for the company said in a statement to Business Insider last week. "Our goal is to strengthen the Subway brand in every market around the world to give Subway franchisees the greatest opportunity to successfully grow their businesses."
The chain is rolling out a new store design, remodeling locations across the US. Subway is also trying to catch up with competitors like Starbucks with an upcoming digitally focused loyalty program.
If you work or have worked at Subway and have a story to share, email ktaylor@businessinsider.com.Apparently not everyone likes grandma’s cupcakes.
Mary Poole, 78, is still recovering from injuries after what she claims was a violent attack from a school district police officer last year, ABC30 reports. Now the California woman has finally filed a lawsuit, citing $180,000 in medical bills, a dislocated shoulder and fracture and the intense pain of being maced in the face twice.
Poole is alleging a litany of wrongdoing by the district’s officer: excessive force, elder abuse, assault and false arrest.
“I hadn’t seen my granddaughters for some time, and I wanted to see them, and so I baked some cupcakes and bought some cookies for my granddaughters’ classroom,” Poole told ABC30.
Poole says when she arrived at her granddaughter’s school, a Clovis Unified police officer stopped her, saying there was a restraining order against her.
Poole says she tried to explain, but says the officer then sprayed her in the face with mace twice, threw her down and dragged her across the ground. Poole was not arrested, and there was not a restraining order against her. The officer still works for the district.
The report was unclear about how Poole then got back home and to the hospital.
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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.Extension and renovation of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral Museum in Florence Natalini Architects with Guicciardini Magni Architects.
Project Description | Adolfo Natalini
The museum is situated in a complex of buildings which have been owned by the Cathedral since 1296. Over the centuries this was used as storage for materials and statues removed from various Florentine monuments, (in one of the courtyards Michelangelo carved the statue of David). In 1778 the space available was halved following the sale of the northern court which was subsequently transformed into the Teatro degli Intrepidi. At the beginning of the twentieth century this was ripped out and converted into a garage.
The Museum was inaugurated in 1891 to house statues and artefacts belonging to the Cathedral, the Baptistery and Giotto’s Bell Tower. In 1997 the building containing the garage was repurchased in order to extend the existing museum.
Our brief was to renovate and unify the old museum with the new extension, a total floor area of more than 5000 sq.m. The artworks were to be arranged in accordance with central themes reconnecting them with their original settings in an evocative exhibition strategy. It was posited that each work of art would thus reveal the reasons for it’s conception in the context of worship and faith.
In 1296 Arnolfo di Cambio embarked on the construction of the new facade of the Cathedral where architecture and sculpture were to be united in a way unseen since classical antiquity. The result was the greatest monument in Florence. The facade was demolished around 1587 “because it was no longer fashionable”. Not until 1887 was a new facade completed following numerous proposals and competitions.
In the new museum we have recreated Arnolfo di Cambio’s original facade with a full-scale model based on a drawing by Bernardino Poccetti, in depth research and analysis of architectural text, an archeological study of remaining stone fragments and comparisons with buildings from the same period.
The enormous model is constructed up to the first order with architectural components in a resin and alabaster powder composite on a steel structure assembled on the north wall of the ex Teatro degli Intrepidi. Now called the Sala del Paradiso the space has been transformed into a theatre of architecture that forms a permanent stage from which the original sculptures can recite their parts from their original positions creating the perfect setting to accommodate their shifting relationships and dialogue with the visitor.
Contrary to today’s practice of placing copies of statues in the original monument, here the original statues are placed in a reproduction. The whole composition is bathed in natural light from above and replicates the remarkable insight displayed by Brunelleschi’s panel paintings demonstrating the geometry which regulates linear perspective with the Baptistery reproduced as seen from the central door of Arnolfo di Cambio’s Cathedral.
The facade facing the model is dressed in white marble and contains thirty “windows” and three massive vitrines, two of which contain the doors from the baptistery by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The third will contain the door by Andrea Pisano which will be installed in 2018. Housed behind this facade are three longitudinal galleries on three levels which are home to the ancient statues from the Bell Tower and historical wooden models of the cathedral facade. Through the “windows” the statues connect visually with those of the reconstructed facade thus visitors become paticipants in an epic architectural spectacle that presents the artworks from the Cathedral and Bell Tower in an engaging and intelligible way.
Brunelleschi dome can be seen from it’s own two-story gallery space which is dedicated to the whole history and technology of the Cupola.
The Museum has many more exhibition halls and rooms, a total of twenty eight.
The Tribuna di Michelangelo contains the great sculptors magnificent Pietà.
The Pietà has had a tormented history: battered with a |
aquaculture — a difficult operation requiring a great deal of overhead — is quickly becoming a promising business endeavor. Despite the global financial crisis, caviar is one of a small group of luxury foodstuffs that has maintained a stable market price, with a wholesale price of about $590 a pound (1,000 euros a kilogram) for most sturgeon varieties.
. Despite the global financial crisis, caviar is one of a small group of luxury foodstuffs that has maintained a stable market price, with a wholesale price of about $590 a pound (1,000 euros a kilogram) for most sturgeon varieties.
“For a while aquaculture caviar wasn’t necessarily considered on par with wild caviar,” says sturgeon scientist and conservationist Phaedra Doukakis-Leslie, “so the price point was a little bit different — a little bit lower for aquaculture. That’s changing a little bit though, and I think that’s because the quality of the [farmed] caviar is getting better and wild caviar is getting so scarce.”
Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon bought its first batch of juvenile sturgeon, or fingerlings, from a German hatchery in 2006. Today the farm houses about 16,000 fish, a mix of Russian, Siberian and Atlantic sturgeon in a 32-tank system. Every tank holds about 20,000 gallons of water that supports 10,000 pounds of fish.
Joe Doll, one of the co-founders of Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon, landed on the idea of a caviar farm after spending several years as a cargo pilot running trips back and forth between Asia and the United States. Doll had developed a taste for caviar as a child: He had an itinerant businessman for an uncle who would bring Russian caviar back from his trips abroad, and his father had even tried to create his own roe-based aquaculture operation, harvesting eggs from mountain trout. So he sought caviar out during his trips overseas.
“I flew a lot down to Australia and back up through Hong Kong or Taiwan and Japan and any of those routes always had a fuel stop in Eastern Europe,” says Doll. “That’s where I really looked for the caviar — it was there that I saw how it was made, who was making it, and learned a bit about the market itself.”
Doll flew trips of this kind for about ten years, and during that period of time he began to notice the growing scarcity of wild caviar. The thought hit him to start a farm.
Doll, together with three partners — who together make up Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon’s parent company, LaPaz — built the aquaculture farm just outside Lenoir in the early 2000s. In 2008, one of the founders of the LaPaz Group and the primary investor in Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon, Bill White, died of cancer. He bequeathed his portion of the ownership to North Carolina State University and provided the funding necessary for the farm to operate until it became self-sustaining. Since then, two NC State professors and Cooperative Extension specialists have worked closely with the farm to refine the process of raising the sturgeon in a financially viable and sustainable way. As a result of the cooperative agreement with NC State, Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon also serves as a research facility for both sturgeon and more general aquaculture, and as an internship program that allows students at North Carolina universities to train on-site.
1 Tanks full of Russian sturgeon at Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon 2 A Russian sturgeon sticks its head up out of one of the tanks 3 Caviar is washed in salt water for taste 4 Ultrasounds are prepared on the sturgeon to help distinguish sex and to identify the best time for harvest 1 Tanks full of Russian sturgeon at Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon 2 A Russian sturgeon sticks its head up out of one of the tanks 3 Caviar is washed in salt water for taste 4 Ultrasounds are prepared on the sturgeon to help distinguish sex and to identify the best time for harvest
Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon began selling its first batches of caviar in 2012, at which point the operation had already been several years in the making. The company has met with early success, selling mostly to distributors in New York and in the South, even providing sturgeon fingerlings for an additional aquaculture facility in eastern NC, which is still in the very early stages of production.
However, a working petition to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) could introduce some challenges to the growth that Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon and farms like it have experienced up until now.
The petition requests that ten species of foreign sturgeon be labeled as endangered under the under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), including Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) and Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), the two species of fish that Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon harvests the majority of its caviar from. It could make it illegal to possess or sell caviar from those species listed as endangered.
Jeff Hinshaw, professor of Biology at NCSU and advisor to Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon, thinks that there should be a clear distinction in the petition between populations of foreign sturgeon in aquaculture farms and in the wild.
Most of the responses to the petition from people involved in sturgeon aquaculture, like Dr. Hinshaw, weren’t directly opposed to protecting the sturgeon; they simply requested that farmed sturgeon be considered separate from wild populations.
Arguably, the existence of caviar farms in the U.S. and elsewhere are a boon to conservation, and not an obstruction.
“In general by producing a product that’s in high demand, and producing it on a farm rather than the wild takes some of the pressure off of the wild populations,” says Hinshaw. “So by affecting supply or restricting supply you could actually have a negative effect on the wild population by providing more stimulus for illegal harvest.”
Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon is even trying its hand at marketing the sturgeon meat, in addition to the caviar, something most competitors aren’t doing, since the U.S. market doesn’t really have a taste for the stuff yet. Elisabeth Wally, director of marketing and PR for Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon, describes it as a “steaky fish,” similar to tuna or salmon.
Because the sex of the sturgeon is indiscernible for so long – it takes around eight years for the sex of the sturgeon to show and several additional years for the sturgeon, if female, to begin to produce roe – the farm inevitably ends up with roughly half of its sturgeon population being male. (“Sturgeon are pretty mysterious fish,” Wally says. ) The farm doesn’t breed their own fish so the males are utilized exclusively for their meat, which is either smoked or filleted. The meat from female fish after their caviar is harvested is also sold, which increases the market value of a fish that is inevitably killed when its eggs are extracted.
Still, it’s a gamble.
“I don’t think there’s a huge market for sturgeon meat in this country, Dr. Doukakis-Leslie says. The lack of an aggressive marketing effort means sturgeon in the U.S. is mainly sold to niche markets.
Wally is trying to change that, promoting more exposure to sturgeon meat, hosting taste-tests and marketing the fish to both exporters and area chefs.
The future looks good for AC&S, notwithstanding the roadblocks to caviar and sturgeon farming that could be introduced with the EPA petition.
“We believe there could be several more caviar farms in North Carolina,” Doll says. “Though first we have to make sure that there is a market and a need; and we’re just at the stage of learning those things.”Edit: If the video above does not play, please click “Watch on YouTube” or follow this link.
The Seattle Seahawks were slaughtered on Sunday going down 27-0 to the Los Angeles Rams in the first half. It was turnover after turnover, sack after sack, and really ineptitude in every aspect of this game. For this video, I wanted to look at the key reasons why Seattle’s offense collapsed during this game, sending the Seahawks to a 42-7 loss and on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs.
Here are my key takeaways:
Pressure and penalties stopped drives Russell Wilson didn’t play well Aaron Donald dominated the line of scrimmage Mike Davis couldn’t find holes to run the ball Three fumbles: Tanner McEvoy (1), Russell Wilson (2) Seahawks’ special teams gave up great field position Poor run defense in stopping Todd Gurley
Follow me on Twitter @SamuelRGold and support me on Patreon.Islamic rules previously said that followers should use water or left hand
Directorate of Religious Affairs for Turkey allows it but says water is better
Announcement states the use of toilet paper by Muslims is now permitted
A new Islamic fatwa in Turkey has decreed that Muslims are allowed to use toilet paper.
The Directorate of Religious Affairs for Turkey stated that the use of the material for hygiene is acceptable but water was preferable.
Islamic teachings traditionally state that followers should use water to clean themselves after going to the toilet.
A new Islamic fatwa in Turkey has decreed that Muslims are allowed to use toilet paper
The set of rules for how Muslims should relieve themselves, called the Qadaa al-Haajah, was established in the times before toilet paper or toilet seats were invented.
Use of the left hand or three stones was also permissible.
The code also states that followers should not speak or read while on the toilet and should enter with their left foot and leave with their right, speaking a prayer.
The Directorate of Religious Affairs for Turkey stated that the use of the material for hygiene is acceptable but water was preferable
Men and women are also told not to stand while relieving themselves but to squat or sit.
The new announcement, reported by Hurriyet Daily News, stated: 'If water cannot be found for cleansing, other cleaning materials can be used.'
'Even though some sources deem paper to be unsuitable as a cleaning material, as it is an apparatus for writing, there is no problem in using toilet paper.
Last month the Directorate of Religious Affairs had also relaxed rules on around the use of products containing alcohol - as long as they were not consumed.
Hand sanitizes and other similar products used for hygiene products are now halal.
'While it is forbidden to drink substances containing alcohol that were produced for cleaning purposes, it is acceptable to use them for cleaning,' Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The fatwa stated that places that had been cleaned with the products would not need to be washed again with water prior to performing prayer.
A new ruling on begging, stating that anyone who begs and earns money beyond their immediate needs is 'demanding the fire of hell.'Choosing Intel’s part for an important role in the product that generates about two-thirds of Apple’s annual revenue may represent a calculated gamble by the company. Bringing in second-source suppliers is a long-established practice by device makers looking to make sure they’re in a better position to negotiate on price. However, analysts such as Stacy Rasgon at Sanford C. Bernstein have said that Qualcomm’s modems remain ahead of Intel’s offerings in performance when measured by how much data they can get from the network into the phone.
Multiple rumors have claimed that Intel will supply at least a portion of LTE and Wi-Fi modems for the iPhone 7 series, alongside existing supplier Qualcomm, and a new report offers a closer look at how the orders will be divided between the companies. Bloomberg reports that Intel modems will be reserved for AT&T iPhone 7 models, and some other versions of the smartphone sold in other countries, while Qualcomm is said to remain a supplier of modems for Verizon and all Chinese models. The wording suggests that Qualcomm may retain orders in some other regions as well.Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf previously hinted that the chipmaker would be losing modem orders from one of its major customers to one of its leading competitors, although it is reportedly still "retaining a major chunk" of Apple's business rather than being dropped as a supplier entirely.Taiwanese website DigiTimes recently reported that Intel would supply "up to 50 percent" of modems for the iPhone 7 series, while CLSA Securities analyst Srini Pajjuri told investors in March that Intel's share of orders would be a "significant portion," likely falling in range of 30 to 40 percent of production Apple is rumored to use Intel's XMM 7360 LTE modem PDF ] with faster theoretical download speeds up to 450 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's X12 modem is a likely candidate for the iPhone 7, with theoretical download speeds up to 600 Mbps and upload speeds up to 150 Mbps.Both rumored Intel and Qualcomm modems would be capable of faster speeds than the MDM9635 chipset in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which provides theoretical download speeds up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds up to 50 Mbps. However, real-world speeds are often slower due to network limitations.Ron Paul, the former Texas congressman, doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with his son Rand, the U.S. senator from Kentucky and possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate. Take the subject of Ebola, for example. Rand isn’t so sure the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is playing straight about how you can catch the virus. But his libertarian/conservative father downplays the threat.
The senior Paul likens the current “hysteria” by some over the virus—including the attempted quarantining of healthcare workers just back from Africa—to other efforts to deprive Americans of their liberties. “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. But my caution is, don’t overdo it, because it’s impossible to achieve what you want,” Paul said in Dallas today, a few minutes after addressing a luncheon meeting of the National Center for Policy Analysis. “You’d have to lock up everybody who has a cough.
“Every year, we have people die from the flu—between 3,000 and 49,000,” Paul continued. “If you really want to do some good, why don’t you lock up people who might get the flu, or if they have signs of the flu? It’s just a monster of a problem.”
But, this is a more narrowly targeted situation, aimed strictly at people who were in direct contact with Ebola patients, isn’t it?
“Yeah—and everybody they’ve come in contact with!” Paul replied. “If [Ebola] were airborne, you might have more concern. But so far, [it only involves] four people—two got it here and they’re better, and one is still sick, and one died because he got infected over there. I hope I’m not wrong, because who wants to see this horrible thing.
“But, this idea of ‘perfect safety’ is the motivation for so many people in government,” Paul went on. “[Conservative political commentator Charles] Krauthammer recently said, ‘Give up your civil liberties to protect yourself against a terrorist, [because] maybe there’s a greater chance you’re going to die from a terrorist.’ So, are you going to lock up everybody who looks different? No, you don’t; you try to protect their civil liberties.
Krauthammer “said we should do it for Ebola, too. He’s blunt, he’s honest—he said civil liberties aren’t that important when it comes to danger. And I’m saying, yes, when it comes to danger, the worst danger is that you give up your liberties,” Paul concluded. “Because I don’t think overreaction from government solves the problem. It’s too often that they make mistakes.”Teenagers from Israel and Palestine visited San Diego for an intense three weeks of discussion and activities geared toward finding common ground. NBC 7's Dave Summers has the story. (Published Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016)
Teens From Palestine and Israel Meet for Hands of Peace
While presidential candidates and supporters debate homeland security and terror attacks, teenagers from Israel and the West Bank who live in fear daily converged on San Diego.
In late July, the teens visited San Diego for an intense three weeks of discussion and activities geared toward finding common ground as part of San Diego's Hands of Peace, a program that teaches tolerance to Israeli and Palestinian teens.
The group gathered at Balboa Park’s World Beat Center for a lesson in harmony.
Several generations of both cultures are born into this historic conflict. But where bombs and guns have not worked, these young adults are trying honesty and openness.
Complete strangers, who grew up fearing and misunderstanding one another are now – after two weeks – dancing to the beat of a different drum.
Yasmin is a Palestinian teen living in Israel less than a mile from a West Bank check point.
“At the checkpoint I hear a lot of shoot guns; I hear a lot of screaming,” she explained to NBC 7. “I feel the racism on the way in a bus station on the way to school.”
“Guga,” also 17 years old, is Israeli, living just outside Tel Aviv.
“I go with pepper spray because I’m scared of terror attacks or if I just teach my dog to run into the safe place when he hears and alarm,” Guga said.
While both are the sum of their respective environments and opinions of generations past, they seek harmony through Hands of Peace.
The program brings these teens together on the neutral territory of San Diego for intense dialog and what you might call cultural team-building activities.
“Our mural is taking out the bad toxic ideas and replacing them with progressive ideas,” Jewish-American Sophie Henry said.
In February 2017, Palestinian and Jewish-Americans who already completed the course are sharing their message with other children in conflicts. This inspirational mural is bound for a Syrian refugee camp in Greece.
“The statistics literally came alive. All the sudden, I had faces to these people and that changed everything,” Palestinian-American Khalid Abudmas said.
Program participants number less than 50 but its message may be a pebble in a pond.
“Solving this conflict and making a solution is by changing the opinions for the next generation and the generation that comes after,” Yasmin said.
“I pass it on to my friends. They say you know what may be your right and they pass it on more and I think that's what makes the change. The circle getting bigger and bigger with the time,” Guga added.
The teens returned home last week, hoping to spread the message of peace and open dialogue among communities through projects of their own.Change is a funny thing. It’s often prompted by a small action that takes on a much larger cultural meaning, and can catch us by surprise with its utter simplicity.
A few weeks ago, I came across a short video entitled, “Where Are the Girls on the Money?” on the website womenon20s.org. Women on 20s is an online campaign to put a woman’s face on the $20 bill. I was excited to see that there was a positive mission afoot to bring attention to some of the greatest women in American history.
As the Women on 20s website points out, “the year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote. So it seems fitting to commemorate that milestone by voting to elevate women to a place that is today reserved exclusively for the men who shaped American history. That place is on our paper money and that new portrait can become a symbol of greater changes to come.”
I liked how it was reframing the conversation about gender equality in a whole new way and decided to post a photo on social media that championed the cause and urged others to vote for one of the 15 incredible candidates on the Women on 20s website.
The response was thrilling. And not just because my friends Padma Lakshmi and Alan Cumming and throngs of others began to tweet and post their support, but because it ignited a passion in people from all over the world to proudly post images of the accomplished women in other countries who were already adorning their currency. This unexpected and gorgeous mosaic brought attention to the fact that there are already at least 10 other countries that have recognized female leaders on their banknotes, including Argentina, Sweden, Turkey, Mexico, the Philippines, Israel, and Syria. And while the United States often likes to take credit for leading the world in big, bold ideas, in this instance at least, it’s clear we lag far behind.
Gender equality is a fight women in the United States have been waging for a long time. It’s been a long and winding road with scores of brilliant women over the decades doing their part to push that boulder uphill. Women like Billie Jean King, Sally Ride, and Bell Hooks, who are all personal heroes of mine.
Each of the women being considered to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill on womenon20s.org deserves our appreciation. Not only did they help advance women’s rights, but they pushed the human race forward as well, and we are all benefiting from their efforts.
“If a girl was on the money, then it would be fair,” says one of the 5-year-old boys in the Women on 20s video. That’s right, it would be fair. Isn’t it funny how a simple truth can come from the mouth of babes?
Please go to womenon20s.org to learn more about the Women on 20s mission and show your support by posting your own photo on social media with a $20 bill using hashtag #Womenon20s. It’s a great idea and a wonderful history lesson.
Susan Sarandon is a mother, an activist and an actress. She is also the founder of Reframed Pictures (reframedpictures.com), a film, TV and digital production company in New York City that uses the power of media to tell transformational stories with lasting social impact.The issue of cutting across the run off areas has long been an issue at Canada's tricky final chicane, with the FIA tightening up protocol there in recent years.
Back in 2015, new high kerbs were built to dissuade drivers from straight-lining the corner, and anyone running wide had to rejoin through a bollard which forced them to slow.
That system remains in place for this year, and a similar protocol has now also been introduced at Canada's Turn 8/9 chicane, where the gravel run off area has been replaced by asphalt.
In a note sent from F1 Race Director Charlie Whiting to the teams on Thursday, he said: "Any driver who fails to negotiate turn 9 by using the track, and who passes completely to the left of the orange kerb element on the apex of the corner, must keep completely to the left of the orange speed bump on the exit of the corner and re-join the track at the far end of the asphalt run-off area."
Regarding the final corner, Whiting said that a red and white polystyrene block would be installed at the end of the run-off area which drivers would have to keep left of before rejoining the circuit.
The only time when drivers will not have to comply with these requirements is if they have been forced off the track by a rival.Three men wanted over Jo Goldenberg restaurant deaths in 1982 said to have been members of Abu Nidal, a Palestinian splinter group
For more than 30 years, ever since terrorists threw grenades into the packed Jo Goldenberg restaurant in Paris’s Jewish quarter and opened fire on diners, the victims’ families have waited for justice. Their long wait is not yet over, but its end may finally be in sight.
The top terrorism judge in France has announced that three men suspected of attacking the celebrated restaurant in 1982, killing six and injuring 22, have been identified and international arrest warrants issued.
The three men – aged 63, 60 and 54, who are living in Norway, Palestine and Jordan – were allegedly members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, also known as the Abu Nidal organisation, a ruthless Palestinian splinter group accused of carrying out attacks in more than 20 countries in the 1970s and 80s that claimed at least 300 lives.
They are believed to have been part of a five-man commando group that attacked the Goldenberg restaurant at 13.10 on 9 August 1982 while the place was full of lunchtime diners. As they ran off to lose themselves in the narrow streets of Marais, one of Paris’ oldest areas known to local Jews as Le Pletzl, the gunmen shot at passersby. No group claimed responsibility for the Goldenberg attack, no arrests were ever made and the crime remained unsolved.
At the time, it was the second big attack on Jewish targets in Paris since the city’s liberation after the second world war and came just two years after a bomb exploded outside the Copernic synagogue, killing four and injuring 46.
On Wednesday, the identification of the Goldenberg suspects was welcomed by a Jewish community reeling from recent antisemitic murders in Paris and Copenhagen.
Paris shootings: Jewish school ‘likely target’ of gunman Coulibaly Read more
Soldiers and police have been deployed outside schools, synagogues and Jewish organisations in France following the attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket in January, which left 17 people dead. In eastern France, a few weeks later, 250 graves had been vandalised in a Jewish cemetery.
Alain Jakubowicz, president of the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism (Licra), welcomed news of the long-awaited developments in the Goldenberg investigation. “It is a strong message to terrorists, particularly in the current context in Europe following the recent attacks,” Jakubowicz said. “The message to the criminals and the terrorist is that they cannot hide – that however long it takes they will be identified, found and brought to justice. This is also an important message for the families of the victims to have faith in the justice system.”
A rabbi, who did not want to be named, told Europe 1 radio, the identification of the suspects had come as a relief. “But, as they say, it will not bring back the victims. I head the explosions that day. By the time I got there the ambulances had already arrived. The whole community was shocked. Obviously it had an enormous impact on the area and does to to this day. On that day people were hiding under the tables, in the street. In the road in those days there were lots of small Jewish shopkeepers, who have since gone, but we all still remember that day.’
Investigators, led by France’s leading terrorism judge, Marc Trévidic, have spent the last 30 years painstakingly sifting through the minutiae of attacks carried out by Abu-Nidal in Europe.
A comparison of ballistic reports enabled detectives to determine that the arms used in the Goldenberg attack were also used by the group in other attacks. Former members of the Palestinian organisation were also interviewed. One of them claimed Hafez al-Assad, the former Syrian president and father of the current Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, ordered the attack as a “bloody warning to France” against supporting the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Abu Nidal, whose real name is Sabri Khalil al-Banna, was described by his biographer, Patrick Seale, as leading shootings of random cruelty. Nidal was reportedly shot dead in his apartment in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in 2001. In al-Banna’s obituary, the Guardian journalist David Hirst described him as a patriot turned psychopath. Hirst wrote: “He served only himself, only the warped personal drives that pushed him into hideous crime. He was the ultimate mercenary.”
There were also reports that Nidal secretly admitted he was behind the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing. The Lockerbie disaster happened when a New York-bound Pan Am plane blew up over the town in Scotland, in December 1988, killing 259 passengers and crew, and 11 local residents.
The Goldenberg restaurant is no longer running, its premises now used as a clothes shop. However, a plaque marking the “antisemitic attack” has been placed on the front of the building.EXCLUSIVE: Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch, Limitless) is set as the female lead opposite John Krasinski in Amazon’s straight-to-series drama Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, from the Lost duo of co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and writer Graham Roland, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, Skydance Media and Paramount TV.
Jack Ryan is a reinvention with a modern sensibility of the famed and lauded Tom Clancy hero. It centers on Jack Ryan (Krasinski), an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time. The series follows Ryan as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale. Cornish will play Cathy Mueller, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. She is intelligent, competitive, a rising star in the medical world and Jack’s love interest.
Jack Ryan is co-produced by Paramount TV and Skydance TV and executive produced by Cuse, Roland, Platinum Dunes’ Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form, as well as Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross, along with the movie franchise’s producer Mace Neufeld and Lindsey Springer of Carlton Cuse Prods.
Australian actress Cornish is known for her starring turn in 2004’s Somersault and her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star. On TV, she most recently played Belinda Mulrooney in the miniseries Klondike. She’s repped by Untitled Entertainment and UTA.Harvard scientists triumphantly announced that they'd created metallic hydrogen last month, but now it's suddenly gone.
Scientists hailed it as the “holy grail” of high pressure physics when they finally produced it in the lab: metallic hydrogen, a century after it was first theorized to exist. And now that sample, which had been held in a hyper refrigerated laboratory, has vanished into thin air, and scientists can’t figure out why.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but it exists almost exclusively as a gas. Theoretically, it could be turned into a metal at extreme pressures, but no one had pulled it off until scientists at Harvard University announced they did it in January, prompting some skeptics and a lot of headlines. But now they say a laboratory accident has caused it to vanish.
Reports indicate that the metallic hydrogen had been kept between a vice of two diamonds at huge pressures while being stored at 80 Kelvin, but something happened in the lab and the diamonds broke. Now, the metallic hydrogen, which was 10 micrometers in diameter, has disappeared. It’s possible that it’s simply right under their noses, but there’s also a possibility that it has turned back into a gas.
“Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating the rarest – and potentially one of the most valuable – materials on the planet,” Harvard said in their January statement announcing the discovery. “The material – atomic metallic hydrogen – was created by Thomas D. Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences Isaac Silvera and post-doctoral fellow Ranga Dias. In addition to helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, the material is theorized to have a wide range of applications, including as a room-temperature superconductor. The creation of the rare material is described in a January 26 paper published in Science.”The village of Marora, a remote village in India, is celebrating a major name change that is being used not only to promote a campaign to encourage sanitation but also to celebrate U.S. President Donald Trump. The 80 percent Muslim town will now be called “Trump Village,” reports say.
Located in the Mewat district in the Indian state of Haryana, in northern India, about 50 miles south of New Delhi, “Trump Village” is a town of around 2,000 residents. Along with the name change, the tiny village is undergoing a sanitation program encouraged by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is striving to bring many of his country’s small towns into the modern era.
The ceremony to rechristen the town “Trump Village” was part of the campaign to promote proper sanitation that featured the grand opening of brand new toilets as well as a new vocational training facility for the town’s female population.
If anyone worried that President Trump’s well-known crackdown on immigration from some war torn, majority Muslim countries would cause a controversy, few villagers seemed concerned.
“I do not care if Trump is a Muslim baiter. All I know is he is against Muslims who cause violence and destroy countries. He is the president of a powerful country,” villager Zorauddin told German public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.
According to Sulabh International chief Bindeshwar Pathak, the idea to rename Marora “Trump Village” came to him on a visit to the U.S.
“The idea was born when I was in the U.S. recently,” Pathak told DW. “Trump’s slogan is ‘Make America Great Again, ‘ and our Modi’s credo is ‘Make in India’ so I thought why not make a humble beginning honoring the friendship of the two.”
Sulabh International is an integral part of PM Modi’s Clean India Campaign.
An American official was also present for the renaming of the village. According to DW, “Puneet Ahluwalia, vice-chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee in the U.S. and a member of Trump’s Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee, was also present at the occasion and inaugurated some of the newly built toilets.”
“He is the leader of the free world,” Ahluwalia added. “This is a great tribute, and there are shared ideals between both countries. It will take a while for the name to sink in but it will happen.”
Still, some felt the name change was just a political show. One local student wondered if Trump even knew where Mewat or Haryana are in India.
The event in India occurred even as Indians in the U.S. seem more than ever to be leaning toward the Republican Party in the era of Trump.
In June, the head of America’s Republican Hindu Coalition told Breitbart News that by focusing on the interests of America’s Indian and Hindu voters, President Trump’s campaign marked a turning point in the relationship those communities have with the Republican Party.
Indeed, the influence of Trump is also keenly felt in India as the president’s policy of rooting out Muslim extremism coincides with the long campaign against radical Islam that the nation of India has been fighting for decades.
During his first meeting with Trump, PM Modi told the press, “The top priority for both President Trump and myself is to protect our society from global challenges like terrorism — and because our aim is the strengthening of India and the USA – two great democracies in the world – friends.”
Modi insisted that Trump was showing “great leadership” in the fight against radical Islam, and even noted that the U.S. and Indian navies would soon initiate a closer working relationship to provide maritime security in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
Modi and Trump are kindred spirits in many ways. Both are political outsiders who worked to encourage their business sectors. They have also focused their political campaigns on national pride and patriotism, and have made national security central parts of their policies.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.shadow
Attacco di probabile matrice islamica il 26 giugno in un impianto di gas industriale nell’Isère, a 30 chilometri da Lione, in Francia, nella regione del Rodano-Alpi. Una vittima (decapitata) e due feriti il bilancio, confermato dal presidente francese, François Hollande in conferenza stampa a Bruxelles, a seguito dell’attacco di venerdì mattina alla fabbrica di Saint-Quentin-Fallavier. Sull’attentato, che Hollande ha definito «di natura terroristica», ha avviato un’indagine la sezione antiterrorismo della Procura di Parigi, che ha aperto un’inchiesta per «omicidio, tentato omicidio in associazione organizzata in relazione a un atto terroristico».
«Scioccato» Un uomo, Yassin Sahli, dipendente della vittima, è stato arrestato quasi subito. Da Bruxelles il presidente francese ha guardato le immagini dell’attentato con Angela Merkel. Il suo entourage lo ha definito «scioccato». «Non abbiamo dubbi che volessero far saltare l’intero complesso industriale», ha dichiarato Hollande. «Purtroppo è avvenuto un nuovo attacco terroristico», ha detto il ministro della Difesa Jean-Yves Le Drian. I premier di tutto il mondo hanno espresso condoglianze alla Francia. Anche il presidente della Repubblica, Sergio Mattarella, ha fatto pervenire a Holland, un messaggio nel quale esprime «lo sdegno e la condanna per il barbaro attacco omicida». «Di fronte a queste minacce è l’unità e la riunione dei cittadini e della nazione che ci permette di lottare contro il terrorismo con la più grande efficacia - ha detto il presidente francese -. Il terrorismo è nostro avversario, nostro nemico. Colpisce ovunque, anche in Kuwait. I francesi devono sapere che ci sono forze dispiegate ovunque sul territorio. Non ci deve essere alcun dubbio circa la capacità del nostro Paese di proteggere se stesso».
La dinamica Secondo una prima ricostruzione l’attacco terroristico all’impianto di gas industriale Air Products, a Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, nel Dipartimento di Isère è iniziato poco prima delle 9,50. Yassin Sahli è entrato nel sito grazie al suo badge. Faceva infatti regolarmente visita alla fabbrica e la vittima era il suo capo reparto della ditta nella vicina Chassieu che si occupa di consegne. Con il suo veicolo ha superato un secondo perimetro di sicurezza, una recinzione. Sceso dal veicolo, è corso in direzione delle bombole di gas nel deposito e ha appiccato un incendio. I vigili del fuoco, avvisati subito, si sono precipitati sul posto. Uno di loro si è diretto |
| | <- Tree |___|
Now it replaces the branch we changed with a completely new one and then it reattaches the list branch.
(false) (true) isSaving isSaving list \ \ / \ \ / \ \ / todos todos \---/ | | | | <- Tree |___|
What this boils down to is that you do not need a dispatcher and actions with a single state tree, and you change the state of the tree with imperative programming. An example being: tree.set(['todos', 'isSaving'], true). You might have heard that imperative programming is out and the new thing is functional programming. And yeah, it is really great to see all the projects evolving around functional programming, but that does not mean you should never do imperative programming. It is all about the right tool for the job. And if you think about it, with Redux and Immutable JS you do a lot of imperative programming.
Tree basics
So let us move back to the beginning of this article and look at how the state changes occur with a single state tree.
|----------| |--| FUNCTION | | |----------| | |------| | |----------| | TREE |<----| FUNCTION | |------| | |----------| | | |----------| |--| FUNCTION | |----------|
There is no dispatcher and no actions. We just have normal functions that changes the state of the tree.
Defining the tree
I already showed you this, but let us recap. To create the state of our application we:
import Baobab from 'baobab'; export default new Baobab({ todos: { isSaving: false, list: [] } });
Again, we do not split our state definition into different files and create logic for changing the state. We just describe it “as is”.
Actions and action creators
Since there are no actions using a single state tree you do not really need action creators either. What you need though is to change the state of the state tree. And the way you do that is:
import tree from './tree'; import ajax from 'ajax'; function addTodo(todo) { tree.set(['todos', 'isSaving'], true); ajax.post('/todos', todo).then(() => { tree.set(['todos', 'isSaving'], false); tree.push(['todos'], todo); }); }
With a single state tree like Baobab you use imperative programming to do your state changes, just like you do normally in JavaScript. The tree is still immutable though, so any changes to the branches of the tree will replace the whole branch, not just the value on the branch. This makes it possible to do shallow checking of values when rendering React components, making it super fast.
Notice the difference here. We only have one construct defining how our application changes its state. We do not have two different constructs, where one defines the async operations (action creator) and an other defines the sync changes (store/reducer). This is really important. This is the second part of how readability of your code is reduced compared to a single state tree like Baobab.
Getting back what we lost
You might say now that the function above is horrible to test or you can not get time travel with this approach. And yeah, you are right. But if you imagine this state tree being your database and you watch this video Turning the database inside out, you will quickly realize that it is not the database itself that needs to handle these features, it is a transaction layer in front of it.
One such layer is cerebral and it is functional. With Cerebral you use a functional approach to define the flow of state changes in your application. And this is where the functional approach shines over imperative approach:
const items = [{title: 'foo', isAwesome: true}, {title: 'bar', isAwesome: false}]; // functional const isAwesome = (item) => item.isAwesome; const byTitle = (item) => item.title; const awesomeItemTitles = items.filter(isAwesome).map(byTitle); // imperative const awesomeItemTitles = []; items.forEach((item) => { if (item.isAwesome) { awesomeItemTitle.push(item.title); } });
When defining flow the functional approach gives you something powerful. It gives you the power to describe what is happening to you application in great detail, without the verbosity of implementation details. The line items.filter(isAwesome).map(byTitle) tells you what happens, but the imperative example requires you to read all the implementation details to understand it. This might not make much sense with such a simple example, but you would be surprised how quickly it becomes beneficial.
With Cerebral you get the same kind of functional flow, though it allows you to build more complex flows like combining asynchronous flows with synchronous flows, parallel asynchronous flows and even conditional flows. This is the problem space Cerebral tries to solve. Expressing the flow of state changes in your application. And since the functions you are referencing in this flow just operates on its argument you get the testability you want. And yes, you even get time travel debugging.
So I have been talking about approaching different problems with different tools, so lets do an experiment where we want to search something:
We do a functional reactive approach to events.
Observable.fromEvent(input, 'change').debounce(200).map((event) => {value: event.target.value}).forEach(this.props.signals.inputChanged);
A functional approach to define complex state changes.
signal('inputChanged', [ setInputValue, setLoadingResult, [ getResult, { success: [setResult], error: [setResultError] } ], unsetLoadingResult ])
And an imperative approach to actually change our state values.
function setInputValue(input, state) { state.set(['currentValue'], input.value); }
This example can of course easily be solved with only one class of programming, it being FRP, functional or imperative. But it is when our applications grow and has to handle XXX times the complexity shown here we start to see each of these approaches has their downsides in terms of readability.
Summary
There are many things happening in the JavaScript community now and functional programming and functional reactive programming is really starting to get a foothold. That is great! That said, functional concepts does not necessarily mean better in all scenarios. We have been doing imperative programming for a long time, for better and worse and there are features of the imperative style that is completely lost when replaced by functional approaches. In my opinion, one of those features is readability of defining and changing state in your application.
I would also like to mention that there are other differences between Redux and Baobab, like Cursors and Monkeys, which would also be interesting comparisons. But this article wanted to make a point on readability, which I hope it did.
Thanks for reading and please comment if you completely disagree with me, you think I am completely wrong about this or if you can relate to the statements made.[theora-dev] libtheora 1.1alpha1 (thusnelda) release
I'm pleased to announce the first alpha release of the rewrite of the Xiph.org reference encoder for the Theora video format, codename "Thusnelda". http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1alpha1.tar.bz2 http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1alpha1.zip http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1alpha1.tar.gz Please download one of the source packages and give us feedback. This is a very alpha release, and may be unstable. We're making it more widely available at this point to facilitate wider testing and try to flush out those issues. The primary change is a completely rewritten encoder with vastly improved quality vs. bitrate in the default vbr/constant-quality mode, and better tracking of the target bitrate in cbr mode. There are some minor changes to the decoder and examples, but the new encoder is the reason to try out this release. Caveats: * GNU autotools and scons builds should work on GNU/Linux/BSD systems, including MacOS X * The Apple xcode project should work, but doesn't build a separate libtheoraenc. Use the legacy libtheora build for now. * The xmingw32 build mostly works. * MSVC project files need updating for source code rearrangement. This is straightforward; just import the current lib/enc/*.c and delete things like encoder_disabled.c until it builds. Patches for this appreciated. * Some minor build fixes haven't been ported from the 1.0 release yet. Development work for this is still on a separate branch, and will remain so until we have some of the build and code reorganization issues settled. If you're curious to track the ongoing development, please'svn checkout http://svn.xiph.org/branches/theora-thusnelda/'. SHA-1 checksums: 0f57662206944377387f35688b9f95055b85fa1e libtheora-1.1alpha1.tar.bz2 cbda32b85aca442128f953d0a14a86ea1cfb80dc libtheora-1.1alpha1.zip effcf0346d5d76b8fa14afd58c79640cba259b4c libtheora-1.1alpha1.tar.gz Thanks to Mozilla.org and Wikimedia for their support of this work.Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
If you've been keeping tabs on Galak-Z, then you know that the upcoming space combat game drinks deeply from the sweet well of 1980s era Japanese animation. When it was first conceived, Galak-Z was going to feature the same cat-and-mouse starfighter showdowns for everybody. But the game's vision of space combat has changed and it's going to mix things up every time you play.
If you think that sounds like Galak-Z is going rogue-like, then you'd be right. The upcoming PS4/PC title basically tries to be a playable anime, one where you're the hotshot pilot facing up against waves of alien dogfighters. As originally envisioned, the game was going to have all players face up against the same configurations of enemies. But then Jake Kazdal— creative lead/CEO of 17-Bit, the studio making the game—had a freak-out.
"I got worried that we weren't building enough content," Kazdal said, while showing the game's progress at Kotaku's offices last week. (The 20 minutes of footage above—which comes from a PC build—shows playthroughs of two levels, one on normal and the other on a higher difficulty.) "I mean, I was playing the same levels for six months. That got me wondering about how we could keep things fresh," he continued. Things shifted dramatically a few months ago, when the team started re-structuring the game so that it would generate its experience procedurally. Ice planets, desert planets, water planets, this enemy group, that enemy group, giant space creatures, small swarms of space creatures… all of them are going to be spun around and combined at random each time a level loads. "You and a friend could be playing the same mission but with any entirely different set of challenges," Kazdal said. "I've been playing a lot of Binding of Isaac and Spelunky and that idea really appealed to me."
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Galak-Z's weapons also are going to be approached differently now, too. Players will find blueprints for weapons during missions, which will show up in the shop satellite that's been added to the game. (You can see a rough version of the shop at the 3:30 mark.) And each weapon will have pros and cons for its set of upgrades, like a hotter laser that burns out faster.
Keeping with the cartoon-show-style presentation, Galak-Z's levels will be structured as episodes—don't worry, they won't be released episodically; everything comes all at once—that can run anywhere from 30-60 minutes, with five or six missions inside each. Mission names are going to be procedurally generated, too, with the game pulling out random words from a giant grab bag for results like "Quakes and Forever."
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Kazdal says that 17-Bit are trying to build a future version of a space shooter. "It looks like a bullet-hell but it's not," he offered. "It's more about using the environment and trying to psych out the enemy AI." That AI will be using middleware by Cyntient to create patrol and combat behaviors for enemies, all inside an ecosystem brimming with lifeforms and factions that can and will fight each other. Reading the landscape is going to be a key to victory, too. Fighting enemies inside a cavernous asteroid? Use your machine gun fire to knock them into spikes. That lava pool on the left side of the screen? Shoot at it to pop off lethal bubbles that will damage whatever they hit.
So, yes, the anime-inspired space battles in Galak-Z are going to be different. Kazdal says that he knows that players want co-op and multiplayer and that 17-Bit is planning on figuring out that implementation. The game's scheduled for an August debut, coming out on PS4 first with a PC version following soon after that.Ho Ho Ho! Apple has just approved Junk Jack X 2.4.8 Christmas update!
This version adds a new planet called Umbra with new mobs, treasures to discover and many mobs with unique drops, a new physics engine, a new fancy equip system, completely revamped player graphics and equip pieces, a new user interface and many fixes throughout the whole game. Zombies will also throw snowballs to you in the new Christmas themed Terra!
Merry Christmas by Pixbits!
Changelog:
A new spooky planet called Umbra with new mobs, weapons, equip pieces, blocks and objects has been added
The new planet portal chests can be found in new generated Terra worlds
A new special flying type of monster has been added, bats!
Terra is now christmas themed, with themed objects, treasures and a new christmas zombie mob
more than 20 new monsters
many new placeable objects and blocks
many weapons to discover
many equip pieces to discover
4 new unique music tracks
fancy equip system, to dress like how you want while wearing the best armor pieces!
physics engine has been completely rewritten to be more accurate and believable
the new flying behavior for monsters, bat is just the first one, more will come in the future!
the User Interface has been completely redrawn
new more modern Junk Jack logo
streamlined block and object removal rules accordingly to their appropriate tools
new energy bar system which opens many possibilities for the future (currently used for underwater breath reserve)
chest interface now has the color of the opened chest
the main player sprite has been redrawn, with new appearance and animations
all equip pieces are new, better looking with more details
many small things are changed, enhanced or removed to keep consistency with the ongoing desktop version of the game
fixed broken trading system
fixed a multiplayer craft related to client crashing after exiting from the game
added missing objects and mobs to creative
added some missing crafts
many bug fixes throughout the whole game, too many to list here!
We hope you’ll enjoy this patch! We didn’t have time to add more features but we’re working hard on the cross-platform engine for the release of the game on desktop platforms and, since we want to keep the iOS version as much coherent as possible with the other upcoming version, we had to focus a lot on things “behind the scenes”!Anti-Trump protesters will begin arriving in Washington this weekend and canvass the nation's capital through Inauguration Day.
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters are preparing to descend on the nation's capital for Inauguration Day, setting up a combustible situation opposite the large gatherings of the president-elect's fans.
On Saturday, the Rev. Al Sharpton will lead protesters from the National Sylvan Theater traveling along Independence Avenue toward West Potomac Park opposite the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The National Park Service, which issues permits for gatherings of more than 25 people in many public spaces in the District, has granted Sharpton's group a permit for 25,000 marchers. Among those marching are Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Brenda Lawrence of Michigan and Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
The "Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparation" also will hold a rally and march on Saturday at Freedom Plaza, according to a permit issued by the National Park Service that has allotted space for 600 people.
The list of groups that have submitted First Amendment permit applications with the National Park Service to demonstrate during the Inauguration Day festivities includes a diverse range of ardent Trump supporters and vocal anti-Trump liberals.
The Westboro Baptist Church has a permit to demonstrate at John Marshall Park located along the parade route on Inauguration Day, the same site where 5,000 Bikers for Trump are hoping to gather pending a National Park Service decision. Meanwhile, the liberal ANSWER Coalition's permit for about 10,000 anti-Trump protesters a few blocks away at Freedom Plaza—also along the inaugural parade route—already has been granted for a time period encompassing the inauguration. The ANSWER Coalition acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
Several other left-leaning groups, including those identified as "Real Progressives," the "Progressive Independent Party," and "People's Power Assembly" have all applied for permits for thousands of people to demonstrate in the nation's capital.
But the most chaos caused anywhere on Inauguration Day may come from #DisruptJ20 protesters led by anarchists who are looking to spoil Trump's celebration. The group has several events planned for the week of the inauguration, including a queer dance party in front of Mike Pence's residence in D.C.'s Chevy Chase neighborhood on Wednesday, a protest outside the " Deploraball" inaugural ball at the National Press Club on Thursday and several more confrontational actions on Inauguration Day.
The #DisruptJ20 protesters are looking to shut down entrances into D.C., on Inauguration Day from the south. The protesters are also planning to blockade checkpoints to the inaugural parade route and the inauguration itself, organizers announced on Thursday.
Two marches organized by the #DisruptJ20 protesters will occur on Inauguration Day. One march will depart Columbus Circle at noon and head toward McPherson Square, a few blocks away from the White House.
A second "anti-capitalist" march, which has not received a permit from the National Park Service, would start from the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 10 a.m. and go wherever it pleases. The bridge is one of the only open access points for the public to enter the city from Virginia, meaning protesters could ruin the commute for those arriving from Virginia.
"We are definitely worried about our safety and all of the people's safety who are going to be protesting with us," said Samantha Miller, a #DisruptJ20 organizer, at Thursday's press conference. "I'm not willing to back down and say we shouldn't protest because the right wing is scary or because racists might be violent, because that lets them win."
On Inauguration Day evening, the anarchists plan to lead #DisruptJ20 protesters to wreck several of the inaugural balls. The protesters will be coordinating their actions on social media using #BallCrusher.
The day after the inauguration, the Women's March on Washington is expected to draw more than 100,000 people in opposition to Trump. A permit granted to organizers of the group allocated space for 200,000 people "to come together in solidarity to express to the new administration and Congress that women's rights are human rights and our power cannot be ignored."
But infighting among some of the women's march participants has led some to question whether the actual number of participants may drop below original expectations. Racial fault lines among the women planning on demonstrating have caused a few to cancel their plans, according to the New York Times.
The American Constitution Society also plans to demonstrate the day after the inauguration, and the National Park Service has granted them a permit for 50,000 people to demonstrate at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
With Trump's inauguration less than a week away, the colorful mix of Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters arriving in D.C., may set the tone for how politically disparate Americans will live side-by-side under the new regime.Andrea Leadsom, British MP and Minister and candidate to lead the Tory party and become PM | Rob Stothard/Getty Images Michael Gove ally apologizes over Andrea Leadsom sabotage attempt Campaign manager sorry for attempt to derail opponent’s bid to lead Conservative Party.
Michael Gove's campaign manager Nick Boles apologized Thursday after a message he sent to Tory MPs urging them to block Andrea Leadsom from the Tory leadership shortlist was leaked to the press.
Boles told Conservative MPs he was "seriously frightened" by the prospect of Leadsom being elected leader if MPs included her in the final two candidates who will be put to party members for a vote.
"What if Theresa stumbles?" Boles wrote, referring to the Home Secretary Theresa May, the front-runner to replace David Cameron as Tory leader and prime minister. "Are we really confident that the membership won't vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life?"
Boles, who is also a Tory MP, added: "Michael doesn't mind spending two months taking a good thrashing from Theresa if that's what it takes."
While May, with more than half of the 330 Conservative MPs backing her candidacy, is almost certain to make it onto the ballot, Gove and Leadsom are battling it out for second place. A poll by Conservative Home recently found Tory members are divided between May and Leadsom.
Boles said Thursday he had apologized to Gove, who he said was unaware of the message.
I have apologised to @Gove2016 for the message I sent. He did not know about it let alone authorise it. And it does not reflect his views. — Nick Boles (@NickBolesMP) July 6, 2016Virgin America will begin non-stop daily service to San Francisco from Denver on March 15.
Virgin will fly Airbus A320 aircraft with 149 seats and three classes of service. The airline will fly from the A concourse. Virgin’s ticket counter will be on the east side, near competitor Frontier.
According to Denver International Airport, Denver is the largest market that Virgin America doesn’t already serve from San Francisco and is the top destination requested by the airline’s high-tech corporate accounts. DIA said about 860,000 fly between Denver and San Francisco each year.
“We’re looking forward to bringing a breath of fresh airline competition to this important market and to building strong community ties with the city of Denver and state of Colorado,” said Virgin America president and CEO David Cush.
Prices will range from $129 for coach seats to $399 for first class.
To launch the new service, Virgin is offering $52.80 fares from Denver to San Francisco on certain days between April 5 and May 24.One of the biggest drawbacks to buying apps on things like the Play Store is wondering if it does what you need it to do before you put your money on the line. AppSurfer, an India-based startup, is building a platform to alleviate this concern and give developers a web-based tool to let users test drive their apps before they buy. If this sounds familiar, it's because Amazon allows customers to do this very thing on its Appstore. The advantage here is that it would be open to the entire web and not just one market. You could even embed your fully-functional app in a website. A-like so:
The above is an example of an embed that would be possible with apps available via AppSurfer. Try it out! Click on the simulated phone screen to give it a whirl. At the moment, there are only a few developers who have shared their work to the site which, by the way, is still in need of some work. As you can see, the embed itself is a little wonky.
The company has also said that it wants to make it possible to preview apps via an HTML5 browser, which means you could have test runs on your phone or tablet, and that makes more sense in some cases than pointing and clicking with a mouse.
All that being said, the company is still getting started and we may never see this vision come to fruition. With bold ambitions like becoming "the YouTube of Android Apps," it's not uncommon to see goals fail to be met. Still, it's a neat idea, isn't it? Hey Google, why not hook these guys up? You're no stranger to purchasing companies to integrate their products. We'd love to see app trials in the web-based Play Store. Just a thought.
Source: AppSurfer via TechCrunchYesterday, the Chronicle Herald published an article with the alarming headline “Parents worried over school kids’ brutality at Chebucto Heights Elementary School.” The lede:
HALIFAX — Concerned parents are reporting incidents of violence by refugee students at Chebucto Heights Elementary School. Reports of students choking, pushing, slapping and verbally abusing their fellow classmates are causing parents to worry about the school’s disciplinary action.
Refugees in the news
Much of the reaction to the Chronicle Herald article on social media was related to the allegation that refugee children are a problem.
Leading up to last fall’s election, Justin Trudeau campaigned with a pledge to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. His Liberal Party of course won a majority in Parliament, and as prime minister Trudeau has lived up to his pledge. While the process has taken a little longer than promised, as of last week, 26,213 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada.
The Canadian public has mostly supported the refugee policy, and communities across the country have mobilized to sponsor refugee families and provide the needed services.
But the reaction south of the border has been less enthusiastic. In March, an Ipsos poll found that about 50 per cent of Americans thought the refugees coming to Canada posed a security threat to the United States. And Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has stoked anti-refugee sentiment, saying that if elected he would deport Syrian refugees.
While it’s not the prevailing attitude in Canada, some of the American anti-refugee sentiment is shared north of the border. In March, Toronto legal scholar Azeezah Kanji catalogued some of the uglier reactions:
An online Care2 petition asking the government to “stop resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada” has garnered almost 50,000 signatures, accompanied by comments such as “terrists [sic]” and “If the Liberal Government wishes to increase the number of refugee’s [sic] to Canada, BRING IN THE CHRISTIANS. I don’t think Mr. Trudeau will as he seems to be dedicated to the Muslim Brotherhood.” Calgary schools have been defaced by anti-Muslim graffiti, most recently two weeks ago. In January, a group of Syrian refugees attending a welcome event in Vancouver were attacked with pepper spray. Anti-immigrant groups have organized demonstrations in Canada; Pegida Quebec’s march in Montreal on Feb. 6 was shut down by activists.
As Chris Parsons points out, there was an immediate xenophobic reaction to the Chronicle Herald on Facebook. But not just Facebook. A quick google search this morning found the following:
Arnie Lemaire’s blazingcatfur:
Ezra Levant’s The Rebel:
An American gun rights site:
Something called jihadwatch:
I am not arguing that any problems associated with refugees should not be reported because xenophobic and crazed right wingers will use the articles to advance their own warped causes. But this article fails as reporting.
Accuracy
In the article, several disturbing details were offered by an pseudonymously named parent, “Missy”:
Missy said her daughter, who is in Grade 3, was choked on Monday and Thursday last week by two refugee boys. A chain was used on both occasions, but she cannot confirm the size or strength of the chain. She said one boy yelled “Muslims rule the world” while choking her daughter. School staff intervened, but to her knowledge, the students were not disciplined further.
But this morning, the headline on the online version of the article has been changed to “Chebucto Heights bullying worries parents” and the allegations that a chain was used in an attack and that the boys yelled “Muslims ruled the world” have been removed. The paragraph now reads:
Missy said her daughter, who is in Grade 3, was choked on Monday and Thursday last week by two refugee boys. School staff intervened, but to her knowledge, the students were not disciplined further.
There is no editorial note explaining the changes. I’ve archived the original article here, and the revised article here. I’ll update this page if there are further revisions. Update: the article has now been removed completely. There is still no explanation.
Surely an attack with a chain would be reported to the police, no? Last night, I asked the police department if they had any record of such an attack, and spokesperson Lauren Leal responded this morning as follows:
I looked at the calls from Jan 2016 to present and did not find an incident that correlates with what is described in the article. We did receive one complaint from a parent who reported an assault that occurred on February 19 involving a six-year-old assaulting another six-year-old. We have limited information, as the parent reported for information purposes only and requested no further police action.
At best, then, we have a parent who was so concerned about an alleged attack with a chain that she called the local newspaper, but not so concerned that she would call the police.
Without an editor’s note explaining the changes, we’re left with guesswork. Possibly, the facts were simply incorrect— there was no chain involved and no one yelled “Muslims ruled the world,” and so those details were removed.
Or maybe the original article wasn’t clear enough. Was the “chain” actually a necklace?
Another possibility is that in light of the negative social media reaction, the paper changed the story to tone it down and take out the most disturbing details.
But whatever the reason for the changes, without an explanation for them, the paper will rightly be perceived as dishonest and untrustworthy.
Lack of professionalism
When I first read the article I thought the reporting could be incorrect because the chain of evidence was too long: an unnamed child told an unnamed parent something that was relayed to an unnamed reporter, who wrote an article that was vetted (or not) by an unnamed editor.
It’s impossible to ignore that this article was written during the strike by the Chronicle Herald newsroom employee union, which represents reporters, photographers, and some editors. During the strike, Chronicle Herald management has hired temporary “replacement workers” to fill in on reporting, and the paper is not publishing bylines on the articles produced by the scabs.
One could argue that the no-bylines policy is meant to protect the reporters from retaliation by striking reporters. But another byproduct of the policy is that there is a lack of accountability. We don’t know who to blame for the reporting. We don’t know if the reporter has an axe to grind, or has been responsible for other unfair or inaccurate articles.
The lack of accountability extends to the editors. Two of the pre-strike editors — Brian Ward and Paul O’Connell — are not members of the union and so remain at the editing desk. But three other editors who are unionized are walking the picket line and their seats at the editing desk are being filled by advertising staff and other non-journalists. Ward and O’Connell have good reputations as editors, and would likely have flagged the article in question. It appears to me that the article in question went through the other, non-journalist, editors.
The point of publishing the article seems to have been to get content out, possibly content that generates wide discussion, and never mind the ethical considerations.
Moreover, at the heart of the story are allegations made by a pseudonymous parent — essentially, an anonymous source. There’s a disturbing lack of context given to the decision to grant the parent anonymity.
However, as Chris Parsons points out, the article uses the parent’s nickname — Missy — and a Facebook user by the name of “Missy Karma Lewis” has weighed in on the discussion:
Ethical reporting
But the biggest problem I have with the Chronicle Herald story is that it violates basic ethical guidelines about reporting on children.
Generally, we don’t report on alleged violence at elementary schools at all, unless it rises to the level of a lockdown and a police response that warrants notifying the broader community. I can’t think of any previous Chronicle Herald story about an alleged schoolyard fight at an elementary school.
Our legal system recognizes that children under 12 years of age can’t be held criminally responsible, and for good reason: Children are not fully formed. They are still learning how to function in the world, are not thoroughly socialized, and have only the beginnings of an understanding of morality and right-and-wrong. They’re kids! Every kid screws up, acts inappropriately, has trouble. That’s why we have parents and adult professionals charged with helping them in the journey.
Beyond that, these particular children came from a war zone. The horrors they have seen by age eight likely exceed anything most of the readers of the Chronicle Herald article could even imagine. They then were removed from their friends and extended families and took a long journey that brought them to a strange land with different languages and customs.
Is it believable that these kids might have some problems adjusting? Sure. But what kind of person uses traumatized children as pieces in a public relations game? We can expect as much from the Ezra Levants of the world, but reporters are held to a higher standard.
Reporters should recognize the long-term implications of what they write with regards to children. It’s one thing to praise a kid for being an environmental advocate, or being a good basketball player, or what have you. A positive news story about a young person will likely leave that kid feeling good and build self-esteem.
It’s entirely a different thing to label a child as a “brutal” thug. The Chronicle Herald article will be referenced by the refugee kids’ peers, no doubt as soon as tomorrow. It will be used to stigmatize and alienate the boys. It will slow their integration into society and may serve to marginalize them for years to come. It may screw up the rest of their lives.
Again, we’re talking about kids. We don’t know their exact ages, but they’re probably younger than 10.
Kids.ITC decision could force Motorola to pay licence fees to Microsoft, but poses problem for Google in attempt to bolster Android patent portfolio
Motorola Mobility – the company that Google is buying for $12.5bn (£8bn) – has infringed a Microsoft patent in making its Android handsets, according to a ruling by the US International Trade Commission.
The decision was tweeted by Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, who leads its legal team.
The verdict – which is an "initial determination", rather than a final verdict – follows a complaint filed in October 2010 by Microsoft in which Motorola was accused of infringing nine patents relating to the now-discontinued Windows Mobile and the current Windows Phone platforms.
Microsoft subsequently dropped two of the patents from the list. The patents complained of cover topics such as monitoring remaining memory, updating contact lists and synchronising on- and offline use.
Motorola was found to have infringed on four claims relating to US patent 6,370,566 which covers "generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device", filed in 1998 and granted in 2002.
"ITC finds Motorola patent infringement in Microsoft case. Another indication that licensing is the best path for the industry," tweeted Smith. The ITC has published its finding.
Motorola was cleared of infringement of the six five other patents. In a press release, Scott Offer, Motorola's senior vice president and general counsel, said: "We are very pleased that the majority of the rulings were favourable to Motorola Mobility. The initial determination may provide clarity on the definition of the Microsoft 566 patent for which a violation was found and will help us avoid infringement of this patent in the US market."
The trade commission is a quasi-judicial arbiter that can block imports of products found to infringe US patents. The agency has become a venue of choice for patent grievances since it typically completes investigations faster that US courts.
A judge is due to rule on a similar patent infringement case brought by Apple against Motorola on 13 January.
The outcome presents a significant problem for both Google and Motorola. The US is currently the largest smartphone market in the world, and the ITC ruling could allow Microsoft to apply for a ban on sales of Motorola smartphones there unless it pays a licence fee to Microsoft.
But for Google, which has been understood to be buying Motorola in order to bolster its patent portfolio, the vulnerability of its acquisition to Microsoft's patent portfolio may mean that it cannot protect other Android licencees from the need to pay licence fees to Microsoft to cover their liabilities under patent law.
Microsoft is already receiving millions of dollars in payments from Samsung and HTC after settling patent litigation related to Android.
Google made its bid for Motorola Mobility, which was spun off as an independent unit in January this year, after failing to acquire a raft of patents from the bankruptcy of Nortel in June.
It began negotiations to purchase Motorola Mobility within days, following a meeting between Larry Page and Andy Rubin, of Google, and Sanjay Jha, chief executive of Motorola Mobility.
In an interview on 12 December, Google chairman Eric Schmidt said the ITC is "being used by some companies to try to shut down choice". He said: "It's bad… From a consumer perspective, you want choice and the consequence of this ITC mechanism is that it appears, if it does find against Android, it could limit your choice."
Florian Müller, an independent patent analyst, said: "The ones who can actually sit back and relax as they watch this are those who have concluded license deals with Microsoft (or other patent holders) and don't have to worry about possible or actual import bans, possible or impossible workarounds, or further escalation."
Motorola meanwhile has a case in train against Microsoft's Xbox.
Apple earlier on Tuesday won a similar determination against HTC over its Android handsets, and could see a ban implemented by April unless HTC can find a way to work around its infringement.
The HTC ruling yesterday, which didn't go as far as Apple sought, should give the iPhone maker "a stronger position" in its intellectual-property cases against other Android-device makers, Brian Marshall, an analyst at ISI Group in San Francisco, said in a note to clients.
"With about $80bn in net cash, we believe Apple is not interested in a financial settlement with HTC or other Android vendors but wants to stop the shipment/sale of products that infringe on their vast IP portfolio," Marshall said.
Motorola, meanwhile, last week won a similar injunction against Apple in Germany over wireless patents which it could use there to force the iPhone and iPad off shelves – though Apple has said it will appeal.
Update: this article was corrected after publication.
• Motorola was found to have infringed only one patent, rather than four: it infringed on four of the claims covered by Microsoft's 566 patent, rather than four separate patents.
• |
batter’s head – after a heated confrontation with umpires in a narrow Fenway Park tunnel after a game last Wednesday night.
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The Jays have appealed the suspension and issued a release saying they would have no comment until the appeal is heard.
Although details are sketchy, it is clear that a loud, profane shouting match occurred after the game between Jays coaches, including Jacoby, and the umpiring crew in the tunnel leading from the visitors’ dugout to the clubhouse. Umpires have long used that tunnel to access their own dressing room, with visiting players following them up the tunnel. Security personnel typically stay between the players and coaches and the umpiring crew.
Sources say someone from the Jays began yelling at the umpires, two of whom – crew chief Bill Miller and Doug Eddings – stopped and came back toward the Jays group. A lot of shouting ensued. Sources say the umpires claimed in their report to Major League Baseball that Jacoby initiated physical contact of some sort. Those same sources say Miller and Eddings were instrumental in escalating the confrontation.
The tunnel is barely wide enough for two people to stand side by side.
After Wednesday’s incident, MLB issued a directive specifying that umpires exit the tunnel first to ensure that no interaction with the visiting team occurs, sources say.
Unlike a suspended player, a suspended coach cannot continue his in-game duties pending an appeal. Jacoby’s suspension began Monday night. He can work with players before and after games.
The incident, first reported in vague fashion by veteran baseball writer Peter Gammons on Twitter late last week, erupted when the Jays and the umpiring crew entered the tunnel after Russell Martin was called out on strikes by Adrian Johnson to end Toronto’s 4-1 loss. Martin disputed that call, and several Jays’ players questioned Johnson’s calls during the game.
Major League Baseball announced Jacoby’s unpaid suspension in a release Monday evening. The release gave no details, stating only that the suspension related to Jacoby’s “postgame conduct toward the umpire crew.” The suspension was handed down by Joe Torre, MLB’s chief baseball officer.
The suspension is unusually long. Last September, Jays’ pitcher Marcus Stroman was suspended for six games – later reduced to five – for throwing at Baltimore catcher Caleb Joseph. Kansas City pitcher Yordano Ventura is currently serving a seven-game suspension for his part in inciting a bench-clearing brawl. Royals’ pitcher Edinson Volquez received a five-game suspension for his part in the same incident.Google tweaked its SafeSearch filter today — a feature that allows users to prevent explicit content from appearing in search results — making it less likely for some queries to return pornographic content. The change left many users confused and upset earlier today after the company appeared to be blocking explicit images even for users who have SafeSearch turned off. The change to image search requires users to be more specific when requesting explicit content, and now presents them with a pop-up warning if Google detects that a user is searching for explicit content for the first time.
The difference in search results is apparent when comparing Google's new image search algorithm to other browsers, and also to some of Google's international sites (like Google's German image search site, for example), which have not been updated with the new search rules. The Verge performed several cross-search engine tests and discovered that Google's new results are, in fact, quite different; the following searches in the image below used the same query with filtering turned off.
Previously, users could select from three levels of search filtration with a SafeSearch drop-down menu: "strict" filtering (no explicit content), "moderate" filtering (the default setting), or no filtering. Now, users are allowed simply to toggle SafeSearch on or off, and the setting is turned off by default.
Users upset about the change have expressed their concern on the web, and while Google may not be censoring search results, it's still forcing people to change their search behavior. It also adds seemingly unnecessary steps for those who may have already indicated their interest in explicit content by turning SafeSearch off. Of course, the change may be seen as a benefit for parents and others who would prefer not to stumble onto explicit images with broad search terms.
Update: In a statement given to The Verge, a Google spokesperson says that "we are not censoring any adult content, and want to show users exactly what they are looking for — but aim not to show sexually-explicit results unless a user is specifically searching for them." The full statement is below:
We are not censoring any adult content, and want to show users exactly what they are looking for -- but we aim not to show sexually-explicit results unless a user is specifically searching for them. We use algorithms to select the most relevant results for a given query. If you're looking for adult content, you can find it without having to change the default setting -- you just may need to be more explicit in your query if your search terms are potentially ambiguous. The image search settings now work the same way as in web search
Thanks, Servo086!"Homer's Triple Bypass" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1992.[1] In the episode, Homer Simpson gets a heart attack due to his poor health. Dr. Hibbert tells Homer that he needs a triple bypass, but the Simpson family resorts to a discount surgeon after learning how expensive the operation would be in a regular hospital. The episode was written by Gary Apple and Michael Carrington and directed by David Silverman.[2]
Plot [ edit ]
After being warned by Marge about his unhealthy eating, Homer starts to feel chest pains. After being yelled at by Mr. Burns for his poor performance at work, Homer suffers a heart attack.
Homer is sent to the hospital, Dr. Hibbert informs him and Marge that he needs a triple bypass, which will cost him $30,000. Hearing this, Homer has another heart attack, increasing the price to $40,000. Without health insurance from work, Marge and Homer figure out a way to pay for the operation.
Homer goes to The Merry Widow Insurance Company, but is denied when he has a heart attack before signing the policy. Marge and Homer then see a commercial for Dr. Nick Riviera, an incompetent surgeon who will perform any operation for $129.95. With no other options, Homer goes for the cheaper service.
Dr. Nick, unfamiliar with the procedure, rents an instructional video, but the important steps of the procedure have been taped over. During Homer's operation, he realizes he does not know what to do. Lisa, watching the operation in the amphitheater, uses her knowledge of cardiology to guide Dr. Nick. The surgery is successful and Homer makes a full recovery.
Production [ edit ]
"Homer's Triple Bypass" was not written by a member of the show's regular staff, but instead Gary Apple and Michael Carrington. They were brought in as freelance writers because the show was suffering from a depleted writing team after the third season ended and the remaining members did not bother to do the episode.
Carrington would provide voice work for later episodes, such as "I Love Lisa" (as Sideshow Raheem), "Homer and Apu" (as the head of the Kwik-e-Mart), and "Simpson Tide" (as Homer's drill instructor).[3] The idea for the episode came from James L. Brooks, who pitched the idea of Homer having a heart attack. However, the writers disagreed with such a heavy topic as this.[4]
They decided to have a scene where Lisa and Bart visit Homer before his surgery and were unsure of how to do it, so they approached Brooks. Brooks made up the entire scene on the spot.[5] Originally, the surgery was supposed to be performed by Dr. Hibbert, but it was later changed to Dr. Nick.[3] In the original airing of the episode, Dr. Nick's phone number was the number of a real legal clinic, whose lawyers made them change it to 1-600-DOCTORB.[3]
The episode's production staff decided that David Silverman would be able to make the episode funny, so he was selected to direct it.[4] He went "all out" and did his best to make Homer's grimaces as humorous as possible, to keep the episode at least somewhat lighter in tone. Silverman added some special touches: for example, when Homer has an out of body experience, his foot was still touching his body to signify that he was not dead. A doctor acted as a medical consultant for the episode.[6]
The episode was to have concluded with Homer eating a pizza in his hospital bed following the operation, and with Marge asking a nurse where the pizza had come from. This reflects the earlier flashback scene where Grampa Simpson watches Homer as an infant, chewing on a slice of pizza in the hospital. The scene was replaced with the family cheering Homer on while he is in intensive care.[5]
Cultural references [ edit ]
The opening sequence of the episode is a parody of American television show COPS; it was not in the original animatic and added later because the episode was too short to fit in its required 22-minute length.[6] When Homer is performing a sock-puppet show to Lisa and Bart, he uses Akbar and Jeff, both of whom are characters from Matt Groening's weekly comic strip Life in Hell.[2][4] Homer follows behind the house that was the birthplace of Edgar Allan Poe, which was placed in the episode by David Silverman. During this scene Homer starts to hear a heartbeat, a reference to Poe's "The Telltale Heart".[6] The scene where Homer sings in a church as a boy is based on the film Empire of the Sun.[5] When Homer tries to allay his children's concern over his forthcoming heart operation by telling them only bad people die, Bart then asks about Abraham Lincoln, to which Homer incorrectly tells him that he sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren, which is a reference to Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy who died of milk sickness, an illness that is caused by drinking the milk of cows that have eaten the poisonous herb white snakeroot.
Reception [ edit ]
In its original broadcast, "Homer's Triple Bypass" finished 16th in ratings for the week of December 14–20, 1992, with a Nielsen rating of 14.3, equivalent to approximately 13.2 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, beating Married... with Children.[7]
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it "a cautionary tale that gives Dr Nick his biggest chance to shine." They also praised the "cloud goes up, cloud goes down" line.[2] IGN noted that the episode "introduced fans to one of the show's more endearing background players, Dr. Nick."[8] Krusty's line "this ain't make-up" is one of Matt Groening's favorite lines from the show.[9]Prime minister uses his first Independence Day speech to call on parents to take responsibility for actions of sons
India has been shamed by a string of high-profile rapes and sexual attacks on women, the country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has said in his first Independence Day speech as prime minister.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort citadel in Delhi, Modi called on Indian parents to take responsibility for the actions of their sons, rather than put the blame on their daughters. He said every Indian household should have a toilet within the next four years, and promised separate toilet facilities for girls in public schools.
"Our heads hang in shame when we hear about rapes," he said. "Why can't we prevent this? When a daughter steps out, parents demand to know where she's going. But when a son returns home, does anyone dare ask where he is coming from? He might have been with the wrong people, doing wrong things. After all, a person raping is someone's son. Why don't parents apply the same yardstick of good behaviour for their sons as for their daughters?"
A brutal gang rape on a moving Delhi bus in December 2012 has led to an unprecedented national debate about sexual violence and prompted calls for changes in cultural attitudes as well as policing and legal reform. But many attacks still go unreported amid an entrenched culture of tolerance for sexual violence and social stigma for the victims of such assaults.
"The law will take its own course, but as a society every parent has a responsibility to teach their sons the difference between right and wrong," the prime minister said.
Modi's tone throughout his hour-long speech in Hindi was part beseeching, part admonishing, as he took up issues ranging from eradicating poverty and ending Maoist violence to reforming bureaucracy and ending Soviet-style central economic planning.
But he got the maximum applause when he spoke on gender-related issues. "Look at our sex ratio – 1,000 men to 940 women," he said. "Who is creating this imbalance in society? Not the Almighty. I appeal to doctors not to kill the girl child."
Modi called on politicians to ensure more toilets were built for girls and women. "Can't we just make arrangements for toilets for the dignity of our mothers and sisters?" he said.
In May two teenage girls were found hanged from a tree after being gang-raped while going to the toilet in the fields because – like around half of the country's population – there was no toilet at home.
"We are in the 21st century and yet there is still no dignity for women as they have to go out in the open to defecate and they have to wait for darkness to fall. Can you imagine the number of problems they have to face because of this?" Modi said.
Unlike his predecessors, Modi did not read out a tedious list of achievements and promises from a prepared text, but addressed the people directly. And he dispensed with the bullet-proof screen on the podium. The nationally telecast speech was trending immediately on Twitter.
He portrayed himself as an outsider, "an untouchable to the elite class of Delhi", who was battling with vested interests to bring about change. He described himself as "not a prime minister but a prime sevak [one who serves]".
Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Tushar Gandhi, said: "The tone of the speech was very grand, but the words were very humble."
In the midst of homilies about national character, Modi also made a couple of significant policy statements.
He announced a government scheme to help poor people open savings accounts, which would come with a debit card and a 100,000 rupee (£985) health insurance policy.
About 40% of Indian households do not have bank accounts. If the functioning of anti-poverty programmes that are prone to massive corruption is to improve, direct cash transfers to poor people is now being touted as a solution. For this to succeed, there has to be a major expansion in retail banking.
In a clear signal that the era of a centralised, Soviet-style command economy was over, Modi announced the scrapping of the planning commission, set up in 1950 to formulate five-year plans for investment and development in all states. It will be replaced by a new "development and reform" body in which provinces will have a greater say.
Modi was criticised by the opposition for his almost cursory reference to the inter-religious violence in the last three months, after his Hindu nationalist party came to power. He appealed to the people to shun communal violence and work instead for the nation's progress.
Modi ended his address with slogans dear to Hindu nationalists. Besides the customary "Jai Hind!" (Hail India!), he added two more slogans hailing "Mother India".Kansas City Star columnist Cindy Hoedel believes 2014 is the year society should start accepting atheists and that begins by giving society someone to accept:
I suspect a large number of the 33 million are in-the-closet atheists who don’t want to be the only person in their family, workplace or book club to use the “A”-word. Let me go first: My name is Cindy, and I am an atheist.
I really want to like this article. I mean, she’s advocating for something I obviously support.
But I’m having a hard time. It starts with the line “Let me go first.” The admission is welcome, but Hoedel isn’t even close to being first. (Hell, she’s not even the first newspaper columnist to use her platform to come out. That link’s from a decade ago, but I’m sure it happened before then, too.)
Then there’s this line:
Salon jumped on the atheist wave last week, posting a column with the headline “15 ways atheists can stand up for rationality.”
Well, Salon’s been publishing articles about atheism for a while now (usually in a critical way…). But I’ll grant that the article in question was a good one.
She says of the article’s author Jeffrey Tayler:
I appreciate his logic — if it is OK to say you believe in God, it should be OK for me to say I don’t. But some of his suggestions sound confrontational; for example, opting out when invited to join hands and say grace before a meal. I think that’s just silly. I will keep on saying grace with friends and family who enjoy that, and we’ll skip it when they eat at my place.
Yes, she’ll be an out atheist… unless that’s uncomfortable for other people, in which case she’ll pretend to be religious. (Way to take a stand!)
It’s one thing to admit you just don’t want to stir the waters with family, but opting out of saying a group prayer is hardly confrontational unless you’re being an ass about it. If others can’t accept that, it’s their problem, not yours.
Finally, Hoedel makes this astonishing claim:
Just as gay marriage is not a threat to straight marriage, atheism is not a threat to religion.
Gay marriage is definitely no threat to straight marriage, but part of the reason atheism is so despised is precisely because it’s a threat to religion.
Letting people know you can be good without God? Showing them you don’t need religion to give your life meaning? Raising your children to be healthy, happy individuals without religious indoctrination? Part of what makes religion so powerful is the belief that you need it to have a moral compass and direction in life. Atheists debunk that notion entirely. As more of us come out, the rest of society will have to confront the reality that some of their reasons for being religious aren’t good ones.
I appreciate Hoedel’s column — it’s never easy to come out — but it’s also not as hard as it used to be. What we need now are atheists who are willing to be more vocal about why they don’t believe in God (and, if they believe it, why religion is harmful). An article like this could have been pretty influential a decade or two ago… but now? I doubt it’ll raise much of a fuss. And that’s in large part because the heavy lifting of making atheism acceptable in society has already been accomplished by others.Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on the failure of SQ 779, the sales tax increase for education:
SQ 779 did not reach majority support even though Oklahomans widely acknowledge that we must improve school funding. The results of this vote show that many believed that SQ 779 was the wrong solution to the right problem. Many voters were not willing to add to the sales tax — our state’s most regressive major tax, which takes the biggest share of income from low-income seniors and working families — after years of income tax cuts heavily slanted to benefit the wealthiest Oklahomans. Going forward, lawmakers must find a more balanced approach to restore school funding. The failure of SQ 779 does not take lawmakers off the hook, because our state’s children and economic future still depend on better funding of schools and teachers.Mystery builders Who built the pyramids? And where did those builders live? Egyptologists used to suspect that Egypt's construction sites were supported by purpose-built villages, but there was no archaeological evidence for this until the end of the Victorian age....neat rows of mud-brick terraced houses provided a wealth of papyri, pottery, tools, clothing and children's toys... Then in 1888 the theory was finally confirmed, when British archaeologist Flinders Petrie started his investigation into the Middle Kingdom pyramid complex of Senwosert II at Ilahun. Here an associated walled settlement, Kahun, yielded a complete town plan whose neat rows of mud-brick terraced houses provided a wealth of papyri, pottery, tools, clothing and children's toys - all the debris of day-to-day life that is usually missing from Egyptian sites....few early Egyptologists were prepared to 'waste time' looking for domestic architecture. If we are to make sense of the Great Pyramid at Giza as a man-made monument, this is precisely the sort of evidence that we need to uncover. But with so many splendid tombs on offer, few early Egyptologists were prepared to 'waste time' looking for domestic architecture. It is only recently, thanks largely to the ongoing excavations of Egyptologists Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass, that excavation around the base of the Great Pyramid has started to reveal the stories of the pyramid-builders there. Top
Scale of the workforce The Greek historian Herodotus tells us that the Great Pyramid was built by 100,000 slaves who 'laboured constantly and were relieved every three months by a fresh gang'. He is, however, wrong. King Khufu - 4th Dynasty ruler of Egypt - the royal responsible for the commissioning of the Great Pyramid, did not have a vast body of slaves at his disposal, and even if he had, there was no way that 100,000 could work simultaneously on one pyramid. All archaeologists have their own methods of calculating the number of workers employed at Giza, but most agree that the Great Pyramid was built by approximately 4,000 primary labourers (quarry workers, hauliers and masons). They would have been supported by 16-20,000 secondary workers (ramp builders, tool-makers, mortar mixers and those providing back-up services such as supplying food, clothing and fuel). This gives a total of 20-25,000, labouring for 20 years or more. All archaeologists have their own methods of calculating the number of workers employed at Giza... The workers may be sub-divided into a permanent workforce of some 5,000 salaried employees who lived, together with their families and dependents, in a well-established pyramid village. There would also have been up to 20,000 temporary workers who arrived to work three- or four-month shifts, and who lived in a less sophisticated camp established alongside the pyramid village. Top
The pyramid village The sacred precincts of the Giza pyramid village cemetery were defined by the 'Wall of the Crow', a massive limestone boundary which separated the land of the living from the land of the dead. The main pyramid village lay outside this wall, close by the valley temple of the Great Pyramid. Unfortunately, this settlement now lies beneath the modern town of Nazlet es-Samman, and is largely inaccessible. The village dead - men, women and children - were buried in a sloping desert cemetery. The village dead - men, women and children - were buried in a sloping desert cemetery. Their varied tombs and graves, including miniature pyramids, step-pyramids and domed tombs, incorporate expensive stone elements 'borrowed' from the king's building site. The larger, more sophisticated, limestone tombs lie higher up the cemetery slope; here we find the administrators involved in the building of the pyramid, plus those who furnished its supplies....the permanent workers lived with their families in the shadow of the rising pyramid. Tomb robbers more or less ignored these workers' tombs, their rather basic grave goods being of little interest to thieves in search of gold. Consequently many skeletons have survived intact, allowing scientists to build up a profile of those who lived, worked and died at Giza. Of the 600 or more bodies so far examined, roughly half are female, with children and babies making up over 23 per cent of the total. Thus we have confirmation that the permanent workers lived with their families in the shadow of the rising pyramid. Top
Managing the task The tombs of the supervisors include inscriptions relating to the organisation and control of the workforce. These writings provide us with our only understanding of the pyramid-building system. They confirm that the work was organised along tried and tested lines, designed to reduce the vast workforce and their almost overwhelming task to manageable proportions....the work was organised along tried and tested lines, designed to reduce the vast workforce and their almost overwhelming task to manageable proportions. The splitting of task and workforce, combined with the use of temporary labourers, was a typical Egyptian answer to a logistical problem. Already temple staff were split into five shifts or 'phyles', and sub-divided into two divisions, which were each required to work one month in ten. Boat crews were always divided into left- and right-side gangs and then sub-divided; the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were decorated following this system, also by left- and right-hand gangs. At Giza the workforce was divided into crews of approximately 2,000 and then sub-divided into named gangs of 1,000: graffiti show that the builders of the third Giza pyramid named themselves the 'Friends of Menkaure' and the 'Drunkards of Menkaure'. These gangs were divided into phyles of roughly 200. Finally the phyles were split into divisions of maybe 20 workers, who were allocated their own specific task and their own project leader. Thus 20,000 could be separated into efficient, easily monitored, units and a seemingly impossible project, the raising of a huge pyramid, became an achievable ambition....graffiti show that the builders of the third Giza pyramid named themselves the 'Friends of Menkaure' and the 'Drunkards of Menkaure'. As bureaucracy responded to the challenges of pyramid building, the builders took full advantage of an efficient administration, which allowed them to summon workers, order supplies and allocate tasks. It is no coincidence that the 4th Dynasty shows the first flourishing of the hieratic script, the cursive, simplified form of hieroglyphics that would henceforth be used in all non-monumental writings. Top
The temporary workers The many thousands of manual labourers were housed in a temporary camp beside the pyramid town. Here they received a subsistence wage in the form of rations. The standard Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) ration for a labourer was ten loaves and a measure of beer. We can just about imagine a labouring family consuming ten loaves in a day, but supervisors and those of higher status were entitled to hundreds of loaves and many jugs of beer a day. These were supplies which would not keep fresh for long, so we must assume that they were, at least in part, notional rations, which were actually paid in the form of other goods - or perhaps credits. In any case, the pyramid town, like all other Egyptian towns, would soon have developed its own economy as everyone traded unwanted rations for desirable goods or skills....the pyramid town, like all other Egyptian towns, would soon have developed its own economy... The temporary labourers who died on site were buried in the town cemetery along with the tools of their trade. As we might expect, their hurried graves were poor in comparison with those of the permanent workers who had a lifetime to prepare for burial at Giza. Top
The industrial complex To the south of the pyramid town lay an industrial district, a gigantic, cohesive complex divided into blocks or galleries separated by paved streets equipped with drains, and including some workers' housing. Again investigations are still in progress, but Mark Lehner has already discovered a copper-processing plant, two bakeries with enough moulds to make hundreds of bell-shaped loaves, and a fish-processing unit complete with the fragile, dusty remains of thousands of fish. This is food production on a truly massive scale, although as yet Lehner has discovered neither storage facilities nor the warehouses. The animal bones recovered...include...most unexpectedly, choice cuts of prime beef. The animal bones recovered from this area and from the pyramid town include duck, the occasional sheep and pig and, most unexpectedly, choice cuts of prime beef. The ducks, sheep and pigs could have been raised amidst the houses and workshops of the pyramid town but cattle, an expensive luxury, must have been grazed on pasture - probably the fertile pyramid estates in the Delta - and then transported live for butchery at Giza. Top
Who were the pyramid builders? After comparing DNA samples taken from the workers' bones with samples taken from modern Egyptians, Dr Moamina Kamal of Cairo University Medical School has suggested that Khufu's pyramid was a truly nationwide project, with workers drawn to Giza from all over Egypt. She has discovered no trace of any alien race; human or intergalactic, as suggested in some of the more imaginative 'pyramid theories'....a truly nationwide project, with workers drawn to Giza from all over Egypt. Effectively, it seems, the pyramid served both as a gigantic training project and - deliberately or not - as a source of 'Egyptianisation'. The workers who left their communities of maybe 50 or 100 people, to live in a town of 15,000 or more strangers, returned to the provinces with new skills, a wider outlook and a renewed sense of national unity that balanced the loss of loyalty to local traditions. The use of shifts of workers spread the burden and brought about a thorough redistribution of pharaoh's wealth in the form of rations. Almost every family in Egypt was either directly or indirectly involved in pyramid building. The pyramid labourers were clearly not slaves. They may well have been the unwilling victims of the corvée or compulsory labour system, the system that allowed the pharaoh to compel his people to work for three or four month shifts on state projects. If this is the case, we may imagine that they were selected at random from local registers. Almost every family in Egypt was either directly or indirectly involved in pyramid building. But, in a complete reversal of the story of oppression told by Herodotus, Lehner and Hawass have suggested that the labourers may have been volunteers. Zahi Hawass believes that the symbolism of the pyramid was already strong enough to encourage people to volunteer for the supreme national project. Mark Lehner has gone further, comparing pyramid building to American Amish barn raising, which is done on a volunteer basis. He might equally well have compared it to the staffing of archaeological digs, which tend to be manned by enthusiastic, unpaid volunteers supervised by a few paid professionals. Top
Find out more Read on The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh's Workforce by AR David (Boston and Henley, London, 1986) The Complete Pyramids by M Lehner (London, 1997) Private Lives of the Pharaohs by J Tyldesley (London, 2000) The Pyramids: Their Archaeology and History by M Verner (London, 2002) Links The British Museum. Great Russell Street, London. Tel: 0207 323 8299. The British Museum is free to everybody and opens at 10am every day. TopMar 31, 2014 - DeeJ
For years now, the Bungie Store (in its current form) has served us well. We’ve put a lot of shirts on a lot of backs, and equipped you with the gear that you’ve needed to tell the world that you’re hip to our plans for world domination.
As always, things can get better. We can imagine a Bungie Store that is bigger, faster, better, stronger, and has even sweeter loot on display. To make that happen, we’ll need to close it down for some super serious renovations.
This is your last chance to get your hands on what we have in stock before we re-open. We’re locking the doors and papering the windows this Friday at Midnight PST.
Soon after, we’ll unveil the new and improved Bungie Store, and invite you in to browse our wares. Stay tuned. Like many things at Bungie, we’re getting ready for a new generation of adventure. You’ll have a chance to gear up before yours begins.Last week, we announced the pre-release of PostSharp Threading Toolkit, a library of aspects implementing best-practice patterns of multithreaded applications. The toolkit is available on NuGet and its source code is hosted on GitHub.
Note: the source code of the ping-pong example is available on GitHub too.
The Right Level of Abstraction
The motto of this toolkit is that direct use of the System.Threading namespace brings so much complexity that it cannot scale to large object models. In other words, if you’re using System.Threading or just locks in your business or UI layer (except in a few very specific classes), you are probably addressing the threading concern at the wrong level of abstraction, and you and your co-workers will perhaps have difficulties to handle that complexity in large applications.
A far better approach to multithreading is to grab a few threading models and to make sure everyone understands them. Then, select the proper threading model for every part of your application (UI and domain will probably require a different threading model). Finally, implement the threading model in all your classes. That final step is obviously the most complex and time-consuming (there can be thousands of classes) and cancels the benefits of abstraction – unless you are getting the tools for the job: Erlang, F#, or… PostSharp Threading Toolkit.
The Bad: Mutable Shared State
Imagine you have a room full of accounting assistants all working on the yearly balance of the same company. To make it easier to share information among workers, the manager thought it was smart to decide that all accounts will be maintained on a blackboard, so that many workers can update it simultaneously. (I chose a blackboard on purpose, because if whiteboards existed, they would probably have chosen a computer.)
It’s clear that workers of this team need to cooperate (i.e., communicate) in order to get their jobs done, otherwise they are going to overwrite each other’s accounting lines and mess with the balance.
The moral in the fable: concurrent access by several workers to shared mutable state causes mess.
A state (typically: a field or an element array) is mutable if it can be modified. It is shared if it can be read or updated by several workers concurrently. Immutable shared state does not cause conflict (all workers can concurrently look at the President’s picture on the wall). Private mutable state is safe too (there would be no issue if every worker was assigned a single account).
Actors Against Mutable Shared State
Actor-Based Programming (or simply actors) address the problem of multithreaded software by eradicating mutable shared state. Formally, the Actor model wants to ensure that, for any state:
NOT (state is mutable AND state is shared).
In other words, the Actor model ensures that:
state is mutable XOR state is shared.
The Actor model implements these restrictions using – guess what: actors! Think of as Actor as an object-oriented class (with some children objects such as collections, perhaps).
The Actor model is based on the following principles:
Actors communicate between each other and with the rest of the world using messages.
Messages are immutable.
An actor process only one message at a time.
Processing messages may cause a change of the state of the actor that processes it. Other state changes must be ordered through message passing.
The principles ensure that the only mutable state is private to an actor, and since the message-passing mechanism guarantees actors are single-threaded, the mutable state is not shared among different processors.
These simple principles are at the origin of the success of Erlang and F#, but have traditionally been difficult to implement in C#. With the new C# 5.0 and PostSharp Threading Toolkit, this is now much easier!
A Simple Ping-Pong Game
Let’s see these principles in action on the simplest multi-actor game invented: ping-pong. To make the game a little more interesting (and show that execution is actually asynchronous), I’m throwing two balls in the game.
class Player : Actor { string name; int counter; public Player(string name) { this.name = name; } public void Ping(Player peer, int countdown) { Console.WriteLine("{0}.Ping from thread {1}", this.name,
Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId); if (countdown >= 1) { peer.Ping(this, countdown - 1); } this.counter++; } } class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { Player ping = new Player("Sarkozy"); Player pong = new Player("Hollande"); ping.Ping(pong, 4); ping.Ping(pong, 4); Console.ReadLine(); } }
This program gives the following output:
Sarkozy.Ping from thread 3 Sarkozy.Ping from thread 3 Hollande.Ping from thread 4 Hollande.Ping from thread 4 Sarkozy.Ping from thread 3 Sarkozy.Ping from thread 3 Hollande.Ping from thread 4 Hollande.Ping from thread 4 Sarkozy.Ping from thread 6 Sarkozy.Ping from thread 6
As you can see, actors run on a different thread than the Main method. Calling the Ping method results in a message to be appended to the actor’s message queue. When a message queue was empty and got its first message, the dispatcher creates a Task to process the message queue. Therefore, actors run on the thread pool and there’s no need to have one thread per actor.
Note that the field Player.counter is incremented by the Ping method. Incrementing consists in reading and writing a field atomically. In a concurrent environment, we should have used Interlocked.Increment. But since the field is private to the actor, we don’t have to think about data races.
Build-Time Validation
I’ve said that the Player.counter field is safe because it’s private. I meant that logically it belongs to the private state of the actor, as opposed to the state that is shared among actors and threads. That said, private is also a C# concept, so what if the field was public?
We thought about this issue, and we designed the toolkit to minimize the level of thinking necessary to apply a threading model, so the toolkit will warn you of any potential error with the following build-time error message:
1>------ Build started: Project: TestAsync, Configuration: Debug Any CPU ------ 1>POSTSHARP : postsharp error THR005: Field Player.counter must be private or
protected because the Player class is an Actor |
more than $400,000 because Cohen’s name would be on it.
With notable exceptions, scholars have proven a gutless lot since the early Cold War years (nickel-plated footnotes and infinite citations on request). Scholarship has obliged official ideology ever since, but this is running for cover of a depravity I have not seen since I was barely old enough to understand the intellectual corruption all around us in the 1950s. This is one of the scars.
Dangerous and nearly ruinous then, dangerous on the way to ruinous now. No detached scholarship, no authentic culture, no capacity to see beyond the spectacle. History will have to be disinterred by future scholars. One cannot take this lying down.
Here is the report on the Cohen affair, published inThursday’s New York Times. And therein lies the caker, at least for me: The piece by Jennifer Schuessler, the Times’ publishing correspondent, is cleanly done. It appears in the newspaper more responsible than any other medium for creating and sustaining the disgraceful climate wherein Cohen’s colleagues can censor him with straight faces.
“The substitution of the unconscious action of crowds for the conscious activity of individuals,” Gustave Le Bon wrote, “is one of the principal characteristics of the present age.” Le Bon published “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind,” in 1908. The truth held in Mussolini’s Italy and quickly thereafter in Joe McCarthy’s America. Ask yourself: How closely does it describe our time?
Forget “It can’t happen here.” Too late. It is happening, at what pace one cannot say. In my read we find ourselves now enmeshed in those “struggles of which the past can give no idea,” as de Tocqueville put it. Except that there is a lot more in our past than in his, and ours gives plenty of idea if you look at it carefully and open yourself to what it has to tell you.Electronics that are connected to the Internet, and to each other, may be able to anticipate our needs.
During his keynote speech Monday evening at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung CEO and president BK Yoon suggested a new kind of Internet-connected device: a “smart” office chair that automatically warms up when it senses that the user has just walked into the room and is feeling cold.
Samsung has not announced any intelligent office furniture, yet, but the example shows just how committed the world’s largest consumer electronics company is to the so-called Internet of things.
Already Samsung makes Internet-connected ovens, TVs, and many other devices, but Yoon predicted that by 2017, 90 percent of all Samsung hardware will be Internet-connected. Five years from now, he said, every Samsung product will be part of the Internet of things, no matter whether it’s an air purifier or a vacuum cleaner. He said the company is also working to make its “smart” devices act as hubs that enable other gadgets to connect to the Internet.
Many new products on show at CES were inspired by the premise that Internet connectivity is set to change many of the devices around us, making them more capable and perhaps more useful. The market research company IDC estimates that the universe of connected devices will total 30 billion by 2020. And at this year’s CES, connectivity has been added to more devices than ever before in products from companies large and small.
Many of the connected devices center on the smart home, including smart light bulbs and smart TVs. Internet-connected home-security cameras and sensors seem especially popular this year, perhaps because their utility is obvious and they may appeal to a broad range of people.
Several new security cameras feature facial-recognition technology. One is the Welcome smart camera, from French company Netatmo, which looks like a small cylinder and is meant to sit somewhere inside your home. It has a wide-angle camera and infrared sensor, so even if it’s dark it can sense when someone passes by and send you an alert via smartphone to let you know who’s there (if it’s an unfamiliar face, it will let you know that, too). The Welcome camera can store up to 20 faces and is expected to become available between April and June, though Netatmo hasn’t yet announced a price.
Other smart devices can sense different kinds of trouble in the home. Leeo is a smart nightlight that plugs into a standard outlet and listens for a carbon monoxide or smoke alarm, alerting you via your smartphone (iPhone only, at the moment) if it hears either. The nightlight can also call friends or family if it can’t reach you. It sells for $99.
Plenty of quirkier connected devices are being shown off at CES, too. One gadget, the SmartFeeder from Los Angeles-based Petnet, customizes a feeding schedule for your cat or dog by considering the animal’s age, weight, and activity level. It will then dole out food on that schedule, but it also connects to your smartphone so you can make changes remotely and receive alerts about how your pet is eating. In addition, it will be able to automatically reorder pet food when it runs low. Planned for release this spring, it will sell for $249.
But whether companies are adding connectivity to doggie bowls or security systems, they will have to tackle several issues. For instance, many early connected-home devices have included little in the way of built-in security, making them possible targets for hackers. In some cases, security can be improved by storing data on such devices themselves, rather than on a remote server—something Netatmo says it’s doing with videos that users record via Welcome (they’re stored on an included memory card you slip into its rear).
Beyond that, it can be tricky to get this fast-growing ecosystem of gadgets to work together, especially if devices use different protocols for transmitting data—as is often the case when they are made by different companies.
A couple of industry groups have sprung up in hopes of improving security and interoperability. The AllSeen Alliance was formed in late 2013 by a group of tech companies including Qualcomm and LG, along with the Linux Foundation, and now has 100 members, including Sony and Microsoft.
This past summer Samsung, chip maker Intel, and others announced the Open Interconnect Consortium, which had 45 members by late 2014, including Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.
Yoon stressed the importance of common regulations and standards to Samsung’s vision. “Attempts to close or silence parts of the Internet of things are contrary to what makes this technology a potential game-changer for society,” he said.Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra impeached, banned from politics for 5 years over rice subsidy scandal
Updated
Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been impeached, banned from politics and will be criminally charged over a failed rice subsidy scheme.
The military appointed Legislative Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to impeach Ms Yingluck, even though she was removed from power before last year's coup.
She has also been banned from politics for five years, ending any chances of a return once an election is held.
Ms Yingluck condemned the decision, describing it as the end of democracy in the kingdom.
"Democracy has died in Thailand today, along with the rule of law," she said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
"That move to destroy me is still ongoing and I face it now."
The decision enraged the "Red Shirt" supporters of the Shinawatra family, but leaders warned against widespread street protests in a country where political gatherings are banned under martial law.
"Today's impeachment is the highest provocation, aimed at encouraging the Red Shirts to come out so they [the government] can shift the blame for all their failures onto the Red Shirts," Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan told viewers on his Peace TV program.
"I asked the Red Shirt people to exercise maximum restraint... these provocateurs will be disappointed. We still have a long way to go and after what happened to Yingluck, our hearts are awakened."
Former leader's failed bid to defend herself against impeachment
Ms Yingluck had earlier appeared before the country's parliament to defend herself against the impeachment proceedings.
The kingdom's first female premier and sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted from office by a controversial court ruling shortly before the army staged a coup in May.
In a rare public appearance, Ms Yingluck argued her case, saying there was no constitutional basis for her impeachment.
"The Constitutional Court has already removed me as prime minister," she told assembly members, saying she should not be impeached for violating a constitution that no longer exists under junta rule.
Ms Yingluck defended the rice scheme as an attempt to support Thailand's rural poor, who historically received a disproportionately small slice of government cash.
"I am not corrupt, I was never careless," she said.
The decision to impeach Ms Yingluck required three-fifths of the vote, or 132 of the 220 members of the Legislative Assembly.
A tally of votes placed on a whiteboard in the Legislative Assembly and broadcast live showed 190 members voted in favour of impeachment.
Earlier, the country's attorney-general Surasak Theerattrakul said Ms Yingluck would also face criminal charges over her role in the failed rice subsidy scheme.
"The attorney-general's office has considered witnesses and evidence submitted by the working team along with all witnesses and evidence from the National Anti-Corruption Committee and we agree that the case substantiates a criminal indictment charge against Yingluck," Mr Surasak said.
If found guilty, Ms Yingluck would face a maximum of 10 years in jail.
The decision will anger her supporters, known as the "Red Shirts", but with martial law still in place the military has warned against protests or violence.
Topics: world-politics, corruption, thailand, asia
First postedThis post was updated at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Referring to its conduct as "abysmal," "unacceptable," "egregious," and "disturbing," the federal panel created to probe the causes of the financial crisis slapped Goldman Sachs with a subpoena on Friday for its "very deliberate effort to run out the clock" in failing to turn over key documents and make company executives available for interviews with federal investigators.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission turned to the subpoena after "multiple requests" and "months" of stalling by Wall Street's most profitable firm to turn over requested information.
Goldman Sachs missed at least seven deadlines, requested extensions that were subsequently missed at least three times, and was threatened with a subpoena on at least three different occasions, according to a summary of the back-and-forth provided by the financial crisis panel. The requests for information stretch back to January.
The panel's vice chairman, former Rep. Bill Thomas, said during a conference call with reporters on Monday that the months-long delay appeared to resemble "an agreed upon strategy."
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP serves as Goldman's lead outside counsel in representing the firm before the investigative panel. Most of Goldman's communications with the FCIC went through the law firm, according to two sources.
The panel's chairman, former California state treasurer Phil Angelides, reminded reporters that the panel has been tasked by Congress to investigate the roots of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, adding that the investigative panel wouldn't allow Goldman to continue its "especially egregious" tactic of delaying the release of key documents.
"We're not going to allow the American people to be played for chumps here," Angelides said.
Thomas said that he wasn't seeing Goldman's apparent "commitment to trust and integrity."
"Seems to me they have more to cover up than we thought," he added ominously.
Goldman Sachs, the nation's fifth-largest bank by assets, is alone in its apparent refusal to work with the panel, Thomas and Angelides said.
"We will issue additional subpoenas," Thomas threatened.
Thus far, most of the firms at the heart of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression have voluntarily turned over documents and allowed crisis investigators to interview their employees. Thomas said at least "half a dozen" other investment banks voluntarily supplied the requested information and made employees available for interviews "as quickly as we asked for it."
The panel's requests of Goldman were not "inordinate" compared to its requests of other Wall Street firms, Thomas said.
Whereas other firms turned over documents and answered questions in the manner in which they were requested, Goldman instead turned over 2.5 billion pages of documents, or five terabytes of data, Thomas said.
The document dump began on May 18, more than four months after the firm's chairman and chief executive Lloyd C. Blankfein first testified before the panel on Jan. 13.
"Their conduct has been extraordinary," Angelides said of Goldman's refusal to cooperate. "They are the outliers."
By comparison, the commission had received 4.5 million documents to date, FCIC spokesman Tucker Warren said.
"We did not ask them to pull up a dump truck to our office and dump a bunch of rubbish," Angelides said. Thomas said it amounted to "deliberate obfuscation."
Both men said that the documents turned over -- and the manner in which they were presented to the commission -- amounted to the firm deliberately trying to evade the commission's many requests.
"They're aware of what our budget is and resources are," Angelides said. The panel has an $8 million budget.
"I suspect they're spending more on their lawyers than we have in our budget," Angelides said of Goldman.
The examiner who investigated the collapse of Wall Street investment house Lehman Brothers, the most expensive bankruptcy in U.S. history, spent $38 million in preparing his exhaustive report. That's for just one company. Angelides's commission is looking at the entire financial crisis.
Congress came up with the $8 million figure.
The subpoena -- which "was not issued lightly," according to Thomas -- requests documents pertaining to Goldman's activities in derivatives, securitization, and in making markets for its clients. It also requests interviews with the firm's top officers, including Blankfein, president and chief operating officer Gary D. Cohn, chief financial officer David Viniar and chief risk officer Craig Broderick.
Specifically, the subpoena requests information on Goldman's securitization activities linked to home mortgages, credit derivatives, its transactions with bailed-out insurance giant AIG, and the firm's Abacus deal.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Goldman defrauded investors on the Abacus deal. Goldman denies anything improper took place.
Goldman's outside counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell, is headed by H. Rodgin Cohen, a prolific attorney who during the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008 advised both Goldman Sachs and AIG on a variety of issues, according to a profile on his firm's Web site.
Both Angelides and Thomas implored Goldman to work with the panel "for the good of the country." The financial crisis led to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. More than eight million jobs were lost.
"If Goldman Sachs wants to stand visibly in front of the people," Angelides said, "that's their choice."
Thomas added that the firm's behavior didn't "reflect their commitment to work with us," adding that the firm was playing a "game" of delaying without appearing to oppose the commission.
The firm is "saying one thing and doing another," he added.
This is at least the panel's third forceful subpoena compelling firms and executives to comply with its requests. The FCIC's first such subpoena was issued to Moody's Corporation in April for the firm's delay in producing documents and allowing investigators to interview Moody's Investors Service personnel. Its second subpoena was issued last month to famed investor Warren Buffett, compelling his June 2 testimony before the FCIC. Both parties complied.
The FCIC has issued a dozen subpoenas, but most were issued in order to allow the requested parties to side-step confidentiality agreements that would have otherwise barred them from sharing sensitive information, the panel said.
In a statement, the FCIC said it issued its subpoena to Goldman for "failing to comply with a request for documents and interviews in a timely manner."
"In seeking documents and testimony from public agencies and companies, the Commission has made it clear that it is committed to using its subpoena power if there is a lack of, or delay in, compliance," the statement noted. "Failure to comply with a Commission request is viewed with the utmost seriousness, as the Commission will not be deterred from getting desired information."
A Goldman spokesman said the firm is complying with the investigatory panel's requests.
"We have been and continue to be committed to providing the FCIC with the information they have requested," a Goldman spokesman said in an e-mail.
Goldman Sachs faces a litany of federal and state investigations.
On April 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman and one of its employees with defrauding investors by creating and selling exotic securities tied to subprime home mortgages in 2007 without disclosing that they were handpicked by a hedge fund that was betting on them to fail.
Since then, members of Congress have called for further investigation. Governments across Europe have done the same; the U.K. Financial Services Authority opened a probe into the firm.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held an April hearing probing the firm's practices in the runup to the financial crisis. Several Senators accused the firm of fraud and of putting its own interests ahead of its clients.
"Our clients' interests always come first," Goldman says on its website.
"We anticipate that additional putative shareholder derivative actions and other litigation may be filed, and regulatory and other investigations and actions commenced, against us with respect to offerings of CDOs," the firm warned investors in its latest quarterly filing.
"We believe, based on currently available information, that the results of such proceedings, in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition," Goldman said in its filing. But those proceedings "might be material to our operating results for any particular period, depending, in part, upon the operating results for such period.
"Given the range of litigation and investigations presently under way, our litigation expenses can be expected to remain high."
The firm turned a $3.5 billion profit in the first quarter off $12.8 billion in revenue, according to company filings with federal regulators. Its traders didn't lose money on a single day last quarter.
Of the 63 trading days in the three-month period ending in March, Goldman Sachs generated revenue of at least $25 million on every single day, according to its quarterly filing with the SEC.
On nearly three out of every five days, Wall Street's most profitable firm generated revenue exceeding $100 million trading stocks and bonds, and creating and entering into derivatives contracts.Hispanic BBQ Restaurant Announces ‘White Appreciation Day” – Gets BOMB THREATS (VIDEO)
A local Hispanic-owned Denver BBQ restaurant announced this week it planned to hold a “White Appreciation Day.”
Of course, the left became unglued with the thought of such a racist day of appreciation.
The restaurant in Milliken received a bomb threat on Friday.
Rubbin’Buttz BBQ were forced to shut down for several hours during the dinner rush after the threat was posted on social media.
The left thought it was funny.
A bbq joint in CO offered a white appreciation day and received bomb threats. hahahaha — Collin Whalen (@WhalenHadTo) May 9, 2015
9News reported:
The Hispanic owners of a barbecue restaurant in Milliken say they plan to host a “White Appreciation Day” in June. What started as a joke is now on the calendar. Edgar Antillon and Miguel Jimenez recently purchased Rubbin Buttz BBQ on Broad Street. On June 11, they plan to offer a 10-percent discount to all white customers, and no one else. “We have a whole month for Black History Month,” Antillon said. “We have a whole month for Hispanic Heritage Month, so we thought the least we could do was offer one day to appreciate white Americans.” The men expect they might receive backlash and say they realize there’s a history of racism in the America. “It’s a perpetuation of racism,” Weld County civil rights activist and community organizer Ricardo Romero said. “It’s wrong. If you’re going to give a discount, give it to the whole community.” There could be legal repercussions as well, according to Jennifer McPherson of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.
The left threatened to bomb the place.On the eve of housing talks between federal, provincial and territorial officials that begin Monday in Victoria, federal cabinet minister Jean-Yves Duclos said a national housing strategy could be in place before the end of the year.
"Our objective is to have one designed by the end of the fall – so it can be a very important input into [planning for] budget 2017, which is going to set the agenda for our collaboration over the next many years," Mr. Duclos told reporters following a joint federal-provincial housing announcement, held in a back alley of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
Mr. Duclos, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, is also responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
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Housing advocates have for years called for a national housing strategy to help address issues of supply and affordability, which have become a particular concern in Vancouver and Toronto – where skyrocketing prices have squeezed many buyers out of the market and resulted in a recent warning from the Bank of Canada of a possible sharp correction.
A national strategy is expected to be on the agenda as housing ministers meet in British Columbia's capital, where a tent city has provided a symbol of housing problems since last fall.
Perhaps to signal increased federal-provincial co-operation, Mr. Duclos on Sunday joined B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman to announce $150-million in federal funding over the next two years for housing in British Columbia.
The funding – part of commitments outlined in the federal budget in March – includes $50.9-million for repairs and upgrades to social housing units. The announcement was made at a social housing project, currently under construction, that has been partly funded by the federal government.
The housing meetings come amid growing public and political concern about the housing market in the Lower Mainland.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said last week that the city will introduce a vacancy tax to penalize those who profit from sitting on housing stock amid a rental crisis, unless the province steps in with a tax of its own.
He said the city would give the provincial government until Aug. 1 to begin collaborating on a new vacancy tax.
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On Friday, in a video posted on YouTube, Premier Christy Clark said her Liberal government would take "bold action" on housing in "coming days and weeks" based on six principles: increasing housing supply, expanding smart transit, supporting first-time home buyers, protecting consumers, increasing rental supply and protecting the dream of home ownership.
Mr. Coleman said the government is working on details of housing-related measures in line with Ms. Clark's recent announcement and that new policies could be expected soon. He also praised the federal government, saying it is open to partnerships and innovation, which bodes well for potential new housing projects in B.C. and elsewhere.
Housing concerns include a tight rental market, with a vacancy rate hovering at around zero in Vancouver, and the loss of affordable rentals to redevelopment.
A 2015 city report on single-room occupancy hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside – often the housing of last resort for low-income people in the neighbourhood – found that the number of SRO rooms renting at or below $375 a month (the provincial shelter rate for a single person on social assistance) had dropped from 36 per cent to 17 per cent between 2009 and 2015.
Over the same period, the number of rooms renting for $451 or more per month had climbed from 14 per cent to 41 per cent.
The province has bought and renovated more than a dozen hotels for low-income housing.Collage: Grey Hutton | Merkel: imago | photothek
"Ich würde niemals ein politisches Anliegen, das ich durchbringen wollte, formulieren, indem ich das Wort feministisch verwende", sagt Jenna Behrends. Sie ist jung, 26, CDU-Politikerin aus Berlin-Mitte und brennt eigentlich für Familienpolitik und Gleichstellungsthemen. Eine aufstrebende Politikerin, die die Hintergründe des Gender-Pay-Gap und die Nachteile des Ehegattensplittings bis ins kleinste Detail kennt. Das F-Wort kommt ihr trotzdem nicht über die Lippen. "Sobald du diesen Begriff verwendest, tötest du damit deine politischen Forderungen."
Das überrascht, schließlich scheint Feminismus aktuell so mainstream zu sein, wie vielleicht noch nie zuvor; auch in der internationalen Politik. Barack Obama schrieb als amtierender Präsident einen Liebesbrief an den Feminismus und in Kanada lässt Premierminister Trudeau aktuell keine Chance ungenutzt, sich stolz als Feminist zu bezeichnen. In der deutschen Politik hingegen sind prominente, selbsternannte Feminist_innen eine Rarität – und das obwohl an der Spitze Deutschlands seit zwölf Jahren eine unumstritten starke Frau steht.
Mehr lesen: Frauensolidarität in der Politik? Geht so
Auch Angela Merkel tänzelt seit Jahren auffällig vorsichtig um den Begriff. Das sollten lieber andere entscheiden, ob sie sich als solche qualifiziere, antwortete die Bundeskanzlerin auf der internationalen W20-Frauenkonferenz Anfang Mai in Berlin wieder einmal zögerlich auf die Frage, ob sie denn nun eine Feministin sei.
Erst als die ebenfalls anwesende Königin Máxima erklärte, dass Feminist_innen in ihren Augen dafür ständen, "dass alle Frauen Chancen haben, die sie ergreifen können, und dass sie sich gleichberechtigt fühlen können, immer und überall", stimmte Merkel zu und gab an, in dem Fall "wohl auch eine" zu sein. Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter? Na klar. Feminismus? Not so sure.
Die Soziologin Paula-Irene Villa lehrt Soziologie und Gender Studies an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München und beschäftigt sich seit zwanzig Jahren mit gesellschaftlichen und politischen Trends. In der Zurückhaltung, was das Wort angeht, sieht sie ein parteiübergreifendes Phänomen, das sich durch alle relevanten deutschen Parteien zieht. Mit graduellen Unterschieden: Je weiter entfernt vom links-liberalen Spektrum, desto stärker distanziere sich die Politik vom bösen Wort mit F, sagt Villa. Aber woran liegt das?
"Ich stelle mich nicht ungefragt als Feministin vor. Dafür haben Linke und Grüne den Begriff zu stark für sich instrumentalisiert."
"In meinem politischen Umfeld gibt es viele Menschen, die keine Notwendigkeit im Feminismus sehen. Die glauben, es sei ja schon alles erreicht", erklärt CDU-Politikerin Jenna Behrends. "Zudem sitzen Klischees, Bilder von Kampfemanzen und Männerhasserinnen mit unrasierten Beinen sowohl innerhalb der Partei als auch in der Wählerschaft noch tief."
Feminismus hat in Deutschland ein Image-Problem. Laut einer Studie des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend aus dem Jahr 2016, sind rund 34 Prozent der Männer und 15 Prozent der Frauen zumindest für einen Teil anti-feministischer Ansichten empfänglich. Insgesamt also rund jeder vierte Deutsche.
Das liegt laut der Soziologin Villa von der LMU vor allem an der Färbung des Worts im deutschen Sprachraum. Schlägt man das Wort "Feminismus" in Lexika nach, findet man verschiedene Definitionen. In der Encyclopædia Britannica heißt es dazu lediglich: "Feminismus ist der Glaube an die gesellschaftliche, politische und ökonomische Gleichheit der Geschlechter."
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Der deutsche Duden hingegen definiert Feminismus als eine "Richtung der Frauenbewegung, die, von den Bedürfnissen der Frau ausgehend, eine grundlegende Veränderung der gesellschaftlichen Normen und der patriarchalischen Kultur anstrebt." Das klingt schon etwas schärfer als der Light-Feminismus, der aktuell auf hippen T-Shirts internationaler Modeketten und in der amerikanischen Popkultur gefeiert wird.
Im Englischsprachigen sei das Konzept des Feminismus ein wesentlich breiterer, schwammigerer und entspannterer Begriff, bestätigt Villa. "Wer in den USA 'Feminism' sagt, meint oft etwas, was hier eher unter Begriffe wie 'Gleichstellung' oder 'Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter' fallen würde." In Deutschland sei der Begriff aber wesentlich pointierter. Wer hier "Feminismus" sage, meine tatsächlich etwas Starkes. "Im Deutschen schwingt in dem Begriff mindestens indirekt eine System- und Herrschaftskritik mit und eine Verbindung zu bestimmten sozialen Bewegungen, wie etwa zur linken Studentenbewegung der Sechziger", so die Soziologin.
"Ich stelle mich nicht ungefragt als Feministin vor. Dafür haben Linke und Grüne den Begriff zu stark für sich instrumentalisiert", bestätigt die konservative Behrends. Wenn sie sich als Feministin bezeichne, dann nur mit dem Zusatz, "dass es sich dabei nicht um den marxistischen, linken Kampfbegriff des Feminismus, sondern um einen konservativen Feminismus handelt."
"Gleichstellung wird nicht über einen Kuschelkurs erreicht, dafür geht es um zu viel Geld und Macht."
Auch Beret Roots, Europadelegierte der FDP, ist es wichtig, sich von einem "linken Kampfbegriff" abzugrenzen. Deswegen hat sie sich direkt ihre eigene Feminismusdefinition geschaffen und zusammen mit fünf weiteren Initiatorinnen "9,5 Thesen" dazu veröffentlicht, wie ein liberaler Feminismus in Deutschland aussehen könnte. Allerdings unabhängig von ihrer Partei.
Bei den Liberalen konnte man wegen des schlechten Rufs lange nichts mit dem Begriff anfangen. "Erst wenn man erklärt hat, dass es nicht darum geht, Männer zu benachteiligen, konnte sich ein Diskurs ergeben", erklärt die 31-Jährige. In den letzten Jahren habe sich das Klima gegenüber dem Begriff aber vor allem durch junge Menschen in der Partei langsam verbessert.
Mehr lesen: Treffen sich zwei Feministinnen und ein betrunkener Typ in einer Bar
Bei der SPD und den Grünen – beides Parteien, die historisch besonders stark mit der Frauenbewegung verknüpft sind –, findet man weniger Berührungsängste und "Ja, aber"-Erklärungen. Die ehemalige Juso-Bundesvorsitzende Katharina Oerder hat auch kein Problem damit, dass Feminismus hierzulande als Kampfbegriff gilt. "Es geht ja auch um einen Kampf: Gleichstellung wird nicht über einen Kuschelkurs erreicht, dafür geht es um zu viel Geld und Macht."
Auch bei den Grünen ist der Feminismus eigentlich seit jeher ein zentraler Begriff – trotzdem fehlt er im 10-Punkte-Plan der Partei, der Anfang Juni 2017 veröffentlicht wurde. Darauf angesprochen erklärt Gesine Agena, Mitglied im Bundesvorstand und frauenpolitische Sprecherin der Partei, das sei in diesem Fall wohl ein Versehen gewesen, zumal die frauenpolitischen Positionen schon im Entwurf genannt, und durch Änderungsanträge im Ergebnis nochmal verstärkt worden seien.
"Wir sind uns allerdings auch bei den Gründen bewusst, dass feministische Maßnahmen in der Gesellschaft oft unbequem und unbeliebt sind", sagt sie. Als Beispiel nennt Agena die Abschaffung des Ehegattensplittings. Die Steuerbegünstigung für Ehepaare würde von einem Großteil der Bevölkerung unterstützt, obwohl sie nachweislich für Altersarmut unter Frauen sorge, Abhängigkeitsverhältnisse zu Ehepartnern schaffe und deswegen dringend reformiert werden müsse.
Dass sich so wenige deutsche Politiker_innen prominent als Feminist_innen positionieren, liegt laut der Grünen auch daran, dass es "eben auch wenige [gibt], die tatsächlich feministisch agieren." Deswegen bewertet sie es als positiv, dass sich etwa Kanzlerin Angela Merkel das Wort nicht selbst zuschreibt, ohne sich tatsächlich für den Feminismus stark zu machen.
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Als "verbale Aufgeschlossenheit bei weitestgehender Verhaltensstarre" bezeichnet es hingegen Katharina Oerder von der SPD und zitiert damit den mittlerweile verstorbenen Soziologen Ulrich Beck. "Es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis sich auch Martin Schulz als Feminist bezeichnet. Das ändert aber nichts daran, dass er neben sich nur Männer stellt", erklärt sie mit Blick auf die vielfach kritisierte Verpflanzung der bisherigen SPD-Generalsekretärin Katharina Barley ins Familienministerium, deren alter Posten nun an den ehemaligen SPD-Wirtschaftsexperten Hubertus Heil geht.
"Es ist wichtig, dass meine Töchter wissen, dass ihr Vater ein Feminist ist, denn jetzt erwarten sie das gleiche von allen Männern."
Und natürlich: Allein dadurch, dass sich Trudeau in Kanada oder Obama in den USA selbst Feministen nennen, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass sie im feministischen Interesse agieren. Andersrum können sich auch Politiker_innen, die sich selbst nicht Feminist_in nennen, in der Praxis für feministische Werte einsetzen. Aber schaffen Worte nicht auch Realität? Ganz unwichtig sei die Eigenbezeichnung nicht, bestätigt die Soziologin Villa von der LMU. Aber Worte allein schaffen auch nicht viel, fügt sie hinzu.
"Wenn sich Trudeau Feminist nennt, dann hört die Welt zu", erklärt sie. "Das hat nicht nur eine Vorbildfunktion, sondern rahmt politisches Handeln." Das bedeutet laut Villa andersherum auch: Wenn die Politik den Begriff meide, bleibe die Vorstellung in den Köpfen, dass es sich dabei um eine radikale Idee handle, die nicht in unsere Gesellschaft passt.
Mehr lesen: Wie viel Feminismus steckt in Angela Merkel und Martin Schulz?
"Es ist wichtig, dass meine Töchter wissen, dass ihr Vater ein Feminist ist, denn jetzt erwarten sie das gleiche von allen Männern", schrieb Obama 2016 für das amerikanische Frauenmagazin Glamour. Damals als mächtigster Mann der Welt. "Solange ich frauenfördernde Maßnahmen durchbringe, ist es meiner Meinung nach egal, wie ich das nenne", sagt wiederum Jenna Behrends und steht damit in der deutschen Polit-Landschaft nicht alleine da.
Villa scheint also nicht zu Unrecht zu vermuten, dass das F-Wort hierzulande auch weiterhin erstmal ein unbequemer Begriff bleibt. Ein Begriff, zu dem man sich nur nach mehrmaligem Nachfragen bekennt – und mit einem "ja, aber".
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June 9, 2014, 8:04 PM GMT / Updated June 9, 2014, 9:56 PM GMT
A Las Vegas couple who shot to death two police officers, a civilian and themselves — after telling a neighbor they were headed to an "underground world" — had an anti-government, anti-police ideology with militia and white supremacist overtones, authorities said Monday.
Investigators believe ex-con Jerad Miller and his wife, Amanda, acted alone during Sunday's blood-thirsty rampage, but they are investigating possible links between the pair and militants who converged on rancher Cliven Bundy's property during his armed standoff with federal rangers.
"At this time, we believe this is an isolated act," Assistant Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a briefing.
The duo left calling cards of their world view on the bodies of the slain cops: a "Don't Tread on Me" flag, a note that read "The revolution is beginning" and a swastika meant to equate police with the Nazis, McMahill said.
The couple's ideology was no secret, yet a neighbor who saw them set off on foot Sunday morning with a red shopping cart carrying weapons and ammunition was not alarmed enough to call police.
"I thought they were talking out of their neck," Kelly Fielder told NBC Los Angeles.
She said Jerad Miller, 31, had two guns and bullets and Amanda, 22, had a.38 caliber handgun in her purse and a rifle.
"We gotta do what we gotta do," Jerad Miller told Fielder, adding that they were departing for an "underground world" and needed protection.
Amanda Miller then embraced Fielder and said, "I am so sorry."
Police believe the couple walked the four miles to CiCi's Pizza, where Officers Alyn Beck, 42, and Igor Soldo, 32, were having lunch in a booth.
As the duo strode by the cops' booth, the husband pulled out a handgun and shot Soldo once in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Beck began to react, and Jerad Miller opened fire, hitting him in the throat. HIs wife then pulled out her pistol and shot him several more times, police said.Back in 2012, the European Union passed a law requiring websites to give visitors a warning |
saying things like, "Move! Move! Move!" and "Move it! That thing might spot us next!" and "Hurry up, if we don't get away asap, that thing's going to target us!" After a couple minutes, the creature started noticing the civillians and the Rocket Pods. A Cop screamed at the civillians and said, "Everybody! Take the subway Rocket Trains! We can't take anymore civillians!" The civillians started to scream and panic, and headed for the subway. All the Rocket Pods had left. The Giant Creature threw an apartment at the remaining cops...the result was fateful. The Civillians panicked even more, and ran into the subway. On one of the Rocket Pods, the one with ClapShon and Bloodsick in it, the cops and the detective were discussing... One of the cops said, "I say it's a creature from france." Another one replied, "Yeah...that radiation is nasty...or it could be spain..." ClapShon said, "I doubt it's Spain. France is a radiated forest." The Scientist in the Pod said, "We launched several operations to stop the radiation... they failed. The creatures are too strong... We built a barrier around it however. A wall of lazers... We kept it top secret. We needed to contain the creatures...if that monster is from france...Then maybe the wall was already breached... We are working on a bomb tha will counteract the radiation." Clapshon said, "And It better be fast...because if there are more creatures like that...we could face extinction." ---Monster Chronicles--- -------Chapter 2-------- Detective ClapShon and Natalie hopped out of the Rocket Pod. They were on an Island. It Was The Big Island... It was still recovering from World War 3. Part of the Island was like a desert. One of ClapShon's friends, Jack Samuran came over, and said, "Hey...Clapshon? Never expected I'd find you here. I guess you already know about "Guerillan", huh? That's what we called that big creature." Natalie said, "This is the military base, isn't it?" Jack replied, "Yes. It is. I am developing a type of sword. A Lazer Sword. Able to cut through anything. It's 500X Type Lazer. No Weapon has ever been able to hold that much,in fact, no weapon has been able to hold even 100x! But this here weapon...well, if used correctly, it could kill Guerillan." All of the Sudden, Bloodar came out of nowhere. He screamed, "Hey! Catch! He shot a lazer bolt straight at Jack. Jack dodged, and took out a UltraBlaster. He shot Bloodar. Bloodar screamed, "WHAT?! Injured?! By a gun?!" Bloodar is one of the only 3 mages in the world. When technology became more advanced, the magicks were forgotten. BLoodar is thought to have come to the future when he entered Dracula's Castle. He was a mage. He went into dracula's castle Just as it dissapeared. Half of him was stuck inside, half was outside, however, a sideeffect caused him to time travel to the future. This caused him to become insane. After monitoring the technology, he started attacking. The other part of him,however, was blown to pieces. Bloodar flew towards Jack, and Screamed, "Ready for Ketchup Land? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Jack picks up his Ultrablaster and points at Bloodar. Jack Started to fire on 90x FirePower mode. He shot just as Bloodar grabbed the gun. Bloodar went flying backwards, and said, "Ugh...I'm...bleeding?! Gaaaaaaah!" A pale figure appeared out of the lake. It was Dracula. Dracula said, "Hmm...it's you. The Very first "hero" Bound to slay Dracula.years ago I thought you as a simple mage. Now Look at yourself. An immortal Fool. You say you are the ultimate life being.Wll guess what. YOU--" Dracula punched Bloodar, sending bloodar flying. Dracula Said, "WERE--" He kicked Bloodar, and said, "WROOOOOOONG!!!!!" And Scratched Bloodar with his hand, which was currently shaped like a claw. He Flew above the people and said, "Ah...Dinner, served warm. AHAHAHAHA!" He Flew towards Jack Samuran, and grabbed him. Natalie shouted, "I'll get the Automatic Rocket Launcher loaded!" John shouted, "Automatic---" Natalie took out a rocket launcher, and put a cilp of rockets in. They fired at machine gun speed, each one hitting Dracula. After a whole clip was done, Dracula was burnt, his cloth were a wreck. He Looked at Natalie, only to see another clip being loaded. Once again the rockets fired. After that clip was done, Dracula fell to the lake, and he dissapeared. Jack swam back to shore and said, "I--guess it's true. When we studied ancient textbooks, They specificaly mentioned the Castle of Dracula right here, in this sea." ClapShon said, "So? You want us to hunt down the Lord of Darkness?!" Jack Responded, "Well... maybe, but first we need to deal wit---" Jack got a Phone Call from an Army General. "Listen, Samuran. The Creature is too powerful. It's Wrecking the whole city." Jack Replied, "Really? So What do you want us to do?" "Samuran. The Lazer Sword. It Must be used. We need all the weapons we can get." Jack Replied, "Sure...but, we've just been attacked by Dra---" "Dracula?! Ha! He's a Myth!" Jack Replied, "Well, this "Myth" almost killed me. Anyway we HAVE to kill it...it looks like we may have disturbed him." "Well we can't w---" Jack Replied, "LOOK! If we don't destroy him, he could de---" "ENOUGH! You will NOT stall me any longer. Get to New York ASAP. And take care of that beast. Army General Atman O--AAAAAAGGH! It's here! AAAAGH!" Jack replied,"What the heck is going on there?!" "Quick...come quick! It's G---" All Jack could hear now was a "Bzzzzz" noise. Clapshon said, "Let's Go, We need to kill Guerilla!" Jack, Clapshoe, and Natalie boarded a Rockt Pod.. After an hour of travel, they were in New York. The City was in ruins. Gurilla was beating up the Army HQ in New York. Natalie took out her Automatic Rocket Launcher, put a Clip of Lazer 150x Rockets. Jack Said, "Are those 150x rockets?! How did yo--" Natalie said, "I modify my weapons." She started firing, and set the rocket mode to Annihliate. The Rocket had 3 modes: Stun, Wound, Kill, Bomb, and Annihliate. The Rockets fired at Machinegun speed. Each one hit Guerilla. Guerilla's skin melted. It started Bleeding. Badly. Natalie screamed, "Not Good enough?! Well Eat my 250x UltraRockets!" She Put in a new Clip. She Fired. Again,all shots hit. Guerilla's arm was fried. The Skin was all red and covered in blood. Guerilla screemed, and Hurled a Chunk of Building into the Rocket pod. It hit. The Rocket Pod hurled out of control, and crashed into the ashes of the city. Jack, Natalie, and ClapShoe came out of the Ashes. Jack Said, "I have this Lazer Sword 500x. One of you is going to have to strike Guerilla in the heart with it. Who's willing to do it? ClapShon replied, "...I will." Jack said, "I'm sure you are aware of the risks, right?" ClapShon stayed silent, grabbed the Sword, and ran after Guerilla. ClapShon took a Rocket Launcher lying on the ground. He Stuck the Lazer Sword 500x into it, and fired the sword. It struck Guerilla's Heart. The Lazer Sword stuck right in Guerilla. Guerilla attempted to take it out...but failed. It accidently pushed the sword deeper into it's heart, killing it. It Fell To the Ground, causing an Earthquake. Detective ClapShon Stood there. Jack and Natalie ran up to him. ClapShon's hair started to turn grey. He said, "I need... to be alone." He ran off into a cave. Natalie stared at Clapshon. She noticed that she had gained Vampire senses... She ran after Clapshon. ---Monster Chronicles--- ---Chapter 3: Memories-- July 6 2010 Age: 20 10/356 Name: Jack Karain Jack Karain, a Young Man who Programmed Video games, Was sitting in his chair. It was 6:00 AM. Jack Karain Rubbed his eyes and Looked at the clock, "Oh man, another All-Nighter." He Yawned, and Saved the code for his Video Game. He went to bed and woke up at 10:00 AM, Due to Someone knocking on the door. It was his neighbor, Cindy Sup. Cindy Sup Age: 19 2/3 She Said, "Hey... G'Morning Jack! Stay up all night again?" He Said, "Yeah... Ugh... I finished levels 6-10 of my Dead'N'Deadly FPS game." She Said, "Cool, I'm sure You know what I want riiiight?" He Said, "Yeah, too beta-test my game right?" She winked an said, "You got it!" She Said, "So...working on any other projects?" He replied, "Yeah... It's called MegaBomb Champions. It's a Fighting game. And it's 3D too." She Said, "Oh! What about your Previous 2 games; Nucklear Fighter and Extreme Wheels DX?" He Replied, "Oh, they're selling well." Suddenly, they saw a Murder in front of their window, the murderer, a Man that looked like he was in his 30s saw them look at him, and fired his machinegun at them. Controlled by instinct, Cindy and Jack Sliced at the bullets, the bullets fell down in halves. The Murderer looked at them and ran. Cindy Said, "What the heck was that?!" Jack Replied, "I have no Idea....wait...your eyes are red, and your hair is white!" Cindy Replied, "Same with you!" Jack said, "I'm going to search this on the web."...a few hours later... Cindy said, "You found anything out?" Jack Said, "Only some really really old legends. They said something about this happening to the Incarnations of Dracula. They said that it would happen when the people are in danger..." Cindy said, "...It must be a coincidence!" Jack Said, "I wish it was...they also said that the Previous Draculas will attempt to kill the new ones, so that they can keep there powers, instead of losing them to the new Dracula." Cindy Said, "I was told...that the only way to fool a Dracula, is too Change your name, your appearence, and somehow get rid of the dracula powers." Jack screamed, "LOOK OUT!!" Dracula burst through the glass. "Well What do we have here? 1...no 2 Draculas? This is too funny---" Cindy sliced at Dracula, and so did Jack. Dracula said, "I would have thought that because there were 2 of you, your powers were divided...i guess not." He shot a Beam of Electricity at Cindy. Cindy Dodged, and transformed her hand into a claw, and sliced at Dracula. Jack said, "This is going to be tough..." Cindy punched Dracula, sending him flying back. Cindy and Jack Ran outside, only to see some cops outside. A Cop Said, "Hey look, it must be the new Draculas! Niiice...Blast'em to pieces, boys!" Cindy shot smoke out of her mouth, and Jack and Cindy flew onto the top of an Apartment. Cindy Said, "New York sure is nice... but..." Jack said, "We have to get rid of these powers... if we don't..." Cindy said, "The only way to do that, is to use a magic, we Must shout, "Oma'Laka!" at 12:00 P.M.1:00 A.M. A Month Later Cindy said, "Now that we've gotten ridden of those terrible powers...what next?" Jack Said, "Well, the Cops probably know who we are...We'll have to change our Jobs, Our Names, and out Appearences..." Cindy Said, "...I guess that means that we won't be finishing those video games, huh?" Jack Said, "Yes... I regret it, but our lives are at Stake. I'm sticking with John ClapShon, Detective." Cindy Said, "..I've always had a thing for bombs..." Jack said, "Well... guess we should start, huh?" ---Monster Chronicles--- ---Chapter 4: Draculas-- Natalie ran into the cave with clapshon. Slapshon said, "Natalie...I thought we...got rid of the powers!" Natalie replies, "We must have just...temporarily hidden them." Slapshon said, "We can't hide our powers again!" Natalie said, "If--If we show the world our true Identities---" slapshon said, "We'd be huntedl ike criminals!" Natalie said, "...It doesn't matter...None of it." Slapshon said, "What?!" Natalie said, "Why would they go through the trouble...of huntign heroes?!" Slapshon said, "I say, BRING IT ON!" Natalie said, "If they want to mess with us, let them try. They will fall." Slapshon said, "Why don't we start a team...for people like us? With powers?" Natalie said, "Meh... OK." Slapshon said, "Let's go!" They took eachothers hands, and flew outside. Every single soldier started firing. Natalie clawed her way through troops, while John used powerful magic Blasts. Jack screamed, "Slapshon...Is that-is that you?!?!?!?!?!" Slapshon said, "IF i was slapshon, you think I'd be a Vampire?" Jack Screamed, "Slapshon, What are you doign?" Slapshon shot another fireball at a bunch of troops and said, "Just taking out the trash." Jack said, "These are friendly soldiers!" Slapshon said, "They attacked first. Not us." Jack said, "Wh-What are you---" A sudden blast of lazer destroyed all the troops in the area. It was bloodar. Bloodar said, "I see...Slapshon, you finally see why I have to fight these fools. I have been rejected by humanity. I tried to be a hero. But NO! Humanity just haaaaaates differences!" Slapshon said, "How do I know I can trus---" Bloodar Screamed, "LOOK! It would be an advantage for both of us if we teamed up. Let's do it!" Jack Screamed, "Sorry Slapshon. I can't let you go on." Jack takes out a Lazer-B Minigun and starts firing at Bloodar, Natalie and Slapshon. slapshon said, "Natalie, you really are obsessed with bombs?" Natalie replied, "It was just part ofm y disguise plan, now move!" Bloodar sighed and transformed his hands into Cosmic Boomlers (the newest weapon, able to suck the life force out of a target." Bloodar fired and smiled. And Jack's Last words were, "How...Could...you...be...tray...me....sla...psho....nnnnggghhh..." Slapshon said, "When did i betray you?" He sighed and walked away. Natalie and Bloodar followed him. ---Monster Chronicles--- --Chapter 5: Insanity--- The gang flew to hawaii. They saw a large explosion in honolulu and flew over there. there he was. A Guy who looked like a Zombie. He was Fighting police officers. The Guy said, "Hey, Mind lending a hand?" Slapshon said, "Mmm... let's go team!" In a couple minutes, all the cops were knocked out. The guy said, "So what? You got a team?" Slapshon said, "Yeah. We call it The Lone Warriors" The guy said, "I'm Insani Wackz. Let me tell you about my story" Insani explained that he was a Cross of Human/Zombie called Humbie. He came to earth to escape his planet, which was destroyed by Aliens. He's theolast oen of his kind. His race hasmany powers, such as Invincibility, Soul Stealing, Enchanced Strenthg, agility, flight, able to transform his body, and many other powers. He was also just 18. Slapshon said, "Oh...So? You have a team name?" Insani said, "Call me Insani. 'the lone maniac' " Slapshon, "They call me BloodFighter" Natalie said, "I am called Annihlation" Bloodar said, "Call me Bloodar." Insani, "Now that we---PIZZA!" Slapshon said, "Pizza---?" Insani ran maniacly into the Local Pizzahut, stealing 2 pizzas and taking them to the gang. Slapshon said, "Thanks...i guess..." Natalie said, "err..." Insani said as he gobbled up pizza, "What? You don't like pizza?!" Bloodar said, "I haven't had it in a year..." Bloodar took a piece and ate it, then spit it out n disgust. Bloodar Screamed, "THAT WAS DISGUSTING!!! No wonder I didn't have pizza for a year!" Insani said, "Some people just don't like proper food i guess." Natalie said, "Mmm..this is really good!" Slapshon said, "Your right! Anyway, bloodar, what's your real name anyway?" Bloodar sighed and said, "I am... General Stark Jokuz Hollow, famous general in the World War 3." Slapshon spit out his pizza (it landed on insani's face) and said, "GENERAL STARK JOKUZ HOLLOW?! Here?!" Natalie spit out her pizza (it also landed on insani's face and said, "STARK JO---" Bloodar spit out his pizza (it also landedo n insani's face and was just about to say something. Insani Screamed, "WILL YOU PLEASE STOP SPITTING PIZZAO N MY FACE!!!" Blooda said, "Anyway, I was attacked by a radioactive Gorilla...it transformed me." Insani said, "IS ANYBODY LISTENING TO ME?!" The pizza on insani's face all flew onto Natalie, and before they knew it, they were in a pizza throwing war (they kept stealing pizzas from pizzahut). And so started a new era of Monsters. THE LONE WARRIORS! ---Monster Chronicles--- --The Ultimate Betrayal- The Lone Warriors walked through the Island of Honolulu, through the jungles. Bloodar screamed, "I know of a Military base here." They walked for an hour, and finally, saw a large military base. They walked in, and then the Lights switched out. "Hello, Bloodar. We've been expecting you." "Blast those fools away!" The Lights came on again, and Bloodar was standing next to a Guy who wore the cloth of a police officer, and had a couple scars. He had was carrying a 77-X Launcher, a cannon that shot Radion-X (a type of radiation that Paralyzes enemies for a couple of hours). He fired his Launcher, and the whole gang (except bloodar) were hit. Bloodar said, "hahaha! We are S.H.A.D.O.W (Super Hunting Agency of Doom and Organ-Bursting Weapons)" Slapshon said, "S.H.A.D.O.W? You set us up?" Bloodar said, "I would never randomly team up with you like that!" Natalie said, "Well, it was pretty random..." Bloodar said, "And Insani here, I made a deal with him. I help him destroy the Aliens who destroyed his homeland, he joins up with you, and then teams up with us right here." Bloodar gave insani a shot, which disabled the Paralyzation. Insani said, "Did you think that I would coem all the way here? there are hundreds of other planets that are civvilized trhat I could have fled to. And after that...Did you think I would join you randomly? And BloodFighter? That's even mroe of a stupid name than SlapShon! and the lone Warriors?! WHAT KIND OF TEAM NAME IS THAT?!" Natalie said, "See? I told you MonsterBusters was a better name." Bloodar said, "And Why? Why did we do this? Because we are S.H.A.D.O.W.! And You would have come this close to finding out that france was decontaminated by us a year ago! And that our main operationss base is there! But you were too dumb! You fell for our trap! And now you will die! Because this paralyzation is lasts for 4 hours! And by that time this place would eb a crater! We're booming this base down, and you're going with it!" Slapshon whispered to Natalie, "Probably for a normal person, but with our enchanced abilities..." Bloodar said, "I'm setting the bomb...for 2 and 1/2 hours, so you can sit here thinking about all that you didn't acomplish in life, and how you're going to die! Wahahaahha!" The Guy in a police uniform said, "We must go. The Police will detect our weapons soon. Let's go!" Bloodar said, "Ok, HeadHunter!" HeadHunter and Bloodar ran from the base, with the clock tickign away. After 2 hours and 15 minutes, there strenthg returned. Slapshon screamed, "WE NEED TO MOVE!" They ran from the base, and a Flame in the shape of a skull grew. The base Lit up in Flames. Slapshon was hit by the fire, but natalie escaped. Slapshon said, "ARGH! I've been...hiiit..." Natalie said, "are you OK?" Slapshon said, "I don't...know...Let's GO!" ---Monster Chronicles--- -A Battle of a lifetime- We join our heroes a mile away from the SHADOW base. They were both lieing on the ground, weakened Suddenly, they woke up. They were near another SHADOW base! In fact, A squad of Military Troops slowed bloodar down, they were just leaving! Slapshon said, "QUICK! We have to go after them!" slapshon sent a boulder hurling at a fuel tank, the result was a massive display of Fire. Bloodar screamed, "We've got Company!" A SHADOW soldier said, "Nobody's here!" Bloodar said, "Maybe that's ebcause YOU ONLY CHECKED BEHIND A SINGLE TREE!" A SHADOW soldier said, "Nope, nobody's here a---" Before he could finish that sentence another Boulder flew towards a copter. It exploded. The explosion eliminated the other copters too, causing blodoar and SHADOW to eb stuck withput any means of tranportation. Bloodar screamed, "I know your out there, but what I don't know---is how you survived." Headhunter said, "Sir? You know who it is?" bloodar said, "It's those annoying Dracula Friends" Headhunter said, "But I thought..." Bloodar said, "They must have...escaped." Headhunter said, "How?!" Bloodar looked around. Bloodar said, "Farewell, headhunter. I gotta flee. WHAHAAHAH!" Headhunter said, "your leaving me?!" Bloodar said, " What are you, Gay?!" With that, Bloodar vanished. Headhunter screamed, "TRAITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!" A SHADOW soldier said, "WHADDA WE DO?! THE GENERAL'S BETRAYED US!" Headhunter said, "We can do...nothing." Before they knew it, they were flying through the air, towards a rock. Then there vision blacked out. ---Monster Chronicles--- -Prequel to Destruction- Now that Natalie and Slapshon knew that the SHADOW base was in france, they stole a Rocket Pod and flew to france. A couple hours later, they were in france. Natalie and Slapshon jumped out of the rocket pod... France looked like one of the graveyards you would see in a horro movie. A mysterious voice said, "WAHAHAHAHA! You got here! I've been prepering this robotic monster for awhile, NOW DIE!" There was a Robotic monster, Piloted by Bloodar above them...it was about the size of Guerilla. Natalie said, "...look at this. No Protection against water. One drop of water and BOOM!" Slapshon said, "Get some water! i'll handle him!" Slapshon shouted at the robot, "HEY?! Think you can get me? You cant lay a fingero n me! So come on and TRY!" The robotic monster shot lazers at Slapshoe, But slapshoe kept dodging them. Natalie came back and sprayed water over the foot of the robot...it started to malfunction. Bloodar screamed, "WHAT'S GOING ON?!?!?!?!?!" The Machine exploded, and a huge chunk of emtal hit natalie. Slapshon screamed, "NATALIE!!!" Natalie said, "Slapshon...you...go...on...when...i was get...ing water...i saw...an army...coming...you have to ruuuuuunnnnngggghhh..." Slapshon said, "Natalie..." He ran towards the SHADOW base. After a couple minutes of running, he was there. He knocked out a SHADOW troop and took the keys to the entrance. He walked in, and grabbed a bag full of weapons. He planted bombs along the walls of the Base, and took out some Rocket launchers. He started firing at the Security Guards. He threw the Rocket launchers aside and took out some grenades. He threw them at walls. After a while, he was in the core of the base. He planted some more bombs, and then ran towards the entrance...the bombs he planted were remote controlled, but he didn't have the control, so he would shoot at the bombs, too set them off. He was outside. He threw a giant amount of propane gas into the base, and then threw all his grenades into the base. He closed the entrance doors, and ran away. Boom. The Base Exploded. Bloodar flew up to Slapshon and said, "You thought I'd die that easily? You were wrong." Slapshon said, "I cna defeat you!" Bloodar said, "You don't need to. France was transformed into a SHADOW base a coupel years ago. The Whoel place is part of our HQ. France is going to blow up in a couple minutes." Slapshon said, "You'll die too..." Bloodar said, "So? There's nothing I can do to chaneg that. Hahaha!" slapshon ran towards the rocket pod, but Blodoar took a knife out, and stuck it into slapshon. Bloodar said, "You're not oging anywhere. We're going to stay here, and watch the fireworks. The last sight...We'll ever see." Slapshon said, "You're...crazy..." Bloodar said, "Nah. Heh. Insani is stuck here too. He's trying to stop the fireworks." Slapshon said, "But...your team...SHADOW...is...done for...I succeeded..." Bloodar said, "...Mmm..." Boom. The final Boom.Close
We’re living in a world in which filmmakers have more freedom than ever before. Unlike in the early days of cinema, directors and storytellers are no longer bound by the conventional limitations of filmmaking. This freedom has led to a number of breakthroughs in terms of how films are made, including the post-credits scene (also known as a stinger). There have been many examples of this cinematic device in recent times, not least with the Marvel films in the lead up to the recent Avengers picture. It’s also found its way into video games, in games like those of the Metroid and Halo series. Considering how many of us are familiar with the post-credits scene, there is still a good proportion of folks that don’t know how it was born. So let’s put that right with a short history of the post-credits scene.
Where it all began
Before ‘true’ post-credits scenes were included in film, filmmakers would often include snippets of text to tease the next instalment of a series. No example of this could be more well-known than the James Bond films, which, from 1963’s From Russia With Love, began including the line “James Bond will return in…” before listing the next film’s name. This text would appear just before the credits of the film rolled, so was not a post-credits scene in the true sense of the phrase.
The first real stinger
Post-credits scenes really started to capture public attention in 1979’s The Muppet Movie, and subsequent Muppet films. In these features, the post-credits scenes were used to comic effect, and often broke the fourth wall. For example, the Muppets themselves would often appear and ask the audience why they are still sitting and watching when the movie is over. This tradition still holds true to this day with the most recent Muppets movie in 2011. Of course, in this day and age, there’s a good chance that viewers will have downloaded or streamed the movie through their home broadband connection – so asking them when they’re leaving the theatre may strike some people as odd! Having said that, 2007’s The Simpsons Movie does exactly this during the credits, even on its streamable version. During the 80s, stingers were used quite a lot, but often in comedy films to show scenes that didn’t ‘fit’ in the main movie.
Modern use of the post-credits scene
More recently, stingers have been used to add a twist to a movie that, while not necessary for understanding of the story, often offers a new point of view on the film – or a minor revelation. Examples include Darth Vader’s breathing being heard following the credits of 1999’s Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. In Hellboy, released in 2004, a character is shown after the credits still being lost inside some catacombs: a good example of a slightly humorous revelation that is not strictly necessary to the main plot. And of course, the prime examples of post-credits scenes recently come from the Marvel films Iron Man and Iron Man 2 – both of which hint at the (then) upcoming film The Avengers. These examples seem to be there for the benefit of Marvel fans, who tend to be eager to find out what happens next (and understandably so). The Pirates of the Caribbean film series is also famous for having a post-credits scene in every title in the series, some of which are humorous, while others affect the plot directly.
The future of the post-credits scene
So what’s next for the stinger? Well, it seems that filmmakers are now starting to embrace the concept – especially those that work on big budget science fiction titles (read: superhero movies). Whether or not this trend will bleed into other types of movies, who knows? The post-credits scene is obviously not suited to all types of films, so perhaps there are only a select few genres that would ‘get away with it’. Video games are another form of media that are taking the ball and running with it – just look at recent Call of Duty titles as well as Batman: Arkham Asylum. Video games have an added benefit in that they can offer a little more gameplay following the credits to offer a little closure on the story or to give the player one last ‘go’. It’s doubtful that post-credits scenes are going anywhere – and we think that’s a very good thing. Not only do they offer fans a little bit more than they bargained for, they also encourage viewers (and players) to see exactly who put their time and effort into producing the finished product.
By Betty ReddingThe West African nation of Liberia has had many struggles in its long efforts to rebuild, first from its devastating civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s and, now, from Ebola. And one of the hardest struggles has been education.
In 2013, after all 25,000 high school students sitting state university entrance exams failed, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf admitted that the education system was "a mess" and called for a complete overhaul.
Now it seems Sirleaf's government has decided that rather than overhauling the education system themselves, they're going to pay someone else to do it for them. Under a pilot program called "Partnership Schools for Liberia," the Liberian government will outsource some of its primary and early childhood educational system to private companies over the next five years.
One huge contract has gone to a private company called Bridge International Academies — reportedly to the tune of $65 million. And it's causing some real controversy.
The United Nations' Special Rapporteur for the right to education, Kishore Singh, has denounced the plan as "completely unacceptable" and "a blatant violation of Liberia’s international obligations under the right to education." A coalition of teachers unions and civil society groups in Liberia issued an open letter announcing their opposition. Education International, an international federation of unions, has warned that "privatisation vultures" involved in the plan "pose [a] serious threat to Liberia’s public education system."
Their concern is that by hiring a private, for-profit company — whose primary goal is to make money, not serve the people (or so the argument goes) — the government of Liberia is abandoning its responsibility to its people and potentially jeopardizing the quality and equal access of the education system.
Defenders of the plan argue that the government of Liberia faced an impossible choice. It could continue to provide substandard education, or it could acknowledge its own limitations and deficiencies and turn to outside experts for help meeting a challenge that was beyond its abilities.
So who's right? After speaking to development and education experts, it's clear that some criticisms of the plan have real merit, and that this program comes with trade-offs we would find unacceptable in, say, an American education system.
But perhaps the more meaningful question is also the more uncomfortable one: In a country that has one of the world's lowest GDPs per capita and where basic state functions are still struggling, could the problems with Liberia's program be a necessary trade-off?
Liberia's challenge
In March 2015, the government of Liberia announced its plan for public-private partnerships to improve its education system. It ended up with Bridge International Academies.
The for-profit company, which formed in 2008, operates more than 400 relatively low-cost primary and pre-primary schools in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. The company says its goal is "to bring some of the world’s greatest instruction and pedagogical thinking into every classroom in every village and slum in the world."
Instead of paying more educated, experienced, qualified teachers, the company hires inexperienced people from the local communities (reportedly paying around $90 a month). It gives them a few weeks of training and handheld tablet computers loaded with pre-scripted lessons designed by the company's education experts. It then sends them into the classrooms to deliver the scripted content to the students.
And when they say scripted lessons, they mean scripted. We're not talking a general outline of a lesson plan with a few bullet points here. "Step into any classroom at Bridge and the chances are that the teacher will be uttering exactly the same words that are being uttered in every single Bridge school," writes the Independent's Catrina Stewart.
"A handbook instructs the teacher to look up from the e-book every five seconds, to wait eight seconds for children to answer, and instead of asking the teacher to explain a mathematical concept, the lesson plan takes them through it step by step," Stewart writes.
Bridge claims that this scripted curriculum model gives poor children "access to the types of teachers they would never be able to afford."
In underfunded education systems like those of Kenya and Liberia, teacher absenteeism can be an enormous problem. The company says it addresses this by using technology to track teacher absenteeism and performance in real time.
Bridge's "academy in a box" model has attracted investment from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, which invested $10 million each. Bill Gates and the UK government's Department for International Development are also investors.
The company's arrangement in Liberia is a new model for it. Rather than coming in and setting up its own private, for-profit schools, Bridge will be applying its teaching model to 50 existing schools in the Liberian education system for the 2016-'17 school year.
Bridge will take the teachers currently teaching in those 50 schools, send them through the Bridge training process, equip them with tablets and a scripted curriculum based on the Liberian national curriculum, and send them back into the same schools, where they will be constantly monitored and assessed.
According to Bridge, the Liberian government has promised that all teachers currently employed will remain on |
to lose, so we are just going to be going for the best results we can. We are not essentially in the drivers' championship. Daniel is some way off but we are still looking to achieve some big results."
Reflecting on the progress the team has made with its RB13 car since a difficult start to the campaign, Horner said: "I think we're seeing constant evolution and progress.
"I think we were really pleased to see, at a track that ironically belongs to Red Bull but is one of our weakest circuits in terms of circuit layout, we were very strong.
"It was arguably our strongest race of the year, perhaps bar Monaco, in terms of outright pace. What was really encouraging was the pace in the middle sector, where throughout the grand prix Daniel was consistently the quickest car on that part of the track.
"The drivers feel the progress of the car, the balance is improving, the downforce is getting stronger. Hopefully there are some venues coming up that allow us to take the fight to the guys ahead."There should be a word to describe a language that isn't your mother tongue, one you don't yourself speak but was spoken all around you in your formative years. There should be a word for the piercing brew of emotions you feel when, after a long absence you are rarely conscious of – because, you know, life – you hear that once-familiar language spoken again.
Yiddish seems like the kind of language that could offer such a term. A fusion language using the Hebrew alphabet that was once the lingua franca of Ashkenazi Jews, Yiddish was sent to the brink of death along with millions of its speakers. But it has survived in pockets – and has made its mark on English with a wealth of onomatopoeic crossovers; words such as klutz, nosh, schmooze and shtick.
I am sure there is no word for the experience of hearing a once-familiar language spoken in an unlikely, unusual place. Not the retirement homes where the few fluent speakers you still know now reside, but on the big screen, in a contemporary feature film.
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I attended a screening this month for Menashe, a Yiddish film with English subtitles. It is the story of a Hasidic Jewish widower (played by Menashe Lustig, whose real-life story inspired the film's plot) living in an ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn. Menashe is an unlucky ne'er-do-well – a schlimazel – who, because of dictates from the highly religious community, is not allowed to raise his own young son (Ruben Niborski) unless he remarries.
It is not my intent here to kvell or kvetch about the movie itself – I leave that spiel to my colleague Brad Wheeler.
But schlock it's not. And for me personally, it was an amazing, transporting – and, at times, unsettling – experience, sitting in the dark, enveloped in the language of my childhood.
Before the Second World War, it's believed more than 10 million people spoke Yiddish. With the deaths of millions of Jews in the Holocaust, the language became endangered. Many who survived still spoke it, but seeking refuge in other countries, they raised their children in new tongues.
My parents, who were born in Poland and wound up in Toronto, spoke Yiddish to each other and with their friends (and Polish when they didn't want us to understand what they were saying). They would have loved for me to speak Yiddish as well.
I rejected the language; I had no desire to learn it. Before I knew what the word assimilate meant, it was my life goal. I wanted to be a real Canadian, and my perception at the time was that being Canadian meant being part of an English-speaking family, as with most of my schoolmates. My parents, who also no doubt wanted to fit in quite desperately, didn't push it.
So I was a kid who was often spoken to in Yiddish – especially terms of endearment and reprimands – but who never learned to speak it myself. A fair bit of it still managed to worm its way into my brain and I can understand many words. But much to my regret, I am not a fluent speaker.
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Yiddish is hardly dead. It is used as the primary language in some ultra-Orthodox pockets. And faced with mainstream extinction, Yiddish is now experiencing a niche revival; one of my sisters now takes classes in Toronto; she was part of a group that recently recorded O Canada in Yiddish to mark Canada 150.
In the intersection between this cultural renaissance and deep Orthodoxy comes Menashe – directed by Joshua Z Weinstein, who is Jewish but does not speak Yiddish himself. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts
Watching the film was a kick, hearing words I hadn't heard spoken in conversation in many years – and once again witnessing Yiddish as a primary, everyday mode of communication. Every now and then, this became a distraction; a word would pop out and make me want to giggle – schmutz or tsuris (trouble), for instance, or the ubiquitous expression of parental exasperation, hak mir nisht keyn chuynik (which translates to "don't bang on my tea-kettle").
Even though the setting was wholly unfamiliar and nowhere near a part of my life experience, watching this film felt a bit like going home.
Perhaps this response is elevated when there is almost nowhere to go any more to hear a childhood language spoken, but I imagine a similar reaction to a film shot in Farsi or Arabic or Ukrainian for someone who grew up in a household infused with that language.
In June, I spent some time on Haida Gwaii with two of the filmmakers behind Edge of the Knife, the first feature film to be shot in Haida. The prospects for Yiddish cannot compare to the dire prognosis for Haida – there are fewer than 20 fluent Haida speakers remaining – but I felt a kinship with the filmmakers. There is an urgent, vital beauty to their project – and to other ventures meant to keep alive languages threatened by cultural or actual genocide.
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Cultural revivals may not get us all speaking the languages of our ancestors over the breakfast table, but being able to go into a theatre and immerse yourself in the sound of your past is a gift. To make a film in a language that few people in your audience speak may sound meshuga – crazy – and I am so glad there are mensches out there who have the chutzpah to do it.
Menashe is now in theatres in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.- Since the arrest of a man Tampa police believe to be the Seminole Heights serial killer, everyone wants to know the status of the $110,000 reward.
Immediately after the arrest was made, Chief Dugan said, "We are going to sift through everything and see what reward will be appropriate."
Crime Stoppers announced Thursday it would give the $5,000 it promised to the McDonald's manager who turned Howell E. Donaldson, III over to police.
The day before, restaurant owner Richard Gonzmart, who pledged $9,000, made good on his promise - hand-delivering it to the Ybor City McDonald's employee.
The status of the remaining $96,000 in promised reward money is still uncertain and Crime Stoppers explains it's not as simple as writing a check.
Crime Stoppers Tampa Bay says, in order for a reward amount to be offered as a large lump sum - $110,000 in this case, all agencies or organizations providing funds must coordinate distribution of those funds through Crime Stoppers.
Per the agreement, those groups make with Crime Stoppers, a tipster has to call Crime Stoppers first in order to cash in.
Because that didn't happen in this case, Crime Stoppers cannot pay out the lump sum.
In its announcement Thursday, Crime Stoppers reiterated it has been "very specific explaining the details and requirements for each separate reward offered by the independent agencies and organizations."
The remaining reward money was promised by several local, state, and national organizations.
-$50,000 was promised by the FBI.
-$20,000 was promised by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
-$10,000 was promised by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
-$6,000 was promised by Rise Tampa
-$10,000 was promised by the David Straz, Jr. Foundation
FOX 13 News has reached out to each of these agencies and organizations for an update on their part of the reward and will update this story as they respond.
The McDonald's manager, Delonda Walker, who tipped off a police officer inside the restaurant on Tuesday afternoon that her coworker, Howell Donaldson, III, handed her a gun in a bag before leaving the restaurant briefly, has asked to keep the attention on the victims of Donaldson's crimes.
Walker wrote a statement that reads:
"As you can imagine, I am overwhelmed and surprised by yesterday's events and I understand why many are interested in speaking with me. At this time, I am speaking exclusively with police and am appreciative that they were nearby and quickly acted upon the information I discovered and shared with the police officer. I am also appreciative of the outpouring of support from the community. My thoughts are focused on the victims and their families and out of respect for them and the active investigation, please direct inquiries to the Tampa Police Department."
Walker's tip helped officers get possession of Donaldson's gun, which matches the weapon used in all four murders in Seminole Heights.
"That was the bit of information that we were looking for. That is what we needed," said Police Chief Brian Dugan on Wednesday.
RELATED: Few answers after arrest of suspected Seminole Heights serial killerRobert Kagan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing columnist for The Post.
Will the Republican Party that made Donald Trump its prospective nominee protect us from Trump when he is president? Even as they call him a “textbook” racist and acknowledge his scant regard for the rule of law, Republican leaders assure voters that the U.S. system of checks and balances will contain their candidate’s authoritarian impulses. Congress and the judicial system will keep Trump under control.
History and recent events suggest that is a risky proposition. Inflamed popular passions and overreaching presidents have at times not been checked. Presidents have ignored Supreme Court rulings; and the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and 1918, Jim Crow, the mistreatment of German Americans during World War I and of U.S. citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent during World War II, and the investigations of Sen. Joseph McCarthy all showed how a frightened, angry or simply bigoted majority could deprive individuals of their rights despite the Constitution’s checks and balances. That those rights were eventually restored is no cause for satisfaction: The damage done was permanent.
Nor is it reason for complacency, especially now. Never before has a presidential candidate given more reason to fear that he will run roughshod over democratic institutions and abuse the vast powers of the presidency for personal ends. Not a week goes by without Trump providing fresh evidence that he neither understands nor values our political and legal systems but rather sees them as tools to be manipulated or obstacles to be overcome. He threatens to change libel laws to go after media outlets. He attacks federal judges as unfit on grounds of ethnic background. He promises, if elected, to have his attorney general launch investigations of his political opponents. In the past, Americans did not know as they voted that their presidents would seek to abuse their executive powers. This time, and indeed for the first time ever, they do.
Laughing, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) responded to a reporter's question about GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and the separation of powers at a news conference June 16. He also spoke about Trump's decision to revoke The Washington Post's media credentials. (Reuters)
As for the Republicans, after being unwilling to stop Trump from clinching the nomination, and being unwilling to abandon him after deciding that he is a racist, they want us to trust that they will be willing to fight him once he becomes president. More likely the opposite will be true.
Consider the reasons Republicans support Trump today. The first is party interest. Trump was chosen by the voters in a legitimate race and according to the rules of the Republican primary process. To abandon him, they fear, would destroy the party. Moreover, it would hand a victory to the “Obama-Clinton-Sanders” Democrats, who some Republicans insist would be an even bigger disaster. Finally, Republicans up for election fear that if they oppose Trump and anger his supporters, they will face dangerous primary challenges or lose in the general election.
Which of these motives will disappear once Trump becomes president? He will still be the Republican Party’s legitimately chosen leader, as well as the legitimately elected president. The election cycle doesn’t end in November. To oppose Trump as president will be even more contrary to the party’s interests than it is now. Will Republicans line up with Democrats to vote against Trump-inspired legislation — to ban Muslims from entering the country, for instance, or to deport 11 million illegal immigrants? To do so would only hand the opposition major political victories, setting the stage for Democratic congressional gains in 2018. Party interests will require that the party support its president.
Even in the unlikely event that some brave Republicans did act in ways contrary to the interests of their party, what would their constituents say? Two years ago, Republican voters threw out the House majority leader because he was, in their view, too willing to compromise. Would they feel differently if Republicans voted with Democrats against the Republican in the White House? And imagine how a President Trump would respond to a rebellion in the ranks. Trump already has a record of vindictiveness against those who resist him, including within his own party — would he forget the person who said he engaged in “textbook” racism? — and Republicans already have a record of caving.
In short, anyone looking to Congress to curb the excesses of a President Trump will have to count on the Democrats. Is that the Republican message: Don’t worry about Trump, Democrats will protect you?
To hope that the judicial system will check Trump may be equally fanciful. The courts have historically been reluctant to challenge the president on actions they deem related to national security. Trump himself has noted that he will have the authority to close the borders to certain groups. And as Brookings Institution legal scholar Benjamin Wittes points out, the Justice Department is always vulnerable if a president wants to manipulate it for his or her own purposes. Trump has already said that if elected he will have his attorney general look into the matter of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Republicans and conservatives may delight to hear it, but what Trump can do to Democratic opponents he can also do to Republicans who defy him.
Wittes makes the point that what keeps the attorney general and the Justice Department from abusing power is not the law so much as a respect for “norms and human and institutional decency.” In fact, this is true of our entire constitutional system. The checks and balances do not automatically snap into action whenever a president overreaches. The people and their representatives have to make the system work. It is a never-ending battle. As the political scientist Edward Corwin once put it, the Constitution is an “invitation to struggle,” but our system relies on all three branches waging that struggle in a democratic spirit. No one knew better than the founders that the system they designed was neither foolproof nor tyrant-proof. The people had to make good decisions, including choosing political leaders who respected the system and the rights it safeguards.
Here are five GOP lawmakers who have taken issue with the ways their party's presidential candidate has reacted to the massacre in Orlando. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
As Benjamin Franklin said, “a Republic, if you can keep it.” Today, Americans can’t simply rely on the system to save them from the possibility of a fascist president. And they certainly can’t count on the Republicans who produced this threat in the first place. They will have to shoulder that responsibility themselves, in the voting booth.A Soviet Special Forces diver is parachuted from extreme altitude into sensitive waters. His secret mission is to use highly sophisticated sonar equipment to locate a piece of valuable military hardware which has accidentally splashed down in the wrong place. In the event of meeting an enemy diver, this Hero of the People is equipped with a futuristic weapon which will inject his adversary with 3,000psi of carbon dioxide and literally blow him up.
Sounds like a scene from the latest re-make of Thunderball? Well, all this really happened, and it gets better... or worse. The highly-trained operative was a dolphin. The controversial use of dolphins and other sea mammals by the US Navy has been known about for a number of years, although the exact extent and nature of its activities is still shrouded in military secrecy. But details of the parallel Soviet developments in the field are only now starting to emerge, and they tell a fascinating, literally fantastic, Cold War story. They also beg the question as to whether the Americans have been doing the same things. The idea of training airborne dolphins, for example, almost beggars belief. But conservation campaigners have seen the evidence and heard the tale first-hand from the former Soviet naval personnel who trained the animals to ‘jump’ from heights of up to three kilometres to avoid detection. Other dolphin ‘soldiers’ were pitched directly from helicopters hovering at 50 feet above the sea. ‘If I hadn’t seen the evidence myself I just wouldn’t have believed it,’ says Doug Cartlidge, a dolphin consultant and front-line campaigner with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS). He visited the highly secret naval base at Sevastopol on the Black Sea, home to the once-proud Dolphin Division, to advise trainers on alternative uses for their expertise and on care of the animals, now that both are surplus to military requirement. While there he was shown around the unit’s museum and saw a full-size model of a dolphin wearing a parachute harness. He also saw official documents which described the programme. ‘I was amazed at how open and honest they were about the whole thing. But they are desperate for help,’ says Cartlidge, who once ran the dophinarium at Windsor Safari Park but has since campaigned for the release of captive dolphins. He was even taken on exercise with the few remaining military-trained animals. The unit is now part of the independent Ukrainian navy, but there are no funds to run it. Indeed the whole future of the former Soviet Black Sea fleet, based at Sevastopol, remains mired in dispute with Russia. A special ship used by the unit to transport its animals to hot-spots, for example, was recently commandeered by the Russian navy. In the meantime the Dolphin Division has been selling off most of its animals to make ends meet. It has also gone into business with a private company to capture at least 32 more from the wild for training and eventual sale to dophinariums in Turkey, Malta and Israel at prices of up to £50,000 each. ‘The unit once had over 100 dolphins, but now it has only got about four left,’ says Cartlidge. The most controversial of its past activities was the training of ‘killer dolphins’ for use against enemy divers. The US has always strenuously denied that its animals have been used in this way, and even some leading animal rights campaigners there have been sceptical about the possibility of doing it. A dolphin is so sensitive to distress signals from divers, they say, that even if it were possible to get an animal to unwittingly kill once, it would not do the same thing again. It would learn that its actions led to the diver’s distress, and would simply refuse to repeat them, making the whole operation impractical. The secrets of Sevastopol, however, have shown how the Soviets devised a way of doing just this. Does the US, after all, have a similar system A known use for dolphins by both superpowers was in guarding naval installations. The animals would be trained to patrol areas surrounding the base and to recognise intruders. If an intruder was located then they would ‘report back’ to their handlers, acting as an effective early warning system. The Soviets, however, gave this apparently benign activity a potentially fatal twist. Its ‘guards’ would carry a titanium clamp on a harness, and be trained to simply bump into any diver they found before returning to raise the alarm. The clamp was designed to attach itself to the diver when the dolphin bumped him in a way that it could not be removed, and in it was a device about the size of a table tennis ball capable of injecting the high-pressure charge of CO2 into the diver’s body. This was not done immediately, however, because the preference was to take any intruders alive. Only if a search failed to locate the enemy, or force him to the surface, was the device activated remotely. ‘As the commander there said to me: "That would bring him to the surface," ’ says Cartlidge, imitating a Ukrainian accent ‘It would, of course. But it would be with his guts spewing out both ends.’ Delightful. And friendly ‘Flipper’ would know nothing about it. Again, Doug was shown one of these devices and given a full explanation of its workings by those who used to deploy them.photo: David Carroll
A couple weeks ago we heard that New Chitose Airport, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido plans on using snow, kept cool throughout the summer under insulating materials, to chill the airport’s cooling system in the summer. Such a system would provide up to 30% of the airport’s cooling energy. Now the city of Ottawa, Canada is investigating something similar:Snow Kept Frozen Under Wood Chips
According to CBC News Hydro Ottawa will be investigating the potential application of using snow collected from city streets and kept frozen under insulating materials (potentially wood chips) to cool Ottawa’s hospitals, universities and government buildings.
Few details on how much implementing such a system would cost, or potentially how much energy could be saved by using snow melt-water in air cooling systems; but the cost to collect the 400 cm (13 feet) of snow which fell upon the city last winter ran to CDN$ 88 million (US$ 71 million).
via: CBC News
Alternative Air Conditioning
Snow to be Used to Replace 30% of Japanese Airport’s Cooling Energy Needs
Sea-Water Air Conditioning Plan for Honolulu, Hawaii Finishes Funding
Small-Scale Solar Powered Air Conditioning is Here (In Spain, Anyways)flickr Writer: Eric Daniel
Returning Starters – Offense: 4 Defense: 8
Preview: South Carolina wasn’t able to live up to their lofty expectations last season as the team went on to go 7-6 overall with a 24-21 bowl win coming against Miami. The Gamecocks were favored to win the SEC East, but after an opening 28-54 home loss against Texas A&M expectations were scaled back a bit. The Head Ball Coach has done a great job with this program turning in 84 wins during his 10 years as the head man. South Carolina took a step back last season and the weakness was the defense which was gashed a number of times on the way to a 3-5 conference record.
The offense put up solid numbers last season under veteran QB Dylan Thompson, but with Thompson moving on the team must find a replacement. The leading candidate to take over the starting role will be former highly touted recruit Connor Mitch. At his time in the program Mitch has shown improvement and the coaching staff is hopeful that he can take the next step and become a successful starter. The O-line returns the most experience on offense with 3 starters back in the mix. The unit must replace veteran A.J. Cann, but the unit will look to Bradndon Shell to take on a leadership role. RB will be in rebuild mode with the talented Mike Davis moving on to the NFL early. The position will be shared amongst guys like Wilds and Williams who’ll look to prove themselves. The main cog in the pass game will be lone returning starter Pharoh Cooper.
The defense took its lumps last season and the unit will look to improve this year under new DC Jon Hoke, who’s worked for Spurrier in the past. The defense at least returns 8 starters to build around so experience won’t be as much of a concern. Hoke has a lot of work ahead of him, but he’s up to the challenge to turn things around. The major switch will be the team going to the 4-3 scheme after testing out different formations in 2014. The real issue for the Gamecocks was getting pressure on opposing QBs. The D-line is hoping to get revitalized with a slew of new recruits coming in along with JUCO transfer Lewis. A number of players have had to make position changes in the back end of the defense, but there’s only room for improvement after the failures of 2014.
Prediction: South Carolina looked more engaged during spring ball this season after coming off the disappointing 7-6 campaign in 2014. This will be a rebuilding season for the Gamecocks as they work in a new starting QB along with the changes being made on the defensive side of the ball. Having a very difficult nonconference schedule could make things tricky for South Carolina to get back to a bowl game, but at least the Gamecocks play in the slightly more manageable East division of the SEC.
Projected Record: 5-7 (3-5)Not many people could have known that behind the advertising billboards on the platform of College station was something no-one had seen for more than three decades. Last week, workers upgrading the metal hardware that covers large portions of the station walls revealed a little bit of Toronto history that was long presumed destroyed.
There, covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, was the station’s original glossy blue-green vitrolite tile. A little cracked and worse for wear, but still firmly affixed to the walls.
For almost half the stations existence, this stuff covered the entire station, including the ticket hall. And then, in the 1980s, the TTC covered it up during an aesthetically misguided modernization effort that also drove its famous subway font to the brink of extinction.
When the TTC was building Canada’s first subway in early 1950s, the transit agency’s in-house designers made numerous important choices that defined the look and feel of the Toronto transit system.
An artist sketched out a new logo for the subway, someone—no-one knows who—created an entirely new typeface for use on the platform walls, and the chief engineer picked out a variety of shiny wall coverings in Primrose (soft yellow,) English Eggshell (blue-green,) and Pearl Grey (off-white.)
According to the original tender documents stored at the City of Toronto Archives, the colour scheme preferred by the TTC was supposed to include Jade and Shell Pink tiles instead of English Eggshell. Unfortunately, pink was out of stock, and Jade was considerably more expensive than another option, Alamo Tan, an earthy soil colour.
Additional confusion over pricing and available quantities resulted in Alamo Tan, Jade, and Shell Pink being dropped entirely, leaving just three colours to be repeated in a cycle between Union and Eglinton stations.
Four trim colours—American Red, Forest Green, Cadet Blue, and Black—used in a thin band near the ceiling ensured no two stations would be entirely identical.
The now-famous TTC font, developed in-house by the transit commission, matched the faintly retro look of the Toronto subway. Similar to Futura, a font created by German typeface designer Paul Renner in 1927, the TTC’s lettering was distinguished by perfectly round Os and Qs.
It also resembled Johnston, the font used by Transport for London across the London Underground, but no-one is entirely sure who at the TTC came up with the original design.
“We don’t know who the draftsman was,” says Ian Dickson, the Manager of Design and Wayfinding at the TTC. “It was in-house … there doesn’t appear to be any third parties on the drawings.”
Riders in the 1950s liked the crisp look of Canada’s first subway.
“The subway has raised the horizons of our pride,” wrote the Globe and Mail in 1954.
“Toronto used to have the biggest this and the tallest that in the British Empire. Now our statistics are parlayed to the world: It’s the world’s cleanest, the only one that’s scrubbed down every night. It’s the most efficient subway … a ride at the front window of the front car is still the biggest thrill in Toronto.”
The subway was really clean, too.
The TTC employed two janitors at each station and a roving squad of 10 overnight custodians. The walls were washed every day with a wet vacuum cleaner, and sawdust and linseed soap were used to scrub the terrazzo tile floors. Garbage collection and sweeping was handled out of a converted streetcar that passed through the tunnels after the evening service ended.
In 1965, more than 10 years after the subway opened, the New York Times asked foreign correspondents in a number of cities around the world to investigate the cleanliness of their nearest metro system. In the resulting story, H. E. Pettett, the secretary of the TTC, boasted that Toronto’s system was only rivalled by Stockholm.
“New Yorkers describe the Toronto system as almost antiseptic,” the paper reported.
At home, riders (affectionately) described it as world’s longest bathroom because of its polished walls and floors.
Unfortunately, the subway’s glass-faced tile didn’t stand up well against wear and tear. The wall pieces were prone to shattering and finding suitable replacements proved difficult and expensive. Vitrolite became scarce, only available through salvage, and the fastidious attention to detail began to slip as the subway expanded in the 1960s and 70s.
Rather than viewing the subway system as a whole, the TTC began commissioning designs for each station individually. Arthur Erickson gave the city Eglinton West and Yorkdale, and Dunlop-Farrow Architects created Dupont and Lawrence West, but there was no longer a strong visual thread tying the system together as whole.
Then, in 1982, the TTC overhauled the original Yonge line stations, covering the original tile in wire mesh and mounting new, more durable tile. College went from from blue-green to brown, Dundas went a bilious green, and Rosedale got a sort of deep forest colour.
Writing in the Globe and Mail, architect and urban planner George Kapelos called the new look a travesty. “The tile is mottled and visually chaotic,” he wrote. “Colours are bland or jarring, with no overall unity or individual distinctiveness.”
The subway font also vanished with the new wall covering, replaced by Univers, a widely used Swiss font with the letters spaced closer together. “It is a classic case of the ordinary replacing the special,” Kapelos wrote. “Toronto’s earliest flirtation with modernization has been replaced by the blandness of beige and universal lettering.”
Until the billboards came down at College station, the dusty but otherwise intact tile had been hidden from public view for more than 30 years. The reemergence attracted a significant amount of attention on social media—someone even wrote “love vitrolite” in the dust.
Perhaps a sign of increasing appreciation and respect for the TTC design standards of old.
For what it’s worth, the perennially cash-strapped TTC appears to be increasingly engaged in preserving its own history. In 2013, the commission created a design and wayfinding team, which overhauled the classic subway font, adding numbers, missing punctuation, and correcting problems with some of the letters.
“The S was out of balance, always seemed to be falling backwards,” says Dickson. “The diagonal strokes in the R, Q, and K weren’t matching, so when you put those letters side by side, they were all at slightly different angles. We went in and redrew the entire typeface, mostly from the original scans.”
Dickson said his team added punctuation and numbers, so new stations like Highway 407 can be rendered in the typeface in the coming years.
Called Bloor-Yonge, the updated version of the font is now used on the official company letterhead, in the Ride Guide, and on the monthly Metropass. When Union station was overhauled as part of work to add a second platform, workers didn’t bring back the yellow tile, but the name of the station was rendered faithfully in the TTC’s famous lettering.
“There is a very intentional effort to bring back the classic subway font to our facilities,” says Ian Dickson, the TTC’s manager of design and wayfinding. “It just seemed like the right thing to do. I get very little criticism when it comes to bringing back the subway font into our signage.”Darren Wilson attends a city council meeting in Ferguson. AP Photo/City of Ferguson, File
A grand jury has decided not to indict Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson.
Wilson, who is white, shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown after stopping him and a friend for walking in the street.
Wilson has said he shot Brown in self-defense. He reportedly told investigators that there was an altercation in his police vehicle before he shot the teenager. Wilson said Brown was reaching for Wilson's gun.
Brown's autopsy report seemed to support Wilson's version of events, according to experts who spoke to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month. Brown's wounds seem to suggest that he was facing Wilson when the deadly shot was fired.
But other witnesses have told a different story. Some claim Brown had his hands up in a sign of surrender and was running away when he was shot.
Protests, which at times turned violent, erupted in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri in August after Wilson shot Brown.
Police and federal authorities have been preparing for more protests in light of the grand jury decision.
Michael Brown's family said Monday night that they are "profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child" was not indicted.
In a statement they urged protesters to avoid violence, remain peaceful and to channel their frustration into a campaign for body cameras to be worn by every police officer on a street beat in the United States.
There seems to be little chance that Wilson will face federal civil rights charges for the shooting. Sources told The Washington Post last month that the Justice Department didn't have a strong enough case to charge Wilson and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to violate Brown's constitutional rights.
The Justice Department has also been investigating the policing practices of the Ferguson Police Department. Attorney General Eric Holder has said "the need for wholesale change in that department is appropriate."
NOW WATCH: THE CHILLING PROTESTS IN FERGUSON AS POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS INTO THE CROWD
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// // //Satire
Republicans were outraged Monday by two-year-old remarks of Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid about the electability of Barack Obama, in which Reid (an early Obama supporter) spoke of Obama’s light skin color and his lack of “Negro dialect.” The GOP, they said, would never apply such superficial criteria to the choice of high African-American officials.
Nor would the GOP ever use an outmoded term such as “Negro,” except in that beloved Christmas spiritual, “Barack the Magic Negro.“
Meanwhile, Liz Cheney urged her party to unite behind rapper 50 Cent for the GOP presidential candidate in 2012. “That will teach Reid a lesson,” she said, noting that gangsta rap is about guns, wearing big crosses, distrust of government, entrepreneurship, rejection of science and elite education, over-dressing, torturing your enemy, occasionally shooting your friends, and upholding old-time patriarchy. “I’m not accusing Mr. Cent of any of these things, mind you. Let’s face it, Tupac and Notorious B.I.G aren’t here any more, but maybe we can hearken back to them.” Plus, she noted, singing along with gangsta rap lyrics makes it possible to go way beyond just saying “Negro” the way Saltsman and Reid did. “That will be a relief for a lot of members of our party,” she acknowledged.
“You can’t accuse gangsta rap of being anything lite,” she noted. “Nobody in my family has ever been able to understand a word they say–but we like the values, especially the guns and shooting and torturing people.” Embracing this subculture, she asserted, would help the Republican Party get back to its core values. Moreover, she said, the Republican Party could reinvigorate gangsta rap, which many say is dead–killed by the opulence the big payouts by recording companies made possible. “Did you see what we did to Baghdad and Saddam? Nobody is better at gang wars and busting caps in people’s asses than we are. We’re proof that rich people don’t have to be soft or nice.” Asked about a possible running mate for 50, she just smiled coyly.
GOP: 50-Cheney in 2012
satire
End/ (Not Continued)This is the Opensource.com weekly Top 5!
To get some more info about what this series is all about and to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you won't miss a video, read last week's special New Year's edition.
Every week, I check out the stats and look in on the chatter to see what stories have been most popular with our readers. If you have an article you loved from this week that isn't on the list, tell us in the comments why you think it should have made a bigger splash.
Top 5 articles of the week
#5 - 12 highlights from the OpenStack roadmap
Jason Baker, resident OpenStack guru, serves up 12 videos with a short summary for each, of OpenStack projects and their plans for 2015. Project Team Leads for each of the projects talk about the project's core mission, what was accomplished in the last release, and the goals for the next (Kilo) release.
#4 - The power of Docker and open source ecosystems
Docker was named one of the Top 10 open source projects by Opensource.com, and in this article CEO of Docker, Inc., Ben Golub, reflects on the power of open source ecosystems and communities as a big contributor to their success. Ben expresses his excitement to have Docker on the list for a second year in a row and names fellow top-listers as partners in the Docker ecosystem. He says Ansible, Apache Mesos, Kubernetes, and OpenStack have all embraced a truly "open" model, including governance, contribution, design, and interfaces. What's the roadmap look like for Docker in 2015? Ben dedicates three solid paragraphs to this question, so find out!
#3 - 10 entry points to tech (for girls, women, and everyone)
If you are part of an open source project, you may know that entry might not always be the easiest. It's a topic we cover frequently on the site, we even have a series of articles for the Beginner in Open Source. Here, |
write about. If it were up to them we could go on making Episodes forever. But we’ve told the story we set out to tell and we'd never want to outstay our welcome.'One of the many unexplained (at least not officially) anomalies of the persons claimed to have carried out the Boston Marathon bombings is the presence of key CIA figure in the direct family of the accused brothers.
Ruslan Tsarnaev, the outspoken uncle of the brothers was married to Samantha A. Fuller until 2004. Samantha’s father is Graham Fuller, the senior CIA person who was the architect the Afghan Islamic fundamentalist Mujahideen war against the Soviets. He is also involved in creating a global jihad network, presumably acting on behalf of CIA interests.
Ruslan Tsarnaev, who changed his name to Ruslan Tsarni, lives in a posh Washington DC suburb of Bethesda Maryland. He has worked in the past for companies tied to Dick Cheney’s Halliburton as well as a “consultant” in Kazakhstan with the State Department’s USAID which has been identified as a CIA front. [1] Take it all in: The two brothers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, accused though never proven in a court of law to have been responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings, had an uncle, the same uncle who agreed to bury the remains of the one dead brother. This uncle was married to the daughter of Graham Fuller, one of the most important CIA architects of using Islamic Jihadists/terrorists against the USSR during the Cold War and after, throughout Central Asia, including Chechnya and Kazakhstan. Coincidence?
The Fuller CIA Link
The discovery of the connection between a very senior CIA official, Graham Fuller, to the uncle of the accused Boston bombers was more than a bit embarrassing for Fuller. He took what for a professional CIA agent was an extraordinary step of issuing a public denial. In an exclusive interview on what reportedly is a CIA-linked website, “Back Channel—Al-Monitor,” Fuller hurriedly denounced media links of his CIA connection to the bombers’ uncle: “…possible connections between Ruslan and the Agency through me are absurd.” [2] Fuller then went on to admit, “Samantha was married to Ruslan Tsarnaev (Tsarni) for 3-4 years…They also lived in our house in [Maryland] for a year or so…” [3]
Fuller went on to claim Ruslan was “homesick” for Chechnya, and that his English was “shaky,” yet after the Boston bombings, a very English-fluent Ruslan gave a press conference from his posh Maryland home denouncing his nephews.
The central question is who is Graham Fuller? The answer turns out to be that he was one of the most instrumental people inside the CIA during the 1980’s who convinced CIA Director Bill Casey and the Reagan Administration to recruit fundamentalist Muslim Salafists or Jihadists from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and elsewhere, train them in techniques of guerilla insurgency and send them against the Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. They were called Mujahideen.[4] One of the more famous of those Mujahideen was a young Saudi from a very wealthy family named Osama bin Laden.
Fuller was also the key CIA figure in convincing the Reagan Administration to tip the balance in the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq war by using Israel to channel weapons to Iran in what became the Iran-Contra Affair. As well, in 1999, around the time his daughter Samantha and “Uncle” Ruslan Tsarni (aka Tsarnaev) lived at his home near Washington, Fuller, former Deputy Director of the CIA’s National Council on Intelligence, then a senior figure at the Pentagon and CIA-linked neo-conservative RAND corporation, advocated using Muslim forces to further US interests in Central Asia. He stated,
“The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against [the Russians]. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia.” [5]
This is precisely what happened in Chechnya with hundreds of CIA-trained Jihadists and Al Qaeda fighters sent into Chechnya, Dagestan and other parts of the former Soviet Union, precisely where Uncle Ruslan and his two Tsarnaev nephews came to the USA from. Coincidence?
Is it mere “coincidence” that the uncle of the two young men accused of the Boston bombings was related in marriage to the CIA figure who advocated using the networks which were later named “Al Qaeda” across Central Asia including Chechnya where the Tsarnaev brothers had roots? The more independent researchers examine evidence around the Boston terror bombings, the more the official US Government version of events stinks. Closeup pictures of obviously fake red paint designed to look like blood from a man whose legs were supposedly blown off of flesh to the bone, pictures of private security contractors carrying large backpacks at the direct bombing site after the bombing and chatting with police, reports of eyewitnesses of police over loudspeakers telling marathon runners there was a “terrorism exercise” taking place as a test that day. All these anomalies, combined with the CIA ties of Uncle Ruslan, present an incredible set of coincidences. It is time for an open and serious citizen commission of inquiry be formed to investigate.
In a future article we will look closely at the role of the same Graham Fuller in creation of what is rapidly becoming an Islamic fundamentalist dictatorship in Turkey and across the Islamic world. The Graham Fuller Ruslan Tsarni connection opens up what looks to be a very ugly can of worms. The two accused of the Boston bombings were never proven guilty. Their mother in Russia vehemently insists they were set up as patsies by the US Government to be blamed.[6]
It may be that carelessness somewhere exposed Graham Fuller and the tip of a very secret and very explosive network of international terror whose ties with Langley and the US Government are inadvertently coming into daylight in what might well be the most important revelation of destructive secret intelligence operations in modern history. Graham Fuller, ‘methinks thou doth protest too much,’ when you proclaim absurd ties between the CIA and accused Boston bombers and that is drawing the spotlight of the civilized world to you and your accomplices and activities. Fuller’s earlier role in Turkey with another network of Salafist fundamentalist Islam will be our next view into the murky underworld of intelligence agencies and attempts to manipulate entire parts of the human population.
Notes:When I first started watching this cartoon version of Little Miss Trouble, I thought it was going to be the same as the book. But a few subtle differences and a well placed comment on youtube make the cartoon worthy of its own entry.
I started to think more about this story when I saw the following comment about the cartoon on the youtube clip by Hoktak: “Haha, serve that little troublemaker right for being a gossipmonger! Mr. Small, Mr. Bump, and Mr.Tickle got her back good!”
Then it started to click. Here is another reason why I don’t like this story. Little Miss Trouble makes her trouble through gossip. Typically, gossip is understood to be something that is done by mean girls who like to spread nasty rumors. Gossip is also considered to be a particularly insidious and pointless activity that women-with-nothing-better-to-do engage in. It has no real or productive purpose other than to humiliate or anger the object of its talk. By using gossip as the way that Little Miss Trouble makes trouble, Hargreaves reinforces both the link between girls and gossip and the idea that girl(y) troublemaking is not real action but just mean, vicious talk.
Word count: 199 wordsDelta leads quest to end lost airline luggage
LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) — Victor DaRosa stands under a scorching afternoon sun, loading bags onto a jet heading to Detroit.
As each suitcase climbs up the conveyor belt into the plane, a small computer verifies that it actually belongs on that flight. If one bag didn't, a red light would flash and the belt would stop until somebody acknowledges the mistake and reroutes the luggage.
This is the future of baggage handling. Delta Air Lines is investing $50 million to soothe one of air travel's biggest headaches: lost and delayed luggage.
BOOKMARK: Go directly to the Today in the Sky homepage
Delta carried nearly 120 million checked suitcases last year, collecting $25 in fees, each way, for most domestic bags. For that price, fliers expect their suitcase to be waiting on the carousel when they arrive. Delta already has one of the airline industry's best luggage handling records — just 1 out of every 500 bags failed to arrive on time — but hopes that by deploying a RFID, or radio-frequency identification, tracking system globally it can improve further.
If the system works, other airlines are likely to follow. Ultimately the bag tag might be replaced with permanent RFID readers in our suitcases, reducing the chances fliers in the future will start a vacation missing their swimsuit.
"It's a very smart move," says Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group. "It's one that will help increase customer confidence that their bags will arrive with them."
RFID wirelessly identifies tags attached to items. The technology is widely used at warehouses to track goods but Delta's rollout is the first global use for passenger bags.
To better understand the technology, think about your local supermarket. If every grocery item had an RFID tag, cashiers wouldn't have to scan each product at checkout. Instead, the groceries would pass by a scanner and be instantly registered. Shoppers could even leave everything in their cart, having it all tallied at once.
The same principles apply to checked luggage.
Most airlines today use barcodes on tags to identify each suitcase — each tag has its own unique 10-digit number — and make sure it is loaded onto the right plane. But reading each barcode with a handheld scanner is time consuming. Often, a bag or two aren't scanned or error messages are missed by workers focused on getting planes out on time.
This July 12, 2016, photo, shows the inside of a sample RFID-enabled Delta Air Lines baggage tag, at top, at BWI Airport in Linthicum, Md. Delta is rolling out new technology to better track bags throughout its system. (Photo11: Patrick Semansky, AP)
Delta designed its system to stop those errors. At the airline's 84 largest airports — accounting for 85% of its passengers — Delta will have 1,500 special belt loaders with RFID readers built in. Those loaders — like the one DaRosa was using — stop when a bag for a different flight is accidently placed on the belt.
"It's amazing technology," says DaRosa, a ramp supervisor who has been testing the technology at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. "It's going to totally eliminate a bunch of careless little errors."
Replacing handheld scanners allows ramp workers to use both hands to lift bags, reducing injuries and speeding up the loading and unloading process. RFID also shortens the time needed to find and remove a bag from a plane at the last second. All of that means more on-time flights.
Delta is also using RFID to track bags through the labyrinth of conveyor belts below terminals. If bags fall off a belt at a particular curve or get suck at a junction, Delta will now have enough RFID readers — about 5,200 globally — to pinpoint the trouble spot and fix it. The Atlanta-based airline says it plans to have the system online in 344 airports by the end of August.
The new tags look like traditional ones. But if held up to the light, passengers can see a fingernail-size chip and a credit card size antenna inlaid inside.
By the end of this year, fliers will be able to track their bags through the Delta smartphone app, getting push notifications at each step of the journey. If a bag misses its flight, passengers are also notified instantly.
That way passengers "aren't standing at a baggage carousel waiting for the last piece of luggage to come off to realize their bag isn't there," says Sandy Gordon, Delta's vice president of airport operations for the eastern U.S.
Most passengers' bags do arrive on time. But there are so hiccups, with 1 out of every 500 bags Delta carried last year failing to do so. It's a record surpassed by only Virgin America and JetBlue Airways, which both have smaller and simpler route networks. Twice as many were delayed last year on American Airlines, according to statistics reported to the Department of Transportation.
Bags often get delayed when bad weather forces tight connections or passengers are rerouted onto new flights.
Of the 245,000 bags Delta mishandled last year, 208,000 of them arrived within three hours, according to the airline. Another 25,000 were reunited with passengers within 12 hours. The remaining 12,000 were either lost or took more than 12 hours to be delivered.
Installing RFID isn't going to solve all of Delta's baggage problems. But the airline estimates a 10% reduction in delayed bags. That means about 25,000 fewer bags the airline has to deliver to passengers' homes, offices or hotel rooms.
For the past five years, Australian airline Qantas has offered a permanent RFID bag tag that fliers can purchase for about $23 and use when flying the airline domestically. Several big airports, including those in Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Milan and Tokyo, use RFID to track bags through parts of their systems.
But Delta, the world's second largest carrier by passenger traffic, is providing the most-comprehensive tracking the industry has seen to date.
Airlines have long found RFID too pricey but the cost has dropped. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas says it currently pays 12 cents for each RFID tag, down from 21.5 cents a decade ago. Traditional tags cost the airport 3 cents. Delta refused to say how much it's paying for RFID bag tags, except that it is less than 10 cents each.
The new tracking system won't follow every suitcase.
There are limitations.
It includes bags checked at the gate and claimed at a baggage carousel. But items like strollers or bags checked at the gate for regional jets — those picked up at the arriving gate — currently aren't tracked with RFID.
If a Delta passenger connects onto a flight with a Delta partner like Air France, the traditional barcode tag takes over for the final leg of the journey. However, an Air France passenger connecting to a Delta flight gets a RFID sticker added to the traditional tag when their luggage first enters Delta's possession.
And nothing is preventing the airline from losing your bag if any of these tags get ripped off along the way.
In this July 12, 2016, photo, Delta Air Lines employee Helen Evans places an RFID-enabled baggage tag on a flier's checked bag at BWI Airport. (Photo11: Patrick Semansky, AP)
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2bQEys0Five reasons why the shut-op operator (@) should be avoided
Skien, Norway
Reason 1: It creates a debugging hell
The @-operator is often used to silence errors in noisy PHP functions—functions that generate warnings that can not be easily prevented. An example might be to silence network errors with stream_socket_client(), or hiding connection errors for mysql_connect(). In those cases, there is no way how to check up-front whether the function call will not issue a warning when being called (unlike fopen() where you could first call file_exists() for example).
Using the @-operator can have annoying side effects however. Years ago I was helping a co-worker debugging a MySQL issue with our software eZ Publish. We could not find out why it would not successfully create a connection to the database through Apache, while it was working fine from the command line with the same code. We started browsing through our code and found that the mysql_connect() call was prepended by the @-operator to hide possible connection warnings/errors from our users. After removing the @ to see what errors we would get, we were surprised to see that the error message was "Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysql_connect()". Turned out that the MySQL extension was a shared object that was only loaded by the php.ini file that the command line client of PHP was using, while the one used by the PHP in Apache did not load the extension. In this case, only after about two hours, we found that the @-operator was hiding slightly more errors than we'd expected.
From then on, we made it our policy that the @-operator should be avoided, and if used, only is allowed with a comment with what error we're supposed to be hiding with them.
Reason 2: It's slow (part 1)
Whenever the @-operator is used, PHP needs to invoke the INI settings mechanism to change the temporary value of the error_reporting setting to 0. That this happens, can be seen in the following example:
<?php $error_reporting = ini_get( 'error_reporting' ); echo $error_reporting, "
"; $error_reporting = @ini_get( 'error_reporting' ); echo $error_reporting, "
";?>
The output of this example is:
32767 0
It requires the INI mechanism because it allows a proper clean-up at the end of each request, where every internal value of each INI setting is reset back to its original value. Without this, a call such as @die(); would set error_reporting to 0 and when the script bails out PHP does not get the chance to reset it back to its original value.
Reason 3: It's slow (part 2)
Whenever PHP generates an error message internally, it's processed and formatted all the way up to the fully formatted message that can be outputted straight to the browser. Only just before it is displayed the error_reporting setting is checked. This however, is not related to the @-operator exclusively. The error message is just always fully formatted before error_reporting is checked—or display_errors for that matter.
Reason 4: It's slow (part 3: It generates crappier code)
The reason why I started writing about the @-operator comes from a new feature that I am implementing for Xdebug : the addition of variable assignments in function traces. When writing tests I found out that the Zend compiler generates quite a bit slower code in case the @-operator is used. With VLD we can see this difference clearly. For the code:
<?php $t['a'] += $b;?>
The compiler creates the following opcodes:
compiled vars:!0 = $tf,!1 = $t,!2 = $b 15 EXT_STMT 16 ASSIGN_ADD!1, 'a' 17 ZEND_OP_DATA!2, $7
But for the code:
<?php @$t['a'] += $b;?>
The compiler generates:
18 EXT_STMT 19 BEGIN_SILENCE ~8 20 FETCH_R local $11 'b' 21 FETCH_RW local $9 't' 22 ASSIGN_ADD $9, 'a' 23 ZEND_OP_DATA $11, $12 24 END_SILENCE ~8
This shows that when the @-operator is used, the compiler does not generate the
much faster compiled variables that were introduced with PHP 5.1. Instead, it falls back to use the FETCH_* opcodes that look up variables by name. This is much slower as it requires a hash lookup. On top of that, more opcodes are generated as well.
Reason 5: Apfelstrudels were harmed
The last reason is a bit of a silly one. While looking at the implementation of the @-operator, I found the following bits of code in zend_compile.c :
void zend_do_begin_silence(znode *strudel_token TSRMLS_DC)
and
*strudel_token = opline->result;
This last reason is of course not the most important one :-)Welcome to DepressionFree.com At any given time, approximately 24 million North Americans suffer from depressive illness. The majority suffer in silence fearing rejection and judgement. Because of the stigma about mental illness, most won't even talk to a family member or friend about their illness, let alone seek treatment.
READ UNDERSTANDING DEPRESSION Stress & Depression
Chronic stress can lead to burnout, with symptoms of depressed and anxious moods. This especially common in adults over the age of 40.
Read: Chronic Stress & Depression Clinical Depression
Advances in brain scanning technology reveal the physiological malfunction associated with neurological depression. Did you know that untreated clinical depression can destroy brain cells? Read: Clinical Depression What is depression?
Depression is used to describe everything from clinical depression to normal sadness, discouragement, PMS, and stress.
Read Understanding Depression
Hormonal Havoc
Are your hormones driving your crazy? Why do some women escape the emotional effects, while others suffer erratic mood swings and other symptoms? Read: Hormonal Depression
If you are in crisis, call 911 or proceed to the emergency department of your local hospital. DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is not intended to replace the advice of a medical doctor or mental health professional. DepressionFree.com seeks to help visitors better understand mental health and disorders.The contents of this site are for informational purposes only and are meant to be discussed with your physician or other qualified health care professional before being acted on. This site is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are experiencing the symptoms of a mental disorder, see your doctor for a complete medical exam. If you have suicidal thoughts, call an ambulance or visit the nearest emergency ward. Read full disclaimer Last updated: October 3, 2018 Copyright Judy Rushfeldt. All the information on this site is protected by copyright. Mental Health News Neuroplasticity reduced in brains of people with depression
The brains of people with depression show a reduced ability to adapt to their environment, learning and memory. a unique study shows. This is one of the first objective tests to show that depression is linked to decreased neuroplasticity. The magnetic stimulation tests also showed the lesssened neuroplasticity was not related to how much effort the person made. Read more Doctors urge mental health screenings with physical exams
Most people don't address mental health issues until they drastically interfere with their lives, says a new study. This could be avoided with regular screenings.
Read more - USA Today Calgary Flames Hockey Coach talks about his battle with OCD and depression
Facing a losing battle with depression, OCD and heavy drinking, Clint Malarchuk put a bullet to his bed. Miraculously, he survivived. Today he tells his story to corporations and high schools. "What makes me any different than a diabetic or someone with high cholesterol or a heart condition. You need medication, you take it."
Read more - Calgary Sun
Canada launches wokplace standards for mental health and safety
The Mental Health Commission of Canada released a standardized tool to help Canadian companies promote mental health, reduce stigma and support employees dealing with mental illness.
Read more
Magnetic helmet "rewires" the brain
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a helmet using magnets to treat depression in patients who have failed to respond to antidepressant medications.
Read more
Toronto's CAMH launches Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention
A $7.2 million donation from the Temerty Family Foundation will fund research into promising new treatments for persistent and severe mental illness, including Canada's first clinic using Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST). Read more Calgary researchers could help depression sufferers get well sooner
A new pilot project at Foothills Medical Centre and the University of Calgary could one day help people with major depression get well sooner. The study will use blood and urine tests and brain scans to determine if there is a biological marker that will help selecting the most effective medication. Read more Do you have news items that may be of interest to our visitors? Email usThe fog of war envelops every battlefield. When the plan breaks down amid the chaos and ambiguity, how do young Marines know what to do next? How can they take relevant action in the present when their carefully detailed plan has been rendered useless? Every leader communicates something called Commander’s Intent — effectively an end state or envisioned future of the battlefield when all is said and done. Understanding this vision, even the most green Marines can take decisive, relevant action right now. Managers should equip their people to achieve the same level of clarity in their careers, says Candor, Inc. co-founder and COO and former military leader Russ Laraway.
Laraway believes that managers can grow and retain top talent by helping their employees articulate long-term vision for their careers. His approach has made him a sought-after advisor on the issue of employee retention and talent development. While at Google, his framework for career development led to more than a 10-point bump on engagement scores across hundreds of employees. In addition to Google, Laraway’s career spans operational and management roles at Twitter, founding and leading his own supply chain consulting firm and serving as a Company Commander in the Marine Corps, in which he oversaw 175 Marines.
Drawing from his talk at First Round’s CEO Summit and additional conversations, Laraway explains a servant leader’s approach to career conversations, a tool that accelerates development, enhances engagement and boosts retention in teams. He lays out a step-by-step approach for creating meaningful dialogue and details pitfalls to avoid. Any startup seeking to keep its talent for the long term will gain helpful tips from Laraway’s framework.
Why Career Conversations Are Your Secret Weapon
Companies face both a threat and an opportunity when it comes to their employees’ long term career aspirations. First, the threat: if managers just lead their employees merely with the day-to-day in mind, they’ll lose some of their best people sooner than they might have otherwise. Laraway has found that career conversations — deep, meaningful dialogue coupled with action plans around measurable goals — go a long way in keeping them around for longer.
Conversely, the opportunity when it comes to managing your people is the chance to be a servant leader, a concept coined in the 1970s that says the best leaders live to be in service to their teams. “One way to know if you’re exhibiting service leadership,” Laraway says, citing leadership expert Robert Greenleaf, “is if the people under you are growing and developing.”
“I've seen this play out in practice over and over and over. People are surprised that they can grow towards their dreams and stay put in their current role,” says Laraway. “This is one of the side benefits to this approach to career conversations. It can reduce any ants-in-the-pants of wanting to leave or be promoted. As a manager, one of your prime jobs is to help the people on your team develop.”
Leaders, do you have what you need to invest in your people with the same focus and fervor you want them to give your company?
Candor, Inc.'s COO Russ Laraway speaks at First Round's CEO Summit.
Four Ways To Screw Up Career Conversations
“You have to be careful not to take shortcuts around this initiative,” Laraway cautions. “Your people will grow with or without you. The question is who will they grow into?”
Laraway has refined a process for figuring that out. He outlines four approaches to career conversations that frequently backfire:
Don’t have them at all. “The first problem with career conversations is that they’re not happening. A lot of times, folks don't know it’s their duty to talk to someone about their career. Or, if they do realize it, they don't know exactly what to do,” Laraway says. “Even worse, there are ‘imposter conversations,’ such as performance reviews, which are inherently backward looking, whereas good career conversations are mostly focused on a dream in the future.”
Performance reviews are backwards-looking, while career conversations are forward-looking. Performance reviews ≠ career conversations.
Limit them to the near future. “In thinking about career conversations, the short term is not a good way to think. The idea that discussing promotion equals discussing career? Nope,” Laraway says. “Promotions, at their very best, represent an incremental increase in scope and growth. At their worst, they're nothing more than a title and comp change, a nice formal recognition for a job well done. Promotion conversations do not equal career conversations.”
Just check the box. “Big Bad Company Inc.’s CEO convenes all the VPs and they put up on the screen the recent scores from the engagement survey. They discover that in three to five years, a bunch of people are going to leave because they're concerned about career growth and development. Panic ensues,” says Laraway. “I’ve seen this a number of times in more than one company. An HR person chimes in and says, ‘You know what? We've got to get everybody on an IDP, an individual development plan.’ Boom. Problem solved. The VPs, desperate for action, say ‘Yes!’ and relay the message down the line to directors, managers and their teams. Employees burn their weekends putting together their IDPs. Monday comes. They say, ‘Got my IDP.’ Box checked, squared away. Then no one looks at the IDPs again. It is a terrible process, but the box has been checked. That's a problem.”
Improvise. People sometimes approach career planning in a start-and-stop, half-baked way. “We plan a lot of things. We plan our families, plan our weekends, plan our vacations and plan our meals,” says Laraway. “It’s a little crazy to me that we don't often put a lot of energy, intentionality, or conscientiousness toward our careers. We need to put a little more structure around that.”
The way to fix this imbalance is to follow the framework Laraway lays out for developing career action plans and having serious, meaningful — and even amazing — conversations with your employees. By doing that, you can really help them grow towards their dreams. By investing in your people in this highly differentiated way, often they’ll say, “I’m growing and my manager has my back. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
It’s hard to keep books upright without bookends. You must understand someone's past and future to know how to order the present.
Three Career Conversations You Should be Having
A decade ago, in a conversation about career planning, Sheryl Sandberg told Laraway, “You have to have a long-term vision and an 18-month plan.” Her advice was in response to some flawed thinking that she'd observed in how people — including herself — were thinking about their careers. She talked about two broad problems. First, people are inclined to plan their careers step-by-step, the mistake she made. “Or they do no planning at all,” Laraway says. “If she’d have stuck with that very carefully designed plan from earlier in her career, she would have not taken that Google opportunity, which was a very meaningful slope-changer in her career trajectory.”
Instead, take another path forward when it comes to career conversations. Laraway breaks down a three-step process for helping your employees develop both short- and long-term plans. Each of these steps involves about an hour of investment approximately two weeks apart from one another. These three approaches help surface the key components of your employee’s path: their past, present and future.
1. Be their Barbara Walters. Take an hour to get to know your employees — deeply. Begin with the phrase:
Starting with kindergarten, tell me about your life.
Then probe with more questions when they talk about pivots in their lives.
Laraway took this tactic with a direct report, who mentioned switching from cheerleading to swimming while in high school. “I became curious about why she liked swimming so much better than cheerleading. ‘What was it about swimming?’ She said, ‘I never really thought about it, but when we worked hard and we spent a lot of time in that pool, we had tangible outcomes on the backend. We reduced our times or maybe even got to the podium,’” says Laraway. “It became really clear through that story, and others like it throughout her life, that she deeply valued hard work leading to tangible outcomes. It was so clear to both of us because of the story.”
Look for the patterns over the course of your people's lives that give you strong signal and just write them down. “In this case of the cheerleader-turned-swimmer, I wrote, ‘Hard work leads to tangible outcomes.’ Then I wrote down the story, ‘Cheerleader to swimmer,’” Laraway says. “It’s not rocket science. I had pages of notes that yielded a list of 5-10 values and motivators that helped us have a shared, textured understanding of what she cared about and what brought her to this point."
2. Spot their lighthouse and bring it into focus. Articulating a clear vision for an employee’s future is the most important step. Ask your employee about their dreams.
“Maybe we're a little skeptical that a lot of our millennials, for example, will know what they want to be when they grow up. In fact, some of you are thinking that you don't even know what you want to be when you grow up. That's common skepticism,” Laraway concedes, but he continues, “I've run this process hundreds of times, and never had a person who couldn't tell me about their dreams.”
“The idea is to try to get employees to start to talk to you about their dreams, or three to five of them if they don't really want to commit to one idea. None of it should be time-bound — no 10-year plans. Ask what this person would be doing at the pinnacle of his or her career — when they’re feeling challenged, engaged and not wanting anything else.”
“What we have now is a blurry, fuzzy lighthouse out in the distance. The goal is to try to bring that lighthouse into focus. We want to see the paint chips. We want to see the red tiles on top. We want to see the seagull perched on it. We've got to ask a few more questions,” Laraway says. He suggests the following three questions for focusing the vision only after you both understand the dream:
What size company do you imagine working for?
What industry do you want to be in?
Do you want to be in a very senior individual contributor type role or very senior management type role?
Russ Laraway
Laraway had an employee, Jane, who articulated this vision: Own and operate my own spirulina farm.
This woman had also noted in her life story conversation that the happiest she ever was in her career was when she “built something from nothing” at a former employer, so this vision was aligned with what she valued most. Knowing her wildest dreams helped Laraway place her in a position that would deliver experiences that would compound and prepare her for where she was headed — even if she was in a different industry currently. “We were working in digital ads at the time at Google. Together, we were able to take the right actions given her vision, and advocate for her to get training that would be valuable for her as an entrepreneur,” Laraway says. “We were both extremely happy with the investment we made in her. She stayed at Google longer than I did, and continues to grow in the digital ad space at Facebook. The spirulina farm is still the lighthouse in the distance, and that’s ok.”
3. Create a career action plan. Armed with a shared and textured understanding of your employees’ key motivators, and a clear articulation of their own envisioned future, now you’re ready for the next step: crafting a detailed action plan. These will map out — in great detail — exactly how your employee is going to reach that vision for themselves. Think of it as a roadmap to self-actualization.
“Now we've got it: We've got an understanding of the person’s origin, path taken to this point, what they care about and what drives them. Now we've got a clear idea of this lighthouse in the distance. We know their dreams — what lights them up. We know how they envision their future,” says Laraway. “That arms us with all we need to take relevant action right now and start to build the career action plan.”
Four Steps to Design a Career Action Plan
At Candor, career action plans are developed into four parts. Each part has 2-5 action items. Each action item should answer: Who will do what by when?
“If those three questions aren't answered, you don't have an action plan. What you have is that IDP exercise. Who will do what by when? That's an accountable plan. That's something you can work on and manage toward,” Laraway says.
Here’s how career action plans should be created:
Develop their role. If you understand where employees are trying to go, you can make adjustments in their current role to move them in the right direction. “A lot of times when we think about career, we’re a broken record, stuck on: what's next, what's next, what's next. People are hungry to know what their next job will be, or when that next promotion is coming,” Laraway says. “If people feel like they've got a manager who's got their back and investing them in a differentiated way, it’s a different result. If we’re being explicit about doing some things in their current role that can take them toward the end goal in their career, that helps reduce the ants in their pants a little bit. People tend to want to stay put.”
Enhance their network. Help them identify the people who can inform and influence where they’re trying to go. “This can entail everything from helping set up informational interviews to being their sounding board to help pressure-test their thinking,” says Laraway. “Influence is pretty straightforward. Who are the people that can help uncover opportunities that'll take them closer to their long-term career vision? Identify those people and help them get some meetings.”
Laraway stresses that it’s a way of providing 360-degree support to your employee. “The more they explore future possibilities, the more they’ll be engaged in their work. Meeting people who are in their dream industry or job can be inspiring and clarifying. It also helps forge connections that may come in handy down the line,” Laraway says. “And it yields benefits for you, too. It’s so important for your employee to know how much you’re supportive of them, and how far you’re willing to go to make sure they achieve their dream job. That inspires loyalty like nothing else.”
Define their immediate next step. “Let's be explicit about what the next step or role you will fill that makes sense, given what you care about, the path behind you, and the lighthouse off in the distance,” Laraway says. “It can involve advocating for them to make a lateral or vertical move, or giving them goalposts to hit on a quarterly basis. You want to help them gain crystal clarity that this immediate next step is a logical one en route to their dreams.”
Enlist others to help hone their skills. Send your employees to training like conferences or workshops. But be mindful that you’re sending them to opportunities that actually make sense in the context of the long-term vision. For example, Laraway cites a highly popular Advanced Negotiations course that every single person wanted to take at the |
patients still often face life-threatening discrimination.
A protest memorial is planned on September 2nd in front of the apartment building Marilyn lived in. Hopefully the death of Marilyn Holsten will not be in vain and can be used to help others legitimize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Anthony Papa is the author of 15 To Life and a communications specialist for Drug Policy Alliance.Tryin' to get our two boys ready to carry 'em to the golf tournament before practice, right? Twelve cats live across the road. Our door's open. Screen's broke - we need to get a new screen door - but the screen's broke, so you can come in through the screen but you can't get back out of it. I turn and look. There's a little kitty cat in our - in our kitchen.
So I said, "What're you doin' in here, little kitty cat?" By that time, [growl], the cat turns, tries to get back out, but the screen won't go that way. Cat starts goin' "MEEOOOOW!" All crazy! And I told our players: We need more dogs. Bo's barkin' in the back, I have to go shut Bo up, Mel's like, "What's goin' on?!" I say, "There's a cat in the house." "Cat in the house?!" I said, "Yeah, there's a cat in the house!"
So I told our players, I tried to let it out the front door - "MEEEOOOW!" - the cat's still goin' crazy in there. And I told our players: You need to be more like a dog! We don't need a bunch of cats in here - meow! - looking' in the mirror. "I look gooood, I got my extra bands on, I got my other shoes." Be a dog! We don't need no meows, we don't need no cats. We need more dawgs.Make A Leather Bi-Fold Wallet – Free PDF Template – Build Along Tutorial
This is a build along video for the free leather bi-fold wallet template!
Be sure to download the bi-fold wallet template (8.5″ x 11″ version / A4 version) to print out and follow along!
Also available as an acrylic template: 5-Pocket Bi-Fold Wallet Acrylic Template
Usage Note: You are free to use this card holder design to create and even sell the end product. However, you cannot re-distribute this template in any form.
Need help with hand-stitching? Check out our saddle stitch tutorial.
Inventory of Tools
Leather Selection Suggestions
In this video we used 3-4oz. Q-Tan Lite Bridle Leather sourced from Thoroughbred Leather. You can find more info about ordering from Thoroughbred Leather check out this post. If you are just looking to purchase a small amount of something similar for this project I suggest this product from Springfield Leather. It is the exact same weight as the leather in the video. If you are outside of the USA I’m not as privy on suppliers. However you could try one of these Madison Shoulders – 1.2mm/1.4mm from A & A Crack & Sons. They have an awesome selection of leathers available to ship worldwide.
For this wallet I would suggest anywhere from 2-4oz thickness for the inside pocket pieces. For the outside panel I would suggest up to 4oz. I find the best all around weight is the 3/3.5 oz range. Thicker leather that isnt properly skived might cause you some fitting problems especially around the “top collar” area of the wallet.
If you are not using a vegetable tanned leather to create this bi-fold wallet your edge finishing guidelines will probably be different. Chrome-tanned leathers and extremely soft leathers like sheepskin are difficult and sometimes impossible to burnish by hand. If you would like to follow this tutorial to spec, we would suggest acquiring a burnish-able vegetable tanned leather.
Guidelines of Template Usage
We put a lot of time and effort into producing these templates, videos, and blog posts. Please do not distribute the template you have purchased from Makesupply. It’s not cool and hurts our feelings. However, you are free to do whatever you want with the end product you create using the template design. Even sell them on Etsy!Our discourse is full of rhetorical terms used to frighten or cajole the public in a given direction. But these words don't mean what you think they mean.
In high school literature class we used to yuk it up when a “natural child” popped up to drive the plot in old English novels. Most of us were from boring two-parent households and wholesomely limited in outlook. We thought of illegitimate children as quite the opposite of natural, and figured the term was just Elizabethan sarcasm.
It was our first encounter with a term of art: a word or phrase that has a specific meaning in a particular field like law, politics, or estate settlements muddied by long-past romance, but which differs from how most people would understand it.
“Double jeopardy” in law doesn’t mean standing up while riding a rickety, itinerant-carnival roller coaster. “Broom clean” in real estate isn’t how your mom made you leave your room before going to a friend’s house. “Background” in journalism had better reveal less, not more, about a source.
But terms of art have a dark version, not surprisingly a popular tool in Washington, in which meaning is intentionally confused to outmaneuver opponents. The Gorsuch confirmation reaching its climax this week is a timely example, in which judicial confirmation and debate cloture votes are being intentionally conflated.
Today’s ‘Nuclear Option’ Is A Confusing Term Of Art
It started with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) repeatedly making the claim, mostly unchallenged by the press, that confirmation has always required 60 votes, not 51, as actually required by the Constitution. The idea rolled through the weekend news shows and into Monday morning’s Today program. In the span of perhaps five minutes, Matt Lauer, reporter Peter Alexander, and legal analyst Ari Melber—along with Mr. Schumer on video—all said that Republicans were going to “change Senate rules” (or some close formulation) to confirm Mr. Gorsuch.
By Wednesday, NBC’s Christine Welker was saying that Republicans were “poised to use the nuclear option needed to approve Gorsuch.” Coverage on the other networks fit the pattern.
It nearly always went unexplained that this was a stylized and heavily elided characterization—the “rules” to be changed in this scary “nuclear option” pertaining not to confirmation, but to ending a Democratic filibuster—itself a term of art, since filibusters these days are merely threatened, rarely proceeding to “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” extremes.
The need for a filibuster this time was defended by Senate Judiciary Committee member Chris Coons (D., Del.), who waved the bloody shirt of Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.
“Seven months of refusing to hold any hearings, or any vote, in this committee, on President Obama’s last nominee, is nothing if not a successful, the most successful, partisan filibuster ever,” he told NBC.
Mr. Garland was the victim of timing and circumstance—specifically, being nominated in the full flood of a watershed presidential election. But this is a familiar pattern in politics, where language is massaged as needed to distort meaning and conceal intention, like liar’s poker but with a trillion-dollar bill instead of a one.
Our Liar’s Poker Politics Conceal Meaning From Voters
“Net neutrality,” for example, the phrase used to describe Federal Communication Commission rule-making two years ago, sounded like it might reflect a hands-off approach. It actually increased government involvement in Internet access standards.
Political conversation has for decades been littered with such Orwellian substitutions: lately, “identity” is routinely used to describe a person’s aspirational gender instead of their biological one. “Hunger” explored often finds not swollen-belly starvation, but poor food choices. A “child” can be a shaving teenager, when shot by police. The “judicial mainstream” is defined by fealty to precedents like Roe, not Heller, and certainly not Citizens United.
Even more cagily, some insist that millions of people don’t have “health care” when what they really lack is “health insurance.” Then they volte-face and insist the government should offer “health insurance,” when what they mean is “health care,” as in single payer provider of. The tactic is to exaggerate the problem and then soft pedal the interventionist prescription.
America’s Political Wars Are Full Of Fake Words
It’s hard not to pity the left. They were unfairly born into a country so stubbornly benighted that they’ve had to weaponize language to command submission to their greater wisdom. Their counterfactual reality has become so complex by now that it takes near full-time effort to maintain it, and the strain is starting to show. For instance there’s the conflict between women’s rights and the “right” of some cultures to oppress them, cultural appropriation and the ability to “identify” as whatever form of life one prefers.
We hear much about the polarization of politics, but not the abasement of language that both reflects and encourages it. Alternative facts, fake news, profound distrust of the media and the political parties all spin out from the problem of words being drained of consistent meaning.
In this context, the verbal clumsiness of the Republican Party’s natural child, President Donald Trump, becomes an asset. It appeals strongly to voters sick of the greasiness that makes setting public policy like a pig catching contest at the county fair. Mr. Trump at least tries to say what he means. What a plot twist it would be if his near inability to do so outflanks his opponents and solidifies his claim to the ancestral moors and manse, beginning with the confirmation of Mr. Gorsuch.In a July 10 interview on Frances Swaggart’s “Frances and Friends” program, right-wing commentator Jesse Lee Peterson argued that African Americans were better off under Jim Crow than they are today because they didn’t have “hatred in their hearts,” and compared the Blacks Lives Matter movement to the Klu Klux Klan.
Peterson also insisted that slavery in America was not about race because “it was the blacks in Africa who sold the blacks.”
“There were even black people in America who had slaves as well, and during that time it was about economics, it wasn’t about color,” Peterson said. “And black people are not the only ones who’s been enslaved. The Jews have gone through what they’ve gone through. White people have been enslaved, other people have been enslaved, and that’s not a reason to hate. You overcome evil by not hating it. And black people were better off… before the Civil Rights Movement, under the Jim Crow laws, than they are today because they didn’t have that hatred in their hearts.”
He continued, “There is never an excuse to hate, and God said that we should even love our enemies, it means don’t hate them so you’re protected from them. The Klu Klux Klan didn’t go around killing black people, they killed some black folks. Just like Black Lives Matter, Barack Obama have created an environment by falsely accusing white cops of killing black people, the Klu Klux Klan did the same thing, so evil is evil, and it doesn’t matter who it’s coming from.”What is it about Airbnb that attracts me lately? The 2014 Inc Magazine's Company-of-the-Year and one of the world's fastest growing startups, is just mind blowing.
Even those least likely to ever rent out their homes to strangers suddenly begin to show interest. Airbnb offers something other vacation rentals can’t... reliability. In the online culture where a bad review will kill you and a high rating is your most valuable possession; it is extremely evident for Airbnb users who is reliable and who is not.
Don’t quit your full time job just yet, but I do have a few tips that have helped people to make a small fortune just using Airbnb and making a business out of it.
Reliability is your greatest ability
Before I get started with the real ‘how to’ as for starting your own Airbnb business you have to know that you have what it takes to run a successful business. If you’re not a reliable businessman no one will come back to you for repeat business, and certainly no one will recommend you to others. If this isn’t one of your strongest characteristics, you can still be successful... it may just require a bit of outside help. Even for those who are extremely reliable characters, running a business on Airbnb requires a lot of time and responsibility.
You might find after trying it on your own for a while, the only way to stay in the game is to employ an Airbnb management service. Guesty for instance, is an Airbnb service that helps you do the work of being a responsive and reliable host by replying to guest inquires 24/7, as well as some other scheduling features.
Find a Profitable Product
Like anything with buying, selling and trading, what’s the best way to make a profit? Buy something for less - and sell it for more. When finding a place to buy, take advantage of the resources Airbnb has given you: the booking calendar, for example. You can use this tool to find another apartment in the area you want to rent, and look how many nights out of the month the apartment is booked. This will tell you approximately how much you can make in revenue for each month. Now that you know your revenue for the month, you can search for apartments that are in your price range and will still earn your profit.
Try searching using a tool like Padmapper which combines a Google Maps interface with Craigslist listings to provide you with all of the relevant information conveniently when apartment hunting.
Start off Easy
Begin with dressing up your apartment in a fashion that’s inviting and people would want to live there, but in the same time gives off that fresh scent that no one’s ever lived there. You need just the bare essentials, a bed, simple Ikea furniture like a closet and couch, and just enough dishes for your guests to get by.
Next, it’s time to post your listing on Airbnb. since I spoke earlier about reliability it will take you awhile to build up these positive reviews and high ratings.
Oftentimes, Airbnb hosts will offer special rates to their first 5 guests to get good reviews. Make sure you take advantage of Airbnb’s free professional photography service, you’ll be amazed what a difference professional looking pictures can make in attracting users to check out your listing. Once you've had a chance to check out the numbers and you've had a few guests come with good experiences and leave you quality reviews you can think about kicking things into gear a bit and expanding your Airbnb empire.
Get the ball Rolling
Once you've gotten the ball rolling it would be wise to invest in a personal Airbnb management system. As soon as you have more than one rental on the market all of your inquiries begin to get very confused and complicated. You can find services that offer all of your cleaning, scheduling, and communications services to keep everything efficient and organized keeping all of your guests pleased. They also help you optimize your listings so you can get higher up on the search list. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll be pummeled with emails, and phone calls, trying to arrange things for guests ahead of time etc. You have to run all of your rentals as if it’s your own business which it essentially is.
The user is the of the essence
Since the key to your reliability rating is in the hands of your users, it’s smart to give them a little more than a professional experience. What sets average Airbnb hosts apart from the really successful ones are those that go the extra little bit to make the experience special. Since ratings and reviews are what you’re after, give them a little something to write about.
Some hosts like to leave a gift basket or a bottle of wine on the table. Those that actually take the time to greet the guest and personally take the time to show them around the apartment and make city recommendations make the best impressions. Don’t be afraid to kindly ask them in return after their stay for a review on their experience.
Although Airbnb was created upon the essence of sharing and trading experiences, you can still find a wealth of opportunities to make some money through Airbnb.Fyodor Sologub (Russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, Russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; 1 March [O.S. 17 February] 1863 – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, playwright and essayist. He was the first writer to introduce the morbid, pessimistic elements characteristic of European fin de siècle literature and philosophy into Russian prose.
Early life [ edit ]
Sologub was born in St. Petersburg into the family of a poor tailor, Kuzma Afanasyevich Teternikov, who had been a serf in Poltava guberniya, the illegitimate son of a local landowner.[1] When his father died of tuberculosis in 1867, his illiterate mother. Tatiana Semyonovna Teternikova, was forced to become a servant in the home of the aristocratic Agapov family, where Sologub and his younger sister Olga grew up. The family took an interest in the education of young Fyodor, sending him to a pedogogical institution where Sologub was a model student.[2] Seeing how difficult his mother's life was, Sologub was determined to rescue her from it, and after graduating from the St. Petersburg Teachers' Institute in 1882 he took his mother and sister with him to his first teaching post in Kresttsy, where he began his literary career with the 1884 publication in a children's magazine of his poem "The Fox and the Hedgehog" under the name Te-rnikov.
Sologub continued writing as he relocated to new jobs in Velikiye Luki (1885) and Vytegra (1889), but felt that he was completely isolated from the literary world and longed to be able to live in the capital again; nevertheless, his decade-long experience with the "frightful world" of backwoods provincial life served him well when he came to write The Petty Demon. (He said later that in writing the novel he had softened the facts: "things happened that no one would believe if I were to describe them." ) He felt sympathetic with the writers associated with the journal Severnyi vestnik (Northern Herald), including Nikolai Minsky, Zinaida Gippius, and Dmitry Merezhkovsky, who were beginning to create what would be known as the Symbolist movement, and in 1891 he visited Petersburg hoping to see Minsky and Merezhkovsky, but met only the first.
Early literary career [ edit ]
In 1892 he was finally able to relocate to the capital, where he got a job teaching mathematics, started writing what would become his most famous novel, The Petty Demon, and began frequenting the offices of Severny Vestnik, which published much of his writing during the next five years. There, in 1893, Minsky, who thought Teternikov was an unpoetic name, suggested that he use a pseudonym, and the aristocratic name Sollogub was decided on, but one of the ls was omitted as an attempt (unavailing, as it turned out) to avoid confusion with Count Vladimir Sollogub. In 1894 his first short story, "Ninochkina oshibka" (Ninochka's Mistake), was published in Illustrirovanny Mir, and in the autumn of that year his mother died. In 1896 he published his first three books: a book of poems, a collection of short stories, and his first novel, Tyazhelye sny (Bad Dreams), which he had begun in 1883 and which is considered one of the first decadent Russian novels.
In April 1897 he ended his association with Severny Vestnik and, along with Merezhkovsky and Gippius, began writing for the journal Sever (North). The next year his first series of fairy tales was published. In 1899 he was appointed principal of the Andreevskoe municipal school and relocated to their premises on Vasilievsky Island; he also became a member of the St. Petersburg District School Council. He continued to publish books of poetry, and in 1902 he finished The Petty Demon, which was published partially in serial form in 1905 (in Voprosy zhizni, which was terminated before the final installments). At this time his "Sundays," a literary group that met at his home, attracted poets, artists, and actors, including Alexander Blok, Mikhail Kuzmin, Alexei Remizov, Sergei Gorodetsky, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Léon Bakst, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and Sergei Auslender. Teffi wrote of him at this period:
His face was pale, long, without eyebrows; by his nose was a large wart; a thin reddish beard seemed to pull away from his thin cheeks; dull, half-closed eyes. His face was always tired, always bored... Sometimes when he was a guest at someone's table he would close his eyes and remain like that for several minutes, as if he had forgotten to open them. He never laughed... Sologub lived on Vasilievsky Island in the small official apartment of a municipal school where he was a teacher and inspector. He lived with his sister, a flat-chested, consumptive old maid. She was quiet and shy; she adored her brother and was a little afraid of him, and spoke of him only in a whisper. He said in a poem: "We were holiday children, My sister and I"; they were very poor, those holiday children, dreaming that someone would give them "even motley-colored shells from a brook." Sadly and dully they dragged out the difficult days of their youth. The consumptive sister, not having received her share of motley shells, was already burning out. He himself was exhausted by his boring teaching job; he wrote in snatches by night, always tired from the boyish noise of his students...
So Sologub lived in his little official apartment with little icon lamps, serving his guests mint cakes, ruddy rolls, pastila, and honey cakes, for which his sister went across the river somewhere on a horsecar. She told us privately, "I'd love to ride on the outside of the horsecar sometime, but my brother won't let me. He says it's unseemly for a lady."... Those evenings in the little apartment, when his close literary friends gathered, were very interesting. [4]
Fame and marriage [ edit ]
At the time of the 1905 Revolution his politically critical skazochki ("little tales") were very popular and were collected into a book, Politicheskie skazochki (1906). The Petty Demon was published in a standalone edition in 1907 and quickly became popular, having ten printings during the author's lifetime. Sologub's next major prose work, A Created Legend (1905–1913) (literally "the legend in the making," a trilogy consisting of Drops of Blood, Queen Ortruda, and Smoke and Ash), had many of the same characteristics but presented a considerably more positive and hopeful description of the world. "It begins with the famous declaration that although life is 'vulgar... stagnant in darkness, dull and ordinary,' the poet 'creates from it a sweet legend... my legend of the enchanting and beautiful.'"[5]
His increasing literary success was tempered for him by his sister's tuberculosis; in 1906 he traveled with her to Ufa Guberniya for treatment, and in June 1907 he took her to Finland, where she died on 28 June. The next month he returned to St. Petersburg and retired after 25 years of teaching. In the autumn of 1908 he married the translator Anastasia Chebotarevskaya (born in 1876), whom he had met at Vyacheslav Ivanov's apartment three years before. Teffi wrote that she "reshaped his daily life in a new and unnecessary way. A big new apartment was rented, small gilt chairs were bought. The walls of the large cold office for some reason were decorated with paintings of Leda by various painters... The quiet talks were replaced by noisy gatherings with dances and masks. Sologub shaved his mustache and beard, and everyone started to say that he resembled a Roman of the period of decline."[4] He continued publishing poems, plays, and translations; the next year he traveled abroad for the first time, visiting France with his wife, and in September the dramatized version of The Petty Demon was published.
Between 1909 and 1911 The Complete Works of Fyodor Sologub were published in 12 volumes, and in 1911 a collection of critical works appeared, containing over 30 critical essays, notes, and reviews by famous writers. In 1913 he presented a lecture, "The Art Of These Days," that was so successful in St. Petersburg he took it on tour all over Russia. In 1914 he started a magazine, Dnevniki pisatelei (Writers' Journals), and went abroad with his wife, but the outbreak of World War I put an end to the magazine. In 1915 two collections of his stories and tales were published in English, and in 1916 The Petty Demon, all translated by John Cournos.
Fyodor Sologub & Anastacia Tschebotarevskaia (1914)
Sologub continued touring and giving lectures, and in 1917 he welcomed the February Revolution. During the summer he headed the Soyuz Deyatelei Iskusstva (Union of Artists) and wrote articles with a strong anti-Bolshevik attitude. He was opposed to the October Revolution but remained in Petrograd and contributed to independent newspapers until they were terminated. In 1918 he spoke on behalf of the Union Of Artists; published Slepaia babochka (The Blind Butterfly), a collection of new short stories; had a play produced in Yalta; and joined the Petersburg Union of Journalists. But by the end of the year, because of Bolshevik control of publishing and bookselling, he did not have any outlets for his writing. Lev Kleinbort wrote of that period: "Sologub did not give lectures, but lived by selling his things."
Even though he was in principle opposed to emigration, the desperate condition in which he and his wife found himself caused him to apply in December 1919 for permission to leave the country; he did not receive any response. Half a year later he wrote to Lenin personally, again without result. In mid-July 1921 he finally received a letter from Trotsky authorizing his departure, and he made plans to leave for Reval on 25 September. But on the evening of 23 September his wife, weakened by privation and driven to despair by the long torment of uncertainty, threw herself off the Tuchkov Bridge and drowned. His wife's death grieved Sologub for the rest of his life, and he referenced it often in his subsequent writing. (A poem dated 28 November 1921, begins "You took away my soul/ To the bottom of the river./ I will defy your wishes/ And follow you."[6]) He gave up any thought of leaving Russia and relocated into an apartment on the banks of the Zhdanovka River, in which his wife had drowned.
In 1921 the New Economic Policy was begun, and from the end of the year his books (which had been published abroad with increasing frequency, notably in Germany and Estonia) began to appear in Soviet Russia. In December Fimiamy (Incense), a collection of poems, was published; the next two years more poetry collections and translations were published (Balzac's Contes drolatiques, Paul Verlaine, Heinrich von Kleist, Frédéric Mistral), and in 1924 the fortieth anniversary of Sologub's literary activities was celebrated at the Alexandrinsky Theater in Petersburg, with speeches by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Mikhail Kuzmin, Andrei Bely, and Osip Mandelstam, among others. In April of that year he was elected the honorary chairman of the Division of Translators in the Petersburg Union Of Writers, and two years later he became the chairman of the board of the Union. He had literary gatherings in his apartment, attended by such writers as Anna Akhmatova and Korney Chukovsky. His new poems, which had a classic simplicity, were appreciated by those to whom he read them, but they were not printed anymore.
Death and legacy [ edit ]
In May 1927 Sologub became seriously ill, and by summer he could leave his bed only rarely; his last poem was dated 1 October. After a long struggle, he died on 5 December in Leningrad. Two days later he was buried next to his wife in Smolensk Cemetery.
While Sologub's novels have become his best-known works, he has always been respected by scholars and fellow authors for his poetry. The Symbolist poet Valery Bryusov admired the deceptive simplicity of Sologub's poetry and described it as possessing a Pushkinian perfection of form. Innokenty Annensky, another poet and contemporary of Sologub, wrote that the most original aspect of Sologub's poetry was its author's unwillingness to separate himself from his literature.
The Petty Demon [ edit ]
The Petty Demon attempted to create a description of poshlost', a Russian concept that has characteristics of both evil and banality. The antihero is a provincial schoolteacher, Peredonov, notable for his complete lack of redeeming human qualities. The novel recounts the story of the morally corrupt Peredonov going insane and paranoid in an unnamed Russian provincial town, parallel with his struggle to be promoted to governmental inspector of his province. The omniscient third-person narrative allowed Sologub to combine his Symbolist tendencies and the tradition of Russian Realism in which he engaged throughout his earlier novels, a style similar to Maupassant's fantastic realism.
Realistic elements of The Petty Demon include a vivid description of 19th-century rural everyday life, while a fantastic element is the presentation of Peredonov's hallucinations on equal terms with external events. While the book was received as an indictment of Russian society, it is a very metaphysical novel and one of the major prose works of the Russian Symbolist movement.[citation needed] James H. Billington said of it:
The book puts on display a Freudian treasure chest of perversions with subtlety and credibility. The name of the novel's hero, Peredonov, became a symbol of calculating concupiscence for an entire generation... He torments his students, derives erotic satisfaction from watching them kneel to pray, and systematically befouls his apartment before leaving it as part of his generalized spite against the universe.[7]
Works [ edit ]
Sologub in 1913.
Novels [ edit ]
Bad Dreams [ Tyazhelye Sny ] (1896)
[ ] (1896) The Petty Demon also The Little Demon
also The Created Legend Drops of Blood Queen Ortruda Smoke and Ash
Short stories [ edit ]
Light and Shadows
Beauty
In the Crowd
The Glimmer of Hunger
The White Dog
Hide and Seek
The Cave
The Old House
The Uniter of Souls
The Invoker of the Beast
The Smile
The Hoop
The Search
The White Mother
Collections [ edit ]
The Sweet-Scented Name and Other Stories (1915)
Plays [ edit ]
The Triumph of Death
The Petty Demon (1909)[8]
English Translations [ edit ]
The Sweet-Scented Name, and Other Fairy Tales, Fables and Stories trans. Stephen Graham (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915).
trans. Stephen Graham (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915). The Old House, and Other Tales trans. John Cournos (London: M. Secker [1915]) (contains: “The Old House,” “The Uniter of Souls,” “The Invoker of the Beast,” “The White Dog,” “Light and Shadows,” “The Glimmer of Hunger,” “Hide and Seek,” “The Smile,” “The Hoop,” “The Search,” “The White Mother”). Reprinted: Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press [1974]. ISBN 0837177154.
trans. John Cournos (London: M. Secker [1915]) (contains: “The Old House,” “The Uniter of Souls,” “The Invoker of the Beast,” “The White Dog,” “Light and Shadows,” “The Glimmer of Hunger,” “Hide and Seek,” “The Smile,” “The Hoop,” “The Search,” “The White Mother”). Reprinted: Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press [1974]. ISBN 0837177154. The Little Demon authorized trans. John Cournos and Richard Aldington (London: M. Secker, 1916).
authorized trans. John Cournos and Richard Aldington (London: M. Secker, 1916). The Created Legend authorized trans. John Cournos (London: M. Secker, 1916). (This translation only contains the first novel, Drops of Blood, of the trilogy. )
authorized trans. John Cournos (London: M. Secker, 1916). (This translation only contains the first novel,, of the trilogy. ) "Hide and Seek" in Best Russian Short Stories comp. and trans. Thomas Seltzer (New York: Boni & Liveright, Inc. 1917).
comp. and trans. Thomas Seltzer (New York: Boni & Liveright, Inc. 1917). "The Fatherland for All" in The Shield ed. Maxim Gorky, Leonid Andreyev and Fyodor Sologub; trans. Avrahm Yarmolinsky (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1917).
ed. Maxim Gorky, Leonid Andreyev and Fyodor Sologub; trans. Avrahm Yarmolinsky (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1917). "The White Dog" in Russian Classics (Boston: The Four Seas Co., 1918) (International Pocket Library).
(Boston: The Four Seas Co., 1918) (International Pocket Library). "The Rainment of the Lily and the Clothing of the Cabbage" and "The merry dead man" in Judas Iscariot, and Other Stories ([New York]: Guido Bruno, 1919 [c1916]).
([New York]: Guido Bruno, 1919 [c1916]). "In Bondage" in Russian stories = Russkie rasskazy ed. Gleb Struve (New York: Bantam Books, 1961) (Bantam Dual Language Edition).
ed. Gleb Struve (New York: Bantam Books, 1961) (Bantam Dual Language Edition). The Petty Demon trans. Andrew Field (New York: Random House, [1962]).
trans. Andrew Field (New York: Random House, [1962]). "A Little Man" in A Bilingual Collection of Russian Short Stories ed. Maurice Friedberg (New York: Random House, 1964).
ed. Maurice Friedberg (New York: Random House, 1964). Melkiĭ bes = Shabby Demon (Letchworth [Herts.]: Bradda Books, 1966).
(Letchworth [Herts.]: Bradda Books, 1966). "My Grim Genius," "Our Resurrection," "We Can Die Together" and "Song" in Russian Poetry under the Tsars: An Anthology comp. and trans. Burton Raffel (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1971). ISBN 9780873950701.
comp. and trans. Burton Raffel (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1971). ISBN 9780873950701. "The Poison Garden" in The Silver Age of Russian Culture: An Anthology ed. edited Carl Proffer and Ellendea Proffer (Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1975). ISBN 9780882331713.
ed. edited Carl Proffer and Ellendea Proffer (Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1975). ISBN 9780882331713. The Kiss of the Unborn, and Other Stories trans. Murl G. Barker (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, c1977) (contains: "The Wall and the Shadows," "The Worm," "The Hoop," "Hide-and-Seek," "Beauty," "The Beloved Page," "The Youth Linus," "Death by Advertisement," "In the Crowd," "The Queen of Kisses," "The Search," "The Red-Lipped Guest," "The Kiss of the Unborn," "The Lady in Bonds," "She Wore a Crown"). ISBN 0870492020.
trans. Murl G. Barker (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, c1977) (contains: "The Wall and the Shadows," "The Worm," "The Hoop," "Hide-and-Seek," "Beauty," "The Beloved Page," "The Youth Linus," "Death by Advertisement," "In the Crowd," "The Queen of Kisses," "The Search," "The Red-Lipped Guest," "The Kiss of the Unborn," "The Lady in Bonds," "She Wore a Crown"). ISBN 0870492020. Bad Dreams trans. Vassar W. Smith (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1978). ISBN 0882331280.
trans. Vassar W. Smith (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1978). ISBN 0882331280. Drops of Blood trans. Samuel D. Cioran (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1979). ISBN 0882331302.
trans. Samuel D. Cioran (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1979). ISBN 0882331302. Queen Ortruda trans. Samuel D. Cioran (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1979). ISBN 0882331426.
trans. Samuel D. Cioran (Ann Arbor: Ardis, c1979). ISBN 088233 |
great chemistry is wonderful, but without the legs they’ll lose on Sunday.
Revolver carried 28 players to Worlds and struggled with possession through much of the tournament. Their D-team in particular had a hard time finding an offensive rhythm once they got the disc. Then, with Kurt Gibson, Mac Taylor and Tom James injured and out of the game, the Revolver D-team started playing better. This is not at all because those guys aren’t great (they’re all superb) but because the rotation got smaller allowing the chemistry to get better. Early in the tournament, it wasn’t clear whose D-team it was. Was it Kurt’s? Mac’s? Sherwood’s? You couldn’t tell. Dutchy was rotating guys in and keeping everyone fresh, but at the expense of rhythm. There were two challenges in here. First, it wasn’t clear who was going to get it done on offense once Revolver had earned the turn. There is only so much space in an ultimate game and there isn’t room for everyone. Also, it wasn’t clear what style they were going to play. Kurt wanted to play D-Wide style: hold and huck. Mac wanted to play big man handler: break and huck. Sherwood wanted to play small ball: chew yards with legs not throws.
Once the big guns got hurt, it was immediately clear that the D team was Sherwood’s and the style would be one that he wanted to play: fast and quick. It was a style that was much more reliant on short throws built on motion than on the big bombs Taylor and Gibson favor. This style also fit better with the rest of the personnel on that D line – Kanner, Levy, Wynne and Kawaoka are all much better suited to playing quick than they are to playing big. (In defense of Tom James, this style fits his game very well, but his injury did create space for another player to step up – in the finals it was Sam Kanner.)
Like most teams elite men’s teams, Revolver tries to mitigate this depth-chemistry issue by using O- and D-teams. The advantage is that instead of teaching 28 people to play together, you can split that into two smaller groups who develop chemistry amongst themselves. At Worlds, Revolver essentially played 8 guys on offense, leaving 20 for the d-team. It is no surprise that their d-team struggled with its offensive possessions, often requiring multiple opportunities to score.
Feature photo of Mark Sherwood (Photo by Neil Gardner – nzsnaps.com)One of the few bright spots in the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare was its 7–2 decision striking down the Obama administration’s attempt to blackmail states into going along with a massive and costly expansion of Medicaid. Barely a day later, Florida governor Rick Scott announced that his state would not expand Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the poverty level, which comes out to roughly $30,000 per year for a family of four, or allow single, childless men to participate in the program. Earlier, Scott had rejected another key component of Obamacare, refusing to establish a state insurance exchange. He had even returned grants and other funding that the previous governor had received to help implement the legislation.
Scott was quickly joined by at least six other GOP governors in rejecting the Medicaid expansion, including governors Branstad (Iowa), Brownback (Kansas), Haley (South Carolina), Heineman (Nebraska), Jindal (Louisiana), and, not surprisingly, Scott Walker (Wisconsin). At least seven other governors, including Bentley (Alabama), Bryant (Mississippi), Daniels (Indiana), Deal (Georgia), Fallin (Oklahoma), McDonnell (Virginia), Perry (Texas), and Jay Nixon (Missouri), a Democrat, had previously made statements suggesting that they were unlikely to expand their programs. Nevada had earlier passed regulations paving the way to participate in the expansion, but Governor Sandoval has since indicated he may reconsider.
In rejecting Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, these governors will be saving their state taxpayers billions of dollars. Initially, the federal government would have provided additional funding to cover the expansion, but those additional funds would have been phased down, starting in 2017. Eventually state taxpayers would have had to pick up much of the extra cost. For example, over ten years, the Medicaid expansion would have cost taxpayers in states such as Florida, Kansas, and Texas more than $20 billion each, while in New Jersey, for example, the expansion could cost as much as $35 billion. (In fairness, a few states such as California do emerge as net winners under the expansion formula, but they are clearly the exception, and there are plenty of other reasons why they should resist participating.)
On the other hand, if a state does not expand its Medicaid program, most of those who would have been eligible for Medicaid will now become eligible for subsidies through Obamacare’s health-insurance exchanges. Those subsidies are paid in full by the federal government. That much should be an easy call for any fiscally responsible governor, although the reasons to forgo the exchanges and the subsidies they entail are strong as well.
Beyond the Medicaid expansion, at least four governors have joined Governor Scott in explicitly refusing to set up a state-based insurance exchange: Jindal, Perry, and Walker, as well as Democratic New Hampshire governor John Lynch. Perhaps as many as 35 other states have simply not taken the actions necessary to establish exchanges. That may be less explicit a revolt, but it has the same result.
Of course, if states refuse to set up an exchange, Obamacare gives the federal government the authority to step in and operate an exchange itself in those states. But there is reason to doubt that the federal government has either the ability or the money to do so. Congress has not appropriated any funding for this purpose and seems unlikely to do so.
More important, as my colleague Michael Cannon has discovered, a little-discussed provision of Obamacare makes federal subsidies for insurance available only through those exchanges that the states set up themselves. So, while the federal government does have the power to create exchanges in states that refuse to do so, it cannot offer subsidies through those federally run exchanges.
Moreover, it is those subsidies that actually trigger the penalty under Obamacare for employers who fail to provide workers with insurance. Obamacare requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide health insurance or pay a tax, but only if at least one employee qualifies for subsidies under the exchange. Therefore, if subsidies can be provided only through a state-authorized exchange, a state could potentially block the employer mandate altogether, simply by refusing to establish an exchange.
The Obama administration and the IRS, unsurprisingly, have claimed that they have the right to unilaterally rewrite the law, yet again, to close this loophole. But, at the very least, this would be open to legal challenge. And perhaps next time the Supreme Court will get it right.
So, by refusing to go along with Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and by blocking state-run exchanges, governors are not just saving state taxpayers money. They are potentially reducing future federal spending by as much as $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.
While congressional Republicans have been reduced to taking symbolic repeal votes, and Mitt Romney struggles to determine whether or not the individual mandate is a tax, governors — and state legislators — have become the real heroes of the fight against Obamacare.A report by NGO Monitor detailed Amnesty's "systematic flaws in the reporting of human rights abuses; limited understanding of armed conflict leading to erroneous claims and incorrect analysis; and violation of the universality of human rights, including a consistent institutionalized bias against Israel through double-standards." There are even Amnesty's officials who called the Jewish State "a scum state."
"Canada is obliged to arrest and prosecute Bush for his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture", said Susan Lee, Amnesty International's Americas programme director. Amnesty also charged Obama of "war crimes."
Amnesty's secretary general compared Soviet forced-labor camps, where millions died of hunger, cold and executions, to a US military base where no prisoner has died, and which has prevented countless innocent civilians from being blown up.
It seems that Amnesty turned its back on the battle of human rights in favor of a grotesque anti-Western bias. The Economist accused Amnesty of "reserving more pages to human rights abuses in Britain and the United States than in Belarus and Saudi Arabia."
According to Amnesty International, the centers that host migrants arriving in Italy, known as "hotspots," are like concentration camps. This is what you learn from Amnesty International's new report, which accuses Italy of nothing less than "torturing" migrants. The report features a sequence of testimonies, never proven, that describe methods worthy of a South American military junta.
The report validates Salman Rushdie's accusation against Amnesty International: "Morally bankrupt." The Wall Street Journal added two more charges against the famous Western non-governmental organization (NGO): "Anti-American fervor and intellectual confusion".
In the new Amnesty International report, a "witness," under the name of only "Adam," speaks of "a kind of clamp with three ends" by which Italian policemen allegedly grabbed his testicles. Evidence? Medical reports attesting to this violence? The version of the Italian police? Not in the wonderful world of Amnesty International, where a Western democracy can be safely accused of "torture" with flimsy, sub-standard, unverifiable "evidence" -- the same as Amnesty's many spurious charges against Israel. The Italian police and Interior Ministry denied all the charges, calling them ridiculous.
Already in February 2016, Antonio Marchesi, president of the Italian section of Amnesty, said: "Those in Italy who have committed acts of torture can sleep soundly." A month ago, Amnesty issued a similar report on the immigration centers in Australia, another democracy denounced as a "torturer" by this now badly-degraded NGO that won the now badly-degraded Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.
The world owes a debt of gratitude to Amnesty -- it fought hard to free political prisoners held by Communist regimes during the Cold War, and those held by South Africa's Apartheid regime. But those days are gone. Now Amnesty keeps betraying its symbol: the light of its small candle trapped in barbed wire.
In 2005, Irene Khan, then secretary general of Amnesty, described the American detention center in Guantanamo Bay as "the Gulag of our time." She compared the Soviet forced-labor camps, where three million people died of hunger, cold and executions, to a US military base where no prisoner has died, and which has prevented countless innocent civilians from being blown up.
It seems that Amnesty International abandoned the battle of human rights in favor of a grotesque anti-Western bias. This shift is why the British weekly, The Economist, accused Amnesty International of "reserving more pages to human rights abuses in Britain and the United States than in Belarus and Saudi Arabia." This is the same muddled moral equivalence that probably led Amnesty International to use the same language for Italian "hotspots" as for the Saydnaya prison in Syria, run by the regime of Bashar al Assad.
If Guantanamo is the new Gulag, why not demand the arrest of its commander-in-chief? This is precisely what Amnesty did two years ago, when it asked Canada to arrest George W. Bush. "Canada is obliged to arrest and prosecute Bush for his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture", said Susan Lee, Amnesty International's Americas programme director. Amnesty's also charged Obama of "war crimes". The Western "war on terror"? According to Amnesty, "it is sowing fear". US drone strikes? A "war crime."
The NGO has also accused Israel of "war crimes." Alan Dershowitz summarizes Amnesty International's definition of Israel's "war crimes": "Whatever Israel does to defend its citizens." A report by NGO Monitor detailed "Amnesty's repeated examples of "lawfare"; systematic flaws in the reporting of human rights abuses; limited understanding of armed conflict leading to erroneous claims and incorrect analysis; and violation of the universality of human rights, including a consistent institutionalized bias against Israel through double-standards". There are even Amnesty's officials who called the Jewish State "a scum state."
In the name of "protecting human rights," Amnesty International has even excused Islamic extremism. The secretary general of Amnesty, Claudio Cordone, said that "defensive jihad" is not "antithetical" to the struggle for human rights. He said this in response to a petition on Amnesty's relationship with CAGE (formerly CagePrisoners), the NGO founded by Islamic extremist Moazzam Begg that campaigns for the release of acclaimed jihadists.
One prominent leader of Amnesty, Karima Bennoune, author of the book Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here, wrote:
"During my years at Amnesty I shared the concerns about torture in Algeria, but I could not understand the organization's paltry response to the violence of fundamentalist groups."
She is not the first Amnesty official who has flung criticism at her own organization. Amnesty suspended one of its senior officers, Gita Sahgal, for having expressed some concerns. "To be appearing on platforms with Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender is a gross error of judgment," she wrote.
There was a time when Amnesty International defended the victims of ideological repression, such as the wife of Soviet writer Boris Pasternak, Olga Ivinskaya, who spent years under arrest and persecuted for her husband's refusal to bow down to the Kremlin. Now, the Times of London has documented links between Amnesty International officials and Islamists.
Today, Amnesty evidently considers freedom of expression something to use with "responsibility," as Amnesty claimed during the Mohammed cartoons crisis. Is freedom of speech the right to say whatever you like, about any topic, whenever you want? Not according to Amnesty International, the watchdog group that today would apparently have lectured the great Soviet dissidents to write with "responsibility."
Amnesty International sponsored a rally in Brussels, where Islamist speakers celebrated the 9/11 attacks, denied the Holocaust, and demonized gays and Jews. Before that, Amnesty refused to punish an official, Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty's UK campaign manager, who tweeted: "Israeli regimes [sic] response to our Gaza report: Amnesty is 'a propaganda tool for Hamas & other terror groups' (#JSIL?)." The hashtag "#JSIL" is used on Twitter to compare Israel with the Islamic State terrorist organization by replacing "Islamic" with "Jewish" in the group's common alias, ISIL. Amnesty also sponsored a speaking tour of Bassem Tamimi, a Palestinian militant who promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
Given Amnesty International's embarrassing record, it is at least doubtful that the Italian police and authorities are "torturing" migrants whom they have so generously been rescuing at sea for more than two years.
Some in the Western "human rights establishment" have crossed the red line that separates the defense of human rights, even for terrorists, from complicity and collusion with repressive totalitarian ideas.Finance Coursework Help
If we trace the origin of finance, there is evidence to prove that it is as old as human life on earth. The word finance was originally a French word. In the 18th century, it was adapted by English speaking communities to mean “the management of money.” Since then, it has found a permanent place in the English dictionary. Today, finance is not merely a word else has emerged into an academic discipline of greater significance. Finance is now organized as a branch of Economics.
Furthermore, the one word which can easily replace finance is “Exchange." Finance is nothing but an exchange of available resources. Finance is not restricted only to the exchange and/or management of money. A barter trading system is also a type of finance. Thus, we can say, Finance is an art of managing various available resources like money, assets, investments, securities, etc.
Finance is defined in numerous ways by different groups of people. Though it is difficult to give a perfect definition of Finance following selected statements will help you deduce its broad meaning. In general sense, “Finance is the management of money and other valuables, which can be easily converted into cash.” According to experts, “Finance is a simple task of providing the necessary funds (money) required by the business of entities like companies, firms, individuals and others on the terms that are most favorable to achieve their economic objectives.” Entrepreneurs define it as, “Finance is concerned with cash. It is so, since, every business transaction involves cash directly or indirectly.” It also deals with profits that adequately compensate for the cost and risks borne by the business.”
Finance Assignment Help
Finance (or financial management), like accounting, exists to help decision makers. It is concerned with the ways in which funds for a business are raised and invested. This lies at the very heart of what a business is about. In essence, a business exists to raise funds from investors (owners and lenders) and then to use those funds to make investments (equipment, premises, inventories and so on) in an attempt to make the business, and its owners, wealthier. It is important that funds are raised in a way that is appropriate to the particular needs of the business, and an understanding of finance should help in identifying:
a) the main forms of finance available;
b) the costs and benefits of each form of finance;
c) the risks associated with each form of finance; and
d) the role of financial markets in supplying finance.
Once the funds are raised, they must be invested in ways that will provide the business with a worthwhile return. An understanding of finance should help in evaluating:
a) the returns from an investment; and
b) the risks associated with an investment.
Characteristics or features of finance:
a) Investment opportunities: In Finance, Investment can be explained as effective utilization of money for profit or returns.
b) Profitable opportunities: In Finance, Profitable opportunities are considered as an important aspiration (goal).
c) Optimal mix of funds: Finance is concerned with the best optimal mix of funds in order to obtain the desired and determined results respectively.
d) System of internal controls: Finance is concerned with internal controls maintained in the organization or workplace.
e) Future decision making: Finance is concerned with the future decision of the organization. It is an indicator of growth and good returns.
Conclusion:
Finance to be more precise is concerned with the management of,
a) Owned funds (promoter contribution),
b) Raised funds (equity share, preference share, etc.), and
c) Borrowed funds (loans, debentures, overdrafts, etc.).
At the same time, Finance also encompasses wider perspective of managing the business generated assets and other valuables more efficiently.
So need email based coursework, assignment, homework, project help in Finance subjects contact us for help. submit your CourseworkThe Libertarian Party had one of its most high-profile tests in its history on Wednesday night when both members of its 2016 presidential ticket answered questions during a town hall aired on CNN. They might want to ask for a makeup exam.
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the party’s nominee for president, and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, its pick for vice president, fielded queries on issues ranging from taxes to terrorism to legalizing drugs. The results were mixed.
The fact that Johnson and his running mate were able to secure an hour of prime time on CNN is a victory in itself and evidence that interest in the party is great enough that he will likely surpass his 2012 election performance, when he secured roughly 1% of the popular vote.
But given all the obstacles that third party presidential nominees face, Johnson needed to take the opportunity to wow the American public with a convincing vision of how the country would operate differently under a Libertarian president. And by this measure, Johnson failed.
Johnson often hesitates to make a full-throated endorsement of the libertarian vision of significantly smaller government, and on Wednesday he offered more of the same. When asked whether he would replace Obamacare as president, Johnson hedged, saying that he was running for president, and not Congress. “If the GOP bill lowers costs and improves care, I’ll sign it,” Johnson said.
That’s all well and good, but when people vote for a president, they are also voting for a vision for America. Johnson’s answer didn’t leave viewers with much of an impression of what kind of health care system they would be supporting when they pull the lever for Johnson.
In an interview with Fortune last week, Johnson was coy when asked about how he would both eliminate the corporate income tax and present a balanced budget to Congress as his “first major act,” something he promises to do on his campaign website. That will involve cutting hundreds of billions in spending, but he declined to be specific about what he would cut, arguing once again that he was running for president and that Congress is responsible for passing legislation.
That may be true, and it may be an answer that conforms to libertarian principles of limited executive power, but it doesn’t give the American public a strong sense of what Johnson would fight for as president.
Presidents don’t just sign or veto bills. They also lobby Congress, twist arms, and lead public relations pushes for major reforms. Wedensday’s town hall didn’t paint a clear picture of how Johnson would leverage the bully pulpit to shape policy.
The waters were further muddied by the fact that Johnson and his running mate Weld at times gave contradictory answers. When discussing taxes, Johnson argued that if he “could wave a magic wand,” he would eliminate income taxes altogether and move the country to a system where the government is financed by a single sales tax. “Think about how this country would be like without the IRS,” Johnson urged the crowd.
Seconds later, Bill Weld contradicted his running mate, saying that we wouldn’t need to go so far as to abolish the IRS. Well, which is it?
All is not lost for the libertarians this year. They are going up against the two most unpopular major party nominees in recent history. And the unorthodox tactics Donald Trump’s campaign leaves a lot of room for Johnson to grab support from Republican voters, including free market fundamentalists and the business community. But Johnson can’t afford to let another opportunity to clearly explain his vision to a national audience slip away.Derricka Banner is the second transgender woman of color to be murdered in Charlotte this year. (Credit: Facebook)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Derricka Banner, 26, was found shot and killed in a vehicle around 3 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 12, in northwest Charlotte.
Banner, who also went by Ms. Bow Bow, is believed to be at least the 20th known transgender person murdered this year in the United States, most trans women of color, and the city’s 64th homicide of the year.
Montavious Sanchez Berry, 18, was arrested late Tuesday night and is being charged with murder, armed robbery and shooting into an occupied vehicle, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a statement.
The shooting occurred in the 1400 block of Rosetta Street, not far from the Northwest School of the Arts.
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokesman Robert Tufano said Berry and Banner “had communicated on previous occasions.”
A search warrant was released on Sept. 15 that showed Banner and Berry had communicated via text message to set up a sexual encounter. Berry was the last person Banner texted before being killed, and her phone is said to have contained a video of the two “engaged in sexual activity,” taken 30 minutes prior to the shooting, WBTV reported.
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Banner’s friend, another transgender woman, identified only as Tooker, was hiding in the trunk of the car, as Berry told her to come alone. She reported hearing her friend saying, “Don’t point it at me like that,” before hearing two gunshots.
“He’s a coward, he doesn’t know who he is,” Tooker said. “He tried something, didn’t like it, and couldn’t live with it.”
Police said in a statement on Sept. 14 that there has “been no information or evidence gathered at this point of the investigation to indicate” that Banner’s murder was “because of gender identity.” The statement added that CMPD was communicating with the FBI.
An FBI spokeswoman in Charlotte said that the agency is not involved in the investigation.
As North Carolina’s state hate crime laws do not include protections on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, the federal government has to bring charges for it to be considered on those grounds.
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The murder occurred right before Charlotte hosted NC Trans Pride, where Banner was among those honored and remembered.
A number of national, state and local organizations have also marked Banner’s passing.
“A sad moment for our community. This is why we must continue fighting harder for a more trans-affirming culture in our local communities,” said MeckPAC.
Equality NC noted that trans people “are facing a national epidemic of violence.”
The Human Rights Campaign extended “its sincere condolences to Banner’s family and friends during this difficult time” in a statement mourning her passing published on its website.
Earlier this year, Sherrell Faulkner, another black trans woman, died of injuries sustained from an assault that took place in November of 2016.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include details that have emerged since our first report was published.
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Posted by Jeff Taylor / Social Media Editor Jeff Taylor is a journalist and artist. In addition to QNotes, his work has appeared in publications such The Charlotte Observer, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Inside Lacrosse, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. He graduated from the State University of New York at Brockport and has lived in Charlotte since 2006.@jefftaylorhuman.Designing
Recently me and my wife bought and installed the Philips Hue wireless led bulbs in our house. A Hue bulb can be switched on and off from the wall switch like a regular bulb, but the colour and brightness can be controlled via the Hue smartphone app.
This is great, but for my toddler son this means that he can’t control the lights in his room to the same degree his parents can. I believe kids should feel in control of their personal environment, subject to some rules of course. This is a period in his life where he is being challenged to start doing things for himself and I felt that this was an opportunity to give him some playful and creative control of his room.
Now, the obvious solution is to just teach him to use the family iPad. However I felt that was not an option for these few reasons:
Tactility is important in this stage in his development.
He should not have to go outside his room and the iPad is usually not in there.
He should only control his own lighting, the iPad app controls multiple bulbs in the flat.
Initial Idea
I started experimenting with Arduino boards this summer and had the idea of constructing a remote control for my son to control the bulb in his room. The Arduino platform is a family of open source microcontrollers that make the creation of interactive electronic objects more accessible.
There were some requirements from the start:
* It should be wireless.
* It should allow turning the bulb on and off.
* It should allow a few colours to be applied to the bulb.
* Additionally it would be nice if it had some way of controlling the brightness.
Going forward
During implementation the idea developed further.
I had initially wanted the controller to include a joystick to control brightness or some aspect of the colours. This sounded cool but after buying the joystick and giving it some thought I realized it added complexity to the interface without adding enough value to justify it.
The initial idea was that the user would press a coloured button and the colour would be applied to the bulb. When implementing the buttons and the controller, I was faced with what would happen if the user press more than one button at the same time. It seemed rather obvious that the system should blend those colours together and the resulting colour be applied to the bulb. Pressing yellow and red buttons would yield orange.
Another tweak to was to use the on and off buttons to act as modifiers when pressed with other coloured buttons. Pressing red and white buttons would yield pink. Pressing green and black buttons would yield dark-green.When the American Civil War ended in 1865, an estimated 20,000 Southerners chose to move to Brazil rather than be re-unionized. Most of the Confederates—known in Portuguese as Os Confederados—settled in the southern part of Brazil, particularly in the state of São Paulo. However, one contingent led by Maj. Lansford Hastings ventured north to the Brazilian Amazon.
One group of Confederates—or Os Confederados—led by Maj. Lansford Hastings settled along the lower Amazon River. Emigrants’ Guide/Wikimedia Commons
After surveying areas along the lower Amazon River, Hastings was provisionally granted a tract of 60 square leagues (about 259,000 acres) of land to the south of the city of Santarém. He agreed to pay 22.5 cents (U.S.) per acre for it at the end of three years. But a little more than a year later, he succumbed to yellow fever on a trip to recruit more settlers from the American South. Still, many of the colonists remained, making their living farming the Amazonian soil and toiling in the equatorial sun.
Shortly after arriving in Santarém, the Confederates began cultivating corn, cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane. Several families situated their plantations on the rich soils known locally as terra preta do índio, or “black earth of the Indian.” The dark soils stood in stark contrast to the sunset orange-and-red clays that otherwise dominated much of the uplands that rose above the Amazonian floodplains. Abundant potsherds littered the surface layer of rich earth, which concealed an even greater wealth of Indigenous artifacts hidden deeper below. Whether they initially realized it or not, the Confederates were farming on old Amerindian villages.
One Confederate, Romulus J. Rhome, operated a large sugar cane plantation on such a terra preta site and took an interest in the abundance of archaeological artifacts that were buried in the soil. Over time, he amassed a significant collection of Indigenous cultural material, as noted by the visiting North American geologist Herbert Smith:
We find fragments scattered everywhere, and Mr. Rhome has been making archaeological collections for years. He gets all sorts of curious clay figures: vultures’ heads, frogs, a cock with comb and wattles complete, a whistle, and one odd-looking affair punched full of holes, which—so Mr. Rhome laughingly insists—must be a toothpick-stand.
Although relatively little literature can be found about Rhome, he unknowingly began what would become a tradition of North American archaeology in the lower Amazon River, and today, part of his collection is housed at the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro. In an equally significant contribution, Rhome helped draw attention to the relationship between terra preta sites and pre-Columbian Indigenous settlement in the Amazon region.
Around the time that the Confederate colony was established in Santarém, a young Canadian geologist named Charles Frederick Hartt was exploring the Amazon Basin with Louis Agassiz on the Thayer Expedition (1865–66). As a member of the expedition, Hartt spent 15 months in Brazil collecting fossils and geological specimens. Agassiz hoped these would yield evidence of Late Pleistocene glaciation at sea level in the tropics, an event that he thought would have destroyed all life on land. Agassiz believed that such a discovery would demonstrate divine re-creation—that God had created species anew—and thus disprove Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Although Hartt did not agree with Agassiz’s case for glaciation, the geologist’s deep fascination with Brazilian Amazonia was sparked, and it would guide the rest of his life’s work. After returning to the U.S. and accepting a teaching position at the newly founded Cornell University in 1868, Hartt began preparing for a second trip to Brazil.
Hartt returned to South America as the leader of the Morgan Expeditions in 1870. The intended purpose of the expeditions was to study the geology of the Amazon River Valley, but Hartt and his students also dedicated considerable time to archaeological investigations in the region. On his previous visit, he fortunately had met Domingos Soares Ferreira Penna, a Brazilian scholar who had written extensively about the archaeology and ethnology of the Amazon. The two forged an important friendship, and through their correspondence, Penna brought terra preta sites and their related artifacts to Hartt’s attention, encouraging him to investigate Amazonia’s archaeological wealth.
Terra preta sites, while initially seen as natural, are the product of long-term human settlement that dates back thousands of years. Nicholas C. Kawa
Thus, during the first Morgan Expedition, Hartt visited the Confederate colony in Santarém and took the opportunity to see Rhome’s plantation, which also featured a large shell mound (sambaqui) on the property. After inspecting the mound with Rhome, Hartt suspected that it was not a natural formation but rather a large midden left by early Indigenous inhabitants. With assistance from two of Rhome’s men, Hartt excavated part of the massive shell midden and collected pottery and bones as well as other artifacts he found in the terra preta on the overlooking bluff. Upon returning from the Morgan Expeditions, he remarked in his published preliminary report: “The archaeological material has been so rich that it has been difficult to work out. New collections have constantly been coming in, and what I intended as a short report on the antiquities of the lower Amazonas has grown to be a large volume on the antiquities of the whole empire.”
The association of the terra preta sites with Indigenous artifacts led Hartt, Rhome, Penna, and others who surveyed the region to the logical conclusion that such locations had been former Indigenous settlements. However, the relationship between the soil’s fertility and Indigenous habitation was not entirely understood. Hartt reasoned that Indigenous groups had been attracted to what he considered naturally occurring pockets of fertile soil. But his student, Herbert Smith, had an alternative explanation. Drawing on the writings of Pedro Cristoval de Acuña, the Jesuit priest who chronicled the Amazon voyage of Pedro Texeira in 1639 and who described the large Indigenous populations that lived on the banks of the Amazon, Smith offered the following:
The bluff-land owes its richness to the refuse of a thousand kitchens for maybe a thousand years; numberless palm-thatches, which were left to rot on the ground as they were replaced by new ones. For the bluffs were covered with Indian houses, ‘so close together,’ says Acuña, ‘that from one village you can hear the workmen of another.’
Smith’s theory for the formation of the terra preta soils proposed that they were the product of generations of kitchen middens and accumulated organic refuse. Although some later scholars attempted to refute this theory, suggesting that terra preta soils had formed from volcanic ash or dried lake beds, Smith’s insights would be largely upheld by the scientific community more than 100 years after his initial observations. In this way, Smith and other explorers of his time exposed terra preta as part of a larger “domesticated” environment, forever changing how we would think about the Amazon region.
And, as far-fetched as it may sound, it was the Confederate families of Santarém who helped birth the early archaeology of the Amazon Basin.A senior leader of the Awaaz-e-Punjab (AeP) front, led by former BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, has told India Today that their outfit and Congress are in the last round of negotiations on a possible merger ahead of Punjab elections.
A decision on the merger of the Sidhu-led front with the Congress for Punjab polls is likely within a week.
This was concluded in a meeting of the front that took place yesterday at Sidhu's residence, the AeP leader said on the condition of anonymity.
TALKS STUCK ON LAST CONDITION
According to top sources, Congress has more or less agreed to the conditions of AeP. "Negotiations are now on the last condition. AeP wants a say in deciding all the 117 tickets in the state, which is being discussed now", he said.
Also read: Punjab polls: AAP promises 25 lakh jobs, free Wi-Fi hotspots in villages
The AeP leader said that the ball was now in the Congress' court.
India Today has also learnt from sources both within the Aam Aadmi Party and AeP that talks between them at least formally are over and the possibility of any alliance between Kejriwal-led party and Sidhu-let AeP is unlikely.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
AWAAZ-e-PUNJAB REJECTS RUMOURS OF DIVIDE
AeP also dismissed rumours of any divide within the front. Top sources said all the 5 faces -- Navjot Singh Sidhu, his wife, Pargat Singh and Bains brothers were together and would fight unitedly as one unit. Sidhu remain the chief negotiator of the alliance.
Also read: Congress, Akali Dal leaders running illegal mining rackets in Punjab: AAP
According to sources, Sidhu and Congress have agreed to the following formula.. Awaaz-e-Punjab will take Deputy + 1 cabinet berth if the alliance, once formed, comes to power. Sidhu then will have to decide whether he wants the deputy CM post for himself or the Lok Sabha seat from Amritsar, which will be vacated by Amrinder Singh if Congress wins Punjab.
India Today has also learnt Rahul Gandhi and Congress strategist Prashant Kishore have had a couple of meetings with Sidhu. A major hurdle now is Amarinder Singh's opposition to Sidhu being given a say in deciding who must be given tickets.Renee Cesario met Brendan Kelly just two hours before country music star Jason Aldean took the stage at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas Sunday.
She had no idea that unexpected meeting may have saved her life.
Renee invited Brendan to attend the concert with her and her friends, who all traveled from Riverside County, California, for the weekend music festival.
As Aldean was finishing up his set, the pair moved closer to the stage. They had just started to dance when they heard what sounded like fireworks.
"It stopped, and Jason Aldean kept playing but then the shots fired again and he ran off the stage," Renee described in a Facebook post that has been shared by more than 130,000 people since it was posted Monday. "Before I knew what was going on, Brendan tackled me down to the ground and covered me from the fire."
Renee Cesario, 23, (left) credits U.S. Marine Brendan Kelly, 21, with saving her life during the Las Vegas shooting. Jenn Cesario
While shielding Renee from the gunfire, Brendan, a 21-year-old U.S. Marine, assesed the situation. Within minutes, the shooting seemed to pause.
"We have to get out of here. We can't stay here. It's not safe," he yelled to 23-year-old Renee, lending a hand to get her back on her feet.
The pair ran for safety — with Brendan leading the |
, and the media had reported about the Democrats’ plans to engage churchgoers.
Again, not surprising. Huckabee and Romney made their faiths an issue in their campaigns. It’s important to question whether they would be open to seeking (and taking) the advice of someone outside their faiths — certainly this was important to ask of Huckabee. So, yes, atheists were asked about. This is not a promotion of atheism. Just a question about whether a politician’s faith would make him/her incapable of seeing someone’s good judgment in lieu of their “correct” religious label.
(For what it’s worth, Barack Obama’s possibly being atheist has been used against him.)
CMI also seems to forget all the idiotic questions regarding candidates’ favorite Bible verses. And the idiotic answers from Republicans regarding whether or not they accepted evolution. In other words, they would get approval points for proclaiming their literal-Bible-believing Christianity.
Is that not promotion of Christian beliefs over everyone else’s?
Christianity (fundamental or otherwise) played a major role in this election season and it will continue to do so. Atheism is a minor side issue. But CMI won’t acknowledge that.
Fyfe writes about an ABC special that featured Nicole Smalkowski. Fyfe is mad because “atheism was portrayed sympathetically.”
She’s also upset because, in the same segment, Richard Dawkins is featured.
[John] Stossel mentioned that Dawkins was touring the country to promote his book and speculated that he might be getting angry reactions because “America is a very religious country.” Dawkins replied, “I thought just the same, but people thanked me over and over again for saying what they themselves would like to say, but somehow feel they better not.” Stossel did not challenge that assertion.
Again, I ask: what is there to challenge?
There were people who said this to Dawkins. Not every Christian. But some.
Perhaps CMI was looking for a Christian to respond by saying, “NO! CHRISTIANS DID NOT THANK DAWKINS FOR THAT! THEY NEVER HAVE A NEED TO QUESTION FAITH!”
Ok, one last example of “media bias in favor of atheism”:
Time chose atheist Richard Dawkins as one of its 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2007.
(They didn’t mention that hard-core Christians John Roberts and Tony Dungy were also on the list. Not to mention the Pope.)
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]“I do not believe in God. I believe in the power of Family. And occasionally, when I’m feeling optimistic, in free will. But blood is a force to be reckoned with. God, for example, can’t give you an excellent head of hair. Your family can. They can also give you cancer. And heart disease. Nothing kills like family.”
Thank God it skipped me. I spent a considerable amount of time in my young adult years worrying that I too would hear voices. My mother’s oldest brother was diagnosed with paranoid sc
“I do not believe in God. I believe in the power of Family. And occasionally, when I’m feeling optimistic, in free will. But blood is a force to be reckoned with. God, for example, can’t give you an excellent head of hair. Your family can. They can also give you cancer. And heart disease. Nothing kills like family.”
Thank God it skipped me. I spent a considerable amount of time in my young adult years worrying that I too would hear voices. My mother’s oldest brother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before I graduated high school. He died from health problems exacerbated by his mental instability before his thirtieth birthday. I’m not exactly sure when my great aunt began exhibiting signs of psychological instability, but word in the family was that she lost it after seeing a root lady, who helped her put a spell on an unfaithful boyfriend. She was in her early twenties. Jimmi was my mother’s favorite maternal aunt, her confidant, and biggest supporter, and our best and most reliable babysitter. It didn’t bother my mother or us that her home and food smelled and tasted of the kerosene she used for heat (she thought the utility company was out to get her). Or that she washed the threshold of her doors and her money with ammonia, in an attempt to ward off evil people and spirits. Nonetheless, she took good care of us; she hadn’t fully descended into total disorienting, psychotic madness yet. Her unchecked mental illness, however, would eventually render her incapable of leaving her home, at least not alive. She died while in self-imposed exile from a world she thought was out to get her. No husband. No children. When my younger sister was diagnosed with manic depression, I was relieved that it wasn’t schizophrenia. That is, until I read Juliann Garey’s Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See.
As the novel begins, Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive and the narrator his story, is coming out of the fog caused by undergoing electroconvulsive therapy for his severe manic depression. It is during this treatment, and his time reflecting while in the psychiatric hospital, that we find out how he ended up there. The most compelling aspect of this novel is that Juliann Garey does a remarkable job providing a nonlinear, frame narration that, in many ways, mirrors the mental illness her protagonist is suffering from. She focuses on 3 significant periods of his life: the disappointing childhood experiences caused by his father (who suffers from mental illness as well), his own failed attempt at marriage and his reckless travels around the world. These moments are hurled at us with what seems like no regard for the readers need for normal order, sense and balance - much like the lack of concern the chemical insufficiency has on our protagonist’s brain. His life comes flooding back to him in disjointed, rapid firing, fragmented memories. All nearly unbearable. All a manifestation of the heredity passed down to him.
The genetic variation responsible for causing Greyson Todd’s predisposition to mental illness seems both random and predestined. And the unfortunate delusion that he was capable of being a good father and husband seemed unavoidable, because he was not normal. He was the unlucky one of his siblings. It seemed pre-ordained by virtue of his DNA that he would repeat, in some way, the cycle of dysfunction and familial ruin his father initiated. After leaving his wife and 8 year old daughter because the effort to maintain a normal life was exhausting and impossible for him, and before heading out of town, he visits the cemetery and his mother's grave: “There is a plot next to her reserved for Pop. If it were up to me, I’d let my old man spend eternity in the cheap seats.” He despised his father’s affairs with other women, his inability to keep a job, weeks spent unable to leave his bedroom, failed plans, manic purchases that nearly leaves the family bankrupt,. “Some people shouldn’t be parents. I simply found out after the fact.” The sad irony is that the novel’s protagonist did know the damage a parent with mental illness can inflict on a family, a child; he lived through it. Unfortunately, he lacked the mental capacity to reverse the trajectory of his tormented life.
While this review mainly focuses on the aspect of the novel related to the devastating effects mental illness has on families, there is a bittersweet silver lining. Greyson Todd may get a second chance to nurture some important relationships, but it’s only because he is fortunate enough to have family who understands the nature of mental illness and who want to understand him. It may have been a blessing that he left his child before he was able to completely and irrevocably destroy all her childhood memories of him or any chance of a future relationship, as did his own father.
My aunt Jimmi had the support of my mother, who considered her paranoid behavior a usual occurrence among her mother’s sisters. By the time my sister was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my mother was much better educated on what needed to be done to encourage her stability. She realized my sister’s psychological problems should be taken more seriously and sought out the proper treatment. Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See is probably one of the best public service announcements on the side of mental illness. Juliann Garey humanizes people with this condition; she takes us along for a ride that gets us about as close as possible to real, certifiable madness and the helplessness and isolation it causes. So, the next time you’re compelled to tell your crazy family member, a bum on the street, a friend to “get it together, and snap out of it.” Stop it, and get this novel. If you’re patient enough to get through it, you’ll be much better for it.Rick Santorum smiles during a visit to the Washington, D.C., offices of U.S. News & World Report. (Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
The last time he ran for president, former Sen. Rick Santorum aroused Internet users by promising to take away their access to pornography.
Federal law makes distribution of hardcore pornography illegal, he said in a statement on his 2012 campaign website. All that's required is a president who will "vigorously" enforce the ban, the Pennsylvania Republican said, pledging to do so.
"While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration," the statement proclaimed.
The pledge attracted intense discussion after Santorum emerged as Mitt Romney's most prominent rival for the GOP nomination. It was laughed off by pornographers but discussed seriously by legal experts, some of whom said a crackdown might succeed – albeit imperfectly without a grand national firewall – if juries find porn sites and consumers guilty of distributing or receiving "obscene" content.
But as the 2016 presidential race heats up, the reliable social conservative – running again – says he's forgotten his position on the issue, perhaps dooming it to increasing irrelevance after a two-decade lull in prosecutions that coincided with a boom in availability of Internet porn.
"I don't even remember that position to be very honest with you," Santorum said during a recent roundtable interview at U.S. News. "I wish I could say I was cognizant of everything that's on my website."
He added: "I'm not, candidly, familiar with the federal laws with respect to pornography. … but all I would say is whatever the laws are, unlike this president I will enforce [them]."
Santorum and the more than dozen other Republicans running for president soon will be asked to stake a position on the issue by Patrick Trueman, a Reagan administration prosecutor who now leads the group National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Trueman proudly participated in federal pornography prosecutions in the 1980s and during the last election cycle said that Romney's campaign, too, had promised to vigorously enforce obscenity laws, but that he suspected Romney "saw that Rick Santorum got beat up in the mainstream press for being so forthright" and elected not to advertise his position.
Trueman believes it would be fairly easy to win obscenity convictions for porn featuring consensual adult group sex, depictions of violence and unusual fetishes. Anything more salacious than waist-up female nudity would be eligible for conviction somewhere in the country, he told The Daily Caller during the last election.
It's legal for individuals to possess pornography their neighbors may deem obscene, according to the Justice Department, but it's technically illegal under many circumstances to distribute or receive it.
There's reason to doubt any change to status quo nonenforcement of obscenity laws as they pertain to pornography featuring consenting adults. In addition to presumably shifting public opinion, the past three presidential administrations – including the Republican George W. Bush administration – showed no interest in cracking the whip.
Read Santorum's 2012 position:According to Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America, the unhinged, misogynist manifesto written by Elliot Rodger before he killed six people and himself in a mass shooting outside of Santa Barbara “reflects the thinking of a person like our president.”
In an interview last week with Stan Solomon, the GOA executive director reacted to Rodger’s shooting spree the way he reacts to every mass shooting – by finding anything to blame other than guns.
Solomon ripped into Richard Martinez, who criticized the NRA after losing his son in the shooting, calling the bereaved father a “stupid son of a bitch” and asking “what the hell is wrong with you?” Mistakenly thinking that Martinez lost a daughter in the shooting, he added, “If you had taught your daughter how to have and use a weapon, she might still be alive.”
Pratt responded by blaming Rodger’s lack of a “traditional kind of family life” for the shooting, adding, “I think that the parents deserve a lot of the credit slash blame for bringing up a son like that.” (Pratt has also blamed Trayvon Martin’s death on his “broken family”).
The two then discussed Rodger’s manifesto, in which he railed at women for refusing to have sex with him, which Pratt said reminded him of President Obama.
The manifesto, Pratt said, “clearly reflects the thinking of a person like our president, who’s extremely narcissistic and it’s all about me, all about me.”Mogherini rebuked Trump in a forceful statement, noting that the U.S. did not have any right to unilaterally cancel the Iran agreement | Sean Gallup/Getty Images Mogherini to fly to Washington amid rift with Trump over Iran EU ministers express deep concern over US president’s stance.
LUXEMBOURG — The EU's top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, will fly to Washington to address the sharp disagreement between European powers and U.S. President Donald Trump over the Iran nuclear accord.
Mogherini announced her trip to the U.S. capital as EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, expressed deep concerns over Trump's refusal to certify Iran's compliance with the terms of the deal, and his request that Congress adopt new "triggers" that would reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking to reporters on his way to the meeting, called on the EU to exert "pressure on Congress... so that the American Congress does not call this agreement into question.”
Mogherini rebuked Trump in a forceful statement on Friday, in which she noted that the U.S. does not have any right to unilaterally cancel the Iran agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May also issued a statement reiterating their support for the deal.
While European leaders have disagreed sharply with Trump before — notably on his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord — the dispute over the Iran nuclear agreement represents a remarkable break among NATO allies on a crucial security issue.
The 2015 Iran deal was brokered by three European countries — France, Germany and the U.K. — as well as the U.S., Russia and China.
At their meeting in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing complete support for the deal, which lifted most sanctions against Tehran in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program.
The EU “is committed to the continued full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA,” the ministers said.
In their statement, the ministers suggested a willingness to impose new punitive measures on Iran if warranted on other issues, but only outside of the nuclear agreement. "While the EU expresses its concerns related to ballistic missiles and increasing tensions in the region, it reiterates the need to address them outside the JCPOA, in the relevant formats and fora,” the ministers said.
EU leaders are expected to issue their own statement on Iran in the formal conclusions of this week's European Council summit meeting in Brussels. A statement by the leaders on North Korea is also expected in the conclusions, officials said.
Privately, however, officials in Luxembourg said they had little interest in kowtowing to the Americans, and they expressed growing annoyance with Trump.
Mogherini noted that further action against Iran was not on Monday's agenda. "We didn't discuss and we are not discussing further restrictions on Iran," she said.
The foreign ministers stressed Europe was united behind the Iran deal, which has been positively assessed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In the first year after its implementation, trade between the EU and Iran increased by 79 percent.
Some ministers expressed disbelief at Trump's apparent desire to dismantle the achievements of his predecessor, Barack Obama.
“It looks like the priorities of the U.S. president is to destroy everything that has been accomplished by the previous president, like the health care system, the Paris agreement, and now this very important Iran deal,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.
Others warned that a more isolationist America would end up strengthening Russia. “If it will be more isolationist it will cut the transatlantic ties, so not only Russia will be stronger but all unhelpful forces will be stronger,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius told POLITICO in an interview.
Linkevičius, however, underlined that there was still room for dialogue and he tried to express optimism that the gap with Washington could be bridged.
“It's part of my job description to be optimistic," he said.The Intelligence Community (IC) is refusing to provide the House Intelligence Committee with a requested Thursday briefing on Russian interference with the U.S. election, citing an ongoing review of the matter requested by President Obama.
According to a statement, the IC will not be offering comment to Congress until it completes that review, which will cover foreign interference in the electoral process since 2008.
“It is unacceptable that the Intelligence Community directors would not fulfill the House Intelligence Committee’s request to be briefed tomorrow on the cyber-attacks that occurred during the presidential campaign,” Nunes said in a statement Wednesday.
“The Committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes. The Committee will continue its efforts and will insist that we receive all the necessary cooperation from the relevant leaders of the Intelligence Community.”
The ask came following a Monday letter from Nunes to Clapper demanding he resolve reported discrepancies between the FBI's and CIA's assessments of the Russian hacking.
A Friday story in The Washington Post reported that the CIA believes hacks into the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations were an explicit attempt by the Russian government to help Donald Trump attain the White House — an assessment the FBI reportedly did not believe was supported by the evidence.
The report sparked calls for congressional investigations from both sides of the aisle.
“The Committee is vigorously looking into reports of cyber-attacks during the election campaign, and in particular we want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us,” Nunes said in his statement.
“The legislative branch is constitutionally vested with oversight responsibility of executive branch agencies, which are obligated to comply with our requests.”
Lawmakers are still wrangling over what form that probe should take and who should conduct it, although Republican leadership has sought to contain the investigations to the Intelligence Committee.
Nunes said Monday that any additional probes into the hacking would be duplicative of current committee efforts.
--Updated 10:07 p.m.Ninety-one per cent of people in France support the French Government's plans to introduce a weekly class in "secular morals" into state schools, according to a recent poll.
The classes will be added to the school curriculums in 2015 to instil in pupils "a culture of responsibility, equality, cooperation and solidarity", the Education Minister Vincent Peillon has announced.
Secular morals (morale laïque) is not a kind of official morality, he said, but "knowledge and understanding of the values, principles and rules that permit us to live together in the Republic according to our common ideal of liberty, equality and fraternity".
He told the daily newspaper Le Monde that France was a free society where "the balance between rights and responsibilities has been broken and the link between the individual and the common good has been undone".
French state schools have lessons in civics and morals, but an official report on the project said teachers focus mostly on civics. Morals are perceived as too close to religion, which cannot be taught in French state schools, but Mr Peillon argues that morals can be taught without any relation to faith.
Details of the new courses have still to emerge and teachers will have to be trained to give them.Sexy, Me?
Is sexy defined by the way you see yourself when you catch a glimpse of yourself in a passing mirror? Is it defined by the way you think your are perceived by others? If you say yes to any of these questions, you are sadly limiting your own possibilities.
In my twenties, yes I admit I was all about the way I looked. The hair cut and blow dried to perfection emulating the then sexy Farrah Fawcett. My blue eyes were defined expertly with black liner and mascara to make my eyes into bedroom eyes.
The jeans were so tight that I had to lay down on the bed to zip them up. All the better to show off my”assets” or so I thought then. I did attract the boys alright, like an elsie to its skin. It was a joke in my family of three sisters, how I had to spend an hour in the bathroom every morning just to go to first period math class.
Was this truly a beauty ritual to attract men in order to have sex” Or was I really trying to define who I thought I should be?
In my thirties all this changed. A new baby followed quickly by some health issues, i found myself lost. Who was this person in the mirror who was overweight and tired looking.
I no longer was the Cindy I knew and loved. I didn’t get the latest haircut, choosing to just wear my long hair pulled back in a hairband. The make-up disappeared and the skin tight jeans became jean overalls. “Gasp” I know, who could feel good in a pair of farmer overalls? I was clearly creating an outward appearance based on my own inner reflection.
For my thirty-sixth birthday present my husband of fifteen years wrapped up two giant boxes and wished me a happy birthday. As I eagerly unwrapped the boxes, the first one contained a new pair of Nike running shoes.The second a yoga mat and blocks.
Two weeks later, he told me I didn’t make him happy anymore and he left. Now I really didn’t know who that sexy Cindy was anymore when I peered into the mirror.
I spent a year trying to sort out which identity I truly was.
Now that I am in my forties I have come to realize sexy isn’t just how your body looks in lingerie. It isn’t defined by how many times a hot, muscular man ravishes your body.
Sexy is a state of being.
Menopausal women whose libido plummets to a flat line, can still remain sexy. How can that be when they are not having sex three times a week?.
Sexy is the inner “X” factor.
Confidence, inner stillness, generosity, or just letting your vulnerabilities show all can be defined as the term “sexy”.
I am currently an evolved sexy Cindy. Not the twenty year old who thought she had it all going on. Not the thirty year old who lost her way. But a happy, sexy woman who chose not to let others dictate my own sexiness.
So go ahead, release your inner sexy you.
Cindy Lee
October 21, 2012
AdvertisementsAs Moscow and Beijing finalize a historic deal that may be worth some $456 billion in Russian gas over the next 30 years, Russia keeps looking both East and West, and is not forgetting about its European customers, PM Dmitry Medvedev told Bloomberg TV.
“These were not the easiest talks,” Medvedev said. He assured the public that the wording of the agreement “will be finalized very soon,” in time to be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China.
“One side always wants to sell for a higher price, while the other wants to buy for a lower price,” Medvedev said. “I believe that in the long run the price will be fair and totally comparable to the price of European supplies.”
Moscow is actively pursuing two routes of developing its supply lines – the Eastern route and the Western route, the Russian PM said, emphasizing that China is a very important trade partner.
“We cannot supply our gas to the European market alone, because we have enough for the Asian market too, which is the most rapidly developing market, including China, the largest economy.”
Medvedev said that Russia's move to increase energy cooperation with China is in no way tied to EU threats to diversify its gas supply and move away from the bloc's energy dependency on Russia.
“First, each country or group of countries, including the European Union, has the right to diversify their supply sources. This is true. But we don’t attach much importance to this simply because, so far, there is no viable alternative in sight to Russian supplies,” Medvedev said.
Russia, as a “major energy-supplying power” will use the opportunity to deliver gas not only to Europe, but also to Asia. “I wouldn’t look for politics behind this, but I have no doubt that supplying energy to the Asia Pacific Region holds out a great promise in future.”
Yet at the same time, Medvedev said that in the worst case scenario, gas that would not be sold to Europe may go to Asia.
“But even if we look at the worst prospect – purely theoretically – any undelivered European gas supplies can be sent to China by the eastern route. But that, let me stress this point again, is so far an absolutely theoretical possibility.”
Medvedev also urged the West not to politicize Russia's desire to develop cooperation with Asia, saying that Moscow wants to trade with both West and the East, recalling that the eagle on the Russian coat of arms looks in both directions.
“The idea of any politically motivated scenario is simply conjecture. The fact is, we want to trade in both the west and the east. Do you remember what the Russian coat of arms looks like? The eagle is looking in both directions,” Medvedev said.
As for the possibility of Russian oil giant Rosneft selling a 19.5 percent stake minus one share to Chinese companies, Medvedev says it is up to the company to decide.
“We are trying to make our energy market stable. Eventually, Rosneft should decide for itself what development sources to use. If Chinese investors make an interesting proposal, we don’t rule anything out. In any case, the government is planning a privatization of a considerable amount of Rosneft stock.”
When answering the question of the possibility of opening Russian markets to foreign investment, Medvedev said that the authorities are always trying to analyze the impact of the opening of certain sectors, and that there are special commissions that deal with it.
“I think we have the right to keep some sectors under government control, but the number of such sectors keeps decreasing, and the commission I have mentioned takes decisions to expand the opportunities for foreign investment at almost every meeting.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Shanghai on May 20-21. Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are due to sign a historic deal for 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas to power China's growing economy, starting in 2018.
Ahead of his visit, Putin, in an interview to Chinese media outlets, said that the two states “steadily move towards the establishment of a strategic energy alliance.”Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has rejected a campaign donation from Martin Shkreli, head of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who recently sparked a furor after increasing the price of a drug for AIDS and cancer patients by nearly 5,000 percent.
Shkreli has repeatedly announced on Twitter that he plans to donate to Sanders campaign. On Thursday he confirmed to Statnews.com that he had granted $2,700 (the maximum individual donation) to the independent Vermont Senator September 28.
I appreciate @BernieSanders using my contribution as a continuation of my philanthropy. — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) October 15, 2015
Sanders has repeatedly declared that he doesn’t accept funding of this kind and that his campaign is supported mostly by small-dollar donations made online.
READ MORE: Bernie Sanders raises $26 million, closes gap with Hillary Clinton
At first the 2016 contender kept the money. Shkreli said he received a letter where Sanders thanked him for the donation.
“Our political system is corrupt. Big Money controls much of what happens. Together, you and I are changing that. Thank you again for your support. Best, Bernie,” said the letter as cited by Statnews.com.
Instead of having an intelligent discussion on healthcare @BernieSanders would rather hold his hands over his ears and be a demagogue... — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) October 15, 2015
However, on Thursday the situation changed after Sanders’ campaign spokesman Michael Briggs announced that the senator wouldn’t keep the donation and instead the whole sum would be sent to Whitman-Walker health clinic in Washington, DC.
READ MORE: Company that hiked AIDS drug price by 5,000% now targeted by antitrust probe
The decision to reject the donation coincided with the recent move of Turing Pharmaceuticals to increase the price of a drug used by AIDS and cancer patients by more than 50 times.
Dear @BernieSanders & @HillaryClinton, I have an important question for you. Get back to me whenever, Martin Shkreli. pic.twitter.com/y0DuJqswAR — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) October 12, 2015
Upon acquiring Daraprim, a 62-year-old drug no longer under patent protection, Turing raised the price from $13.50 per pill all the way up to $750, leading to widespread outrage and igniting a debate about pharmaceutical industry practices.
After learning that the donation was rejected, Shkreli evidently became angry. He had also hoped for a meeting with Sanders which was eventually canceled.
“I think it’s cheap to use one person’s action as a platform without kind of talking to that person…He’ll take my money, but he won’t engage with me for five minutes to understand this issue better,” he said.
READ MORE: Bernie Sanders unveils bill proposing major pro-union labor reforms
Shkreli said he had wanted to talk to the presidential candidate about drug prices.
“Right now the rule of law in the United States is that drug companies can price their products wherever they see fit, not wherever he sees fit,” Shkreli said. “If the rule changes by congressional vote, then you know, I’ll adapt to the rules.”
Sanders has repeatedly slammed “the greed” of pharmaceutical industry, calling it a “public health hazard” for the US and proposing to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. He also called upon Medicare, the US national social insurance program, to introduce lower drug prices.
Martin Shkreli is holding hostage the patients who rely on this lifesaving medication by charging unconscionable prices just because he can. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 9, 2015
The greed of the pharmaceutical industry is a public health hazard to the American people. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 9, 2015
The main rival for Hillary Clinton in 2016 presidential race, Sanders is also known for criticizing such issues as income inequality, poor healthcare, climate change and mass surveillance. The presidential candidate was a long-tome opponent of US campaign in Iraq and US foreign policy in general.Former US President Jimmy Carter said the US works more like an "oligarchy than a democracy," while also lambasting Trump's “hopeless” approach to solving the Israel-Palestine issue, and the increasing tension with North Korea.
The former president was speaking at a ‘Conversation with the Carters’ event at his Carter Center in Atlanta on Tuesday. He said money in politics is what makes the US more like an oligarchy – run by a small group of rich people – rather than a democracy, AP reports.
This isn’t the first time the 39th president has made such comments. In 2015, he referred to the “unlimited political bribery” that has “created a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.”
We're at the @CarterCenter tonight as former POTUS Jimmy Carter & former FLOTUS Rosalynn hold townhall. @11AliveNewspic.twitter.com/yr9RhT1Sk8 — Chuck Ringwalt WLTX (@ChuckRingwalt) September 12, 2017
Carter was referring to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling to allow corporations to give unlimited campaign donations to political candidates, which he has previously said was “the most stupid decision” the court had made.
North Korea
On escalating tensions between the US and North Korea, Carter said, “The first thing I would do is treat the North Koreans with respect.”
“I know what the North Koreans want,” he said. “What they want is a firm treaty guaranteeing North Korea that the US will not attack them or hurt them in any way, unless they attack one of their neighbors.” Carter said, “But the United States has refused to do that.”
Carter said he would send his top person to Pyongyang immediately, adding: “If I didn’t go myself.” The former president visited North Korea three times between 1994 and 2011.
"Until we're willing to talk to them and treat them with respect as human beings, which they are, then I don't think we'll make any progress," he said.
Middle East
Meanwhile, Carter said he doesn’t think that Trump can bring peace between Israel and Palestine.
"I don’t think Trump or his family members are making any progress in that respect," he said, adding he is “practically hopeless” that Trump will do anything to give “justice to the Palestinians.”
Carter criticized both Israeli and Palestinian leaders for failing to be flexible, but said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “no intention at all of having a two-state solution.”FLICKR, ADAM BAKERThe majority of Ashkenazi Jews are descended from prehistoric European women, according to study published today (October 8) in Nature Communications. While the Jewish religion began in the Near East, and the Ashkenazi Jews were believed to have origins in the early indigenous tribes of this region, new evidence from mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on exclusively from mother to child, suggests that female ancestors of most modern Ashkenazi Jews converted to Judaism in the north Mediterranean around 2,000 years ago and later in west and central Europe.
The new findings contradict previous assertions that Ashkenazi mitochondrial lineages originated in the Near East, or from mass conversions to Judaism in the Khazar kingdom, an empire in the north Caucasus region between Europe and Asia lasting from the 7th century to the 11th century whose leaders adopted Judaism. “We found that most of the maternal lineages don’t trace to the north Caucasus, which would be a proxy for the Khazarians, or to the Near East, but most of them emanate from Europe,” said coauthor Martin Richards, an archaeogeneticist at the University of Huddersfield in the U.K.
Richards and colleagues’ story “seems reasonable,” said Harry Ostrer, a human geneticist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City who was not involved in the study. “It certainly fits with what we understand about Jewish history.”
The Ashkenazi Jews make up the majority of Jews today and most recently have ancestry in central or Eastern Europe. Previous work has demonstrated that just four mitochondrial types, pass down from four mothers, account for 40 percent of variation in Ashkenazi Jews’ mitochondrial DNA, and some researchers have published evidence of Near Eastern origins for these Ashkenazi mitochondrial types.
To further investigate the matrilineal lines of the Ashkenazi Jews, Richards and colleagues looked at mitochondrial genome sequences in living Jews and non-Jews from the Near East, Europe, and the Caucasus. Based on the results, the team concluded that, in contrast to the evidence for many Ashkenazi males, whose Y chromosomal DNA suggests a likely origin in the Near East, the female lineage of Ashkenazi Jews have substantial ancestry in Europe. Specifically, the researchers found that the four main Ashkenazi founder mitochondrial types were nested within European mitochondrial lineages, not Near Eastern ones, and an analysis of more minor haplogroups indicated that an additional 40 percent of mitochondrial variation found in Ashkenazi Jews’ mitochondrial DNA was likely of European origin. The remaining variants appeared to be from the Near East or are of uncertain origin, and there was no evidence for Ashkenazi Jewish origins in the Khazar kingdom, according to the authors.
Historical evidence indicates that Jewish communities began to spread into Europe during classical antiquity and migrated north during the first millennium CE, arriving in the Rhineland by the 12th century. Local European women could have begun to join the Jewish population around 2,000 years ago or earlier, Richards and colleagues suggest, and the Ashkenazis may have continued to recruit additional women as they headed north.
But some scientists question these conclusions. “While it is clear that Ashkenazi maternal ancestry includes both Levantine [Near Eastern] and European origins—the assignment of several of the major Ashkenazi lineages to pre-historic European origin in the current study is incorrect in our view,” physician-geneticists Doron Behar and Karl Skorecki of the Rambam Healthcare Campus in Israel, whose previous work indicated a Near Eastern origins to many Ashkenazi mitochondrial types, wrote in an e-mail to The Scientist. They argue that the mitochondrial DNA data used in the new study did not represent the full spectrum of mitochondrial diversity.
Eran Elhaik, a research associate studying genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, is split. He agreed with the study authors that the study rules out a Near Eastern origin for many mitochondrial lineages of the Ashkenazis but disagreed that it rules out a Khazarian contribution. “Jews and non-Jews residing in the regions of Khazaria are underrepresented, which biases the results toward Europe as we have seen in many other studies,” he said in an e-mail to The Scientist. Elhaik recently concluded from autosomal DNA that European Jews did, in fact, have a Khazarian background.
David Goldstein, a geneticist and director of the Center for Human Genome Variation at the Duke University School of Medicine, said that the questions of whether there was a Khazar contribution to the Ashkenazi Jews’ lineage, or exactly what percentage of mitochondrial variants emanate from Europe, cannot be answered with certainty using present genetic and geographical data. Even if a set of variants are present in a specific region today, that doesn’t mean that the region always had that set of variants. Some variants could have been lost due to drift, or perhaps migration altered the balance of variants present in the population.
“These analyses really do not have any formal statistical inference about evolutionary history in them,” Goldstein wrote in an e-mail to The Scientist. “They are based on direct interpretations of where one finds different [mitochondrial DNA] types today |
ball as it lies” as they’re moving a ball off a root. The rules of golf are complicated, and while they’re currently under some review to remove some of that complexity, it’s easy for situations to become unnecessarily convoluted on the golf course.
If you’re playing with a group of strangers and someone asks your opinion on a rules situation they are in, be honest, but don’t hold their feet to the fire. They are likely seeking your honest opinion, but they don’t need someone to cite the rule for them. Just tell them how you’d play it if you were playing by yourself and move on. A good way to approach rules situations with strangers is never giving your opinion unsolicited.
Control Your Emotions
I have played Chambers Bay twice. Both times were amazing. The first time I played my buddy and I took a caddie, which was a great choice. As we made our way to the first tee, the starter informed us we’d be playing with two other guys who played Chambers a lot. We approached the tee and shook hands with them. It was immediately strange because they were sharing a bag.
At that moment it became clear to us that the clubs belonged to the player who had not thrown the club.
We didn’t think much of it because it wasn’t our business, and they seemed nice enough. The front nine started fine as my buddy and I had an internal match and the other guys sort of did their own thing. On the fourth tee box, one of the other guys in the group hit a tee shot, topping it about 10 feet in front of him. He looked around and put another ball down. He topped the second ball, too, and out of nowhere threw the driver about 50 feet to the side of the tee box. Everybody froze. Our caddies just looked at us and made that I-have-no-idea-what-to-do face.
At that moment it became clear that the clubs belonged to the player who had not thrown the club. The two men got into an argument right there on the tee box. All these years later, it’s funny, but we did not leave the 18th green as friends with those guys.
Control your emotions if you tend to be a hot head on the golf course. The people you’re playing with don’t need to see you throwing clubs or dropping “F” bombs. Relax and enjoy the company.
Be Authentic
It’s easy to try and be something you’re not when you think you’ll never see someone again. It’s not a knock on your character; it’s human nature. But if you’re the kind of person who likes to make friends on the golf course, then the quickest way to do that is to be yourself. I’ve played golf with a lot of people in the last 10 years. Like most people, I can tell when someone isn’t being genuine. It’s not only annoying, but it’s uncomfortable. Not everyone will be your best friend, but you’ll never know if you’ve ruined the chance at a great friendship if you try and be someone you’re not.
—
With the heart of the golf season approaching soon, there will be a lot of folks crowding up tee times in the next few weeks. I’m sure you’ve already got your local games lined up with the people you pick on constantly, but if you find yourself out and about with a last-minute tee time, make the most of those people you’ve never met before. You never know if one of them could be someone that changes your life.Since announcing in December that he would step down as Starbucks chief executive, there has been speculation that Howard Schultz is eyeing a run for president in 2020. A couple weeks back, I pegged him as the businessperson most likely to win the Democratic nomination.
Well, Howard Schultz sure sounds like a candidate.
Schultz spoke with The Washington Post at a job fair for young people on Wednesday, and while he insisted he wasn't talking politics, it wasn't difficult imagine him delivering the same words in a stump speech in Des Moines.
“The worst thing that we all, whether we be businesspeople or private citizens — we should not be embracing indifference right now,” Schultz said at the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative. “We have to be engaged, we’ve got to speak out, we’ve got to be involved, we gotta stand up for the things that we know are true. And I think the country, in many ways, is in need of a moral, a cultural and an economic transformation.”
Schultz drew attention in March for attacking President Trump, calling him “a president that is creating episodic chaos every day.” He said that Trump's behavior was “no doubt affecting consumer behavior.”
Schultz also recently penned an op-ed after the tragedy in Charlottesville and traveled to Houston after Hurricane Harvey. And he's offered pretty flimsy denials about whether he will run. (Asked about it after his December announcement, he said: “I’m all in on all things Starbucks and have no plans to run for public office.” Asked if that could change: “That’s the way I feel today.")
At one point while talking about the job fair, Schultz brought up that visit to Houston and used it as an example of Americans being “left behind.” He emphasized twice that his comments weren't about politics — and Schultz is certainly no stranger to social activism — but Schultz's words would have been just as at home coming out of Barack Obama's mouth or Bill Clinton's mouth. Here's a snippet:
The whole issue is, we cannot have an America where so many people are being left behind. I found myself in Houston a week and a half ago after the hurricane. I wanted to see the aftereffects, but mostly I wanted to talk to people. And you learn a few things that are heartbreaking. You know, 40 percent of American households don’t have $400 of cash available to them. Only 2 percent of the people in Houston that I talked to had flood insurance — and probably those people were in the right Zip code. There’s tens of thousands of people in a shelter today. And so I think, if we think about the country today — and I’m not talking about politics — I think the country needs to become more compassionate, more empathetic. And we can’t speak about the promise of America and the American Dream and leave millions of people behind. And it’s my view that — leave Washington aside and all the politics aside — businesses and business leaders need to do a lot more for the people they employ, the communities we serve, and we can make a significant difference. And this job fair is emblematic of just that.
It's not difficult to attach these comments to Trump. The country needs “a moral, a cultural and an economic transformation,” the country “needs to become more compassionate, more empathetic,” etc. The one time he mentioned Trump was when talking about Trump's travel ban — which he labeled a “Muslim ban.”
“We felt very strongly, as a result of the president’s Muslim ban, that it was important to demonstrate a level of inclusion,” he said. “And we decided we were going to hire at least 10,000 refugees.”
Sounds like a great talking point for the 2020 Democratic primary.nemuke Profile Joined April 2011 36 Posts Last Edited: 2014-07-12 04:01:51 #1
My name is nemuke. I'm a Japanese Hearthstone player and also a e-sports writer. I do the activities like reporting events or news, translating article, interviewing Japanese player or event organizer in my website.
My website (Japanese):
As one of my activity, I tried to rewrite my report in English to post on Liquid Hearth because there seemed lack of information about Japanese scene. I'd be so happy if this post can be a little help of your curious about it.
*Caution: I'm not a native English speaker and I'm still in the course of studying English so my articles may include many mistakes. Please don't hesitate to correct my article if you noticed anything wrong in the article. I'd like to improve my English writing through this activity.
Photo report of Japanese gathering event held on June 14th
Original article of this post (Japanese):
First gathering event:
On June 14th, 27 participants were gathered in the second Hearthstone Gathering event held again in a community center called "Midorigaoka bunka kaikan" on Meguro ward in Tokyo, Japan.
Participants brought their own Tablets and laptops to play Hearthstone, free play, limited swiss draw tournament and open-hand game with strategy discussions.
Event time table
9 am : Event startsettings and free play
12 pm : Break
2 pm : Limited swiss draw tournament
5 pm : Free play and open-hand game with strategy discussions
8 pm : Event close
Photos: The event place called "Midorigaoka bunka kaikan".
Photo: The list of today's content in Midorigaoka bunka kaikan. Same as the last time, The name of Hearthstone gathering event (ゆるHearthstone会) were written in the section of first training room, from 9 am to 9 pm(第一研修室・午前９時～午後９時) on the whiteboard. Although it was the second time to see for me, it looked weird that the digital game Hearthstone name lined up with the other activities such as Go club, nurturing circle.
Photo:The door of the first training room. I arrived 12:30 pm because I overslept a little XD
Photo: A view of the first training room. Unlike the second training room, which is small and can only fit 16 people, the first training room has more open space.
Photo: The event organizer Shinzaki at the registration desk. I paid 500 yen (approximately 5 dollars) to him to participate in the event.
Photo: The event explanations like time table, rules of the limited swiss draw tournament, security password of WiFi provided by Shinzaki and participants were written on the whiteboard.
Photo: I spread out my tablet and devices on the front table after the registration. Because I suffered the trouble of unstable internet connection and the difficulty of touch pad use last time, I prepared USB Wireless LAN adapter to make internet connection stable, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to make pointing/typing smooth. They worked fine this time.
Photo: Shinzaki also rent two WiFi router from a telephone company. They made the internet connection even more stable.
Free play
Photos: Until the limited swiss draw tournament start from 2 pm, I practiced my own deck against other participants for the tournament. Eating and drinking were allowed in the event place so some participants bought and brought foods such as rice ball and sandwich during the break.
Limited swiss draw tournament
In the limited swiss draw tournament, each participant prepare two decks with different heroes to play best of three matches. Legendary cards were banned this time. The limitations were loosened compared to the last time, which banned all hero-specific rare cards and anything with epic or higher rarity.
I thought aggro and midrange decks will be more popular with this regulation because control decks that utilize heavy-hitting legendary cards like Ragnaros
My deck list
With that in mind, I prepared tempo Rogue to counter aggro decks and midrange Shaman to counter the control decks which cannot be beaten by tempo Rogue for this tournament.
Photo: Same with the last time, participants fill match score and the total amount of remaining health in the score counting sheet then give it to Shinzaki after the match. The total amount of remaining health were used for the tie breaker.
Photos:After Shinzaki announced the match-ups, participants moved close to their opponents to started their match.
Photo:I won the third round against noa, who is only female participant and skilled player of Handlock (Legendary around 400th currently on NA), by 2-1 with Shaman against Handlock and Aggro Hunter after losing with Rogue.
Photo: I lost the forth (final) round against void, who I faced many times in the various offline tournament before, by 0-2 with his unstoppable Zoo Warlock.
Photo: My Shaman shattered with the last draw of Argent Commander
Photo: A view of final round progression
Photos: Top two players plays in the final round, Sosui (Top) and Daru(Bottom). The winner of this match will become the champion of the tournament. Both participants chose the same hero combination as Druid and Priest, which have plenty way to shut the opponent attack out, so their match went very long.
Photo: Two Chillwind Yeti Druid of the Claw
Daru's deck list
For the tournament, he brought a control-oriented deck containing interesting cards such as Ironbark Protector Abomination Wild Pyromancer
I ended the tournament in 7th place, lower than many of the other 3-1 participants because my total health remaining was lower. I think using Rogue that is easy to lose your health due to the high usage of hero weapons affected the result. Maybe it's fun to try to make the deck specializing in not taking damage next time (Warlock is worst hero then).
Photo: Shinzaki (front side) announces the final result.
Open-hand game with strategy discussions
It was past 5 pm when the tournament finished. Then Shinzaki starts the open-hand game with strategy discussions which player open their hands and explain their thoughts during the whole game. Observers are also allowed to ask the players what they were curious about.
Photo: The participants surrounding tablets to discuss how to play
It was really interesting to listen the other players' thoughts through the discussions. We also had very excited moment when we saw interesting play like "spawning Leeroy Jenkins Shadowstep
After the full enjoyment of Hearthstone, it already went past 8 pm. As it was close to 9 pm, which is time limit of room use, we placed the desks back in the original position then exited the room and go back to home.
Although the date of next event isn't decided, Shinzaki said he's going to host this event every other month. When the next event comes, I'd like to participate and report the event. Hello Liquid Hearth people!My name is nemuke. I'm a Japanese Hearthstone player and also a e-sports writer. I do the activities like reporting events or news, translating article, interviewing Japanese player or event organizer in my website.My website (Japanese): Nemukejp As one of my activity, I tried to rewrite my report in English to post on Liquid Hearth because there seemed lack of information about Japanese scene. I'd be so happy if this post can be a little help of your curious about it.Original article of this post (Japanese): ６月１４日に開催された「第二回ゆるHearthstone会」、オフラインで集まってプレイするHearthstoneの楽しさとは？ First gathering event: Photo report of Japanese gathering event, May 10th On June 14th, 27 participants were gathered in the second Hearthstone Gathering event held again in a community center called "Midorigaoka bunka kaikan" on Meguro ward in Tokyo, Japan.Participants brought their own Tablets and laptops to play Hearthstone, free play, limited swiss draw tournament and open-hand game with strategy discussions.9 am : Event startsettings and free play12 pm : Break2 pm : Limited swiss draw tournament5 pm : Free play and open-hand game with strategy discussions8 pm : Event closePhotos: The event place called "Midorigaoka bunka kaikan".Photo: The list of today's content in Midorigaoka bunka kaikan. Same as the last time, The name of Hearthstone gathering event (ゆるHearthstone会) were written in the section of first training room, from 9 am to 9 pm(第一研修室・午前９時～午後９時) on the whiteboard. Although it was the second time to see for me, it looked weird that the digital game Hearthstone name lined up with the other activities such as Go club, nurturing circle.Photo:The door of the first training room. I arrived 12:30 pm because I overslept a little XDPhoto: A view of the first training room. Unlike the second training room, which is small and can only fit 16 people, the first training room has more open space.Photo: The event organizer Shinzaki at the registration desk. I paid 500 yen (approximately 5 dollars) to him to participate in the event.Photo: The event explanations like time table, rules of the limited swiss draw tournament, security password of WiFi provided by Shinzaki and participants were written on the whiteboard.Photo: I spread out my tablet and devices on the front table after the registration. Because I suffered the trouble of unstable internet connection and the difficulty of touch pad use last time, I prepared USB Wireless LAN adapter to make internet connection stable, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to make pointing/typing smooth. They worked fine this time.Photo: Shinzaki also rent two WiFi router from a telephone company. They made the internet connection even more stable.Photos: Until the limited swiss draw tournament start from 2 pm, I practiced my own deck against other participants for the tournament. Eating and drinking were allowed in the event place so some participants bought and brought foods such as rice ball and sandwich during the break.In the limited swiss draw tournament, each participant prepare two decks with different heroes to play best of three matches. Legendary cards were banned this time. The limitations were loosened compared to the last time, which banned all hero-specific rare cards and anything with epic or higher rarity.I thought aggro and midrange decks will be more popular with this regulation because control decks that utilize heavy-hitting legendary cards likeWith that in mind, I prepared tempo Rogue to counter aggro decks and midrange Shaman to counter the control decks which cannot be beaten by tempo Rogue for this tournament.Photo: Same with the last time, participants fill match score and the total amount of remaining health in the score counting sheet then give it to Shinzaki after the match. The total amount of remaining health were used for the tie breaker.Photos:After Shinzaki announced the match-ups, participants moved close to their opponents to started their match.Photo:I won the third round against noa, who is only female participant and skilled player of Handlock (Legendary around 400th currently on NA), by 2-1 with Shaman against Handlock and Aggro Hunter after losing with Rogue.Photo: I lost the forth (final) round against void, who I faced many times in the various offline tournament before, by 0-2 with his unstoppable Zoo Warlock.Photo: My Shaman shattered with the last draw ofPhoto: A view of final round progressionPhotos: Top two players plays in the final round, Sosui (Top) and Daru(Bottom). The winner of this match will become the champion of the tournament. Both participants chose the same hero combination as Druid and Priest, which have plenty way to shut the opponent attack out, so their match went very long.Photo: TwoFor the tournament, he brought a control-oriented deck containing interesting cards such asI ended the tournament in 7th place, lower than many of the other 3-1 participants because my total health remaining was lower. I think using Rogue that is easy to lose your health due to the high usage of hero weapons affected the result. Maybe it's fun to try to make the deck specializing in not taking damage next time (Warlock is worst hero then).Photo: Shinzaki (front side) announces the final result.It was past 5 pm when the tournament finished. Then Shinzaki starts the open-hand game with strategy discussions which player open their hands and explain their thoughts during the whole game. Observers are also allowed to ask the players what they were curious about.Photo: The participants surrounding tablets to discuss how to playIt was really interesting to listen the other players' thoughts through the discussions. We also had very excited moment when we saw interesting play like "spawningAfter the full enjoyment of Hearthstone, it already went past 8 pm. As it was close to 9 pm, which is time limit of room use, we placed the desks back in the original position then exited the room and go back to home.Although the date of next event isn't decided, Shinzaki said he's going to host this event every other month. When the next event comes, I'd like to participate and report the event.
jubil Profile Joined March 2011 United States 84 Posts #2 Wow, looks like it was a really fun event! Nice surprise to see Priest decks doing well too, I'll have to try it out. Marineking-Polt-Maru-Fantasy-Solar-Xenocider-Suppy fighting!
TiberiusAk Profile Joined August 2011 United States 88 Posts #3
Since you also requested feedback on your English, here it is:
+ Show Spoiler +
Abomination Wild Pyromancer
He brought control-oriented deck for the tournament with a interesting put such as Ironberk Protector,. In his priest deck, minions all have attack 4 withoutso it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
Both of these sentences contain some mistakes that made them a little hard to understand. Similar mistakes can be found in other places in your article, so I picked this part as an example.
In the first sentence "a interesting put" doesn't make sense because "put" is a verb and it's not obvious exactly what its subject and object are. So I'd either replace "put" with a noun like this:
Ironbark Protector Abomination "...with interesting choices such asand."
Or, you could use the verb phrase by adding a subject ("cards") and a preposition to state where the cards are being put, for example:
"...with interesting cards put in the deck such as..."
Since we all know cards are gonna be put in his deck in this context, you could simplify that to:
"...with interesting cards put in such as..." You probably noticed I changed the end of the sentence too. See "lists of things" below for a full explanation.
Now for the second sentence: By "without" did you mean "except"? That is, all his minions other than wild pyromancer had 4 attack? "Without" just means "the absence of" so it sort of implies he took the Pyromancer out, and there were only 4 attack minions left in the deck after that. But given how priest decks work, I assumed Pyro was still in. If so, I'd write the sentence like this:
all minions have 4 attack except for Wild Pyromancer
In his priest deck,so it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
I also swapped the order twice in the part before except because "all minions have 4 attack" sounds slightly more natural to me. I can swap both of them back, but to make it sound right would require a lot more words:
the minions all have an attack of 4 except for Wild Pyromancer
In his priest deck,minions all haveattack4 exceptso it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
Here are two other points of feedback which might help you with this paragraph, and in general:
Lists of Things
You wrote:
Abomination...such as Ironberk Protector,
When writing a list of things, follow this pattern:
A
A and B
A, B, and C *
A, B, C, and D
...etc.
Use a conjunction (for example "and" or "or") when there are two or more things. When there are more than two things, then you start adding commas. A comma alone cannot replace the conjunction.
* + Show Spoiler + I was traditionally trained so I always include it. I think a significant number of English writers drop the last comma (the comma right before the conjunction) so the lists for 3 or more look like "A, B and C". The last comma is known as the "Oxford comma" and sometimes we like to argue about whether it's correct to include it or not.I was traditionally trained so I always include it.
Articles (a, an, and the)
I imagine this is one of the hardest parts of English to learn if you're coming from a language that doesn't have them. A lot of yours were fine but you missed some here and there, so here's a quick explanation. I am not an English teacher, so take this "with a grain of salt", as we say.
First off, here's a chart on how to do it generally:
http://d2uk0r32c70vka.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/article-flowchart.png
Source article (might also be helpful):
I'm not sure how to express the intuition behind English articles, but I'll try. When listening to or reading English, an English speaker always want to know "which one?" for every noun phrase. When I read He brought control-oriented deck I think "which control-oriented deck? Is it one referred to earlier in the article?" If so I'd expect to read He brought the control-oriented deck...just like you correctly did for "the tournament" later in the sentence.
To remove the need for an article, the noun phrase either has to be plural (if it's plural then the presence or lack of "the" tells me if it's a set of decks we've referred to before or not, respectively) or it needs to be so specific that I'm sure which one it is. For example, "He brought Trump's control-oriented deck from the previous tournament" would work because it's a specific deck I could go find. But the phrase "control-oriented" is not specific enough to remove the need for an article.
English is complicated in this way. As Uther likes to say: "I am sorry." Keep it up and you'll get it! I hope my explanations helped.
Thank you again for translating your article for us!
English is my first language and I think I was able to understand the entire thing pretty well overall. (Good work.) I'm just going to focus my feedback on this part:Both of these sentences contain some mistakes that made them a little hard to understand. Similar mistakes can be found in other places in your article, so I picked this part as an example.In the first sentence "a interesting put" doesn't make sense because "put" is a verb and it's not obvious exactly what its subject and object are. So I'd either replace "put" with a noun like this:(Also note the spelling of "Ironbark" there.)Or, you could use the verb phrase by adding a subject ("cards") and a preposition to state where the cards are being put, for example:Since we all know cards are gonna be put in his deck in this context, you could simplify that to:You probably noticed I changed the end of the sentence too. See "lists of things" below for a full explanation.Now for the second sentence: By "without" did you mean "except"? That is, all his minions other than wild pyromancer had 4 attack? "Without" just means "the absence of" so it sort of implies he took the Pyromancer out, and there were only 4 attack minions left in the deck after that. But given how priest decks work, I assumed Pyro was still in. If so, I'd write the sentence like this:I also swapped the order twice in the part before except because "all minions have 4 attack" sounds slightly more natural to me. I can swap both of them back, but to make it sound right would require a lot more words:See "articles" below for more.Here are two other points of feedback which might help you with this paragraph, and in general:You wrote:When writing a list of things, follow this pattern:A and BA, B, and C *A, B, C, and D...etc.Use a conjunction (for example "and" or "or") when there are two or more things. When there are more than two things,you start adding commas. A comma alone cannot replace the conjunction.I imagine this is one of the hardest parts of English to learn if you're coming from a language that doesn't have them. A lot of yours were fine but you missed some here and there, so here's a quick explanation. I am not an English teacher, so take this "with a grain of salt", as we say.First off, here's a chart on how to do it generally:Source article (might also be helpful): https://expertedge.aje.com/2012/06/12/editing-tip-of-the-week-the-basics-of-article-usage/ I'm not sure how to express the intuition behind English articles, but I'll try. When listening to or reading English, an English speaker always want to know "which one?" for every noun phrase. When I readI think "which control-oriented deck? Is it one referred to earlier in the article?" If so I'd expect to read...just like you correctly did for "the tournament" later in the sentence.To remove the need for an article, the noun phrase either has to be plural (if it's plural then the presence or lack of "the" tells me if it's a set of decks we've referred to before or not, respectively) or it needs to be so specific that I'm sure which one it is. For example,would work because it's a specific deck I could go find. But the phrase "control-oriented" is not specific enough to remove the need for an article.English is complicated in this way. As Uther likes to say: "I am sorry." Keep it up and you'll get it! I hope my explanations helped.Thank you again for translating your article for us! Thanks for the write up and photos! Looks like a fun event.Since you also requested feedback on your English, here it is: "I like the new weapon, it's solid removal with a really nice deathrattle in a mech deck. The murloc is a little confusing though, not sure why they thought shamans needed a murloc."
Lancatron Profile Joined October 2010 Canada 1 Post #4 Really fun post to read. I think discussing strategy with other people is my favourite part of the game. Hopefully soon I'll be near some kind of offline meetup. mCg team stream. different member will be streaming on this to get a variety of gameplay. We are not a high level clan as of now, and will be streaming games from members between bronze and platinum for now.
nemuke Profile Joined April 2011 36 Posts #5 On June 28 2014 11:57 TiberiusAk wrote:
Thanks for the write up and photos! Looks like a fun event.
Since you also requested feedback on your English, here it is:
+ Show Spoiler +
Abomination Wild Pyromancer
He brought control-oriented deck for the tournament with a interesting put such as Ironberk Protector,. In his priest deck, minions all have attack 4 withoutso it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
Both of these sentences contain some mistakes that made them a little hard to understand. Similar mistakes can be found in other places in your article, so I picked this part as an example.
In the first sentence "a interesting put" doesn't make sense because "put" is a verb and it's not obvious exactly what its subject and object are. So I'd either replace "put" with a noun like this:
Ironbark Protector Abomination "...with interesting choices such asand."
Or, you could use the verb phrase by adding a subject ("cards") and a preposition to state where the cards are being put, for example:
"...with interesting cards put in the deck such as..."
Since we all know cards are gonna be put in his deck in this context, you could simplify that to:
"...with interesting cards put in such as..." You probably noticed I changed the end of the sentence too. See "lists of things" below for a full explanation.
Now for the second sentence: By "without" did you mean "except"? That is, all his minions other than wild pyromancer had 4 attack? "Without" just means "the absence of" so it sort of implies he took the Pyromancer out, and there were only 4 attack minions left in the deck after that. But given how priest decks work, I assumed Pyro was still in. If so, I'd write the sentence like this:
all minions have 4 attack except for Wild Pyromancer
In his priest deck,so it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
I also swapped the order twice in the part before except because "all minions have 4 attack" sounds slightly more natural to me. I can swap both of them back, but to make it sound right would require a lot more words:
the minions all have an attack of 4 except for Wild Pyromancer
In his priest deck,minions all haveattack4 exceptso it was very effective against Sosui's Priest deck.
Here are two other points of feedback which might help you with this paragraph, and in general:
Lists of Things
You wrote:
Abomination...such as Ironberk Protector,
When writing a list of things, follow this pattern:
A
A and B
A, B, and C *
A, B, C, and D
...etc.
Use a conjunction (for example "and" or "or") when there are two or more things. When there are more than two things, then you start adding commas. A comma alone cannot replace the conjunction.
* + Show Spoiler + I was traditionally trained so I always include it. I think a significant number of English writers drop the last comma (the comma right before the conjunction) so the lists for 3 or more look like "A, B and C". The last comma is known as the "Oxford comma" and sometimes we like to argue about whether it's correct to include it or not.I was traditionally trained so I always include it.
Articles (a, an, and the)
I imagine this is one of the hardest parts of English to learn if you're coming from a language that doesn't have them. A lot of yours were fine but you missed some here and there, so here's a quick explanation. I am not an English teacher, so take this "with a grain of salt", as we say.
First off, here's a chart on how to do it generally:
http://d2uk0r32c70vka.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/article-flowchart.png
Source article (might also be helpful):
I'm not sure how to express the intuition behind English articles, but I'll try. When listening to or reading English, an English speaker always want to know "which one?" for every noun phrase. When I read He brought control-oriented deck I think "which control-oriented deck? Is it one referred to earlier in the article?" If so I'd expect to read He brought the control-oriented deck...just like you correctly did for "the tournament" later in the sentence.
To remove the need for an article, the noun phrase either has to be plural (if it's plural then the presence or lack of "the" tells me if it's a set of decks we've referred to before or not, respectively) or it needs to be so specific that I'm sure which one it is. For example, "He brought Trump's control-oriented deck from the previous tournament" would work because it's a specific deck I could go find. But the phrase "control-oriented" is not specific enough to remove the need for an article.
English is complicated in this way. As Uther likes to say: "I am sorry." Keep it up and you'll get it! I hope my explanations helped.
Thank you again for translating your article for us!
English is my first language and I think I was able to understand the entire thing pretty well overall. (Good work.) I'm just going to focus my feedback on this part:Both of these sentences contain some mistakes that made them a little hard to understand. Similar mistakes can be found in other places in your article, so I picked this part as an example.In the first sentence "a interesting put" doesn't make sense because "put" is a verb and it's not obvious exactly what its subject and object are. So I'd either replace "put" with a noun like this:(Also note the spelling of "Ironbark" there.)Or, you could use the verb phrase by adding a subject ("cards") and a preposition to state where the cards are being put, for example:Since we all know cards are gonna be put in his deck in this context, you could simplify that to:You probably noticed I changed the end of the sentence too. See "lists of things" below for a full explanation.Now for the second sentence: By "without" did you mean "except"? That is, all his minions other than wild pyromancer had 4 attack? "Without" just means "the absence of" so it sort of implies he took the Pyromancer out, and there were only 4 attack minions left in the deck after that. But given how priest decks work, I assumed Pyro was still in. If so, I'd write the sentence like this:I also swapped the order twice in the part before except because "all minions have 4 attack" sounds slightly more natural to me. I can swap both of them back, but to make it sound right would require a lot more words:See "articles" below for more.Here are two other points of feedback which might help you with this paragraph, and in general:You wrote:When writing a list of things, follow this pattern:A and BA, B, and C *A, B, C, and D...etc.Use a conjunction (for example "and" or "or") when there are two or more things. When there are more than two things,you start adding commas. A comma alone cannot replace the conjunction.I imagine this is one of the hardest parts of English to learn if you're coming from a language that doesn't have them. A lot of yours were fine but you missed some here and there, so here's a quick explanation. I am not an English teacher, so take this "with a grain of salt", as we say.First off, here's a chart on how to do it generally:Source article (might also be helpful): https://expertedge.aje.com/2012/06/12/editing-tip-of-the-week-the-basics-of-article-usage/ I'm not sure how to express the intuition behind English articles, but I'll try. When listening to or reading English, an English speaker always want to know "which one?" for every noun phrase. When I readI think "which control-oriented deck? Is it one referred to earlier in the article?" If so I'd expect to read...just like you correctly did for "the tournament" later in the sentence.To remove the need for an article, the noun phrase either has to be plural (if it's plural then the presence or lack of "the" tells me if it's a set of decks we've referred to before or not, respectively) or it needs to be so specific that I'm sure which one it is. For example,would work because it's a specific deck I could go find. |
quite direct: “The problem isn’t that the PFF doesn’t organize enough tournaments for us. The problem’s the PFF.” (Rubina Irfan was unavailable for comment.)
Hina, the coach, holds the ball for Nina Zehri.
Without institutional help, the women have still managed quite a lot. Their core team has been playing together for years, and they identify and recruit talent from the U-16 academy. They are also financially sustainable; the women’s team has a range of activities for revenue. They have an academy, where parents pay a monthly fee to enroll their children, as young as two and as old as sixteen, to train with coaches and senior staff members. The academy provides the club the opportunity to recruit talented footballers onto the senior teams. The club also assists elementary and high schools in the city with their sports programs.
And the team really means a lot to its players. Alina Marri, 19, is a freshman social studies student at a local college. The subjects don’t interest her, and she finds herself drifting, waiting only for the opportunity to play. “I don’t know what else I would do if I didn’t do this,” she tells me. She’s looking to go professional, but isn’t interested in switching teams, and so the idea of playing for the national team seems distant to her.
Nina Zehri, 21, whose diminutive figure belies her powerful shot, didn’t know playing football was an option for women. Despite having always liked the sport, she never properly played until she joined KU. The players are also good friends, and the attitude at training is generally relaxed. (During a free kick drill, the goalkeeper derisively told the wall, “Relax, you guys are flat-chested!”) Three players are employed in some capacity by the club, so both on and off the pitch, soccer has become their lives.
Right now is a kind of purgatory for the players. “As far as we know, we’re registered, but nationals are far away. So we’re trying to hold matches with other teams, but it’s difficult,” says Hussain.
Residents frequently throw things at them.
It must be said that KU’s players come from a select socio-economic group. They speak English to each other, and many have cars and drivers waiting for them outside the ground to take them home once they finish. When asked about class divisions being a factor, the team shifted uncomfortably. “We’re open to players from all backgrounds,” was the official stance, but the team struggled to explain why only one was represented. “The less privileged players are more interested in their individual progression rather than the team’s, and they’re more likely to end up playing for people like Ruby [Rubina Irfan] than for us,” Hussain explained. It’s also harmed their revenue prospects. They approached an energy firm a few years ago for corporate sponsorship, and they were refused. “‘You guys came in cars,’ the sponsor said. ‘Why do you need money?’” a player told me.
I attended an academy session in another residential park. There was a big block of apartments on one side, casting a shadow over the pitch. A player pointed at them and told me the residents frequently throw things at them. “Mostly it’s onions. But we’ve also had sharper things and medicine bottles.”
Alina Marri (foreground) and Khadija Kazmi (background) race against each other in an obstacle course drill.
They train more centrally in the park as a precaution. Khadija trained the U-12s, Mashal the U-16s. The U-12s went over the basics. “You could be a great player, but not be in a great team,” Khadija told the girls. “The key is passing and making space. Why is making space important?” A few raised their hands. “Because it allows your players to run in that space, and makes it difficult for your opponent to get the ball from you.”
The U-16s were running a basic drill where four girls in a square would simultaneously pass multiple balls to each other without breaking the pattern, sort of like collective juggling. But it wasn’t working very well, and Hussain was getting frustrated. “Don’t say sorry,” she reprimanded a girl who fluffed her pass. “Sorry doesn’t do anything. Correct your form. Do it properly, otherwise there’s no point.” Towards the end of the session, a few U-16 boys came to play a practice match with the girls. Hussain played, and the girls beat them handily. “It doesn’t count when we score. It’s slightly unfair,” Hussain said.
She had originally told me that the club’s purpose wasn’t to make professionals or to be the best football club there is, but soccer is simply a means to “empower women. It’s there so that women know that this is also something they can do.”
That is true, but it also serves a more basic purpose. Back at their own training, a player lined up and took a powerful free kick that bent and ended in the top left corner, leaving the keeper stranded, and the rest of the players, and myself, in awe. Playing soccer is the end itself.Another October and it's another London anarchist book fair. It's the biggest event internationally of its kind with dozens of stalls and meetings and thousands of people going through the doors. Most years at least three groups travel over from Ireland for it, WSM, Rag and Organise! and both WSM and RAG use it to launch new issues of their respective magazines. I spent last weekend at the bookfair (perhaps the 8th London one I have attended) this blog is a mixture of notes taken at the time,some thoughts edited in afterwards and the news of a police infiltrator discovered in the moved in Britain.
I'm starting drafting this blog at Dublin airport, laden down with about 30kg of the Irish Anarchist Review 2. This is the new WSM magazine, we aim to have it out twice a year to conincideIt should be 34 kg but we were 7kg over weight so I crammed another 3 kg into my hand luggage and had to abandon 100. The excess baggage which would have cost 100 euro and still needed up to abandon 2kg didn't seem like a good use of resources at 2e per copy ( print cost 33c)
Such are the logistics of international travel, book fairs and the shift to the free distribution model. Printing 3000 copies of a magazine with the aim of doing mass distribution at the Dublin and London book fairs seems fine until you get to the point of how the hell do you get a pallet with 60 bundles on it to London. You don't is the answer, the surviving 15 of the 17 bundles we packed this morning will have to do, hopefully some of the other 4 WSM members traveling over will have picked up more.
I've been going to the London anarchist book fair since some point in the early 1990's when in used to be held in the Conway hall in Red Lion square. It's long outgrown that venue but I'm nostalgic for that odd Victorian building and it's radical humanism shoved into a hidden square at the edge of the modern city. If you ever happen to find yourself in Holborn it's worth walking the five or so minutes from the Tube to have a peek inside if it's open. Back then it seemed impossibly huge but today the Dublin bookfair occupies more floorspace, something that was unimaginable in the 1990's when our biggest events might have attracted 60 people rather than the 800 to a 1000 or today.
The London book fair has moved at least a couple of times, this year as with the last few it has been in Queen Mary college in the east end. Location wise this is my least favourites of all the venues as the surrounding area is pretty sterile (Update- my fault for never really checking our where I actually way, see below). My favourite was the Holloway road venue mostly because just down the road was a giant Weatherspoons, the Cornet, in an old Edwardian cinema where the seating had been stripped out leaving a vast cavernous space with a bar running down the length of one side enough space in fact for 40 guest taps in addition to the standard beers that were sold. The last bookfair I was in 2006 when they had 40 half kegs of Halloween themed ales, by 5 in the afternoon thirsty book fair participants had drained everyone of them dry.
The previous year which i had missed the Cornet had been the scene of a mini riot when some dope had insisted on playing their boom box inside, the cops had been called and a small fraca had broken out on the pavement outside. This quickly passed into legend with people taking strident positions on one side or another mostly because it offered them an opportunity to moan.
There is generally some drama in the wings at every book fair. One year some daft 3rd positionist fascist thought it was a bright idea to take stroll through and took a beating for his foolishness. At one of my first book fairs I was part of a group that was trying to prevent an idiot author taking a beating at the bookfair from someone he had slandered. This year is no different, the Thursday night before the bookfair indymedia.uk published the news that it had been discovered that Mark Kennedy/Stone, a long time and central activist in the more Eco end of the movement, had been exposed as a secret policeman who had spent 9 or 10 years in deep cover. Bets are that he is from the Hairy Squad, a nickname for the section of the secret police who undertake such long term infiltration of the left. Last year another of them was exposed who had infiltrated the CWI and Youth Against Racism in Europe. This sort of thing has to be expected from time to time, after all we know the political police exist and we know part of what they do is infiltration so when you don't know who the infiltrator is you still have to assume they are there somewhere without becoming mad paranoid. In retrospect this guy seems a little obvious, lot of money with no particularly visible means of generating it but also seems to have made himself indispensable through having a van (and you always need someone with a van) and being a cool head in tense situations. That second thing being easy enough when you know your not facing a prison sentence or whatever should things go wrong.
I recognized his picture instantly although I can't quite place from where, I feel I probably saw him a few times. He stayed with people I know and was around at least a couple of things I was centrally involved in the organising of including the Mayday 2004 EU summit protest in Dublin. Curiously he was also down in Rossport at least once which raises some interesting questions about quite how much the Irish state and secret police were aware of this foreign agent on their soil. I'm guessing there must have been some international cop cooperation going on here through Interpol or something similar.
I'm now drafting this section of the blog on the flight to London, I'm sure I'll here some more details of just what was up with this guy over the next 36 hours. It's obvious from reading the indymedia thread that a number of those who he know him years are seriously wounded by the whole thing. There is however an inevitability about all this, if you are doing anything right than the state through the secret police will try and infiltrate and disrupt you and from time to time, as here, they are likely to succeed. In most cases paranoia about infiltration can do a lot more damage than the infiltration itself although this guy does seem to have managed to disrupt a couple of very significant actions.
Getting to London we spent our traditional first night in some London Irish pub that time forgot - I'm not quite sure why but this always seems to happen. This time it was one decked out with a huge volume of Celtic memorabilia as well as three cats and one dog. Much of the discussion was about the recent revelations and their implications.
Next morning it was off to the bookfair itself. We rapidly got the WSM stall set up beside RAG and I spent most of the rest of the day in 5 to 10 minutes 'what have you been up to for the last year' conversations. Apart from that I caught the very end of a meeting on the PIIGS and almost all of the meeting on rebuilding the workers movement, the notes I jotted down on what was being said at the time are below
Notes from Rebuilding the Workers movement meeting
This is just nots on what people were saying, its not a record of everything said and it doesn't indicate I necessarily agree with what was said. Some of the contribution are speakers disagreeing with each other.
- Looking at doing stuff around 2012, 1911 Liverpool strike, 1913 in Dublin to remind people of radical history that it wasn't always top down. Donnacha, Vice President of the National Union of Journalists, says there is likely to be massive strike in BBC with a dispute led by shop stewards in opposition to the stealing of pension funds.
- Shop Stewards Network - syndicalism has only really kicked off this year, it's been pretty riven the last couple of years with SP v SWP infighting with SWP setting up Right to Work campaign as a rival when they didn't get their way. Various libertarians are building a syndicalist faction as the alternative to this infighting.
- Want to do a membership audit of the SSN, 300 at AGM, want to build up activist base as opposed to lobbying for big demos. The syndicalists opposed the SWP call for general strike at steering group. SP supported SWP in vote. Syndicalists feel the need is to focus on building work that enables us to build power.
- Cuts and need to build base means there is a space that hasn't been there for a while in the unuons particularly with labour out of power.
- Shop Stewards need to look in two directions, one of which is radicalising rank and file. Slow can be dangerous as people being made unemployed. Unions committed to partnership for 20 years, SWP / SP right that Labour shift to left opens up opportunity.
- Need to listen as much as speak but need to undermine legality view of membership. Would be stupid of government to make strikes more illegal as there would be more illegal strikes.
- Three fronts of struggle, workplaces, community and co-ops.
- Thatcher brought riots back onto the street
- Spanish general strike didn't paralyze country need to look at French model, General Strike now would bring it the idea into disrepute, rank & file not looking for General Strike, can't be just created by activists shouting slogans.
- Unions making noise now as going to lose huge numbers of members by public sector layoffs.
- While the unions do support privatised workers but fail to do so when protection runs out after 3 years and lose members then, some of which can't afford tenner a month subs. Before the Great Unrest there was 20 or 30 tears of kept ideas fermenting that went into it including tradition of fighting back. Many places now don't even have union noticeboards.
- Need class struggle agitation to build audience for syndicalist ideas - workers have to be looking for answers
- Are we talking of building union membership or worker militancy?
- Fundamential problem is that people see these two as separate rather than part of the same process
- Issue is that some of Tory rhetoric about community management sounds OK it's just we know that they are lying. Labour Party responses are rubbish
- Lack of exchange of skills as part of formal conference process in a problem, too much about ideas.
- Training is the key, left parties too keen on standing out as left & radical, lack Labour Notes type stuff where workers will come together for training.
- Example of recent community invasion of council meeting in Stockport to stop baths being closed, but occupation ended once police called as most present had no experience of that sort of confrontation.
----
I found the discussion around the call for a general strike quite provoking. On the one hand I'm quite familar with just how annoying the SWP can be with their calls for action of various sorts being rhetorical without much consideration of implementation. On the other I think there was a failure to recognise how fast things change when there is an offensive of this scale from the bosses and as importantly how quickly demoralisation will set in unless there is succesful resistance. In Ireland we quite rapidly moved to the situation where a national strike was not only realistic but actually happened even if just for one day and restricted to the public sector. The problem, and it was talked about in this discussion that on its own even that is not enough as was demonstrated by the recent general strike in Spain.
As with the Dublin bookfair a lot of organisation and planning goes into the meetings. With the London bookfair the (over worked) organizers really only make rooms available, co-ordinate who gets which room when and then prepare a program that lists the meetings. They do organize a couple of big name meetings but otherwise this means quite a lot of the meetings tend to be poorly prepared for, little more than meandering chats about whatever the topic is. It's not true of all the meetings but its true of enough to mean that generally I don't bother trying to get to many of them.
We distributed the 800 copies of Irish Anarchist Review 2 that we had brought over along with dozens of back issues of our paper and issue 1 by four o'clock, well before the bookfair closed. We were not even particularly organised, I reckon if we got our act together next year 1500 would be a reasonable distribution target.
Post bookfair it was pints in the Weatherspoons, followed by a curry in Brick Lane (for some reason I never realised Brick Lane was right next to Freedom press in the 20 years I've been doing there. I blame a tendency to substitute the Tube for navigation, since I started to use the bus network thus summer I've been linking up all the islands that London used to be composed of). Then off to Freedom press for a last couple of cans before I headed home and a few brave souls headed off into the night in the search for a party that was supposedly underway in a squatted ex police station. I was informed the next day that by the time they found it all that was present was "three dead hippies and two sleeping dogs."
I spent the next day wandering around the Brick Lane and Cumberland Road flower markets in the morning, complete with a Bloody Mary in a market bar. I was last in Brick lane which squatting 20 years back in nearby Old Street. Back then it had a seriously dodgy vibe with stuff being sold out of the back of vans that was "so hot its burning me" and a regular National Front (fascist) paper sale. The NF were driven out by AFA in the 90's and (co-incidentally I presume) since then the area has seriously improved, perhaps a little too much. Now its all food stalls and the modern version of arts & crafts stalls (eg stylish t-shirts, lamp shades etc) although it still has the traditional stretch where people sell their junk on the pavement. The junk has also gone upmarket and a large percentage of the sellers are now Chinese. It's quite strange seeing a space quite as transformed between those two visits 20 years apart, where both the structure of the buildings and the purpose they are being put to is almost unchanged.
So another year and another bookfair under my belt. As with every year I come away wishing I'd had more time to talk to people, there were at least 3 people I had very brief conversations with thinking I'd meet them later but whom I missed. I'm also thinking I should spend some more time politically in London, its really not that far from Dublin and I could travel over a few times a year. Dublin of late is feeling a little small.There’s a pretty damning quote from a former Nixon policy advisor in an essay arguing for drug legalization recently published in Harper’s.
The author, Dan Baum, opens the piece with a scene: he finds John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s former domestic policy advisor, working at an engineering firm in Atlanta in 1994. Baum, who is researching drug prohibition politics, starts to ask him “earnest, wonky” questions, before Ehrlichman snaps and gives him this elucidating quote:
“You want to know what this was really all about?” he asked with the bluntness of a man who, after public disgrace and a stretch in federal prison, had little left to protect. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
When Baum looked shocked to hear that, he writes. Ehrlichman simply shrugged.
But perhaps he shouldn’t have been shocked. It has long been known that the Nixon administration invented the war on drugs, as Julianne Escobedo Shepard writes at Jezebel, and that the policy has largely failed to help people. Instead, it has incarcerated hundreds of thousands of Americans (mostly black and Latino), and fueled the demand for drugs produced outside the US, most notably in Mexico, where it has fueled horrific violence.
One word in Baum’s quote is particularly telling: “criminalizing.” Here, Ehrlichman admits that drug prohibition was a tool to create criminality in black and leftist communities where there otherwise wouldn’t be.
Other countries have created or considered policies to undo this dynamic. Ireland, for example, decriminalized pot, cocaine, and heroin last year, arguing that addiction is a healthcare issue and not a policy issue. In Mexico, one state governor has suggested legalizing opium in order to give local farmers a legal alternative to illicit opium poppy cultivation.
Baum writes about the Netherlands as an example of a country where drug legalization has worked. And indeed, the Netherlands has been closing jails because it doesn’t have enough criminals. It’s a nice problem to have—and one unlikely to happen anytime soon in the US’s entrenched prison industrial complex.TODAY: There’s another potential wrinkle, per Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links): Chapman needs 138 days of service next year to reach the six seasons required for free agency. It’s at least hypothetically plausible that he could fall shy if he faced a lengthy suspension.
Rosenthal also details the league’s plans for the investigation, which will include an interview with Chapman, and the difficult questions that the commissioner’s office will face in assessing the matter.
Meanwhile, the prospective trade of Chapman to the Dodgers is not on hold due to any investigatory action by the league, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Los Angeles is “undecided” on how to handle the possible transaction, he adds.
YESTERDAY, 11:42pm: A team that had contact with Cincinnati was left with the impression that Chapman “might have injured a hand” in the incident in question, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Obviously, it’s hard to judge the level of concern with that information without knowing which hand and what might have occurred, but the news adds to an already-stunning turn of events.
10:32pm: The Red Sox were in talks on Chapman in November before learning about the incident through a background check, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. Boston was exploring deals for both Chapman and Craig Kimbrel at the time, says Speier, and turned its attention exclusively toward the latter after finding out about the allegations.
10:10pm: C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer has Jocketty’s full quote, on Twitter: “We’ve talked to several clubs. I notified all of them tonight that we’d step back a couple of weeks or whatever it takes.”
9:28pm: Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty says that a trade of Chapman may be delayed by several weeks, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. That’s certainly far from the most important element of this story, of course. But a delay in completing a transaction also seems to represent only the minimum potential impact on Chapman’s marketability.
For one thing, any club would obviously want to know if a player being acquired will face disciplinary action. Notably, we’ve yet to hear anything on the situation of Reyes, whose arrest was reported about a month ago, suggesting that the process won’t be swift.
Quite apart from any suspension or fine, moreover, the disturbing report could well come with broader ramifications for Chapman’s future if the alleged facts are supported by the investigation. And that’s probably true whether or not he is ultimately charged in relation to the incident.
8:54pm: Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was allegedly involved in a serious domestic dispute in late October, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown and Jeff Passan report. The outlet says that it obtained police records relating to the matter.
According to those reports, says Yahoo, Chapman’s girlfriend told investigating officers that he “choked” her and pushed her against a wall. Chapman is also alleged to have discharged a handgun into the garage of his home.
There were no arrests in the incident. Chapmans attorney, Jay Reisinger, said in a statement to Yahoo that he and his client “vehemently deny the allegations as stated.”
The incident is the reason that a reported trade this morning to the Dodgers has been held up, according to Yahoo. Cincinnati has been aware of the matter “for some time,” Passan adds in an interview on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Major league baseball will investigate the matter, Brown and Passan further report.
An investigation obviously appears to be warranted under the new domestic violence protocol put in place between the league and the player’s association. Commissioner Rob Manfred can issue any punishment deemed appropriate “in light of the severity of the conduct,” after an investigation. Notably, neither criminal conviction nor a guilty plea are required to support the imposition of discipline.
The commissioner’s office is said already to be investigating fellow high-profile players Jose Reyes and Yasiel Puig under the domestic violence policy.1 Get a blank piece of paper. It is recommended that you use graph paper, but any paper will do.
2 Draw some sort of monster on it, but don't fill up the page. I highly recommend to use a pencil so you can erase when he gets hurt. If you have a pen, That is fine.
3 Give it a name and a health bar.
4 Draw one or two smaller characters. You can make them up yourself.
5 Give your character(s) a name and some health bars. Write a 100 above each health bar.
6 Draw a magic bar or a power bar or whatever you feel like.
7 Think up some attacks for your characters, and a few for the boss too. They should do varying amounts of damage.The strong ones use magic.
8 Have one of your characters attack. Subtract the attack value from the enemy
9 Have the characters take turns attacking. You can play with your characters on the same team, or you can have all three go at it.
10 Once the boss is down to zero health, you have advanced to Level 2. Reward yourself by unlocking something like Power Armor or Fire Arrow or a new character. One idea is that every level you unlock a Fusion ability, which lets you merge two characters into one.With a beep, a buzz and a whir — and maybe even a little sizzle — the world’s first fully-automatic hamburger machine can prepare, cook and serve a perfect custom-made burger without a single human hand being involved.
A San Francisco startup is taking the Silicon Valley attitude into the fast food market and hoping to revolutionize what they call “the most labour intensive industry in the country.”
Featuring glass tubes filled with lettuce and tomatoes, a meat-grinder, bun slicer, oven and bagger, the alpha machine is part Rube Goldberg, part Jetsons and promises to be the first step in burger evolution since McDonald’s proliferated around the world.
It can produce a custom-made, freshly ground burger, baked to order at a rate of 400 per hour. The machine will add the requested toppings, slicing tomatoes directly onto the burger, and pop out a neatly-wrapped sandwich ready for human consumption.
The makers, Momentum Machines, claim that their invention “does everything employees can do except better.”WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s once improbable campaign may be on the verge of taking him all the way to the Republican nomination, as polls show him poised to deliver a crushing blow in Indiana on Tuesday to his strongest remaining rival, Ted Cruz.
The polls have been wrong before in the volatile Republican presidential contest, especially in Iowa, where Trump wound up losing to Cruz in a surprise result.
But if the Indiana surveys hold true, Trump will notch his seventh victory in a row and roll within reach of the delegates he needs to clinch the nomination — and possibly avert a messy, contested convention.
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“If we win in Indiana, it’s over,” Trump said Monday during a rally in Indiana. Of his rivals, he added, “They’re finished. They’re gone. They’re gone. They have no path. Whereas, I have a very easy path.”
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A CNN poll released Monday found that 91 percent of Republicans across the country believe that Trump will be their party’s nominee. But some 49 percent of those surveyed said the party will not unite after the bloody civil war over Trump’s aggressive and controversial campaign.
Even while Trump has expanded his vote totals and made inroads in winning over members of the GOP elite, his problems with party officials and delegate rules continued Monday. In New Hampshire, state GOP officials attempted to fill eight convention committee slots with non-Trump delegates, even though Trump won the state decisively.
On the Democratic side of Indiana’s vote Tuesday, Hillary Clinton held a small lead in polls and was in line to edge another step toward clinching the nomination, despite continued protestations from Bernie Sanders. Clinton also announced a large fund-raising haul for the month of April, for the first time this year surpassing Sanders in their monthly totals.
Cruz, who has said Indiana is crucial for his campaign, has blitzed the state over the last week. But in a bit of bad luck that produced a widely aired video clip, Carly Fiorina, his would-be vice president, fell off a stage after introducing Cruz and his wife. (She was uninjured during the Sunday spill.)
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Cruz later confronted Trump supporters in a testy exchange during a stop at a restaurant. “Do the math!” one yelled at him, alluding to him having no shot at winning the nomination outright. “Are you Canadian?” another asked. As Cruz attempted to explain shifts Trump has made on immigration, a man repeatedly shouted, “Lyin’ Ted!”
“Donald Trump is deceiving you,” Cruz told the man. “He is playing you for a chump.”
Cruz vowed to compete “to the end’’ even if he loses Indiana, although most observers believe losing Indiana would be the end. If Trump wins the state, he will be on track to secure the 1,237 pledged delegates needed to lock down the nomination after the last big batch of primary ballots are cast June 7.
Cruz attempted to inject a sense of excitement into his campaign last week by picking Fiorina as a running mate — a highly unusual move for someone trailing badly in a nominating race. It seemed only moderately more effective in stirring media attention than a short-lived, muddled pact with third-place Republican John Kasich to divvy up states in an effort to block Trump.
Cruz also attempted to endear himself last week to basketball-crazed Indiana voters by holding a rally in the gym where the iconic sports movie “Hoosiers” was filmed. But while quoting from a scene in the movie, Cruz referred to the hoop as a “ring.”
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Trump last week won the endorsement of Bobby Knight, the beloved former Indiana University basketball coach, and on Monday he was backed by Gene Keady, the former longtime coach of the state’s other basketball powerhouse, Purdue University.
Cruz gained the endorsement Friday of the state’s governor, Mike Pence, but Trump has led consistently in polls. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll released on Sunday had Trump up 15 points over Cruz. The poll also found the Cruz-Kasich alliance had backfired: 58 percent of people said they did not like their bargain.
At this stage, Trump, with 996 delegates, is the only candidate remaining with a shot at winning the nomination outright. Of the 57 delegates in Indiana, 30 go to the statewide winner; the rest are allotted by congressional district. If Trump captures them all, he would need just 41 percent of the remaining delegates available on the primary calendar to win the nomination.
“It really is like dominos around the winner,” said Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign and is now the senior political strategist at the US Chamber of Commerce. “Once they start falling you can’t stop it. Winning breeds more winning. And that’s what Trump is showing.”
Clinton, meanwhile, has built up a sizable delegate lead over her rival in the Democratic contest, collecting 2,165 to Sanders’s 1,357, according to the Associated Press delegate tracker. A candidate needs 2,383 votes to secure the Democratic nomination.
Clinton outraised Sanders in the money race for the first time in 2016. The former secretary of state brought in about $26.4 million for her primary campaign in April, according to her campaign. Sanders raised $25.8 million in the same month, a steep drop from his March haul of $44 million.
Yet Sanders remains defiant even as he acknowledged Sunday that he faces a “tough road” to winning the nomination.
“The convention will be a contested contest,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Washington before heading to campaign in Indiana. He urged so-called superdelegates — the elected and other party leaders who are free to back the candidate of their choice — to shift their support to him from Clinton.
“When you have poll after poll nationally saying that Sanders can defeat Trump by in some cases a much greater margin than Clinton, I think it is worth paying attention to that,” Sanders said.
Yet Sanders would need to convert a dramatic number of superdelegates to his cause — far more than President Obama persuaded to ditch Clinton to clinch the nomination in 2008. Currently, only 39 superdelegates have pledged support to Sanders, while more than 500 back Clinton.
Sanders is hoping to notch another win Tuesday in Indiana, but even if he does, Clinton will still win a large number of delegates because Democrats award them proportionally.
“I think it’s going to be a close call... but I think she’s going to pull it out,” said Katie Blair, a women’s rights activist from Indianapolis who is volunteering with the Clinton campaign.”
She called Sanders’ vow to stay in the race “unfortunate.”
“Math is math. He doesn’t have the numbers,” she said. “I feel like what he’s doing is really dividing the party and I hope he gives it up soon before it’s more divisive. We need to start on the real threat, which I think is Trump.”
James Pindell of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Matt Viser can be reached at matt.viser@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mviserWe've heard of blogs paying writers based on pageviews before, but never print publications doling out bonuses based on clicks. However, rumors on the web Thursday report that USA Today will be doing just that.
Big Lead Sports referenced a conference call in which the pageviews-equals-pay idea was outlined. Those are basically all the details available. Gannett Blog (an insider blog about the media company) founder and former USA Today reporter Jim Hopkins told Jim Romenesko at Poynter: "This tracks with something I was told earlier, about reporters getting trained on using Omniture so they can track traffic on their stories."
As we said, this info is rather thin. We're reached out to USA Today and Gannett for comment.
Update: Jim Romenesko received the following comment from Ed Cassidy, USA Today's vice president of communications and event marketing: "Jim, USA TODAY has and continues to consider bonuses based on page views but nothing has been decided at this time."
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, shulzAmerican Men Are Still Being Arrested for Sodomy
Thirteen years after the Supreme Court struck down antisodomy laws, some Southern officials plead ignorance of the ruling.
Imagine you are a young man alone in a park. Another man approaches you. He flirts with you. You flirt back, flattered that the handsome stranger likes you. He asks you to come back to his place. When you accept the invitation, he slaps handcuffs on your wrists and says you are under arrest.
Yes, it’s unlawful for police to arrest someone for being gay, but it still happens.
In its landmark ruling Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that antisodomy laws —sometimes referred to as “crimes against nature” laws — are unconstitutional. But 12 states, including Louisiana, continue to keep such laws on their books.
You may believe antisodomy laws are not harmful because they can’t be enforced. But they are an important symbol of homophobia for those who oppose LGBT rights. What’s more, the laws create ambiguity for police officers, who may not be aware they are unconstitutional.
If a policeman looks it up, he will see that sodomy is a violation of Louisiana state law, according to Marjorie Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana.
“So if you [are a police officer] and haven’t been trained to know that this is no longer enforceable, you [may] think you have basis to arrest someone,” Esman says.
One example includes a string of about a dozen undercover arrests by East Baton Rouge Parish police targeting gay men in a park. The arrests, which stretched over a 10 year period until 2013, demonstrate how problematic state laws can be when they contradict court rulings.
“Cops would sit in public parks in unmarked cars, propositioning [men] for sex, then when the men agreed, the police would arrest them for attempted crimes against nature,” says Matt Patterson, managing director of Equality Louisiana. “People were being arrested for agreeing to have sex in private at a future time.”
Despite the arrests, the charges were dropped because they were not enforceable.
In a separate 2015 incident, two men were arrested in Baton Rouge for having sex in a car parked in a public park after hours |
welcomes the name change but confirms that the local Vietnamese community will keep protesting until the imagery of Ho Chi Minh is removed from the restaurant’s advertising. “I think we will do so,” he says. “I would like to speak with her rather than protest, but right now it looks like she doesn’t want to talk to me.”(Image: Harvard's Wyss Institute)
Discs of souped-up filter paper could change how we diagnose infections. To demonstrate the power of the approach, which involves embedding DNA from jellyfish and other organisms into paper, its developers have successfully used it to identify two strains of Ebola.
Although far from being ready for testing in west Africa, paper discs that detect the virus are being developed for potential use as a cheap, simple method to identify infected people.
“It’s a platform for a new class of diagnostics, and a very clear and important practical extension of synthetic biology, opening up a whole generation of new technologies for diagnosis,” says Jim Collins of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
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The key to the technology is the ability to print sequences of DNA on paper, then freeze-dry and store the discs at room temperature. The DNA is reactivated by adding water. Once active, it enables the paper to change colour if a chosen target – such as a segment of Ebola viral RNA – is present in the water.
Test the rainbow
The target fragment binds to a gene switch in the DNA, which triggers the production of a colourful substance such as the protein that gives jellyfish a green glow under ultraviolet light, or proteins from bacteria that produce colour changes visible to the naked eye. The colour the paper changes to indicates which of the target pathogens has been detected.
“We’re extending the concept of litmus paper to biochemical reactions, putting the power of molecular biology onto paper,” says Collins. “It’s actually very easy.”
Keith Pardee, a colleague of Collins, improved the test by inserting tailor-made gene switches that prevent any colour change happening unless a very specific target molecule is present. Called toeholds, the synthetic switches enabled the paper to simultaneously test for 24 distinct regions of viral RNA – many more than would have been possible using only naturally occurring DNA sequences. This provided a means to distinguish between a synthetic version of the Zaire strain of Ebola – the one responsible for the west African epidemic – and a synthetic version of another known as the Sudan strain.
The test identified the strains within 30 minutes, rivalling the speed of more expensive and complex tests that use antibodies. Collins estimates it cost just $21 to develop the litmus sensor – the cost of buying the sequences of DNA that detect the viral RNA. The whole thing took just 12 hours to assemble.
Printing molecules
By making the DNA circuits “in house” instead, the cost could come down to just 2 to 4 cents per sensor. “It’s the order of pennies,” says Collins. “The advantages we’re bringing include low cost, no refrigeration needed and fast output,” he says.
More work is needed to refine the tests so that they can detect tinier amounts of target molecule, and ensure the rates of false positives and negatives meet the standards required for diagnostic tests.
“The beauty of it is that it’s going back to a biological version of litmus,” says Paul Freemont of Imperial College London. He is head of a team currently developing a similar type of test that identifies Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that often causes infections in people with cystic fibrosis. “The work on Ebola is really cool, and will open up the opportunities for developing these biosensors,” he says.
“Potentially, it’s wonderful, but it’s one thing to do it in the lab and quite another to manufacture it up to the standards required for it to work in real situations,” says Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She points out that the test would have to have a very low rate of false positives to avoid putting healthy people at risk of picking up diseases from other, genuinely infected people.
As well as identifying the Ebola strains, Collins and his colleagues have made other tests that detect genes from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And because the molecular circuitry can also be printed into fabrics, there is potential to add these to bandages and clothing worn by medical staff, which would change colour on contact with superbugs.
Journal reference: Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.10.004 and Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.10.002Written by: Remi Aubuchon
Directed by: Greg Beeman
WARNING: SPOILERS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN. IF HEARING SPOILERS MAKES YOU WANT TO RUN OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND SCREAM "WHY LORD WHY!!!?!?!?!?" INTO THE SKIES (FALLING OR NOT) THEN DO NOT READ THIS BLOG!!!!
Whew! The finale has aired. Ten short episodes which spooled out in just a few short weeks... And yet it was months and months of my life, often very intense, tension-filled, exciting and often sleep-depived months.
As a matter of fact - this week I begin shooting the next season of FALLING SKIES - with an equally daunting mind-blowing task in front of me.... But I digress.
It was great that Remi Aubuchon wrote this script (along with Thompson and Weddle.) He had been doing amazing work behind the scenes and had re-written large parts of many episodes. So it was fitting that the finale was his. He was around for all of prep and all of the shoot and that was a lot of fun.
It was a beast to bring in though.
I've done my fair share of Season Openers and Season Finales over the years. And they differ significantly. Usually with season openers, you get the script nice and early and have plenty of time to prep it. The downside is that openers are heavily scrutinized from the writing of the first outline, shooting and right through post. The scrutiny and second guessing can make openers painful. Finales happen much faster and are not as scrutinized because you are already in the machine of getting a show out week after week doesn't leave time for that. But usually the scripts come in late and there's not enough time to react and so the budget crisis happens bigger and faster.
Anyway - this one was like that. Painful. And I was TIRED. And so was the whole crew. And we'd been doing hard nights in the cold Canadian winter for a long time. For me, personally, this one was definitely like stumbling through the finish line, exhausted.
What was exciting creatively was the culmination of a few exciting storylines that had been developing all season. Red-Eye and the skitter rebels appear and make their plans known. Ben returns, matured and stronger. Anne is pregnant. And we got another tasty taste of Jessy Schram as the evil Karen.
Before I begin in earnest, though, I must acknowledge another fallen comrade... Peter Shinkoda, who has been on FALLING SKIES since the pilot as Dai. Peter is a great guy, and when word of his demise in the script came out, the cast and crew took it very hard. He is a fun person, a hard worker, and we will all really miss him a lot.
As a director, the most exciting and challenging scene to design was the skitter battle, where a swarm of rebel skitters pour into the room and fight the skitters loyal to the invading overlords. The battle between red-eye and the overlord and read eye's death are also a part of that. In the early concept meetings, when we had only an outline - the crew asked me - what's that going to be like. I smirked, as I do, and said "Did you ever see Peter Jackson's KING KONG, when Kong battled the T-Rex in the swinging vines. It's gonna be like that!" I was joking, because that, of course is ridiculously out of our budget range. But it got me thinking, and I started to imagine a battle that was done in very few shots, very chaotic, and that the Overlord/Red-Eye fight would be done with both a lot of character and camera movement, but mostly in one shot.
As I conceived of this sequence, I tried to imagine it in as few shots as possible. I also referenced, for the crew, BRAVEHEART -- when Mel Gibson's character comes out of his tent in the middle of an ongoing battle. That's how I saw Tom coming into the fight.
Some of this was pragmatic - because I knew we didn't have the money for unlimited VFX shots, and so skipping over the entrance of the skitters into the room was important. Also VFX shots are bid out on a shot-by-shot basis - so one very long shot, even if it's super complex is cheaper than a series of many shots.
We were filming in February in Canada in the middle of a gigantic metal grain silo. It was freezing outside, but the metal silo was unheated and it was actually colder inside than out. We were in that place for two hard nights filming until 4 or 5 in the morning. It was SO brutal, and I was SO tired... as was everyone else too!
But, because the script had come in very late, and because of the huge budget battles we had approaching production - I hadn't had time to storyboard the sequence as we normally would. Everyone knew more-or-less what I wanted to do, but no one knew for sure. And as we finally got to the action-packed part of the scene, I started describing it, and Curt Miller, our visual effects supervisor came up to me and said - "How is ZOIC going to know what you want, if we have no storyboards, and all we are going to film is a pass with the camera waving around across empty walls and then panning to Noah. How will they know where to put all the skitters?"
I was blank-faced and said, "What do you suggest?"
He said, "Well maybe we need to get the crew to act it out and film that as a reference."
Something about that idea, at three in the morning in a G*dd#mn, cold-ass silo cheered me up... Because I could already imagine how ridiculous it would look - and ridiculous things make me happy. So we grabbed every P.A. (production assistant), and assistant director and any willing crew member and I started running around an assigning them roles. "You're a rebel skitter, you come from here..." "You you're a loyal skitter you come from here. You two run together leap in the air and clash in mid-air." Then I ran to the next guy and the next guy giving them all assignments. To make it better everyone was wearing dorky-looking safety vests and hardhats. I chose to play the overlord. Curt played red-eye and Noah Wyle continued to play Tom.
Everyone got super into it and, just as I hoped, when the whole thing came together, it was super ridiculous. PA's were leaping around and flailing there arms like claws, and falling on the ground dead and so on. I remember, Remi was very amused and delighted by the whole thing, as were all the cast on the sidelines.
After we filmed it and ZOIC said it was actually very helpful, if not vital that we did that.
There are some rouge videos out there of the "Battle of the P.A.'s" as I ended up calling it. God I hope one of them makes it to YouTube someday.
There is another moment in the episode that I am very proud of... Right towards the end, when Drew Roy, as Hal, wakes up and goes to the mirror.... And an eye bug, much like the one in Tom early in the season appears and crawls into his ear. I love this short scene and am very proud of it.
As I've been saying, the prep was very short and incomplete - and we were all tired and running on fumes... I had a strong impression of what I wanted to do in this scene, but must confess that it was just an impression and I hadn't really discussed much with anyone. I had the room, I had Drew and I knew the eye-bug was CGI... I didn't discuss much else.
As we got into the scene (I think it was the third scene we'd shot that day, and there would be two more after we finished it) I started directing Drew on how I though he should sit up and walk and act - and suddenly he, and cinematographer Nate Goodman started asking a lot of questions. I then realized I hadn't ever discussed my plans much.
I blurted out - I want this scene eerie. Like a Stanley Kubrick scene in THE SHINING or 2001: A SPACE ODDESY. I want it methodical and slow. But I had, out of habit, been setting up the scene in our usual hand-held style. Nate said - "If that's what you want - why don't we just go for it? Let's put the camera on the dolly, and make the composition very centered and symmetrical
and then push in with the dolly very slowly. Nate lit it in a very Kubrick-like way, and then, also, put a very greenish lightbulb in the mirror that Hal looked into, so that when the light came on he would look green and creepy.
We scrambled to throw all of this together and as it came together in the director's monitor I got very excited. And, even though I directed Drew very specfically as to how to sit up and how slowly to walk... His performance in close-up in the mirror was unexpected and surprising and great! Suddenly sweet Drew turned into "Evil Hal" and it was awesome! The take in the show is take one. I did one more take - but Drew nailed it on take one.
And to top it off ZOIC's eye/ear bug was amazing. Again the first draft of their visual effect was close to perfect... So it was all quite exciting to me!!!
Okay - see you next year.
I'll probably do a question and answer session like I did last year... I'll think about that and post the opportunity in the next week or so...
Until then... Well, you know - pictures!!!!!!
ME (TWO SKITTER-MEN LURK IN THE DISTANCE
REMI AUBUCHON
NOAH AND MOON BEHIND - NOAH MENTALLY IS SINGING PAUL ANKA'S "HAVING MY BABY"
TNT CONTEST WINNER SHANNON RAHE- SHE WAS SWEET AND EXCITED TO BE THERE - SO WE THREW HER IN A 2ND MASS. UNIFORM AND WORKED HER HARD!
ME - COMPOSING A SHOT
BEHIND THE SKITTER SCENES
BEEMAN - ME - WORKING A SKITTER!
A FOGGY NIGHT
THE VERY VERY VERY LAST DAY OF SHOOTING - MOON LOOKS GREAT - I AM FRICKIN' EXHAUSTED
NATE GOODMAN - OUR CINEMATOGRAPHER
MOON - BALANCES AMONGST THE ALIEN WIRES (SHE IS A DANCER SO SHE WAS THE ONLY CAST MEMBER WHO COULD BALANCE ON THE WOBBLE BOARDS WE MADE THEM STAND ON)
DREW AND SARAH
MS. CARTER - ALL TIED UP
DREW ROY CONTEMPLATES THE ALL
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING TO POOR CONNOR JESSUP, PULLING SOME EAR WAX OUT OF HIS EAR PROBABLY
LATE AT NIGHT - LIKE REAL LATE AT NIGHT - OH, AND HAVE I MENTIONED, IT'S COLD AS SHIZNAZZ IN CANADA
TODD MASTERS - HE DESIGNED AND BUILT THE SKITTERS
PETER SHINKODA - WE LOVE HIM AND SHALL MISS HIMBlu Products is one of our favourite trendy brands featuring a variety of devices to meet the needs of smartphone consumers alike. AndroidGuys had a chance to have some of our top questions answered by BLU’s Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Ohev-Zion.
Our Questions Answered
In a growing world of “bigger is better” and “spec wars”, what products that you offer provides the best of all Blu devices?
We think the spec wars will become quickly irrelevant and disconnected from the consumer mindset, as people will start to ask “what device is good enough” and look for value, since we’re starting to see the performance of product priced at $200 or even lower, match up just fine with $600-$700 flagships. With this in mind, we will have several devices in this price range able to provide incredible value.
As a company that produces many devices, stylistically, what does Blu best showcase?
We best showcase giving consumers the freedom to choose what style fits them best. No one else does that. So the fact we have such a variety of appealing handsets and in amazing colors already puts us ahead of the competition.
When a company releases quite a few devices a year, a valid question that many consumers have is regarding software updates. What is the current BLU Products stance regarding software updates and upgrades for security patches (if applicable) and to newer versions of Android?
Several of our older Life Series and Studio Series will get kit-kat updates very soon. It’s impossible to update every single device, but that’s something we are committed towards improving. The good news is that BLU resale value is high. You can sell your used BLU device on Amazon. eBay, or even to a friend for almost the same price you paid for it. So if you desperately need the latest Android Version, sell your old BLU device, and go get a brand new BLU device with the latest OS version.
While many know Blu as a company that sells affordable lower to mid-range devices, what misconceptions, if any, can we clear up about the market of “spec wars” and what Blu has to offer?
We don’t get into spec wars. Our focus is creating a product that consumers can be proud to own, and show off, and passionate about.
In higher end unlocked devices that Blu offers, can consumers soon expect LTE network capability moving forward?
We will have at least 6 different LTE models launched before October 2014.
We at AndroidGuys have seen pretty amazing devices this year, and have had the pleasure of reviewing select phones. How does Blu answer to the current smartphone market and market demographics?
We have a vast portfolio that has a perfect device suited for everyone no matter their preferences. So plenty of answers for market available.
A question that has plagued our readers is about select Blu devices that seemingly are doubles of other devices, such as the Blu Life Pure XL and the Gionee Elife E7. We wanted to set the record straight with the following question. We asked the following:
What relationships does Blu Products have with distributors such as Gionee of India, and how do this benefit the end consumer?
Gionee India is a subsidiary of the Gionee parent company in China. This is a great partnership, where Gionee and BLU are able to co-develop exciting products together and obtain large volumes for production by leveraging our strength in different sales territories. By uniting BLU’s sales strength in the Western Hemisphere with Gionee’s sales strength in the East such as China and India, our combined efforts allow us to source and secure the best components and technologies available in the world today, which otherwise would have not been possible.
What type of developmental supports are used to help or allow development by 3rd Party developers for BLU Software? Is development either encouraged or discouraged?
At this time, we are focused on the user experience for our consumers by optimizing our BLU software internally. In the future 3rd party developers will be something we will be looking at, but not in our short term focus.
A growing trend in many smartphone markets is creating waterproof, drop proof, water resistant, and or MIL 810G spec devices, perhaps is there anything in the pipelines that we can show AndroidGuys readers about who are more prone to damaging their devices?
Of course we are always working on these types of devices, such as last year’s water and dust proof Tank 4.5 device with IP67 certification. We will continue to focus on that, so your readers will have to tune in and see what the future holds in store.
Blu’s Life Pure Series has really hit the ground running, and we’ll be working with Blu Products and parent company CT-Miami to showcase and review select devices offered by Blu in the future. We’re excited to see what devices are next from this extraordinary company. Learn how ‘There’s a BLU for YOU!’ at their website.Columbus Police have a mystery on their hands after human remains were found inside a north Columbus apartment building.
The remains were found early Wednesday inside a building in the 1600 block of North 4th Street, just east of the Ohio State University campus.
Detectives say it was reported after a neighbor discovered an odor coming from the home and became suspicious.
A woman who knew the home’s resident went inside, made the discovery, and called 911.
“All I seen was someone laying there, by the floor, the back of them,” said Melanie McCoy.
“There was extreme decomposition that is presenting challenges for the investigators,” said Sgt. Rich Weiner, Columbus Police Department.
Police removed the body and had it autopsied in hopes of trying to find an identity, a cause of death, and determine how long the body had been there.
“It's going to be months that we're talking about, not weeks or days,” added Weiner.
Melanie said she saw her friend, who lived at the house alone, just last week. She’s still very worried that it could be him.
While the identity of the person and the cause of death have not been determined, it appears there are persons of interest in the case.
Investigators say two men were seen leaving the building on Tuesday before the body was discovered.
“We're treating this as a homicide. That doesn't mean it was a homicide, but until we find out otherwise, we're going to investigate it as such,” added Weiner.
Stay with 10TV and refresh 10TV.com for updates on this story.Barrett Lancaster Brown is a writer and activist who possesses a unique combination of ability, courage, wit and determination. This resume of personality traits turned him into a threatening individual once he decided to direct much of that energy against the prevailing corrupt status quo. This is also why he’s one of the roughly roughly 2.4 million Americans locked up within these United States; many of them for non-crimes.
The Feds went after Barrett Brown in the same manner in which they went after Aaron Swartz (tactics that led to the suicide of the latter). They came out with a bunch of trumped up charges, including that of copying and pasting a link (that charge was later dropped), and threatened him with 105 years in jail.
Brown has now served over two years in federal penitentiary without bail and his sentencing is tomorrow. He faces 10 years in jail for basically exposing the shady relationship between intelligence contractors and the U.S. government.
Kevin Gallagher, who runs Free Barrett Brown, wrote an article for the Daily Beast today. Here are some excerpts:
On December 16th, the journalist Barrett Brown will be sentenced before a judge in Dallas, Texas. The government’s actions in this case have been extreme. Prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas have written that Brown, along with the activist group Anonymous, sought to overthrow the U.S. government. They tried to seize funds that were raised for his legal defense. They obtained a gag order against the defendant and his lawyers restricting what they could say about the case for several months. They sought to identify contributors to a website where Brown and others dissected leaks and researched shady links between intelligence contractors and governments. Perhaps most egregious of all, they pursued a case against Brown’s mother, who was forced to plead guilty to a misdemeanor related to a separate FBI raid on her home, resulting in six months probation and a $1,000 fine. All of this makes little sense unless you’re familiar with what Barrett Brown did. He spent the beginning of 2011 advocating for the effectiveness of Anonymous as a force that could bring transparency to institutions and governments through digital protest. He took the thousands of e-mails that were hacked by Anonymous, first from HBGary Federal, and later from Stratfor, and enlisted others to help search through them for revelations of journalistic import. What was uncovered was startling: a disinformation campaign against WikiLeaks and its supporters, large-scale monitoring of social networks, a capability for one analyst to control multiple online sock-puppets, and surveillance systems that seemed far-fetched until you read the e-mails for yourself and grasp the magnitude of the “cyber-intelligence complex” involved. Brown was still sounding the alarm about one particular firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, when he was arrested on September 12, 2012. Later, a Booz Allen employee named Edward Snowden would famously come forward to confirm the company’s involvement in NSA surveillance operations. At that point, Brown’s warnings seemed prescient, although he is still one of a very small number of journalists who write about private intelligence contractors, an issue which has frankly not received the attention that it deserves.
Personally, I had never even heard of Booz Allen Hamilton before Barrett Brown highlighted them. A so-called “private” company that earns 99% of its revenues from the U.S. government.
In the last of a series of videos uploaded to YouTube that day, Brown threatened the FBI agent in charge of his case. His grievances against the FBI – besides their threats of prosecution towards his mother – had to do with his property being taken from him, and the harassment he’d been experiencing at the hands of online actors who were ostensibly either federal informants or connected to security contractors. He was taken into custody that night in a heavily-armed FBI raid of his Dallas apartment, and has been jailed without bail ever since – over two years now. After several delays, his case concluded in a plea agreement, where he faces 8½ years maximum for (1) transmitting a threat in interstate commerce (2) accessory after the fact in the unauthorized access to a protected computer and (3) interference with the execution of a search warrant and aid and abet. While the government works feverishly to keep him behind bars, the occasion of Barrett Brown’s sentencing is a worthwhile moment to reflect on whether the United States has regressed back to the political repression of the 1960s – or the methods of Russia – in the way the law is being used as a blunt instrument against whistleblowers and information activists, and on issues such as prosecutorial discretion.
Barrett is a Jedi of the Republic, a relentless investigative weapon of status quo destruction who presents a serious threat to the corrupt and criminal American crony “elite.” That’s why the system wants him locked up in a cage, and it’s precisely why we need him back on the streets.
If you need to get caught up, here are a few previous articles I wrote on the topic:
Barrett Brown: A Jailed American Dissident
Barrett Brown’s Letter from Jail
Rolling Stone Profiles Barrett Brown: Journalist, Activist and American Political Prisoner
Free Barrett Brown.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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Follow me on Twitter.A woman was admitted to a local hospital Wednesday after being shot in the abdomen, which her son said was an accident.
A woman was admitted to a local hospital Wednesday after being shot in the abdomen, which her son said was an accident.
According to the Ocala Police Department, Edith Kerekes, 82, of Ocala, was in stable condition going into surgery.
Detectives were not able to interview her because of her condition.
They did interview her son, Attila Frank “Sonny” Kerekes, 55.
According to OPD reports, Sonny Kerekes, who moved in with his mother several months ago, told detectives he has owned the gun, a.38 revolver, which was his father’s, since his father died in the early 1980s.
He said he used the revolver to shoot sharks when he was a commercial fisherman in Miami. He said his mother wanted to see the gun, so he was taking it from a bag in which it had been stored. He said she was in the kitchen and he was in another room when the revolver accidentally went off and a bullet went through a wall.
He said he did not know his mother had been wounded until she told him about pain in her abdomen, at which point he called 911.
The residence is located in the 3700 block of Northeast 21st Lane.This is a followup to my post “My Son Wants to Wear a Dress”, which can be found here.
As soon as I decided I was just going to let Bennett wear a dress, public reaction be damned, he stopped asking. Little did I know he was just waiting to raise the stakes.
The next time he asked, we were on vacation in upstate New York, visiting Drew’s family. This was the day we were going to the zoo. We’d been talking it up to the kids all week. Just as we were picking out clothes, Bennett made his intentions known.
“I want to wear a dress!” he chriped, his voice rising an octave on the key word.
As usual, Drew and I kind of stalled. We’d been hoping we could blur the gender lines quietly at home – at least initially. Letting him make his drag debut at the zoo might mean throwing him literally to the wolves.
His sister Sutton must have noticed my hesitation, because she stepped in to do the dirty work. “No, Bennett,” she said. “You can’t wear a dress. It’s not OK!”
“Come on, Bennett,” I said. “Let’s go pick one out.” I couldn’t control how the rest of the world reacted to my son’s attire, but I wasn’t going to let his own family shame him for wanting to express himself.
As I stripped him of his boy clothes, Bennett couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m going to wear a dress outside!” he cheered. “I’m going to wear a dress outside!”
Maybe the kid was more aware than I realized. So wearing the dress outside was the triumph? Maybe he wanted to see how strangers reacted. That’s awfully subversive for a not-quite-three-year-old.
We have a rule with Sutton. Whenever she wears a dress, she has to wear shorts or leggings underneath. Being the fuddy-duddy daddies we are, we refuse to contribute to the hoochie-fication of today’s toddlers. Our little girl wasn’t going to be some primped-up preschool strumpet.
And neither was our little boy. If he was going to wear a dress, he was going to put something on underneath it.
The problem was that none of Bennett’s shorts really went with the dress. Neither did his very boyish navy blue sneakers. He didn’t care. The dress was all that mattered to him – but not to me. I didn’t want people to think this was my idea of a flattering ensemble for my son.
Suddenly, I’d be the one getting judged. “I can’t believe those dads put that poor little boy in a dress… and didn’t help him accessorize!”
He looked silly. At least I thought so. To be honest, I don’t think he even checked himself out. All he wanted to do was dance.
“Twirl! Twirl! Twirl!” he shouted, as he spun around again and again, watching the dress float up around him.
Suddenly, I wondered if he got the idea to wear a dress from Beauty & The Beast. The way Belle dances in the ballroom and the camera zooms in on her gown rising majestically around her — it was so magical.
For Bennett, the dress was a toy he could wear – part pants, part hula hoop.
It was nice to see him so happy, but there was one person who could derail that joy in an instant – and she was waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase.
It was, after all, a vacation. We’d only packed two dresses. Sutton was wearing one, and now her brother was wearing the other one.
Her favorite dress.
I was terrified what she would say. I very cautiously brought Bennett to the top of the staircase.
“I’m wearing a dress!” he trilled, and his sister glanced up for a look.
All of us froze in that moment. Once again, it was like Beauty & The Beast, right after Belle has been dolled up by the coat rack and miscellaneous flatware. When the Beast sees her, he smiles, and you know everything is going to be OK.
“You look so pretty!” Sutton squealed. “Now we’re both princesses!”
Whew!
Bennett scurried downstairs, and they danced together, twirling and twirling, until they both fell over, giggling.
Drew and I went to the zoo prepared to clock anyone who made a comment about Bennett’s dress, but nobody said a thing. We were the only ones who were the least bit uptight about it.
On the way home, we stopped for lunch. Our waitress leaned down to me and Drew. “You have such beautiful girls,” she said.
I wasn’t sure what she meant at first. Was she saying what she thought my son wanted to hear? “Such beautiful girls” – wink!
It didn’t seem right. He may have been wearing his sister’s clothes at the moment, but my son is very much a boy. He plays with trains, builds Lego towers, splashes in mud puddles. He even announced recently that when he grows up, he wants to marry a boy… just like both his dads. What’s more boyish than that?
When the waitress returned with our food, she made another comment. “You two fellas are so lucky to be here with such beautiful women!” I realized she was being totally sincere. She hadn’t noticed Bennett’s shorts or sneakers, hadn’t thought much about his short hair. Because he was wearing a dress, she assumed he was a girl.
“Thank you,” I said, “but this guy’s a boy. He just wanted to wear a dress today.”President Donald Trump dropped his own New Year's ball—in the form of a wrecking ball—with a late Friday afternoon announcement that effectively wipes out plans for perhaps the nation's most crucial infrastructure project.
The president officially scrapped his predecessor's proposal to have the federal government underwrite half the cost of a multibillion-dollar Amtrak tunnel connecting New Jersey to Penn Station, the busiest transit hub in the U.S. The lone existing tunnel is rapidly deteriorating, threatening to sever Amtrak's popular Northeast Corridor route and to divert tens of thousands of New Jerseyans from their daily Manhattan commutes via NJ Transit.
The administration released the news on the cusp of a holiday weekend in a letter from a top Federal Transit Administration official to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his New Jersey counterpart Chris Christie, who had agreed with the Obama administration to split the project's costs 50-50.
President Barack Obama's Department of Transportation, which encompasses the FTA, had consented to that framework with Christie, Cuomo, now-Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker in 2015.
Friday's letter, in response to an updated proposal by the two states to fund their half of the plan with federal loans, declared the deal null and void.
"Your letter also references a nonexistent '50-50' agreement between USDOT, New York and New Jersey. There is no such agreement," wrote FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. "We consider it unhelpful to reference a nonexistent 'agreement' rather than directly address the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders."
When Crain's inquired if that meant DOT regards the 2015 plan as not having standing, a spokesperson replied, simply, "correct."
The news left advocates for Gateway apoplectic.
"Let’s not be surprised by the timing of this letter,” said Tom Wright, president of the Regional Plan Association. “Today is the last day to slip this in with no one noticing. The Trump administration is content to kick the can down the road on Gateway."
The letter marks the latest blow to the project, which includes the new tube under the Hudson River, repairs to the atrophied existing dual-tunnel conduit and the reconstruction of New Jersey's troubled Portal Bridge. The Trump administration undermined the endeavor earlier this month by mocking the New York–New Jersey proposal to have the Gateway Development Corp. borrow money through the federal Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program, even though the states would repay the loan.
Williams' letter Friday echoed USDOT's earlier assertion that this proposal has Washington funding the majority of the project—a declaration that stunned many observers, who noted that states frequently finance major infrastructure undertakings by borrowing money from the federal government.
Sources have previously suggested to Crain's that the president's handling of the project has political overtones, as its greatest champion has been Schumer, the most powerful Democrat in Washington.
Trump has repeatedly hyped an infrastructure plan that he has promised to release in the New Year. Such a plan would require a large number of votes from Schumer's conference in order to pass the Senate. Folding Gateway into a Trump infrastructure bill would pressure Schumer to deliver those votes. Elaine Chao, Trump's transportation secretary, is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which could increase the White House's leverage.
"The best-case scenario now is that discreet pieces of the project move forward individually, like the remaining portion of the tunnel box under the Hudson Yards and the new Portal Bridge,” Wright said. “And meanwhile, commuting under the Hudson River will continue to become more difficult and that will increase the pressure on Congress to act."
A spokesman for the multi-agency development corporation formed to execute the project downplayed Friday's letter.
"There is no more urgent infrastructure project than Gateway, and posturing aside, we are confident that the Trump administration will engage with us as the president turns to infrastructure in 2018," the spokesman said in a statement.
Although the Trump administration has taken to calling Gateway a "local" project, it is considered integral to the future of a regional economy that provides a hefty chunk of the nation's gross domestic product and sends hundreds of billions of tax dollars to Washington each year.
New York business leaders have emphasized the project's importance, but the dismissive federal response has underscored just how little sway they have with the Trump administration.
Ironically, the area of strongest agreement between Democrats and Trump has been the need for infrastructure improvements, and the president has touted a forthcoming $1 trillion plan. However, he is counting on nonfederal sources including private investors to contribute 80% of the money. That is likely to be a source of tension with Democrats.
Public-private partnerships have built transportation projects around the world but not on a large |
out of the area where filming is to take place.
The whole crew moves to the Castle of the Counts (Gravensteen) just a couple of hundred yards further along the River Leie on Friday and Saturday for further shooting. Monday, a final day of shooting will take place at the old abbey in Drongen, a suburb in the south-west of Ghent.Your Android is supposed to keep you instantly connected to your digital life. It can do that, but it needs some help. These best-of-class applications make sending files, syncing music, swapping web sites, and other phone-computer hook-ups so much easier.
Two-Way Tools: Android to Desktop to Android
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Files
Even though Android allows for removable SD card storage, and is a lot more open than the iPhone when it comes to file storage, very few people carry a USB cable or micro-SD converter card everywhere they go. Nor should they, since these apps make it easier to send files and ideas between two different screen sizes.
Dropbox
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After you install Dropbox on your various laptop and desktop systems, then add the Android app to your phone, you'll occasionally wonder why USB cables still exist. Simply place a file in your Dropbox folder (or elsewhere on your system), and it shows up on your phone. Dropbox on Android also comes with built-in handlers for PDFs, audio and video files, text and Word documents, and a few other files. You can also send your Dropbox files to other apps on your phone, or press and hold on a file to download it for safekeeping on your SD card.
Dropbox on Android offers you all kinds of creation powers, and the means to send files from your phone to your desktop computers. You can make a text file, instantly snap a picture or video, record an audio note, or upload any file on your SD card, and it all ends up syncing right back to your desktop. So when someone says, "Hey, I bet you can't print at home from your Android," you go ahead and prove them wrong. Or simply grab a picture of that watch your spouse liked for Christmas, either way. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
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• Alternative: SugarSync SugarSync offers the same kind of "2 GB free, sync anywhere" functionality as Dropbox, but it differentiates itself in its options. There's no one folder you have to drop everything into; you choose which desktop/laptop files are synced across your systems. If you only care about getting Word documents and PDFs backed up, you can set that up. It's a strong alternative with a good Android client. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
Notes, URLs, Phone Numbers, and Other Small Bits of Data
When an idea strikes you, or somebody wants you to remember something, you should be able to save it using any computer you've got handy, then see it, in real time, on any other computer. These tools make it so.
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Simplenote / mNote
We've praised Simplenote as the holy grail of ubiquitous plain-text capture; mNote syncs your Simplenote entries between your account and your Android phone. mNote updates on a user-specified schedule (or you can force immediate update), you can add and delete notes, and you can tweak how much of the note you see (just the headline or up to 9 lines of preview from the note). The interface is extremely simple and the features are limited, but in this case that's hardly a criticism given that no-frills text editing is the draw of Simplenote. [AppBrain]
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Evernote
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We've sung the praises of Evernote time and time again as a great mobile note taking tool, and one of the reasons is its availability on all platforms. From the mobile app, you can quickly add text, photo, and voice notes, and have them immediately synced to the desktop application for further transcription and organization. Similarly, you can create any note in the desktop client and access it on-the-go from Evernote's easily searchable database. No matter where you are, Evernote keeps all the things you need to remember close at hand. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
Best Mobile Note Taking Tool: Evernote Last week we asked you to share your favorite mobile note taking tool and then we rounded up the… Read more Read
Reading Material
A friend tweets a great blog post you want to dig into, or you're digging on an ebook you want to read. Stash your reading for your bigger screen with these tools.
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Read Later (Instapaper) and PaperDroid (Read It Later)
Both Instapaper and Read It Later capture articles, strip them down to their barest picture/text essence, and make them available wherever you have web access. We've put the two services head to head, but whichever reading app you like better, you've got an Android app that can send your browser pages to it. PaperDroid actually stores an offline reading list on your phone, while Read Later embeds itself in the Share menu for sending articles over; you'll need to browse to Instapaper's web site to read your stuff on your phone. [Read Later (AppBrain)] [PaperDroid (AppBrain)]
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Kindle
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Like it does on every platform, Kindle for Android quietly grabs your Amazon ebook purchases, brings them onto your machine, and saves the bookmarks, highlights and notes, and the page you left off on as you read. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
One-Way Tools: Desktop to Android
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Remote Control and Screen Viewing
It may seem like a niche case, but some Android apps are pretty in-depth, and using them—or at least setting them up—can be more comfortable from your full keyboard and mouse.
AndroidScreencast
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Unlike some dead-simple apps, using AndroidScreencast isn't a two-click affair. It is, however, a great tool for viewing, controlling, and recording your Android phone from the comfort of your desktop. You'll need to install the Android SDK Manager to use AndroidScreencast and then download the AndroidScreencast Java app here—Java Runtime Environment 5+ required. Plug in your phone, run the Java app, and you'll see something similar to the screenshot above. Most keystrokes and mouse commands transfer well from the computer to the Android interface—the scroll wheel even works on long documents and web pages. AndroidScreencast requires a rooted phone for full functionality, non-rooted phones can view and record but not interact with the Android interface. [Homepage]
App Syncing and Instant Installation
Until Android's Market updates (due in November, supposedly), installing and removing applications in bulk, or even one at a time, is a search, hope, and then click-four-times affair. Not so with this great utility.
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AppBrain and Fast Web Installer
From a pure convenience standpoint, it's hard to beat AppBrain and its counterpart app, the Fast Web Installer. Head to AppBrain's web market, sign in through your Google account, then search for an app you've heard about or came across. Click Install, and seconds later, the app is beaming directly to your phone and installing as soon as it's downloaded. You can also pick out multiple apps in AppBrain to sync to your phone the next time you open its app on your phone, and maintain lists of apps to recommend to friends. It's also the handiest tool for bulk uninstalls. [Homepage] [AppBrain] [Fast Web Installer]
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Web Pages, Map Locations, and Text
When you're heading out the door, or need to look at something you can't pull up on your phone, hit up these tools.
Chrome to Phone and Fox to Phone
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It's easier to look up web sites and map locations in your full-size computer browser, and much easier to copy a block of text, even if you actually need the data on your phone. Install Chrome to Phone, or its Firefox counterpart Fox to Phone, in your browser, and beaming those pages and snippets to your phone is a one or two-click process. Both work through the Chrome to Phone Android app on your phone, which you'll only need to link once to your Google account. After that, it's a fairly fast route from your desktop to your pocket. [Chrome to Phone (Chrome extension)] [Fox to Phone (Firefox extension)] [AppBrain (Android app)]
Files
As with pulling files from Android, tools like this are often easier than the manual methods. In this case, actually, it's dead simple.
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Awesome Drop
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DropBox is king for keeping a large number of your files synced and accessible across platforms. For absolutely dead-simple file transfer from a computer to your Android phone, however—no special desktop software or registration required—Awesome Drop is, well, awesome. Install Awesome Drop on your Android phone then visit Awesome Drop's web interface to get a random PIN. Plug that random pin into the Awesome Drop App on your phone and a temporary link is formed between the Awesome Drop web interface and your phone. Any files you drag and drop onto the web interface are transferred to your phone. Despite the brevity of this description it still doesn't do justice to how dead-simple the process is. Watch the video above to see it in action. [Homepage][AppBrain]
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iTunes Library
For some people, iTunes is the only music manager there is—or, at least, the only media manager they're seriously tied into. Get some iTunes-to-Android flow going with this helper.
iSyncr
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Any Android phone will let you drag and drop music files to its SD card for use in the Android music player, but most people prefer to sync their device with their desktop media player. While apps like DoubleTwist, MediaMonkey, and Songbird already provide pretty good syncing capabilities, the ever-popular iTunes does not. For that, there's previously mentioned iSyncr.
iSyncr comes as an Android app bundled with a PC or Mac app installed on your phone's SD card. All you need to do is plug your phone in, fire up the desktop app, and choose which playlists to sync. It will not only sync your music, but also iTunes' album art, ratings, and play counts. And as if that weren't enough, PC users can even sync their music over Wi-Fi with a simple add-on. It's the easiest way to get your iTunes tracks synced to your phone, hands down. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
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One-Way Tools: Android to Desktop
SMS, Phone Calls, and More
When you're working at your desk, you should be able to be at your desk, on your computer, working. Having a phone blipping you constantly with emails, SMS, and other notifications is doubling up on electronic distractions. Send your phone matters to your desktop to reclaim your attention, and give your Android a break.
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TalkMyPhone
While smartphones give you access to things you normally need a computer for (like email), SMS messages and phone calls are still phone-centric. No one likes typing on that small keyboard if they don't have too, though, so you can move those interactions to your computer with TalkMyPhone. TalkMyPhone sends you notifications of incoming SMS messages, phone calls, and battery states via Jabber. Furthermore, you can reply to those messages (as well as send SMS messages to any of your other contacts) right from the IM window. Check out our instructions on how to set it up here. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
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Web Pages
People tell you about great sites all the time, and you sometimes find just what you're looking for on your phone. You could email yourself a link, or save yourself the trouble and half the time with this handy tool.
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Android2Cloud
Browsing on your phone is useful, but it isn't exactly fun. If you're browsing on-the-go and want to transfer a web page to your PC for further reading, Android2Cloud is the perfect solution. Just install the app from the Market and its associated Chrome Extension. When it prompts you to set up an account, just type in your Gmail address and follow the steps to give Android2Cloud access to your account. Now, when you want to send a page from your phone to your computer, just hit Menu > More > Share Page, and choose Android2Cloud. Hit the extension's button in Chrome, and Android2Cloud will bring up the page you were reading.
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Note that I've found setting up your account using the mirror server worked better than the overloaded official server. Just type that server's address into the Server box at the beginning of the account setup process, and use the modified Chrome extension on that page instead of the one on the download page. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
Files
If you don't have your USB cable or SD card reader handy, here's how to fling files from your Android to any computer.
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WiFi File Explorer
WiFi File Explorer turns your SD card into the root of a basic web-based file server. Run the app and point your web browser at the local-network URL it provides. There you can browse and download files as though the phone was directly tethered to the computer in front of you—handy for those times your phone is happily charging upstairs and you really want to access a file from the laptop in your office. Upgrading to the premium version adds in the ability to upload files to the SD card, delete them, copy them, and zip them. (Free, Premium $1.10) [Homepage][AppBrain]
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Those are the apps that strike us as the path of least resistance between a full computer and an Android. What tools do you use every day to sync your dual digital lives?Mr Taylor was found in the stadium's South stand
No further action is to be taken over the death of a 30-year-old Blackburn Rovers fan at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium last month, police say.
John Taylor was found unconscious in the south stand concourse, being used by visiting fans, during Stoke City's match against Blackburn on 6 February.
Mr Taylor, from Darwen in Lancashire, died in hospital from a head injury.
The Crown Prosecution Service said no further action would be taken against a man, 25, arrested at the time.
'Brilliant dad'
The man, from Preston, was arrested after the incident and later released on bail, police said at the time.
Initial reports suggested Mr Taylor may have been hit on the head with a bin.
Staffordshire Police said it had handed a file to the CPS but now the matter would not be taken any further.
Mr Taylor's family paid tribute to him last month, describing him as a "perfect and brilliant dad".
They said he was a life-long Blackburn Rovers fan and "lived for his weekends, going to football".By Peter Henson
In March this year it was reported that France would be sending a Mistral Class amphibious assault vessel to the Pacific to carry out exercises with their Japanese counterparts.
The UK has two Royal Navy Merlin Mk3 helicopters embarked on the French Ship representing the nation. Along with Japan, France and the UK, the US has also been participating in drills as exercises continue around the islands of Guam and Tinian.
This French deployment known as the “Jeanne d’Arc 2017” also features the multi-mission stealth frigate Courbet. The annual Mission Jeanne d’Arc is simply a training deployment for the French navy in order for Officers to complete their training. Its significance this year comes from the heightened tensions in the region as China contests its sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their territorial waters. The US and its allies in the region dispute China’s claims and are keen to show no diplomatic recognition towards them.
So where does France really fit into all this? The major players in the pacific are generally regarded as the Americans, Chinese, Japan, South Korea and to some extent Australia, a country that is currently attempting to bolster its armed forces in an effort to have a greater presence in the region and slow down Chinese expansion.
France has been in the pacific region since the 19th century when it was vying for domination against Britain. Since these times France still has two territories in the pacific: French Polynesia, New Caladonia and the territory of Wallis and Futuna. These territories are hugely significant as they represent a large Economic Exclusive Zone which gives France special rights and claims stretching from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles.
As such the two overseas territories have helped to give France the largest Economic Exclusive Zone in the world, reaching a total of 11, 691,000 km2. This a huge potential area for exploration and exploitation. It is easy to see why China is asserting its claim to the Spratly Islands as this would give China exclusive rights in the surrounding seas.
French Polynesia is perhaps the more well-known of the two territories. Compromising of 118 islands and atolls, it was the test area for French nuclear testing from 1962-1996. France still takes it roles extremely seriously in the area, recently in January this year, the French frigate Prairial seized over 400kg of Cocaine nearby French Polynesia’s Marquesas islands. In 2016 New Caledonia received a new naval support vessel, FS D’Entrecasteaux.
The FS D’Entrecasteaux Bâtiment multi-mission class ship specialises in sovereignty patrols as well as law enforcement and logistics missions. She performs a similar role to that of HMS Clyde in the Falkland Islands, albeit in a less armed manner and with no helo-deck operational support. As the Bâtiment are not classed as warfare vessels they have been designed to civilian standards and built outside of France, in the same way that the new Tide-class tankers have been built outside the UK for the RFA. FS D’Entrecasteaux is a high endurance vessel that maintains French jurisdiction over the Economic Exclusive Zone. According to the French Procurement Agency (DGA) the Bâtiment class can carry 20 personnel (military or police) along with two 4×4 vehicles, an 8 metre boat, several semi rigid inflatables, diving support, underwater drones and the option to accommodate a medical team for humanitarian missions.
In total, the French naval presence in the pacific equates to two surveillance frigates, four patrol vessels, two multi-mission ships, five maritime surveillance aircraft, four tactical transport aircraft, and several helicopters. French military personnel number 2,800. This number could also surge if France continues promote its presence in the region. France still has a Blue water navy with a world-wide reach. The recent Jeanne d’Arc not only shows a French global presence but also a willingness to engage and strengthen regional partnerships. Most recently this can be seen to a greater extent with Australia’s purchase of 12 new submarines from French shipbuilder DCNS in 2016.
This contract was worth $50 billion with DCNS beating rivals from Germany and Japan. A recent Australian publication from The Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies (CDSS) identified greater potential for further co-operation, describing both nations as sharing, ‘a similar expeditionary mindset about the globalisation of security imperatives, and have similar political and military cultures with regards to risk’ (Hoskin 2016). The paper goes onto suggest that recent French military intervention offers much to be learned from:
‘Australia’s recent focus on defence diplomacy (as expressed in the 2016 Defence White Paper) also suggests a useful area of cooperation. France has a sophisticated approach to military engagement around the world, typified by its relationships with francophone Africa. The 2013 Mali intervention and ongoing trans-Sahel counter-extremism operations are proving highly effective, in a manner non-typical of other recent Western interventions. This was greatly facilitated by longstanding personal and institutional ties, as well as a sound French understanding of how to cooperate effectively with indigenous governments and military forces. This is a good study for Australia, so we could usefully incorporate French insights into our training and education, and into our evolving mechanisms for international engagement’ (Hoskin 2016).
As a growing power Australia can learn from its various strategic partners, the above suggests that France has alternative approaches to offer. Unlike the UK, France has been a constant presence despite Europe’s colonial withdrawal from the Pacific region. After the UK’s withdrawal east of Suez in the 1970s, its major participation in the area has been occasional and mainly through its membership of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (UK, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia). This alliance, more for the benefit of Singapore and Malaysia sees occasional exercises amongst the nations but this has not always been consistent. France by its sovereign commitments has a base in the pacific and has to defend it commitments.
This could change to some extent, in 2018 New Caledonia has an independence referendum. It is unlikely that the population will vote for in favour due to the island’s stable economy and French investment. However, as 2016 saw the election of Donald Trump and the unexpected Brexit result few can really say with certainty.
Reference
HOSKIN, Colonel Rupert. 2016. ‘France and Australia: Realising our potential as like-minded strategic partners’. Indo-Pacific strategic papers, page 4.A Chicago news anchor surprised some parents and potentially confused some children when she announced during a nightly newscast that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
Robin Robinson, an anchor at Fox Chicago, responded to a segment about managing gift expectations of children during Christmas by saying that they should know there is no Santa Claus.
“Stop trying to convince your kids that Santa is Santa,” Robinson said to co-anchor Bob Sirott during a segment Tuesday night. “That’s why they have these high expectations. They know you can’t afford it, so what do they do? Just ask some man in a red suit. There is no Santa.”
A bewildered Sirott responded, “Hey, Ebenizer, what’s with you?” a reference to Ebenezer Scrooge, the Christmas-hating star of A Christmas Carol.
The station was flooded with angry responses to the segment, with parents demanding an apology.
Robinson, who has been on the station since 1987, apologized to her audience the following day on a segment called “The Talker,” which shares reader opinions. Robinson read many of the Facebook posts that angry parents wrote to her about the comments, noting that she did not realize that children would still be awake for the 9 p.m. broadcast. She apologized multiple times.
“It was careless and callous to say…what I said, in what could’ve been mixed company,” Robinson said. “So many kids don’t get to be children, that for those who do get to live the wonder and magic of Christmas, I would never spoil it intentionally. So I sincerely apologize.”
Robinson then went out onto the street to tell passersby about her goof, getting live reactions from them about how terrible it was. She finished by reading a letter published in the 1897 New York Sun entitled “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus,” and apologizing again.It might have been Daniel Sedin with the Game 7 prediction, but it was Tim Thomas with the line that stood out the most. The day before the biggest game of his career, Thomas laughed as he traded barbs with reporters, reminiscing about the childhood days in his driveway.
"You're saying Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, you're not saying Game 6," he said. "This is what every kid dreams about."
The stakes Wednesday night could not have been higher. The pressure cooker of Rogers Arena could not have been greater. Thomas and the Bruins were entering enemy territory –- a place where the team had not won a single game in the series. What was on Thomas' mind? Childhood dreams.
It is at the heart of that "it" quality that championship teams possess. And now you can count the Bruins among them. Yes, they execute. They focus and deliver when it matters most. Sometimes they do it in a dominating fashion, like a 4-0 shutout. But through it all, they have fun.
Shawn Thorton was quoted in The Boston Globe on the morning of the day the Bruins broke the team's 39-year drought, saying, "Pressure's five kids, no job. This is Game 7. This is fun, right? We get to play a game for a living. Just enjoy it."
Enjoy it, these Bruins will.
Zdeno Chara's elated yelp and ear-to-ear grin as he hoisted the Cup high above his towering figure said it all.
The history is lengthy. The 2010-11 Bruins add their names to the record books with the sixth championship in franchise history. They become the first team in league history to win three Game 7's in a single postseason. They are only the fourth road team to win Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final.
But as Chara handed Lord Stanley's chalice off to Mark Recchi, who raised it above his head for the third time in his career, the elation only grew. And as the Bruins passed the Cup from one player to another, that elation travelled more than 3,000 miles from Rogers Arena to Causeway Street, Boston and beyond.
The "it" quality this Bruins team captured, and their ability to have fun on the game's greatest stage, in turn fulfills the childhood dream of millions of Bruins fans. Tonight, next week, and for years to come, it won't just be Tim Thomas reminiscing about playing in a Game 7 as a kid. Millions will join him. And a new generation of children will take to the driveway, the ice rink or the pond with their own dream. Maybe some day, like this day, their dream will come true again.(Editor's note: Welcome to Under the Bucket, where Deaner from the classic flick Fubar tackles all things NHL for VICE Sports. You can follow him on Twitter and read previous installments here.)
I finally managed to rip down the electric reindeer from my neighbour's garage last night and had a pretty sweet spot picked out for it over my front window. So I goes to plug it in and the fucker don't flicker. I banged it on the ground like a hundred times, but it just wouldn't start working. But here's the thing—instead of nailing it up anyway, and stealin' a bunch of new lights and trying to drape them on top, I went out and stole another one from a different house, and it works fuckin' great.
Now imagine if the original electric reindeer was a panther, and the replacement lights I was gonna drape over the lifeless carcass cost $68 million, and I was borrowing that money from my landlord. I bet you're thinkin', "Deaner what the fuck are you talking about," and you're right, it don't make a lick of sense, but that's EXACTLY what's goin' on with the NHL and the Florida Panthers right now.
READ MORE: Say Goodbye to Peak Crosby
They're trying to loan $68 million on this dead fuckin' carcass!! I had more empties at my party than they had fans at the last Panthers game. It's a fuckin' joke. Hey, Gary, there's a brand new NHL rink in the East which sold out its EXHIBITION GAME three months in advance. Oh ya, that's right, Gary and his millionaire dickwads are gonna hold actual fans hostage to get $500 million for Nordiques expansion, so we may as well get used to the Panthers, cuz they ain't goin' anywhere.
But get a load of the holiday DEAL at Sunrise—TWO premium tickets to THREE GAMES, TWO tix to the Everglades theme park (where you get to airdrop out of a helicopter on an actual gator into the bayou), free parking, TWO JERSEYS, AND an autographed puck, for $99. THIS IS REAL! Sorry for the all caps but THAT'S $17 A TICKET for an NHL GAME!!!! Sweet Mary on a merry-go-round it costs more to go see the fucking Wheeling Nailers. And at the arena in Wheeling, they don't even have a zamboni between periods, they just drag around a wasted guy who pissed his pants. C'mon!
Oh, sure, the players love comin' to the rink in flip flops and swim trunks, but how do you think Jonathan Huberdeau feels when he gets a hat trick on home ice and the only thing that comes flying down from the fans is an IOU from Gary Bettman? Bush league. And of course if they get their loan, the league's promised them an All-Star Game. Just unreal.
And, man, this coach's challenge disaster... one day there's gonna be a challenge for the Stanley Cup-winning goal, and we're all gonna be sittin' there for like 45 minutes while some chimpanzee in Toronto looks at a screen. Did they win the Cup or not? Only the monkey knows! Guys, the NHL made $4.1 BILLION last year. BILLIONS!!!!! If I'm in charge, fuck the coach's challenge.
I'd hire a team of trained hockey dogs who can sniff out rules to watch every single game and the second they see something wrong, the dogs start fuckin' barking like crazy! They have a direct line to the refs. Did they score when it was offside? Call down, stop the fucking game and blow off the play. No goal. Now put the time bark on the clock and let's get the barkin' game bark on.
Coach always says hockey's all about confidence—no matter how much talent you got, if you keep losin' all the time you're gonna start to feel like a fuckin' loser. So here's what I think we should do to help out the Oilers and Leafs who must really be feelin like fuckin' losers right now. You drop both teams down a division to the AHL, and see what happens. Best-case scenario, they play each other for the Calder Cup, the Oilers win, the boys feel like winners, they move on back up and maybe make the NHL playoffs in 2017. Baby steps. And the Leafs, well, I bet the fans would just be so fuckin' stoked they finally had a winning team, they wouldn't give a shit if their opponents were the Baltimore Grey Nuns, so AHL might be the long-term solution.
Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for tunin' in, and remember what my cousin Dwayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't drink."This comic is both a first and a last. It’s the first comic of 2017 and the last comic of my third year of making this comic. I want to thank everyone who’s come by and stuck around enjoying the work, especially those that are contributing to this comic’s future. I got big plans for this year and I think that with your help I can make it happen. Let’s do it!
Speaking of plans, Vader had one hell of a crew working on his base for Rogue One.
That video I promised is coming this week so keep your eyes peeled. Last week my computer had a fit while I was trying to process the time lapse and I’m still kind of working things out. Thanks for hanging in there and being patient.
(update)Arctic Sea Ice Increases at Record Rate
Guest Post by Jeff Id on February 3, 2009
Something I’ve been interested in for the last several months is sea ice data. What makes it interesting is that as I understand it, models demonstrate the poles should be most sensitive to global warming leading the planet temp, especially in the Arctic. Recently I have been able to process the monthly and daily gridded arctic data as provided by NSIDC. The daily values allow a better analysis of trend than can be provided by the monthly data.
If you’re like me you recall the claims of fastest melt rate ever were made about 2007, I fully believed them, because the graphs showed a much more negative value than in the previous 30 years as shown in Figure 1 below.
This effort was originally intended to investigate how bad the melt rate was in comparison to the natural variation, I didn’t get that far yet. Accessing and processing the gridded data was critical to the analysis, so I spent the time reading the literature and writing code. Having full access to the NSIDC data allows some interesting analysis, they do an excellent job on their site.
There are two primary algorithms used for processing ice data NasaTeam and Bootstrap. The descriptions of the data state the difference between the two is very small and the sets are interchangeable except that bootstrap is recommended for trend analysis in research publications. Bootstrap is only provided in monthly data format while NasaTeam is provided in both monthly and daily provided you’re willing to download over 1G of data, write code to process it, refit the land and missing data mask and sum the results. I am. Also, NasaTeam provides a near real time version of the polar ice data which has a different land mask and hasn’t been processed for missing data. This data isn’t as clean but I wanted to use it. I applied the same land mask as the rest of the series to insure that there was a consistent baseline for trend analysis. The missing data from Jan 2008 onward created noise in the series which I simply filtered out using a 7 day sliding window filter.
The mask looks like this Figure 2
The brown is land, black edges on land are coastline and light blue is the satellite data not measured. This mask is applied consistently through the entire data series. There was some question about masking on one of my other posts at WUWT where visually the land area seemed to change size, in the case of the NSIDC data they apply masks consistently except for the satellite hole and the near real time data.
The NasaTeam version of the arctic ice data looks like the plot below for 2009 (note the small size of the satellite data hole). This graph was created in R using the actual Nasa Team masks and data. I used the worst case land and polar masks to adjust the entire dataset to eliminate problems with consistency. Figure 3
Of course it’s an interesting picture, but what I wanted to know when I started this post was how bad was the worst melt rate in history and what is the actual melt area. In the plot below the arctic is losing sea ice at a rate of only 56K km^2/year. Of course sea ice area went up in the Antarctic during the same time frame though. Note the strong recovery in 08 of Figures 1 and 4, which actually exceeds values of most of the record, matching data back to 1980. Much of this is first year ice so the melt in 08 was expected to be a new record.
If you recall, in 2007 and 08 we were treated to headlines like this, which most of us accepted with a shrug.
I processed and analyzed the NasaTeam land area and missing data masks spending hours understanding different variances they list on their own website. After nearly everything I could find (except satellite transitions errors) was corrected (a different post) and corrections for variance in the measured pixel size, the final result in 30 day trends of arctic sea ice looks like the graph below (Figure 5). This graph is a derivative of the ice area plot. The maximum peaks and valleys represent the maximum rates of change in 30 day periods through the ice record.
Looking at this plot of the 30 day slopes of actual NASA gridded data, the maximum ice melt rate occurs in 1999 and in 2004 not in 2007. Surprisingly the maximum ice growth rates occur in 2007 and 2008, I don’t remember those headlines for some reason. Don’t forget when looking at the 2008 – 09 peak, the data is preliminary and hasn’t been through the same processing as the other data. From looking at the unprocessed data I doubt it will change much.
Certainly the 30 year arctic trend in ice area is downward, even the most committed global warming scientist has to admit this happens regularly in climate along with regular 30 year uptrends. The questions are, did we cause it or not, and was CO2 the instigating factor. The rapid recovery of ice levels has to have some meaning regarding the severity of the problem. This goes directly in the face of accelerated global warming and the doom and gloom scenarios promoted by our politicians and polyscienticians.
Why are my conclusions different from the news reported records? I think it’s likely due to the fact that the scientists used the monthly data which is processed using a weighted filter of the daily data that incorporates a longer time frame than a single month. This means their use of the monthly data to establish a monthly trend was in error and the real record down trends were actually set in 1999, 2003 and 1984. While the record uptrends were in 2007, 2008 and 1996.
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RedditMancini: ‘Balotelli must get 20 goals!’
By Football Italia staff
Roberto Mancini warns Mario Balotelli “must score at least 20 goals this season” for Nice and believes he can still become “a top player”.
Mancini has acted as a mentor to the striker, having given him his debut at Inter and also brought him to Manchester City.
After difficult spells at Liverpool and Milan, Super Mario is trying to rebuild his career at Nice and his former Coach spoke to L’Équipe at length about the forward.
“I was reluctant to do an interview, because people always have something to say about Mario,” Mancini explained.
“I think sometimes that’s tiring for him. But I eventually accepted because I’m happy that he’s doing well at Nice, and he always behaved very well with me.
“A word to describe him? Fantastic! Both as a player and a lad, for good or bad. He’s a special player for me, for everything he’s done on the pitch - and off it!
“I respect him a lot, I hope he understands that he has the chance to become a top player. He has to score at least 20 this season, but Mario has to stop taking his shirt off as soon as he scores one. It should be normal for him to score.”
Mancini then discussed the beginning of his relationship with Balotelli.
“I started playing him at Inter when he was 17. Since I made my Serie A debut at 16, I like to give youth a chance. When you’re young, you need to find a Coach with the courage to let you play.
“Any Coach would have spotted him |
public drinking water has caused deaths in only one other case in the United States, according to the CDC. The water came from an untreated, geothermal well-supplied drinking water system in Arizona; two children died there in 2003.
Lane said the Louisiana parish, along the Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans, began flushing water lines with chlorine last week, a process that will continue for weeks until chlorine levels reach recommended levels.
A Mississippi boy who had played on a water slide made out of a long sheet of plastic while visiting St. Bernard Parish contracted amoebic meningoencephalitis and died last month. Tests at the home where he was playing found the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.
Officials said less than 1% of patients survive the deadly brain infection caused by this amoeba. But an experimental drug from the CDC has shown promise in fighting it. Kali Hardig, a 12-year-old in Arkansas, survived after contracting the amoeba in July, possibly at a Little Rock, Arkansas, water park.
Doctors credited Kali's mom, Traci Hardig, with her survival, saying she brought her daughter to the hospital early and pushed for more tests.
"If you believe that there's something more wrong with your daughter or your son than a simple virus or stomach flu, stay in there, hang in there," Hardig told CNN. "Talk to the doctor... and reassure them that this is not a normal illness."
The first symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days after infection, including headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the CDC.
"Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations," the government agency's website says. "After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days."
Here are some tips from the CDC to help lower the risk of infection:
• Avoid swimming in fresh water when the water temperature is high and the water level is low.
• Hold your nose shut or use nose clips while swimming.
• Avoid stirring up the sediment while wading in shallow, warm freshwater areas.
• If you are irrigating, flushing or rinsing your sinuses (for example, by using a neti pot), use water that has been distilled or sterilized.Exodus, Ridley Scott’s epic retelling of the story of Moses, will not be released in the United Arab Emirates after censors in the country objected to what they described as historical and religious inaccuracies. The move follows on from similar decisions in Egypt and Morocco.
“We found that there are many mistakes not only about Islam but other religions too. So, we will not release it in the UAE,” Juma Obeid Al Leem, the director of Media Content Tracking at the National Media Council, was quoted as saying in local newspaper Gulf News.
It is generally prohibited to depict prophets and religious figures in Islamic, societies. Those laws saw Darren Aronofsky’s Noah banned across large swathes of the Arab world in March this year. At the time, the Egypt-based Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest authority, criticized Aronofsky’s film.
Exodus now appears likely to suffer a similar fate.
Ironically, the film is set in Egypt- albeit in Ancient times- and parts of it were shot in Morocco.
In recent weeks, Exodus has been criticised in some circles for choosing overwhelmingly white actors to play Middle Eastern roles as well as Scott’s decision to have God voiced by an 11-year-old boy.Peter Madsen, owner of the UC3 Nautilus submarine, who was on board the vessel when it was found, told the Danish military that the woman disembarked the vessel at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen on Thursday evening, reports broadcaster TV2.
An eight-hour search for the submarine was called off earlier on Friday, after it was located in Køge Bay.
But a Swedish woman who was thought to have been on board the submarine is still yet to be located, Swedish police then informed TV2.
The submarine was reported missing at 2:30am on Friday.
According to Denmark's military command centre (Forsvarets Operationscenter) the alarm that the craft was missing was raised by the partner of the Swedish woman, who is a journalist.
After the sub was found, Madsen alone was brought to shore on board a private boat, according to TV2's report.
He then reported that the woman had left the vessel on Thursday evening.
Deputy inspector Jens Møller of Copenhagen Police confirmed that divers would inspect the wreckage of the submarine on Friday afternoon, reports the Ritzau news agency.
Police have no further information at the time of writing.
The submarine sank shortly after being spotted in Køge Bay.
The vessel sank due to technical problems with a ballast tank, Madsen, who designed and built the boat along with fellow submarine enthusiasts, said according to Ritzau.
A file photo of the UC3 Nautilus. Photo: Bardue Eklund/Scanpix
READ ALSO: Missing submarine found off Copenhagen, search called offAdvertisement
The 2017-2018 UCI Cyclocross Calendar is out and now public, with a packed schedule comprised of 189 race days. Compared to last season, by our rough count, there are approximately two dozen three more UCI-sanctioned race days on the calendar. (See our analysis of the year-over-year changes to the UCI Cyclocross Calendar here.)
Some notes:
Forty two U.S. UCI cyclocross race days are on tap for this season, four six less than on last year’s schedule. The four scheduled days of Texas UCI cyclocross racing are missing, as are the Nittany Lion and North Coast weekends, while the West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix weekend has made the leap into UCI points.
six less than on last year’s schedule. The four scheduled days of Texas UCI cyclocross racing are missing, as are the Nittany Lion and North Coast weekends, while the West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix weekend has made the leap into UCI points. The UCI Telenet Cyclocross World Cup keeps nine stops on the calendar, including Jingle Cross in Iowa City, on September 16, 2017 and the Waterloo World Cup on September 24, 2017. CrossVegas will not be a World Cup this year but will return to C1 status.
Out (far) east, China’s Qiansen Trophy announced four UCI C1 events earlier this year, although only two are on the calendar currently.
Japan takes a big leap, moving from five days of UCI racing (including one day of UCI racing at Nationals) last season to nine days (including two days of Nationals).
Masters Worlds returns to Mol, Belgium on December 1-2, 2017.
USA Cycling’s National Championships in Reno, Nevada, the last January Nationals, will end on January 14, 2018.
The World Championships in Valkenburg are on February 3-4, 2018.
Check out the UCI cyclocross race calendar below, and sort and search to your heart’s content.
Also, share away. Put in now for hall passes, vacation time, and get your friends, family and teammates to save the dates and come out to watch top talent (all while following the coach’s upgrade advice).
2017-2018 UCI Cyclocross Race Calendar - C1, C2, World Cup & Championships
Date Name Venue Country Class Web 8/5/2017 Australia Cyclo-Cross National Championships Adelaide, South Australia AUS CN mtba.asn.au 8/26/2017 2017 Cyclo-Cross National Series Round 5 Fields of Joy CX, Essendon Fields, Victoria AUS C2 mtba.asn.au 8/27/2017 2017 Cyclo-Cross National Series Round 6 Fields of Joy CX, Essendon Fields, Victoria AUS C2 mtba.asn.au 9/3/2017 "Qiansen trophy" Fengtai Changxindian Changxindian Fengtai, Beijing CHN C1 9/6/2017 "Qiansen trophy" Yanqing Yanqing, Beijing CHN C1 9/9/2017 Rochester Cyclocross Rochester, NY USA C1 rochestercyclocross.com 9/10/2017 Rochester Cyclocross Rochester, NY USA C2 rochestercyclocross,com 9/10/2017 Cross Eeklo Eeklo BEL C2 9/15/2017 Jingle Cross 1 Iowa City, Iowa USA C2 jinglecross.com 9/16/2017 Jingle Cross 2 Jingle Cross Iowa City USA C1 9/17/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Iowa City, Iowa USA CDM JingleCross.com 9/17/2017 EKZ CrossTour Baden SUI C1 ekz-crosstour.ch 9/20/2017 Clif Bar Cross Vegas Las Vegas, NV USA C1 CrossVegas.Com 9/22/2017 Trek CXC Cup Waterloo Wisconsin USA C2 Trekbikes.com/World_Cup 9/24/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Waterloo USA CDM 9/24/2017 Radcross Illnau Illnau SUI C2 radcrossillnau.ch 9/28/2017 Toi Toi Cup Slaný CZE C1 cyklokros.cz 9/30/2017 Neerpelt Neerpelt BEL C2 9/30/2017 KMC Cross Fest Thompson, Conneticut USA C1 kmccrossfest.com 9/30/2017 West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix - WSCXGP West Sacramento, California, USA USA C2 wscxgp.com 10/1/2017 West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix - WSCXGP West Sacramento, California USA C2 wscxgp.com 10/1/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Gieten Gieten NED C1 cyclocrossgieten.nl 10/1/2017 EKZ CrossTour Bern SUI C2 ekz-crosstour.ch 10/1/2017 KMC Cross Fest Thompson, Conneticut USA C2 kmccrossfest.com 10/7/2017 Charm City Cross Baltimore, MD USA C1 charmcitycross.com 10/7/2017 Berencross Meulebeke BEL C2 berencross.be 10/7/2017 Toi Toi Cup Jabkenice CZE C2 cyklokros.cz 10/8/2017 Kronborg Park Cross Helsingør DEN C2 10/8/2017 National Trophy Series: Derby Derby GBR C2 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 10/8/2017 Cyclo-Cross International de la Solidarité de Lutterbach Lutterbach FRA C2 10/8/2017 Charm City Cross Baltimore, MD USA C2 charmcitycross.com 10/8/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Hotondcross Ronse - Kluisbergen BEL C1 ronsekoerst.be 10/9/2017 Ibaraki Cyclo-cross Toride round Nakauchi, Toride-city, Ibaraki JPN C2 ibarakicx.com 10/14/2017 Estonian Cyclo-cross National Championships Rapla EST CN 10/14/2017 CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester Gloucester, MA USA C2 gpgloucester.com 10/14/2017 Toi Toi Cup Hlinsko CZE C2 cyklokros.cz 10/14/2017 US Open of Cyclocross Day 1 Boulder, CO USA C2 withoutlimits.com 10/14/2017 Polderscross Kruibeke BEL C2 polderscross.com 10/15/2017 1ère manche de la Coupe de France Besançon FRA C1 acbisontine.com 10/15/2017 US Open of Cyclocross Day 2 Boulder, CO USA C2 withoutlimits.com 10/15/2017 CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester Gloucester, MA USA C2 gpgloucester.com 10/15/2017 EKZ CrossTour Aigle SUI C1 ekz-crosstour.ch 10/15/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Zonhoven Zonhoven BEL C1 10/19/2017 Kermiscross Ardooie BEL C2 10/21/2017 DCCX Washington, DC USA C2 dccxrace.com 10/21/2017 The Silver Goose Midland, Ontario CAN C2 silvergoosecx.ca 10/21/2017 Cyclocross International Podbrezová Podbrezová SVK C2 zpsport.sk 10/21/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Niels Albert CX Boom BEL C2 nielsalbertcx.be 10/22/2017 DCCX Washington, DC USA C2 dccxrace.com 10/22/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Koksijde BEL CDM 10/22/2017 The Silver Goose Midland, Ontario CAN C2 silvergoosecx.ca 10/22/2017 Tage des Querfeldeinsports (Day of Cyclocross) Ternitz AUT C2 10/22/2017 Stockholm cyclocross Stockholm SWE C2 cyclocrossweekend.wordpress.com 10/22/2017 Cyclo-cross de Balan Ardennes Balan FRA C2 10/24/2017 Kiremko Nacht van Woerden Woerden NED C2 nachtvanwoerden.nl 10/28/2017 Cincinnati Cyclocross @ Devou Park Covington, Kentucky, USA USA C1 cincycx.com 10/28/2017 HPCX 1 Jamesburg, NJ USA C2 hpcx.org 10/28/2017 Canadian National Championships Sherbrooke, QC CAN CN sherbrookecx.com 10/28/2017 Toi Toi Cup Holé Vrchy CZE C2 cyklokros.cz 10/28/2017 De Grote Prijs van Brabant's-Hertogenbosch NED C1 veldrit-gpb.nl 10/28/2017 Ziklokross Laudio Laudio-Llodio ESP C2 faciclismo 10/29/2017 TOHOKU CX Project SAGAE Round Sagae-shi,Yamagata Prefecture JPN C2 tohoku-cx-project.com 10/29/2017 HPCX 2 Jamesburg, NJ USA C2 hpcx.org 10/29/2017 National Trophy Series: Abergavenny Abergavenny GBR C1 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 10/29/2017 Harbin Park International Cincinnati, Ohio, United States USA C2 cincycx.com 10/29/2017 EKZ CrossTour Hittnau SUI C1 ekz-crosstour.ch 10/29/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Ruddervoorde Oostkamp - Ruddervoorde BEL C1 cyclocrossruddervoorde.be 10/29/2017 Trofeo Ayuntamiento de Muskiz Muskiz ESP C2 facebook.com/MendizMendiTaldea 10/29/2017 Grand-Prix de la Commune de Contern Contern LUX C2 acccontern.lu 11/1/2017 Gran Premio Mamma E Papa Guerciotti AM Milano ITA C2 11/1/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Koppenbergcross Melden - Oudenaarde BEL C1 koppenbergcross.be 11/4/2017 Derby City Cup Louisville, Kentucky USA C2 thederbycitycup.com 11/4/2017 Masters European Continental Championships Tabor CZE CCM 11/4/2017 Starlight-cross Hibino Mihama-ku Chiba-city Chiba pref. JPN C2 starlightcross.com 11/5/2017 Cyclo-cross de Karrantza Karrantza ESP C2 karrantza.org 11/5/2017 UEC Cyclo-Cross European Championships Tábor CZE CC cyklokros.cz 11/5/2017 Pan-american Continental Championships Louisville USA CC 11/11/2017 Jaarmarktcross Niel BEL C2 11/11/2017 The Northampton International Northampton, MA USA C2 nohocx.com 11/11/2017 Toi Toi Cup Uni?ov CZE C1 cyklokros.cz 11/12/2017 The Northampton International Northampton, MA USA C2 nohocx.com 11/12/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Gavere Gavere BEL C1 11/12/2017 Cyntergy Hurtland Tulsa, OK USA C2 hurtlandusa.com 11/12/2017 2ème manche de la Coupe de France La Meziere FRA C1 rayonsduvaldille.fr 11/12/2017 Flückiger Cross Madiswil Madiswil SUI C1 flueckiger-cross.ch 11/12/2017 Norwegian National Championships Arendal NOR CN sykling.no 11/12/2017 National Trophy Series: Shrewsbury Shrewsbury GBR C2 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 11/18/2017 Major Taylor 'Cross Cup Day 1 Indianapolis, IN USA C2 INDYCYCLOPLEX.COM 11/18/2017 Supercross Day 1 Suffern, NY USA C2 supercrosscup.com 11/18/2017 CXLA Weekend: Cyclocross Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA USA C2 SoCalCross.org 11/19/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Bogense DEN CDM 11/19/2017 Int. Radquerfeldein GP Lambach/Stadl-Paura Pferdezentrum Stadl-Paura AUT C2 rc-lambach.com 11/19/2017 KANSAI Cyclo Cross Makino Round Takashima City Shiga Prefecture JPN C2 kyoto-cf.com 11/19/2017 Supercross Day 2 Suffern, NY USA C2 supercrosscup.com 11/19/2017 CXLA Weekend: Cyclocross Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA USA C2 SoCalCross.org 11/19/2017 Major Taylor 'Cross Cup Day 2 Indianapolis, IN USA C2 INDYCYCLOPLEX.COM 11/25/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Zeven GER CDM 11/25/2017 Rapha Supercross Nobeyama -Day 1 Minamimaki Village, Nagano JPN C2 nobeyamacyclocross.cc 11/26/2017 National Trophy Series: Cyclopark Cyclopark, Gravesend GBR C2 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 11/26/2017 International Cyclocross Selle SMP -9° Trof.Cop.ed.Brugherio82 Brugherio ITA C2 lcbrugheriodue.it 11/26/2017 Rapha Supercross Nobeyama -Day 2 Minamimaki Village, Nagano JPN C2 nobeyamacyclocross.cc 11/26/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Flandriencross Hamme BEL C1 12/1/2017 Championnats du Monde Cyclo-cross Masters UCI / UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships Mol BEL CMM 12/2/2017 Cyclo-cross international de Nyon Nyon SUI C2 vcnyon.ch 12/2/2017 Ruts 'n' Guts Day 1 Broken Arrow, OK USA C1 rutsnguts.com 12/2/2017 Hasselt Hasselt BEL C1 12/2/2017 Toi Toi Cup Milovice CZE C2 cyklokros.cz 12/2/2017 NBX GP of Cross 1 Warwick, RI USA C2 nbxbikes.com 12/2/2017 Championnats du Monde Cyclo-cross Masters UCI / UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships Mol BEL CMM 12/3/2017 Zilvermeercross Mol BEL C2 zilvermeercross.be 12/3/2017 Ruts 'n' Guts Day 2 Broken Arrow, OK USA C2 rutsnguts.com 12/3/2017 XIII Trofeo San Andres Ametzaga de Zuia ESP C2 faciclismo 12/3/2017 Cyclocross International Sion-Valais Sion SUI C2 12/3/2017 Utsunomiya cyclo cross series Utsunomiya city,Tochigi Prefecture JPN C2 utsunomiya-cyclocross.com 12/3/2017 NBX GP of Cross 2 Warwick USA C2 nbxbikes.com 12/3/2017 3ème manche de la Coupe de France Jablines FRA C1 ecbmcyclisme.fr/cyclo-cross-de-jablines 12/6/2017 Trofeo Joan Soler Copa Espana Manlleu ESP C2 ccmanlleuenc.blogspot.com.es 12/8/2017 Asteasuko Ziklo-krosa Asteasu ESP C2 12/8/2017 Gran Premi Les Franqueses del Valles Les Franqueses del Valles ESP C2 ucfciclisme.com 12/8/2017 Ciclocross del Ponte Fae' Di Oderzo - Treviso ITA C2 sportividelponte.it 12/9/2017 Japan National Championships Minamimaki Villge, Nagano JPN CN nobeyamacyclocross.cc 12/9/2017 Czech National Championships - MJ Kolín CZE CN cyklokros.cz 12/9/2017 Toi Toi Cup Kolín CZE C1 cyklokros.cz 12/9/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Noordvlees van Gool Cyclocross Essen BEL C1 molenheidevrienden.be 12/9/2017 13° Trofeo di Gorizia Gorizia ITA C2 caprivesimtbteam.it 12/9/2017 North Carolina Grand Prix - Race 1 Hendersonville, NC USA C2 nccyclocross.com 12/10/2017 Vlaamse Druivencross Overijse BEL C1 desportvriendenoverijse.be 12/10/2017 National Trophy Series: Bradford Bradford GBR C2 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 12/10/2017 North Carolina Grand Prix - Race 2 Hendersonville, NC USA C2 nccyclocross.com 12/10/2017 Ziklo kross Igorre Igorre ESP C2 12/10/2017 EKZ CrossTour Eschenbach SUI C1 ekz-crosstour.ch 12/10/2017 Japan National Championships Minamimaki Villge, Nagano JPN CN nobeyamacyclocross.cc 12/16/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Scheldecross Antwerpen BEL C1 12/17/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 201672018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Namur BEL CDM 12/17/2017 Cyclo-Cross Internacional Ciudad de Valencia Valencia ESP C2 ciclocrossciudaddevalencia.com 12/23/2017 Waaslandcross Sint-Niklaas BEL C2 waaslandcross.be 12/26/2017 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Heusden-Zolder BEL CDM 12/26/2017 Internationales Radquer Dagmersellen Dagmersellen SUI C2 radquerdagmersellen.ch 12/28/2017 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Azencross Loenhout BEL C1 12/29/2017 Bingoalcyclocross Bredene BEL C2 bingoalcyclocross.be 12/30/2017 Hansgrohe Superprestige Diegem Diegem BEL C1 12/30/2017 4ème manche de la Coupe de France Flamanville FRA C1 cyclocross-flamanville.fr 1/1/2018 Grand Prix G.I.L. Immobilière Pétange LUX C2 ucp.lu 1/1/2018 DVV verzekeringen trofee - GP Sven Nys Baal BEL C1 1/2/2018 EKZ CrossTour Meilen SUI C1 ekzcrosstour.ch 1/6/2018 Internationale Cyclo Cross Huijbergen Huijbergen NED C2 wchuijbergen.nl 1/6/2018 Italian National Championships Roma ITA CN 1/7/2018 National Trophy Series: Ipswich Ipswich GBR C2 britishcycling.org.uk/nationaltrophy 1/7/2018 Cyclo-cross International du Mingant Lanarvily FRA C2 1/7/2018 Leuven Leuven BEL C1 1/7/2018 Italian National Championships Roma ITA CN 1/13/2018 German National Championships Bensheim GER CN radsport.ssg-bensheim.de 1/13/2018 French National Championships Quelneuc FRA CN ffc.fr 1/13/2018 Dutch National Championships Surhuisterveen NED CN wielrennensurhuisterveen.nl 1/13/2018 Belgian National Championships Koksijde BEL CN 1/13/2018 British National Championships Hetton Lyons Country Park, Houghton-Le-Spring GBR CN britishcycling.org.uk 1/13/2018 Spanish National Championships Madrid ESP CN rfec.com 1/13/2018 Czech National Championships - ME, WE Mlada Boleslav CZE CN cyklokros.cz 1/13/2018 Danish National Championships Holbaek DEN CN holbaek-cykelsport.dk 1/13/2018 Polish National Championships Kozieglowy POL CN blekitni.org 1/13/2018 Swiss National Championships Steinmaur SUI CN vcsteinmaur.ch 1/14/2018 Luxembourg National Championships Kayl LUX CN fscl.lu 1/14/2018 Portugese National Championships Melgaço POR CN fpciclismo.pt 1/14/2018 Irish National Championships Leinster IRL CN 1/14/2018 USA National Championships Reno, NV USA CN usacycling.org/2018/cxnationals 1/14/2018 German National Championships Bensheim GER CN radsport.ssg-bensheim.de 1/14/2018 French National Championships Quelneuc FRA CN ffc.fr 1/14/2018 Dutch National Championships Surhuisterveen NED CN wielrennensurhuisterveen.nl 1/14/2018 Belgian National Championships Koksijde BEL CN 1/14/2018 British National Championships Hetton Lyons Country Park, Houghton-Le-Spring GBR CN britishcycling.org.uk 1/14/2018 Spanish National Championships Madrid ESP CN rfec.com 1/14/2018 Danish National Championships Holbaek DEN CN holbaek-cykelsport.dk 1/14/2018 Polish National Championships Kozieglowy POL CN blekitni.org 1/14/2018 Swiss National Championships Steinmaur SUI CN vcsteinmaur.ch 1/15/2018 Cyclocross Otegem Otegem BEL C2 cyclocrossotegem.be 1/20/2018 Kasteelcross Zonnebeke Zonnebeke BEL C2 1/21/2018 Gran Premio Città di Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto TV ITA C2 1/21/2018 Grand Prix Möbel Alvisse Leudelange LUX C2 endurance.lu 1/21/2018 Ciclocrosse Internacional de Valongo Valongo POR C2 candibyke.com 1/21/2018 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Nommay FRA CDM 1/27/2018 Internationale Cyclocross Rucphen Rucphen NED C2 cyclocrossrucphen.nl 1/28/2018 Coupe du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI Telenet 2017-2018 / 2017-2018 Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Hoogerheide Province Noord-Brabant NED CDM 2/3/2018 Championnats du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI / UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships Valkenburg Province Limburg NED CM 2/4/2018 Championnats du Monde Cyclo-cross UCI / UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships Valkenburg Province Limburg NED CM 2/7/2018 Parkcross Maldegem Maldegem BEL C2 parkcrossmaldegem.be 2/10/2018 DVV verzekeringen trofee - Krawatencross Lille BEL C1 2/11/2018 Hansgrohe Superprestige Hoogstraten Hoogstraten BEL C1 cyclocrosshoogstraten.be 2/17/2018 Hansgrohe Superprestige Noordzeecross Middelkerke Middelkerke BEL C1 noordzeecross.com 2/18/2018 Vestingcross Hulst Hulst NED C2 vestingcrosshulst.nl 2/25/2018 Internationale Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle Oostmalle BEL C1 cyclocross-oostmalle.be
What do the classes mean?
CDM=World Cup
CM=World Championships
CC=Continental Championships
CCM=Masters Continental Championships
CMM=Masters World Championships
CN=National Championships
C1=UCI C1 status, with points going 15 places deep, 80 points to the winner
C2=UCI C2 status, with points going 10 places deep, 40 points to the winner
See an error or outdated information? Drop a comment below.A man holds a candle during a protest against supreme court legislation in Warsaw, Poland, July 20, 2017. Picture taken on July 20, 2017. Agencja Gazeta/Dawid Zuchowicz via REUTERS
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Senior Czech judges denounced a judicial overhaul in Poland as an attack on the rule of law on Friday, saying they could no longer stay silent over the changes in their neighbor.
Poland’s upper house of parliament was expected to pass a bill allowing parliament to appoint Supreme Court judges later on Friday, defying massed opposition protesters and the European Union, which has threatened sanctions.
Fellow central European power Hungary has stood by Poland’s rulers, saying the EU should not overstep its authority.
But the Czech judges said the bill was an attack on the Polish judiciary’s independence.
“While keeping in mind and respecting the sovereignty of the Polish state, we can not stay silent about the steps that threaten its very source, which is the untouchable values of European civilization, humanism and fundamental rights and freedoms,” their statement said.
It was signed by the heads of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, along with the top state prosecutor and the country’s ombudsman.
Earlier this month, Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan wrote to his Polish counterpart expressing “concern” about the changes, which includes terminating tenures of Supreme Court judges.
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party says the changes are needed to make courts more accountable and to ensure state institutions serve all Poles, not just the “elites” it says are the support base for the centrist opposition.
The Polish bill calls for replacing all Supreme Court judges except those elected by a judicial panel chosen by parliament. The Supreme Court’s tasks include validating elections.Dive Brief:
New York has given the go-ahead to what would be the nation's largest offshore wind farm, a 90 MW installation to be located 30 miles southeast of Montauk and out of sight of Long Island.
The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) this week approved a 20-year contract with Deepwater Wind's South Fork Wind Farm, specifying it would pay only for the energy and not construction or operation.
While the United States' offshore energy development industry remains nascent, New York has committed to developing up to 2.4 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
Dive Insight:
The United States has just one offshore wind farm operating now, but development of the renewable resource is beginning to pick up steam. New York wants to achieve a 50%-by-2030 renewable portfolio standard, and is looking to its shores for clean energy. Earlier this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo backed the construction of Deepwater Wind's offshore wind project while also calling for a larger plan to have 2.4 GW of offshore wind online by 2030.
Proposed in July, Deepwater Wind has said construction on the wind farm could start by 2019 with the project in operation by 2022.
Following LIPA's approval of the power contract, Deepwater CEO Jeffrey Grybowski called it a "big day for clean energy in New York and our nation... There is a huge clean energy resource blowing off of our coastline just over the horizon."
Cuomo's office said other elements of LIPA’s South Fork energy portfolio include transmission enhancements and additional clean energy solutions, such as battery storage and consumer electricity demand reduction. And the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is continuing to develop an "Offshore Wind Master Plan" outlining development of cost-effective offshore wind resources in federal waters.
The U.S.'s first commercial offshore wind farm began operating in December off the coast of Rhode Island to provide power to Block Island. The five-turbine, 30 MW facility will replace Block Island's diesel generators and ship excess generation to the mainland via an undersea cable.Brett Favre has a solution to the Cowboys' impending quarterback drama: Tony Romo should acquiesce the starting role until Dak Prescott starts to struggle.
"I try to put myself in Tony's shoes. I'm sure Tony wants to play. I mean, he doesn't want to get injured, he wants to be productive, but you have to look at the dynamics right now," Favre said on Sirius XM on Tuesday. "And (the Cowboys) really are hitting on all cylinders. So, this is hypothetically thinking, if you are Tony you say, 'You know what, as much as I want to play, I don't want to press the issue.' I want to play but I'm going to let it play out right now and it is probably better if Dak starts struggling and then they bring me in rather than they put me in and then all of a sudden we're not hitting on all cylinders and everyone's like, 'Ah, they should have got rid of Tony, blah, blah.'
"... I'm not saying that you tell (Jason) Garrett or Jerry Jones, 'Look, I don't want to play.' I think, you want to play but I don't want to mess up the dynamics of the team. If we get to a point where we're struggling, then it is time for me to come in. Now, I know that's a hard thing to do.... I just think you are better if you wait until you are really needed. And I mean no disrespect whatsoever to Tony."
While the comments make plenty of sense and it seems like an amenable solution to Dallas' problems, it is interesting to hear these words come from Favre of all people. Perhaps time and perspective has afforded the gunslinger an ability to see the world from another point of view, but would Favre have ever gone for this during his career?
The one thing no one seems to understand at this point is Romo's mentality. Is he the kind of player at 36 who cannot stand to see quite possibly his best chance of playing in a Super Bowl get driven by someone else? Or, is he the type of player who has the ability to place his own abilities and limitations into context?
Perhaps it will never come to this. Prescott could put enough film out there eventually to become predictable, and by the time Romo returns it will be a natural passing of the baton.
But if this were Green Bay in the mid-2000s, our best guess is that Favre would return to the practice field like a powder keg ready to rip his job back.Letter from Robert the Bruce to Edward II reveals power struggle in the build-up to Bannockburn
New research has revealed a letter written in 1310 by Robert Bruce to King Edward II, presenting historians with fresh information about a pivotal time in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The letter was sent less than four years before Robert Bruce won a famous |
of Fire and Damage per Magazine.
Rebel has a weird combination of damage per bullet and Rate of Fire:
Rate of Fire is low enough to make misses punishing. If you try to spam click, you risk losing a lot of your damage output due to missing. Oversampling is an issue as well, though it can be avoided after some practice.
At the same time, even at maximum RoF, Rebel has low DPS, and you kinda need that damage output to effectively kill enemies.
Damage per Shot is not high enough to down a target with just a few hits – you will need 4-5 hits on a full health target. Spending time to carefully aim each shot will lead to obscene Time-to-Kill.
Between revolvers and burst pistols, Rebel seems to have worst of both worlds, and best of none.
That said, there is one thing that Rebel does well – kills with headshots. If you are capable of consistently landing headshots:
Standard infantry dies to 2 headshots within Maximum Damage Range.
Or one headshot and one quick knife swing.
Or one headshot after hitting the enemy with an EMP grenade.
In this regard Rebel, gets dangerously close to revolvers in terms of killing power, all the while having noticeably better Hip Fire accuracy. And, unlike with revolvers, you can put a Suppressor on Rebel, which then becomes very quiet.
However, Rebel has no overkill on any of this, so there are a lot of things that can “break” the consistency: Aux. Shield, heals, shield repair, damage degradation.
For maximum DPS, you need to click ~4 times per second.
LA3 Desperado
DAMAGE 167 @ 8m – 100 @ 50m RATE OF FIRE 896 Burst / 500 RPM /
346 RPM Semi Auto VELOCITY 350 m/s AMMO 14 / 84 RELOAD TIME 1.55 sec / 1.85 sec UNLOCK COST or 699 1000or 699
2x Burst / Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Time Between Shots in a Burst: 0.067 sec
Time Between Bursts: 0.106 sec Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.18
ADS CoFs: 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.12 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 0.7
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 4
Horizontal Recoil: 0.15
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Time Between Shots in a Burst: 0.067 sec
Time Between Bursts: 0.106 sec Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.18
ADS CoFs: 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.6 / 0.12 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 0.7
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 4
Horizontal Recoil: 0.15
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Desperado is a New Conglomerate burst pistol. Unlike with the Terran Republic burst pistols, Desperado has a small forced delay between bursts. However, Cone of Fire does not start to reset until that forced delay is over, so there is no “automatic” CoF recovery between bursts if you fire as fast as possible.
Desperado has lower potential DPS than Repeater, but in return it gets better ADS accuracy and more stable recoil, as well as a semi-auto firemode to snipe deployables.
During the burst, Desperado has the highest Rate of Fire among sidearms, and almost the highest DPS, which gives it higher alpha damage than Repeater.
Within 8m, Desperado has a scary 3-headshot kill, if you can pull it off. Overall, Desperado is a strong, reliable and easy to use sidearm. The only downside is somewhat limited magazine capacity.
For maximum DPS, you need to click ~4 times per second.
NC08 Mag-Scatter
DAMAGE 100 @ 12m – 60 @ 24m PELLETS / SPREAD 6 / 3 RATE OF FIRE 133 RPM VELOCITY 300 m/s AMMO 5 / 30 RELOAD TIME 1.8 sec / 2.6 sec UNLOCK COST or 699 1000or 699
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 0.5 / 1 / 0.5 / 1 / 0
ADS CoFs: 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0
Flying CoF: 5 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 1.5x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 2
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1 / 0.2
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Smart-Choke, MPL, Darklight Flashlight, Extended Magazine Hip CoFs: 0.5 / 1 / 0.5 / 1 / 0
ADS CoFs: 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0
Flying CoF: 5 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 1.5x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 2
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1 / 0.2
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Smart-Choke, MPL, Darklight Flashlight, Extended Magazine
Mag-Scatter is a shotgun pistol, with all the quirky mechanics associated with that weapon type, including the reduced headshot damage multiplier. Mag-Scatter can’t use suppressors, but instead has access to several exclusive attachments:
Smart Choke – a barrel attachment that increases Pellet Spread while Hip Firing by 0.5 degrees, and reduces it by 0.5 degrees while ADSing.
– a barrel attachment that increases Pellet Spread while Hip Firing by 0.5 degrees, and reduces it by 0.5 degrees while ADSing. Extended Mags – a rail attachment that increases magazine size by 1.
– a rail attachment that increases magazine size by 1. MPL – a rail attachment that reduces Pellet Spread by 0.25 degrees at all times. Stacks with Smart Choke.
ADSing with both Smart Choke and MPL equipped reduces your total Pellet Coverage from 4 to 2.75.
Mag-Scatter is hilariously ineffective and unreliable outside of very close ranges, and slow Rate of Fire is its biggest disadvantage. Whenever you need an extra shot to kill an enemy, add unacceptable 0.45 seconds to your Time-to-Kill.
Mag-Scatter doesn’t do enough damage per shot to reliably perform one body shot + one knife strike kills against enemies with full nanoweave armor. You can sidestep this issue by going for headshot opener, or just shooting the enemy again if he survived the knife strike after the first shot. Speaking of which, Mag-Scatter’s low Rate of Fire and sidearm-tier Equip Time mean that you can weave quick-knife attacks between shots almost without losing in shots-per-minute, and thus significantly increasing your overall damage output.
Hegeteus has 47k+ Mag-Scatter kills, and he had this to say:
MPL enhances hipfiring quite a bit, and it’s what I use most of the time, since mobility is the key to my gameplay. Mag-Scatter is still slow and equipping MPL takes away one round, which is why I’ve been using Fujin to compensate for the smaller magazines and Mag-Scatter’s poor agility. I know many people speak badly of the Fujin, but it has bought me crucial time and damage when I’ve needed it. Despite buffs, Mag-Scatter is still not an easy gun to use as a stalker cloaker. Its effective range remains small, and you won’t go unnoticed once you fire it. As opposed to Commissioner, your faction is given away too. In case you want to use it effectively, be prepared to the kind of conflict stalkers normally don’t deal with.
Mag-Scatter has short range and low firerate, but high damage. This gives you opportunities to quick-knife between your shots while making almost no hindrance to your firerate. So I set up my key bindings so I can shoot and quick-knife in quick and precise succession.
I advise players to play more calmly with Mag-Scatter. It is a punishing gun if you miss your shots.
When you are a stalker and someone runs towards you, it can be safer to engage them head on instead of waiting them to run past you, because you get to use quick-knife.
EMP-Grenades are a good and obvious choice with mag-scatter, though it’s hard to throw one without hitting yourself or your enemies being too far for mag-scatter. Mag-Scatter is not something you use for an easy time as a stalker, but with that and knife you can execute some crazy group kills with it. It doesn’t always go that way, but it’s the possibility that makes mag-scatter so incredibly appealing to me. it’s just a fun gun.
Vanu Sovereignty
Vanu Sovereignty sidearms are all over the place. Some of them may seem unoriginal, while others are perhaps too original for their own good. It’s worth noting that VS sidearms do not have bullet drop, which is the reason for their below average projectile velocity.
Beamer VS3
DAMAGE 167 @ 10m – 100 @ 60m RATE OF FIRE 451 RPM VELOCITY 325 m/s AMMO 17 / 85 RELOAD TIME 1.45 sec / 1.75 sec
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.12
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.12 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.12
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.12 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Beamer is the default pistol for Vanu Sovereignty. It’s an inside-community joke to call Beamer “the worst weapon in the game”, which is not that far off from the truth.
Beamer isn’t absolutely worthless, and has some positive traits, but those are not what people usually look for in a sidearm.
Overall, Beamer is very similar to TX-2 Emperor, but with lower velocity and worse ADS accuracy, smaller magazine and faster reload, higher RoF and lower damage at range.
Beamer’s maximum Rate of Fire requires the user to click ~7.5 times per second, and it’s hard to achieve by conventional means (without using a macro), while still trying to actually hit something.
However, this means that Cone of Fire will nearly always have time to reset between shots, so each shot will be as accurate as it possibly can, and you can click as fast as you can without risking to oversample the weapon.
Beamer’s massive downside is low Alpha Damage and generally low Damage per Shot, and sustained accuracy of semi-auto fire isn’t a valuable trait for a sidearm.
Manticore SX40
DAMAGE 200 @ 15m – 112 @ 60m RATE OF FIRE 351 RPM VELOCITY 325 m/s AMMO 15 / 75 RELOAD TIME 1.6 sec / 1.9 sec UNLOCK COST or 250 325or 250
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.14
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.14 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.14
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.14 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Manticore is almost a direct copy of the NC4 Mag-Shot. The only differences are:
Manticore sacrifices some projectile velocity to gain the no-bullet-drop VS trait.
Manticore has slightly worse Hip Fire accuracy, but gains 5m of extra Mag Damage Range, making it more consistent in close quarters and slightly increasing damage at range. It’s basically like having SPA.
Cerberus
DAMAGE 250 @ 8m – 112 @ 50m RATE OF FIRE 300 RPM VELOCITY 300 m/s AMMO 10 / 60 RELOAD TIME 1.65 sec / 2 sec UNLOCK COST or 699 1000or 699
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.25 / 1 / 1.25 / 0.18
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.18 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.25 / 1 / 1.25 / 0.18
ADS CoFs: 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.3 / 0.18 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.1
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.3
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Cerberus is a hard hitting semi-auto pistol. It is overall similar to LA-8 Rebel, but with a few differences:
Reduced maximum damage range from 15m to 8m shortens the range bracket where Cerberus can consistently kill enemies.
Higher potential Rate of Fire slightly improves Cerberus’ DPS and TTK.
Cerberus technically has worse ADS accuracy, but it’s unlikely to have a significant effect during normal gameplay.
Unusually mild Suppressor penalties.
Basically, it all means that Cerberus is better in 0m – 8m and 15m+ ranges, while Rebel is better in 8m – 15m range. For maximum DPS you need to click ~5 times per second.
Spiker
DAMAGE 167 @ 10m – 84 @ 60m RATE OF FIRE 769 Burst / 480 RPM VELOCITY 325 m/s AMMO 16 / 84 RELOAD TIME 1.53 sec / 1.845 sec UNLOCK COST or 699 1000or 699
2x Burst / Charge
Detailed stats Time Between Shots in a Burst: 0.078 sec
Time Between Bursts: 0.094 sec Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.15
ADS CoFs: 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.1 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.7
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 0.5x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.13 / 0.175
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.5
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Time Between Shots in a Burst: 0.078 sec
Time Between Bursts: 0.094 sec Hip CoFs: 1 / 1.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 0.15
ADS CoFs: 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.1 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.25 / 0 Vertical Recoil: 0.7
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 0.5x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.13 / 0.175
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.5
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 18 Attachments: Suppressor, Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Spiker is the most unique pistol, both in terms of looks/animations and functionality. By default, it uses a burst fire mode, and then it’s nearly identical to LA3 Desperado, with these differences:
Spiker has better CoF Bloom for both ADSing and Hip Firing, as well as better ADS CoFs.
Spiker has more time between shots, but less time between bursts. Firing Spiker at optimal Rate of Fire is slightly more challenging, and in that case it behaves closer to fully automatic fire.
1st shot in a burst has only half the Vertical Recoil.
A couple of extra rounds per mag.
In alternative firemode, Spiker’s Damage Resist Type is changed to Type 40, same as for Anti-Materiel Rifles, which means it becomes capable of dealing damage to heavily armored vehicles, and deals bonus damage to MAXes.
In that alternative firemode, you can hold “fire” to charge up a more powerful shot that will also deal splash damage to infantry in a small radius.
Charge Level Charge Time,
sec Ammo Direct Damage
(Type 40) Indirect Damage
(Type 6) 0 0 1 50 – 1 2 2 200 50 2 4 4 400 150
Direct Damage is the same at all ranges (no damage degradation over range).
A fully charged shot is roughly equal to an Archer shot within its max damage range.
shot within its max damage range. While charging, Spiker emits an audible sound.
You can’t charge while sprinting or cloaked, but you can charge it while flying on the Jet Pack.
Suppressor should apply to both firemoded – remains to be confirmed by testing.
Overall, Spiker is an excellent sidearm, and a worthy opponent to Repeater and Desperado, though the alternative firemode is a funny gimmick rather an actually useful combat option, outside of maybe some very specific Stalker Infiltrator shenanigans.
Nanite Systems
Nanite Systems’ sidearms can be used by all factions.
NS-44 Commissioner
DAMAGE 450 @ 8m – 225 @ 42m RATE OF FIRE 170 RPM VELOCITY 450 m/s AMMO 6 / 42 RELOAD TIME 3 sec / 4 sec UNLOCK COST or 799 1000or 799
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 1.25 / 1.75 / 1.25 / 1.75 / 0.4
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.45 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 10 Attachments: Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight Hip CoFs: 1.25 / 1.75 / 1.25 / 1.75 / 0.4
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.45 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.8
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 10 Attachments: Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight
Commissioner is just what you would expect from a magnum revolver: damaging and accurate, but slow to pull out and reload. It has low rate of fire by itself, and you need to shoot even slower to carefully aim all of your shots.
Despite requiring some skill to use properly, Commissioner has had booming success over the years, and earned love and adoration of the community, known for consistency and overwhelming headshot damage.
1 headshot within 8m will instantly kill an Infiltrator without Nano Armor Cloaking.
2 headshots will kill a Heavy Assault
1 headshot and 1 bodyshot will kill infantry in full nanoweave within 22m.
3 body shots will kill infantry in full nanoweave within 13m.
1 headshot and 1 quick knife swing nearly instantly kill most infantry targets.
Commissioner requires proper crosshair placement and trigger discipline to use effectively, but its devastating damage per shot cannot be overstated. Huge alpha damage is what makes Commissioner so deadly and popular. Considering excellent hip fire accuracy of sidearms, it is not that hard to land a shot or a headshot, taking 36-90% of enemy’s health in an instant. The potential destructive power of the Commissioner is simply disgusting for a mere sidearm.
Besides the skill requirement, the only downside of the Commissioner is that it takes 0.2 seconds longer to pull out than most other sidearms, which can be crucial in the heat of combat.
Commissioner is relatively accurate, and remains effective at longer ranges than most sidearms thanks to high damage per shot. However, Commissioner still loses a lot of damage over range: at 39m it requires 5 (!) body shots to kill an enemy without (!!) nanoweave armor. If you do want to engage an enemy at range, you should start with a headshot, and then follow-up with body shots. This technique is demonstrated in my Red Baron shotgun video at 1:30 and 3:11.
To find out if Commissioner is right for you:
Find yourself a good fight, then trial the Commissioner, and just use it as if it was your primary weapon. if you get a decent number of kills, then you’ve found yourself a sidearm. If it’s a little too slow and kicks a little too hard, then try the Underboss the same way. If those don’t work out, then you’re probably gonna be best off with another pistol. –Aquilae
(Outdated, doesn’t include these changes)
NS-357 Underboss
DAMAGE 375 @ 8m – 200 @ 42m RATE OF FIRE 221 RPM VELOCITY 350 m/s AMMO 6 / 42 RELOAD TIME 2.5 sec / 3.5 sec UNLOCK COST or 799 1000or 799
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Hip CoFs: 1.25 / 1.75 / 1.25 / 1.75 / 0.4
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.5
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight, Laser Sight Hip CoFs: 1.25 / 1.75 / 1.25 / 1.75 / 0.4
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.5
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 1x
Recoil Angle: 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Laser Sight, Darklight Flashlight, Laser Sight
Underboss is a snub-nosed, lower caliber variant of the Commissioner. It is noticeably more spammy than the Commissioner, and has 30% higher Rate of Fire, 20% higher Recoil Recovery Rate and 20% lower Vertical Recoil.
Lower damage per bullet reduces kill consistency:
kills in 3 body shots within 16m, if the enemy has no Nanoweave
kills in 4 body shots within 20m, if the enemy has Nanoweave – out of already small 6 round cylinder. This increase is substantial, and makes Nanoweave a hard counter to Underboss.
While Commissioner is perfectly serviceable with bodyshots, lower damage of the Underboss makes it necessary to land headshots, but as as long as you are landing headshots, Underboss is almost directly superior to Commissioner:
Has shorter Equip Time and faster reload.
Kills standard infantry in 2 headshots within 39m, regardless of nanoweave
Kill standard infantry in 1 headshot + 1 body shot within 11m, assuming Nanoweave
Kills NMG / Adrenaline Heavy Assaults with 2x Headshots at close ranges.
1 headshot + quick knife swing nearly instantly kill standard infantry.
A lot of these points echo Commissioner’s capabilities, but Underboss also shoots faster. This makes Underboss the go-to sidearm for competitive infantry players, more so after the nerf to Commissioner’s Equip Time.
When ADSing to engage enemies at range, you can take advantage of Underboss’ superior recoil statistics, which lead to great recentering speed. Underboss returns aim to you faster, so you can take follow-up shots almost without a pause. In essence, Underboss rewards faster and better aiming than what Commissioner allows. But since Underboss packs less damage before reloading, misses are punished more, especially against targets with Nanoweave.
Commissioner vs Underboss ADS Recoil Animation
Both Underboss and Commissioner have heavy recoil animation when aimed down sights. The gun kicks upwards and obstructs your field of vision for a moment. This is notably different from faction-specific sidearms, and makes it challenging to take rapid follow-up shots.
Timeline after you fire the first shot:
Your aim will be kicked up by recoil, but the gun itself will not move on your screen. Then, the gun model will kick upwards, obstruction your field of vision. Then, the gun will return and you will be able to see your target once again, and take a more or less accurate follow-up shot. If you don’t take another shot, your aim will return to its original position on target.
Here are the time values, according to my rough testing:
Commissioner Underboss 117 ms 83 ms First recoil 233 ms 167 ms View obstruction 200 ms 167 ms Recoil recovery 352 ms 271 ms Weapon refire time
The point to take away from this, is that not only Underboss fires faster, it also allows the user to take accurate follow up shots faster, because its recoil animation is ~40% less obstructive.
NS-357 IA
DAMAGE 250 @ 2m – 167 @ 30m PELLETS / SPREAD 2 / 1.25 HIP, 0.75 ADS RATE OF FIRE 180 RPM VELOCITY 300 m/s AMMO 6 / 42 RELOAD TIME 2.55 sec / 3.55 sec
Semi-Auto
Detailed stats Damage: 250 @ 2m – 167 @ 30m
Pellets per Shot: 2
Pellet Spread Hip: 1.25
Pellet Spread ADS: 0.75 Hip CoFs: 0.5 / 0.75 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 0.2
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.5
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 2x
Recoil Angle: 0 / 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18 / 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Darklight Flashlight Damage: 250 @ 2m – 167 @ 30m
Pellets per Shot: 2
Pellet Spread Hip: 1.25
Pellet Spread ADS: 0.75 Hip CoFs: 0.5 / 0.75 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 0.2
ADS CoFs: 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 0.2 Headshot Damage Multiplier: 2x
Minimap Detect Range: 40m
ADS Movespeed Multiplier: 0.75x
Equip / Unequip Time: 0.25 sec / 0.25 sec
ADS Time To / From: 0.15sec / 0.15 sec
Projectile Lifespan / Gravity: 1.5 / 11.25 Vertical Recoil: 1.5
First Shot Recoil Multiplier: 2x
Recoil Angle: 0 / 0
Horizontal Recoil: 0.18 / 0.18
Horizontal Recoil Tolerance: 0.4
Recoil Recovery Delay: 0
Recoil Recovery Rate: 12 Attachments: Darklight Flashlight
NS-357 IA is a special modification of the Underboss: it fires two shots at the same time, though each shot deals less damage than usual, and the rate of fire is reduced to be roughly on the level of the Commissioner.
The only available attachment is Darklight Flashlight. NS-357 IA has no scope attachments, and is forced into using unusual side-mounted iron sights.
NS-357 IA is one of |
” in the body and subject of every email might return instructions on how to access certain systems along with what credentials to use. At an energy company a search for “*scada*” or “*industrial control system*” might return a conversation detailing the location of sensitive ICS devices. At a financial institution a search for “*credit card*” might reveal where employees have been sending credit card numbers in cleartext over email. At a healthcare organization searching for “*SSN*” or “*Social Security number*” could return potential health care data.
Here is a real world example where searching for the term “*database*” in emails revealed a conversation where a SysAdmin was telling his team where the location of their internal KeePass database was migrated to along with the key file.
I copied the DB and key file to my testing system and opened it with KeePass (Of course a second factor wasn’t required). All I needed was the key file that was in the same directory as the DB../facepalm). It was a gold mine of pretty much every credential you would ever want at an organization. All of the ‘sa’ passwords to databases, all of the network device passwords, passwords to login to their security products, Windows administrative passwords, VPN Group ID/pass, etc.
Most of the environments we see are typically running Microsoft Exchange for email services. Microsoft Exchange already has a few tools for searching email built-in to the server itself. From the Exchange Management Shell on the server the Search-Mailbox cmdlet has some search functionality, but not at the level I wanted. So, I set out on building a new tool to accomplish my goal of being able to search all the mailboxes on a domain for specific terms.
MailSniper.ps1
Available here: https://github.com/dafthack/MailSniper
To accomplish my goal I decided to start building a tool called MailSniper written in PowerShell for a few reasons:
PowerShell scripts are very portable
Some basic scripts for connecting to Exchange Web Services already exist
Microsoft Exchange Server starting with version 2007 has implemented a web API called Exchange Web Services (EWS). EWS allows for remote web calls to the Exchange server to gather various data including calendars, contacts, and messages. The ability to connect to Exchange remotely from any system on the network provides highly flexible search capabilities.
I wanted this to be a tool that could operate completely remote from any host on the network to the Exchange server, meaning an interactive session (RDP, VNC, etc.) was not required. In doing research into Exchange Web Services I discovered a few things that I found interesting that would ultimately lead to a second function being developed.
My initial goal was to create a tool to search through every mailbox in a domain for specific terms. Another highly useful function of Exchange Web Services I hadn’t considered is to simply search the current user’s email alone. Because of this possibility I created a separate function inside of MailSniper.
The two main functions in MailSniper are Invoke-GlobalMailSearch and Invoke-SelfSearch.
Invoke-SelfSearch
Invoke-SelfSearch is a function that will simply search for terms in the current user’s mailbox. The ability to search your own email in a pentesting situation may seem at first like something that wouldn’t be all that useful. But when you start to consider how often we as pentesters gain access to other user’s credentials during engagements, and combine that then with the ability to search their email from a PowerShell script, it becomes much more powerful. It becomes a brand new privilege escalation vector.
For example, let’s say that through password spraying we were able to gain access to 10 user credentials, but none of them have any administrative access. By searching through each one of their mailboxes for the terms “password”, “creds”, or “credentials” we might very well find a number of conversations that include information that would allow us to access other accounts or systems.
To search the current user’s mailbox first open a PowerShell terminal with the ‘-exec bypass’ option to bypass execution policy. Then, import the MailSniper.ps1 module into a PowerShell terminal, and run the following Invoke-SelfSearch command with the email address of your user:
Invoke-SelfSearch -Mailbox current-user@domain.com
This command will connect to the Exchange server auto-discovered from the email address entered using Exchange Web Services where, by default, 100 of the latest emails from the “Mailbox” will be searched through for the terms “*pass*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”.
By default the only option necessary for Invoke-SelfSearch is the -Mailbox option. A full list of options that can be used are:
ExchHostname – The hostname of the Exchange server to connect to if Autodiscover is failing.
– The hostname of the Exchange server to connect to if Autodiscover is failing. Mailbox – Email address of the current user the PowerShell process is running as (i.e. the only mailbox the account can search).
– Email address of the current user the PowerShell process is running as (i.e. the only mailbox the account can search). Terms – Certain terms to search through each email subject and body for. By default the script looks for “*password*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”.
– Certain terms to search through each email subject and body for. By default the script looks for “*password*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”. ExchangeVersion – In order to communicate with Exchange Web Services the correct version of Microsoft Exchange Server must be specified. By default this script tries “Exchange2010”. Additional options to try are Exchange2007_SP1, Exchange2010, Exchange2010_SP1, Exchange2010_SP2, Exchange2013, or Exchange2013_SP1.
– In order to communicate with Exchange Web Services the correct version of Microsoft Exchange Server must be specified. By default this script tries “Exchange2010”. Additional options to try are Exchange2007_SP1, Exchange2010, Exchange2010_SP1, Exchange2010_SP2, Exchange2013, or Exchange2013_SP1. OutputCsv – Outputs the results of the search to a CSV file.
– Outputs the results of the search to a CSV file. MailsPerUser – The total number of latest emails to search through in the mailbox. The default is set to the latest 100 emails in the inbox.
Invoke-GlobalMailSearch
Invoke-GlobalMailSearch is a function that will search through all mailboxes on an Exchange server. The process to search through every mailbox is a bit more complicated than just searching the mailbox of the current user. For starters just getting a Domain Admin account doesn’t necessarily mean you now have access to everyone’s mailbox. By default the “Domain Admins” group does not have “full access” rights to mailboxes on Exchange.
The account group that has complete and utter control of everything related to Exchange is the “Exchange Organization Administrators” group. (FYI This group name varies between Exchange versions. In Exchange 2013 the group is called “Organization Management”). In order to make this script work you will need an account from that group. In the few tests I have run, it appears that “Domain Admins” has the ability to grant this access to any account. So, if typical user hunting with doesn’t yield you an Exchange admin account you can always resort to adding your own user to the group with a DA. From a workstation on the domain the following command can be run as a domain admin to add a user to the “Exchange Organization Administrators” group:
C:> net groups “Exchange Organization Administrators” <username-of-your-user> /DOMAIN /ADD
In researching deeper into accessing other users’ mailboxes I came across what is called the “ApplicationImpersonation” role. The “ApplicationImpersonation” role is a Microsoft Exchange server role that, when granted to a user, allows them to impersonate other users when accessing mailboxes. This role can be granted at the Exchange Management Shell with the following command:
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Name:impersonationAssignmentName -Role:ApplicationImpersonation -User:username-of-impersonation-user
Having this role assigned to a user I controlled allowed for accessing other users’ mailboxes. Exchange Management Shell was required to make this change. This is installed on the Exchange server itself. In order to perform this action remotely Invoke-GlobalMailSearch sets up a PowerShell remoting session to the Exchange server as the Exchange admin, and then imports the Microsoft.Exchange configuration which includes all of the Exchange Management Shell commands.
After the PS-Remoting session is established Invoke-GlobalMailSearch grants a specific user passed in via the -ImpersonationAccount option the ApplicationImpersonation role. After this role has been granted the Invoke-GlobalMailSearch function creates a list of all mailboxes in the Exchange database using the Exchange Management Shell command ‘Get-Mailbox | Select Name -ExpandProperty EmailAddresses’. It is also possible to pass in a custom list of email addresses with the -MailList flag.
Invoke-GlobalMailSearch then connects to Exchange Web Services using the account with the impersonation role to gather a number of emails from each mailbox, and ultimately searches through them for specific terms. By default the script searches for “*password*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”.
To search all mailboxes on an Exchange server import the MailSniper.ps1 module into a PowerShell terminal, then run the following command changing out the options to match the target environment:
Invoke-GlobalMailSearch -ImpersonationAccount current-username ExchHostname Exch01 -OutputCsv global-email-search.csv
This command will connect to the Exchange server located at ‘Exch01’ and prompt for administrative credentials. Once administrative credentials have been entered a PS remoting session is setup to the Exchange server where the ApplicationImpersonation role is then granted to the “current-username” user. A list of all email addresses in the domain is then gathered, followed by a connection to Exchange Web Services as “current-username” where, by default, 100 of the latest emails from each mailbox will be searched through for the terms “*pass*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*” and output to a CSV file called global-email-search.csv.
The CSV that is output should look something like the screenshot below.
Another example command for Invoke-GlobalMailSearch would be:
Invoke-GlobalMailSearch -ImpersonationAccount current-username AutoDiscoverEmail user@domain.com -MailsPerUser 1000 -Terms "*passwords*","*super secret*","*industrial control systems*","*scada*","*launch codes*" -ExchangeVersion Exchange2010 -OutputCsv example2search.csv AdminUserName domain\adminusername -AdminPassword SuperSecurePassword123
This command will connect to the Exchange server auto-discovered from the email address entered, and automatically login with the administrative credentials passed on the command line. A PS-Remoting session is then setup to the Exchange server where the ApplicationImpersonation role is then granted to the “current-username” user. A list of all email addresses in the domain is then gathered, followed by a connection to Exchange Web Services using the Exchange Version ‘Exchange2010’ as “current-username” where 1,000 of the latest emails from each mailbox will be searched through for the terms “*passwords*”,”*super secret*”,”*industrial control systems*”,”*scada*”,”*launch codes*” and output to a CSV called example2search.csv.
A full list of options that can be used with Invoke-GlobalMailSearch are:
ImpersonationAccount – Username of the current user account the PowerShell process is running as. This user will be granted the ApplicationImpersonation role on Exchange.
ExchHostname – The hostname of the Exchange server to connect to if Autodiscover is failing.
– The hostname of the Exchange server to connect to if Autodiscover is failing. AutoDiscoverEmail – A valid email address that will be used to autodiscover where the Exchange server is located.
– A valid email address that will be used to autodiscover where the Exchange server is located. AdminUserName – The username of an Exchange administrator including the domain (i.e. domain\adminusername).
– The username of an Exchange administrator including the domain (i.e. domain\adminusername). AdminPassword – The password to the Exchange administrator account specified with AdminUserName.
– The password to the Exchange administrator account specified with AdminUserName. Terms – Certain terms to search through each email subject and body for. By default the script looks for “*password*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”.
– Certain terms to search through each email subject and body for. By default the script looks for “*password*”,”*creds*”,”*credentials*”. ExchangeVersion – In order to communicate with Exchange Web Services the correct version of Microsoft Exchange Server must be specified. By default this script tries “Exchange2010”. Additional options to try are Exchange2007_SP1, Exchange2010, Exchange2010_SP1, Exchange2010_SP2, Exchange2013, or Exchange2013_SP1.
– In order to communicate with Exchange Web Services the correct version of Microsoft Exchange Server must be specified. By default this script tries “Exchange2010”. Additional options to try are Exchange2007_SP1, Exchange2010, Exchange2010_SP1, Exchange2010_SP2, Exchange2013, or Exchange2013_SP1. OutputCsv – Outputs the results of the search to a CSV file.
– Outputs the results of the search to a CSV file. MailsPerUser – The total number of latest emails to search through in the mailbox. The default is set to the latest 100 emails in the inbox.
– The total number of latest emails to search through in the mailbox. The default is set to the latest 100 emails in the inbox. EmailList – A text file listing email addresses to search (one per line).
Demo Video
Conclusion
Having the ability to now search through every mailbox on a domain allows us as penetration testers to discover sensitive data on a network faster. It might also prove to be useful for escalating privileges. From a blue team perspective it could even be used regularly to check if employees are sending sensitive information in emails that is against company policy. As of this blog post MailSniper is very much in beta form and is under development. Some future objectives for the tool are already being planned out as well.
Download MailSniper here: https://github.com/dafthack/MailSniperNuclear-powered submarines, aircraft carriers, and even icebreakers have been in operation for over 50 years now with a remarkable success rate. So Russia is planning to further commercialize that technology by building a fleet of floating nuclear power plants that will provide electricity to remote areas where building a permanent reactor is either too expensive, or too dangerous.
The first floating nuclear power plant is expected to be in operation by 2016. Using two KLT-40 naval propulsion reactors, it will produce up to 70 MW of electricity—enough to power a city with 200,000 residents. Initially the plants will be targeted at remote operations like oil drilling platforms and the like, but they could also be used in places like Japan, where a tsunami would pose less of a safety risk if a nuclear power plant could literally ride out a storm.
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The portable plants offer additional functionality too. They can be easily modified to serve as floating desalination plants, producing 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water every day. And in an extreme emergency they could help get a coastal area back on its feet by stepping in when local power generating facilities have failed. [OKBM via RT]AMERICA'S Republican party has succeeded in blocking many of the Obama administration's planned high-speed rail initiatives. (Some of them were bad ideas anyway.) Now Phillip Longman has taken to the Washington Monthly—a publication not exactly sympathetic to the ideals of the modern GOP—to argue that the death of Obama's high-speed dreams may be a good thing. His argument isn't what you might expect:
Yes, bullet trains speeding at 180 mph [290 kph] or more from major city to major city are great for business execs in a hurry and on an expense account. But the more conventional, cheaper, "fast enough" high-speed rail lines like the West Rhine line are the real backbone of the German passenger rail system and that of most other industrialized nations. And it is from these examples that America has the most to learn, especially since it now looks as if the U.S. isn't going to build any real high-speed rail lines, except possibly in California, anytime soon. In an ironic twist, between the mounting concern over the state and federal deficits and growing Republican and NIMBY opposition to high-speed rail, the Obama administration is being forced to settle for incremental projects that will only bring passenger rail service up to the kind of standards found on the West Rhine line. And that's a good thing, provided Republicans don't succeed in killing passenger trains in the United States altogether, as they are increasingly wont to try.
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Mr Longman contends that America's passenger rail system is so bad that even simply upgrading to "fast-enough" trains would represent a vast improvement in service that would build ridership and political support for further upgrades. Right now, he argues, building true high-speed rail in America would be "so expensive, disruptive, contentious, and politically risky that it just might not be possible."
The key tipping point, Mr Longman says, is when taking the train becomes faster than driving. And several factors are more important than speed. On-time performance is crucial, and perhaps Amtrak's biggest problem. Mr Longman thinks this can be fixed with "incremental investment in new sidings and track capacity to make sure freight trains don't get in the way." Improving frequency of service could also help, Mr Longman argues.
Blogger Matt Yglesias says he agrees with Mr Longman, but I don't think he actually does. Here's how he wraps up his post on the subject:
I do find the whole conversation slightly frustrating. The United States is a really big country. You wouldn't hear a debate in "Europe" about whether "Europe" should be building a train from Madrid to Barcelona "or" a train connecting the cities of the Rhineland. Nothing about [upgrading a slowish Portland-Seattle line to medium-speed] actually prevents you from building a brand new true HSR connection elsewhere in the country. The overall pot of infrastructure spending money in the United States is currently too low, which prompts a bunch of should-be-avoidable conversations about project priority.
That last sentence is crucial. Mr Longman's article rests on the dubious idea that if we spend less on high-speed rail, politicians will for some reason feel compelled to take the money that would otherwise have been spent on high-speed rail and use it to upgrade slow-speed lines to "fast enough." But there's no evidence that is actually true. After all, the reason that the lines are so slow in the first place is that America has never spent the money to make them any faster. It's not as if building more sidings for freight trains and improving signalling are new ideas. Contra Mr Longman, there's not much for America to "learn" here: Europe invested in making its less-than-high-speed lines "fast enough." America didn't. It's a short story.
One problem is that it's hard to get politicians to spend money on incremental improvements. The difference between an older service and the newer, incrementally improved service is only noticeable over long periods of time, if at all. Amtrak's Northeast corridor service has gotten incrementally faster over the past few decades. But that hasn't increased the political support for further improvements—in fact, Amtrak's continued failure to make dramatic improvements has been fodder for its critics. "Service between New York and DC is a few minutes faster" is not the kind of statement that fires up members of Congress. It's not the kind of thing you can put on a bumper sticker, either.
When Rick Scott, the Republican governor of Florida, nixed a flagship Obama administration high-speed rail project there, I argued that the White House had paid the price for its lack of vision:
Much of the blame for how all this turned out has to rest with the White House. The Obama administration's political team didn't seem to anticipate the danger that putting Mr Obama's name behind high-speed rail (or just about anything) would galvanise Republican opposition. If they did anticipate the GOP backlash, and embraced modest rail plans in order to soften a blow they knew would come, that's even worse. If the White House was going to take the political risk of putting its weight behind high-speed rail, it should have gone all-in. A Tampa-Orlando line and some track improvements in the upper Midwest weren't enough to inspire anyone.
The best way to get high-speed rail to succeed in America is to actually build it somewhere, and then to wait for the other states to say "I want that!" The Obama administration doesn't have to "settle" for incremental improvements. The places that are objectively the best candidates for high-speed rail (California and the Northeast corridor) also happen to be the places that want to invest in it. The federal government should spend its limited high-speed rail money in those places instead of worrying about convincing GOP governors in Ohio and Wisconsin and Florida to accept hundreds of millions of dollars to build "fast-enough" lines. And if there isn't the political will to appropriate the money, then at the very least the feds should make it easier for states that want to work together on high-speed rail to do so and get out of the way.Progress toward peace between Israel and Palestine requires that Israel freeze its settlement-building, the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday, adding that reacting to occupation is "human nature."
"As oppressed people have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation," Ban said, slamming Israel's oppressive policies targeting Palestinians.
Ban also called the settlement activities "an affront to the Palestinian people and to the international community."
Addressing the U.N. Security Council's periodic Middle East debate, Ban Ki-moon also urged both sides to act now "to prevent the two-state solution from slipping away forever." He also condemned attacks against Israeli civilians and called for an end to incitement from both parties.
Dozens of people on both sides have died in four months of violence, which Israel blames on Palestinian incitement. Palestinians say the attacks stem from frustration at nearly five decades of Israeli military rule and occupation.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged the council to act.
Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, did not address settlement-building. He instead showed reporters what he called "terror dolls" that he said are used to teach hatred to Palestinian children.
The comments by Ban and others came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week said his government is committed to West Bank settlements. Ban said he was "deeply troubled" by new reports that Israel's government has approved plans for more than 150 new settlements in the West Bank illegally occupied by Israel.
Israel has recently approved the expropriation of some 370 acres (150 hectares) of land in another part of the Palestinian territory.
Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the territory as illegal or illegitimate. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the council that the United States "strongly opposes settlement activity."
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community. Palestinians, for their part, continue to demand the establishment of an independent state on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with East Jerusalem – currently occupied by Israel – as its capital.
Today, some 380,000 Israelis live in 135 West Bank settlements, with another 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has come under heavy criticism for its approvals of settlements on illegally occupied Palestinian lands.
In the occupied West Bank, extremist settlers have caused global uproar upon their killings and attacks against Palestinians. Last summer, two Israeli settlers murdered a Palestinian family - including an 18-month-old child - in an arson attack in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Many countries, including Turkey and the United States, have condemned the violence and the illegal settlements in the area and called upon Israel to put an end to its indifferent attitude towards the atrocities in Palestinian lands.Corpses are strewn across the warehouse floor, paid zombie actors are tasked with spooking players, and gas-powered laser guns are handed out that recoil like real guns and utilise infrared technology to signal for the zombie actors to die when they are "shot" by players. Zombie shooting game in Broadmeadows. 16th of November 2012. The Age news Picture by JOE ARMAO Credit:Joe Armao Created by IRL Shooter (IRL stands for "In Real Life"), a company started by film and TV industry veterans, the game has already been a success in Melbourne with more than 6200 players taking part during the three months it ran starting late October in 2012. Run inside a 12,000-square-metre warehouse, the Melbourne event included 7500 props and made use of around 14,000 batteries, 20,000 litres of fake blood and 200 actors. Most players were from Melbourne, but many others came from interstate and overseas for the experience. Now IRL Shooter hope to raise $1 million to bring a similar event to Sydney where the game will have the added feature of pain inflicted with the help of a "pain belt". It is optional and delivers an electric shock to players if they come within close proximity of a zombie that's chasing them.
"The paint belt gives players the chance of actually having that physical sensation of being hurt," said IRL Shooter's director David Leadbetter. One of the scenes from the Melbourne Patient 0 game. "So when a zombie 'bites' — and that's an infrared electronic bite that occurs through proximity — players will physically feel it and it'll heighten the immersion and heighten the realism [of the game]. It'll also add an extra dimension to it, which we felt was lacking." Other new additions will require players to find an eyeball and hand to insert into a retina or palm scanner to open doors. Players will also need to put their hands inside gruesome "corpses" to find clues. Patient 0 lets you 'kill' zombie actors using guns that use infrared technology that is used in games like lasertag.
"You don't just play our game, you live it," said Mr Leadbetter. "There's no pause button and you can't 'timeout' to go and have a cup of tea or go to the toilet. Once you're in, you're in." In some cases, some gamers became a little too immersed in the game and injured themselves while playing Patient 0 in Melbourne. Make-up is put on a zombie actor. "[They] thought that they were still playing Call of Duty or Battlefield and decided to jump down a flight of stairs - because that's what they can do in the [virtual] game - and then had to hobble the rest of the way with twisted ankles and that sort of thing," he said. The fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding site Pozible was one tenth of the way there on Thursday, with 30 days to go.
The plan is to host the game in an inner-west warehouse every weekend from August over a period of about 12-13 weeks. Mr Leadbetter, a freelance film and TV producer, said the idea of creating a real-life video game came about at a pub with friends. "We were sitting around talking about video games and movies and the conversation turned to 'Wouldn't be great if we could play a video game in real-life'," said Mr Leadbetter, who has been involved with big budget American films, music videos and small budget local TV commercials. "It really was from a love of the [horror] genre, a love of games and taking games to the next level. Sitting in front of your screen is great... but you're still in a safe environment, you're still sitting on the couch. So the idea was... with our background in film and TV production that I and my other business partner Drew have, we could build a venue, develop the technology and actually put on a live event game." He said Patient 0 was inspired by a number of video game series, including Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Dead Space. "We wanted to incorporate the creepiness and the lighting design and the sense of suspense and foreboding that those games created," he said.
But the game isn't for everyone. At the Melbourne event about eight people didn't make it to the end. "Some people just don't respond well to being shouted at," said Mr Leadbetter, referring to the "sergeant" who briefs teams before they go in. "[He] really broke down some people." To play, gamers need to be over the age of 16 and sign a legal disclaimer acknowledging hazards and frights that could feasibly lead to injury or death. Daniel Johnson, director of the QUT games research lab, said the game sounded like "good fun" but agreed it probably wasn't for everyone. Mr Johnson said the only danger would be people not realising what they were getting into.Written by Larry Ball | Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Understanding this basic distinction between justification and salvation should be rudimentary in the life of every believer. However, because of this confusion, I believe it has had a deleterious effect on the modern church. It tends to define salvation as a one-time act of God. It tends to downplay the necessity and the struggle of sanctification. It tends to leave us at the altar of our own personal experience. It tends to shift salvation from the corporate church to individualism. It tends to shift the focus of kingdom building to the arena of the soul only.
The doctrine of justification by faith alone is one of the great doctrines of the Protestant Church. Martin Luther called it the “doctrine by which the church stands or falls.” Justification is the truth that God imputes to us the active and passive obedience of Christ. God charges to our account the righteousness that Christ earned, and on this basis He declares us righteous. It is not something we can earn or merit by our good works. This doctrine is the foundation for our hope in God.
However, it has been my experience over many years in the pastorate to hear people mistakenly equate justification with salvation. Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is so dear to them. Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is the only place where they found peace. Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is always under attack. But it is a mistake to equate justification with salvation.
Justification is only one part of salvation. Salvation is a process that begins in eternity before the foundation of the world and ends in glorification as the saints of God dwell with Him for evermore. Most seminary students learn the term “ordo salutis” early in their training. The “ordo salutis” gives us a hint that salvation is more than justification. There is an order (and therefore a process) in the work of God as He saves His people. This order not only includes justification, but it also includes such works of God as election, calling, regeneration, adoption, sanctification, and glorification.
Justification is a one-time act of God and not a process. Salvation is a process that happens over time and includes the past, the present, and the future. Paul uses the concept of salvation to refer to this process over the life of a Christian. In Ephesians 2:8 he says we “have been saved.” In 2 Corinthians 2:15 he says we “are being saved.” In Romans 5:9 he says we “shall be saved.” Indeed, salvation is the work of God in the life of a believer over a period of time.
Understanding this basic distinction between justification and salvation should be rudimentary in the life of every believer. However, because of this confusion, I believe it has had a deleterious effect on the modern church. It tends to define salvation as a one-time act of God. It tends to downplay the necessity and the struggle of sanctification. It tends to leave us at the altar of our own personal experience. It tends to shift salvation from the corporate church to individualism. It tends to shift the focus of kingdom building to the arena of the soul only.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Justification is crucial in salvation. It is the primary act of God that will give the sinner peace. It depends on the objective work of God and not on any subjective experience in the Christian. It is a one-time event in the life of a Christian. It is the gem in the center of the king’s ring. However, it is not salvation. Salvation is a process that roots itself in justification, but it is much more than justification. Salvation is the work of God to recover this sinful world for Himself. It begins with the individual and moves onward to capture families and nations. It is the work of God in bringing every thought in this world captive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Justification is a glorious doctrine, but so is salvation. Do not confuse the two.
Larry E. Ball is an Honorably Retired Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tennessee.Circuit representation of Fredkin gate
The Fredkin gate (also CSWAP gate) is a computational circuit suitable for reversible computing, invented by Edward Fredkin. It is universal, which means that any logical or arithmetic operation can be constructed entirely of Fredkin gates. The Fredkin gate is a circuit or device with three inputs and three outputs that transmits the first bit unchanged and swaps the last two bits if, and only if, the first bit is 1.
Definition [ edit ]
The basic Fredkin gate[1] is a controlled swap gate that maps three inputs (C, I 1, I 2 ) onto three outputs (C, O 1, O 2 ). The C input is mapped directly to the C output. If C = 0, no swap is performed; I 1 maps to O 1, and I 2 maps to O 2. Otherwise, the two outputs are swapped so that I 1 maps to O 2, and I 2 maps to O 1. It is easy to see that this circuit is reversible, i.e., "undoes" itself when run backwards. A generalized n×n Fredkin gate passes its first n-2 inputs unchanged to the corresponding outputs, and swaps its last two outputs if and only if the first n-2 inputs are all 1.
The Fredkin gate is the reversible three-bit gate that swaps the last two bits if, and only if, the first bit is 1.
Truth table Permutation matrix form INPUT OUTPUT C I 1 I 2 C O 1 O 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 [ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ] {\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}1&0&0&0&0&0&0&0\\0&1&0&0&0&0&0&0\\0&0&1&0&0&0&0&0\\0&0&0&1&0&0&0&0\\0&0&0&0&1&0&0&0\\0&0&0&0&0&0&1&0\\0&0&0&0&0&1&0&0\\0&0&0&0&0&0&0&1\\\end{bmatrix}}}
It has the useful property that the numbers of 0s and 1s are conserved throughout, which in the billiard ball model means the same number of balls are output as input. This corresponds nicely to the conservation of mass in physics, and helps to show that the model is not wasteful.
Truth functions with AND, OR, XOR, and NOT [ edit ]
The Fredkin gate can be defined using truth functions with AND, OR, XOR, and NOT, as follows:
O 1 = I 1 XOR S O 2 = I 2 XOR S C out = C in
where S = (I 1 XOR I 2 ) AND C
Alternatively:
O 1 = (NOT C AND I 1 ) OR (C AND I 2 ) O 2 = (C AND I 1 ) OR (NOT C AND I 2 ) C out = C in
Completeness [ edit ]
One way to see that the Fredkin gate is universal is to observe that it can be used to implement AND, NOT and OR:
If I 2 = 0, then O 2 = C AND I 1. If I 2 = 1, then O 1 = C OR I 1. If I 1 = 0 and I 2 = 1, then O 2 = NOT C.
Example [ edit ]
Three-bit full adder (add with carry) using five Fredkin gates. The "g" garbage output bit is (p NOR q) if r=0, and (p NAND q) if r=1.
Inputs on the left, including two constants, go through three gates to quickly determine the parity. The 0 and 1 bits swap places for each input bit that is set, resulting in parity bit on the 4th row and inverse of parity on 5th row.
Then the carry row and the inverse parity row swap if the parity bit is set and swap again if one of the p or q input bits are set (it doesn't matter which is used) and the resulting carry output appears on the 3rd row.
The p and q inputs are only used as gate controls so they appear unchanged in the output.
Quantum Fredkin gate [ edit ]
On March 25, 2016, researchers from Griffith University and the University of Queensland announced they |
the logging business, he said. When loggers cut roads into the Congo basin, for example, hunters are usually the first to follow, often bringing meat back on logging trucks, he added.
"It's a huge, huge problem."
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The bush meat trade not only contributes to the extinction of animal species, but also it poses serious health hazards. One of the greatest health risks occurs during butchering.
"You have a lot of blood," said Michael Schillaci, assistant professor at the University of Toronto at Scarborough's anthropology department, "there's a high risk of exposure."
The most well-known disease associated with primate butchering is HIV, Prof. Schillaci said. And in "wet markets," where domesticated and wild animals mix, there is a risk that an animal could contract two illnesses, such as avian and human influenza. A resulting hybrid virus could contain elements of both diseases, making it harder to combat.
Prof. Brashares said it appears that while there is a serious attempt being made to curtail the bush meat trade, it isn't generally considered a priority.
"The impression is that officers are catching about 1 per cent of what's coming in," he said.Visitors walking through the thatched houses of this village on the shore of Lake Kivu are shadowed by a large, happy rabble of young children. There are, however, few middle-aged women in evidence — perhaps not surprising in a country where a woman’s average life expectancy is 49.
Talking to women in Bweremana, the correlation between the number of children and the absence of some of their mothers becomes clear. Kanyere Sabasaba, 35, has had 10 children, eight of whom have survived. Her last delivery did not go well. “I delivered the baby without any problem, but I was bleeding much,” she told me. The case was too complex for the local health center, so Kanyere had to pay for her transport to another medical facility. After the surgery, the doctor performed a tubal ligation. “If I give birth again, I could die,” she said. “The last child is the one who could really kill me.”
In this part of Congo, the complications of childbirth are as dangerous as the militias in the countryside. One woman I met had given birth to 13 children, only six of whom survived. Women sometimes deliver in the fields while working. Medical help can be a few days’ journey away. Each birth raises the odds of a hemorrhage, infection or rupture. Those odds increase dramatically when births come early in life, or late in life, or in rapid succession. In Congo, almost one in five deaths of women during childbearing years is due to maternal causes.
The women of Bweremana are attempting to diffuse and minimize their risk. In a program organized by Heal Africa, about 6,000 contribute the equivalent of 20 cents each Sunday to a common fund. When it is their time to give birth, the fund becomes a loan to pay transportation and hospital fees. The women tend a common vegetable garden to help with income and nutrition. And the group encourages family planning.
The very words “family planning” light up the limbic centers of American politics. From a distance, it seems like a culture war showdown. Close up, in places such as Bweremana, family planning is undeniably pro-life. When births are spaced more than 24 months apart, both mothers and children are dramatically more likely to survive. Family planning results not only in fewer births, but in fewer at-risk births, including those early and late in a woman’s fertility. When contraceptive prevalence is low, about 70 percent of all births involve serious risk. When prevalence is high, the figure is 35 percent.
Support for contraception does not imply or require support for abortion. Even in the most stringent Catholic teaching, the prevention of conception is not the moral equivalent of ending a life. And conservative Protestants have little standing to object to contraception, given the fact that they make liberal use of it. According to a 2009 Gallup poll, more than 90 percent of American evangelicals believe that hormonal and barrier methods of contraception are morally acceptable for adults. Children are gifts from God, but this does not require the collection of as many gifts as biologically possible.
Yet the role of contraception in development has become controversial — and both ideological extremes seem complicit in this polarization. Some liberal advocates of family planning believe that it is inseparable from abortion rights — while some conservative opponents of family planning believe exactly the same thing, leading them to distrust the entire enterprise. Suspicions on the right are not allayed when the vice president of the United States seems tolerant of forced abortion in China.
But women in Congo have enough home-grown problems without importing irrelevant, Western controversies. While both the pill and condoms are generally available in larger cities such as Goma, access is limited in rural districts. Determining the pace of reproduction is often a male prerogative instead of a shared decision. Sexual violence can be as close for a woman as gathering fuel in the woods.
Contraceptives do not solve every problem. But women in Bweremana want access to voluntary family planning for the same reasons as women elsewhere: to avoid high-risk pregnancies, to deliver healthy children and to better care for the children they have. And this is a pro-life cause.
michaelgerson@washpost.comOne of the casualties of the latest round of job cuts at Microsoft is the Microsoft Research (MSR) Silicon Valley lab.
On September 18, Microsoft officials acknowledged the company would be cutting 2,100 jobs across the company worldwide as part of the previously announced layoffs of 18,000 disclosed in July 2014. Of today's cuts, 747 are in the Washington state area, and 160 total in California, a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Derek Murray, a Microsoft Research researcher in distributed systems, tweeted that "Today they (Microsoft) announced that the lab in Silicon Valley will be closing, effective Friday."
Microsoft Research's Silicon Valley outpost, located in Mountain View, Calif., was founded in 2001 and currently employs close to 50, a company spokesperson said.
The MSR Silicon Valley lab is primarily focused on distributed computing research, including "privacy, security, protocols, fault-tolerance, large-scale systems, concurrency, computer architecture, Internet search and services, and related theory," according to the web page for the lab.
MSR Silicon Valley is managed by Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Roy Levin.
Microsoft operates a number of Microsoft Research labs worldwide, including labs in Asia, Cairo, Cambridge (UK), Europe, India, Israel New England, New York City and Redmond.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the Silicon Valley research lab is closing this Friday, and noted that an undisclosed number of those researchers will be offered jobs at other Microsoft Research labs.
The spokesperson characterized the closing as a "consolidation of the west coast labs."
He noted that Microsoft still has 2,500 employees working for the company in the Silicon Valley area including individuals working on Skype, Yammer, Bing, Outlook.com and Xbox. He said the cuts today do not mean Microsoft is backing away from its research commitments or necessarily closing any of the research projects that are run out of the Silicon Valley lab.Throughout the history of aerial warfare camouflage has been an integral part of the fight. From WW I to the present air commanders have conceived ways to make their aircraft less visible.
A French SPAD XVI from World War I shows its ground camouflage on the top surfaces and a neutral gray on the bottom.
In recent years new advanced camo schemes have started appearing on fighter jets. One of the more intriguing is the Splinter camouflage. The rationale behind this camo is that it confuses an observer as to the distance of the aircraft, depth deception. It can also confuse the observer as to the direction the aircraft is moving.
Here is an example. A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet.
A German Luftwaffe Tornado fighter.
Two more U.S. navy examples.
A Ukrainian SU-27 Flanker with splinter camo.
And innovations in aircraft camouflage continue. New digital schemes are becoming more prevalent, including this fractal camo on a Jordanian F-16J. mSuspect was planning to plant bombs on a university campus in Palma de Mallorca, police say
Spanish police have arrested a man on suspicion that he planned to imitate the 1999 Columbine high-school killings in the US by planting bombs around a university campus on Mallorca.
Spain's interior minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz, hailed the arrest, saying: "It appears a massacre has been averted."
In a statement, police said they seized 140kg of bomb-making material when they arrested the 21-year-old man in Palma de Mallorca on Wednesday. They added that, in his personal diary and blog, the man – a Spaniard only identified by his initials, JMMS – talked of his admiration for the perpetrators of the Columbine attacks and how he planned to place several bombs around a campus of the University of the Balearic Islands in Palma.
The man had openly expressed his hatred for society, and particularly students, the statement said. A police spokesman said there was nothing to indicate that the man had planned to carry out the attack for any particular ideological reasons.
Twelve students and one teacher were killed in the Columbine attack in Colorado. The two perpetrators then killed themselves. The Spanish man's diary reportedly indicates that he had considered committing suicide once he had carried out the attack.
Spanish police said the man had tried several times to purchase guns, but, finding this impossible, then opted to buy explosives-making material on the internet. The statement said he had planned to make shrapnel pipe bombs.
The arrest took place just as the materials were delivered to his house, the statement said.
Police revealed they had been watching the man for the past five months after messages referring to Columbine began appearing on internet pages in Spain.
A police spokesman said the suspect had previously studied electronics at a technical training school and had recently begun a course in business administration, adding that the suspect earned money by playing poker on the internet.Getty Images
Texans rookie quarterback Tom Savage opened some eyes Saturday night in Denver, and coach Bill O’Brien admitted that he had gained ground on Case Keenum for the right to be their backup.
O’Brien forgot to share that with Keenum, however.
“I hadn’t heard that until you just told me,” Keenum said, via Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle. “But it’s not something that I pay attention to. I’m just trying to get better every day, work hard, and be the best quarterback in this offense that I can be.”
Considering the starter is journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, the competition is not an insignificant one.
And with the draft pick Savage directing a sharp two-minute drill to lead the Texans back for a win against the Broncos, it’s natural to wonder if he can leapfrog the guy O’Brien inherited and didn’t pick.
“We’re pulling for each other,” Keenum said. “We’re all on the same team here. To see him lead the team down there in the two-minute drive, that was awesome. We were all going pretty crazy on the sideline. Preseason or not, we all wanted to win that game. Tom did a great job of leading those guys down the field, getting in the end zone, and converting the two points.”
If the fourth-rounder can put on another solid display Thursday, he has a chance to end up a a play away from the field for the Texans. And with a roster that’s stacked on defense and missing that one key component on offense, that likely means a chance to play before some of the quarterbacks who were chosen in the first round this year.With an aim to tightening the noose around criminals, Andhra Pradesh Police on Saturday launched DNA Index System (DIS), the first-of-its-kind initiative that allows generation of DNA profiles from live samples like saliva and blood stains.
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The system uses the latest DNA technology tool called RapidHIT developed by IntegenX of USA. The DIS allows generation of DNA profiles using buccal swabs, blood stains, saliva and other live samples in less than two hours. Generation of a DNA profile takes two or more days with the technologies so far available. The AP Police launched a pilot, to test the efficacy of the DIS, to generate DNA profiles of a batch of convicts and suspects involved in various crimes, a release from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
“DNA profiling plays a crucial role in solving crimes and also has the potential to link a series of crimes by placing the suspects by linking them with the crime scene. It could also help the suspects prove their innocence,” the release added. “Our aim is to make AP a crime-free state and the DIS is a proactive policing measure using the latest technology in forensic labs,” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on the occasion. Deputy Chief Minister N China Rajappa, Director General of Police (in charge) N Sambasiva Rao, Forensic advisor to government P C Gandhi, IntegenX CEO Anand Gupta, former official of Florida Police Department Roy Swiger and other officials were present on the occasion.On Sunday morning, Donald Trump told Fox News that a Black Lives Matter protester who was assaulted at a rally in Alabama on Saturday "maybe... should have been roughed up" for interrupting. The Black Lives Matter movement began in the wake of a series of deaths of black men at the hands of police.
On Sunday afternoon, Trump retweeted a graphic dealing with the same issue that was also contentious — and quickly revealed as erroneous.
The graphic, first tweeted by a Twitter account called @SexyPatriots and then retweeted by @SeanSean252, cited data from an organization called Crime Statistics Bureau in San Francisco, suggesting that blacks were responsible for most killings of black people —and most killings of whites.
That is not true. According to data from the FBI, most whites are killed by whites, as most blacks are killed by blacks. There's an obvious reason for that: Most people are killed by someone they know — as is the case in 78.1 percent of homicides between 1980 and 2008, as we've noted before — and most people are related to and live near people who are of the same race as themselves.
That data is from 2014, the most recent available. Data on 2015 is, of course, still incomplete.
It is also worth noting that there isn't reliable data on the number of black and white Americans killed by police in 2014. The Washington Post has been tracking reports of police killings in 2015 because there isn't good national data on the subject. So far this year, 873 people have been killed by police, 25 percent of whom were black and 47 percent of whom were white.
And, finally, there doesn't appear to be any such organization as the "Crime Statistics Bureau." There is a Bureau of Justice Statistics, which is a federal organization and is, therefore, based in Washington.
Trump is no stranger to retweeting questionable information. Earlier this year, he retweeted an insult of Iowa voters. That retweet was eventually disowned by Trump and blamed on an intern.Czech artist tells European Union to lighten up
Czech artist David Cerny was given £350,000 from his government to oversee the creation of a sculpture featuring the work of artists from all 27 European Union nations.
Instead, he got together with his pals and made an eight-ton sculpture called "Entropia" that depicted Romania as a "Dracula theme park," the Netherlands as being underwater "with only the tops of minarets sticking out," Bulgaria "as a series of squat toilets," Sweden as being "packed into an IKEA box" and so on.
I think he should be paid double.
The original intention was indeed to ask 27 European artists for participation. But it became apparent that this plan cannot be realised, due to time, production, and financial constraints. The team therefore, without the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decided to create fictitious artists who would represent various European national and artistic stereotypes. We apologise to Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and their departments that we did not inform them of the true state of affairs and thus misguided them. We did not want them to bear the responsibility for this kind of politically incorrect satire. We knew the truth would come out. But before that we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself. At the beginning stood the question: What do we really know about Europe? We have information about some states, we only know various tourist clichés about others. We know basically nothing about several of them. The art works, by artificially constructed artists from the 27 EU countries, show how difficult and fragmented Europe as a whole can seem from the perspective of the Czech Republic. We do not want to insult anybody, just point at the difficulty of communication without having the ability of being ironic. Grotesque hyperbole and mystification belongs among the trademarks of Czech culture and creating false identities is one of the strategies of contemporary art. The images of individual parts of Entropa use artistic techniques often characterised by provocation. The piece thus also lampoons the socially activist art that balances on the verge between would-be controversial attacks on national character and undisturbing decoration of an official space. We believe that the environment of Brussels is capable of ironic self-reflection, we believe in the sense of humour of European nations and their representatives.
Statement by Czech artist David CernyImagine if your kitchen scales could advise you about nutrition or if your lavatory could tell you to see a doctor. The Internet of Things is making these ideas possible, but at what price?
The Internet of Things may be one of the clumsier neologisms to have emerged in recent times, but that has seemingly done nothing to slow its growth. For those unfamiliar with it, the Internet of Things (also known as M2M or machine to machine) refers to an expanding network of interconnected internet-enabled devices. Driven by miniaturisation, the affordability of components such as cheap Bluetooth sensors, and the growing ubiquity of technologies such as Wi-Fi, it is now possible to connect devices in a way that would never have previously been thought possible. While still in its "early adopter" infancy, some estimates suggest that by 2020 there will be in the region of 50bn IoT devices – all talking with one another on a constant basis.
"Consumers are beginning to realise that this technology isn't an outlandish, futurist concept coming to life from The Jetsons but in fact can be used efficiently and effectively to solve everyday problems," says Alex Hawkinson, CEO of home automation company SmartThings. "The top-use cases have to do with security, peace of mind and savings. For example, consumers can be notified when a door is opened or there is motion while they're away. They can be notified when there is moisture in the basement and they can programme the lights and heat to turn off when no one is present in the house, which can mean huge energy savings."
Already tech giants are getting involved, viewing this as a logical progression from the personal computer and smartphone races of previous decades. At its Worldwide Developers conference (WWDC) event last Monday, Apple introduced Homekit, an Internet of Things platform that will co-ordinate various third-party home automation accessories, allowing you to unlock your doors or turn on and off your lights via your iPhone.
Google, too, demonstrated its interest by paying $3.2bn (£1.9bn) earlier this year to buy Nest Labs, a home automation company co-founded by the creator of the iPod. Already well known for its connected thermostats and smoke detectors, Nest is currently investigating a slew of other applications related to the home – everything from health tracking to security systems.
This Bluetooth-enabled, Kickstarter-funded toothbrush made by French startup Kolibree will calculate and rate your brushing style, keep track that you’ve found all the right places and provide you with real-time feedback. The firm suggests you can transform otherwise boring dental hygiene activities into a competitive family game.
What unites products as seemingly disparate as driverless cars and fitness-tracking wearables such as the Jawbone UP is their ability to collect data from, and on behalf of, their users.
"When people talk about the Internet of Things, they tend to get hung up on the 'things' themselves," says Ian Foddering, chief technology officer and technical director at Cisco UK and Ireland. "Actually, the real value and insight comes from the data that these devices provide. We're just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what is possible in terms of data extraction. It's a very exciting time."
"Data empowers us," says Renee Blodgett, vice president of marketing and strategy at Kolibree, the world's first connected electric toothbrush (yes, really!). "For the first time, we have data on how we brush our teeth, where we brush our teeth and where we need to improve. Before now, we would only get that feedback from our dentist once a year when we have our annual cleaning. Now, we can get that feedback in real time."
While marginal gains in toothbrushing might not sound like much, the overall point about the power of big data is certainly valid.
Entrepreneur and former Apple employee Mike Grothaus agrees. Earlier this year, Grothaus successfully used a Kickstarter campaign to create SITU, a set of kitchen scales that relays data about nutrition to your iPad. Such was the demand for SITU that the project received almost 30% of its funding in the first day alone.
"It's a revolution," Grothaus says of the burgeoning connectivity. "It won't be as flash or obvious as the smartphone revolution, but it will be more profound because it connects everything together."
But if the Internet of Things is revolutionary, it is also, in a sense, evolutionary.
"In the early 20th century, all sorts of devices and objects became electrical," says Rafi Haladjian, founder of Sen.se and an IoT pioneer. "Irons, kettles and washing machines all used to be mechanical; then suddenly this great new technology came along. The same thing is happening today."
Smart thermostat: the Nest thermostat in your home learns your preferences and automatically adjusts itself to the correct temperature, enabling users to save money and energy. Connected to a smartphone app, it also lets users control the thermostat when on the go.
What differentiates Internet of Things devices from the PCs, tablets and smartphones that came before them is their invisibility. The likes of Kolibree or SITU come with no screen or traditional input device such as a keyboard. "The most profound technologies are those that disappear," wrote Mark Weiser, the chief technology officer of Xerox PARC, in the early 1990s. "They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it."
Sometimes, these devices are indistinguishable from the world around them on account of their sheer scale. Fritz Lang's 1927 silent movie Metropolis depicted the city as one giant organism, and that is now a possibility in the world of hyper-connected cities, in which even the pipes that carry our water and the roads we drive on contain smart components.
In other cases, it might be that the technologies are so small that we do not readily see them. The dream of those working in the biotech field today is for physical augmentations that constantly monitor our wellbeing – with sensors and microscopic robots in the circulatory system, tracking blood pressure and scanning for early-stage cancers. While we don't yet have all the details about Apple's work in this area, it seems clear that this is the domain innovations such as the just-announced HealthKit (and possibly the forthcoming iWatch) will focus on.
At the moment, people who choose to track and share their data still represent a minority. But while no one is going to force you to wear a connected device (in most jobs), those who do will become increasingly common – and will be incentivised for it. The car insurance company Drive Like a Girl, for instance, installs on-board car computers that monitor your driving and offers cheaper premiums to those drivers who prove less likely to have an accident. "We use the latest telematics technology to give girls the fair price they deserve, not because they are female, but because they are safer drivers," the company's website states. "With telematics, they can prove it."
Perhaps more intrusive is the idea of an Internet of Things-enabled lavatory, which uses sensors inside the bowl to sample your stool and provide health-related insights. By testing urine, these sensors might be able to detect hormone changes in a woman and advise if she is pregnant. It could similarly look for bacterial infections and suggest whether you can stick to Pepto-Bismol or should seek medical advice. If neither of these sounds enough of an incentive to ditch your lavatory for one with its own Twitter account, you may be in the minority: a recent survey suggested that 70% of people would be willing to share data from their lavatory if this could lead to healthcare savings.
In a post-Edward Snowden world, the Internet of Things will raise questions about privacy. Freedom through surveillance is a remnant of George W Bush's America. Now, however, that same ideological stance extends to our gadgets. As always, this isn't a straightforward equation – a panopticon effect in which we are monitored by a faceless watchman and receive nothing in return.
IoT devices offer new ways for us to take control of our lives, but also paradoxically cede that same control. It is here that a techno-sceptic like Evgeny Morozov enters the frame. In his latest book, To Save Everything, Click Here, Morozov takes issue with what he terms "solutionism": the idea that everything from obesity to global warming can be solved with the aid of a few interconnected devices. Viewing self-tracking as the epitome of the "modern narcissistic quest for uniqueness and exceptionalism," Morozov pointedly asks why anyone would want to turn every aspect of their lives into a "temple of surveillance."
Will these concerns be enough to put people off using such devices? Concerns have already been raised about the implications of Google's expansion into the IoT field since its purchase of Nest Labs – a byproduct of which would be that the Silicon Valley giant would hold ever more granular data about its users.
Beyond this are issues about security – such as what would happen in the event that our devices were hacked by someone with the ability to shut off our water supply, or take control of our cars, or unlock the doors of our houses from thousands of miles away. For those working in the field, however, these are temporary concerns, which can be addressed with the right amount of planning.
"There is no reason why organisations today should not have a robust end-to-end security policy," says Cisco's Ian Foddering. "It is something that needs to be considered, but I think these are all concerns that can also be addressed today.""The truth is still out there."
The X-Files recently had its world premiere at Cannes, and apparently it was a huge success with the audience. This is one of my most anticipated entertainment events of 2016, and it sounds like it's going to deliver on the greatness fans are expecting. According to THR:
The audience packed into Cannes' Grand Auditorium broke out in spontaneous applause multiple times - including when Duchovny and Anderson first appeared and the crowd whooped and cheered as the closing credits rolled. But perhaps the biggest applause came earlier, when the opening credits – with the X-Files trademark intro music – hit the screen.
That's a pretty damn good sign that this series is going to kick ass. While talking about the series at the premiere, creator Chris Carter said that it was a “surreal” experience and that it was “a dream come true” to bring Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) back again. He went on to reveal that we'll see the original opening credits of the series that we saw every week when the show was on the air.
“We thought about doing some changes to the original credits but then it seemed like like sacrilege. Those credits were on 202 episodes. They belong on these next six.”
I freakin' love that we are going to see that same opening intro in the new series. It's going to cause those nostalgic feelings to come rushing in.
The new series brings The X-Files, and the Mulder and Scully characters, into the present day, with ripped-from-the-headlines conspiracies involving government surveillance and corporate malfeasance added to the show's trademark paranormal paranoia. The plot has Mulder and Scully – now separated from one another privately and professionally – joining forces and reopening The X-Files after new evidence comes to light involving alien abductions and a possible global conspiracy.
Like all of the fans, Carter hopes that this isn't the last that we see of Mulder and Scully. He tells the site that they “will be in wheelchairs before we're finished.” I hope so!Get the biggest Newcastle United FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The early 1950s - and Newcastle United couldn’t stop winning the FA Cup.
Victors over Blackpool in ‘51, and Arsenal in ‘52, they were back at Wembley on this day in 1955 to lift the coveted pot for the third time in five years.
As thousands of Geordies flocked to the Twin Towers, and more at home gathered around newfangled TV sets to watch the triumph, no-one would have believed it would be the prelude to a domestic trophy drought which would last six long decades - and counting.
That barren spell, of course, was interrupted by the Fairs Cup heroics of 1969, but to remember United lifting silverware on British soil, you’ll need to be well into your 60s today.
And it’s worth remembering that if Newcastle United seem doomed never to taste cup success again, apart from the war-blighted 1910s and 40s, the Toon lifted a major trophy in every decade of the 20th century up until the 1970s.
History shows subsequent United trips to Wembley for FA Cup finals in 1974, 1998 and 1999 would end in heartache. But on this day, 60 years ago, the famous old stadium was turned black and white.
In front of 100,000 fans, goals from Jackie Milburn, George Hannah, and Bobby Mitchell secured a 3-1 win over Manchester City, and the Toon’s sixth FA Cup.
Read more:
The following day’s Sunday Sun vividly captured the action and the atmosphere.
“Thirty thousand jubilant cock-a-hoop Geordies, taking the Gallowgate road to Wembley, saw United win a 3-1 victory over Manchester City.
“Amid fantastic scenes the Geordies stood cheering themselves hoarse as Jimmy Scoular, after leading his men from the field, went forward to receive the Cup from The Queen.
“It was a great moment – and the Newcastle fans made the most of it.
“For thousands it was their third Wembley final since 1950 – and for most, yesterday’s game was the best of the three.”
Our report continued: “Within 45 seconds of kick-off as Jackie Milburn headed his great goal from a Len White corner, pandemonium broke out.
“Programmes, papers, hats and caps, black-an-white favours went in the air. From the Wembley equivalent of the ‘Bob End’ to the right of the royal box, where the Geordies seemed stacked tier on tier, a mighty full-throated roar went up. It echoed miles over London.
“The game was fast. ‘Blaydon Races’ from 50,000 throats time and again drowned the counter cheers of the Manchester City contingents.
“The Geordies were confident that more goals would follow. But for the brilliant play of City’s goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann, United would have had several more.”
Sixty years later, and with Newcastle United in turmoil, days like this seem a million miles away. Let us hope that May 7, 1955 does not forever remain the last time the club enjoyed trophy glory.2016 will not only see a reboot of the Master of Orion video game, but an all-new MoO board game as well.
Wargaming.net is investing heavily into its recently-acquired Master of Orion franchise - first we'll be getting a full reboot of the original PC game, complete with an epic voice cast, and then we'll be seeing the first Master of Orion board game.
It's a natural leap for the franchise: 4X games tend to translate well to cardboard. Little is known at the moment. The publisher, Hobby World, says the game will involve managing resources, constructing buildings, hiring advisors and attacking opponents. So, yeah, basically Master of Orion.
Time will tell whether the board game successfully adapts MoO, but I have high hopes. Hobby World is responsible for one of last year's funniest games, Spyfall (not to mention this year's Spyfall 2), and I've been eager to see what they do next.
This begs the question: what classic video games are waiting for a translation to tabletop? My money is on Impossible Creatures, but I want to hear what the Escapists think.
Source: Hobby WorldA Bitter Pill Josiah Zayner’s gut was making his life hell — so he embarked on an extreme DIY fecal transplant By Arielle Duhaime-Ross | Photography by Vjeran Pavic
Human feces floated in saline solution in a mortar, on a marbled countertop, in a dimly lit kitchen in Burlingame, California. A bottle of ethyl alcohol, an electronic scale, test tubes, and a stack of well-worn pots and pans lay nearby. The stove light illuminated the area as Josiah Zayner crushed the shit with a pestle, creating a brownish-yellow sludge. "I think I can feel something hard in there," he said, laughing. It was probably vegetables — "the body doesn’t break them down all the way." This heralded the beginning of Zayner’s bacterial makeover. He was clad in a Wu-Tang Clan T-shirt, jeans, and white socks and sandals. At his feet, James Baxter, Zayner’s one-eyed orange cat, rubbed its flank against its owner’s legs. The kitchen smelled like an outhouse in a busy campground. Over the course of the next four days, Zayner would attempt to eradicate the trillions of microbes that lived on and inside his body — organisms that helped him digest food, produce vitamins and enzymes, and protected his body from other, more dangerous bacteria. Ruthlessly and methodically, he would try to render himself into a biological blank slate. Then, he would inoculate himself with a friend’s microbes — a procedure he refers to as a "microbiome transplant." Zayner imagines the collection of organisms that live on him — his microbiome — as a suit. As such, it can be worn, mended, and replaced. The suit he was living with, he said, was faulty, leaving him with severe gastrointestinal pain. A new suit could solve all that. "You kind of are who you are, to a certain extent," he said. "But with your bacteria, you can change that." A full bacterial overhaul like this had never been documented before — in fact, it may have been the first time it had ever been attempted. There was no evidence to suggest it would work, though there was a real risk it could make Zayner life-threateningly sick. That didn’t bother him. Zayner unwrapped a brand-new syringe and filled its barrel with the brownish liquid. He grabbed one half of a gelatin capsule, pushed the syringe’s plunger, and filled the capsule with the fecal slurry in inconsistent spurts. "Undigested portions of the meal are clogging it," he said. Frustrated, he removed the needle and pushed the plunger again, letting clumpy muck accumulate in the half capsule. But by the time he joined both ends of the pill, the gelatin casing had begun deteriorating in his gloved hands. "I think the liquid is dissolving these fucking capsules," he said. For a brief moment, Zayner considered throwing his head back and swallowing the feces straight up, like a shooter from hell. But the thought disgusted him, and instead he opened a kitchen drawer and grabbed an inoculating loop, an instrument used by microbiologists to sample microorganisms. He dipped it into the large, poop-filled Ziploc bag on the counter. "We’re going to try this new technique — the ‘stuff and jam,’" he said. The unadulterated shit had a frosting-like texture and didn’t eat through the gelatin; the pill held up. Exhausted from his most recent dose of antibiotics, Zayner took a break. Tomorrow, in a hotel room near the San Francisco International Airport, he planned to start his transformation.
Zayner is a punk: his ears are adorned with a row of 10 piercings each, his body is covered in tattoos, and his dark mohawk is topped with a shock of bleached-blonde hair. The haircut, the piercings, and most of the tattoos he did himself. He doesn’t trust others with these tasks, he says. This is a running theme in Zayner’s life. As a child, Zayner rarely saw doctors — his family, he says, was too poor to pay for visits. Then in college, he got health insurance and finally started going; gastrointestinal pain was making it hard for him to lead a normal life. He was pooping more than four times a day, and severe "attacks" forced him to isolate himself for hours. The doctors visits were expensive and ineffective, he says, and over time, Zayner grew suspicious of physicians. "I’ll take their advice if there’s something I can’t fix myself, but otherwise, if what they say goes against what I know, I’m not going to necessarily believe them or trust them, right?" he says. That’s not to say Zayner is dubious of science — in fact, he’s a scientist himself. In 2013, he earned a PhD in Biophysics from the University of Chicago and subsequently served as a postdoc researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center for two years. But the space agency didn’t suit him. "NASA was not what I imagined it to be," he says. It was supposed to be a bastion of innovation, but the experiments he saw performed at NASA were underwhelming. "[There’s] very little work getting done, because people either don’t work, don’t care to work, or because the last time they did any science was 40 years ago," he says.
So in January 2016, Zayner left Ames and turned his attention to two of his own projects: an Ind |
and good technique will allow the strength to come back quickly once you're healthy.
The final thing they talk about is perspective. Dave says that if you're currently in rehabilitation, you shouldn't be primarily worried about maintaining strength and size — you should be primarily worried about your rehabilitation. Once you're healthy, it will all come back. In the long-term, it's more important to simply focus on getting healthy.
Adrenaline Levels in Training
In this fourth video, the topic is adrenaline in training. Dave and Dan answer the following question:
How do you manage and maintain adrenaline for lifting?
Dan begins by stating the primary benefit of getting hyped-up in training: you're able to train harder and push your body more. The downside, however, is reduction in the quality of the movements. In other words, if getting more hyped-up allows you to lift heavier weights, but your execution and technique of the lifts suffers, you are hurting your training rather than helping it. Dan points out the benefits of training in a calm state, and says that it can be beneficial to control your adrenaline levels. He shares that, in his own training, he becomes more excited for training the nearer he comes to a meet — even when he doesn't intentionally psyche himself up.
Dave then discusses the difference between a training max and a competition max. There is a different psychological state between training and a meet — and Dave says it should be that way. You don't need to force intensity in training; every single training session does not have to be like you're at a meet.
To this point, Dan says that you should take it as an indicator regarding your program if you need to get worked up to hit a training lift. If you're unable to complete a workout or hit a planned lift in training without pushing your intensity level, you need to reevaluate what you're doing to prepare for competition. Training is meant to prepare you for the meet — it doesn't matter what numbers you put up in the gym as long as you do well on the platform.
The fifth's Table Talk topic is longevity and building a long-term plan. In this video, Dave and Dan discuss how a lifter can increase their number of years competing in this sport, and what that means for writing a training and recovery program.
To address these concepts, Dan first shares his perspective on injuries and knowing when it's time to take a step back. He points out that you can only get stronger while you're in the gym, which means that taking the extra time to progress slowly is better than moving too quickly, getting injured, and then spending weeks outside of the gym regressing. Focusing on your quality of movement and treating your body like it is a high-quality workhorse is critical. Longevity in powerlifting does not come easy, but you can certainly increase your time in this sport by taking care of your technique, receiving chiropractic and other forms of therapy, and doing your own recovery work, such as stretching.
From Dave's perspective, part of longevity is knowing your genetics. If you have a predisposition to arthritis, be aware of it, because that means that every movement will contribute to that arthritis. Those reps of mobility and warm-up work you think are helping? If the problem is arthritis, that work might actually be hurting you.
In regard to forms of therapy, Dave's advice is to try a lot of different things to find what you like best. Once you find the form of therapy that works best for you, keep it in your back pocket and use it once you're close to a meet. You want to receive the greatest benefit from the therapy at precisely the time you need it, and introducing it at the point in the training cycle that you're getting close to a meet will make this happen. After the meet, Dave's advice is to spend some time doing zero barbell training. No barbell in your hands and no barbell on your back. This could last for four or even eight weeks, depending on your level of skill and how long you prepared for the meet.
Dan's final point on the discussion is to build a long-term plan. If you plan to do two or three meets over the course of the year, you can design an outline of the year's training plan that accounts for the stressors of each competition and gets your body back to a healthy training state. For instance, maybe you cut weight for some and show up at your training weight to compete for others. Maybe you train six weeks for one competition and 16 weeks for another. But if you haphazardly throw in five or six meets in one year, and cut weight for each of them, it will be very taxing on your body and create a difficult scenario for your long-term progress.
How to Choose Secondary and Accessory Training Movements
In the sixth Table Talk, Dave and Dan answer a question about accessory exercises:
What are you go-to accessory movements and how do you choose them?
Dan starts by giving a general layout for how he designs a workout. First, you have main lifts, which are the ones you train for competition. Then you have secondary lifts, where you change one or two parameters from the main movements (such as a range of motion on a deadlift, bar position on a squat, etc.). Finally, you have bodybuilding-style accessory training.
The main lifts have the most complexity, which means you can train them for a long period of time in order to master the technique without needing to take a break, assuming you're using a reasonable loading pattern.
The secondary lifts then require that you master a specific aspect of the main movements. For instance, if you pause squat, the load is lighter and won't feel heavy on your back, but the important thing is how well you move when you come out of the hole. The same rule applies when you deadlift from blocks or from a deficit, for which you're changing your spinal position and working your strength from a different leverage point. These movements are meant to strengthen the main movements, which means you have to choose wisely.
Finally, the bodybuilding accessory work should be done with a lot of variation. These exercises also do not require mastery of technique; in Dan's words, once you've done a preacher curl, you know how to do a preacher curl. This means you can rotate through exercises more frequently than you can for main or secondary lifts. Dan demonstrates this point by sharing the rowing variations he uses for training his back.
Dave's advice is short, simple, and easy to follow: listen to Dan's response again, and apply it.
The final Table Talk topic is deadlift lockout. As one of the most misunderstood problems in powerlifting, a poor deadlift lockout has held back many great lifters. Go to a local powerlifting meet and, likewise, you will see many beginner lifters miss their deadlifts at the very top of the movement. What's the problem? Is it simply a strength issue? In this video, Dave and Dan share tips to overcome lockout woes and build a better deadlift.
Dan begins by saying that most lifters fall into the trap of thinking that they missed a deadlift simply because they didn't pull hard enough or because they weren't strong enough in their glutes or their lower back. Dan says that this is a mistake. To demonstrate why, he talks about two ways people usually miss on a deadlift: right off the floor or at lockout. Often times the same issues cause both; a lot of lifters use poor technique and let themselves pull out of position from the floor, which in turn makes it nearly impossible to lock out the lift at the top. Your hips can only finish the lockout if they stay in position the whole way through the lift. If you're out of position and can't engage your hips because of it, improving your strength will not solve the issue.
If it's a hip position issue, pulling from blocks with the weight elevated a few inches from the floor is the best way to teach your hips to engage. This will help you learn to stay in the position you need to be in throughout the entire pull.
If it really is just a strength issue at lockout and your hips are in the proper position, any movement that specifically trains the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back will help: deficit deadlifts, stiff-leg deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, etc.
Dave offers similar advice. He shares that almost every time he watches a lifter miss a deadlift near the lockout, the problems arose during the setup. When lifters set up poorly and don't lock in their technique from the very start, they almost always miss the lift. This means you need to first look at technique and find your best way of deadlifting. This does not mean to try to emulate the technique of your favorite, strongest lifter. Your body leverages determine what your best setup and technique is, and trying to adopt the setup and technique of a lifter with an entirely different body type will always end in failure.
As a final point on the topic of hip positioning, Dan talks about Pete Rubish and the progression of his deadlift lockout over time. Pete has been a great deadlifter for a number of years, but more recently Pete has improved his tightness and technique off the floor, which has resulted in staggering increases in his deadlift. Pete was a monster already and now he's back on an 18-month period of rapid increases in his deadlift numbers, in large part due to the fact that he improved his technique at the bottom of the pull, which in turn improved his lockout.Having a slow reaction time in midlife increases risk of having died 15 years later, according to new research published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Researchers from UCL and the University of Edinburgh looked at data from more than 5,000 participants (age 20 to 59) collected from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) in the US. At the start of the study in 1990s, participants visited an examination centre and had their reaction times measured. The task was very simple - they had to press a button when they saw an image appear on a computer screen. Over the next 15 years, they were followed to record who had died and who survived.
A total of 378 (7.4%) people in the sample died, but those with slower reaction times were 25% more likely to have died (from any cause) compared to those with average reaction times. This remained the case after the researchers had accounted for the participants' age, sex, ethnic group, socio-economic background and lifestyle factors into account. There was no relationship between reaction time and death from cancer or respiratory problems.
Lead researcher Dr Gareth Hagger-Johnson, from the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, said: "Reaction time is thought to reflect a basic aspect of the central nervous system and speed of information processing is considered a basic cognitive ability (mental skill). Our research shows that a simple test of reaction time in adulthood can predict survival, independently of age, sex, ethnic group and socio-economic background. Reaction time may indicate how well our central nervous and other systems in the body are working. People who are consistently slow to respond to new information may go on to experience problems that increase their risk of early death. In the future, we may be able to use reaction times to monitor health and survival. For now, a healthy lifestyle is the best thing people can do in order to live longer"
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Notes to editors:
For more information or comment, please contact Dr Gareth Hagger-Johnson, UCL. Tel: +44(0) 207 679 1820 or +44(0)7967 157 241. Email: g.hagger-johnson@ucl.ac.uk. Twitter: @hssghj.
To speak to a UCL Press Officer, contact David Weston on +44 (0) 203 108 3844 (out of hours 07917 271 364) or d.weston@ucl.ac.uk.
For example of a reaction time test, see: http://www. bbc. co. uk/ science/ humanbody/ sleep/ sheep/ reaction_version5. swf.
About UCL (University College London):
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. We are among the world's top universities, as reflected by our performance in a range of international rankings and tables. According to the Thomson Scientific Citation Index, UCL is the second most highly cited European university and the 15th most highly cited in the world. UCL has nearly 27,000 students from 150 countries and more than 9,000 employees, of whom one third are from outside the UK. The university is based in Bloomsbury in the heart of London, but also has two international campuses - UCL Australia and UCL Qatar. Our annual income is more than £800 million.Warner Bros has reportedly dropped its opposition to a Greenpiece parody video in which characters from the hit Lego Movie are slowly drowned in oil.
The video, made to highlight the Danish company's relationship with Shell, has reappeared on YouTube after being withdrawn last week following copyright complaints from the film-makers, according to The Wrap. Greenpeace reacted to the ban by moving the video, which had picked up more than 3m views, to a rival site and taunt on Twitter. "Did we offend someone? Banned from YouTube, back up on Vimeo," wrote the environmental group.
Greenpeace's film is intended to highlight Lego's $116m (£68m) sponsorship deal with Shell. It shows a gloopy black substance slowly enveloping polar bears, owls, small children and even Santa Claus to the soundtrack of a downbeat cover version of the relentlessly upbeat song Everything is Awesome, from Warner Bros' hugely successful film.
The Lego Movie is a pop culture-fuelled tale of an evil corporate behemoth named Lord Business who forces everyone in the Lego universe to "follow the instructions" and avoid non-conformity of all types. The villain even runs a fictional oil company named Octan, and the irony has clearly not been lost on Greenpeace.
The short, titled Everything is NOT Awesome was created by London-based creative agency Don't Panic for Greenpeace, and used 120kg of Lego bricks. It is intended to pressure the world's largest toy-maker into dropping a partnership that sees its products distributed at Shell petrol stations. Greenpeace is also using the film to highlight its new campaign targeting Shell's ambitions to drill for oil in the Arctic.
Lego said in a statement last week that it was "determined to leave a positive impact on society and the planet that children will inherit". The statement continued: "Our unique contribution is through inspiring and developing children by delivering creative play experiences all over the world. A co-promotion contract like the one with Shell is one of many ways we are able to bring Lego bricks into the hands of more children."
• This article was amended on 15 JUly 2014 to reflect the fact that Lego Movie studio Warner Bros, rather than Lego, made the complaint over Greenpeace's parody film which caused it to be removed from YouTube.
• News: Greenpeace urges Lego to end Shell partnership
• Blog: Lego told 'everything is not awesome' in viral Greenpeace videoFor years, GOP lawmakers have tried to make drug testing mandatory for some Texans who receive state welfare benefits, with little success.
But after making some headway in the Texas Senate in the 2013 legislative session, they hope to pick up where they left off — pushing bills they say keep taxpayer dollars from supporting people who abuse drugs.
Two bills filed by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, would subject people seeking cash assistance from the state’s welfare program — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — to drug tests if their responses to a screening questionnaire suggested drug use.
The measures are sure to face opposition from some Democrats, backed by advocacy groups who say such drug testing might be unconstitutional.
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The state's welfare program, which is primarily funded by a federal block grant, is intended to provide cash assistance to unemployed and low-income Texans and their families. In 2014, roughly 80,500 people were receiving the benefits at any given time, with total payouts exceeding $5 million a month. Texans who qualify for welfare, which is administered by the state's Health and Human Services Commission, are also eligible for health insurance under Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurer of impoverished children, people with disabilities and the poorest adults.
Several bills related to drug testing for welfare applicants were filed in the last three legislative sessions, but it wasn’t until 2013 that a drug testing bill — one Nelson authored — made it out of the upper chamber. The Texas House let the clock run out on the bill in the session's final day, failing to take a vote before a midnight deadline to pass it.
That same year, the Legislature approved drug testing for some first-time applicants for unemployment benefits. The launch of that program has been delayed as the state waits for the federal government to outline which occupations fall under the federal law for such drug tests.
Nelson said she’s confident the welfare drug-testing bill will pass this time around given the unanimous vote it received in the Senate and the “great deal of support” it picked up in the House.
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to support a person’s drug habit,” Nelson said in a statement. “We need to ensure this program is putting individuals on a true path to self-sufficiency, and drugs are a barrier to independence.”
But opponents of the bill argue that there’s little evidence to prove that recipients of welfare use their cash assistance to purchase drugs, and that drug testing will do little to help families already in need. If a parent tests positive for drugs, the state would be required to report that individual to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
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“Our concerns are that the legislation doesn’t so much address the issue as punish families that are already going through a crisis of their own,” said Will Francis, director of government relations for the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
Proponents of the bill have fought off this criticism by pointing to a drug testing timeline outlined in the legislation that gives applicants three opportunities to qualify for benefits.
Under the proposal, if welfare applicants fail a drug test, they are ineligible for financial assistance for six months. A second positive drug test would make them ineligible for a full year unless they attend a substance abuse treatment program. A third positive result would make them permanently ineligible for welfare benefits. If a parent tests positive for drugs, the state would be able designate someone else to receive benefits on the child’s behalf. That individual would also be required to pass a drug test.
If the drug testing measure for welfare recipients does make it out of the Legislature, it could face legal challenges.
State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, has questioned whether the measure would violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable government searches.
"You cannot have suspicion-less searches and you cannot single people out just based on a non-criminal suspicion," Wu said. "If you want to force people into screening, you’re compelling them against their will to make statements against themselves."
Eleven states have instituted drug testing measures for welfare recipients similar to what Texas lawmakers are proposing. A Florida program was put on hold after a federal court ruled that it violated the Fourth Amendment, but in that state, all applicants — not just those suspected of drug use — were subjected to testing.
Federal law allows states to drug test welfare recipients if they can “establish suspicion” for the test, said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the state health commission. The screening questionnaire in the drug testing legislation is designed to give the state the cover it needs.
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But Terri Burke, executive director of the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she would urge the Legislature to look at the Florida ruling before proceeding, adding that it would be “foolhardy to pass such a law.”
“Why are we singling these people out? And if the argument is the government is handing out the money so they have a right to make these requirements, shall we start testing Social Security recipients or for your income tax refund?” Burke said. “Where do you draw the line? Poverty itself shouldn’t be a reason to be drug tested.”Image copyright AFP Image caption Iraqi government forces recently retook the Qayara airbase, 60km (40 miles) south of Mosul
Black banners of so-called Islamic State (IS) flap in the scorching heat of northern Iraq. Fighters' corpses lie where they fell, wrapped in dust, in parched wheat fields.
An Iraqi military convoy hurtles along dirt tracks, kicking up a haze which shrouds deserted shells of houses with a ghostly pallor.
The only speck of colour on this terrain is Iraq's red, white and black tricolour raised on rooftops and tank turrets.
Village by village, battle after battle, Iraqi forces are slowly advancing towards the northern city of Mosul.
In this area, captured in recent weeks, they're now about 60km (37 miles) south of IS's de facto Iraqi capital, where the creation of an Islamic "caliphate" was proclaimed two years ago.
"Our orders are to liberate every square inch of Iraq. We are determined to eliminate Daesh [IS] by the end of the year," Iraqi army chief Lt Gen Othman al-Ghanimi tells me as we travel with him on his first visit here in the wake of their latest battlefield successes.
Donor fatigue
If this is the year of the big battle to retake Mosul, its consequence could be what United Nations envoy Jan Kubis describes as "the biggest, most sensitive humanitarian crisis in the world".
Image copyright AP Image caption People displaced by the fighting have been arriving at camps, where food and water are scarce
As Iraqi forces inch forward, more and more families are fleeing the other way - escaping with their lives from the clutches of IS, but entering another kind of hell.
The world's aid community is already struggling to help care for almost 3.4 million people left homeless by earlier battles. This year, the UN's annual appeal is less than 40% funded.
"There's donor fatigue," says a frustrated UN official in Baghdad. "It's almost as if the world wants the Iraqi problem to go away, and they're embarrassed it's still here."
Whatever the failures which followed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the campaign against IS is now what matters in many capitals.
The jihadist group's reach now stretches far beyond the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.
The self-styled caliphate has been a lodestone for foreign fighters and supporters who have carried out attacks in cities worldwide.
Image caption Stuck outside in temperatures exceeding 50C, some have been improvising to create shade
The human cost in Iraq of this crucial war now seems to be registering.
At the same time as defence ministers of major military powers are assessing the battles ahead at a meeting in Washington of the Global Coalition to Counter IS, major donors are also gathering there to find more funds for a looming humanitarian crisis.
"You can't have one meeting without the other," insists Peter Hawkins, the Iraq representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). "This will be biggest thing in 2016 in terms of human cost. There's no question about that."
The hope is to reach pledges totalling almost $2bn (£1.5bn) for operations linked to the Mosul campaign, but also $284m (£215m) to prepare for it.
'No food, electricity or water'
On the ground, the cost mounts by the day.
On the edges of the northern city of Tikrit, which was recaptured from IS by Iraqi government forces in March 2015, hundreds of families converge on rocky ground in a desperate search for aid of any kind.
Most have fled, with only the clothes they wore, from fighting on a new frontline in the town of Sharqat, about 100km away.
Image caption Ali Shimmari is grateful to Iraq's government and its allies for allowing him to escape IS
"It's miserable here but compared to what we left behind, we feel like we're sitting on the White House lawn," declares Ali Hamdani Shimmari as he shelters against a brick wall in a futile search for shade.
Never mind that there is not a speck of green, much less a flower, on this hardscrabble terrain a long way from the American seat of power.
"We're so grateful to Iraq and its allies who bombed Sharqat, and to Iraqi forces who took us out," Mr Shimmari says.
But the new enemy is scorching 50-degree heat, and hunger. And it is not clear when they will escape from this one.
"They are living inside houses that are unfinished, in schools that are inhabited," says Sara Alzawqari of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "They have no food, no electricity, no water."
Image caption The ICRC is seeking to improve living conditions for the millions of displaced people in Iraq
Long queues form, mainly men in long white robes and red chequered headdresses, to receive a first-starter kit from the ICRC, which includes everything from a small cooker to a plastic cooler, sacks of rice and hygiene kits.
Nineteen-year-old Jassim stands with a vacant stare next to his mound of goods.
Responsibility for a family of 11 lies on his thin shoulders. IS kidnapped his father a year and a half ago and there's been no news since then.
"Our life in Sharqat was horrible. Daesh destroyed it," he says. "We have nothing now, but we have security."
"It's a risk to stay and a bigger risk to leave. And once you leave, where are you going to go?" asks Ms Alzawqari.
'Daesh will collapse'
The recent major battle for Falluja, just to the west of Baghdad, ended more quickly than everyone expected.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Residential areas of Falluja sustained heavy damage during the recent battle for the city
Some 85,000 civilians fled and many do not want to return to a city in ruin that has been cursed by violence since 2003.
No-one is certain how long the battle for the biggest prize of Mosul will take.
"We think Daesh will collapse," Gen Ghanimi says. "We know they are bankrupt and unable to hold their ground."
A soldier from Mosul, Abdul Majid Nazal, adds further detail as we stand on a newly-erected temporary bridge spanning the River Tigris which will help hasten the army's move north.
"Most Iraqis who joined [IS] won't fight because they know they will get killed. So most of are escaping to Turkey, and Syria."
Image caption Iraq's military has built a temporary bridge over the River Tigris to help the advance on Mosul
Mosul will be a major testing ground for an ill-equipped army backed by Kurdish Peshmerga units and local fighters.
Added to the mix will be small clusters of Western special forces personnel, hundreds of American military advisers working closely with the army to strengthen logistics and planning, as well as Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Iraq's army chief insists only Iraqis will do the fighting.
But to take back and hold Mosul, and take care of its people, Iraq needs much more help from the world.The Cleveland Cavaliers Big Three was dominant in their first round sweep over the Detroit Pistons. Coach Tyronn Lue said it was the best he has ever seen the trio of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love play together and it is hard to argue that point.
For the first time in two years, the Cavaliers offence didn’t neglect any of the attributes James, Irving and Love bring to the table. Isolation numbers were down, meaning neither James nor Irving were playing outside the flow of the offence and Love finally rediscovered his shooting touch from the beyond the arc. Cleveland also did a nice job of getting Love an adequate number of post touches, keeping him engaged in the offensive system through the series.
It wasn’t just the Big Three that benefited from a highly competitive first round series against the Pistons though. As he did throughout the regular season, Matthew Dellavedova was able to provide the Cavaliers with a calming, controlling presence off the bench.
Dellavedova’s vast improvement this season has been well documented. Once known as simply a gritty defensive player, which he still is by the way, Dellavedova has evolved into an effective spot-up shooter and a player who can efficiently run an offence. His ball handling shortcomings haven’t been as prominent as in seasons past; Dellavedova’s steady all-around offensive game has been able to mask some of his weaknesses.
In the first round against Detroit, Dellavedova averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the three-point line. While four assists are a tad below his season average, it doesn’t tell the full story of his playmaking ability seen in the first round.
With Dellavedova on the court, Cleveland had an offensive rating of 121.2, a 65.5 percent assist percentage, a 4.75 assist to turnover ratio, a 20.2 assist ratio, a 55.6 effective field goal percentage and a 58.9 percent true shooting percentage. All of these figures are representative of an elite offensive system, and the Cavaliers’ rankings in all six categories decreased when Dellavedova went to the bench.
When the ball was in Dellavedova’s hands, the Cavs offence was controlled and calculated. He was able to dictate the flow and tempo of the game, as the Cavaliers also played with a quicker pace with Dellavedova on the floor as opposed to off it in the first round.
Let’s use some possessions from the Cavaliers game two victory over the Pistons to show how Dellavedova was able to effectively run the Cavs offence.
Play One
To begin this possession, Dellavedova has the ball up top against Steve Blake. Meanwhile, Channing Frye is spacing out to the corner, which pulls Aron Baynes out of the paint. Additionally, both Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Bullock are hesitant to help off of Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert respectively.
With the floor nicely spaced out, James, who is being guarded by Stanley Johnson, sets an on-ball screen on Blake.
As the play develops, both Blake and Johnson choose to trap Dellavedova, in an attempt to take away his surprisingly effective floater and try to force a turnover. However, with Dellavedova possessing the basketball IQ that is necessary to read and react to an NBA defence, he notices that it leaves an open lane for James.
The play results in a simple alley-oop executed by Dellavedova and James.
Play Two
On the next Cavaliers offensive possession, the team goes back to the Dellavedova-James screen and roll combination.
This time, the Cavs are operating on the left side of the floor, with Frye up top and Shumpert and Jefferson spaced out on the weak side. Once again, Cleveland’s spread of shooters on the floor forces the Pistons defenders to at least stay close, leaving the floor appropriately spaced for Dellavedova and James to work.
Unlike the first screen and roll though, this one completely collapses the Pistons defence. As you can see, with the threat of another James dunk fresh in their minds, all five Pistons defenders are solely focused on the Dellavedova and James action. Blake and Johnson go to trap Dellavedova again, while Baynes drops into the paint, with Bullock and Tolliver slowly cheating down into the lane as well.
Dellavedova notices this, and with a lob to James being too risky of a pass to make, he instead opts for a swing to Jefferson, who is now wide-open in the corner, as Tolliver has committed to trying to stop a potential Dellavedova floater or James dunk. The play results in Jefferson hitting the corner triple.
Play Three
On this play, the Dellavedova-James pick and roll confuses the Pistons defence once again.
The same five Detroit defenders- Blake, Johnson, Baynes, Bullock and Tolliver- are all looking at the Dellavedova-James action on the strong-side wing. Meanwhile, Frye, Shumpert and Jefferson are all evenly spaced out.
As the play develops, Bullock, who is guarding Shumpert, helps all the way across the floor, to assist Blake and Johnson in defending the screen and roll.
With no way of James receiving the ball, as the Pistons smoother him with defenders, Dellavedova’s floor vision allows him to notice a wide-open Shumpert on the wing. Shumpert would miss the shot, but the play is another example of how Dellavedova has vastly improved his decision-making skills as a playmaker on the offensive end.
Play Four
Finally, on this possession, the Cavaliers go with a Dellavedova-Love pick and roll duo, with J.R. Smith, James and Jefferson spaced across the floor.
As Dellavedova drives towards the basket off the screen, Detroit’s defence is forced to collapse, with all eyes on Dellavedova. This opens up a sea for James to sprint into, and Dellavedova doesn’t need to do much more than make a simple pass, which leads to a rim-shaking slam from James.
With a look back at these possessions, it is no surprise that the Cavaliers were a better offensive team with Dellavedova on the floor in the first round, as opposed to off it. His basketball IQ, passing ability and intelligence to make the correct decision based on reading and reacting to the defence was excellent.
A second round match-up looms against the Atlanta Hawks, who will pose different challenges for Dellavedova. Hawks’ point guards, Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder, are both speedy, the types of guards that Dellavedova typically has trouble guarding.
Also, don’t underestimate the emotional challenge, with the Hawks seeing Dellavedova as public enemy number one, after last year’s Easter Conference Finals. Scrutiny will be high, and the Hawks’ players will be looking for revenge.
Dellavedova played well against the Pistons, but the competition gets stiffer in the second round. Importantly, he’ll need to continue to be a steadying influence for the Cavs’ offence if they’re to progress to another Conference Finals.
All stats via NBA.com/statsConformity gets a bad rap. From NYT Mag:
The psychologists Bert Hodges and Anne Geyer recently took a new look at a well-known experiment devised by Asch in the 1950s. Asch’s subjects were asked to look at a line printed on a white card and then tell which of three similar lines was the same length. The answer was obvious, but the catch was that each volunteer was sitting in a small group whose other members were actually in on the experiment. Asch found that when those other people all agreed on the wrong answer, many of the subjects went along with the group, against the evidence of their own senses.
But the question (Which of these lines matches the one on the card?) was not posed just once. Each subject saw 18 sets of lines, and the group answer was wrong for 12 of them. Examining all the data, Hodges and Geyer found that many people were varying their answers, sometimes agreeing with the group, more often sticking up for their own view. (The average participant gave in to the group three times out of 12.)
This means that the subjects in the most famous "people are sheep" experiment were not sheep at all – they were human beings who largely stuck to their guns, but now and then went along with the group.Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has postponed an anticipated grand jury testimony linked to his investigation into Michael Flynn amid growing indications of possible plea deal discussions.
Additional witnesses were expected to be questioned soon including a public relations consultant hired by Flynn's lobbying firm who was given an early December date deadline to appear before the grand jury, according to a person at the company.
Ahead of the delay, the impression was that the testimony needed to happen soon, the source said.
"Time seems to be of the essence," said the source at Sphere Consulting, the PR firm where the consultant worked.
The grand jury testimony was postponed, the person said, with no reason given. There could be many reasons for a delay, including scheduling issues.
The consultant's expected testimony comes as the investigation into Trump's former national security adviser's business dealings has taken a new turn.
Flynn's attorney told Trump's legal team last week that he would no longer share information about the investigation, a move that signals Flynn is beginning conversations with the government that could involve a plea deal or a cooperation agreement. ABC News reported that Flynn's attorney met with special counsel's attorneys on Monday.
Sphere's government relations arm, SGR LLC Government Relations and Lobbying, is one of several companies Flynn Intel Group hired to work for Inovo BV, a Netherlands-based company owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin, according to filing made by Flynn Intel Group under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Inovo hired Flynn to research Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Turkish cleric who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused of being behind the 2016 attempted military coup to overthrow him, the filing said.
Inovo paid Flynn's group $530,000 for the research, which was supposed result in a video documentary but it was never finished. Sphere's SGR was paid $40,000.
Sphere has been cooperating for months with the investigation. The inquiry was originally opened before the appointment of the special counsel, according to the source. Sphere, which was subpoenaed around June, was described as "a cooperating witness at best." Sphere has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Interviews conducted by special counsel investigators have included questions about the business dealings of Flynn and his son such as their firm's reporting of income from work overseas, two witnesses interviewed by the team told CNN. The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires people acting as agents of foreign entities to publicly disclose their relationship with foreign countries or businesses and financial compensation for such work.
Another area of interest to Mueller's team is Flynn's alleged participation in discussions about the idea of removing Gulen, who has been living in exile in Pennsylvania, sources said. In the past, a spokesman for Flynn has denied that such discussions occurred. Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, has called reports of an alleged kidnapping scheme "outrageous" and "false." Kelner could not be reached for comment.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel, declined to comment.
Flynn disclosed its work for Inovo in a lobbying disclosure form in September 2016. Months later, in March 2017, it filed a FARA disclosure form stating "because of the subject matter of the engagement, Flynn Intel Group's work for Inovo could be construed to have principally benefitted from the Republic of Turkey."
Sphere entered the assignment in August 2016 when it was approached by Bijan Kian, Flynn's business partner, to publicize the proposed documentary to promote investing in Turkey, according to the |
who want to know how legitimate Zagat’s ratings are. Team Zagat in New York won’t answer any questions about its survey methodology, and Tim and Nina Zagat turned down my interview request. It’s more of the same stonewalling that has worked for 30 years for the Zagats and their guides, which now cover subjects ranging from dining to golf in more than 100 countries. The company’s attitude forces you to make a snap decision: You either trust it or you lump it.
A lot of people are opting for the latter. According to a New York Post article from earlier this month, not only are Zagat sales “down dramatically,” but the company moved too slowly online, “allowing Yelp and others to dominate the market.” Zagat, the paper wrote, laid off about 16 people in May. The founders themselves seemed to see the writing on the wall a year earlier: The Zagats tried to sell their company for a reported $200 million last year but couldn’t find any buyers in that price range and pulled Zagat off the auction block.
It’s easy to see why people choose Yelp, Chowhound, Urban Spoon, and OpenTable over Zagat, both the guide and the online site. The obsolete-before-you-buy-it Zagat book is $14.95 a shot, and Zagat.com charges nearly $25 a year to access its complete site, including those ratings that can be seriously outdated. Plus, the mere act of creating an account with Zagat.com requires that you provide the kind of personal information—mailing address, telephone, birth year—that other sites have decided to forgo.
By contrast, Yelp, Chowhound, Urban Spoon, and other sites are free, and most already have established communities where members interact with each other on particular topics and restaurants. Even better for diners looking for recommendations on Yelp or OpenTable, they can see exactly how many people have commented on a particular restaurant—and how those reviews have been averaged into an overall rating. Even the minimal transparency on these sites makes Zagat seem like Stalinist Russia.
“Zagat is not a primary source [for information] anymore,” says Dean Gold, the chef and owner of Dino in Cleveland Park, which scores a decent 21 rating for food from Zagat. Adds Gold, a college-trained statistician: “Zagat, of all the major sources, probably has the lowest levels of reliability” because of its self-selected survey base, which provides little to no information on the people who actually cast ballots.
At this point, OpenTable may be the most reliable of the sites that aggregate restaurant ratings. Site administrators send review surveys only to those diners who have honored their OpenTable reservation, and the diners have approximately 30 days to fill out the forms. This process guarantees two things, says Ann Shepherd, vice president of marketing for OpenTable: 1) that every review is actually based on a meal eaten at the restaurant; 2) that the meal was eaten recently, while the memory of it is still fresh.
Those are two promises that you will never hear from Zagat, a guide that looks destined to follow so many other print publications into oblivion.
Zagat’s 2010 Makoto blurb shows why the guides are “refrigerator-magnet poetry,” “dubious,” good only for a “lonely traveler…searching for a good place to sup before masturbating himself to sleep.”
Grade Creepiness: As first pointed out in SmartMoney magazine in 2007, Zagat food grades have spiked dramatically over the years for restaurants in the New York guide. Same goes for the D.C. area: In the 1992 guide, only 13 restaurants earned grades of 25 points or higher (out of a possible 30). In 2010, more than 60 restaurants topped the 25-point mark. Even more startling, 72 percent of D.C. restaurants with actual ratings in the latest guide earned a grade of 20 or higher, which means that nearly three-quarters of our eateries are “very good” or better. No one sucks here anymore.
The Method, Man: Readers have no idea how many votes are required before the results are considered statistically relevant to merit a Zagat grade (Zagat’s Barbalato told me that Makoto edged Inn at Little Washington, 28.9024 to 28.8495, but would not say how many votes were cast). What’s more, they have no idea if the grade represents the votes of the restaurateur’s spouse and 100 close friends or a statistically sound sample of D.C. area diners. All they know is this: The voters are self-selected, which is a pool almost guaranteed to skew results. Readers don’t even know if voters actually ate the restaurants in question. OpenTable, by contrast, posts reviews only from diners who have honored their online reservation.
Cut-and-Paste Prose: Zagat editors take a ransom-note approach to writing descriptions of the restaurants in their guides. Compare that to consumer-oriented sites, such as Yelp or DonRockwell, where amateur critics can relate their entire dining experiences without fear that an editor will place a dis about “uncomfortable seating” right next to some yahoo’s Pollyanna piffle about a “wonderful experience.” Zagat is refrigerator-magnet poetry at a time when people want the Library of Congress at their fingertips.
You’ve Been Duped: For those who purchased the 2010 edition of the Washington D.C./Baltimore Zagat guide, the Makoto entry might seem familiar. For good reason. It’s the exact same entry as last year’s. The exact same awkwardly phrased copy. The exact same dubious grades. And yet you’d be hard-pressed to learn from the introduction that the 2010 guide is merely an update. Here’s the truth: The even-year Zagat guides are based on the surveys from the previous year. Do you know how much a restaurant can change in two years, let alone two months? Would you trust a review from a year ago on Yelp?
Solitary Confinement: Zagat bases your estimated check on a single dinner and drink, plus tip, which is rather symbolic. Social network sites want to create a community around a common interest in food, which explains not only Myspace Local’s recent move into online restaurant reviews but also local restaurateurs’ embrace of Facebook and its ability to connect supporters. Zagat, by contrast, still conjures up images of the lonely traveler, that burgundy guide tucked into his back pocket, searching for a good place to sup before masturbating himself to sleep.
Caught in a Binder: Like newspapers and magazines, Zagat is dependent on print, where presumably the company still earns most of its revenues, despite the fact that its most timely and user-friendly information (menus, maps, and recent reviews) is found online. Zagat withholds survey ratings from its free Web pages in hopes that you’ll plunk down $24.95 a year to find out what the voting public, in whatever numbers, thought of places like Makoto over a year ago. It’s a hopeless online business plan, but it’s probably a better deal than the $14.95 you pay for the actual paperback guide.In a message to TCC staff, an anonymous student at Rutgers University forwarded an e-mail from the University’s VP of Public Affairs encouraging students to contact New Jersey’s Representatives and Senators to show their approval of the DREAM Act. The Rutgers University e-mail (written by VP of Public Affairs Pete McDonough) read as follows:
“As you may know, we have been working with New Jersey’s members of the US Senate and House of Representatives calling for the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform that includes the DREAM Act. We have made great progress and success may well be in sight. The DREAM Act will be an enormous benefit to Rutgers; it will ensure that America’s very brightest students and researchers have the ability to earn a Rutgers degree or conduct research in our labs and other facilities. We are encouraged by recent developments. A bipartisan group of eight US Senators has announced that they expect an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform in the very near future. A similar bipartisan group of Representatives has reported progress, as well. You can make a difference on this issue, if you’d like to. It’s easy, it’s fast and it’s automated. But you have to take the first step. If you share the belief that the time has come for comprehensive immigration reform, please take two minutes to urge your US Senator and Congressman to support bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that includes the DREAM Act.”
Readers should keep in mind that the latest saga of the DREAM Act comes with the newly introduced and controversial bill, “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” in the U.S. Senate. But that’s for another article.
I have to question Rutgers University and Mr. McDonough’s ability to comprehend the consequences such legislation as the DREAM Act will bring upon their community and tax-paying Americans. Quite simply, if this legislation in any way mimics that of my native State of California, then this country is in serious trouble.
In California, every immigrant who does not have American residency is allowed to apply for CAL Grant money as long as they meet certain (very loosely defined) criteria. Of course, CAL Grant money goes towards paying tuition, fees, books, and often times living expenses (room, board, transportation, etc.) for students enrolled in a college. Students enrolled in the DREAM Act program can also get priority registration dates depending on what college they attend.
Think about it: For most non-citizens living in the U.S., American tax-payers will essentially have to pay for each person to live as a college student. Plus, for every non-American enrolled in college, an American doesn’t get a shot at their dream school. Can we really afford such a program when the federal deficit alone is $16 trillion and going up by the day? It’s as if liberals are saying, “The next time you go to pay your taxes, don’t worry! Just remember: You’re paying for Andres from Mexico to go to college but your 5-year-old Andy is getting cheated out of a healthy economy and education years from now because EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS!!” So much for the American Dream.
If that isn’t enough, such language as “It (The DREAM Act) ensures that the very best and brightest of students and researchers can earn a Rutgers degree” is insulting and suggests Americans are just a bunch of white, oppressive Neanderthals who live in trailer parks.
As an American of Hispanic descent, I find this whole ideology sickening. Not only is it beyond racist to suggest “minority” groups who come here illegally are naturally above Americans because of their background, it is ignorant of the fact that our own people in the U.S. are suffering due to a terrible economy.
I am not entitled to a college education because of my ethnicity. And neither are illegal immigrants because of their social status. Success means defying the odds through hard work and passion, not welfare. It’s time Rutgers University stop pressuring their students into lobbying for progressivism and let them know America’s best and brightest don’t need immigration reform to succeed. Contact Peter J. McDonough (mcdonough@oldqueens.rutgers.edu) or Rutgers University at 732-445-4636.
Elissa Roberson | College of the Desert | @ElissaRobersonVice President Joe Biden addresses the White House Summit on the United State of Women in Washington, Tuesday, June 14, 2016. Associated Press/Cliff Owen Vice President Joe Biden is having none of Brock Turner's "alcohol made me assault her" excuses.
In a speech made at the White House's United State of Women Summit in Washington D.C., Biden clarified that sexual assault is "the abuse of power," that it is never the woman's fault and that "sex without consent is rape," period. His decades-long campaign against sexual violence, formally begun with 1994's Violence Against Women Act, will be won when women and men stop blaming women for rape and start to refuse to point the finger anywhere other than at the perpetrator.
"We will have succeeded when not a single woman who is violated ever, ever asks herself the question, 'What did I do?'" Biden continued. "We will have succeeded when not one man who raises a hand or takes a violent action against a woman is able to say with any credibility in his own mind, 'Well she deserved it.'"
Ending sexual violence isn't "merely about changing the law and making it better," he explained, "it's about changing our culture." Reiterating the idea behind his It's On Us campaign, the vice president explained that it's every individual's duty to uphold "the basic moral principle that every single woman has a fundamental right to live her life free of violence."
"Ultimately," Biden said, "we have to give women and girls a greater voice, but that's not enough. They have to be assured that their voices will be heard."
Biden blasted "the appalling silence and indifference of the good people" that allows assault to happen, insisting that bystanders who see something and say nothing should consider themselves accomplices to sexual crime.
The vice president highlighted the necessity of bridging the gender respect gap. Equality can't be guaranteed, he said, as long as any group is dehumanized, both within the U.S. and around the world.
"This isn't just about freeing women," he said. "If we free women with the same opportunity, we free men, we free humanity."
Watch the full remarks below:March 10 - The CNT, Spain's anarchist labor union, issued a statement yesterday announcing that they will be convoking a nation-wide general strike for March 29 against the labor reform passed on Thursday by the Parliament.
This coincides with strikes that have already been called for Galicia and the Basque Country. In these regions the call was made jointly between "minority" unions such as the CNT and CGT as well as regionally-important unions linked to nationalist movements. On the national scale, however, the CNT has called the strike on its own.
According to Spain's labor law, strikes are only official if called, or convoked, by a union or another official body. In the message announcing the strike call, the CNT said that they hope to give coverage to any workers' organizations that want to take action.
Spain's two main unions, the UGT and the CCOO, have also called for a strike on that day, but speak only of "amending" the labor reform. This is a continuation of their policy of social peace - in February they signed a major agreement with the employers' confederation in which they gave major concessions. Recognizing the growing disillusion that many workers are feeling towards these unions, the CNT is promoting a different form of unionism, one which is not based on professional bureaucrats and policies of social peace, but rather on the direct action and solidarity of workers.
This appears to be the first nation-wide general strike since the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship to be called for by a union other than the CCOO or UGT, though it remains to be which unions, if any, will follow the CNT in calling for a general strike.
The CNT's statement was clear that, although the strike is only called for March 29, this should be seen only as one step in a growing mobilization which seeks not only to remove this labor reform in its entirety, but also to go on the offensive with the goal of social transformation.Prairie Redux Tallgrass prairie is extinct across much of its former range in the midwestern United States, but relicts preserved in cemeteries and nature reserves allow functional comparison of former grassland soils with modern agricultural soils. Fierer et al. (p. 621; see the Perspective by Scholes and Scholes) took matched soil samples from sites representing the gamut of climate conditions and modeled the combination of genomic analysis and environmental data to resurrect the historical prairie soil communities, identifying the nutrient-scavenging Verrucomicrobia as keystone bacteria in functioning prairie.
Abstract Native tallgrass prairie once dominated much of the midwestern United States, but this biome and the soil microbial diversity that once sustained this highly productive system have been almost completely eradicated by decades of agricultural practices. We reconstructed the soil microbial diversity that once existed in this biome by analyzing relict prairie soils and found that the biogeographical patterns were largely driven by changes in the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia, a poorly studied bacterial phylum that appears to dominate many prairie soils. Shotgun metagenomic data suggested that these spatial patterns were associated with strong shifts in carbon dynamics. We show that metagenomic approaches can be used to reconstruct below-ground biogeochemical and diversity gradients in endangered ecosystems; such information could be used to improve restoration efforts, given that even small changes in below-ground microbial diversity can have important impacts on ecosystem processes.
After the European settlement of the midwestern United States in the mid-19th century, the tallgrass prairie ecosystem was profoundly altered by the removal of key animal taxa (including bison), fire suppression, and the plowing under of native grasses. Together these land-use changes contributed to the most substantial decline of any major ecosystem in North America (1, 2). This ecosystem, which once covered nearly 10% of the contiguous United States (>65 million ha), has been reduced to a small fraction of its historical extent (3). Cultivation and row crop agriculture, now practiced across most of the tallgrass prairie biome, not only replaced species-rich plant communities with monoculture croplands, but also drastically altered the physicochemical and biological characteristics of prairie soils. Except for a few prairie relicts that have never been tilled, the soils currently found throughout the region bear little resemblance to their pre-agricultural state (4–7). We confirmed the effect of cultivation on soil microbial communities by directly comparing bacterial communities in cultivated soils with paired uncultivated soils collected from throughout the native tallgrass prairie range (table S1), and found that the cultivated soils harbored bacterial communities that were significantly distinct in composition from those found in the corresponding native prairie soils (fig. S1).
Owing to the historical and biological importance of the native tallgrass prairie, there have been various attempts to predict the historical distributions of plants and animals across this ecosystem [e.g., (8)]. However, comparable reconstructions of below-ground microbial diversity have, to our knowledge, never been attempted, hindering our understanding of how soil microbes may have once influenced plant production, nutrient retention, and soil carbon dynamics in this ecosystem. By coupling metagenomic sequence data, which capture the phylogenetic and functional diversity of existing soil microbial communities (9, 10) found in tallgrass prairie remnants, to spatially explicit models (11), which predict the structure of soil microbial communities across environmental gradients, we can reconstruct these communities across the historical extent of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.
We collected surface soils (top 10 cm) from 31 remnant native prairie sites (found primarily in cemeteries or nature preserves) that were carefully selected to span the range of climate conditions found throughout the tallgrass prairie ecosystem (fig. S2 and table S1). To the best of our knowledge, none of the sampled sites were ever tilled and all were dominated by native tallgrass prairie plant species (e.g., Andropogon, Panicum, and Sorghastrum) when soil samples were collected at the height of the growing season. To characterize the bacterial and archaeal communities, we pyrosequenced a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–amplified region of the 16S rRNA gene (12) and compared relative diversity levels across the samples by standardizing sequencing depth to 940 reads per sample (13). Microbial α diversity (measured using the Shannon index, H′) was not uniformly distributed across the tallgrass prairie (Fig. 1A and table S2). However, none of the measured edaphic variables were significantly correlated with taxonomic diversity (P > 0.1 in all cases). Instead, taxonomic diversity was most strongly correlated with precipitation levels (table S3), just as moisture availability is often a strong predictor of plant and animal diversity at comparable spatial scales (14).
Fig. 1 Relationships between taxonomic and functional diversity (A) and community similarity patterns (B) across the 31 sites, with x axes showing taxonomic comparisons and y axes showing comparisons based on functional genes. Points are colored according to latitude (red, <35°N; yellow, 35° to 40°N; green, 40° to 45°N; blue, >45°N). The Shannon index (H′) and the Bray-Curtis index of community similarity were used as measures of α diversity and β diversity, respectively. The general β diversity patterns are shown here using the principal coordinates score for the first axis; Mantel tests conducted directly from the distance matrices confirm the significance of the correlation shown in (B) (Mantel r = 0.95, P < 0.001).
To complement the taxonomic analyses and to characterize microbial functional diversity, we used shotgun metagenomics to determine the diversity of known protein-coding genes in each community (10, 12). All samples were compared at an equivalent survey depth of 1.8 million randomly selected annotated reads per sample. Although these annotations are based only on previously described genes and much of the functional diversity contained within soil [or other environments where the majority of taxa have not been well characterized (15)] is therefore missed, we did find that the functional diversity that could be annotated within the microbial communities correlated well with taxonomic diversity (Fig. 1A). There has been considerable debate in the field of ecology as to how the taxonomic diversity of communities relates to the observed functional, or trait-level, diversity (16); we found a strong positive correlation between the functional and taxonomic diversity of soil microbial communities (Fig. 1A). This pattern is also commonly observed in plant and animal communities (17, 18). Therefore, the abundant soil microbial taxa do not appear to exhibit a high degree of functional redundancy (or equivalence), as is often assumed (19); reductions in taxonomic diversity were associated with decreases in the breadth of functional traits contained within these soil communities.
To extend our results beyond the 31 soils directly assayed, we constructed spatially explicit models of the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil bacterial communities throughout the historical extent of the native tallgrass prairie using a species distribution modeling approach (20, 21). These models were based solely on climatic variables (tables S3 and S4), not soil characteristics, because we do not know what soil characteristics would have been found across the biome >150 years ago when the native tallgrass prairie ecosystem was still intact (current soil maps are not likely to reflect historical soil properties that have been profoundly altered by decades of cultivation). The best-fit models of Shannon diversity were able to predict >50% of the variance in bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity across the sampled sites (table S3), a predictive power similar to comparable models of regional plant or animal diversity (20), with soils from the middle latitudes having less taxonomic and functional diversity than those in the northernmost and southernmost portions of the range (Fig. 2). This pattern contrasts with the biogeographical patterns observed in many plant and animal communities where diversity often peaks in the middle of biomes, which suggests that the “mid-domain effect” (22), or related explanations for such diversity gradients, may not be broadly applicable across the tree of life.
Fig. 2 Predicted diversity patterns (calculated using the Shannon index, H′) of bacterial taxa (A) and functional genes (B). Inset plots show the cross-validation results, comparing observed and predicted diversity values for the 31 sampled locations.
The taxonomic composition of the microbial communities and their functional attributes varied considerably across the 31 sampled tallgrass prairie sites. Communities that were taxonomically similar were also similar with respect to their functional characteristics as these two distinct measures were well correlated (i.e., communities that shared many taxa in common also shared many functional attributes) (Fig. 1B). Model predictions of the patterns in community similarity show that the soils in the central portion of the tallgrass prairie range harbored communities that were taxonomically (Fig. 3A) and functionally (Fig. 3B) distinct from those found on the edges of the range. The relative abundances of many taxa changed across the sampled soils (table S2), but the α diversity patterns (Fig. 2) and the patterns in community similarity (Fig. 3) were both closely tied to changes in the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia (Fig. 3C and table S2), the dominant bacterial phylum across the collected soils (fig. S2 and table S2). Although often underestimated (23), Verrucomicrobia represented >50% of the bacterial 16S rRNA sequences in the prairie soils from the mid-latitudes but only <15% of the sequences on the edges of the range (Fig. 3C and table S2). These patterns in verrucomicrobial abundances were nearly identical whether abundances were determined by the PCR-based 16S rRNA gene analyses or by analyzing the 16S rRNA genes recovered from the shotgun metagenomic data (fig. S3); this finding provides independent evidence for the high relative abundances of Verrucomicrobia in many of these soils.
Fig. 3 Maps showing bacterial community types based on their taxonomic composition (A) or functional gene composition (B). Locations similar in hue indicate those communities that are more similar in composition. (C and D) The patterns shown in (A) and (B) appear to be largely driven by variation in verrucomicrobial abundances (% of reads) (C). Shown in (D) are functional gene categories strongly correlated with verrucomicrobial abundances, only including those gene categories represented by >0.001% of the shotgun metagenomic reads with r values greater than 0.8 or less than –0.8.
Verrucomicrobia are clearly dominant in the tallgrass prairie soils, but their ecology remains poorly understood because members of this group are difficult to culture and study in the laboratory (23, 24). The Verrucomicrobia identified from the prairie soils were not diverse; only five phylotypes accounted for >75% of the verrucomicrobial sequences from this data set (fig. S4). All of the more abundant verrucomicrobial taxa were classified as belonging to the Spartobacteria class, but the taxa were not closely related to previously cultivated verrucomicrobial isolates (fig. S4), making it difficult to determine the ecological attributes of these taxa. Our understanding of soil microbial communities in prairie soils will clearly benefit from efforts to directly determine the phenotypes of the Verrucomicrobia that dominated the majority of the native tallgrass prairie soils.
Although the ecological attributes of these verrucomicrobial taxa cannot be directly assessed with these data, we used a niche-modeling approach in combination with the shotgun metagenomic data to gain some insight into the ecology of the Verrucomicrobia and to try to explain the distribution patterns shown in Fig. 3C. We found that spatial variability in the abundance of Verrucomicrobia could be predicted from climatic conditions (table S3) and that this group was most abundant in soils exposed to intermediate temperature and precipitation conditions (Fig. 3C and fig. S2). However, this correlation with climatic conditions may represent only a distal control on their distribution patterns. The shotgun metagenomic data lend support to the hypothesis that Verrucomicrobia are relatively slow-growing taxa that thrive under conditions of limited nutrient availability (25, 26). Specifically, verrucomicrobial abundances were positively correlated with a variety of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism but were negatively correlated with genes associated with nitrogen metabolism and cell division (Fig. 3D). Verrucomicrobia may thus represent a large component of below-ground communities in regions where changes in the quantity or quality of plant organic matter inputs constrain the growth of more copiotrophic taxa. This hypothesis is congruent with results indicating consistent declines in the relative abundances of Verrucomicrobia when soils from across North America were amended with nutrients (27). Likewise, this hypothesis is consistent with recent genomic information obtained from Spartobacteria aquaticum, an aquatic Verrucomicrobia that is within the same class as the dominant soil Verrucomicrobia observed here, that appears to specialize on the degradation of more recalcitrant carbon compounds (28).
Our reconstructions of microbial diversity and functional capabilities across the tallgrass prairie ecosystem could be used to guide and monitor the hundreds of prairie restoration efforts currently underway throughout the midwestern United States (29). Maps of the soil microbial communities that once existed in this ecosystem may provide targets to help improve the long-term success of prairie restoration efforts, as restoration efforts are often more successful when they also try to restore below-ground communities (30). Such information may be particularly important if the goal is to restore key ecosystem functions, such as soil carbon sequestration, that are strongly controlled by the below-ground communities. Likewise, deviation in soil microbial communities from the predicted pre-agricultural state could be used to quantify the extent of degradation experienced by soils throughout the native prairie range. More generally, this work demonstrates that we can use recent advances in high-throughput microbial community characterization to reconstruct the biogeographical patterns in the diversity and functional capabilities of microbes across a nearly extinct ecosystem. This approach could be extended more broadly to quantify how historical changes in environmental conditions may have altered the diversity and function of below-ground communities in other systems or to determine how human-induced climate change may alter ecosystem properties in the future.WASHINGTON -- In an unceremonious op-ed in his local paper, Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) ended his dithering on the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and said he would vote for Donald Trump in November.
Ryan, who had been holding out on endorsing Trump, said the focus of his conversations with the real estate mogul were on the House's policy agenda.
"Through these conversations, I feel confident he would help us turn the ideas in this agenda into laws to help improve people’s lives," Ryan writes, 666 words into an 806-word op-ed in the GazetteXtra. "That’s why I’ll be voting for him this fall."
Ryan says one person he knows won't support his agenda is Hillary Clinton.
"A Clinton White House would mean four more years of liberal cronyism and a government more out for itself than the people it serves," Ryan writes. "Quite simply, she represents all that our agenda aims to fix."
There was speculation last week that Ryan might declare support for Trump. But he told reporters soon after those stories broke that he wasn't any closer to an endorsement.
A few days away from the Capitol seem to have changed that for the Wisconsin Republican.
Ryan had previously denounced Trump for his proposed ban on Muslims, the businessman's weak effort to distance himself from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and the violence at Trump’s rallies.
He then appeared on CNN on May 5, two days after Trump had effectively wrapped up the nomination, and told Jake Tapper that he couldn’t endorse Trump “at this point.”
“This is the party of Lincoln, of Reagan, of Jack Kemp,” Ryan said at the time. “And we don’t always nominate a Lincoln and a Reagan every four years, but we hope that our nominee aspires to be Lincoln- and Reagan-esque.”
Ryan said he wanted to see Trump unify the Republican Party and run a campaign that will allow Americans to "have something that they're proud to support and proud to be a part of."
Two days after Trump went before the press and bashed journalists for questioning whether he had actually donated the $6 million he said he raised for veterans, Ryan apparently decided Trump had changed his tone enough to earn his endorsement.
He writes in the op-ed published Thursday that he’s spent most of his adult life pursuing ways to help “protect the ‘American Idea’ — the notion that the condition of one’s birth does not determine the outcome of one’s life.”
Ryan says the first step in that is putting ideas on paper and having a real debate. “And with the Obama presidency nearing an end, we have a real opportunity to get big things done the next four years,” he says.
He goes on to preview an agenda that House Republicans will start rolling out next week.
“To enact these ideas, we need a Republican president willing to sign them into law,” Ryan writes. “That’s why, when he sealed the nomination, I could not offer my support for Donald Trump before discussing policies and basic principles."
Ryan says he held out on his endorsement to help unite Republicans.
“And if we’re going to unite, it has to be over ideas,” he continues.
Trump himself has been cagey about what ideas he actually endorses, recently seeming to flip-flop on a pledge that he wouldn’t touch Social Security.
But Republicans such as Ryan seem satisfied with whatever it is Trump stands for on this given day.
Still, Ryan’s endorsement does come with some political distance. Ryan says it’s “no secret” that he and Trump have differences.
“I won’t pretend otherwise,” Ryan says. “And when I feel the need to, I’ll continue to speak my mind.”
“But,” Ryan continues, “the reality is, on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement.”
You can read the full op-ed here.Would you pay a monthly or yearly subscription to waive the delivery fee from your favorite food service? Deliveroo is testing out the idea, launching a new trial service in six cities in the UK — Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brighton, and York. (London, strangely, is not on the list.)
The scheme costs £8.99 per month or £89 per year, while the service’s usual delivery fee is £2.50 per order. So, you’d need to order takeout from Deliveroo at least four times a month or 36 times a year to save money on it. That certainly won’t be outside the realms of possibility for some customers, although it does tie you to a single service. Postmates offers a similar subscription service in the US.
Updated January 20th, 2017: Updated to mention Postmates, which offers a similar service in the US.Western Australia is regarded by many as a final frontier of travel, but an increasing number of tourists are attempting to tackle our vast state by bicycle.
Domestic and international travellers, like Terry, are coming from around the globe to travel one of the world's last true wildernesses on two wheels.
Terry tackles sets out on a long lonely stretch of bitumen that is the Great Northern Highway. In the?past three months, he has travelled more than?7,500km through Western, and Central Australia. Credit:Tom de Souza
Terry arrived in Australia three months ago, with nothing but his bicycle and a backpack. Since then, he has cycled almost 7500 kilometres from Perth, down to the South West, up through the Great Central Desert and back around the Gibb River Road.
While some people ride gruelling distances across the outback to raise money for charities - like the Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge or Shane Crawford in 2013 - many tourists like Terry are doing it just for the thrill.Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
You’re aware that your cell service comes from cell towers. And that your mapping app is made possible by GPS satellites. And that wifi signals deliver your fail videos. But the sight of that invisible world is breathtaking.
This summer, a Dutch artist named Richard Vijgen released a video of a project he was working on called the Architecture of Radio. It was an augmented reality app that revealed the waves and signals in a given room, pulling information from publicly available databases on cell tower locations and satellites. It revealed an unearthly, web-like network of invisible infrastructure that powers our world—and unsurprisingly, a lot of people wanted to try it for themselves.
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Sadly, the app itself wasn’t ready for public consumption... until today. You can now download the $3 iOS app for iPhone or iPad. When you fire it up, you see a cobalt-blue screen where the app takes your GPS location and loads a series of datasets drawn from a global database that includes the cell towers around you and the satellites overhead (like this one). All in all, the database includes “7 million cell towers, 19 million Wi-Fi routers and hundreds of satellites.”
As you pan around your house, the app identifies signals and waves as you move: There’s a cell tower 589 meters to my left. If it was night, I could look out for a Russian satellite from 1964 passing to the south. It’s a bit like having x-ray glasses on.
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The app warns that it is “not a measurement tool.” For example, the atmospheric waves and dots that texture the screen are an interpretation of waves, not a scientific reality. But the actual datapoints are real, based on your GPS coordinates and scraped from a database, which is pretty cool. Or terrifying, if you’re more of a tin-foil hat person.
“Most people seem to be amazed by the density of signals, some think it’s a bit scary, others just think it’s beautiful,” Vijgen told Gizmodo over email. In the end, it’s a lovely reminder of the vast network all around us, hidden in plain sight. You can get it here.
Contact the author at kelsey@Gizmodo.com.Grandson of Goldman philanthropists dies in Sonoma County plane crash
One person died, and three others were injured, in a plane crash near Sonoma Skypark Airport on Thursday afternoon, a dispatcher said. One person died, and three others were injured, in a plane crash near Sonoma Skypark Airport on Thursday afternoon, a dispatcher said. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Grandson of Goldman philanthropists dies in Sonoma County plane crash 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
A single-engine aircraft crashed Thursday afternoon about 1,000 feet from a regional airport in Sonoma County, killing one man and hospitalizing three other people, officials said.
The crash was reported at 12:46 p.m., when the plane went down near the sole runway of the tiny Sonoma Skypark Airport, just north of Highway 12 in Sonoma, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The man who died was identified as San Francisco resident William Sachs Goldman, 38, by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Goldman, an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco, was the grandson of the late well-known San Francisco philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman.
USF President Paul Fitzgerald said the university community was devastated to learn of the death of Goldman, whom he called “an accomplished scholar, a beloved and generous teacher, and a valued member of our community.”
Richard and Rhoda Goldman were known throughout the United States for their philanthropic work, |
song called “Slap Her Down Again.” In this song, Godfrey is talking about a daughter that went out, went against her father, and decided to sleep with a man that she shouldn’t have slept with. In the song they tell her it’s okay, slap her down again Pa, teach her a lesson. People still think this way. It happens much more often than we would like to talk about, but it’s there.
On being collaborative: I work fully collaboratively. I don’t think that I’ve done a project by myself since 2011. Every work that we do in DGDG comes from my brain as well as from the dancers. It’s really important that they have a say in it because they’re performing it. I don’t perform my own work, it’s a rare occasion that I’m dancing with the company, so I want to know what feels good and what doesn’t feel good. If something hurts them, I want to make sure we get rid of that because that shouldn’t be there. The more connection that they have to the work and the more ownership that they have over it, the more real it will become on stage. In our last two productions, Dirty Filthy Diamonds which was last year at the Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park, and now NICE, Justin Locklear has had a heavy influence in the work. He writes the scripts, he is their acting coach, and their singing coach. For this show, NICE, I actually have an assistant choreographer, which is the first time that has happened. His name is Josh Nichols and he’s been with the company since it started. He approached me and he wanted to develop his choreographic voice, so I told him to join in. He’s been instrumental in helping create these common threads through the work. We need Paul’s input because he’s the music man. He tells them so many things about tempo and rhythm that I can’t. Without everybody’s work, we wouldn’t have the company. Whenever anyone asks me if I’m in charge, I tell them no. I mean, I write the checks, I pay for things, and I make sure they have clothes on, but we do this together. They’re my family, they’re my best friends, and it feels right to include them.
Is that common in the dance world?… No, not at all. I think it’s becoming more common. It’s more common in theater, and we are a dance theater company. I think that my theater background, and Justin’s theater background, is what has helped shape us in this collaborative process, in this devising process. But in dance, no, you generally have your choreographer who tells you the steps, what to do, and where to be, and you have your director. As a dancer, you’re told to just smile, do your job, and go home.
Be nice? Be nice. Exactly.Story highlights The debate is Tuesday, December 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Candidates must meet one of three criteria in polls conducted between October 29 and December 13 and recognized by CNN: An average of at least 3.5% nationally; at least 4% in Iowa; or at least 4% in New Hampshire
(CNN) Republicans have three ways to make the cut for the main stage of their fifth presidential primary debate, sponsor CNN announced Thursday.
Candidates must meet one of three criteria in polls conducted between October 29 and December 13 and recognized by CNN: An average of at least 3.5% nationally; at least 4% in Iowa; or at least 4% in New Hampshire.
The debate is Tuesday, December 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Right now, nine candidates would make cut for the Republican National Committee sanctioned debate at The Venetian in Las Vegas: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Paul is on the bubble for the debate. He clears the national hurdle of 3.5%, but doesn't average 4% in either of the first two states to vote in the 2016 nominating process.
Read MoreA NSW Nationals MP verbally attacked a female cabinet minister, threatening to "tear her a new orifice" and saying she had "never had a real man", because he was angry at her department's decision.
The attack on then environment minister Robyn Parker was made by Murray-Darling MP John Williams in front of about 100 Nationals members during his bid for preselection for the upper house in April.
Ms Parker was raped as a teenager, and had spoken about her ordeal in parliament in 2004, recalling she nailed her bedroom windows shut in the aftermath.
Multiple sources who attended the Nationals preselection meeting on April 4 at Parliament House said they were offended by Mr Williams' comments. The event was filmed, but the slurs went uncensured by party leaders in the room, including deputy premier Andrew Stoner.
Mr Williams emerged as an endorsed candidate, albeit in the almost unwinnable fourth position.On first listen, the Canadian indie-rock band’s energetic new record, with its new-wave–ish sound and brash, tightly packed hooks, leaves you a bit disoriented. That may be one reason it’s called Whiteout Conditions. Another is, the band has weathered something of a storm lately—with founding member Dan Bejar on the sidelines and a new record label of its own after parting with longtime home Matador. Accordingly, the album deals with matters both topical and introspective, from Donald Trump to the struggles of getting older, while retaining the group’s knack for catchy melodies and interwoven multipart vocals. Prior to the upcoming NYC gig, bandleader Carl Newman and keyboardist/singer Kathryn Calder talked with us about the dynamic new record.
How would you compare Whiteout Conditions to your previous albums?
Newman: There was definitely the thought that we would go farther in the direction that we started on [2014’s] Brill Bruisers. There was an idea of making it a little icier and having that vague krautrock feel. I was trying to make the songs simpler—not simplifying the melodies or the arrangements but the chord structures, so that the songs could really move in a way that a lot of our songs haven’t been able to do in the past.
Calder: Every record seems to have its own vibe, even though they're all different. [This one] definitely has its own distinct sound to it, maybe a little bit more synthy than the other records. It's almost a darkness even though the songs are poppy.
Did you have a thematic concept?
Newman: I don’t think there’s anything really tying [the songs] together. There’s sort of a Trump anxiety that slips in there. “High Ticket Attractions” is all about that. There was a lot of anxiety in making the record—we thought there was a 20 percent chance of Trump being President. And then it actually happened.
“This Is the World of the Theater” seems especially topical. What was the impetus for it?
Newman: On that song, I was writing about the facade that you present to the world. I think on this record there were more songs that address getting older and trying to do what you do. If you’re in your fifties and you’re in a band, that doesn’t seem as normal, although there are a ton of people doing that now. In music, I feel like you have to present this weird facade of youth. Not that we try to do that, but you see it [in general]. That kind of thing was on my mind when I was writing the song.
The intense title track seems somewhat semi-autobiographical.
Newman: I was trying to write from within where rough things were going on inside my life. Then you have these horrible things on the outside, and that starts turmoil on the inside. It’s basically about trying to fight your way out of a place like that. To me, It just struck me as whiteout conditions where you can’t see past your own head.
Calder: “Whiteout Conditions” really hits me when I hear it, because it's about the struggle of getting through something.
Carl’s lyrics have this sort of enigmatic quality to them. Kathryn, do you ever ask him what they’re about?
Calder: Sometimes I do. There definitely are turns of phrases that I'm like, “That was amazing. How did you think that up?” He's got a lot of unusual ways of phrasing things that are really interesting.
Did the absence of Dan Bejar affect the group dynamic in the studio?
Newman: It didn’t really. I [was] around for the recordings of Dan’s songs. But he’s not sitting around while we’re working on my songs. So basically this record wouldn’t have been any different [with him on it]. I thought this was an excuse to try to make a very cohesive record. It also made us think that if we’re going to have this change, we shouldn’t be afraid of making musical changes.
Kathryn, in addition to the new record, you're releasing, A Matter of Time, a documentary about your mother’s struggle with ALS, on DVD.
Calder: I feel like there's a lot of awareness-raising about ALS in the last three or four years, which is amazing. I'm just happy that my contribution [is] getting out into the world and maybe helping people understand more about what ALS is. The movie is framed around family and music, and hopefully it’s compelling enough for people to go, “Okay, I'll give this a shot.” I thought it was really well done.
It’s hard to believe the band has now been around for nearly 20 years.
Newman: It’s a strange thing to be a band, especially a band like us that didn’t know we were ever going to make a second record. We didn’t have a career plan. Now it’s sort of like, I’m on the train, now it’s too late to get off. In 2001, it was like a slow-moving train, and I thought, Let’s just ride this for a while. Now it’s 16 years later, and you’re thinking, I hope this train doesn’t break down.
The New Pornographers play Terminal 5 with Waxahatchee on Wednesday, April 26 at 8pm (terminal5nyc.com). $38–$43.As any married couple will tell you, trust is the most precious commodity. And, once it’s gone, its almost impossible to get back. That maxim is just as applicable to the technology world when it comes to security and privacy. That’s why a giant brick and mortar retailer like TJX can lose the credit card information belonging to tens of millions of customers and barely miss a beat, while a firm like the Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar (part of the U.S. based firm Vasco Data Security Intl.) can lose a few hundred certificates and be forced out of business. Put simply: when your business is trust, and there’s a breach of that trust, you’re out of business.
We’ve seen this dynamic play out, more recently, with the self imposed exile of two, prominent secure e-mail services: Lavabit and Silent Mail, a service run by the firm Silent Circle.
In the case of Lavabit, the decision to shutter its operations came after the ten year-old company was used by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to transmit stolen, classified information to journalists. That caught the eye of the U.S. government, which, it is believed, issued a National Security Letter to Lavabit requesting information about information stored on behalf of its users. Ladar Levison, the owner and operator of Lavabit LLC said that he had been “forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work.” He chose the latter.
Silent Circle, a firm that sells secure communications technology for voice, instant messaging and video, said it opted to shutter Silent Mail soon after learning of Lavabit’s decision – though CEO Mike Janke told me that the decision was being mulled well before Lavabit shuttered operations. SilentMail, he said, couldn’t be totally shielded from prying eyes because of “fundamental flaws” in the e-mail infrastructure. He was talking about the metadata that is sent back and forth as part of every e-mail exchange – header information and the like that, while they don’t reveal the content of email communications, provide government spies with plenty of useable information.
Speaking with the publication Ars Technica this week, Lavabit’s founder said his fears were dire: that authorities would force him to alter the code running Lavabit’s e-mail service to harvest the passwords used to encrypt and decrypt communications, or to hand over the master encryption keys used to secure HTTP (or HTTPS) connections to and from Lavabit. While he has known all along that his encrypted email service could be subverted, he considered it essentially unbreakable, because the means of subverting it would require the government to violate U.S. law and the Constitution. That seemed unimaginable ten years ago. Today that kind of thing is not only imaginable - it looks like business as usual. That's a big change.
True, in the wake of Lavabit and SilentMail going dark, others have stepped forward. The inimitable Kim Dotcom declared his intention to step into the void with a new secure email service using his Mega platform. Another alternative, Mailpile quickly surpassed their $100,000 fundraising goal on the crowdsourcing web site Indiegogo. And its also true, so far, there’s no evidence that the FBI or any other arm of the U.S. government tried to compel Lavabit or Silent Circle to break the law.
Still, Levison’s decision and that of Silent Circle to obliterate their secure email services rather than take their chances with the U.S. government sends a powerful message. What is that message? Simply: times have changed. E-mail – wonderful as it is – can’t and shouldn’t be trusted, even if its encrypted six ways to Sunday and stored in a cloud-hosted server on the Island of Togo.
Simply put: the days of secure e-mail are over. The medium is a marvel of the modern world and amazingly useful. It's just that its no longer appropriate for any communication you don’t want read by a federal agent, intelligence officer or any of the myriad federal contractors (like Edward Snowden) working in their stead.
“This idea that you can put your servers or service on some remote island with a volcano, and you will be ‘out of reach’ of the world's governments -is ridiculous,” said Janke of SilentCircle. “It has never worked. Ask Kim Dotcom or the swiss bank UBS. If you hold the data, they can get it.”0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Bernie Sanders offered classy congratulations to Hillary Clinton for her win in Nevada, but the Democratic presidential candidate also found several silver linings in his caucus defeat.
In a statement, Sen. Sanders said:
I just spoke to Secretary Clinton and congratulated her on her victory here in Nevada. I am very proud of the campaign we ran. Five weeks ago we were 25 points behind and we ended up in a very close election. And we probably will leave Nevada with a solid share of the delegates. I am also proud of the fact that we have brought many working people and young people into the political process and believe that we have the wind at our back as we head toward Super Tuesday. I want to thank the people of Nevada for their support that they have given us and the boost that their support will give us as we go forward.
In the days leading up to the caucus, there was heavy speculation that Nevada could be another nail-biter caucus similar to what Democrats saw in Iowa. The reality is that Sen. Sanders made a good run at a state that had been always considered part of Sec. Clinton’s strategic firewall.
There is nothing for Sen. Sanders or his supporters to hang their heads over. Bernie Sanders has shown an ability to make up huge polling deficits in short periods of time. The Clinton campaign had the superior organization in Nevada. Sanders was not able to get the big Independent turnout in Nevada that had helped him in other early states. Eighty-percent of the turnout in Nevada was Democratic, and Hillary Clinton won 56% of them.
Bernie Sanders ran a good campaign, but it wasn’t good enough to beat Hillary Clinton in Nevada.
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:Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun told a National Assembly audit on Tuesday the Korean financial authorities are "preparing various measures" to deal with an excessive inflow of speculative foreign capital. And Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo said, "We must control the inflow of speculative foreign capital that seeks to profit from the strengthening of the won."
More than W30 trillion (US$1=W1,128) worth of foreign capital entered the Korean stock and bond markets so far this year. As a result, the KOSPI has risen to the 1,900 point level, while bond yields have dropped to historic lows. The won strengthened rapidly over the span of just two months.
The U.S. continues to print dollars to boost its economy, while Europe and Japan are also racing to expand money supply, causing speculative capital to hunt for profits in emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. This has prompted emerging countries to change their policy from simply watching out for asset bubbles and inflationary pressures to actually blocking the influx of foreign capital.
Brazil raised taxes on transactions by foreigners from 2 to 4 percent earlier this month and bumped it up to 6 percent on Monday. Thailand has also begun taxing profits foreign investors make on bonds. They are trying to prevent another mass exodus of foreign capital that triggered the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial meltdown.
Korea's financial markets are open and remain a prime target for speculative foreign capital to make quick profits. Policies to stem the tide must be made quickly. As the host of the G20 Summit, Korea cannot be seen t o intervene in the foreign exchange market at will. But it must be ready to implement controls on foreign capital that other countries are enforcing, including scrapping of tax breaks on profits from sovereign bond investments by foreigners. The country must not let its status as the host of the G20 Summit hinder its capacity to deal with a crisis.To read more on Wonder Woman, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday, or buy it here. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
One of the highlights of Wonder Woman is the budding relationship between Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) and Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), the American spy who crashes onto Themyscira and becomes the catalyst for Diana’s adventure abroad. Their relationship fills the heart of the movie and is far more modern than one might expect for a film set in 1918.
Artfully crafted by director Patty Jenkins, the scenes featuring the two of them toggle between Wonder Woman trying to understand the somewhat convoluted ways of modern human society and the two of them learning each other’s motives and ambitions. There is no power play and neither one is being rescued by the other. Some might call it equal, which to Gadot is what feminism is all about.
“Wonder Woman is a feminist, of course,” says Gadot. “I think people have a misconception about what feminism is. People think hairy armpits and women who burn bras and hate men. That’s not it. For me, feminism is all about equality and freedom and [women] choosing what we want to do. If it’s salaries, then we get paid equal to men. It’s not men vs. women or women vs. men.”
That outlook led Gadot to consider how she portrayed her iconic superhero on the screen. “It was important to me that my character would never come and preach about how men should treat women. Or how women should perceive themselves. It was more about playing oblivious to society’s rules. ‘What do you mean women can’t go into the Parliament? Why?,'” she asks.
“It’s just reminding everyone how things should be. I wanted to play the fish out of water, but I didn’t want to play her too silly.”
Pine’s character was also thought about a lot. He couldn’t be too powerful or powerless. “We didn’t want to make Steve the damsel in distress, and we wanted them to have a very equal relationship,” says Gadot. “If she falls in love with him, then he should be someone that every woman falls in love with.”
Adds Jenkins, “Steven Trevor is the perfect fantasy for any modern woman. ’I want to have the job I’ve always wanted. I want to be strong and powerful and all those things, but I want a really hot boyfriend that thinks that’s great and has a sense of humor about the whole thing.’”
To draw out that humor, Jenkins gave Pine and Gadot a lot of opportunity to improvise. In one scene, which debuted at WonderCon, the two share a boat ride back to man’s world where they reveal their initial chemistry — and provide a lot of hints to the overall tone of the film. Gadot and Pine ad-libbed the entire scene. Pine loved it, especially since it highlighted Gadot’s surprisingly good improv skills.
“She has to be the straight woman, that’s the harder part,” he says. “She’s delivering lines like ‘My father is Zeus’ — s— that is just so ridiculous. And she has to say it with a straight face, with a certain amount of innocence and earnestness. I get to react like any human being would to hearing something as ridiculous as that. So I had easy.”Susan Cramm, leadership coach, author, and former CFO and CIO, is committed to the principle that the best leaders take care of business by taking care of the people entrusted to their care.
Amazon has taken a lot of heat over its corporate culture. When I read the initial New York Times article detailing the company’s inner workings (parts of which Amazon has rebutted), I wasn’t shocked — it actually reminded me of some companies I have worked with over the years. Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been taught that work is “just business.” Any elevated expectations for self-actualization should be left at home with our flip-flops.
But times, it appears, are a-changin’. Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and author of Why We Work, is optimistic. When I spoke to him recently, he observed that as “the millennials ascend, they will change organizations” because “meaning is an important part of their agenda” and “workplaces are going to have to listen or else [they] are not going to get the best talent.”
Given a choice, most people would prefer that their work reflect their calling. In his book, Schwartz highlights research showing that people who have a calling and consider their work important “believe their work makes the world a better place.” Those without a calling have a job where they “enjoy little discretion and experience minimal engagement or meaning,” or have a career where their primary emphasis is on advancement over meaning.
If you wonder whether you have a calling, you should think about whether you’d encourage people you love to do your job, Schwartz writes. My 18 years in leadership coaching predicts that the answer will likely be no. The majority of leaders I have worked with have been conditioned to focus on promotions rather than meaning. As a result, they have difficulty connecting their values and motivations to their company’s mission, their work, and how they spend their time. When allowed to dream, they turn a bit misty-eyed, contemplating the life that they would like to live if they knew how to achieve it. It’s a sad reality that most of us long for purpose, but few of us have found it.
We don’t consciously settle for less. In his book, Schwartz blames Adam Smith and Frederick Winslow Taylor for perpetuating the idea that human beings are inherently lazy, and that “the only reason people do any kind of work is for the payoffs.” Smith understood that no one would enjoy working in his oh-so-efficient-but-mind-numbing pin factory, but he unfortunately transferred that lack of enjoyment to work as a whole. As a result, work from the industrial age to the present has been designed with a paycheck, rather than a purpose, as the only payoff. And we as workers have been conditioned to accept this. It’s no wonder that many people think of work as just another four-letter word.
By “systematically depriving people of fulfillment from their work,” Schwartz writes, we have “produced inferior workers.” By structuring work “in keeping with the false idea that people work only for pay,” we’ve created “workplaces that make this false idea true” and created a mind-set that believes “you just can’t get good help anymore.” In other words, existing work constructs are based on low expectations — and they have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Although a quest for meaning may sound like First World whining, most everyone agrees that it’s good business. “It is bad business to treat people as if the paycheck is the only thing they care about,” Schwartz told me. He challenged leaders to imbue work with meaning, “even if they don’t care about people and all they care about is the bottom line.”
Schwartz writes that “virtually any job has the potential to offer people satisfaction” by providing autonomy, challenge, and the sense of meaning that comes from positively affecting the welfare of others. Introducing work systems that appeal to these inherent motivators can transform a workforce — and a business. To illustrate, Schwartz wrote in his book about a carpet manufacturer called Interface, whose CEO realized that the company’s work was poisoning the environment. He resolved to leave the world a better place than he found it, so he established a zero-carbon-footprint goal and resolved to change company operations as a whole. And although the CEO “was willing to sacrifice the bottom line to achieve a social good,” Schwartz said the opposite occurred because the employees connected to the elevated mission and discovered new ways of operating that were much more effective and efficient.
But what about Amazon? Is it offering callings or simply jobs? Schwartz believes that it’s a “mixed story.” Amazon’s stated mission, to be “Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything,” surely qualifies as a noble purpose: sacrificing short-term profit to deliver the best for its customers. The work environment is stimulating, packing a one-two punch of challenge and innovation. And with the good comes the bad — long hours, competition, and, as the Times reported, “purposeful Darwinism.”
The complete Amazon story will be revealed over time. Until then, it’s up to all of us to assess our work and make choices that reflect who we are and what we love. At the end of his book, Schwartz underscored this point by quoting Bruce Springsteen. In a Rolling Stone article, the Boss cautioned his fans not to give up what keeps them alive for TVs, cars, or houses. These are merely the “booby prize,” Springsteen said, and if people aren’t careful, they could “let the best of [themselves] slip away.”Scientists discover worlds oldest, 152 million years old crocodile eggs in Portugal
London : Researchers have found the world's oldest crocodilian eggs that were laid 152 million years ago. The eggs, discovered in cliffs in Portugal, were laid by close relatives of "true" crocodiles, a group called crocodylomorphs, which according to palaeontologists, had been two metres long.
"The fact that they are from the Late Jurassic period makes these eggs the oldest crocodilian eggs known so far," Joao Russo from the Nova University of Lisbon in Portugal was quoted as saying to the BBC.
"The fossil record tells us that crocodiles and their relatives (forming the larger group of crocodylomorphs) were much more diverse in the past, with different feeding habits, ecological niche distribution or morphology," he added.
The eggs were found in several clutches and appear to be of two different types, the researchers said in the paper published in the journal, Plos One.
"This new discovery from Portugal extends the knowledge of this type of egg by approximately 40 million years," Russo added.A team of Australian engineers has proven -- with the highest score ever obtained -- that a quantum version of computer code can be written, and manipulated, using two quantum bits in a silicon microchip. The advance removes lingering doubts that such operations can be made reliably enough to allow powerful quantum computers to become a reality.
The result, obtained by a team at Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, appears in the international journal, Nature Nanotechnology.
The quantum code written at UNSW is built upon a class of phenomena called quantum entanglement, which allows for seemingly counterintuitive phenomena such as the measurement of one particle instantly affecting another -- even if they are at opposite ends of the universe.
"This effect is famous for puzzling some of the deepest thinkers in the field, including Albert Einstein, who called it'spooky action at a distance'," said Professor Andrea Morello, of the School of Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications at UNSW and Program Manager in the Centre for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology, who led the research. "Einstein was sceptical about entanglement, because it appears to contradict the principles of 'locality', which means that objects cannot be instantly influenced from a distance."
Physicists have since struggled to establish a clear boundary between our everyday world -- which is governed by classical physics -- and this strangeness of the quantum world. For the past 50 years, the best guide to that boundary has been a theorem called Bell's Inequality, which states that no local description of the world can reproduce all of the predictions of quantum mechanics.
Bell's Inequality demands a very stringent test to verify if two particles are actually entangled, known as the 'Bell test', named for the British physicist who devised the theorem in 1964.
"The key aspect of the Bell test is that it is extremely unforgiving: any imperfection in the preparation, manipulation and read-out protocol will cause the particles to fail the test," said Dr Juan Pablo Dehollain, a UNSW Research Associate who with Dr Stephanie Simmons was a lead author of the Nature Nanotechnology paper.
"Nevertheless, we have succeeded in passing the test, and we have done so with the highest'score' ever recorded in an experiment," he added.
In the UNSW experiment, the two quantum particles involved are an electron and the nucleus of a single phosphorus atom, placed inside a silicon microchip. These particles are, literally, on top of each other -- the electron orbits around the nucleus. Therefore, there is no complication arising from the spookiness of action at a distance.
However, the significance of the UNSW experiment is that creating these two-particle entangled states is tantamount to writing a type of computer code that does not exist in everyday computers. It therefore demonstrates the ability to write a purely quantum version of computer code, using two quantum bits in a silicon microchip -- a key plank in the quest super-powerful quantum computers of the future.
"Passing the Bell test with such a high score is the strongest possible proof that we have the operation of a quantum computer entirely under control," said Morello. "In particular, we can access the purely-quantum type of code that requires the use of the delicate quantum entanglement between two particles."
In a normal computer, using two bits one, could write four possible code words: 00, 01, 10 and 11. In a quantum computer, instead, one can also write and use'superpositions' of the classical code words, such as (01 + 10), or (00 + 11). This requires the creation of quantum entanglement between two particles.
"These codes are perfectly legitimate in a quantum computer, but don't exist in a classical one," said UNSW Research Fellow Stephanie Simmons, the paper's co-author. "This is, in some sense, the reason why quantum computers can be so much more powerful: with the same number of bits, they allow us to write a computer code that contains many more words, and we can use those extra words to run a different algorithm that reaches the result in a smaller number of steps."
Morello highlighted the importance of achieving the breakthrough using a silicon chip: "What I find mesmerising about this experiment is that this seemingly innocuous 'quantum computer code' -- (01 + 10) and (00 + 11) -- has puzzled, confused and infuriated generations of physicists over the past 80 years.
"Now, we have shown beyond any doubt that we can write this code inside a device that resembles the silicon microchips you have on your laptop or your mobile phone. It's a real triumph of electrical engineering," he added.U.S. cities that refuse to step up efforts to focus on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants will not be allowed to participate in a new crime reduction training program unveiled earlier this year by the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday.
In making the announcement, Sessions singled out four local police departments that had expressed interest in the new Public Safety Partnership Program, saying they first had to answer a list of questions by Aug. 18 confirming they do not have any "sanctuary" policies to shield illegal immigrants from possible deportation by ensuring they will allow federal immigration officials access to local jails.
"By protecting criminals from immigration enforcement, cities and states with so-called'sanctuary' policies make all of us less safe," Sessions said.
The four police departments that must respond are Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; and San Bernardino and Stockton, California.
Representatives for the four cities' police departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sessions' announcement reflects part of a broader policy push by President Donald Trump to crack down generally on illegal immigration.
He has urged Congress to support funding the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the administration has moved to dramatically widen the net of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation.
This week, Trump also backed a bill developed by Republican Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia to also cut back on legal immigration by 50 percent over ten years.
The National Public Safety Partnership is a new program launched in June that involves a three-year initiative geared toward areas with high rates of violent crime.
Twelve cities were selected when it was first launched, including Buffalo, New York, Houston, Texas and in Sessions' home state, Birmingham, Alabama.
It is unclear how cities with interest in the program may respond to the Justice Department's stance, but some municipalities have pushed back against the Trump administration's immigration policies.
A U.S. judge last month refused to remove a block on an executive order by President Donald Trump that would have withheld federal funds from "sanctuary" cities, which do not use municipal funds or resources to help advance the enforcement of federal immigration laws.VOORHEES, N.J. -- Philadelphia Flyers coach Craig Berube wasn't ready Wednesday to name his starting goalie for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the New York Rangers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN, CNBC, MSG, CSN-PH).
But Steve Mason said he's ready if needed.
"If [Berube] says I'm in, I'll be ready," Mason said following an optional practice Wednesday.
Mason played the final 7:15 of the Flyers' 4-1 loss to the Rangers in Game 3, which put New York ahead 2-1 in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series. It was Mason's first game since April 12, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He stopped all three shots he faced.
While having some game experience was good for him, Mason said he believes he's gotten more from his recent practice time, individually with goalie coach Jeff Reese and in full-team sessions.
That includes about an hour on the ice Wednesday with Reese and the Flyers' practice players.
"We did some goalie drills early on in the practice with [Reese] and [extra goaltender] Yann [Danis]," Mason said. "A couple of other guys came on the ice and we went through a normal practice and everything went fine.
"The things [Reese] and I have been working on have really helped. Little things throughout the season that he notices in the game that can simplify things we've been working on and I think that will translate right into the game. Playoff games have a different intensity, more is on the line, but I don't think I'll have too much trouble picking it up."
Berube said he believes he'll be ready to make a decision regarding his starter for Game 4 after he sees Mason in practice Thursday.
"I think the practice time he's had he's looked fine," Berube said. "He hasn't really been with us as a team so much, we haven't practiced much as a team and there's been three goalies out there. We'll see [Thursday]. He'll be with us on the ice [Thursday] and we'll go from there."
Ray Emery, who started the first three games, has allowed 10 goals on 89 shots, including four on 20 shots in Game 3. The players said they were confident no matter who was picked to start Game 4.
"I don't think it really matters who plays," forward Wayne Simmonds said. "We're going to play the same way regardless if Ray goes again or Mason steps in there."
---ValidateIssuerSigningKey
ValdiateIssuer
Authority
JwtBearerOptions
ValidIssuer
ValidIssuers
TokenValidationParameters
IssuerSigningKey
certLocation
In my previous posts on the topic of issuing authentication tokens with ASP.NET Core, it was necessary to generate a certificate to use for token signing. As part of that process, a.cer file was generated which contained the public (but not private) key of the certificate. That certificate is what needs to be made available to apps (like this sample) that will be consuming the generated tokens.
With UseJwtBearerAuthentication called in Startup.Configure, our web app should now respect identities sent as JWT bearer tokens in a request’s Authorization header.
Authorizing with Custom Values from JWT
To make the web app consuming tokens a little more interesting, we can also add some custom authorization that only allows access to APIs depending on specific claims in the JWT bearer token.
Role-based Authorization
Authorizing based on roles is available out-of-the-box with ASP.NET Identity. As long as the bearer token used for authentication contains a roles element, ASP.NET Core’s JWT bearer authentication middleware will use that data to populate roles for the user.
So, a roles-based authorization attribute (like [Authorize(Roles = "Manager,Administrator")] to limit access to managers and admins) can be added to APIs and work immediately.
Custom Authorization Policies
Custom authorization in ASP.NET Core |
did you make the move to the west coast and why (for film or for the art)?
At age 40, (1994), I left Canada to work at the”Warner Brothers Feature Animation” start up. The art in film animation as a visual medium was more focused on selling ideas and entertainment rather than selling products as with a lot of illustration work.
I wanted to explore it because it demanded so much creative focus and that it was able to express itself in so many ways using timing, motion, sound, color and light etc..
You started as a book illustrator and art designer. When did you realize that the animation world was for you? And how did you make that transition?
I had an apartment and a separate rented studio in Toronto and was making a decent living as an illustrator. But the need for more creative expression was tugging at me and I couldn’t see myself doing commercial illustration indefinitely.
I occasionally did the odd film animation job, background paintings, some visual development images etc., nothing of significance. But I hadn’t really focused on film animation, so I put together a portfolio of artwork and children’s book work that I had done and sent it to the USA to a couple of people I heard very good things about, people who cared about the art form, Bill and Sue Kroyer. They were very excited about my work and offered me a freelance job right away.
After that job they asked me to join them at Warner Bros. Feature animation to develop new projects etc. I loved the creativity in the art form, that it’s purpose was to entertain and I felt at home in many regards.
I enjoy people and the balance between working alone and collaborating with others was a nice fit for me. My wife Donna and I decided to give up our current careers, leave our friends and families and move to California to give it a shot. So it worked out and here we are.
Crayonfun – Steve Pilcher Steve Pilcher
What was your first film gig and how did you get it?
The first film gig was a little Christmas VHS/video for Rabbit Ears Productions called “The Lion and the Lamb”. It was a small job that Bill and Sue Kroyer contracted me for. I created background paintings, drawings and pulled together a color script.
I was working in my studio in Canada, while the rest of the team worked on it in California. It was fun to work on, the result was a little crude to say the least, but I quickly realized that I loved this kind of work.
Were there many things you had to pick up to make that transition and, if so, what were they?
Creating children’s books and illustrating I think set me up quite well to transition into film animation. A large part of the ever-changing process is visual problem solving with the application of artistry.
More importantly, learning how to collaborate with others using respect, intelligence and honest care regarding the film is the thing to master. Because I had to manage myself as an illustrator, I felt comfortable being invited into any leadership roll.
All the years of quoting, budgeting, delivering to the best of my ability on time, turned out to be a good training ground for the practical side of film making.
You worked at Warner Brothers, Dreamworks and Disney Feature Animation. What movies did you work on and tell us a bit about the life/work changes you felt moving into this field?
At Warner Bros. Feature animation I started on “Quest for Camelot”, my first feature experience. It was an odd conglomeration and it struggled to connect with audiences.
I then went on to “Osmosis Jones”, which was a live-action, animation hybrid. It was fun designing the animated world, but also had trouble at the box office.
Osmosis Jones Visdev – Steve Pilcher Osmosis Jones – Steve Pilcher
The problem with films that aren’t received well by audiences is that they take just as long to make as the films that do well, but you don’t have as much to show for years of work, save your own personal contribution in the form of drawings or paintings, which the audience never sees.
At Disney Feature Animation I was hired for a brief couple of months to explore early development art on a project, and then I landed next at PDI / Dreamworks. I was hired as the art director on “Shrek 2”, working with Production Designer Guillaume Aretos.
Because of the close interaction we had with all the departments in the pipeline, I learned an enormous amount about CG film making.
I continued with development work on “Shrek the Third” for a few months, then helped out on “Bee Movie” for a few more months. Most of this work is often intensive, time demanding and stressful.
In this collaborative art form, the process is always different from company to company, show to show.
Shrek2 Mongo – Steve Pilcher – Steve Pilcher
For our non-animating readers please explain the difference between Art Director and Production Designer?
The Production Designer is the lead art director if other Art directors are on the same film. He or She leads the team and makes the final call in sync with the Director(s).
The Art director role can be relegated specifically to a Sets, Shading or Character Art director, or as in my case on Shrek 2, an additional partner to the Production Designer. In this case the Production Designer and Art Director’s roles, tasks, are shared.
The seniority of decision resolution resides with the Production Designer.
As our CG films have become such massive amounts of work and time, one may find a variety of credit scenarios involving the Art director’s role.
How did you end up working at Pixar and on Brave as Production Designer?
I left Dreamworks amicably after a short stint helping out on “Bee Movie.” I then went to Pixar to show my portfolio and look at a project they were developing.
I met with Brenda Chapman and interviewed with her. I also met and interviewed with the other Directors, Production Designers and Art Directors. Brenda wanted to hire me as the Production Designer for “Brave”, and Pixar soon after offered me the role.
Brave stone circle – Steve Pilcher
And what responsibilities does a CG Production Designer face – how might tasks differ from Live Action production designer?
Not having worked in live action, I can only surmise that the biggest difference to me is the time involved on a show generated by the fact that we must design and create from scratch everything you see on film. Everything — the Characters, Costumes, Environments / Sets and Subsets, Props, FX, Lighting and Color.
The color and texture on everything you see as well the orchestration of the overall color palette, all need to work together to be finally lit and celebrated in the Lighting department. This is where the accumulation of all the visual work lands.
Creating an ever-evolving color script, incorporating time of day, mood changes and FX starts at the beginning of the show and continues to the end supplying context and visual continuity.
As the story starts to solidify, more detailed subsequent paintings, called lighting keys are created in the Art department for specific shots, to supply more detailed information to the lighting department.
From beginning to end, please tell us your process on Finding Dory?
Oh that’s a lot. Here is a somewhat abbreviated version.
Get the pitch of the story and discuss with the director, the emotional intent, tone, special wishes, needs etc. Set up and breakdown the basic elements of the story visually. The Character(s), The Sets, (Environments/ Locations) subsets, a Time of day / Weather pass, FX overview, visual needs, Color overview, Tone, (comedy, drama etc., and the overall stylistic design approach.
Create artwork exploring ideas, story, moments. Strategize and assemble / cast a small art team. Strategize art budget with the art manager, projecting time bids to make the film. Supervise the art team designing all of the above mentioned needs.
Creating model packets for modelling Characters – Sets and Props (for set-dressing). Then creating shader/ surfacing packets of the same for painting and texturing the same assets in color.
Reviews in all departments with and without the director(s), as needed daily. Meeting regularly with the Story department and Art department to keep in sync with story and constant changes. It’s an intense marathon that can last within a time span of 4 years to even 7 years.
I was on “Brave” for 7 years and on “Finding Dory” for 4 years. The actual process is much more detailed than this outline, but you get the idea.
Dory home – Steve Pilcher Finding Dory – Steve Pilcher
What size team did you work with on Finding Dory and who do you interact with most during the production process?
I run a small art team fluctuating between 5 to 7 Production artists. I like the unity it creates as well as the opportunity to stretch the artist’s potential.
We also have an average of 3 Production coordinators and an Art manager. I obviously interact the most with the Art crew, but also with other department Leads & their crew on a regular basis. These include Character, Sets, FX and Lighting departments, as needed and dictated by the film process timeline.
Have their been many changes/developments in process/style between the first film Finding Nemo and Dory? Were there areas in which the image quality or animation could advance and areas where it was best to keep it the same?
Yes. New technology, new opportunities and new problems. With all the new technological advances / changes, we use our trained eyes to replicate, re-create and enhance as needed and desired. We are always looking for ways to streamline the pipeline without sacrificing quality.
With something where the environment is so layered (i.e. the constant bubbles, waves, ripples, sunbeams) on top of the actual physical solid parts of the set, was the water and what it does part of your job or did you have a whole other set of teams focused on the different aspects of the water? How is it broken down?
Water or known qualitative FX can be started right away in the FX department, things like color and murk levels would be pre-determined by art and lighting and evolve as necessary. Some initial design exploration is done in the Art department particularly if it involves something we’ve never seen before, like Bailey’s “Echolocation FX” for example.
Once all agree on the direction, FX will start to create. Our entire effects team handles this under the Director(s) direction, with my occasional input as needed. I sometimes comment on obvious concerns, usually involving scale, frequency of patterning, color or on unique design considerations.
Finding Dory poster – Pixar Finding Dory poster – Pixar
In a sequel scenario do you guys use assets from the first film?
We tried to for obvious reasons, but anything that could be “migrated” over usually had to be re-done in entirety or some regard, because the technology had progressed/changed so much.
They usually had to be remodeled and re-shaded, (applying an updated color and texture application that would match or enhance the previous version).
What were the big challenges on Dory?
Making it as beautiful as the first film and looking for ways to expand the visual, tactile feel of the film.
How do you manage a work/life balance and do you still enjoy other art or hobbies outside of production life?
Yes, it’s hard to balance at different times. I am always creating outside of the job, it’s my form of entertainment and growth. Sculpture, Painting, Picture books etc. You find time between everything else going on in your life.
My wife and kids are my greatest blessing, indirectly motivating me and keeping me in touch with the real world.
What advice would you give to an animator wanting to one day follow in your footsteps?
All art interrelates, one path leads to another. Often there is no linear path to where you end up. It’s all about triumph over adversity. It can be frustrating at times so you need to persevere. Be respectful of others efforts and maintain a sense of humor.
Look outside animation for inspiration, participate in other art forms. Master self – control, stay healthy and develop a strong work ethic. If you really want to work and express something you love, you will find a way, sooner or later.
What kind of projects would you like to work on in the future?
Imaginatively expressive, spiritually enlightening, thought provoking, original ideas engulfed in myth.
Thank you, Steve!
RELATED ARTICLE: Read our interview with The Muppets production designer Steve Saklad
RELATED ARTICLE: Read our interview with High Rise cinematographer Laurie Rose
RELATED ARTICLE: Read our interview with The Nice Guys production designer Richard Bridgland
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Like this: Like Loading...Unless there’s a sudden turnaround in the polls, Tony Abbott will become Prime Minister of Australia. This will be the third time in my life that a Federal Labor government has been defeated, the other two occasions being 1975 and 1996. On both those occasions, despite substantial and enduring accomplishments, the government had made a mess of macroeconomic management, and the electorate, unsurprisingly, wanted to punish them. And, despite my strong disagreements with them (and with the way Fraser came to office), the incoming Prime Ministers had serious views on how best Australia’s future could be managed. Fraser has only improved since leaving office, making valuable contributions on the national and global stage. My evaluation of Howard, following his defeat, starts with the observation that he was ‘the most substantial figure produced by the Liberal party since the party itself was created by Menzies’.
Nothing of the sort can be said this time. The case put forward by the LNP is based entirely on lies and myths. These include the claims that
* Labor has mismanaged the economy and piled up unnecessary debt and deficits
* Australian families are ‘doing it tough’ because of a soaring cost of living
* The carbon tax/price is a ‘wrecking ball’, destroying economic activity
* The arrival of refugees represents a ‘national emergency’
None of these claims stands up to even momentary scrutiny.
Then there’s Abbott himself. After 20 years in politics, I can’t point to any substantial accomplishments on his part, or even any coherent political philosophy. For example, I’m not as critical of his parental leave scheme as some, but it’s totally inconsistent with his general political line, a fact that his supporters in business have been keen to point out. On climate change, he’s held every position possible and is now promising, in effect, to do nothing. His refusal to reveal policy costings until the second-last day of the campaign debases an already appalling process. He treated budget surplus as a holy grail until it became inconvenient, and has now become carefully vague on the topic.
Obviously, the fact that such a party and such a leader can be on the verge of victory implies that the Labor side has done something dreadfully wrong. It’s the oldest cliche in politics for the losing side to claim that the problem is not the policies but inability to get the message across. In this case, however, I think it’s true. Gillard lost the voters early on with stunts like the consultative assembly, and never managed to get them to listen to her for any length of time. Rudd was doing well in communicating his vision from his return to the leadership until he called the election. He then wasted three weeks on small-bore stuff apparently aimed at Katter party preferences. He seems finally to have rediscovered his voice, with the launch speech and his Q&A appearance, but I fear it’s too late.
Still, in the unlikely event that any undecided voters are reading this, I urge you to take a serious look at the alternative government, and place the LNP last on your ballot in both houses of Parliament.It now seems all but certain that the presidential election will see Donald Trump face off against Hillary Clinton.
We find ourselves at the tail end of a brief period of clarity. For the past few months, virtually everyone outside of the 40 percent of Republican primary voters who carried him to victory has agreed that Trump is not fit to be president.
Marco Rubio called him a "con man." Mitt Romney called him "a phony, a fraud." Cruz called him an "amoral pathological liar" and said if he is elected "this country could well plunge into the abyss." Lindsey Graham said Trump would lead to "another 9/11." David Brooks called him "epically unprepared to be president." George Will said that "his running mate will be unqualified for high office because he or she will think Trump is qualified." The house organ of conservatism, National Review, condemned him in florid terms. A Super PAC was created just to stop him.
This Clinton camp video is effectively narrated by Mitt Romney https://t.co/E4Iynf1SuZ — Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) May 4, 2016
No one has captured the case better than longtime conservative political analyst Jay Cost:
[<a href="//storify.com/SeanTrende/jay-cost-goes-nuclear-on-trumpkins" mce_href="//storify.com/SeanTrende/jay-cost-goes-nuclear-on-trumpkins" target="_blank">View the story "Jay Cost goes nuclear on Trumpkins" on Storify</a>]
As Cost emphasizes, the issue here is not (merely) ideological — it's about basic fitness and competence. A man with Trump's temperament and habits could do real, lasting, no-joke damage as the leader of the free world.
Hillary Clinton, for all her flaws, has demonstrated a basic level of competence. She understands how policy and government work. She's not openly racist; she hasn't encouraged street violence. There's no risk that she would disrupt the international order or cause an economic crisis out of pique.
That's a really, really low bar. But it's the only bar she has to clear in this contest. Almost irrespective of what you think of Clinton's politics or her policies, she is manifestly more prepared to run the federal government than Donald Trump.
The number of people who recognize this elemental fact about the election, however, has probably already reached and passed its peak. It will decline from here on out. The moment of clarity is already ending.
The political ecosystem needs two balanced parties to survive
Why is clarity passing? Because it appears Trump is actually going to be the Republican nominee. It's really happening. And the US political ecosystem — media, consultants, power brokers, think tanks, foundations, officeholders, the whole thick network of institutions and individuals involved in national politics — cannot deal with a presidential election in which one candidate is obviously and uncontroversially the superior (if not sole acceptable) choice. The machine is simply not built to handle a race that's over before it's begun.
There are entire classes of professionals whose jobs are premised on the model of two roughly equal sides, clashing endlessly. The Dance of Two Parties sustains the consultants and activists.
That giant clicking sound is 10,000 Republican consultants and activists deleting their #NeverTrump tweets. — Paul Mitchell (@paulmitche11) May 4, 2016
Trump campaign now being flooded with offers from seasoned operatives to help the campaign, Rick Wiley tells me. — Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) May 4, 2016
It sustains the party hacks and grifters.
.@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton — Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016
There's a lot about Donald Trump that I don't like, but I'll vote for Trump over Hillary any day. — Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) May 4, 2016
And it sustains the media, which is what I want to discuss below.
Among all these classes of professionals, all these institutions, that whole superstructure of US politics built around two balanced sides, there will be a tidal pull to normalize this election, to make it Coca-Cola versus Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola versus sewer water.
The US political system knows how to play the former script; it doesn't know how to play the latter. There's a whole skein of practices, relationships, and money flows developed around the former. The latter would occasion a reappraisal of, well, everything. Scary.
So there will be a push to lift Donald Trump up and bring Hillary Clinton down, until they are at least something approximating two equivalent choices.
It's not a conspiracy; it won't be coordinated. It doesn't need to be. It's just a process of institutions, centers of power and influence, responding to the incentive structure that's evolved around them. The US political ecosystem needs this election to be competitive.
The media cannot countenance a lopsided race
No institution needs a competitive election more than the media, especially what remains of the "objective" campaign media. Imagine writing this headline:
Trump, bad candidate, likely to lose
Now imagine writing it again and again for six months — and watching your web traffic dwindle into nothing. Sad!
The campaign press requires, for its ongoing health and advertising revenue, a real race. It needs controversies. "Donald Trump is not fit to be president" may be the accurate answer to pretty much every relevant question about the race, but it's not an interesting answer. It's too final, too settled. No one wants to click on it.
What's more, the campaign media's self-image is built on not being partisan, which precludes adjudicating political disputes. How does that even work if one side is offering up a flawed centrist and the other is offering up a vulgar xenophobic demagogue?
It would be profoundly out of character for reporters to spend the six months between now and the election writing, again and again, that one side's candidate is a liar and a racist and an egomaniac. It would be uncomfortable, personally and professionally.
What we've learned today abt life thru Nov if Trump wins:some reporters can't be objective abt him & left/right critics will sound the same — Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) April 27, 2016
It's true that the media has been uncharacteristically blunt in its criticism of Trump during the primary, mainly because almost every source it considers legitimate hates Trump, including the Republican establishment. To date, the anti-Trump position has been safely inside the Washington consensus.
That will change once the GOP apparatus inevitably swings around behind Trump and begins accusing journalists who write critical stories of bias. If there's one thing the GOP apparatus knows how to do, it's ensure that there's always another side, that reporters get smacked every time they move past "one hand, other hand" coverage.
Already we've seen reporters leap at the Trump "pivot" story several times, though Trump's newfound presidential tone never seems to last even a full 24 hours.
It will not take much for "new, grown-up Trump" stories to take hold once he is the nominee. The media and the GOP apparatus both need those stories, the former for "balance," the latter for paychecks.
In short order, Trump's obvious unfitness for office — today widely acknowledged across both parties and in the mainstream media — will become a partisan observation, something Democrats say. Consultants from the two parties will sit across from one another on cable news shows and squabble about it, as nature intended.
To the extent that Trump can't be lifted, Clinton will be brought down
Just as the media will need to elevate Trump, it will need to bring Clinton down. Going after Clinton will be journalists' default strategy for proving that they're not biased. They will need opportunities to be "tough" toward Clinton, or at least to engage in the kind of performative toughness valued in campaign journalism, to demonstrate their continued independence.
Trump will give them opportunities. And it's not going to be through policy critique, a domain in which Clinton towers over him. It's going to be through tawdry, nasty shit.
Consider the attacks Trump has used to triumph in the primary: Cruz's father helped kill JFK; Cruz is not eligible to be president; Rubio is an effete liar who sweats too much; Kasich is a disgusting eater; Jeb Bush has low testosterone; Fiorina has an unpleasant face. His nickname for Clinton is already "crooked Hillary." He's already dredged up her husband's affairs and her alleged role in them.
Consider what Trump will do when he's behind, being bested by a woman, at risk of national humiliation, struggling to unite a party that is connected to him only through a shared hatred of Clinton. The mind boggles.
Will the Washington press corps chase after ridiculous personal attacks and conspiracy theories regarding Hillary Clinton, whispered into their ears by right-wing hacks?
Ha ha. Have you met the Washington press corps? They have been doing that since the early 1990s. Clinton rules mean guilty until proven innocent, then and now. The Washington media is a machine that transforms crap about Clintons into headlines, and Trump is a bottomless supply of crap.
Along with that, Clinton being Clinton, and Clintonworld being Clintonworld, there is likely to be no shortage of missteps, malapropisms, unforced errors, and poorly chosen surrogates to keep the media busy even without Trump's help. Stories purporting to (finally) bring Clinton down never lack for clicks. She is, after all, the most disliked national politician in American life... except Donald Trump.
So there you have it: an obvious choice that numerous institutions and individuals are committed to making as difficult, as unpleasant, and as drawn-out as possible. It augurs a substance-free, policy-averse, crap-happy campaign season, degraded even by the diminished standards of contemporary US politics. Wake me when it's over.
This is why Donald Trump can't win a general electionIf this is your first time visiting my comic, and you came here from certain ad links, this image is intended to give you hope. I’ve improved a lot since I off handedly started this adventure some 4 years ago. (More like 7 now…)
The story concerns itself chiefly with the lives of a group of people working in an entertainment superstore. A poorly managed one in Kansas to be exact, but it could really be almost anywhere. I don’t even think mention is made of their geographic location until well into the second story arc. Which wouldn’t be so long except that the first two arcs are over 300 pages each. It all seems quite natural when you read it though. Anyway, the stories are not biographical, but some of them are based on things that happened to me, and people I worked with. Some that seem the most impossible are actually very real. I was lucky enough to work with some very exceptional people over the years. They made it possible for me to survive in the hellish landscape of retail sales. In some ways Between Failures is a message of hope for anyone still trapped there. There is a light at the end of that tunnel.
Originally I started posting Between Failures on Smackjeeves, and it gained a little following there. I then began posting it on my Deviantart site, and Drunk Duck. Drunk Duck was where it finally “took off”. I surround took off in quotes because taking off is kind of relative. As of the time of this writing the comic supports its own space, advertisements, and occasional upgrades.
I was fortunate enough to find friends on all of the sites Between Failures has called home. Friends I have never met face to face. Good and kind people who supported me in the darkest times, and shared my victories when they came. Many of them have sites listed on my links page. If you have time to spare I encourage you to look over their work. Even the meticulous language that is American English can’t express my gratitude properly to them.
The update schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, right now. The blogs only rarely have anything to do with the page above them. I basically use them as a journal. If you are interested in the man behind the magic that is where you’ll find him. The site was recently upgraded so I can respond directly to comments. If you have any sensible questions I’ll do my best to answer them as quickly as I can. You can also email me, or contact me on Twitter, Facebook, Deviantart, and probably other sites I’ve forgotten about.
That’s pretty much all I can think of to say at the moment. I hope you enjoy reading my comic.
- J.T.A number of readers have complained recently about having their Hilton Honors loyalty accounts emptied by cybercrooks. This type of fraud often catches consumers off-guard, but the truth is that the recent spike in fraud against Hilton Honors members is part of a larger trend that’s been worsening for years as more companies offer rewards programs.
Many companies give customers the ability to earn “loyalty” or “award” points and miles that can be used to book travel, buy goods and services online, or redeemed for cash. Unfortunately, the online accounts used to manage these reward programs tend to be less secured by both consumers and the companies that operate them, and increasingly cyber thieves are swooping in to take advantage.
Brendan Brothers, a frequent traveler from St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, discovered a few days ago that his Hilton Honors account had been relieved of more than a quarter-million points, rewards that he’d accumulated using a credit card associated with the account. Brothers said the fraudsters were brazen in their theft, using his account to redeem a half-dozen hotel stays in the last week of September, booking rooms all along the East Coast of the United States, from Atlanta, GA to Charlotte, N.C. all the way up to Stamford, CT.
The thieves reserved rooms at more affordable Hilton properties, probably to make the points stretch further, Brothers said. When they exhausted his points, they used the corporate credit card that was already associated with the account to purchase additional points.
“They got into the account and of course the first thing they did was change my primary and secondary email accounts, so that neither me nor my travel agent were getting notifications about new travel bookings,” said Brothers, co-founder of Verafin, a Canadian software security firm that focuses on anti-money laundering and fraud detection.
Brothers said he plans to dispute the credit card charges, but he’s unsure what will happen with his purloined points; nearly a week after he complained to Hilton about the fraud, Brothers has yet to receive a response from the company. Hilton also did not respond to requests for comment from KrebsOnSecurity.
PUT A PIN IN IT
Hilton gives users two ways to log into accounts: With a user name and password, or a member number and a 4-digit PIN. What could go wrong here? Judging from changes that Hilton made recently to its login process, thieves have been breaking into Hilton Honors accounts using the latter method. According to the travel loyalty Web site LoyaltyLobby, Hilton recently added a CAPTCHA to its login process, ostensibly to make it more difficult for crooks to use brute-forcing programs (or botnets) to automate the guessing of PINs associated with member accounts.
In a post on October 30, LoyaltyLobby’s John Ollila wrote about a hacker selling Hilton Honors accounts for a tiny fraction of the real world value of points in those accounts. For example, the points stolen from Brothers would have fetched around USD $12 — even though the thieves in his case managed to redeem the stolen miles for approximately USD $1,200 worth of hotel reservations.
I did a bit of sleuthing on my own and was able to find plenty of sellers on shady forums offering them for about three to five percent of their actual value. As this ad from the online black market/drug bazaar known as Evolution Market indicates, the points can be redeemed for gift cards (as good as cash) at points.com and other locations that convert points to currency. The points also can be used to buy items from the Hilton shopping mall, including golf clubs, watches, Apple products and other electronics.
“I don’t recommend using them for personal hotel stays, but they ARE safer (and cheaper) than using a carded hotel service,” the Evolution seller advises, referring to the risks associated with using purloined points versus trying to book a stay somewhere using a stolen credit card.
Hilton Honors is hardly alone in allowing logins via account numbers and 4-digit PINs; United Airlines is another big name company that lets customers log in to view, spend and transfer points balances with little more than a member number and a PIN. These companies should offer their customers additional security options, such as the ability to secure accounts with multi-factor authentication (e.g. via Security Keys or Google’s Authenticator mobile app).
If it wasn’t already painfully obvious that a lot of companies and their customers could benefit from adding multi-factor authentication, check out the screen shot below, which shows an underground site that offers automated account checking tools for more than two-dozen retail destinations online. Some of these tools will help streamline the process of dumping available awards and points to a prepaid card.
Stolen points and miles would be a great way to fund a criminal-friendly travel agency. By the way, that’s actually a thing: Check out this story about services in the underground that will book stolen flights and hotels rooms for a fraction of their actual cost.
Tags: Brendan Brothers, CAPTCHA, Hilton HHonors awards fraud, Hilton Honors fraud, LoyaltyLobby, VerafinHardly a day goes by when Islanders fans don't think of the team in the context of the word "rebuild" -- even if that's not a word GM Garth Snow likes to use.
But that's what's happening for the past two seasons, and a comparison of the roster constructed by Snow for 2007-08 to the one we see at the tail end of 2009-10 gives us a glimpse of how Snow course-corrected in early 2008 and put his stamp on the team.
The 2007-08 roster is a good comparison not just because it was the first season for which Snow had a full summer to tinker (Neil Smith signed several of the 2006 free agents), but also because it was the final season before Snow concluded -- and convinced Charles Wang -- that the franchise needed to pull back to scratch rather than continue grabbing stopgap free agents whose collective ceiling was yet another one-and-done 8th playoff seed.
Through the draft and a few select free agency signings, Snow is building a new core for the Islanders. With more pending free agents likely to exit and another draft (with a pick possibly high enough to help in 2010-11), this summer should bring about the moment where Snow can say, "This, this is the team I've been working on."
2007-08 Roster: The Post-Smyth Push, or Mediocrity's Last Stand
When Snow famously flipped some inherited assets he found expendable for a run at the playoffs with Ryan Smyth, it was with the idea of coaxing (and extending) Smyth to fall in love with a second Blue and Orange franchise whose heyday came when only Mr. T could be B.A. Baracus. That flirtation wasn't enough to woo Smyth, however, so Snow reverted to a Plan B with second-choice free agents like Bill Guerin -- immediately named captain to replace the bought-out Alexei Yashin -- and Ruslan Fedotenko.
But Smyth's rejection, the Islanders' bare prospect cupboard, and the realization that stopgaps like Mike Comrie as #1 center isn't going to get it done, helped Snow swallow the hard pill the Islanders should have swallowed years ago: A proper rebuild.
The main components of the 2007-08 roster are a good picture of that moment of transition. Virtually all of the free agents Snow added were stopgaps now departed, while the inherited pieces he's hung on to are either cheap, impossible to trade, or part of the core going forward:
2009-10 Down the Stretch: The Transition is Here
Fast-forward two years and two drafts, with a new groom 'em young coach and two [edit] three top-10 picks in the lineup, and you have a different picture.
Obviously as a GM's tenure gets longer, he's going to have fewer inherited players than when he started. But today Snow doesn't even have much of what he gave himself that first full summer: Just two depth players (Park and Sim) remain from the free agents he himself signed before the transition, and the only inherited players he still has were either existing young prospects or two long-tenured Isles (and formerly Snow's teammates) who Snow signed to long extensions to be a lasting part of the core (Hunter and Martinek).
The rest are Snow's brand: His picks (Bailey, Tavares, Martin), his free agents (Streit, Hillen). This is truly shaping into his team now, and this summer's picks and free agents will all but complete the transition to Snow's Team -- though obviously not complete the "rebuild." [Edit: Obviously Asst. GM and Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Jankowski is a HUGE part of this equation. That's implied when I refer to Snow's regime, but probably shouldn't be left out.]
There is one position I've left out of this, but that's because it's a whole different animal. With Dwayne Roloson signed through next season and Rick DiPietro's health an open question, that's a topic for another day.
As for the other positions, many of us have our complaints in terms of the team's construction for games this season (e.g. "Why was the blueline left untouched last summer? What of an added scoring winger for this year?"). But for the bigger long-term picture, it's clear Snow has been sticking steadfast to the plan he shifted to at the end of 2007-08: Develop the prospects who were here (Okposo, Nielsen), add or identify/extend internal pieces for the core (Streit, Nielsen), draft character players (Bailey, Martin), and start to lock up core pieces as they emerge (Nielsen... MacDonald?). [Edit: Did I really just list Nielsen in all three categories? You bet I did. I reserve this space as 100% pure Danish kool-aid zone.]
This summer will be interesting not just for the draft and the free agents added (two defensemen have been promised), but also for how Snow handles contracts for guys like Moulson and Schremp, who last summer were not in the picture, yet now appear to be Snow's biggest steals of the year. In the past, he's extended Nielsen, Hunter, Martinek and MacDonald to longer term in exchange for lower salary. Will that trend continue? Will he add size via free agency?
Occasionally I profess that the first stage of a rebuild is easy: Aside from the discipline required and a |
have shifted so far that al Qaeda will soon be considered the “mainstream”. After watching the opposition as it began “morphing into an armed resistance” in the summer of 2011, Ehsani wrote, cautioning about this path in early 2012 and called for a moment of sanity before the revolution turned into a suicide mission for Syria.
_ Financial Times (FT) profiled a former Syrian rebel commander and CIA “fixer” who acted as a conduit for weapons from the Americans, and now they won’t even answer his calls. FT describes his “rise and fall” and how he came “to terms with failed US policy.”
Syria: Gutman’s Hit Piece on Syrian Kurds
_ Roy Gutman wrote a controversial piece at The Nation asking whether the Syrian Kurds have committed war crimes. It has stirred many arguments and discussions. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi wrote a response at Syria Comment in which he doesn’t dispute all of Gutman’s claims, especially ties to PKK and their treatment of the Arab population in Syria and Iraq. But Al-Tamimi offers alternative explanations to other Gutman’s claims such as the accusation that the YPG were colluding with ISIS against the Syrian rebels, which he says is a “recurring trope.” Al-Tamimi cites Gutman’s long held biases toward the Syrian opposition and Turkey “have had and still have a problematic impact on his reporting.” The lawyer who was interviewed for the article later accused Gutman of falsifying the interview.
Syria: ISIS Destroying More of Ancient Palmyra
_ ISIS destroyed more of ancient Palmyra, including the amphitheater. The Russian defense ministry published video evidence. Syrian coalition forces are advancing on Palymyra, and the ministry also reported that ISIS is in the process of bringing more explosives into the area of the ancient ruins, apparently planning to destroy as much as they can before they’re forced out again.
MidEast: American-Israeli-Arab NATO
_ Via Stratfor: Washington, Arab Allies Discussing Possible Military Alliance. The US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan (with membership open to other states) are discussing a NATO-like military alliance with an intelligence sharing arrangement with Israel and the US would provide military and intelligence support.
EUCOM
UK: Blair Calls For People to Rise Up Against Brexit
_ From the “Open Britain” event at Bloomberg News headquarters in London, Tony Blair gave a speech urging the people to rise up against Brexit. Blair said the people voted for Brexit “based on imperfect knowledge.”
_ Foreign minister Boris Johnson urged people to “rise up and turn off the TV next time Tony Blair comes on with his condescending campaign.” Boris said everyone heard these same arguments last year, “were told all sorts of claptrap about the economic consequences of leaving the EU,” and the “very opposite has happened.” He also reminded the public that Blair ” is the guy who dragooned the United KIngdom into the Iraq War on a completely false prospectus.”
UK: Iraq Investigation Shut Down
_ The UK government will shut down the Iraq Historic Allegations (IHAT) investigations which was set up in 2010 to investigate accusations made by Iraqi civilians against the British military. Officials condemned the committee, said it was “horrific” for the soldiers being investigated and the IHAT’s most telling failure was that there had been no successful prosecutions. The parliament’s Defence Committee report said:
“IHAT has operated without any regard to its impact on the UK military which has directly harmed their reputation across the world, and negatively affected the way this country conducts military operations and defends itself.”
Germany: Summit With Israel Canceled
_ Germany canceled an annual summit with Israel to be held in Jerusalem in May. The official reason was “national and international political commitments,” the G20, and elections in September, but Israeli media said “it was also due to Merkel’s alarm over the settlement legalization law.” The German foreign ministry said of the legislation:
“The confidence we had in the Israeli government’s commitment to the two-state solution has been profoundly shaken […] “We follow these developments with great concern and have repeatedly voiced our view. Building settlements in the occupied territories, also in east Jerusalem, contravenes international law and jeopardizes a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians.”
SOUTHCOM
_ New US Treasury Secretary sanctioned Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami, a “42-year-old lawyer and criminologist”, for alleged drug trafficking under the “Kingpin” Act. El Aissami is a ” long-time confidant and member of Chavez’s and Maduro’s inner circles,” and Maduro gave him much wider powers last month, indicating that he might become the next president.
_ El Aissami called it a “miserable provocation” by Washington. Via Twitter, he said: “these miserable provocations do not distract us, our main task is to accompany Nicolas Maduro in the economic recovery […] “Let us focus on the priorities of the revolutionary government: recovery and economic growth, and guarantee PEACE and social happiness.”
_ The Venezuelan foreign minister said it was “lamentable and highly dangerous” for the new Trump government to “perpetuate the historic mistakes against Venezuela” that his predecessor Pres. Obama had made. Up until now the Maduro government had not criticized Trump.
AFRICOM
Libya: Peace Talks
_ Egypt brokered a “road map” for peace in Libya but the leaders of the two main factions hold an expected meeting. UN-backed government PM Fayez Seraj and Khalifa Haftar, a “military commander supported by eastern factions” visited Egypt and met with Egyptian officials but then had “last-minute differences” and did not meet with each other on Feb. 15, according to Reuters
Libya: 6th Anniversary of Feb. 17 “Revolution”
_ Xinhua media reports that Libyans mark the 6th anniversary of their revolution “in despair” and ” with no positive change but trapped the country into endless chaos.” For the majority of Libyans it has only brought “violence and terrorism” and massive corruption. They interviewed Libyans and found that most regret overthrowing Gaddfi not because of their love for him but because of the alternative.
Jalal Fituri (professor): “When we demonstrated against the regime, we were dreaming of freedom and enjoying our wealth. However, we are now surrounded by criminals and warlords. Instead of enjoying our oil wealth, poverty has increased and citizens are helpless.” Ibtisam Naili (nurse): “Those who demonstrated against Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 were fooled by Libyan politicians abroad who wanted power so badly. They took the power by brainwashing young Libyans.” Najwa Al-Hami (human rights advocate): “How could it be a people’s revolution while three quarters of the people supported Gaddafi?”
Libya: British Defense Secretary Warns Russia Interfering
_ At the Munich Security Conference, with echoes of the Cold War era, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon grumbled about the Russians interfering in Libya and their recent visit with Haftar. NATO offered to help the UN-appointed government in Tripoli but the offer was too “broad.” The UN-appointed government has no support in the east and little support in the west of Libya and for months has been hanging on by a thread.
Sir Michael Fallon: “We don’t need the bear sticking his paws in […] Putin is testing the West, he’s testing the alliance. At any point where he sees weakness, he pushes home.”
_ On the eve of the anniversary of the “revolution,” Jane’s Intelligence Review reported that the UN-appointed government in Libya “finally requests NATO help.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced at a NATO summit that:” Last night, I received a formal request from Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj requesting NATO’s advice and expertise in the field of defence and security institution building.” Last year NATO offered to help Libya “bulwark against refugee flows and terrorism.”
_ The EU is still waiting for permission to operate in Libya’s coastal waters with Operation Sophia. British Royal Marines are currently working with the Libyan coast guard. Italy offered economic aid, equipment and investment to help with the “struggle against migrant smuggling” to mayors of the Fezzan desert region of Libya. After a top secret trip to Rome, the mayors signed an agreement. They will conduct “joint operations to combat illegal immigration.”
Egypt: Bullish on Oil and Gas
_ Oil companies are “bullish on Egypt” as their giant Zohr gas field discovered in 2015 is set to come online this year. Egypt had to import gas in recent but now expects to become a net exporter and “seeks to transform itself into a gas trading hub for its own and other emerging Mediterranean producers.” Developers expect to find more gas and also expect to find oil.
PACOM
North Korea: Kim Jong-Il Brother Assassinated
_ North Korea launched a missile on Sunday that traveled 310 miles. the launch occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Pres. Trump in Florida. Sec. Defense Mattis recently visited South Korea and said there would be an “effective and overwhelming” response by the US if North Korea tested any nuclear weapons.
_ The half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was reportedly killed by 2 female assassins at a Kuala Lumpur airport. The details of the attack on the estranged brother, Kim Jong-Nam, vary from South Korean media and Malaysian police.
_ Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of Kim Jong-Il and had been critical of the succession process and of his half brother’s regime, according to the hankyoreh, who also reported the version of the story where 2 women attacked him with a poison spray. Kim Jong-nam was next in line of succession until 2001 when he fell out of favor. He left North Korea and lived in China and Macao and spoke out on Japanese TV about being “personally opposed to the handover of power to the third generation.”
_ It is “widely suspected” that the assassination was ordered by North Korean authorities, according to Korean media.
ANALYSIS & OPINION
_ Jon Finer for Foreign Policy magazine: “From SEALs to All-Out War: Why Rushing Into Yemen Is a Dangerous Idea.”
_ Sam Husseini at ConsortiumNews: “ Progressives Pile on Flynn’s Ouster ” and by doing so they “are rallying behind neocon-driven demands for a New McCarthyism to silence those who object to a costly and dangerous New Cold War.”Arctic sea ice reached its annual maximum on March 21, 2014. And while the year was not extraordinary—the fifth lowest extent in 36 years of satellite records—the trend continues to be. The seven smallest ice extents in the Arctic have all occurred during the past seven years. There is strong evidence that the trend will continue.
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Arctic sea ice extent reached 14.91 million square kilometers (5.76 million square miles) on March 21. Extent is defined as the total area in which the sea ice concentration is at least 15 percent. The season had been looking significantly worse until a strong Arctic Oscillation weather pattern dispersed and extended the ice in some regions. It was the fifth latest sea ice maximum on record; the average maximum occurs around March 9.
The maps above show Arctic sea ice extent on March 21, 2014 (top) and March 14, 1983 (bottom). According to NSIDC, the average maximum extent for 1979–2000 was 15.46 million square kilometers (5.96 million square miles). The 1983 maximum covered roughly that extent, so a comparison between 2014 and 1983 gives an idea of how conditions this year strayed from the long-term average. Turn on the image-comparison tool to see the differences.
Sea ice off of far eastern Russia (Sea of Okhotsk) and in the Barents Sea (between Scandinavia and the northern Russian island of Novaya Zemlya) was below average in 2014. Also, a sea ice feature known as the Odden ice tongue did not form off the northeast coast of Greenland (between Iceland and Svalbard). “This feature was quite common—especially during February and March from the 1970s through the 1990s—but has essentially disappeared more recently,” said Walt Meier, a cryosphere scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “The Odden forms due to winds and currents that push cold water into the area, resulting in persistent, thin ice formation. It is important because it’s a region of deep water formation, part of the global thermohaline circulation.”
One positive from the 2013-14 winter is that multiyear ice is more extensive. From February 2013 to February 2014, multiyear ice increased from 30 percent to 43 percent (2.25 to 3.17 million square kilometers) in the Arctic basin. The total is still below the multiyear ice total in 2007, when the recent series of shrinking ice extents started. Furthermore, the percentage of the Arctic covered by ice that is at least five years old is just 7 percent, half of what it was in 2007.
The downward trend is likely to continue because the length of the melt season for Arctic sea ice has grown by nearly five days each decade, researchers from NSIDC and NASA reported in March 2014. The melt season is starting earlier and new ice formation is starting later each fall—the result of warmer ocean temperatures and increased sunlight hitting open water in the Arctic Ocean. The pattern feeds back on itself: thin ice is less reflective than thick, so it allows more sunlight to be absorbed by the ocean, making the ice still thinner and the ocean still warmer. Younger, thinner ice is also flatter, so it allows melt ponds to accumulate on the surface, reducing albedo and absorbing more heat.
The 2014 map was compiled from observations by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-2) sensor on the Global Change Observation Mission 1st–Water (“Shizukuâ€) satellite, operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The 1983 image was made from observations by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer) on the Nimbus-7 satellite. The white circle over the pole is a data gap caused by how satellites fly close to but not directly over the poles. Wider coverage by AMSR-2 has shrunk the size of this gap. The area within the circle is ice-covered—an assumption confirmed by many surface expeditions—but researchers use an average of the ice just outside the gap to estimate the extent within.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-2) sensor on the Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water (GCOM-W1) satellite and the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the Nimbus-7 satellite. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.The Channel 4 Newsbreak was meant to shock: "High school assistant principal in Loudoun County arrested for child pornography," announced WRC's Jim Vance. "Details following the Olympics."
That was last Aug. 20. The assistant principal was me. And the story on the late evening news that night was how many people who knew me -- and countless others in the Washington area who didn't -- learned that I was the subject of a prosecution that over the past year has turned my life upside down and ruined my reputation and my career. Although all the charges against me were recently thrown out of court, my experience is a warning for all educators who find themselves trying to negotiate the slippery terrain where rapidly advancing technology intersects with risky adolescent behavior.
My ordeal began in March of last year, when a teacher at my school, Loudoun County's Freedom High, told me about a rumor that students were sending nude pictures of themselves to one another on their cellphones. We've all heard a lot about "sexting" lately, but a year ago the phenomenon was new to me and, I'd venture to say, to most school officials. Because administrators' first concern is our students' safety and well-being, it was my responsibility to look into the matter.
I called a student I thought likely to have such a picture into my office. In the presence of the school's safety and security official, he quickly admitted that he did. He pulled out his phone and showed us an image of the torso of a woman wearing underpants, with her arms crossed over her breasts. Her head was not in the picture. The 17-year-old student claimed not to know who the young woman was or who had sent him the photo.
I immediately took the picture to the principal, who instructed me to transfer it to my office computer in case we needed it later. Being unfamiliar with camera features on cellphones, I asked the school's technology resource teacher for help, but he didn't have an immediate solution. The student then said that he could text the picture to my cellphone. That left the problem of getting it to my computer, whereupon the boy said that I could send the picture to my school e-mail address.
In hindsight, of course, he could have sent it directly to my computer himself. But it never occurred to me that my actions could be regarded as suspect: I was conducting a legitimate school investigation with children's welfare in mind, and I did so in the presence and with the full knowledge of other school officials.
I interviewed more students with the security specialist, but we found no more pictures and were unable to identify the woman in the photo. We concluded that she probably wasn't a student at the school. I reported our findings to the principal and assumed that the matter was closed.
I left the building quickly that day -- the start of spring break -- to join my wife, Diane, at a doctor's office to discuss her upcoming surgery for a potentially malignant tumor. I told her about the sexting photo, but we had other things on our minds. When I returned to school two days after break ended, I confronted a new problem: The boy with the photo on his cell was now in trouble for having pulled a girl's pants down in class (another teen phenomenon known as "flagging"). I informed his mother that I was suspending him, and in the discussion I also told her about the earlier incident. She was outraged that I hadn't reported it to her at the time. She called me at home that night at 10 p.m. and again at 7 a.m. the next morning, agitated and demanding that the suspension be revoked and threatening to involve an attorney. I told her as calmly as I could that the suspension was for the deliberate act of pulling down the girl's pants. A couple of days later, after an appeal hearing with the principal and me, she shouted at me, "I'll see you in court!"
I was concerned about her anger, but I'd dealt with many outraged parents before and knew how emotional they could get when they heard bad news about their children's behavior.
I wasn't worried when a few days later, two sheriff's investigators came to school. They said that they were investigating a parental complaint and asked me whether I knew anything about photos being sent around on cellphones. I told them about our investigation and volunteered to show them the one photo it had turned up. I couldn't find the file where I'd saved it on my computer but then remembered that it was still on my cell. Good thing I'd kept it there, I thought at the time. I didn't know how to retrieve it (I'd never used the photo functions), so I handed the phone to one of the investigators. They didn't tell me that I was under investigation, nor did they confiscate my cell.
The police later learned the identity of the students involved in the sexting, although they never told me that directly. The person in the photo, who turned out to be a 16-year-old at Freedom, later apologized for having lied to me, and the father of the boy who took the picture called to apologize as well.
Then, a full month later, in May, I was charged with "failure to report suspected child abuse." I was stunned. I swiftly contacted the Loudoun Education Association, told them everything, and got a lawyer. A few hours later the school system placed me on paid administrative leave.Aid workers and activists inside embattled east Aleppo have pleaded for the international community to save them from what they say are arbitrary executions of non-combatants by Syrian government forces as the regime finally closes in on the rebel enclave.
The White Helmets civil defence and rescue service, as well as three other trapped aid groups operating in the city, made a final appeal for the United Nations and others to arrange a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee the fighting late on Monday night.
“If we stay, we fear for our lives. The women may be taken to camps, the men disappeared and anyone who is known to have supported civilians will face detention or execution,” they said in a statement.
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The pocket in which around 100,000 civilians and rebels are left is now less than 2.5 miles (4 square kilometres) big and suffering heavy bombardment.
"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," the International Red Cross said on Tuesday, appealing for all sides to respect human life and for an immediate ceasefire.
A Syrian military source told Reuters that government soldiers and allied Iranian-backed militias were "in the last moments before victory" in Aleppo after more than four years of battle.
On the government controlled side of the city, residents celebrated the fall of the rebels - who have killed hundreds of civilians in west Aleppo in rocket attacks - with dancing and fireworks.
Several activists posted goodbye messages on Monday before going silent. "Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, weather [sic] military or civil," one wrote in a Whatsapp message to journalists.
The Independent has not been able to make contact with other sources inside rebel areas since. Phone calls and texts have gone unanswered.
Videos reportedly from inside east Aleppo over the last few days show the wounded and dying lying on the streets during bombing raids, with no one left to help them. Ammar al-Selmo, head of the local White Helmets, said that his workers could hear those trapped under rubble they were unable to reach crying for help.
Shape Created with Sketch. Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Show all 16 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo 1/16 A girl who fled areas of conflict rides a vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah 2/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigade have a tea in a building under construction Getty 3/16 A rebel fighters' armoured vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 4/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades sit on a tank Getty 5/16 Abandoned magazine of shells after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 6/16 Rebel fighters ride a pick-up truck with civilians who fled areas of conflict in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters 7/16 A rebel fighter gestures with a girl who fled areas of conflict while they ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 8/16 Smoke rises near a damaged road in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters 9/16 Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-,Assad Getty 10/16 A view shows a damaged minaret of a mosque after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad, Syria Reuters 11/16 Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh. Rebels and allied jihadists launched a major offensive on October 28, 2016 to break through government lines and reach the 250,000 people living in the city's east Getty 12/16 Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh Getty 13/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades hold a position at an entrance to Aleppo, in the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty 14/16 Smoke billows from the frontline district of Dahiyet al-Assad following an attack by rebels on Syrian regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo Getty 15/16 Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty 16/16 People who fled areas of conflict ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters 1/16 A girl who fled areas of conflict rides a vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah 2/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigade have a tea in a building under construction Getty 3/16 A rebel fighters' armoured vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 4/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades sit on a tank Getty 5/16 Abandoned magazine of shells after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 6/16 Rebel fighters ride a pick-up truck with civilians who fled areas of conflict in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters 7/16 A rebel fighter gestures with a girl who fled areas of conflict while they ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters 8/16 Smoke rises near a damaged road in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters 9/16 Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-,Assad Getty 10/16 A view shows a damaged minaret of a mosque after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad, Syria Reuters 11/16 Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh. Rebels and allied jihadists launched a major offensive on October 28, 2016 to break through government lines and reach the 250,000 people living in the city's east Getty 12/16 Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh Getty 13/16 Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades hold a position at an entrance to Aleppo, in the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty 14/16 Smoke billows from the frontline district of Dahiyet al-Assad following an attack by rebels on Syrian regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo Getty 15/16 Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty 16/16 People who fled areas of conflict ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters
Unconfirmed reports from overnight on Monday also suggested that at least 79 civilians, including women and boys, had been lined up against walls by pro-government militias and shot in the neighbourhoods of Fardous and Saliheen. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses an extensive network of sources on the ground, said that “Every hour, butcheries are carried out.”
Jan Egeland, the UN’s humanitarian adviser on Syria, tweeted that the Russian and Syrian governments would be responsible for any such abuses.
“The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!,” Egeland wrote.
There are already reports, confirmed by the UN’s commission for human rights, that men who have crossed into government controlled territory have gone missing, their whereabouts still unknown by their families.
Several UN, US and Russian-backed attempts to broker a ceasefire in the humanitarian crisis have failed.
Aid groups had even revised their request for three days in which to evacuate the wounded, young and elderly down from three days to three hours, to no avail.
“We only need a temporary cessation of 60 minutes to save them all," said British surgeon Dr David Nott, who has assisted with medical training for Aleppo’s beleaguered medics via Skype.
The US State Department said Russia had turned down the proposal for an immediate ceasefire and said it could not start for several days.
East Aleppo’s supply chains were cut off in August, leaving its 250,000 residents and around 8,000 fighters - among them al-Qaeda affiliated forces - under siege conditions.
An intense Russian-backed bombing campaign since September followed by a ground assault had bought the rebel neighbourhoods to their knees.
Retaking the whole city - divided since 2012 - will be a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s bloody six-year-long civil war.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowThe Day of German Unity is an important German holiday, celebrating the reunification of Germany after five decades of being split into East and West, following the results of the Second World War. The reunification of Germany on October 3 1990 and the subsequent fall of the Berlin Wall represent the start of a new era of prosperity and democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany. To celebrate this important day in German history, we have prepared several bonuses for all players on both the North American and the European server.
Day of German Unity Bonuses
On the 3rd of October 2016, all players will receive the following bonuses and discounts:
German Flag decal can be purchased with a 90% discount until the end of the day
decal can be purchased with a 90% discount until the end of the day Double Reputation – all players will receive a 100% bonus (x2) to Reputation income for the entire day
– all players will receive a 100% bonus (x2) to Reputation income for the entire day German Hours – from 6:30 to 11 PM CEST (4:30 PM to 9:00 PM PDT for the NA server), all players will receive a 100% bonus (x2) to Credit and Reputation income
– from 6:30 to 11 PM CEST (4:30 PM to 9:00 PM PDT for the NA server), all players will receive a 100% bonus (x2) to Credit and Reputation income Oktoberfest Decals – play one PvP or PvE battle to receive three exclusive Oktoberfest-themed decals!
Gallery (Click to Open)
German Vehicles in Armored Warfare
German vehicles are one of the most important and popular vehicle groups in Armored Warfare. The mainstay of this group is the Leopard vehicle family:
These awesome Main Battle Tanks represent the pinnacle of German post-war military engineering. They all are highly mobile and, on higher Tiers, also well-protected, but can deal massive damage thanks to the presence of the excellent Rheinmetall 120mm smoothbore gun, one of the best, if not the best, tank weapons in the world. These modern German Main Battle Tanks are a result of a hundred years of German tank development, which are covered in our previous articles:
There are other German vehicles in the game as well, such as the powerful Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery or the nimble Wiesel. But what does the future hold for German military products in Armored Warfare?
In Update 0.19, we will be introducing a new Tier 8 Leopard 2 progression variant – the Leopard 2 Evolution. Based on the Leopard 2A4, this massive armor upgrade by Rheinmetall gives the Leopard 2A4 a new edge, preparing it for 21st century combat. The Leopard 2 Evolution – previously an armor upgrade of the existing Leopard 2 – will now be a separate vehicle.
Other German vehicles will see changes as well. The Tier 3 Leopard 1 will be reworked to the Leopard 1A1A1 version, while the Wiesel will be reworked to Wiesel TOW (armed with a TOW launcher). Another variant of the Wiesel will also be eventually introduced.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the changes we are working on for German and other vehicles. Stay tuned for more!Female cop is fired after performing aggressive 'body cavity search' on two women on Texas highway
Trooper Kelley Helleson will lose her job after probing the private parts of two female motorists
Colleague David Farrell has been suspended with pay after requesting the invasive cavity probe because the women were 'acting weird'
It is unclear whether he too will be terminated
Angel Dobbs, 38, and niece Ashley Dobbs, 24, are suing after the'molestation' on State Highway 161 near Irving, Texas
Also suing the Texas Department of Public Safety for failing to act on previous complaints about 'violating' searches
A female Texas trooper who performed an aggressive 'body cavity search' on two women pulled over on a state highway will lose her job.
Kelley Helleson and her colleague Trooper David Farrell were suspended with pay last month pending an investigating into the shocking July 13 incident.
But the Department of Public Safety announced on Tuesday that Helleson will be terminated after she probed the private parts of the motorists, who are now suing both troopers and the director of the DPS.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Invasive: Female trooper Kelley Helleson, left, aggressively searched Ashley Dobbs, 24
'The Director of DPS has made a preliminary determination to terminate Kelly Helleson,' DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said in a statement to NBCDFW.com. 'By policy, she will be given the opportunity to meet with the director before the decision is finalized.'
It is unclear whether Farrell will also be terminated for his part in the search, that was caught on tape.
Farrell was the officer who pulled over the women and requested they be subject to the 'body cavity search.'
The victims of the invasive search, Angel Dobbs, 38, and her niece Ashley Dobbs, 24, filed a lawsuit against the two troopers and the state Department of Public Safety in December.
The women, from Irving, Texas, claim in the suit that they were violated when Helleson subjected them to a humiliating and invasive body search that was caught on video.
Out: State trooper David Ferrell, pictured, has been suspended after subjecting two women to invasive body cavity searches
Pulled over: The women were initially stopped by Helleson's colleague David Farrell on State Highway 161 near Irving, Texas
Violating: Helleson, pictured left, also rubbed the women's breasts
The 'unconstitutional' search took place in full view of passing cars on State Highway 161, near Irving. Ashley and Angel Dobbs claim the trooper used the same blue latex gloves while searching both of them.
The women were initially pulled over by Farrell after he saw one of them throw a cigarette butt out the window.
Farrell can be heard in the disturbing video questioning the pair about marijuana after supposedly smelling the drug in the women's vehicle, though he failed to find any evidence of it in the car.
Despite that, he requested the women be searched because they were 'acting weird.'
The lawsuit states he then tried to'morph this situation into a DWI investigation,' according to DallasNews.com.
Angel Dobbs passed a roadside sobriety test and the women were given warnings for littering.
Lawsuit: The women are also suing the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety for ignoring prior complaints about searches
Humiliating: Angel Dobbs, 38, pictured right, claims she will never forget the humiliating, invasive experience
'Unconstitutional': The search is being deemed unconstitutional in the lawsuit
'This has been an eye-opening experience for me,' Angel Dobbs said on the video.'I've never been pulled over, never searched like this. I was totally violated over there a few minutes ago... this is so embarrassing to me.'
Angel Dobbs said in the lawsuit that Helleson irritated an anal cyst she suffers from during the search, causing her'severe and continuing pain and discomfort.'
The suit reads: 'Angel Dobbs was overwhelmed with emotion and a feeling of helplessness and reacted stating that Helleson had just violated her in a most horrific manner.'
The two women are also suing the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steven McCraw, who they claim ignored previous complaints about 'unlawful strip searches, cavity searches and the like.'
The Dobbs' lawyer, Scott H. Palmer, said the shocking incident, which was filmed on one of the trooper's dash-mounted cameras, was a roadside'sexual assault.'
Abused: Angel Dobbs, 38, right, and niece Ashley Dobbs, 24, left, were pulled over on State Highway 161 near Irving, Texas, and searched
He said the Texas Rangers investigated his clients' complaints but failed to take any action against the troopers.
'You can see what's happening clearly,' he told the news website of the video. 'No one's ever seen the likes of this. We can't let them get away with it.'
The women said the'molestation' has scarred them for life.
'I've never been so humiliated or so violated or felt so molested in my entire life,' Angel Dobbs told NBCDFW.com.
Her niece added: 'I don't think anybody needs to have to feel, or go through what we went through. It crosses my mind every day. It's humiliating.'Our month long celebration of all things grim and necro is back. All this month, we will be spotlighting black metal here on Metal Injection with articles on essential black metal listening, black metal related lists and some killer videos. To kick off our annual celebration we decided to enlist the help of designer Mike Wholberg who created an official Black Metal History Month logo and t-shirt! You can now pre-order the design through IndieMerch.
While we put the finishing touches on some of the content, let's take a look back at what we learned last year:
The FiX, our music video show, went ALL BLACK METAL with videos from Taake, Inhein, Keep of Kalessin, Dissection and Immortal. Watch it here.
We posted two other videos: the King of Metal reviewed modern black metal bands and everybody got pissed, and we got our friend Karlynn to give us a black metal corpse paint tutorial.
Stay tuned for some more great content all month long.
Related PostsCopper Dreams, as you're already doubtless aware, is a new CR |
when there are dozens of other classified units and many other classified programs and projects out there?
SN: I’m not sure that I’d agree that journalists “often” allude to JSOC as a “sinister organization,” but there’s no doubt that the command has attracted much more media attention since 9/11. This has happened for a number of reasons:
Whereas before 9/11 JSOC had a niche counterterrorism mission, and operated on the fringes of conventional wars, after 9/11 the counterterrorism mission has been at the very center of the wars the U.S. military has fought, so JSOC essentially became the main effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. A few reporters eventually figured this out. JSOC has conducted several of the most high-profile missions since 9/11, including the rescues of Jessica Lynch, Captain Phillips, and Jessica Buchanan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the killing of Zarqawi, and, of course, the killing of Osama bin Laden. Each of these was front-page news. The bottom line is the National Command Authority relies on JSOC to do many of its missions in which failure is not an option. It’s not called “the National Mission Force” for nothing. But being the National Mission Force inevitably attracts attention. The information age has caught up with JSOC, so it can no longer hide in plain sight. Stories that used to be read by the readers of, say, one print newspaper or magazine, are now available to anyone with Internet access. Nonetheless, the command still clings to the same faith in its classified status now, in the age of email, Facebook, and Twitter, that it had in the early 1980s, when high-tech communications meant pagers and fax machines. Special operations appears to be the weapon of choice for policymakers, but after 14 years of war, do you think that JSOC operators are being burned out at a frequent rate or are they rotated on and off operational duties often enough to mitigate it?
I think there is certainly enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that across the special operations community, the force is “fraying,” as General Joe Votel, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, has put it. There’s no reason to believe that JSOC operators are any more immune to this than other special ops personnel. The combined effects of years spent being buffeted by waves in high-speed assault craft; being exposed to repeated explosions for breaching in training and combat, not to mention the improvised explosive devices that are ubiquitous on the Afghan and Iraqi battlefields; countless parachute jumps; and the rest of the daily grind of combat have certainly worn operators down and contributed to a high rate of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury among operators.
SOFREP: How are the command and component commands dealing with all of the media exposure that JSOC receives these days? Is JSOC becoming a victim of its own success?
SN: Yes, in a way, JSOC is “becoming a victim of its own success,” as I mentioned in my answer to the first question. But the command, and its higher commands, cannot have it both ways: They can’t have an organization they want to keep out of the public eye, and then make it the main effort in the war on terror and assign it the most visible, high-profile missions with any expectation that that combination will not lead to greater public interest in the command.
SOFREP: In the process of writing “Relentless Strike,” what were some things you learned that you found surprising?
I thought I knew a lot about JSOC when I started the project, but there was much I discovered that surprised me. To give just a few examples:
Delta Force’s use of its own IEDs to kill Shi’ite militants in Iraq.
The fact that JSOC was infiltrating undercover personnel into Syria to track foreign fighter networks throughout the Iraq war.
The fact that, for years, SEAL Team 6 kept an assault troop on standby in Afghanistan, trained and ready to conduct a high-altitude, high-opening (HAHO) parachute jump into Pakistan’s tribal areas in case actionable intelligence located Osama bin Laden there. Some Team 6 personnel were still keen to use that method for the eventual raid on the al-Qaeda leader’s compound in May 2011, even though Abbottabad was much farther from the Afghan border than were the tribal areas.
The degree of friction between the JSOC commander at the time of the bin Laden raid, then-Vice Admiral Bill McRaven, and elements within Team 6, over issues such as how to conduct the rescue of Captain Phillips from Somali pirates, to which squadron got the Abbottabad mission.
The fact that then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell threatened to disband SEAL Team 6 if the unit screwed up a mission to rescue a family from a Haitian beach in October 1991.
SOFREP: Regarding the campaign in Afghanistan grinding down, do you see the potential for mission creep within JSOC, especially in regards to JSOC operations in Africa?
SN: I don’t know if I’d call it “mission creep,” but certainly, having used the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to build and refine the extraordinary war-fighting machine that JSOC has become, policymakers and senior military leaders will be tempted to use it in other locations. One of the issues I raise in “Relentless Strike” is the question of whether, having built the perfect hammer in JSOC, U.S. policymakers will be tempted to treat too many thorny international challenges as nails.
As for Africa, in “Relentless Strike” I detail JSOC’s intermittent presence in the Horn of Africa, and also discuss its operations in Libya. I expect JSOC activity in the Horn, the Sahel, and North Africa to continue, and perhaps to expand; as long as there is a sizable jihadi presence in those regions, without local governments capable of dealing with that on their own, there will be a need.
SOFREP: What does current-day Iraq say about JSOC operations? While JSOC is very good at find, fix, and finish, it appears that these direct-action capabilities are not aligned well with proper economic and diplomatic actions needed to truly counter an insurgency. In other words, in Iraq, did we achieve tactical victories but experience a strategic defeat?
SN: It is certainly starting to look that way. JSOC is a supremely tactical organization, albeit one for which tactical missions (such as the bin Laden raid) can sometimes achieve strategic results. In Iraq, its grinding campaign succeeded in all but destroying Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaeda in Iraq group, buying time and space for Iraqi leaders to achieve a political solution. That they failed to do so, leaving an opportunity for the remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq to reemerge as the Islamic State, is a demonstration that there are limits to what even an organization as capable as JSOC can achieve on its own.
SOFREP: What is the future of blended operations such as those conducted by the joint CIA and JSOC program called Omega, and do you think the legal loophole that these operations exploit will become problematic in the coming years?
SN: In the years since 9/11, JSOC has become so deeply intertwined with the intelligence community in general, and with the CIA in particular, that programs like Omega are likely to continue. What I was often told was that while the CIA’s legal authorities for action are broader than those of the military, JSOC’s capabilities are greater. Thus we will continue to see instances of what are basically JSOC missions, such as Operation Neptune’s Spear in Abbottabad, conducted under CIA command.Story highlights The meeting also discussed the diversity visa lottery
"The people in that lottery are not that country's finest," Trump said
Washington (CNN) Republican senators ruled out any plan to tie immigration policy to the year-end spending bill after a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday.
That could complicate efforts to pass a permanent solution for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy that the President is ending, after Democrats have signaled they could cause trouble on government funding if no progress is made by the time it runs out in December.
"We definitely ruled out putting any kind of DACA package on the omnibus bill. Period -- end of story," Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton told reporters afterward in the Capitol.
"This is not going to be part of the year-end omnibus or CR and it's (going to be) coupled with some other border security and interior enforcement," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn added.
Also at the White House meeting were Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and immigration bill authors Sens. Tom Cotton, David Perdue, James Lankford, Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham, who is leading negotiations with Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin.
Read MoreHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Pennsylvania's state government pension system will send Jerry Sandusky a $211,000 check next week to cover payments going back to when it illegally stopped his retirement benefits after the former Penn State assistant football coach was sentenced for child molestation, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The State Employees' Retirement System told Sandusky lawyer Richard Beran last week that it will mail the check Monday and that Sandusky's $4,900 monthly benefits will resume in January.
A call seeking comment from Beran on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
A court ruled on Nov. 13 that the pension system was wrong to classify Sandusky as a university employee at the time of the sexual abuse crimes that were the basis of his pension forfeiture. It ordered the retroactive payments, along with 6 percent interest, and the pension system did not appeal.
Sandusky, 71, is serving a lengthy prison term after being convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys. He maintains his innocence and is appealing.
Although Penn State is not a state-owned university, employees such as Sandusky, retired after decades as a defensive coordinator, are allowed to participate in the pension system. He collected a $148,000 lump sum payment upon retiring in 1999.
The pension system halted his monthly payments the day he was sentenced in October 2012, citing a provision of the state's Pension Forfeiture Act that applies to "crimes related to public office or public employment." He was convicted of indecent assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, but the court ruled he was not an employee when those crimes occurred.
"The board conflated the requirements that Mr. Sandusky engage in 'work relating to' PSU and that he engage in that work 'for' PSU," Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote. "Mr. Sandusky's performance of services that benefited PSU does not render him a PSU employee."
Penn State disclosed last month that it has paid 32 claims related to Sandusky, worth a total of $93 million.George III
1738-1820
George William Frederick, the future George III, was born prematurely at Norfolk House in London in the early morning of 4th June, 1738. He was the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. George's father and his grandfather, George II had long experienced personal differences in sad repetition of the familiar Hanoverian pattern established by George I and his heir.
George grew into a reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, were educated together by private tutors. Prince George showed himself to be especially fond of military history. His father, commonly known as Poor Fred, died on 20th March, 1751 aged 48, unmourned by his parents, who both despised him. George became Heir Apparent at twelve years old.
George's grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales and had taken little interest in his grandchildren, however, after Frederick's death the king payed more attention to his eldest grandson grandson, and three weeks later, created him Prince of Wales. The young George was initially subject to the dominating influence of his mother and her lover Lord Bute. His grandfather, George II, offered him his own establishment but George refused for the reason that his mother's happiness depended on their not being separated. He was not good looking, having a large nose, very full lips, the bulbous Hanoverian blue eyes and florid complexion and was inclined, even in youth, to plumpness. He was observed to possess an exacting sense of duty.
In his teens George met and fell passionately in love with a Quakeress, Hannah Lightfoot, from Execution Dock, Wapping-in-the-East. It was rumoured that George had several children by her and had actually married her. If this were the case it would render his later marriage to Queen Charlotte bigamous and his offspring by his Queen illegitimate.
George III succeeded to the throne on his grandfather's death, two weeks before his 77th birthday, in 1760. Unlike his grandfather, who had destroyed his father George I's will, the new King honoured all his grandfather's last requests. Six thousand pounds in bank notes were found in the late King's desk, with a note that the money was to go to his mistress, Lady Yarmouth. George not only complied with his wishes but added a further two thousand guineas to the bequest.
Although of German descent, the new King made much of the fact that he was the first of the Hanoverian kings to be born in Britain. In his first speech to Parliament he declared "born and bred in this country I glory in the name of Briton." Horace Walpole has left an account of his impressions of the new King, "His person is tall and full of dignity, his countenance florid and good natured, his manner graceful and obliging, he expresses no warmth or resentment against anybody." Unlike both his Hanoverian predecessors, George was to prove popular with the British people.
Shortly after inheriting the throne, George again fell in head over heels in love, the object of his passion was the beautiful Lady Sarah Lennox, the daughter of the Duke of Lennox and a direct descendant of Charles II. Unlike Hannah Lightfoot, Sarah was of sufficient social standing to contemplate becoming Queen. The King appeared besotted, but his mother, who still held considerable influence over him, did not approve. She feared Sarah was too strong headed and would usurp her influence with her son, which she was determined to cling onto.
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha succeeded in ousting Sarah and George was quickly married to the very plain Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, daughter of Carl Ludwig of Mecklenburg Strelitz and Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The eighteen year old Princess arrived in England after a tempestuous Channel crossing, George was said to be visibly disappointed at his first meeting with her at St. James' Palace.
Charlotte was small and thin and has been described as having African features by contemporaries. Baron Stockmar, her physician, is recorded as saying that she had "true molatto features." The new Queen had moorish blood in her lineage, being descended a number of times from the thirteenth century monarch, Alfonso III of Portugal and his mistress, Mourana Gib, described as being an African.
Lady Sarah Lennox, looking beautiful and resplendent, acted as bridesmaid at the wedding ceremony on 8th September 1761 at St. James Palace and far outshone the bride. In an embarrassing incident, the aged Earl of Westmorland had to be forcibly restrained from mistakenly doing homage to Sarah as Queen.
The King took his role as monarch very seriously and lead an exemplary domestic life with Queen Charlotte, which gained him the respect of his people. The couple became very close, the Queen always wore a diamond ring bearing a portrait of her husband and they produced a total of fifteen children. He firmly believed in the benefits of a simple diet and plenty of fresh air and was greatly interested in farming. The King, afraid of becoming obese, like many members of the Hanoverian family, ate sparingly of a light, almost vegetarian diet.
George's first Prime Minister, Lord Bute was highly unpopular, he was eventually forced into resignation. George III tried to banish party divisions in politics, but was not successful in this aim. George was disturbed by the activities of "that devil" John Wilkes, who edited the political pamphlet, The North Briton. After Wilkes made a damning attack in his publication, the then Prime Minister, George Grenville, urged on by the indignant King, had him arrested on a general warrant and sent to the Tower.
When Wilkes was eventually released on a writ of Habeas Corpus, he fled to the continent, but returned to England in 1768 and stood for Parliament. After his election as an MP, George demanded both his arrest and expulsion from the House of Commons.
Lord North became Prime Minister in 1770 and clashed with the American Colonies over taxes imposed on them by the English Parliament, at which they had no representation. Their petitions were rejected and they rose up against British. Eventually the colonies gained their independence. The American war, its political aftermath and family quarrels put great strain on George. William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister in 1783. In the first decade of his ministry new trade links were established, new colonies formed and the country started to move forward with the Industrial Revolution.
The French King had his Queen had gone to the guillotine in revolutionary France and Napoleon was threatening Britain with invasion. Lord Nelson defeated the French at Trafalgar in 1805, acquiring the status of a national hero.
The King's relationship with his eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, followed the established Hanoverian pattern, being both strained and stormy. The irresponsible Prinny, as he was commonly known, was continually in great debt and the King looked censoriously on his eldest son's extravagance and political associates.
George III became seriously ill in 1788. The illness was considered madness at the time, but modern research has suggested that he actually suffered from a severe form of porphyria, a metabolic disorder caused by chemical insufficiency in hemoglobin production. Symptoms include skin sensitivity, strong abdominal pain and port wine coloured urine accompanied by psychiatric symptoms. In severe cases, the illness causes convulsions and death. The theory that George had suffered from porphyria was first put forward by the British Psychiatrist, Ida MacAlpine and her son, Richard Hunter in 1966.
It has been further theorised that the disease was inherited from George's ancestress, Mary, Queen of Scots and her son, James I, who both seemed to also display some symptoms of the malady. James I's physician kept detailed notes on his royal patient, which describe his urine as being 'purple as Alicante wine' - a sure sign of porphyria.
George talked incessantly and often obscenely for hours at a time. He was subjected to the appalling medical treatment of the day, bound and gagged and strapped into a chair for hours. His urine was reported to have been blood red by his physicians. Examination of the medical reports of some of George's descendants indicate that several of them exhibited signs of suffering from porphyria, including Princess Charlotte of Wales and more recently the late Prince William of Gloucester, cousin of the present Queen and brother of Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
George eventually made a recovery and in the following twelve years suffered only slight attacks of his illness. After his recovery, his popularity, and that of Pitt, continued to increase at the expense of Fox and the Prince of Wales. His humane and understanding treatment of two insane assailants, Margaret Nicholson in 1786 and John Frith in 1790, contributed to his popularity.
In 1810, he suffered a total relapse, from which he was never to recover, already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George III became dangerously ill. In his view the malady had been triggered by stress over the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia. The Princess's nurse reported that "the scenes of distress and crying every day... were melancholy beyond description." The Queen continued to visit her husband but he failed to recognise her. His eldest son, George, Prince of Wales was appointed Regent. As it became apparent that George's illness was this time permanent, even Charlotte, his once devoted wife, sadly ceased to visit him.
The King existed at Windsor Castle for the next ten years, neglected and unkempt, a blind and deaf octogenarian. Even in his insanity he never forgot his exalted status, although he ceased to shave and now had a long white beard, he always wore a purple dressing gown with his Garter star pinned to his chest. He was reported to have had lucid moments when he agonized pitifully on what he had become. He was never informed when Queen Charlotte died in 1818.
At Christmas, 1819, George suffered another violent attack of porphyria, after talking incessantly for fifty-eight hours he sank into a coma, his favourite son, Frederick, Duke of York, was with him at the end He was mercifully released from his nightmare existence by death on 16th February, 1820. His body was buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor and was succeeded by the Regent as George IV.
Porphyria in the Royal Family
THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF GEORGE III AND CHARLOTTE OF MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ
(1) George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales KING GEORGE IV (1762-1830) m. Caroline of Brunswick.
Issue:-
(i) Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (1796-1817)
(2) Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827) m. Fredericka of Prussia
No issue
(3)William Henry, Duke of Clarence KING WILLIAM IV (1765-1837) m. Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.
Issue:-
(i) Princess Charlotte Augusta Louisa (b. & d. 1819)
(ii) Princess Elizabeth Georgina Adelaide (1820-21)
(4) Charlotte Augusta Matilda, Princess Royal (1766-1828) m. Frederick I of Wurtemburg.
No issue
(5) Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820) m. Victoria Mary of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield.
Issue:-
(i) Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. QUEEN VICTORIA (1818-1901) m. Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
(6) Princess Augusta Sophia (1768-1840)
No issue
(7) Princess Elizabeth (1770-1840) m. Frederick of Hesse-Homberg
No issue
(8) Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland KING ERNEST OF HANOVER (1771-1851) m, Fredericka of Mecklenberg-Strelitz.
Issue :-
(i) KING GEORGE V OF HANOVER
(9) Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (173-1843) m.(1) Lady Augusta Murray (2) Lady Cecilia Letitia Buggin.
Issue by (1) :-
(i) Augustus Frederick d'Este (1794-1848)
(ii) Augusta Emma d'Este (1801-66)
(10)Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850) m. Augusta of Hesse-Cassel.
Issue:-
(i) George, Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904)
(ii) Princess Augusta of Cambridge (1833-1927)
(iii) Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (1837-1897)
(11) Mary (1776-1857) m. William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester of Edinburgh
(12) Princess Sophia of the United kingdom (1777-1848) never married
(13)Prince Octavius of the United Kingdom (1779-1786) died in infancy
(14) Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom (1780-82) died in infancy
(15) Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (1783-1810) died in infancyWhat: Machine Learning is the art of writing programs that get better at performing a task as they gain experience, without being explicitly programmed to do so. Feed your program more data, and it will get smarter at handling new situations.
Some machine learning algorithms use fairly advanced math, but simple approaches can be surprisingly effective. In this Session, we'll take a classic Machine Learning challenge from Kaggle.com, automatically recognizing hand-written digits ( http://www.kaggle.com/c/digit-recognizer ), and build a classifier, from scratch, using F#. So bring your laptop, and let's see how smart we can make our machines!
This session will be organized as an interactive workshop. Come over, and learn yourself a Machine Learning and F# for great good! No prior experience with Machine Learning required, and F# beginners are very welcome - it will be a great opportunity to see F# in action, and why it's awesome.
To get the most from the session please try and bring a laptop along with F# installed (ideally either MonoDevelop or Visual Studio Web Express/Full Edition).
Who: Mathias Brandewinder has been writing software in C# for 7+ years, and loving every minute of it, except maybe for a few release days. He is an F# MVP, enjoys arguing about code and how to make it better, and gets very excited when discussing TDD or F#. His other professional interests are applied math and probability. If you want to know more about him, you can check out his blog at http://www.clear-lines.com/blog or find him on Twitter as @Brandewinder.
Where: B-Line Medical is located 2 blocks south of the Dupont Circle metro stop (red line). Exit on dupont south and the building is at the corner of 19th and N street NW. Driving is not encouraged as parking will be extremely difficult. The building needs a key card to get in after 6pm but Anton will be hanging around outside to let people in.
Cost: FREE. Pizza and drinks TBA.
Agenda:
6:00-6:20: show up, mingle, get settled.
6:20-6:30: speaker introduction
6:30-8:00: coding dojo!
Can't make it?:
We are tossing the idea around of recording the session to show later. If this is something people are interested in post a message so we can make arrangements to have it happen‘Pixel’, a gay teacher at the centre of a social media storm around her need to protect her career by pixelating her face for a lip-syncing Newstalk wedding competition, has said “there was no political agenda behind it”.
“We did the pixelation as a precaution more than anything. I didn’t expect people to feel so passionately about it,” she told The Irish Times
In support of the teacher, Minister of State at the Department of Justice Aodhán Ó Ríordáin told The Irish Times that “people should be horrified to live in a country where people think they have to pixelate their faces in a competition to protect their jobs.
“Under Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, Dr Leo Varadkar, Minister for Health, could have legitimate difficulty getting a job in a hospital as an openly gay man, as could John Lyons and Jerry Buttimer, who could not be employed teaching because they are openly gay and might be seen as no upholding the ethos of the school,” he said. He pledged to have the Act changed by Easter.
‘Pixel’ now believes it was “naïve” to enter the competition with her partner Caoimhe Hickey. “It’s scary when something like this grows legs and creates concerns about your job. We’ve had some wobbly moments,” she said.
The Newstalk radio ‘Open to All’ competition with the Moncrieff Show requires couples to lip-sync a song in a YouTube-style performance and the prize is a wedding and honeymoon worth €20,000.
Video entry:
In ‘Pixel’s’ case, her face is obscured so that her lips cannot be seen, apart from a close-up where only her lips are visible. Despite this, ‘Pixel’ and her partner Caoimhe Hickey have reached the final five by public vote.
The woman says she is “taken aback by the scale of the backlash” against her and Caoimhe by social media commentators accusing them of deliberately using the competition to highlight employment inequality for gays and lesbians.
“We entered because we can’t afford to get married. The cost is way beyond us. We did it in a very genuine way with genuine sentiment behind it. It was never meant to be a political bashing stick or to grow legs as it has. It was just our way of entering to make the best of our situation.”
Under Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, gay and lesbian teachers can be refused permanent employment, promotion and transfers if they do not uphold the ethos of their employers. ‘Pixel’ is a permanent teacher in a Catholic school.
A former school principal, Mr O’Ríordáin said he knew of a case “where a teacher went to a principal to ask for his cooperation in covering up that he was gay. I also know of a teacher who went to the principal to say she was unmarried and pregnant, and was her job safe? Section 37 affects not just the LGBT community, but also divorced and unmarried parents.”
‘Pixel’ said she does not regret entering the competition and will keep her identity secret should she win.
“My concern would be that while I have a strong feeling that the majority of students would be supportive, other denominations and faiths may feel differently and I don’t want any negativity around it. I don’t discuss my private life with the students, ever. I have a very positive career, very supportive colleagues and my concern is that it would jeopardise my professional teaching relationships.”
The competition results will be announced on Friday. “I hope we win and maybe more people will be made aware and it will encourage dialogue,” ‘Pixel’ said.
All of the shortlisted entries can be viwed and voted on hereCommunity Solar
Aquarium Solar Panels Fully Installed
Aquarium Solar Panels Fully Installed
How Does the Program Work?
The Seattle Community Solar Story
Jefferson Park Large Shelter
Jefferson Park Large Shelter
City Light’s five community solar sites are sold out!Community solar is a way for City Light customers who can't or don't want to purchase their own solar systems to add solar to the grid and receive the benefits that come with owning solar panels, but at a size and cost that works for them. You don't need to own a system, and you don't even need to own a home.Solar energy is in the news a lot these days. This may have prompted you to think about "going solar." But what if putting solar on your own home or business isn't for you? Too much shade? Too expensive? Don't own your own home? Thinking of moving soon? All of these can be barriers to installing solar on your own. However, that doesn't mean you can't go solar. Like a community garden or P-Patch plot that provides garden space for an apartment dweller, a community solar array lets renters, condo owners, or those who don't want to buy a whole system get the benefits of a solar array shared by the community.Seattle City Light pays to build and maintain a large solar array in a location optimally situated for solar exposure and chosen for its community appeal. The array generates electricity to the Seattle City Light electric grid, which further diversifies our clean energy power sources. Anyone with a Seattle City Light electric account can sign up to purchase solar units consisting of a share of the total output of the community solar array.Each year through 2020, the utility credits participating community solar customers for their portion of the power produced by the community solar array. Plus, participants receive a Washington State Production Incentive specifically designed for community solar customers, which is double the production incentive paid to individual customers who generate solar electricity on their homes. These payments are based on the customer's participation level.In 2012, Seattle City Light completed its first community solar project at Jefferson Park in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Participating customers helped build three new picnic shelters with roofs made of solar electric panels. The site now generates approximately 26,000 kWh of clean, renewable electricity each year, while supplying park visitors with much needed shelters. Live data from Jefferson Park Community solar at the Seattle Aquarium opened for enrollment in September of 2013 and sold out the 1850 available units in 6 short weeks. This 44.4 kilowatt system is ideal for its historic waterfront location that hosts more than 800,000 visitors a year (including 40,000 school children), a large south-facing unshaded roof, and its significant contribution to the Aquarium's conservation and sustainability mission. Live Data from the Seattle Aquarium Seattle City Light built two community solar projects in 2014, including the 74.79 kilowatt Phinney Ridge Project (SOLD OUT as of 12/11/14) and a 25.92 kilowatt Capitol Hill EcoDistrict project (SOLD OUT as of 5/4/2015). Each project brings something special to its host, our community, and the participants. The Capitol Hill project went live in 2014 and is an exciting addition to the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict. Visit our Current Projects page to find out more about the Capitol Hill project as well as general information on all the projects, and check out our community solar FAQsEver since I’ve discovered sheet masks, I instantly felt that this would be a great idea to follow up my cleansing mask routine. Sheet masks are so nice to chill and relax in after a day, while watching movies, or reading stuff. So I was browsing our local Daiso store and I found these beauties and I was instantly intrigued – because they were cheap. I decided to give it a try after reading a Reddit post about some cool stuff from this store. Why not?
I thought sheet masking everyday was slightly silly from my point of view. I mean, even the lower-end ones cost around Php 50 – 60 so sheet masking daily could cost you 600 bucks in ten days. And besides, wouldn’t it be just additional effort? But since this mask right here is so cheap, I wanted to test it out just to see how it’s like to sheet mask everyday and also to test if this can be a great alternative or fall back when one runs out of masks.
So my first impression with the masks were:
How am I gonna get one out without taking out all of them? OMG so thin sheet! So thin essence!!!
The mask was slightly larger than my face so it took a couple of minutes of adjusting, folding here and there to get the right fit – and then i still have wrinkles from the edges. After putting it on and leaving it for around 20 minutes, I took it off, folded it, and wiped it all over my face, my neck down to my collarbones. Then I massaged and patted dry the remaining essence on my face.
What I liked about it was that it really made my face feel plumper. As in visibly. My skin was so bouncy and I liked touching it. Also, the essence was quick-drying which was a definite plus for me. It didn’t smell anything bad, but it didn’t smell anything especially nice either so scent-wise it was ‘meh’. But for the price, I think it was a great deal! it definitely moisturized my skin really well.
Some not-so-nice stuff about it was that, there were a couple of days when I was just pretty tired and got home later than usual, and had to wake up early the next day so I was feeling pretty lazy about applying the mask. I did it anyway to justify the testing period, but I still think that sheet-masking daily requires more effort than I have expected so now I decided to only do it around twice a week. Moreover, I had some difficulty in getting a single mask from the whole bunch without them getting out also. The sheet was a lot thinner than the usual mask (but I guess it was to be expected) as well as the essence.
So finally, after a 7-day trial period, I can say that this mask is definitely worth more than what you pay for. As seen from the ingredients list, I was actually surprised that snail secretion filtrate was around near the top of the list which seemed too nice for anything that costs Php 88. As a quick Google search will tell you, snails have been one of the major breakthroughs in Korean beauty R&D as it is known to hydrate and plump up the skin. It also has other goodies such as extracts from tea leaves, collagen of course and sodium hyaluronate among others. Every time I use it, my face feels nice to touch and was visibly plumper, although the effects only last until the next morning (I sheet mask at night). YMMV though 🙂
Would I recommend it?
YES
Rating:
****
Would I buy again?
Yes
Have you guys tried other masks from Daiso? What treasures have you found there?
AdvertisementsEASTER Sunday could be stripped of its public holiday status under possible changes to holiday laws.
The majority of respondents to a State Government options paper on the century-old Holidays Act 1910 say Easter Sunday should no longer be prescribed a public holiday.
But church leaders fear the day will lose its significance if it is treated like any other Sunday, and that more people could be made to work on that day, without proper compensation.
Twenty-one of the 41 employer, retail, union and business groups that responded to the government options paper do not want the day designated a public holiday.
Many are opposed to paying extra penalty rates.
Every Sunday of the year is now designated a public holiday but the Government has put forward an option to reverse this, bringing SA into line with other states.
Doing so would create the need to prescribe Easter Sunday as a public holiday in its own right to retain its status.
Anglican Archbishop Jeffrey Driver said it "would be a sad loss to Australian society if we set aside the special nature of Easter Day" because many Australians "still profess allegiance to the Christian faith".
Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson said he would not like Easter Sunday "to be seen as the same as any other day of the week" and called on employers, unions and the Government to remember that Easter Sunday would "always be a most sacred day for Christians".
Lutheran Church SA/NT president David Altus agreed. "Given the number of Australians who do observe Good Friday and Easter as Christians, including attendance at worship, I believe it is important that they have the freedom to do so without the conflict of being expected to work on those days," he said.
NSW is the only state to specifically recognise Easter Sunday as a public holiday.
Industrial Relations Minister Russell Wortley said the Government had "no fixed position" on any of the options being canvassed as part of community consultation.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employee's Union wanted Easter Sunday kept a public holiday; Business SA and retailers like Myer and Coles were opposed.AMSTERD |
, say "Back on the Mainland..." instead of "Back in the States..." Hawaii has been one of "the States" since 1959, and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement notwithstanding (see Respect below), most Hawaii residents are proud to be part of the United States. Using the term "the States" (implying that Hawaii is somehow foreign) may be seen as naive at best and condescending at worst. However, don't be surprised if some local people are condescending towards you because you are from the mainland. The "local" vs. "mainland" difference is something local people are only too happy to point out. Also, "mainland" includes places like Manhattan, Key West, Long Island, and Bar Harbor, even though those locations are all on islands themselves.
For instance, say "Back on the Mainland..." instead of "Back in the States..." Hawaii has been one of "the States" since 1959, and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement notwithstanding (see Respect below), most Hawaii residents are proud to be part of the United States. Using the term "the States" (implying that Hawaii is somehow foreign) may be seen as naive at best and condescending at worst. However, don't be surprised if some local people are condescending towards you because you are from the mainland. The "local" vs. "mainland" difference is something local people are only too happy to point out. Also, "mainland" includes places like Manhattan, Key West, Long Island, and Bar Harbor, even though those locations are all on islands themselves. Residents of Hawaii do not necessarily consider themselves "Hawaiian." For instance, when asking a Hawaii resident, "Are you a native Hawaiian?" don't be surprised if his reply is "No, I'm Japanese." On the Mainland, for example, a Californian means any person who lives in (or has ties to) California. However, in Hawaii, the terms "Hawaiian" or "native Hawaiian" are reserved to mean someone who is descended from the aboriginal people of Hawaii. This definition even appears in state laws. Because Hawaii is made of people of various ethnicities, someone whose family may have lived in Hawaii for generations may still not be Hawaiian by the above definition. To avoid misunderstanding, it is best to refer to Hawaii residents as such, or as Islanders, "locals", or kamaʻaina (as above), unless you know for a fact that they are of native Hawaiian descent.
As in the rest of the United States, U.S. dollars are the local currency. There are plenty of banks, ATMs, and money change offices in all cities. ATMs are scarcer on the North Shore of Oahu and other rural areas.
For a number of reasons, prices for most goods are more expensive than on the mainland, which means foreign visitors should focus on buying made-in-Hawaii goods. First, Hawaii is an island chain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which means most goods (and raw materials) must be transported there over great distances at enormous expense. Second, most goods are manufactured nowadays in East Asia, but thanks to certain U.S. federal laws, foreign-flagged container ships are prohibited from stopping at Honolulu to unload goods bound for Hawaii and load goods bound for the mainland. Instead, those ships proceed directly eastbound from East Asia (passing Hawaii in the process) to the West Coast of the United States, where distributors then repack Hawaii-bound goods and send them westbound on domestic-flagged container ships. Once those goods finally reach Hawaii, their retail prices must necessarily include all those additional ocean transportation costs.
Hawaii has a 4% general excise tax (GET) statewide on the gross receipts of all businesses, which is generally visibly passed on the consumer as a de facto 4.166% "sales tax." As of 2007, the City and County of Honolulu adds an additional half-percent on the excise tax rate, making the "sales tax" rate on Oahu 4.712%. Unlike a true sales tax, the GET is levied on gross receipts of all businesses, not just consumer-facing ones. This means the GET is like a value-added tax in that it targets every segment in the supply chain, but it is actually much broader than a value-added tax in that it is levied on the entire final price at every segment. A true value-added tax targets only the value added by each segment. Even worse, the GET is actually levied on itself (in the sense that it is levied on the final price, but then the final price goes up because the tax has been added, and so on in circles), leading to the strange percentages noted above.
Clothing [ edit ]
Other than the stereotypical grass skirt (which is not generally worn in Hawaii except by hula dancers), no pieces of clothing are more associated with the Islands than the aloha shirt and the muʻumuʻu ("muumuu" in English).
The ever-present aloha shirt comes in a wide variety of designs. On one end, there are the brightly colored, tourist-oriented, polyester aloha shirts that many tourist-oriented stores throughout the Islands carry. On the other end of the spectrum are the type of aloha shirts that have become standard business attire among businessmen in Hawaii, in the same way that the business suit is on the mainland. These aloha shirts are usually cotton-polyester blend and are "reverse print." Reverse print means that the design is printed on the inside of the shirt, resulting in a more muted, businesslike look. This kind of aloha shirt can be found in department stores.
For women, the muʻumuʻu is a long Hawaiian dress, usually made of cotton, that hangs loosely from the shoulder.
A special note on shoes: The item commonly referred to on the Mainland as a "sandal" or "flip-flop" (or more limited "thong") are called on the islands a "slipper" or "slippa". Using a mainland term for the shoe will get you a quizzical look from locals. Call them by their island name and they will instantly know what you are talking about.
Made in Hawaii [ edit ]
One of the most popular souvenirs to buy in Hawaii are locally made bath & body products. The islands feature some of the most unique and refreshing fragrances in the world which you can easily find in Hawaiian shampoos, body lotions, soaps, oils, incense, floating candles, and much more.
The Hawaiian islands offer a vast number of activities. Hula dance lessons and Ukulele lessons are popular among tourists. Hiking and eco tours are popular on most islands, with opportunities for horseback riding, ATV, air tours, and other methods of exploring the landscape. Museums and historical sites such as Pearl Harbor are also to be found throughout the islands. Cultural activities such as the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu also make for interesting day-long activities.
Oahu is famous for Pearl Harbor tours, but also popular are shark snorkel dives in cages, Waikiki snorkel tours as well as around Oahu Tours where you will see all the major highlites of Oahu including Diamond Head, the North Shore and Dole Plantation where you can sample menu items made from fresh picked pineapples.
Maui is the location for humpback whale watching from December 15 to April 15 each year as the massive humpbacks migrate to Hawaii's warm waters to bear their calves. Also famous from Maui is the Molokini Crater which is a partially submerged volanco crater that you can snorkel at.
Kauai is untamed and beautiful. It has been featured in many major motion pictures over the past two decades. See this island by land or by air to take in the true beauty of this island.
The Big island is the volcano island where you can take a land tour or fly over the incredible huge volcano on a helicopter tour. Doors off flights allow you to feel the heat from the volanco, an amazingly unique experience. Also on the Big Island you have the rare opportunity to swim with wild dolphins, not captive ones.
Hawaii is best known for its beaches and water activities. Surfing is practically a religion in Hawaii, and scuba diving and snorkeling opportunities exist nearly everywhere. In addition, jet skiing, parasailing and kayaking are available in tourist areas.
Learn [ edit ]
Tourists who want to get a taste of Hawaiian culture can sign up for classes in hula, surfing and lei-making at most tourist destinations.
There also a number of cultural and historical centers on Oahu well worth your time, such as the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace.
If you have the money, the time and the inclination, the Polynesian Cultural Center provides a window into Polynesian culture. As its name implies, the Polynesian Cultural Center covers not just Hawaii but also the cultures of Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Easter Island and the Maori people of New Zealand.
The outer islands also have destinations such as Maui Center for Culture and the Arts and the Big Island has the Hilo Art Museum. the Lyman House Museum and the Pacific Tsunami Museum as well as the University of Hawaii's ʻImiloa Astronomy Center and Kula Kai Caverns.
Work [ edit ]
Given the current economic boom, the unemployment rate in Hawaii is at its lowest point in many years, as of February 2018, at 2%, among the lowest nationwide. Hawaii is not an easy place to legally find casual work for non-US work permit holders. To apply for a local government job, by law you must be a Hawaii resident. This is changing though. Currently, police officer applicants do not have to be residents.
Volunteering [ edit ]
Volunteering in Hawaii is very common for many visitors interested in eco-tourism. More and more people every year sign up with an organization called WWOOF Hawaii [12], to be a part of the organic movement in Hawaii. Through WWOOF Hawaii, members can get in touch with over 280 organic farms throughout 5 of the main Hawaiian islands and volunteer anywhere from a couple weeks up to a year. Not only do members get to learn about organic farming in Hawaii, but they also receive fresh organic food and get to live on a farm.
Plate lunch, with ahi poke, lomi lomi salmon, kalua pork, pork lau lau, steamed rice, haupia
Taro, poi, steamed rice and lomi lomi salmon during Makahiki festival
Seared ahi and wasabi beurre blanc sauce
Saimin
SPAM musubi
Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts
Contemporary food in Hawaii, like the language and popular culture, is a medley of traditional Hawaiian, Asian, and Portuguese. Pacific "fusion" cuisine was largely invented in Hawaii. Well-known local chefs include Sam Choy, Alan Wong, Russell Siu, Roy Yamaguchi, and George "Chef Mavro" Mavrothalassitis. Seafood is, of course, fresh and tasty. Local beef comes from ranches on Maui and coffee is grown on the Big Island. Tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, bananas, guavas, and papaya, as well as fresh sugar cane, can be bought in most corner stores (although you may be surprised to learn that many of those fruits are now imported from distant locales such as The Philippines & Brazil).
One of the most common ways that local food is served is in the form of plate lunch, usually meat or fish with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. It's always a good deal at any lunch wagon, mall, or outside food court. L&L Drive Inn [13] and Zippy's [14] are probably the most widely distributed chain of plate lunch spots in the Hawaiian islands. Branches of L&L are in some locations on the Mainland as well (as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue).
Another way of enjoying local food when roaming around the island is to keep an eye out for the converted trucks/vans that are parked in their regular spots in gas station parking lots, some parks and a variety of places on the island. They offer the "plate lunches", are popular with the locals and provide great meals (on plastic plates} at very reasonable prices. There is no reason to fear them, they are very common and popular.
Perhaps the best setting for tourists to enjoy traditional Hawaiian food is at a luau (lū‘au), a traditional Hawaiian feast. Tourists can find luaus at various locations in the Islands, including many of the major resort hotels. At a modern luau traditional Hawaiian favorites are served buffet style, and there is also Hawaiian music, hula, and other Polynesian entertainment. The downside is that they can be pricey and prices can vary widely; expect to pay between USD $50 and $90 per adult and about half that per child.
Dishes that are often found at luaus include:
Lomi salmon, salted salmon hand-mixed ( lomi-lomi means "to massage") with tomatoes, onions, and pepper; like an island salsa
, salted salmon hand-mixed ( means "to massage") with tomatoes, onions, and pepper; like an island salsa Kālua pig, pork wrapped in banana leaves and steamed inside an imu (ground boiler); similar to pulled pork
, pork wrapped in banana leaves and steamed inside an (ground boiler); similar to pulled pork Pipi kāula, Hawaiian style beef jerky
, Hawaiian style beef jerky Poi, ground and boiled taro root paste
, ground and boiled taro root paste Laulau, pork & butterfish (black cod) wrapped in ti leaves then steamed
, pork & butterfish (black cod) wrapped in leaves then steamed Lū‘au, taro leaves baked with coconut cream and usually octopus (this dish inspired the modern name of the Hawaiian feast)
, taro leaves baked with coconut cream and usually octopus (this dish inspired the modern name of the Hawaiian feast) Haupia, a gelatin-like dessert prepared from thickened coconut milk; famous for being a mild laxative
Other local dishes include favorites such as the following:
Ahi, yellowfin tuna, excellent as sashimi (Japanese style sliced raw fish) or as poke (chopped and seasoned raw fish).
, yellowfin tuna, excellent as (Japanese style sliced raw fish) or as (chopped and seasoned raw fish). Mahimahi, dolphin fish, served as a steak, sandwich, or in almost-raw thin strips.
, dolphin fish, served as a steak, sandwich, or in almost-raw thin strips. Ono, a type of fish also known as wahoo. Not coincidentally, the name resembles the Hawaiian word for "delicious," ʻono.
, a type of fish also known as wahoo. Not coincidentally, the name resembles the Hawaiian word for "delicious,". Shave ice, an island version of snow cones made from finely shaved ice, comes in lots of ʻono flavors. Order your shave ice with azuki beans and/or a scoop of ice cream.
, an island version of snow cones made from finely shaved ice, comes in lots of flavors. Order your shave ice with azuki beans and/or a scoop of ice cream. Saimin, Hawaii's version of noodle soup or ramen. Hawaii is also known for its high quality noodle houses which offer all the Japanese noodle staples (udon, ramen, soba, etc.).
, Hawaii's version of noodle soup or ramen. Hawaii is also known for its high quality noodle houses which offer all the Japanese noodle staples (udon, ramen, soba, etc.). Malasada, Fried bread rolled in plenty of sugar, often sold at special events. Portugese origin.
, Fried bread rolled in plenty of sugar, often sold at special events. Portugese origin. Manapua, local name for a popular type of Chinese dim-sum otherwise known as char siu bao. Cured sweet pork wrapped in soft white bread.
, local name for a popular type of Chinese dim-sum otherwise known as. Cured sweet pork wrapped in soft white bread. Spam musubi, an unorthodox variant of Japanese riceballs ( musubi ), composed of salted rice formed into a rectangular shape and topped with spam, wrapped in seaweed. Popular enough to be sold in every Hawaiian 7-11.
, an unorthodox variant of Japanese riceballs ( ), composed of salted rice formed into a rectangular shape and topped with spam, wrapped in seaweed. Popular enough to be sold in every Hawaiian 7-11. Chicken/pork adobo, Filipino dish widely offered and appreciated in Hawaii.
, Filipino dish widely offered and appreciated in Hawaii. Loco moco, this local specialty consists of a hamburger patty on rice, topped with over easy egg and gravy. Excellent with tabasco sauce. Can be eaten for breakfast or lunch.
, this local specialty consists of a hamburger patty on rice, topped with over easy egg and gravy. Excellent with tabasco sauce. Can be eaten for breakfast or lunch. Chicken katsu, fried chicken cutlet with savory sauce. Usually served with rice and mac salad.
If you are roaming the island away from tourist areas, you may find restaurants are scarce. Many of the numerous golf courses have dining rooms open to the public that offer great meals at very good prices. They seem to welcome the non-golfer. For specific places at which to eat, see the individual island or city articles. Be sure to check the coupon books that are available at display stands for meal specials.
Popular local snacks are also heavily influenced by the large mix of cultures present in Hawaii, primarily the Chinese and Japanese. Since many of these snacks are unique to Hawaii and cannot be found anywhere else, consider purchasing a few bags from any grocery store to bring on your travels. A large portion of local snacks fall under the category known as "Crack Seed" which refers to a variety of pickled, candied, and dehydrated fruit snacks of Chinese origin.
The most popular iterations of Crack Seed snacks are:
Li hing mui - Salted dried plums that are especially popular with the younger locals. Li Hing Mui is known for its unique sweet, salty, and sour flavor. It is commercially sold either with the plum seed intact or seedless and also in a powdered form that can be sprinkled onto arare, fruits, gummy bears,and many other snacks.
Pickled or dried fruits - Mangoes are usually dehydrated for a sweet snack or kept wet and flavored with Li Hing Mui powder. Lemon and orange peels are also salted and dried for a salty/sour snack.
Other popular local snacks include:
Arare - Japanese rice crackers flavored with soy sauce that come in many different shapes and sizes. Arare is commonly paired with dried seaweed, li hing mui powder, or popcorn. Also commonly referred to as "Kaki Mochi" or "Mochi Crunch".
Dried Seafood - Dried cuttlefish and octopus strips, known by their Japanese names "Ika" and "Tako", are very popular snacks. Tuna, or "Ahi", is also dried and made into Ahi Jerky.
Macadamia nuts - Sweet nuts commonly associated with Hawaii as a whole. Dry roasted macadamia nuts are commercially sold plain, with flavoring, or in chocolate. Macadamia nuts in snack form are more popular with tourists than with locals and are usually given as gifts.
The legal drinking and purchasing age of alcoholic beverages is 21. However Hawaii is one of the 26 states that allow underage consumption of alcohol for religious purposes, only if the minor is authorized. [15]
Beer: there are a number of excellent local brewpubs in Hawaii. Mehana, Sam Choy's, Honu, Waimea Brewing Company, Liz's Pub, Keoki's and Kona Brewing Company all brew beer in Hawaii or brew it on the mainland and ship it to the islands. The largest of the group is Kona Brewing, which has won several national awards and runs two brew pub restaurants in the islands (one in Kailua Kona, the other in Hawaii Kai on Oahu).
Stay safe [ edit ]
Crime [ edit ]
Theft is a big problem in cities as well as beaches and parks. If you are camping on a beach, keep bags locked in a car (but don't assume that they are safe in the trunk, especially if you are driving a rental) and keep valuables in a hidden money belt. Although Hawaii is generally considered relatively safe, it does have some violent crime, especially in Honolulu. Consequently, women should not walk alone in unlit areas. Although Honolulu has one of the lowest violent crime rates of metro areas in the U.S., use your common sense. Stay smart and act as if you were in your own home city: lock doors, lock cars, and don't leave valuables lying around.
In general, do not bring anything to the beach that you will not use. If you absolutely must, keep valuables to a minimum (such as money), and bring a friend. If you are using a rental car and do not have valuables in it, leaving the window open can ward off window damage from break-ins. Purchasing local bumper stickers and placing them on your car can also ward off would-be thieves, who may mistake your car for being a local's.
Gambling [ edit ]
Hawaii isn't the best place in the U.S. for gambling. Unlike most of the lower 48s, Hawaii is one of the few U.S. jurisdictions with a strict enforced law against gambling of any type. All forms of gambling are illegal in Hawaii, and it isn't recommended to get involved in any activity of the sort. In fact, promoting gambling to any degree is a class C felony in the state.[16]
Stay healthy [ edit ]
Hospitals in Hawaii meet U.S. standards for care, and can be found in the urban areas of each island. The hospitals in Honolulu are larger and have the most advanced equipment; the hospitals on the neighbouring islands provide general care. There is currently a shortage of specialists on the Neighbor Islands. Depending on where you are and the seriousness of your condition, be advised that you may need to be medically evacuated to Honolulu for treatment.
The main tourist areas of each island have walk-in urgent care clinics where you can receive non-emergency treatment for whatever ails you. Some clinics even make hotel room calls. Check with the local phone book or your hotel. In Waikiki, try Doctors on Call (808-971-6000). The clinic is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you plan to go hiking in the backcountry or go swimming in freshwater pools in Hawaii, be advised of the risk of catching leptospirosis. Leptospirosis generally causes flu-like symptoms; in rare cases it can be fatal; the incubation period can be from 2-30 days after exposure. Do not swim in freshwater pools if you have open sores; see a doctor if you develop flu-like symptoms after hiking or swimming.
Be sure to have travel health insurance. If you are a U.S. resident with private health insurance, you should consult your insurance carrier to determine what copayments apply and to what extent your insurance is accepted in Hawaii by doctors and hospitals in the event you need health care while on your trip. See Stay healthy in United States of America for more information.
When going to the beach/swimming or spending extended periods in the sun, always wear suntan lotion or sun guard to protect your skin from burns. Do not underestimate the Hawaiian sun, the UV ray index gets extremely high throughout the year. UV rays also pass right through clouds, so you can get still get sunburned on cloudy or overcast days.
Be aware that box jellyfish arrive near off shore on beaches throughout the state about 7 to 10 days after the full moon every month. Box jellyfish stings are incredibly venomous and painful, but rarely kill humans. Always listen to lifeguards as they will know about jellyfish conditions and are trained to render first aid for stings. You can also check for box jellyfish warnings ahead of time on Hawaii government websites and local news stations.
Cope [ edit ]
Dress [ edit ]
Hawaii's laid-back reputation extends to dress: with ideal weather year-round in most places, shorts are always appropriate around the islands. Long pants are fine, too, and you will still be quite comfortable. You do normally need to wear a shirt in public; going bare-chested is for the beach, although businesses near the beach are tolerant of it, particularly outside of the city. Sandals and flip-flops are very common, but note that they're always called slippers or slippa by locals. Going barefoot off the beach is uncommon, but again, businesses may tolerate it to some extent.
For the beach or pool, boardshorts or swimming trunks for men are the most popular, though with so many visitors from Asia, speedos are welcome too. Female toplessness is legal in Hawaii, if uncommon. Swimming nude is illegal, although there are a few isolated beaches on each island where people risk it. Unless you're spending the day trekking from beach to beach, save beachwear for the beach and wear regular clothes.
Businessmen in Hawaii have the rare distinction of forgoing suits and wearing slacks with muted aloha shirts. As a visitor, you would probably be overdressed in a suit; a dress shirt (with or without a tie) and slacks would be fine. If you do wear an aloha shirt for business, wear it like you would any other button-up shirt for business: tuck it in, button all but the top button, and wear an undershirt if that's your style.
The business aloha shirt extends also to dressing up for fine dining, entertainment, and even church; some preachers wear business aloha shirts for church services. As a visitor, just put on a collared shirt, shoes, and, depending on the restaurant you're going to, either shorts or slacks. Ties and jackets will never be necessary.
Respect [ edit ]
In general, American standards of etiquette (see Respect in United States of America) apply in Hawaii. Hawaii, however, has certain cultural differences, owing to the Native Hawaiians and the large population of Asians and people of Asian descent.
As is the custom in many Asian countries, always remove your footwear when entering the home of an island resident, if so invited.
Hawaiian culture should be respected and travellers should be sensitive to the state's rich cultural heritage and diversity - and the fact that the tourist experience of Hawaiian culture may only scratch the surface. For instance, there are many heiau (temples) in the Islands, where the ancient Hawaiian religion was practiced. Some of these have become tourist attractions in their own right, but visitors should nevertheless treat these places with the same level of respect one would show at a place of worship.
If you visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you will no doubt hear about Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. An urban legend has it that people who have taken volcanic rock from the slopes of Mauna Loa or Kilauea have suffered various misfortunes; it is believed that it is the wrath of Pele. In any case, it is illegal to take rocks or other material from a national park.
Also, the status of Native Hawaiians vis-a-vis the U.S. federal government has become a hot topic in recent years, with some Native Hawaiian groups seeking a degree of sovereignty for the Hawaiian people as redress for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and U.S. annexation in the 1890s. (Honolulu is home to the only royal palace on U.S. soil.) There is currently no consensus among Native Hawaiians on what form this sovereignty should take, with some preferring the status quo of ordinary citizenship, some seeking a status similar to that of Native Americans, and some wanting complete independence and secession from the Union. In addition, private and government programs that benefit Native Hawaiians have been called into question via a series of lawsuits that have received extensive coverage in local media. Discussions of Hawaiian sovereignty and programs can arouse a variety of strong opinions (both in support and in opposition) among Hawaii residents of all ethnicities, and the uninitiated visitor would be wise to avoid bringing up these topics in casual conversation.
Some Native Hawaiians may attribute accidents caused by nature (such as a landslide at Sacred Falls that killed several people) to the Menehune punishing tourists disrespecting the land. Menehune or not, Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places in the world and its sites deserve our respect. Bottom line: respect the land and the people; there may be more there than meets the eye.
Hawaii uses the U.S. postal system [17] with zip/post codes ranging from 96701 to 96899. Internet access can be found in most tourist areas and many hotels. General wi-fi access is available only at select hotels and cafes. The public libraries offer Internet access, but only for library cardholders. Visitors may purchase a 3-month library card for $10.00.
Hawaii's area code is 808. When dialing any off-island telephone number (to the mainland, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean), dial 1 + area code + phone number, otherwise dial 011 + country code + city/area code + phone number. You must include the 808 area code when calling another island.
Get out [ edit ]
Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Hawaii has few nearby neighbors.
California - The point of departure for many visitors from the continental United States.
- The point of departure for many visitors from the continental United States. Oceania - Hawaii can be a stepping off point to explore the many islands of the Pacific as well as the countries of Australia and New Zealand.
- Hawaii can be a stepping off point to explore the many islands of the Pacific as well as the countries of Australia and New Zealand. Japan
This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!One of the most durable myths in recent history is that the religious right, the coalition of conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists, emerged as a political movement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion. The tale goes something like this: Evangelicals, who had been politically quiescent for decades, were so morally outraged by Roe that they resolved to organize in order to overturn it.
This myth of origins is oft repeated by the movement’s leaders. In his 2005 book, Jerry Falwell, the firebrand fundamentalist preacher, recounts his distress upon reading about the ruling in the Jan. 23, 1973, edition of the Lynchburg News: “I sat there staring at the Roe v. Wade story,” Falwell writes, “growing more and more fearful of the consequences of the Supreme Court’s act and wondering why so few voices had been raised against it.” Evangelicals, he decided, needed to organize.
Some of these anti-Roe crusaders even went so far as to call themselves “new abolitionists,” invoking their antebellum predecessors who had fought to eradicate slavery.
But the abortion myth quickly collapses under historical scrutiny. In fact, it wasn’t until 1979—a full six years after Roe—that evangelical leaders, at the behest of conservative activist Paul Weyrich, seized on abortion not for moral reasons, but as a rallying-cry to deny President Jimmy Carter a second term. Why? Because the anti-abortion crusade was more palatable than the religious right’s real motive: protecting segregated schools. So much for the new abolitionism.
***
Today, evangelicals make up the backbone of the pro-life movement, but it hasn’t always been so. Both before and for several years after Roe, evangelicals were overwhelmingly indifferent to the subject, which they considered a “Catholic issue.” In 1968, for instance, a symposium sponsored by the Christian Medical Society and Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of evangelicalism, refused to characterize abortion as sinful, citing “individual health, family welfare, and social responsibility” as justifications for ending a pregnancy. In 1971, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, passed a resolution encouraging “Southern Baptists to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother.” The convention, hardly a redoubt of liberal values, reaffirmed that position in 1974, one year after Roe, and again in 1976.
When the Roe decision was handed down, W. A. Criswell, the Southern Baptist Convention’s former president and pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas—also one of the most famous fundamentalists of the 20th century—was pleased: “I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person,” he said, “and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed.”
Although a few evangelical voices, including Christianity Today magazine, mildly criticized the ruling, the overwhelming response was silence, even approval. Baptists, in particular, applauded the decision as an appropriate articulation of the division between church and state, between personal morality and state regulation of individual behavior. “Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the Supreme Court abortion decision,” wrote W. Barry Garrett of Baptist Press.
***
So what then were the real origins of the religious right? It turns out that the movement can trace its political roots back to a court ruling, but not Roe v. Wade.
In May 1969, a group of African-American parents in Holmes County, Mississippi, sued the Treasury Department to prevent three new whites-only K-12 private academies from securing full tax-exempt status, arguing that their discriminatory policies prevented them from being considered “charitable” institutions. The schools had been founded in the mid-1960s in response to the desegregation of public schools set in motion by the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954. In 1969, the first year of desegregation, the number of white students enrolled in public schools in Holmes County dropped from 771 to 28; the following year, that number fell to zero.
In Green v. Kennedy (David Kennedy was secretary of the treasury at the time), decided in January 1970, the plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction, which denied the “segregation academies” tax-exempt status until further review. In the meantime, the government was solidifying its position on such schools. Later that year, President Richard Nixon ordered the Internal Revenue Service to enact a new policy denying tax exemptions to all segregated schools in the United States. Under the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbade racial segregation and discrimination, discriminatory schools were not—by definition—“charitable” educational organizations, and therefore they had no claims to tax-exempt status; similarly, donations to such organizations would no longer qualify as tax-deductible contributions.
On June 30, 1971, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued its ruling in the case, now Green v. Connally (John Connally had replaced David Kennedy as secretary of the Treasury). The decision upheld the new IRS policy: “Under the Internal Revenue Code, properly construed, racially discriminatory private schools are not entitled to the Federal tax exemption provided for charitable, educational institutions, and persons making gifts to such schools are not entitled to the deductions provided in case of gifts to charitable, educational institutions.”
***
Paul Weyrich, the late religious conservative political activist and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, saw his opening.
In the decades following World War II, evangelicals, especially white evangelicals in the North, had drifted toward the Republican Party—inclined in that direction by general Cold War anxieties, vestigial suspicions of Catholicism and well-known evangelist Billy Graham’s very public friendship with Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Despite these predilections, though, evangelicals had largely stayed out of the political arena, at least in any organized way. If he could change that, Weyrich reasoned, their large numbers would constitute a formidable voting bloc—one that he could easily marshal behind conservative causes.
“The new political philosophy must be defined by us [conservatives] in moral terms, packaged in non-religious language, and propagated throughout the country by our new coalition,” Weyrich wrote in the mid-1970s. “When political power is achieved, the moral majority will have the opportunity to re-create this great nation.” Weyrich believed that the political possibilities of such a coalition were unlimited. “The leadership, moral philosophy, and workable vehicle are at hand just waiting to be blended and activated,” he wrote. “If the moral majority acts, results could well exceed our wildest dreams.”
But this hypothetical “moral majority” needed a catalyst—a standard around which to rally. For nearly two decades, Weyrich, by his own account, had been trying out different issues, hoping one might pique evangelical interest: pornography, prayer in schools, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, even abortion. “I was trying to get these people interested in those issues and I utterly failed,” Weyrich recalled at a conference in 1990.
The Green v. Connally ruling provided a necessary first step: It captured the attention of evangelical leaders, especially as the IRS began sending questionnaires to church-related “segregation academies,” including Falwell’s own Lynchburg Christian School, inquiring about their racial policies. Falwell was furious. “In some states,” he famously complained, “It’s easier to open a massage parlor than a Christian school.”
One such school, Bob Jones University—a fundamentalist college in Greenville, South Carolina—was especially obdurate. The IRS had sent its first letter to Bob Jones University in November 1970 to ascertain whether or not it discriminated on the basis of race. The school responded defiantly: It did not admit African Americans.
Although Bob Jones Jr., the school’s founder, argued that racial segregation was mandated by the Bible, Falwell and Weyrich quickly sought to shift the grounds of the debate, framing their opposition in terms of religious freedom rather than in defense of racial segregation. For decades, evangelical leaders had boasted that because their educational institutions accepted no federal money (except for, of course, not having to pay taxes) the government could not tell them how to run their shops—whom to hire or not, whom to admit or reject. The Civil Rights Act, however, changed that calculus.
Bob Jones University did, in fact, try to placate the IRS—in its own way. Following initial inquiries into the school’s racial policies, Bob Jones admitted one African-American, a worker in its radio station, as a part-time student; he dropped out a month later. In 1975, again in an attempt to forestall IRS action, the school admitted blacks to the student body, but, out of fears of miscegenation, refused to admit unmarried |
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She said she was re-victimized when word of the attack went viral on social media. she said many called her a "slut, whore" on social media.
"I felt like I was the one who did something wrong," she said.
Defense attorney Greg Skordas asked that Masina be given probation. He said Masina has already been punished, losing his scholarship to USC. Skordas said Masina was a model defendant with Adult, Probation and Parole. Skordas said Masina has never been committed of any crime. He also argued in court that Prosecutors were attempting to have him sentenced as if sexual battery was a first degree felony, not a Class A misdemeanor.
But the judge disagreed with that position and ordered Masina jailed.
Afterwards, the victim said justice wasn't served.
"Honestly in my opinion, no," she said. "But I am happy he will be able to serve jail time, (to)think about it, what he did to me and change. They talk about how he lost everything but they don't realize what I lost."
The victim said she was glad her story was finally publicized and was believed by police, prosecutors and the judge.
"I never had a chance to say no, never had a chance to fight him off or resist or anything," she said. "It doesn't matter what happened before, what matters is what happened at the moment. Just because you have consensual sex one time, that doesn't mean you can have it whenever."
As for Masina, his attorney hopes with good behavior, he won’t spend the full year in jail.Brian Allen Carr lives in the Rio Grande Valley. His short fiction has appeared in Ninth Letter, Boulevard, Hobart, McSweeney's Small Chair, The Texas Observer and other publications. His most recent books are out with Lazy Fascist Press.
Loren Kleinman (LK): How would your publisher describe you in five words or less? What's it been like collaborating with Lazy Fascist Press?
Brian Allen Carr (BAC): How would he describe me? Man, that's hard to say. I used to be the main fiction editor at Dark Sky Books, and I was lucky to work on books with some really great writers: Jensen Beach, Ryan Ridge, Nicolle Elizabeth, Michael Bible, and Gregory Sherl. I hope Cameron Pierce, my editor at LF [Lazy Fascist Press], would describe me as fondly as I'd describe all those folks. But as long as it's at least as good as "someone I wouldn't face stab," I'd be cool with that, because I love working with LF. I've loved every press I've gotten to work with. I've been super blessed by the presence of amazing people in my life.
LK: Let's talk about The Last Horror Novel in the History of the World. How did you come up with the premise of this book? Talk about how you came up with the title?
BAC: Cameron and I decided it'd be an intriguing concept for me to write a book where Texas folks encounter horrific phenomena. I think, when we first started kicking around the idea, there was this notion I'd use more standard creatures--vampires, zombies, werewolves, shit like that. But in doing research on Hollywood-friendly creatures, I decided there was nothing I could do with the style I'd decided on for the book that could really work to add to that canon--I'd just be treading in super pissed-in pool water, because so many people have done such great, extensive work with those entities, and the style of my book is very spare. I decided it'd be much more appropriate for me to introduce--or at least give some additional focus to--creatures more native to the area where the book is set: La Llorona, la mano pachona (sometimes mano peluda or negra), El Abuelito (sometimes called El Aguelito).
I don't know where the title came from.
LK: In your book you center your story in town Scrape, Texas. No one wants to visit Scrape and anyone there, doesn't leave. The townies are indulgent and then get invaded by horrific monsters, if not demons. Does this paint a picture of small-town America? Are we obsessed with things that we can't see our own demons already among us?
BAC: I think we're obsessed with the notion of our imminent demise. Americans love cataclysm stories right now because we're scared shitless our reign is ending--most likely it is. All the zombies, the apocalypses, it's this sad chest thumping metaphor. We're so fucking arrogant. We think it'll all end with us. Man, it won't. The world has been ending since as long as I can remember, has been stuffed with rapture-coming fear mongers quoting Nostradamus and the Bible and decoding Mayan calculators. My God.
What will happen?
Another culture's stories will become more important than ours. It's happening already. Scrape, Texas is a metaphor for that. What happens to Scrape is it's wiped out by characters from very old stores our culture is largely unfamiliar with.
LK: Who do you think would win in a fight and why? La Llorona, the screaming woman in white, or El Abuelo, the monster with the magical bullwhip?
BAC: They wouldn't fight. Their targets are elsewhere. La Llorona is terrifying because of what she is, not what she does. Because of what she represents--that terrible self-destructive element of human beings who think their future doesn't look good (sound familiar?). El Abuelo is the thing used to terrify children into becoming better people. See, fear is a great motivator when it's not paralyzing. I'm guessing society self polices with these sorts of apocalypse stories--we feed them to each other as deterrents. But we've gotten so good at going inside and watching the world through devices that I'm not certain these stories are doing their job.
Albert Camus said "the purpose of the writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself." But if you look at the most well known cautionary tale of the modern age, 1984, you can't help but think all the warnings just become roadmaps. Remember when that guy in Florida huffed bath salts and ate a dude's face off and broadcasters lost their shit trying to will the thing to be a zombie outbreak?
It's a popular idea, right? Have two horrific things compete. But that's not right. Our terrors are our own. Demons are meant to direct us. Godzilla, when it fights Mothra, becomes a good for humans, loses its ability to warn us of our errors in behavior toward the environment and humanity. It cheapens the creatures to have them serve as gladiators for our entertainment. It'd be like having the Vitamin A fight Vitamin C.
Unfortunately our creative attempts at deterring behaviors seem to work in our minds as inoculations -- we think because we've read 1984 we're immune to Big Brother. Nothing could be more incorrect.
LK: I'm a major horror nerd. What's your favorite horror and why? Do you think the horror movie is dead in mainstream cinema?
BAC: In cinema? Nah, I mean, there will always be the desire to experience (from the safety of movie theaters and couch cushions), that which terrifies us.
The second scariest thing I ever saw was a dead cat near a swimming pool that had turned black with stagnation. The scariest thing I've ever seen is a woman across the street with some kind of dementia, and her son walks her up and down the street at dusk for exercise, and he seems mad if anyone else is on the street when this occurs.
I don't really know what my favorite horror film is. I love the work of Ray Harryhausen, who didn't do horror per se, but who did create amazing creatures. I grew up watching his Sinbad films and Clash of the Titans. I'll take Harryhausen over CGI any day.
LK: Sometimes I think horror gets a bad rap because it gets associated with random killing. I think horror represents the other or the unknown, the things we shun when we don't understand them. What do you think audiences can learn from horror?
BAC: Random killing is the American way. What's more American than that? Why would anyone in our country dislike that? We're the kings of random killing. We invented the best version of it: we're the only ones who've used the nastiest version. If horror gets a bad rap it's because it shows us what we really are -- really nasty fucks.
Well, that and because some would argue that it is formulaic. Right, it's kind of a marginalized genre. But the human condition is just as present, if not more so, in Frankenstein as it is in The Sun Also Rises. (In one book a man loses his ability to procreate and is tortured by it: in the other, a man learns to unnaturally procreate and is tortured by it). Really, the earliest examples of literature function more like today's "genre" works than "literary" works. The Odyssey, The Bible, Aesop's Fable, many of the Greek tragedies. People who think you can learn more from "literary fiction" than "genre fiction" don't fucking understand the history of literature and should saw off their heads and pack them up their asses. Sure there are differences, but there are differences between movies filmed in black and white and movies filmed in color, too.
LK: You're also the author of the Short Bus (2011, Texas Review Press), Vampire Conditions (2012, Holler Presents), Edie & the Low-Hung Hands (2013, Small Doggie Press) and Motherfucking Sharks (2013, Lazy Fascist Press). What's been your favorite book to write and why? Who are your favorite characters?
BAC: I don't think I have a favorite book. They're all so different. These past two, the Lazy Fascist books, they've been the most fun to write because the way they came about was new to me. As far as character, I really like Marlet from Edie and Crick from Sharks. I like characters who feel like they don't belong but who really belong the most.
LK: You're a dad too. How do your kids influence your writing?
BAC: Being a dad has changed me in a couple of ways. C.S. Lewis famously said "someday you'll be old enough to start to reading fairy tales again," and while I've always read fairy tales, reading them with my daughter Georgia has allowed me to relive the magic of them in a way that I thought was gone for me. Every other night, because my wife and I take turns, I get to hop in bed with my daughter and read Roald Dahl or Dr. Seuss or Peter Pan or Beverly Cleary, and I get to see, again, the joy of the early reader, feel, again, that warm magic that first calls people to love books.
The other way it's changed me, because I have daughters, is I'm starting to see, more accurately, how we look for ourselves in books. My daughter looks for female characters. She wants to know what's happening with the girls. When I was a boy, I must have been the same way. You get older. You forget. I think I've become more sensitive to that notion as a writer. At least, I hope I am.
We are all more complicated than the war of the sexes would lead you to believe.
Since having kids, I've tried to put more magic in my books. I've tried to put more strong females.
LK: Would you live in Scrape? Ever?
BAC: Of course. I love small-town Texas. Some reviewer recently "hoped" it was a fake place. Okay. Why? It's a shit hole, but so are most places.
I've noticed that there's this thing, at least in America, where we all want to believe we live in the "better" places. Well, we don't. The two premiere cities in this country are San Francisco and New York. New York houses the financial sector of our universe, therefore houses the worst part of humanity. Both places basically price out all of the "others," makes them live like rats who just do chores for the elites, or have them exist merely as people whose dreams are breaking until they're forced to flee. Then, these top-notch folks in these shiny-ass places assume the role of moral authority. Okay. Fine. You're the greatest. We all just go to segregated churches and pray to be like you.
LK: What's next for Brian Allen Carr?Finally, we have a clear shot and are in position to knock down the worst anti-2A laws in the country.By Jan. 3, 2017, the new House and Senate will be in session, both controlled by Republicans. By Jan. 20, 2017, the Presidency will be as well.The next U.S. Supreme Court Justice will be selected by a President Trump, not by the Clintons and Obamas of the world.Already, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised by members of the FPC and FPF in preparation for lawsuits to take down numerous laws which were enacted in July 2016 in California, and also in preparation to challenge Proposition 63 in the courts if voters were to pass it (which they did).But as of today, aboutin order to ensure that the various laws and regulations pertaining to them can be overturned once and for all.Your help is needed to challenge these laws. For the price of a cup of coffee, you can defend the rights of everyone across the United States. Donate here (not tax deductible) and be entered to win a gun. (Donate / enter before end of November for chance to win.)Or, donate here (you won't be entered to win a gun, but the donation is tax deductible). (Not date-limited, donate anytime.)This is the same organization that has been fighting in court to overturn SB 707 (the law that restricts the rights of concealed carriers) and also fought the state in court when it restricted the speech of a prominent blogger, who published a "tyrant's list."This is not only important for people in California, but across the nation. For cases that are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the decisions will be considered to be binding for Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. In instances where gun rights groups do not win the cases at the Court of Appeals level, these cases will no doubt continue and will likely be appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. In which case, the decisions will be binding for everyone across the United States.The laws to be challenged:AB 857 – The Gutted and Amended Restriction On Curios, Relics and Home-Built Firearms: Would require retroactive serialization and registration of firearms from the past 50 years, including home-builts, as well as curio and relics. (Has been signed into law by the Governor.) Would create a precedent for registration that does not yet exist, and needs to be challenged in the courts.AB 1135 – The Gutted and Amended “Assault Weapons” Ban: Part of a bill package that would ban 70 percent of all firearms in CA. (Has been signed into law by the Governor.)AB 1511 – The Gutted and Amended Bill that Criminalizes Loaning Firearms (Has been signed into law by the Governor.)AB 1695 – The Bill Which Assumes Firearms Owners Are Guilty Until Proven Innocent (Has been signed into law by the Governor.)SB 880 – Expands “Assault Weapons” Ban to Include “Bullet Button” Semi-Auto Rifles, Pistols: Part of bill package that would ban 70 percent of all firearms in CA (Has been signed into law by the Governor.)SB 1446 – Ban on ALL Magazines that were Designed to Hold More than 10 Rounds, even those already legal under CA law (Has been signed into law by the Governor) - Would create a precedent for ban on owning property.SB 1235 (de Leon) --Restrictions on ammunition purchases, creates a DOJ database of ammunition owners. (Has been signed into law by the Governor.) Would create a precedent for registration of ammunition and, by banning shipping of ammunition direct to customer's door, would be an unconstitutional restriction on commerce (violation of Commerce Clause).Proposition 63 -- Similar to SB 1235, but even worse.Donate today and preserve our rights for future generations.Why I co-wrote amicus brief backing idea that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
Participants in the March For Marriage protest outside the Supreme Court on April 25. (Photo11: Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images)
My mother has been in a committed relationship with another woman for nearly 30 years. And I am the co-author of a Supreme Court amicus brief in favor of allowing states to affirm marriage as the union of one man and one woman in their laws.
Given the fact that my mother and I enjoy a close, loving relationship, and I believe that every American — gay or straight — should be permitted to form consensual adult unions of their choosing, how could I take that position?
Buried under a pile of tweets, blogs and articles that fixate on the religious-liberty side of this debate, you'll find the often silent "rational basis" for heterosexual marriage. The other side of the debate is populated by those who cannot speak for, let alone organize, themselves: children.
Historically, marriage laws have served to reinforce the relationship between parents and children, particularly, to attach fathers to their children. It takes a man and woman to make a child, and that happens to be the ideal settingfor the nurturing of the child. Thus, encouraging norms of permanence and exclusivity in heterosexual relationships, the place where babies are made, and promoting that association above other adult relationships is good policy in terms of the rights and well-being of children.
This is not a philosophical hypothesis or randomly chosen legal argument on my part. My beliefs aren't supported merely by research and history, but also by my own childhood experiences.
That said, there is no denying that many heterosexuals have made an utter embarrassment of marriage vows. It's a crying shame that today, 41% of our nation's children are born outside the safety net of marriage, and we all, no matter what our sexual orientation, must start behaving like adults and return our focus to the fundamental, most basic rights of children.
Children have a right to their mother and father, who happen to be the two adults with whom they innately long to be in relationship. In the pantheon of rights, and pseudo rights, I submit that the right to one's mother and father is the most self-evident right of all — save perhaps parents' right to their natural children. It's a right recognized in Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Being deprived a relationship with one or both natural parents causes emotional damage and, statistically, an increased likelihood of physical, psychological and economic harm.
Yet here we are, barreling down the path of endorsing a family structure that will guarantee life-long loss for children. That structure deprives a child of a relationship in the home with one natural parent often to suit the desires of two adults in a same-sex relationship. And a court-imposed redefinition of marriage nationwide will only increase the frequency of this loss.
Redefining marriage redefines parenthood. Though that might sound fine if you are beyond the age of consent, most children will tell you that if they could order their own world, it would be one in which they are being loved and raised by their mother and father. Just because brokenness can befall children in myriad of ways, it does not stand to reason that we should promote a family structure that guarantees brokenness for children. Society and public policy should never encourage fatherlessness or motherlessness.
Despite having diverse stories and voices, the six of us who filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court have two things in common: First, we agree that it is in the best interest of children specifically, and society at large, to promote marriage between one man and one woman. Second, we have all been subjected to some measure of intimidation for sharing our stories.
We've faced threats to our jobs, harassment of family and friends, and abusive language from those who espouse openness and tolerance. In our current political climate, it's easy to understand why children with gay parents might not feel comfortable voicing misgivings about their upbringings.
Some speculate that I must hate my mother because I do not support same-sex marriage. In truth, my support of man-woman marriage is based on the reality that two men could never have replaced her. The mother-daughter bond that we share is precious and distinct, and I would not wish the loss of such a relationship on any child, especially in the name of progress.
Children do best, and by extension society flourishes, when kids have a relationship with both their mother and father whenever possible. This is not only the "rational basis," but also a very compelling basis, for states to affirm marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It's one on which we all should agree.
Katy Faust is one of six children raised by a parent in a same-sex relationship who filed amicus briefs at the Supreme Court in support of the freedom of states to affirm marriage as the union of one man and one woman. She serves on the Academic Council of the International Children's Rights Institute.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the Opinion front page.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1GyV6P5A 37-year-old man has thrown a social media tantrum after being banned from a Starbucks in Spokane, Washington for hitting on a teenaged barista. Or, as the man interprets it, he is being "discriminated" against because of his age, CBS affiliate KREM reports.
If you weren't sure if he was a creep before, now you are.
The man, named Lucas Werner, complained in a Facebook post that he was banned from the Starbucks after he "innocently" asked the barista out to dinner. This could be a typical annoying but harmless interaction for the barista, except that she is 16 and he is 37.
This is one of the creepiest defenses for being a creep I've ever heard:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209615593318974&set=a.10202947112891131.1073741829.1002732174&type=3&theater
"I figure, if she was 16 and flirtatious it would still be legal to ask her to dinner," he wrote in the post, which has gone viral. "You can't even work at Starbucks unless you're 16, which is the legal age to date people. This is a clear case of age discrimination. Feel free to call them to complain on my behalf."This Brahma guy is at it again spewing nonsense. I guess he is one of the so called experts in the security establishment in India, hence nonsense is what they are good at.
India has a vested interest in instigating and distorting the Tibet issue in China, because it masks and obfuscates its own Tibet issue. I am talking about the invasion and annexation of South Tibet by India in 1951, despite the locals there put up a good fight. This year India imposed the notorious AFSPA (Arm Force Special Power Act) throughout the whole of South Tibet, including its most important town, Tawang, birthplace of the Sixth Dalai Lama and home to one of the holiest Tibetan monasteries. AFSPA is a law dating back to the colonial British Raj and it gives the state the power to detain and kill any body with impunity. It is meant to intimidate the people and suppress dissent. The Indians hated it for good reason, now they are doing it to the Tibetans. ASFPA are imposed on regions India classified as 'disturbed', such as Kashmir and the northeast, including South Tibet. Oppression of a people while ostentatiously style itself as an advocate of them is just disgusting.flickr Writer: Eric Daniel
Returning Starters – Offense: 10 Defense: 7
Preview: The Tar Heels fell short of their expectations last season, but the team was still able to make a bowl game. After losing to Rutgers in the Quick Lane Bowl, UNC finished the 2014 campaign 6-7 overall and the Heels went 4-4 in conference play. Over his three season at North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora is 21-17 overall. This could be a make or break year for Fedora as the team heads into 2015 with a lot of returning talent and elevated expectations.
The offense is ready to put up big numbers this season with 10 returning starters, including QB Marquise Williams who set school records for total offense in 2014. Williams is a threat both through the air and on the ground, but to keep their star QB healthy look for RBs Logan, Hood, and Morris to take on more of the burden. The O-line returns all 5 starters to a unit that continues to develop. The O-line will be headlined by Turner at guard and Spain at LT. The receiving corps also returns a bevy of talent with the unit being led by imposing receivers Davis, Howard, and Hollins.
North Carolina will look to turn things around on the defensive side of the ball as they bring in former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik to be the DC. Last season the Tar Heels finished in the basement of the ACC in many defensive categories, but at least the unit has nowhere to go but up. UNC will implement an easier to understand 4-3 scheme after the team deployed a 4-2-5 over the past 3 seasons. The defensive line will look to build around underclassmen like Jones, Drennon, Dalton, and Clarke. The D-line will need to get a lot of support from the LB corps to help them with their development. The line backing unit will be led by senior Schoettmer. The secondary is loaded with depth, but the unit as a whole has a lot of room for improvement.
Prediction: North Carolina has the potential to be a surprise team in the ACC this season, but it seems like we say this about the Tar Heels every year. Perhaps things will be different in 2015 and the success of this team is dependent on the defense improving and QB Williams staying healthy as he continues put himself at risk in the run game. UNC has a fairly manageable nonconference slate with their toughest test coming in week one against South Carolina. The Tar Heels will almost certainly make a bowl game with competing for the Coastal title being their ultimate goal.
Projected Record: 9-3 (6-2)"It's not just about Ellis [Island]; it's about all the people who come here and that are connected to immigration," says Clay Gish, director of writing and research at ESI Design, the firm responsible for putting together these new exhibits at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. She adds that her team has been working on the World Migration Globe since 2008, but Hurricane Sandy delayed the production of the project. The information being projected onto the screen, meanwhile, is provided by The History Channel -- although the overall story on global migration was crafted and shaped in tandem with ESI Design and an immigration committee.
It's all visuals, though; I'm told it didn't make sense to bring sound into the experience, due to the physical placement of the World Migration Globe exhibit -- around 40 feet away from the main entrance. "Audio is a really big part of how we approach these exhibits. But there was a challenge with the entry space, since students walk right in," says ESI Design's Senior Designer of Tech and Media Michael Schneider. "It's where the boats unload, so audio wouldn't have benefited. Here it was more about seeing the visual patterns of people moving across the world."
If you happen to be in Lower Manhattan or New Jersey, it's a short trip via ferry. Ticket prices range from free to $18, depending on your age or whether you're a student.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Feb. 20, 2017, 8:20 PM GMT / Updated Feb. 21, 2017, 12:40 AM GMT By Tim Stelloh
President Donald Trump on Monday named Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser, a week after Michael Flynn resigned from the post.
During a news conference at his Florida resort, Trump said McMaster was "highly respected by everybody in the military" and is "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience."
Flynn resigned last Monday amid allegations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials about his communications with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States.
Another military man who was considered a top contender for the job, retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down Trump's offer last week.
Trump's acting national security adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, will remain as the National Security Council's chief of staff, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
Trump added that John Bolton, the former U.N. ambassador whose unyielding view that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction made him a highly polarizing figure under President George W. Bush and beyond, would work with his administration in "a somewhat different capacity."
Trump reportedly considered Bolton to be deputy secretary of state. He didn't provide additional details on Monday.
A senior administration official told NBC News that Trump chose McMaster because he was both a "warrior" and "defense intellectual" — a view apparently shared by former Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, who called McMaster "a brilliant, reasoned leader who understands both hard & soft power."
"Good pick!" Israel wrote on Twitter.
Republican lawmakers heaped praise on McMaster as well. John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, admired his "genuine intellect," while Devin Nunes of California, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, appreciated his "questioning the status quo and infusing fresh thinking and new approaches into military affairs."
McMaster has a Ph.D in military history from the University of North Carolina, and in 1998 he published "Dereliction of Duty," a critical history of the U.S. strategy in Vietnam.
But he also has a long and decorated career as an Army officer.
In the first Persian Gulf War, he was a young captain serving as a tank commander during the war's biggest battle. More than a decade later, while commanding the 3rd Cavalry Regiment during the Iraq War, he blocked insurgent routes in and out of Tal Afar — a success that earned him a gracious letter from the local mayor and plaudits from Bush.
Like Brent Scowcroft under Gerald Ford and Colin Powell under Ronald Reagan, McMaster will remain on active duty while serving on the security council, White House officials said.
During brief comments at the news conference, McMaster called the appointment a privilege.
"[I'm] grateful to you for that opportunity and look forward to joining national security team and do all I can to advance and protect interests of American people," he said.Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster. Flickr/Web Summit Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster is fired up about his company's new range of "mods" — expanded apps that integrate directly into Cyanogen's modified version of Android that lets you do more than just open up an app and just use it.
"This is a big deal," McMaster says about mods.
The company is launching a set of new integrations, including Skype, Cortana, and Hyperlapse. There's a theme there: all of those services are made by Microsoft.
Microsoft was rumoured to have invested in Cyanogen, but instead it's working with the company to ship Cyanogen's version of Android complete with Microsoft services.
Cyanogen is now letting developers get more control over how a smartphone works using what it calls mods. They're more than an app — a mod makes functionality seem as if it's built into a smartphone's operating system.
You can view Instagram right on your lock screen, for example, or use Skype straight from the dialler app. Or you could ask Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana to take a selfie of you and make it look pretty.
McMaster says this kind of enhanced integration is the future of computing, not things like virtual reality. "Everybody's so excited about VR. The phones put people to sleep now. The next step in computing is not VR, we think it's integrating these experiences into the mobile operating system because this gives rise to new kinds of experiences, new kinds of intelligences."
"You'll sell hundreds of millions of Android phones this year, and you'll sell, what, half a dozen Oculus devices?" he says. "By 2020 Android will be at around 4.6 billion users. iOS, plus Facebook daily active users on mobile, plus Windows PC will be about 4.4 to 4.5 billion users by 2020. In other words, Android will be bigger than all three of them combined. Android is a super platform and its potential is yet to even be realised."
McMaster's vision of the smartphone world is one where Android rules dominant, and app developers have much more control over what they can do. That's the polar opposite to Apple's walled garden approach.
He's also skeptical about the endless cycle of smartphone launches:
You're here at Mobile World Congress, what do you see? A whole bunch of goddamn rectangles. Big fucking deal. Who cares about rectangles? Nobody cares about rectangles anymore. It's all about applications and services, but you don't hear much interesting about applications and services.POWER giants are employing too many pen-pushing desk staff, driving up household electricity bills by more than the carbon tax, a new analysis claims.
An Australia Institute report reveals power companies have hired twice as many desk staff as front line techies over the past 15 years and consumers are paying the price.
Electricity prices have surged three times faster than inflation over the past 15 years, it shows.
At the same time, the number of managers has tripled to 19,000 while the sales force has grown six-fold to 6000 workers.
The number of technicians and trade workers grew just 28 per cent to 32,000 - matching the number of clerical and administrative staff.
The report's author, David Richardson, blamed privatisation of government-owned power companies for an increase in the number of backroom workers.
"It seems remarkable that a sales force of 6000 people is necessary to sell a product which everyone needs," he said.
"The managers are growing at five times the rate of the people who actually do the work in producing electricity."
The analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics workforce data shows the industry has hired an extra 54,000 managers, professionals, clerical staff and sales workers since the privatisation push began 15 years ago.
In contrast, it has hired only 23,000 technicians, trade workers, laborers and machinery operators and drivers.
The management ratio has grown from one manager for every 13 workers in 1997, to one for every nine workers in 2012.
"On the face of it that seems very wasteful," the report says.
Mr Richardson said productivity in the power industry has fallen by one-quarter since 1995, while all other Australian industries have increased productivity by one-third.
"Competition may well be beneficial in theory but it means the firms themselves have had to put resources into selling a product," he said.
"The large increase in clerical and administrative workers may reflect such things as the duplication of billing systems, human resource sections and so on as government enterprises are broken up into smaller `businesses'."
The policy think-tank calculated that the extra backroom staff have added $1.5bn to the industry's costs.
It found power prices from publicly-owned utilities have risen an average of 134 per cent over the past 20 years, compared to 182 per cent for privatised power utilities.
Mr Richardson said proposals to sell power stations in NSW and Queensland were "unlikely" to ease cost-of-living pressures.
"It might even slug consumers with higher bills and worse service," he said. The report shows that power prices have tripled in Sydney - which has both privatised and government-owned utilities - over the past 20 years.
Prices have surged 181 per cent in Melbourne since the Kennett government privatised power utilities 20 years ago.
In Brisbane, where power stations remain publicly owned, prices have grown 167 per cent - the same as in Adelaide, where utilities have been privatised.Prices have roughly doubled in Perth and Darwin, whose utilities are government-owned.
Hobart has publicly-owned utilities but power prices have risen 181 per cent.Before the Olympics, NBC predicted it would top the $120 million it made off the 2012 London Olympics. However, once the 2016 Olympics were underway, report after report rained doom and gloom on this year’s games. TV ratings were down. NBC was screwing up by delaying programming. We heard it all. In fact, many would argue that NBC offered the worst ever coverage this year.
However, it turns out that despite the naysayers, NBC was right all along. In fact, not only did it top the 2012 profits, it more than doubled them, pulling in a whopping $250 million in profits thus far.
After paying $12 billion for the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics through 2032, many were quick to say NBC grossly overpaid. However, with that much growth from one Olympic games to the next, maybe NBC isn’t as stupid as everyone seems to think they are.
“NBC made a calculated decision to go all in on streaming this year,” Eric Anthony of Streaming Observer News said. “Not only did the company make an unprecedented amount of coverage available through the NBC Sports app, but it also gave in and joined Sling TV and PlayStation Vue.”
The result? 100 million users streamed 3.3 billion minutes of the Olympics. In other words, the most streamed sporting event of all time.Image caption The foetus was found in a bin at Monklands Hospital
An investigation has been started after a foetus was discovered in a clinical waste bin at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie.
The foetus was believed to have been between 15 and 20 weeks gestation.
NHS Lanarkshire apologised for the distress caused by the incident and said it aimed to treat all families with dignity and respect.
Scottish Health Minister Alex Neil, who is the MSP for Airdrie, said something had gone "seriously wrong".
Mr Neil told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Clearly something has gone very badly wrong |
way it really saved me. I will say that… I was very happy, I was not very anxious, not a whole lot bothered me. I was very listless and very restless, and I did drop out of school. You know, so there is an upside and a downside. I don’t regret it, and I went back to school.
Paul: It took some of your drive away.
Janet: At the time I couldn’t see, you know, sometimes you can’t see inside it, especially when you’re a young kid.
Paul: Because how do you know what reality is? All you know is what you’re feeling.
Janet: All I knew was, I felt 1,000% better and part of that started to feel like because I couldn’t hold my attention any more and I already had some ADD stuff happening as well, I just had no interest in school. I sort of had that feeling of like, “I might already be too smart for school” which totally wasn’t true at all. But, I was just too impatient and restless, so I dropped out. And I got jobs that allowed me to sort of fiddle and be artistic while I was doing them. Then when I went off Prozac, I was only on it for about a year and a half. But being on Prozac gave me the courage to move to San Francisco, which I had always wanted to do with my sweetie at the time. So, when I was finally ready to come off it, I was like, “Oh my God, I need to focus. I’ve been really unfocused for the last year and a half.”
Paul: By the way, that’s one of the hallmarks of depression is difficulty making decisions. I didn’t realize that until I started getting treatment for it. And I was like, “Oh my God, so it’s not just me.” Because you think it’s you. And you think people are saying, “You need to get help” and you’re thinking, “No! I’ve been in my head thinking of a gazllion different solutions none of which have ever worked. Why do I need to go explain these to somebody, who’s then going to go, ‘there’s nothing you can do.’”
Janet: Right.
Paul: Well that’s not the truth. The truth is that there is help. And, I would also like to say at this point that this show is not anti-meds or pro-meds. Like I said, I’m not an expert on this. I just want people to begin talking about this. I would love on the message boards, if people would starting posting about the medicines that they take. Because, I’ve had some medicines that were awful, and the side effects were terrible. I hate the fact that I have to take meds. I’ve been having to take them for eleven years now. I’ve tried to go off them a couple of times, and it’s not pretty when I go off them. I don’t trust corporations, and I don’t like having to put my life in the hands of a corporation. I hate that.
Janet: Yeah, I understand that too. The thing I was going to say about that also is it feeds back into the control feeling and that I want to feel, I was just talking about this with a girlfriend of mine, she was saying the same thing. That it’s scary to be beholden to not just a corporation, it’s sort of liberal in us to feel like there is something seriously screwed up about that, but also just you know, “Oh God, what if I just couldn’t have them any more?”
Paul: Right! I was just thinking about that today! What if there’s an earthquake!?
Janet: I want to have less and less, like if I’m on survivor. Like, whatever, you just want to need as little as possible. Like, “Oh God, I wish I didn’t need to wear contact lenses. Oh God, I wish I didn’t need to take vitamins. Oh God, I wish I didn’t need to take meds.” Whatever. It’s that feeling of… but that can also feed into the obsessive controlling part of you that’s like, “Oh no, I’m not letting anything go inside me because I need to be in charge of everything.” At some point you have to say, “I can’t do this on my own, and it’s okay.”
Paul: You know I was just talking with someone the other day about that. You know, the most important phrase, the most life affirming phrase I think I’ve ever said in my life is, “I don’t know.” Almost any time something good has come from something, it’s been because I stopped pretending that I can do it on my own, and that I ask for help. You know there’s such an energy, and I know this is not news to a lot of people, but there’s such an energy in reaching out to other people with vulnerability. Saying, “I don’t know, I’m scared, I’m frightened.” For so much of my life I couldn’t do that because I was raised in a household where nobody did that. So I didn’t have a template to see that it’s okay to ask for help. And once I started doing it, my life got so much better. I’m such a happy person now because I don’t have this illusion that I need to always know what is going on. But depression twists it, so you just don’t know what to do. Let me ask you some other questions here.
Janet: 34B. What! That took a weird turn, gross! He totally injected that…
Paul: Describe the person that you wish you could be.
Janet: Oh boy. I guess I just wish I could be less afraid… more focused…
Paul: More focused?!
Janet: Yeah!
Paul: Oh my God, because I look at you… Janet puts on this festival with two other friends of hers called San Francisco Sketch Fest every year that is such an undertaking. When we’re taping Dinner and a Movie, I’ll look over, and mind you, when we tape Dinner and a Movie, even though it’s a light show, it’s a busy fucking day. It’s a twelve-hour day of making the show up as we go along.
Janet: Yeah.
Paul: In between the takes, squeezed in between the moments of watching the movie and writing the show, she is over on her laptop, answering a hundred e-mails taking care of this festival that she does every year. In addition to opening a gallery here, doing installations, doing artwork, singing, doing shows… And you want to be more focused?
Janet: Well, because I feel like I love all of those things so much, that I can’t ever get down deep into any of them.
Paul: Do you feel that you’re successful?
Janet: Yes.
Paul: Good.
Janet: I feel that I’m successful. I just had this experience. You caught me on the night after the night that I had this amazing beautiful moment as I was falling asleep. Which I will share with the listener, because heavens knows that I’ve had plenty of nights where I haven’t been able to fall asleep because I’ve been so miserable for real or not real reasons my whole life. I just had this kind of moment where all of a sudden, I was sort of lamenting something that hadn’t worked out. Not a huge thing, but the things that get under your skin on a day by day basis. And all of a sudden out of nowhere, without me really asking for it, or necessarily deciding to have a change in my point of view, it really did feel like something just washed over me. I can’t explain from where, I’m not a hugely spiritual person. I guess I am, but I’m not… I don’t necessarily believe someone’s watching me at all times and feeding me ideas or deciding what I think.
Paul: But you’re a seeking person, and I think that’s ultimately what spirituality is all about is seeking something outside of us instead of looking inside.
Janet: Then a hundred percent I’m super spiritual.
Paul: Let’s not, I wouldn’t say super spiritual.
Janet: I’m going to sing a spiritual, to let you know how spiritual I am. I basically— ahh gosh, I love apologizing and I love qualifying everything I say—
Paul: Well you’re on the right show!
Janet: I just all of a sudden out of nowhere, this sentence just popped into my head, and it was literally like this: Oh my God, I’m one of the lucky ones!
Paul: Wow.
Janet: I was like [gasp], “Oh my gosh! Things always work out okay for me.” I mean that doesn’t mean that every dream comes true and every fantasy, or anything like that, but all of a sudden I thought, you know what, the things I’ve wanted have been maybe more humble than they could have been, or continue to be less ambitious than they could be. Whatever my value system is or wherever my ambitions take me the kind of way I go about getting stuff, maybe isn’t really, really driven. I don’t think of myself as like the, “I’m going to get to the top! I decided I wanted to be in show business and I didn’t rest until that happened.” Like I sort of feel like I stumbled into all this kind of stuff.
Paul: But don’t you think that’s the best way to get into it? Because most of the people I know who are driven and single minded have such a lack of balance in their lives, they may have success, but they’re never able to be still and be present.
Janet: And there’s too much unpleasantness that’s just waiting to be discovered and turned over by you if you’re obsessive about show business. There’s no way to be obsessive about it without letting it just hurt you again.
Paul: Right, because everything is looked at as an angle. “This could be the ticket” and those are the most draining people to be around.
Janet: That’s really destructive I think. So in terms of like, and I’m always trying to find that balance between ambition and being peaceful and in the moment, and all that kind of stuff too.
Paul: Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Chinese symbol for that balance?
Janet: And I could get a tattoo on my lower back? How dare you, how dare you! So anyway… I’ve just been really… for as much as I have had my issues with all the kind of mental stuff I’ve gone through, and all that. I just thought, it was just that moment of clarity where you’re like, “I’m so lucky!”
Paul: That is such a gift.
Janet: I have love, and I give love, and I could be doing something entirely other than what I’m doing now for a living and still be the same person I am. And to have that knowledge, and feel like at any moment you’re not defined by your stuff, or your job, or… hopefully you’re defined partially by your friends and your family because you’re making good choices. To feel like… I just felt really peaceful and I felt so grateful. And then, when that happens, you know, as you get older, I think you realize, “God it feels so much better to feel like that than it does to feel…” not to say you can talk your self out of it. If you’re clinically depressed, that doesn’t mean—
Paul: you can talk yourself out of it.
Janet: The secret, the secret. Just the secretity about it. If you’re depressed it’s because you’re drawing bad secretive energy to you. No.
Paul: I think it’s got to be sort of a two-pronged attack on dealing with your depression. Actually, I believe it’s a three-pronged attack. I believe you have to treat it physically, you have to treat it mentally, you know, by going to therapy. And then, I think you have to treat it spiritually. Ultimately, I think if you don’t have a spiritual life, you’re all about self, and it’s a dead end.
Janet: That’s funny because I... I’m promoting a book that hasn’t been published yet, but Chris Hardwick, my partner, is a very highly sensitive person as well. He and I… I’ve never been with somebody more like me than he is. That has its ups and its downs, but I’m so blessed to have him as my love, and he’s writing a book. What you just said is very similar to sort of his perspective on the nerd brain, which is this sort of really sensitive, really smart person who is trying to navigate through really confusing environments, and that you can’t just be in your head all the time. You have to treat your body right, and you have to meditate… And I’m so excited to read the book because I feel like it’s going to speak to a lot of that in a very funny charming way. So he’ll have to do the show as well.
Paul: Chris is a very, very funny comedian, really talented guy and his podcast The Nerdist is very very successful. You know what, fuck him!
Janet: Yeah, I don’t know why… he doesn’t need the promotion, screw that guy!
Paul: Yeah! You know what I realized right now, I’m sick of his bullshit.
Janet: I’m sick of him striking out and making a great life for himself.
Paul: Yeah, what about me? Does he have a title for the book yet?
Janet: The Nerdist Way.
Paul: The Nerdist Way, that’s awesome.
Janet: God, if I’m wrong about that, I deserve to be broken up with.
Paul: That’s alright. You have boundary issues; I know that about you. I recognize them in myself as well, most people pleasers do… Oh, you want to go pee?
Janet: Can I urinate?
Paul: I love that you made little legs moving, like I thought you were going to pee right here. “Gotta let Paul know I’m going go somewhere to pee.” Yes, well we’re going to take a break, and Janet’s gonna take a big fizzy pee.
Paul: Alright Janet is back, and she’s a little bit—you’re looking a little livelier. A little lighter.
Janet: Thank you. That was weighing me down.
Paul: I just noticed the time, and we’re getting to the end, so I just have one or two more things that I wanted to ask you. I heard somebody say one time that our coping mechanisms as children became our character defects as adults. What, if any, do you think you have, that started as coping mechanisms. That you still find yourself doing in kind of—
Janet: Gosh I can’t believe I’ve been in therapy this many years and no ones ever put it to me that way. I feel like I should go, “Oh listen! I’ve looked into that in depth.” But that’s a really specific way of putting it. I mean my initial impulse to answer is so basic, and probably so true to any kid. I mean, I had the coping mechanism of over eating sugar to feel better—
Paul: Yeah.
Janet: and that’s still what I want to do. I was just joking about this with somebody else who has a terrible sweet tooth. That we’re closer to our inner child because we still go for the actual, versus someone who smokes, or does heroin, or does blow, or drinks. You still just really want candy! We just stayed close to home, and we still just want the sugar. You found the “grown up stuff”, but we still just want to eat, you know, 15 Snickers bars and then feel immediately depressed after the sugar high goes down. But, in terms of other coping mechanisms and character defects, I mean for sure being afraid of confrontation—
Paul: People pleasing.
Janet: and people pleasing. You know, just apologizing.
Paul: Oh my god, when you order a drink, sometimes I want to slap you. Because you are so effusive to the person who brings it. You act as if they’re volunteers bringing the drink.
Janet: You know what, I’m going to say something to you about that, which is, that is not about the people pleasing, I really like people. So I think, you have to—
Paul: Am I reading too much into it?
Janet: You’re reading too much into it. I sincerely, and you have to think, I worked in retail for so long—
Paul: I was a waiter, so I know—
Janet: Yeah, but you were just kind of a jerk. I really like people. I’m not nice to people to horrible people.
Paul: I’m not saying… you’re not. It’s just the level of sweetness, for somebody dropping water by the table, always strikes me as—
Janet: I just feel like if, especially—and I see this in my mom. My mom’s the same way. It’s the little connections with people. I just feel like, what does it cost me? It’s not a decision I make in my head.
Paul: Okay.
Janet: I don’t go, “Oh here comes a person with water, I’m going to be very fake and nice to them.” That’s just me.
Paul: I don’t think you’re being—
Janet: I don’t know, I just feel like, “Hey you’re a person, I’m a person, thank you.” I don’t know, I don’t know. So I’m actually have to take offense to that. Fuck you.
Paul: Good for you! Good for you for setting a boundary with an asshole podcast host who is just fumbling his way through his first show. I was talking with somebody the other day about addiction. You know, you’re talking about the sugar thing, how you eat it and it makes you feel good for a second, and then it makes you feel terrible. And as you’re walking to that bag of candy, you’re thinking to yourself, “yes, I know exactly what’s going to happen.” But you do it anyway and we think, the lie is that, you know this is a naughty treat that’s ultimately is really good for me.
Janet: Well, like what you were saying about being selfish in the right times and wrong times. Like long term versus short term. The thing is, depending on what your relationship is to something, you know, if you’re in a good, healthy place and you decide that you’re going to binge on a bag of candy, then you won’t feel bad afterwards. But, you made the agreement with yourself, what I’m really doing is abusing myself. Because ultimately, the good feeling will be followed by the bad feeling. And the bad feeling is probably what I’m chasing more than anything.
Paul: Yes, because it’s familiar.
Janet: Exactly.
Paul: And I think sometimes what we fear, the reason why we do things that are familiar to us that are self-destructive, is because at least we know what we’re going to get.
Janet: Oh yeah.
Paul: Because the fear of the unknown, especially for the depressed person—
Janet: Especially for the anxious person too.
Paul: is the most frightening, so let’s get it over with. Let’s do that thing. And even deeper than that, I think, is the lie that gives us the anxiety. That lie is we’re not doing enough, we don’t have enough, and we’re not enough. And somebody recommended that every morning I say that to myself, and I started doing it a couple months ago, and it seems really cheesy, but it has really been life affirming to say that. I have to say that I’m beginning to now feel that way. I begin to notice situations where I’ll begin to feel a sense of panic where “I’m not enough here.” I’m in a room of comedians more successful than I am, and all of a sudden I’ll find myself trying to make myself seem like I got more going on, and I’ll stop myself and go, “No, you’re enough. You don’t need to do that.”
Janet: I love that. When you told me that manta, which is, you basically say, I mean, there are a couple of other pieces to it, but the part that really did affect me was this idea of saying, “I have enough, I do enough, I am enough, and I love myself.” And you and I are two of the most cynical, and we can be the biggest jackass jerks—
Paul: And you started crying.
Janet: and yet we’re both just super gummy on the inside. Because when I think about that, and the day you told me that I started—I don’t do it as a mantra every morning, but the same thing, when I feel myself kind of spiraling, when I feel myself spiraling and you say that, it really snaps you back to attention quickly.
Paul: It does, it does. I should say, I don’t say it, I have my maid tell me. On that note, I want to thank you so much for letting me come here and interview you. You know how much I love you, I don’t need to go into that.
Janet: Oh my gosh, I am so incredibly honored that I got to be the first guest. It’s only going to go better from here.
Paul: Oh my God, what a perfect self-sabotaging note to end this on. This has been a lot of fun. If you’re out there and you’re listening, and you think you might be suffering from depression. I don’t necessarily have any answers, but what I do know is there is a lot of people just like you. Go to mentalpod.com, that’s the website for this.
Janet: And on your website, if somebody has a specific question for me, I’ll you know, I’m sure Paul will pass it along.
Paul: Or you can go to janetvarney.com and ask her a question. But just know that there are answers out there, and there are other people that feel just like you do, and you are not alone. So, thank you for listening, and see you next time.
Janet: Thanks for listening. Thanks Paul!Nokia appears to be edging back into the smartphone race, after reporting a 27% rise in sales of the Lumia touch screen handsets on which chief executive Stephen Elop has staked the future of the company.
Despite competition from the latest Apple phone, Lumia shipments reached 5.6m in the first quarter of this year, and Nokia is forecasting they will rise as much again in the June quarter, reaching over 7m.
This would leave Finnish manufacturer with the beginnings of a sustainable smartphone business, although still some way behind the 37m iPhones analysts estimate Apple has sold this year and Samsung's 62m shipments.
But Nokia's forecast was greeted with scepticism by some analysts. "We struggle to understand how this number is possible without either the beginning of consumer traction, or a massive channel inventory stuffing," said Pierre Ferragu, at Bernstein Research.
The boost to Lumia devices, which run on Microsoft's Windows Phone software, was not enough to prevent Nokia's overall revenues crashing 27% from the previous quarter after sales of basic phones fell faster than expected. Consumers are opting for fully fledged internet phones, denting demand for the traditionally large volume of basic phones made by Nokia. The company sold 62m handsets in the quarter, well below the 73m units predicted by Wall Street, which had forecast revenues of €6.5bn. Nokia achieved just €5.85bn.
"We remain focused on moving through our transition, which includes continuing to improve our product competitiveness, accelerate the way we operate and manage our costs effectively," Elop said.
Sales of its Asha full touch smartphones, aimed at shoppers in developing economies, fell from 9.3m before Christmas to 5m.
The company swung into an operating loss of €150m, down from a profit €439m in the Christmas quarter, and both revenues and profits declined at all three of its main divisions. Compared to the Christmas quarter, revenues at its handset arm were down 25%, its digital mapping division revenues fell 22%, and Nokia Siemens Networks, which employs the majority of the company's staff and is a major cash generator, lost 30% of its income and sale profits fall from €252m to €3m.
However the company's cash reserves, severely depleted last year as Nokia funded its turnaround strategy, increased by €120m to €4.5bn, thanks to profits from Nokia Siemens Networks and the regular quarterly payment of $250m from Microsoft to help market the Windows Phone software used in Lumia handsets.Of the many insults levelled at France’s tax-and-spend policies, it is the cruellest. The phrase “sick man at the heart of Europe” was coined for the Ottoman Empire in the mid 19th century. In the 1970s it was applied to Britain, and in the 1990s to Germany. Now liberal economists are saddling France with the label.
Other European economies have been battered harder by the crisis. But as one of two big economies in the euro zone, France’s 11 per cent unemployment rate, stagnant growth, falling exports and investment, flagging competitiveness and budget deficits are of particular concern to its European partners.
The symptoms of France’s malady are a slow and painful draining of energy and a withering of body and spirit. When I asked at a Paris dinner party what the future held, it was as if I had cracked a bad joke. My question elicited nervous laughter.
“There’s a spleen in France,” minister for the budget Bernard Cazeneuve admitted recently, using Charles Baudelaire’s term for melancholy. Cazeneuve quoted the poet’s description of “the low and heavy sky, weighing like a lid” over France.
To paraphrase a Leonard Cohen song, the French have seen the future, and it’s murder. Although the government has resisted cutting public spending, the citizens know their comfortable lifestyle is doomed. They’re already being strangled by tax increases.
“The fundamental thing that breaks confidence is, in my opinion, that no parent now believes their children will be happier than they were,” says the historian Mona Ozouf. “That held the country together. You can make people swallow sacrifice only if they believe it’s for the sake of progress.”
In a survey commissioned by the government on France in 10 years, 92 per cent of respondents said they were pessimistic or very pessimistic. Three-quarters of those questioned for a recent poll said France was in decline. Two-thirds said that it was a crisis without precedent and that it would be difficult to get out of it without profoundly reforming the country. Yet France seems more prone to revolution than to reform.
The French public-sector bill now represents 57 per cent of GDP, the highest in the euro zone. Economists say the government needs to cut public spending by €15 billion a year. It has given no indication of how it will do so.
“The French people don’t give a damn about urgency,” jokes Hubert Védrine, a former French foreign minister who is writing a book about the difficulty of reforming France. “The rich don’t want to give up their privileges. The poor don’t want to give up their privileges, either. There’s a whole culture that goes against it.”
French leaders are haunted by the memory of December 1995, when the then president, Jacques Chirac, and prime minister, Alain Juppé, tried to reform the pension system, including the sweetheart deals, known as régimes spéciaux, for transport workers.
“The public supported the reform,” Védrine says. “But there were weeks of strikes. Chirac and Juppé had to give in. Ever since, French presidents have been terrified of strikes and demonstrations.”
“We were spoiled after the second World War,” says Emmanuelle d’Achon, who was until recently the French ambassador to Ireland. “We grew accustomed to being rich, and now that the European crisis has occurred we must reform. The French say, ‘It’s good for others to change; not me.’ ”
The Last Spoilt Children in Europe is the subtitle of Sophie Pedder’s book, French Denial. Pedder, the Paris bureau chief of the Economist magazine, says France won’t face up to the need to adapt its social model to its financial means.
Social acquis, or acquired rights, were accrued over decades, sometimes centuries. Merely questioning an acquis is considered “social regression”. Ozouf quotes the 19th-century philosopher Charles Renouvier: “For the French, anything that is not ideal is abject.”
Failed companies
Meanwhile, 62,500 French companies failed this year. In recent weeks Mory Ducros, France’s second-largest logistics company, filed for bankruptcy, with the loss of up to 7,200 jobs, because Polish lorry drivers are working for a third of French wages. The Gad pork-processing plant in Brittany shut down, with the loss of 900 jobs, because it was cheaper to send animals to Germany for slaughter.
There was something particularly poignant about the closure of the Pleyel piano factory in Saint-Denis. The world’s oldest piano manufacturer, founded in 1807, made pianos for Frédéric Chopin, who promoted the brand and received a share of its profits. The government even gave Pleyel the status of a “living heritage enterprise” in the hope of keeping it alive. But Pleyel couldn’t compete with well-made, inexpensive pianos from Asia.
The most charitable reading of France’s immobility is that it refuses to join the race to the bottom by attempting to compete with wages in countries such as China. “France is still better off than a lot of others,” says a French colleague who lost his job this year. “Our deficits aren’t that high. We have universal health coverage, and we don’t sell weapons in our supermarkets.”
The same colleague referred to a recent blog by the Nobel economics laureate (and Irish Times columnist) Paul Krugman. France is a “moderately troubled nation”, Krugman wrote, but it didn’t deserve a downgrade of its credit rating in November, nor the criticism heaped on it by British and US media. France’s sin, in Krugman’s eyes, was to violate liberal orthodoxy by prioritising tax hikes over cuts in social benefits.
And what tax hikes: 84 new taxes, representing €41 billion, in the first year of the Hollande administration, according to Le Monde. France’s wealthiest citizens are decamping to London and Brussels. Eighty per cent of university graduates say they want to work abroad. Tax centres this month reported a rise of 15 to 20 per cent in applications for extended deadlines. Because excessive taxation sucks money out of the economy, the saying goes, too much tax kills tax. Sure enough: the government will take in €11 billion less than expected in 2013.
French governments long assumed that taxation was an inexhaustible resource. The French now seem to have reached their limit. Faced with opposition, in October Hollande abandoned three new taxes: on companies, life insurance and lorry traffic.
Another French saying, Why do simple when you can do complicated?, could be Hollande’s motto. In October last year he announced €20 billion in tax credits for businesses, known as the CICE. Hollande wanted to reduce payroll charges, but that would have sparked anger on the left. Instead he financed the tax credit with a VAT hike that will take effect on January 1st.
Where are the billions?
French taxpayers are asking where the billions are going. “Government spending went from 52 per cent to 57 per cent of GDP in five years,” says Denis Payre, a technology multimillionaire who recently founded a party, We Citizens, to demand government reform. “That’s €120 billion in extra spending,” Payre says. “We don’t know what for.”
Payre cites France’s education budget as a prime example of the scourge of “an omnipresent state that tries to resolve every problem through direct intervention”. France spends €85 billion annually on education; €35 billion more than Britain and Germany, which, like France, have 10.5 million students. Yet Germany pays its teachers 30 per cent more than France does.
Minister for education Vincent Peillon was asked on France Inter radio why France spends more on and gets less from its education budget. It was, Peillon said, “a false debate”.
The OECD had just announced the results of its Pisa tests, which measure the standard of learning of 15-year-olds in 65 countries. France fell from 22nd to 25th place. Worse still, France was ranked the least egalitarian educator among developed nations.
“When one comes from a disadvantaged background [in France], one has fewer chances of succeeding than in 2003,” the OECD said. Denouncing France’s elitist culture, numerous commentators recalled that the word “égalité” figures in the country’s motto.
Nor did it escape notice that Germany, which suffered its own “Pisa shock” a decade ago, has powered itself ahead of France to 16th place.
French politicians have been obsessed with Germany since starving Parisians ate cats and rats during the Prussian siege of 1870. The current disparity in Franco-German fortunes is taking its toll.
The provocative historian, political scientist and demographer Emmanuel Todd says France and Germany are at war again. Europe was built on “this idea that if France and Germany could get along, everything would be fine for everyone on the continent”, he says. Instead, German reunification and free trade have transformed Europe into an unequal hierarchy, with Germany at the top.
The standard line that European integration has prevented the reoccurence of war in Europe has become meaningless, Todd says: “This is war – economic war.”
Jonathan Story, professor emeritus of political economy at INSEAD, the international graduate business school in Fontainebleau, says he “always held the view that Franco-German relations in Europe are a continuation of war by other means”.
France wrongly believed that monetary union would throttle German ambition, Story says. “The bottom line is that Germany got its act together while France went to sleep because it had the euro... Now the French are stuck with Germany dictating to them.”
People on the French left dream of making Germany more like France, while people on the right dream of making France more like Germany. In the national assembly on November 26th, prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault lauded Germany’s adoption of a minimum wage.
“When some of our businesses are in competition with companies that pay €3 or €4 an hour, how do you expect us to be competitive?” he asked, adding that Europe must mean “co-ordination of social policies, not downward but upward”.
Economic liberals want France to enact reforms comparable to those made by the then chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, a decade ago. “The hypothesis of French elites is that French people can become Germans,” says Todd. “That’s not possible.”
Nor is the French socialist party, PS, likely to follow the path of the German social democratic party, SPD, cautions Hubert Védrine. The PS was far more influenced by Marxism than its German counterpart. “The French think globalisation happened at their expense, in English, on the basis of the reduction of the state, and fierce competition. It’s hard enough for the French to accept the market economy, which they see as a jungle.”
The French economic research centre Rexecode says German companies are four times more profitable than their French counterparts. “Germany is winning, as usual,” Todd says. “Germany’s destiny is to affirm its superior technical efficiency... This will end in disaster for Germany, because they’re fragile demographically and they’ll end up being hated by the whole continent. The French will have annoyed a lot of people, but no one hates us.”
Amid such monumental questions about the fate of France, Hollande seems invisible and inaudible. Ségolène Royal, his former partner and the mother of their four children, once said that in 30 years of conjugal life Hollande never took a tough decision.
Virtually everyone interviewed for this article agrees on two things: that the French economy would take off if the government had the courage to enact real reforms; and that the country’s biggest problem is the absence of leadership.
That may explain why the fighting spirit has gone out of France, and why there’s so much nostalgia for two great 20th-century leaders, Charles de Gaulle and Georges Clémenceau, both of whom led France during times of war with Germany.
Politicians of every stripe flocked to de Gaulle’s home at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises on November 9th, the 43rd anniversary of his death.
French television recently broadcast a two-hour documentary on Clémenceau, the “Father Victory” who shepherded France through the first World War. In the most powerful scene, Clémenceau, by then in his mid 70s, jumped out of a trench under shellfire. Shaking his fist at German lines, he shouted, “On vous aura. On vous aura.” We’ll get you.The former IRD building on the corner of Madras and Cashel streets is owned by Otakaro Ltd, which said the future of the building was "under review".
Boltbox Limited bought 159-161 Manchester St in 2014, and recently opposed a request to make it heritage-listed, claiming it would hinder development.
The old Design and Arts College building at 116 Worcester St is still the subject of a dispute between owner Windlass Holdings and its insurer.
The old Millennium Hotel, left, has been bought by Distinction Hotels, which plans to repair and reopen the Cathedral Square building.
Development of the Old Post Office in Cathedral Square was being held up by lengthy court battles over insurance, owner Gordon Chamberlain said.
City council-owned Our City O-Tautahi at 159 Oxford Tce is still being assessed for damage.
Owners Tailorspace plan to demolish 143-147 Armagh St to make way for "mixed use development".
The old Public Trust Office faces demolition after its owners Tailorspace successfully applied to have its heritage status removed.
Christchurch's old Public Trust office is one step closer to being demolished, after its owner successfully applied to have the building's heritage status removed.
An independent panel set up under the Christchurch Replacement District Plan accepted the request from building owner Tailorspace on July 12.
The company had previously applied to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) twice to demolish the Oxford Tce building. Both times it was denied.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ The old Public Trust Office on Oxford Tce could face demolition if its owners get their way.
It would now have to go through the regular consent process to proceed with demolition |
Aragon, a decentralized management platform for businesses, announced today its upcoming token sale will commence on May 17, 2017 and run until June 14, 2017. Built on Ethereum, Aragon is the first management tool developed specifically to dis-intermediate the creation and maintenance of companies all around the world.
Aragon will offer a new, more efficient model for companies to operate and requires only the internet to function.
Co-Founded by two recognized tech prodigies, Luis Cuende and Jorge Izquierdo. Aragon implements basic features such as cap table management, governance, fundraising, payroll, and accounting, supporting all areas of company management through an easy-to-use interface.
Aragon Co-Founder and Project Lead, Luis Cuende has been featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, is a MIT TR35, and was a former Advisor to the VP of the European Commission. Most recently, Cuende co-founded Stampery, a blockchain data certification startup backed by renowned venture capital firm Draper Associates, investors in companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, Skype and Baidu.
Co-Founder and Project Lead at Aragon, Luis Cuende, said:
“With Aragon Core, a minimally-specified organization will be able to run on the Ethereum network. A module system will then be implemented so further functionality can be built on top. Fully decentralized organizations will also be able to take advantage of the Aragon Network, a token-governed digital jurisdiction, to resolve core governance issues and increase efficiency.” “After the dot-com revolution and the rise of cloud computing, a new type of company has begun to emerge: businesses without traditional corporeal and geographic forms. The catalyst has been blockchain technology changing the incentive structure for companies. Aragon is building the tools for this next generation of decentralized organizations.”
“In 2016 we saw the rise in token sales and already in 2017 we are seeing that this trend is very much continuing. As a team we are dedicated and committed to the long term success of the project. Therefore, the Aragon token sale will be one of the first to restrict Founder and early contributor rewards with token which vest using smart contracts.”
Since February the number of Aragon organizations deployed to the testnet has grown from 130 to more than 770. In addition, the Aragon Slack channel now comprises over 510 community members.
The platform is available for Linux, MacOS, Windows and web browsers.Sturridge scored as Liverpool were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United
Daniel Sturridge has been ruled out of England's Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania on Friday with a hip injury.
The Liverpool striker, 25, also misses the friendly against Italy in Turin on Tuesday, 31 March.
Sturridge sustained the problem during Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.
His absence could pave the way for Tottenham's Harry Kane to make his debut at Wembley for the Group E leaders.
Sturridge's Liverpool team-mate Adam Lallana is out of the England squad after suffering a groin injury against Louis van Gaal's side and has been replaced by the uncapped Ryan Mason.
Sturridge had been hoping to make his first England appearance since September when he played in the 1-0 friendly victory over Norway.
Since then, injury has forced him to miss all of England's Euro 2016 qualifiers - against Switzerland, San Marino, Estonia and Slovenia - as well as the friendly against Scotland.
The England medical team took the decision to rule him out on Monday evening, having assessed the striker following the squad's arrival at St. George's Park earlier in the day.
Sturridge scored the hosts' consolation against Manchester United at Anfield, but afterwards complained of discomfort in his hip.
Uncapped Kane, captain Wayne Rooney and Arsenal's Danny Welbeck are alternative forward options.
England lead qualifying Group E by six points thanks to a 100% record in their first four games.
The top two countries qualify automatically for the finals in France next summer.
Revised squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Rob Green (Queens Park Rangers), Jack Butland (Stoke City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Ryan Mason (Tottenham), James Milner (Manchester City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).“An instant classic“. That statement is such a cliche that’s been thrown around and overused so much that it’s lost it’s effect. Commercials stating that their latest family wagon, all beef patty or teenage vampire flick is an “instant classic” do nothing to help the situation and frankly I tend to avoid using the phrase altogether. That is until now. The Ducati MH900E was an “instant classic”, there I said it. Everything about the bike from it’s design to the method in which Ducati sold was unique and today it’s no wonder they are already fetching good money. Ducati only made 2000 units of the MH900E and they sold like hot cakes. Many of them went straight into storage or into personal collections so to see a customised one is a rare treat.
This bike which is number 1434 of 2000. Bike builder and enthusiast Sammy purchased the 2001 Ducati MH900E and owned it for several years, clocking up 11,000 miles on it before deciding it was time to add some personal touches. “I had always loved the MH and I think it is the ultimate modern day Café Racer with its single seat, great exhaust, great sound and aggressive stance. I thought that it had too many little details that made the bike not flow properly, so I started with complete disassembly and drew up a sketch with my own modifications and colour combination”.
Sammy then had the frame, subframe and some of the engine panels covers off to be powder coated black. To balance the rear end he swapped the long stock mufflers for a pair of shortened Staintune axhaust with carbon sleeves, tucking them in nicely beneath the bikes unique tail section. To streamline the body he removed the mirrors from the cowl and added bar end units from Motogadget in Germany. The stock indicators were also replaced with inconspicuous fork leg LEDs to really streamline the bodywork.
Next the bodywork was stripped back and repainted in a naval blue/grey scheme and the original contrasting decals recreated using carbon decals before a full clear coat. The bikes wheels were also given a coat of grey to match the bodywork before being treated to some fresh Dunlop rubber. While the bike was apart the engine was also given a freshen up with new belts and filters and it’ carbs were tuned to suit the new Staintune exhaust system.
“I love the details on the MH and the smooth aluminium pieces on the dash. It’s a true masterpiece. I don’t call myself a bike builder but rather a customiser and take pride in turning goofy looking bikes, like the Kawasaki 650 KLR and turning them into unique pieces of machinery.”
If you love this bike enough to want to own it, go grab your cheque book because you can buy it here.
Can you believe all that lovely polished and details alloy was stock from the factory!
Ducati’s MH900E started out as a sketch by Pierre Terblanche. His design was a homage to Mike Hailwood’s Isle of Man TT winning Ducati 900SS. Unveiled at the ’98 Intermot Show in Germany it received overwhelming great reviews from punters and the media encouraging Ducati to research it’s production further. After surveying interest with customers it was decided to produce a limited run of 2000 units (1000 per year in 2000/2001) offered directly to customers via online sales. Each bike was individually numbered, came with front and rear wheel stands, a commemorative plaque and even a tshirt for the modest price of 15,000 Euro. When online sales were opened it took just 31 minutes for the first 1000 to sell out. The second thousand lasted only weeks before they too were gone in 2001.
Powered by the same ninety degree v-twin found in the 900SS the MH900E boasted 74bhp and was capableof speeds a touch over 220kmh. While it certainly looks amazing the MH900E was also reviewed as a good all round performer adding even more credibility to its name. Good looks, great performance. The MH900E was and will always be an “instant classic”… there I said it again.Two years ago, the National League Central was the best division in baseball, and it wasn't particularly close. The best record belonged to the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that went 100-62 and became the first to win 100 games since the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies. Despite that record, though, they had the tightest pennant race of any division winner, finishing ahead of the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates by only two games. (The Pirates hadn't won more than those 98 games in a season since 1909.) Not that any of that particularly mattered, because the team that finished third in the division with a measly 97 wins -- the Chicago Cubs -- went out and swept them both out of the playoffs over a matter of seven days. The Cubs would have won every other division in baseball by at least two games, and they would have won the American League West by seven. In the NL Central, they couldn't even host the Wild Card Game.
It has been a mere 19 months since that 2015 season ended. Suffice it to say, the NL Central is a different place right now.
As the first one-third of the 2017 season comes to a close, it is undeniable that the once-great NL Central is off to the worst start imaginable. On Tuesday night, every team in the division lost: the Cubs lost to the Padres (!); the Cardinals lost to the Dodgers; the Brewers lost to the Mets; the Reds lost to the Blue Jays; and the Pirates lost to the Diamondbacks. Since last Friday, the division is 7-18. The defending champion Cubs' record is one game under.500 -- something that never happened last season -- and they're in second place! Seriously, look at these NL Central standings:
MLB.com
If the first-place Brewers were in the AL West, they would be 9 1/2 games out of first. After 51 games last season, the Cubs were 36-15; they're somehow 11 games worse already than they were in 2016. The Pirates have lost arguably their best player and only have two above-average hitters in their lineup … and they're as close to first place in their division as the Red Sox are in theirs. Here's a good way to put it: The first-place team in the NL Central is four games out of the second NL Wild Card spot. The first-place team in the NL Central is on pace for 84 wins.
This division has collapsed. What is happening? Let's take a look at each of the division's teams, evaluate what has gone wrong and decide whether they've got any chance of rebounding.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-29, 3 1/2 games out)
The Pirates' strength during their renaissance of the past decade has been pitching and defense, but both have taken hits this year. The loss of Starling Marte messed up the Bucs outfield, and as much as Andrew McCutchen wants to be a top-shelf center fielder, he just isn't anymore. Ivan Nova has been terrific, and Gerrit Cole is back in his groove, but until Jameson Taillon can find his way back (and he's been excellent in rehab starts since his surgery for testicular cancer), there isn't much there.
The lineup is missing two massive pieces in Marte -- who is eligible to come back July 17 -- and Jung Ho Kang, who is unlikely to return at all this year. The team has gotten boosts from Josh Harrison, David Freese and Adam Frazier, but with a diminished McCutchen (who is hitting.215) and a stagnant Gregory Polanco, it just lacks the depth needed to be a serious contender. Remember when we thought the Pirates had the best outfield in baseball?
The Pirates have two advantages. One, they play in this division, so no one has run away from them. And two, they've got reinforcements coming, in Marte and Taillon. The Bucs' season looked over when Marte got suspended. It still might be. But Pittsburgh is just 3 1/2 games out of first place despite everything that has gone wrong so far. The Pirates must feel incredibly fortunate.
4. Cincinnati Reds (24-27, 2 1/2 games out)
The Reds were actually in first place on May 7, and the club's record was a season-high four games over.500 on May 11. They then lost six in a row. This was the collapse many were expecting, but as the division has wilted alongside them, the Reds are still hanging around.
The Reds' key has been their offense, which has been so good that Joey Votto hasn't even been their best hitter. That would be Zack Cozart, who is getting on base at a.422 clip, a mark which is in the top five in baseball. Eugenio Suarez, Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler and even Scooter Gennett are also off to fast starts: Schebler has 15 freaking homers! Duvall has 14!
The pitching is the issue, of course, as anyone who noticed Bronson Arroyo and Scott Feldman in the Opening Day rotation might have pointed out. (Feldman hasn't been half bad, but Arroyo has a 6.62 ERA, and rising.) The bullpen, particularly Raisel Iglesias, has been fantastic, but it has been used so heavily that the tires are about to burst.
The Reds saw this as a rebuilding and learning season from the get-go, and they've certainly learned positive things about some of their young hitters, namely Suarez (who is 25) and Schebler (26). Cincinnati is going to finish last in this division, and it will be OK with that. There are some foundations being set here.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (24-25, 1 1/2 games out)
The Cardinals have the best rotation in the division -- all five starters have been at least average, and Mike Leake has essentially been Greg Maddux for the season's first two months -- and they're getting breakthrough seasons from Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Pham and even Kolten Wong, who looks like he's about to (finally) establish himself as the team's second baseman for the next half decade. They've got two dominant arms in the bullpen in Seung Hwan Oh and Trevor Rosenthal. So why are Cards fans so miserable?
Let legendary Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon take this one.
The Cardinals are a lousy fielding team, a lousy baserunning team and a lousy … well, just a lousy fundamental team. I know that fundamentals aren't in vogue, but when you watch the Cards play every day, they are sloppy and lackadaisical and all together ugly. They lose games because of mental lapses -- they have to lead baseball in TOOTBLANS -- and dumb errors and odd managerial decisions. They find new ways, seemingly every night, to lose.
There is talent here, particularly in that rotation. If the Cardinals could tighten up their sloppy play, they could still make a run in this division. But when's the last time you saw a team suddenly turn from this error-prone to fundamentally sound midseason? The Cards bear little resemblance to their solid, reliable teams of the past. And as talented as they are, they don't have enough talent to overcome their daily brainfarts. No team is at a more pivotal moment right now than the Cardinals. The Brewers and Reds are still building; the Pirates have a ton of young talent; the Cubs are still the Cubs. What are the Cards? What's the plan? What are they, exactly? That question is far from being answered, and until it is, this team looks like what it record says it is: Mediocre.
2. Chicago Cubs (25-26, 1 1/2 games out of first)
Can you imagine what Cubs fans would be doing had they lost the World Series last year? (Which, I remind again, they were this close to doing.) To come that close, lose and then come back with a team that's supposedly even better, and they have this start? That would've been a problem. The Cubs looked like they were about to take control of the division like everyone was expecting them to just last week … and then they lost five games in a row, including two to the Padres, somehow.
So what's wrong? Kris Bryant has been great, Anthony Rizzo is finally coming on, Ben Zobrist has been fine, but the rest of the offense has been rough, particularly Kyle Schwarber, whose struggles have been so profound that some think he should be sent down to the Minors. It still feels like all those guys are going to start hitting, though.
Which brings us to the pitching. Jake Arietta and John Lackey look like they're in their 30s -- Lackey, in particular, looks like a tired, angry old man -- and it's a little worrisome that their best starter so far has been Eddie Butler, a Rockies castoff. They still have an excellent bullpen, and the basic foundation is still all in place. The Cubs obviously aren't as good as they were last year; they'd have to go 78-32 the rest of year to match 2016's pace. But they don't have to be that much better than they're playing right now to still run away with this division. Before this five-game losing streak, they looked ready to take control. They still look that way, after the losing streak. Joe Maddon says he has "all the faith in the world." The way this division is set up, that seems as good a strategy as anything.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (27-25, in first place)
The Brewers were hoping they could be the 2014 Cubs of this season: A team that wasn't quite ready to contend but showed enough young talent to let the rest of the division know that their time was imminent. Well, they're going to be in first place on June 1, and that's despite Ryan Braun's usual injury issues and a dreadful start for Keon Broxton, who was supposed to be the star.
Eric Thames has cooled off after that insane start, and he's actually batting.074 with no homers over the past two weeks. Fortunately, that has coincided with Broxton's bat starting to come alive, as well as some further improvement from Domingo Santana. Plus, as mentioned, the division is falling apart.
The Brewers have some pitching prospects coming -- if Josh Hader weren't struggling so much in Triple-A, he'd probably be up already -- which could help out a rotation that has been steady but hardly spectacular. (The bullpen has been better, particularly Corey Knebel, who has a 15.6 K/9 ratio.) In an ordinary year, Milwaukee would just let it ride, maybe experiment a bit, have this be a season of coming attractions. But until the Cubs floor it, or the Cardinals figure out their problems, or the Pirates hang on enough until Marte returns, the Brewers are as much a part of this thing as anyone.
You can fall on your face a lot in the NL Central and still be a part of the race. Nineteen months ago, 97 wins wasn't even good enough for second place; this year, 87 might be enough for first. One thing is certain, though: With all five teams on a losing streak, no fan base is happy. Even if, considering every other division in baseball, they're all pretty lucky to be exactly where they are.
***
Subscribe to Will's weekly newsletter and email him at leitch@sportsonearth.comClojure's Approach to Polymorphism: Method Dispatch
The word polymorphism derives from Greek where poly means many and morph means form. In programming languages, polymorphism is the idea that values of different data-types can be treated in "the same" way. Often, this is manifested via class inheritance where classes in a hierarchy can have methods of the same name. When such a method is called on an object, the correct code is executed at runtime depending on which specific class the object is an instance of. There are various ways of achieving polymorphic behavior, however, and inheritance is only one such way.
This article helps to understand how Clojure approaches polymorphism. We'll start by looking at method dispatch -- starting with the commonly available single dispatch, followed by double and multiple dispatch. The mechanism of dynamic method dispatch is a fancy way of saying that a when a method is called, the name of the method is mapped to a concrete implementation at runtime.
This article is an excerpt from an Early Access Edition of the book "Clojure in Action" (Manning Publications; ISBN: 9781935182597), written by Amit Rathore.
Single and Double Dispatch
Languages such as Java only support single dispatch. What this means is that the type of receiver (the object on which a method is called) is the only thing that determines which method is executed. To understand this and the next couple of paragraphs, we'll use a commonly cited but well-suited example of a program that needs to process an abstract syntax tree (AST). Let's imagine our AST is implemented in a Java-like OO language and is modeled via classes shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. A simplistic hierarchy representing an AST. Each node is a subclass of a generic SyntaxNode and has functions for various tasks a compiler or IDE might perform.
When the IDE needs to format the source code represented by such an AST, it calls format on the it. Internally, the AST delegates the format call to each component in a typical composite fashion. This walks the tree and ultimately calls format on each node in the AST.
This is straightforward enough. The way this works is that, even though the AST is made up of different kinds of concrete nodes, the operation format is defined in the generic base class and is called using a reference to that base class. Dynamically, the receiver type is determined and the appropriate method is executed. If any of these methods were to accept arguments, the types of those would not influence the determination of which method that needs to execute.
Single dispatch leads to possibly unexpected situations. For instance, consider the following code defined inside some sort of Receiver class.
public void collectSound(Dog d) { recordBark(d); } public void collectSound(Cat c) { recordMeow(c); }
Now imagine we had a collection of Animal objects (specifically, a collection of instances of Dog and Cat ). The following code would not even compile:
for (Object element: animals) { Animal animal = (Animal) element; receiver.collectSound(animal); }
The compiler would complain that there is no such method as collectSound that accepts an instance of the Animal class. The reason, to reiterate, is that thanks to Java and single dispatch, only the type of receiver is used to determine which method to call. The type of the argument is not used at all; leaving the compiler to complain that there is no method defined that accepts an Animal.
The way to satisfy the compiler would be to add another method collectSound(Animal a). This would make the compiler happy, but would not do the desired job of dispatching to the right method. The programmer would have to test for the object type and then dispatch again to appropriate methods (which would need to be renamed to collectDogSound and collectCatSound ). It might end up looking like this:
public void collectSound(Animal a) { if (a instanceof Dog) collectDogSound(a); if (a instanceof Cat) collectCatSound(a); }
This is highly unsatisfactory! The language should do the job of dispatching methods not the programmer, and this is the limitation of single dispatch. If the language supported double dispatch, the original code would work just fine, and we wouldn't need what we are about to do in the next section. Later on, we'll see how Clojure completely side-steps this recurring issue by giving complete control to the programmer.
The Visitor Pattern (and Simulating Double Dispatch)
In a language that resolved methods through double dispatch, the types of receiver and the first argument would be used to find the method to execute. This would then work as desired.
We can simulate double dispatch in Java and other languages that suffer from single dispatch. In fact, that is exactly what the visitor pattern does. We'll examine that here and later see how it is not needed in Clojure.
Consider the program we mentioned earlier that needed to process an AST. The implementation from there included things like checkValidity and generateASM inside each concrete implementation of SyntaxNode. The problem with this approach, of course, is that adding new operations like this is quite invasive, as every type of node needs to be touched. The visitor pattern allows such operations to be separated from the data object hierarchy (which, in this case, is the SyntaxNode hierarchy). Let's take a quick look at the modification needed to it, followed by the new visitor classes.
Figure 2. Simulating double dispatch requires modification. The accept method is a somewhat unclear but required method in each node, which will call back the visitor.
Figure 3 shows the new visitor classes.
Figure 3. Each visitor class does one operation and knows how to process each kind of node. Adding new kinds of operation involves adding new visitors.
The infrastructure method accept(NodeVisitor) in each SyntaxNode is required because of the need to simulate a double dispatch. Inside it, the visitor itself is called back using an appropriate visit method. Here's some more Java code showing an example involving AssignmentNode :
public void accept(NodeVisitor visitor) { visitor.visitAssignment(this); }
If the language natively supported double dispatch, all of this boilerplate code wouldn't need to exist. Further, the NodeVisitor hierarchy needs to know about all the classes in the SyntaxNode hierarchy, which makes it a more coupled design.
Now that we know about double dispatch, the obvious question is -- what about triple dispatch? What about dispatching on any number of argument types?
IT Solutions Builder TOP IT RESOURCES TO MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD Which topic are you interested in? Mobile Security Networks/IoT Cloud Data Storage Applications Development IT Management Other What is your company size? Select company size 1-9 10-24 25-49 50-99 100-249 250-499 500-999 1000+ What is your job title? Select job title C-Level/President Manager VP Staff (Associate/Analyst/etc.) Director What is your job function? Select job function IT - General IT - Project Management IT - Systems/Network Administration IT - Developer IT - Tester/QA Accounting/Finance/Legal Academic/Research Administrative General Management Human Resources Marketing Operations Sales Consultant Other Searching our resource database to find your matches...
Page 1 of 3I began working on a more positive post today but I couldn’t hold back with my opinion after reading about Levi Leipheimer getting sacked by Omega-Pharma Lotto, and Team Sky forcing all of their riders and management to sign a pledge swearing that they have never doped or they will be fired. Is that really a choice?
Changing the culture of doping and cleaning up cycling is full of complexities that I don’t believe that there is a single silver bullet for. I won’t pretend that I have any of the answers, but the part I’d like to discuss are the punishments we’re currently seeing. Some worrying precedents are being set and there are so many different shades of grey in these situations. Firing riders for coming clean is only dealing with a symptom of a much wider problem.
Why Would Anybody Confess?
As professional cyclists and staff are witnessing, there is a clear disincentive to come forward and make confessions. If a person is going to lose his livelihood it’s extremely unlikely that he’s going to take the moral high ground and come clean for the sake of his piece of mind or the good of the sport. It’s not going to happen, especially when he’s got a family to care for and a reputation and legacy to protect. This is probably why we’re barely hearing a word from many of the pros. The negative consequences far outweigh the positive ones.
Punishment Drives More Deceitful Behaviour
Perhaps the bigger challenge is as riders observe their colleagues being punished, the riders who are still doping will begin to realise how high the costs are. Rather than promote the cleaning up of the sport, it will push the behaviour further underground and make it more insidious. It will force them to become even tricker. They’ll become more creative dopers. Look what the Festina Affair did. This is exactly how USPS followed up. The ‘new beginning’ in cycling was worse than the old days. It was simply smarter, trickier, and deeper hidden. It’s only now that we know how they took cheating to a whole new level because the costs became higher.
Punishing people for coming clean and cleaning up the sport are two completely separate issues. If we want to punish people, we need to keep testing and using strategies such as the whereabouts and the blood passport programs. But if we want to clean cycling from doping, a punitive approach may not be an effective strategy. It doesn’t work for crime, it doesn’t work for kids acting up in school, etc. Instead we need to be considering strategies to get the past sorted out, learn from it, and move forward. While riders, sporting directors, and others are in danger of being ‘punished’ and thus losing their careers, there is no reason at all for them to bring their skeletons out of the closet.
Redemption
From a fan’s perspective, why do many people dislike riders like Vinokourov and Valverde? Because there is no sorrow and no seeking forgiveness after returning to competition at the highest level. They haven’t acknowledged their past and they’ve served minimal sentences and denied wrongdoing. For the redemption story to really work there needs to be reduced penalties (such as Danielson, Vande Velde and Zabriskie) or amnesty. The good needs to outweigh the bad and a climate needs to be created where riders can come out and confess.
I believe David Millar is a good example of this. He repents of his past and therefore is able to be outspoken about change. Nobody is going to do this while their livelihoods are at stake if they are found out. Jonathan Vaughters can be a polarising character, but he’s another good example. If he’s really doing what he says, then he’s another fantastic redemption story where he’s gone and done the wrong thing, but now he’s looking for ways to clean up cycling.
Why is truth and reconciliation important?
Last month Pat McQuaid suggested that an amnesty or truth and reconciliation commission might be introduced into cycling, but later said that the sport would be better served by concentrating on the future rather than revisiting the past. How can we get on with the future without acknowledging the magnitude of the problem we’ve come from? Einstein defines insanity as doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. This is the easy way out until the next generation has to deal with it, again.
We need to be considering amnesty so that riders and management can feel free to come clean and provide useful information and dialogue on making change to the culture. We’ve seen small but positive signs in recent days. Velonation had an interview with Taylor Phinney about the pill culture of cycling and said, “I feel comfortable talking about this right now, in light of recent events.” Others applauded him.
A Possible Amnesty Deal
If an amnesty deal were to be reached, it would need to come with conditions. Information, advocacy towards anti-doping, or whatever that may be, it needs to be used for the greater cause. Once the amnesty date closes, if your name ever has evidence against a link to past doping, then the consequences are harsh. This is where the equation changes. Yes, the costs are high for coming clean, but they’re even higher if you don’t.
However, none of this will happen without confidence in the UCI (and national federations) in their ability to do something with this information and implement the structural changes that need to take place. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Athletes who are currently doping will of course continue to do so, and that will never change. People are people and we’re dealing with money, ego, a financially unstable sport which solely relies on sponsorship and a UCI points structure which may encourage cheating. These are much larger issues that need to be dealt with.
Your thoughts?
Thank you to Justin Coulson(Phd Psychology) for prompting this topic and all the discussion which lead to much of this piece.Microsimulation Components
Updated May 2nd 2013
This is a large collection of code that we use in various projects. It includes:
Several specialist tabulators
An implementation of the Piecewise Linear Budget Constraint generator;
Interfaces to various large scale sample survey datasets;
Utilities for building web interfaces in Ada;
Affordability Indexes;
Inequality Measures;
Tax Calculators; and
Optimisation Routines.
There is also an experimental complete South African tax benefit model, and some, but not all, of the code required for a UK Tax Benefit model.
Wales Social Care
This is the code for the Welsh Assembly Social Care Simulation. Note it does not include British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) data. It is dependent on the Tax Benefit Model Components suite above; you'll need to download and compile that first. Note that you'll also need the hacked ODBC database code.
Mefisto
This is the code for the back-end for the Mefisto microsimulation model of the Flemish region of Belgium. It is dependent on the Tax Benefit Model Components suite above; you'll need to download and compile that first. Note that the code does not include the Euromod simulation system source code, which is the property of the University of Essex.
OSCR Costs Model
This is the code for the OSCR - Virtual Worlds Affordability Model. It is dependent on the Tax Benefit Model Components suite above; you'll need to download and compile that first.
Scottish Legal Aid Model
This is the code for Scottish Legal Aid Simulation. Note that most of the code used here has been superseded by the Tax Benefit Model Components code above.
Northern Irish Legal Aid Model
This is the code for NILAM: Northern Irish Legal Aid Model. Note that, as with the Scottish Model, most of the code used here has been superseded by the Tax Benefit Model Components code above.
Mill
Mill is an experimental persistence persistence system for Ada, based on PHP Propel. It aims to largely automate interfacing to a complex relational database. (Update: needs a fixed version of Gnade ODBC).
New June 2013 - Modelling Local Authorities Using the Family Resources Survey
This is a little piece of code put together as part of an unsuccessful project bid. included here in case someone finds it useful, probably more as an example than as working code, since it's very rough. It takes an FRS dataset and produces sample weights that makes the dataset (or a subset of it) match 2011 Census data for each local authority in England and Wales. So in principle you can treat the whole FRS sample as if it came from that Local Authority. The weight generator uses a technique described in Survey Reweighting for Tax Microsimulation Modelling by John Creedy. It currently matches Census totals for:
Gender;
Age Group;
Tenure Type;
Number of Rooms;
Employment Status; and
Occupation.
See the included readme.txt for more information.
Notes
The documentation for these codesets is, unfortunately, scattered and in some cases incomplete. I intend to spend some time in the coming weeks making a consistent documentation set. Meantime do email with any queries.
Notes
All these files are in GZIP Compressed TAR format.
These models use large sample survey datasets. Because of the licence requirements of the data providers, these datasets cannot be included here. The UK Based models use the Family Resources Survey(FRS), available from the UK Data Archive. (The code is easily adaptable to other datasets, however). The South African Model uses the Income and expenditure of households Survey 2005/2006, available from Statistics South Africa.
Most of this code is written in Ada. It has been built with the freely downloadable GNAT Ada Compiler, 2009 edition. (Most Unix systems have GNAT available as a package; on Windows you can get GNAT as part of the Cygwin system, but that version is know not to compile this code correctly). Several other Ada compilers are available, but we haven't tested this code with any of them.
The code requires:
We recommend downloading all three, along with a current version of the compiler from AdaCore downloads page (registration required).
The Wales Social Care model also requires:
The code has mostly been compiled and run on Linux systems, but has also been compiled under MS Windows. Some compilation notes are available:
There is also some scripting code written in the Ruby language. The FRS interface generator uses a simple MySQL database.
All Virtual Worlds code here is released under the terms of the Gnu Public Licence.
Acknowledgements
We've taken the liberty of bundling four useful libraries with the tax-benefit components code. We're very grateful to the original authors:Reeling cocoons is essentially a matter of softening the sericin enough to locate the end of the filament, combining this filament with those of other cocoons, and winding off the resulting thread. As long as it has the sericin in it, it's called by various names - grege silk, gummed silk, or raw silk. It's rather stiff and springy, slightly creamy colored from the sericin, and reminds me of very fine fishing line, or hair. If the sericin is removed (usually in a solution of hot water, soap and soda) the filaments of silk become unglued from each other and are free to spread out. This is unthrown silk, or silk with no twist. Sometimes it's sold as stranded silk. When a more cohesive thread is needed, reeled silk can be twisted. Two or more twisted threads can then be combined and twisted again (or thrown) in the opposite direction to make plied thread (2 and 3 ply are most common). Reeled thread with a heavy twist is called organzine, a lighter twist is called |
6th chapter of John based upon the original language text. And while one cannot help but deal with the central issues of the gospel in 6:35-45, we will continue on to make application and demonstrate that Jesus’ words concerning eating His flesh and drinking His blood, contextually, has nothing to do with Aristotelian philosophy and categories of being. Was Jesus really teaching transubstantiation a thousand years before the term came into usage? And did the disciples walk away because of that teaching? Or was it something else, something made plain in the text, if one is but willing to listen? I have challenged a couple defenders of Rome to do the same thing, to walk through John 6 and present their case. The comparison and contrast, I would hope, will be helpful. Join us!In clips that will hit the Internet to promote a new book, producers including "Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman and "House" creator David Shore say Hollywood discriminates against and belittles conservatives.
Some of TV’s top executives from the past four decades may have gotten more than they bargained for when they agreed to be interviewed for a politically charged book that was released Tuesday, because video of their controversial remarks will soon be hitting the Internet.
The book makes the case that TV industry executives, writers and producers use their clout to advance a liberal political agenda. The author bases his thesis on, among other things, 39 taped interviews that he’ll roll out piecemeal during the next three weeks.
The Hollywood Reporter obtained several of the not-yet-released clips, embedded below. Each contains a snippet of an interview, usually some historical footage of the TV shows the interviewee was responsible for and, naturally, a plea to purchase the book, “Primetime Propaganda” by Ben Shapiro and published by Broad Side, an imprint of HarperCollins.
In one video, Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman says that when she cast Candace Gingrich-Jones, half-sister of Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as the minister of a lesbian wedding, “There was a bit of ‘fuck you’ in it to the right wing.”
Kauffman also acknowledges she “put together a staff of mostly liberal people,” which is another major point of Shapiro’s book: that conservatives aren’t welcome in Hollywood.
Maybe that’s because they’re “idiots” and have “medieval minds.” At least that’s what Soap and Golden Girls creator Susan Harris thinks of TV’s conservative critics.
However, the ranks of dumb right-wingers has dwindled, according to Harris, whose video has her saying: “At least, you know, we put Obama in office, and so people, I think, are getting – have gotten – a little bit smarter.”
Some of the videos have executives making rather obvious revelations, like when Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds talk about pacifist messages in M*A*S*H or when MacGyver producer Vin Di Bona says anti-gun messages were a recurring theme in that show.
But an additional video has Di Bona, who also created America’s Funniest Home Videos, becoming remarkably blunt about his approval of a lack of political diversity in Hollywood. When Shapiro asks what he thinks of conservative critics who say everyone in Hollywood is liberal, Di Bona responds: “I think it’s probably accurate, and I’m happy about it.”
Another video has Leonard Goldberg — who executive produces Blue Bloods for CBS and a few decades ago exec produced such hits as Fantasy Island, Charlie’s Angels and Starsky and Hutch — saying that liberalism in the TV industry is “100 percent dominant, and anyone who denies it is kidding, or not telling the truth.”
Shapiro asks if politics are a barrier to entry. “Absolutely,” Goldberg says.
When Shapiro tells Fred Pierce, the president of ABC in the 1980s who was instrumental in Disney’s acquisition of ESPN, that “It’s very difficult for people who are politically conservative to break in” to television, he responds: “I can’t argue that point.” Those who don’t lean left, he says, “don’t promote it. It stays underground.”
Another video rolling out soon has House creator David Shore acknowledging that "there is an assumption in this town that everybody is on the left side of the spectrum, and that the few people on the right side, I think people look at them somewhat aghast, and I'm sure it doesn't help them."
In the book, subtitled "The true Hollywood story of how the left took over your TV," Shapiro also tells anecdotes of bias against conservatives. One example is Dwight Schultz, best known for his roles as Murdock in The A-Team and Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The late Bruce Paltrow knew that Schultz was a fan of President Ronald Reagan. When Schultz showed up to audition for St. Elsewhere, a show Paltrow produced, to read for the part of Fiscus, Paltrow told him: "There's not going to be a Reagan asshole on this show!" The part went to Howie Mandel.
"Most nepotism in Hollywood isn't familial, it's ideological," Shapiro writes in the book. "Friends hire friends. And those friends just happen to share their politics."
Another video Shapiro will release shortly has producer-director Nicholas Meyer being asked point-blank whether conservatives are discriminated against in Hollywood. "Well, I hope so," he answers. Meyer also admits his political agenda for The Day After, a TV movie he directed for ABC that was seen by 100 million people when it aired in 1983.
"My private, grandiose notion was that this movie would unseat Ronald Reagan when he ran for re-election," Meyer says.
Even seemingly harmless shows like Happy Days and Sesame Street have been used to advance a progressive agenda, according to Shapiro.
For example, William Bickley, a writer on The Partridge Family and a producer on Happy Days, says he infused Vietnam War protest messages into the latter. “I was into all that kind of masturbation,” he says in a soon-to-be-released video.
"Television has been perhaps the most impressive weapon in the left's political arsenal," Shapiro argues in the book.
Other upcoming videos include: Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg explaining how he tried to make Republican character Alex Keaton the bad guy but that actor Michael J. Fox was too darn lovable; and president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group Doug Herzog talking about his network having “superpowers” when it comes to its influence over young people.
The advancement of a gay and lesbian political agenda is mentioned by multiple executives, including Marcy Carsey, a producer of Soap and Roseanne, and Desperate Housewives producer Marc Cherry, who is a rarity in Hollywood: a gay Republican.
In her video, Carsey also says she insisted on portraying characters smoking marijuana in That ‘70s Show. “If this is a problem for you, we certainly understand, and we just won’t do the show,” she told executives at Fox.
Shapiro released two videos Tuesday, one featuring COPS creator John Langley saying he’s partial to segments where white people are the criminals, and the other has Fred Silverman, the former head of ABC and later NBC, saying “there’s only one perspective, and it’s a very progressive perspective” in TV comedy today. (Those videos are also posted below).
Shapiro said the executives felt comfortable talking about politics with him because they assumed, incorrectly, that he is on the left.
“Most of them didn’t Google me. If they had, they would have realized where I am politically,” he said. “I played on their stereotypes. When I showed up for the interviews, I wore my Harvard Law baseball cap — my name is Ben Shapiro and I attended Harvard, so there’s a 98.7 percent chance I’m a liberal. Except I happen not to be.”
Shapiro said he’ll time the debut of certain videos for maximum effect. One that slams Sean Hannity, for example, is reserved for his scheduled appearance on Hannity’s show on the Fox News Channel.
And conservative pundit Ann Coulter has a new book out June 7. “I have two people ripping her by name, so I’ll release those the day Ann’s book is released,” Shapiro said.
One of those slamming Coulter is George Schlatter, who directed and produced Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In in the 1970s, using the show to knock Republicans and the Vietnam War. “The fact we pissed the Pentagon off, that pleased me enormously,” he says before calling Coulter “the c-word.”
In his video, Schlatter also goes off on right-wing radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.
Shapiro says he didn’t disclose that he’d be releasing the tapes, but that his subjects have no reason to complain.
“I asked them for permission to tape, and there’s no reasonable expectation of privacy when you’re being interviewed for a book,” he said.
“If they’re going to be shocked at something, it should be themselves, not me,” Shapiro said. “They should be shocked that opinion is so one-sided in Hollywood that it’s OK to say, ‘I’m fine with discrimination.’”
“My whole book is a plea for openness in the industry,” he added. “Hire people from the other side of the aisle once in a while, or at least stop mocking them.”Unique Items Wraeclast has a long history and a rich past, and many ancient treasures lie forgotten, awaiting rediscovery. Many are items with legendary and unique powers, which were often wielded by influential and famous people of bygone times. These Unique items have special names and hand-crafted mods, as opposed to the randomised Magic and Rare items. They may grant abilities to item types that do not normally receive them, or give skills from the passive tree. Some Unique items even have effects that are not found anywhere else. Unique items can enable completely new builds as well as facilitating more builds across a wider range of character classes. There are few limitations to the abilities that can appear on Uniques, so eventually, almost any effect or mod may eventually be found on one. Through Uniques (among other features), we hope to push our itemisation further than in any other action RPG and allow great customisation and re-playability.
Keyword Mods Because our item system is complex and potentially daunting, it is important that our item properties are instantly understood. Unique items can have keyword mods that can't be found on Magic or Rare items. These mods can be very mechanically complicated, so much so that to spell out the entirety of the mechanic would clutter the layout. This would negatively affect the usability and lore flavour of the item itself. One example of a Unique keyword mod is "Culling Strike" which is shown to the left. The long explanation of Culling Strike is: "Kills monsters on less than 10% life left after an attack". Although keyword mods are not always immediately obvious in their function, not knowing exactly what an item does adds an element of mystery and magic. Savvy, min/max players can still read up on exactly how the mechanics work on the character screen or on our website.
A Thousand Life?! Unique items offer the opportunity to give huge bonuses in a fair way that would simply not be possible on Rares because of balance issues. On a Unique item, we can add drawbacks or keep the remaining mods from being too powerful. We can also also give mods with nice, round numbers that are memorable and fun, for example we can make a maul with +150% Damage or some armor with +1000 Life. As you see, we can make items much more focused than Rares, catering to a specific build or supporting an interesting theme. We can also sometimes have one or two mods with a variable range, to give players something they can upgrade towards perfection. Flavour Text The flavour text helps strengthen the identity of an item, and makes the player feel like they have uncovered something ancient and special. Finding Unique items in the world can also reveal pieces of the puzzle that is Wraeclast’s mysterious past. The item’s concept can be conveyed through the name, icon, art, and perhaps most vividly, flavour text. It can be used as a vehicle for storytelling, for example revealing details about important historical events, or divulging clues about important characters from Wraeclast’s turbulent history. Flavor text can also be used to emphasize the concept of an item, or give a hint as to how mods on the item are interconnected. Unique Items in the End Game As exciting and special as Unique items are, we know that most hardcore players find it boring if everyone in the end game is equipped with the same uniform set of items. To prevent this, we want to balance the power level of high-end Rares so that they are generally the most powerful items in the game. This means that we won’t have Unique weapons that deals a lot more damage than Rares, unless there is some severe drawback. While Unique items may be used for specific builds, as they grant abilities that do not occur on Rares, the ideal situation is that Rares occupy the majority of item slots on your character. In the end game, we ideally want to see Unique items only being used for very specific purposes and builds. This will create an interesting and diverse end game, with top players having to rely mainly on near-perfect Rares that are so statistically unlikely that they would take thousands of hours to find by chance. We want clever trading to be a viable path to wealth and power in Path of Exile. If we meet our design goals with both Rare and Unique items, we will accomplish two things. Firstly, we will keep the end game compelling and interesting for far longer, as players strive to incrementally upgrade and perfect their Rare equipment. Secondly, we will give new players a nice boost through a section of the game whenever they acquire a Unique item that fits their build well. Path of Exile is currently in Closed Beta and is ramping up to enter Open Beta in the next few months. If you don't have a forum account yet, please sign up for one here. Beta access is granted to these accounts at random. [/box]Downtown St. Paul is on tap to get another brewery.
Three guys who grew up in the same Shoreview neighborhood (and who all happen to wear glasses) will open 12welve Eyes Brewing in the Pioneer Endicott building on Robert and Fourth streets sometime this summer.
Elliot Grosse, Karl Eicher and Dalton Buchta were just barely of drinking age when they began homebrewing about 3½ years ago.
“We kind of viewed our homebrewing operation like being in a jam band,” Grosse said. “We named ourselves 12welve Eyes, and the concept for the brewery organically grew over time.”
The brewery, on the garden level of the historic building, will have an entrance from Fourth Street to a 2,400-square-foot taproom space. A central bar will anchor the room, with seating surrounding it. Plenty of windows keep the space, which is still under construction, from feeling dark.
The alley next to the building is private, and the trio plans to use that space to park food trucks, and possibly eventually to house a patio.
12welve Eyes will run a five barrel brewhouse, which means small batches that will mostly just supply the taproom. There are no plans for packaging and distribution. Related Articles 9 questions with Dorothy Ann Bakery’s Steve Conway: It’s paczki season!
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Brewing will take place in the building’s former boiler room, which is down the hall from the brewery. The space is a bit different from the typical brewery layout, but Grosse, a resident of the building, said he and his friends were committed to making it work, even if it meant spreading the operation into three spaces. (A third room will house a cooler for their kegs.)
The brewers promise a wide variety of beer, from English to American to Belgian styles. They said there will be a matrix of styles available at all times, but that specific beers will rotate frequently.
“We want to be that brewery where every time you come in there are one or two beers on tap that you haven’t had yet,” Grosse said.
The partners, who are all firmly in their mid-20s, said their brewing equipment should arrive sometime in March, which would easily facilitate a summer opening.Warsaw Uprising in colour: Black and white pictures taken during doomed 1944 revolt against the Nazis turned into incredible feature movie with sound and colour
Mesmerizing account of house-to-house fighting against German army
Cinematographers added coloration and sound to the black and white
Only fictional elements are voiceovers presenting imagined narrative
Black and white silent footage taken during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis have been turned into a mesmerising feature movie with sound and colour.
The film is a riveting account of the fierce house-to-house fighting against the German army that began on August 1 and ended 63 days later with the insurgents surrendering, following the deaths of some 200,000 rebels and residents.
Titled Warsaw Rising, the film shows the crews that the Polish resistance Home Army sent fanning through the city to chronicle the uprising.
Scroll down for video
Captivating footage: Black and white footage taken during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis have been turned into a mesmerising feature film with sound and colour
Realistic: Cinematographers hired by the Warsaw Rising Museum added colour and sound that give a real-life feel, while modern editing techniques provide a polished, fast-paced narrative Then and now: Witold Kiezun pictured during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, left, and earlier this month, right
The only purely fictional elements are voiceovers presenting an imagined narrative that stitches together the footage: Two brothers scour the streets of the Polish city tasked with filming the 1944 rebellion of Warsaw residents against their Nazi occupiers, commenting on what they witness, from soup kitchens to scenes of destruction.
Cinematographers hired by the Warsaw Rising Museum added colouration and sound that give a real-life feel, while modern editing techniques provide a polished, fast-paced narrative.
The museum released the trailer of the film last month as part of the observances of the anniversary of the launch of the doomed struggle.
The film will be released in cinemas - in Poland and abroad - next year, before the uprising's 70th anniversary.
Battle: A new film on the Warsaw Uprising is a riveting account of the fierce house-to-house fighting against the German army that began on August 1 and ended 63 days later
Struggle: The museum released the trailer of the film last month as part of the observances of the anniversary of the launch of the doomed struggle
Anniversary: The movie hits cinemas - in Poland and abroad - next year, before the uprising's 70th anniversary
Meanwhile, the museum has posted the trailer on its website in an effort to identify people in the movie. Some have already been found, still living.
One is Witold Kiezun who, in the film, is a smiling fighter filmed in a trophy German helmet and uniform, toting a captured machine gun and ammunition. He is now 91 and remains active in Warsaw as a professor of economics and management.
'I was going back to base when the chronicle people stopped me and filmed me,' said Kiezun, a former UN worker in Burundi.
'I smiled at them because I was madly happy that we won (a battle) and that we had captured this machine gun, a precious trophy. My bag is filled with hand grenades.'
Museum historians and film experts spent two years creating the 90-minute feature. Film director Jan Komasa produced the story line, while sound director Bartosz Putkiewicz oversaw the brothers' dialogue and the matching sound and music.
Dedication: Filmmakers recorded sound at a firing range shooting from the same kind of weapons that are seen in the film
Realistic: Museum historian Piotr Sliwowski said the footage is pretty much as real as things can get
Labour of love: Museum historians and film experts spent two years creating the 90-minute movie
Authenticity was paramount. Filmmakers recorded sound at a firing range shooting from the same kinds of weapons seen in the film.
Lip-reading experts studied the footage, allowing actors to give people in the movie a voice. Historians consulted surviving fighters and pored over thousands of old pictures to get the right color and shade in every garment, object and place.
The faces in the movie are hauntingly poignant. A woman with a soot-smudged face and disheveled hair stands stunned. A man swathed in bandages looks into the camera with a look of inexpressible sadness.
Amid the death and chaos, rebels enjoy laughter and camaraderie: One spreads his arms in apparent mock despair over the state of his socks; another waves a sword with childlike, swashbuckling glee.
The Home Army footage was captured to document history but also for political reasons: to rally the nation and to show the Allies Poland's bravery against Hitler's army.
Rally: The Home Army footage was captured to document history but also for political reasons: to rally the nation and to show the Allies Poland's bravery against Hitler's army
Aim: Thousands of poorly-armed young Warsaw residents, members of the clandestine Home Army, wanted to gain control of the capital before the advancing Soviet Red Army reached
Defeat: Without reinforcements or supplies, the insurgents gave in after two months
Museum director Jan Oldakowski concedes that some scenes of fierce fighting were re-enactments by insurgents of action they had taken part in.
It's also possible that the camera crews gave some direction to the rebels and Warsaw residents captured in the movie.
Despite all of this, museum historian Piotr Sliwowski said the footage is pretty much as real as things can get.
'When someone cries in the film, he cried for real,' said Sliwowski. 'When someone is happy, he was happy for real. If someone dies, he really died.'
At the time of the uprising the Nazis had been occupying Poland for five years.
Preparations: A man works in the Park of Freedom at the Warsaw Rising Museum ahead of the film's release
Anticipation: The 70th anniversary of the uprising will be marked by a series of celebratory events
Thousands of poorly-armed young Warsaw residents, members of the clandestine Home Army, wanted to gain control of the capital before the advancing Soviet Red Army reached it and put the city under an equally hated regime.
Without reinforcements or supplies, the insurgents gave in after two months.
The punishment was ferocious: The Nazis sent survivors to death camps, including Auschwitz, and razed most of the city.
The idea for the movie came from Oldakowski, whose young son asked why people in black-and-white uprising documentaries are dark-faced.
'It was an insane idea,' Oldakowski said, 'but we decided to tell the truth and make it contemporary by removing this black-and-white color barrier.'
RESISTANCE AGAINST THE ODDS: HOW DETERMINED JEWISH FIGHTERS BATTLED TO HOLD OFF INEVITABLE GERMAN SURGE
During the Second World War as many as 400,000 Polish Jews were crammed into the confines of the Warsaw Ghetto. Within its walls they lived under the shadow of rampant disease and starvation, even before German troops began transporting Jews en masse to the Treblinka extermination camp. The seeds were sown for the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in January 1943, when German soldiers arriving to implement a second deportation of Jews to the camp were met by Jewish resistance fighters who engaged them in clashes.
Battle of honour: A Jewish rebel is seen leaving a house surrounded by German soldiers inside the Warsaw Ghetto, during the uprising that peaked during April and May 1943 The deportation was halted after a period of days and only saw 5,000 - rather than the intended 7,000 - Jews taken away. The occupants of the ghetto were ready to fight what was regarded as a battle of honour for the Jewish people, led by two resistance organisations; the ZZW and the ZOB. On 19 April 1943 the police and SS auxiliary forces entered the ghetto for a further deportation action intended to last three days. They were ambushed by Jewish insurgents firing and tossing Molotov cocktails and hand grenades from alleyways, sewers, and windows. The Germans suffered casualties and their advance was halted. German forces resorted to systematically burning down the ghetto, building by building, prompting thousands of surviving Jews and fighters to take cover in underground bunkers or the sewer system. Many were forced out of their hiding places by troops who dropped in smoke bombs.
On May 8, the Germans discovered a large dugout located at Miła 18 Street, which served as ŻOB's main command post. Most of the organisation's remaining leadership and dozens of others committed a mass suicide by ingesting cyanide.
The suppression of the uprising officially ended on 16 May 1943, with the demolition of the Great Synagogue of Warsaw.• Slain officer, the father of two young children, survived stabbing in traffic stop in 2003
• Suspect's name released; police found him by following bloody trail to ravine
• Possible second suspect taken into custody
A traffic stop in a residential neighborhood late Thursday night turned into gunfire that killed one San Diego police officer and seriously wounded a second.
Officer Jonathan “J.D.” DeGuzman, 43, was mortally wounded and rushed in a patrol car to a hospital, where he died. His partner, Wade Irwin, 32, underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
A black band covers the lieutenant badge of San Diego Police Lt. Scott Wahl after the press conference by the Chief of Police Shelley Zimmerman. — John Gastaldo / San Diego Union-Tribune
Jesse Michael Gomez, 52, was arrested Thursday night in the shooting, police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said in a late afternoon news conference. Gomez, who lives in Bay Park, had been wounded and taken into custody, as police scoured the Southcrest neighborhood, looking for a possible accomplice.
Police arrested Marcus Antonio Cassani, 41, about 11:40 a.m. Friday on Delta Street in Shelltown, not far from the shooting site. Investigators have not yet determined if he was involved in the shooting, Zimmerman said. Cassani, who has a criminal record that includes convictions for burglary, escape, methamphetamine and illegal weapons possession, was held on an arrest warrant out of Anaheim.
San Diego police Officer Jonathan DeGuzman San Diego Police Department
San Diego Police Officer Wade Irwin San Diego Police Department
The two uniformed, gang-suppression officers were in their marked patrol car just before 11 p.m. Thursday when they stopped a person on Acacia Grove Way near 37th Street in Southcrest for reasons that remained unclear Friday afternoon, Zimmerman said in a news conference. The officers called for emergency cover. When nearby officers arrived to help, they found DeGuzman and Irwin shot in the chest and rushed DeGuzman to a hospital in a patrol car.
Nearby residents said they heard eight to 10 gunshots, then sirens as scores of police cars converged on the street.
One resident on Z Street, near Acacia Grove Way, said he and his wife looked out their back yard and saw a wounded officer being placed into a patrol car and whisked away.
Police said they had been shot several times. Investigators did not know if they had been ambushed.
DeGuzman, a 16-year-veteran of the department and a father of two young children, died at Scripps Mercy Hospital, Zimmerman said. Wade, also a father of a young child, underwent surgery at the nearby UC San Diego Medical Center. Zimmerman said that Irwin regained consciousness Friday and was talking, and that doctors expect him to recover fully.
The chief said both officers were wearing bulletproof vests. At least one of the officer’s body-worn cameras captured the incident, which she said unfolded “extremely quickly.”
Zimmerman said investigators will “determine with certainty the nature and circumstances surrounding the stop.”
Police arrested Gomez shortly after the incident, about 11:30 p.m., in the Chollas Creek ravine just south of the site of the shooting, Zimmerman said. Officers had found a trail of blood leading toward him. He was critically injured by a gunshot wound to his upper chest.
Investigators believed there was a second suspect, so police, including officers from many other agencies, swarmed the area and, with guns drawn, searched with the aid of police dogs, helicopters and heavily armed SWAT team members. They focused for hours on the ravine where Gomez was found. Residents were asked to stay indoors and streets were cordoned off for several blocks in all directions.
"They were telling people to stay inside," said Dunwick Agoncillo, 42, an 11-year resident of Southcrest. "It was pretty intense. Friends started texting us, saying two officers were shot. With all the stuff happening in other cities, I thought, dang, that's happening in my neighborhood."
Another neighbor, 17-year-old Johan Torres, said he heard gunshots while watching TV.
"It's really tragic, for the families," Torres said. "(The officers) didn't go out that day for that to happen."
No other suspects had been found by sunrise. Many officers from the other police agencies were released from their posts by 4 a.m. and some streets reopened after that.
Residents said police knocked on their doors through the early morning hours, asking what they had heard or seen and whether they had security cameras that may have caught part of the incident. Officers also repeatedly searched back yards along Chollas Creek.
SWAT standoff
View the Video Two San Diego police shot, one killed
On Friday morning, SWAT officers looking for Cassani surrounded a house on Epsilon Street near 41st Street in Shelltown, half a mile from where the officers were shot. They remained there for hours, trying to convince the “potential” suspect, who they believed to be inside, to surrender. Other family members were reported to have gotten out before the standoff. Cassani's sister owns the house.
A negotiator using a bullhorn repeatedly appealed to "Marcus" to come out.
"We're not going anywhere," the officer called out. "It has been a really long night. I'm worried about you. I haven't heard from you for a while.
"I need to hear from you. You need to talk to me. Your sister... is really scared. What should I tell her? It's not fair to have your sister so worried about you."
Officers fired a barrage of about 50 gas bombs into the home, which had an armored SWAT vehicle in the driveway. A remotely controlled robot searched the house and no one was seen on through its camera, but it couldn't not open a closet door.
A few moments later, the officer could be heard on the bullhorn saying, "Hey Marcus. We hear you coughing in there. Come on out.” But hours later, about 12:30 p.m., SWAT officers entered the home and found no one there.
During the SWAT incident, however, officers swooped down on Cassani, found about three blocks away, standing in the middle of the street waiting for them to arrest him at 11:40 a.m. His sister had called police to tell them where to find him.
Cassani's sister, Marissa Cassani, said in a brief telephone interview that he had phoned her and told her the police were after him in a case of mistaken identity. She did not elaborate.
Early Friday morning, San Diego Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman announces at Scripps Mercy Hospital that two San Diego police officers were shot, one fatally, in the Southcrest neighborhood of San Diego late Friday night. — David Poller
Slain officer survived stabbing in 2010
It was the first officer slain under Zimmerman's leadership of the department, and it came at a time of national tensions following attacks earlier this month on police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La.
Editorial Let San Diego mourn officer before playing politics
“This is one of the difficult and heart-wrenching situations for police officers to go through,” Zimmerman said in an early morning briefing outside the hospital where DeGuzman died. “I want to commend all of the officers and detectives and staff who have demonstrated courage and professionalism throughout the night and continue to do so while we seek to find answers to the senseless murder and attempted murder of our police officers.”
Zimmerman, who said she knew DeGuzman personally, described him as a family man and father of two young children.
“He talked about his family all the time,” she said.
Earlier Friday, Zimmerman said she had gone to DeGuzman’s home to tell his wife, two children and extended family members that he had been killed.
July 29, 2016 - San Diego, CA, U.S. - San Diego Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman leads apparently distraught people into Scripps Mercy Hospital after to San Diego police officers were shot, one fatally, in the Southcrest neighborhood of San Diego late Friday night. San Diego Union-Tribune photo by David Poller..User Upload Caption: Police officers gather at the emergency entrance to UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest after two San Diego police officers were shot, one fatally, in the Southcrest neighborhood of San Diego late Friday night. — David Poller
"It is extremely difficult, but something you have to do. There's nothing that prepares you to do that," Zimmerman said, joined by other department leaders, outside of Scripps Mercy Hospital.
At the main entrance in the pre-dawn hours, some officers could be seen hugging one another. Others stood stoically, guarding the hospital doors. Zimmerman escorted several people into the hospital.
The wife of the critically injured officer was beside him at the hospital before he underwent surgery, Zimmerman said.
In 2003, DeGuzman was awarded the San Diego Police Department’s purple heart for his valor during a traffic stop that left him with a stab wound in August of that year. DeGuzman, then 31, was stabbed in the upper right arm after he pulled over the driver for speeding. When the man tried to stab him a second time, DeGuzman fired a shot, striking the aggressor in the hip. Carl Thompson was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison in 2014 for the attack.
More recently, in June of 2013, DeGuzman was one of five officers who shot and killed a felon who raised a shotgun at officers at an Escondido intersection. William Mayers was wanted in a violent attack on his father and at the time of the shooting was driving an SUV packed with explosives and weapons. The District Attorney’s Office later found the shooting to be legally justified.
On Friday evening, the civil rights group National Action Network held a vigil on 35th Street at Boston Avenue, a few blocks from the site of Thursday's shooting, to denounce violence and show solidarity with police.
Rev. Shane Harris of the organization asked for police and citizens to come together, saying reforms are needed in both the police force and community.
"We have to begin to bridge the gap between communities and the police," he said.
Pastor Jared Moten of Southcrest's Ebenezer Baptist Church led a prayer before the group of nearly a dozen laid a wreath at the intersection to honor DeGuzman.
View the photo gallery: 2 police officers shot in Southcrest
Reactions
Local civic leaders issued the following statements.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer
“Last night we lost one of San Diego’s finest. We grieve for our fallen officer and stand with his family during this very difficult time. We also pray for the second officer shot last night as he recovers from surgery. Violence against the men and women who wear the badge is violence against us all. I ask all San Diegans and all people across our nation to join together in support of our officers who courageously protect our communities. We need them and they need us.”
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
“The shooting of two SDPD officers has sent a shock wave through law enforcement and the wider San Diego community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the officers’ family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. This senseless act once again highlights the dangers our peace officers face on a daily basis as they work to ensure and protect the public’s safety. The District Attorney’s Crimes Against Peace Officers Unit is working closely with SDPD to investigate and review this case so those responsible for this cowardly act will be held accountable.”
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore
"Today, we grieve with the men and women of the San Diego Police Department who last night suffered the loss of one officer and traumatic injury to another. On behalf of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family of Officer Jonathan DeGuzman. We also want to wish Officer Wade Irwin a full recovery. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the San Diego Police Department and all who work in law enforcement. While we struggle to make sense of these acts, we also must reaffirm our commitment to each other, our families and communities. I ask our deputies to continue to remain vigilant and above all, be safe while you carry out your duties."
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump
Two policemen just shot in San Diego, one dead. It is only getting worse. People want LAW AND ORDER!
United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch (In remarks law enforcement and emergency personnel in Baton Rouge.)
“I know that this community, more than most, knows exactly what those families are feeling at this moment, knows exactly what the San Diego Police Department is going through at this moment.”
City Councilwoman Myrtle Cole
My sincerest condolences to the family of the officer murdered protecting and serving us. We must stop this madness. Please pray for all.
U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego
“The loss of one of our police officers is a loss for all of San Diego. I send my deepest condolences to the officer's family and loved ones, and prayers for the full recovery of the wounded officer. From my time on City Council I have been aware of the dangers our police officers face and I'm tremendously grateful to them for the risks they take every day to keep our communities safe. San Diego is fortunate to have the steady leadership of Chief Zimmerman in this difficult time.”
Miles McPherson, the pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego
"As the son of a police officer myself, I cannot describe the feeling I felt when I awoke to today’s news. Our city’s heart is broken. The Bible tells us to ‘mourn with those who mourn and to weep with those who weep.’ We especially mourn with the wife and two children of our city’s fallen police officer. We pray for the recovery of his partner. We refuse to let hatred and violence divide our city. We stand together."
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
"My deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Officer |
Wales’s public disavowal of any existing or past relationship with Ms Marsden is quite unbecoming of the man, wouldn’t you say? He knows better than any other that Wikipedia has no rightful home for such chatter. Any severance with Marsden would probably have been better left noted in Jimmy’s Facebook profile. Which is apparently where all the kids these days are hooking up and cutting ties with one another.
We understand Jimbo’s all about open, but come on now. Some decorum, sir. Please.Scott Skiles has been announced as the Orlando Magic’s new head coach. A press conference is being held at 6 P.M. (EDT) to announce his hiring.
Scott Skiles has been named as the head coach to take this Orlando Magic team to the next level. Tom Thibodeau was surely considered after he was released by the Chicago Bulls, but the Magic ultimately stuck to hiring their former player in Skiles.
This hiring comes with mixed emotions from fans. Early Magic fans may like the deal due to sentimentality, but Skiles has had middling success thus far as an NBA coach, and it is difficult to say he is the “final answer” for this team as the wind-up towards contention continues.
Skiles is just 18-24 in the postseason in his career, though just getting there right now is imperative for the Magic.
Thibodeau represented the loftier option, but he indicated he was not interested in the gig.
Orlando has won just 68 games in the past three seasons combined, and with a defensive minded coach like Skiles, the Magic should vastly improve. On an effort basis alone, Skiles will not accept anything less.
Welcome home, Scotty.Earth is a 2007 nature documentary film which depicts the diversity of wild habitats and creatures across the planet. The film begins in the Arctic in January of one year and moves southward, concluding in Antarctica in the December of the same year. Along the way, it features the journeys made by three particular species—the polar bear, African bush elephant and humpback whale—to highlight the threats to their survival in the face of rapid environmental change. A companion piece to the 2006 BBC/Discovery television series Planet Earth, the film uses many of the same sequences, though most are edited differently, and features previously unseen footage.
Earth was co-directed by Alastair Fothergill, the executive producer of the television series, and Mark Linfield, the producer of Planet Earth's "From Pole to Pole" and "Seasonal Forests" episodes. It was co-produced by BBC Natural History Unit and Greenlight Media, with Discovery providing some of the funding. In North America, the film was released by Disneynature, the first film under Disney's recently formed nature film label. The same organisations collaborated on Fothergill's previous film, Deep Blue (2003), itself a companion to his 2001 television series on the natural history of the world's oceans, The Blue Planet. The British version of Earth was narrated by Patrick Stewart and the US version was narrated by James Earl Jones.
Earth was released in cinemas internationally during the final quarter of 2007 and throughout 2008.[3] With total worldwide box office revenue exceeding $100 million, Earth is the second-highest-grossing nature documentary of all time.[2]
A sequel, titled Earth: One Amazing Day, was released in the United States on 6 October 2017. It made its world premiere in Beijing.[4]
Plot [ edit ]
Over the course of a calendar year, Earth takes the viewer on a journey from the North Pole in January to the South in December, revealing how plants and animals respond to the power of the sun and the changing seasons. The film focuses on three particular species, the polar bear, African bush elephant and humpback whale.
Starting in the high Arctic in January, as the darkness of winter gives way to the sun, a mother polar bear is shown emerging from her den with two new cubs. She needs food and must lead her cubs to her hunting ground on the sea ice before it begins to break up. By April, the sun never sets, and by August all the sea ice has melted. The mother and cubs have retreated to dry land, but a male polar bear is trapped at sea and must seek out land by swimming. He reaches an island with a walrus colony but is too exhausted to make a successful kill. He dies from injuries sustained in a walrus attack.
African bush elephants are filmed from the air as they negotiate a dust storm in the Kalahari Desert. June is the dry season and they must follow ancient paths passed down through generations to reach watering holes. A mother and calf are separated from the herd in the storm but manage to reach shelter. The matriarch leads the herd to a temporary watering hole, but they must share it with hungry lions and scavenger white-backed vultures. The lions are shown attacking a solitary elephant at night, when their superior vision gives them the upper hand. The herd times its arrival at the Okavango Delta to coincide with seasonal floodwaters which transform the desert into a lush water world.
A humpback whale mother and calf are filmed from the air and underwater at their breeding grounds in the shallow seas of the tropics. There is nothing here for the mother to eat, so she must guide her calf on a 4,000-mile (6,400 km) journey south to the rich feeding grounds near Antarctica, the longest migration of any marine mammal. En route, they navigate dangerous seas where great white sharks are filmed breaching as they hunt. Sea lions, and sailfish and dolphins combine to bait a shoal of small fish. By October they enter polar waters, and by December the Antarctic sun has melted the sea ice to form sheltered bays. Here, the whales are shown feeding on krill by trapping them in bubble nets.
The stories of these individual creatures are woven into the film alongside a great many additional scenes. The supporting cast of animals include mandarin ducklings filmed jumping from their tree hole nest, Arctic wolves hunting caribou, cheetah hunting Thomson's gazelle, elephants charging at white-backed vulture, birds of paradise displaying in the New Guinea rainforest, Adelie penguins in the Antarctic and demoiselle cranes on their autumn migration across the Himalayas.
Time-lapse photography is used to show the blossoming of spring flowers, seasonal changes to deciduous forests, clouds sweeping up Himalayan valleys, and the growth of jungle spores and fungi.
Themes [ edit ]
The narration is woven around the theme of anthropogenic environmental change. The three species it features are used to illustrate particular threats to the planet's wildlife. In the Arctic, rising temperatures are causing a greater area of sea ice to melt and threatening the polar bear with extinction as early as 2030. Global warming is also disrupting the planet's weather systems and making seasonal rainfall patterns less predictable. This poses a threat to creatures like elephants, which must travel greater distances to reach water. Rising ocean temperatures have started to kill the plankton on which humpback whales and most other sea life depend. The film ends with the message that "it's not too late to make a difference."
Production [ edit ]
Earth was produced by Alix Tidmarsh of BBC Worldwide and Sophokles Tasioulis of Greenlight Media. Following Deep Blue, it is the second film of a five-picture deal between the two companies. The process of bringing Planet Earth and Earth to the screen took over five years. With a budget of $47 million, the film was the most expensive production in the history of documentary filmmaking at the time, later to be surpassed by Oceans.[5] Principal photography began in 2004 and was completed in 2006.
Release [ edit ]
Earth received its world premiere at Spain's San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2007. It was released across Europe in the fourth quarter of 2007 and early 2008 to much success. In April 2008, it was announced that Earth would be the first feature released by Disneynature, a newly-formed film unit of the Walt Disney Studios, specialising in natural history documentaries since True-Life Adventures.[6] The film was released in the US on April 22, 2009, with James Earl Jones narrating in place of Patrick Stewart. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures also handled distribution in Canada and Latin American countries.[7] Outside of those territories, the film's distribution rights were sold to various independent distributors including; Lionsgate in the UK and Australia, Gaumont in France, and Universum Film AG in Germany.[8]
Regional differences [ edit ]
In addition to replacing Patrick Stewart with James Earl Jones as a narrator, the U.S. version uses a more dramatic soundtrack and runs only 90 minutes, compared to the original cut's 99 minutes.
Reception [ edit ]
Critical response [ edit ]
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 87% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 91 reviews, the second-highest score of all the Disneynature films (behind Monkey Kingdom, which has a score of 93%), with an average score of 7.2 out of 10. Its consensus stated: "With its spectacular and extensive footage, Earth is both informative and entertaining."[9] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave an average score of 72, being a generally favourable review, based on 26 reviews.[10]
Box office [ edit ]
On its first day of release in the US, Earth opened at #1, grossing $4,023,788 from 1,810 theaters. For its first weekend, it opened at #5, grossing $8,825,760, as well as $14,472,792 over the five-day period. Despite dropping to #7 the next weekend, taking in $4,340,235, it took in $12,017,017 over the previous week (including Sunday), and ending up with a two-week total of $22,004,284. It closed on July 30, 2009 after 100 days of release, ending up with a final gross of $32,011,576, making it a modest success in the US.
Earth picked up an additional $76,931,115 at the international box office. It took over $30 million in Germany alone, became one of the three highest-grossing films of the year in France and had the best opening of any natural history documentary in Spain. By contrast, in the UK Earth debuted on just 14 screens and amassed less than £75,000 in ticket sales.
In January 2008, the Japanese version of Earth, narrated by actor Ken Watanabe, knocked Hollywood blockbuster I Am Legend off the top of the box office despite opening on half the number of screens. It went on to gross more than 2 billion yen ($18.5 million), making it the most successful documentary there of the last 10 years.
Its worldwide total of $108,942,691 made Earth a commercial success and placed it second on the all-time list of highest-grossing nature documentaries, behind March of the Penguins.
Sequel [ edit ]
In 2017, a sequel, Earth: One Amazing Day was released. Robert Redford provided the narration.[11][12]
Further reading [ edit ]A young girl is seen in the al-Riad shelter in Aleppo, Syria, on Friday. Bombing in the opposition-held portion of the city has intensified, with an estimated 244 civilians killed over the last eight days. Photo courtesy United Nations Office for the High Commission on Human Rights
ALEPPO, Syria, April 30 (UPI) -- Government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are stepping up a bombing campaign in the rebel-held residential portion of Aleppo, the nation's largest city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 244 over the last eight days since hostilities flared between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the rebel opposition. Assad's forces control the western half of Aleppo and the rebels control most of the east.
Al Jazeera reports at least a dozen air strikes have rattled the rebel-held portion of the city since Friday.
Aleppo is Syria's large city, home to some 2 million people before the civil war broke out. While many have fled, the city still remains a significant population center located near the Turkish border. Prior to the war, Aleppo was Syria's economic hub.
RELATED The dangers of unexploded bombs in Syria
With that as the backdrop for what is at stake, and after another round of peace talks faltered, the bombing resumed from both sides, Al Jazeera reported.
One air strike in particular, which the opposition alleges was conducted by Assad's forces, leveled a hospital in the rebel portion of the city, killing 50 people. The group Doctors Without Borders had been in charge of the al Quds field hospital and several of its members, including two doctors and two nurses, were among the dead.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed outrage at the hospital bombing.
"We are outraged by yesterday's airstrikes in Aleppo on the al Quds hospital supported by both Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which killed dozens of people, including children, patients and medical personnel," he said in a statement. "It appears to have been a deliberate strike on a known medical facility and follows the Assad regime's appalling record of striking such facilities and first responders. These strikes have killed hundreds of innocent Syrians."
Through state-run media, the Assad government denied it had carried out the bombing. The Russian military, which has supplied air support to Assad's ground troops, also denied responsibility.
Syrian state media also reported rebels shelled a mosque in the government-held portion of the city, killing eight.
While a temporary cessation of hostilities agreement struck in February had mostly remained in effect in the capital Damascus and the coastal city Latakia, Aleppo -- home to some of the fiercest fighting since the civil war began -- has seen things getting worse.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement on Friday that "violence is soaring back to the levels we saw before the cessation of hostilities."
Al Jazeera reports journalists on the ground predict the situation will continue to worsen with more bombings and civilian casualties in the coming days.
Peace talks between the Assad government and rebel leaders in Geneva broke down after weeks to failed attempts to broker a political agreement to permanently end hostilities in the five-year civil war. Opposition leaders walked away from the table last week as the tentative cease-fire was increasingly violated by both sides.This month's attack on police servers by the "No Name Crew" hackers had much more serious consequences than previously thought, according to a report in news magazine Focus.
According to the magazine, the government's newly founded cyber-defence department, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) reported internally on Friday that every single server of the police's spy programme "Patras" had been infiltrated by hackers.
Patras is used to locate serious criminals and terrorist suspects by gathering information from GPS systems in cars and mobile phones. It is used by both state and federal police forces, as well as Germany's customs officers.
Following the cyber-attack, which took place earlier this month, all of the relevant servers had to be shut down to prevent more data being stolen.
According to the internal BSI report to the German interior ministry, the "No Name Crew" even hacked the central database of the federal police, in Swisstal-Heimerzheim in North Rhine-Westphalia.
This could lead to hundreds of confidential police investigations appearing on the internet. "That is pretty much the worst thing that could happen," an anonymous security officer told Focus.
The report said the hack came about because the police did not adequately protect its servers, using what was described as "cheap protection software." It also said that "fundamental security measures" such as "dealing with passwords" had been ignored.
The No Name Crew had previously hacked the servers of the far-right National Democratic Party and published sensitive information including a list of its donors.
The Local/bkIt can be hard to tell if that craft beer on the grocery shelf comes from the vats of a small, independent brewer, or if it is the product of a commercial vat. That’s the crux of a new class-action seeking lawsuit that claims Walmart is deceiving consumers with its private label “craft” beer brands in an effort to inflate prices.
A beer drinker’s lawsuit [PDF] filed in the Hamilton Count, OH court of Common Pleas claims that calling the beverages — made in collaboration with Trouble Brewing under the names Cat’s Away IPA, After Party Pale Ale, Round Midnight Belgian White, and Red Flag Amber — craft beer is a “wholesale fiction,” because they’re actually mass-produced.
According to the complaint, Trouble Brewing “doesn’t really exist,” echoing a recent Washington Post article that pointed out the applicant listed on filings with the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is ‘Winery Exchange Inc.’, which has since turned into WX Brands.
“WX Brands ‘develops exclusive brands of wine, beer and spirits for retailers around the world’ according to its website,” the lawsuit notes. “But under the ‘brewery address’ section of the TTB filings, Genesee Brewing’s business office in Rochester, NY, is listed instead. Genesee is owed [sic] by another company that brews Costa Rican lager among other industrial brands. Upon information and belief, Genesee produces well over the prescribe amount that would be considered ‘small.’”
The complaint also points to the Brewers Association definition of a craft brewer as “small, independent, and traditional,” and a business that produces less than six million barrels of beer annually; is less than 25% owned or controlled by a non-craft brewer; and that makes beer using only traditional or innovative brewing ingredients.
Walmart’s line of beers “is a wholesale fiction created by the defendant … designed to deceive customers into purchasing the craft beer at a higher, inflated price,” the lawsuit claims.
“Defendant stocks its craft beer next to other ‘craft beers’ for sale in its stores, rather than with other mass produced beers, such as Budweiser, Miller, or Coors products,” the complaint reads. “Again, by placing the craft beer on its shelves with other ‘craft beers’, defendant is further perpetuating the myth that it’s a craft beer.”
The lead plaintiff is seeking to represent a class of Ohio residents who have bought the beer in question, as well as compensatory and punitive damages for violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, fraud, and unjust enrichment, and an injunction preventing further false and misleading advertisements regarding the beer.
[via Courthouse News]Synastry clearly illustrates chemistry and commitment between two people. However, one area that’s often overlooked during the initial rush of a new relationship is basic lifestyle compatibility. The attitude tends to be that any incompatible elements will somehow work themselves out. Or, if the connection is that strong, you may think that lifestyle incompatibility won’t matter at all. But once the surge of chemistry dies down, compatibility issues can be the difference between riding out the rough patches and deciding that the relationship is more trouble than it’s worth.
Two Different Ways of Living
When I write about “lifestyle compatibility” I’m not referring to sexual compatibility. Although this is certainly a crucial area (and perhaps a topic for a different post) I’m talking about the approach to daily life: The differences between an extrovert and introvert, or someone who views money (2nd/8th House) as a disposable resource versus someone who hangs onto it for dear life. These issues can become overwhelming as the relationship progresses.
Let’s say your Moon (needs) and your chart ruler (the planet that rules your Ascendant) are in your 4th House (home and family). A significant chunk of your personality is focused on home. You need a safe place to retreat, and your public identity (Ascendent) is likely to be fairly private. Family is of huge importance, whether or not you had a happy childhood. You have strong ties to your past, and you most likely want to create a solid domestic foundation. Chiron (where you feel vulnerable, insecure or different from everyone else) is in your 11th House of friends and groups. Your degree of introversion may range from homebody to shut-in, but the public arena is not a place you’re comfortable in.
You meet Mr. Extrovert, and the chemistry is hot. Plus, he’s the only guy you’ve ever met who shares your love for that obscure singer. And his Sun conjuncts your 7th House cusp, so he seems to embody your partnership ideals. There’s also some supportive Saturn trines that go both ways in your synastry, so you both feel the pull toward commitment. But his Moon, Venus and Mars sit in his 11th House, so not only does he need (Moon) group connections, he enjoys (Venus) interacting with the public. When he’s active (Mars) it’s usually with a group of friends.
At first this introvert/extrovert discrepancy doesn’t matter. But as the months go by, you notice that his idea of a good time always involves his friends. Every weekend he wants to hit the bars, or go to a concert. And of course, he wants you there with him, but you just want to spend a cozy night in with him. Plus, he doesn’t understand the significance you place on your past. Why does that thing your mother did fifteen years ago still matter? His 11th House planets are concerned with the future and the bigger picture; sitting quietly at home makes him feel bored and restless.
This does not have to be a dealbreaker, but if it’s not addressed, it can become one. The inevitable rough patch hits in the form of a tense square from transiting Saturn to your Moon. You feel like you’re all alone, no matter how much Mr. Extrovert reaches out to you. The gulf between what you need (a weekend or two with just you and him) and what he needs (multiple social connections) widens. He tries to make you feel better by taking you out with his friends, but this just makes you feel worse.
Finding Common Ground
The good news is, there are multiple ways to deal with this. Even if your 4th House planets make no aspects to his 11th House planets, the signs they are in can be key. If your Moon is in Cancer and his Moon is in Pisces, you’ll both have a need to connect on an emotional level. His needs may be more diffuse, and yours more personal, but there’s still a commonality and increased empathy for each other. If his Moon is in Aquarius, recognize that he’s going to be stubborn about his social needs (Aquarius is a Fixed sign) and he’ll probably do the opposite if you pressure him to spend more time away from his friends. On the other hand, he probably won’t take it personally if you want the weekend to yourself while he hangs with his buddies. Moon in Pisces would be more open to making concessions. Maybe he’ll spend half of one weekend alone with you. But sensitive Pisces could be quite hurt if you (inadvertently) diss his friends. It’s all about understanding how the signs work.
Other commonalities will be indicated by harmonious aspects (trines, sextiles, conjunctions) between your planets and his planets. Your Mercury trine his Mercury suggests that talking things out is a strength the two of you can rely on. Maybe your 7th House Venus trines his 11th House Venus. You relate more strongly to one-on-one connections than he does, but there’s still harmony between your social behaviors and how you both express love.
And there may be other, less obvious areas of connection. If his 11th House Moon conjuncts his Venus, and your 4th House Moon is in Libra (ruled by Venus), he’s open to compromise, just like you are. You both need (Moon) to achieve emotional harmony (Venus). If your 4th House planets are in Aquarius, know that the 11th House is traditionally ruled by Aquarius. If his 11th House planets are in Cancer, remember that the 4th House is traditionally ruled by Cancer. So he’ll understand your domestic needs/connection to the past, or you’ll understand his connection to the group. You may both need different things, but the areas of mutual understanding can be the difference between agreeing to disagree, and going your separate ways.
Having said this, some areas of compatibility are non-negotiable. It won’t matter how strong the other connections are if you feel that you absolutely can’t live with someone who’s focused on his social life. Or, if he really wants a partner who’s a social butterfly, and you’re perfectly happy in your cocoon.
If you like this post, please upvote it on Reddit.Image copyright University of Reading Image caption Erika Delbecque found the pages made by England's first printer, William Caxton
Pages printed more than 500 years ago by William Caxton, who brought printing to England, have been discovered by the University of Reading.
There are no other known surviving examples of these two pages anywhere in the world, from a book believed to have been printed in London in the 1470s.
The pages had been "under their noses" unrecognised in the library's archives.
Erika Delbecque, special collections librarian at the university, described the find as "incredibly rare".
The two pages, with religious texts in medieval Latin, were produced by Caxton at his pioneering printing works in Westminster - and are now going on public display for the first time since they were sold from his print shop in the 15th Century.
They are believed to be from the earliest years of Caxton's printing press, either 1476 or 1477, and are being hailed as a remarkable discovery.
Image copyright University of Reading Image caption There are no other known copies of the pages, printed by William Caxton in about 1476, anywhere else in the world
The only other pages from this book known to be in existence are eight leaves held by the British Library.
An early printing specialist, Andrew Hunter, of Blackwells Books, said that in the world of rare books, a find like this has a "special, almost magic, resonance".
'Astonishing'
But the leaf of paper, printed on both sides, has not always been treated with such reverence.
"The leaf had previously been pasted into another book for the undignified purpose of reinforcing its spine," says librarian Ms Delbeque, who first recognised the pages' significance.
"We understand it was rescued by a librarian at the University of Cambridge in 1820, who had no idea that it was an original Caxton leaf."
The pages have been owned by the University of Reading since 1997, bought as part of a bigger collection of manuscripts and books with the help of a lottery grant.
But they had not been recognised as Caxton's work until Ms Delbeque was cataloguing a collection of loose pages which had been detached from their original books.
"I suspected it was special as soon as I saw it. The trademark black letter typeface, layout and red paragraph marks indicate it is very early Western European printing," she said.
"It is astonishing that it has been under our noses for so long."
They are of great significance to scholars and book experts and are expected to have a financial value in excess of £100,000.
First book advert
Caxton expert and former deputy keeper at the British Library, Dr Lotte Hellinga, said that it was a very rare event for a piece of printing by Caxton to be found.
"Its condition is good, considering that it spent some 300 years bound in the spine of a book and another 200 resting forgotten in an album of fragments rescued from other bindings," said Dr Hellinga.
Image copyright PA Image caption William Caxton depicted handing one of the books he had printed to Edward IV
The pages are from a book called the Sarum Ordinal, which was a handbook for priests with details of feast days of English saints.
The text had been written in the 11th Century and copied in the form of hand-written manuscripts.
But the arrival of printing meant that the book could be reproduced much more readily and cheaply - and it is believed that there might have been hundreds of copies produced by Caxton's press.
This copy also shows how books were in a transition from manuscripts to printing - as the red marks on the page, showing paragraph breaks, were added by hand after printing.
But the Sarum Ordinal also has another claim to fame. It was the subject of the first ever recorded book advert. Caxton was an entrepreneur as well as innovator and printed his own adverts urging people to call into his printing shop to buy their own copy.
The pages will go on public display from 10 to 30 May at the Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading.A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace The legend surrounding the birth of North Korea's Kim Jong Il is extraordinary. But outside North Korea, few take that legend seriously. NPR's Lawrence Sheets traveled to a humble Russian farming town to learn about the real birthplace of the North Korean leader.
A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace Listen A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace Listen The legend surrounding the birth of North Korea's Kim Jong Il is extraordinary. But outside North Korea, few take that legend seriously. NPR's Lawrence Sheets traveled to a humble Russian farming town to learn about the real birthplace of the North Korean leader. NPR thanks our sponsors Become an NPR sponsorIranian state media outlets have attacked a visiting British diplomat after she appeared in official meetings without wearing a hijab.
Karen Pierce is a director of the UK Foreign Office. She accompanied Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as part of a delegation to Iran to discuss the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who is being held in prison there.
Video of the talks on Sunday reveals Miss Pierce arriving for a meeting with Iran Foreign Minister Javid Zarif with a scarf around her shoulders but her head left bare.
As Mr. Zarif greets the other members of the British delegation with an outstretched hand, he instead points to the ceiling with both hands as Ms. Pierce approaches, a gesture state news reported as the country’s top diplomat telling his guest to cover her hair with her scarf.
Later during the visit Miss Pierce is again seen in a formal meeting with her head left uncovered.
According to the Independent, State-run Fars News and Tasnim News Agencies both labelled her appearance “inappropriate”, unleashing a storm of comments from Iranians on social media contesting her decision from all sides.
پوشش نامتعارف یکی از زنان هیات همراه وزیر خارجه #انگلیس در دیدار با ظریف در تهران pic.twitter.com/ih2ixth0Ae — خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) December 9, 2017
Women have been required to cover their hair with a hijab since the 1979 revolution in Iran removed the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from power and replaced him with the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Under the Shah, women had the option to show their hair.
One anti-hijab activist claimed the response to Miss Pierce was a direct humiliation of the visiting UK diplomat.
“I was bombarded with comments from ordinary people who was shocked that how humiliating that a high representative of Iran [was] acting like the morality police,” Mahsi Alinejad, founder of anti-hijab movement My Stealthy Freedom, told the Independent.
“One of the women wrote to me that Zarif’s humiliating gesture is familiar to millions of Iranian women who are told every day to improve their [appearance], sometimes with fake smiles, sometimes using violence,” the exiled activist added.
As Breitbart Jerusalem has reported, the hijab (roo sari or chador, which means “head covering”) is a source of irritation for increasing numbers of women in Muslim-majority countries. In Iran, more women are fighting the requirement as part of the “bad hijab” campaign which sees them driving cars on pubic roads with their heads uncovered.A national statistic shows 90-percent of the dollars spent by African Americans go to businesses that are not African American owned or invested.
So a new program called Reverse 90 hopes to change that. The African American Chamber of Commerce designed it with the hope that discounts and deals would draw customers to the chamber's 400 member businesses.
Come inside Naturally Ever After salon and you'll find professional, organic hair services with a smile plus a big discount!
"We're actually offering free haircuts for new customers through the end of February with the purchase of a salon service," Audrea Rogers said.
The ladies at Naturally Ever After are doing that through Reverse90.com.
"Anyone can go to reverse90.com and take advantage of the deals offered by the businesses," Nicole Giles of the African American Chamber of Commerce said.
Expect 10, 15, 25-percent off all kinds of services and merchandise.
Plus, get 30-percent off semi-personal training sessions at Bodyrock Boot Camp.
The African American Chamber of Commerce set up Reverse 90 to encourage the support of African American owned and invested businesses.
LINK: Reverse90.comFeaturing Michael Shermer.
In his new book, The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics, Michael Shermer examines such questions as: How did we evolve from ancient hunter-gatherers to modern consumer-traders? Why are people so irrational when it comes to money and business? He argues that the new science of evolutionary economics provides an answer to both of those questions. Shermer shows how evolution and economics are both examples of a larger phenomenon of complex adaptive systems. Along the way, he answers such provocative questions as, Do our tribal roots mean that we will always be a sucker for brands? How is the biochemical joy of sex similar to the rewards of business cooperation? How can nations increase trust within and between their borders? Finally, Shermer considers the consequences of globalization and why free trade promises to build alliances between nations. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the author of Why People Believe Weird Things and Why Darwin Matters.Drone Racing League announced the close of a Series B investment round of more than $20 million, led by U.K. satellite provider Sky, Liberty Media and Lux Capital.
The two-year-old New York startup, which is trying to establish remote-controlled lightweight aircraft races as a spectator sport, also brought in WWE and Allianz (its global title sponsor) as new investors in the round.
DRL also announced additional partners and sponsors including Swatch, Forto Coffee Shots and the U.S. Air Force. The league’s 2017 television broadcast season kicks off on June 20 on ESPN, and will be broadcast in more than 75 countries with broadcast partners including Sky Sports, ProSiebenSat.1, Disney XD and OSN.
Earlier this month Drone Racing League recently announced a partnership with Amazon Prime Video’s “The Grand Tour” as part of its 2017 Allianz World Championship Race in London, taking place on Tuesday, June 13. The deal includes a custom Grand Tour Finish Gate at the race at Alexandra Palace; a branded “Grand Tour” commentator booth for guest play-by-play announcers on-site; and the creation of digital content showcasing “Grand Tour” and DRL.
“We’re incredibly proud to announce new partners and investors aligning with DRL to solidify drone racing as the sport of the future,” said Nicholas Horbaczewski, CEO and founder of DRL.
In addition to Liberty Media — which now owns Formula 1 — Sky, WWE and Allianz, other existing investors that participated in the latest round of funding in DRL include Hearst Ventures, RSE Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Courtside Ventures. DRL has also added as an investor CRCM Ventures, supporting its expansion into China. LionTree acted as financial adviser for the company and Morrison & Foerster was the company’s legal adviser.
The DRL’s final race in the 2017 Allianz World Championship Season, will feature eight top pilots competing for the winner-take-all 2017 season finale — flying drones at speeds over 90 miles per hour.
Horbaczewski, a former exec with endurance-competition event producer Tough Mudder, founded privately held DRL in 2015. The league launched in January 2016 as the only global professional drone racing organization, hosting five professional races in its inaugural season. In 2017, DRL is hosting a global series of six races, the Allianz World Championship, to be broadcast on ESPN, Sky Sports, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Disney XD, OSN and other broadcast channels around the world.
Watch the DRL 2017 season teaser trailer:Following the death of Fidel Castro, it’s perhaps a good time to think about the malign impacts of totalitarian government, and the damage that political agendas can do to science.
I was recently discussing Lysenko with a friend (as you do), and naturally we turned to Wikipedia to clarify a point. And I came across a quote that hit me between the eyes (figuratively speaking);
“The term Lysenkoism can also be used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives”.
Dear Reader, you’re way ahead of me. Yes of course, I was struck immediately by the read-across to climate science. The parallels are remarkable.
You’ll be familiar with the story of Lysenko. He was a Russian biologist and agronomist who rejected Darwinian evolution and the rôle of genes, and preferred instead the Lamarckian concept of “inheritance of acquired characteristics”. Of course that concept is difficult to accept – especially when you reflect that a man who has lost a leg is perfectly capable of fathering a child with two legs. With the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult to believe that Lamarckism was once regarded as a credible alternative to Darwinian theory – but so it was.
And Lysenko, in the late 1920s, took that view, and built a whole theory of plant breeding on it. More than that, he had the ear of Stalin, and Lysenkoism became official Soviet doctrine. The theory was imposed rigidly. More than 3000 mainstream biologists were fired, imprisoned or executed for challenging it.
Lysenkoism held sway in the USSR until the sixties, with dire consequences for Soviet agriculture. Again with hindsight it is difficult to credit the fact that it survived so long, when plainly it did not work. But worse than that, not only did it fail in the field |
oyi joined newly-promoted Troyes, where he scored once in his 31 appearances before making the switch to Palermo in summer 2013 after just one season.
His first campaign in Italy resulted in promotion to Serie A, but he had been limited to five appearances in the Italian top-flight prior to joining United.
Ngoyi is capped at U19s and U20s level for France, but is also eligible to represent DR Congo due to having Congolese parents.
The deal bringing Ngoyi to Elland Road is subject to Football League approval.Much to my conservative, very Lutheran parents’ chagrin I’m sure, the image above hung prominently over the headboard of my bed when I was 16 years old. It was a grainy copy that my friend and I made secretly in my high school graphic arts class. I liked it for its shock value and because I was just starting to learn about radical groups like the Yippies and the Weather Underground thanks to another friend’s cool older brother who played in a grind-core band called Hell Nation and who collected tons of weird-ass countercultural stuff. That was around 1990. There was obviously no draft going on, further confusing my parents and making me feel pretty edgy and weird. I was far too naïve to think too deeply about the backstory of the cool piece of radical ephemera with the image of the guy burning his ticket to the Viet Nam War.
Recently though, I came across the image again while doing research for another DM piece and decided to try to learn a little more about origins of the iconic image of 60’s radicalism. It turns out that the poster has a cool pedigree, and the piece’s creator, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, born in a Japanese American internment camp in 1943 in Heart Mountain, Wyoming, was a prominent underground civil rights figure and gay rights activist. Kuromiya worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. in the mid-sixties and tending to King’s children in the aftermath of his assassination. He was a founder of Gay Liberation Front –Philadelphia, worked with the Black Panther Party to advocate for gay rights, co-authored a book on a utopian future through technology with Buckminster Fuller, and was a leading pioneer in the fight to promote AIDS awareness after his own diagnosis later in life.
Kuromiya made a name for himself in radical protest circles at the University of Pennsylvania where he went to school to study architecture by pulling stunts like this bait-and-switch, anti-napalm demonstration in 1968 which he discusses in a great, hugely comprehensive 1997 interview:
A notice showed up, a leaflet showed up, signed by the “Americong” that, in protest of the horrors of using napalm on humans, there was going to be a demonstration in front of the library at Penn. An innocent dog would be burned with napalm, showing what an awful thing napalm was, O.K.? So, of course, the mayor, the police chief, everybody said whoever was perpetrating this would spend a long time in jail, etcetera. The day showed up and at noontime there were four ambulances from four different veterinary schools there. People, as a lark, brought their pet dogs. There were a lot of dogs. There were 2000 people. It was the largest antiwar demonstration in the history of the University of Pennsylvania. I had four friends of mine. I had a printing press in my basement and I was a publisher at the time. So out of the crowd, leaflets showed up. And I handed out these leaflets, Americong, you know, was a fiction. There was no group. But the leaflets showed up at this big rally and it said, “Congratulations, you’ve saved the life of an innocent dog. How about the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese that have been burned alive? What are you going to do about it?”
Later in the same interview Kuromiya talks about the Fuck the Draft poster. Along with placing the image in an ad (and act that he claims got him arrested by federal marshals) he handed several copies of it out during the chaos of the riots surrounding 1968 Democratic Convention:
And then a couple years later, I published, under the name Dirty Linen Corporation, these Fuck the Draft posters with a guy burning a draft card and it said in huge letters, “Fuck the draft.” The guy was someone from Detroit who was doing prison time for burning his draft card. I was arrested at home by federal marshals and the Secret Service for using U.S. mails for a crime of inciting with lewd and indecent materials. I had run an ad that said, “Buy five and we’ll send a sixth one to the mother of your choice.” And I listed a number of places, including the White House. So I was kept at the FBI headquarters here. They couldn’t hold people overnight so they took me in chains down Chestnut Street with four guys watching me, down to the Round House and I was held there. Anyway, I took these posters to the Democratic Convention in Chicago. And everybody was told to stay away. This was going to be very dangerous. But I went anyway. I rented a car to haul these posters around. And I had a coat and tie on so I could move easily in and out of the hotels and the various delegations and caucus meetings at the convention. So I was the only one in Yippie Park, Lincoln Park, in a coat and tie. But I handed out the posters, 2000 of them, at the amphitheater just minutes before the riot where someone tried to lower the American flag.
The ad that Kuromiya talked about in the interview appeared in the April 12, 1968 issue of the Berkeley Barb and it looked like this:
1968 Fuck the Draft poster ad from the Berkley Barb
As Kuromiya mentions, you could send five dollars to get five “Fuck the Draft” posters for yourself and sixth would be sent to the “mother” of your choice. You could take your pick amongst Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson, Mrs. Shirley Temple Black, Lieutenant General Lewis B. Hershey, General William Westmoreland, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Mrs. Richard Hughes, or “other.” One presumes that the “mother” in some of these cases was of the “fucker” variety.
Here’s an image of the full page on which the ad appeared:
In the 1997 interview mentioned above, Kuromiya discusses his political activism at length. He was a prominent early gay rights advocate working in and around Philadelphia to bravely advance the cause at time when the issue was still somewhat taboo, even among many in the anti-war community. In 1970, Kuromiya and the Gay Liberation Front of Philadelphia published the Gay Dealer, only one issue of which was ever released. After being denied funding by a Philadelphia community organization, the Gay Liberation Front got the money they needed for the issue by selling MMDA capsules according to Kuromiya.
Cover of The Gay Dealer, October 1970
Kuromiya and an unidentified friend from Gay Dealer, 1970
In 1977, during a long recovery from metastatic lung cancer, Kuromiya became enamored of the works of Buckminster Fuller. He began working with the futurist legend of geodesic design and Kuromiya is credited as “adjuvant” on Fuller’s book, Critical Path. From Kuromyia’s New York Times obituary:
In 1981, he assisted R. Buckminster Fuller, the architect and thinker, in writing Critical Path (St. Martin’s Press). The book sketched a vision of a bountiful future created by technological advances. In what James Traub in The New York Times Book Review called ‘‘a bizarre and often revelatory volume,’’ the authors suggested that the blossoming of technology had the potential to end war.
Buckminster Fuller and Kiyoshi Kuromiya with a copy of Critical Path
Kuromiya was diagnosed with AIDS in the late 1980’s and, according to the LGBT archives of Philadelphia:
In 1988/1989 he founded the Critical Path AIDS Project, which applied ideas and strategies from Buckminster Fuller’s 1981 book to the AIDS crisis. The project began as a newsletter about AIDS treatment that Kuromiya researched, wrote, edited, and distributed himself. The Critical Path AIDS Project grew to offer a 24-hour AIDS treatment hotline, a web hosting service for AIDS-related websites and listservs, and computer access for individuals in the Philadelphia area.
Kuromiya’s activism seems to have known no bounds. He was a founding member of ACT UP/Philadelphia, he was a participant an early successful lawsuit against Internet censorship surrounding the Communications Decency Act and was the leading plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, Kuromiya vs. The United States of America, calling for the legalization of medical marijuana.
Kuromiya died of AIDS related complications in 2000.
The video below features footage of William Burroughs, Jean Genet, Ed Sanders, Allen Ginsberg and Dick Gregory at the 1968 Democratic Convention protest where Kuromiya handed out 2000 Fuck the Draft posters. At around 6:38 you can see the crowd in front of the “band shell” in Grant Park and the moment that someone pulls down the American flag causing all hell to break loose. Kuromiya says that he was handing out “Fuck the Draft” posters in the crowd right around this location just minutes before the incident.The US Department of Energy today said it would use IBM's 10-petaflop Blue Gene supercomputer to help researchers design ultra-efficient electric car batteries, understand global climate change and dig up space exploration mysteries.
The 10-petaflop IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer, known as "Mira", will be operational in the DoE's Argonne National Laboratory by 2012 and the lab said it anticipates the new supercomputer will be one of the fastest and most energy efficient supercomputers in the world thanks to a combination of new chip designs and efficient water cooling.
Mira will also let scientists become more familiar with the capabilities an exascale machine will offer and the programming changes it will require, IBM stated. For example, scientists will have to scale their current computer codes to more than 750,000 individual computing cores, providing them preliminary experience on how scalability might be achieved on an exascale-class system with hundreds of millions of cores, IBM said.
Likely research for Mira will include modelling tropical storm paths, biomass conversion techniques, aerodynamic simulations and nanoparticle catalysts for energy, related chemical reactions.
Mira is just one of the DoE's expanding supercomputing sites. Last autumn the DoE awarded a massive amount of its supercomputing time to 57 research projects looking at everything from biofuels and climate change to nuclear power and lithium air batteries.
The DoE awarded time on its Cray XT5 "Jaguar" at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the IBM Blue Gene/P "Intrepid" at Argonne National Laboratory. Jaguar's computational capacity is roughly equivalent to 109,000 laptops all working together to solve the same problem. Intrepid is roughly equivalent to 26,000 laptops, the DoE stated.
The DoE said the 1.7 billion processor hours are its largest total award ever, and let researchers use powerful computer simulations to perform virtual experiments that in most cases would be impossible or impractical in the natural world.
Mira is likely to take on some of the same application development as the Jaguar system. Those include looking at developing hydrogen as alternative fuel; modeling nuclear reactors for future electrical power and developing lithium air batteries (a project IBM has been fully developing as well).
According to an IDG News Service story, by 2012 Mira will be one of three US IBM systems capable of 10 petaflops or greater.
IBM is also ramping up production of another supercomputer for the DoE's Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL), a 20-petaflop model to be called Sequoia. And it is also building the 10-petaflop Blue Waters system for the NSF-funded University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's National Center for Supercomputing Applications.Cosmic Trip - kalin
added NEW save/resume game feature (experimental)
added NEW tooltip to show menu locked reason
added NEW HUD icon for enemy heart structure
added tutorial improvements to clarify objectives
added tutorial improvements to clarify tools
added time of day / spawn zone text to spawn options menu
added leaderboard stickers to ship
added achievement stickers to ship
added aliases for twitch mode spawns
fixed hologram state issues on claimer building
fixed slippy not taking damage from turret bullets
fixed roller enemy damage taking (less in ball form)
improved roller enemy animation changes to be faster
improved bubble gun (stronger and larger bubbles)
improved various twitch ui/ux
improved difficulty curve for later waves in waterfall/desert wave modes
After 1.0 release we had a lot of new players join in the cosmic fun. We collected all the feedback since then and made some small additions and tweaks. Generally it's focused around improving the first-time experience - clearer tutorial phases, showing the main game objective, and showing where the enemy is.The other changes are some quality of life changes - showing the reason an item is locked on the menu which is super useful (esp. first time play), and a very experimental'save' feature. When you exit the game back to the ship (using the sphere-on-face), the game state is saved. There will be a sphere in the back of the ship and you can use that to pick up where you left off.Thanks everyone for posting feedback and bug reports, we're trying to track down a couple more small issues, and something that is making late-game performance a bit poor.We're making some tweaks to make the twitch mode more accessible - you can read details about it below. If you end up streaming this feature is a lot of fun. Thanks to some players for helping test this so we could get some fixes in this patch.Twitch Mode Guide: http://steamcommunity.com/app/427240/discussions/0/1290691937712292707/ Finally, we're working on a first-time users guide / manual. Write us some strategy tips you found useful in the forums, and we'll assemble a bunch for some 'tips' section at the end.PS. reviews really help us since the vive userbase is super small - if you have a moment to write up your thoughts so people browsing can read about experiences with the gameLet us know if you have any issues in steam forums or drop by discord.Report bugs or chat about the game here:FAQ: http://steamcommunity.com/app/427240/discussions/0/352788917749583687/ Discord: https://discord.gg/013jLi10e03zz346o Stay funky!Disappointing financial results are prompting Quad/Graphics to cut $100 million in costs. Credit: Journal Sentinel files
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In the wake of disappointing financial results, Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. said Tuesday it will begin closing plants and taking other steps to cut $100 million in costs.
"Our third quarter financial performance was challenging and below our expectations," Joel Quadracci, CEO of the commercial printing firm, said in a statement.
Quadracci said the company would move swiftly to slice costs and bring them in line with sales.
Quad did not say how many jobs it might cut, or identify any plants for closing. However, spokeswoman Claire Ho suggested that the firm's operations in Wisconsin, where it employs 7,000 people at 14 facilities, are not high on the target list for closures.
Quad continues to move work to its most efficient printing and distribution plants, and the Wisconsin operations are "among the most efficient platforms in the entire printing industry," Ho said in an email. She said Quad is still hiring in Wisconsin.
The company, the biggest printer of magazines and catalogs in North America, operates 57 printing plants in the U.S. and another eight outside the country. It employs 24,000 people worldwide.
However, like other printers, it has seen demand dampened by the rise of the Internet and digital technologies such as iPads and other tablets.
In its annual report filed with securities regulators last March, Quad noted that prices for printing had "declined significantly in recent years."
Tuesday, Quadracci said in his statement that pricing pressure accelerated during the three months that ended Sept. 30, while Quad's manufacturing productivity declined.
The firm's sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 totaled $1.16 billion, down 6.5% from the $1.24 billion in third-quarter 2014 revenue.
The company booked a loss of $552.2 million, or $11.50 a share, in the quarter. But that stemmed almost entirely from a $532.6 million non-cash, after-tax charge Quad recorded for "goodwill impairment" triggered by the decline in the firm's stock price.
Before Tuesday's announcement, Quad's stock closed at $13.10, down 18 cents.
The company went public in July 2010 at $49. Its shares traded above $40 for almost a year, then plunged. They rebounded above $30 in 2013, but have trended downward for the last two years.
The slide in the stock notwithstanding, Quad generates enough cash to pay a hefty dividend — at least at the prices of the last two years. The current dividend of $1.20 a year amounts to roughly 9% of Tuesday's closing price.
Quad on Tuesday declared another 30-cent quarterly dividend.
The company also reduced its 2015 revenue estimates by about $200 million. Previously, Quad had estimated sales of $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion for the year. The firm now expects $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion in revenue.
Since 2009, Quad has more than doubled its revenue, in large measure through acquisitions.
Quadracci may disclose details of the company's cutback plans Wednesday morning during a conference call with analysts.The lore of the nAtha siddha-s is of pan-Indian distribution. Its colloquial forms are fast evolving like genetic loci involved in host-parasite interactions. Yet, these colloquial forms of the tradition have such a grip on the lay masses that in many cases one could hardly believe that in its original form this system was not exactly practiced as it is today. The roots of the system deep in the shaiva-shAsana, particularly the kaula tradition, need a more detailed exposition to be properly elucidated. But for now we will note a tale of the nAtha-s that I suspect may have acquired pan-Indian distribution but I have no clear way to establish this.
The story of the story begins long back: In the year before first great war, Mis-creant and I on our gardabha-s descended down the sloping road that curled below the hill of chaNDikA and made our way towards the mahiSha-hrada. There was a temple of the three-headed one that I used to visit. So tying our gardabha to a post I decided to enter the temple. Curious, Mis-creant also came along. I used to be tremendously fascinated by a painting in that chaitya that displayed the great machChanda vibhu along with his successors headed by jAlandhara and gorakSha, and also had the dattAtreya manu inscribed on it. At that point I had not known Mis-creant to have any kind of shAstra-j~nAna – I was not even aware that she was a female version of the “chupA-rustam”. So I was surprised when she named those siddha-s, albeit using their Hindustani names. For me they stood as the link to the pashchimAMnAya – a connection that only the insiders know. I was also aware of their presence in the colloquial cults of mahArATTa, drAviDa and Andhra countries. But I was not much aware of the colloquial links to the north. So I quizzed Mis-creant about what she knew – she was rather terse and taciturn then. But it gave me a hint. Today hemmed in by the hima-pralaya we had a little chat when she narrated an interesting tale that she swore was a native one. I remembered reading a close variant of it in mahAraTThI pamphlet picked up near one of the nAtha shrines. I am also aware in translation of a similar work in the va~Nga bhASha written by a number of va~Nga-s, including a turuShka convert to the dharma Shaikh Faizullah. A narrative of this form might be seen in:
1) The mahArATThI pamphlet named nav-nAth-kathA most likely of very modern provenance based on an earlier yogi-saMpradAyAviShkR^iti.
Medieval to early modern:
2) Any of the several gorakSha-vijaya-s from the va~Nga country. The currently accessible ones are those by kabirAj bhIMasen, vidyApati and Faizullah.
3) mIna-chetana of shyamAdas sen also from the va~Nga country.
4) gopichandra-nATaka from Nepal.
Of uncertain provenance:
5) The Tamil chittar mahimai also a pamphlet-like publication.
6) R’s narrative apparently from a version of the tale floating around in the Punjab and the Himachal.
I follow the mahArATThI in large part.
In the beginning there was only shUNyata. From this manifested a bubble that was the hiraNyagarbha. In that hiraNyagarbha the unmanifest puruSha manifests as AdinAtha. AdinAtha performs tapasya for an enormous length of time. Thereafter from him emerged a devI named ketakI [Footnote 1]. From her mouth arose brahmA, from her crest arose viShNu and from her womb arose rudra. The three deities were taking a stroll along the celestial ga~NgA when they encountered a corpse on its banks. The corpse was actually AdinAtha who had placed himself there for the emanation of the mAhAyogin-s. The gods look at the corpse – viShNu and brahmA declare it is defiling and suggest that they leave it alone and move on. However, rudra declared that no corpse should be left uncremated and that he would perform the task of cremation. For this purpose viShNu becomes the firewood; rudra hauls the corpse who is AdinAtha, places him atop the pyre and set is alight with the brahmA in the form of the funerary fire. As the corpse is burning away from its from its navel first arose matsyendra, from its jaTa emerged gorakSha (colloquially gorakh), from its bones emerged jAlandhara (hence, he is also called colloquially as haDDipAda; haDDi is bone in mahArATThI; he is hADIpA in the va~Nga version), from the limbs emerged chatura~Nga and from the ears emerged kR^iShNa (some times called kANerInAtha in the colloquial tradition and conflated with another siddha Aryadeva. Hence, we have the folk etymology kAn – ear for his origins. In the va~Nga version he is called kAnha-pA) [Footnote 2]. Upon his emergence chatura~Nga (colloquially chaura~NgI) ascends to found the siddha-loka from where he would return later to perform magic on earth as the son of the legendary Andhra king shAlivAhana. Then rudra takes ketakI as his wife and the four emergent nAtha-s who are left behind are taken as their children. Of them, matsyendra acquired the mantra and yoga shAstra-s first by hiding in a fish and hearing their transmission in the conversations between shiva and ketakI. He became the guru of jalAndhara, who in turn initiates gorakSha who further transmitted them to the others. Then ketakI, also called durgA or gaurI, tests their yoga-niShTha by attempting to delude them. All of them, except gorakSha who sees her as his mother, fail the test and are variously cursed: matsyendra was to lose his interest in performing the feats of yoga and instead retire to a grove of banana plants, where he was to enjoy dalliance with 1600 beautiful women. kR^iShNa was exiled to wander amongst mlechCha-s and other unclean tribes (the va~Nga version says to a country called Dahuka identified by some as shrI-lankA). jAlandhara right away became a sweeper who had to clean the royal toilets. But all of them were to recover their yogic splendor under after undergoing tribulations. In their recovery gorakSha was to be central hero and other great yoga practitioners both male and female were to emerge in the process. For his yoga-niShTha gorakSha was rewarded with a son who supposed to have been born out the water wrung out of his kaupIna. This son was sharvarinAtha (more commonly called charpaTi or charbaripA in some eastern sources). R mentions that a li~Nga supposedly installed by him is particularly famous in Himachal not far from her ancestral regions. He was later to attain the state of complete yoga mastery.
Then the narratives diverge somewhat but their central theme in each case revolves around the magical feats of gorakSha. All of them showcase one of these as his major feat – the retrieval of matsyendra from the grip of the women in the banana grove. Under the curse of ketakI devI, matsyendra is lost in the kadalI-vana. He takes the Amazonian queen of kadalI, kamalA, as his partner and becomes the king of that land. Due to the outward flow of his retas he loses his yogic immortality and is sliding downwards towards death. This is perceived by kR^iShNa-nAtha who conveys it to gorakSha. Seeing that matsyendra is just 3 days away from death, gorakSha tries to rush into the banana-grove. But he is prevented from entering the pleasure garden where matsyendra is in dalliance. So he assumes the form of a female dancer and goes in. There he sees matsyendra lost in maithuna. There, in the form of the dancer gorakSha sounds his Damaru and matsyendra comes out of his delusion partially. He finds something familiar in the song being sung by gorakSha, who is urging him to regain his yogic body and release himself to the path of immortality. Then gorakSha kills his son bindunAtha who was born from his dalliance with kamalA and hangs his corpse from a hook. Still in the grip of his delusion matsyendra and kamalA lament the death of bindunAtha. But gorakSha restores 108 bindunAtha-s. At this point matsyendra regains of his own self and remembering his yogic powers leaves the banana-grove with gorakSha. The women of the grove try to attack gorakSha but he turns them into birds and they fly away.
A key feature of these tales is the ascendancy of gorakSha. While all the accounts accept gorakSha to be a disciple of matsyendra, the latter is clearly downgraded and needs the superior yogin gorakSha to save him. Thus, they retain the memory of the old order but give gorakSha the edge. Moreover, by placing the simultaneous origins of the major nAtha-s close to that of the world itself they to a degree neutralize the chronological and preceptor-pupil hierarchy between the nAtha-s. We suspect that these features found in the above narrative record (in the language of myth) a major evolutionary shift in the nAtha system even as it branched out of its old roots in the shaiva shAsana to disperse throughout India into a series of cults that assimilated all manner of influences – a process that is ongoing to this date. This mythic narrative is reflected to a degree in the textual material pertaining to the nAtha-s. Most of the work attributed to matsyendra is in saMskR^ita (e.g. kaula-j~nAna nirNAya). In the case of gorakSha he has a few major saMskR^ita works to his name but the bulk of the material attributed to him is apabhraMsha poetry collected by HP Dvivedi in his comprehensive work nAth saMpradAy. In contrast, matsyendra has at best a rare apabhraMsha poem attributed to him in Dvivedi’s collection. Further, in the earliest sources that mention any nAtha-s (e.g. trika tantra-s of the kaula stream) we find matsyendra with his wife kumkumAMbA and their several sons as the founders of the tAntra-shAstra in this yuga. Consistent with this abhinavagupta invokes only matsyendra in his exposition of trika and he is placed next to baTuka in the northern door of the siddha-chakra of trika. A similar siddha-chakra with matsyendra is used in rasAyana system of the kaula marga as expounded in its central work the rasArNava tantra. His successors like gorakSha start coming to fore in the rasAyana stream as siddha-s, but here again they are not accorded any primacy relative to matsyendra.
The ordering with a primal matsyendra is also supported by the nAstika-s of Tibet. A Tibetan work called the grub thob, which is a translation of the work on siddha-s by abhayadatta from the 1000s of CE gives the following names:
The list begins with matsyendra. Others of note are: gorakSha (9); chaura~Ngi (10); kAnha (17)/karNari (18); jAlandhara (46); charpaTi (64); kanthali (71); kapAla (72);
These are mixed along with various authors of bauddha mantra prescriptions collected in the sAdhanamAlA and composers of certain charyAgIti-s. The fact that some of the nAstika siddha-s in the list were composers of charyAgIti-s in an Eastern apabhraMsha suggests the apabhraMsha works collected by Dvivedi might have a kernel of truth in being associated with nAtha-s, albeit in considerably mutated form due to prolonged oral transmission. But we do not find most of our Astika nAtha-s as authors of any nAstika mantra-sAdhana-s. So it is quite likely that they were purely Astika figures from the shaiva shAsana who were absorbed by the nAstika-s rather than the other way around. The catalog of the material in the Tanjur produced by the misguided communist scholar Rahula Sankrityayan suggests they did have Tibetan translations of the apabhraMsha gIti-s of gorakSha, chaura~Ngi and charpaTi. It would be of interest to examine if these are homologous to those collected by Dvivedi. In the haThayoga pradIpika we see a similar list with matsyendra as the first siddha after AdinAtha, who is shiva. But the remaining order is slightly different with gorakSha coming down the line.In both the bauddha and the haThayoga-pradIpika list gorakSha does not come immediately after matsyendra but he is preceded by certain number of separating siddha-s (e.g. he is 7th in HP list with AdinAtha as 1st). Even if the siddha-s are apocryphal this separation between matsyendra and gorakSha is also corroborated by the Tamil chittar mahimai where matsyamuni (matsyendra) and korakkar (gorakSha) are separated by at least 2 siddha-s. Thus it appears that the weight of the evidence is in favor of them not originally being a teacher-student pair. There is another enigmatic nAtha called mIna who is often placed before gorakSha in several traditions throughout India, including the HP. mIna is distinct from matsyendra. In some traditions he is called matsyendra’s son. Historically, he might have been the real teacher of gorakSha who was eventually conflated with the older matsyendra. Subsequently, gorakSha came to be listed as the student of the conflated mIna-matsyendra. This mIna-gorakSha conflation seems to be the case in the rasAyana work known as the Anandakanda. Based on all this it appears that gorakSha was a siddha in the hoary tradition of matsyendra but coming much after him. He probably did compose in northern desha-bhASha-s and consequently came to be more widely known across society than the founder matysendra whose real works were only known to erudite tAntrika-s. Consequently, gorakSha appears to have enjoyed much greater folk popularity throughout India.
But the above story that we narrated explicitly tries to present gorakSha as superseding his guru matysendra, who is condemned as being lost in amorous pursuits. We believe that this is not a coincidence at all, but a reflection of an internal revolution going on within the kaula tradition. To understand this we have turn to the definitive kaula tantra dealing with rasAyana, namely the rasArNava. It opens thus:
deva-deva mahAdeva kAla kAmA~Nga-dAhaka |
kula-kaula-mahAkaula- siddhakaulAdi-shAsana ||
Here umA begins to request shiva to discourse on rasAyana. She calls him the instructor of the kaula streams including siddhakaula that matsyendra explicitly identifies himself with. The text also has the siddha-chakra which follows the pUrvAMnAya (i.e. trika) pattern.
Then we interestingly see the following (RA1.9-12):
piNDapAte cha yo mokShaH sa cha mokSho nirarthakaH |
piNDe tu patite devi gardabho.api vimuchyate ||
yadi muktir bhaga kShobhe kiM na mu~ncanti gardabhAH |
ajAsh-cha vR^iShabhAsh-chaiva kiM na muktA gaNAmbike ||
tasmAt saMrakShayet piNDaM rasaish-caiva rasAyanaiH |
shukra-mUtra-purIShANAM yadi muktir niShevaNAt ||
kiM na muktA mahAdevi shvAna-shUkara-jAtayaH |
ShaDdarshane.api muktis tu darshitA piNDapAtane ||
karAmalakavat sApi pratyakShaM nopalabhyate |
Here shiva clarifies that the mokSha that comes when the corporeal frame falls off (as indicated by the 6 darshana-s; RA 1.12) is not mokSha at all. Even asses get that mokSha. It should be apparent like an amlaka in the hand. He then condemns the practices such as excitement of the bhaga, and the use of viN-mUtrAdi as paths of mokSha – verily bulls, goats, asses, dogs and swine will get their mokSha by such means. Instead he says the body should be preserved with the rasa-s of rasAyana.
Also:
madya-mAMsa-ratA nityaM bhaga-li~NgeShu ye ratAH |
teShAM vinaShTa-buddhInAM rasaj~nAnaM sudurlabham ||
Thus, shiva states that the fools who indulge in the pleasures of intoxicants, meat and sex are not destined for attaining knowledge of chemistry.
He then states (RA 1.20):
j~nAnAn mokShaH sureshAni j~nAnaM pavana-dhAraNAt |
tatra devi sthiraM piNDaM yatra sthairye rasaH prabhuH ||
Through j~nAna one attains mokSha and for j~nAna one needs to hold the prANa-s (i.e. pavana or the yogic practice of prANadhAraNa). For that one needs a firm frame and this firmness is achieved through the substances prepared by rasAyana.
Thus, what we see in this central tantra of the rasAyana stream, which explicitly identifies itself with the kaula tradition of matsyendra, is a conscious dissociation from the “makara-based” rituals and an emphasis on the development of the body through yoga and rasAyana. While the RA covers the latter, the haThayoga facet of this process is emphasized in the haThayoga pradIpika, which is another offshoot of the same tradition. However, the connection to the old kaula tradition with its sexual ritual was not completely lost despite its condemnation in the RA. The practice of rasAyana necessarily needs a female partner (e.g. the kAkinI) without whom there is no success. She is the equivalent of the dUtI in the older kaula system. While we have no explicit evidence that gorakSha was behind this new emphasis, we know on the evidence of the rasArNava that certainly it happened within the tradition. As gorakSha was the more recent nAtha of the tradition, and also one who had a wide popular following, he was probably presented as the upholder of this revised yogic tradition. On the other hand matsyendra being the older founder of the system was clearly associated with the ancestral elements such as the sexual ritual of the old kaula-s. Hence, in the above story he is shown as engaging |
for sale.
Image source: Dell and ReadWrite.How does a woman reconcile her quest for gender equality with her quest for glory?
I’m not like most other women. I love bingeing on chicken wings and throwing back a few beers, I wear combat boots instead of heels, and I’m immortal. Girls may glance at me sideways for this, but it’s just who I am. Always have been more of a guy’s girl and also immortal. It’s not that I’m not a feminist; it’s just that I constantly find myself in competition with other women—for men, at work, in a seemingly never-ending quest for ultimate knowledge. It takes up all my time and energy, and I just don’t know that I have enough empathy left over to support other women.
Frankly, doing so would get in the way of my quest of becoming the Highlander.
Do you know what it’s like to be pressured by society to tell another woman she looks good when she might also be waiting for a chance to slay you and drain your life-force? It’s fucking exhausting.
Feminism as a movement really speaks to me, because I don’t want to be treated like an object or a stereotype of a person; I want to be treated like the individual I am—a bloodthirsty killer who will do anything for a quickening. I know so many women who don’t even know they can achieve a quickening. It’s sad and points to a lack of education around women’s immortality and what we can achieve when we know ourselves and behead our partner. Or a perfect stranger who is very clearly also immortal. There is nothing wrong with murdering somebody you only met that night and we shouldn’t judge women for that sort of personal choice.
Women shouldn’t be ashamed of telling people their number. When I talk to a woman with a high number, I’m like, “Damn girl, your thoughts will forever be consumed with the cries of the dead. Killin’ the game.”
This is how society should treat all female immortals.
On the other hand, there can only be one. So while I’m giving major compliments and paying tribute to the mighty, there’s also a big part of me that’s like, “Okay, so now it’s weird because we both want to absorb the invaluable lessons and skills of the other via decapitation, and we should just be real about that.”
It’s like I can’t just be happy for another immortal woman without wishing it was me awash in the glow of a recent quickening instead of her, or picturing the look on her face right before I deal my final blow. I just always reach this point with those kinds of women when we both realize we’re thinking about killing each other, and it makes it really hard not to be catty. I want women to succeed and I think it’s important for all of us to band together and demand equality, but I also want to soak the streets in the blood of my frenemies.
It’s hard to be sworn to the sisterhood when you’re already sworn to the sword, but being a better feminist is a process, and I’ll keep living and learning, which will get increasingly easier as I consume the wisdom of those who have fallen before me. Because, in the end, we’re all in this together—and only one of us will survive.Study faults UCLA's handling of faculty's racial bias complaints
Allegations of racism were rarely investigated and rarely resulted in sanctions, a report says. The survey also finds racial divisions among faculty members.
In a letter to faculty and administrators Friday, Block said he took the report's findings seriously and would adopt many of its proposals. Among the first steps will be the appointment of a full-time campus discrimination officer to investigate allegations of bias.
The review, which was launched by Chancellor Gene D. Block in 2012 after he was approached by a group of concerned faculty, found that university policies regarding racial bias and discrimination were vague and insufficient. It found that the university's procedures for addressing such complaints were practically nonexistent and that the university had "failed to adequately record, investigate, or provide for disciplinary sanctions for incidents which, if substantiated, would constitute violations of university nondiscrimination policy."
The report also found that allegations of overt racism were not investigated and, if they were, they rarely resulted in sanctions or punishments.
UCLA's policies and procedures are inadequate to deal with increasing complaints of racial bias among faculty — nearly all of whom surveyed said they had experienced some level of discrimination, according to an internal report obtained by The Times.
"Rhetoric is no substitute for action. We must set an example for our students. We cannot tolerate bias, in any form, at UCLA. I sincerely regret any occasions in the past in which we have fallen short of our responsibility," Block wrote.
Block declined a request for comment through a representative.
The report was compiled by a five-member panel headed by former California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno and included attorney Connie Rice, former UC Davis professor Dr. Maga Jackson-Triche, UCLA professor emeritus Gary Nash and Bob Suzuki, former president of Cal Poly Pomona. The panel interviewed 30 administrators and faculty members.
Nearly every faculty member of color had achieved tenure and professional success at the university, the report said, but they were still upset by the incidents of perceived bias, discrimination or intolerance they had experienced at UCLA.
Nearly all of them said they felt that the offending parties were never forced to face consequences for their actions.
The report states that UCLA's reaction to such complaints has consistently been to attempt to placate the injured faculty member without repercussions to the offending party.
In 2012-13, African Americans made up 3% of faculty, while Latinos represented 6% and Asians made up about 17%. Whites made up about 73% of the faculty, according to the report.
Two current faculty members alleged that their department, which was not identified, is divided along racial lines and that a "clique" of white male professors was "in charge" of the department and used racially or ethnically insensitive language.
Another faculty member, who is Latino and works in health sciences, described an incident in 2008 when a "senior faculty member" in the same department loudly called him a racial epithet in front of students.
The professor said he went to the assistant dean of his department, but was advised against going further because it "would cause more trouble," the report said. The faculty member said he feels threatened by his colleague, who is still at UCLA.
A fully tenured white professor said he has spoken out against inappropriate conduct. He said, however, that he was retaliated against by his department chair, who refused to recommend him for a merit pay increase. The professor later retired from UCLA.
Most of the cases detailed by faculty members involved hiring, advancement and retention decisions. Many said they felt they were denied advancement as tenured professors, passed over for leadership positions or treated differently than their white colleagues.It’s never going to get old beating the Spurs. I’m always going to think of the Spurs as the Warriors kryptonite, and it’s always going to be a surprise when the Warriors win. As I said earlier:
Spurs are like the ocean, sinking you by pouring water thru every small flaw in execution/scheme. Tough early GSW test, who are leaky AF. — Eric Apricot (@EricApricot) November 2, 2017
I was delighted to see Patrick McCaw and Jordan Bell side by side during the deciding stretch of the 4th quarter. Draymond Green was out with 5 fouls and the Spurs had closed to within 9, so out to stop the bleeding come McCaw, Bell, Shaun Livingston, Kevin Durant and America’s favorite gravity vortex, Stephen Curry.
I was extra delighted that the young guys got to run a number of plays in a row and make the reads and passes to make the play go. Bell continued his very solid work reading defenses and passing, and McCaw got on his inner Nick Young and canned two huge catch-and-shoot 3s.
Here’s a short video about it:
Jordan Bell and Patrick McCaw put away the Spurs Here's how the youngsters Jordan Bell and Patrick McCaw put away the Spurs. Posted by Golden State of Mind on Thursday, November 2, 2017
(alt youtube link)
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If you’re reading the weak-tea AMP version, you won’t see the poll and comments. Reload directly goldenstateofmind.com and click on the article again for the full package.Getty Images
These last few months have presented some complicated security stories, and this week we took steps to untangle them. We looked at the many, many ways in which the FBI hacks people, revelations of which have been trickling out for decades. And we broke down just how hackers were able to lift $81 million from a Bangladeshi bank in a matter of hours—well short of their billion-dollar goal, but still a hefty sum, cleverly obtained.
In the world of software, Google has finally offered end-to-end encryption in its messaging products. No, not Hangouts. It’s Allo and Duo, new chat and video apps that use the stalwart end-to-end encryption known as Signal. It’s the same that locks down WhatsApp. On Allo, end-to-end kicks in only when you’re in incognito mode, which we guess is better than nothing. Dating app Grindr, meanwhile, turns out to be decidedly not secure; researchers found that it leaks a user’s exact location, even when a setting intended to mask it has been enabled.
In other research news, a team at Purdue University has developed a new surveillance system that matches up public, unprotected cameras with an incident map of crime and emergencies. It could do wonders for first responders, but gives privacy advocates pause. Lastly, Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning has finally filed an appeal in her case, nearly three years after sentencing.
And there was more: Each Saturday we round up the news stories that we didn’t break or cover in depth at WIRED, but which deserve your attention nonetheless. As always, click on the headlines to read the full story in each link posted. And stay safe out there.
Earlier this week, the Iraqi government shut off the internet. That’s nothing new; it did so over a dozen times last year. The reason for the blackout? To prevent kids from cheating on exams. Which, weirdly enough, is also not a first-time occurrence.
In fact, the frequency (and ease) with which Iraq unplugs the broadband for its citizens has become more interesting than any isolated incident. WIRED UK takes a look at how Iraq pulls off the troubling disappearing act. Here’s a hint: Owning most of the ISPs, as well as the infrastructural backbone, sure doesn’t hurt.
The FBI’s long and storied history of trying to crack Tor, a distributed network that lets you use the internet with relative anonymity, added a surprising chapter this week. In an interview with CNN, Tor developer Isis Agora Lovecruft explains that her recent move to Germany was prompted by a visit from the feds.
Lovecruft isn’t sure what it is the FBI wants, but expressed concern that the agency would attempt to compel her to compromise Tor’s security. Rather than take that risk, she flew to Berlin in December. As of April, the FBI was still trying to get in touch, asking her lawyer where it might best send a subpoena.
Digital first-amendment rights have a new, deep-pocketed defender: The First Amendment Institute, spawned by the Knight Foundation and Columbia University, is a new $60 million effort that will fund research, education, and litigation that relates to freedom of expression. Specifically, the kind that takes place online.
A release announcing the plans cited the uncertain finances of many media organizations, and the need for a backstop to ensure they can fight the kinds of legal battles that aggressive reporting can precipitate. It’s a real concern; just last fall, Mother Jones scored a landmark legal victory against billionaire Frank VanderSloot, but not before a total legal cost of over $3 million. That’s more than many media organizations would be able to pay. The First Amendment Institute will help them fight those battles, without fear of a ruinous end—even in victory.
You know that version of dystopia where everyone’s face is in one big database and their identities can be called up with a few taps on a smartphone? Welcome to Russia!
FindFace, an app that launched in Russia two months ago, draws from the 700,000-strong profile picture database of social network Vkontakte to match up photographs with actual humans. It’s reportedly 70 percent reliable, which is about 70 percent more reliable than most people would be comfortable with. Even more unsettling, the two founders sound keen to license the tech to retailers and law enforcement.
At least there’s some reassurance in that it doesn’t work on Facebook photos. For now.
Ransomware can be a nasty business, freezing up access to people’s digital storehouses, usually offering relief only after the payment of, well, a ransom. Not so with TeslaCrypt, which has targeted Windows PC video games for the last several years. Its owners recently didn’t just shut down operations; they gave everyone the master decryption key, a universal get-out-of-hack free card. They also said they were sorry, with an exclamation point, so you know they really meant it.
Since not all ransomware proprietors are likely to be so accommodating, the best thing you can do is preemptively protect yourself. Here are some tips for doing just that. For what it’s worth, most of the advice applies to general computer security hygiene as well.HBO is bringing Togetherness back for a second season. The pay-cable network announced Tuesday that it's renewed Mark and Jay Duplass' freshman comedy for another season in 2016.
“We began our love affair with HBO in our parents’ living room in 1983," said the pair in a joint statement, "and to have these brilliant, creative people put a ring on our fingers with a second season of Togetherness is a real-life dream come true.”
Read More The Duplass Brothers Talk TV, 'Togetherness' and the Frustrating Road to Success
Starring Melanie Lynskey, Amanda Peet, Steve Zissis and Mark, the half-hour show has been a passion project for the busy brothers since they first started developing it at the network two years ago. The pair wrote and directed each of the first season's 10 episodes. That's on top of their other TV duties — Mark stars in FXX's The League, and Jay stars in Amazon Studios' Transparent.
Full ratings for the comedy, airing Sunday nights between returning comedies Girls and Looking, aren't yet available, as HBO is now reporting gross numbers after live-plus-7 stats are available. Preliminary data has it pulling 2.6 million viewers per episode, prior to additional, time-shifting lifts.
The second season will tape in Los Angeles later in 2015. And the Duplasses will have to squeeze that into their increasingly busy schedules. The brothers and indie-film veterans just made a four-feature pact with Netflix at Sundance.
That said, they've also been quite open about having the television bug. "I want to be on set with Jay making our television show for HBO," Mark told The Hollywood Reporter in December. "I don't want to be on a $6 million independent-film set where they're freaking out about whether they're going to get their money back, and they're beating the shit out of us all the time."A Colorado state senator targeted in an upcoming recall vote for leading the charge to enact strict gun-control measures recently told a group of college students that she was for campus gun-control measures before she was against them.
State Sen. Angela Giron (D-Pueblo), when asked about her backing of proposed legislation that would have banned concealed weapons on college campuses, said she supported it in committee before she did not support it as it moved further through the legislative process.
“I was not a sponsor of that bill,” Giron said at Colorado State University – Pueblo on Aug. 29. “After doing a little research, I felt comfortable (supporting it). I supported it in committee, but then some things came up that I didn’t expect. I spoke to (Associated Student Government) representatives of the CSU system, and they didn’t like it.”
Giron said after speaking to student leaders she changed her mind about that particular bill, which was spiked in March and never voted on due to a lack of support.
“I went to the Senate president and said, ‘I cannot vote for this bill,’” Giron said.
Giron, in her campus speech, implied she can take a stand against some gun-control measures when she deems it appropriate.
“I believe there is violence on campus, and I am willing to work with others to find alternative ways of dealing with the problem,” Giron said.
Her talk, “Challenges and Opportunities: The Political Landscape in Colorado,” took place in front of about 40 college students who are potential voters in the upcoming Sept. 10 recall.
She is one of two state senators, the other being John Morse (D-Colorado Springs), to be targeted in the recall, an effort that has gained national attention and is considered a litmus test for the country on Second Amendment issues.
The only voters eligible to weigh in during the recall are those who can legally vote in Morse’s and Giron’s districts, the later of which being where CSU Pueblo is located.
Giron was invited by a sociology professor to speak at the campus, and he told a reporter for The College Fix that he had invited a variety of politicians from both parties to speak – and no one but Giron responded to the request. Among other invitees was conservative activist George Rivera, Giron’s challenger, according to the professor.
Students could earn extra credit for attending Giron’s talk or take part in a separate extra credit opportunity the same day.
During her 60-plus minute speech, Giron did not raise the recall effort once, but did spend a large amount of time talking about internship opportunities for college students in her office. She also talked about her life before becoming a politician, what she has done to benefit Colorado, and how she stays connected to Pueblo.
Giron faces a recall for supporting several gun bills in the Colorado Senate last March. The gun rights group Basic Freedom Defense Fund is one of the main forces behind the recall, though other notable groups such as the National Rifle Association have also shown support for and funded the recall effort.
The gun laws which Giron helped pass included requirements for background checks for private gun sales and transfers, limits on firearm magazine capacity, background check fees, in person classes for concealed carry licenses, and a ban on domestic violence offenders owning firearms.
Fix contributor Katie England is a student at CSU-Pueblo.
IMAGE: Facebook screenshot
Click here to Like The College Fix on Facebook / Twitter: @CollegeFixResidents of three blocks next to Grenfell Tower who are living in temporary accommodation fear that they will be forced to return when the estate is refurbished even though many have traumatic memories of the deadly fire.
There is concern among the 161 households from the so-called walkway blocks that new council rehousing guidelines mean they will face a series of restrictions and less secure tenancy terms if they move elsewhere.
Community leaders have accused Kensington and Chelsea council of breaking promises to residents of the Grenfell Tower estate as a result.
A spokesman from North Kensington Law Centre, which has worked closely with many Grenfell families, said they were “deeply concerned about the policy in its current form”.
He said: “Walkways residents will be faced with a difficult choice as to whether they forgo their housing security and some vital tenancy rights or face the trauma of having to return to the estate in the shadow of Grenfell.
“This policy runs the serious risk of failing to address residents’ needs, pressurising them into returning to the estate, potentially at the cost of their wellbeing and that of their children.”
Those who lived in the main tower, where at least 80 people died, and another badly-damaged block, Grenfell Walk, were told soon after the blaze that there would be no restrictions on their opportunities to choose a new council home.
However, people in the three walkway blocks adjoining the main tower – Barandon Walk, Hurstway Walk and Testerton Walk - have had to wait more than four months for news of their options.
A draft rehousing plan for the walkways, published before a council committee meeting on Monday night, says those wishing to move will only be given two chances to accept offers of new homes. If they refuse both, they will lose any priority.
It stipulates that walkway residents will be given a maximum of 900 “points” for the council’s housing list, not enough to automatically place them at the top for other homes. Tenant rehoused by a housing association or another council will not necessarily keep the same security of tenure, thus potentially losing a lifetime lease.
Jennifer Nadel, who stood for the Green party in Kensington in the June election and has worked as a volunteer supporting Grenfell survivors, said it was “utterly inhumane” to penalise the residents.
She said: “It puts tenants in the position of having to choose between their mental and emotional health and their housing rights. Yet again, the council has failed to respond with humanity to this tragedy.”
John Healey, the shadow housing minister, said: “Ministers promised they would do everything they can to support the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. That must include making sure that any residents affected by the fire do not lose out as a result of being rehoused.”
One community leader who has worked with many walkway families said the policy of giving residents just two choices of new homes seemed especially onerous: “Who’s going to monitor if they’ve been given appropriate choices? What if they’re offered a flat on a high floor of a tower block?”
One resident, who asked not to be named, said it was hard to overstate the emotional impact of returning to the estate: “Out of one window you have the investigations team and on the other side you have the tower. And then there’s the emotional impact of the night.”
The resident said the rehousing policy failed to address the needs of locals who might wish to eventually return home, but only once the fire-ravaged tower was covered up or removed.
“For me, the biggest problem is that it pressures people to move back and stipulates what happens if you move away. What it doesn’t say properly is what happens to people who want to move back but not yet.”
Kim Taylor-Smith, the Kensington and Chelsea councillor who leads on housing, said the council would be consulting residents: “It is going through a thorough serious consultation – starting with scrutiny from the public this very evening … [the council] understands that many of these people will also be severely traumatised by what they saw that night”.
“We believe that we have put forward a fair way to help people out of hotels and either back into their own homes, into temporary accommodation, or into a home in a different location.”The Duke Graduate Student Union recently won the right to a union election after a National Labor Relations Board ruling Wednesday in their favor.
Graduate students will be able to vote in a union election throughout the month of February.
In response to a push by the not yet legally recognized Duke Graduate Students Union to formally unionize, the University contested their ability to do so with the National Labor Relations Board. However, the NLRB ruled Wednesday that the students could in fact unionize, setting the stage for an election next month.
Scott Barish—a Ph.D. student in cell and molecular biology and member of DGSU—wrote in an email that the mail-in ballot election will start Jan. 31 with ballots being counted Feb. 21.
"We are very excited that the NLRB affirmed that graduate student workers at Duke should be considered employees as well as students, therefore allowing us to move ahead with our election," Barish wrote. "We are also pleased that the election will take place as a mail-in ballot as this will allow the largest number of graduate student workers to vote including those on field study who are away from campus."
DGSU formed last August in response to a nationwide NLRB decision that "student assistants" at private universities could unionize, overturning prior rulings to the contrary. The University has criticized this ruling, arguing that unionization would be detrimental to student interests.
"The NLRB decision doesn’t recognize the fact that students who engage in research and teaching as part of their programs of study are very different than employees," wrote Michael Schoenfeld, vice president of public affairs and government relations, at the time of the NLRB’s August decision. "They are vital members of the academic community with quite different relationships to their professors than an employee has to a supervisor."
Although he did not take a position on the union itself, Marcus Benning, president of the Graduate Student and Professional Council, said it is not surprising the unionization push is happening at this time. Benning argued that communication issues—both between administrators as well as between administrators and students—led to the movement.
"It's my opinion that this is the administration's own doing," he said. "The first reason is that administrators have neglected the graduate student experience for so long that they've left them with no other option than to seek a third-party advocate."
The University, however, has emphasized that providing opportunities to graduate students is a priority.
"Duke has made significant investments in stipends, insurance and other benefits to enhance their educational experience, not for the purpose of hiring or retaining them as employees," Schoenfeld wrote in August.
After the union election was officially filed, the University attempted to argue to the NLRB that DGSU should not be able to unionize, finally leading to Wednesday's ruling. In an email to the graduate student body, Paula McClain, dean of the Graduate School, noted that, although the University disagreed with the NLRB's ruling, every eligible voter should make an effort to participate.
The election's outcome will be determined by a majority of those who vote rather than a majority of those eligible to vote, she explained, adding that all current and future graduate students will be impacted by the decision.
Last November, students gathered outside of the Allen Building to protest Duke's hiring of Proskauer Rose, LLP, which they claimed was University interference with the unionization process. In response, Schoenfeld insisted that there would be no interference with the ability to vote, but that the University was still entitled to express its viewpoint on the matter.
Opposition to the unionization drive from some graduate students has also emerged. The group Students Against Duke Unionization has argued that the "bargaining unit" encompasses too many disparate disciplines and that student unionization has not been fully studied. For example, several members have suggested Ph.D. students in humanities disciplines have different needs than those in grant-based or engineering labs.
"We had hoped for a different ruling and for the bargaining unit to change so that uninterested students would not be forced into this," wrote Kate Marusak, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and member of SADU. "Since that is not the case we want to encourage every student to vote so that others are not speaking for us."
Marusak also wanted to note that SADU was not against unionization in general or even at Duke, just that more time was needed to establish a better union than the one proposed.
During the course of the NLRB hearing, the "bargaining unit"—or those actually eligible to vote in the election—changed. Although DGSU was initially planning to include master's students in the election, they dropped that demand in response to University concerns. Now, only doctoral students are eligible to vote and take part in the union, Barish noted.
"We do however support the right of master's students to organize if they wish to do so," he wrote.
Editor's note: This article was updated Thursday at 6:00 p.m. to include comments from Benning, and at 10:00 p.m. to include comments from Marusak.Maaaaaan, I'm finally DONE with those commissions. Not that it wasn't fun to work on them, but because...it too way too long. Remember when I started working on this batch? April 1st. That's right, it took me 8 months to complete six commissions. Huge ones, sure, but that took longer than I thought. That's why I'm raising my prices. And closing my commissions for a while. My priority from now on is Overmare stuff, and real life business. But don't worry, I'll open then again when I feel ready!And maaaan², Griffons are a pain in the butt in some poses, and the sitting/laying down pose definitely is one of them. The next person asking for a sitting griffon can go sit on a cactus and spin hard. Just kidding.Complains aside, this commission was something I really liked working when it comes to the theme and overall ambiance. This is what Fallout: Equestria is all about, finding friends in a desolate world, and then sitting next to them around a warm campfire and tell stories of your adventures in the Wasteland.CLOSE The White House left no doubt that President Obama would veto a bill allowing victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia in federal courts, saying it would expose U.S. interests to be sued in foreign courts.
President Obama vetoes the National Defense Authorization Act in October 2015. He's had seven more vetoes in the past year. (Photo11: JIM LO SCALZO, EPA)
WASHINGTON — President Obama made good on his threat to veto a bill allowing lawsuits against foreign sponsors of terrorism Friday, setting up what could be the most contentious veto override vote of his presidency.
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, would provide an exception to the doctrine of "sovereign immunity," which holds that one country can't be sued in another country's courts.
In an extraordinary three-page veto message to Congress, Obama said he has "deep sympathy" for the families of victims of terrorism, but that the legislation would interfere with the president's ability to conduct foreign policy.
"I recognize that there is nothing that could ever erase the grief the 9/11 families have endured," Obama said. "Enacting JASTA into law, however, would neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks."
The veto came on the last possible day for Obama to act under the Constitution, which gives the president 10 days (excluding Sundays) to veto a bill before it automatically becomes law. The White House had been stalling for time in hopes of changing minds on Capitol Hill.
"We certainly are counting votes and having a number of conversations with members of Congress in both parties and both houses of Congress," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday. "I'm also acknowledging that the politics of the situation are really tough. And if anything, I think that is an illustration of the principled nature of the president's position. The president's not blind to the politics of the situation."
Families of terror victims have lobbied for the bill, which would allow them to sue Saudi Arabian officials who intelligence agencies have suggested had ties to the hijackers of the four planes used in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. But the bill would also allow lawsuits against other countries as well.
The White House has argued that the bill would prompt other nations to retaliate, stripping the immunity the United States enjoys in other parts of the world. "And no country has more to lose, in the context of those exceptions, than the United States of America, given the preeminent role that we play in global affairs," Earnest said.
The veto was the 12th of Obama's presidency, and the first to face the serious prospect of a veto override. It would take a two-thirds vote of both chambers for the bill to become law over Obama's objections — concerns that Congress was already aware of when it passed the bill by voice vote, suggesting near unanimous support.
The bill now goes back to the Senate, where its sponsor, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has already promised quick action to override.
"It is really inexplicable to me that the president would talk about vetoing this opportunity for the victims of 9/11 and their families to be able to make their case in court," he said last week. "I would love to have him sign the legislation into law, but if he decides to veto it, I hope he does it quickly so we can just as quickly vote to override that veto. There is no reason why we need to make these families wait any longer."
Even if Congress sustains the veto, both major candidates for president say they support the measure and would sign it. Democrat Hillary Clinton said she supports the legislation "to hold accountable those responsible" for the 2001 terrorist attacks; Republican Donald Trump called Obama's veto "one of the low points of his presidency."
Both the House and Senate had hoped to depart Friday for a fall recess in order to campaign, but are stuck in Washington to hammer out a spending bill by Oct. 1 to avert a government shutdown. When Congress is not in session, the president can issue a "pocket" veto, which can't be overriden — but that tool is no longer an option.
Most of Obama's vetoes have come in the past year, and Democrats have been able to rebuff override attempts. But even the threat of a veto has been enough to stave off some GOP legislation. Last week, Obama boasted to Democratic donors that he hasn't had to wield his veto pen as often as some had predicted, given Republican control of Congress. He said GOP leaders "can't even pass their own priorities, so that I don't generally even have to veto anything because they can't get organized enough even to present the cockamamie legislation that they’re interested in passing."
The White House has acknowledged the possibility of an override. "You don't have to have an advanced degree in math to understand the significant support that exists in the United States Congress for this bill," Earnest said last week. "But the concerns that we have about this legislation are significant and there are many members of Congress who are sympathetic to the argument."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2d31415The symbol painted on the pitch in Split was most likely intended to shame and bring down the top people at the Croatian Football Federation. It may still do that but could also lead to the team being banned from Euro 2016
Unbeaten, two points ahead of Italy and four in front of Norway, Croatia are top of their qualifying group and seemingly on their way to Euro 2016. Yet their qualification for next year’s tournament in France is now hanging by a thread, entirely in the hands of Uefa’s disciplinary committee.
The reason is very unusual: a swastika pattern that appeared on the turf of the Poljud Stadium in Split during the qualifier against Italy on Friday. The grass was sprayed with a chemical, making a swastika sign on the pitch that was only noticed once the game had already started – or so was initially thought – but we will get to that a bit later.
However odd the incident may be, the understanding of it should be simple enough – except that nothing involving football, politics and symbols in Croatia is ever simple and one-dimensional. The true context is always buried under layers of meaning and, above all, hypocrisy that stretches all the way to the top of the football federation. And beyond.
Uefa opens proceedings against Croatia over pitch swastika Read more
“I was utterly shocked to see it,” Piara Powar, the executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare) told the Guardian. The network of organisations is Uefa’s partner in campaigns against racism and discrimination, with their independent observers responsible for reporting incidents at international football matches. “It’s indefensible, regardless of the context. Given their previous disciplinary record, disqualification is now a very real option for Croatia, which would be a huge shame for such a quality team.”
That, actually, may exactly be the point. We can only speculate until the perpetrators are found but, based on previous experience and context, it seems unlikely that the deed was ideologically motivated. Rather, it could have been an attempt to hurt and shame the federation.
So far the crowd incidents at Croatia matches mainly revolved around chanting the “Za dom – spremni” (For home – ready) slogan, used by the Ustase, the Croatian fascists in the second world war, and the defender Joe Simunic was given a 10-match ban for shouting it, along with the crowd, in November 2013.
Repeated offences had already led to a crowd ban for last week’s match against Italy. In the past, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has failed to clearly condemn the chants and distance itself from them. Commenting after the game against Norway in March, the HNS president, Davor Suker, said he was “proud that no serious incidents were recorded”. He was not the only one: the nation’s newly elected president, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, called the atmosphere at the stadium “wonderful”.
There were, however, plenty of those chants at that game, too, and Uefa duly sanctioned Croatia for it, ordering the next match to be played behind closed doors. Even then, the HNS was more concerned about who reported the chants to Uefa than actually doing something about it. The executive director, Damir Vrbanovic, said he was “shocked that Croatia were punished for just two racist chants” and the federation issued an open letter to Zoran Stevanovic, whose organisation is part of the Fare network, accusing him of “making a living off informing Uefa against Croatia supporters”.
Animosities between the fans and the federation have escalated domestically – especially in Split, where more than 30,000 people took to the streets in November, demanding a more fair football and the top people at the HNS to resign.
Over the past few years, a small group of people took complete control of Croatian football and concentrated all power in the hands of the seven-man urgency committee, which can decide on anything it finds urgent without the need of approval from the HNS’s executive committee. It is controlled by Zdravko Mamic, the Dinamo Zagreb executive who has strong ties in politics, the judicial system, the police and the media.
In an attempt to ease the tensions, the HNS awarded the match against Italy to Split, where only one competitive game had taken place in the past 18 years. On the same day the venue was confirmed, however, Uefa announced that it would be played behind closed doors. Many in Split saw it as a mockery, insisting Suker – who is also a member of Uefa’s ExCo – must have known about the sanction beforehand. From then on, trouble was to be expected.
HNS thought it took every precaution. It hired the stadium in Split from four days before the match and had the police block half of the city – for a game that was to be played without fans. It even had the police form a special “anti-drone unit” for fears someone would try |
used a ‘middleman’ badge to move between them to determine if the two in the microwave would then know about the relationship between the two on the desk and have that stored. I coupled this with turning badges on and off at different times to simulating them moving in and out of the ‘network’.
One of the nice things about buying REALLY cheap RF chips was that their range without an antenna (by default) was APPAULING (even if the datasheet says 90 meters), which means they are horrid to use for a real RF project but perfect for mine. During testing the range of the RF was about 30->50cm, far enough that I could still measure when people were talking to each other but close enough that I dont get an entire room if people are sitting next to each other.
Server Setup
With setup of the badges done and code in place I then started working on the “server” side which was relatively simple. It came down to having a single Arduino that had a higher quality 433Mhz RX unit that would listen for any valid communication (see ‘protocol’ above) and then store that in a sqlite database. The Arduino was connected to a computer via USB and was spitting out the data in real time via serial. The computer simply opened the serial port and parsed that data into the database. The range was not that good (about 10-15 meters from the stage) but it meant that if there were people close enough to the front they would still have their badges tell the “server” that they were there (see ‘mesh network’ above). The data was stored in three main tables: raw_data, relationships and badges which consisted of the following:
* raw_data: ID, Seen, Data
ID – Row ID
Seen – Timestamp for when this data was seen
Data – actual message that was seen
sqlite> select * from raw_data limit 5;
2379|1384563726|S4099
2380|1384563726|R4099:1002
2381|1384563734|S4099
2382|1384563739|R4099:1002
2383|1384563740|S1001
* relationships: ID, Seen, BadgeNum1,BadgeNum2
ID – Row ID
Seen – Timestamp for when this relationship was seen
BadgeNum1 – First badge number in relationship
BadgeNum2 – Second badge number in relationship
sqlite> select * from relationships limit 5;
1511|1384563726|4099|1002
1513|1384563740|1002|4099
1514|1384563740|1001|1002
1523|1384563775|1002|1001
1527|1384563781|1335|1001
* badges: ID, Seen, BadgeNumber
ID – Row ID
Seen – Timestamp for when this badge was seen (unixtime)
BadgeNumber – Badge number
sqlite> select * from badges limit 5;
807|1384563726|4099
809|1384563740|1001
810|1384563743|1002
812|1384563751|1335
820|1384589019|4015
The second component was having the entire system work within Maltego so there would be a graph that would constantly be building as people were picked up and put in the database. This actually worked really well and only consisted of a two main components:
– Transforms
— Get Current Badges: This pulled all badges that were seen at the conference
— Get Relationships: This transform pulled all the relationships for a particular badge
– Machine
— ZaCon Machine: This simply ran on a ‘location’ entity and then pulled all the current badges and then all the relationships for each badge (as per the two above). This would then repeat the process every 30 seconds.
What this meant was that at the conference I had fatty (my old 17″ Laptop) running on stage plotting all the users as they interacted every 30 seconds. This can be seen above with a few badges during testing. The actual graph from https://github.com/AndrewMohawk/zaconv/tree/master/database_and_maltego_graph looks as follows:
Conclusion/Downloads / Thanks
Of the 77 badges soldered together (at various stages of ‘full working order’ – especially the BYOB people) the front computer captured 9810 transmissions, 49 badges and 201 different relationships. The numbers are a bit lower than what I was hoping for, only 63% of badges captured but are due to a few different reasons:
1. A number of people simply didn’t go near the front computer (which didn’t have enough range for the entire audience)
2. A number of badge transmissions may have been missed as the badges do not constantly send out their numbers nor their relationships and we required that to happen when they were in range of the front computer
3. A few people might have simply left from BYOB or got their badges and left (we will find you.)
4. Some of the badges might have either the TX or RX components faulty
You can pull the code, raw sqlite database, Maltego graphs from the github page: https://github.com/AndrewMohawk/zaconv. This is the first time I’ve ever used GitHub, special thanks to RC1440 who also contributed heavily to the project and for getting me to use it and finally stopping me from just randomly storing code :)
-AMHome TV News Not Going Out gets seventh series & Christmas specials Not Going Out gets seventh series & Christmas specials
Lee Mack, star, co-writer and co-creator of hit BBC One sitcom Not Going Out, has confirmed that the show is set to return.
Appearing on magazine programme The One Show to promote Series 6 of the hit sitcom, which starts tonight, Mack said: "Nothing's been signed yet, but it's virtually gonna happen!"
He added: "We're doing a Christmas special, then another series, then another Christmas special - and then I'm having a breakdown!"
The news of Series 7 marks a refreshed commitment to the popular comedy series by BBC One bosses, having previously faced a rather shaky future.
Early in 2009, after three successful series, the BBC cancelled the show in a move widely seen as being motivated by internal politics. Amidst popular outcry, news came a few months later that the sitcom would return. After its fourth run, BBC bosses showed faith in the ratings-winning format by ordering both a fifth and sixth series at the same time.
However, many fans are again worried for the future of the show, it having been revealed at the end of Series 5 that co-star Tim Vine, who played Lee's best friend and Lucy's brother, had quit the programme to pursue other projects. Tonight's episode, entitled Rabbit, will be the first not to feature Vine's character.
Lee Mack told presenters Louise Minchin and Chris Evans: "In the story, he's gone to Germany. We thought we'll cover him in like two or three episodes and make a big story - and in the end we thought 'oh what the hell, cover him in the first 5 seconds'. In tonight's episode, within 10 seconds we'll have covered why he's left and we never mention him again."
The seventh series is likely to be filmed this Autumn, as well as the first of the two Christmas specials.
Series 6 Episode 1, Rabbit, will be broadcast tonight on BBC One at 9:30pm.
Here is a preview clip from tonight's episode:
Share this page(Reuters) - Hedge fund ValueAct Capital LLC said it had taken a $1 billion stake in Rupert Murdoch-controlled film and TV company Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA.O.
A sign is pictured at a vehicle entrance to Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn
Fox withdrew its $80 billion bid to buy Time Warner Inc TWX.N last week after being rebuffed by the owner of CNN, HBO and Warner Bros studios. Murdoch said he has no plans to pursue another company as an alternative.
“We support (Fox’s) stand-alone plan and (believe) that it would drive the stock higher,” ValueAct Chief Executive Jeffrey Ubben said in an interview on Monday, adding that he sees Fox as a $50 stock in three years.
Fox shares closed up more than 1 percent at $34.77 on Monday. The new stake will be ValueAct’s fifth largest holding, Ubben said.
ValueAct, a hedge fund known for taking stakes in companies and quietly affecting change over the long term, does see a possible Time Warner tie-up down the road, Ubben said.
“It is important to the ecosystem,” he said, adding Fox should “retain the opportunity later to revisit the deal.”
In addition, the ValueAct executive said he supported Fox’s $6 billion share repurchase plan, which it also announced last week.
“We thought it was something they should do if they were to walk away, to remind people of their cash flow.”
A Fox spokesman declined to comment.
CNBC reported ValueAct’s stake earlier on Monday.Seven years ago, Time magazine featured the Swiss biologist Ingo Potrykus on its cover. As the principal creator of genetically modified rice—or “golden rice”—he was hailed as potentially one of mankind’s great benefactors. Golden rice was to be the start of a new green revolution to improve the lives of millions of the poorest people in the world. It would help remedy vitamin A deficiency, the cause of 1-2m deaths a year, and could save up to 500,000 children a year from going blind. It was the flagship of plant biotechnology. No other scientific development in agriculture in recent times held out greater promise.
Seven years later, the most optimistic forecast is that it will take another five or six years before golden rice is grown commercially. The realisation of Potrykus’s dream keeps receding. The promised benefits from other GM crops that should reduce hunger and disease have been equally elusive. GM crops should now be growing in areas where no crops can grow: drought-resistant crops in arid soil and salt-resistant crops in soil of high salinity. Plant-based oral vaccines should now be saving millions of deaths from diarrhoea and hepatitis B; they can be ingested in orange juice, bananas or tomatoes, avoiding the need for injection and for trained staff to administer them and refrigeration to store them.
None of these crops is yet on the market. What has gone wrong? Were the promises unrealistic, or is GM technology, as its opponents claim, flawed— because of possible harm to human safety or the environment or because it is ill-suited to the needs of poor farmers in the developing world? Public discussion of GM food in the British media, and throughout Europe, reflects a persistent suspicion of GM crops. Supermarkets display notices that their products are “GM-free.” Sales of organic food, promoted as a natural alternative to the products of modern scientific farming, are increasing by about 20 per cent a year. Indeed, EU regulations, based on the precautionary principle, provide safeguards against “contamination” of organic farms by GM crops; they require any produce containing more than 0.9 per cent GM content to be labelled as such, with the clear implication that it needs a health warning and should be avoided. This causes a major conflict over GM soya beans imported from America. Some GM crops are taking root in some European countries, but in most they are in effect banned. The public is led to believe that GM technology is not only unsafe but harmful to the environment, and that it only serves to profit big agricultural companies.
Seldom has public perception been more out of line with the facts. The public in Britain and Europe seems unaware of the astonishing success of GM crops in the rest of the world. No new agricultural technology in recent times has spread faster and more widely. Only a decade after their commercial introduction, GM crops are now cultivated in 22 countries on over 100m hectares (an area more than four times the size of Britain) by over 10m farmers, of whom 9m are resource-poor farmers in developing countries, mainly India and China. Most of these small-scale farmers grow pest-resistant GM cotton. In India alone, production tripled last year to over 3.6m hectares. This cotton benefits farmers because it reduces the need for insecticides, thereby increasing their income and also improving their health. It is true that the promised development of staple GM food crops for the developing world has been delayed, but this is not because of technical flaws. It is principally because GM crops, unlike conventional crops, must overcome costly, time-consuming and unnecessary regulatory obstacles before they can be licensed.
The alleged risk to health from GM crops is still the main reason for public disquiet—something nurtured by statements by environmental NGOs, who in 2002 even persuaded the Zambian government to reject food aid from the US at a time of famine because some of it was derived from GM crops. This allegation of harm has been so soundly and frequently refuted that when it is repeated, the temptation is to despair. But unless the charge is confronted, contradicted and disproved whenever it is made, its credibility will persist. The fact is that there is not a shred of any evidence of risk to human health from GM crops. Every academy of science, representing the views of the world’s leading experts—the Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Brazilian, French and American academies as well as the Royal Society, which has published four separate reports on the issue—has confirmed this. Independent inquiries have found that the risk from GM crops is no greater than that from conventionally grown crops that do not have to undergo such testing. In 2001, the research directorate of the EU commission released a summary of 81 scientific studies financed by the EU itself—not by private industry—conducted over a 15-year period, to determine whether GM products were unsafe or insufficiently tested: none found evidence of harm to humans or to the environment.
Indeed, the nature of GM technology makes it unlikely that it is more dangerous than conventional farming. Throughout history, farmers have sought to improve their crops by cross-breeding plants with desirable characteristics. Cross-breeding, however, is a lottery and its consequences cannot be easily predicted. Small genetic changes that are desirable may be accompanied by others that are undesirable. It may take generations of back-crossing to eliminate unwanted characteristics. The process is therefore not only unpredictable but slow and expensive, and may even be risky. One of the most effective standard methods of breeding to obtain improved crops is to bombard seeds and plants with gamma rays to alter their DNA by causing mutations, some of which can then be selected for a desired trait. (Incidentally, organic farmers, in their desire to avoid artificial chemicals, are even more dependent than conventional farmers on crop varieties generated by irradiation.) Irradiation alters both chromosome structure and genome sequence in a way that is quite random. Moreover, there is no legal requirement to test such irradiated products either for effects on health or for what they might do to the environment. By contrast, genetic modification in the laboratory introduces a well-characterised gene or genes into an established genetic background without big disruption. What such modification does is what plant breeding has always done, but more quickly and accurately. Opponents often argue that GM technology is different because it can transfer genes between species. But again, this is nothing new, as during evolutionary time genes have moved between species naturally. That is why we have such a diversity of plant life.
Also, those who oppose genetic modification in agriculture often embrace the technology in medicine. The human insulin used to treat diabetes, for example, is genetically engineered: the human gene that codes for insulin has been transferred into bacteria and yeast, a process that involves crossing the species barrier. By what rationale can the technology be safe and ethical when saving lives in medical treatment, but not when used to make plants resistant to pests in order to save people from hunger?
Some opponents of GM crops, who seem to have realised that the argument based on lack of safety has no basis, now focus their opposition on environmental concerns, arguing that GM crops destroy biodiversity. It would be wrong to claim that the planting of GM crops could never have adverse environmental effects. But their impact depends on circumstances, on the particular crop and environment in which it is grown. Such effects occur with all sorts of agriculture. Worldwide experience of GM crops to date provides strong evidence that they actually benefit the environment. They reduce reliance on agrochemical sprays, save energy, use less fossil fuels in their production and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. And by improving yields, they make better use of scarce agricultural land.
These findings were reported by Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot of PG Economics in a careful study of the global effects of GM crops in their first ten years of commercial use, from 1996 to 2005. They concluded that the “environmental impact” of pesticide and herbicide use in GM-growing countries had been reduced by 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Energy-intensive cultivation is being replaced by no-till or low-till agriculture. More than a third of the soya bean crop grown in the US is now grown in unploughed fields. Apart from using less energy, avoiding the plough has many environmental advantages. It improves soil quality, causes less disturbance to life within it and diminishes the emission of methane and other greenhouse gases. The study concluded that “the carbon savings from reduced fuel use and soil carbon sequestration in 2005 were equal to removing 4m cars from the road (equal to 17 per cent of all registered cars in the UK).”
One other effect of GM crops may be the most significant of all. In the next half century, the world will have to more than double its food production to feed the over 800m people who now go hungry, the extra 3bn expected by 2050 and the hundreds of millions of people who will, as living standards rise, acquire a more western lifestyle and eat a great deal more meat. At the same time, the world is running out of good farming land and water resources. Shortage of land already causes subsistence farmers in Indonesia and South America to slash and burn tropical forests. More droughts and desertification caused by global warming will make matters worse. So will the manufacture of biofuels from wheat, corn and other food crops that further diminishes the supply of land for growing food and thus pushes up prices. Improved yields from GM technology lead to better use of land and prevent the destruction of forests with its effect on global warming. By contrast, the environmentalist James Lovelock has estimated that if all farming became organic, we would only be able to feed one third of even the present world population.
Given the evidence about the safety of GM crops and their beneficial environmental impact, and given the global success of GM cotton, maize and soya, why have so few staple GM food crops been licensed for commercial growth? Why are the benefits of golden rice, drought or salt-resistant crops, plant-based vaccines and other GM products with special promise for the developing world so long delayed?
***
The story of Potrykus’s golden rice suggests one explanation. The development of the product itself was a great scientific achievement. A bacterial gene together with two genes from the daffodil were inserted into rice to make it synthesise the micronutrient “ß-carotene,” which when eaten is converted into vitamin A. This process took ten years. Many more years were spent, with the help of Syngenta and other biotech companies, in solving the patent problems to enable golden rice to be made available to small-scale farmers without royalty payments. Then began the struggle to obtain regulatory approval.
First, although it is agreed even by those opposed to the technology that the presence of ß-carotene in the rice grain presents no possible risk to the environment, no experimental small-scale field trials are permitted. So all rice plants must be grown in specific plant growth chambers in greenhouses— processes that take three years. Each plant must be shown to be the product of one gene transfer into the same part of its DNA. Then its proteins must be extracted and fractionated, characterised biochemically and their function confirmed—analyses that take at least two years of intensive work in a well-equipped laboratory. Next, feeding experiments in rodents are required, though most people have happily eaten these genes and the proteins they code for from other sources throughout their lives and though the proteins produced from the daffodil genes bear no relation to any toxin or allergen. No slight hypothetical risk may be left untested.
It is ironic that other varieties of rice grown all over southeast Asia have been shown to be “genetically modified” too, but accidentally as the result of mutations, chromosomal recombinations, translocations of pieces of DNA and even deletions of sections of DNA. This rice is consumed everywhere without the requirement of any laboratory tests.
The scientific way of ensuring that crops are safe is to test the product, not the process. Perversely, regulations in the US as well as Europe require the opposite. The result is that it takes much longer and costs at least ten times as much to bring a new GM crop to market as an equivalent conventionally bred crop. As Potrykus has pointed out, no scientist or scientific institution in the public domain has the funding or the motivation to go through such an expensive and drawn-out procedure. Only large companies or the most richly funded charities can and the only projects companies are likely to back are those that make big profits. Producing rice that saves the lives or the eyesight of millions of the poorest peasants offers no great financial rewards.
Why is a technology which has so much to contribute impeded by regulations that make no sense? Part of the blame lies with the large agrobusinesses. They initially welcomed elaborate regulation to discourage competition from small companies that could not afford the cost. Indeed, they successfully resisted every attempt by advisers in the Reagan administration to regulate each GM crop simply as a new product, rather than by the process by which it was derived, an approach that would have treated GM and conventionally grown crops similarly and made more scientific sense. But the large companies won, and the concentration of agricultural biotechnology in the hands of a few giants, like Monsanto, is the result. Furthermore, although tight regulation was backed by some supporters of GM who believed it would reassure the public, it has had the opposite effect. If governments appear to think it necessary to take extreme precautions, the public will conclude that the technology must be dangerous. A third element has been mistrust of multinationals. This has intensified opposition to GM crops because it is widely felt that companies are the main, if not the only, beneficiaries—and that, since they are responsible for most of the development of the crops, this must be subject to the strictest possible regulation. The inept PR that accompanied Monsanto’s introduction of GM crops to Europe was also bitterly criticised by other agrobusinesses.
The broader driving force behind the excessive regulation of GM crops, however, is the cult of “back to nature,” which has also inspired the propaganda against agricultural biotechnology as a whole. This cult has many manifestations. One is the popularity of organic farming, which is based on the manifestly false principle that artificial chemicals are bad and natural chemicals good. Another is the rising fashion for alternative, non-evidence based medicine. The dogmatic opponents of GM crops in Europe believe that interference with the genetic make-up of plants is essentially a moral issue. It is to be condemned as part of mankind’s sinful attempt to control nature, which contributes to global warming, to epidemics of cancer and all the blights of modern life.
***
In the light of this undercurrent of anti-science sentiment, what are the chances that the obstacles to the spread of GM crops will be overcome? There are grounds for hope. In 2006, the House of Commons select committee on science and technology recommended “that the term ‘precautionary principle’ should not be used” and should “cease to be included in policy guidance.” The principle has long been a major impediment to good sense in public policy. It is either so obvious as to be otiose (“if there is cause for concern, be careful”), or so vague as to be meaningless. But in its most common application—”where an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically”—it has been an invaluable tool for those who want to stop any new scientific development that they dislike.
There are also encouraging signals from the British government. Earlier this year, the then environment secretary, David Miliband, announced that there was no evidence that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally grown food. In principle, the government has declared itself ready to license GM crops and has supported their promotion in Europe. Furthermore, there are significant signs of change in several European countries. Spain has successfully grown GM maize for some years. But the biggest change of attitude seems to be in France, where the number of hectares on which GM crops are cultivated has increased from 500 to 50,000 in three years. The fact that French farmers are becoming convinced of the commercial benefits of GM is likely to have a big impact on the rest of Europe.
But most important is GM’s rapid spread in India and China. The Chinese government has declared that biotechnology could become its fastest-growing industry in the next 15 years. According to Clive James, author of the annual “Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/GM Crops” report, half the research and development of GM crops in the world will soon be done in China and will naturally concern crops that benefit the developing world. China is already ahead in testing new strains of GM rice of potential benefit to 250m farmers. While China’s exports to Europe must comply with EU regulations, it also has a huge home market. India is not far behind and favours a light regulatory regime.
Finally, in Africa the Gates Foundation is committed to the improvement by genetic engineering of the staple crops on which most of the population depends. Two years ago, the foundation announced its investment of millions of dollars in an ambitious programme building on the work of Potrykus and his colleagues, which aims to add the essential nutrients vitamins A and E, iron, zinc and improved protein to bananas, cassava, rice and sorghum.
There can be little doubt that GM crops will be accepted worldwide in time, even in Europe. But in delaying cultivation, the anti-GM lobbies have exacted a heavy price. Their opposition has undermined agrobusiness in Europe and has driven abroad much research into plant biotechnology—an area in which Britain formerly excelled. Over-regulation may well cause the costs of the technology to remain higher than they need be. Above all, delay has caused the needless loss of millions of lives in the developing world. These lobbies and their friends in the organic movement have much to answer for.Europe’s new passenger vehicle market ended 2015 on an up note for the market, and a down note for market leader Volkswagen Group. Long-term, both must prepare for declining sales.
The EU new car market was up 9.3% year-on-year as new passenger vehicle registrations climbed to 12.6 million units in 2015. This according to data released by Europe’s auto manufacturer association ACEA.
Volkswagen’s group-wide registrations rose only 6.1% compared to 2014, resulting in a nearly 1 percent loss of market share for the full year. In December, this negative trend accelerated, leaving Volkswagen Group with only a 22.2% share, down from 24.7% in December of 2014.
Volkswagen’s rule as the unassailable king of the EU market however continues unchallenged. Runner-up PSA Group held less than half of Volkswagen’s market share in 2015, and it keeps losing it. In December, PSA was edged-out by Renault, and fell to place 3 on the charts.
Despite the optimism caused by the 2015 numbers, the EU new car market has been cut down to two thirds of its former glory. The market peaked in 2007 with 18.2 million units registered. By the end of 2015, the number was 12.6 million. The big percentage gains in 2015 mostly were a bounceback from devastating levels in 2014, when Europe teetered with collapse during the Greek crisis. This prompted ACEA to caution:
“This result is only now passing levels registered in 2010, immediately after the economic crisis. In other words, the trend is positive but, in absolute terms, volumes remain low.”
Some industry observers think that long-term, the EU new car market will further erode, not due to car sharing, or young people losing their appetite for cars. The real problem runs much deeper. In the more affluent northern parts of Europe, births peaked during the sixties of the last century, and degraded rapidly. This peak in now in its 50s. The peopulatiion bulge that cause the market to peak in 2007, will cause it to implode in less than 10 years. After the peak retires, drastically lower numbers of potential customers will take its place, more or less guaranteeing a weardown of the formerly vibrant EU new car market.Burmese opposition leader and democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi (pictured) held talks with President Thein Sein on Sunday in their first official meeting since she took up her role as a member of parliament.
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AP - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held her first talks with the country’s president Sunday since becoming a member of parliament.
She and President Thein Sein discussed a wide range of issues but details of the two-hour meeting were confidential, said Col. Zaw Htay, director of the president’s office. The talks took place in the capital, Naypyitaw, where parliament is currently in session.
Also present at the meeting were senior Cabinet ministers Aung Min and Soe Thane, who head the government’s peace committee that has brokered several cease-fires with ethnic groups. The pacts are seen as major steps toward ending long-running insurgencies.
Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi’s opposition party, called Sunday’s meeting “most welcome” but said he had no immediate details.
Thein Sein and Suu Kyi are key players in Myanmar’s political transformation after a half-century of military rule. They have met on two previous occasions, most recently in April. That meeting followed by-elections won by Suu Kyi’s party but preceded her entry to parliament.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now heads the main opposition group with 43 seats in parliament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by allies of the former military regime. Last week, she was named head of a 15-member parliamentary committee that is tasked with the challenge of helping to implement rule of law in the country.
Suu Kyi has long struggled for democratic rule and spent about 15 years under house arrest during the former military regime. Her party boycotted a November 2010 general election, saying it was unfair and undemocratic.
But when Thein Sein, a former general and prime minister, became president last year, he introduced reforms that eased the political landscape after almost five decades of military repression.
The international community has praised the reforms, but human rights groups say the government and army continue to commit human rights abuses in isolated areas away from international view.
Suu Kyi’s party platform included three main objectives: to seek an end to ethnic conflicts, to try to achieve peace and rule of law and to amend the country’s constitution.The EU Commission plans to impose fines on countries that refuse to take refugees under revised EU asylum laws to be put forward on Wednesday (4 May).
The commission will propose a sanction of €250,000 per refugee, according to the Financial Times.
The commission's proposal will maintain the guiding principle of the current system that the country where migrants first step into the EU must deal with asylum applications.
But it proposes that when a country at the EU’s external border is overwhelmed, asylum seekers should be distributed across the continent.
The commission has been trying to encourage reluctant countries, particularly in central and eastern Europe, to take part in the redistribution system.
Slovakia and Hungary have already brought a court case to challenge an earlier EU decision to redistribute migrants based on a mandatory quota.
But commission officials say the outcome of the court’s decision will not affect their plans to overhaul the asylum system, known as the Dublin regulation.
EU countries last year agreed to redistribute 160,000 asylum seekers across Europe in two years, but have so far actually redistributed only a small portion.
Central European politicians have been vocal about an earlier version of the proposal for mandatory redistribution that was released last month.
At the time, Czech European affairs minister Tomas Prouza tweeted: “Permanent quotas once again? How long will the EU commission keep riding this dead horse instead of working on things that really help?”
Diplomats from eastern EU states have told this website that they are not “heartless people” and they are willing to help refugees in other ways, but they believe a redistribution system will simply lead to more immigrants arrive in the EU.
Turkey falling short
Along with the revised Dublin regulation, the commission is expected to recommend visa-free travel for people from Turkey and Kosovo on Wednesday, even if Ankara is not able to fulfil all the 72 benchmarks that the EU set as conditions.
Sources suggest Turkey is falling short on a handful of the demands – for example issuing biometric passports, and granting visa-free travel to Turkey for EU countries including Cyprus, which Turkey does not recognise.
Other outstanding issues include data protection, fighting corruption, effective cooperation with Europol and state-level law enforcement agencies, and a revision of anti-terror laws so that they cannot be used against journalists or opposition figures.
However, the commission will suggest visa-free travel with the condition that these criteria are met by the end of June, when Turkey is expecting visa requirements to be lifted.Alpha 19: Think of the Children!
In which the Rayya’s Children kingdom and the desert biome receive some long-overdue attention.
Welcome to Stonehearth Alpha 19! This release is focused on bringing some much-needed love to the kingdom of Rayya’s Children and their desert biome habitat.
In Alpha 17, we introduced the ability to “upgrade” your settlement to Township Status — provided you can satisfy a challenge provided by a royal herald. This upgrade has been — until now — available only for the Ascendancy. With Alpha 19, however, Rayya’s Children matches the Ascendancy in achieving Township awesomeness, in its own unique fashion.
There are (as always!) other notable additions for this release, including the initial steps in new hearthling interactions and our first iteration of a mod manager.
Here are some of the goodies you’ll find within:
Greetings, worthy settlement.
Naryal Iskender is in the middle of an expedition to visit notable towns. The next printing of the Iskender Map of Hearth is on the horizon — and your town can be included on the map… if you meet some requirements. Naryal asks whether you want to be put on the map as a place renowned for its Trading Post, Monkey Shrine, or your Exotic Goods. Build a monument to stake your claim for renown — and achieve Tier Two illustriousness! When your settlement attains this exclusive tier you will receive a bounty of new goodness, including:
advanced building templates
upgraded and enhanced stores
new traders
new tier of background music
Desert Song
Wait — back up a minute. So it says above that a Rayya’s Children town achieving Tier Two status gets “new background music.” But does that mean… YES. Yes, indeed. Rayya’s Children now has its very own soundtrack, courtesy of Raj Mann (and our very own, albeit mysterious, Doug). And not just for Tier Two — across the board you’ll hear a rich musical tapestry worthy of this desert kindgom. Enjoy!
Every day, in every way, building is getting better and better
We continue to work on improving your — and your hearthlings’! — building experience with every release. Here are some enhancements you’ll find in Alpha 19:
Hearthlings can now fabricate multiple blocks at once, greatly reducing the time it takes to construct buildings!
Scaffolding and ladders no longer require wood to build! Though less realistic, these are quality of life changes that we believe make building more enjoyable.
Landscape scars caused by encounter placement can now be filled in. After finishing the encounter, select the pile of dirt in the scar and press the button to restore the terrain.
The custom tab in building templates is now always the last tab.
Instabuild now destroys the scaffolding on the building.
Fixes for a few issues related to multi-block building
Building eraser tool now works under water
Also, too.
Alpha 19 boasts the initial introduction of new features in two important areas.
You’ll notice that some hearthlings, in their downtime, now sport speech bubbles — this is step one in providing more social interaction for your hearthlings. Please note that — for now! — the bubbles are empty. This does not mean that your hearthlings are speechless; rather, we’re still considering exactly what form hearthling discussion ought to take. Your thoughts?
Also making its first appearance: The Stonehearth Mod Manager! This is accessed through the Settings menu on the launch screen. You’ll find the Mods tab as an option on the bottom of the Settings menu. Now, you can put all available mods in your mods folder, and use the Mod Manager to enable or disable the one you want (or don’t want) to use. No more pesky dragging mods in and out of the folder… your Mod Manager does the work for you. Also, if you have a mod that isn’t up-to-date, the Mod Manager will prevent you from loading it — this helps to avoid problems related to outdated mods.
We’re planning more for this feature, but we wanted to get it into your hands as soon as we could. Please let us know what you think!
(IMPORTANT NOTE: The Mod Manager is accessible only from the launch screen settings menu. You cannot access it from the in-game settings menu. This is because you’ll need to restart a game if you’ve made changes to your mod configuration; you can’t change the configuration mid-game.)
Additionally, we’ve made significant fixes to AI performance to address some idle/brain dead hearthling behaviors, as well as enhancements to further improve performance in large towns.
And yet more stuff:
Disabled the Militia tab for now because it was causing bugs and the team did not feel it was a good solution for what it was trying to solve. We would like to come up with something better.
Hearthlings and items no longer disappear from view when in slice mode if they are standing on a structure that is visible. Previously they would disappear from roofs even though the building was visible and potentially starve to death.
Fixed mining and hearthling pathing visualization for slice and xray modes.
The official Debugtools mod is now included with the game (but disabled by default). You can enable it using the settings menu in the title screen.
Potters will now auto queue clay bricks when building, if auto queue is enabled.
Herbalists |
, in part, a holdover from the cold war era, when the alleged threat from a supposedly advancing Soviet Union and its international proxies was portrayed as inexorable.
When the Soviet Union suddenly collapsed, and its international partners evaporated into ineffectuality, the lesson was not learned: instead of withdrawing from our forward position, US policymakers decided the time was ripe to emphasize – and implement – the idea of American “global leadership.” With the main obstacle to US worldwide dominance out of the way, Washington – including partisan leaders on both sides of the aisle – began to talk openly of a “world order” policed by US force of arms. Neoconservative pundits began to rhapsodize about the glories of an “American empire.” It was the Age of American Hubris.
And then came 9/11.
That signal event threw the US ruling elite into a frenzy of warmongering, and they have yet to relent. It gave Washington the green light to unleash a series of military campaigns in the Middle East and North Africa, the consequences of which we have only just begun to experience. The neoconservatives, ideologically predisposed to a foreign policy of constant aggression, had speculated in their propaganda about the potential uses of a “new Pearl Harbor.” And so the wish became the deed.
As the momentum of the War Party began to run out, new “threats” – largely the creation of our own misplaced policies – arose: the so-called “Islamic State,” and relatively small-scale terrorist incidents in Europe and the United States, provided fresh fuel to stoke the engines of war. In a process that feeds on itself, US intervention abroad causes “blowback,” which justifies yet more intervention, which in turn generates more blowback – as the wheel of war continues to spin.
Can we stop the wheel from turning – or even slow it down?
We can – and we must.
Constant war threatens us with a permanent national security apparatus that is slowly but surely creating a police state in this country. The government tries to justify universal surveillance of American citizens – spying on our private communications – on the grounds that we’re at war. Yet if we’re always at war, then the alleged threat to the homeland will never abate – and the tentacles of government control will continue to insinuate themselves into every aspect of American life, until there is nothing left of our Constitution or the civil liberties it guarantees.
Yes, we can turn the situation around – by challenging the bipartisan foreign policy consensus that has dominated Washington for over half a century. That may seem like a tall order, but polls show the American people are ready for change. They’re tired of the endless futile crusade to make the world safe for American corporations: they’re weary of war, and want our leaders to focus on the problems we face here in this country.
Although the War Party commands considerable resources – including a veritable lock on the “mainstream” media – the Peace Party isn’t at a complete disadvantage. The Washington consensus and popular sentiment have been diverging radically in recent years, until the yawning gap between the two is all too apparent. The War Party is forced to constantly ratchet up the threat level so as to keep the war hysteria at the highest possible level, but that old trick is wearing a bit thin. People are catching on.
That’s why Antiwar.com is so important at this crucial moment in our history. We’ve been educating the American people since 1995 about the many ways in which the War Party snares us into overseas conflicts that are basically none of our business. And polls show that the people want a new foreign policy that consists largely of minding our own business.
This scares the Washington elites – and fills us with hope.
But before hope can translate into solid gains – into actually changing US foreign policy – we have a lot of work to do. And we can’t do it without your financial support.
That’s the one area where the War Party has an undisputed – and very significant – advantage over us: they have the money to flood the country with war propaganda at a moment’s notice. All we have is the truth – and yet that may be enough to win our battle, provided we can get our message out there.
Whether we can do that depends entirely on you, our readers and supporters. Antiwar.com has been reader-supported since our inception. We don’t have any billionaire backers: we get what we need to continue our work from thousands of small donations.
We appeal to our readers four times a year for the money required to keep going, and we’re right in the midst of one of those fundraising campaigns. As America stands on the brink of yet another extended conflict in the Middle East, the country could go either way – and Antiwar.com could make all the difference in the world.
That’s why this may be our most important fundraising campaign ever – and why it’s imperative that you make your tax-deductible donation today – right now.
Your donation, if made today, will have double its usual impact: that’s because we’ve raised $32,000 in matching funds. For every dollar you give, a group of generous donors will match it – but you have to make the first move.
So please – make that contribution, before you forget. Because the War Party isn’t going away – and neither, we hope, are we.
NOTES IN THE MARGIN
You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist of me thinking out loud.
I’ve written a couple of books, which you might want to peruse. Here is the link for buying the second edition of my 1993 book, Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement, with an Introduction by Prof. George W. Carey, a Foreword by Patrick J. Buchanan, and critical essays by Scott Richert and David Gordon (ISI Books, 2008).
You can buy An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard (Prometheus Books, 2000), my biography of the great libertarian thinker, here.
Read more by Justin RaimondoIn the youngest landscape on earth, every feature is temporary.
Before we get into our last few days in Iceland, I want to take a second to welcome all my new followers. I am very humbled to have been a WordPress feature this week, and there are a lot of new faces on my subscriber list. I really appreciate being a part of your inbox.
So, welcome, enjoy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions about my trips. I love chatting!
With the mountains of South Iceland fading away behind us, Kelley and I found ourselves with some time to kill. We had a little under a week to finish three days of riding (backtracking) along the southwest coast of Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. That gave us plenty of time to be tourists.
Since the suggestions from the Italians we met in Grindavik had been so wonderful thus far, we beelined for the Hot River in Hveragerði.
Hveragerði is just southeast of Reykjavik, about 25km from the coast, north of Þorlákshöfn. The town is one of the most geothermally active in all of Iceland, and is built above a very active volcanic plain. Even the towns name bears the root word hver, meaning hot spring.
The number one must-see geothermal feature in Hveragerði is the Hot River Hike. It’s an amazing 3.5km hike through steep, winding mountainside switchbacks, up and into the heart of the hot spring activity in the Reykjanes peninsula. The higher you climb on the twisting mountain route, the warmer the tumbling river becomes.
Kelley and I didn’t want to leave our bikes behind in our campsite, so we brought them with us. The route was very steep, and that meant a lot of hike-a-bike. We pushed and pulled the half-loaded touring bikes over sections that were difficult just to walk on.
Kelley and I were exhausted by the end; the only thing that kept us going was the promise of a natural hot spring bath at the top. Lucky for us, the Hot River delivered.
We found a small sheep path off of the main hiking route, and took it for about a kilometer to a secret spot along the hot river, further down from the main tourist dip. The boiling water that pours from the steam vents and mud pools up above mixes with an icy stream partway up the mountain; by the time it got to us, the water was about 38ºC, a toasty jacuzzi temperature. It was beyond perfect.
We spent an hour floating in mineral water. Every muscle unknotted after the steep hike. From where we were, all we could see in all directions was the beautiful Icelandic countryside. You’d think we were the only people in the country.
Eventually, we made our way back into town. Hveragerði is also a bustling artist’s community, with gardens and museums and shops. It’s a beautiful place, and doesn’t feel as haphazard as Grindavik. It felt like a community, which is something often lost when so many of Iceland’s “cities” are only a decade or two past being remote villages.
Feeling refreshed, we got back on the bikes that same afternoon and biked back to Þorlákshöfn. We were glad to have made the pilgrimage; it felt like we were a lot more ready to retrace our steps along the coast, back to Sandgerði and our bike boxes.
In Þorlákshöfn, we met Noah, a bike tourist from California with a wakeboard attached to his trailer. He found a weird metal disc on the beach, coated in rust and about seven inches across.
I googled it on a hunch, and found that it looked dangerously similar to a WWII-era anti-personnel mine. They come in a lot of shapes, but one matched this perfectly. Whoa. At 7AM, I snuck over to Noah’s tent (he wasn’t shy) and grabbed the mine, carefully moving it away from the camping area. “Huh. Well, thanks dude. I probably shouldn’t have banged it against those rocks to get the rust off,” said Noah.
We told the campsite manager, and she got the police to remove it. Phew!
We were back on the road again, trying to pour down as many miles as we could while the weather was nice. Rain was looming; dark skies added to the urgency a little bit. We have rain gear, but riding in a downpour isn’t that much fun, especially when you have to dry everything out for two days afterwards.
The road to Grindavik was great. It’s nice and flat, since it weaves between the coast and a ridge, but there’s a big climb near the end. We made it to the next campground, but it was only 2PM and we were feeling spry, so we kept pushing and had a nice 70km day, despite the headwind.
There’s one major climb on this road, the biggest we’d seen the entire trip, and I decided I was going to mash on my bigger gear and try to singlespeed up and over it. Easily the hardest climb of my life, but I did it. I am really noticing a big chance in my power output now that I’ve been exclusively singlespeed for a few months, and I love it. I don’t know if I’ll put gears back on the bike until my knees give out.
To celebrate the last “big” day of riding, we made burritos in Grindavik. I added Italian seasoning to the beans and chick-peas, and Kelley was really grumpy. It tasted terrible. I tried to salvage mine with some thai sweet chili sauce, but that made things much worse… I’m thinking a backpacker’s spice kit with some cumin and pepper is probably not a bad future purchase.
And then, it was back across the lava fields, back to where we started. We couldn’t resist a second visit to Gunnuhver and the lighthouse along the coast, and I was glad we stopped by. I took some new pictures from new perspectives.
Gunnuhver was roaring, and so was the wind. I took a video to give you an idea of the power here. It’s way cooler to watch than Geysir, though Geysir gets thousands more tourists over the course of the season. I took a video, though it’s about 25 seconds longer than it needs to be:
Someone else was nabbing footage there, too. near the cliff, I graced someone’s drone-cam, which was fun. They almost lost it in the wind. It went tumbling over the edge of the cliff, but with 100ft of free-fall, the pilot saved it. They ended up having to pluck it from midair. With a view like this, I’d say it was worth the risk.
We saw a baby seabird nestled in the cliff, too. It’s the little grey puff-ball, right in the middle.
I shot a lot of new pictures here.
I kind of forgot how steep the cliff was and walked right up to the edge, with the wind gusting at my back. After I peered over the edge for this shot, I kind of came to my senses and backed off. Amazing how a repeat visit felt so much less scary than the first visit, or maybe I’ve just become more accustomed to the size and scope of landscape features here.
Beautiful spot! From the road, you can see a brand new baby island off on the horizon. Those are some steep cliffs out there.
After that, it was back to more endless lava fields for the final push home. The wind was absolutely whipping, keeping us at a crawl for all 50km’s. Our “easy ride” home was actually harder than almost any other section on the trip, thanks to that relentless headwind. But, that’s Iceland; even when it’s sunny and bright, the weather can still be hell!
We stopped by the bird sanctuary. Unfortunately, the roadkill totals tripled over the course of the month. More tourists, more dead birds. You can see them scattered in the road there.
The miles fell off, one after another. Our last pedal strokes in Iceland, and the end of a 30-day journey. It’s hard to describe how it felt. On the one hand, there’s the bittersweet pine for more. So much more Iceland out there to discover… we met someone who talked to an Englishman on his 16th visit. “There’s still more to see!” he proclaimed.
On the other, the weather and riding in Iceland is hard, and we were longing for our bed, our cat, and some of the comforts of home. I’ll probably still stay in the tent for half the remaining summer, but it’ll be nice to ride my other bike again.
Before we knew it, we were back in Sandgerði. A quick picture to mark the end of the tour, and that’s all she wrote!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the last month of our adventure. If you missed a post, click back onto my home page by tapping the gear at the top of the page, and you can scroll back in time for the whole trip.
I’ll be posting some gear reviews and post-trip reflections this next month, along with my new gear list after experiencing Iceland in person (hint: I drop 10 pounds of gear). Until then, keep exploring! New England trips are in my future!
Max
Bonus Pictures:This is a cross-post by Dr. Yasser Dasmabebi, reprinted with the permission of FrontPage Magazine.
I have come to realize just how difficult it may be to decipher news about the Middle East, Islam, Israel, the Arab World, and all these powerful and explosive issues of our times for those who rely on such media stalwarts as The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the major television networks, cable news, etc. for their information. For example, how is a person to ascertain whether the slayer of a family is a terrorist or a militant or a gunman or an assailant or an activist or a freedom-fighter?
So, purely as a public service, I have organized the following glossary of the most pertinent terms and expressions, as typically used in the above-mentioned news sources. I hope, insha’allah, the reader will find it helpful to unravel the Gordian Knot of language that is today’s (and yesterday’s and tomorrow’s) Middle East!
Dr. Yasser Dasmabebi holds the Edward Said-Noam Chomsky Linguistics Chair at Abdul Abulbul Amir University in Cairo.
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Aggression: Killing people who are trying to kill you.
Al Qaeda: the terrorist group that, according to American security sources, embodies the world-wide Islamist movement, and that is either “significantly degraded” or is still “extremely dangerous,” depending on which government official is doing the talking.
Apartheid: The political/social system of the one and only country in the Middle East that integrates Jews, Beduins, Arabs, whites, blacks, Muslems, Ethiopians, Russians, Christians, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Bahai, et al.
“Apes & Pigs”: See “Jew” below.
Arab Emir: Military dictator.
Arab King: Military dictator.
Arab President: Military dictator.
Arab Prime Minister: Military dictator.
Arab Spring: Replacement of one dictatorship with another, with the help of Western money and media cheerleading.
Arab Street: Enraged mobs chanting and screaming their hatred, determined to annihilate Israel and the Jews. They can often be seen burning American and Israeli flags, passing out candies and firing guns into the air in response to successful murders of Westerners (closely related to):
Arab Humiliation: The pervasive feeling on the Arab street generated by their failure to annihilate Israel and the Jews in several wars. Many opinion-makers, Middle East experts and op-ed writers argue that Arab humiliation is at the root of the Middle East conflict; i.e., “If only the Jews would let themselves be destroyed, the Arab street would feel better about themselves, and then there would be peace.”
Ayatola: Persian dictator. Spiritual leader of that faith that desires to ignite nuclear holocaust in order to bring about the arrival of the Mahdi. (See “Mahdi” below.)
Bias: An expression of support for the existence of Israel.
Caliphate: The unification of lands ruled in the name of Islam, ruled by a Caliph. (See “Arab King,” “Arab President,” etc. above.)
Compromise: To give something palpable, such as land, in return for a promise not to keep on trying to annihilate you.
Developing Country: A country that is not developing.
Disproportionate Response: Winning.
Diversity: The condition in which all cultures are viewed as equally and inherently virtuous, except for the culture of the West, which is viewed as evil by virtue of imperialism, colonialism and endemic racism (see “Racist” below).
Emergency Laws: The law.
Father of the Palestinian People: An Egyptian man, raised by his uncle, Hitler’s buddy, and one of the world’s most successful kleptocrats. (See “PLO” below.)
Fatwa: A pronouncement of a mullah that sanctions murder, but only of disagreeable people, like inadequately covered women, Salman Rushdie, etc.
Female Genital Mutilation: That ritual of which Western feminist organizations seem, by virtue of their silence, to approve.
Hamas: The democratically elected government of Gaza whose founding charter calls for genocide.
Hezbollah: The democratic group whose purpose is saving Lebanon from Israeli aggression, and whose founding charter calls for genocide.
History: Having nothing whatsoever to do with what has actually happened, but rather being what has come to be called “narrative,” i.e., “storytelling.” For one example, allusions to the “Ancient Nation of Palestine;” and for another, almost all the Muslem accomplishments President Obama enumerated in his momentous Cairo speech (also see “Rewriting History” below).
Holocaust: That genocide that did not happen, but that the Jews orchestrated in order to steal Arab land, and that of which the Jewish presence in Palestine is worse than.
Honor Killings: The cultural imperative to murder one’s daughter/sister/niece for humiliating male members…(see “Shariah” below).
Human Rights: The credo by which murder committed by a person from a country which used to be called “Third World” (now considered racist terminology) is good (see “Resistance” below); retaliatory killing by a person who is either from a developed country, a white person or most especially a Jew, is bad (see “Agression” above).
Human Shields: Integral part of Hamas & Hezbollah military strategy.
Islamic Republic: Military dictatorship.
Israel: Occupied territory (see “Zionist Entity” below).
Israeli Prime Minister: Hawkish, right-winger, hard-liner.
Jerusalem: City holy to Islam in which the Jews have no history.
Jew: The source of all decadence and evil in the world; descendent of apes and pigs.
Jihad: The inner spiritual struggle for self-purification or the bloody military struggle for world domination depending on to which journalist and in what language one is speaking.
Judeo-Christian Values: The credo of that civilization which has lost all its values, except for that racism is bad, and diversity is good.
Koran: The book that was revealed word-for-word to the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) by the Angel Gabriel…or not.
Leftist: Supporter of PLO (see “PLO” below) and Hamas (see “Hamas” above) and Muslem Brotherhood (see “Muslem Brotherhood” below).
Mahdi: The Shia Messiah who has been hiding for centuries at the bottom of a well.
Martyr: Someone who kills someone else while killing himself, said to be rewarded for his martyrdom by the acquisition of 72 virgins upon his arrival in Paradise, at least according to what the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) said the Angel Gabriel told him (see “Koran” above).
Militant, Assailant, Gunman, Activist: terrorist.
Moderate Palestinian Leader: Former KGB operative, Holocaust denier, and financier of Munich Olympic massacre.
Mosque: A place for the storage of armaments.
Muslem Brotherhood: A mostly secular and non-violent political party in Egypt.
Occupation: Jewish presence in disputed territory. (See “Israel” above.)
Peace: War of attrition.
Peace Process: The dismantling of Israel.
Peace Talks: The avoidance of peace.
PLO: Organization created in 1964 to end the 1967 occupation.
Palestinian Authority: The world’s most successful kleptocracy.
Palestinian Hero: Murderer of children.
Palestinian Prime Minister: Moderate, bold (see “Arab Prime Minister” above).
Protocols of the Elders of Zion: The authentic Jewish playbook for world domination.
Racist: A person who disagrees with or does not like or does not support the reelection of President Obama.
Radical Islamic Movement: A group whose stated official goal is genocide (see “Hamas” and “Hezbollah” above).
Recognition: A truce until the next time.
Refugee: Someone who has refused to take refuge, or who has not been allowed to take refuge.
“Religion of Peace”: That civilization with which the Judeo-Christian civilization is locked in a war to the death.
Resistance: Randomly killing civilians, especially children.
Rewriting History: See “History” above.
Right: Demand to live in Israel by people who hate it and wish to destroy it.
of Return: By people very, very few of whom have ever actually been there.
Settlement: An illegal community made up of settlers. (See “Settler” below.)
Settler: Someone who builds his house in order to thwart any chance at making peace between Jews and Palestinians.
Shariah: The Islamic system of jurisprudence which codifies and dignifies rape, child marriage, specific classes of murder such as honor killings (see “Honor Killings” above), etc.
Shia: People who are certain that Sunnis are not real Muslems, and are in fact infidels, and should therefore be slaughtered.
Sunni: People who are certain that Shia are not real Muslems, and are in fact infidels, and should therefore be slaughtered.
War Crime: Retaliation and defense. Any action whose intent is victory.
War on Terror: Pretense that the enemy of the West is made up of small, shadowy groups motivated by childhood poverty (see “Al Qaeda” above). (“We’re depraved on account of we’re deprived” — apologies to S. Sondheim.)
Zionism: The ideology of the Jews who aspire to control, dominate and take over the world.
Zionist: Someone who is worse than a Nazi.
Zionist Entity: That place that does not exist, as on Arab maps, but that must be destroyed.Perhaps track would be better off by adopting football's penalty for a false start. Just back up the offending sprinter five yards and go again. In Usain Bolt's case, that might make the race even more exciting.
Heck, after watching Bolt cruise to the 2008 Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters, you would think the world's fastest human could wait around at the start of the race, linger over a light lunch and espresso while reading the paper, get up, stretch, sign a few autographs and still recover in time to win. Instead, Bolt jump-started and was quickly disqualified from the 100 final Sunday at the world track and field championships.
Usain Bolt's reaction after Sunday's disqualification in the 100 meters: "Looking for tears? Not going to happen. I'm OK." Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images
"I didn't really think they were going to kick him out," second-place finisher Walter Dix told reporters. "How can you kick Usain out of the race?"
This is probably a question asked by many fans in Daegu, South Korea, who paid good money to watch a 100 final that did not have Bolt (DQ), Asafa Powell (who withdrew due to a sore groin) or Tyson Gay (rehabbing from hip surgery).
Track's ruling body changed the false start rule last year so the first false start results in an automatic disqualification. The previous rule had a warning for the first false start and the next false start by any runner would result in a DQ. Before 2003, everyone had been allowed one false start.
The reasoning behind the change was the view that the rule essentially allowed each sprinter a free chance at jumping the gun. If they timed their start correctly, they gained an advantage over everyone else at essentially no risk because, if they false started, they just lined up and tried again. Now, they don't have that luxury.
The irony is, the new rule should make it harder to beat Bolt because sprinters are less likely to take a chance at a quick start. Instead, the biggest name of the sport was disqualified from track's marquee event, and the other runners' subsequent times were underwhelming. Jamaica's Yohan Blake won in 9.92, which was the only time of less than 10 seconds. Compare that to the 2009 world championships when Bolt won with a world-record 9.58, Gay finished second with an American-record 9.71 and only one runner finished slower than 10.00.
I understand the reasoning behind the zero-tolerance rule change, but it's never a good thing for a sport when its top athletes aren't able to compete for a championship. We can only hope Bolt waits a split-second longer in London next summer. Perhaps he should start from his trademark lightning bolt pose.
Meanwhile, the other big news in Daegu was Oscar Pistorius, who advanced to the 400 semifinals.
Pistorius is the South African runner with carbon blade prosthetic legs who is either one of sport's most inspiring athletes or is receiving an unfair advantage from his artificial limbs. For a time, Pistorius was banned from competing at able-bodied championships because of concern about a possible advantage. He was cleared to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but did not run a fast enough time to qualify there or in the 2009 world championships. In his first big race on Sunday, he had the third-fastest time in his heat (45.39) to advance.
What a day. The world's fastest man did not finish his race, but a man with no legs advanced to the next round. Such unpredictability is the beauty of sport.Integrated Defense Systems
Shuttle First Flight
Recollections from Employees
Below are recollections of Boeing employees who supported STS-1, the first Space Shuttle test flight on April 12, 1981:
The room shown here is the Data Display Room. Rockwell created a "mini-Mission Support Room" to be used for classified flights. It was located in a remote building on the Downey site and had special security and access requirements for personnel who reviewed the flight data and provided flight support for some of the Shuttle DOD missions that required elevated security. Alvin Anderson, a Boeing Space Shuttle engineer in Element Avionics Systems Integration, but who was working at Kennedy Space Center for Rockwell on math model development for ground checkout software. "We were developing the models that they use to verify the ground checkout software. What they use back then had to be validated against the math models before actually being run against the hardware. We basically wrote the software for the vehicle simulator," said Anderson. The software was designed to react the way the vehicle would behave so the NASA launch control center could prepare for launch. "The fidelity was pretty good at that time," he said about the software code that they wrote. The Launch Control Center had the computers that ran the simulators and they were tied into the different firing rooms and consoles. Anderson join the Space Shuttle program in 1972, right after Rockwell had gotten the contract. He fondly remembers watching the first launch at Kennedy Space Center from outside the Launch Control Center. "It was unbelievable because of the configuration of it. To see something that un-aerodynamic looking, it was just amazing," he said. "We had to be in there before 11 p.m. the night before because of security so I spent the night out there sleeping in a van," he said to watch the first launch. "Thousands of people did it. I mean every road was crowded with cars. It was unbelievable!" Anderson has never seen a shuttle landing and hopes to see one before the shuttle retires. He saw the first nine shuttle launches before he was transferred to California. Although eligible for retirement, he says he will stick around for awhile, perhaps until the shuttle is finally retired.
Bill Andrews, a Senior Thermal Analyst in Orbiter, was a thermal analyst with Rockwell in Houston back in 1981 during the first flight. "I was there to predict temperatures on the aft fuselage compartment for prelaunch and for on orbit conditions," he said. "We had models that approximated what the thermal environment would be. Essentially they were uncorrelated, so it was really the best guesses we had at the time. As soon as we flew, we found out that the temperatures were indeed off by about 20 degrees. We needed to revisit them and adjust them according to what we're seeing in flight data," Andrews said. March 4, 1979 -- Orbiter 102 The Orbiter had operational instrumentation that provided temperature measurements for the first five flights. Andrews said industry and NASA were very prepared for that first flight, but the first flight provided a lot of useful information. "There were a lot of surprises in almost every area from the first flight. Remember this is the one of the first times that they had launched a manned unsymmetrical vehicle. In this particular case, they were attaching an aircraft to the side of a rocket. They had never done that before. So there were a lot of surprises," he said. Andrews had the job of supporting the NASA mission evaluation room during that flight in Building 45 at Johnson Space Center. "What we did is we had a facility back there in this room called the Trim Monitoring System (TMS) and we would do plots and we would scan through the plots of all the temperature measurements on the vehicle and compare them against predictions, which we were able to load. This was a state-of-the-art facility at the time. But we would go through and ensure that all the temperatures were within expected limits," he explained. Besides the NASA flight controllers, Andrews was there to look for anything that was unusual. He said the first flight offered up no unusual surprise other than to having to revise their models because of the higher heating. Andrews remembers the first flight as hair raising and remembers, "everybody was just super excited at the launch. This is the first time this had happened and nobody really knew how the system was going to operate. Everybody was grabbing the table and when they completed launch, it was quite a relief." Today, Andrews is a senior analyst and is one of three that actually worked the first flight. "They recruited me out of the University of Texas and I started in the thermal world. Even on station I was doing thermal and power resources, but essentially I was still attached to the thermal area," he explained. Andrews hopes someday before the shuttle retires, he'll get down to Kennedy Space Center to see a launch in person.
Lance Borden is shown in front of the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) working on the Real Time Monitor Console which was a satellite link for Shuttle software and hardware integration testing between SAIL and Shuttle Engineering in Downey, California Lance S. Borden, is the Boeing Space Shuttle NAVAIDS (R.F. Navigation Aids) Subsystem Manager, but who was a lead quality inspector for the Shuttle avionics in 1981, working at the Johnson Space Center Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) for Boeing. "I monitored all of the flight software and hardware integration testing and also monitored any installations and repairs and so forth that they did to the laboratory," he said. The Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory is basically a Space Shuttle in a lab and has all the electronics of the real hardware for the Space Shuttle and a cockpit and so forth. "Any place where they can't have actual hardware, they have it simulated like the fuel tanks and the rocket engines and so forth are simulated. It's still there. They verify all the flight software before the Space Shuttle flies and the lab allows them to simulate the flight." "Most of the stuff that's been used in the Shuttles over the years has been tested in SAIL first. That's like the glass cockpit and the new television system, all of the payloads and satellites and many things have been tested there," he explained. Borden started his career in NAVAIDS in 1965 with the U.S. Air Force, served in Laos as an Air Ccommando before working at Ellington Field as an avionics technician for several different companies. He also spent five years in Iran working for Bell Helicopter from 1973-1979 and eventually became an avionics engineer after returning to Houston following the Iranian revolution. In November 1981, he went to work for Rockwell as an engineer. NAVAIDS (R.F. Navigation Aids) is the radio frequency instrument landing system for the Shuttle. It consists of three systems. The Tactical Air Navigation System (TACAN) guides the Shuttle from about 400 miles out to the landing field. The Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) takes over at about 18 miles out and gives the Space Shuttle the steering information for azimuth, elevation and the distance to the runway and is considered the instrument landing system that brings it right down to the runway. "Another system is the RADAR Altimeters which give the height above the ground information which tells the crew when to flare the Shuttle for landing so it makes a nice smooth landing," he said. Borden remembers the first launch vividly and was in the SAIL control room monitoring the data for the first launch. "All of us were just holding our breath. My fear was what a disaster it would be if one of the Solid Rocket Boosters fired and the other one didn't. I think a lot of us were worried about that. There was a lot more to worry about. So just before lift-off, the Shuttle rocked back and then fell forward, my heart stopped for just a second because I thought it was going to fall over, but then it went. Then we all cheered and it took off so fast it was just amazing because we were used to seeing the Apollo rockets that lifted off so slowly." "Later on, I met Bob Crippen at SAIL. We had a SAIL celebration with a picnic, a ballgame, and so forth, and I got to talk to him for quite a while. He was real excited about the first flight and he's a real super nice guy and unassuming. He signed my ball cap for me and he said that he thought the age of the everyday citizen being able to fly in space was here. It didn't really work out to be exactly like that, but those were very exciting times." The Space Program has always attracted Borden to the field. "I always built model airplanes and model rockets when I was a kid in the 1950's and I watched every science fiction movie I could see. I really knew quite a bit about rockets and propulsion, and also electronics and so forth when I was a kid. I didn't think that we were actually going to fly in space as soon as we did when I was a kid. But then when it actually did start happening, I was thinking yeah, I'd really like to work in that program." "I worked on Apollo XVII out of Ellington Field on the NASA airplanes. I was there when they came back from the mission and I watched them fly the lunar landing training vehicles and so forth. Those were exciting times too. Of course, I knew a lot of those astronauts, the Apollo astronauts when I was working there. Then I left that and went over to Iran with Bell Helicopter for five years. Then when I came back, I went to work for Boeing."
February 27, 1975 -- Employees at Rockwell International Corporations Space Division, Downey, Calif., look over a full-scale mockup of the Space Shuttle orbiter. The mockup payload bay doors are open, showing the huge 15 feet diameter, 60 foot long bay in which up to 29,484 kilograms (65,000 lbs.) of varied cargo will be carried to Earth orbit. Engine bells are replicas of those that will be used with orbiter's three 2.090 million newton (470,000 lb.) thrust engines being developed for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center by Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division. Space Division developed the orbiter and integrating Space Shutle System under contract to NASA's Ly |
titles but I thinks its okay to have some quirkiness. I think there is some fun in having expected things and it would be nice if it become beauty of form or whatever demon's pure literature (M): I see (P): Its convinient, its an easy way to tell some hints. ~ 6:23 (I): About Mr. Solaire, isn't it impossible to finish his story if you play normally. (P): Yes (I): Yes... (M): Its impossible to go without hints. (P): Yes, for Solaire there is a shortage of hints in general. To be able to fight with him at the end was pretty much like a secret. We expected Solaire to be taken over by the sunlight maggot as the norm. But this as well as others the conveying of hints is a subject we need to work on. This is an another reflection but there should be some meaning to achieving goals and tasks, walking to a location and this includes map as well. There should be more ways to present them, and its my personal theme. I think there are more ways to do that, but that doesn't mean a simple thing like give out a map. Instead more skillfully. As for Solaire its a secret, and I think the happiest ending for him is to die by become the sun. (IM): fufufu (P): He is happy. he found his sun. (M): I haven't gotten to the end so what happens? (P): If you kill the sunlight maggots I think he can fight with you at the last boss. And after that he links the fire in his own world. ~ 8:17 (I): Patches (P): He is not the same Patches (I): He is not the same Patches from Demon's Souls (P): Parallel character (I): Then Gold Y*rt (M): pfff (I): Its written as Gold Y*rt (P): Whats up with Gold Y*rt (M): hahahah (P): The name is going to far (copyrights) (I): Thats not his name... (MP): Lautarec (I): This seems obvious but is he a cliche like the blue guy? (P): It is a easter egg but more like service to Demon's Soul players. He does have an shotel. (I): He looks suspicious (P): Indeed, his armor is one of my favorites. Armor that hugs you (I): I really didn't want this guy near me (P): He can laugh, "ku ku ku" I like him. ~ 9:15 (I): Quelaana, **** that likes Quelaana. Is Quelaana single? Does she have a boyfriend? Did she go out with Zalaman? (P): The hell is this? (M): HAHHAAHAH (P): What is this? (M): Its a question (P): As for boyfriend, I don't think she has a boyfriend... (M): HHAHAHAHAHA (P): Zalaman is not like that, he's an apprentice. There is nothing like that. First of all there are different species. Quelaana is a daughter of Izalalith and a species like that so it comes down to if reproductive actions are even possible. (I): It could be platonic love. (P): Well it may be. **** that loves Quelaana may very well be that way. (IMP): lol (P): Basically they are different species, and she is no doubt a good character. If you go to Romance possiblities, of all the female characters she quite desirable. ~ 10:42 (I): About Logan. Freke from Demon's Souls was in a place easy to step on, and I step on Logan a lot too. Is it destiny for sages to be stepped on? Is this part of Demon's Souls Pure Literature? (P): hah. Oh, yea. Lets just make it so. (IM): lol (M): Its beauty of form (P): Beauty of form ~ 11:03 (I): Why is Logan naked when he goes hollow? Is it because he got so excited after unravelling the secrets of the crystals? (P): This is at the end where you fight him instead of Seath, why is he naked. Why is he nude? I wonder? He may have achieved enlightenment. (I): haha (P): I wanted to show that he "opened" (jp expression of achieving enlightenment. literally open to understanding). (M): Something "opened" (P): Something "opened", I wanted to show that something "opened". There is limitation to expressing that within the game so... he stripped. (I): Nude. (P): He's still wearing a hat so its confusing but something "opened" (M): There is an openess to it. (P): There is an openess to it, something unordinary. Liberating, an eye opening. Something like that (I): We didn't need clothing (Sexy voice) (P): Exactly. Clothes, um whatever it is. I don't know because I haven't "opened" up yet. (IM): I see ~ 12:15 --notes *pure literature - Jp literature style. Emphasis on artistic beauty and form as opposed to targetting mainstream audiences and commerciality.
RAW Paste Data
Translated from japanese Internet Radio Game no shokutaku # 189 (3 of 5) Aired : 2011/12/15 Link to Source http://www.gamers1.jp/colweb/radio/2011/111215/111215.php Dark Souls Producer : Miyazaki Hidetaka (P) Host : Isomura Tomomi (I) Editor in chief / Script : Murohashi (M) ========== "Game no Shokutaku" is a casual internet radio talk show that invites game staff to talk about their game. Presented by Biglobe This time questions from the listeners submitted by twitter. *in the first episode Miyazaki appologized about the problem with net play. I might translate that episode if there is a demand **Not Direct and Complete translation (interpretted translation), by kaelsmith ========== Episode 2 part 2 (3 of 5) *Episode 2 has two parts ========== (I): Moving on the Other category. Does the enemies get stronger up to 8 game cycles this time too. (P): I think it was, I don't know for sure but it should be the same as the last game. I don't remember it off the top of my head (M): It's around that number (P): Its around 7 or 8 ~ 0:19 (I): Why didn't you include an Opening movie, I wanted to say "Ah Aaaa". (P): The opening movie as in start. Where it plays on the title screen. It wasn't included because this time the movie included the story. In the last game where it was a "slideshow" became the CG movie. So we just didn't make an opening movie, you probably didn't want to hear that. (laughing) (IM): I see (P): I understand the desire to say "Ah, Aaa" (M): It was impressive (I): It did leave quite an impression ~ 0:54 (I): What is up with the npcs that attacks you while you are human? Why do they fight with you when you beat them? (P): The red invaders (M): thats it (P): Various reasons, its treated as an another player. The red invaders are like other players. For example the red guy who keeps invading (M): Kirk (P): The guy with the thorns, Kirk of thorns is a member of the egg princess (chaos servant) and hes trying rob humanity to offer. If you kill him for the last time his corpse will be near the eggs and you can loot it. (M): The armor (P): Yes, thats the reason why hes dead there (IM): i see (P): Each one has an image story. (I): So is there a reason for the bikini? (P): ehh, Mildred? (I): Yes Mildred (MP): haha (I): Why is she wearing a bikini (M): It makes you wonder. She also wear a sack over her head (P): lol. I don't know if this is the best way to put it but Mildred was created on impulse. (IM): Ahhh (P): We liked it. I think somebody was using it. He was invading during debugging and we were shocked. "Who are you?". We got the data and added some background as the insane lady of the swamp. It was also in the last with the butcher knife, it's the same idea. (M): That was such a terrible place (P): Partial like a cameo. (MI): That was a girl? (P): Yes. (I): It reminds me of those murdering chefs in the B movies (P): Thats right. Also the enemy cook is a girl too. (I): I was told it was a lady. I thought it was a man (M): But she say "Uuuuugh" (I): Yeah yeah because of the "Uuuugh" I thought it was a man too. (P): It was set as a she from the beginning (M): Oh (P): It was written somewhere (M): Shocking... (I): I was told (P): Its a lady (M): So when it drops "sack" it good to sniff sniff. (P): Yes yes yes (I): You can sniff sniff? But she isn't cute (P): You don't know her face (M): She might be cute, who knows (P): Shes a lady ~ 3:28 (I): During Development was the whole team thinking of how the players will die with a grin? (P): Thats, not the case. I sometimes get this question from foreign media, and I answered to them. I was asked why are you so sadistic? (I): haha (P): I don't know about the other staff members but I am actually a Masochist. (Sexy WoW~) (IM): lol (P): I a huge Masochist. (Sexy WoW~). So when I make games it about how I want to be treated. (happy melody) (I): lol (M): oooooh (P): I want to be killed this way. (I): AMAZING (P): I want to be killed like this, that how I make it. (I): Thats really extreme masochism (P): Its just that sometimes other people don't understand it, its for my pleasure (M): Really? You want to be killed deep in the forest by getting punched by a huge mushroom. (P): Yes yes. And the curse area... When I get cursed.. (holding outbursts) (I): You want to dash though a barrage of arrows (P): It's gratifing. (happy Melody) Its like that, I just wanted to emphasize that. (M): Amazing (P): I don't know about the other staff members' fantasies but I am not making it from a sadistic stance, its from a masochistic I want this done to me. (IM): oooo. Amazing (P): Its actually like that (IM): Amazing. (P): I got some strong response from the foreign media, they said "what the hell are you talking about" (MP): hahahah ~ 5:09 (I): About the NPCs and Enemy characters. What is your favorite and staff favorite NPC? (P): My favorite is Solaire. We don't take surveys on favorite characters but from talking to recording director in London and translators he seems to be popular. The staff seems to like him cause he's a good guy. I like him the most. ~ 5:42 (I): There are many unique NPCs but is the blue guy, crestfallen guy a tradition? Is it demon's souls *pure literature (see notes) (P): I don't understand what he means by demon's souls *pure literature (IMP): lol (M): Is it cliche, beauty of form (P): I want to make it a beauty of form. I believe I will be making more titles but I thinks its okay to have some quirkiness. I think there is some fun in having expected things and it would be nice if it become beauty of form or whatever demon's pure literature (M): I see (P): Its convinient, its an easy way to tell some hints. ~ 6:23 (I): About Mr. Solaire, isn't it impossible to finish his story if you play normally. (P): Yes (I): Yes... (M): Its impossible to go without hints. (P): Yes, for Solaire there is a shortage of hints in general. To be able to fight with him at the end was pretty much like a secret. We expected Solaire to be taken over by the sunlight maggot as the norm. But this as well as others the conveying of hints is a subject we need to work on. This is an another reflection but there should be some meaning to achieving goals and tasks, walking to a location and this includes map as well. There should be more ways to present them, and its my personal theme. I think there are more ways to do that, but that doesn't mean a simple thing like give out a map. Instead more skillfully. As for Solaire its a secret, and I think the happiest ending for him is to die by become the sun. (IM): fufufu (P): He is happy. he found his sun. (M): I haven't gotten to the end so what happens? (P): If you kill the sunlight maggots I think he can fight with you at the last boss. And after that he links the fire in his own world. ~ 8:17 (I): Patches (P): He is not the same Patches (I): He is not the same Patches from Demon's Souls (P): Parallel character (I): Then Gold Y*rt (M): pfff (I): Its written as Gold Y*rt (P): Whats up with Gold Y*rt (M): hahahah (P): The name is going to far (copyrights) (I): Thats not his name... (MP): Lautarec (I): This seems obvious but is he a cliche like the blue guy? (P): It is a easter egg but more like service to Demon's Soul players. He does have an shotel. (I): He looks suspicious (P): Indeed, his armor is one of my favorites. Armor that hugs you (I): I really didn't want this guy near me (P): He can laugh, "ku ku ku" I like him. ~ 9:15 (I): Quelaana, **** that likes Quelaana. Is Quelaana single? Does she have a boyfriend? Did she go out with Zalaman? (P): The hell is this? (M): HAHHAAHAH (P): What is this? (M): Its a question (P): As for boyfriend, I don't think she has a boyfriend... (M): HHAHAHAHAHA (P): Zalaman is not like that, he's an apprentice. There is nothing like that. First of all there are different species. Quelaana is a daughter of Izalalith and a species like that so it comes down to if reproductive actions are even possible. (I): It could be platonic love. (P): Well it may be. **** that loves Quelaana may very well be that way. (IMP): lol (P): Basically they are different species, and she is no doubt a good character. If you go to Romance possiblities, of all the female characters she quite desirable. ~ 10:42 (I): About Logan. Freke from Demon's Souls was in a place easy to step on, and I step on Logan a lot too. Is it destiny for sages to be stepped on? Is this part of Demon's Souls Pure Literature? (P): hah. Oh, yea. Lets just make it so. (IM): lol (M): Its beauty of form (P): Beauty of form ~ 11:03 (I): Why is Logan naked when he goes hollow? Is it because he got so excited after unravelling the secrets of the crystals? (P): This is at the end where you fight him instead of Seath, why is he naked. Why is he nude? I wonder? He may have achieved enlightenment. (I): haha (P): I wanted to show that he "opened" (jp expression of achieving enlightenment. literally open to understanding). (M): Something "opened" (P): Something "opened", I wanted to show that something "opened". There is limitation to expressing that within the game so... he stripped. (I): Nude. (P): He's still wearing a hat so its confusing but something "opened" (M): There is an openess to it. (P): There is an openess to it, something unordinary. Liberating, an eye opening. Something like that (I): We didn't need clothing (Sexy voice) (P): Exactly. Clothes, um whatever it is. I don't know because I haven't "opened" up yet. (IM): I see ~ 12:15 --notes *pure literature - Jp literature style. Emphasis on artistic beauty and form as opposed to targetting mainstream audiences and commerciality.It’s standard practice for surrogates to go after political opponents. But the attacker’s connections to the candidate aren’t always clear—or disclosed by the news media.
6 seemingly-diverse Donald Trump critics linked to a handful of Hillary Clinton interests
1 Univision anchor Jorge Ramos issues aggressive diatribes against Trump, Univision cancels airing of Trump’s Miss USA pageant, Univision CEO “rips into Donald Trump.”
Six degrees of separation:
Univision is owned by Saban Capital Group.
Saban Capital Group is run by a top Hillary Clinton supporter, Haim Saban.
Saban and his wife have given $7 million to Hillary Clinton’s largest super Political Action Committee (PAC) “Priorities USA Action,” which has raised more than $67 million.
Sun. May 22 Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson follows the candidates’ political money
2 British Prime Minister David Cameron insults Trump as “stupid” and “wrong.”
Six degrees of separation:
Cameron’s campaign strategy adviser was former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina.
Messina heads Hillary Clinton’s largest super PAC, Priorities USA Action.
(Trivia note: Former Obama political consultant David Axelrod was adviser for Cameron’s losing opponent in the British elections, Ed Miliband.)
3 “Correct the Record” and its chief, Brad Woodhouse, push a constant string of “press releases” and interviews attacking Trump.
Six degrees of separation:
Correct the Record is not a neutral fact-checking group; it’s another pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC that engages in “rapid response” media efforts to defend Clinton.
Correct the Record received $1 million from Clinton’s Priorities USA Action super PAC and $275,000 from Clinton’s official campaign.
Correct the Record is a project of a third pro-Hillary super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century.
American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record were founded by Clinton political surrogate David Brock.
Brock also sits on the board of Priorities USA Action super PAC, which is led by Messina.
American Bridge 21st Century conducts opposition research against Clinton opponents for Priorities USA Action.
4 Hedge fund billionaire George Soros says Trump is “doing the work of [Islamic extremist terror group] ISIS.”
Six degrees of separation:
Soros is the largest donor to the pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action. He’s given $7 million so far.
Soros also gave $1 million to Brock’s pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge 21st Century.
5 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) files a complaint against the Trump Foundation for failing to disclose a contribution.
Six degrees of separation:
CREW is not a neutral ethics monitor; Hillary Clinton surrogate David Brock took over the group in 2014.
CREW and Brock primarily target Republicans.
6 The website “Media Matters” produces a steady series of attacks against Trump.
Six degrees of separation:
Media Matters is not a neutral media watchdog; it’s a left wing, pro-Hillary Clinton group.
Clinton confidant David Brock founded and heads Media Matters along with leading the pro-Clinton American Bridge 21st Century super PAC, leading CREW, sitting on the board of the pro-Clinton Priorities USA super PAC, and founding the pro-Clinton Correct the Record super PAC, a project of American Bridge.
Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson is broadcast each Sunday to 43 million households on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo and CW stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
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31 Shares(CNN) It could be weeks before the public knows if 11- and 15-year-old sisters will be charged as adults in the shooting death of their brother, as a Florida prosecutor has 30 days to make his next move in the fratricide case.
At a Wednesday news conference, State Attorney Jeff Siegmeister said the teens will be detained 21 days, plus an additional nine days -- one at a facility in Ocala, the other at a Gainesville detention facility -- while he makes his decision on what charges they will ultimately face and whether they will be treated as juveniles or adults.
So, what would compel the sisters to allegedly kill their older brother? Some mean treatment, they told police.
However, Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter told reporters that it wasn't clear what led to the shooting.
"The motive has yet to be determined," he said. "There's going to be 100,000 whys. We might not ever know why this child acted out like this."
The older girl claimed her brother had beaten her and locked her in her room. When he fell asleep, she got a gun out of her parents' room and shot him, according to a police report obtained by CNN affiliate WJAX
The unloaded gun was secured in the parents' locked bedroom, Hunter told reporters, so the 15-year-old broke an exterior window to the room, climbed in, retrieved the 9 millimeter handgun and loaded it before killing her brother with what appears to be a single gunshot.
The 11-year-old allegedly assisted her, authorities said. The 15-year-old confessed to the crime, Hunter said.
Both girls have been charged with premeditated murder and appeared in a Florida court on Wednesday. That hearing was closed to the media.
The parents, Keith and Misty Kornegay, appeared before a judge who told them they were being charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison.
The judge set bond at $20,000, assigned a public defender to the case and told Keith Kornegay to have no contact with the children. Misty Kornegay was told she could have contact with the kids but only with state approval and supervision.
After the hearing, Hunter told reporters, "The neglect charge has nothing to do with the immediate incident." Rather, he said, the charges stem from an incident in which the 15-year-old was locked in her room on numerous occasions with only a blanket and a bucket.
The two sisters inadvertently tipped off an officer to the Monday shooting when they left their Columbia County home and walked to the town of White Springs, nearly four miles away.
The 11-year-old called a friend's mother to tell her that she had run away. After the friend's mother arrived, she called police.
An officer came, and at first, the older girl played it cool, putting on makeup while answering some questions and dodging others, the report said.
But then she broke into tears and told the officer about her brother.
Police contacted the sheriff. That evening, deputies went to the family's home to investigate. They found the 16-year-old boy's body on the living room floor.
The children's parents were out of town on a truck driving job, but returned immediately when they received the news, Hunter said.
The three children and an additional 3-year-old daughter had been alone in the home. The toddler is now being cared for by a child protection agency.
Misty Kornegay is unemployed and would accompany her husband on some of his truck-driving trips, Hunter said, adding that leaving the 3-, 11- and 15-year-olds in the care of their 16-year-old brother is "an accepted practice."
The case is still under investigation.
While police have identified the girls, CNN is withholding their names since they are minors and have not been charged as adults.
In 2010, the Sheriff's Office visited the home on reports of vandalism and a civil matter, WJAX reported
Hunter told reporters Wednesday that police had been to the home on three previous occasions: in March 2013 for a property damage incident, in September 2013 for a "civil matter" and in July 2011 for a "juvenile issue" that turned out to be unfounded. He did not mention a 2010 incident.
Killings are uncommon in Columbia County, which is between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Hunter said. There were no homicides there last year.With a surprising eight wins this season, the Cincinnati Bengals are hanging tough, indirectly battling the New York Jets for that final wild card spot with two games to go. First the Bengals will host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a game that could end Cincinnati's playoff run or extend it through the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens. However as we've pointed out several times this week, the Bengals have to take care of business against the Cardinals.
Unfortunately since Saturday's game isn't sold out, many people hoping to watch the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas Eve within the Bengals market won't have the chance.
According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, this weekend's game against the Arizona Cardinals will be blacked out locally. It's the sixth game that's failed to sellout this season, with the lone sellout being against the Pittsburgh Steelers (and if this were hockey, you might as well credit Steelers fans with the assist).
Would it be too much of a stretch to announce that next weekend's regular season finale won't be blacked out either?Physical pain occurs in different ways. Some pains are as a result of injury, age or illness. Whether you are suffering from chronic pain or acute pain, the discomfort that comes with the pain is not a good one. The pain can affect your normal life, affect other parts of the body, and also affect your finances. Some physical pains are related to medical disorders such as diabetes, cancer, migraine, arthritis and injury. Happily, there are various simple ways you can do to cure the physical pain. Here are some of the best ways.
Relax to reduce the physical pain
There are several relaxation techniques that you can use to cure physical pain. There are methods not hard, and some do not require any equipment. From breathing techniques to some types of medication, you can quickly reduce the pain. However, consult your doctor before trying the methods to avoid problems. You can also get Kratom products to reduce your pain. Most people have the question: can you still buy kratom legally? And of course you can buy Kratom products and relieve your pain.
Have a good sleep
Many people suffering from chronic pain avoid going to be for they think that the pain might become worse. However, having a good sleep at night can help minimize the pain. But it is wise to stick to a regular sleeping routine. Hence, ensure you go to bed same time, have a good mattress, and get up at a regular time. If you can, avoid sleeping during the day.
Distract yourself
Some physical pain can cause emotional pain. Hence, another simple way to get rid of physical pain is distracting yourself. Shift the attention to something different. For instance, you can start enjoying an activity you like such as photography, knitting, sewing and many others. Most hobbies are simple and effective when it comes to reducing pain.
Breathe the right way to reduce the pain
Breathing the right approach when in pain can help get rid of the pain. When someone is in pain, he or she is advised to take slow and rapid breaths to make the body muscles comfortable and less stressed.
Counseling can help
Physical pain can make someone depressed, tired, stressed and anxious. It can also affect regular work and make someone less productive. Since, living with physical pain is not easy, you can seek counseling for help. Happily, there are many counselors, hypnotherapists, and psychologists who can help. They are professional who knows how to deal with emotions when dealing with the pain.
Get some exercises
One of the best ways to reduce physical pain is exercising. Simple activities such as walking, jogging, dancing, gardening, and swimming can help cure the pain. The workouts help to brain the pain signals from reaching the brain. Also, physical activities can decrease the pain by stretching tense and stiff muscles, joints and ligaments. Though it is normal for people to fear physical activities since it can cause more damages to the body, when someone is active, he or she is less likely to have injuries. The pain felt while exercising means the muscles and ligaments are becoming fitter. Besides, the benefits of exercising are more than the pain that is felt.Buy Photo Last season, Jarvis Threatt was third on the Hens in scoring (18.0 ppg), third in rebounds (5.8 rpg) and first in assists (5.4) and steals (2.5). (Photo: William Bretzger/The News Journal )Buy Photo Story Highlights Threatt helped lead Hens to first CAA title and secured UD's first NCAA Tournament bid in 15 years
Junior season also included two disciplinary infractions
Delaware must now replace its top four scorers
The often spectacular but periodically interrupted University of Delaware basketball career of Jarvis Threatt has come to a premature end.
Delaware announced Tuesday that Threatt has been dismissed from the basketball team prior to what would have been his senior season for more UD rules violations.
UD offered no specifics in a short statement and would provide no comment, athletic director Eric Ziady said. A press release cited "violations of team rules."
PREVIOUSLY: Threatt one of three suspended
PHOTOS: Biden hosts Hens
FOOTBALL: Hens add transfer QB
Threatt had been a key member of Delaware's 2013-14 men's basketball team, which won the school's first Colonial Athletic Association championship and secured UD's first NCAA Tournament bid in 15 years. The Blue Hens finished 25-10.
A 6-foot-2 combo guard, Threatt was third on the team in scoring (18.0 ppg), third in rebounds (5.8 rpg) and first in assists (5.4) and steals (2.5). He was named Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Tournament.
But his junior year also included two disciplinary infractions. He was left home for an important Jan. 18 game at Northeastern by coach Monte Ross after missing a class.
Just over a week later, Threatt and teammate Marvin King-Davis were suspended from the team for a month, missing eight games, for a violation of unspecified UD athletics policy. Threatt returned for the final two games of the regular season and the postseason.
Threatt's impulsive behavior and relaxed attitude had often angered and tested the patience of his coaches, who thought they'd seen somewhat of a turn around this season despite the two transgressions.
"He is a talented young man who had a breakthrough on the court this year," Ross had said of Threatt before the NCAA Tournament game against Michigan State in Spokane, Wash. "He just decided he wanted to be the best he could be. The sky is still the limit for him."
Now, the sky has fallen. Threatt did not respond to an interview request. The Richmond, Va., resident is no longer a UD student.
Delaware must now replace its top four scorers – seniors Devon Saddler, Davon Usher and Carl Baptiste were the others – in 2014-15. Kyle Anderson, a senior guard, and King-Davis, a junior forward, will be the only recruited scholarship players in the junior and senior classes.
Threatt's departure means highly regarded incoming 6-2 freshman Kory Holden, from J.M. Bennett High in Salisbury, Md., will likely step right in at point guard next season. Anthony Mosely, another incoming freshman out of Sanford School, should also see immediate duty there. He is a 6-1 combo guard.
Other guards who'll have to pick up the scoring slack in Threatt's absence include 6-6 Devonne Pinkard and 6-4 Cazmon Hayes, who both saw considerable duty as true freshmen last year, and Chivarsky Corbett, a promising incoming 6-6 freshman swing guard from Tampa (Fla.) Catholic,
Threatt was a CAA All-Rookie selection as a freshman in 2011-12, when his late-season contributions helped push Delaware to its first winning season in eight years and he squared off against brother Jay in a game against Delaware State. He was third-team All-CAA in 2012-13.
Last month, during a visit to Vice President Biden's Naval Observatory residence in Washington, D.C., after a White House tour, Threatt had animatedly spoken about next season.
"It was a dream come true for me," he said of that trip. "Now I want to win the championship again next year and come back."
If the Blue Hens earn another D.C. expedition, it will be without a player some had considered as talented as any Delaware had.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com.KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese police arrested dozens of women protesting on Tuesday against laws they say humiliate women after a video of a woman being flogged in public appeared on the Internet.
Sudanese women shout slogans during a protest in Sanaa March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Floggings carried out under Islamic law are almost a daily punishment in Sudan for crimes ranging from drinking alcohol to adultery.
But vague laws on women’s dress and behaviour are implemented inconsistently. One case sparked international furore when Lubna Hussein, a Sudanese U.N. official, invited journalists to her public flogging for wearing trousers.
The video, which was removed by YouTube, showed a crying Sudanese woman being lashed by two policemen in front of onlookers in a public place. She was made to kneel and the police laughed during the punishment.
“Humiliating your women is humiliating all your people,” the women shouted as they were being arrested on Tuesday.
Around 50 women sat down outside the justice ministry holding banners and surrounded by riot police telling them to move.
Three plain-clothed security men threw the BBC correspondent to the ground, confiscating his equipment.
All the women were arrested and taken to a nearby police station. Their lawyers were prevented from entering, but senior opposition politicians were allowed to go inside.
The women said they had tried to get permission for the protest but had been refused. The police declined to comment.
“The authorities here take the law into their own hands. No one knows what happens inside these police stations,” said one of their lawyers, Mona el-Tijani. “This video was just one example of what happens all the time.”
Sudan’s justice ministry said it would investigate whether the punishment was administered properly.
It was not clear what offence the woman being lashed had committed. Officials from the ruling National Congress Party offered conflicting explanations in the local press.Dallas Art News invited webcomic artists from the Dallas Webcomics Expo (DWEX) to participate in a special feature, Webcomics Imitating Art. The idea was for each webcomic artist to use their characters and style to recreate a famous work of art. We only expected to get about six works, but we lucked out and got nineteen webcomic artists to participate.
“The very first webcomic artist I contacted was Nate Bramble, who draws Hermit Hill. I suggested to Nate that he draw his main character, Walter, as Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait. I received Nate’s art a week later and was blown away by how good it was,” said Michael Roman, Dallas Art News Managing Editor.
Webcomics Imitating Art was supposed to coincide with the Dallas Art News Museum Express Tour. Unfortunately, the tour did not get enough registrations and we decided to postpone the tour till spring 2010. Even though the tour was postponed, more and more webcomic artists signed-up for the feature and the art kept on coming.
Some of the famous artists include Grant Wood, Auguste Rodin, John Singer Sargent, Edvard Munch and Henri Matisse. The most popular artist was Michelangelo, who has three works in Webcomics Imitating Art.
“We tried really hard not to get a dozen Mona Lisas, which was not selected. Somehow we did get two versions of Marilyn by Andy Warhol,” said Mr. Roman.
Dallas Art News hopes our readers will enjoy Webcomics Imitating Art and take the time to check out the sites of each webcomic artist.
Webcomics and Artists
Webcomics Imitating Art Gallery
Click on any of the thumbnail images to open the gallery. Cheers.
[nggallery id=5]
1977 the Comic by Byron Wilkins
Link: www.1977thecomic.com
Summary: “1977″ is the story of Bud, Jeff, Lorraine and Robyn, four friends trying to become rock and roll stars in the late 70s, but somehow always missing their target. Tag along as they find out how to take life one toke at a time.
Since: 2008
If I wasn’t doing web comics I would be … working at Denny’s.
After Lily by Hannah Scott
Link: www.afterlily.com
Summary: A cheerful assistant Grim Reaper and her ultra-depressed worker collect the souls of the recently deceased and bring them to the afterlife.
Since: 2008
Brax the Alien Rocker by Philip Vecchio
Link: www.braxcomics.com
Summary: Brax the Alien Rocker is about an aspiring musician from a planet far away. He has come to Earth to make his mark on the music industry. Brax is joined by Manny, Rosy and Bots.
Since: 2009
Cloud Hopper by Geoff Sebesta
Link: www.unnecessaryg.com
Summary: A guy falls |
so its almost flat on the skin. Roll the razor slightly while moving the blade down, until you find the angle that is most comfortable to shave with. Be sure to lock your wrist and move the blade and your arm as a single unit.
The classic movement is to shave downward. But if you need to you can change direction slightly to better follow the grain of your stubble.
As you maneuver around your face try to envision it as a diamond, with you shaving the facets and avoiding the corners whenever possible. But remember you’re going to have to adjust the position of the razor in your hand to match the angle needed to shave each facet. One of the key skills you will have to develop is holding the blade firmly while still being able to rotate it slightly and maintaining the correct pressure on the skin, all at the same time. It’s a balancing act that can take some concentration.
Once you finish the dominant side of the face you can move to the opposite side. Here there is a choice on how to grip the razor. One way is to continue to hold the razor in the dominant hand with the end is facing the nose. The other way is to simply switch the razor to the other hand and use it just like the dominant hand. Try it both ways to see what is most comfortable to you.
Shaving the center of the face can be the most challenging because of the many curves in the area and the generally tougher stubble that usually grows there. You may have to change razor positions several times to finish that area.
While you are learning to shave with a straight razor it is probably best to stop at this point and use a razor you’re more familiar with to clean up remaining stubble. Later you may want to try relathering and repeating this pass for a slightly closer shave. Remember that it may take some time to develop the skill necessary for a good, consistent shave so it’s best to do it in stages.
When you’re ready for a closer shave, add an upward pass. You will need to grip the razor slightly differently and use a slightly shallower angle. For this pass I find it more comfortable to start on the side opposite that of your dominant hand.
After The Shave
A straight razor needs some attention after the shave too, to maintain its condition. Carefully wipe the blade clean with a dry tissue or towel. Don’t forget to dry the inside of the scales as well, so water doesn’t get to the blade when the razor is in its closed position. Then store the razor for its next use. If you’re not going to use the razor for a while you may want to coat the blade with a thin coating of light oil (baby oil will work fine) or even petroleum jelly to help prevent corrosion.
And there you have the basics of shaving with a straight razor. Be sure to leave your questions or comments. I’ll do my best to address them.
Other Places To Look For Information
There are some really good resources for learning the ins and outs of shaving with a cut throat razor though, and I have listed some below. I’ll edit this list as additional resources come to my attention.
Arguably the most comprehensive resource for information on straight razors is Straight Razor Place. With Wiki’s, FAQ’s, and forums on pretty much every aspect of straight razors, SRP is one place you should know about.
Free texts about straight razor shaving include Chris Moss’ guide, Larry’s (from Whipped Dog) manual, and a vintage book on shaving at archve.org.
The Shaving Room (UK), Shave My Face, and Badger & Blade forums have active straight razor communities. Be sure to check out Sharpologist’s list of forums and blogs for more.
Some good video channels include Lynn Abrams’ Straight Razor Place, Geo/Shavenation’s Geofatboy, and Reddit’s Wicked Edge.
Lynn Abrams also sells a DVD with detailed information on straight razors.
Related Posts:
A Kamisori Primer
What Are Cotton Strops Used For?Thief [Blu-ray] (Michael Mann, 1981) Review by Gary Tooze Production: Theatrical: Mann/Caan Productions Video: Criterion Collection Spine #691 / Arrow Films Disc: Region: 'A' / Region 'B' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player ) Director's Cut Runtime: 2:04:41.474 / 2:04:36.969 Theatrical Cut: 2:03:10.257 Disc Size: 43,728,410,092 bytes / 47,487,566,558 bytes Theatrical Cut Disc Size: 38,823,100,006 bytes Feature Size: 35,493,795,840 bytes / 40,231,259,520 bytes Theatrical Cut Feature Size: 38,372,920,896 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.48 Mbps / 34.99 Mbps (both DC and Th.) Chapters: 31 / 12 / 13 Case: Transparent Blu-ray case / Limited Slipcase Edition [3000 units] featuring two versions of the film Release date: January 14th, 2014 / January 26th, 2015 Video ( both ): Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3314 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3314 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Director's Cut: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3343 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3343 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Theatrical: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Isolated Score: LPCM Audio Undetermined 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Subtitles ( both ): English (SDH), none Extras: • Audio commentary featuring Mann and actor James Caan
• New interviews with Mann (24:18), Caan (10:39), and Johannes Schmoelling of the band Tangerine Dream (15:40), which contributed the film’s soundtrack
• Trailer (1:53)
• One Blu-ray and one DVD, with all content available in both formats
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick James • Optional isolated music and effects track on the theatrical cut
• Audio commentary by writer-director Michael Mann and actor James Caan
• The Directors: Michael Mann a 2001 documentary on the filmmaker, containing interviews with Mann, James Belushi, William Petersen, Jon Voight and others (59:28)
• Stolen Dreams - a new interview with Caan, filmed exclusively for this release (14:32)
• Hollywood USA: James Caan an episode of the French TV series Ciné regards devoted to the actor, filmed shortly after Thief had finished production (24:38)
• The Art of the Heist - an examination of Thief with writer and critic F.X. Feeney, author of the Taschen volume on Michael Mann (1:06:29)
• Theatrical trailer (1:53)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm
Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens Bitrate: 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE 3) Arrow (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM Description: The contemporary American auteur Michael Mann burst out of the gate, his bold artistic sensibility fully formed, with Thief, his debut feature. James Caan stars, in one of his most riveting performances, as a no-nonsense ex-con safecracker planning to leave the criminal world behind after one final diamond heist, but discovering that escape is not as simple as he hoped. Finding hypnotic beauty in neon and rain-slick streets, sparks and steel, Thief effortlessly established the moody stylishness and tactile approach to action that would also define such later iconic entertainments from Mann as Miami Vice, Manhunter, and Heat. The Film: In Thief, James Caan plays Frank, a professional jewel thief who wants to marry Jessie (Tuesday Weld) and settle down into a normal life. In order to achieve his dream of a family, Frank--who is used to working solo--has to align himself with a crime boss named Leo (Robert Prosky), who will help him gain the money he needs to begin his domestic life. Frank plans to retire after the heist, yet he finds himself indebted to Leo and he struggles to break free. Thief is the first feature film from director Michael Mann and it seethes with his stylish, atmospheric direction. Though his cool approach may put off some viewers, it's a distinctive and effective story-telling approach, and Caan's performance ranks among his very best, making Thief a crime movie like few others. Excerpt from MRQE located HERE A silently professional night-time jewel robbery, reduced to near-abstract essentials and paced by a Tangerine Dream score, sets the electric tone for Mann's fine follow-up to The Jericho Mile: a philosophical thriller filled with modernist cool. Caan's the thief, contradictorily building and risking a future mapped out as meticulously as any of his lucrative hi-tech jobs; testing his emotional and criminal independence to the limits; eventually recognising that he's either exercising or exorcising a death wish. Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE Image : NOTE : The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Thief on Blu-ray from Criterion looks highly advanced and superior compared to the original non-anamorphic SD many have owned for almost a decade. This is advertised as a "New digital restoration from a 4K film transfer of the director’s cut, approved by director Michael Mann". The image has some teal-leaning but most colors seem true with the welding and fire sequences looking impressively bright. This is dual-layered with a high bitrate and we can guess that it is a solid representation of the film with a hint of grain. Contrast is strong and supports some excellent detail. It is in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio They are infrequent examples of depth. This Blu-ray has no discernable flaws and supplies a very pleasing 1080P presentation. The Arrow has both a 'Director's Cut' (very similar to the Criterion image, also from a from a new 4K film transfer, approved by director Michael Mann) and a 1080P Theatrical Cut on a second Blu-ray that has much earthier tones and is slightly cropped (in comparison). Arrow has max'ed out the bitrate on both Blu-rays and their DC shows a bit more grain texture than the Criterion. I actually appreciate the color scheme of the Theatrical and it's a great addition to the UK package. CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE 3) Arrow (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE 3) Arrow (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE 3) Arrow (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE 3) Arrow (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM More Director's Cut Blu-ray Captures Audio : Criterion advance the film's rich aura with a stellar DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at a healthy 3314 kbps. There are some impressive separations but the film benefits greatly from Tangerine Dream score's lossless rendering. The German (Berlin School) electronic music group's unique sound establishes dark moods that mirror Mann's noirish underbelly visuals. For fans of the film this is, perhaps, even more impacting than the HD image. There are optional English subtitles and m y Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A' disc. Arrow's Director's Cut has a DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a healthy 3343 kbps and the option of a linear PCM 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps. I can determine no difference in the Criterion and Arrow surround tracks and the Arrow stereo sounds solid - supporting the higher end of the Tangerine Dream's electronic-techno soundtrack very well. Very tight with plenty of treble. On Arrow's theatrical cut we get only a linear PCM 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps and a similar transfer for the optional isolated score. Both have optional English (SDH) subtitles and both Blu-ray discs are region 'B'-locked. Extras : Criterion include the, sometimes awkward, audio commentary featuring Mann and actor James Caan recorded in 1995 and found on past DVDs. I found it informative, if less polished - which is probably appropriate as the film always has an air of vérité realism. There are some new, 2013, interviews with Mann - discussing the production and his memories of for almost 25-minutes, James Caan similar for over 10-minutes including a focus on preparation for his character, and 15-minutes of Johannes Schmoelling of the band Tangerine Dream (in German with English subtitles), which contributed the film’s soundtrack. There is also a trailer and the package contains both Blu-ray and a DVD, with all content available in both formats as well as a booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick James. Aside from the aforementioned optional isolated music and effects track - found only on the theatrical cut, all other Arrow, digital, supplements are on the Director's Cut Blu-ray. We get the same audio commentary by writer-director Michael Mann and actor James Caan, as found on the Criterion plus some new video extras as well as the hour-long 'The Directors: Michael Mann', 2001, documentary on the filmmaker, containing interviews with Mann, James Belushi, William Petersen, Jon Voight and others. There is also Stolen Dreams - a new, 15-minute, interview with Caan, filmed exclusively for this release and Hollywood USA (25-minutes) showing James Caan in an episode of the French TV series Ciné regards, English with burned-in French subtitles, devoted to the actor, filmed shortly after Thief had finished production, in 1982. The Art of the Heist runs over an hour and is an examination of Thief with writer and critic F.X. Feeney, author of the Taschen volume on Michael Mann. It is excellent and a wonderful education on the film. Lastly, on the disc, we have a theatrical trailer and the package contains a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm and an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens. We should note that this is a limited slipcase edition [3000 units]. 1) Criterion (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray LEFT 2) Arrow (Director's Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT Arrow Disc 2 (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM LINE:
Great, and memorable, film from the 80s. Thief remains edgy, focusing on a resilient, uncompromising, protagonist, and the soundtrack is unique and highly impressive - especially in the lossless rendering. Criterion's Blu-ray package offers some new interview supplements and a solid 1080P image of a highly re-watchable film. Strongly recommended! Great release! Arrow seems to have eclipsed Criterion on every front, offering a more textured DC, the inclusion of the 'Theatrical' in HD (on a separate BD), more extras and a totally complete package. Our highest recommendation! Gary Tooze December 31st, 2013 January 16th, 2015AMC is developing a new series that will be based on the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Deadline, the series will be based on a novel by Wesley Lowrey called, They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement.
The show will be called They Can't Kill Us All and it will reflect on "current events and race relations through the stories and voices of fictional characters." The show is being developed by Brad Weston’s Makeready and writer LaToya Morgan (Into the Badlands, Turn: Washington’s Spies).
Here's a full description from the book that the series will be based on:
Conducting hundreds of interviews during the course of over one year reporting on the ground, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled from Ferguson, Missouri, to Cleveland, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland; and then back to Ferguson to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today.
In an effort to grasp the magnitude of the repose to Michael Brown’s death and understand the scale of the problem police violence represents, Lowery speaks to Brown’s family and the families of other victims other victims’ families as well as local activists. By posing the question, “What does the loss of any one life mean to the rest of the nation?” Lowery examines the cumulative effect of decades of racially biased policing in segregated neighborhoods with failing schools, crumbling infrastructure and too few jobs.
This is sure to end up being both a powerful and controversial series. I guess it all depends on your point of view of the Black Lives Matters movement. Regardless, AMC has a proven record for developing great series, so it's highly likely that this will be a great show worth checking out.Mountaineer found dead hanging from cliff in climbing gear covered in BEE STINGS...along with his loyal dog
55-year-old Steven Johnson was found in the Santa Rita Mountains
The cause of death hasn't been determined yet, but officials say Johnson was covered with stings when he was found
A climber and his faithful dog have perished in Arizona after they appear to have been attacked by killer bees as he scaled a cliff.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office says that 55-year-old Steven Johnson, a counselor with some 30 years experience hiking and climbing was found dead, hanging 70-feet from the ground in his climbing gear in the Santa Rita Mountains on Monday night.
The cause of death has not been determined yet, but officials said that Johnson was covered in bee stings when he was found while his dead dog was discovered at the top of the cliff.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office says 55-year-old Steven Johnson (pictured) was found in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson late Monday
Johnson was last seen Friday when he went hiking, and friends became worried when he didn't go to work on Monday.
Sheriff's Lt. Raoul Rodriguez says Johnson may have disturbed bees by hammering a spike into the cliff.
Search and rescue teams found both Johnson and his dog dead in the Santa Rita Mountains on Monday night
Rodriguez of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said the 55-year-old man was found hanging from his climbing gear on a cliff near Mount Hopkins
Killer Bees in Arizona: Africanized bee attacks on the rise Africanized bees, also known as killer bees are hybrids of the African honey bee which are a hostile and invasive species.
They arrived in America in 1957 when a stand-in bee-keeper accidently released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and drones which were being used for research purposes.
After the accidental released, the bees started to breed with the Brazilian bees and produced what we now know as Africanized honeybees or killer bees.
The Africanized honey bee or AHB is similar in physical characteristics to European honey bees - the major difference being in their defensive behavior.
They swarm to attack and sting in large numbers when they detect any threat from 50 feet away.
Every year around a dozen swarm attacks are atributed to Africanized honey bees in the south west of the country.
In 2011, a 95-year-old man was out walking in Phoenix when he was attacked and stung 600 times - remarkably surviving.
Scientists estimate as general rule of thumb that ten stings per pound of body weight equals a fatality.
So a person weighing 150 pounds would need to be stung roughly 1,500 times to be killed.
'He had anchored himself to the wall as he was going down so he was actually anchored and he must have been attacked and was not able to climb back up or go back down,' said Rodriguez.
He said Johnson's dog had also been attacked by bees and was found dead nearby.
Johnson is described as a father, climber and friend, who was well-liked throughout the climbing community in Southern Arizona.
'It's devastating news for the Tucson community, for sure, he was a very prolific climber in Tucson,' said John Mavko, who works at Rocks & Ropes, a climbing facility that was frequented by Johnson.
Deputies of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department and its search and rescue unit found Johnson’s body Monday at 6:30 p.m..
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy on Wednesday to determine the cause of his death.
Killer bees have become a problem in the south west of the country, especially in cities like Phoenix and Tuscson which have programs to destroy them for public safety.
However, despite their fearsome reputation, Dr. May Berenbaum, a professor and department head at the University of Illinois' Department of Entomology and one of the country's leading bee experts said that public information is the key to limiting fatalities.
'When bees sting, it's always in defense. They're not cruising the neighborhood to make trouble,' said Berenbaum. 'They're not kamikaze, intent on their own destruction. They sting if they perceive a threat on their own home.'
However, Berenbaum's description of an African bee attack to ABC News makes for disturbing reading.
Once stung, the bee releases a pheromone that attracts other bees to attack - which is why most African bee attacks are in swarms.KATHMANDU: Former US president Jimmy Carter who has been diagnosed with cancer will travel to quake-hit Nepal to build homes with 1,500 volunteers in November.In August, 90-year-old Carter said he had been diagnosed with cancer in his brain but still hoped to make a scheduled trip to Nepal."I really wanted to go to Nepal to build houses," he had said.NGO Habitat for Humanity in a press statement today said that Carter had received consent from his medical team to travel to Nepal.Carter and his wife Rosalynn will participate in Habitat for Humanity's 32nd annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project from November 1 to 6 in Chitwan in southern Nepal.During the week, 1,500 volunteers from within Nepal and around the world will join him in building permanent homes in partnership with low-income families in Nayabasti Gairigaun village in the district.A majority of these families are Dalits, according to the Carter Centre.Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation on April 25 killing over 9,000 people while many more were left without shelter.Carter, the 39th US president and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, who founded the Carter Centre, has travelled the world as a peace broker and human rights advocate.He had also visited Kathmandu in November, 2013 to observe Nepal's second Constituent Assembly election.NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bond guru Bill Gross, who has long called for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, said on Wednesday that U.S. central bankers may have missed their window of opportunity to hike rates earlier this year and doing so now could create “self-inflicted” instability.
In his September Investment Outlook report, Gross wrote that his concept of a neutral policy rate closer to a nominal 2 percent “now cannot be approached without spooking markets further and creating self-inflicted financial instability.”
The neutral rate is the point at which the rate is neither stimulative nor contractionary.
The Fed seems intent on raising the federal funds rate at its policy meeting this month if only to prove that it can begin the journey to normalization, said Gross, who runs the $1.5 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund (JUCAX.O).
“They should, but their September meeting language must be so careful,” that “one and done” is an increasing possibility, Gross said. The “one and done” approach represents the Fed raising rates once and not again, at least for the next six months, Gross said.
“The Fed is beginning to recognize that 6 years of zero bound interest rates have negative influences on the real economy – it destroys historical business models essential to capitalism such as pension funds, insurance companies, and the willingness to save money itself.”
A decline in saving would lead to other problems like decreases in investment and long-term productivity, he added.
Gross said: “The global economy’s finance-based spine is so out of whack that it is in need of a major readjustment. In this case, even the best of chiropractors could not even attempt it. Nor would a one-off fed fund increase straighten it out.”
He suggested that major global policy shifts should emphasize government spending as opposed to austerity, adding that countries should recognize that competitive devaluations do nothing but allow temporary respite from the overreaching global problem of too little aggregate demand versus too much aggregate supply.
“It is demand that must be increased – yes, China must move more quickly to a consumer-based economy but the developed world must play its part by abandoning its destructive emphasis on fiscal austerity, and begin to replace its rapidly decaying infrastructure that has been delayed for decades,” Gross said.
Overall, Gross said “super-size” August movements in global stocks are but one sign that something may be amiss in the global economy itself, China notwithstanding.
Fiscal and monetary policies around the world now are not constructive or growth enhancing, nor are they likely to be, Gross said. “If that be the case, then equity market capital gains and future returns are likely to be limited if not downward sloping.”
Gross said cash is king in this environment.
“Cash or better yet ‘near cash’ such as 1-2 year corporate bonds are my best idea of appropriate risks/reward investments,” Gross said. “The reward is not much, but as Will Rogers once said during the Great Depression – “I’m not so much concerned about the return on my money as the return of my money.”
High-quality global bond markets offer little reward relative to durational risk, he added. Private equity and hedge related returns cannot long prosper if global growth remains anemic, Gross said.Noo Yawk. That's the state with this week's presidential primary, in which candidates who have spent time in New York recently are currently running ahead, according to polls.
Hillary Clinton, who as a resident of Chappaqua in suburban Westchester County was elected the state's junior senator in 2000 and 2006, leads Bernie Sanders, who left his native Brooklyn for Vermont in 1968, 48 years ago. And on the Republican side, Donald Trump, who grew up in Jamaica Estates, Queens, and lives in a pseudonymous Manhattan skyscraper, has a "yuge" lead over John Kasich, native of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and Ted Cruz, who grew up and lives in Houston.
Trump's lead in his home state is indeed enormous. He hasn't gotten 50 percent of the vote in any primary or caucus held so far. But he has been getting over 50 percent in every poll of New York Republicans conducted since March 2015, three months before he declared his candidacy. The only state where he has gotten comparable poll numbers is in neighboring Connecticut.
In a recent column I advanced the thesis that Trump tends to run best among voters with little social connectedness, that is, involvement in community activities. But New York, according to Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam, is not a state with particularly low social connectedness; it's roughly around the national average.
So New York tends to disprove my theory, unless there's something else involved -- which I think there is. Call it New York exceptionalism.
It's something that goes back to colonial America. In his 1988 book "Albion's Seed," historian David Hackett Fischer showed how different parts of the British colonies were settled by people from different parts of the British Isles with distinctly different folkways: New England by Calvinists from East Anglia; the Delaware Valley by Quakers and dissenting Protestants from the English Midlands; Virginia by Anglicans from England's West Country; and the Appalachian chain by Scots-Irish from Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Their folkways have persisted to this day and still are traceable in political choices. New Englanders felt the allure of Barack Obama to which the Scots-Irish were entirely immune. Virginians have been readier than Pennsylvanians to support military actions.
But as Fischer admits, his four categories don't include all Americans. African-Americans have obviously developed their own folkways. Another exception was New Netherland, now known as New York, which "combined formal toleration, social distance and inequality in high degree.... The peculiar texture of life in New York City today still preserves qualities which existed in seventeenth-century New Amsterdam -- and Old Amsterdam as well."
New York has always believed in commerce and in tolerance, but has had little use for principle. Like Amsterdam in the age of Rembrandt, it is the greatest trading and finance system in the world, with a taste for high art and low life. In New York you are considered "old money" if you have held your fortune for 10 minutes.
New York was Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, pro-South in the Civil War. (Mustn't let principle get in the way of making money.) In the first half of the 20th century it was the fulcrum point of American politics, a target state in any close election split about equally between upstate Protestant Republicans and downstate Catholic Democrats, with key votes cast by Jewish immigrants left of both parties on both economic and cultural issues. This gave both parties an incentive to champion liberal policies not just in New York but nationally.
But by the 1960s New York became less pivotal. The state was overtaken in population by California (it now ranks fourth, behind Texas and Florida, too), and Jewish New Yorkers were solid Democrats, making New York's reduced number of electoral votes safely Democratic in any close election. New York is still a major media center, but it doesn't drive American politics as it did in the days of the two Roosevelts and Nelson Rockefeller.
It's a city that, like its son Donald Trump, loves winners -- winners like the New York Yankees, hated in much of America but loved in New York. Longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and on-and-off manager Billy Martin may have been brash and boorish, but they were loved in New York. Hey, they were winners.
Trump speaks in the accents and cadences of New York -- not of the ancestral rich in Manhattan but in the upward strivers and figure-out-the-angles rich of the outer boroughs and Long Island suburbs. He talks of people "waiting on line" for his rallies -- a phrase that may have puzzled most listeners who thought he was referring to computers. That's New York talk: Sophisticated New Yorkers of my acquaintance are not aware that the phrase in the rest of America is "waiting in line."
Only 23 percent of New York state voters are registered Republicans, less than half the 49 percent who are registered Democrats. Perhaps this relatively small slice of the total electorate have less social connectedness than the average New Yorkers; there's not enough data to be sure.
An Optimus robocall poll of 14,000 New Yorkers broke down the vote by congressional district. New York awards 14 statewide and 81 congressional district delegates by winner-take-all if a candidate gets 50 percent in each unit. The results suggest Trump would get 82 of the state's 95 delegates.
That's a good haul for Trump, but it's likely not replicable outside New York, other than in Connecticut and New Jersey. Contrary to the song, if you can make it there, you may not be able to make it anywhere else.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CREATORS.COMThe second show to make it into the Geekdom is another creation of Dan Harmon – this time co-created with Justin Roiland, of Adventure Time fame. It’s called Rick and Morty.
And boy, it’s a beautiful kind of genius.
SERIOUS SPOILERS TO FOLLOW! DON’T EVEN TRIP, DOG.
As much as I have come to dislike the use of a synopsis for TV shows and movies (because of their inability to comprehensively sell what’s really good about a series), I feel it wouldn’t hurt to start with the very basic one and build on it from there. Rick and Morty follows the ‘insane science adventures’ of Rick Sanchez, a genius old scientist, and his dimwitted 14-year-old grandson, Morty Smith. Sounds like it could be fun, right?
Yes, it’s fun, but that’s painting such a deceiving picture. This isn’t a cartoon for your average 10 year-old on a Saturday morning. It’s an Adult Swim show, so you know one thing for sure – it’s going to hit some seriously insane notes.
I could just ramble on about how funny it is – and it is truly funny – but that’s not what makes it a gem. It’s special because it’s so funny and so affecting. Contrary to animated comedies like Family Guy, the comedy doesn’t just try to push boundaries in terms of how far it can offend, but is pushes boundaries in the way that The Good Wife or Community does – it takes any given concept/idea that has been used to death and searches for the unique angle. Want a love-potion episode? Sure, have one – but this time, the love potion has dramatic side-effects with those who have the flu… and it’s flu season. It becomes an epidemic, ultimately creating a world full of ‘Cronenbergs’.
The characters on the show are really consistent, and feel more real than on any other animated comedy I’ve seen. Which isn’t something that I expect, because when I watch an animated comedy, I’m usually anticipating the characters to simply be vessels for whatever point the writers are trying to make – generally why I’m not a big fan of the genre. Rick and Morty, while it’s still a show that will go there, doesn’t just go there for the sake of causing offence. Whenever the show enters contentious territory, it isn’t afraid to say what it has to say, but it does so with grace, comedy, and in a way which fits the character. One of my favourite examples is the discussion of the use of the word ‘retarded’ in one 30 second moment in the episode. Regardless of whether or not you agree, there must be respect for how smoothly they handled it and then moved on, and didn’t do it just to piss off the audience.
Herein lies, in my view, the crux of the show’s greatness; Rick and Morty allows the audience to enjoy serialised elements, knowing exactly when to pull plot threads together to create an extended mythology – one that’s shaping up to be a masterpiece. So Rick and Morty ruined their world with the aforementioned ‘love potion’ and were forced to escape to a universe where they had both just died, in order to take their places and continue life as though nothing had happened? Instead of pretending that this wouldn’t completely wipe out a 14 year-old, and relying on the shocking nature of the event to carry the ending, watch as the series puts together one of the most stunning character beats and brilliantly directed and animated sequences. We get to see Morty as the 14 year-old that he is, feeling small and overwhelmed, comprehending for the first time the real consequences the things he does with Rick can have.
Then, a mere two episodes later, Morty’s sister, Summer, becomes convinced that ‘she was the cause of her parents unhappiness’ because in every alternate universe where she wasn’t born, her parents are having seemingly far better lives, and she decides to run away. Morty, clearly having matured, uses the events of the love potion incident to show her that not no one has a purpose in life, everything is an accident… and that’s all okay.
Whoa.
Rick and Morty is able to nail anything it attempts with startling ingenuity.
A deeply cynical-yet-comedic commentary on any given issue? Check.
A 30 second clip summarising the gargantuan fear of all people that there is no purpose in life? Check.
Unexpectedly affecting moments? Check.
It’s no surprise to me that after only 11 episodes, fans have voted it at 9.2/10 on IMDb, making it the 9th highest rated show on the website (that’s beating out Community by quite a bit, by the way). After the pilot, every episode was (arguably, of course) a masterpiece.
Let me address that, actually. ‘Masterpiece’ is a word that generally lends itself to being associated with the ‘high-brow’ stuff out there. You know what I’m talking about – the Breaking Bad‘s and Game of Thrones‘ of our time. All of that stands, and I’d agree with that classification of both shows, but you seldom hear a lot of traditionalist reviewers give that attractive label to things like Rick and Morty, because it isn’t classy enough – it features burping and the slurred repetition of words in every episode, which these high-brow obsessives will strike as a negative, even if intentional and perfectly adding to the atmosphere of the series.
I hope that people are in agreement that this is absolutely not how we should be looking at shows anymore. Masterful |
Locke & Key, Wormwood, Ragnarök, V-Wars, and Archangel by bestselling sci-fi author William Gibson.
IDW Publishing is also home to the acclaimed and award-winning imprints; Top Shelf, The Library of American Comics, Yoe! Books, and Artist Editions, showcasing the greatest original art ever published in American comic books.
IDW Games’ diverse line-up includes the international phenomenon Machi Koro, as well as hit licensed games such as X-Files, Back to the Future, The Godfather, and TMNT.
IDW Entertainment currently serves as the worldwide distributor of Wynonna Earp airing on the Syfy Channel in the U.S. and is producing BBC America’s Dirk Gently, based the best seller by Douglas Adams starring Elijah Wood and Sam Barnett, and Brooklyn Animal Control.Come together with friends and fellow Greens to hear from key activists share their thoughts on what lies ahead under a Trump presidency and what we can collectively do to resist.
Throughout the day on January 21, the Green News Network will bring together some of the leading activists gathered in Washington, DC, for anti-Trump events such as OccupyInauguration: Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka, Kshama Sawant, Medea Benjamin, David Swanson, and many more.
Tune in to Jill2016.com or to Jill's Facebook page (Facebook.com/DrJillStein) for continuous coverage from 10am to 5pm Eastern Time on January 21.
Gather with your local Green Party chapter, host a house party for friends wanting to know how they can resist Trump policies, hold an event at your school or community center. Also, share the Facebook event with your friends.
Later in the evening, from 5:30 - 7:30pm Eastern, a panel with Stein, Sawant, and Hedges will be held to discuss in-depth how to resist the coming right-wing attacks.This article is about the letter of the Latin alphabet. For other uses, see R (disambiguation)
"ℛ" redirects here. For the Unicode block containing this character, see Letterlike Symbols
R (named ar/or [1]) is the 18th letter of the modern English alphabet and the ISO basic Latin alphabet.
History [ edit ]
Antiquity [ edit ]
prognatus as written on the R by that time; the letter P at the same time still retains its archaic shape distinguishing it from Greek or Old Italic rho. The wordas written on the Sarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (280 BC) reveals the full development of the Latinby that time; the letterat the same time still retains its archaic shape distinguishing it from Greek or Old Italic
The original Semitic letter may have been inspired by an Egyptian hieroglyph for tp, "head".[citation needed] It was used for /r/ by Semites because in their language, the word for "head" was rêš (also the name of the letter). It developed into Greek 'Ρ' ῥῶ (rhô) and Latin R.
The descending diagonal stroke develops as a graphic variant in some Western Greek alphabets (writing rho as ), but it was not adopted in most Old Italic alphabets; most Old Italic alphabets show variants of their rho between a "P" and a "D" shape, but without the Western Greek descending stroke. Indeed, the oldest known forms of the Latin alphabet itself of the 7th to 6th centuries BC, in the Duenos and the Forum inscription, still write r using the "P" shape of the letter. The Lapis Satricanus inscription shows the form of the Latin alphabet around 500 BC. Here, the rounded, closing Π shape of the p and the Ρ shape of the r have become difficult to distinguish. The descending stroke of the Latin letter R has fully developed by the 3rd century BC, as seen in the Tomb of the Scipios sarcophagus inscriptions of that era. From around 50 AD, the letter P would be written with its loop fully closed, assuming the shape formerly taken by R.
Late medieval illuminated initial
Cursive [ edit ]
r rotunda in English blackletter typography 18th-century example of use ofin English blackletter typography
The minuscule (lowercase) form (r) developed through several variations on the capital form. Along with Latin minuscule writing in general, it developed ultimately from Roman cursive via the uncial script of Late Antiquity into the Carolingian minuscule of the 9th century.
In handwriting, it was common not to close the bottom of the loop but continue into the leg, saving an extra pen stroke. The loop-leg stroke shortened into the simple arc used in the Carolingian minuscule and until today.
A calligraphic minuscule r, known as r rotunda (ꝛ), was used in the sequence or, bending the shape of the r to accommodate the bulge of the o (as in oꝛ as opposed to or). Later, the same variant was also used where r followed other lower case letters with a rounded loop towards the right (such as b, h, p) and to write the geminate rr (as ꝛꝛ). Use of r rotunda was mostly tied to blackletter typefaces, and the glyph fell out of use along with blackletter fonts in English language contexts mostly by the 18th century.
Insular script used a minuscule which retained two downward strokes, but which did not close the loop ("Insular r", ꞃ); this variant survives in the Gaelic type popular in Ireland until the mid-20th century (but now mostly limited to decorative purposes).
Name [ edit ]
The name of the letter in Latin was er (/ɛr/), following the pattern of other letters representing continuants, such as F, L, M, N and S. This name is preserved in French and many other languages. In Middle English, the name of the letter changed from /ɛr/ to /ar/, following a pattern exhibited in many other words such as farm (compare French ferme), and star (compare German Stern).
In Hiberno-English the letter is called /ɒr/ or /ɔːr/.[2][3]
The letter R is sometimes referred to as the littera canina (canine letter). This phrase has Latin origins: the Latin R was trilled to sound like a growling dog. A good example of a trilling R is the Spanish word for dog, perro.[4]
In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, such a reference is made by Juliet's nurse in Act 2, scene 4, when she calls the letter R "the dog's name". The reference is also found in Ben Jonson's English Grammar.[5]
Use in writing systems [ edit ]
English [ edit ]
The letter ⟨r⟩ is the eighth most common letter in English and the fourth-most common consonant (after ⟨t⟩, ⟨n⟩, and ⟨s⟩).[6]
The letter ⟨r⟩ is used to form the ending "-re", which is used in certain words such as centre in some varieties of English spelling, such as British English. Canadian English also uses the "-re" ending, unlike American English, where the ending is usually replaced by "-er" (center). This does not affect pronunciation.
Other languages [ edit ]
⟨r⟩ represents a rhotic consonant in many languages, as shown in the table below.
Other languages may use the letter ⟨r⟩ in their alphabets (or Latin transliterations schemes) to represent rhotic consonants different from the alveolar trill. In Haitian Creole, it represents a sound so weak that it is often written interchangeably with ⟨w⟩, e.g. 'Kweyol' for 'Kreyol'.
Brazilian Portuguese has a great number of allophones of /ʁ/ such as [χ], [h], [ɦ], [x], [ɣ], [ɹ] and [r], the latter three ones can be used only in certain contexts ([ɣ] and [r] as ⟨rr⟩; [ɹ] in the syllable coda, as an allophone of /ɾ/ according to the European Portuguese norm and /ʁ/ according to the Brazilian Portuguese norm). Usually at least two of them are present in a single dialect, such as Rio de Janeiro's [ʁ], [χ], [ɦ] and, for a few speakers, [ɣ].
Other systems [ edit ]
The International Phonetic Alphabet uses several variations of the letter to represent the different rhotic consonants; ⟨r⟩ represents the alveolar trill.
Related characters [ edit ]
Descendants and related characters in the Latin alphabet [ edit ]
Calligraphic variants in the Latin alphabet [ edit ]
Ꝛ ꝛ : R rotunda
Ꞃ ꞃ : "Insular" R (Gaelic type)
Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets [ edit ]
𐤓 : Semitic letter Resh, from which the following letters derive Ρ ρ : Greek letter Rho, from which the following letters derive 𐌓 : Old Italic letter R, the ancestor of modern Latin R ᚱ : Runic letter Raido Р р : Cyrillic letter Er 𐍂 : Gothic letter Reda
Abbreviations, signs and symbols [ edit ]
Physics [ edit ]
Encoding [ edit ]
Character R r Unicode name LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R LATIN SMALL LETTER R Encodings decimal hex decimal hex Unicode 82 U+0052 114 U+0072 UTF-8 82 52 114 72 Numeric character reference R R r r EBCDIC family 217 D9 153 99 ASCII 1 82 52 114 72
1 Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.
Other representations [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]Family is the foundation of our American society. In many ways, the family unit is one of the last bastions of decency holding out against encroaching corporate commoditization -- the corporations can sell food, medicine, clothing, entertainment, even child and elder care, but they can't provide the love, selflessness and generosity that close family members can provide one another. But if there was a way to commercialize all those generational, biological bonds, you can be sure that profit-hungry companies and clever marketers would discover it. In the holiday season, thoughts about family abound. But the advertisements that dominate all forms of commercial media aren't about the benefits of family life, about how parents shape the character and personality of their children, about how turning off the screens and engaging in conversation is the cornerstone of human development. Advertisements aimed at children are meant to tantalize and sell the latest toys, gadgets and video games -- many of which serve as electronic babysitters that feature violence and undermine parental authority.
Every holiday season, the commercial media relentlessly hype the big products of the season with "Holiday Shopping Guides" and "Hot Lists." These lists feature toys and gadgets that are, inevitably, in "extremely limited quantities," forcing parents to battle it out at early morning store openings to get the latest and greatest items. These "hot item lists" are released by the retailers themselves, such as Toys-R-Us, Walmart and Target. It's not clear why many of these items are "hot," aside from the fact that the chain stores that sell them say so. At one time, the big Christmas item was "Cabbage Patch Kids," and then it was "Tickle Me Elmo," then "Furby," and then the "Nintendo Wii". In 2012, Furby is back -- a furry, owl-like electronic doll that talks. It was popular back in 1998 and sold millions in the late 90's. Hasbro, the manufacturers of Furby, assumed that they could replicate the same big holiday rush sales with the same toy and the same marketing hype. According to Yahoo! Shine's Holiday Gift Guide for parents, "Desperate parents are turning to Amazon.com, where some versions of the $54 toy are selling for $80 or more, and to eBay, where less-popular colors are selling for about $75. The hottest colors come with the highest prices: $1,000 to $2,500 for a single Furby." One of the new features of the 2012 Furby is that is can interact with iPods and iPads -- another electronic gadget that advertisers tell children they need to be hip.
The Furby hype is, of course, a retail trick, designed to fuel children's desires for a new product. This translates into children nagging parents to acquire a new toy.
Spreading "joy with toys" is a major part of what the holidays in America have become -- selling directly to children, without respect to limits, boundaries or even common decency. The result is young children are spending more time absorbing corporate marketing, resulting in shorter attention spans, reduced vocabularies, and less understanding of their local communities.
The only defense against the onslaught of commercializing childhood is for parents to become more aware of the "corporate week" -- that is, their children spending more than 40 hours a week interacting with corporate products. These activities often involve idly sitting and absorbing entertainment with little to no historical or educational value. Children are spending less time reading, writing, studying, and having conversations with friends and family. The "corporate week" does not inspire critical thinking at a level beyond quick, Pavlovian responses. The potential impact on the developing psyche of young children of heavy exposure to the violence and crass humor found in entertainment is disturbing.
While completely shielding a child from the excesses of rampant commercialization isn't easy in our corporate society, there are still ways to protect the essential blessings of childhood. For starters, parents can demand that marketer's respect their children's privacy and set limits as to where and how marketers can direct advertise to young children. (Some action has recently been made in this area. Beginning July 1, 2013, the FTC will enact new privacy laws to protect children under 13 from having their information collected online. Read the details here.) And then it's up to the parents to turn off the TV, the computer, the cell phones and the iPads, put away the Furbys and the video games, and spend quality time with their children. This means eating family meals together and organizing family outings and activities with real educational and civic values. Consider, for instance, how many children are aware of the public workings of their town? Where does their drinking water come from? How does the local justice system operate? What is made there? For children, the local community is a vast and untapped resource of new information, new understandings, and new perspectives. Many local papers have a listing of community activities suitable for the whole family, such as nature walks, 5K races, book clubs, poetry readings, arts and crafts programs, film festivals, and more. (For D.C. residents, every Friday the Washington Post offers a huge listing of weekend cultural events taking place in the city.) By taking advantage of this nearby resource, making learning fun, and being more alert to the horde of corporate marketers that drive to infiltrate the walled boundaries of our family units, parents can provide better guidance and more enriching experiences for their children.
(For more on this issue, see the chapter "Protect the Family Unit" of my new book, The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future. Available and autographed from Politics and Prose, an independent book store in Washington, D.C.)Source: © Donna Barstow All Rights Reserved
Nobody likes name-calling, especially in a interview. Workaholics surely don't want to be labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive, any more than sufferers want to be called workaholics. Do they have any traits in common?
A study in the Journal of Organizational Change Management examined 278 employed people to see whether those with behavior shared some elements of an obsessive-compulsive :
Obsessive‐compulsive personality consisted of six distinct traits: obstinacy, orderliness, parsimony, perseverance, rigidity, and superego.
Workaholism was defined as a tendency to engage in non‐required work activities, and to intrude actively on the work of others. (Most people would describe the latter as a busybody, am I right?)
The study indicated that two OCD traits were most prevalent in workaholics: obstinacy and superego. (The rest of you can go home.)
Various kinds of workaholics
In Treatment Strategies for Substance Abuse and Process Addictions, the author has a list of various kinds of workaholics; Relentless workaholics, workaholics, Savoring workaholics, and more.
My favorite was the Enthusiastic workaholic. Now there's a fellow with whom I'd like to sit down and have a relaxing cup of coffee.
My last cartoon was about picking up men in bars vs..
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All Rights Reserved. Content including cartoon © Donna Barstow Cartoons 2015. Please contact for usage rights and fees for cartoons in any of your projects.A big potential snag has emerged in Denver International Airport’s plan to move its main security checkpoints upstairs, expand passenger capacity, and add food and retail options to the terminal in a $1.3 billion renovation deal.
DIA’s major airlines object to security plans, overall costs and other aspects of the 34-year partial privatization arrangement, including its duration. They have requested a four-month delay, making their concerns clear in a letter sent just a month before the City Council is set to consider a massive contract.
“Simply put, this is not a sound investment — there are entire airport terminals being built around the globe for the cost of the current proposed project,” says the June 21 letter, which is addressed to DIA chief executive Kim Day and signed by representatives of United, Southwest, Frontier and five other airlines, plus the United Parcel Service.
Last week’s letter has set off a flurry of meetings and discussions among the airlines, DIA officials and other city officials. Those include Mayor Michael Hancock’s chief of staff, Alan Salazar, and council members who also received copies — and who themselves still have questions about the terminal project.
“It’s definitely a concern to us, because we’re going to have to approve a contract … and we haven’t even seen it yet,” said Councilman Wayne New, who was surprised by the airlines’ concerns. “We feel the same way — that we’re being rushed. It’s just not ready, in my opinion. We just need more time.”
Day responded to the airlines’ letter the next day, writing on Thursday that airport officials were committed to addressing the concerns expressed by the airlines as design work proceeds on the terminal renovation, dubbed the Great Hall project.
But she resisted the call for a 120-day delay, writing that any change in timeline “would risk millions in unnecessary termination fees.” And she chalked up some of the airlines’ claims to “misconceptions.”
DIA is finishing 10 months of negotiation on a public-private partnership deal with a team led by Madrid-based Ferrovial Airports and Centennial-based Saunders Construction.
In the airlines’ letter, obtained by The Denver Post, they express worry that they will shoulder higher rates and charges at DIA to help pay for a massive project and partnership deal that they don’t think the airport has fully justified by sharing enough information. Other signers include representatives of Delta, American, Spirit, JetBlue and British Airways.
One question: Will passengers linger in terminal?
The airlines question several elements of the plan, including whether revamped security checkpoints will work as smoothly as advertised once they’re moved to the north ends of the ticketing level. The resulting consolidation of ticket counters on the south ends could result in a space crunch for airlines, the letter says. The carriers also question whether adding extensive concession space on the terminal’s main floor — past security, but before passengers take trains to the concourses — even makes sense.
“Despite our best efforts working with the airport, we find ourselves with significant concerns on both the financial and operational fronts,” the letter says. “We are extremely concerned that the current accelerated timeline dictated by the Ferrovial contract precludes us from addressing and evaluating all of the issues with hard data that the airport and airlines can feel comfortable with.
“Consequently, based on the limited information we have today, we cannot support the Great Hall project in its current form.”
The nine carriers make up DIA’s standing Denver Airlines Airport Affairs Committee. The new missive includes copies of two previous letters from the committee, going back to early 2015, that more quietly voiced concerns about the Great Hall project.
DIA officials contend that their terminal plan is solid, saying long lines for coffee and food show the airport is in need of more concessionaires everywhere.
The airlines’ letter cites a small increase in concession revenue as a poor justification for the project. But Day maintains that more concessions are a side benefit to the main forces behind the project: making security screening less vulnerable and more efficient, and expanding the terminal’s capacity, in concert with planned gate expansions. DIA projects airport traffic could pass 60 million passengers this year.
“We want to be clear that the terminal concessions are not the motivation for the project or the underlying business case,” Day wrote in her response.
In contract details released so far, Ferrovial would split the upfront costs of a four-year renovation project that’s estimated to cost $650 million to $775 million. Ferrovial then would operate the expanded concessions in the terminal for 30 years, pocketing 20 percent of food and retail vendor revenue generated while giving DIA the rest. Meanwhile, DIA would pay an estimated $30 million to Ferrovial each year for maintenance and repayment of its project financing costs.
Costs of deal for DIA could reach $1.3 billion
The total cost to DIA over 34 years is estimated at $1.3 billion, the airlines revealed in their letter. Day has said the costs would exceed $1 billion, and airport spokesman Heath Montgomery didn’t dispute the firmer figure Tuesday.
He also didn’t dispute the airlines’ assertion that DIA would front about $400 million of the upfront renovation costs and see a rough increase of $5 million in annual revenue from the expanded concessions, based on their briefings.
A preliminary agreement with Ferrovial gives the city until Sept. 1 to strike a deal, giving the council a short timeline for approval once it receives the contract in late July. DIA could owe the preferred bid team a walk-away fee of up to $9 million, unless Ferrovial consents to a delay.
One point of contention mentioned in the airlines’ letter is that they were told their fees at DIA wouldn’t increase as a result of the project, a point that Day and other officials have disputed. Montgomery said the airlines’ interest in keeping their fees the same is clear, and he noted that they have opposed previous major projects, including the decision to build DIA itself three decades ago.
City and airport officials met with this week with some airline representatives.
“Kim (Day) and her team have offered to sit down with the airlines and their experts and take some time over the next couple of weeks to answer their questions, get on the same set of facts and move this very essential project forward,” said Salazar, Hancock’s chief of staff. “So the ball is really in the airlines’ court on that.”
Below are the airlines’ letter and DIA’s response:Elon Musk and crew at Tesla Motors made some big waves last week. In case you missed this recent news roundup, it was announced that Tesla is effectively relinquishing their patent portfolio—particularly around charging stations.
Considering the waves Tesla has already made in the automotive industry, what with their forgoing of all things dealer and the obvious gas for battery switch, this may not come as a surprise. That being said considering the industry they play in it's certainly a fundamental shift in the automotive. I couldn't imagine GM or Ford doing the same.
With that in mind it should come as no surprise that Tesla has garned their share of rabid supporters and detractors alike. And thanks to the comments section of news sites (like ours!) we get to hear unfiltered responses from both fans and haters. The most common statement in the negative is that this is not an "altruistic" move. The argument is centered around the fact that many believe Tesla is trying to corner the charging station market such that their technology becomes the standard, thus guaranteeing that Tesla has a leg up in the electric car market.
When I started reading these arguments about a lack of altruism and the fact that this is actually shady it reminded me very much of the rumblings I heard when it came to light a Microsoft employee was the single largest contributor to the Linux kernel for the 3.0 release. It was a weird moment for many open source zealots. The company that at one point called Linux a cancer was, less than a decade later, contributing large amounts of code to the heart of Linux. Many befuddled readers and pundits started to cry out that Microsoft couldn't care less about open source. Microsoft was simply improving how well HyperV, Linux and Windows played together which is a boon to Microsoft.
That's definitely true. It is more than likely that Microsoft contributed code to the Linux kernel primarily because it benefitted them. But hasn't that been one of the fundamental arguments as to why open source is better? If it's not working for you, fix it. If you work out in the open, others can also improve it which further benefits you. What's good for the goose is good for the gander so to speak.
So I would argue that yes, Tesla is probably not just doing this simply because Tesla just wants to change the world in a pure and altruistic way. They are a business and to them it is a very wise move to push their technology further. If this means sharing your work with the world to achieve that goal, well that's the path you take. Is this wrong? In other words, would it have been better if Tesla had kept their patents guarded and litigated anytime someone copied them?
Personally I would love to see more companies realize this benefit of opening up your secrets. Sharing with the world is a great thing and, when leveraged properly, you can share and be selfish at the same time to the benefit of all involved.
So what do you think? Is Tesla simply using this as a business move? Is there a problem with money and leadership status being the motivating factors behind transparency? Let us know in the comments section.Commission for This is a personal piece for him as he was, amongst many others, upset at the turn of events in TCW. Particularly Barriss's turn to the dark side. So to make up for it he commissioned this piece and I have to say its probably one of the most interesting ones I have ever tackled. So many sci-fi crossovers going on here. But if you are uninitiated in scifi movies and shows, the dramatis personae are (from left to right)Daleks (Doctor Who)Riddick (Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick)Snake Plissken (Escape from New York/LA)Spock (Trek)Kirk (Trek)Barriss Offee (The Clone Wars)Ahsoka Tano (The Clone Wars)The Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who)Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly/Serenity)Ripley (Alien movies)K-9 (Doctor Who)Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica)VINCENT (The Black HoleRancor (Return of the Jedi)Aliens/xenomorphs (Alien movies)Facehugger - at the top (Alien movies)My views aren’t solely my own, I am not the only Red Letter Christ-centric Universalist out there, but on this blog/platform I speak for myself and myself alone.
My beliefs that I hold are held in open hands. I operate from a nuanced stance of an open-handed system of faith. If you’re in community with me in real life you will probably hear before or during my time of unpacking Red Letter Christ-centric Universalism “I might be wrong” because what I have learned and gleaned from others, what I have found out on my own, has to be put up for examination; I am not above reproach nor do I turn it away, it’s why when it comes to my faith system I very well could be wrong and so that’s why my faith is open-handed.
Disclaimer: I don’t consider my years spent as an Evangelical to be years wasted, for they served as the building blocks of what I know and hold in an open hand these days. They were never a stepping stone, that is, I was never in one place looking to hop off to the next place and then on to the next and so on. They gave me the tools and the basis for what I believe in now, and I look back upon those years fondly and I send them my light and love.
I am not devoid of having self-identified Evangelicals friends and family members, and if anything I have much love for them. Do I cut them down for their views? Absolutely not! It works for them in this season of life, and something shifts in their lives and their belief system, I will be there with them all the while, in solidarity and fidelity.
***
I grew up in a Christian home, was homeschooled, went to church on Sundays and youth group and/or AWANA on Wednesdays. And what I learned in the time in each of those settings was a “you have to know what you believe.” And with that in mind I learned all the songs, learned a lot of Bible verses, had answers to questions or sought out answers if none were given in a timely fashion. I learned a lot, I grew to know a lot, I had a lot of faith, and I also had a lot of beliefs, but so much of it was whittled down to either orthodoxy (right beliefs) or orthopraxis (right practices).
It’s why there was a slight discord amongst me (WASP-in-training) and my Catholic friends. Because I held the Truth with a capital T, they weren’t Christian they were Catholic, and subsequently they didn’t have it right and that’s what it’s all about…right?
I thought it was, and given my microcosm Evangelical-centric universe, I was led to believe that I was as well. But what shifted me, and subsequently shifted my views, was one big thing: relationships.
Relationships have the capacity to unravel or provide ground to reexamine what we think / what we believe and I for one think that’s a great thing. In my own life I think the unraveling / reexamining first occurred when I was attending community college. I was involved with a diversity group, Circles Of Understanding, and while there weren’t a lot of us in attendance we all did collectively come from different backgrounds.
I remember clearly the day we decided to discuss religion as a group, and instead of making it a “this is what I believe” discussion we brought up stereotypes other people think about our religions. I pointed out that people might assume that I am bigoted and prone to bash people over the head with the Bible. One of my peers brought up the issues she faced as a Muslim in a post-911 world, and how people assumed the worst, as if she had an explosive vest strapped to her chest with the intention to blow others up. Because we put out there what we experienced and what people thought they knew about us, putting out a bit of vulnerability to others, it led to a friendship that still exists to this day.
***
I have many stories about encounters with others that have shifted and broadened my thoughts about life and faith and everything in between. I know some people operate under the premise that you have to lock down what you think and believe when it comes to matters of faith, and honestly I think that’s what leads to extremism in any faith system, because you do not allow room for anything to upset your way of thinking, and consequently your way of living. Faith should be open to critique, to questioning, and also to doubting.
I know my views aren’t solely my own, and I know others may have a difficult time stepping out in faith as to broadening their views on faith and God, but to those of you who find yourself at a crossroads with all this I find that it is ultimately worth it to do so. The bottom won’t fall out, the sky won’t crash, you might find yourself in new circles and new communities, but through it all God is there and present. There’s no need to build up stronger walls when your faith is challenged, just let go and enjoy the ride!
~Nathanael~
AdvertisementsNot long ago, Warner Bros. started to release their Man of Steel tie-in books, and one such book referred to the character played by Rebecca Buller as "Jenny Olsen."
That's been the rumor for a while now, ever since that name showed up on IMDb, and many fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that Jenny was a gender-swapped version of longtime Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen. Later rumors debunked that claim, although Warner Bros. and the filmmakers have yet to comment on the character at all. The book appeared to be the first official recognition of her role, and drew some attention online.
Who, fans asked, was Jenny Olsen? Well, for starters, she isn't Jenny Olsen.
We're not quite sure how this will play out, or how it lines up with the previously-released item from Warner Bros., but that same photo has been released in high resolution and, when you zoom in, you can see that her Daily Planet ID doesn't refer to her as Jenny Olsen, photojournalist, as many fans have been expecting. It doesn't even identify her as Jenny Olsen, but rather Jenny Jurwich, Assistant (presumably to Perry White, the only person with whom she's been seen in a bunch of shots). The metadata embedded in the photo by Warner Bros. simply calls her "Jenny." There is no Jenny Jurwich in the comics or other Superman mythologies such as the films, Smallville, etc., that we're aware of and a Google search for the name turns up only a handful of fans on scattered message boards who have noticed this image, nothing else.
This isn’t the first time that there’s been some identity confusion in the Olsen household. On Smallville, actor Aaron Ashmore played Henry James “Jimmy” Olsen, a Daily Planet photographer and friend to Lois and Clark. Over the years, many fans noted that he seemed too old to be “Jimmy Olsen,” traditionally known as a younger character than the rest of Superman’s cast. That issue was resolved when he was killed at the end of season eight of the series; it was later revealed that Jimmy had a younger brother named James Bartholomew Olsen, who would turn out to be the Jimmy Olsen with whom fans are familiar.Story highlights Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi says he accidentally crossed into Mexico on March 31
He had three weapons with him and was arrested in Mexico on a weapons charge
His mother and lawmakers are urging the State Department to get involved
Lawmakers have also written to the Mexican attorney general's office
For more than a month, a U.S. Marine and Afghanistan war veteran has been held in a Tijuana, Mexico, prison, fighting for his release after being charged with a crime he says he did not commit.
Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi said he accidentally crossed into Mexico around 10 p.m. on March 31 with three personal firearms while on his way to meet friends in San Ysidro, California.
Tahmooressi, 25, had recently moved to the area to get treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder and was "essentially living out of his truck," his mother, Jill, told CNN.
He is currently being held in the La Mesa penitentiary in Tijuana on a weapons charge and awaits a May 28 court date, according to the Mexican attorney general's office.
"I accidentally drove into Mexico with 3 guns... a rifle (AR-15), a.45 cal pistol and a 12 gauge pump shotgun with no intensions (sic) on being in Mexico or being involved in any criminal activities," Tahmooressi wrote in a statement of innocence to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter. "I have rights to all 3 weapons. They are under my name... Please help me."
Hunter, a California Republican, is among several lawmakers who have recently begun petitioning for Tahmooressi's release. Last week, Hunter wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to get involved.
Also, in a bipartisan congressional letter addressed to Mexico's attorney general on May 8, Hunter wrote:
"Mexico's Attorney General is in a position to deal with Andrew's case and ensure its quick resolution... it is necessary that the AG intervene and expedite proceedings at the very least. And so far there's been no validation from Mexico that Andrew didn't make a directional mistake at the border."
The Mexican attorney general's office confirmed Tahmooressi's arrest on a weapons charge but could not offer more details about his case.
"Mother's Day is Sunday. If I can have my baby home on Sunday, that would be the greatest gift a mother could ever ask for," Jill Tahmooressi said in an interview from Miami.
"The brutality of being... unjustly in a foreign prison is worse than any experience I had with him serving two tours in Afghanistan," she said. "He was willing to die for his country as a Marine. Where is his country now when he needs it the most?"
It is difficult for the U.S. State Department to quantify how many arrests are due to accidental crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, a spokeswoman told CNN, but Andrew Tahmooressi's case is not all that unique.
In 2012, former Marine Jon Hammar was on his way to a surfing trip with friends when he was arrested while carrying an antique shotgun across the Mexican border checkpoint in Brownsville, Texas.
His mother told CNN that her son was arrested and held for more than three months even though he had registered his weapon with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents before his trip.
"The press coverage led to his release," Olivia Hammar said in a phone interview. "It's an illegitimate (court) process (in Mexico). There's no oral arguments. You're guilty until you're proven innocent. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with that is... if the (U.S.) State Department is not going to do something about it, then you have to go to the public and force them to do something about it. In our case, that's what moved things along."
In a daily press briefing this week, CNN asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki |
It is sad to see for the world that the state of Wisconsin still lives in isolation and narrow-minded thinking."
11. "I am sure that after you are all exposed, you will not feel any regret for putting an innocent man in prison for the majority of his life; I am sure the only regret you will feel is that of being caught. But I hope that one day you will perhaps feel the embarrassment and shame that your families will feel and then maybe you will begin to understand that what you do has an (effect) on others."
12. "We just finished learning about the Teresa Halbach murder case. I’m not sure I can look my kids in the eye and believe my own words anymore. Maybe the nightly news has been right all along: we live in a corrupt and violent world where not even small-town justice is free from corruption and agendas … The city of Manitowoc and the state of Wisconsin should be ashamed of who was/is representing them and who was/is supposedly protecting its citizens. I can, however, now look my children in the eyes and say, 'at least we don’t live in Wisconsin.'"
13. "The actions towards the Avery family by the Manitowac (sic) Sheriff’s Department are among the most deplorable examples I have seen of pure evilness in human society … I hope you are aware that a growing portion of this country, if not this planet, is under the opinion that your department is corrupt and a great shame to the American people, our government and our Constitution."
14. "I would be embarrassed to hold my head up high knowing that your department has sentenced an innocent man twice to jail and also a special boy who hasn’t even enjoyed life yet. I hope that detective Lenk and Goulburn (sic) rot in hell as it is almost certain that they are behind this corruption and lies … I hope use (sic) all can’t sleep at night and justice comes your way. What a joke of a department."
15. "I would be fearful to ever take my family on a trip and stop in your county to even get fuel. I’d run the grave risk of being arrested for arson and armed robbery before my tank was filled with gasoline. According to social media, people all across America feel the same way. How sad for your county’s image. I truly feel sorry for the residents of your county who will be judged according to the actions of a few."
16. "The documentary exposes the level of corruption in your department. Nothing you say will convince vast majority of your citizens that you are good guys. The facts and evidence tell a different story. Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent. Your department is corrupt and all of you should be prosecuted to the highest extend (sic) of law."
17. "You should be ashamed of yourself and the crooked department you run. The injustice that Steven Avery experienced during the murder trial of Teresa Halbach is INSANE! Your department is a JOKE. Your entire county is FILLED with white trash idiots and you have the audacity to bully and pick on him all this after falsely imprisoning him for 18 of his prime years of his life. God Bless his mother and father who have had to live through this … I would NEVER EVER visit your town in fear that if I were to run a stop sign, you would have me arrested on a murder charge. Shame on you."
18. "I would never travel to your town as it is apparent there is a lot of corruption in the sheriff’s office, the disgraceful prosecutor, and even the judges, including the appellate courts … It is truly unbelievable that your community could make such a travesty of the judicial system. Not surprising that Mr. Kratz resigned as a result of disgraceful behavior. Please know that your judicial system looks like you all are unethical, immoral and corrupt. And the sad thing is … there is a murderer out there who has gotten away with it! Unbelievable! Does Wisconsin know what JUSTICE is?"
19. "Remind me not to move to your county! You guys will convict anyone for anything without evidence. I find it amazing that anyone involved from your county involved in the Steven Avery case can sleep at night. One of the biggest liars even got promoted to (lieutenant)? Truly shameful."
20. "Never have I heard of such corruption at the hands of law enforcement as in the case of Steven Avery. People like you are a plague on our country. Those responsible for this miscarriage of justice – the countless employees of Manitowoc who acted illegally, who lied, and who turned a blind eye to the unethical actions of their peers all deserve to burn in hell. You are responsible for the distrust and hatred for law enforcement that is ever-prevalent in our society – and these sentiments are DESERVED.
Manitowoc County Board Chairman Jim Brey, in an email sent in December, urged fellow county board members to rally behind the sheriff's department, which was the target of angry messages from people across the world.
Jim Brey (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK)
"Some of the emails, in my opinion, have been borderline threatening. Not to myself but to members of our law enforcement community," Brey wrote. "I have never been the big paranoid person... but after one of the emails I received contained the line and I quote 'ROT IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY YOU EVIL BASTARD!' I felt that at the very least, the Sheriff's Department should place these on file in case something shows up later."
John Ferak: 920-993-7115 or jferak@gannett.com; on Twitter @johnferak
Read or Share this story: http://post.cr/1N6v2SqThe Sanctity of Death
If you live in America like I do, you’ve probably heard a lot about the “Sanctity of Life.” You’ve seen the pro life protesters outside of Abortion Clinics with their posters of half alive fetuses. And who can forget the “big ta do” that was made about Terri Schiavo (The woman whose husband wanted to pull the plug on her because she was in a permanently vegetative state). If someone has suffered permanent brain damage and is hooked up to a machine that keeps them alive – their family will be forced to shell out astronomical amounts of money to keep a brainless body filled with air (unless the person made specifications in a living will before-hand).
Also, we have an insistence on keeping people alive for as long as possible: the elderly and cancer patients. Even if these people want to die, they are kept alive against their wishes.
What is this obsession we have with perpetuating life?
Okay, I’m not going to lie, I’m happy to be alive. I’m happy that out of the millions of sperms my father had, I was the one that landed in my mother’s ovum. I’m happy that our planet is just the right distance from the sun to harbor a rich and complex Eco System of life. And yes, life itself is endowed with much beauty and power.
But life is only one aspect of that beauty and power that defines the natural world. The other necessary stage is death.
Death is almost always thought of as a tragedy and a morbid affair in our culture. In the Disney movie Hercules, Hades (Lord of the Underworld) played the bad guy for example. Even though in the real Greek Legend of Hercules, Hera (Zeus’s wife) was more of an Antagonist than Hades.
Yet think of how horrible life on this planet would be if nothing died? We’d be overrun with rabid creatures, competing for the tiniest molecule of space.
There are many cultures in the world that actually celebrate and accept death as a natural process, a necessary stage of life if you will.
In the Hindu Religion life is seen as a type of suffering. The wheel of life and death is called Samsara. This is the wheel of constant reincarnation and death. When someone dies, their soul will have a short resting period, and then come back in a different body. The goal of existence is to be released from the wheel so that one can finally achieve the peace of non-existence.
With the Vikings, dying an honorable death in battle was important. Dying of old age was an embarrassment because it signified cowardice. Death wasn’t the end, but merely a new beginning. Those who died in battle got to go to Valhalla, a perpetual feast where they got to battle, hunt and drink forever. Those who died a boring, natural death went to a less spectacular and probably equally boring realm of existence. Some warriors would even wound themselves with spears before dying, in order to trick Hel (A Goddess who received a portion of the dead) into thinking they died heroic deaths in battle. (Norse Concepts of the Afterlife)
Many cultures in the world practice Ancestor Worship and keep the spirits of the dead around them as they go about their daily lives. Some keep the bodies of the dead near their homes in ancestral shrines. Others keep a token of the dead relative. Many even consult the spirit of that dead relative for wisdom.
Am I saying that we should go on a killing spree because death is good? No. Death is neither good nor bad. It is simply a natural phase that all life must transition through. It can be mourned, but it can also be celebrated. Death is the harbinger of new beginnings. He is the reaper that harvests the grain of life, so that new life may one day grow. This is why fire is often characterized as the element of creativity. Destruction is a necessary part of creativity. Kenaz itself is the rune of creativity, symbolizing the union of fire and wood. It is the congregation of destruction and life for the creation of heat. Brigid is the Celtic Goddess of inspiration, which is why the flame is one of her symbols.
When my grandmother died many told me how sorry they were. But I wasn’t sorry. Why should I be? She was an 86 year old woman who was in pain and having delusions. She even repeated that she wanted to die.
For all things have a time and a season. When the leaves begin to brown and the sunshine dims, we should anticipate and welcome the coming winter ahead.
We talk about “the right to life.” But shouldn’t there equally be a “right to death?” Each person’s life is their own. They should have the right to choose when and how they want it to end.
So let’s stop keeping people alive against their will. Let’s stop limiting condom use and abortion use. We don’t need to live on a planet where life has great quantity but little quality. Let’s stop tip toeing around the issue of death, but instead, celebrate death – the sanctity of death. For it is the reaper that keeps the field bountiful, it is the scythe of death that gives life its meaning.
Don’t fear the reaper.
Enjoy that cowbell!While the green light has been given on its return to IMSA competition next year, Porsche has yet to decide on the future of its factory GTE-Pro effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr. Frank Steffen Walliser has denied recent reports that the Manthey squad won’t be back for a fourth consecutive season in the globe-trotting series, with the program still under evaluation.
“This is something that is not finally decided,” Walliser told Sportscar365. “It depends a little bit on the result and our general situation and the introduction of the new GT3-R. This is where we’re figuring out how it will work.”
The Porsche 911 RSR has struggled in WEC trim, with the team having been winless since Shanghai 2014, compared to the CORE autosport-run entries in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, which are the on heels of three straight class wins.
A Balance of Performance adjustment for this weekend’s Six Hours of Nürburgring sees the pair of GTE-Pro entries shed 10kg, with the GTE-Am cars getting a further 5kg weight break.
“In IMSA, it shows that it’s possible, with close racing,” Walliser said. “The FIA has also done some measures now. For me personally, I think it’s going in the right direction. We welcome this but we have to see how it will look in the race.”
Walliser said a final decision on its 2016 GT program will be decided in late October.
He admitted the Porsche-owned Manthey squad could end up fielding the new 911 GT3-R in some of the key endurance races next year.
“All of the discussion with the FIA has been fruitful and based on a partnership,” he said. “In general [the WEC] is a very good championship.
“If we made changes in the program it’s definitely within our internal situation and nothing against the championship.”
Should Porsche return to the GTE-Pro ranks, it would result in a four-way manufacturer battle, with Ford joining the existing Aston Martin and Ferrari squads with its Multimatic-built Ford GT.Techniques for creative coding
Introduction
Francis Stokes Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 24, 2017
Programming is a tool that can be applied to an essentially infinite number of problems. Here at Warp we often turn this tool to large and ambitious problems our clients want to solve. However, it can be utilised more playfully and creatively to generate beautiful code and beautiful results.
I personally define creative coding as the application of programming techniques in the act of creation. Over time I’ve built up an approach, as well as a kind of toolkit, that I routinely break out when a creative problem presents itself. In this article I want to introduce a little bit of this approach by building a dynamic, time dependant animation on the canvas.
Setup
For the ease of setup I often use a library called p5js, which can sweep away much of the boilerplate setting a drawing environment for the canvas. It’s by no means a a real dependency: anything in this article can easily be achieved with a little more code using the native canvas API, but I’m going to use p5js because it let’s you get going a lot faster.
Points, Lines and Shapes
When drawing on the canvas you’re mainly working with primitive objects, like points, lines, or polygons (shapes defined by a set of points).
In p5 a point and a line can easily be drawn with the following code:
Example 1
Here we set up a 500x500 canvas, draw a black background and then a point and a line using functions of the same name. Easy. P5 has many nice functions to make life easier, including some for drawing shapes like rectangles and triangles, however I’ve found that I like to have one function that can create arbitrary polygons. I call that function poly and define it like this:
Let’s check it works by creating a square using that function and drawing a point at each corner. I’m adding a little extra stroke weight so the points are easier to see:
Example 2
If you’re looking at this and thinking that it’s strange to use a radius in the context of a square, that’s a fair point! However if you go ahead and change the number 4 to a higher number like for instance 100, you’ll see that what appears on screen starts to approximate a circle! The poly function is really just letting us create very low resolution circle.
So why is this kind of approach better than p5’s rect()? Because this function just gives us back the data, and let’s us separate it from the actual drawing. Now we’ve got the data we can draw that square any way we want! We drew a point there, but let’s draw circles instead. For this we will use a p5 function: ellipse().
Example 3
From our humble square we now have a pattern of meeting circles. Change the number of sides to 10 and you get a very beautiful kind of flower pattern. Note: The flower pattern is related to our data, but it’s not the data. Try doing that with the rect() function!
Example 3 — but the polygon turned up to 11
Modulation
Decoupling data and the way the data is used is one of the first big secrets in creative coding. In fact it’s key factor in every kind of software problem. Another one is to identify where your systems variables are. Once you find them, you can begin to modulate them.
If we look back into the previous example, we can already isolate some variables. For a start, we are drawing our square at (250, 250) — the centre of the screen. The width and height are already isolated as named variables, so we can replace our (250, 250) with (w/2, h/2). And since they are a pair of coordinates, let’s represent them like we do with the points coming from poly(): as an array. Number of sides is also a variable, so let’s pull that out and call it n. Finally radius we used in poly() and the radius we gave to ellipse() could also both be variables:
In p5 the draw function is run one time per frame, around 30 times per second. The number of frames that have passed are placed in a special variable called frameCount. This will be our first and simplest modulation. Let’s set shapeRadius to frameCount, so it get’s bigger as time goes on.
Example 4
Cool, but not that impressive since after a while it’s just too big. We need some way to put bounds on it. There are many techniques you can use for this, and some situations work better than others. A simple one is the modulus operator (%), or remainder division. For example, a % b is asking the question “if I divide a by b, how much is left over?”. If we make b the number of frames we want in an animation, and a is our frameCount, then we can have our radius start at 1, go up to some maximum, and then back to 1 again:
Example 5
So now the flower starts small and expands outwards like a firework, over and over every time frameCount becomes a multiple of animationFrames. That’s better than infinite expansion, but we can do better again! Instead of collapsing instantly, we can shrink smoothly and grow again as wave. For that we need to visit some famous math functions.
Sin and Cos
Sin and Cos are special functions which you’ve definitely bumped into before. They are used in geometry extensively, and people typically associate them with triangles, circles, and music.
Without getting very theoretical, the main thing you need to know about these functions is no matter what you put in, you’re going to get out a number in the range of -1 and 1. They do this in a continuous wave, which allows us to multiply any value by the output and get a smoothly changing value! This is illustrated with the example below:
Example 6
Alright now we’re really getting somewhere! We’re putting frameCount * 0.05 into the Math.sin() function — making sure it’s between -1 and 1, and then multiplying that by 50, which gives values between -50 and 50. To offset the minus 50 we can add 50 to make it go between 0 and 100 just like in the modulus example. As the numbers that go into the sin function steadily increase, the overall output is wave-like. If you’re wondering why frameCount is multiplied by a small number, it’s because Sin works better if the gap between the numbers it gets is small. If it changes by 1 every time, that’s actually too big for Sin and you don’t get the nice, smooth, wave-like characteristics.
I think having to do the extra mental math of starting with 50, then adding sin() * 50 is a little annoying, just because you eventually want to end up with a range between 0 and 100. It’s not super readable, and it really starts to be a burden if you want your final range to go between another set of numbers like 1.2 and -0.8 for example. To solve this, we can write a new function called mapRange() which like the name implies can map a range from one set of numbers to another:
This function takes in a value, and then a and b represent the from, and c and d represent the to range. Take a pen and paper and run some numbers if you want to get a feel for it, but you can also take it from me that it does what it says on the tin!
Now we can simplify our code from before:
Mapping ranges from the Sin function is so useful that I made a special function for that, called sinMap():
More modulation
Let’s mess with another variable. The obvious target is ellipseRadius.
Example 7
Super trippy! This is shaping up to be a nice little animation here. We can go a bit further though. Remember how secret number 1 was to keep the data separate? We have that data, and we can mess with that as well. Let’s do something different with every point in the shape.
Example 8
So now we have a new ellipse being drawn which is similar to the first, but modulated based on where that point is in the shape array. You can consider that data manipulation, but it’s not really the data (more like the metadata). To really get at the actual data — the points in our shape — we can breakout another little tool belt that I have specifically for this purpose.
Vec-la: Vectors and Matrices
Vec-la is a tiny little library I wrote to do stuff with 2d vectors. Again, without getting deep in the math, a 2d vector is just 2 numbers which come together as a little package. In vec-la the package is just a plain old array, so the points in our shape are already considered vectors! Vectors can be added or subtracted which moves them around. They can be multiplied, which scales them up or down. But most importantly they can be transformed which another math tool called a matrix. A matrix will let you package up the idea of translation (moving), scaling, rotation, and shearing into a single operation. In vec-la, much like a vector, a matrix is just an array of numbers, and there are special functions we can use to very easily create a matrix without needing any advanced math courses.
OK let’s be more practical. I’m going to assume you’ve added vec-la to the project. To make life easier you can call vec.polute() at the top of the code to inject all the useful functions into our workspace.
Let’s rotate all the points in the shape every frame using a matrix:
Example 10
A few small changes we’re introduced here. First off, we now have a zero vector which we pass to poly() instead of center like before. This is because when you perform a transformation on a vector using a matrix, it all happens relative to (0, 0). For example, when you rotate a point, it will always rotate around (0, 0). You can then tell the matrix to translate the point to the center after it’s been rotated. A little strange, but when you think about it, it’s kind of decoupling our data even more, because now we don’t care about absolute position.
Let’s go even further with the matrix and add in modular scaling.
Example 10
Modulating the scale of x and y differently gives a kind of 3d effect. As a note, often when you modulate a variable based on some time multiplier, if those multipliers are each multiples of each (like 0.01 is just (2 * 0.005)), then the result is a simple repeating pattern. If they’re not multiples of each other however, the patterns can become much more complex. This can be visually interesting, but if you want to create a perfectly looping gif you have to be able to work out how long your patterns will take to finally repeat (which can be thousands of frames if you have too much variance).
Complex waves
We’ve been using waves to modulate a lot of variables, but so far they’ve been simple, predictable waves. If you add up the results of multiple Sin or Cos functions, you actually get a new, more dynamic and interesting wave.
Example 11
What if we made a new matrix to rotate second set of circles the other way?
Example 12
User Input
As a final step for this article, let’s add some modulation that is based on user interaction. p5 gives us access to a variable called mouseX, which as you may expect give the x coordinate of the mouse. Since we know the size and bounds of the screen, we can easily pass this variable into mapRange() and do something with it.
Example 13
So now the n variable (number of sides in our polygon data) is based on input, and can snap from any value in the range 2–20. Likewise angleChange is also mapped to the mouse which let’s the user control how fast the rotations take place.
Conclusion
This has come a long way from the original square made of four points, and yet it barely scratches the surface of what could still be done. In this example alone you could add more matrices with more modulations, or draw different shapes than circles. You can use other sources of input to control modulations, like sound or the pixel data from a webcam. You could hook up to an online API and react to changes that come in (like changes on wikipedia). Really, there are a million different things you could do on this example alone.
If you’re interesting in creating something cool using techniques like these, feel free to checkout my codepen where I have a ton more examples like this, and you can fork my template that creates a skeleton with p5 and vec-la already setup. And don’t forget to send me what you make, I’m excited to see it!Ruben Amaro had a reputation in Philadelphia. To many, the only evaluation tools he trusted were his scouts’ eyes. Basically, he was an old-fashioned — if not backwards-thinking — general manager.
The extent to which that’s accurate is debatable. Amaro wasn’t necessarily cutting edge — Matt Klentak, who replaced him as Phillies general manager, is clearly more analytical — but the perception was skewed. Amaro attended Stanford and learned from Pat Gillick, so his intelligence and knowledge base are anything but slight.
That’s not to say he didn’t make errors in judgement over his tenure. He made several, which is part of the reason he was relieved of his duties last September. Amaro is now with the Red Sox, having made an atypical move from high-ranking front-office executive to first-base coach.
On Sunday, Amaro took a few minutes to shed some light on his days as a decision-maker. The role of analytics in the evaluation process formed the crux of our conversation.
———
Amaro on analytics: “You can’t ever deny the numbers. That’s true for every GM and every baseball person, regardless of whether you’re ‘old school’ or ‘new school.’ When a scout walks in, the first thing he does is pick up a stat sheet and look at what the player does and what he’s been doing. The numbers don’t lie.
“I’ve always believed in analytics. I just didn’t make it all public (in Philadelphia). I thought it was more of a competitive advantage for me to keep our thought-process about analytics closer to the vest. We didn’t boast about what we were doing — we didn’t discuss it openly — because I didn’t think it was anybody’s business but our own as to how we evaluated.
“We got a little more aggressive, as far as building our analytics department, probably three-or-so years ago. It did maybe become a little more public then. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t utilizing analytics to some degree earlier than that.”
On balancing analytics and scouting: “I believe in trends. I believe in experience. I think there are trends that can be enlightening, and there are others that aren’t as enlightening. As players get closer to the major leagues — when they’re in the high minors — that’s when you can start paying a little closer attention to the meta-data, the bigger data. You’re getting a lot more bulk as far as information is concerned.
“When you’re making evaluations on players, and trying to build a club, it’s important to always have a combination of scouting, player development, and analytics. You bring them all together. That said, if I were to err, I would err on the side of what our scouts see with their eyes, and what they can glean from our players’ hearts and heads. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, either. There is a whole other story to evaluating players and talent.”
On Statcast and medical data: “(Statcast) is something we paid attention to — there’s valuable information there — although I think there are still some kinks to be worked out. And just like anything else, sometimes things can be overanalyzed a little too much. But there’s nothing wrong with having as much information as possible, so once the glitches are straightened out, we’ll all be utilizing it even better.
“I was a biology major (at Stanford) and my area of concentration was physical therapy and sports medicine, so when I looked at medical reports, I knew a little more about them than most guys would. I was very proud of our medical staff in Philadelphia. Mike Ciccotte and Scott Sheridan were very knowledgeable. They were always learning about, and developing, preventative measures.”
On evaluating different age levels: “For me, it’s always been about progression. You know much more about the player, analytically, as he moves up the chain. It’s always a combination of the two, with more reliance on scouting at the lower levels. What are our scouts are seeing? Where is the player in the lineup? What is his two-strike approach? For a pitcher, along with his ability to throw strikes, is he throwing quality strikes? That’s another element. Are they major-league strikes or minor-league strikes? There’s a difference.
“Older players require more sets of eyes, and data. You see certain trends in a particular player. Is his velocity coming off? Is his spin ratio backing off? Again, it’s a combination of knowing the player — knowing his heart and head — and, obviously, performance. Maybe you’ll take a bigger risk on someone, even though he might be a little older, because of his makeup.
“Taking performance-enhancing drugs out of the equation impacted the evaluation process for GMs. The trends were very different in that ‘steroid age.’ Some difficulties evaluating players has occurred.”
On autonomy and collaboration: “I had a great working working relationship with David Montgomery. I felt I had great autonomy. The same with Pat Gillick. We made decisions… I was one of those guys whose concentric circle was fairly large. I enjoyed getting opinions and thoughts from everyone. That’s how I like to operate. During the course of winter meetings, and the trade deadline, that’s when you get to involve everyone — international scouting, amateur scouting, professional scouting, the whole nine yards. For me, it’s always been a group effort.”OLI SCARFF/Getty Images
Real Madrid could be ready to end their interest in Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, as Los Blancos prepare to capture Athletic Bilbao stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Spanish journalist Pipi Estrada said the Bilbao starlet is set to move to the Santiago Bernabeu, negating the need for De Gea's services (h/t Jack Staplehurst of the Daily Star).
Speaking on TV programme El Chiringuito, Estrada said:
"Kepa and Real Madrid have already reached an agreement.
"There is only one detail—if he arrives in the winter or summer. Real Madrid wants Kepa to come in the winter market and would pay Athletic €5 million more.
"And there the problem would be that Kiko Casilla would have to find a way out.
"If Athletic accepts that amount that Real Madrid offers, it would be done in January."
PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/Getty Images
Kepa is De Gea's understudy for Spain, and the 23-year-old is one of the brightest talents in Spanish football.
He has started 10 games in La Liga this season and will challenge De Gea for a starting berth in the national side.
De Gea has developed into one of United's most important players since arriving at the club in 2011, and he would be impossible to replace in the short term.
The 'keeper has long been linked with a switch back to the Spanish capital after previously plying his trade at Atletico Madrid, but Kepa's potential arrival could see Los Blancos turn their interest to strengthening other positions in their squad.
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
In other United news, Marouane Fellaini has reportedly turned down a new deal at Old Trafford, with Arsenal interested in taking the player on a free transfer next summer.
According to Richard Tanner of the Daily Express, the Gunners want to exploit the Belgian's contract situation because United coach Jose Mourinho does not want to sell the player in January. Fellaini is content at the Theatre of Dreams but wants improved terms in order to commit his future to the Red Devils.
Fellaini has become one of Mourinho's most trusted foot soldiers, and the big midfielder allows the Special One to diversify his tactics.
Bleacher Report's Dean Jones said he thinks Mourinho will want a big-money signing to replace Fellaini if the Belgium international were to depart—a move that could shape the Portuguese's future:
The player was hugely unpopular among fans under former coaches David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, but he has won over large swathes of the United faithful since Mourinho took charge in 2016.
Fellaini would be a hugely interesting free agent on the open market and can feature as both a defensive and attacking force.
Arsenal could house a player who offers more in the air while giving Fellaini a new platform and challenge at a major club.
Mourinho will likely be keen to retain the midfielder for his unique skill set, and it would be no surprise if Fellaini gets the deal he wants from his current employers.(CNN) Newly-released satellite images show that North Korea's prison camp system, where detainees are subjected to forced labor, torture, starvation, rape and death, may be expanding.
Up to 120,000 men, women and children are imprisoned in the gulags, known as "kwanliso" in Korean, according to the United Nations
Pyongyang officially denies that the camps exist, but multiple human rights groups have documented their ongoing operation via survivor testimony and satellite imagery.
Overview of North Korean prison camp No. 25, image taken in September 2015.
New images
On Tuesday, Washington-based Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) released images of Camp No. 25, a camp near Chongjin, on North Korea's northeast coast.
According to HRNK, the map underwent an expansion before 2010, when it almost doubled in scale, and has continued to operate at its larger size.
Satellite imagery shows North Korean prison Camp No. 25.
"Our satellite imagery analysis of Camp No. 25 and other such unlawful detention facilities appears to confirm the sustained, if not increased importance of the use of forced labor under Kim Jong-un," HRNK executive director Greg Scarlatoiu said in a statement
HRNK's report comes after separate analysis by Amnesty International this month concluded that Pyongyang "is continuing to maintain, and even invest, in these repressive facilities."
"These camps constitute the cornerstone of the country's large infrastructure dedicated to political repression and social control that enables widespread and systematic human rights abuses," Amnesty said in a statement.
"Assessments of the satellite images of two political prison camps -- known as kwanliso -- collected in May and August show the addition of new guard posts, upgrading of a reported crematorium, and ongoing agricultural activities."
Activity is ongoing at Camp No. 15, according to Amnesty.
Horrific abuses
The 2014 UN report estimated that "hundreds of thousands of political prisoners" have died in the North Korean gulags over the past 50 years amid "unspeakable atrocities."
"The inmate population has been gradually eliminated through deliberate starvation, forced labor, executions, torture, rape and the denial of reproductive rights," the report said, drawing a parallel between the camps and those of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union
Forced labor is common at North Korean prison camps.About 2,000 of those referred to the Prevent programme were under 15 JANE BARLOW/PA
A nine-year-old boy was referred to a government anti-terrorism scheme after he stood up in class and declared his support for Isis, the Home Office disclosed yesterday.
The boy was among 2,000 children aged under 15, including more than 500 girls, identified as potential extremists. He said that he had searched online for videos of beheadings and people being burnt to death by Isis after the Paris terrorist attacks two years ago.
After a year of specialist support, including work with his school, where he was being bullied, he was diverted away from extremism, the Home Office said.
Experts said that children as young as five had been sent for help because of siblings’ involvement in terrorism.
The government has published for the first time…The EU foreign policy chief says Washington’s possible withdrawal from the Iran deal will send a message to the international community that the US is not trustworthy when it comes to deal making.
In a Wednesday interview with PBS channel, Federica Mogherini highlighted Iran’s full compliance with the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and said, “We have the international community strongly behind the full implementation of the deal.”
“Once that we have an agreement that is functioning, that is working, that is delivering, the worst thing you can do is trying to dismantle it, also because you would show the way to others that making deals actually is not worth it, because the message that America would send to the rest of the world is that America cannot be trusted upon,” she said.
The US, Mogherini added, would lose global trust “because a deal that America voted for just two years ago in the UN Security Council with a resolution unanimously adopted, a deal that America helped to shape enormously, enormously, would be rejected by the same country.”
“If we pass the message that with every change of administration in Washington or elsewhere deals are thrown away and renegotiated, no one would negotiate with any administration ever and any deal would be exposed to be renegotiated every term. This is not the way of making deals, not in foreign policy, not in private businesses and I think [US] President [Donald] Trump understands that perfectly well,” she said.
Mogherini noted that the international community, including the EU and other US allies, will continue to abide by the deal even if Trump chooses not to certify Iran’s compliance, something which has been confirmed eight times by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The deal not only will hold, but the deal does not belong to one country or another. It is a UN Security Council resolution,” she said.
Touching on speculations about the |
associated with the life-cycle of the product and its use, emissions up and down the firm's value chain).
In any carbon tax of cap-and-trade system, a company will definitely be held liable for its Scope 1 emissions, and depending on whether the system decides to put the onus on energy producers (e.g., utilities) or users, Scope 2. Scope 3 emissions would probably not be included since that would lead to double-counting (e.g., your supplier or customer would be responsible for that).
The biggest repository of data on this currently is the Carbon Disclosure Project (www.cdproject.net), a London-based NGO funded/founded by money/fund/asset management firms with roughly $35 trillion of under management, which maintains the disclosures on hundreds and hundreds of companies worldwide....
You'd be surprised to see who reports in what detail, and for how long. For instance nearly half of the S&P 500 companies voluntarily report at this point, and you see that it basically includes all the well-known names.
2) "On whom do we impose the tax--all levels or just the end user?"
This is the somewhat thorny issue that I was referring to. Every net energy user will be responsible for his Scope 1 (i.e., direct) emissions, for sure. The user is unlikely to be held responsible for the indirect, Scope 3 emissions (although some companies--e.g., Wal-Mart, Caterpillar, Apple--are already in the business of working with their customers and suppliers to address these).
How Scope 2 is split could be thorny. A system that makes the energy user pay for Scope 2 (i.e., purchased energy) emissions may be the way it comes out in the end... otherwise utilities and oil/natural gas/coal producers will be stuck with huge bills. In other words, Ohio and West Virginia will not be stuck with the bill (except through the effects of reduced demand) for their direct emissions from coal, but... coal-based electricity consumers in New York City would.
3) "A tax that is too high will limit the ability of companies that generate the carbon to compete, particularly if the tax is unilateral making companies in our county uncompetitive in the world markets."
Setting the right tax, or the right cap, will be a challenge. But it has been done, e.g., in the EU emissions trading system (although they went through two years of volatility before prices settled down; but there is a lot to learn form how they implemented it, and we don't have to re-invent the wheel). Phase 1 of that, which covered about 40% of the GHG emissions in the EU ended just recently, and Phase 2 of the program is under way. With the latter, close to two-thirds of EU emissions will be subject to the cap-and-trade system.
The elephant in the room is China--and getting China on board. But the good news is they're at this point pretty much on board with the notion that their growth is going to happen in a world in which there is a price on carbon. They have begun to implement a set of stunning policy initiatives, as we speak. (Happy to share details.) In my view, it will soon get to a point where we will learn from what China is doing on this front, than vice versa.
If anyone has been unilateral about it, it's the EU, despite the fact that they are substantially more carbon-efficient than the U.S., and, increasingly, China. That said, the U.S. still has ample opportunity to shape the agenda. But that window is closing.
4) "It appears as a lay person that there is no consensus on what the real impact of carbon emissions are vs. other sources of CO2 (naturally occurring) so how do you set the tax?"
Let me simply say that there is an increasingly high degree of consensus on the real impact of carbon emissions, as well as in ways of dealing with other sources of CO2, especially land use and agriculture, which account for perhaps a third of all GHG emissions. There, is for instance, an increasingly vibrant market for carbon offsets from reversing CO2 impacts associated with deforestation, or from reforestation.
5) "In either case it is important that there is transparency for the markets to see what the choices are so that they can make an informed decision on the best choice."
I couldn't agree more. It is really important to make an informed choice, since the noise-to-signal ratio is very high on this issue. As to what market transparency might begin to look like in this world, I would urge taking a quick glance at the European Climate Exchange (www.ecx.eu), and, to a far more limited extent, the Chicago Climate Exchange (www.chicagoclimatex.com).
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Former Turkish FM calls on Turkey to negotiate with Kurds rather than attack them
Top US general says Raqqa battle will take months
Russia: Kurds need to be included in intra-Syrian talks in Geneva
ARA News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that as soon as the Turkey-led battle for al-Bab city is completed, the Turkish military operations in northern Syria will be over.
“It is necessary to finish the job in al-Bab and not go deeper down. The work done is in this direction,” Erdogan said.
In the meantime, the Turkish army said in a statement that Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants started to withdraw from al-Bab city, as the Euphrates Shield Operation –carried out by Turkey and allied rebels– entered its 157th day.
This while in the past Turkish officials suggested that after capturing al-Bab city, the Turkish army forces and Turkey-backed rebels would attack the city of Manbij –that was liberated from ISIS by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) on 13 August.
Shortly afterwards, Turkey launched on 24 August the so-called Euphrates Shield Operation, fearing that the Kurds could connect their local canton administrations of Efrin and Kobani, and started to attack YPG, ISIS, and the SDF Northern Aleppo to create a security region.
The Kurds have denounced the Turkish operation as an occupation of Syria, and vowed to resist it with the help of local forces.
According to analysts, the al-Bab operation will most likely continue.
Aaron Stein, a senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, told ARA News that until now it’s unclear if ISIS has withdrawn from al-Bab.
“All available evidence suggests that Islamic State will continue to fight advancing Turkish forces. However, the group has also built up defenses around Tedef, just south of al-Bab,” he said.
“So, in theory, they could withdraw to refortify their position. Al-Bab will eventually fall, there is no doubt about that, but the options for Turkey after that are limited, unless they are willing to sustain more casualties and an open-ended military confront ration with various different insurgent actors,” Stein told ARA News.
Meanwhile, a former Turkish diplomat, who spoke to ARA News on condition of anonymity, said that he never expected the Turkish army to enter al-Bab. “And definitely not for a second that it would turn to Manbij or even further to Raqqa.”
“Now with the Russians playing ball with PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria], it gets even further down the road and the Trump administration seems to prove to become a sour disappointment for Erdogan,” the ex-diplomat said.
“Turkey is finding out the hard way that fighting ISIS is not any easy task,” said Amberin Zaman, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
“The Turkish Army is a conventional force. They don’t do suicide bombings or VBIEDS [car bombs]. ISIS does,” she told ARA News. “Turkish soldiers dying in Syria is not easy to explain before the critical referendum on the presidency. Turkey will continue however to put pressure on the YPG [Kurdish People’s Protection Units] and the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] in Manbij and Afrin [Efrin].”
“Turkey’s future moves will also be determined by those of the Trump administration and whether or not they decide to continue working with the YPG and the SDF. All signs indicate that they will,” she concluded.
On Saturday, the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım vowed that Turkey would continue to attack the Kurds in Syria.
“YPG and PYD are same as the PKK. They can have different names, but we will clean these terrorist groups from the region,” he said during a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister Theresa May in Ankara.
On Sunday, Syrian regime forces approached six kilometers from al-Bab, while Turkish soldiers and Turkey-backed rebels continued to advance slowly from the north.
Turkish media reported on Sunday that the Turkish Ayhan Elmaci (29) was killed in al-Bab by an ISIS attack.
Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News
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Join our Weekly NewsletterFrom Kathleen Parker's March 3 Washington Post column [emphasis added]:
What do people remember from the summit, to the extent they watched? They surely remember Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan hammering the Republican message about deficit spending in the health-care legislation. And, they remember New York Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter telling about a woman who, because she had no insurance, had to wear her deceased sister's dentures.
There's nothing to laugh at here, obviously. If true -- and she dared us not to believe her -- it's a pathetic tale. Right-wing talk show hosts who have made sport of Slaughter's story don't get much credit for cleverness, but truly, sometimes an anecdote is too strange to be effective.
Maybe Republicans can trade Sarah Palin's "death panels" for Louise Slaughter's dentures and call it a draw.
As a political point, however, the contrast between personal anecdote vs. mastery of health-care economics is stark and telling. If you're in the market for competence, which vendor gets your attention?The ongoing fight over net neutrality has largely existed in the realm of the hypothetical.
While the principles underlying the whole concept of net neutrality have been in place for over a decade, open internet advocates’ argument that internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all the data going over their networks equally have primarily revolved around what could theoretically happen if ISPs had free reign to do pretty much whatever they wanted.
Let’s bring this debate out of the cloud of speculation and back into the realm of cold, hard facts.
There is ample history of ISPs taking actions that run counter to the spirit of net neutrality. From blocking certain internet applications that challenge their businesses to giving special privileges to their own proprietary content delivery mechanisms, the record of anti-net neutrality behavior from ISPs is anything but a fantasy. Here’s a look back at what happens when companies have their way with the internet.
The worst net neutrality violations in history
1. Madison River Communications blocks Vonage
(Photo by Wesley Fryer/Flickr)
The first major case of a company violating the principles was also likely the most cut-and-dry.
In 2004, Vonage customers who lived in a rural section of North Carolina started reporting something strange. The VoIP service, which effectively turns a broadband connection into an inexpensive phone line, had suddenly stopped functioning. The problem wasn’t limited to a few individuals—every single customer of regional ISP Madison River Communications was facing similar issues. Why? The company had imposed a system-wide block on all VoIP services through a process called port blocking.
In addition to broadband Internet, Madison River also offered landline telephone service, to which VoIP providers like Vonage are a direct competitor. By blocking VoIP from working on its network, Madison River was attempting to prevent the cannibalization of its landline business.
Vonage wasn’t particularly thrilled about having customers who paid for the company’s service being unable to actually use it because a regional ISP was concerned about safeguarding its turf. Vonage, in turn, filed a complaint with the FCC.
After a short investigation, the FCC decreed that Madison River had to pay a $15,000 fine. The Commission also prohibited the company from blocking ports of any kind for three years.
“We saw a problem and acted swiftly to ensure that Internet voice service remains a viable option for consumers,” then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement.
While Madison River was the first major case of the FCC going after a company for violating open Internet principles, the precedent it set for future enforcement actions was relatively limited.
“By failing to adequately elaborate criteria for reasonable network management in the?Open Internet Rules,’ the FCC left the concept wide-open to interpretation by future litigants,” wrote attorney Alexander Reicher in a recent Berkeley Law Journal article.?This is particularly so given the Madison River and Comcast decisions, which define reasonable network management in only the bluntest way: both cases involved the persistent, non-minimal blocking of internet applications, which could not be justified by a continuing technical necessity. The FCC and the D.C. Circuit, therefore, offer little guidance in analyzing more subtle forms of discrimination, such as the delay discrimination that occurs when an ISP does not block but merely delays a transmission.”
2. Verizon blocks pro-choice text messages
(Photo by James Cridland/Wikimedia Commons)
In 2007, abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America embarked on a fundraising campaign that took advantage of supporters’ ability to send monetary donations to the organization via text message. NARAL got the okay to conduct the campaign from every major cellular provider, save for one.
Verizon denied the request, telling NARAL that the company,?does not accept issue-oriented (abortion, war, etc.) programs—only basic, general politician-related programs (Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, etc.).”
The move, unsurprisingly, sparked an uproar from across the political spectrum. A coalition of nonprofit groups, from Planned Parenthood to the Christian Coalition, banded together to criticize Verizon, charging that the company’s censorship based on political content set a dangerous precedent.
Verizon quickly backpedaled, allowing NARAL to conduct its campaign and called the decision an?isolated incident.”
“The decision to not allow text messaging on an important, though sensitive, public policy issue was incorrect,” said Verizon spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson in a statement to the New York Times.
Even so, the company still reserved the right to pick and choose what information is sent over its network based on content because cellular carriers aren’t beholden to the same level of content neutral restrictions as telephone and broadband Internet providers.
3. Verizon blocks tethering apps
(Photo by Anthony92931/Wikimedia Commons)
When the FCC opened up a large block of the radio spectrum to Verizon in 2008 for over $9 billion, the deal came with some caveats. Specifically, the telecom giant would be required to play by rules that looked a lot like net neutrality, which included not interfering with any type of software from running on its network. Shortly thereafter, when the FCC discovered that Verizon had pressured Google to remove nearly a dozen programs from its app store that allowed for tethering, regulators pulled off the gloves.
Tethering is a process by which a cellular device is converted into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that can be used by other devices, like laptops and some tablets, that are unable to send and receive cellular signals.
Verizon, at the time, technically allowed tethering. But the company required customers who wanted to enable tethering to sign up for its Mobile Broadband Connect service for an additional fee. The FCC noted that, while Verizon argued that the fee was required to compensate for the propensity of its customers who regularly tether to use a large amount of data, even Verizon customers who had signed up for an unlimited data plan were required to enable Mobile Broadband Connect if they wanted to tether.
The company’s effort to block third-party tethering apps apparently arose from fears that such apps could allow users to tether without paying the fee. Google was exempted from any sort of regulatory action from the FCC because the company existed outside of the agency’s jurisdiction to oversee ISPs.
The FCC charged that this attempt to crack down on third-party tethering apps was a violation of Verizon’s promise to abide by the terms of its spectrum acquisition. After a year-long investigation, Verizon agreed to pay a $1.25 million settlement, stop charging users an additional fee for tethering, and permitted the apps to come back into the store.
?The massive innovation and investment fueled by the Internet have been driven by consumer choice in both devices and applications,” said then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement announcing the settlement.?The steps taken today will not only protect consumer choice, but defend certainty for innovators to continue to deliver new services and apps without fear of being blocked.”
4. AT&T blocks Apple’s FaceTime
(Photo by Robert Scoble/Wikimedia Commons)
In 2012, AT&T blocked Apple’s video chat app FaceTime from running on its mobile network unless customers paid extra for a Mobile Shared Data plan, which mandated they also pay for unlimited voice service and text messages. AT&T’s explanation was that usage of the app on its network was eating up so much bandwidth that the network couldn’t keep up with demand, and restricting the app’s use to people who signed up for that more expensive plan would reduce the strain on its network infrastructure.
This move drew the ire of coalition of open Internet advocacy groups—including Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the New America Foundation—which argued that blocking FaceTime was an attempt by AT&T to effectively prohibit the use of an application that would compete with its own voice services and give its users less reason to pay for more expansive plans.
The groups walked right up to the line of filing a formal complaint with the FCC on the grounds that blocking FaceTime was a violation of the Commission’s net neutrality rules. In a letter addressed to AT&T’s general counsel, lawyers for the group wrote:
We respectfully request that AT&T reconsider its behavior and the impact that blocking FaceTime will have on its customers, particularly the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as all who use this application to communicate with family and friends over the Internet. Making mobile use of the application available only to those customers who pay for unlimited voice and text messages harms individuals and innovation alike.
AT&T was initially defiant, claiming it was doing nothing wrong. But the company eventually backed off and began allowing FaceTime, as well as all other video chat apps, to operate on its network by the conclusion of the following year. As a result, the complaint was never filed and the FCC never took official action.
Even so, the groups that united against AT&T on the issue weren’t entirely satisfied. While AT&T started allowing FaceTime, it still retained the right to decide which applications were allowed to run on its network.
5. Comcast vs. BitTorrent
(Photo by Dwight Burdette/Wikimedia Commons)
It’s not particularly surprising that Comcast would have taken steps to reduce BitTorrent traffic on its network. There’s no doubt that heavy BitTorrent users consume a lot of bandwidth and add to network congestion. Also, when someone illegally downloads a pirated movie on BitTorrent, they don’t have much incentive to open up Comcast’s pay-per-view service and give the company extra money to watch a flick.
That’s why, in the late 2000s, Comcast started blocking its customers from trading files on BitTorrent by intercepting the data transmitted between the downloader and the file’s host and then sending a message to both parties’ computers telling them disconnect from each other. This block didn’t just extend to only pirated content. Legitimate copyright holders who wished to distribute their content through peer-to-peer network were also stymied.
At first, Comcast denied it was doing anything to BitTorrent traffic going over its network. But, as investigations by groups like the Associated Press quickly proved, there was clearly something fishy going on.
The FCC launched an investigation and, in mid-2008, the Commission ruled that Comcast’s policy of crippling BitTorrent was a violation of net neutrality rules—even though the company had voluntarily halted the practice six months prior.
Comcast later challenged the ruling in court.?Our primary goal was always to clear our name and reputation,” Comcast spokesperson Sena Fitzmaurice explained to the Wall Street Journal.
Two years later, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the FCC has exceeded its authority when it sanctioned Comcast. Matt Wood, policy director at the pro-net neutrality group Free Press, tells the Daily Dot that, despite its eventual court victory, this incident triggered a pivot in the way Comcast dealt with congestion issues. After the getting slapped by the FCC for throttling BitTorrent, Comcast began focusing on other congestion-management techniques like the institution of individual data caps.
6. Comcast’s Xbox data-cap exemption
(Photo by switchstyle/Flickr)
Even though Comcast switched to using data caps as a way to manage congestion on its network, the company still found itself dinged for breaking net neutrality rules.
Starting in 2008, Comcast imposed a 250 gigabyte monthly data cap for all of its users. A few years later, however, the ISP announced a streaming service that could run through Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system. As a way to incentivize its customers to use its own app over third-party alternatives, Comcast said any data streamed through the service wouldn’t count against a user’s data restrictions.
Comcast argued that this move didn’t violate net neutrality rules because the content from its streaming service never actually traveled on the public Internet, which is technically true. In order to facilitate integration between its Xfinity on-demand service and Xbox consoles, Comcast struck a deal with Microsoft to allow all the data from its streaming app to travel exclusively over the telecom giant’s private network.
The result was that Xbox-owning Comcast customers had a strong incentive to use Comcast’s streaming service over ones operated by competitors like Netflix or Amazon because doing so wouldn’t put them in danger of incurring overage charges for exceeding their data caps.
Comcast’s policy drew the ire of consumer groups and the company eventually relented—ditching the concept of data caps altogether—but insisted that it did nothing wrong and reserved the right to exempt its own traffic from counting towards data caps.
Considering that a Comcast executive recently said that data caps will probably become the norm within the next five years, this issue is one that may soon return to the headlines.For a long time this one was a mystery. I was quite sure it was not by the Buddha, but it took me a long time to find a definitive original source. A day in bed sick with a nasty cough finally gave me the time to track this quote’s origins.
Like many Fake Buddha Quotes, it’s of fairly recent origin and spread rapidly after the start of the 21st century. It’s the internet that’s responsible for this rapid proliferation, of course; a Fake Buddha Quote spreads across the web by the time a genuine quote has checked that its diacritic marks are in place.
Here’s a blow-by-blow account of my detective work.
1996: In Andy Zubko’s “Treasury Of Spiritual Wisdom” it’s attributed to the Buddha, but the quote appears in this form:
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger….Let a man overcome anger by love.”
Now the extra line is from Max Mueller’s ancient translation of the Dhammapada, where it’s part of this translation of verse 223:
Let a man overcome anger by love,
let him overcome evil by good;
let him overcome the greedy by liberality,
the liar by truth!
Zubko’s quote makes it look as if the “punished by your anger” quote comes from the same source, but it’s not found in Mueller’s translation. The line immediately preceding this is:
If a man by causing pain to others, wishes to obtain pleasure for himself, he, entangled in the bonds of selfishness, will never be free from hatred.
And that’s not obviously related to our “punished by anger” quote. So it looks like Zubko was messing with the quote. My hopes are dashed.
But what’s this? In the same year (1996) the quote (sans Zubko’s addition) appears in a novel, Love Me, Love My Bed, by Rita Clay Estrada. Given that both books were published around the same time, it seems unlikely that she’d have got it from Zubra, so presumably they both got it from the same source.
In fact a third book appears in 1996 that contains this quote: Rising Above: A Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Finding Happiness, by Jerry Wilde. Wilde attributes it to Confucius, which seems as dubious as the attribution to the Buddha.
And a fourth 1996 title contains the quote, again attributed to the Buddha: The Heart of the Matter: Thoughts to Live By, by Bill O’Hearn.
Obviously there was some pre-1996 source that these authors were all drawing upon.
Now in 1995, we find the quote in a book called Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment, by James Garbarino. And it’s attributed to the Buddha. But still we don’t have an original source.
In the year before, 1994, we find the following intriguing line in a book called Excess Baggage: Getting Out of Your Own Way, by Judith Sills:
“You are the one most punished by your anger, because you are the one who experiences it most intensely.”
There is, however, nothing in that book that corresponds to the “You will not be punished for your anger” part of the quote.
I’m starting to think that this quote’s origins are lost in the mists of time, perhaps originating on some long-lost web page, when I start making real progress.
Going back to 1993, we hit pay dirt! In To Love Is to Know Me: The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (Volume 3), author Eknath Easwaran says the following:
Even more intriguing to me is the karma of our health. Again, let me illustrate one or two kinds of connection. For one, the Buddha says that we are not punished for our anger, we are punished by our anger. In other words, anger is its own karma.
Note the absence of quotation marks. Eknath is not quoting the Buddha, but paraphrasing his teachings on anger and karma. What seems to have happened is that Judith Sills has lifted the paraphrase and converted it into a genuine Fake Buddha Quote, has plonked it into her book Excess Baggage, changing “our” into “your” as she did so, giving us the form that now graces a thousand blogs and Facebook pages. And then in the following few years her counterfeit Buddha quote begins its unstoppable march across western culture.
Interestingly, here’s a prototype for the concept that Eknath encapsulated in his paraphrase. It’s from the December 1905 edition of Health (A Monthly Devoted to the Cause and Cure of Disease), by Dr. W. P. Burke:
They teach that he who hates shall be hated, and that the one who gets angry shall be punished by anger, and that all sin is punished by it and not for it. This is correct.
The “they” in the quotation are “The New Thoughter, the preacher, the reformer, and others.”
I presume that this is not directly connected with Eknath’s writing, but it’s interesting to see how these concepts can rattle around in a culture and pop up in various forms. It may also help explain why this particular Fake Buddha Quote is so popular.
The bridge between “They teach that he who hates shall be hated, and that the one who gets angry shall be punished by anger, and that all sin is punished by it and not for it” and “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger” may well have been a quote by the anAmerican writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher, Elbert Hubbard. (Amongst other things, Hubbard left us a famous thought about life, lemons, and lemonade.) The saying “We are punished by our sins, not for them” is found on page 12 of “The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard,” published in 1927. It’s possible that Hubbard picked up Burke’s thought and polished it, or perhaps both Burke and Hubbard were stating an existing thought in their own individual ways. (Thanks to reader Alex for spotting the Hubbard quote.)Image copyright PA Image caption Lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir have given £5.5m to the SNP and the Yes Scotland campaign
Lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir have given a further £1m in donations to the SNP, according to the Electoral Commission.
The register of donations for the first three months of 2014 shows Mr and Mrs Weir each gave £500,000 to the party on 10 February.
This brings their total contribution to the SNP and the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign to £5.5m.
The couple, from Largs, Ayrshire, won £161m on EuroMillions in 2011.
Earlier this month, the couple wrote a letter to newspapers calling for an end to the "smears" that they said accompanied their donations.
The couple said the donations had led to them being subjected to "downright nasty" personal attacks.
The Weirs' latest contribution comes on top of the £1m they donated to the SNP in September 2011, and the £3.5m they have donated to the Yes Scotland campaign in the last two years.
They have used their fortune to fund a number of good causes, including buying a 13-year-old boy a prosthetic leg, and have established a charitable trust to help fund health, sport, cultural, recreational and animal welfare projects.
An SNP spokeswoman said: "We thank all of our donors - big and small - for contributing to the success of the party, including consistently being ahead in the polls after eight years in government, which is a remarkable achievement.
"The SNP has never been in better shape - with a record membership of over 25,000 - and we are fighting fit to help achieve the Yes vote in September."
However, Scottish Labour's constitutional spokesman Drew Smith said: "The Weirs are entirely entitled to spend their lottery winnings as they wish but the revelation that the SNP and the "Yes" campaign are relying on just one family for their funding does rather undermine the nationalists' claims of a broad based grass roots campaign."
Elsewhere, the Electoral Commission register of donations also showed that the UK Conservative Party had received £6,662,232, with more than a fifth coming from a single donor - British-Australian hedge fund boss Sir Michael Hintze, who donated £1,506,500.
Labour received £4,409,167 with two-thirds of it coming from the unions Unite, Usdaw and Unison.
The Liberal Democrats received £1,074,482 in donations.Many NFL fans and experts are anticipating the 2017 NFL Draft, which is under three weeks away, but there are still some very valuable free agents in the market that could be signed before hand. Bleacher Report predicts two of them will sign with the New York Giants.
Even though defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins has been on the market far longer than most expected, Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon predicts the Giants will re-sign the 25-year-old to a three-year deal worth $23 million.
Johnathan Hankins is a top-notch run defender entering his prime at a key position, and in his two complete seasons as a starter for the Giants, he’s also put together 10 sacks.
The Giants and their players, especially the defensive ones, would love to bring Hankins back, but they have proved that they don’t want to overpay for the 2013 second-round pick.
Bringing Hankins back would give the Giants one of the best, if not the best, defensive line in the entire league. This would be especially true if Hankins could return to his 2014 form when he recorded seven sacks.
The other free agent that Bleacher Report predicts the Giants will sign comes in the form of running back LeGarrette Blount. Adding a power back to the backfield is something Big Blue has been looking to do and Gagnon feels his deal would be similar to that of Eddie Lacy’s.
After breaking it down, the G-Men win. Look for a deal similar to the one Lacy signed in Seattle or the one Rex Burkhead inked with New England.
With Paul Perkins likely to lead the way and Shane Vereen to reprise his role as the pass catcher, Blount would immediately upgrade the Giants backfield, specifically in short-yardage and goal line situations.
Blount had himself a career year in New England. He carried the ball 299 times for 1,161 rushing yards and an NFL-leading 18 rushing touchdowns, all of which were career highs.
Even though no one truly knows how these situations will shake out, re-signing Hankins and adding Blount would immediately address pressing needs and would allow the Giants to pursue other positions in the draft.It has happened to all of us at one point or another. You’re sitting in a meeting, a restaurant or a movie, and it hits you: “Oh shoot, I need to refill the parking meter.”
Typically, that sparks a mad dash to the street in order to make it to the meter before your time runs out. Well, a new service that’s coming to Seattle could help solve that problem.
It’s called PayByPhone, and recent drivers (and parkers) in Vancouver, B.C. know just how it works. Basically, the app allows drivers to pay the meter with their mobile phones, and then set a text message alert notifying them if time is about to run out.
Today, it was announced that The City of Seattle plans to introduce the new payment service at about 13,000 on-street paid parking areas. For those who don’t download the PayByPhone mobile app (for Android, BlackBerry and iOS), users can call a toll-free number in order to institute payment. Users, who have entered their credit card information and license plate number, make a payment by entering the block’s unique location number and the amount of parking time desired.
That information then syncs with the parking enforcement officer’s handheld device, allowing them to peruse whether certain vehicles have paid up on the blocks they patrol. The service won’t replace the traditional green kiosks now found on Seattle streets, but PayByPhone’s Chris Morisawa tells GeekWire that the service does offer added convenience.
In addition to the text message alerts and automatic repayments, Morisawa said that customers can pay from wherever they are.
“If it is raining, I can do it in the car. Or, if I am late for a meeting, I can do it while I am walking,” said Morisawa.
The PayByPhone service does have an added charge of 35 cents per transaction, but Morisawa said that’s a small fee when faced with the expense of a parking ticket. In Vancouver, B.C. — where PayByPhone was founded — the city actually absorbs the costs of the transaction fee. And in Westminster, England the city has pulled its physical parking meters altogether, switching entirely to the PayByPhone service.
That won’t be happening in Seattle, at least for now. Drivers will still be able to pay via the traditional parking meters, which require users to insert a payment card (and wait a good 30-60 seconds in my experience) for the receipt which needs to be affixed to the window (often leaving a sticky residue and paper clutter in one’s vehicle).
Morisawa said cities like the idea of PayByPhone because it reduces the need for meter maintenance and their handling of coins and cash. It also makes the job of the meter reader far easier.
However, doesn’t it also reduce a revenue stream for cities? After all, it has always been my belief that parking enforcement officers help bring in much-needed funds for cash-strapped cities.
We will see how it plays out when PayByPhone arrives in Seattle this fall.
In fact, some in Seattle have already been able to use the service, since it was first deployed in the city at the private parking lots of Impark and Republic Northwest. Because of those roots and the proximity to Vancouver, Morisawa said that they are thrilled to bring the service to the City of Seattle, one of the company’s larger implementations (Vancouver and Miami have about 8,000 parking spaces utilizing the service, while San Francisco has about 30,000).
“We have been working on it a for a long time,” said Morisawa.
Here’s a closer look at how it works:Forget Nessie: there's another insidious creature living in the waters of Scotland.
The story starts in the streams and lakes of the northwestern United States, where North American signal crayfish are a familiar sight. Turn over a rock and you may well encounter one.
But in Scottish streams and lochs, these creatures are intruders.
In the United States, we often hear about invasive Asian carp, zebra mussels or snakehead fish from China that take over American waterways. It's a two-way street: American species are causing chaos in other parts of the world, too.
And in Scottish waters, home to prize-winning trout, American crayfish may be destroying the catch.
'Hundreds And Hundreds And Hundreds Of Them'
Allen Pleus, with the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Washington State, says that the signal crayfish is an important species in his region. It's the only native crayfish species, and the freshwater crustaceans are are just another part of the ecosystem.
"They play well with others," he says. "They've learned to be good neighbors with the other native species."
They eat aquatic insects and larvae; raccoons and herons, in turn, eat them. The system works.
But those same crayfish wreak havoc in Scottish waters like Clyde's Burn — a stream in Scotland where anglers from all over the world come to fish.
Matt Mitchell has been casting his line into these waters for about 40 years. "This area is probably, if not the best, certainly one of the best trout fisheries in the world," he says.
North American signal crayfish were introduced into England and have made their way north to Scotland. (NPR)
One day Mitchell got a call from an angler friend. The conversation changed Mitchell's life.
"He phoned me and said, 'I think we have a problem. You'd better come look at this,' " Mitchell says.
He jumped in the car and headed to the river.
"I could not believe the number of crayfish that were in this part of the river," he says. "You could literally walk across the river standing on crayfish. You couldn't walk without standing on a crayfish, they were so numerous!"
The North American signal crayfish, which had been introduced to English waters decades ago and spread steadily north, were taking over.
"What we did initially was just hand |
's Political Ticker blog, CNN senior vice president David Bohrman, the executive producer of the debate, apologized for selecting Kerr's question, given his campaign affiliation: "We regret this, and apologize to the Republican candidates. We never would have used the General's question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate."
On the November 29 edition of American Morning, co-host John Roberts interviewed Kerr and asked, "Now, did anyone from Hillary Clinton's campaign or from the steering committee or anyone else associated with a political organization put you up to the idea of asking this question?" Kerr responded: "Absolutely not. This was a private initiative on my own."
From the November 29 edition of CNN's American Morning:
ROBERTS: There were questions this morning about one of last night's questioners. It turns out that a retired general had links to the Clinton campaign. Here's his question, as submitted on YouTube. KERR [video clip]: My name is Keith Kerr, of Santa Rosa, California. I'm a retired brigadier general with 43 years of service. And I'm a graduate of the Special Forces Officer Course, the Command and General Staff Course, and the Army War College, and I'm an openly gay man. I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. ROBERTS: So there's the question, and retired Army Brigadier General Keith Kerr joins me now this morning. We discovered after the debate last night that you are, in fact, a member of Hillary Clinton's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered steering committee. We did not -- we did a background check, and we found that you have not made any campaign contributions to any candidate. Does that still stand? KERR: That's correct. ROBERTS: OK. Well, let me ask you about your position on this steering committee. What does that entail, and have you, in fact, done any work for Hillary Clinton's campaign? KERR: I have not done any work. Several friends asked me if I would allow my name to be listed, and I agreed because she is such a strong advocate of gay and lesbian rights. ROBERTS: So this really hasn't required anything on your part other than lending your name to it? KERR: Correct. ROBERTS: Now, did anyone from Hillary Clinton's campaign or from the steering committee or anyone else associated with a political organization put you up to the idea of asking this question? KERR: Absolutely not. This was a private initiative on my own.
From the original airing of the November 28 CNN/YouTube Republican presidential candidates debate:
KERR: My name is Keith Kerr, of Santa Rosa, California. I'm a retired brigadier general with 43 years of service. And I'm a graduate of the Special Forces Officer Course, the Command and General Staff Course, and the Army War College, and I'm an openly gay man. I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. COOPER: I want to point out that Brigadier General Keith Kerr is here with us tonight. Glad you're here. Again, the question to Congressman [Duncan] Hunter [CA]. HUNTER: Yeah. General, thanks for your service, but I believe in what [former Secretary of State and retired Army Gen.] Colin Powell said when he said that having openly homosexual people serving in the ranks would be bad for unit cohesion. And the reason for that, even though people point to the Israelis and point to the Brits and point to other people as having homosexuals serve, is that most Americans, most kids who leave that breakfast table and go out and serve in the military and make that corporate decision with their family, most of them are conservatives. And they have conservative values, and they have Judeo-Christian values. And to force those people to work in a small, tight unit with somebody who is openly homosexual, who goes against what they believe to be their principles -- and it is their principles -- is I think a disservice to them. And I agree with Colin Powell that it would be bad for unit cohesion. COOPER: I want to direct this to [former Arkansas] Governor [Mike] Huckabee. Thirty seconds. HUCKABEE: The Uniform Code of Military Justice is probably the best rule, and it has to do with conduct. People have a right to have whatever feelings, whatever attitudes they wish, but when their conduct could put at risk the morale, or put at risk even the cohesion that Duncan Hunter spoke of, I think that's what is at issue. And that's why our policy is what it is. COOPER: [Former Massachusetts] Governor [Mitt] Romney, you said in 1994 that you looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve, and I quote, "openly and honestly in our nation's military." Do you stand by that? ROMNEY: This isn't that time. This is not that time. We're in the middle of a war. The people who have watched -- COOPER: Do you look forward to that time, though, one day? ROMNEY: I'm going to listen to the people who run the military to see what the circumstances are like, and my view is that, at this stage, this is not the time for us to make that kind of a change. COOPER: Is that a change in your position from -- ROMNEY: Yeah, I didn't think it would work. I didn't think "don't ask, don't tell" would work. That was my -- I didn't think that would work. I thought that was a policy -- when I heard about it, I laughed. I said, "That doesn't make any sense to me." And you know what? It's been there now for, what, 15 years? It seems to have worked. COOPER: So, just so I'm clear, at this point, do you still look forward to a day when gays can serve openly in the military or no longer? ROMNEY: I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops, and I'll listen to what they have to say. COOPER: All right. General Kerr is -- as I said, is here. Please stand up, General. Thank you very much for being with us. Did you feel you got an answer to your question? KERR: With all due respect, I did not get an answer from the candidates. COOPER: What do you -- what do you feel you did not -- KERR: American men and women in the military are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. For 42 years, I wore the Army uniform on active duty, in the Reserve, and also for the state of California. I revealed I was a gay man after I retired. Today, "don't ask, don't tell" is destructive to our military policy. Every day, the Department of Defense discharges two people, not for misconduct, not for the unit cohesion -- COOPER: Wait, the mike is -- you've lost -- is the microphone not working? All right. Please, just finish your -- what is your question? KERR: Not for the unit cohesion that Congressman Hunter is talking about, but simply because they happen to be gay. COOPER: OK. Senator [John] McCain [AZ]. KERR: And we're talking about doctors, nurses, pilots, and the surgeon who sews somebody up when they're taken from the battlefield. COOPER: I appreciate your comment. Senator McCain, I want to give you 30 seconds. You served in the military. McCAIN: General, I thank you for your service to our nation. I respect it. All the time, I talk to our military leaders, beginning with our joint chiefs of staff and the leaders in the field, such as General [David] Petraeus and General [Raymond] Odierno and others who are designated leaders with the responsibility of the safety of the men and women under their command and their security and protect them as best they can. Almost unanimously, they tell me that this present policy is working, that we have the best military in history, that we have the bravest, most professional, best prepared, and that this policy ought to be continued because it's working. COOPER: All right. We've got another question. Let's listen.
***
UPDATE: Before Marty Kaplan's post, which Media Matters referenced above, Huffington Post media editor Rachel Sklar noted CNN's omission of Kerr's question in a blog entry on The Huffington Post's live-blogging of the debate, writing:Gordon Ramsay has proven time and time again that he's as deftly skilled at preparing Michelin-star-worthy food as he is hurling expletives at struggling chefs on TV. You might be quick to write him off as Masterchef's answer to Simon Cowell, only with a coif Derek Zoolander would envy, but there's so much more to the man than you might realize.
1. He Doesn't Do Lunch—Or Dinner.
The chef prefers to eat five times per day, focusing on smaller portions to keep his energy up, rather than three solid meals. A few of his go-to dishes include green juices, chicken Niçoise salad, and homemade fruit and nut bars, The Telegraph reports.
2. He's Just As Serious About Fitness As He Is Food.
Ramsay has participated in more than a dozen marathons, three ultra-marathons, three half-Ironmans (which span 70.3 miles, swimming, biking and running) and competed in the Ironman World Championship twice.
The championship, held in Hawaii, is known for being incredibly grueling—it combines a 2.4-mile swim with a 122-mile bike ride and a full marathon (26.2 miles). While he completed the race in 14 hours in 2013, he had to drop out of the competition this past year due to dehydration, according to TMZ. Ramsay says he'll be back in 2016 though.
Suhaimi Abdullah
3. He Believes in the Power of a Good Cry.
"I think crying is important," he told Fox News. "Not crying, not showing that emotion, bottling it up can lead to dangerous things."
Ramsay has no problem with the contestants—who are often as young as 8 or 9 years old—on Masterchef Junior crying on the show, though he admits that it's hard to see them get upset over their mistakes.
Chelsea Lauren
4. He's Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Just like Kim Kardashian West, Ramsay will soon be starring in his very own mobile game, complete with a cartoon version of himself. Details haven't been released just yet, but we can only imagine it'd involve dodging insults as you "cook" as fast as your thumbs will allow you.
This isn't his first foray into gaming, though. You can also have him shout in your face while playing Nintendo Wii's Hell's Kitchen game.
5. He Was Once Threatened at Gunpoint While Filming.
While working on The Big Fish Fight in Costa Rica, Ramsay and his crew devoted an episode to investigating fishermen who were illegally killing and selling sharks to make shark fin soup. The crew climbed aboard a fishing boat, only for Ramsay to find a sack of shark fins hidden under the ship's hull while he was swimming. When he threw the sack on board and called the fishermen out, an argument erupted, leading some men to point rifles at them when they got to the dock to pressure them to stop filming.
Ultimately, the police urged them to leave the country. "They said, 'if you set foot in there, they'll stab you,'" Ramsay recalls.
6. He's One of the 25 Highest-Paid Celebrities Out There.
The Hell's Kitchen star is No. 21, technically, raking in $60 million last year, according to Forbes. That makes him the wealthiest celebrity chef out there.
7. He's Had Some Work Done.
If you thought Ramsay's gotten more fresh-faced over the years, you're right. A cosmetic surgeon filled in the scars on his chin back in 2009—not to make him appear less threatening on TV, as some speculated, but more because he'd gotten sick of everyone making a big deal about it.
"You've seen the articles: craggy face, map of Wales, ugly, deflated rugby ball," he told The Guardian. "There's only so much sh*t you want to take. I woke up in the morning and [my daughter] Matilda was trying to squeeze pound coins in there."
Chelsea Lauren
8. He Dreamed of Being a Soccer Player, Not a Chef.
An injury ended that dream early, so he went back to college to pursue Hotel Management. Along the way, he wound up cooking and never looked back.
9. His 20th Wedding Anniversary Is This Year.
The father of four—three girls and a boy—married his wife, Tana, back in 1996.
Eamonn M. McCormack
10. He's Not Afraid to Poke Fun at Himself.
This past May, Ramsay put a slice of bread over Julie Chen's ears, barking, "What are you?" in her face. "An idiot sandwich," she replied, dejectedly. The insult spawned parodies all over the Internet, including Gigi Hadid and Devon Windsor when they appeared on Masterchef Celebrity Showdown.
The Late Late Show with James Corden
But the cruel joke was just that—a joke. It was part of a sketch called "Hell's Cafeteria" on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
11. He Gives 'Masterchef Junior' Contestants Cooking Lessons.
If you ever watched Masterchef Junior and wondered how in the world the contestants know how to make just about anything, you're not alone. As Ramsay explained in his Reddit AMA, he provides basic culinary lessons before filming. They won't show them exactly how to make a certain dish, like croquembouche, but they'll have a class in sheet pastry buns, which can give them a foundation to help them figure out how to make a croquembouche when the time comes.
"When it comes to the more serious elimination challenges, they'll have insight 3 to 4 weeks out," he explained.
FOX
12. Mario Batali Once Banned Him from His Restaurants.
Apparently, Batali can only take so many insults, and 'Fanta Pants' (a nickname Ramsay reportedly gave him) is where he draws the line. The Iron Chef banned Rams from his restaurants, several media outlets reported, though all it'd take to eliminate the bad blood is a little heart-to-heart.
"[If Gordon] called me himself and said, 'Let's sit down for a drink.' I'm sure it would be fine," Batali said. "We'd be cool. But right now, it's not cool."
13. He's Got A Great Trick for Phenomenal Oatmeal.
Ramsay often starts the day with a bowl of oatmeal—just water, salt and oats—but when he really wants to take breakfast to the next level, he does this:
"The night before, put 3 to 4 bananas in the oven on a pilot light. And the next day, squeeze the bananas into almond milk, bring it to a boil, then add the oatmeal and dried cranberries, and you'll have the most amazing oatmeal for breakfast," he wrote in his AMA.
14. Singer Ellie Goulding Punched Him Once.
Right in the stomach. Right after confessing to having a crush on him. (To be fair, though, Ramsay was her sparring partner on The Jonathan Ross Show, and he was wearing padding.)
Follow Delish on Instagram.Story highlights Douglas Rushkoff: Many upset by Facebook changes, but they are confused
He says changes are about monetizing your information for company's paying customers
He says users actually "work" for company by inputting info Facebook can sell to marketers
Rushkoff: Change like this reminds users they are not the customers, they're the product
The ire and angst accompanying Facebook's most recent tweaks to its interface are truly astounding. The complaints rival the irritation of AOL's dial-up users back in the mid-'90s, who were getting too many busy signals when they tried to get online. The big difference, of course, is that AOL's users were paying customers. In the case of Facebook, which we don't even pay to use, we aren't the customers at all.
Let's start with the changes themselves. Until now, the main thing that showed up on users' pages was a big list of "updates" from all the friends and companies and groups to which they were connected. It was a giant chronological list that made no distinction between an article (like this one) that may have been recommended by a hundred friends and the news that one person just changed his relationship status or had a funny dream.
Facebook has now prioritized that flow of stories into a news feed that puts "top stories" on top, and the more chronological list of everything down below. Top stories are selected by an algorithm of some sort that "knows" what will be important to the user based on past behavior and numbers of connections to those recommending the story, and so on.
Meanwhile, as if to make up for this violation of the what-just-happened-is-the-only-thing-that-matters ethos of the social net, Facebook added a live, Twitter-like stream of everything everyone else is doing or saying. It runs down the right side of the screen, almost like CNN TV's awfully distracting and wisely retired "news crawl."
On an Internet where everyone and everything are becoming "friended" to one another, such a division of the relevant "solid" bits from the topic stream of data points makes sense. After all, updates from your closest friends and favorite bloggers should take priority over those from some relative stranger you "friended" because he said he was in your fifth grade class and you didn't want to insult him. If everyone ends up connected to everyone, Facebook will have to make some distinctions or the service will be useless.
JUST WATCHED Facebook unveils 'Timeline' feature Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Facebook unveils 'Timeline' feature 03:44
JUST WATCHED Andy Samberg spoofs Mark Zuckerberg Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Andy Samberg spoofs Mark Zuckerberg 04:56
But users are bothered by all this. On the simplest level, they don't like change, particularly when it results in making their free time more complex and stressful. Facebook was always a lazy person's friend and time waster. Turning into a dashboard designed to increase productivity and relevancy turns it more into, well, work.
Of course, if they stopped and thought about it, they would realize that Facebook is work. We are not Facebook's customers at all. The boardroom discussions at Facebook are not about how to help little Johnny make more and better friendships online; they are about how Facebook can monetize Johnny's "social graph" -- the accumulated data about how Johnny makes friends, shares links and makes consumer decisions. Facebook's real customers are the companies who actually pay them for this data, and for access to our eyeballs in the form of advertisements. The hours Facebook users put into their profiles and lists and updates is the labor that Facebook then sells to the market researchers and advertisers it serves.
Deep down, most users sense this, which is why every time Facebook makes a change they are awakened from the net trance for long enough to be reminded of what is really going on. They see that their "news feeds" are going to be prioritized by an algorithm they will never understand. They begin to suspect that Facebook is about to become more useful to the companies who want to keep "important" stories from getting lost in the churn -- and less useful for the humans.
Ultimately, they don't trust Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and are suspicious of his every move. By contrast, Apple founder Steve Jobs took away his customers' hard drives, Flash movies, keyboards and Firewire ports -- and yet consumers put up with the inconvenience and discomfort every step of the way because they believed that Steve knew best, and trusted that he was taking them somewhere better.
Apple users pay handsomely for the privilege of putting themselves in the company's hands. Facebook does not enjoy this same level of trust with its nonpaying subscribers.
That's because on Facebook we're not the customers. We are the product.Season one of Westworld hasn’t even finished, and we’re already receiving big news about the cast for season two! Entertainment Weekly has discovered, after coming across a new BBC Radio 4 interview, that one major star of the series has already confirmed his return next season.
While appearing on Radio 4’s Front Row to discuss his West End debut in Buried Child, Ed Harris casually announced that he’ll be back for another round of HBO’s sci-fi western hit.
“I was just talking to Jonah Nolan last night, who’s a creator of this thing with his wife, Lisa Joy, and yeah, they’re doing another season,” Harris says. “They’re going to do 10 more episodes, and I will be involved.”
Harris’s continued involvement with the show doesn’t necessarily mean the Man in Black is guaranteed to survive season one. With these human-like hosts in play, we might never know if a dead character is truly gone for good, and we also have to consider the possibility of multiple timelines. But nearing the end of the first year, it does feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of the complex Man in Black and his connections to Delos, so killing him off now would be a surprising move.
Either way, having Harris confirmed for season two is fantastic news.“To me, [Sara Amato] is the best American female professional wrestler I've ever seen. And I'm talking about ever — including people who’ve been on national television, who wrestled in any era,” Dave Prazak, a producer of Illinois-based all-women's league Shimmer Women Athletes, told WWE.com. “Sara is that good.”
This claim may come as a surprise — if not sound like complete hyperbole — to fans unfamiliar with the onetime Sara Del Rey. But those who have seen her trade forearms with Kharma in New York City or relentlessly headbutt Manami Toyota in the dojos of Japan know that the fierce “Death Rey” — who unabashedly prioritized striking ability over sex appeal — spent a decade pursuing perfection in her chosen craft of wrestling.
Now, Amato is helping shape the look and feel of NXT’s women’s division and, in turn, WWE’s Divas division, for years to come. It just so happens she’s making history doing it, as the first female coach at the WWE Performance Center.
Photos: Divas in training | "Death Rey" on the independent scene
For the self-described tomboy — a protégé of Daniel Bryan who has an affinity for “manipulating people with holds” and considers training her favorite aspect of the game — there couldn’t be a more perfect scenario. When she was approached with the idea of joining the training staff in mid-2012, Amato knew she had knowledge to impart, especially to young women entering an arena dominated by men.
“It’s just not the same for men and women to learn, and I thought I’d love to share what I learned along the way with anyone who’s listening,” she said. “It was a very natural fit. It felt like the ultimate dream.”
Amato was raised on Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, and she learned the ropes at the Hayward, Calif.-based All Pro Wrestling Boot Camp, the same program that produced former WWE Superstars Spike Dudley and Crash Holly. Several months into her training — around the time Amato says she was “just starting to put it together” — APW’s coaching staff changed, and a new head instructor arrived. Enter the man who would irreversibly alter her outlook on wrestling: “The American Dragon,” Daniel Bryan.
Bryan recognized Amato’s strong work ethic right off the bat. He recalled the day her class was learning to perform back body drops.
“The person who was giving them to her collapsed underneath her, and when she landed, she separated her shoulder,” Bryan said. “She rolled out of the ring, popped her shoulder back in and rolled into the ring.”
Another collapsed backdrop, another separated shoulder. Amato again rolled out of the ring, popped her shoulder back in place, and wanted to continue. Although Bryan admired her tenacity, he couldn’t let her go on. “At that point, we had to say stop,” he said.
Bryan soon took her under his wing, working with her in one-on-one sessions. Amato credited him with teaching her how to watch wrestling with an analytical eye. He also exposed her to different styles, sharing his VHS tape collection and introducing her to everything from Battlearts in Japan to European catch wrestling. Before long, Amato was competing not only on the U.S. independent circuit, but also in Japan, a nation where women’s wrestling once flourished on the backs of the aforementioned Toyota, Bull Nakano, and Amato’s all-time favorite, Aja Kong. She called Kong her “ultimate wrestling inspiration.”
“WWE had gorgeous women, but I never saw myself as that,” Amato said. “I knew they were beautiful women. I just couldn’t relate to them. But once I saw Aja, I thought, ‘Whoa. She’s not worried about what her hair looks like or what she’s wearing. She’s just in this.’”
WWE Network: Watch Aja Kong destroy the competition at Survivor Series 1995
The name Sara Del Rey grew in popularity abroad, as well as stateside in the mid-2000s, at a time when all-women’s organizations were just sprouting in the U.S. independent scene. When Shimmer Women Athletes opened its doors in 2005 with the stated mission of giving women’s wrestling a serious and competition-based platform, she instantly became their ace, appearing on the first 48 events without missing a show. Amato also grew into a locker room leader, somebody who less experienced talent would ask to critique their matches.
“Young wrestlers looked up to her as someone to aspire to be like because she proved that gender doesn’t have to hold one back from being a top-flight pro wrestler,” said Prazak. “She is a huge benefit to the future of Divas in WWE.”
Amato turned into a star personality for groups like Ring of Honor and Chikara Pro, too. She’d regularly steal shows with her rugged matches, some of which were against men. Cesaro witnessed Amato’s fighting spirit up-close when he teamed alongside her in the indies. The Real American extolled her technique.
“She doesn’t wrestle like a girl, she wrestles like a man, and I mean that in the best way possible,” he said. “She has a very physical ring style; she’s technically very gifted and is probably technically better than a lot of the guys I’ve been in the ring with.
“She also kicks harder than a mule,” he added.
Bryan takes pride in having witnessed Amato transform from a student into a locker room peer, and he finds it rewarding that fans compare her to men.
“They’d say, ‘Oh, she’s good for a girl.’ And Sara wasn’t good for a girl,” he said. “She was good.”
Amato’s polish can be owed, in part, to her willingness to travel the globe in search of diverse opponents and new techniques and styles. Bryan said she made sacrifices that many men wouldn’t make.
“She lived in Japan for nine months and slept on dojo floors. She went and lived in Mexico in some scary places to go live by yourself if you’re a woman,” he said. “She was going places that most guys wouldn’t to become a better wrestler.”
Stephanie McMahon talks about NXT's Divas | Watch Emma vs. Paige on WWE Network
With her wrestling-driven wanderlust and tireless work ethic — combined with inspirations like Bryan and Kong — Amato developed a style that was, in many ways, a stark departure from the once-ubiquitous lingerie matches of The Attitude Era. She’s a big fan of WWE’s current family-friendly direction because it allows women and men to be treated more comparably, with an eye toward competition in the ring.
Yet, Amato’s adamant she’s not at the Performance Center to churn out a bunch of Sara Del Rey clones. If anything, her goal is just the opposite. Remarking that she’s “blown away daily” by the level of talent working out in Orlando, Amato observed that each woman in NXT brings something unique to the table.
“Diversity is really entertaining to me, and I hope other people feel that, too,” she said. “All of these girls were signed for a special talent or a specific reason, and that’s awesome. Let’s go with that. If you want to be sexy, I’m not going to tell you not to be. The important thing is to give the best that you have to offer and to feel comfortable doing it. I think when you’re genuinely happy and good at what you’re doing, it’s going to show, and it’s going to make you a better performer.”
That emphasis on individuality isn’t lost on the women she works with, both at the Performance Center and on the road at Raw and SmackDown. Divas like Aksana and Summer Rae note the influence Amato has had on their growth, whether in regard to refining their in-ring mechanics, helping them break out of their shell or just giving women a voice in coaches’ meetings.
“She listens to you,” said Aksana, who has received tips from Amato. “She lets you be yourself, and she listens to what you’d love to do, and if she corrects you, you will be happy she did.”
The fact that she was chosen as the Performance Center’s first female trainer signifies the high level of trust the company has in Amato, Summer Rae explained. When Amato began training NXT Divas, her first order of business was to revisit the fundamentals. The ballroom brawler said “Death Rey” instilled in her an understanding that women can be both beautiful and strong fighters inside the ring.
“It’s great to have a woman in our corner,” Summer Rae said. “She can relate to us, and she empowers us. She tells us that we can do the same stuff as the guys and do it just as well. Sara’s been a really positive role model to all of us at the Performance Center. We’re really lucky to have her.”
Whether her current role as a coach will lead Amato to ring time in WWE’s Divas division remains to be seen. She recently looked for her ring gear but came up empty-handed. Misplaced singlets aside, Amato is more than content continuing what she’s doing now: training in the ring and sharing her passion for sports-entertainment with the next generation of Divas.
Cesaro already sees a difference in the way the women of NXT compete since Amato’s arrival, and he believes it won’t be long before the entire WWE Universe gets a better sense of what to expect from the Divas of tomorrow.
“The women’s division is going to be under an even closer microscope with WWE Network,” Cesaro said, calling attention to NXT’s newest platform. “The division is just going to get more and more competitive, and I think people will be surprised by how competitive it will get. It’s just going to be more enjoyable for the viewer and it’s going to be great wrestling, great entertainment, because of it.”
For now, Amato’s concentration is squarely on the WWE Performance Center, not attaining WWE Superstardom. Still, she’s quick to explain that she wouldn’t rule out a run in WWE.
“If the opportunity comes up, I definitely wouldn’t say no,” she conceded, before adding, fittingly, “After all, that’s why we train.”The hot celebrity online for today is Dakota Fanning. This is because of the movie Coraline. Take not its not Caroline movie but Coraline movie. Some searches are just wrong. And I could not leave the topic without correcting the same. Coraline movie showtime is today February 6, 2009. Actually, I did not know of this movie until now. So that I could not give you a Coraline movie review.
Other casts of the movie are Teri Hatcher, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Ian McShane. The Coraline 3d movie centers on the exploration of Coraline in the outside world. And how she realizes that what was once she thought a wonderful place became a dangerous one for her and her family.
Kudos to Dakota Fanning! I am fan. Below is the Coraline trailer.Review: Colin Stetson, 'All This I Do For Glory' Stream The Saxophonist's Forthcoming Album Before Its Release
Note: NPR's First Listen audio comes down after the album is released. However, you can still listen with the Spotify or Apple Music playlist at the bottom of the page.
toggle caption Courtesy of the artist
When it comes to Colin Stetson's music, joy is found in the improbable and seemingly impossible places. It's often been said that Stetson's signature sound — hallucinogenic rhythmic swells using just a saxophone, a pair of lungs and some well-placed microphones — is almost supernatural. It's made even more incredible by the fact that Stetson prefers single takes, with no looping or overdubbing. As he told Stereogum: "The addition of unnaturals is what I avoid."
Stetson's kept busy since his last solo release, 2013's New History Warfare, Vol. 3: To See More Light. Two years later, he released a stunning album with violinist Sarah Neufeld, Never Were the Way She Was, and he's been performing lately with his new metal group, Ex Eye (along with Greg Fox, Shahzad Ismaily and Toby Summerfield), which has an album coming later this year. But on All This I Do For Glory (out April 28), Stetson manages to sound bigger than ever, even while stripping back the more maximalist qualities of his previous releases, including the vocals. The restraint pays off, resulting in mesmerizing meditations such as "Like Wolves In The Fold." But if you catch your head bobbing (especially to the endlessly groovy title track), that's intentional. Electronic heavyweights such as Aphex Twin and Autechre were spiritual guardians for Stetson on Glory, and their forays into percussive experimentation are especially evident on the steady gallop of "The Lure of the Mine."
The Montréal-based musician demystified his process in two videos leading up to Glory. The fluttering "Spindrift" and "In the Clinches" are shot point-of-view, showing the saxophone's interior and exactly how his fingers dance across it. What makes Stetson extraordinary isn't just the circular breathing techniques he uses in "In the Clinches" (which sounds like the fear that accompanies the feeling of fight-or-flight). It's also his keen ear for extracting sound from spaces where one is usually told not to listen.
Stetson frequently leaves what might considered to be imperfections, such as the elongated gulps of air he takes in between mighty verses, in his recordings. This time around, he's experimenting more with a technique called venting, which he learned from Enya. (Yes, Enya.) As Stetson recently told The Quietus, Enya's album Shepherd Moons "made me think about how the air is manipulated in my own music." Specifically, he "started to pinpoint the breath sounds coming in and out of my nose by having microphones inches away from my face on either side just to pick that up. That allows me to purposefully do something that sax and clarinet players are taught not to do in school: venting. It's when you open the sides of your mouth very slightly and let the air pass outside to create a sound of airiness."
The discovery serves Stetson well on All This I Do For Glory, an album that bellows loudly and clearly that working within the limitations of what is physically possible for humans is hardly confining. With each new album, Stetson keeps rediscovering that the most remarkable innovations are found within the self.The Jets haven’t even opened their regular season, the circus is already in full effect.
Article continues below...
The biggest storyline for this year’s version of Gang Green centers around the men under center — the quarterbacks.
The Jets grabbed back-page supremacy this offseason by trading for Tim Tebow. It was a move that garnered plenty of fanfare, while also putting some pressure on incumbent quarterback Mark Sanchez.
If New York was indeed trying to get Sanchez’s attention, it seems to have worked.
Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes told the New York Post that Sanchez was "rattled" by the addition of the wildly popular (and often wildly inefficient) Tebow in the offseason.
"I think since Day 1 it was a focus that kind of rattled him a little," Holmes told the Post.
The Jets wideout also said that Sanchez’s initial reaction was something along the lines of "Wow, how did this happen?"
"Those were the words that came out of his mouth," Holmes told the paper.
Of course, it’s still Sanchez’s job to lose. Tebow will likely see some snaps from week to week out of specialty packages like the Wildcat, but he didn’t do anything to wrestle the job away from Sanchez in the preseason. Then again, Sanchez wasn’t much better, either. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 203 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in three preseason appearances.
Holmes, however, expressed confidence in his quarterback. The two shared a frayed relationship at the end of last season, but they have apparently made nice and are ready to move forward.
"He talked to me and I basically told him that this is his team," Holmes told the Post. "[I said] ‘Your’e the starting quarterback. Tebow’s here to help.’"
Jets head coach Rex Ryan is also stating his confidence in his starting quarterback.
"He shows it every day — in the classroom, in the weight room," Ryan told reporters, according to NFL.com. "He’s working as hard as anybody I’ve ever been around. He’s been really impressive that way. I see him stepping up, challenging his teammates. All those type of things. This is him and you saw it coming."
The Jets open their season against the Bills on Sunday.Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
The return of top-tier football in England on Sunday saw Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 to claim the Community Shield.
David Moyes' first trophy is in the bag. Formation, first XI and player tendencies were firmly analysed under the microscope, and fans are feeling relatively satisfied with the outcome.
But the victory on Wembley's hallowed turf only served to open a can of worms, as notable absent |
prevalence of Ralph Kramdens? Have men given in or given up? Are they finished with asserting the privileges that have always accrued to men. Or is the Ralph Kramden Barack Obama’s fault?
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Hipsters, by nature contrarian, according to Dan Peres, the editor of Details, may be reacting in opposition to a president who is not only, as the press relentlessly reminds us, So Darn Smart, but also hits the gym every morning, has a conspicuously flat belly and, when not rescuing the economy or sparring with Kim Jong-il, shoots hoops.
“If we had a slob in the White House, all the hipsters would turn into some walking Chippendales calendar,” Mr. Peres said. Instead, the streets of Williamsburg are crowded with men who are, as he noted, “proudly rocking a gut.” Mr. Peres’s magazine has a term for these people: the new “poor-geoisie.” But the people lining up for $13 lobster rolls at the Brooklyn Flea last weekend hardly looked as if they were worried about making the rent.
“I sort of think the six-pack abs obsession got so prissy it stopped being masculine,” is how Aaron Hicklin, the editor of Out, explains the emergence of the Ralph Kramden. What once seemed young and hot, for gay and straight men alike, now seems passé. Like manscaping, spray-on tans and other metrosexual affectations, having a belly one can bounce quarters off suggests that you may have too much time on your hands.
“It’s not cool to be seen spending so much time fussing around about your body,” Mr. Hicklin said.
And so guys can happily and guiltlessly go to seed.
Women have almost never gotten a pass on the need to maintain their bodies, while men always have, said Robert Morea, a personal fitness trainer. (Full disclosure: my own.) It would be too much, he added, to suggest that “potbellies are suddenly O.K.,” but as lean muscle and functionality become the new gym mantras, hypertrophied He-Men with grapefruit biceps and blister-pack abs have come to resemble specimens from a diorama of “A Vanished World.”
“When do you ever see that guy, anyway?” Mr. Morea asked, referring to those legendary Men’s Health cover models, with their rippling torsos and famished smiles. “The only time you really see that guy, he’s standing in front of an Abercrombie & Fitch store.” Perhaps, he suggested, there is really only one of them. “It’s the same guy. They just move him around.”(Reuters) - Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods had five different drugs in his system when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in May, according to an ESPN report on Monday.
ESPN, which cited a copy of the toxicology report, said Woods had Hydrocodone, the generic form of a painkiller branded as Vicodin; Hydromorphone, a painkiller known as Dilaudid; Alprazolam, a mood and sleep drug known as Xanax; Zolpidem, a sleep drug known as Ambien; and Delta-9 carboxy THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system.
It is not known if Woods had prescriptions for all of the medications. Medical marijuana is legal in Florida.
A request made by Reuters to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for a copy of the toxicology report was not returned.
Woods, who is second on the all-time list with 14 major titles, checked into a clinic in June for treatment to help deal with prescription drugs.
He said last month he had completed treatment.
“As I previously said, I received professional help to manage my medications,” Woods said in a statement.
“Recently, I had been trying on my own to treat my back pain and a sleep disorder, including insomnia, but I realize now it was a mistake to do this without medical assistance.
“I am continuing to work with my doctors, and they feel I’ve made significant progress. I remain grateful for the amazing support that I continue to receive and for the family and friends that are assisting me.”
Police found Woods stopped on the side of a Palm Beach-area road in his Mercedes-Benz at about 3 a.m. (0700 GMT) on May 29.
He had “extremely slow and slurred speech” after being awakened by a police officer but was cooperative and told officers he takes several prescriptions, including Xanax, according to a police report.
FILE PHOTO: Tiger Eldrick Woods appears in a booking photo released by Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., May 29, 2017. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Woods, who had been heading away from his home, could not remember where he was going and told police he was returning from Los Angeles.
A blood test showed he had the painkiller Vicodin and the antidepressant Xanax in his system but no alcohol. He was charged with driving under the influence and improperly stopping his vehicle.
In a statement after his arrest, Woods apologized to fans and blamed the incident on prescription medication he was taking to manage pain from a recent back surgery.Unknown
Something has gone horribly wrong.
Jim is dead. Bree hasn’t said a word since it was done. Kira dosed her an hour ago to make her sleep. It was Alex’s suggestion, he said some rest would bring her around.
Kate is trying to get something out of that damned logistical computer so we can figure out what year it is. Once we figure that out, we might find out what went wrong with Jim. It seems that he came out of hibernation early, before the Can was ready to eject the fluid. He drowned. The question is, how long ago did he drown? There was not much left of him in there. The decay was excessive. I’m not going to describe it, but there was blood on the Can’s door. He tried to claw his way out.
It gets worse, much worse. After we found Jim, Kate went to the bridge. The rest of us sat around Medical while Kira and Anne prodded Jim’s remains. When she came back, she ordered us all up to the observation deck. We didn’t know why, but I think we were too shocked to ask questions.
She opened the windows and there we were. Alpha Centauri. Two bright stars staring at us like beacons in the dark. There are planets too, but we can’t tell how many, we are still too far away. And then, as our rotation brought us around, we saw the Chinese ship.
It was right in front of us, slowly spinning end over end like a giant white bullet. We were so close that we could tell there were no lights on it. Kate said there were no energy readings from it at all. It was dead. At first, I assumed that the Icarus’s lasers had hulled it but Kate said it had no damage whatsoever.
So we’re waiting now, waiting to hear what year it is and waiting to hear what we’re going to do about the Chinese ship. I don’t feel any older, don’t look any older either. There’s a pain in my chest when I breathe too deep but other than that, no change.
What had happened while we were asleep and, more importantly, how long were we asleep? The Cans should have brought us out at the correct, subjective time, but what if it didn’t? What if the Time-Vortex did something? What if the extra-long burn shorted something out in our timetables?
We are time travelers without a sense of time and men and women stranded and fearful. One of us is dead and nine more that all want to know why and how. I thought of Sarah and all those words she wanted me to hear. Had I really not lived then?
And will I ever live to find out?
AdvertisementsA man has alleged that he engaged in an ongoing consensual sexual relationship with Kevin Spacey when he was 14 and the House of Cards star was a 24-year-old teacher in Westchester County, outside of New York. The alleged relationship, according to the man, ended in attempted rape.
The man, now a 48-year-old artist, spoke to Vulture. The outlet says it independently verified several details of the man’s claims and reached representatives for Spacey, who said the two-time Oscar-winner “absolutely denies the allegations.”
Speaking anonymously, the man said he was 12 when he first met Spacey while taking acting classes in Westchester County where Spacey taught. The two ran into each other two years later. Spacey allegedly gave the man his phone number and claimed Spacey said, “I want to see you, and I want you to come to my apartment.”
“I felt like I’d won the lottery. A little drunk with it and very delighted with the attention,” the man recalled thinking at the time. According to the man, his relationship with Spacey became sexual the next day: “I called him on the phone the next day, and he told me how he was in love with me and wanted to see me. We started a sexual relationship that first visit, which mostly involved me f*cking him.”
The man claimed that Spacey offered to help his acting career by introducing him to producers, but nothing ever came of it.
The man claims the relationship ended when he was 15, after Spacey attempted to rape him in his New York apartment: “He told me to come over, and I went to the apartment. And I thought we were going to kiss and tell each other we loved each other and I was going to go. But he wanted to have sex, and this time he wanted to f*ck me, which had never happened to me before.”
“[Spacey] pushes hard, and grabs me, and starts shoving up against my assh*le, and it hurts like a motherf*cker,” the man claimed. “I again tell him no, and he tries again. I am strong enough, thank God, both somewhere in my brain and in my body, to get him off of me.”
“I always have said, ‘He tried to rape me,'” the man told Vulture. “I told him I didn’t want that, he went again to do it, I told him no, he went again and pushed harder and grabbed me and pushed harder. I don’t know how I would see that as anything besides an attempted rape, which I was able to thwart.”
The man said he started to see Spacey as a “sexual predator” and a “pedophile” a decade after their alleged relationship.
I would call him a pedophile and a sexual predator. When I turned 25, I looked at every 14-year-old boy I could see, to try to understand what those men had seen, because I still on some level thought I had been a tiny adult. … Up until then, I just thought about him as somebody who had really done me wrong and tried to rape me, but not as somebody who had functioned as a predator. And then, if you’re interested in sexual predation, you start to read about it, and you realize all these patterns and techniques, and it all kind of falls within a set of practices.
The man said he was inspired to come forward with his story after Spacey came out as gay while apologizing to Anthony Rapp, who accused the Netflix star of making unwanted sexual advances at him when he was 14.
He is a pedophile. When you look at his statement, you realize also he’s profoundly narcissistic. He thinks this is about being caught that he’s gay. And then he is spinning it, right? “Oh, people like gays now. So I’ll throw them that. I’ll say I’m gay and I will betray my whole community and do something else that conflates pedophilia with male homosexuality.” That’s great. Thank you for that. And that was probably the thing that made me want to talk more than anything else. How repulsive that was.
Production on season six of Netflix’s House of Cards was suspended indefinitely following sexual harassment allegations against Spacey.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudsonThe new ads for Facebook Home are propaganda clips. Transforming vice into virtue, they’re social engineering spectacles that use aesthetic tricks to disguise the profound ethical issues at stake. This isn't an academic concern: Zuckerberg's vision (as portrayed by the ads) is being widely embraced – if the very recent milestone of half a million installations is anything to go by.
Critics have already commented on how the ads exploit our weakness for escapist fantasy so we can feel good about avoiding conversation and losing touch with our physical surroundings. And they’ve called out Zuckerberg’s hypocrisy: “Isn’t the whole point of Facebook supposed to be that it’s a place to keep up with, you know, family members? So much for all that high-minded talk about connecting people.”
>Think off-camera and outside the egocentric perspective framed by the ads.
However, the dismissive reviews miss an even deeper and more consequential point about the messages conveyed by the ads: that to be cool, worthy of admiration and emulation, we need to be egocentric. We need to care more about our own happiness than our responsibilities towards others.
Let’s examine the most egregious Facebook ad of them all: “Dinner” (in the video above). On the surface, it portrays an intergenerational family meal where a young woman escapes from the dreariness of her older relative’s boring cat talk by surreptitiously turning away from the feast and instead feasting her eyes on Facebook Home. With a digital nod to the analog “Calgon, Take Me Away” commercials, the young woman is automatically, frictionlessly transported to a better place: full of enchanting rock music, ballerinas, and snowball fights.
But let’s break Zuckerberg’s spell and shift our focus away from Selfish Girl. Think off-camera and outside the egocentric perspective framed by the ad. Reflect instead on the people surrounding her.
[#contributor: /contributors/593245c658b0d64bb35d09bd]|||Evan Selinger is a Fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology who focuses on the collisions between technology, ethics, and law. At Rochester Institute of Technology, Selinger is Associate Professor of Philosophy and is affiliated with the Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction & Creativity ([MAGIC](http://magic.rit.edu/)).|||
Ignored Aunt will soon question why she’s bothering to put in effort with her distant younger niece. Eventually, she’ll adapt to the Facebook Home-idealized situation and stop caring. In a scene that Facebook won't run, Selfish Girl will come to Ignored Aunt for something and be ignored herself: Selfishness is contagious, after all. Once it spreads to a future scene where everyone behaves like Selfish Girl, with their eyes glued to their own Home screens, the Facebook ads portend the death of family gatherings.
More specifically, they depict the end of connecting through effort. Because unlike the entertaining and lively Chatheads the ad recommend we put on our personalized network interfaces and Home screens, we don’t get to choose floating family members. It’s a dystopian situation when everyone matches our interests and we don’t feel obliged to try to connect with those folks: people with whom it’s initially difficult to find common ground.
So why doesn’t the “Dinner” ad depress us? Well that’s where the clever propaganda comes in – the ads give Selfish Girl special license: Everyone else behaves responsibly except for her. Moreover, her irresponsible behavior doesn’t affect what others do.
>Selfishness is contagious.
This same exceptionalism pervades “Airplane” (video below). Here, the Home-obsessed main character doesn’t turn off his phone when a stewardess instructs him to do so. This defiance may seem like harmless self-absorption, a stand against the seemingly ridiculous rules behind airplane technology that will surely resonate with Facebook’s target audience. But that’s only because the commercial limits the self-centeredness to one person. What if everyone on board behaved as Zuckerberg's ads instruct? No plane could depart on time.
In yet another example of clever propaganda – this time cloaked in self-effacing humor – “Launch Day” (also below) revolves around the same, problematic exceptionalism. It’s easy to be amused by Zuckerberg’s bearded employee, who focuses on his Home screen instead of his famous boss. But our positive response is shaped by the other workers who attentively carry the slack and don’t rat him out. Would the scene be so funny if organizations we cared about or invested in came to a grinding halt because nobody paid attention to their bosses and the work to be done?
So what, big deal, some argue about these ads. Unfortunately, the message of technological efficiency and frictionless sharing is increasingly being depicted as an appropriate social ethic beyond Silicon Valley. To stop the spread, we need to push back against its source, which isn’t the technology per se, but rather the depressing ethic its apostles and their commercials idealize.
>Exceptionalism: Everyone else behaves responsibly except for her/him.
This isn’t intended to be a “get off my lawn!” argument, though it is indeed old-fashioned to believe everyone deserves respect. Back in the 1700’s, German philosopher Immanuel Kantmade a big deal out of these ideals, asking what right we have to be self-absorbed while expecting others to rise above indifference.
My argument is that some convictions deserve to be innovation proof. In fact, these convictions are fully compatible with embracing social media, perhaps even making the most of its potential. Rejecting the ethic promoted in the Home ads doesn’t perpetuate the fallacy of digital dualism, the mistaken conviction that online and offline lives are largely distinct rather than interrelated experiences. Social media – including self-indulgent interfaces like Home – only gets in the way of us being genuinely responsive to and responsible for others if we let it undermine ethical effort in maintaining meaningful connections. It only diminishes our characters and true social networks if we treat Selfish Girl as a role model rather than a tragically misguided soul.
>“Get off my lawn!”... Get off my Home!
Because selfishness spreads like a contagious yawn, the real hypocrisy of the Home ads is that if everyone embraced Zuckerberg’s ideology, only one type of social connection would remain: fleeting entertainment buddies.
The very second we become boring, the moment we make communication anything more than a self-satisfying convenience, we’d be abandoned by fair-weather friends. No explanation necessary. No apologies given. No attempt to blunt the hurt feelings. Just an easy check of the unfriend box. Get off my Home!
Wired Opinion Editor: Sonal Chokshi @smc90If a business chooses to impose a surcharge on its customers for making a payment using a credit, debit or prepaid card, the level of the surcharge must not be excessive. The ACCC will investigate complaints of excessive payment surcharging and take enforcement action where necessary.
The ban
On 25 February 2016 the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 became law. It inserted a new part into the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) banning excessive payment surcharges and provided new powers for the ACCC.
The ban is found in the CCA, and operates in conjunction with a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) standard.
The purpose of the ban is to stop businesses from charging payment surcharges that are excessive. You are not prohibited from recovering your applicable costs of accepting payments. However, excessive surcharging of customers for use of a particular payment method is prohibited.
See: Q&A: Payment surcharges
Requirements for businesses
The ban applies to all businesses, regardless of their size.
You do not have to impose payment surcharges on accepted payment methods. If you do not impose any payment surcharges on your customers, the ban will have no impact on you.
However, if you choose to impose a payment surcharge on a payment type covered by the ban, the amount of the surcharge must not exceed your applicable costs of accepting that payment type.
Your acquirer (bank) or payment facilitator (if you use one) is required to provide you with statements that clearly set out your average costs of acceptance for each card scheme. This amount will be set out as a percentage.
You will be sent monthly statements and an annual statement. The statements will assist you to determine the level of surcharge you can pass on to your customers, should you decide to do so. If you have not received any statements you should contact your bank.
In most cases the permissible surcharges you can impose will be no greater than the amount you have been charged by your bank.
See: Payment surcharges – only charge what it costs you
Enforcing the ban
The ACCC is responsible for enforcing the ban. We will investigate complaints relating to excessive payment surcharges.
We can issue surcharge information notices, and these will require a business to provide us with evidence of their costs of processing a payment, in comparison to the surcharges they are applying, in order to determine whether or not their surcharges exceed the permitted level.
If the ACCC has reasonable grounds to believe that a business has breached the ban, we can issue an infringement notice or take court action against the business, seeking pecuniary penalties.
See: What are the penalties?
Remember, the ban does not alter your existing Australian Consumer Law obligations. You must not make false or misleading representations about the price of your goods or services, or engage in component or partial pricing, where the upfront advertised price only constitutes part of the total price of the goods or services.
See: Displaying prices
More information
Q&A: Payment surcharges
Payment surcharges – only charge what it costs you
Review of card payments regulation: conclusions - RBA media release
Payment Surcharges: Economics, Regulation and Enforcement - RBA article
Credit, debit and prepaid card surcharges - for consumersDear readers, friends, colleagues and supporters.
Thank you so much for an amazing 2013. Im back at work after a great X-mas with family and friends. My kids are at my grand-parents and the strong gravity of our new facility has pulled my in already.
Soon we will see the end of 2013 and Copenhagen Suborbitals intend to celebrate the year and our new facility with an housewarming for everyone who would like to come see the place, touch rocket engines, capsule and hear tales of the universe and development. So, please come visit us and bring familiy and friends - Dec 30, 13-16 @ our facility address.
We have been working this project for over five years and even for each year it is difficult to remember what happened. One way it to read the hundreds of blogs written - or you could take a look at my traditional annual review of the past year. This review shows the highlights of each months and are naturally not the full story but a visual summary. The 2012 review is found here.
Non of these activities were possible without the help, support and assistance from many people here in Denmark and around the globe.
A special thanks goes to Copenhagen Suborbitals Support, my dear colleagues, international and domestic private supporters, company sponsors and those who chose to recognize our work with awards. Thanks to the many readers of this blog - for your comments, constantly questioning our work and great Twitter debates with professionals in the space arena.
I have high hopes for 2014 - and feel happy about the progress of 2013.
Ad Astra
Kristian von BengtsonIn today’s popular imagination, New England Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller are known primarily as canonical literary figures, or in Thoreau’s case as a proto-hippie recluse who lived in the woods by Walden Pond and wrote a book about it. But these writers were engaged with some of the most pressing issues of their day, from abolition and anti-imperialism to civil disobedience.
It was Thoreau himself who coined the phrase “civil disobedience,” in an 1849 essay of the same name in which he argues for the morality of refusing to pay taxes to an unjust government. He spent a night in Concord’s jail for his refusal to pay the poll tax, which he felt was supporting slavery and the Mexican War, but was bailed out by a friend, and spent the next day leading a spirited “huckleberry party” through the woods around town, where “the State was nowhere to be seen.” [1]
Although less inclined to direct action than his younger colleague, Emerson was a strident critic of contemporary society, exposing the many contradictions and injustices on which it was built. In his lecture “The Transcendentalist,” first delivered in January 1842 at the Masonic Temple in Boston (see image above), Emerson sets out a strong dichotomy between contemporary material culture and idealist thought, praising solitude, independence, and “thoughts and principles not marketable or perishable.” [2]
In one passage particularly relevant to today’s financial crisis, Emerson chooses as his protagonist a banker building a mass of logic and buttoned-down reputation on a base of pure chaos:
“The sturdy capitalist, no matter how deep and square on blocks of Quincy granite he lays the foundations of his banking-house or Exchange, must set it, at last, not on a cube corresponding to the angles of his structure, but on a mass of unknown materials and solidity, red-hot or white-hot, perhaps at the core, which rounds off to an almost perfect sphericity, and lies floating in soft air, and goes spinning away, dragging bank and banker with it at a rate of thousands of miles the hour, he knows not whither, — a bit of bullet, now glimmering, now darkling through a small cubic space on the edge of an unimaginable pit of emptiness […] ask him why he believes that an uniform experience will continue uniform, or on what grounds he founds his faith in his figures, and he will perceive that his mental fabric is built up on just as strange and quaking foundations as his proud edifice of stone.” [3]
Americans of Emerson’s day were no strangers to crisis. In some ways, they were more prepared for the underlying uncertainty and risk behind financial markets than people today, accustomed to steadily rising stocks and home values, with minor blips along the way.
In fact, only five years before, the Panic of 1837 ended a period of speculation and inflation with a devastating reckoning, in which banks in New York City refused to honor paper currency, leading to widespread bank failure and record high unemployment. Part of the cause lay in President Andrew Jackson’s decision to withdraw government funds from the Second Bank of the United States (a precursor to the Federal Reserve), but the public primarily blamed the Panic on incoming President Martin Van Buren, who came into office on the cusp of the disaster and was unable to reverse it during his four years in office. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
[1] From Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” or, “Civil Disobedience:”http://sniggle.net/Experiment/index5.php?entry=rtcg#p33
[2] From Emerson’s “The Transcendentalist,” quoted at: http://www.emersoncentral.com/transcendentalist.htm
[3] Ibid.
Image Credit: Wikimedia CommonsI mentioned in an earlier post that I had spent some time working on shackles, an extensible constraint solver based on gecode with extensions for logic programming. I eventually gave up working on shackles in favor of using core.logic which is much more mature and has actual maintainers. Last week David Nolen (the author of core.logic) was visiting Hacker School so I decided to poke around inside core.logic and see what could be brought over from shackles. The first chunk of work adds fair conjunction, user-configurable search and a parallel solver.
First, a little background. From a high-level point of view, a constraint solver does three things:
specifies a search space in the form of a set of constraints
turns that search space into a search tree
searches the resulting tree for non-failed leaves
Currently core.logic (and cKanren before it) complects all three of these. My patch partly decomplects the latter from the first two, allowing different search algorithms to be specified independently of the problem specification.
Let’s look at how core.logic works. I’m going to gloss over a lot of implementation details in order to make the core ideas clearer.
The search tree in core.logic is representated as a lazy stream of the non-failed leaves of the tree. This stream can be:
nil - the empty stream
(Choice. head tail) - a cons cell
Disjunction of two goals produces a new goal which contains the search trees of the two goals as adjacent branches. In core.logic, this is implemented by combining their streams with mplus. A naive implementation might look like this:
( defn mplus [ stream1 stream2 ] ( cond ( nil? stream1 ) stream2 ( choice? stream1 ) ( Choice. (.head stream1 ) ( mplus (.tail stream1 ) stream2 ))))
This amounts to a depth-first search of the leaves of the tree. Unfortunately, search trees in core.logic can be infinitely deep so a depth-first search can get stuck. If the first branch has an infinite subtree we will never see results from the second branch.
;; simple non-terminating goal ( def forevero ( fresh [] forevero )) ( run* [ q ] ( conde [ forvero ] [( == q 1 )])) ;; with depth-first search blocks immediately, returning (...) ;; with breadth-first search blocks after the first result, returning (1...)
We can perform breadth-first search by adding a new stream type:
(fn [] stream) - a thunk representing a branch in the search tree
And then interleaving results from each branch:
( defn mplus [ stream1 stream2 ] ( cond... ( fn? stream1 ) ( fn [] ( mplus stream2 ( stream1 )))))
This is how core.logic implements fair disjunction (fair in the sense that all branches of conde will be explored equally). However, we still have a problem with fair conjunction. Conjunction is performed in core.logic by running the second goal starting at each of the leaves of the tree of the first goal. In terms of the stream representation, this looks like:
( defn bind [ stream goal ] ( cond ( nil? stream ) nil ;; failure ( choice? stream ) ( Choice. ( bind (.head stream ) goal ) ( bind (.tail stream ) goal )) ( fn? stream ) ( fn [] ( bind ( stream ) goal ))))
This gives rise to similar behaviour as the naive version of mplus :
( run* [ q ] ( all forevero (!= q q ))) ;; with unfair conjunction blocks immediately, returning (...) ;; with fair conjunction the second branch causes failure, returning ()
I suspect the reason that core.logic didn’t yet have fair conjunction is entirely due to this stream representation, which complects all three stages of constraint solving and hides the underlying search tree. Since shackles is based on gecode it has the advantage of a much clearer theoretical framework (I strongly recommend this paper, not just for the insight into gecode but as a shining example of how mathematical intuition can be used to guide software design).
The first step in introducing fair conjunction to core.logic is to explicitly represent the search tree. The types are similar:
nil - the empty tree
- the empty tree (Result. state) - a leaf
- a leaf (Choice. left right) - a branch
- a branch (Thunk. state goal) - a thunk containing the current state and a sub-goal
Defining mplus is now trivial since it is no longer responsible for interleaving results:
( defn mplus [ tree1 tree2 ] ( Choice. tree1 tree2 ))
And we now have two variants of bind:
( defn bind-unfair [ tree goal ] ( cond ( nil? goal ) nil ;; failure ( result? tree ) ( goal (.state tree )) ;; success, start the second tree here ( choice? tree ) ( Choice. ( bind-unfair (.left tree ) goal ) ( bind-unfair (.right tree ) goal )) ( thunk? tree ) ( Thunk. (.state tree ) ( bind-unfair ((.goal tree ) state ) goal )))) ( defn bind-fair [ tree goal ] ( cond ( nil? goal ) nil ;; failure ( result? tree ) ( goal (.state tree )) ;; success, start the second tree here ( choice? tree ) ( Choice. ( bind-fair (.left tree ) goal ) ( bind-fair (.right tree ) goal )) ( thunk? tree ) ( Thunk. (.state tree ) ( bind-fair ( goal state ) (.goal tree ))))) ;; interleave!
The crucial difference here is that bind-fair takes advantage of the continuation-like thunk to interleave both goals, allowing each to do one thunk’s worth of work before switching to the next.
(We keep bind-unfair around because it tends to be faster in practice - when you know what order your goals will be run in you can use domain knowledge to specify the most optimal order. However, making program evaluation dependent on goal ordering is less declarative and there are also some problems that cannot be specified without fair conjunction. It’s nice to have both.)
Now that we explicity represent the tree we can use different search algorithms. My patch defaults to lazy, breadth-first search (to maintain the previous semantics) but it also supplies a variety of others including a parallel depth-first search using fork-join.
I still need to write a few more tests and sign the clojure contributor agreement before this can be considered for merging. I also have a pesky performance regression in lazy searches - this branch sometimes does more work than the original when only finding the first solution. I’m not sure yet whether this is down to a lack of laziness somewhere or maybe just a result of a slightly different search order. Either way, it needs to be fixed.
After this change, core.logic still complects the specification of the search space and the generation of the search tree (eg we have to choose between bind-unfair and bind-fair in the problem specification). At some point I would like to either fix that in core.logic or finish work on shackles. For now though, I’m going back to working on droplet.The U.S. National Security Agency may have bugged German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone for more than 10 years, according to a news report Saturday by the German weekly Der Spiegel.
Der Spiegel also cited a source in Ms. Merkel's office saying U.S. President Barack Obama apologized to the German leader when she called him this past Wednesday to seek clarification on the issue.
A Merkel spokesman and the White House declined comment.
Germany plans to send its intelligence chiefs to Washington in the coming days to seek answers on the spying allegations.
Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that show sweeping U.S. surveillance on Internet searches and telephone records of ordinary citizens and world leaders have sparked outrage globally.
Germany is also working with Brazil on a draft United Nations General Assembly resolution to guarantee people's privacy in electronic communications. U.N. diplomats say it would call for extending the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to Internet activities, but would not mention the United States.
As many as 1,000 demonstrators rallied Saturday outside the U.S. Capitol against NSA spying, demanding an end to mass surveillance of individuals.
President Obama has ordered a review of U.S. surveillance programs after Snowden leaked the NSA secrets.
Former CIA deputy director Michael Morrell said in a television interview to be broadcast Sunday that Snowden's leaks are "the most serious compromise of classified information in the history of the U.S. intelligence community."
Morrell told CBS television's 60 Minutes the most damaging leaked document was the so-called Black Budget, detailing where the U.S. spends its money on intelligence efforts.
Morrell said Snowden has put Americans at greater risk "because terrorists learn from leaks and they will be more careful," and the country will not get the intelligence it would have gotten otherwise.
The Washington Post reported Friday U.S. officials are warning some foreign intelligence services that documents obtained by Snowden detail their secret cooperation with Washington.New Ciel No Surge Screenshots and Artwork Focus on Characters, Dialog and Menus
Chad Awkerman March 11, 2012 12:46:17 PM EST
If you like seeing game menus in Japanese, this new batch of Ciel No Surge screenshots will likely be right up your alley, as they predominantly feature those aspects of the game. There’s also some character artwork intermixed there, as well.
While this game looks like an RPG, especially coming from Gust themselves, however the better way to describe it is more of a “life simulator” for the PlayStation Vita. If you want to see it in action, you can check out the first gameplay footage of it that was shown off at Sony’s PS Vita Game Heaven event last week. Hit the break to check out the screens.A cyclist was struck by a vehicle and flung from his bike in a hit-and-run crash that left him lying by the side of the road south of Sydney with a broken back.
Brendan Braid, 58, was found by a number of cyclists several minutes after the crash on the Old Princes Highway at Helensburgh early on Sunday.
The remnants of Brendan Braid's bicycle after he was struck by a vehicle and flung from his bike on the Old Princes Highway at Helensburgh on Sunday. Credit:Southern Cross Cycle Club, Facebook
He was curled up beside his mangled bike with fragments of a car mirror scattered around him, and is believed to have been knocked unconscious.
Mr Braid, a member of the Southern Cross Cycle Club, was taken to St George Hospital.Cartoon Network has announced that the final seven episodes of Beware the Batman will air in a marathon during Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block on Saturday, September 28, beginning at 2:30 a.m. ET. (via World’s Finest).
The show is finally being written off by Cartoon Network. The decision seems to be a last minute one, as Adult Swim had announced that the series would be moving to a new timeslot less than a week ago. The marathon is described as “one last Bat-blowout” before the network relinquishes broadcasting rights to the series.
Beware the Batman was originally a part of Cartoon Network’s DC Nation programming block. Like the other shows DC Nation animated shows, which included Young |
s)} 46. b8=Q+ {(5s)} Kg7 {(43s)} 47. Qe5+ {(5s)} Kg8 {(5s)} 48. Qb8+ {(4s)} Kg7 {(5s)} 49. Qe5+ {(3s)} Kg8 {(4s)} 50. Qb8+ {(3s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2730"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. Nf3 {(0s)} c5 {(0s)} 2. g3 {(125s)} Nc6 {(0s)} 3. Bg2 {(12s)} g6 {(2s)} 4. d4 {(287s)} cxd4 {(11s)} 5. Nxd4 {(3s)} Bg7 {(13s)} 6. Nb3 {(5s)} d6 {(32s)} 7. O-O {(128s)} h5 {(194s)} 8. h3 {(91s)} Be6 {( 288s)} 9. e4 {(92s)} Qd7 {(8s)} 10. Kh2 {(10s)} f5 {(409s)} 11. exf5 {(618s)} gxf5 {(10s)} 12. N1d2 {(874s)} h4 {(50s)} 13. gxh4 {(16s)} Nf6 {(460s)} 14. Nf3 {(406s)} Ne4 {(530s)} 15. Bg5 {(877s)} Bc4 {(263s)} 16. Re1 {(210s)} Bxb2 {(210s)} 17. Nbd2 {(791s)} Nc3 {(691s)} 18. Nxc4 {(10s)} Nxd1 {(10s)} 19. Raxd1 {(5s)} Bg7 {(12s)} 20. Nxd6+ {(325s)} Kf8 {(9s)} 21. Nb5 {(204s)} Qc8 {(31s)} 22. Bf4 {( 283s)} Bf6 {(492s)} 23. Nc7 {(145s)} e5 {(87s)} 24. Nxe5 {(292s)} Bxe5 {(333s)} 25. Rxe5 {(59s)} Nxe5 {(10s)} 26. Bxe5 {(4s)} Rh7 {(189s)} 27. Nxa8 {(280s)} Qxa8 {(14s)} 28. c4 {(294s)} Qc8 {(257 s)} 29. Bd6+ {(118s)} Kf7 {(128s)} 30. Bd5+ {(16s)} Kf6 {(23s)} 31. Re1 {(4s)} Qd7 {(207s)} 32. Be5+ {(144s)} Ke7 {(13s)} 33. Bf4+ {(61s)} Kd8 {(60s)} 34. Bg5+ {(79s)} Kc7 {(11s)} 35. Bf4+ {(11s)} Kd8 {(35s)} 36. Bg5+ {(34s)} Kc7 {(10s)} 37. Bf4+ {(38s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D92"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {(0s)} Nf6 {(0s)} 2. c4 {(0s)} g6 {(0s)} 3. Nc3 {(36s)} d5 {(0s)} 4. Nf3 {(29s)} Bg7 {(0s)} 5. Bf4 {(6s)} O-O {(72s)} 6. Rc1 {(48s)} dxc4 {(86s)} 7. e4 {(138s)} c5 {(474s)} 8. dxc5 {(23s)} Qa5 {( 85s)} 9. Nd2 {(8s)} Be6 {(165s)} 10. Bxc4 {(25s)} Bxc4 {(43s)} 11. Nxc4 {(5s)} Qxc5 {(5s)} 12. b3 {( 76s)} Nc6 {(351s)} 13. Be3 {(491s)} Qh5 {(16s)} 14. Qxh5 {(73s)} Nxh5 {(59s)} 15. g4 {(8s)} Nf6 {( 146s)} 16. f3 {(13s)} Rfd8 {(170s)} 17. Ke2 {(276s)} Nd4+ {(414s)} 18. Kf2 {(51s)} Nc6 {(6s)} 19. a4 {(1275s)} Kf8 {(324s)} 20. h4 {(604s)} Rd3 {(201s)} 21. e5 {(218s)} Nd5 {(94s)} 22. Nxd5 {(5s)} Rxd5 {(3s)} 23. f4 {(6s)} Rad8 {(96s)} 24. Ke2 {(675s)} Ke8 {(536s)} 25. Rhe1 {(981s)} f6 {(254s)} 26. exf6 {(225s)} exf6 {(115s)} 27. Red1 {(15s)} Rxd1 {(67s)} 28. Rxd1 {(4s)} Rxd1 {(4s)} 29. Kxd1 {(6s)} Kd7 {(3s)} 30. f5 {(119s)} gxf5 {(67s)} 31. gxf5 {(4s)} b6 {(4s)} 32. Bf2 {(281s)} Ne7 {( 175s)} 33. a5 {(270s)} b5 {(1041s)} 34. Nd2 {(70s)} a6 {(54s)} 35. Ne4 {(10s)} Nxf5 {(5s)} 36. Nc5+ {(89s)} Kc6 {(5s)} 37. Nxa6 {(12s)} Bf8 {(4s)} 38. h5 {(455s)} Bd6 {(238s)} 39. b4 {(136s)} Ng7 {(5s)} 40. Bc5 {(0s)} Ne6 {(0s)} 41. Be3 {(1157s)} Kb7 {(842s)} 42. Nc5+ {(74s)} Bxc5 {(7s)} 43. bxc5 {(6 s)} Ka6 {(2s)} 44. Bd2 {(782s)} Nxc5 {(16s)} 45. Ke2 {(4s)} Ne6 {(229s)} 46. Kf3 {(15s)} f5 {(74s)} 47. Be1 {(235s)} Kb7 {(7s)} 48. Bd2 {(8s)} Kc7 {(9s)} 49. Kg3 {(244s)} Kd6 {(83s)} 50. Bb4+ {(253s)} Kd7 {(31s)} 51. Kh4 {(595s)} Nc7 {(345s)} 52. Kg5 {(6s)} Ke6 {(4s)} 53. Bc3 {(10s)} Na6 {(12s)} 54. h6 {(15s)} b4 {(14s)} 55. Ba1 {(135s)} b3 {(11s)} 56. Bb2 {(30s)} Nb4 {(135s)} 57. Ba1 {(110s)} Na6 {(80s)} 58. Bb2 {(11s)} Nc5 {(11s)} 59. Ba1 {(9s)} Ne4+ {(347s)} 60. Kf4 {(0s)} Nc5 {(0 Ke4 Ke5+s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2769"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. e4 {(0s)} e5 {(0s)} 2. Nf3 {(0s)} Nc6 {(0s)} 3. Bb5 {(0s)} Nf6 {(0s)} 4. O-O {(6s)} Nxe4 {(0s)} 5. Re1 {(6s)} Nd6 {(10s)} 6. Nxe5 {(7s)} Be7 {(7s)} 7. Bf1 {(7s)} Nxe5 {(145s)} 8. Rxe5 {(7s)} O-O {(4s)} 9. Nc3 {(20s)} Ne8 {(124s)} 10. Nd5 {(20s)} Bd6 {(4s)} 11. Re1 {(31s)} c6 {(45s)} 12. Ne3 {(9s)} Be7 {(19s)} 13. c4 {(23s)} Nc7 {(53s)} 14. d4 {(54s)} d6 {(85s)} 15. g3 {(592s)} Bf6 {(141s)} 16. Bg2 {( 215s)} g6 {(271s)} 17. Qd3 {(785s)} d5 {(828s)} 18. cxd5 {(101s)} cxd5 {(10s)} 19. b3 {(1886s)} Be6 {(163s)} 20. Bb2 {(68s)} Qd7 {(53s)} 21. Rac1 {(109s)} Rac8 {(245s)} 22. f4 {(176s)} Bg7 {(1516s)} 23. Rc2 {(433s)} Na6 {(417s)} 24. Rf2 {(246s)} Nb4 {(553s)} 25. Qd1 {(434s)} Nc6 {(252s)} 26. f5 {(332s)} gxf5 {(12s)} 27. Ref1 {(39s)} Ne7 {(29s)} 28. Ba3 {(69s)} Bh6 {(271s)} 29. Qd3 {(150s)} Rfe8 {(426s)} 30. Bxe7 {(415s)} Qxe7 {(107s)} 31. Nxf5 {(54s)} Bxf5 {(7s)} 32. Rxf5 {(5s)} Qe2 {( 172s)} 33. Qf3 {(212s)} Qxf3 {(377s)} 34. Bxf3 {(6s)} Re7 {(9s)} 35. Kg2 {(286s)} Be3 {(261s)} 36. Bxd5 {(230s)} Rcc7 {(8s)} 37. Rd1 {(22s)} Rc1 {(367s)} 38. Rxc1 {(53s)} Bxc1 {(2s)} 39. Bc4 {(29s)} Rd7 {(15s)} 40. d5 {(0s)} Ba3 {(0s)} 41. g4 {(632s)} Kg7 {(179s)} 42. Rg5+ {(145s)} Kh8 {(50s)} 43. Rh5 {(583s)} Kg7 {(159s)} 44. Bd3 {(70s)} h6 {(8s)} 45. g5 {(222s)} hxg5 {(115s)} 46. Rxg5+ {(4s)} Kh6 {(6s)} 47. Rf5 {(10s)} Kg7 {(150s)} 48. Kf3 {(18s)} Rd6 {(209s)} 49. Rg5+ {(42s)} Kh6 {(63s)} 50. Kg4 {(19s)} Bc1 {(19s)} 51. Re5 {(116s)} Bb2 {(210s)} 52. Rh5+ {(66s)} Kg7 {(2s)} 53. Rg5+ {(5 s)} Kf8 {(113s)} 54. Rh5 {(105s)} Kg7 {(26s)} 55. Kf4 {(9s)} Rf6+ {(91s)} 56. Ke3 {(20s)} Ba3 {(33s)} 57. h4 {(377s)} Bc5+ {(209s)} 58. Ke4 {(18s)} Rf2 {(14s)} 59. Ke5 {(286s)} Rd2 {(524s)} 60. Rg5+ {(0s)} Kf8 {(0s)} 61. Rg3 {(346s)} Rh2 {(321s)} 62. Rg4 {(473s)} Ke7 {(45s)} 63. a4 {(27s)} Rh3 {(183 s)} 64. Bc2 {(29s)} Bd6+ {(262s)} 65. Kf5 {(91s)} Rf3+ {(14s)} 66. Kg5 {(8s)} Be5 {(228s)} 67. Rb4 {(210s)} b6 {(35s)} 68. h5 {(52s)} Rh3 {(122s)} 69. Rc4 {(390s)} Bf6+ {(126s)} 70. Kh6 {(8s)} Be5 {(9 s)} 71. Kg5 {(118s)} Bf6+ {(3s)} 72. Kh6 {(5s)} Be5 {(5s)} 73. Kg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {(0s)} d5 {(0s)} 2. c4 {(0s)} e6 {(0s)} 3. Nf3 {(37s)} Nf6 {(0s)} 4. g3 {(7s)} Bb4+ {(0s)} 5. Bd2 {(8s)} Be7 {(3s)} 6. Bg2 {(49s)} O-O {(7s)} 7. O-O {(13s)} c6 {(23s)} 8. Bf4 {(136s)} Nbd7 {(40s)} 9. Nc3 {(172s)} dxc4 {(6s)} 10. e4 {(130s)} Re8 {(233s)} 11. a4 {(214s)} b6 {(92s)} 12. Qe2 {(286s)} Ba6 {(663s)} 13. Rfd1 {(201s)} Bb4 {(1359s)} 14. Ne1 {(638s)} Qc8 {(734s)} 15. Nc2 {(546s)} Bf8 {( 8s)} 16. Ne3 {(1144s)} e5 {(279s)} 17. dxe5 {(277s)} Nxe5 {(6s)} 18. Bxe5 {(74s)} Rxe5 {(5s)} 19. f4 {(5s)} Re8 {(289s)} 20. e5 {(77s)} Qe6 {(285s)} 21. Kh1 {(1554s)} Nd7 {(30s)} 22. Nc2 {(472s)} Nc5 {(130s)} 23. Nd4 {(36s)} Qc8 {(87s)} 24. Bxc6 {(92s)} Nd3 {(321s)} 25. Qf3 {(36s)} Rb8 {(28s)} 26. Rd2 {(329s)} Bb7 {(1340s)} 27. Rf1 {(162s)} Rd8 {(76s)} 28. Bxb7 {(8s)} Rxb7 {(3s)} 29. Nf5 {( 59s)} Rc7 {(187s)} 30. Ne3 {(33s)} Qe6 {(13s)} 31. Ne4 {(52s)} h6 {(171s)} 32. Rc2 {(44s)} Rcc8 {( 204s)} 33. Re2 {(19s)} a6 {(50s)} 34. g4 {(21s)} Nc5 {(52s)} 35. Nc3 {(37s)} Rd3 {(12s)} 36. Qg2 {( 19s)} Rcd8 {(46s)} 37. f5 {(66s)} Qxe5 {(14s)} 38. Nxc4 {(6s)} Qf6 {(92s)} 39. Ne5 {(33s)} R3d6 {(3s)} 40. Nf3 {(0s)} b5 {(0s)} 41. axb5 {(1104s)} axb5 {(248s)} 42. Nxb5 {(289s)} Rd1 {(203s)} 43. Nc3 {(79s)} Rxf1+ {(46s)} 44. Qxf1 {(2s)} Qc6 {(19s)} 45. Re3 {(558s)} Rb8 {(185s)} 46. Qg2 {(248s)} Qa6 {(215s)} 47. Ne4 {(304s)} Nxe4 {(459s)} 48. Rxe4 {(10s)} Rb3 {(4s)} 49. Re1 {(315s)} Qb5 {(73s)} 50. Nd4 {(358s)} Qb4 {(4s)} 51. Qe4 {(35s)} Rxb2 {(2s)} 52. f6 {(113s)} Qd6 {(209s)} 53. Qe5 {(23s)} Rb1 {(94s)} 0-1 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. e4 {(0s)} c5 {(0s)} 2. Nf3 {(0s)} Nc6 {(0s)} 3. Bb5 {(0s)} g6 {(0s)} 4. Bxc6 {(27s)} bxc6 {(0s)} 5. O-O {(19s)} Bg7 {(0s)} 6. Re1 {(62s)} Nh6 {(0s)} 7. c3 {(102s)} O-O {(0s)} 8. h3 {(16s)} f5 {(7s)} 9. e5 {(260s)} Nf7 {(20s)} 10. d3 {(135s)} Ba6 {(72s)} 11. c4 {(460s)} d6 {(28s)} 12. e6 {(334s)} Ne5 {( 16s)} 13. Nc3 {(273s)} Rb8 {(945s)} 14. Nxe5 {(406s)} Bxe5 {(11s)} 15. Na4 {(57s)} Qc7 {(524s)} 16. Bh6 {(554s)} Rf6 {(184s)} 17. Rxe5 {(436s)} dxe5 {(8s)} 18. Nxc5 {(76s)} Bc8 {(1038s)} 19. d4 {( 119s)} g5 {(894s)} 20. Bxg5 {(1027s)} Rg6 {(14s)} 21. Qh5 {(198s)} Qd6 {(364s)} 22. Re1 {(688s)} Qxd4 {(1153s)} 23. Be3 {(491s)} Qxc4 {(60s)} 24. b3 {(216s)} Qb4 {(386s)} 25. Rd1 {(96s)} Bxe6 {( 15s)} 26. Nxe6 {(28s)} Rxe6 {(11s)} 27. Qxf5 {(8s)} Rd6 {(16s)} 28. Rc1 {(130s)} Qa5 {(294s)} 29. Rc4 {(162s)} Rg6 {(75s)} 30. Rg4 {(93s)} Rxg4 {(116s)} 31. Qxg4+ {(5s)} Kh8 {(18s)} 32. Qe6 {(194s)} Re8 {(428s)} 33. Qxc6 {(59s)} Rd8 {(58s)} 34. a4 {(64s)} Qd5 {(66s)} 35. Qxd5 {(30s)} Rxd5 {(2s)} 36. Bxa7 {(4s)} Rd1+ {(15s)} 37. Kh2 {(4s)} Rb1 {(1s)} 38. Bc5 {(46s)} Rxb3 {(10s)} 39. Bxe7 {(4s)} Rb2 {(176s)} 40. Bf6+ {(0s)} Kg8 {(0s)} 41. Bxe5 {(318s)} Rxf2 {(36s)} 42. a5 {(137s)} 1/2-1/2
Standings Masters
In spite of losing to Eltaj Safarli, one cannot fault Jorden van Foreest's will to win as he has
only played two draws in eleven games.
Mind you, his passion for the game has caught on to his little sister 8-year-old Machteld
van Foreest who is also playing in one of the Amateur tournaments. Instead of having a
large open, they are holding a very large number of round-robin events.
Machteld is in one of them and has scored 4.0/7 thus far
in spite of a field that is roughly 150-200 Elo above her
Samuel Sevian is playing at around his rating, which he cannot be happy with
Tournament leader Baskaran Adhiban (right) got into big trouble in his game against Nisipeanu,
but eventually saved the ending with king plus rook against king with rook and knight
Alexey Dreev won again and is now tied with Adhiban for first. The last two rounds will be tense!
Ju Wenjun in good spirits against Benjamin Bok
Anne Haast has had a tough event, but scored a couple of excellent wins
Replay round eleven Challengers games (with times per moves)
[Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Black "Baskaran, Adhiban"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2679"] [BlackElo "2653"] [PlyCount "221"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. e4 {(0s)} c5 {(0s)} 2. Nf3 {(0s)} d6 {(0s)} 3. c3 {(0s)} Nf6 {(4s)} 4. Be2 {(0s)} Bg4 {(51s)} 5. O-O {(30s)} e6 {(22s)} 6. h3 {(62s)} Bh5 {(3s)} 7. d4 {(7s)} Nxe4 {(578s)} 8. d5 {(7s)} Nd7 {(3s)} 9. dxe6 {(6s)} fxe6 {(12s)} 10. Nfd2 {(4s)} Bxe2 {(130s)} 11. Qxe2 {(6s)} Nxd2 {(6s)} 12. Nxd2 {(173s)} Qf6 {(345s)} 13. Ne4 {(368s)} Qg6 {(6s)} 14. Rd1 {(730s)} d5 {(484s)} 15. Ng5 {(82s)} O-O-O {(63s)} 16. Qxe6 {(31s)} Qxe6 {(48s)} 17. Nxe6 {(5s)} Re8 {(3s)} 18. Nf4 {(176s)} Nb6 {(557s)} 19. a4 {(151s)} a5 {(245s)} 20. Be3 {(161s)} Re5 {(775s)} 21. Nd3 {(200s)} Re4 {(87s)} 22. Bxc5 {(16s)} Bxc5 {(19s)} 23. Nxc5 {(4s)} Rc4 {(19s)} 24. Ne6 {(487s)} g6 {(28s)} 25. Nd4 {(1078s)} Rxa4 {(559s)} 26. Rxa4 {(338s)} Nxa4 {(2s)} 27. Ra1 {(5s)} Nxb2 {(23s)} 28. Rxa5 {(4s)} Re8 {(404s)} 29. Rc5+ {(102s)} Kb8 {(25s)} 30. Rxd5 {(5s)} Kc7 {(103s)} 31. Rc5+ {(485s)} Kb8 {(66s)} 32. Rd5 {(246s)} Kc7 {(30s)} 33. g4 {(357s)} Na4 {(276s)} 34. Ra5 {(133s)} Nb6 {(17s)} 35. Kg2 {(16s)} Re4 {(566s)} 36. f3 {(366s)} Re1 {(1s)} 37. h4 {(25s)} Rd1 {(240s)} 38. h5 {(503s)} Kd6 {(69s)} 39. hxg6 {(267s)} hxg6 {(1s)} 40. Rg5 {(0s)} Nd5 {(0s)} 41. Rxg6+ {(238s)} Kc5 {(22s)} 42. Rg8 {(1212s)} Nxc3 {(61s)} 43. Ne6+ {(9s)} Kd6 {(654s)} 44. Nf4 {(6s)} Ke5 {(45s)} 45. Rc8 {(583s)} b5 {(522s)} 46. Rxc3 {(476s)} Kxf4 {(18s)} 47. Rb3 {(118s)} Rd2+ {(2185s)} 48. Kh3 {(8s)} Rd5 {(7s)} 49. Kh4 {(8s)} Rc5 {(105s)} 50. g5 {(278 s)} Rd5 {(486s)} 51. Rb4+ {(92s)} Kf5 {(2s)} 52. Kh5 {(103s)} Rc5 {(7s)} 53. g6 {(78s)} Kf6+ {(1s)} 54. Kh6 {(7s)} Rf5 {(37s)} 55. f4 {(552s)} Rd5 {(17s)} 56. Rb1 {(44s)} Rd8 {(132s)} 57. g7 {(83s)} Rd3 {(170s)} 58. g8=N+ {(25s)} Kf5 {(1s)} 59. Rb4 {(12s)} Re3 {(10s)} 60. Rd4 {(0s)} Re4 {(0s)} 61. Rd5+ {(497s)} Kxf4 {(189s)} 62. Rxb5 {(2s)} Re6+ {(56s)} 63. Kg7 {(5s)} Ra6 {(39s)} 64. Nf6 {(7s)} Ra1 {(12s)} 65. Kf7 {(83s)} Ra3 {(48s)} 66. Nd5+ {(58s)} Ke5 {(31s)} 67. Nb4+ {(4s)} Ke4 {(90s)} 68. Ke6 {(6s)} Rh3 {(41s)} 69. Nd5 {(26s)} Kd4 {(44s)} 70. Rb4+ {(17s)} Kc5 {(5s)} 71. Re4 {(4s)} Rh1 {( 115s)} 72. Nf6 {(25s)} Rh6 {(59s)} 73. Rg4 {(30s)} Rh1 {(51s)} 74. Nd7+ {(5s)} Kb5 {(21s)} 75. Ne5 {(34s)} Rd1 {(6s)} 76. Rg8 {(24s)} Kc5 {(39s)} 77. Rc8+ {(6s)} Kb4 {(18s)} 78. Rc7 {(102s)} Kb3 {(25s)} 79. Kf5 {(30s)} Rd4 {(33s)} 80. Nf3 {(4s)} Rd1 {(99s)} 81. Ke4 {(15s)} Kb4 {(33s)} 82. Rc8 {(103s)} Rh1 {(49s)} 83. Kd4 {(12s)} Rd1+ {(8s)} 84. Ke4 {(3s)} Rh1 {(6s)} 85. Kd5 {(2s)} Rh5+ {(117s)} 86. Kd4 {(14s)} Kb5 {(15s)} 87. Ne5 {(12s)} Rh4+ {(7s)} 88. Kd5 {(5s)} Kb4 {(8s)} 89. Nd3+ {(33s)} Kb3 {( 31s)} 90. Nc5+ {(9s)} Kb2 {(52s)} 91. Ne4 {(37s)} Rh1 {(38s)} 92. Kd4 {(16s)} Rd1+ {(34s)} 93. Ke3 {(4s)} Kb3 {(31s)} 94. Nc5+ {(71s)} Kb4 {(17s)} 95. Nd3+ {(4s)} Kb5 {(13s)} 96. Rc5+ {(51s)} Kb6 {(5s)} 97. Rc3 {(2s)} Kb5 {(58s)} 98. Kd4 {(8s)} Rh1 {(15s)} 99. Kd5 {(8s)} Rh5+ {(15s)} 100. Ne5 {(4s)} Kb4 {(19s)} 101. Rf3 {(95s)} Rg5 {(43s)} 102. Kd4 {(15s)} Rh5 {(17s)} 103. Rf4 {(37s)} Kb5 {(126s)} 104. Kd5 {(45s)} Rg5 {(32s)} 105. Rf8 {(74s)} Kb4 {(28s)} 106. Kd4 {(6s)} Kb3 {(20s)} 107. Rb8+ {( 41s)} Kc2 {(23s)} 108. Rc8+ {(4s)} Kb3 {(41s)} 109. Rc3+ {(13s)} Kb4 {(18s)} 110. Rc5 {(5s)} Rg8 {( 56s)} 111. Nd3+ {(14s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2016.01.29"] [Round "11"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Dreev, Alexey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2578"] [BlackElo "2644"] [PlyCount "144"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. e4 {(0s)} c6 {(0s)} 2. d4 {(0s)} d5 {(0s)} 3. e5 {(3s)} Bf5 {(0s)} 4. h4 {(21s)} h6 {(239s)} 5. g4 {( 36s)} Bd7 {(9s)} 6. Be3 {(17s)} c5 {(538s)} 7. dxc5 {(69s)} Qc7 {(173s)} 8. Nc3 {(76s)} e6 {(77s)} 9. Nb5 {(4s)} Bxb5 {(110s)} 10. Bxb5+ {(12s)} Nc6 {(6s)} 11. c3 {(3s)} Qxe5 {(824s)} 12. Qa4 {(116s)} Qc7 {(415s)} 13. Nf3 {(85s)} a6 {(186s)} 14. Ne5 {(779s)} Nge7 {(160s)} 15. Bf4 {(104s)} Qc8 {(151 s)} 16. Bd3 {(12s)} g6 {(358s)} 17. h5 {(1892s)} g5 {(110s)} 18. Nxc6 {(733s)} Nxc6 {(154s)} 19. Be5 {(99s)} Rg8 {(12s)} 20. Bh7 {(86s)} Qd7 {(315s)} 21. Bd4 {(787s)} Nxd4 {(195s)} 22. Qxd7+ {( 161s)} Kxd7 {(34s)} 23. cxd4 {(49s)} Rh8 {(30s)} 24. Bc2 {(4s)} Bg7 {(111s)} 25. O-O-O {(36s)} b6 {( 117s)} 26. b4 {(68s)} Rhb8 {(308s)} 27. a3 {(121s)} Ke7 {(528s)} 28. Ba4 {(144s)} Rc8 {(180s)} 29. Kc2 {(351s)} a5 {(65s)} 30. Kb3 {(95s)} Rab8 {(81s)} 31. cxb6 {(367s)} axb4 {(184s)} 32. axb4 {(10 s)} Rxb6 {(617s)} 33. Rc1 {(10s)} Rcb8 {(60s)} 34. Rc7+ {(77s)} Kf8 {(10s)} 35. b5 {(61s)} Bxd4 {(10 s)} 36. Rhc1 {(55s)} R6b7 {(337s)} 37. f3 {(136s)} Rxc7 {(38s)} 38. Rxc7 {(7s)} Bb6 {(8s)} 39. Rc6 {(31s)} Ke7 {(88s)} 40. Kc2 {(0s)} Kf6 {(0s)} 41. Kd3 {(109s)} Ke5 {(134s)} 42. Bc2 {(113s)} Ba5 {( 512s)} 43. Ra6 {(90s)} Bb6 {(218s)} 44. Ke2 {(51s)} f5 {(696s)} 45. gxf5 {(148s)} exf5 {(67s)} 46. Ra4 {(26s)} Rc8 {(499s)} 47. Ra6 {(262s)} Rb8 {(392s)} 48. Ra4 {(16s)} Re8 {(21s)} 49. Kf1 {(71s)} Rc8 {(191s)} 50. |
later in life — seek out physicians who have just as much information and insight as they do, sometimes without success.
For Douglas Deatrick, a 48-year-old who has been living with Type 1 diabetes since age 9, a good endocrinologist can be hard to find, but a good primary-care doctor or internist is even harder. According to Deatrick, “There has not been one [family doctor] who is willing to just take care of the regular stuff, and they all think they can manage my diabetes for me. My first question is ‘What is Symlin?’ When they don’t know it, I just leave.”
Some adults with Type 1 diabetes deal with this by using a primary-care doctor mainly to get referrals to an endocrinologist or by seeking out an endocrinologist on their own for their diabetes care. However, an individual’s ability to do this may be limited by a scarcity of endocrinologists in his area, a health insurance plan that limits visits to specialists, or an inability to pay out of pocket for visits not covered by health insurance.
Another possible route to getting good diabetes care is to seek out the services of a certified diabetes educator (CDE) to supplement a physician’s care. CDEs are credentialed health-care professionals who have acquired special knowledge of diabetes and its care. Many health insurance plans cover a certain number of hours of diabetes self-management training per year, and paying out of pocket for additional hours with a CDE may be more affordable than paying to see an endocrinologist.
Many adults also take charge of their own diabetes care by reading authoritative books, magazines, or information posted on the Internet, by talking with other adults with Type 1 diabetes or participating in online forums, or by attending events or lectures that offer information and education about diabetes. Thus empowered, these adults are able to proactively raise concerns related to their diabetes control with their doctors.
Social challenges
Many people know nothing about diabetes until they or a close friend or relative are diagnosed. But as more people develop diabetes, and with more media coverage of it, more and more people have at least heard of diabetes. The trouble is, what people hear from their friends or relatives or through the media is not always accurate, and it often does not distinguish between types of diabetes. What people may “know” about diabetes, therefore, may be wrong or may not apply to all types of diabetes.
“For me, the trouble comes from people assuming that with the right diet and a little exercise, I can stop taking insulin like someone they know did,” says George Simmons, 44, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 17. “When I am in social situations where I am around people who do not know about my Type 1 diabetes, I know that at some time I am going to have to spend some time educating this person about the difference between Type 1 and 2.” He goes on to say, “Type 1s get little sympathy because for some reason, diabetes is a disease riddled with guilt. So many believe that diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar and being fat and lazy. People think you did it to yourself.”
In my own experience, I have noticed that I always say “Type 1” when telling someone I am meeting for the first time about my diabetes, and I quickly follow that with, “I was diagnosed when I was 10 years old.” I haven’t lost all of the weight I gained during my two pregnancies, and I know that being overweight is associated in the public mind with Type 2 diabetes. I also know that many people hold the individual responsible for being overweight or for having developed Type 2 diabetes.
Whether or not this attitude is fair, having lived with the challenges of Type 1 diabetes for 34 years, I don’t want someone to think for a minute that I am in any way responsible for having diabetes or that if I just lost some weight it would go away. We adults with Type 1 can carry a bit of a chip on our shoulders, but considering the often inaccurate media portrayal of and public attitudes toward diabetes, this is not surprising.
Charlie Kimball, 33, a professional race car driver who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 22, knew little about diabetes when he was diagnosed. Now that he knows more, however, he’s doing his best to educate other young adults about the signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.
According to Kimball, the shock of his diagnosis was compounded by a thought that he could not get out of his head: “Don’t only old people get diabetes?” Kimball had dreamed of becoming a race car driver since he was a little boy, and he could not understand at first how he, a healthy athlete who exercised daily, could be diagnosed with this condition. As he began to understand Type 1 as an illness different from Type 2, his shock turned into determination.
“At first when I was diagnosed, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted to do, but when I spoke to my endocrinologist, he mentioned other world-class athletes who have Type 1 diabetes and compete. We just had to figure out how to make it work,” he says.
Kimball has spoken publicly about his diagnosis from the beginning, and he shares his daily journey as a young adult living with Type 1 diabetes on his Twitter account at @RaceWithInsulin (www.twitter.com/racewithinsulin).
Awareness pros and cons
Charlie Kimball is one of a number of public figures with Type 1 diabetes who have spoken out about their diabetes. Others include Olympic swimmer Gary Hall, Jr., 43, American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin, 39, and actresses Jean Smart, 66, and the late Mary Tyler Moore. For non-celebs, seeing others with Type 1 diabetes in the spotlight can be inspiring. “It’s awesome to have someone like [football player] Jay Cutler, [35], Charlie Kimball, and other celebrities, because they spread awareness,” says Cherise Shockley.
On the other side of the public awareness coin, however, are media campaigns that feature frightening imagery and imply that everyone diagnosed with diabetes will go blind or lose a limb. “It is awful when scary images are used to try and motivate us to take care of ourselves,” says George Simmons. “We deserve a positive future as a goal. Not trying to scare us into taking better care of ourselves. It doesn’t work for me at all.”
Douglas Deatrick tries to find the humor in the way that Type 2 diabetes generally gets more media attention than Type 1 — and in the way his colleagues rib him about it. Deatrick, a stock trader, works in an office that has a television tuned to business news channel CNBC all day. Because he’s educated his coworkers about his Type 1 diabetes, they try and catch every commercial with information about Type 2 diabetes and say, “Hey Doug, there’s another Type 2 commercial.” “I just laugh along with them,” Deatrick says.
Connecting with others
The good news is that new forums for connection and expression for adults with Type 1 diabetes are becoming more readily available. This is enabling more adults to claim a voice, advocate for research, and find ways to support each other through the daily challenges of living with a chronic illness that, to the outside eye, is largely invisible. Here is a list of helpful resources for adults with Type 1 diabetes.
Gina Capone, 42, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 25 and is formerly the community manager for TypeOneNation.org, a social networking site created by JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International) so that adults with Type 1 diabetes could connect online to discuss such topics as insulin pump therapy, nutrition, pregnancy, and men’s issues related to Type 1 diabetes. Gina is on the TypeOneNation site daily and discovered that for the thousands people who are part of this online community, connecting to other adults with diabetes can be life-changing.
“There is always support for me at the site,” she says. “I can go online if I’m feeling down or have a concern, and someone will answer me…someone who is living with Type 1 and knows what I’m going through.” Gina notes that her HbA1c level, a measure of blood glucose control, has dropped from 9.1% to 7.1% since she has been part of the TypeOneNation community. She credits the tips she has gotten from other adults with Type 1 diabetes with helping her to better control her blood glucose levels.
For Phyllis Kornluth, connecting with other adults with Type 1 has also been the key to her emotional well-being and ability to face the ongoing, daily demands of life with Type 1 diabetes. When she was first diagnosed, she recalls, “I really didn’t know what the difference was between the types of diabetes. I only knew that I wanted to find and connect with other people who were living with Type 1 diabetes, and I couldn’t find any!”
Since then, Kornluth has not only found other adults living with Type 1 diabetes, but she has also become a volunteer with the Divabetic program, in which diabetes education is introduced in a makeover format. (While Divabetic’s outreach is aimed primarily at women with Type 2 diabetes, its events and programs are open — and welcoming — to women with any type of diabetes and to men, as well.) “It’s not only about diabetes,” Kornluth says about the makeover events. “It’s about fashion and makeup and feeling good about taking care of yourself.”
Becoming a blogger has given George Simmons a way to reach out to others who can understand his experiences. “Having an invisible disease is rough,” he says. Simmons blogs about his experiences at www.ninjabetic.com and credits the online diabetes community and connections that he has made with other adults living with diabetes with giving him the support he needed to start taking care of his diabetes.
Making a difference
Having to constantly educate others about diabetes and the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can get annoying, but sometimes making the effort can feel worth it. Last spring, for example, I picked up a book by one of my favorite writers, New York Times Magazine reporter Michael Pollan. In the book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Pollan notes that what Americans are eating and how they’re eating it (in front of TVs, in cars, etc.) is making them less healthy. I was agreeing and appreciating his well-written arguments until I got to a part in the book about the obesity epidemic and diabetes. He drew no distinction between Types 1 and 2 diabetes and even implicated insulin pump companies as benefiting economically from the obesity epidemic.
I was so upset that I wrote Pollan an e-mail message, as follows:
“Dear Mr. Pollan,
I am the author of Insulin Pump Therapy Demystified (Marlowe & Co, 2002) and I can assure you that the vast majority of pump users have Type 1 diabetes. That you include the insulin pump among technologies developed out of the obesity epidemic is absurd. The pump is the technology that has helped to keep Type 1 users alive and healthy. I could not have had two healthy pregnancies without it.
Please consider this point. I hope that you and no one in your family ever has to live with Type 1 diabetes and then deal with the media failing to distinguish the causality of these different types of diabetes.”
I was pleased to receive a prompt reply from Mr. Pollan, thanking me and letting me know that in the future, he would be more careful about making a distinction between the types of diabetes. It was a small victory in terms of educating a media representative about diabetes, but one that I was happy to win.
Want to learn more about Type 1 diabetes and adults? Read “Type 1 Diabetes In Adults: Can It Be Prevented?“Guy Bentley
Privacy centred cryptocurrency Darkcoin has had a rough ride over the last few weeks.
Darkcoin's last hardfork to implement the masternode payments system - RC2 - did not go as well as the company had hoped. In the world of cryptocurrency's, a hardfork is when the developers make changes to the programming of the coin.
The coin's users must then update their applications if they want to use the coin correctly.
In May, Darkcoin's blockchain split into several forks, leading the company to alter its code to facilitate the use of the masternodes, which conceal users transactions by mixing their Darkcoins with those of other users.
The world's largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin experienced similar problem in March 2013, when the blockchain split into two, with one half adding blocks to one version of the chain, and the other half adding blocks to a different version.
However, there may still be room for Darkcoin prices to rise to the levels seen in the heady days before the launch of RC2.
The Darkcoin team have announced there will be two new versions - RC3 and RC4. Furthermore, there will be automatic checkpoints that will prevent the network from diverging paths. The Darkcoin team said in statement: “In the event of a rejected block, the auto-checkpointing system will be able to tell the daemon to retry it later and put the daemon on the correct chain".
The RC3 will include the automatic checkpointing, while the RC4 will include "significant improvements to anonymity and multi ticket support".
In more good news for Darkcoin bugs, the developers claim to have solved the "ghost masternode " problem, where the network is "continued to list as active even after the Masternode had been taken offline”.
The RC3 system has already been tested with Hirocoin. Darkcoin has since taken on the developer of Hirocoin, Hiro, to provide further assistance. However, the checkpointing system is a temporary solution to the Darkcoin code while it is being perfected.
It will be removed once the problems with the code have been dealt with, due the fact that its centralising nature runs counter to Darkcoin's ethics.
The central impetus of the Darkcoin project has been privacy and improving on what lead developer Evan Duffield sees as the errors of Bitcoin.
Since the Bitcoin blockchain makes transactions publicly visible, Duffield argues that making payments with Bitcoin is equivalent to leaving your checking account open in your browser and everyone on the internet can see what you bought.
Darkcoin's focus on anonymity has attracted much comment. New-York based writer and entrepreneur, Tom Sharkey, at digital currency news site Coindesk, has likened Darkcoin's practices to that of Apple.
"If Bitcoin is the Google of digital currencies, then darkcoin is certainly the Apple amongst its peers. Apple is notoriously opaque in their business operations, preferring to keep important decisions behind closed doors", said Sharkey.In a reaction to President Trump’s executive order barring refugees from entering the United States, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg responded by posting a powerful response that has gone instantly viral. Zuckerberg, who’s not known for taking public political stances, wrote about his fear over the president’s future plans in regards to immigration.
Here is the full transcript of his post:
My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.
Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.
We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.
We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today.
That said, I was glad to hear President Trump say he's going to "work something out" for Dreamers -- immigrants who were brought to this country at a young age by their parents. Right now, 750,000 Dreamers benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows them to live and work legally in the US. I hope the President and his team keep these protections in place, and over the next few weeks I'll be working with our team at FWD.us to find ways we can help.
I'm also glad the President believes our country should continue to benefit from "people of great talent coming into the country."
These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here. I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone.Oscar Pistorius was convicted of murder on Thursday, Dec. 3, by a South African appeals court for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. One South African responds to the new ruling saying, "Justice has been served." (Reuters)
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned Oscar Pistorius’s conviction for culpable homicide — the equivalent of manslaughter — and found him guilty of the more serious crime of murder.
The former Olympian, known as “Blade Runner” for his artificial legs, will now have to go back to court for resentencing for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
He could be returned to prison for at least 15 years. The decision followed the prosecution’s appeal of the lesser verdict against Pistorius after his long trial last year.
“We have taken note of the judgment that has just been handed down by the supreme court of appeal,” Pistorius’s family said in a statement. “The legal team will study the finding and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward. We will not be commenting any further at this stage.” Pistorius was not present when the verdict was read.
Just weeks ago, it appeared that Pistorius was out of the woods. Paroled less than a year into a five-year sentence for what a South African court deemed culpable homicide, the 29-year-old Paralympic champion headed to house arrest at what appeared to be a comfortable Pretoria home. But the verdict throws a notorious figure who displaced O.J. Simpson in the pantheon of fallen celebrities in court back into the spotlight — again.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a bathroom door, claiming during his trial that he thought she was an intruder. The subsequent trial had everything the tabloids could love, as the court explained: “This case involves a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions: a young man overcomes huge physical disabilities to reach Olympian heights as an athlete; in doing so he becomes an international celebrity; he meets a young woman of great natural beauty and a successful model; romance blossoms; and then, ironically on Valentine’s Day, all is destroyed when he takes her life.”
To this frothy mix, the Supreme Court has contributed a nuanced legal opinion.
“The issue before this court is whether in doing so he committed the crime of murder, the intentional killing of a human being, or the lesser offence of culpable homicide, the negligent killing of another,” the opinion read.
The case turned on a legal concept called “dolus eventualis”: “a form of intent (in South African Law) where the accused foresees the possibility of an unlawful result due to his conduct, but nonetheless persists in such conduct, reconciling himself or herself to the result in question,” as the South African TV network ENCA explained. Or, as the court itself put it: “‘gambling’ as it were with the life of the person against whom the act is directed.”
The court ruled that Pistorius did indeed possess such foresight — and so was guilty of murder.
“I have no doubt … the accused must have foreseen and therefore did foresee that whoever was behind that door might die,” Justice Eric Leach said, reading the opinion to the public.
[The audacity of Oscar Pistorius: The athlete who said ‘I’m not disabled’ used disability as a defense]
First, the court took aim at Pistorius’s credibility.
“With ample justification, the court found the accused to have been ‘a very poor witness,'” the opinion read. “His version varied substantially. … In the light of these contradictions, one really does not know what his explanation is for having fired the fatal shots.”
The court also dismissed arguments that Pistorius’s disability — he was not wearing his prostheses when he killed Steenkamp — should be considered.
“He is a person well-trained in the use of firearms and was holding his weapon at the ready in order to shoot,” the decision read. “He paused at the entrance to the bathroom and when he became aware that there was a person in the toilet cubicle, he fired four shots through the door. And he never offered an acceptable explanation for having done so.”
And the high court said the lower court had not correctly applied dolus eventualis. Whether Reeva or an intruder was behind the door didn’t really matter.
“What was in issue, therefore, was not whether the accused had foreseen that Reeva might be in the cubicle when he fired the fatal shots at the toilet door but whether there was a person behind the door who might possibly be killed by his actions,” the opinion read. “The accused’s incorrect appreciation as to who was in the cubicle is not determinative of whether he had the requisite criminal intent. Consequently, by confining its assessment of dolus eventualis to whether the accused had foreseen that it was Reeva behind the door, the trial court misdirected itself as to the appropriate legal issue.”
The court also appeared to make an appeal to plain reason. Pistorius, it said, must do an appropriate amount of time for his actual crime — not another.
“The interests of justice require that persons should be convicted of the actual crimes they have committed, and not of lesser offences,” the opinion read. “That is particularly so in crimes of violence. It would be wrong to effectively think away the fact that an accused person is guilty of murder if he ought to have been convicted of that offence.”
At least one analyst took issue with the opinion.
“It is highly undesirable to sound the message to society that it is ever, in any way, excusable to kill an innocent person by shooting through a closed door,” Roche Steyn wrote at ENCA. “… It is also of course not expected of people under attack to be as cool-headed as 007 in assessing their own conduct in the situation.”"This is for everybody in this city," said coach Sean Payton, the architect of the Saints' turnaround. "This stadium used to have holes in it and used to be wet. It's not wet anymore. This is for the city of New Orleans."
And it came courtesy of Garrett Hartley and the Aints -- who surely ain't the Aints anymore.
"In reality, we had to lean on each other in order to survive and in order to get where we are now," quarterback Drew Brees said. "The city is on its way to recovery, and in a lot of ways has come back better than ever. We've used the strength and resiliency of our fans to go out and play every Sunday and play with the confidence that we can do it, that we can achieve everything we've set out to achieve."
Favre threw away Minnesota's best chance to win, tossing an interception deep in New Orleans territory in the closing seconds of regulation. Then the Saints won the coin toss and ended it on Hartley's kick 4:45 into OT.
"Just helping my team get to Miami," he said. "Just doing my part."
A team of nomads after Katrina ravaged its city and the Superdome, overcame a slew of mistakes in the biggest game the Big Easy has ever seen.
Forget the paper bag masks and that long history of losing that started in 1967. Moments after Hartley's kick, they were toasting their hometown winners in the French Quarter and making plans for South Florida.
The Saints (15-3) will meet Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (16-2) in the Super Bowl in two weeks in Miami. The Colts opened as 4-point favorites.
"Brett prepared us, but now we've got another challenge in Peyton," safety Darren Sharper said.
And in the Superdome, once a squalid refuge after Katrina, they boogied in the aisles as confetti covered the field.
"It's a moment I've been waiting for for a long time and obviously we're not done yet," said Brees, Payton's hand-picked QB for the Saints' renaissance.
It's the first time the top seeds in each conference made the big game since the 1993 season.
There were nine fumbles and two interceptions, and the biggest mistake belonged to Favre. Flushed from the pocket in the final minute, he seemed to have room to run to set up a field goal. But hampered by a left leg injured in the third quarter, he threw cross-field and was intercepted by Tracy Porter at the 22.
That finished off Minnesota's chance for its first Super Bowl trip in 33 years -- and opportunity to win it for the first time after four defeats. The Vikings have lost five straight NFC title games.
"I've felt better," said Favre, who looked every bit his 40 years. "It was a physical game. A lot of hits. You win that and you sure feel a lot better."
New Orleans won the coin toss, Brees guided it to the Minnesota 22 after converting a fourth-and-1 on Pierre Thomas' leap over the line, and Hartley -- suspended at the start of the season for using a banned stimulant -- split the uprights.
"It was as loud as I have ever heard it in the dome," Brees added. "It feels so good to know we have given our fans an NFC championship. We have another championship to go after in two weeks."
It was anything but easy for the Saints, in only their second conference championship game; they lost at Chicago three years ago.
They had to withstand yet one more comeback by Favre, who returned to the NFL with the Vikings (13-5) after another brief retirement. He was alternately spectacular and pedestrian Sunday, betrayed by his gambling style and, perhaps, an aging body.
Porter's pick sent it into overtime, the third time an NFC title game has needed extra time and the second in three seasons. Two years ago, Favre's interception in OT set up a field goal that sent the Giants past the Packers and into the Super Bowl.
The Saints can only hope they have the same happy ending as New York did back then.New Trademark Prompts Thought Of Eternal Darkness For Wii
By Spencer. February 16, 2010. 8:03am
Nintendo was on a Gamecube Wii-make spree last year with their slate of New Play Control games. Things have since slowed down, but maybe Eternal Darkness will get a second chance on the market.
If you missed it, Eternal Darkness was a survival horror game from Silicon Knights that covered Ancient Rome to present day. When Alexandra read the Eternal Darkness book she relived the life of others that picked up the book. Eternal Darkness’ most memorable feature was the sanity system, which made blood drip from the screen and broke the fourth wall by pretending to delete your save file.
The rights to the term Eternal Darkness lapsed, but Nintendo re-registered the game’s name in North America on February 10, 2010. This may be Nintendo simply protecting the term or perhaps Eternal Darkness is about to make a comeback either in sequel form or as a New Play Control Wii-make.Washington (CNN) Rex Tillerson, the retired ExxonMobil CEO who President-elect Donald Trump nominated to be secretary of state, was something of an unknown before his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
But after about eight hours of testimony, there was more clarity on some -- but not all -- of Tillerson's views:
Russia
"Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests... I think the important conversation that we have to have with them is, does Russia want to now and forever be an adversary of the United States? We're not likely to ever be friends."
Nuclear proliferation
"We simply cannot back away from our commitment" to reduce nuclear weapons.
Trump tweeting
"I don't think I will be telling the boss how he ought to communicate the American people. That's going to be his choice... It would be my expectation that any way the president might choose to communicate through whatever method would be supportive of that policy we both agreed on."
Climate change
"The risk of climate change does exist and the consequences of it could be serious enough that actions should be taken... I don't see it as the imminent national security threat that perhaps others do."
The Iran nuclear deal
"No one disagrees with the ultimate objective" of the deal -- to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Tillerson said he and Trump want to "do a full review of that agreement as well as any number of side agreements that I understand are part of that agreement."
China
"We have to step back and look at all of China's activities... They are taking territory or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China's... akin to Russia's taking of Crimea. It's taking of territory that others lay claim to."
Mexico
"Mexico is a longstanding neighbor and friend of this country."
Israeli settlements
"It's going to be very difficult to create conditions at the table for parties to have any productive discussion around a settlement."
Ukraine
"I'm hopeful that ceasefires will hold, but in the absence of that then I think it is important for us to support them in the ability to defend themselves."The map shows the advancements made by the YPG, YPJ, SMC, Jaysh al-Thuwar, al-Sanadid and other members of the SDF alliance who are the armed forces of the internationally unrecognized "Democratic Federation of Northern Syria," known commonly as "Rojava." The lighter the colour, the sooner the advancement in that area occurred. Note that some areas have been retaken multiple times. For example, Tel Abyad was initially taken from ISIS in June 2015 but they briefly took most of it back in February the next year before the YPG restored control. For these cases, only the latest retaking is showed. All the other colours are areas controlled by other forces, such as the SAA, HTS and ISIS.
If I have missed something please tell me. Especially if it's before mid-2013 where information is a lot harder to find.
Updated 26/12/2017 for the end of the year. More end of year maps will be coming soon.The Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has said that it is time that the Taoiseach faced him in a proper live televised debate.
Deputy Martin said claims made about the Fianna Fáil party last week are "tired, inaccurate and clichéd".
He also said that Mr Kenny has been marked by his continued refusal to engage in an open, honest conversation.
His comments follow the Taoiseach's Ard Fheis speech in Castlebar last night which included promises of 500 new nursing positions and a drop in emigration.
However, Mr Martin says these promises won't tackle the debacle in the health system.
He said: "In terms of health he only gave two sentences to it in his Ard Fheis speech, whereas as we know before the General Election he promised free universal healthcare to the public. What we've had instead is a complete debacle.
"I think it's time that he faced his political opponents in a one-to-one debate and I challenge him to that debate to take on the unfounded attacks that he has placed on the Fianna Fáil party and make him account for the broken promises."D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced plans yesterday to boost dismal achievement at half the city's middle schools by offering students an unusual incentive: cash.
For years, school officials have used detention, remedial classes, summer school and suspensions to turn around poorly behaved, underachieving middle school students, with little results. Now they are introducing a program that will pay students up to $100 per month for displaying good behavior.
Beginning in October, 3,000 students at 14 middle schools will be eligible to earn up to 50 points per month and be paid $2 per point for attending class regularly and on time, turning in homework, displaying manners and earning high marks. A maximum of $2.7 million has been set aside for the program, and the money students earn will be deposited every two weeks into bank accounts the system plans to open for them.
The system has 28 middle-grade schools. Rhee will select the schools to participate in the pilot program.
"We believe this is the time for radical intervention," Rhee said at a news conference outside Hardy Middle School in Northwest Washington. "We're very excited about this particular program."
Costs of the incentive will be split almost equally between the school system and Harvard's American Inequity Lab, which studies poverty and race issues. The program, Capital Gains, will be run by Roland G. Fryer Jr., an economics professor with the lab. Fryer also operates a pilot program in New York City public schools.
In justifying the program, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said the city has spent an inordinate amount on a school bureaucracy over the years that has failed students. Instead, he said, why not direct some of the cash to the students.
"If it seems outside of the box, it is," Fenty said.
A cash-incentive program that pays high school students as much as $500 for earning a 3 or more on an Advanced Placement test has been launched in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky and Virginia.
A study of the program released yesterday by a Cornell University economist said the incentive resulted in higher scores and an increase in the number of students attending college.
Alfie Kohn, an independent researcher whose book, "Punished by Rewards," details the downside of such programs, said incentives "undermine the very thing you're trying to promote by getting them hooked on the rewards."
Rhee said she is targeting sixth- through eighth-graders because some students in the group typically have had intractable behavior and academic problems. She said middle school is a pivotal time because many students are setting the patterns to become high school scholars or dropouts.TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY had a 10-minute phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump last night.
A statement from the Government Press Office says that Kenny spoke to the Republican, who scored a massive upset victory over Hillary Clinton yesterday.
The Taoiseach confirmed that Irish leaders will be invited to the White House next St Patrick’s Day.
The statement reads:
“During a 10 minute conversation the Taoiseach congratulated Mr Trump on his electoral success and both men committed to working together to the mutual benefit of Ireland and the United States.
The President-elect confirmed to the Taoiseach that in the spirit of the strong ties between the two countries, the long-standing tradition of Taoisigh attending the White House for St Patrick’s Day celebrations would continue and extended an invitation to the Taoiseach in that regard for next year 2017.
Obama
Trump will today head to Washington DC for talks with Barack Obama.
48 hours after Trump’s upset win, the 70-year-old President-elect will get a chance to measure the drapes ahead of his January inauguration.
It could be a deeply uneasy meeting for two men who have sparred repeatedly.
Trump has questioned whether Obama was born in the United States — a suggestion laden with deep racial overtones — and the Democratic commander-in-chief has described the celebrity businessman as “uniquely unqualified” to be president.
With AFP reporting
- © AFP 2016United Nations, New York
Sushma Swaraj has a busy week coming up.
The Indian foreign minister will arrive in New York on Sept. 17 for seven days of back-to-back engagements centred around the UN General Assembly, including her first meeting with US secretary of state Rex Tillerson.
In all, Swaraj will have some two dozen bilateral meetings and several multilateral commitments, aside from speaking at the UN general debate on Sept. 23, highly placed sources told Quartz. She will hold talks with, among others, the newly-appointed Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono and her German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel. Swaraj will also attend a meeting hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron.
Swaraj, who underwent a kidney transplant late last year, took a few months off for treatment, returning to parliament in March. She’s had her hands full since, especially with the protracted border standoff with China in Doklam. And although she has been back to clocking in her air miles, with visits to Sri Lanka and Russia, the punishing schedule in New York will be a real test.
The meeting with Tillerson, in particular, will be crucial, coming after US president Donald Trump’s call last month for India to do more in Afghanistan. “We appreciate India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development,” Trump said on Aug. 21. India’s concerns over Pakistan’s backing of terror groups is likely to be on the table, given that Trump, in his statement, had also chastised Pakistan for providing a “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.”
In August, India and the US agreed to establish a new “2-by-2” dialogue that’ll rope in the defence and foreign ministers of both countries to help strengthen ties. US defence secretary James Mattis is slated to visit India later in September as Washington looks to expand its defence cooperation with New Delhi.
In the meantime, in New York, Swaraj will look to reinforce India’s stand on the Kashmir issue, with Pakistan expected to raise the dispute when its prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, addresses the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21.
So, for the many who constantly reach out to the Indian foreign minister on Twitter, seeking help in all sorts of issues, you may want to take it easy next week.Given that Walmart is the country’s largest private employer it’s not terribly surprising that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to have a look at the sex discrimination lawsuit filed against the retailer — the largest class-action suit of its kind in U.S. history.
The lawsuit began as a claim by a small group of female Walmart staffers. It was granted class-action status in April by a California appeals court, expanding the potential plaintiff base to upward of 1.5 million current and former female Walmart employees.
Walmart will be arguing before the Supremes that the claims by the various plaintiffs are too diverse to proceed as a unified class-action.
“The current confusion in class-action law is |
forces as it was moving toward the front near the eastern oil city of Brega. At least 30 fighters were killed and many more injured. At least two other “friendly fire” incidents have taken place in recent weeks.
If NATO is bombing its own Libyan allies, it is certainly making similar “mistakes” in attacking the heavily-populated Libyan capital of Tripoli, where anything connected to the Libyan military is considered a target, regardless of its location. The criminal character of the bombing campaign is underscored by the repeated attacks on Gaddafi family residences in an attempt to assassinate the Libyan leader and his relatives.
The Libyan government has put the number of civilians killed in air raids at more than 800. It recently claimed that a NATO bomb destroyed a hotel and another struck a bus southwest of Tripoli, killing a dozen people. Just as similar reports of civilian deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq were routinely ignored by the US, so NATO, supported by the Western media, has dismissed previous Libyan accounts as “government propaganda.”
Libyan spokesmen were quick to point to the absurdity of NATO claims to be protecting civilians through its nearly four month-long aerial campaign. Speaking to journalists at the site of the latest bombing, deputy foreign minister Khalid Kaim said: “We have seen who is attacking civilians. They are targeting houses and flats. Tomorrow they will target schools and hospitals.”
The war on Libya is not being waged to defend civilians, but is a neo-colonial operation to further the strategic and economic aims of the US and its European allies in North Africa and the Middle East. Its objective is to remove Gaddafi and install a pro-Western puppet regime that will allow the imperialist powers to exploit the country’s energy reserves and provide a base for suppressing revolutionary movements throughout the region.
The venal character of the various bourgeois regimes in the Middle East and Africa was on display at a summit over the weekend in Cairo attended by representatives of the UN, African Union (AU), Arab League and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OCI) to find a “political solution” to the conflict.
All these organisations are colluding with the NATO allies to fashion a pro-Western regime in Libya, out of the dubious collection of ex-Gaddafi ministers, Islamist leaders and exile figures that form the self-appointed Transitional National Council (TNC), as well as elements of the Libyan government. The cynicism of all those present was summed up in the remarks of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who expressed “strong concerns” about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Libya, while supporting the bombing campaign that is creating these conditions.
Each one of these organisations and the governments they represent bear responsibility for the crimes being carried out by the US and its allies in Libya.Energy Secretary Rick Perry believed he was speaking to the Ukrainian prime minister in a phone call last week, but was actually speaking to two men who call themselves “Jerky Boys.”
A spokesman for the Energy Department confirmed that Perry was prank-called, speaking to “two Russian pranksters,” according to the Washington Post and Pravda Report.
The pair refer to themselves as the “Jerky Boys of Russia.”
RELATED: Rick Perry: Stupid or evil?
It's confirmed by @ENERGY that @SecretaryPerry spent 22 minutes speaking with Russian prankster he thought was #Ukraine prime minister. — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) July 26, 2017
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov have made a sort of career from prank-calling celebrities and national leaders, including Elton John and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan.
A statement to the Washington Post from Energy Department spokesperson Shalylyn Nynes reads:
These individuals are known for pranking high-level officials and celebrities, particularly those who are supportive of an agenda that is not in line with their governments. In this case, the energy security of Ukraine.
As Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry is responsible for the security of much of the United States’ nuclear materials, as well as the cybersecurity of the American energy grid, among other objectively serious tasks.
Perry and the “Ukranian Prime Minister” spoke about a wide variety of topics. The Washington Post reports that the three touched on a pipeline in the Baltic Sea, cyberattacks on the American power grid, the Paris Climate Accord and the United States’ withdrawal from it and a new fuel source derived from moonshine and pig manure.• Manager believes there is a campaign to get him sacked • Frailties in the defence are still a worry for the club
Brendan Rodgers is the same but different. As his team have got worse, he has got better. There were contradictions in the Northern Irishman’s arguments but conviction to his sentiments. The man who won the Manager of the Year award 16 months ago believes it would be an injustice if he secures an unwanted victory in the sack race now. “I am the same guy who nearly won us the league, but better,” he said.
It is not so much Rodgers Mk2 as new improved Brendan, he suggested. Certainly his self-belief remains intact. A first win in seven games prompted Rodgers, in the manner of his best team, to launch a swift counterattack. Undaunted by a recent record showing seven defeats and only 16 goals in Liverpool’s last 16 league games, he presented his case for continued employment with idiosyncratic eloquence.
Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers hits out at ‘campaign’ to get him sacked Read more
“I think I have shown in the early stages of my management – without being arrogant – that with a talented group of players I can compete at the top end of the league. I know how to manage top players. If you give me the tools, I’ll do the work.” The inference, for the majority of the Liverpool side who were at Anfield during last season’s slump to sixth place, was damning, but Rodgers has a capacity to produce inadvertently revealing comments.
In any case, a performance of two halves, featuring attacking flair and defensive frailties, highlighted recurring themes in his reign. High-class teams are constructed on solid foundations; Rodgers’ sides seem to be built on sand. Further evidence of Simon Mignolet’s inadequacies was compounded by confusion and individual errors among his back three. This was old, unimproved Liverpool but at least they could savour a throwback to happier days.
The sight of Daniel Sturridge scoring twice for the first time since the 4-3 win over Swansea that ignited 2014’s title charge prompted thoughts of a surge characterised by high-octane, high-risk encounters. “There are very short memories in football,” Rodgers said. “The team was eighth when I got here. We built a team to excite people throughout European football, that should have won the league.”
Yet it remains a moot point if Rodgers or Luis Suárez was the catalyst. If Liverpool are yet to recover from the striker’s sale, at least Danny Ings shares the Uruguayan’s energetic ethos, although not his talent. Sturridge enjoyed the presence of an irrepressible sidekick, who was ever willing to exhaust defenders. Sturridge, like the classy Philippe Coutinho, meets Rodgers’ definition of a “top player” who has benefited from his tutelage. Yet with Jordan Henderson injured and Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Suárez gone, they are the sole survivors of the forward-thinking six who almost swept Liverpool to glory.
“All the good work gets forgotten,” said Rodgers. “That’s how it works. It seems the focus has not been on what’s gone on and what we’ve been missing, but more about getting me out of the club. That’s sad.” His contention is that he is not paranoid, but that unspecified people are out to get him. “There has been a frenzy, there is no doubt about that, to get me out of here,” he added. “Whether that’s a Liverpool hysteria or big-club hysteria, I am not so sure.”
His Aston Villa counterpart, Tim Sherwood, could sympathise. “Every manager is under pressure; that’s the nature of the job now,” he said and, after only procuring one point from his last six games, he should be able to testify to the difficulties. “It’s not the same job as it was 10 or 12 years ago. Everyone’s got their own opinions: faceless people out there, you’ve got social media, you’ve got more pundits than players.” Sherwood has experience of being both.
The greater problem for Rodgers is not outsiders’ opinions but the availability of outstanding managers. Carlo Ancelotti was touted as a possible successor. The normally loquacious Rodgers has not felt the need to talk to a triple Champions League-winning manager. “No. If I spoke to every manager we’re linked with, I’d speak to 13 managers,” he said. “I’d be busy ringing.”
He has enough other issues to occupy his time. A manager who has spent £205m on new players in the past two summers has bought himself a little more time but Sunday’s Merseyside derby, more than the availability of Ancelotti and Jürgen Klopp, looms large. Rather than the managerial giants, Rodgers’ immediate concern should be his defenders’ enduring inability to cope with sizeable strikers.
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku ought to be buoyed by the way Rudy Gestede terrorised Liverpool’s timid defence. “We’ve got one of the biggest threats in the air in the Premier League and that’s our best avenue to score goals,” said Sherwood after Gestede struck twice. When he captained Blackburn, Sherwood’s team-mates included the division’s record scorer, Alan Shearer. It has not prompted him to ask his summer signing to study DVDs of Shearer. “They’re all too young to remember him,” he said.
Man of the match James Milner (Liverpool)In 2008 the world witnessed a global financial crisis, considered by many economists as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As people lost their faith in the banking and financial institutions, one person, in particular, saw this disastrous event as a golden opportunity. That person was Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Beloved by many, Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency and allowed people to send and save money without having to rely on centralized institutions.
So far so good. The only thing is that people seem to have forgotten, or never really understood, the principle behind Bitcoin. Bitcoin was meant to cut the middlemen, to give people control over their own money. So it’s perplexing how so many of us go against the original intention of Bitcoin and entrust our decentralized money to exchanges and other third-party services. In order to keep the decentralization movement going, let’s look at some of the ways we can keep our trading decentralized.
Decentralized Exchanges
On decentralized exchanges, trading occurs directly between users (peer-to-peer), eliminating the need to hold funds for the customers. Decentralized exchanges also do not require identifying information from users, providing a greater level of privacy and anonymity (transactions are harder to track and collect taxes from). In order to achieve this, decentralized exchanges servers have no central location but are instead comprised of a network of nodes similar to Bitcoin. Having no central server, problems like server downtime or hacks are avoided. Although they offer many advantages, they are are not as easy to use as centralized exchanges.
Atomic Swaps
Atomic swaps, or atomic cross-chain trading, is a relatively new technology that allows instant trades between cryptocurrencies without requiring third party involvement. First described by Tier Nolan in 2013, atomic swaps utilizes what is known as hash time-locked contracts (HTLCs). But how does it work?
Let’s picture the following scenario. I am a proud holder of 1 Bitcoin but wish to acquire 100 Litecoins and am willing to trade my Bitcoin for them. You, on the other hand, want the exact opposite and have 100 Litecoins in your possession. We would like to trade but we don’t really know each other that well so, we use atomic swaps. We both send each other coins in their respective blockchains, I send you my Bitcoin and you send me your Litecoins. But for you to be able to claim the Bitcoin as yours, you have to reveal a secret number on the blockchain that only you know. Only then will you receive the Bitcoin, and with that number you revealed, I am able to claim my Litecoins.
However, as good as it sounds, atomic swaps require linked payment channels between the blockchains of the currencies that are being traded. This is done through the Lightning Network, a scaling solution originally intended for Bitcoin. As atomic swaps effectively link blockchains, the lightning network links payment channels. However, in order for the blockchains to be linked through the lightning network, they must share the same hashing algorithm. So Bitcoin, for example, can only be linked with altcoins that have the SHA-256 algorithm, such as Litecoin or Zcash.
The technology looks promising but it is still in its early stages of implementation. Charlie Lee, the founder of Litecoin, seems to be on the forefront of atomic swap technology and recently claimed to have successfully traded Litecoin for Bitcoin through atomic swaps. Just a few days after this claim, the Komodo team seem to have been able to complete an atomic swap using only an Electrum server. This is important because before this atomic swaps required the download of both blockchains of the cryptocurrencies being traded.
As more and more projects are looking for ways to implement and perfect atomic swap technology, we can expect decentralized exchanges to also adopt it. Let’s hope we can bring everyone in and take back control of our own money, just like the missing Bitcoin creator intended to.
Article contributed from the team at Exscudo
Exscudo is the new gateway between the traditional financial system and the cryptocurrency market. In Exscudo, we create a new financial ecosystem. Our main goal is to create a single gate to the cryptocurrency market for new users, professional traders, investors, and financial institutions. The Exscudo ecosystem consists of various products and services, among them are: Exscudo Exchange, Exscudo Wallet, Charts, Trading terminals, Exscudo debit cards, Exscudo merchant platform, Channels protected messenger.Cities: Skylines is THE new next-gen city building and management simulation game. Developed by Colossal Order, a small Finnish team with a passion for high quality games, Cities: Skylines towers above the competition when it comes to deep gameplay and customization. Cities: Skylines is available for $29.99 TODAY on Steam, and is compatible with PC, Mac, and Linux.
The game’s publisher, Paradox Interactive was kind enough to provide Gear Diary with a pre-release Steam Key so that we could download and experience the game ourselves for a week prior to the game’s launch. And although real life doesn’t allow me to spend as much time in the game world as I’d like, I was instantly hooked on this new city builder. The depth to which you can build and manage your city is insane, and with the help of the in-game asset editor combined with the Steam Workshop, users can build their own custom buildings, highway exchanges, etc. and share them among other users. Please keep in mind that I was forced to use a Macbook Pro for my review, screenshots, video, etc. so I’m sure a PC that’s built for gaming would look and perform much better than my own.
Colossal Order is a 9-person team who loves city building games. They were heartily disappointed when the 2013 release of SimCity fizzled out and they said collectively, “Let’s make a proper city builder ourselves.” Cities: Skylines is a city builder and management game to its very core. Unlike the 2013 release of SimCity, which was beautiful and had a countless number of people working on it, the actual building and management of the city left something to be desired because it appeared that cosmetics were the primary concern of EA and, the now defunct, Maxis. Colossal Order put most of their energy into the building, simulation, and management of this game, and then added a nice layer of cosmetics on top of that.
That’s not to say that Cities: Skylines isn’t beautiful, because it absolutely is, as you’ll see in my screenshots and review video, however, it’s not as stylized as the 2013 SimCity is. Cities: Skylines looks more like a diorama then it does a real-life city, and I’m OK with that! I respect Colossal Order’s decision to focus on the gameplay and customization rather than the shallow aesthetic exterior.
For a simplified comparison of the 2013 SimCity and Cities: Skylines, check out the following image, via Reddit. Some of the major advantages that Cities: Skylines has over SimCity include the maximum size of your city, Modding support, Map Editor, Day 1 offline play, and district and policy support. Some of the things that Cities: Skylines is lacking as compared to SimCity is a day/night cycle, modular buildings, multiplayer support, and disasters.
I really enjoyed forcing myself to remember how a city SHOULD be designed every step of the way, whether it was getting power or water to my citizens or deciding where to place my wind turbines to maximize my citizens’ land value. But what made me feel the most like a Mayor was that I could enforce certain policies on my city or just on certain districts, whether it was energy usage restrictions, water usage restrictions, recycling policies, or even recreational drug use policies! It really felt like I was leading the city rather than just building and managing it.
Cities: Skylines has a unique way of letting the Mayor (read: player) know how the public is feeling, and that’s by using a Twitter sort of communication platform called “Chirper.” Chirps pop up every now and then and give you hints on what the public is thinking, or just makes a funny quip about something you might have just done. For instance, as soon as I instated an energy conservation policy, a Chirp came through asking whether the energy meters consume energy.
Cities: Skylines is a fantastic city builder and management game, and I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on it to see how well thought out it really is. On the surface, you just build roads, zone residential, commercial, industrial, etc., make sure your citizens and businesses have power and water, access to education, healthcare, police and firefighters, and let it grow from there…but Colossal Order did an amazing job making the game so much deeper than that. There is excellent public transportation, powerful financial management tools, deep roadway design, special policies, not to mention the power to customize a ton of the game’s content and share that content with other users.
There are some negatives to the game, such as the fact that there is no day/night cycle. This means that the city doesn’t actually act like a “real” city in that there’s no rush hour traffic getting to/from work, but I honestly didn’t notice that very much. The other downside to the game was that it didn’t hold my hand in the beginning like SimCity did. Some would argue that’s a good thing, which it might be, but it took me a little while to figure out what all of the icons meant and how to get started. The graphics aren’t spectacular, but as I mentioned, that’s not the most important aspect to a video game for me.
For those visual learners, please check out my video review below where I show you the city I’ve been working on and point out some of the neat features of this game.
All in all, Cities: Skylines is a powerhouse city builder that won’t be matched for years to come. I’ve had a hell of a time playing and expect to come back to Cities: Skylines every time I need to scratch that city builder itch. Let’s not forget that the price is also phenomenal; $29.99 for a full fledged game is $20 cheaper than SimCity was when it came out and I would argue that Cities: Skylines is the much better game!
You can purchase Cities: Skylines directly through Steam for PC, OSX, or Linux.
Source: A Cities: Skylines Steam Key was provided to me as a review copy by the publisher.
What I Like: Deep city building and management simulation; Easy to learn; Difficult to master; Offline support; User customizable buildings, roads, etc.; Very nice graphics; Strong community already behind it.
What Needs Improvement: A little more hand-holding at the beginning of the game would help; A day/night cycle would be amazing.It depends how you want to interpret the number ‘1′. There is no shame in losing a league title by a single point, but the flip side is that when you’re a club as used to success as Manchester United, a mere one season without silverware is considered a failure.
The statistics about goals easily sum up United’s problems. They had the best defensive record, despite the fact that first-choice central defensive partnership Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic started just nine of the 38 games together.
Where they trailed Chelsea, however, was in front of goal. The raw ‘goals scored’ statistic demonstrates how far they were behind Chelsea in this respect, but perhaps becomes slightly irrelevant in terms of the league title when Chelsea were winning games 7-0 and 8-0.
United actually scored more goals this season than in their title-winning display last term, but the problem was the distribution of goals. Last season, United were the master of the 1-0 win – they won ten matches by that scoreline. This season, there were just four 1-0s. Their goal tally was inflated this season because they thrashed teams more often – four 4-0s, and three 5-0s.
The more salient statistic is that on six occasions United didn’t find the net, a fact that seems more alarming when compared to Chelsea’s record of scoring in 37 of 38 games (Birmingham were the only side to keep them out) or last year’s record, when it was three times (one of them after United had clinched the title).
This turned out to be crucial – a single goal in the scoreless game against Blackburn would have won them the title. And six shut-outs is all the more surprising when you consider that United had more than 50% of possession in every game all season with the exception of one (away at Arsenal, when they convincingly won by playing on the counter-attack anyway). They had the ball, so why couldn’t they find the net?
Losing two top-class players in Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez last summer was clearly always going to be difficult to recover from, whilst Dimitar Berbatov’s lack of form, Michael Owen’s injury problems and Wayne Rooney’s own fitness worries played a part – had Rooney played against Blackburn, things could have been different.
But there is an argument that, in terms of quality, United were not that much weaker than last season. Rooney’s transformation into a world-class central striker, Antonio Valencia’s instant impact on the right wing and Nani’s vast improvement partially made up for the loss of Ronaldo, whilst Michael Owen scored only two fewer goals this season than Tevez did last season, despite being injured for the final three months.
United’s problem this season was not a lack of quality, but a lack of variation in attack. Ronaldo and Tevez were so useful for United in recent years not merely because of their ability, but because of their versatility. Both players could play on the left, on the right, as a central striker or just off the front. Given Rooney’s similar nature, and Nani and Park’s ability to play on either flank comfortably, United were so difficult to face, because the opposing manager was never sure quite what he would be facing – even when he became aware of United’s starting XI.
Owen and Valencia, however, are both limited to one position. Owen is a forward, plain and simple (although he has developed his game into a more all-round player in recent years) whilst Ferguson has acknowledged that Valencia is only comfortable on the right-hand side – before the match away in Bayern, he admitted dropping Valencia in favour of Park and Nani on the wings, because those two had the ability to switch midway through the game if necessary. If it was a factor in Munich, it’s fair to say that it will have been a factor at other points in the season, and handicapped Ferguson’s ability to tactically outwit opposing managers.
And of course, the lack of versatility of Valencia and Owen has a knock-on effect on other players in the side. Nani’s ability to play on either flank is of little use if Valencia’s right-sidedness dictates he must play on the left (Nani admits he prefers the right).
United’s lack of striking options when Rooney was injured late in the season suddenly became very apparent, especially with Berbatov’s lack of confidence. In that crucial game at Blackburn, the Bulgarian played alongside Federico Macheda (making his first start of the season) as United failed to score. United seemed rigid and inflexible. Last season, with Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo able to interchange, the Blackburn defence would have been left guessing until the final minute. This season, United were simply too predictable when it came to breaking down the opposition on six occasions, and ultimately it cost them the title.
Ferguson’s shopping list this summer will surely feature an attacking player, but versatility might be as important as raw quality. Ferguson has become a fine tactician in recent years, and he needs the right tools to work with – this season he was constrained by too many players being one-dimensional.
Related articles on Zonal Marking:Republicans in the Senate are on the verge of passing a secret health care bill that would likely cut Medicaid by over $800 billion and throw 23 million people off their health insurance, all to finance $600 billion in tax breaks for the rich.
Yet, Democratic politicians do not seem to care. They cannot be bothered to do anything unconventional in this extraordinary situation.
Other than a few tweets, there’s been virtually no effort by the Democrats to call attention to this impending disaster or to slow down the proceedings of the Senate — a move that would both bring media attention to the issue and buy activists time to organize backlash. Instead, Democrats are content to go about their business as if there’s no threat of millions losing access to health care, reaching a deal with the Republicans about Russian sanctions on Monday afternoon, June 12.
Remember when Democrats in the House staged a sit-in to try to force a vote on gun control? That is exactly the kind of civil disobedience that can bring overwhelming media attention to an issue that the media may otherwise be reluctant to cover. That is the sort of creative political theater that is desperately needed right now.
There are 24 headlines on CNN’s homepage right now and none of them tell you that 23 million fewer ppl stand to lose their health insurance pic.twitter.com/QZpBBKoR2P — Jeff Stein (@JStein_Vox) June 13, 2017
But Democrats won’t even commit to using their procedural powers to grind the Senate to a halt by withholding consent like many activists are calling for. See these tweets from Jeff Stein of Vox, who’s been one of the few journalists covering this issue. Democratic aides are quoted as saying that they do not think effectively shutting down the Senate will help because Mitch McConnell and the Republicans would still be able to bring up the bill for a vote whenever they want and the Democrats will be powerless to stop them.
Though this is technically true, it belies a willfully dishonest reading of the current situation. The strategy behind stopping the Senate from running — to say nothing of civil disobedience — is simple, and something Democrats should easily be able to wrap their minds around. As mentioned above, this would both buy time to organize resistance and in itself draw media attention. Imagine the headlines if the Democrats were to refuse to proceed with the Russia hearings because of the secretive GOP healthcare bill. This media attention would feed into increased activism and ultimately increased pressure on the few Republican swing votes.
A week-long media and resistance bonanza about how the Republicans are moving in secret to take away health insurance from 23 million Americans would certainly make GOP Senators more hesitant to side with their party. Democratic politicians at the highest level could get this started if they wanted to.
That the Democrats refuse to recognize this makes me seriously question how much they care about their constituents. I don’t think it’s crazy to believe that Democratic politicians and strategists think they will be rewarded at the ballot box, were the GOP to succeed in passing this bill, and are thus willing to overlook the millions of lives that will be endangered. Remember, the Democrats sang cheerfully once House Republicans passed the AHCA.A French court on Tuesday cancelled a November ruling ordering a prison to provide halal meals for Muslim prisoners, in the latest legal battle over an issue that has caused controversy in the secular republic.
The French government had sought to overturn the ruling by an administrative tribunal that argued that the Saint-Quentin-Fallavier jail in south-eastern France should provide the meals on the basis that failing to do so would violate Muslim prisoners' rights to practise their religion.
On Tuesday a court in Lyon ruled that "given the possibility for detainees to get meals without pork or vegetarian meals, to get special meals during the main holidays and given the possibility to buy halal meat," prisoners' rights were being respected.
Many Muslims view France, which is officially a secular republic despite being overwhelmingly Catholic, as imposing its values on them and other religious minorities.
The issue of halal meat is a controversial topic in the country and has been used as a political football.
In the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen launched a fierce row by claiming all meat from abattoirs in the Paris region was prepared using Islamic halal traditions, and that non-Muslim consumers in the capital were being misled.
Then-president Nicolas Sarkozy waded into the row, suggesting that meat should be labelled to tell consumers how the animal was slaughtered, a proposal rejected by Jewish and Muslim groups, who feared being stigmatized by the labelling.
Then-French Prime Minister François Fillon subsequently caused outrage by suggesting French Jews and Muslims should abandon their "outdated ancestral traditions" regarding food and diet.
And back in April 2013, the principal of a school near Paris was forced to backtrack after announcing that all pupils would be obliged to eat meat, and none would be allowed an exemption for religious reasons.
Jews and Muslims are forbidden from eating pork under their religious dietary laws, but that didn't prevent the principal from sending out a strongly-worded letter to parents, saying: “I remind you that your child is being educated in a school in the Republic, and that secularism – one of the foundations of the Republic – must be respected in its entirety.”
Just a month earlier, The Local reported how Jewish and Muslim parents in the south-western town of Arveyres were outraged when their children's school announced that the canteen would no longer be serving a substitute for pork.
The debate has been mirrored by higher-profile disputes over the wearing of veils in France, which has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe.
Any form of clothing linked to religious observance is banned from French state schools and since 2011 the wearing of full-face veils in public has been outlawed.Tom Voigt knows absolutely everything about the Zodiac Killer, the real-life murderer featured in the movie Zodiac. Neither cop nor crackpot, Voigt is certain that he's amassed almost enough evidence to solve the decades-old case very soon.
Voigt runs the popular website ZodiacKiller.com — an online destination for amateur sleuths who are fascinated by the bizarre murders that terrorized the Bay Area in the late 1960s and 1970s. Stop by, click through the evidence (those angry, taunting letters! Those creepy ciphers!), parse the many "Whodunnit" theories, and before you know it, you'll be hooked into the mystery too.
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Voigt, a web designer, lives in Portland, Ore., but he makes trips back to the Zodiac's stomping grounds to further his work on the case, as well as lead occasional tours of crime scenes and related locations (like the very mailbox where the killer was known to drop publicity-seeking missives to the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets).
It's been 45 years since the Zodiac — clad, nightmarishly, in a homemade executioner's hood — stalked a young couple on the banks of NorCal's Lake Berryessa in what was probably his most famous crime. But Voigt believes the killer's identity will soon be revealed.
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io9: How did you become interested in the Zodiac Killer?
Tom Voigt: When I was born, my parents were living in Southern California. My father was a newspaper man, and my earliest memories were of my dad coming home and turning on the black-and-white TV, and I remember all these crazy stories from the late 1960s. Not just Zodiac, but the Manson Family, all the anti-war protests, the Watts riots, and so forth. I remember the TV being really scary! We eventually moved out of the Los Angeles area to Oregon, because the Mansons had scared my mom so badly. But then we got to Oregon and it was Bigfoot, D.B. Cooper, Ted Bundy. That's the atmosphere I grew up in.
When I was in my late 20s, I saw a Zodiac Killer reenactment on Unsolved Mysteries. I remembered that name from when I was a little kid, and I was really surprised that the guy was still at large. Some time later, I bought a paperback book about the case to take on a road trip, and [I soon] became hooked on the case.
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Was it the Robert Graysmith book?
Yeah, the first Graysmith book. It made me realize there were quite a few things about the case that made me believe it could be solved. I had never been on the Internet at that point, but I knew about it, and I thought, "That's the way to solve the case!" With a website, anybody in the world can get to it. You could get tips from all around the world. You could put up all the Zodiac letters and codes up, so everyone can read them, and maybe somebody, somewhere would see one of the unsolved codes and solve it. It seemed like a no-brainer, so I taught myself how to build a website. That's how compelled I was with it. I started Zodiackiller.com on March 20, 1998 — before Facebook, before Google, before YouTube.
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How has it grown and changed over the years? Has the crowdsourcing approach yielded any solid tips or leads?
It's grown every year. It's hundreds of thousands of pages, as far as how many pages of data are available to people online. As far as activity, in terms of hits, the highest monthly total was more than 37 million. That was in March 2007, when the big-budget Zodiac movie opened. My site was so overwhelmed that it stopped being able to count how many hits there were halfway through the month! So who knows how many it really ended up with.
The most important thing about the site it that it's like a funnel. People send me information every day: tips and so forth about who they think the Zodiac is, or what they think he was trying to accomplish. Also, people who think they've solved the codes. I get all this data, and I filter through it. I can spot really easily what's garbage, and I can also spot what's good information. I have really good sources that I've developed over the years within law enforcement, and I can pass that information along to them.
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It's really interesting to hear people contact me that say they went to one of the original detectives — or one of the current detectives — and they're told, "Go to Tom Voigt at ZodiacKiller.com." It's pretty cool that the site is so well-respected from people within law enforcement, and it's actually recommended by them.
You mentioned David Fincher's Zodiac, which introduced a whole new generation to the case. What did you think of the movie?
A vast majority was factually inaccurate. It would take a ten-hour phone call to list every little detail!
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Was there one inaccuracy that particularly stood out?
Well, every time there's a scene where Jake Gyllenhaal [as Robert Graysmith] takes credit for a piece of information that I actually found out and shared with [the real] Robert Graysmith 20 years after this movie was supposedly taking place. [Laughs.] There were all these scenes set in 1970 where Graysmith was learning some new tidbit about [suspect] Arthur Leigh Allen, when actually it was a tidbit learned by me and passed on to Graysmith. So that was annoying.
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But, I didn't really expect it to be accurate. I saw some early photographs [from the set] of the Graysmith and Paul Avery, played by Robert Downey Jr., characters, together. They never actually interacted during the time they worked at the Chronicle. I've interviewed both Graysmith and Avery extensively and they didn't sit next to each other or talk to each other [like Gyllenhaal and Downey do in the movie]. In fact, the first time they met was after Graysmith had left the Chronicle. [Laughs.]
But the film got the word out [about the case] to a lot of people, and the first two-thirds of it I actually really enjoyed. But the last third was pretty painful.
Did you read the latest book on the case which came out earlier this year, The Most Dangerous Animal of All, written by a man who was convinced that his father was the Zodiac?
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That was debunked within about three days. The biggest piece of so-called evidence that's presented in the book is an alleged handwriting match between the suspect and the Zodiac. And it turned out that the suspect's handwriting samples came from a marriage certificate. I have a really great team of researchers that follow the case through my website, and in the discussion forum, it took about three days for them to obtain handwriting samples from the reverend who performed the marriage. That handwriting matched the handwriting on the certificate. So it wasn't even written by the suspect! That was pretty damn funny, but it was good publicity for about two weeks.
What's your favorite theory as to the Zodiac's identity?
With everything I know about the case, I believe the Zodiac is Richard Gaikowski. He was a San Francisco artist. There are a million and one things that point to him, but the most damning bit of information is simply the way the original three-part code [mailed in separate segments by the killer in 1969] was solved.
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Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
You can see Gaikowski's nickname, G-Y-K-E. When the cipher is solved using a key, it turns out that GYKE is actually the last four letters of the word "because," in the phrase "I will not give you my name because you will try to stop me from killing." All three syllables of his name are given [across the three ciphers], |
had never existed. Ω¿ 5x02 - Jake the Dog [WATCH] - Jake hangs out with cosmic being Prismo in his interdimensional time room, and they watch the results of Finn’s wish go horribly wrong. It’s up to Jake to make the right wish to save the day.
- Jake the Dog [WATCH] - Jake hangs out with cosmic being Prismo in his interdimensional time room, and they watch the results of Finn’s wish go horribly wrong. It’s up to Jake to make the right wish to save the day. 5x03 - Five More Short Graybles [WATCH] - Another five short, weird stories about citizens of Ooo.
- Five More Short Graybles [WATCH] - Another five short, weird stories about citizens of Ooo. 5x04 - Up A Tree [WATCH] - When Finn’s throwing-and-catching disc gets stuck in a tree, he’s determined to get it back on his own. But some helpful(??) woodland creatures have a different idea.
- Up A Tree [WATCH] - When Finn’s throwing-and-catching disc gets stuck in a tree, he’s determined to get it back on his own. But some helpful(??) woodland creatures have a different idea. 5x05 - All the Little People [WATCH] - Finn finds a magic bag full of tiny versions of just about everyone in Ooo. But when he starts messing with their tiny toy lives, things get junked up bad. Come on, Finn, everyone knows you just build the houses and the families and then never play again!
- All the Little People [WATCH] - Finn finds a magic bag full of tiny versions of just about everyone in Ooo. But when he starts messing with their tiny toy lives, things get junked up bad. Come on, Finn, everyone knows you just build the houses and the families and then never play again! 5x06 - Jake the Dad [WATCH] - The rainipups are born, and Jake’s a dad! A responsible dad. A responsible, seriously overprotective dad.
- Jake the Dad [WATCH] - The rainipups are born, and Jake’s a dad! A responsible dad. A responsible, seriously overprotective dad. 5x07 - Davey [WATCH] - Finn’s fans are getting a little overwhelming, so he assumes a disguise in order to avoid them. But maybe this alter ego thing isn’t the best plan ever.
- Davey [WATCH] - Finn’s fans are getting a little overwhelming, so he assumes a disguise in order to avoid them. But maybe this alter ego thing isn’t the best plan ever. 5x08 - Mystery Dungeon [WATCH] - Ice King, Tree Trunks, Lemongrab, Shelby, and NEPTR are trapped in a dungeon together! Luckily each of them seems to possess a specific skill needed to get them through… What a coincidence.
- Mystery Dungeon [WATCH] - Ice King, Tree Trunks, Lemongrab, Shelby, and NEPTR are trapped in a dungeon together! Luckily each of them seems to possess a specific skill needed to get them through… What a coincidence. ♥ ¿¿ 5x09 - All Your Fault [WATCH] - PB sends Finn and Jake on a mission to the Lemongrabs’ earldom, but the boys arrive to find things way super crazy messed up.
- All Your Fault [WATCH] - PB sends Finn and Jake on a mission to the Lemongrabs’ earldom, but the boys arrive to find things way super crazy messed up. 5x10 - Little Dude [WATCH] - Finn’s hat is alive… and… awful?
- Little Dude [WATCH] - Finn’s hat is alive… and… awful? ♫ 5x11 - Bad Little Boy [WATCH] - When Ice King isn’t receptive to the princesses’ concrit on his Fionna & Cake fic, Marceline offers up a tale of Marshall Lee to show him how it’s done.
- Bad Little Boy [WATCH] - When Ice King isn’t receptive to the princesses’ concrit on his Fionna & Cake fic, Marceline offers up a tale of Marshall Lee to show him how it’s done. 5x12 - Vault of Bones [WATCH] - Flame Princess is worried she might be evil, so she and Finn go on a dungeon date to determine her true alignment.
- Vault of Bones [WATCH] - Flame Princess is worried she might be evil, so she and Finn go on a dungeon date to determine her true alignment. 5x13 - The Great Birdman [WATCH] - Finn and Jake run into an old enemy, who seems to have renounced his evil, goblin-spanking ways. Probably.
- The Great Birdman [WATCH] - Finn and Jake run into an old enemy, who seems to have renounced his evil, goblin-spanking ways. Probably. ♥ Ω 5x14 - Simon and Marcy [WATCH] - Marceline is a thousand years old, but once upon a time, she was 7, and Simon was 47, and the world was a whole lot emptier.
- Simon and Marcy [WATCH] - Marceline is a thousand years old, but once upon a time, she was 7, and Simon was 47, and the world was a whole lot emptier. 5x15 - A Glitch is a Glitch [WATCH] - Ice King is trying to delete all of Ooo for a shot at a date with Princess Bubblegum. It’s not working out so well.
- A Glitch is a Glitch [WATCH] - Ice King is trying to delete all of Ooo for a shot at a date with Princess Bubblegum. It’s not working out so well. 5x16 - Puhoy [WATCH] - Finn’s got some confusing thoughts and feelings that need to fester, so he escapes to a world within his pillow fort.
- Puhoy [WATCH] - Finn’s got some confusing thoughts and feelings that need to fester, so he escapes to a world within his pillow fort. 5x17 - BMO Lost [WATCH] - BMO gets lost, and makes a new friend.
- BMO Lost [WATCH] - BMO gets lost, and makes a new friend. 5x18 - Princess Potluck [WATCH] - The Princesses are having a potluck right on the border of the Ice Kingdom, and they didn’t invite the Ice King? How very dare they!
- Princess Potluck [WATCH] - The Princesses are having a potluck right on the border of the Ice Kingdom, and they didn’t invite the Ice King? How very dare they! 5x19 - James Baxter the Horse [WATCH] - Finn and Jake are inspired by do-gooding joy-spreading horse, James Baxter.
- James Baxter the Horse [WATCH] - Finn and Jake are inspired by do-gooding joy-spreading horse, James Baxter. 5x20 - Shh! [WATCH] - When Finn and Jake decide to spend the day in silence, BMO is scared and confused. Who’s going to break first to explain what’s going down?
- Shh! [WATCH] - When Finn and Jake decide to spend the day in silence, BMO is scared and confused. Who’s going to break first to explain what’s going down? 5x21 - The Suitor [WATCH] - PB is being wooed by a guy who looks seriously exactly like a humanized banana guard IS NO ONE EVER GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS OR WHAT
- The Suitor [WATCH] - PB is being wooed by a guy who looks seriously IS NO ONE EVER GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS OR WHAT 5x22 - The Party’s Over [WATCH] - When Ice King realizes he and PB need a break, he sets out to do some soul-searching, and ends up helping a fellow unappreciated romantic through some relationship problems. (DISCLAIMER I AM JOKING ICE KING IS A CREEP NO HE IS NOT UNAPPRECIATED OR ROMANTIC HE IS JUST A FUCKING STALKER) (I mean okay obvs I love him he’s my second favourite character but just like to be clear that was facetious okay? okay good)
- The Party’s Over [WATCH] - When Ice King realizes he and PB need a break, he sets out to do some soul-searching, and ends up helping a fellow unappreciated romantic through some relationship problems. (DISCLAIMER I AM JOKING ICE KING IS A CREEP NO HE IS NOT UNAPPRECIATED OR ROMANTIC HE IS JUST A FUCKING STALKER) (I mean okay obvs I love him he’s my second favourite character but just like to be clear that was facetious okay? okay good) 5x23 - One Last Job [WATCH] - With Jake Jr in trouble, Jake must get his old gang back together to pull off one last heist.
- One Last Job [WATCH] - With Jake Jr in trouble, Jake must get his old gang back together to pull off one last heist. 5x24 - Another Five More Short Graybles [WATCH] - Cinnamon Bun is afraid of the dark, Finn and Jake are building a time machine, Ice King and the Gunts are having movie night, the Lemongrabs have a parenting disagreement, and the baby-eating fox is happy to be home from the big city. Or something.
- Another Five More Short Graybles [WATCH] - Cinnamon Bun is afraid of the dark, Finn and Jake are building a time machine, Ice King and the Gunts are having movie night, the Lemongrabs have a parenting disagreement, and the baby-eating fox is happy to be home from the big city. Or something. 5x25 - Candy Streets [WATCH] - LSP is in hysterics, but manages to convey that SOMEONE has stolen SOMETHING from SOMEWHERE. Probably. Finn and Jake are on the case, gumshoe-style!
- Candy Streets [WATCH] - LSP is in hysterics, but manages to convey that SOMEONE has stolen SOMETHING from SOMEWHERE. Probably. Finn and Jake are on the case, gumshoe-style! 5x26 - Wizards Only, Fools [WATCH] - Starchy has a cold, but he’ll only take a magical cure. PB thinks that is a load of junk, but accompanies Finn and Jake to Wizard City anyway.
- Wizards Only, Fools [WATCH] - Starchy has a cold, but he’ll only take a magical cure. PB thinks that is a load of junk, but accompanies Finn and Jake to Wizard City anyway. 5x27 - Jakesuit [WATCH] - Sick of Finn’s abuse while using Jake as a Jakesuit, Jake challenges Finn to endure being a Finnsuit and see how he likes it.
- Jakesuit [WATCH] - Sick of Finn’s abuse while using Jake as a Jakesuit, Jake challenges Finn to endure being a Finnsuit and see how he likes it. 5x28 - Be More [WATCH] - BMO is hurtin’, so Finn and Jake set out to find some tech support for their buddy.
- Be More [WATCH] - BMO is hurtin’, so Finn and Jake set out to find some tech support for their buddy. 5x29 - Sky Witch [WATCH] - Marcy has something important to retrieve from a witch, and she needs PB’s help.
- Sky Witch [WATCH] - Marcy has something important to retrieve from a witch, and she needs PB’s help. 5x30 - Frost & Fire [WATCH] - Finn is having some strange dreams and maybe some feelings he finds confusing, which cause him to act like a total donkus. Puberty junks us all up, brother, good luck.
- Frost & Fire [WATCH] - Finn is having some strange dreams and maybe some feelings he finds confusing, which cause him to act like a total donkus. Puberty junks us all up, brother, good luck. 5x31 - Too Old [WATCH] - PB and Finn attend a banquet hosted by the Earl(s??) of Lemongrab.
- Too Old [WATCH] - PB and Finn attend a banquet hosted by the Earl(s??) of Lemongrab. 5x32 - Earth & Water [WATCH] - Flame Princess has some stuff to work through. Fortunately Peebles and Cinnamon Bun are around to help. No way that could go horribly wrong.
- Earth & Water [WATCH] - Flame Princess has some stuff to work through. Fortunately Peebles and Cinnamon Bun are around to help. No way that could go horribly wrong. 5x33 - Time Sandwich [WATCH] - Jake creates a glorious and perfect sandwich of awesomeness, but before he can partake, Magic Man shows up to ruin everything as usual.
- Time Sandwich [WATCH] - Jake creates a glorious and perfect sandwich of awesomeness, but before he can partake, Magic Man shows up to ruin everything as usual. Ω ♥ 5x34 - The Vault [WATCH] - Finn’s got some repressed junk to deal with relating to ghost creeps and past lives and all kinds of shnaz.
- The Vault [WATCH] - Finn’s got some repressed junk to deal with relating to ghost creeps and past lives and all kinds of shnaz. ♪ 5x35 - Love Games [WATCH] - Slime Princess needs Finn’s help to keep her younger, hotter sister from taking over the Slime Kingdom.
- Love Games [WATCH] - Slime Princess needs Finn’s help to keep her younger, hotter sister from taking over the Slime Kingdom. 5x36 - Dungeon Train [WATCH] - Finn and Jake discover a neverending train full of monsters to fight. Awesome?
- Dungeon Train [WATCH] - Finn and Jake discover a neverending train full of monsters to fight. Awesome? 5x37 - The Box Prince [WATCH] - Finn tries to help a deposed prince reclaim his cardboard kingdom.
- The Box Prince [WATCH] - Finn tries to help a deposed prince reclaim his cardboard kingdom. 5x38 - Red Starved [WATCH] - Finn, Jake, and Marceline get caught in a cave-in, and there’s no red in sight. But Marcy’s getting hungry…
- Red Starved [WATCH] - Finn, Jake, and Marceline get caught in a cave-in, and there’s no red in sight. But Marcy’s getting hungry… 5x39 - We Fixed a Truck [WATCH] - When the boys find a broken-down pickup, they get their neighbor, Banana Man, to help them get it running again.
- We Fixed a Truck [WATCH] - When the boys find a broken-down pickup, they get their neighbor, Banana Man, to help them get it running again. 5x40 - Play Date [WATCH] - Ice King is still hanging around the tree fort, so Finn invites Abracadaniel over in the hopes that a new friend will give that geezer someone else to bother for once. Definitely no way this could go horribly awry.
- Play Date [WATCH] - Ice King is still hanging around the tree fort, so Finn invites Abracadaniel over in the hopes that a new friend will give that geezer someone else to bother for once. Definitely no way this could go horribly awry. 5x41 - The Pit [WATCH] - Jake’s been taken to another dimension, so Finn enlists Lady to help get him home.
- The Pit [WATCH] - Jake’s been taken to another dimension, so Finn enlists Lady to help get him home. 5x42 - James [WATCH] - PB brings Finn, Jake, and a candy citizen on a scouting mission in unexplored territory, but when things start to go wrong, could there be a saboteur among them?
- James [WATCH] - PB brings Finn, Jake, and a candy citizen on a scouting mission in unexplored territory, but when things start to go wrong, could there be a saboteur among them? 5x43 - Root Beer Guy [WATCH] - It seems like Finn and Jake might be up to no good… but only one guy seems to have noticed, and no one believes him. Could be a problem.
- Root Beer Guy [WATCH] - It seems like Finn and Jake might be up to no good… but only one guy seems to have noticed, and no one believes him. Could be a problem. 5x44 - Apple Wedding [WATCH] - Pig and Tree Trunks are getting married! Well, they’re trying, but first someone’s going to have to deal with a party-crashing LSP, mopey ex-husbands, and a particular pink overbearing despot.
- Apple Wedding [WATCH] - Pig and Tree Trunks are getting married! Well, they’re trying, but first someone’s going to have to deal with a party-crashing LSP, mopey ex-husbands, and a particular pink overbearing despot. 5x45 - Blade of Grass [WATCH] – With his father’s demon blood sword broken, Finn needs a new weapon, but the one he purchases (though super-sweet) might just be cursed. Dilemma.
- Blade of Grass [WATCH] – With his father’s demon blood sword broken, Finn needs a new weapon, but the one he purchases (though super-sweet) might just be cursed. Dilemma. 5x46 - Rattleballs [WATCH] - Finn meets a highly skilled warrior robot who teaches him the way of the sword.
- Rattleballs [WATCH] - Finn meets a highly skilled warrior robot who teaches him the way of the sword. 5x47 - The Red Throne [WATCH] - Flame Princess’s father is plotting to reclaim the throne, but fortunately Cinnamon Bun has got her back. No, really.
- The Red Throne [WATCH] - Flame Princess’s father is plotting to reclaim the throne, but fortunately Cinnamon Bun has got her back. No, really. Ω 5x48 - Betty [WATCH] - Ice King loses his powers, and Simon’s back to himself again. Which means he’s dying, but there’s someone he has to apologise to first.
- Betty [WATCH] - Ice King loses his powers, and Simon’s back to himself again. Which means he’s dying, but there’s someone he has to apologise to first. 5x49 - Bad Timing [WATCH] - PB invents a time travel device, and LSP meets a new guy.
- Bad Timing [WATCH] - PB invents a time travel device, and LSP meets a new guy. ¿ 5x50/5x51 - Lemonhope [WATCH] - Lemons.
- Lemonhope [WATCH] - Lemons. Ω 5x52 - Billy’s Bucket List [WATCH] - Finn tries to take care of his hero’s unfinished business.
SEASON SIX
Ω 6x01/6x02 - Wake Up/Escape from the Citadel [WATCH] - Finn and Jake need to get to the Citadel, and Prismo agrees to help. But the Lich beats them to it, and it seems he’s got some plans of his own.
- Wake Up/Escape from the Citadel [WATCH] - Finn and Jake need to get to the Citadel, and Prismo agrees to help. But the Lich beats them to it, and it seems he’s got some plans of his own. ♥ 6x03 - James II [WATCH] - An excess of James.
- James II [WATCH] - An excess of James. 6x04 - The Tower [WATCH] [alt]- Finn’s missing his arm, so he decides to build a tower into space so he can punch his dad and steal HIS arm instead. Solid plan, right?
- The Tower [WATCH] [alt]- Finn’s missing his arm, so he decides to build a tower into space so he can punch his dad and steal HIS arm instead. Solid plan, right? ¿ 6x05 - Sad Face [WATCH] - A circus, and a clown.
- Sad Face [WATCH] - A circus, and a clown. ♪ 6x06 - Breezy [WATCH] - Finn’s flower isn’t doing so well, and Finn himself isn’t feeling anything, but his new bee friend Breezy wants to help. Stay tuned for spook (me, that’s me) starting a petition to retitle this show ‘what the hell did I just watch.’
- Breezy [WATCH] - Finn’s flower isn’t doing so well, and Finn himself isn’t feeling anything, but his new bee friend Breezy wants to help. Stay tuned for spook (me, that’s me) starting a petition to retitle this show ‘what the hell did I just watch.’ ¿ 6x07 - Food Chain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake learn about the food chain by, um, living it.
- Food Chain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake learn about the food chain by, um, living it. 6x08 - Furniture & Meat [WATCH] - Mo’ treasure, mo’ problems.
- Furniture & Meat [WATCH] - Mo’ treasure, mo’ problems. 6x09 - The Prince Who Wanted Everything [WATCH] - LSPrincess has a story to share with the Ice King, and LSPrince has a lesson to learn from Fionna the Human.
- The Prince Who Wanted Everything [WATCH] - LSPrincess has a story to share with the Ice King, and LSPrince has a lesson to learn from Fionna the Human. 6x10 - Something Big [WATCH] - Something something Maja something Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant something something feelings?? Listen I don’t know what I’m watching anymore ok
- Something Big [WATCH] - Something something Maja something Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant something something feelings?? Listen I don’t know what I’m watching anymore ok ♪ 6x11 - Little Brother [WATCH] - Shelby has an accident, ends up with a little brother, and turns to Jake for brotherly advice. Well, giving Finn a sword worked out pretty well…
- Little Brother [WATCH] - Shelby has an accident, ends up with a little brother, and turns to Jake for brotherly advice. Well, giving a sword worked out pretty well… 6x12 - Ocarina [WATCH] - Kim Kil Whan buys the treehouse and tries to teach Jake a lesson about responsibility. It goes suuuper well.
- Ocarina [WATCH] - Kim Kil Whan buys the treehouse and tries to teach Jake a lesson about responsibility. It goes suuuper well. 6x13 - Thanks for the Crabapples, Giuseppe [WATCH] - Ice King and his fellow offbeats go on a wizard road trip to form their own secret society.
- Thanks for the Crabapples, Giuseppe [WATCH] - Ice King and his fellow offbeats go on a wizard road trip to form their own secret society. 6x14 - Princess Day [WATCH] - Breakfast Princess gets rude with LSP. Mistake! Time for her and Marceline to mess up the Breakfast Kingdom way bad.
- Princess Day [WATCH] - Breakfast Princess gets rude with LSP. Mistake! Time for her and Marceline to mess up the Breakfast Kingdom way bad. 6x15 - Nemesis [WATCH] - There’s a great evil in the Candy Kingdom which must be stopped.
- Nemesis [WATCH] - There’s a great evil in the Candy Kingdom which must be stopped. 6x16 - Joshua and Margaret Investigations [WATCH] - Finn and Jake’s parents fought monsters, too! Even when their mom was way super about-to-pop pregnant, apparently.
- Joshua and Margaret Investigations [WATCH] - Finn and Jake’s parents fought monsters, too! Even when their mom was way super about-to-pop pregnant, apparently. 6x17 - Ghost Fly [WATCH] - Jake kills a fly, because flies are disgusting. But ghost flies seem to be worse. Oops?
- Ghost Fly [WATCH] - Jake kills a fly, because flies are disgusting. But ghost flies seem to be worse. Oops? 6x18 - Everything’s Jake [WATCH] - Bender searches inside himself and finds that Fry has been with him all along Jake goes on an inner journey, but like, literally. not really spiritually so much.
- Everything’s Jake [WATCH] - Jake goes on an inner journey, but like, literally. not really spiritually so much. ♥ 6x19 - Is That You? [WATCH] - Jake and Finn mourn Prismo, and then things get super bananas up in their dreamspace.
- Is That You? [WATCH] - Jake and Finn mourn Prismo, and then things get super bananas up in their dreamspace. 6x20 - Jake the Brick [WATCH] - Jake observes nature as he spends some time as just another brick in the wall.
- Jake the Brick [WATCH] - Jake observes nature as he spends some time as just another brick in the wall. 6x21 - Dentist [WATCH] - Finn’s tooth is in real bad shape, and he has to face facts: it is time for him to Go Dentist.
- Dentist [WATCH] - Finn’s tooth is in real bad shape, and he has to face facts: it is time for him to Go Dentist. 6x22 - The Cooler [WATCH] - There’s a crisis in the Flame Kingdom, and FP makes the (objectively terrible??) decision to turn to PB for help.
- The Cooler [WATCH] - There’s a crisis in the Flame Kingdom, and FP makes the (objectively terrible??) decision to turn to PB for help. 6x23 - Pajama Wars [WATCH] - Sleepover in the Candy Kingdom! Nothing terrible is happening.
- Pajama Wars [WATCH] - Sleepover in the Candy Kingdom! Nothing terrible is happening. Ω 6x24 - Evergreen [WATCH] - Master Evergreen and his lizardy minion Gunther attempt to save the world.
- Evergreen [WATCH] - Master Evergreen and his lizardy minion Gunther attempt to save the world. ¿Ω 6x25 - Astral Plane [WATCH] - Finn goes on an astral adventure, and sees some junk that may be relevant soon.
- Astral Plane [WATCH] - Finn goes on an astral adventure, and sees some junk that may be relevant soon. 6x26 - Gold Stars [WATCH] - Sweet P starts school, and makes some new (terrible) friends.
- Gold Stars [WATCH] - Sweet P starts school, and makes some new (terrible) friends. 6x27 - The Visitor [WATCH] - Finn follows his dream from Astral Plane and finds his least favourite massive disappointment at the end of the trail.
- The Visitor [WATCH] - Finn follows his dream from Astral Plane and finds his least favourite massive disappointment at the end of the trail. 6x28 - The Mountain [WATCH] - It’s a Lemongrab episode. I don’t know anymore.
- The Mountain [WATCH] - It’s a Lemongrab episode. I don’t know anymore. 6x29 - Dark Purple [WATCH] - Susan Strong and some brave hyoomans on a rescue mission.
- Dark Purple [WATCH] - Susan Strong and some brave hyoomans on a rescue mission. 6x30 - The Diary [WATCH] - Fandom can be a consuming thing. TV finds an old diary and gets a little too into it.
- The Diary [WATCH] - Fandom can be a consuming thing. TV finds an old diary and gets a little too into it. 6x31 - Walnuts & Rain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake get separated and go on different (weird) journeys.
- Walnuts & Rain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake get separated and go on different (weird) journeys. 6x32 - Friends Forever [WATCH] - Ice King tries to make himself some new friends. It goes terribly.
- Friends Forever [WATCH] - Ice King tries to make himself some new friends. It goes terribly. 6x33 - Jermaine [WATCH] - After Jake has a shared dream with Jermaine, the boys go to visit their brother, who’s still living in their childhood home.
- Jermaine [WATCH] - After Jake has a shared dream with Jermaine, the boys go to visit their brother, who’s still living in their childhood home. 6x34 - Chips and Ice Cream [WATCH] - Chips, chips chips chips. Ice cream ice cream. (A travelling performer passes his curse on to Jake. It doesn’t go well.)
- Chips and Ice Cream [WATCH] - Chips, chips chips chips. Ice cream ice cream. (A travelling performer passes his curse on to Jake. It doesn’t go well.) 6x35 - Graybles 1000+ [WATCH] - Graybles, again, some more. Apparently the Candy Kingdom is still around however much further in the future, and someone’s still putting up string lights at Marceline’s. So there’s that.
- Graybles 1000+ [WATCH] - Graybles, again, some more. Apparently the Candy Kingdom is still around however much further in the future, and someone’s still putting up string lights at Marceline’s. So there’s that. 6x36 - Hoots [WATCH] - The Cosmic Owl gets distracted by a mystery lady’s pretty set of tailfeathers.
- Hoots [WATCH] - The Cosmic Owl gets distracted by a mystery lady’s pretty set of tailfeathers. 6x37 - Water Park Prank [WATCH] - Finn and Jake (and the Ice King) spend the day at the water park.
- Water Park Prank [WATCH] - Finn and Jake (and the Ice King) spend the day at the water park. 6x38 - You Forgot Your Floaties [WATCH] - Magic Man, up to his usual biz, but this time he’s getting a helping hand from Betty. No way this will go horribly wrong??
- You Forgot Your Floaties [WATCH] - Magic Man, up to his usual biz, but this time he’s getting a helping hand from Betty. No way this will go horribly wrong?? 6x39 - Be Sweet [WATCH] - For some inexplicable reason, Tree Trunks thinks LSP is a good choice for a babysitter. Yikes.
- Be Sweet [WATCH] - For some inexplicable reason, Tree Trunks thinks LSP is a good choice for a babysitter. Yikes. 6x40 - Orgalorg [WATCH] - Gunther and the Gunts throw a houseparty.
- Orgalorg [WATCH] - Gunther and the Gunts throw a houseparty. 6x41 - On the Lam [WATCH] - Martin finds another group of adorable creatures to try to exploit. yay.
- On the Lam [WATCH] - Martin finds another group of adorable creatures to try to exploit. yay. 6x42/6x43 - Hot Diggity Doom/The Comet [WATCH] - An election in the Candy Kingdom, and an impending catastrophe.
SEASON SEVEN
7x01 - Bonnie & Neddy [WATCH] - The King of Ooo continues his efforts to be the worst. PB has to help someone important to her get back to where he belongs.
- Bonnie & Neddy [WATCH] - The King of Ooo continues his efforts to be the worst. PB has to help someone important to her get back to where he belongs. 7x02 - Varmints [WATCH] - Bubblegum tries to protect her pumpkin patch; Marceline lends a hand.
- Varmints [WATCH] - Bubblegum tries to protect her pumpkin patch; Marceline lends a hand. 7x03 - Cherry Cream Soda [WATCH] - A candy citizen comes back from the dead, causing some complications for those he’d left behind.
- Cherry Cream Soda [WATCH] - A candy citizen comes back from the dead, causing some complications for those he’d left behind. 7x04 - Mama Said [WATCH] - While out on a mission for the King of Ooo, Finn and Jake run into Billy’s ex-gf Canyon and decide to help her out instead.
- Mama Said [WATCH] - While out on a mission for the King of Ooo, Finn and Jake run into Billy’s ex-gf Canyon and decide to help her out instead. 7x05 - Football [WATCH] - BMO tries to do something nice for a friend. It does not go well.
- Football [WATCH] - BMO tries to do something nice for a friend. It does not go well. 7x06/7x07 - Stakes: Marceline the Vampire Queen/Everything Stays [WATCH] - Marceline has a favour to ask of PB, which results in her reflecting on the last thousand years of her life.
- Stakes: Marceline the Vampire Queen/Everything Stays [WATCH] - Marceline has a favour to ask of PB, which results in her reflecting on the last thousand years of her life. 7x08 - Stakes: Vamps About [WATCH] - Marceline’s old nemeses are back, and she’s absolutely down to take ‘em all on again.
- Stakes: Vamps About [WATCH] - Marceline’s old nemeses are back, and she’s absolutely down to take ‘em all on again. 7x09 - Stakes: The Empress Eyes [WATCH] - Targeting the Ice King? Possibly not the greatest plan a vampire could have.
- Stakes: The Empress Eyes [WATCH] - Targeting the Ice King? Possibly not the greatest plan a vampire could have. 7x10 - Stakes: May I Come In [WATCH] - Jake finds his courage.
- Stakes: May I Come In [WATCH] - Jake finds his courage. 7x11 - Stakes: Take Her Back [WATCH] - Marceline’s out of commission, so it’s up to Finn and Jake to take on The Moon.
- Stakes: Take Her Back [WATCH] - Marceline’s out of commission, so it’s up to Finn and Jake to take on The Moon. 7x12 - Stakes: Checkmate [WATCH] - Four down, one to go.
- Stakes: Checkmate [WATCH] - Four down, one to go. ♫ 7x13 - Stakes: The Dark Cloud [WATCH] - Everything stays, but it still changes.
- Stakes: The Dark Cloud [WATCH] - Everything stays, but it still changes. 7x14/7x15 - The More You Moe/The Moe You Know [WATCH (watermarked)] - It’s BMO’s birthday, and a special guest is coming with a special mission for our lil robot buddy. yay?
- The More You Moe/The Moe You Know [WATCH (watermarked)] - It’s BMO’s birthday, and a special guest is coming with a special mission for our lil robot buddy. yay? 7x16 - Summer Showers [WATCH] - Viola helps LSP put on a play, and Jake is super proud.
- Summer Showers [WATCH] - Viola helps LSP put on a play, and Jake is super proud. 7x17 - Angel Eyes [WATCH] - BMO bribes Finn and Jake into playing cowboys and bandits.
- Angel Eyes [WATCH] - BMO bribes Finn and Jake into playing cowboys and bandits. 7x18 - President Porpoise Is Missing! [WATCH] - An undersea authority figure appears to have vanished.
- President Porpoise Is Missing! [WATCH] - An undersea authority figure appears to have vanished. 7x19 - Blank-Eyed Girl [WATCH] - Urban legends may or may not be baloney, and may or may not be out to get you.
- Blank-Eyed Girl [WATCH] - Urban legends may or may not be baloney, and may or may not be out to get you. 7x20 - Bad Jubies [WATCH] - One heck of a storm brewing up some real nasty vibes.
- Bad Jubies [WATCH] - One heck of a storm brewing up some real nasty vibes. 7x21 - King’s Ransom [WATCH] - Ice King isn’t going to let anything stop him from rescuing his best bud, and Finn and Jake have got his back.
- King’s Ransom [WATCH] - Ice King isn’t going to let anything stop him from rescuing his best bud, and Finn and Jake have got his back. 7x22 - Scamps [WATCH] - Finn rehabilitates some bad seeds.
- Scamps [WATCH] - Finn rehabilitates some bad seeds. 7x23 - Crossover [WATCH] - Prismo needs Finn and Jake’s help with a junked-up timeline.
- Crossover [WATCH] - Prismo needs Finn and Jake’s help with a junked-up timeline. 7x24 - The Hall of Egress [WATCH] - A dungeon keeps hitting the reset button every time Finn tries to exit.
- The Hall of Egress [WATCH] - A dungeon keeps hitting the reset button every time Finn tries to exit. 7x25 - Flute Spell [WATCH] - Does Finn have a new girl in his life, or is he working on a different sort of magic?
- Flute Spell [WATCH] - Does Finn have a new girl in his life, or is he working on a different sort of magic? 7x26 - The Thin Yellow Line [WATCH] - It Is Okay To Be You, ft. The Banana Guards
- The Thin Yellow Line [WATCH] - It Is Okay To Be You, ft. The Banana Guards 7x27 - Broke His Crown [WATCH] - Bonnie and Marcie try to have a dinner date with the IK, but his crown is up to some weird biz.
- Broke His Crown [WATCH] - Bonnie and Marcie try to have a dinner date with the IK, but his crown is up to some weird biz. 7x28 - Don’t Look [WATCH] - Finn fails to follow the literal only instruction given.
- Don’t Look [WATCH] - Finn fails to follow the literal only instruction given. 7x29 - Beyond the Grotto [WATCH] - Sea lard rescue 911
- Beyond the Grotto [WATCH] - Sea lard rescue 911 7x30 - Lady Rainicorn of the Crystal Dimension [WATCH] - TV finds a weird box.
- Lady Rainicorn of the Crystal Dimension [WATCH] - TV finds a weird box. 7x31 - I Am A Sword [WATCH] - FinnSword gets straight up hijacked.
- I Am A Sword [WATCH] - FinnSword gets straight up hijacked. 7x32 - Bun |
by 200 MHz). Interestingly, you can actually pick up the 1800X on Amazon.com for just $419, making it just 42% of the cost of its bigger brother. With the move to the HEDT platform you get the advantages in PCIe lanes and quad-channel memory but you are more limited on your motherboard selection (they are going to be priced higher) and you’ll need a beefier cooling solution to keep that 180 watt rating in check.
I’m incredibly interested in the value of the Ryzen Threadripper 1900X when it becomes available at just $549.
AMD’s Threadripper processors use the same die as the Ryzen 7/5/3 CPUs, but in a package resembling the AMD EPYC data center processors announced this summer. When we talked with AMD at its tech day in July about this, they confirmed that while all Threadripper processors have four pieces of silicon under the heat spreader, only two have transistors on them, making the other two dummy-dies used only for thermal balancing and providing structure to the heat spreader itself.The owners of Goodweeds Lounge, a newly opened recreational pot bar in Toronto's east end, have been charged with multiple trafficking and possession-related offenses following a police raid that took place Thursday evening.
Chris and Erin Goodwin opened up the vapor lounge a few weeks ago where customers can purchase dabs and bong hits on site as long as they're aged 18 and older. No medical prescription is necessary.
But Toronto police confirmed they executed a search warrant at the venue, located at 940 Danforth Avenue, under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act on Thursday evening.
Both owners are facing charges of possession for the purpose (of trafficking), marijuana; possession for the purpose, cannabis resin; and possession of proceeds of crime. Erin Goodwin has additionally been charged with possession of marijuana. The shop's windows are currently papered over. A police spokeswoman told VICE the investigation was prompted by a complaint in the community. The couple was scheduled to make a first appearance in court Friday.
Longtime pot activist Jamie McConnell was at Goodweeds when the raid took place; he was due to start working there as a manager today. He told VICE at around 5 PM, a dozen cops—half in uniform and the other half from the drug squad—entered the store.
Chris saw the plainclothes officers first, according to McConnell, and assumed they were patrons.
"Chris said, 'Five dollars, guys.' And Erin said, 'They're cops.' They came around the bar and me, Chris, and Erin were put in handcuffs," he said.
Around 15 to 20 customers were there at the time. The cops spoke to them, "I guess to lecture them on the evils of weed," said McConnell, and then let them go.
McConnell said immediately after entering, the cops shut down the security cameras in the store. He said they referred to another raid they'd been filmed conducting.
The officers pressed Chris Goodwin to admit the shop was illegal, according to McConnell, even referring to a recent segment on Daily VICE.
"They said, 'You said it's illegal on the VICE video,'" he said.
"I heard them say to Chris, 'Is there any big safe or anything? Where are the drugs, we don't want to tear the place apart.''"
He witnessed them confiscate two vacuum-sealed bags of shatter.
McConnell said the officers were "reasonable" considering that the raid was a "complete waste of resources."
Reached by phone Friday, Goodweeds co-owner Don Briere said the raid amounts to "willful blindness."
"The cannabis wars that have been raging for 60 to 70 years are now over, as declared by the government. We'd like to know what's going on," he said.
He added that lawyers will be getting involved and that he thinks the charges will be dropped. "They're going to make a big squawk about it it and do all kinds of stuff and as time rolls along it's going to be dropped."
McConnell said activists know how to play the system and that's what he expects the Goodwins to do in this case.
"I don't see them making plea deals. Just expect a bunch of remands and lawyers and firings," he said. "I would not be in front of a judge until it's legal."
Both men said they hope the shop will be up and running soon.
Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.A bizarre and disturbing story, via Opposing Views:
Moussa Diarra, 48, an African native, wanted to have anal intercourse with his 24-year-old wife. When she refused, he forcibly sodomized her before attempting to circumcise the woman around 9 p.m. Sept. 14 at his Manhattan apartment, the New York Post reports. The victim called police about a week after the assault. Diarra, who is a native of the Ivory Coast, where male and female circumcision is widespread, was arrested on Sept. 23, according to court records.
prevalent among Muslim women, and is also deeply rooted in traditional Animist initiation rites in western, central and northern Cote d’Ivoire. The practice on village women is strongly linked to the survival of local secret societies and mask-cults at the heart of village spiritual life. The clitoris is thought to possess power and its removal during initiation gives that power to the village spirits and traditional spiritual leaders or masks, without which the spirits/masks and the entire village would die. Attempts to eradicate the practice, or even to transform it from a physical to a symbolic act, are perceived as threatening to “assassinate the people” of the village.
There are African countries, such as Nigeria, whose Christian populations engage in female genital mutilation (FGM) on a scale equal to or greater than Muslims perform FGM in their families and communities. That’s not the case in Ivory Coast, where, a U.S. State Department report says,
More about what exactly took place in the Diarra household, and why, should come out at trial. The suspect is scheduled to appear in court on October 27. He faces charges of forcible sex act, aggravated sexual assault by compulsion, attempted assault with intent to disfigure or dismember, and assault with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon.
He maintains that the allegations are false, and says he doesn’t know who cut his wife.Books Interviews
Michael Haag has written travel guides to Greece, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, published by Cadogan Books and The American University in Cairo Press. He has also written Alexandria: City of Memory, about Constantine Cavafy, E M Forster and Lawrence Durrell in Alexandria, which was published by Yale University Press, and “The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon’s Temple to the Freemasons” published in Britain by Profile Books and in America by Harper Collins. Michael recently returned to the inexhaustible topic of the Crusades with ” The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States.” In this special interview for the Knights Templar Vault, Michael Haag shares his perspective on the history of the Middle East and the Crusades.
Q. Michael, thank you for kindly agreeing to be interviewed for the Knights Templar Vault. It is pretty obvious that you have a strong interest in the history of the Middle East and the Crusades. How did this interest develop and at what point did you decide that among dozens of books about the Knights Templar there is room for at least a couple more and you should write them?
A. I love the Mediterranean; the warmth and the fragrance. I am especially attracted to the Eastern Mediterranean, warmer and more pungent; also it is very old, and I am fascinated by the multiple overlays of history – often expressed in the architecture of temples, churches, synagogues and mosques, sometimes built upon one another or growing out of one another. Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, all have their Mediterranean aspects and have shared in its history; all have their connections with other Mediterranean countries, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and across North Africa. All have been part of the Roman Empire, and before that all the Eastern Mediterranean was part of the Hellenistic world. So for me the Middle East is part of something much larger in time and space.
My specific interest in the crusades was inspired by the young T E Lawrence when he was not yet ‘of Arabia’. In 1909, during the summer of his twenty-first birthday, he walked 1100 miles through Palestine and Syria, visiting scores of crusader castles. After reading of his journey and his descriptions of the castles, I decided to follow in his footsteps, or rather I cheated and I drove through much of Syria in a car.
You cannot visit castles like Krak, Safita, Margat and Saone without being amazed at the scale of the endeavour, the magnificence of their design and the beauty of the landscapes they survey. I knew the ancient sites of Greece and Egypt well; Syria, I discovered, not only has ancient sites but also wonderful castles, and to visit them is to awaken stories of battles and sieges and lonely mountain vigils. That is how my interest in the crusades began.
As for the Templars, they seemed a way into the complexity of the subject, the two hundred years of the crusader East – Outremer as it was known, the land across the sea, across the Mediterranean. The story of Outremer could focus on this elite force of a few hundred men. That is how many Templar knights there were at any one time, mounted and stationed in the East; very few, very brave, in a sense unconquerable because no sooner were they killed off than they were replaced. In the course of two hundred years at least twenty thousand Templars were killed, either on the battlefield or after being taken captive and refusing to renounce their faith to save their lives.
The Templars were the heroes of the age; they were celebrated in legend and song, admired and supported by laymen, clergy, kings and popes, as well as by the people they defended in the East, the pilgrims and the native townsmen and farmers. The whole tremendous effort from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries to hold back the Muslim tide – which in effect was a massive migration of newly Islamised Turks from Central Asia – seemed to rest on the shoulders of the Templars. Their fate and the fate of Outremer – that land of native Christians bolstered by settlers from round the Mediterranean – were entwined; so that to tell the story of the Templars is a way of telling the story about everything.
I have been to the scenes of that story. Saladin’s Citadel in Cairo; the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; the fortified Cathedral of Our Lady at Tartus; the secret Templar tunnel beneath the streets of Acre; the Horns of Hattin in Galilee; and those wonderful castles everywhere, Christian and Muslim. Being there makes a difference – the past comes alive. I wanted to tell that story, the story of the Templars and Outremer.
Q. When I first saw the cover of your new book The Tragedy of the Templars (the subtitle The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States somehow escaped my attention) I immediately assumed that having finished a book that covered the history of the Order in its entirety, you decided to turn to the final chapters of the Knights Templar history. But that was not the case at all! The book still deals with the entire span of the Order’s history, with more depth and possibly even with more passion. What was the background behind writing this project?
A. I was haunted by something written by the English traveller Henry Maundrell. Even four centuries after the fall of Acre in 1291, when the last Templars were driven from the coast of Outremer, the devastation wrought by the Mamelukes was still apparent. In 1697 Maundrell recorded the ‘many ruins of castles and houses, which testify that this country, however it be neglected at present, was once in the hands of a people that knew how to value it, and thought it worth the defending’.
The fall of the crusader states caused grief and anger in the West. The sins of the inhabitants of Outremer were blamed, as was the failure of the leaders of European Christendom to provide ample and timely aid, and the Templars were blamed too. No one was exempt. But it was the Templars who felt the loss most intensely. The defence of the Holy Land and the protection of pilgrims was their raison d’être. Now cast out from the Holy Land, the Templars found themselves vulnerable to the machinations and greed of the king of France. After seven long years of tortures, imprisonments and trials during which the Templars were humiliated, slandered and destroyed, and the last of the Templars, the grand master Jacques de Molay, was burnt alive at the stake.
But even worse was the fate of the native inhabitants of the East after the fall of Outremer. When the Templar fortress in Acre fell, it was the beginning of those scenes of devastation described by Maundrell, the devastation of their country and their lives. At the command of the Mameluke sultan al-Ashraf Khalil the survivors were led outside the walls where their heads were cut off and their city was smashed to pieces until almost nothing was left standing, a devastation that was repeated everywhere up and down the coast.
When Rudolph of Suchem came upon the spot forty years after Acre’s fall he found only a few peasants living amid the desolation of what had once been the splendid capital of Outremer. ‘Since that day’, he wrote, ‘all Christian women, whether gentle or simple, who dwell along the eastern shore [of the Mediterranean] dress in black garments of mourning and woe for the lost grandeur of Acre, even to this day’.
The testimony of Henry Maundrell and Rudolph of Suchem is a reminder that it was primarily the native inhabitants who suffered with the defeat of Outremer.
There are two serious misconceptions that people often hold about what we call the crusades (the term is a later invention and was not used at the time). The first is that the crusades were wars of aggression conducted by the West against the East. But that is the opposite of the truth.
In my book I have looked at the conditions in the East as they were before the crusades, at the circumstances of the beleaguered population – a population that remained overwhelmingly Christian 400 years after the Arab conquest. This Christian East had recently suffered a new invasion, this time by the recently Islamised Turks who in 1071 overran not only Palestine and Syria, but also Asia Minor, a vast and prosperous part of the Byzantine Empire, and soon stood on the Bosphorus opposite Constantinople, whose emperor called to his fellow Christians in the West for help.
These dangers and oppressions in the East understandably aroused a reaction in the West. In 1095 Pope Urban II called for the defence and liberation of the East, but neither the pope nor Christianity nor the West initiated the conflict. Rather, for centuries Islam had been on the attack. Already in the eighth century Muslim forces had occupied Spain; soon they invaded southern France, Sicily and the toe and heel of Italy; for a time they controlled the Alpine passes into Switzerland. In 846, a Muslim fleet even sailed up the River Tiber and sacked Rome. The crusades were part of a centuries-long struggle between Islam and Christianity throughout the Mediterranean world.
The second misconception is that the entire two centuries between the First Crusade which captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the end of Outremer when Acre fell in 1291 was all about fighting, and moreover was a continuous religious war of Christians against Muslims, and that meanwhile the Franks, the people from the West, lived insecure lives in walled towns and hardly mixed with the local population. This view is also wrong.
Most of the knights and other soldiers who made up the First Crusade very soon returned home to the West, but other people came East – farmers and artisans mostly, from southern Europe. This sort of migration was common round the Mediterranean as peoples’ ancient lands – in Spain, Sicily, southern Italy – were being liberated from Muslim occupation. To a farmer from Lombardy or a stone mason from Burgundy, settling in Palestine or Syria was little different from starting life anew in Languedoc or Catalonia.
They soon mixed with the local population, often living in the same villages, sharing the same churches, learning the local languages and reviving the old culture but with a new flavour. Intermarriage was common at all levels of society, so that it took no more than a generation for the ruling families of Outremer – the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, and the Counties of Tripoli and Edessa – to become as much Eastern in descent as European. For two hundred years the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean were rejoined to the wider Mediterranean world. And thanks to support from the West, they enjoyed a prosperity, a freedom from discrimination, persecution and oppression, and a degree of self-rule they had not known since Byzantine times and were never to know again.
The Templars illustrate this peaceful situation. At first their role was primarily to patrol the roads, to escort pilgrims as they made their way from one holy site to another – there was a danger of brigandage from Arab bedouins but hardly more; as yet there were no battles to fight. The Templars also founded settlements and helped develop the rural economy by building roads and bridges, watermills and granaries, and by establishing glassworks in the countryside.
Local Muslims were likewise the beneficiaries of the settled conditions enjoyed by Outremer. Ibn Jubayr, a Spanish Muslim who had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, wrote of his journey through Outremer in 1184 as he travelled between Damascus and Acre: ‘The Muslims here own their own houses and rule themselves in their own way. This is the way the farms and big villages are organised in Frankish territory. Many Muslims are sorely tempted to settle here when they see the far from comfortable conditions in which their brethren live in the districts under Muslim rule. Unfortunately for the Muslims, they have always reason for complaint about the injustices of their chiefs in the lands governed by their co-religionists, whereas they can have nothing but praise for the conduct of the Franks, whose justice they can always rely on’.
Ibn Jubayr’s account is all the more striking as he was otherwise resolutely opposed to the Franks. But he could not deny the respect with which the Franks treated his fellow Muslims. In Acre itself he discovered that, though two mosques had been converted to churches, Muslims were nevertheless free to use them as meeting places and to pray in them, facing towards Mecca. There was nothing unusual about this; the Arab diplomat Usamah ibn Munqidh mentions in his memoirs the hospitality he received from the Templars who welcomed him to pray in their chapel within their headquarters on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
All this changed however when Saladin began his jihad. Then the period of warfare and castles began. From then on the fate of Outremer depended largely on the courage and resolve and the fighting qualities of the Templars. And so my book does not confine itself only to the last years of the Templars. To understand why the fall of the Templars mattered, and what was lost when the Templars fell, it is necessary to understand the land and the civilisation they fought to defend.
Q. I have a quote that I would like you to comment on. It is from a book by Diane Stanley, entitled Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam. It actually appears on reading lists at some American public middle schools.
“One day this boy [Saladin] heard a dreadful story. Forty years before he was born, his country had suddenly been invaded by thousands of Franks, fierce barbarians from the West. They were Christians, and because the land was holy to them, they thought it should be theirs. So they rode in with their swords and lances and conquered one Muslim city after another. Then they turned inland and, in 1099, they took the Holy City of Jerusalem, murdering everyone who lived there – Muslims, Jews, and even Christians.”
I understand that it is unfair to judge a book based on a single quote, but are there any general thoughts that occur to you after reading this?
A. I gather that Diane Stanley writes and illustrates books for young people and I suppose she wants everyone to hold hands and be nice. But that is no excuse for her profound ignorance and general silliness.
She describes the Franks as alien barbarians conquering Muslim cities. But the outsiders were the Arabs and they were also oppressors who ruled over what was still at that time a majority native Christian population with, in Palestine, a significant Jewish minority – an oppression marked in numerous ways, including imposing discriminatory taxes on Christians and Jews, refusing permission to repair or rebuild churches and synagogues, forbidding them to ride horses or mules, forcing them to wear distinctive clothing, and not admitting their testimony against a Muslim in a court of law.
Think for example of Arab rule in Spain and Portugal which lasted nearly eight hundred years, almost twice as long as Arab rule had lasted in the Middle East by the time of the First Crusade. Does Diane Stanley think that it was wrong to fight against the Arab occupation of the Iberian peninsula? Is it wrong that Barcelona and Madrid and Lisbon today are not garrisoned by Muslim armies? She ought to write and illustrate a book about that.
And by the way, when the Franks finally took Jerusalem in 1099 they did not, as Stanley says, murder everyone who lived in the city, whether Muslim, Jew or Christian. By the conventions of the time, a city that did not surrender was subject to the death or slavery of its inhabitants. The Franks met long and stout resistance before they stormed Jerusalem, and when they did so they killed three thousand people, according to an informed Arab source. I am not defending what happened, but it was not ‘murdering everyone who lived there’. Twenty-two years earlier in 1077 when the Turks laid siege to Jerusalem and the city agreed terms and freely opened its gates – which meant that the lives and liberty of everyone should be spared – the Turks nevertheless murdered three thousand of its inhabitants in cold blood. But Stanley says nothing about that.
Saladin was a Kurd but he was not born in Kurdistan, instead he was born in about 1138 in Tikrit in Iraq where his father was appointed governor by the Turkish Seljuk sultan. Tikrit had once been an important Christian city just as Iraq had been a major centre of Christianity – as important a centre of Christianity as Constantinople and Rome; but then the Arabs invaded Iraq and were followed by the conquering Turks.
In that sense the story of Iraq is similar to that of many other places in the Middle East – the native Christian population was imposed upon by Muslim Arabs who in turn were imposed upon by Muslim Turks.
So Saladin was a Kurd, a Turkified Kurd, born in Iraq, which was not his native land; nor was Iraq ever invaded by crusaders. Maybe Diane Stanley was thinking of Syria when she wrote of ‘his country’; Saladin spent his boyhood in Lebanon and Syria where Saladin’s father was employed to seize the country from rival Turks who had seized it from the Arabs who had seized it from the native Christians who were still the majority of the population. Or maybe when she wrote ‘his country’ she was thinking of Egypt which Saladin invaded and where he overturned an Arab regime which ruled over a Christian majority population.
Saladin was not much interested in Christians or crusaders; in the fifteen years of his military career leading up to his capture of Jerusalem in 1187 he spent no more than thirteen months fighting the Franks; the other fourteen years were spent fighting fellow Muslims, both Arabs and Turks.
In this his purpose was two-fold. Saladin, like the Turks and Kurds generally, was a Sunni Muslim whose religious leader, the caliph, was at Baghdad, but Egypt at the time was in the hands of the Fatimids who were Shia Muslims who had their own caliph at Cairo. These were the two great centres of the Muslim world, each at the heart of a Muslim empire – and they were deadly rivals. The Shia and the Sunni each saw the other as heretics, and each wanted to eliminate the other and make themselves masters of the world. For Saladin war against the Shia mattered far more than war against Christians who, after all, were not a threat to Islam nor to Islamic orthodoxy.
Saladin’s second purpose – many Muslims at the time said it was his primary purpose – had less to do with religion than with power; he wanted to become supreme ruler and to establish a dynasty for himself. Saladin’s suzerain, the caliph at Baghdad, was fully aware of this; when Saladin captured Jerusalem, the caliph, who had been relying on the Franks to keep Saladin in check, remarked, ‘This man thinks that he will overturn [my] dynasty’.
The period bracketed by the crusades can be better understood as a renewed outbreak of the latent civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims which began in the earliest years of Islam and continues to this day.
Diane Stanley writes of Saladin learning as a boy that ‘his country’ had ‘suddenly been invaded’ by ‘fierce barbarians from the West’. But the crusades were no invasion; they were a response to a plea for help from the Christians of Jerusalem and the Christian emperor of the Byzantine Empire after the Turks had invaded Asia Minor and the Middle East, causing destruction wherever they went, and threatening to cross the Bosphorus, capture Constantinople, and overrun Europe itself. But no one ever invited the Arabs or the Turks to invade and occupy the Middle East.
Saladin would not have talked of ‘his country’ or been recognised as one of themselves by the majority Christians or the minority Arab Muslims of the Middle East. Neither the Syrians nor the Egyptians spoke Turkish, which was Saladin’s language of command. His army was overwhelmingly Turkish; his personal bodyguard was an elite corps of Turkish Mameluke slave soldiers. As the Cambridge History of Islam states, Saladin’s army was an ‘alien’ army among the peoples of the Middle East. ‘Himself a Kurd, he established a regime and an army of the Turkish type’.
Without depreciating Saladin’s personal qualities for which the Franks rightly admired him, it is nevertheless fair to say that in capturing Egypt, and in all his wars against the Muslims of Syria and the Franks of Outremer, Saladin was not a liberator; he was an alien leading an alien army of conquest and occupation – imposing himself on the majority native Christian population as well as usurping the position of their Arab oppressors who bitterly resisted his ambitions.
Q. What part of Templar mythology would you be most excited to see suddenly pick up and move into mainstream history, due to some newly discovered solid evidence?
A. The head. The evidence that the Templars used a head in their rituals is uncertain and anyway there are various explanations of what it was all about. The discovery of a head would be interesting – complete with an instruction booklet explaining how to use it, worship it, keep it fresh, and above all giving its name. Baphomet or what?
Q. Do you have any favorite Templars?
A. Very few Templars come through clearly enough in the records to sense anything about them as individuals. The main exception is Jacques de Molay, the last grand master. And I cannot say that I find him very inspiring; an earnest man but a bit of a political bumbler. Still, I admire his belief in and loyalty to his order, his insistence on its fundamental decency and worth, and the remarkable integrity, dignity and courage he showed in choosing to go to his death in the flames rather than put up with the crap the king of France was throwing at him.
Q. Not to dwell too much on the title of your book, but tragedy, in a traditional sense, requires catharsis. There has to be a profound redeeming experience, something that transcends pain, disillusion and even death, something that offers promise and hope. What can we glean from the Templars’ story that would hold value in our own predicaments?
A. The Templars met a miserable end. It was a calamity for them. But was it ever anything more? Were they merely a band of men fighting for a narrow cause whose time was up?
In fact at the western end of the Mediterranean, in the Iberian peninsula, where the recovery of lands from the Arabs was meeting with success, the Templars were valued and continued under a change of name. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean where the home of Christianity was overwhelmed by the massive Turkish invasion from Central Asia the war of recovery failed – and the Templars became the victims and scapegoats of that defeat.
The age was a religious one and many may have marched in the name of God. But the indigenous Christians of the East were not marching anywhere; the East was their home. After the First Crusade they were joined by settlers from elsewhere in the Mediterranean and revived their old culture that had been suppressed under centuries of Muslim occupation. These were the people of Outremer, the generations of men and women who worked the land, built houses and churches and roads, and whose shattered lives were remembered by Maundrell when he wrote that the ruined country through which he was passing was ‘once in the hands of a people that knew how to value it, and thought it worth the defending’.
The Templars were among those who thought the land was worth the defending.
I see many parallels between the present and the past in the Middle East; pick up a newspaper and you read about the same sorts of destructive causes fighting in the same places, rather than a cherishing of the land.
I am not sure that there is anything cathartic in the story. There is learning and understanding, however. It is better to recognise things for what they are, rather than believe that they are about something they are not.China soon to become Venezuela’s main trade partner; oil sales soared 60% this year
16th Thursday, August 2012 - 05:02 UTC Full article
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said 640.00 bpd are shipped to China
Venezuelan oil sales to China have jumped by 60% since the start of the year, the country's oil minister said in an interview published on Sunday in the state-run Correo del Orinoco.
The stepped up oil shipments to China are part of an effort by President Hugo Chavez to reduce reliance on the United States as the market for the bulk of its oil.
We are selling 640.000 barrels of petrol per day to China said Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez.
In February, Venezuela reported it was selling 400.000 barrels to the People's Republic. Ramirez said 264.000 barrels of oil would be used to repay the Latin American nation's debt to the Asian giant.
Last week, Chavez announced that China Development bank will inject some 4 billion dollars into development projects, to include housing, energy and industrial growth.
Caracas announced earlier this year that by 2015, it aims to sell one million barrels of crude to China daily, which would equal the amount it sells to the United States.
Ramirez said the increase in sales will be facilitated by increased production in the natural resource-rich Orinoco Oil Belt in the east of the country.
Venezuela produces about three million barrels of oil per day according to state figures, but the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says the oil supply is 2.3 million,
Before President Chavez took office in 1999, Venezuela did not ship oil to China, but petroleum exports have steadily increased over the last decade. Chavez said last year that China could soon surpass the United States as Venezuela's No. 1 trade partner due to a strategic alliance between the two countries.“We can’t be maudlin about this,” said Sister Mary Jean, 73, who still presides over the company’s board. “I mean, yes, we are a dying breed. We are disappearing from the face of the earth and all of that. That being said, perhaps this is a moment for people to acknowledge the contribution that has been made by women religious throughout our history in the United States.”
The leadership shift has stirred angst in many Catholic hospitals about whether the values imparted by the nuns, concerning the treatment of both patients and employees, can withstand bottom-line forces without their day-to-day vigilance. Although their influence is often described as intangible, the nuns kept their hospitals focused on serving the needy and brought a spiritual reassurance that healing would prevail over profit, authorities on Catholic health care say.
In the case of SSM, that has meant turning away business arrangements with doctors who decline to accept Medicaid. It has meant discounting treatment for the poor and offering charity care to the uninsured, just as the order’s founders did. The St. Louis nuns’ earliest ledgers denoted patients unable to pay as “Our dear Lord’s.”
The near extinction of nuns from American hospitals stems largely from the drastic decline of religious orders that accompanied the women’s movement, the sexual revolution, ethnic assimilation and the Second Vatican Council’s opening of the church to lay leadership.
Even as the country’s Roman Catholic population surged by nearly 50 percent over the last half-century, the number of nuns dropped precipitously, to 56,000 today from 180,000 in 1965, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. In 2009, 91 percent of all nuns were at least 60 years old.
Sister Mary Jean’s order has dwindled to about 100 from a peak of more than 500. Most moved out of their convent last year and into a retirement and nursing home. There has not been an initiate for 25 years, and several years ago the sisters reluctantly stopped looking.
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“It was painful,” Sister Mary Jean said in an interview in her modest apartment, “but I think it was also courageous to say we’re just not going to recruit any more. Let’s just live out the rest of our lives to the fullest that we possibly can and thank God for what we’ve been able to do. And when the time comes, as they say, the last person turn the lights out.”
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Along with parochial education, health care has long been a central mission of nuns in this country, a natural outgrowth of the Catholic insistence on the sacredness of life. Since 1727, when the Ursuline sisters landed in New Orleans, they have built 12 of the country’s 40 largest health care systems. In 2009, Catholic hospitals accounted for one of every six admissions in the United States, according to the Catholic Health Association.
Other than crucifixes on the walls and marble Madonnas in the lobby, Catholic hospitals do not look particularly different from secular ones. But their administrators say that what makes them distinct is a values-driven approach, reflected at SSM in a mission statement that pledges to use exceptional care to “reveal the healing presence of God.”
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Catholic health systems have been criticized, along with other nonprofit hospitals, as not dedicating enough resources to the community’s benefit. But surveys also show that, on average, they provide higher-quality performance than other hospitals and are more likely to offer specialty services that are not profit centers.
Sister Mary Jean, who was dispatched by her order to earn a master’s degree in hospital administration, has managed her realm with iron-willed competence and unblinking compassion, SSM executives said.
She is both stern and good-humored enough that the company’s vice president for communications, Suzy Farren, felt comfortable writing a farewell tribute that depicted her as “at times, gruff and demanding and stubborn.” Michael R. Panicola, the company’s vice president for ethics, remembered thinking during his job interview that he was facing “the female version of Mickey,” the crusty trainer in “Rocky” played by Burgess Meredith.
Those who underestimated the nuns as managers “made a mistake,” Sister Mary Jean said, volunteering that many hospital executives with multimillion-dollar salaries were “arrogant” and “overpaid.” Having taken a vow of poverty, Sister Mary Jean worked for free, although SSM paid the Franciscan Sisters of Mary an annual fee — $1.96 million in 2009, according to tax forms — as compensation for their labor.
Operating revenues at SSM (the initials honor the Sisters of St. Mary, a predecessor order) more than quintupled during Sister Mary Jean’s tenure, to $3 billion in 2010. The company produced net income that year of $247.9 million and provided $115.4 million in uncompensated care.
A decade ago, Sister Mary Jean led SSM through a relentless campaign to improve performance that was recognized with the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award given to a health care company.
But her legacy also extends to preaching about the dignity of patients, paying blue-collar workers above scale, making her hospitals smoke-free, banning the use of foam cups and plastic water bottles, and insisting on gender-neutral and nonviolent language. There are no “bullet points” in SSM presentations, and photographs are “enlarged,” never “blown up.”
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Even Sister Mary Jean can struggle to define precisely what the nuns brought to their hospitals. “There is this thing called presence,” she said, explaining that she was trained to see Jesus in the face of every patient, “and I think that’s the piece that is lost.”
Mr. Thompson, Sister Mary Jean’s handpicked successor, said he planned to hold fast to her commitment to patients, the environment and nonviolence. But he also acknowledged that he would be “trying to drive more efficiencies in the system.”
“I would hope,” he said, “that those two things never come into conflict, at least no more than they ever have in the past.”A look at Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice evolving goalie philosophy
At the conclusion of the 2013-14 season we were told by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff that Ondrej Pavelec would be the #1 goalie for the Winnipeg Jets. This caused consternation throughout the summer among those fans who felt that Pavelec wasn’t a top goalie in the NHL and didn’t deserve this type of loyalty from the organization.
When the 2014-15 pre-season kicked off Jets coach Paul Maurice reiterated this position instead suggesting that his team’s commitment |
, in effect, pick sides between two rich people?” Ackman was sitting at his usual spot at the head of the table eating cashews, which were his preferred healthy snack until recently, when he became concerned that they might contain toxic amounts of mercury. He knew that the board member had a point. But he was convinced of his case, and the idea of backing down was painful. “If he gets obsessed with something, he is really obsessed,” Peretz recalled. Peretz had helped Ackman with his senior thesis, which concerned racial inequities in Ivy League admissions. “I think other money managers would have long ago dropped Herbalife,” Peretz went on. “He has a great sense of fairness, and that operated in his thesis, and it operates in his investing.” Still, Ackman says he was half-seriously considering surrender when the conference-room phone rang. It was Pershing Square’s head trader, calling from his desk. “Herbalife stock is halted,” he told Ackman. “News pending.” The Stock Exchange was not allowing the stock to trade, because information was about to come out that could affect the price. Speculation ensued. Was Icahn going to make a takeover offer? “Carl’s never going to buy this company,” Ackman said. It was something else. “If the F.T.C. launches an investigation of this company, there is a God!” he said. Fifteen minutes later, the news arrived: Ackman was right, and God was in his Heaven. The F.T.C. was investigating Herbalife.
Herbalife’s stock went down. Then it went back up again. During the next two years, Pershing Square continued lobbying and putting out reports and videos as it waited for the F.T.C. to complete its investigation. Herbalife’s stock price remained in the sixty-dollar range, well above the forties, where the fund had sold it. On July 15, 2016, Ackman was at home, getting ready for work, when, he says, he got a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter. “We’re hearing a two-hundred-million-dollar settlement with the F.T.C.,” the reporter said. “Herbalife has been determined not to be a pyramid scheme.” Ackman was startled. “Two-hundred-million-dollar settlement—yeah, sounds about right,” he recalled. “But ‘determined it’s not a pyramid scheme’? There’s no way that’s right.” He told the reporter not to run with that story; it was wrong. “And don’t rely on Herbalife’s characterization of this,” he added. “I don't know art but I know what I like.” Later that morning, after the F.T.C. released its report, Ackman learned that the agency had confirmed many of his allegations. The commission did not use the phrase “pyramid scheme” in the document, but it did accuse the company of engaging in “deceptive and unlawful acts,” by luring people with misleading promises of how much money they could make. Herbalife, according to the F.T.C., was not offering its distributors a viable opportunity to sell products to actual retail customers, and the company was structured mainly to reward people for recruiting new distributors. Most people who started nutrition clubs lost money. A federal court ordered Herbalife to restructure its business so that people were paid based on their retail sales, not on recruiting new people—a measure that, Ackman believed, could lead to its downfall. (The company says that the F.T.C. misunderstood the nature of its sales.) The two-hundred-million-dollar fine was meant to compensate members who had lost money. Many of the strictures will not go into effect until May of this year. “It was amazing,” Ackman said. “Confirmed every one of our allegations.” He went on, “Look, when this whole thing is over? I’m going to hold everyone accountable. Madeleine Albright, the Gibson Dunn firm”—one of several law firms working with Herbalife. “All the enablers. They are facilitating fraud, and they’re collecting a huge amount of money doing it. I think they are culpable.” Once again, however, Ackman’s expectations were confounded. Despite his urgings, the Wall Street Journal ran the story with the headline “ackman dealt blow as Herbalife settles with ftc.” The New York Post went with “herbalife no pyramid scheme: ftc.” Other news outlets followed suit. The commission’s findings could have been interpreted as a major setback for Herbalife; instead, they were cast as a victory—a validation of its business model. Icahn issued a statement saying that Herbalife offered many people the chance to “start their own business,” and that Ackman had been proved wrong. Icahn said that he would increase his ownership stake to thirty-five per cent. Herbalife continued to insist that its business was healthy, and that its future would be unaffected. Its stock price, in turn, continued to reflect a reality vastly different from the one the F.T.C. had described.
Herbalife’s corporate headquarters occupy two stories of a building in downtown Los Angeles. The lobby is bright and airy, with expansive terrazzo floors that bring to mind a European airport. Glass cases display pills and powders; one wall is covered with framed portraits of Herbalife’s Founder’s Circle and Chairman’s Club members, the highest-earning distributors. In these precincts, the official message is that everything is fine and the settlement with the F.T.C. was the best thing that could have happened to the company. “I’m an operating person,” Michael Johnson, Herbalife’s C.E.O., told me, sipping from a purple protein shake and surrounded by sports equipment and trophies. “I have pretty good financial chops. But I did not know about activist investors.” Johnson is tan, square-jawed, and broad-shouldered. Like Ackman, he’s a competitive athlete; he’ll put in hours traversing a mountain range by road bike before showering and taking his place behind his desk in the morning. He recounted the battle with Ackman with a slight air of P.T.S.D. After Ackman made his presentation at the AXA Equitable Center, Johnson said, Herbalife’s top executives went into crisis mode. They divided into teams; one would continue running the business, while the other—including the chief financial officer, the legal and communications departments, and Johnson himself—formed a reaction unit. “That became, I don’t want to say a holy war, but it became a process that engulfed some of us for a while,” Johnson said. “We hired a ton of consultants. We were a full-employment act for every P.R. firm, law firm. We were spending a lot of money”—around eighty-five million dollars, Herbalife says. In 2014, the company brought in Alan Hoffman, Joe Biden’s former deputy chief of staff, to help fight off Ackman. “It’s horrible playing defense all the time, but with him we had to,” Johnson went on. “Then we went on the offense a bit. We said, ‘We need the world to see what Bill Ackman is all about.’ We’ll see if his act is as wonderful as he thinks he is.” A thousand-page dossier on Ackman was prepared, containing allegations of market manipulation, and Herbalife sought to generate news stories that reflected its point of view. The F.T.C. settlement places some onerous conditions on the company: in order to continue giving full commissions to its salespeople, it must prove, through documented receipts, that eighty per cent of its revenue comes from actual retail demand for its products. To qualify for commissions, individual distributors must show that sixty-six per cent of their sales comes from retail customers. Johnson says that the F.T.C. didn’t understand how many consumers Herbalife had. At the same time, however, Herbalife executives maintain that they really didn’t know who was buying the company’s products before, and what their intentions were. Now, with the May deadline approaching, the company is rushing to implement technology that can track every sale, and is teaching its hundreds of thousands of distributors to use it, all in the hope of showing that people are buying Herbalife products for the right reasons. Because the chair of the F.T.C. had stated that Herbalife needed to “start operating legitimately, making only truthful claims,” the company hired a hundred and thirty people to comb through its distributors’ social-media profiles, in order to remove pictures of their exotic cars and to curb exaggerated boasts about the money they were making. In January, Herbalife announced that two hundred thousand of its five hundred thousand U.S.-based distributors had agreed, in exchange for a twenty-five-dollar product coupon, to declare themselves to be Herbalife retail customers rather than distributors. (Previously, everyone in the network was known as a “distributor”; the company is now trying to distinguish between distributors and “members.”) This, according to the company, is an indicator that its business is sound. “We’ve had lies thrown at us, we’ve seen manipulations of the press, of media, at local, state, and federal levels,” Johnson said. “It’s been, frankly, a multifaceted, multi-front attack on us.” After the F.T.C. settlement, he agreed to step down as the company’s C.E.O. in May, as the new rules go into effect, though he will stay on as executive chairman. When I asked Johnson how he felt about all the people who had lost money trying to get rich through Herbalife, he hesitated. “I’m sorry that it happened,” he said. “I’m sorry people lost money at a racetrack and at the lottery. Today’s Herbalife is about hard work and energy. I can’t go and fix anything in the past.” A central question for Ackman is whether the company could simply become smaller in the United States and make up its business in China and other countries where the F.T.C. order doesn’t apply. “Herbalife is going to have to go from a D to a B-plus,” Kevin Thompson, an attorney who works with multilevel-marketing companies, said. “Herbalife will have to change its culture. But I don’t think it’ll have to change its culture so much that it’ll go out of business.” There is always the possibility that the F.T.C.’s findings could translate internationally, though, which would be a blow to the company’s prospects. Thompson added, “It boils down to: can Bill Ackman learn Chinese fast enough?” “I love our little chats, Jack, but you’ve got to start drinking again.”[Back to Essays] Big Lies Are Big Truths With Small Lies When we attack the big lies that move people to vicious acts, we commonly underrate humanity. We assume that they are weak enough or foolish or hateful enough to be moved to action by lies that sound to us blatant and insane. Most people are decent. They want to survive; they want others to survive. They are not moved merely by stupidity and viciousness. If we are not to fall once again into old lies, we must understand the power of those lies. To understand Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and the lies that hold our own society, at best, stagnant, we must understand that it is truth that moves people. A big lie consists of great truths warped by small lies, hooks in the rich bait of truth. To understand the big lie, we must unthread its small lies from its great truths. It is easy to look at the results of such lies with contempt for those who were taken in by them. How many of us have sneered self-righteously at people who were willing to sacrifice liberty to have the trains run on time? And how many of us would not, caught in the endless creep of rush-hour exhaust, sell our souls for an efficient transportation system? It is easy to be outraged by death camps, while swallowing without protest daily instruction by the media on which groups are "cults" and, therefore, not worthy of concern, somehow subhuman. It is not my purpose here to say that unlike things are alike, to say that the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers in a recent war was, for example, the ethical equivalent of the Holocaust -- only to point out that if we were now at the beginning of a period of boundless viciousness, constructed of our own dearest assumptions, perhaps we would not now know it. Certainly few virtuous anti-Communist Americans of the 50's knew how nearly their own agreements came to wiping out the entire population of this planet in nuclear holocaust, vastly more destructive than anything the Nazis conceived. We know this now, looking at the documents of the Cuban missile crisis in 1963. Our assumptions about ourselves and the Russians were in place -- a very elaborate set of unchallengable assumptions. The game was about to play itself out. The inevitable was narrowly averted -- largely because individuals on both sides violated the rules, opened up live communications with "monsters" on the other side -- and also because one of the monsters backed down, despite the overwhelming big truth that it is disastrous to back down. There's an example of a "big truth" -- it is disastrous to back down. The little lie is what is omitted: That sometimes it is worse NOT to back down. Nazi Germany lives on as the historians' favorite example, the almost universally accepted exemplar of pure evil. But Hitler's vision had the power to sweep tens of millions of people into the storm of World War II. What great truths did Hitler bring to the German people to move them so? First, there's emotional truth. To people living in fear, rage comes as truth, just as joy is truth to the conservative and stoic conservatism moves the bored and lightly antagonistic -- just as the outpouring of grief reaches one in stone apathy. Hitler's rage and pain were real to Germans who were below rage. It promised the possibility of action, of asserted rightness. Apathy is nearer to death than grief, grief than fear, fear than anger. If a cheerful person is overwhelmed and becomes, briefly, apathetic, he will, as part of his recovery, pass through anger. Anger is, then, on the road to life and recovery for those below anger and nearer to death. The rolling boil is greeted with vast relief by a people long simmering. The little lie is in giving anger incorrect targets. When anger fixes on wrong targets, it will be rebuffed, overwhelmed, knocked back down to apathy, like Don Quixote tilting at windmills or the drunk mad at his boss, crashing through the barroom mirror and taking a swing at the cops when they arrive. The big truth is that where a nation is fragmented, each alienated from all others, it is necessary to give people something they can agree about -- and also, that a nation must be a nation to survive, must be united, must have agreed-upon goals upon which it can act, that people who move together toward a shared purpose have great power and love for each other. The little lie is in the agreements themselves -- for example, the agreement that the Jews were responsible for all of Germany's problems. That's obvious stupidity, you say? But see what a LITTLE lie it is. What are a few Jews to a great nation's survival? We sacrifice the rights of a few individuals to achieve a great universal truth, the unity of a nation. The truth is of a higher order than the lie. Not so, for the lie invalidates a higher truth, the unity of mankind. It says that mankind is made up of true men and monsters. It says that there shall be no unity among men, only endless war of true men against monsters. Surely what holds for a nation holds for mankind: We, like all people, achieve power and love for each other by acting together toward shared goals. Surely the survival of mankind is a higher-order concept than the survival of one nation, for if mankind perished, all nations would perish. And by the end of World War II, with the emergence of nuclear weapons, we knew that a failure to achieve a unity of all people could lead to the destruction of all people. Of course, Hitler's rationale was that the Jews were a plague upon the entire planet and that eventually all nations would join Germany in eliminating them. He knew he needed to stretch his lie that far to uphold, at least outwardly, the truth that a whole world is greater than any of its nations, a truth he, himself, could not believe. The little lies that barb great truths are, themselves, loose threads of even greater truths. Tug on the little lies, and the universe begins to unravel. It is more difficult to disentangle the great truths of Karl Marx from its little lies -- or Freud's ball of thread -- or hardest of all, one's own, the great truths and big lies by which each of us lives. But one cannot live a lie. The lies give the illusion of supporting life because they are wound like vines about the truths that keep us going, truths that are strangled by the lies that pretend to support them. Each has his own dearest lies: They don't understand me. It doesn't matter. You can't have everything. What I don't know won't hurt me. It's not my problem. Nobody cares. I need to be loved. It's a dangerous world. What's the use. They wouldn't get it. If I once slow down, I'm finished. All blondes are whores. All whores have hearts of gold. Pervasive generalities based on old painful decisions persist to color all our truths and slant them subtly -- even the craziest lies lacquered in plausible rationales. We use them as a stay against chaos, something to hang on to when the winds of chaos would sweep us away. But often it is only the need to grow that threatens our stability. Rather than confront what is before us and learn to handle it, we cling to our lies. Thus, the little lies that hide within our great truths (for example, the truths of our basic goodness) keep us from growing, hold us fixed in one place. One man with a great truth (for example, that freedom is proportional to responsibility or that an economy prospers from fair exchange or that we hate those we have injured) can create a civilization, an economy, a relationship, but when sufficiently rebuffed and confused by those who would counter him, falls back upon his little lies, the limiters of his creativity, the still point of a spinning world where he can stand still being right and making others wrong. The spokesman for responsibilty confuses responsibility with blame; the pursuer of fair exchange becomes infatuated with vengeance; the guru of relationships insists we must love everyone. Each becomes a parody of truth, frozen in an awkward posture. Strip away the little lies from a big grotesque lie, and you will find a great truth. Each of us is a great truth.HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Although West Virginia’s Attorney General stopped defending the state’s same-sex marriage ban and gay couples began marrying last month, a federal court on Friday made it official, striking down the ban as mandated by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ earlier ruling striking down a similar ban in Virginia.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers ruled in a case brought by Lambda Legal in 2013 on behalf of three same-sex couples and the child of one couple.
In his opinion, Chambers also offered a critique of Thursday’s ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky, stating that the Sixth Circuit “fail[ed] to recognize the role of courts in the democratic process.”
“It is the duty of the judiciary to examine government action through the lens of the Constitution’s protection of individual freedom,” wrote Chambers. “Courts cannot avoid or deny this duty just because it arises during the contentious public debate that often accompanies the evolution of policy making throughout the states. Judges may not simultaneously find a right violated yet defer to an uncertain future remedy voluntarily undertaken by the violators.”
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“We are grateful to Judge Chambers for this ruling that officially puts an end to the long fight for marriage equality for West Virginia’s same-sex couples and their families. This decision clears away the last obstacle to marriage equality in the state,” said Beth Littrell, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney.
“Even though the Fourth Circuit’s decision had already cleared a path for West Virginia to issue marriage licenses, this is still a great day for equality. The state is indeed stronger today after the Court’s ruling confirming that all loving West Virginia couples and their families now have equal access to the privileges and protections of marriage.”
The decision is here.
This Story Filed UnderThe right-leaning legal group Cause of Action on Monday filed a lawsuit against the White House counsel’s office and 11 other federal agencies charging the Obama administration with obstructing Freedom of Information Act requests.
The group, which filed a similar suit in August 2014, said the administration misses deadlines under the law while reviewing requested agency documents for “White House equities” that, the group argued, “the administration considers politically sensitive or embarrassing.”
The suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia named White House Counsel W. Neil Eggleston, in his official capacity, the Office of the White House Counsel and the following departments: Treasury, Transportation, State, Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Defense, Interior and Energy, as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.
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The White House has “interfered in the FOIA process in ways that violate the statute and hinder its purpose of federal transparency,” Cause of Action said in a statement. “The result of these consultations is that agency FOIA productions are delayed precisely when prompt disclosure is most important.”
The sometimes-months or years-long review “based on potential political consequences violates both the letter and the spirit of FOIA,” the group added.
“Given that the president and his immediate staff, including the [Office of the White House Counsel], are not an ‘agency’ within the meaning of FOIA, FOIA contains no provision governing review of agency FOIA productions by the White House,” the complaint read. “It appears the president may review documents held by agencies within the Executive Branch of government absent a statutory prohibition or procedure on such review. ….However, the president cannot effect such review if it results in violations of statutory deadlines.”
Cause of Action has pressured the government on transparency issues such as the Hillary Clinton emails from her days at the State Department and regulatory controversies at the Commerce Department.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.SOS Progressive Dinner: Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Did you know that nearly 1 in 4 children in the United States faces hunger? That is a sobering thought, but especially during this season when time should be spent with family rather than worrying about where the next meal will come from.
I’d like to help spread that message and that’s why I’ve teamed up with Share our Strength and 50 food bloggers to put together a delicious virtual progressive dinner this Holiday Season.
As the mother to two young children, I personally cannot even fathom how heartbreaking and difficult it is to truly go hungry. I hear “I’m starving,” “I need a snack,” or some variation of those phrases many times throughout the day, but to really mean those words. That is something else. The hope is that with the Share Our Holiday Table progressive dinner, we will be able to raise awareness of childhood hunger in our own country.
Share our Strength would like to end child hunger by the year 2015. Just $1.00 can help a child receive 10 healthy meals. For more information and to see how you can help, visit Share our Strength’s website at www.strength.org. If you aren’t able to make a donation today, consider purchasing their holiday cards instead.
My contribution to the Share Our Holiday Table menu is a Vegetarian Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Smoked Paprika and Cilantro Cream. It is adapted from a recent cookbook purchase, Soups, Stews and Chilis. The photo was just too vibrant and beautiful to pass up the recipe. Served with a large salad and a crusty loaf of bread this soup can be a delicious and warming meal all on it’s own.The road to the UFC title ended in Croatia for "Big" Ben Rothwell, who saw his four-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 86. The loss sent Rothwell back to a crowded landscape of heavyweight contenders and spoiled a surprising run that appeared to have the 34-year-old on the verge of competing for a UFC strap.
"I didn't fulfill everything that I said I was going to do," a disappointed Rothwell said Monday on The MMA Hour, speaking for the first time since falling to dos Santos. "I didn't back-up everything that I said. I said I'm a man of my word and I didn't follow through with it, so that hurts me more than anything."
Rothwell currently sits at No. 6 on the UFC heavyweight rankings, even despite the loss, so he knows all is not lost in the race towards gold. Still, he can't help but wonder if he made the right decision.
The fight against dos Santos never made much sense from a rankings standpoint. At the time, Rothwell was one of the division's hottest fighters, a winner of four straight and fresh off a submission win over the unsubmittable Josh Barnett. Dos Santos, on the other hand, was still reeling from a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem and saw his stock hit an all-time low.
Theoretically, the fight didn't offer much to gain for "Big Ben" other than another notch onto his belt. But in his haste to stay active, Rothwell accepted it just days after dispatching Barnett.
"I was on a four-fight win streak and I took on a guy off a loss. It was a stupid fight for me, strategically," Rothwell said.
"There some regret and there's not. I think more, not regret, but a learning lesson. I think right after the fights, I need to be locked up and somebody else needs to take my phone and take my wallet, because I get crazy after a fight. It's when I do crazy interviews, it's when I'm off the wall, and I think I get high off the wins. I don't know what it is, but it's obvious I'm not thinking rationally at the time. It was good for the UFC because they got to fill a main event. It was just a strategically stupid fight."
Despite coming in as an underdog, dos Santos ended up having his best showing in years as he swept Rothwell on the scorecards and won the striking battle by a whopping margin of 157-78.
Rothwell said on Monday that he felt off his game from the beginning of the fight. He called his uncharacteristic performance a "physical malfunction" and hinted that there were injuries which affected his camp. However he refused to delve into specifics or make excuses, chalking the loss up instead to a learning experience.
"I just look back at my friend Robbie Lawler. He made his resurgence, got to that title fight," Rothwell said. "Mine wasn't a title fight but I feel it could've been. He lost a five-round decision only to come back, and look what's he done now. I feel like I'm very much just a heavyweight version of him. I'm following behind him. I learned a lot in this five-round fight.
"I might have taken a loss on my record, but I'm far from defeated. In fact, I'm very much the opposite. I think that fight gave me the fuel and the knowledge that I needed to really take myself to being the best mixed martial artist that I can be, and that's my new goal. There's no more about the title. I'm done chasing something I have no control over. I'm back to why I started this sport, and it's to find out how good I can really be. With each and every fight from here on out, that's my focus."
Timing is everything in the fight game, and Rothwell now finds himself with a few options for his next step.
Alistair Overeem's victory on Sunday over Andrei Arlovski kicked off a trio of major heavyweight fights that are slated to unfold over the next several months. If all goes well, UFC champion Fabricio Werdum will collide with Stipe Miocic later this week at UFC 198, then Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne will meet on July 9 at UFC 200.
Rothwell said he would love to fight one of those six contenders once the dust settles.
"That's the three fights I've really been paying attention to, and I feel like my next opponent would be taking on one of those six guys. Most likely, one of the losers of those six guys," Rothwell said.
"I'm more pushing for the loser of Stipe-Werdum or obviously Arlovski now. I'll happily rematch Overeem but I don't think he's too interested in that right now, so obviously I'm going to be seeing what Arlovksi wants to do and if the UFC wants that, or obviously the loser of Stipe and Werdum would be an excellent fight as well. One of those, I'd really like to push for, because Browne and Velasquez are not until July, and then who knows."SANDY — Prior to Wednesday's match, Jason Kreis confidently believed with the return of all-star midfielder Javier Morales, there was still hope for Real Salt Lake to catch Los Angeles in the race for the MLS Supporter's Shield.
Those hopes were dashed in just 11 minutes Wednesday.
On a night when Javier Morales returned to the field for the first time since May 7, RSL couldn't overcome an early red card to Kyle Beckerman as the visiting Chicago Fire stunned RSL 3-0 in front of a record crowd of 20,762 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The victory was just Chicago's second on the road this season. For RSL, the loss effectively ends its hopes of catching the Galaxy for the best record.
"I'm very worried, I won't be sleeping tonight. To take results like this in a row at this time of year could be critical. The questions are now in front of the players, how will they react?" said RSL coach Jason Kreis.
RSL's coach, who didn't hide his aggravation, said all three goals and Beckerman's red card were the result of a lack of discipline.
Now, it's looking more and more like Real Salt Lake is headed for a first-round playoff clash with Seattle.
Wednesday's match was RSL's last game-in-hand on the rest of the Western Conference. Every team is now level with 30 games played, and with four games left, RSL trails first-place Los Angeles by 10 points and second-place Seattle by three points.
The manner in which RSL lost to Chicago — courtesy of a Beckerman head-butt — was mind-boggling on a night that had makings of being one of the most memorable in franchise history.
Things began to unravel quickly.
Chicago opened the scoring in the 10th minute capitalizing on a quick throw-in and a slow double-team near the sideline. After Patrick Nyarko received the ball, he quickly passed to teammate Daniel Paladini before the Beckerman-Robbie Russell double-team could arrive.
That left Jamison Olave on an island to defend Fire midfielders Paladini and Marco Pappa. Olave had no choice but to pressure the ball at the edge of the penalty area, so Paladini calmly slipped a pass to Pappa who buried the shot for the 1-0 lead.
"To give a goal away on a throw-in, which we harp on again and again — to give a goal away that softly is a complete lack of discipline," said Kreis.
A minute later, RSL's hopes for a comeback were all but dashed. Strangely, it wasn't Chicago that did the damage, but Beckerman who headed-butted Paladini at the midfield stripe.
Beckerman was obviously upset Paladini clipped him from behind, and he was quickly shown a red card for his retaliation head-butt.
Beckerman wasn't around to talk to the media afterward, but Kreis said he didn't try and make excuses afterward.
Kreis tried to shore up the midfield by inserting Yordany Alvarez into the match for Lui Gil just a few minutes after Beckerman's ejection.
RSL's best opportunity to equalize in the first half came in the 28th minute as Alvaro Saborio slipped behind Chicago's back line to latch onto an Andy Williams long ball, but Saborio couldn't corral the ball cleanly and his rushed shot drifted wide left.
Pappa officially put the game out of reach in the 38th minute burying a Pavel Pardo through ball for the 2-0 lead. Pappa completed his hat trick with a 75th-minute strike capitalizing on another RSL mistake.
The loss was RSL's second straight, and comes on the heels of a 4-1 drubbing at D.C. United.
"That's going to happen. Once a season you're going to get a game like that, but to have it happen two games in a row is disappointing. If there's a wake-up call, it's right now. We have L.A. this weekend, and they're not going to back down to us at all," said defender Nat Borchers.
Despite the overall frustration of the night, the moment the sell-out crowd was anxiously awaiting finally arrived in the 61st minute as Morales entered the match for Chris Wingert. He was greeted with a standing ovation for his first appearance in nearly five months, and his first touch on a free kick nearly resulted in a Fabian Espindola goal.
"It was uplifting for sure. He's been gone for so long. To have him back on the pitch was great. He did really well considering the circumstances," said Borchers.
email: [email protected]A "chance meeting" between two men on Danforth Avenue last month ended in them gunning each other down, Toronto police said today.
On March 14, just before 9 p.m. ET, police who responded to reports of gunshots found two men on the sidewalk outside the Mediterranean Social Club at 2215 Danforth Ave., east of Woodbine.
Both men had gunshot wounds and later died in hospital.
Police identified the victims, both from Toronto, as:
Jonathan Stefan Khan, 21.
Shawn Chestnut-Reddick, 22.
At a news conference Wednesday, police said both men knew each other, had a "pre-existing conflict," and met by chance on the night of the shooting. There was a "physical altercation," and both men drew their weapons and then fatally shot each other.
Chestnut-Reddick suffered three gunshot wounds and Khan had seven. No one else was injured.
"They seem to go in the same social circles," said Toronto police Det. Shawn Mahoney. "They would have been in the same friend group."
Police located one firearm at the scene under Khan. The other firearm was taken from the scene by a third party and has not yet been recovered.
Police are investigating the removal of that weapon separately, but Mahoney says the homicide investigation into the two men's deaths is now closed.
The death of the two men, who were known to police, marked the 14th and 15th homicides of the year in the city.
Police say residents in the community, including some who provided security camera footage, helped investigators solve the case.
"We had a number of people come forward and provide crucial information. It was an excellent response from people in that area," said Mahoney.Hackers have lifted potentially sensitive data from the US National Weather Service after exploiting a vulnerability in the weather.gov website.
A previously-unknown group called Kosova Hacker's Security claimed credit for the hack in a lengthy post on pastebin, containing a stream of data lifted as a result of the hack. Leaked data includes a list of partial login credentials, something that might give other hacking crews a head start in attacking the website, as well as numerous system and network configuration files.
The leaked information appears to consist only of system files and the like rather than scientific data, something that strongly distinguishes the breach from the so-called ClimateGate hack against the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia back in November 2009.
The hacking crew said it took advantage of "local file inclusion vulnerability" that allowed it to ransack the weather.gov servers. Kosova Hacker's Security said the hack was carried out in retaliation for American aggression against Muslim nations, including the Flame and Stuxnet malware attacks against the Iran nuclear program.
"They hack our nuclear plants using STUXNET and FLAME like malwares, they are bombing us 27*7, we can't sit silent - hack to payback them," The Hacker News quotes the hackers as saying.
KHS' supposed grievance makes weather.gov a bit of of an odd target. However the group threatened to carry out further attacks against US government systems.
The weather.gov website was back up and running at the time of writing on Friday afternoon.
A post on Sophos's Naked Security blog reports that the local file inclusion vulnerability was quickly patched but at least one other vulnerability, a cross site scripting hole, was subsequently discovered on the site. It's unclear if the XSS vulnerability, which is the sort of thing that's most useful for those interested in running phishing attacks rather than punching through web servers to hack into back-end databases, has been fixed as yet.
Weather.gov is run by the US National Weather Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA is a unit of the US Department of Commerce in charge of providing "weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy". It's also well known as custodian as one of the three main databases used to measure global warming: the other two belong to NASA and the British Met Office's Hadley Centre. ®Last week, I blogged about the Nassau County (New York) D.A.’s policy banning prosecutors from owning handguns. The ban wasn’t limited to forbidding prosecutors from carrying handguns on the job, or carrying them in public. Rather, it applied to all ownership and possession, including at home, at private shooting ranges, and so on. In the days since then, quite a few media outlets have covered this policy, most prominently Fox News.
I’m delighted to report that the policy has just been changed. Here’s the memo that the Nassau County D.A.’s office just sent out, with a cover e-mail saying that this is “our office’s updated policy on handguns for attorneys, which is effective immediately”:
To: Madeline Singas, Acting District Attorney
From: Albert Teichman, Chief Assistant District Attorney
Date: September 30, 2015
Re: Handgun Ownership by Assistant |
pe. Turns out that believing in God — and being part of the powerful Christian majority — is somehow “unpopular.” Take a look:
#confessyourunpopularopinion God sent his son, Jesus Christ to Earth to save us. He's the One & Only, Alpha & Omega, and my savior. — Kipper (@KipperQuillen) August 8, 2013
#confessyourunpopularopinion God is REAL. Jesus is REAL. Heaven AND Hell are VERY much so REAL. — India (@India_napolis) August 8, 2013
#confessyourunpopularopinion Jehovah is God, Jesus Christ is His son — Adar B. Buxton (@Wickiie) August 8, 2013
#confessyourunpopularopinion I believe Jesus died on the cross for every single person. — Kara Nicole Steel (@KaraSteel) August 8, 2013
#ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion Jesus is Lord — Robert of Bellême (@RBelleme) August 7, 2013
I believe that Jesus IS the Son of God!! #confessyourunpopularopinion — Mark Carter (@1daysoon) August 8, 2013
Jesus is God. Deal with it. #ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion — Daniel Johnson (@IzaiahTheKid) August 8, 2013
That’s just a random assortment of tweets. There are plenty more where those came from.
In case you’re wondering, a Gallup poll from 2012 said that 77% of Americans identified as Christians. They’re not unpopular.
I wish they were, but — by definition — they’re not. It’s just their persecution complex in action.(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Taliban terrorists attacked checkpoints in the southern Helmand province early Sunday, killing 11 police, an official said.
Omar Zwak, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said Afghan forces eventually repelled the attack in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. He said the terrorists also suffered casualties, without providing figures.
The Taliban claimed the attack. The terrorists launch near-daily attacks across the country, mainly targeting security forces.
In the southern Kandahar province, a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of foreign forces, killing an Afghan woman and wounding five other civilian bystanders, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar police chief. He said he did not know if any foreign forces were killed or wounded.
U.S. Navy Capt. Tom Gresback, a spokesman for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support, confirmed the attack in a statement, saying there were no casualties among the international forces. "We can confirm a suicide bomber attempted an attack on a patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan earlier today. However, there were no fatalities or injuries sustained by coalition forces. The attacker has died as a result of the detonation," Gresback's statement said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kandahar, but Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks against the Afghan forces across the country.
/257TAMPA, Fla. – Arizona United SC announced today an ownership transition to a group of influential local investors led by Berke Bakay, the Chief Executive Officer of Kona Grill. With the announcement, the new ownership group has appointed David Farca President of the club.
“We couldn’t be more excited at the opportunity we have with Arizona United by bringing together a who’s who of business leaders in the Phoenix area,” said Bakay. “Soccer has always been in my blood. My interest and involvement in the soccer world has been positively influenced by one of my uncles serving as the Vice-Chairman of the famed Galatasaray club in Istanbul.”
Joining Bakay and the new ownership group is Mark Detmer, the Managing Director of JLL; Tim Riester, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RIESTER Advertising; Dave Stearns, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Connect Wireless; Jim Scussel, the Co-Founder of Four Peaks Brewing Company; Richard Hauser, the President and Owner of Capital Real Estate, Inc.; and Brandon McCarthy, the veteran Major League Baseball player currently pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Farca, who was born and raised in Mexico City, is president of International Business Group and in 2015 was appointed President of the Board of Directors of the Arizona-Mexico Commission by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
Outgoing Arizona United Founder and Co-Chairman Kyle Eng made the announcement today with USL CEO Alec Papadakis.
“Launching Arizona United SC, the state’s only professional soccer franchise, ranks among my career highlights,” said Eng. “When we created the club in 2014, I envisioned a role as caretaker of a soccer side that would be a source of pride for the community. But I always planned to pass the torch to new owners who have a deeper passion for this great sport.
“The new ownership is a strong mix of local business leaders who are committed to growing the game to new heights,” Eng said. “Soccer is the ultimate team sport, and I am grateful for the efforts of our players, staff and sponsors and the unwavering support of our faithful fans, many whom I got to know personally. The future of professional soccer in Arizona is bright. I look forward to joining the supporter’s group and cheering Arizona United on for many years to come.”
“I want to give credit and am very grateful to Kyle for his work with Arizona United SC since 2014 when he founded the team at a time when the USL was just beginning to expand west,” Papadakis said. “We look forward to working with Arizona United’s new ownership group who recognize the club’s potential and have already made a commitment to raise the level of this team on and off the field.”
Brett M. Johnson, who has served as the team’s Co-Chairman and Alternate Governor and Ballertronix, the ownership group led by two-time Grammy Award winner Diplo, entertainment lawyer David Rappaport, Kevin Kusatsu and Pete Wentz, as well as other Limited Partners will remain with the team.
“Kyle Eng unquestionably saved professional soccer in Phoenix when he launched Arizona United out of the ashes of Phoenix Wolves FC,” stated Johnson and Rappaport jointly. “We are excited to continue that work with our new partners and do everything in our power to make Arizona United the most popular professional sports team in the Valley.”
About Arizona United SC’s new ownership group:Interview: Kot-In-Action Talks Steel Storm
We caught up with Alexander Zubov and Clay Cameron from chock-full-of-syllables indie developer Kot-in-Action Creative Artel, which recently released top-down shooter Steel Storm: Burning Retribution on their e-shoppe, Steam, Desura, and Ubuntu Software Center.
PXOD: Tell us a little bit about yourselves and how you got involved in the gaming industry.
AZ: I began playing games on PC in 1993 as I recall. My dad took me to his work, where they had a PC with Intel 80386 CPU, loaded with such games as Dangerous Dave, Deathtrack and Wolf3D. That was in Russia and that was a pretty high end PC at that time. When I was in high school, our Computer Science teacher allowed us to play Doom on LAN and that’s when I began modding. I modified map01 for a better deathmatch experience and since then I was drawn into the modding world. I never worked in the game development field before (although I always wanted to work there) and when the indie movement began to grow, I decided that it was my time to become a game developer.
CC: I’m Clay “daemon” Cameron. I’ve been into computer games ever since I can remember as a child. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when I first got my hands on a computer. I remember having a stack of 5 1/4 disks loaded with as many 2 color games my brothers and I could get a hold of and an operating system that booted off floppy disks. I got into programming a little bit in middle school, but kind of fell out of it until 2005. One night while editing a Quake map I decided that I wanted to do more, so I set off into the Internet to find a thriving Quake modding community that is still alive and well to this day. I began to learn a bit and started writing my own mods, and then one day I ran into motorsep in IRC. He convinced me to join up with Kot-in-Action, and here we are today.
PXOD: What are some of the games Steel Storm draws inspiration from?
AZ: I have read a lot of remarks about Steel Storm reminding people about certain games. I never played those games and I have not even seen them before. I played a couple of side scrolling shmups on NES, but I don’t recall their titles. I drew my general inspiration from Konami’s Jackal (NES) and Raven’s MageSlayer (PC). However, instead of using characters and magical/urban settings, I decided to create a sci-fi game with hovertanks (yes, the player controls an advanced hovertank and not a jet or flying vehicle).
CC: Honestly I can’t say any specific games were an inspiration for Steel Storm. There are a lot of small aspects that are inspired by the library of games that I’ve played personally, but no large features were really inspired by one or two specific games. For example: the Beam Cannon and Storm Spread were obviously inspired by old side scroller games involving flying a ship through space and picking up weapon power-ups, and the CTF and DM game modes are sort of standard for most games now.
PXOD: Steel Storm was made using the DarkPlaces engine. What caused KIA to choose this engine?
AZ: As I began experimenting with modding, I chose ID Software’s game Quake (as many other gamers did at that time). It is a perfect modding platform for all times. Quake’s source code was released under GPL license and people began adding cool features into it. With time, I learned about the Darkplaces engine (which was built upon GLQuake GPL engine). It was nothing like other engines at the time I discovered it. The engine supported Quake 3 Arena’s content, it rendered real-time lights and dynamic shadows, QuakeC scripting language, etc. Darkplaces engine is the most solid game engine out there (despite lacking some modern features and not being too fast when real-time lighting is used), it has outstanding networking code, I have a good understanding of the art pipeline and the tools, the Quake modding community has been pretty active and the engine is under the GPL license (which did not restrict commercial use of the engine). Those are the “selling” points of the technology we chose to power Steel Storm games.
CC: I have to agree 100%. The major selling point for me is the QuakeC scripting language.
PXOD: Steel Storm features a bright, cel-shaded aesthetic. How did you decide upon this look and feel?
AZ: I like the anime and manga art styles. That is one of the reason I decided to use cel-shaded aesthetic. Another reason was to cut production time. Being the only artist on the team doesn’t help productivity, when it comes to modeling highly detailed models, baking normal maps and creating beautiful life-like textures.
PXOD: What were some of the challenges Kot in Action faced in developing a game independently?
AZ: Not having enough free time to dedicate to the development process and lack of manpower were the major challenges. The game started out with two developers, one artist and one coder. I have a family and both of us held full time jobs through the course of the development. Eventually, closer to the end of the development cycle of Steel Storm: Episode 1 we had to hire a level designer to help us meet our goals.
CC: I was also still learning a lot of things about QuakeC and Darkplaces when we began, and I was just beginning to refine my way of doing things, so early development was a little slower than later development. It probably also didn’t help (time-wise) that we decided to use the engine in ways which most other modders weren’t use to and had little knowledge of, for example Client Side QuakeC or CSQC. We also discovered a lot of engine bugs along the way, which got fixed of course, but still added to dev time. I also became more and more willing to quit my current job (3 of them) on a dime’s notice as development went on. So I was kind of torn between monetary security and my desire and responsibility to finish the project.
PXOD: How has it been working with Valve through the release of SS:BR on the Steam Store?
AZ: It has been a smooth ride. Steam’s toolset is not without it’s problems, but it is very solid and is easy to understand. The support ream is responsive and knowledgeable. It has been fun.
PXOD: Your game has also come to Linux through the Ubuntu Software Centre; do you feel USC to be an appealing proposition for indie developers to tap the Linux market?
AZ: The Linux market is very fragmented. USC is a good solution for Ubuntu market. However, while Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, it doesn’t represent the whole market. Hopefully with Desura releasing their Linux client things will change and game developers will be able to cover most of the Linux market.
PXOD: KIA released Episode 1 of Steel Storm for free to raise brand awareness before the release of Burning Retribution. How effective was this distribution and advertising method?
AZ: Yes indeed, we released Episode 1 for free to raise awareness and too see the feed back from end-user. It is hard to say if it was effective or not. Our download counter says that 310,000+ copies of Episode 1 were downloaded, we got into Top 100 for IOTY 2010 award and we won a Unigine license. However, only a small fraction of that number of downloaders bought Steel Storm: Burning Retribution. There was no way of tracking those downloaders and letting them know that the new installment of the game came out.
I am sure if we would have released Episode 1 on Steam and consequently released Burning Retribution on Steam, we would see greater success. There are [a] few exceptions to the rule, but essentially proper marketing is the key to success. I think releasing Episode 1 for free did not serve its purpose.
PXOD: What game design process did Steel Storm go through? Was it “code now, play later,” or was there a constant playtest emphasis every step of the way?
AZ: Being a small team and developing content parallel to developing the code, led us to test things as they were implemented. This way we made sure we don’t have to go back and overhaul major chunks of the game that were created a few month prior to the testing session. We had a vague design document at the beginning and didn’t have any art asset lists. I made concept art on small pieces of paper during my lunch hours at work. So we were creating things on the go, improvising throughout the whole development cycle. Looking back, I can say that it was not the right thing to do. It’s a learning process and we will try our best not to repeat the same mistakes with our next project.
CC: Being the game logic coder for this project, I have to say that I could never do a “code now, play later” type of development process, because generally when I code something, I test it immediately. I want to know if it works. The only thing that was really treated this way was the editor. I would still test all the features as they were implemented, but I didn’t want any missions that might be saved in a bad way if they were created early in development. We still had a few editor headaches, but this approach saved us a lot of time re-making missions because of a bug that’s been lurking in the shadows for months.
PXOD: Are there any future ports of the Steel Storm series planned, perhaps for consoles or other platforms?
AZ: It is incredibly hard to expand to the console market without having a publisher. Thus we have decided to stick with the PC downloadable market for a while. We are also looking forward to porting it to the mobile platforms.
PXOD: You won the Uningine competition last year, any hints on what you’ll be making with that?
AZ: No comment. We shall see what happens in the very near future.
PXOD: Thanks for your time.
Thanks for following along. Stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway of Steel Storm: Burning Retribution and our full review.Pretty much anywhere you need to go in life, Disney's Frozen can lead the way. Off to the dog park? Don't forget your Frozen-themed collar. Need to go to the bathroom? There are Frozen-themed toilet seat covers aplenty. Road tripping? Strap in with a Frozen-themed seatbelt. And now, if its high altitudes you're craving, a literally sparkling new plane can take your Frozen fanaticism to new heights.
WestJet has debuted a custom-designed Frozen-themed airplane, and it's just as adorable as you'd imagine. There's even glitter in the paint to make the snowflakes sparkle!
Anna and Elsa get top billing on the tail, while a sunglasses-sporting Olaf reclines on the beach he's always dreamed of on the front of the plane. But the Disney magic doesn't stop there. Inside, the overhead bins and headrest covers are each decorated in Frozen motifs.
WestJet says the plane "will operate flights throughout our 737 network," so you'll may have to plan extra-carefully to snag a seat. But even if you can't get a ticket aboard the Frozen plane, don't fret. you can still travel easily with Anna, Elsa, and Olaf thanks to Frozen-themed luggage.The battle between the FBI and Apple over the unlocking of the 'San Bernardino iPhone' has taken an interesting twist: the FBI has reportedly found another way to unlock the device, as demonstrated by an "outside party", that may not require Apple to do anything.
In a document filed with the courts, the Department of Justice has requested that tomorrow's hearing be vacated due to this discovery.
“On Sunday, March 20, 2016, an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farook’s iPhone. Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook’s iPhone. If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc. (“Apple”) set forth in the All Writs Act Order in this case.”
The filing explains that the FBI has been researching alternate methods to unlock the iPhone 5c in question since it was obtained late last year, even while the court case involving Apple was in process. Due to the publicity the case was receiving, several third parties have contacted the FBI to present possible ways of circumventing the device's security measures, and at least one of them appears to be viable.
With the DoJ asking for the hearing to be cancelled, the FBI will shift its focus to testing the viability of the method presented to them, and whether or not it will destroy the data stored on the phone. If the unlocking method is successful, they won't require any further assistance from Apple.
The DoJ expects to file a status report with the courts by April 5th that will give more information on their efforts to unlock the iPhone using this new method.
If the FBI does have a way to unlock the iPhone in question without specially-designed firmware from Apple, it suggests there is a zero-day vulnerability in the operating system running on the device. This could present a security risk to other users, and if details of the vulnerability become public, it could be used by others to circumvent the security of millions of iPhones.WASHINGTON (Project Syndicate) — Just when the notion that Western economies are settling into a “new normal” of low growth gained mainstream acceptance, doubts about its continued relevance have begun to emerge. Instead, the world may be headed toward an economic and financial crossroads, with the direction taken depending on key policy decisions.
In the early days of 2009, the “new normal” was on virtually no one’s radar. Of course, the global financial crisis that had erupted a few months earlier threw the world economy into turmoil, causing output to contract, unemployment to surge, and trade to collapse. Dysfunction was evident in even the most stable and sophisticated segments of financial markets.
Yet most people’s instinct was to characterize the shock as temporary and reversible — a V-shape disruption, featuring a sharp downturn and a rapid recovery. After all, the crisis had originated in the advanced economies, which are accustomed to managing business cycles, rather than in the emerging-market countries, where structural and secular forces dominate.
But some observers already saw signs that this shock would prove more consequential, with the advanced economies finding themselves locked into a frustrating and unusual long-term low-growth trajectory. In May 2009, my PIMCO colleagues and I went public with this hypothesis, calling it the “new normal.”
The concept received a rather frosty reception in academic and policy circles — an understandable response, given strong conditioning to think and act cyclically. Few were ready to admit that the advanced economies had bet the farm on the wrong growth model, much less that they should look to the emerging economies for insight into structural impediments to growth, including debt overhangs and excessive inequalities.
But the economy was not bouncing back. On the contrary, not only did slow growth and high unemployment persist for years, but the inequality trifecta (income, wealth, and opportunity) worsened as well. The consequences extended beyond economics and finance, straining regional political arrangements, amplifying national political dysfunction, and fueling the rise of anti-establishment parties and movements.
With the expectation of a V-shape recovery increasingly difficult to justify, the “new normal” finally gained widespread acceptance. In the process, it acquired some new labels. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned in October 2014 that the advanced economies were facing a “new mediocre.” Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers foresaw an era of “secular stagnation.”
Today, it is no longer unusual to suggest that the West could linger in a low-level growth equilibrium for an unusually prolonged period. Yet, as I explain in my new book “The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse,” growing internal tensions and contradictions, together with over-reliance on monetary policy, are destabilizing that equilibrium.
Indeed, with financial bubbles growing, the nature of financial risk morphing, inequality worsening, and non-traditional — and in some cases extreme — political forces continuing to gain traction, the calming influence of unconventional monetary policies is being stretched to its limits.
The prospect that such policies will be able to keep the economic engines humming, even at low levels, looks increasingly dim. Instead, the world economy seems to be headed for another crossroads, which I expect it to reach within the next three years.
This may not be a bad thing. If policy makers implement a more comprehensive response, they can put their economies on a more stable and prosperous path — one of high inclusive growth, declining inequality, and genuine financial stability. Such a policy response would have to include pro-growth structural reforms (such as higher infrastructure investment, a tax overhaul, and labor retooling), more responsive fiscal policy, relief for pockets of excessive indebtedness, and improved global coordination.
This, together with technological innovations and the deployment of sidelined corporate cash, would unleash productive capacity, producing faster and more inclusive growth, while validating asset prices, which are now artificially elevated.
The alternate path, onto which continued political dysfunction would push the world, leads through a thicket of parochial and uncoordinated policies to economic recession, greater inequality, and severe financial instability. Beyond harming the economic well-being of current and future generations, this outcome would undermine social and political cohesion.
There is nothing pre-destined about which of these two paths will be taken. Indeed, as it stands, the choice is frustratingly impossible to predict. But in the coming months, as policy makers face intensifying financial volatility, we will see some clues concerning how things will play out.
The hope is that they point to a more systematic — and thus effective — policy approach. The fear is that policies will fail to pivot away from excessive reliance on central banks, and end up looking back to the new normal, with all of its limitations and frustrations, as a period of relative calm and well-being.
This article was published with permission of Project Syndicate — The End of the New Normal?
Want news about Europe delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Europe Daily newsletter. Sign up here.Bill Barrett Corp. reports gains in production from Colorado shale, though revenue off by about half from last year. Photo by Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock
DENVER, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Colorado energy company Bill Barrett Corp. credited drilling efficiency and targeted spending for the boost in production from the Denver-Julesburg shale basin.
"Our drilling results continue to reflect the quality of our Denver-Julesburg assets and position us to achieve our goals for the remainder of the year, while providing a strong foundation heading into 2016," Chief Executive Officer and President Scot Woodall said in a statement.
Combined with the Uinta Oil basin, the company said net second quarter production of 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent was 23 percent higher year-on-year. While long-term output from Uinta was down, the company said production from Denver-Julesburg was up 8 percent from the previous quarter and 76 percent from last year.
Bill Barret's production comes as company's working in U.S. shale cut spending on exploration and production because of the low price of crude oil. That trend is reflected in declines in the number of rigs deployed across the country, though the company said it made "significant strides" in drilling efficiency over the year.
Bill Barrett last month said full-year spending in 2015 could reach $350 million, which includes adding a second drilling rig to the Wattenberg area in the Denver-Julesburg basin. While the lag time in deployment means production for the year will increase only slightly, the company by next year expects output from Colorado shale to grow substantially.
In its latest statement, the company said second quarter capital spending was $65.1 million, 19 percent below expectations. Full year spending plans, however, remain unchanged at between $320 million and $350 million. Most of its drilling plans are focused on the Denver-Julesburg basin.
The company reported quarterly revenue of $62.6 million, down more than 50 percent from last year.Yesterday I was starting to get nervous about the path I'd started to go down with the generic groups app for Pinax. I was basically building a single centralized app through which different types of groups would be managed via configuration. I had a good chat with Eric Florenzano about it and we agreed that it just felt wrong but I couldn't think of an alternative.
Then this morning I had a brainwave—a shift in approach that I described on the mailing list as an "exo" approach rather than the previous "endo" approach. Instead of having a single, centralized "groups" app that's highly configurable and lets you plug different pieces in, I realised a better approach would be to simply provide the building blocks for site developers to create their own group apps bottom-up.
The advantage of the "exo" approach is that it makes group customization more like normal Django development. It's more flexible if you want to do some things differently.
After thinking about it some more, it occurred to me that the endo vs exo distinction is quite important when crafting extensible software. It's not that exo approach is always better. It's just different.
The endo approach is that of a framework whereas the exo approach is that of a library. Even a single system like Django may have some aspects that are endo and others that are exo.
An endo approach says to a developer: "we'll provide you the core with slots you can plug your pieces into". An exo approach says to a developer: "we'll provide pieces you can plug together yourself".
In Pinax, django-notifications takes a more endo approach (you register your notification types with the notification subsystem) whereas django-mailer takes an exo approach (it's just there when you want to send mail).
If you need to "register" an entity, an endo approach is probably being used.
If you put your B in the configuration of A then A is endo. Whereas if your B just calls A to do something then A is exo.
Seems a useful distinction. What do people think?EPA Slovenia launches vote on gay marriage The country’s EU commissioner and MEPs weigh in on the referendum.
EU politicians, including European commissioner Violeta Bulc, are urging Slovenia to back same-sex marriage as early voting begins Tuesday on a referendum that could overturn a controversial marriage equality law.
If the country supports gay marriage — as Irish voters did in May 2015 — Slovenia would break new ground, becoming the first Central European, Slavic and post-Communist nation to do so. In contrast, more than 10 Western European countries have implemented same-sex marriage laws.
The referendum results will be released Sunday. Voters are deciding whether to uphold a Slovenian law passed in March that legalizes gay marriage.
Bulc, Slovenia's member of the European Commission, told POLITICO she filmed a video for the “Za” (Yes) campaign with members of her team in a personal capacity, after being denied use of the Commission’s official television studios.
While European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans has been a vocal advocate for marriage equality, including through the Commission's official communication channels, Bulc's team said they were rebuffed because the institution does not have a position on the Slovenia referendum.
“I am for an open and integrated society. A society that respects diversity... Vote Yes!” Bulc says in the video.
Tanja Fajon, a Slovenian MEP, has spent recent days campaigning for the yes team with the message that “No one can have less rights because of love.” Former Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek (rejected as an EU commissioner by the European Parliament in 2014) joined Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel with a similar message.
Campaigners from MEP offices at the European Parliament, including a large Socialist contingent, are also on board.
In Slovenia, President Borut Pahor has backed the law, but taken a low-profile position ahead of the vote.
The referendum's "no" campaign is spearheaded by groups such as "Children Are at Stake," who argue that the marriage equality law does not recognize the importance of motherhood and fatherhood for the development of a child, according to its spokesperson Metka Zevnik.
Slovenians have the right to appeal laws passed by the national parliament — as the Marriage and Family Relations Act was in March 2015 (its purpose is to allow same-sex couples to marry). Activists collected more than 80,000 signatures to request a referendum on the law.
Dušan Vučko, a spokesperson for the Slovenian electoral commission, told Delo that a minimum of 343,104 voters (20 percent of more than 1.7 million registered) will have to cast their vote for the result of the referendum to be valid. More than half of those who vote will need to reject the law in order for it to be overturned.
A 2015 Eurobarometer survey conducted for the European Commission found that 54 percent of Slovenians thought that same-sex marriage should be permitted throughout Europe, while 40 percent were opposed.
A poll conducted November 30 for Delo put the "yes" and "no" camps in a statistical tie, with 42 percent in favor and 41 against.
Slovenian lawmakers, activists and voters have waged a 10-year, back-and-forth battle over LGBT rights. Laws to grant increasing rights to same-sex couples have on several occasions been defeated at the final parliamentary hurdle or ballot box, including a 2012 referendum in which 54.55 percent of voters rejected a law that would have expanded rights for same-sex registered partnerships.
Slovenian media report that the referendum is considered by many to be a test of support for the ruling Modern Centre Party (SMC) of Prime Minister Miro Cerar, which backs same-sex marriage. SMC has recently suffered a steep decline in support in opinion polls, dropping to just 7.6 percent this week.I wouldn't want to live in West Texas right now. Why? Because the Colorado River Municipal Water District, which supplies water to the region, is recycling wastewater (aka pisswater) into tap water. Recycle, reduce, reuse...it never sounded so gross.
I'm sure it's healthy and safe and clean and all that. Hell, the Colorado River Municipal Water District even spent $13 million on a new plant that runs the urine and whatever gnarly stuff is in wastewater through microfilters, reverse osmosis, peroxide, UV light and any foolproof method you can think of. When you're dealing with pee, it pays to be extra careful. Also, the h2o is totally up to drinking water regulations but...could you imagine? You're drinking pee man!
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The new pee water will only affect about 27,000 people in Texas and is only happening because the western region has only received 0.1 inches of rain in the past few months (they're supposed to get at least 7 inches). Other cities have experimented or are planning similar systems (LA, my hometown, has a possible $700 million system in the works for example) that would probably do wonders for maintaining the dropping water supply. But seriously, if a city does use peewater as tap water, I'd just rather not know. Ignorance is bliss, you know? [Discovery]A House chairman probing the IRS scandal on Wednesday said that President Obama has reneged on a promise to have his aides cooperate with the investigation, forcing the Ways and Means Committee to conduct a dragnet for emails and documents needed to smoke out the truth.
Rep. Dave Camp also revealed that federal agents conducting an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's bid to punish Tea Party and conservative critics of the president have yet to talk to a single target of the scandal.
Camp, whose committee is one of several looking into the 2010-2013 scandal, put the blame for the drawn out investigations on Capitol Hill at the president’s feet.
“I don’t fully understand why it’s taken them so long given that the president promised,” Camp said at a media roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “He promised that he would have quick action and we still don’t have the documents from an agency that is in this administration."
His committee has been frustrated with the administration's failure to cough up emails from Lois Lerner, who ran the IRS department that blocked Tea Party groups from winning the typically quick approval of tax exempt status. Lerner was on Capitol Hill Wednesday where she refused to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
“I still don’t have all of her emails. I still don’t have all of the documents that I’ve requested. The administration promised a quick action, and I’m still waiting for her emails,” said Camp, a Michigan Republican. “I need all of those, before I can conclude.”
By refusing to make good on his promise, Camp said that Obama and his administration is to blame for dragging out the investigations. Had Lerner not refused to testify to his committee earlier, Camp said “we probably would be at the bottom of what this is all about.”
He also expressed disgust that the Tea Party victims of the scandal, many of whom have been identified and even testified before his panel, are being ignored by the administration’s probe.
“As far as I know, I don’t know that Justice has spoken to any of the victims. I have not got information that they have even contacted the witnesses that came before the Ways and Means Committee,” said Camp.
While the scandal has taken a back seat to other issues, Camp said that his probe has uncovered several new elements to be included in a final report. “We found that the targeting was more widespread than they had admitted. We found that it wasn’t just agents in Cincinnati that were rogue agents, this actually originated in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of the public knows that,” he added.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.Yeah, no.
Via Daily Mail:
A leader of a hardline Islamist group has compared the treatment of Muslims to the massacre of millions of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Muslims have become an ‘existential threat’ in the world today, Hizb ut-Tahrir media representative Hamzah Qureshi was recently recorded telling fellow group members.
The growing fear of Islam is comparable to Germany’s declaration that the Jewish people ‘needed to go entirely’ almost 70 years ago, Mr Qureshi argued.
‘In Europe during the 19th and 20th century the ‘Jewish question’ interrogated the status of Jews and soon morphed from an allegedly neutral inquiry into a question of serious threat,’ he began.
‘Numerous answers were proposed – resettlement, integration, assimilation, deportation and so on as Jews were labelled an obstacle to the German nation and the insidious enemy within.’
As fears grew, the Holocaust was offered as a ‘final solution’ to the ‘Jewish question,’ he said.
‘Today though brothers and sisters there is a “Muslim question”,’ he said.
‘The same answers that were given for the Jewish question are now being suggested for the Muslim version – integration, assimilation, deportation and so on. Muslims have become that existential threat, that enemy within and that persistent danger,’ Mr Qureshi said.U.S. and Iraqi officials believe Iraqi security force members were killed as a result of an apparent friendly fire incident near Fallujah. (Reuters)
U.S. and Iraqi officials believe Iraqi security force members were killed as a result of an apparent friendly fire incident near Fallujah. (Reuters)
An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition this past week killed 10 Iraqi troops, the Iraqi government said Saturday, in an apparent friendly fire incident in which the U.S. defense secretary says both sides shared responsibility.
Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, at a news conference in Baghdad, said one Iraqi officer and nine soldiers were killed in the strike Friday, which took place south of the city of Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad.
Obeidi said the death toll announcement was a “correction” to earlier statements that one Iraqi soldier had died — statements that were disputed by soldiers who witnessed the strike.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said an American aircraft appeared to have conducted the strike, which he called “a mistake that involved both sides.”
Carter called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday to express his condolences |
own presence in the Alamo was noted by the survivor Susanna Dickinson.
Rose was said to have been a member of Colonel James Bowie's forces and had fought during the siege of Bexar, and that he then joined Bowie in reinforcing the Alamo Mission in San Antonio de Bexar in late January 1836. The available records do not permit historians to confirm these accounts. Rose's name is not found on any muster rolls for the siege of Bexar. Neither a Louis nor a Moses Rose is listed on the muster rolls that James C. Neill compiled for the Alamo garrison on December 31, 1835, or February 1, 1836, although Bowie was listed on the latter document.[3]
On the other hand, a man named "Rose" from Nacogdoches was listed as an Alamo victim in the March 14, 1836, issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register. This first attempt to name the men at the Alamo was compiled by John William Smith, one of the last couriers to leave the Alamo, and Gerald Navan, who probably also left the Alamo as a courier.[4] Alamo survivor Susanna Dickinson testified in 1853 and again in 1857 that the only man named "Rose" of whom she knew in the Alamo was James Rose, who accompanied Davy Crockett and who had died.[5] On the other hand, many of the known defenders from the roll accepted by historians are verified by less evidence than that supported Rose, and over the years names have been added or removed as evidence emerges.
Historian Thomas Ricks Lindley speculates that Louis "Moses" Rose had intended to fight at the Alamo and had joined volunteers who attempted to reinforce the Alamo on March 4. According to Lindley, while fifty or so of the volunteers successfully entered the Alamo complex, the remainder were driven away by Mexican troops. Rose may have been in the group that was repulsed, and either had seen some of his comrades enter the Alamo, or assumed that they had successfully entered.[6] There is no other evidence that such a large group attempted to come to the aid of the defenders.
Rose in the legend of the Alamo [ edit ]
The traditional account of the battle includes the following description of Rose's actions.
In March 1836, the Alamo was surrounded by the Mexican Army, which raised a "no quarter" flag, promising death to all defenders. Travis, the Texan commander, drew a line in the sand with his sword. He asked the defenders to cross over it, and thereby pledge to fight (and presumably die) in the Alamo. All did, except Rose. Crockett is supposed to have urged him to cross the line, but he remained standing. Later in the night, he is supposed to have slipped over the wall.
If Rose fled the Alamo on the night Travis drew the line, it might have been March 3 or March 5, since by the evening of March 3 it was apparent that no further reinforcements were coming and Santa Anna had delivered both an ultimatum and a chance for noncombatants to leave safely. Rose managed to evade Mexican forces, and made his way to Grimes County, where he found rest and shelter at the home of one William P. Zuber. Rose made no attempt at hiding the true story of his journey, attributing his decision to a love for his family (including his children), stating that he "just wasn't ready to die;" or that he had the desire to fight another day rather than face a slaughter like those he had seen in previous failed battles. Rose did not fight another day, but moved on to settle in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he operated a butcher shop. He would unashamedly explain to customers or anyone who asked why he had decided not to die in the Alamo.
Some historians have said that the story of the line in the sand was first told by Rose himself; however, it was standard frontier militia practice to give the men the choice to leave before battle, since they might leave on their own under fire anyway. In addition, other accounts of Travis "haranguing" the men or giving them the choice to stay were part of the record before the Zuber account surfaced, and similar ultimatums were given before other battles in Texas. Whether there ever was an actual line drawn in the sand is disputed, but the evidence does suggest that all Alamo defenders were at one point given a choice to stay or to go.
When the legendary account is accepted, Louis Rose is sometimes portrayed as a coward, though he was 51 at the time and had seen the cost of futile warfare in conflicts on two continents. This is largely due to the pride Texans take from the Battle of the Alamo, and the contrast of Rose with the defenders who chose to stay and die. His alleged actions suffer further in comparison with the 32 volunteers who evaded the Mexican forces to join the garrison.
Some advocates for Rose have noted that others also left during the battle, notably Juan Seguin (who was sent to seek reinforcements and is considered an Alamo hero), and at least twelve others who left as couriers during a brief armistice. Others note that Seguin and the other couriers were ordered to leave as part of their duty, while Rose chose to leave in order to save his own life. (In fact, Juan Seguin and other couriers returned to the scene, though the Alamo had fallen by the time Seguin arrived.)
In the years following the fall of the Alamo, Rose was sometimes contacted by relatives of men that died at the Alamo, to help verify their deaths, so that their survivors could settle land disputes or property claims. He was also sometimes casually questioned about his actions at the famous battle, and never denied that he had been there. As noted above, on some lists of the participants in the Battle of the Alamo, Rose is not even listed; proponents of the legendary account believe this is so because Rose left before the climax of the battle. In 1927, relatives of Rose presented his musket to the Alamo Museum.
The song Moses Rose of Texas, which was written by folk singer Steve Suffet and which uses the tune of the song The Yellow Rose of Texas, begins with the popular story of Rose, saying in part[7]
He's Moses Rose of Texas,
and today nobody knows,
he's the one who left the Alamo,
the night before the foe
came storming in up across the walls
and killed the men inside,
but Moses Rose of Texas
is the one who never died.
Suffet's parody, however, goes on to present a more nuanced interpretation of Rose's actions:
Whenever you are up against,
Pressure from your peers,
Or a challenge to your manhood,
Or frightened by the jeers,
Remember that discretion,
Is valor's better part,
And let the life of Moses Rose,
Put courage in your heart.
The 1952 film The Man from the Alamo, starring Glenn Ford, is loosely based on Rose's story, and Ford's character is accused of having been a coward, even though he was selected to escape the Alamo to protect the families of the defenders from looters and bandits. The film is very poor on historical accuracy, though the opening scenes of the battle are well done; and the plot was criticized by some Texan traditionalist groups, such as the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.[8]
Identity [ edit ]
"For the first thirty-eight years of the twentieth century," wrote Thomas Ricks Lindley,[9] "William P. Zuber's story of Moses Rose's alleged escape from the Alamo was an unsubstantiated tale accepted by few historians." Then in 1939, Texas archivist Robert B. Blake uncovered land grant statements from the Nacogdoches County Courthouse containing elements that seemed to verify Zuber's story. Because Blake appears to have believed him, he assumed that a Stephen and a Lewis or Louis Rose who, in their day, had signed testimony about Alamo defenders to the Board of Land Commissioners, were but one and same old Frenchman whose real name was Louis Rose. According to Blake, it was the very Rose described in the Texas Almanac for 1873, "Moses" becoming a nickname given to him by the Alamo defenders for his great age, 50 (Gordon C. Jenning, 56, was the oldest Alamo fighter at the time).[citation needed]
In 1982, Steven G. Kellman, professor of comparative literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, brought fresh grist to the mill by publishing a short study, "The Yellow Rose of Texas". Kellman believed that the copies of military documents he had obtained from the Service Historiques de la Défense in Vincennes, France, showed that Lieutenant "Moses, né Louis" Roze was born in La Férée, Ardennes, on May 11, 1785.[10]
Two different first names – Stephen and Lewis or Louis – plus a nickname, Moses – for the same man now explicitly identified by Professor Kellman as an officer in Napoleon's army brought questions to historian Gerard Dôle's mind. In order to retrace the life of Louis Roze, he consulted Louis Roze's complete military records at the French Archives Historiques de la Défense in Vincennes, as well as the complete dossier on his Légion d'Honneur at the Archives Nationales in Paris. At the same time, his assistant Stéphane Vielle went to work collecting and studying various official documents concerning Lieutenant Louis Roze, born in La Férée, Ardennes, on May 11, 1785. Dôle and Vielle concluded that there had been a case of mistaken identity. Louis Roze, born in La Férée, could not have been the Louis "Moses" Rose of Nacogdoches and the Alamo because he had never crossed the Atlantic,[11] though he died about the same time as the Alamo Rose, on May 25, 1851 in Braine. The certificate was signed and witnessed by his friend Paul Masure, and again mentions that Roze was a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur and native of La Férée.[citation needed]
References [ edit ]
^ Long, Jeffrey (1990), Duel of Eagles, Austin: University of Texas Press a b Lindley (2003), p. 225. ^ Lindley (2003), p. 192. ^ Chariton (1990), p. 180. ^ Chariton (1990), p. 179. ^ Lindley (2003), p. 227. ^ http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiMOSEROSE;ttYELLOWTX.html ^ Flores, Richard R. (2002), Remembering the Alamo: memory, modernity, and the master symbol, Austin: University of Texas Press, ISBN 0-292-72540-X ^ Lindley, Ricks (2003), Alamo Traces, Lanham: Republic of Texas Press, ISBN 978-1-55622-983-1 ^ Kellman, Steven G (1982), The Yellow Rose of Texas, Virginia: Journal of American Culture 5, no. 2. ^ Dôle, Gerard (2011), Texas 1836, Musical Echoes from the Alamo, followed by San Antonio Roze, Dinan: Terre de Brume, pp. 233–311, ISBN 978-2-84362-474-2
Sources [ edit ]A sickening video has emerged of Iraqi forces torturing and executing three ISIS militants.
The harrowing footage, which has deeply concerned the United Nations, shows uniformed men parading three suspected terrorists through the streets of Mosul, Iraq.
One soldier holding a stick drags his victim across the ground by his foot as he desperately pleads for mercy while being kicked by another soldier.
A sickening video has emerged of Iraqi forces torturing and executing three ISIS militants
Another victim is kicked on the ground by a group of men as gunshots can be heard in the background.
The original video then goes on to show the man being shot at point black range by a soldier who continues to fire and stamp on his head after he is dead.
The two other ISIS fighters are also shot in a barrage of automatic fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Saturday urged the Iraqi government to launch investigations into the video report.
The UN said: 'UNAMI calls on the government of Iraq to investigate a video report circulating on social media sites which purportedly shows the brutal mistreatment and murder of at least three captured ISIL members.'
The video emerged shortly before Iraq's prime minister declared eastern Mosul 'fully liberated' from Islamic State.
Iraqi forces drove Islamic State militants from one of their last bastions in the eastern half of the city, while aid groups expressed concern for the estimated 750,000 people still in the militant-held west.
The ISIS fighters pleaded for mercy from the Iraqi troops but none was granted
In his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Haider al-Abadi hailed the 'unmatched heroism of all security forces factions' and public support for the operation.
'Daesh has quickly collapsed and no one expected such collapse,' al-Abadi said, using the Arabia acronym of IS. 'The heroism of our security forces was behind Daesh's defeat.'
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the ISIS's last urban stronghold in the country, fell into the hands of the extremists in the summer of 2014, when the group captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq.
Asked how long it will take to liberate the western side of the city, al-Abadi said: 'I can't tell now, but we are capable of doing so and we will do so.'
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Saturday urged the Iraqi government to launch investigations into the video report
Hundreds of civilians fled from the northeastern Rashidiya neighborhood on foot as Iraqi helicopters circled overhead and fired on militants. At least two wounded Iraqi soldiers were brought back from the front lines after a suicide bombing.
A mortar attack in another neighborhood in eastern Mosul killed an Iraqi army colonel on Sunday, according to Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, a military spokesman.
Meanwhile, Al-Abadi renewed his promise to investigate allegations of human rights violations by security forces in conflict areas and bring those responsible to trial.Brentwood Academy senior Tyler McNair practices with the dance team during school Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Most members of the team began dancing when they were 4. McNair started formal training six months ago. (Photo: Shelley Mays / The Tennessean)
Basketball or dance?
Brentwood Academy student Tyler McNair wrangled over the question before his senior year of high school.
He was a starting player for the school's state championship basketball team.
CLOSE Tyler McNair was poised to lead the school's varsity basketball team to a third consecutive state championship, but in his senior year, he decided to drop basketball in pursuit of another passion - dance. Shelley Mays/The Tennessean
He was 6-foot-4, an athlete, the son of the late Titans quarterback Steve McNair, one of the biggest athletes to ever play sports in Nashville.
But dance, McNair says, tugged at his heart.
One night, while he wrangled with the tough decision, his father appeared in his dreams.
"Tyler told me once that his dad talks to him in dreams," his mother, Mechelle, said.
"He'll ask him questions like, 'What do you think I should do?' " she said.
"Tyler told me, 'I think my dad is OK with my dancing and he would still be proud of me,' " she said.
Steve wanted his children to pursue their passions, Mechelle said. She also was supportive of her son's decision.
"His dad would say if they ever wanted to do something other than sports, let them do it. A lot of people will make them play basketball or football because they're athletes. It's not fun if they're doing something they don't want to do."
Brentwood Academy senior Tyler McNair stopped playing basketball to join the school's dance team. It's a risk that's paid off — McNair is the dance team's first male member and the team won a state championship earlier this year. McNair practices with the dance team during school on Jan. 3, 2017. (Photo: Shelley Mays / The Tennessean)
From basketball court to dance floor
It's hard to ignore the younger McNair's presence on the dance floor.
His long frame and wingspan stand out from his female teammates.
McNair executes turns and jumps with precision and power.
Loud pop music fills the school's dance studio. The team rehearses for a performance for a basketball game.
Last year, McNair was a starting player on the court. This year he's dancing there.
"He could defend any position on the floor," said Brentwood Academy basketball coach Hubie Smith. "He was our best, if not one of our best, defenders.
"I was afraid he'd regret it. I never coached a kid who didn't finish his senior year," Smith said.
McNair was hesitant to leave his team as well.
"For almost a year, we tried to work on a schedule where I could do both and it never seemed to work out," McNair said. "Basketball is a big commitment, and dance is such a big commitment.
"Eventually I just decided to just stick with dance because it was something that I thought about all the time," he said. "Like, I was always trying to work things around dance. And for me, I made it my decision to make it to the next level of dance."
Boys can dance, too
Before McNair danced competitively, he danced as a hobby.
It was also his stress reliever.
Dance helped him through hard times, like the death of his father. McNair was 10 years old at the time.
McNair says he feels a mix of emotions while he dances.
He feels joy. He feels happiness. And with the support of his school community, he also feels a sense of accomplishment.
"I feel like I'm proud to make the decision to dance," said McNair, the dance team's first male dancer.
"It shows that boys can be dancers, too," he said. "It's not just for girls.
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"I can do the same thing they do but make it look masculine and make it look just as precise as they can," he said.
McNair's former basketball teammates and his dance teammates have embraced his decision.
Garrett Suedekum, who has been best friends with McNair since seventh grade,played on the basketball team with him.
"I've always asked him, half-heartedly joking, if he wants to come back," Suedekum said. "We know where he wants to be, and he's doing what he wants to do."
Suedekum and other friends have cheered at McNair's dance performances.
"He's amazing," Suedekum said. "We love watching him dance."
He added: "He does everything with precision and poise and does everything to the best of his ability."
Brentwood Academy senior Tyler McNair is the school's first male member of the dance team and the team won a state championship earlier this year. McNair practices with the dance team during school Jan. 3, 2017. (Photo: Shelley Mays / The Tennessean)
Self-taught
Brentwood Academy dance coach Robyne Kennedy attributes McNair's fast rise in competitive dancing to his athleticism and discipline.
His teammates have been dancing since age 4. McNair started formal dance training six months ago.
"I would look up videos for turns," McNair said. "I would watch TV, like 'Dance Moms' and stuff like that, and try to mirror what they would be doing."
After basketball practices — usually done by 6 p.m. — McNair headed to the school's dance studio by himself.
"I kept thinking, 'OK, he is probably exhausted from a long day of school and basketball practice,' " Kennedy said.
"But he would just come to dance. The more that I saw that, the more, of course, I would watch that — I would stay late just to watch, too," she said.
McNair landed a spot on the school's dance team. Then he made the cuts for state championships.
"We can show him a really advanced jump or a really advanced skill — of course his wing span really blows our mind because he has such a long carriage and such a long frame — and he still can execute these things so beautifully and so well with power," Kennedy said.
McNair was nervous at the state championships.
"I was praying. I was like, 'Please Lord, let us get this championship,' " he said. "For me, it was more than just winning. I felt like I didn't want to disappoint the girls. I didn't want to disappoint my family."
McNair added: "In my mind, I had so much to prove. I left a state championship team and I wanted to contribute to another one."
The team won state championships in the fall, and now they're headed to nationals.
Reach Melanie Balakit at 615-926-1638 and on Twitter @MelanieBalakit.
Steve McNair holds his son Tyler after the Titans defeated the Patriots on Dec. 16, 2002. McNair died in 2009 when his son was 10. (Photo: George Walker IV / File / The Tennessean)
About Tyler McNair
Age: 18
Favorite dance genre: Lyrical/contemporary
Admired dancer: Alvin Ailey and his Brentwood Academy dance teammates
Admired athlete: Steve McNair, his father and former Tennessee Titans football player
"He was a force on the field but had such a loving heart for everyone in his life, his fans and most of all his family. He had exceptional ability and natural talent but always gave 110 percent every time he practiced or played. I look up to him as a role model for my work ethic and try to model the heart he gave to all things."
Plans after high school: McNair aspires to dance and pursue a premedical school track in college. His dream school is New York University. He wants to be a pediatrician.
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Read or Share this story: http://tnne.ws/2jF6eDUGrand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is another installment in one of the most popular series in the history of video games. The game was released initially on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2013. Version for computers is an expanded and improved edition of the original title. It offers full support for high screen resolutions. Textures and three-dimensional models are in higher quality. The game world is more living thanks to increased number of cars in traffic and pedestrians. Lighting system, car damages and weather also received improvements. There are also new missions, weapons, vehicles and options of characters customization. Developers had in mind players who earlier bought GTA V for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 – they can transfer their characters from GTA Online on console to PC version of the game.
Grand Theft Auto V presents you three completely different characters: Michael – a former bank robber from the East Coast, now being under the witness protection program; Trevor – retired military pilot suffering from mental disorders; and Franklin – young man from the ghetto, collecting cars from debtors of a local Armenian dealer. Each of them represents other social background, presented in the game in a detailed manner. The storyline and gameplay enable switching between those three characters at any time, so you can quickly explore the world of Los Santos and always be in the center of the action.
PLEASE CHECK YOUR SYSTEM CONFIGURATION BEFORE PLACING THE ORDER
AFTER ORDER PLEACEMENT IT ASSUMES THAT YOUR SYSTEM IS CAPABLE OF RUNNING GTA 5 ON YOUR PC
SO THERE IS NO RETURN IF YOUR SYSTEM IS NOT RUNNING THE GAME PROPERLY
Features
Major visual and technical upgrades to make Los Santos and Blaine County more immersive than ever.
Increased Draw Distances
4K Support
New weapons, vehicles and activities
Additional wildlife
Denser traffic
New foliage system
Enhanced damage and weather effects, and much more.
Recommended specifications: OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1. Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs) Memory: 8GB. Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB. Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible. HDD Space: 65GB. DVD Drive.
Requirements
Adjusted Core i5-680 3.6GHz
Phenom II X4 810
GeForce GTX 750
Radeon R7 260X v2
6 GB Ram
Windows 7 – 64BIT
DirectX 11
65 GB HDD Space
Screenshots
RequirementsThe Government of India (GOI) has adopted a comprehensive and supportive open source policy. It builds on their earlier efforts to adopt open standards for procurement.
As we've seen in other regions, the adoption of such policies often brings out concerns from some quarters who want to spread 'fear and doubt' about the policy. So, what are the facts about the policy, and how does it fit into India's broader economic development strategy?
From 'purchaser' to 'innovator'
In my work with governments around the world, I've observed that many governments are increasing their engagement on open source to help them promote a culture of innovation that they need in order to serve their citizens today and in the years to come.
While government procurement regimes often lag behind those in the commercial sector in terms of adaptability and efficiency, I see a a growing awareness among not only the IT experts but also the leadership of the public sector that the old way of acquiring software has to change and that lock-in is no longer acceptable. The use of technology, including open source software, is moving out of the sphere of simply 'acquiring a product' to 'investing in innovation'.
As a result, the emphasis on open source by the GOI is a reflection of this change of focus. IT is less about acquiring intellectual property via a license, and more about widely distributing the tools and adding value on top of it. This paradigm shift has enabled decision-makers to go from thinking of small 'procurement' windows to viewing open source from a broader vantage point that highlights its broad-based benefits to an economy, jobs, and innovation, and in the government itself.
In India, the policy coincides with another broad initiative, Digital India. By bringing together various functions and efforts, the program seeks to prepare India for a knowledge future. It is centered on three key areas:
Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen
Governance & Services on Demand
Digital Empowerment of Citizens
Citizen engagement
Those objectives are consistent with one of the other exciting trends I’m seeing: governments using open source software, as a key component of 'digital agenda' initiatives that include open standards and open data policies, to enhance civic engagement.
Whether through sponsoring 'app challenges' or 'hackathons' to generate excitement around new ways of using government services and information, to modernizing online web-based services, and governments actually 'open sourcing' the software, there is strong evidence that open source is indeed driving transparency and better engagement with citizens.
One example is the work of the US White House to connect citizens (and citizen developers) to government (and government data). The US "digital agenda" is carrying out the President’s goal of using technology to make a real difference in individuals’ daily lives. Notably, in carrying out its effort, the White House is committed to "using and contributing back to open source software as a way of making it easier for the government to share data, improve tools and services, and return value to taxpayers."
The GOI policy
In many ways, the GOI policy is consistent with these trends we see around the world. With this background, what's the new policy all about? The thrust of the policy requires that the various ministries of the GOI "shall endeavor to adopt Open Source Software [OSS] in all e-Governance systems implemented by various Government organizations, as a preferred option in comparison to Closed Source Software (CSS)."
To effectuate the policy, "All Government Organizations, while implementing e-Governance applications and systems must include a specific requirement in Request for Proposal (RFP) for all suppliers to consider OSS along with CSS while responding. Suppliers shall provide justification for exclusion of OSS in their response, as the case may be. Government Organizations shall ensure compliance with this requirement and decide by comparing both OSS and CSS options with respect to capability, strategic control, scalability, security, life-time costs and support requirements."
Reportedly, the draft of the policy was sent to 82 government departments, and inputs were received from 65 departments. Most departments were reported to be very supportive of the policy, with none opposed the policy.
More than 40 governments world-wide, by my conservative count, have policies that create a positive environment for open source use. These policies are important to level the playing field, not merely highlighting the benefits of open source to governments (saying it’s ok to use it) but also providing meaningful answers to commonly asked questions by government IT professionals. The French government, for example, published a guideline in late 2012 urging the country's public administrations to not only make a thorough and systematic review of free alternatives when building and revising IT infrastructure and applications, but also to use the savings realized by the use of open source to develop expertise and engage upstream communities.
The GOI approach is also consistent with the direction of the US Government. Just last year, the White House (via the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal CIO) issued a Digital Services Playbook—described in some quarters as "something of a marvel for an official government policy: it's elegantly designed, has clear navigation, and is responsive to any device you choose to view it upon."
At its core, the Playbook is about more agile use of reusable software and processes that focus on the customer. Central to that approach is its emphasis on open source. The final 'play' in the Playbook captures the notion of 'Default to Open'. Play 8 encourages agencies to 'Choose a Modern Technology Stack' which focuses on use of open source, cloud-based, and commodity solutions across the technology stack, "as these solutions have seen widespread adoption and support by the most successful private-sector consumer and enterprise software technology companies." It clearly states, "Consider open source software solutions at all layers of the stack."
Open source will continue to be the 'go to' approach for governments around the world, and the steps that the GOI have taken are consistent with that trend. The policy reflects a potent driver toward open source software utilization: the fundamental shift in IT architecture, away from coupled hardware, software, and data to more modularity, reuse, and a central focus on interoperability—all of which is enhanced by tighter government IT budgets and the goal of avoiding vendor lock-in.
The counter arguments
The GOI policy has received criticism, directly from some companies as well as from organizations representing some segments of the IT industry.
Having observed attacks on open source policies for much of the last decade, these are different in style and tone. Remarkably, there is little dispute about the policy itself. Rather, the central thrust of the attack is on the 'how to' of implementation.
Instead, as one of the organizations stated in its letter to the GOI, the "policy on this issue should emphasize open standards, interoperability and other key factors that create a level playing field for vendors of all types."
Creating level playing field is precisely what the GOI policy is striving to achieve. And there is no doubt that use of open standards and ensuring interoperability are important. But they are not sufficient.
The challenge is changing a culture and approach that provides the GOI with options. As Ram Sewak Sharma, the Secretary of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Deity) indicated in a media review, "the objective of the policy was to ensure both the options [of closed and open source] are compared and the best possible solution adopted. The objective of the policy is not to narrow down the opportunities for closed source software companies, but to ensure that both CSS and OSS options are properly evaluated."
Moreover, claims that the GOI policy'mandates' OSS are also misplaced. Secretary Sharma went on to say: "It is clarified that the policy does not make it mandatory for all future applications and services to be designed using the open source software (OSS). The compliance part of the policy clearly states that the solution suppliers should consider OSS along with closed-source software (CSS) while proposing solutions. They can always propose CSS solutions, provided they can justify it over OSS. While the government organisations shall ensure compliance with this requirement and decide by comparing both OSS and CSS options with respect to capability, strategic control, scalability, security, life-time costs and support requirements."
The GOI is to be commended by taking this initiative. It is essential that the GOI and the open source community, working with all vendors who support OSS, come together to raise awareness and ensure meaningful implementation of the policy.We’re excited to announce that we have begun work on Touchstone Brewing Company, a microbrewery in Sacramento, California. The brewery will be next to Sacramento Pipeworks, and will include a taproom on-site to give our members and guests a place to hang out after a good climbing session or work out.
“We’ve been talking about building a taproom on the Sacramento Pipeworks property for years,” said General Manager Markham Connolly. “But it always seemed like a pipedream, until we found the right man for the job.”
We are happy to have hired Brewmaster Ryan Campagna to brew and manage Touchstone Brewing Company. “This project was so unique and we knew we had to find someone to champion the effort,” said Touchstone Climbing CEO Mark Melvin. “Ryan has been a part of the Touchstone community for years and we’re excited to share his passion for craft beer and the climbing community.”
Brewmaster
After years in the corporate world, Campagna had had enough and quit his job in 2011. He donated all of his suits and decided to follow his passion, so he began working at Strike Brewing in San Jose in 2012 as their Production Manager.
As an avid climber and mountaineer, Ryan began climbing at The Studio in San Jose when they opened in 2011. He quickly became a familiar face around the gym, and throughout the Touchstone Climbing community as he visited a handful of other locations to pour Strike beer for our TCS climbing competitions.
“When I heard that Touchstone had been considering a brewery at Sacramento Pipeworks, I immediately reached out,” said Campagna. “The idea of running my own brewery, next to a climbing gym, 1 hour away from the mountains… it was almost too good to be true.”
After introductions over beer and equal parts climbing talk and business talk, we decided to move forward with the Touchstone Brewing Company. Campagna moved from San Jose to Sacramento in the fall and began the legwork required to get the brewery up and running.
“I’m excited to be working for a rad company with cool people, and to be a part of the exploding craft beer scene in Sacramento,” said Campagna. “And, to mix two of my passions – beer and climbing! Not at the same time of course…”
Pintworks
Touchstone Brewing Company will be an 1800 sq ft brewery with a 2600 sq ft tap room, along with a shaded outdoor beer garden, perfect for warm Sacramento summers. The taproom itself, affectionately dubbed Pintworks, will offer beer, beverages and food.
“We’re including a pizza oven in the plans,” said Melvin. “Along with non-alcoholic drinks. While we’re very excited about being the first climbing gym in the USA to brew its own beer, we also want to build a place on-site for the community to come together over food and drinks.”
Touchstone Brewing Company
The brewery will be a 7 BBL system, capable of about 728 barrels of beer per year. In layman’s terms, that’s 180,544 pints… so come one come all!
“I’m planning on brewing a variety of rotating beers, and hoping to get started with eight on tap,” said Campagna. “We’ll have something for everyone!”
“Along with brewing for on-site sales at Pintworks, Touchstone Brewing Company will be creating special batches for events at Touchstone Climbing gyms like TCS competitions and community events,” said Campagna. “We’re also excited to be able to brew for non-profit fundraisers and climbing outreach events.”
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to check up on our progress!Canadians say they expect to spend an average of $1,056.50 on gifts and other holiday-related purchases this time of year, but 67% don’t have a budget for such expenses, according to a new poll.
“Waiting until December to budget for your holiday spending could add some extra pressure to your overall finances,” says Maria Contreras, senior manager of savings accounts at RBC Royal Bank, which conducted the survey. “Open up a separate savings account for these purposes whether it is for gift-giving or any other short-term savings goal you may have.”
If you haven’t budgeted or saved anything for the holidays — and you don’t have a time machine to go back and hoard money — here are some financial recommendations as you approach the season of spending.
First, create a budget. “Set limits,” says Blake Elyea, senior vice-president and licensed trustee in consumer insolvency at Grant Thornton. “Make a list, check it twice. Don’t go to the store without a plan of what you’re going to purchase and where.”
Don’t wait until the last minute to tackle your list because you’ll likely end up paying more. Seventy percent of Canadian shoppers reported waiting until the last minute to shop and desperation does not lead to good choices.
Play within your budget and play with cash. Eighteen per cent of Canadian shoppers will use credit cards to pay for gifts, according to RBC. This is fine if you pay off your |
the value of quality third-party developers. Its own arcade games, like Altered Beast and Golden Axe, made for decent European launch-title conversions, but as Nintendo's contracts with third parties proved restrictive and only ever favoured the NES-men, Sega moved to embrace creative teams from beyond its own departments.
Look at the best-selling NES and SNES games of all time; the developer credit almost always goes to Nintendo – on the former system the top three slots are taken by Super Mario Bros. and its two sequels, and on the latter by Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario Kart. DKC is Rare-developed, and the game at four on the all-time SNES list is Capcom's Street Fighter II – but any other entries in the top nine come from Nintendo franchises. On the Mega Drive, third spot is taken by Virgin Games' Disney's Aladdin, four is occupied by Midway's NBA Jam and five by the same developer as Mortal Kombat II.
CGR Undertow review Disney's Aladdin – yes, enemies explode when they're pelted with apples
Game developer David Perry provides the foreword for Collected Works – he was at Virgin when they got the Aladdin gig. He calls it a "special project", and the game introduced him not only to the then-president of Sega itself, Hayao Nakayama, but also "some of the most famous business people in the world".
"The Genesis altered the course of the global video game industry," he concludes. "It gave us the opportunity to go really big – to move from making little games... to producing blockbusters that everyone talked about."
Dip beneath the best sellers and some of the Mega Drive's most critically acclaimed games are the work of third parties. US Gamer's top ten Genesis games list puts Treasure's terrific run-and-gunner Gunstar Heroes top of the pile, Konami's Castlevania: Bloodlines at seven and that same company's amazing port of Snatcher as its greatest Mega-CD (Sega-CD in America) title. The Mega Drive's Micro Machines II: Turbo Tournament was the definitive version of Codemasters' top-down racer, and Electronic Arts' action games like Road Rash and Desert Strike were at their best played on Sega's hardware.
A lot of these games also appeared on Nintendo platforms, but Sega's approach to third parties was easier on developers than the restrictions that a NES contract could put on any team, of any size. You see this same setup today, only distilled to a far more direct developer-to-distributor workflow, with Sony's dealings with multiple indie studios through its Strategic Content team and the Xbox Live Indie Games storefront, as well as the architecture of Steam.
Altered Beast cover art by Michiaki Satoh, packaged with early European Mega Drives. This was the shit in 1990.
"ARCADE QUALITY" ACTUALLY MEANT SOMETHING
Sega's (perhaps most considerable) advantage over Nintendo was always its arcade division, which dates back to 1976 and is still going to this day. Its AM2 team worked on everything from OutRun and After Burner to the Virtua Fighter series and the evergreen Daytona USA. Sega's 8bit Master System might have lost out to the NES in same-gen sales, but its ports of arcade hits like Hang-On and Space Harrier ensured it enjoyed a loyal, if specialist, audience.
The Mega Drive's additional power brought these games to life at home like never before. Yes, the NES had the exclusive rights to Konami's arcade classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Sega's own library of coin-op titles, including After Burner II and Altered Beast, soon made their new machine the go-to for those who'd otherwise be wearing their pockets out rummaging for 20 pence pieces down the pier on any Saturday afternoon.
Graphics and sound, while not spot-on exactly, were close-enough conversions of what was out there in the wilds of the amusement arcades, while the Mega Drive's three-button pad opened more control possibilities than the two-button NES ever could. For the first time, reading that something was "arcade quality" might actually mean it was. Almost.
After Burner II: an arcade hit that made the move to the Mega Drive fairly unscathed
The arcade conversion route would gain Sega valuable ground as it struck out first, ahead of Nintendo, into the 16bit market – the 1988-launched Mega Drive had two years on the SNES, which would follow in November of 1990. It allowed for relatively quick, in-house software turnaround times where teams always had access to original assets.
Despite some internal reservations that creating home ports of Sega's arcade gems would lead to lower coin-op takings, eventually the company's divisions were remedied, with Nakayama telling Keith Stuart, in his Collected Works essay, "Arcade Perfect", "We knew the US console market was huge and, from the beginning, our aim was to break Nintendo's stranglehold in America."
Today, nobody really talks about home console games having the aesthetic clout to match their arcade counterparts – mainly because it's rarer and rarer to see games going from the arcade to the home market, whereas you might step into an arcade today and see large-scale versions of mobile games like Infinity Blade or Fruit Ninja.
By realising arcade-"perfect" ports on the Mega Drive, Sega set targets for home gaming that its closest competitors had to match, even if they couldn't better them. ( Mode 7 was pretty flash, but the big graphics buzz of the SNES wasn't always put to best use.) It's not enough to have great gameplay – your title's got to look amazing, too. And while that might seem like an industry-general aspect of games development, it's a quality that was first firmly instilled in developer mindsets during the Mega Drive's early years. Precision controls and pin-sharp visuals: this was the new standard.
Sega's Activator: whoever green-lit this is either from the future, locked up, or both
IT HAD INSPIRING PERIPHERALS (AND SOME THAT EVEN WORKED)
It's easy to leap to the conclusion that the Mega-CD was a piece of shit – but, really, it wasn't. The Mega Drive's CD add-on, which either sat snugly beneath the main system or beside it, depending on what model you owned, was home to many amazing games: from the aforementioned Snatcher and Sonic CD through to a properly arcade-perfect Final Fight, which smashed the preceding SNES port into tiny little Nintendo tears, and the magnificent Core-developed Thunderhawk, a 3D helicopter game that made Desert Strike look like a game of marbles. Yeah, the FMV titles were mostly tat – I've a soft spot for Ground Zero: Texas all the same – but while it's apparently the seventh-worst selling console of all time, the Mega-CD was a hit in my house, and I'm standing by it.
Hell, while we're at it, I'll even make a case for the 32X. The Mega Drive's double-power tower that sat atop its cartridge slot might have been a god-awful ugly piece of plastic, but its double Hitachi SH2 processors continued Sega's arcade-port excellence. Virtua Fighter and Racing were both excellent on the system, while older affairs like After Burner had never looked better. Weird, lesser-seen games like the hummingbird shoot-'em up Kolibri and colourful platformer Tempo show that, if Sega had stuck by the 32X rather than throw all of its eggs into the Saturn basket, who knows what might have been.
These library-expanding hardware-boosters were great, and for me gave the Mega Drive the edge over the SNES. But what also sold Sega's 16bit machine to Master System-owning kids – or, rather, the parents of those kids – was its backwards compatibility, something that Microsoft would work into its 360, and that Sony's PS2 afforded those who'd amassed a large collection of original PlayStation titles. The Power Base Converter was a relatively inexpensive add-on for the Mega Drive that allowed gamers to play Master System software on their new system. It even included a card slot, for the handful of games that came on that format for the Master System (I never actually owned any of them, as they looked as if they'd snap under the foot of a younger brother).
The ridiculously proportioned Menacer was the Mega Drive's light gun, and its three-part design made it an easier weapon for a 12-year-old to wield than the SNES-compatible Super Scope (a massive, bazooka-like monster). It lacked much decent software support, but the Menacer worked excellently, its infrared feedback feeling more immediate than its rival's. It also made those annoying shooting-range-style sections in Snatcher a little more exciting, and was essential for playing Probe's Mega Drive port of Terminator 2.
A UK ad for the Mega-CD that's "mega seedy"
Poor sales for the Menacer rendered it a flop, but it still found its way into more households than the ambitious Sega Activator, a full-body control system that predates Xbox's Kinect by 17 years. I've never used one myself, but as it was compatible with Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat I'm fairly sure I would have broken a limb trying.
While the Activator didn't really work – IGN named it the third-worst controller, ever – it showed that Sega was willing to invest in hardware development that went beyond what other manufacturers were attempting. And when you look at the Kinect and Sony's PS4 Camera and Move controller system, a line back to the Activator is easily drawn.
(Image courtesy of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works)
Returning to Micro Machines II: Turbo Tournament, the J-Cart – allowing up to eight simultaneous players – was the single best innovation of the 16bit cartridge era. Two additional controller ports on the cart itself: some sort of freaking genius. If Codemasters had only come up with the thing at the beginning of the Mega Drive's lifespan, rather than in 1994, just imagine how many more games would have benefitted from insanely fun local multiplayer sessions. In the wireless age, up to four pads can connect to a console as standard – but back when controllers were forever tangled up, the J-Cart was a vision of a future that I know I couldn't wait to dive into.
And if I can close on a multiplayer tangent, you know all those console games you love playing with your mates over a broadband connection? Yeah, Sega was working on an online service for Mega Drive users in 1990: the Meganet. You plugged a Sega-branded modem into the back of your console and away you went – but a high price and only a small number of games meant that the Meganet never made it beyond Japan and, oddly perhaps, Brazil, where it was introduced in 1995. Nintendo's closest comparable peripheral for the SNES, the satellite modem Satellaview, wouldn't come out until five years after Sega's experiment. I'd love to say "advantage Sega", but the Meganet bombed. All the same, Sega's vision was inspiring – and gaming today would be a poorer place had the company not taken so many (ultimately commercially suicidal) risks.
Read Only Memory's Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works is available now.
@MikeDiverTHIS chilling sound had scientists spooked after it was heard coming from the deepest part of the ocean.
Researchers at the Hatfield Marine Science Centre were shocked to hear the wailing noise while monitoring deep-sea whale communications in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench.
Lasting around three seconds, the moaning noise hits super-low, and then super-high frequencies.
The experts’ best guess is that they picked up a never before heard whale call while monitoring the uncharted depths.
WILDLIFE OFFICIALS: VIDEO CAPTURES POSSIBLE 2ND JAGUAR IN US
Marine experts sent a machine called a hydrophone down to the deepest part of the trench, which lies between Japan and Australia.
The hydrophone can travel through the sea for months at a time and dive up to 3,281 feet.
It's there that it picked up the strange booming sound.
Some believe it could be a mating call from a Baleen whale.
'MYTHICAL' SEA BLOB FINALLY SPOTTED A CENTURY AFTER ITS DISCOVERY
However, the bizarre sound pattern doesn't quite fit with what we already understand about whales.
Sharon Nieukirk, a marine bioacoustics expert at Oregon State said: “If it's a mating call, why are we getting it year round? That's a mystery.”
The sound is “very distinct, with all these crazy parts” she added.
The scientists hope that by publishing the noise other researchers can help identify the “call” so they can get to the bottom of the noise.
This story originally appeared on The Sun.In July 2013, Celtic faced IF Elfsborg in the qualifying rounds. Celtic player Mo Bangura was on loan with Elfsborg. When the issue of his availability came up, UEFA had the following to say (emphasis mine):
"As we, in line with the FIFA regulations on status and transfer of players, consider a loan to be a transfer, we do not have any regulations regarding players not playing against their parent club whilst on loan to another club. If a player is duly registered on the player list of IF Elfsborg then he can play against any team that Elfsborg are drawn against." "Any agreement between the two clubs that this player wouldn’t play against Celtic should Elfsborg be drawn against them is purely between the clubs. UEFA would not have any involvement or consideration of this agreement, it would be neither endorsed or enforceable by UEFA."
Make of this what you will, but it doesn't seem as if Europe's governing body are being particularly consistent in their stance. Is that really too much to ask for?In this Corner of the World, a period drama about a young woman growing up in the Japan of the 1930s and 1940s, is currently in Japanese cinemas and racking up rave reviews. (Screen Daily, for example, called it "an enchanting delight, but in a thoughtful, measured, even mournful way.") Directed by Sunao Katabuchi, whose career has gone from the hardboiled mayhem of Black Lagoon to the childhood joy of Mai Mai Miracle, the new film will be distributed globally by Animatsu.
Shortly before In This Corner of the World opened in Japan, ANN had the opportunity to interview the film's producer, Masao Maruyama, a true titan of the anime industry. He's seen anime evolve for more than fifty years, ever since he first worked at Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Pro in the 1960s. He co-founded the Madhouse studio in 1972; four decades later, he founded MAPPA, which made In This Corner of the World. Maruyama's producer credits stretch from Death Note to Kids on the Slope, Monster to Perfect Blue, Unico in the Island of Magic to Record of Lodoss War.
The interview covered both In This Corner of the World as well as Maruyama's wider career. Special thanks to Rod Lopez of GENCO and Jerome Mazandarani of Animatsu for making this interview possible, to Andrew Kirkham and Kazumi Kirkham for their wonderful translation, and to Andrew for his extra questions.
Do you think In This Corner of the World will appeal to a particular kind of audience, in terms of (for example) age and gender?
It was not created for a certain sort of person or place. It is for all generations from children to adults. This film is for everyone, not for a particular kind of audience. It was not limited in any way. I think it will be understood by everyone.
There have been previous anime films about World War II, including Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies and Giovanni's Island. What do you think this film achieves that the previous films didn't?
Even during the war people still had to eat, to live. We tried to describe accurately that daily life in a very deliberate manner, not to expand upon it dramatically. Conversely, we worked hard to describe that point precisely.
For some viewers, In This Corner of the World may look very different from their idea of what anime is. Do you think the film is a new kind of anime, or do you think it is similar to some anime from the past?
The answer is both yes and no. I think the director's (Sunao Katabuchi's) previous work that particularly portrayed daily life was really outstanding. However, this time around it includes adventure, not just normal life.
Katabuchi has the methodology to be able to describe daily life as if nothing had happened despite it being a turbulent time.
The film is a very realistic story, but it became fantastical when the stylised world painted by the heroine Suzu gets mixed in with the images of reality. It was a really miraculous structure.
Katabuchi grasped the core of the original story and bought forth this fantastic visualisation. It was an extremely marvellous component. Not just the portrayal of real life, but the element that suggested some sort of dream or fantasy. I think is an unparalleled film.
Inevitably, some young people will think that a film that involves Hiroshima and World War II must be very depressing. Is there a way to persuade people like that to see the film?
Yes... The original manga writer Fumiyo Kono's character is very soft and she looks adorable. I wanted to capture those characteristics in the animation.
Actually the film itself does not feature so many war scenes. Of course we described the atomic bomb scene, but the interesting point of this film was that it did not take place in Hiroshima city but in the nearby city of Kure, which was also influenced a lot by the results of the atomic bomb.
The heroine Suzu moved from Hiroshima to Kure to get married. Kure was very heavily involved with Hiroshima city, but there was also a lot of movement and trade between Hiroshima and Kure. Kure gave an outside perspective on Hiroshima city.
I chose the fundamental principles for making this film. The word "Corner" in the title signifies the overview of Hiroshima city from all over Japan. I decided I didn't want the film to be too dark or painful. Also the director had the intention of making a cheerful and good looking film.
You have worked with many famous anime directors. What would you say are the main qualities of Mr Katabuchi as a director?
He is very investigative. He really checks the background facts of the story. But he doesn't just stick to those. He has an eye that foresees the situation, both past and future. Once again, he grabbed for the reality of the situation and delved into it. So I think his ability is immense.
You have also worked with such directors as Shinichiro Watanabe, Mamoru Hosoda and Satoshi Kon. Were they all very different people, or do anime directors have a lot in common with each other?
The answer is yes and also no. If I had to identify a common characteristic, I would say they all have a high degree of stubbornness. That means they all had robust strong wills, making it very hard to control them. If I told them the schedule was tight or the money had run out they would just say, "So." They were all like that.
What would you say have been the most important changes in the anime industry over the decades that you have worked in it?
I would say that the technical aspects have gone digital and hand-drawn animation on paper has mostly disappeared. Basically as creators we haven't changed. Put simply, it means a move from pencil to machine, that's all.
The way of thinking and creating has not changed at all. I work in a rather old fashioned style and I am always pondering about how to work in that fashion.
Are you sometimes surprised by what anime become popular with viewers and fans: for example, the trend towards cute “moe” girls in recent years?
I have no problem with it if the audience thinks it is fun or interesting. So, for example, if I could make an animation with a moe character and it got a huge audience, I would be quite happy. I just haven't had the chance to work on anything like that. At this moment that chance has eluded me. So I don't think that style is bad.
However, when I'm watching them on TV they all look the same to me. So I think it is better to have a unique point and for the characters to have an individual strength.
Do you think a person in your position can help steer anime in the direction that you would like it go? Or do you feel at the mercy of factors beyond your control?
That's a difficult question. For me, given that I'm 75 years old now I can almost see the goal. I'm very interested in seeing which direction young people go in, but for me I just want to keep the good things even if they are old fashioned.
In This Corner of the World is one of the first movie projects by the MAPPA studio, which you founded. Does the film reflect a new direction for the studio?
Not only for MAPPA, I think it represents the sort of projects that would be nice to be included in the Japanese animation world.
May I ask if there is any news update concerning Satoshi Kon's unfinished film, The Dream Machine?
I have no new information. I would love to do it somehow, but I have no way to. I mean that it is like a concert, where the star is no longer on the stage. So at the moment it just goes back and forth in my mind. If he appeared in front of me right now I would jump at the chance, but he has the ultimate reason keeping him away from me. So I'm sure this is would be very difficult to achieve.
As a producer, have you been involved in many live action films and if so what are the differences? Is one more difficult that the other?
Definitely different. An animated character does not have a skin sensibility that an actual human has.
We are flexible enough to work in both. Animation is limitless, but we are not fixated on that. We think it is rather more of a challenge to work on live action.
Sometimes I've been asked, "Why don't you make live action films?" especially as we are only perceived as being purely animation creators.
Do you feel that for anime to survive, it is now more important to have international co-productions, rather than purely Japanese ones, as it gets harder to raise budgets in Japan?
I think so. In my case, I don't discriminate between a film being only for Japan or overseas. When we aim to create works for a universal studio, I am sure (they) will be successful both in Japan and also overseas. Especially as I don't discriminate between a film being made in a way that is best for Japan against one being made purely for an overseas market. I'd like to represent the matters in the right way. That is what I want to do.
It's not important to strive for an audience in Japan. I'd like as many people as possible to watch everything I've made. I am very happy for everyone to watch my work, without obsessing over its projected target arena. I want them to appreciate it whatever.DIGG THIS
It’s like old times in the Persian Gulf. As of this week, a second aircraft carrier battle task force is being sent in — not long after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen highlighted planning for “potential military courses of action” against Iran; just as the Bush administration’s catechism of charges against the Iranians in Iraq reaches something like a fever pitch; at the moment when rumors of, leaks about, and denials of Pentagon back-to-the-drawing-board planning for new ways to attack Iran are zipping around (“Targets would include everything from the plants where weapons are made to the headquarters of the organization known as the Quds Force which directs operations in Iraq…”); and only days before the U.S. military in Iraq is supposed to conduct its latest media dog-and-pony show on Iranian support for Iraqi Shi’ite militias (“…including date stamps on newly found weapons caches showing that recently made Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq at a steadily increasing rate…”). On the dispatching of that second aircraft carrier, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates offered the following comment: “I don’t see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder.”
And, when you really think about it, it is indeed a “reminder” of sorts. After all, the name of that second carrier has a certain resonance. It’s the USS Abraham Lincoln, the very carrier on which, on May 1st exactly five years ago, President George W. Bush landed in that S-3B Viking sub reconnaissance Naval jet, in what TV people call “magic hour light,” for his Top-Gun strut to a podium. There, against a White House-produced banner emblazoned with the phrase “Mission Accomplished,” he declared that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”
Now, more than five years after Baghdad fell, with Saddam Hussein long executed, Osama bin Laden alive and kicking, and American soldiers fighting and dying in the vast Shi’ite slum suburb of Sadr City in Baghdad, the dangerous administration game of chicken with Iran in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere once again intensifies. It’s a dangerous moment. When you ratchet up the charges and send in the carriers, anything is possible.
We regularly read about all of this, of course, but almost never as seen through anything but American administration or journalistic eyes (and sometimes it’s hard to tell the two apart). The author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues, Pepe Escobar, a continent-hopping super-journalist for the always fascinating Asia Times and now The Real News as well, has done a striking job of covering the Iraq War, the various oil wars and pipeline struggles of the Middle East and Central Asia, and, these last years, has regularly visited Iran. Today, in his first appearance at Tomdispatch, he offers something rare indeed, an assessment of Iran “under the gun” — without the American filter in place. ~ Tom
The Iranian Chessboard
By Pepe Escobar
More than two years ago, Seymour Hersh disclosed in the New Yorker how George W. Bush was considering strategic nuclear strikes against Iran. Ever since, a campaign to demonize that country has proceeded in a relentless, Terminator-like way, applying the same techniques and semantic contortions that were so familiar in the period before the Bush administration launched its invasion of Iraq.
The campaign’s greatest hits are widely known: “The ayatollahs” are building a Shi’ite nuclear bomb; Iranian weapons are killing American soldiers in Iraq; Iranian gunboats are provoking U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf — Iran, in short, is the new al-Qaeda, a terror state aimed at the heart of the United States. It’s idle to expect the American mainstream media to offer any tools that might put this orchestrated blitzkrieg in context.
Here are just a few recent instances of the ongoing campaign: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates insists that Iran “is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.” Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admits that the Pentagon is planning for “potential military courses of action” when it comes to Iran. In tandem with U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus, Mullen denounces Iran’s “increasingly lethal and malign influence” in Iraq, although he claims to harbor “no expectations” of an attack on Iran “in the immediate future” and even admits he has “no smoking gun which could prove that the highest leadership [of Iran] is involved.”
But keep in mind one thing the Great Saddam Take-out of 2003 proved: that a “smoking gun” is, in the end, irrelevant. And this week, the U.S. is ominously floating a second aircraft carrier battle group into the Persian Gulf.
But what of Iran itself under the blizzard of charges and threats? What to make of it? What does the world look like from Tehran? Here are five ways to think about Iran under the gun and to better decode the Iranian chessboard.
1. Don’t underestimate the power of Shi’ite Islam: Seventy-five percent of the world’s oil reserves are in the Persian Gulf. Seventy percent of the Gulf’s population is Shi’ite. Shi’ism is an eschatological — and revolutionary — religion, fueled by a passionate mixture of romanticism and cosmic despair. As much as it may instill fear in hegemonic Sunni Islam, some Westerners should feel a certain empathy for intellectual Shi’ism’s almost Sartrean nausea towards the vacuous material world.
For more than a thousand years Shi’ite Islam has, in fact, been a galaxy of Shi’isms — a kind of Fourth World of its own, always cursed by political exclusion and implacable economic marginalization, always carrying an immensely dramatic view of history with it.
It’s impossible to understand Iran without grasping the contradiction that the Iranian religious leadership faces in ruling, however fractiously, a nation state. In the minds of Iran’s religious leaders, the very concept of the nation-state is regarded with deep suspicion, because it detracts from the umma, the global Muslim community. The nation-state, as they see it, is but a way station on the road to the final triumph of Shi’ism and pure Islam. To venture beyond the present stage of history, however, they also recognize the necessity of reinforcing the nation-state that offers Shi’ism a sanctuary — and that, of course, happens to be Iran. When Shi’ism finally triumphs, the concept of nation-state — a heritage, in any case, of the West — will disappear, replaced by a community organized according to the will of Prophet Muhammad.
In the right context, this is, believe me, a powerful message. I briefly became a mashti — a pilgrim visiting a privileged Shi’ite gateway to Paradise, the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, four hours west of the Iran-Afghan border. At sunset, the only foreigner lost in a pious multitude of black chadors and white turbans occupying every square inch of the huge walled shrine, I felt a tremendous emotional jolt. And I wasn’t even a believer, just a simple infidel.
2. Geography is destiny: Whenever I go to the holy city of Qom, bordering the central deserts in Iran, I am always reminded, in no uncertain terms, that, as far as the major ayatollahs are concerned, their supreme mission is to convert the rest of Islam to the original purity and revolutionary power of Shi’ism — a religion invariably critical of the established social and political order.
Even a Shi’ite leader in Tehran, however, can’t simply live by preaching and conversion alone. Iran, after all, happens to be a nation-state at the crucial intersection of the Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and Indian worlds. It is the key transit point of the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Indian subcontinent. It lies between three seas (the Caspian, the Persian Gulf, and the sea of Oman). Close to Europe and yet at the gates of Asia (in fact part of Southwest Asia), Iran is the ultimate Eurasian crossroads. Isfahan, the country’s third largest city, is roughly equidistant from Paris and Shanghai. No wonder Dick Cheney, checking out Iran, “salivates like a Pavlov dog” (to quote those rock ‘n roll geopoliticians, the Rolling Stones).
Members of the Iranian upper middle classes in North Tehran might spin dreams of Iran recapturing the expansive range of influence once held by the Persian empire; but the silky, Qom-carpet-like diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assure you that what they really dream of is an Iran respected as a major regional power. To this end, they have little choice, faced with the enmity of the globe’s “sole superpower,” but to employ a sophisticated counter-encirclement foreign policy. After all, Iran is now completely surrounded by post-9/11 American military bases in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Iraq, and the Gulf states. It faces the U.S. military on its Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, and Persian Gulf borders, and lives with ever-tightening U.S. economic sanctions, as well as a continuing drumbeat of Bush administration threats involving possible air assaults on Iranian nuclear (and probably other) facilities.
The Iranian counter-response to sanctions and to its demonization as a rogue or pariah state has been to develop a “Look East” foreign policy that is, in itself, a challenge to American energy hegemony in the Gulf. The policy has been conducted with great skill by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was educated in Bangalore, India. While focused on massive energy deals with China, India, and Pakistan, it looks as well to Africa and Latin America. To the horror of American neocons, an intercontinental “axis of evil” air link already exists — a weekly commercial Tehran-Caracas flight via Iran Air.
Iran’s diplomatic (and energy) reach is now striking. When I was in Bolivia early this year, I learned of a tour Iran’s ambassador to Venezuela had taken on the jet of Bolivian President Evo Morales. The ambassador reportedly offered Morales “everything he wanted” to offset the influence of “American imperialism.”
Meanwhile, a fierce energy competition is developing among the Turks, Iranians, Russians, Chinese, and Americans — all placing their bets on which future trade routes will be the crucial ones as oil and natural gas flow out of Central Asia. As a player, Iran is trying to position itself as the unavoidable bazaar-state in an oil-and-gas-fueled New Silk Road — the backbone of a new Asian Energy Security Grid. That’s how it could recover some of the preeminence it enjoyed in the distant era of Darius, the King of Kings. And that’s the main reason why U.S. neo-Cold Warriors, Zio-cons, armchair imperialists, or all of the above, are throwing such a collective — and threatening — fit.
3. What is the nuclear “new Hitler” Ahmadinejad up to?: Ever since the days when former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami suggested a “dialogue of civilizations,” Iranian diplomats have endlessly repeated the official position on Iran’s nuclear program: It’s peaceful; the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no proof of the military development of nuclear power; the religious leadership opposes atomic weapons; and Iran — unlike the US — has not invaded or attacked any nation for the past quarter millennium.
Think of George W. Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the new Blues Brothers: Both believe they are on a mission from God. Both are religious fundamentalists. Ahmadinejad believes fervently in the imminent return of the Mahdi, the Shi’ite messiah, who “disappeared” and has remained hidden since the ninth century. Bush believes fervently in a coming end time and the return of Jesus Christ. But only Bush, despite his actual invasions and constant threats, gets a (sort of) free pass from the Western ideological machine, while Ahmadinejad is portrayed as a Hitlerian believer in a new Holocaust.
Ahmadinejad is relentlessly depicted as an angry, totally irrational, Jew-hating, Holocaust-denying Islamo-fascist who wants to “wipe Israel off the map.” That infamous quote, repeated ad nauseam but out of context, comes from an October 2005 speech at an obscure anti-Zionist student conference. What Ahmadinejad really said, in a literal translation from Farsi, was that “the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the pages of time.” He was actually quoting the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, who said it first in the early 1980s. Khomeini hoped that a regime so unjust toward the Palestinians would be replaced by another more equitable one. He was not, however, threatening to nuke Israel.
In the 1980s, in the bitterest years of the Iran-Iraq War, Khomeini also made it very clear that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons is against Islam. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later issued a fatwa — a religious injunction — under the same terms. For the theocratic regime, however, the Iranian nuclear program is a powerful symbol of independence vis–vis what is still widely considered by Iranians of all social classes and educational backgrounds as Anglo-Saxon colonialism.
Ahmadinejad is mad for the Iranian nuclear program. It’s his bread and butter in terms of domestic popularity. During the Iran-Iraq War, he was a member of a support team aiding anti-Saddam Hussein Kurdish forces. (That’s when he became friends with “Uncle” Jalal Talabani, now the Kurdish president of Iraq.) Not many presidents have been trained in guerrilla warfare. Speculation is rampant in Tehran that Ahmadinejad, the leadership of the Quds Force, an elite division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), plus the hardcore volunteer militia, the Basij (informally known in Iran as “the army of twenty million”) are betting on a U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities to strengthen the country’s theocratic regime and their faction of it.
Reformists refer to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran last October, when he was received by the Supreme Leader (a very rare honor). Putin offered a new plan to resolve the explosive Iranian nuclear dossier: Iran would halt nuclear enrichment on Iranian soil in return for peaceful nuclear cooperation and development in league with Russia, the Europeans, and the IAEA.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator of that moment, Ali Larijani, a confidant of Supreme Leader Khamenei, as well as the Leader himself let it be known that the idea would be seriously considered. But Ahmadinejad immediately contradicted the Supreme Leader in public. Even more startling, yet evidently with the Leader’s acquiescence, he then sacked Larijani and replaced him with a longtime friend, Saeed Jalili, an ideological hardliner.
4. A velvet revolution is not around the corner: Before the 2005 Iranian elections, at a secret, high-level meeting of the ruling ayatollahs in his house, the Supreme Leader concluded that Ahmadinejad would be able to revive the regime with his populist rhetoric and pious conservatism, which then seemed very appealing to the downtrodden masses. (Curiously enough, Ahmadinejad’s campaign motto was: “We can.”)
But the ruling ayatollahs miscalculated. Since they controlled all key levers of power — the Supreme National Security Council, the Council of Guardians, the Judiciary, the bonyads (Islamic foundations that control vast sections of the economy), the army, the IRGC (the parallel army created by Khomeini in 1979 and recently branded a terrorist organization by the Bush administration), the media — |
I am a stay-at-home dad. My best friend from college went on to a very lucrative career in finance. I’m stuck at home with two ungrateful teenagers and a demanding wife and a broken-down minivan. My friend truly has it all. A successful career, a new Porsche, two beautiful children, and now, after his divorce, a new 25-year-old girlfriend. He wins.
G.S., Washington, full-time stay-at-home father
As an early-40s, retired, Air Force pilot pulling down a pension, armed with a history of interesting life-and-death stories, I can quickly deflate any judgmental sneers from those making a living clicking away at a computer screen for a living, even such jobs do pull down upward of a million dollars a year in big law or finance. Again, it’s probably unfortunate that one must first live out one life of “adventure” in order to justify the difficult day-to-day schedule of a primary caregiving dad. But that remains the current reality, and I’ll admit that I probably couldn’t have rolled into this position as a 20-something guy without having “lived” a bit.
Jason S., Chattanooga, Tenn., full-time working father
I was disappointed to read that the working women “control the purse strings.” That attitude wasn’t fair when men were generally the breadwinners, and it isn’t fair now. It seems as if we are no closer to reaching equality in such marriages — we have just switched who has all the power.
James O, Katmandu, full-time stay-at-home father
Where to start? My boys were 4 and 1 when I took them on full time when my wife became the breadwinner. How did all this affect my life? Beyond measure. Now the boys have grown and left home and I have more than 18 years of memories of an intense life. Strong resistance and on occasion hostility from my fellow female workmates. Enduring friendships with women who befriended me. Learning the art of self-sacrifice. The privilege of being in a close and loving relationship with my children. Learning to live productively at the bottom of the emotional family needs tree. Taking pride in my two young men making their way successfully in the world. A wife who can only do what she does because of what I did, and vice versa. Insight and the rare privilege of being in the world not just of full-on parenting, but also largely of women.
Amy S, Chicago, full-time working mother
For decades, working men largely refused to acknowledge the benefits they got from having a stay-at-home wife. It’s interesting to see the women in this article openly extolling their husbands’ virtues and acknowledging that their success would not be possible without their husbands’ sacrifices.
John Christmann, New Jersey, full-time stay-at-home father
I took the opportunity to pursue things of interest that I would not have otherwise pursued if I had not been a stay-at-home dad. I volunteered for our local first aid squad, a nonprofit organization and underwent some training to become an EMT. I also started taking karate and several years ago earned a black belt. I wrote a lot about my experiences as parent from a dad’s point of view and started writing a humor column. And, of course, I got involved with the kids’ activities in a more challenging way, such as being a Cub Scout leader and writing some school plays. The thing that is important is that I started to redefine my personal notions of success to fit in with being a stay at home dad. This has alleviated a lot of stress that comes when one person gives up a career to stay at home.
A.M., New York
I always wanted a stay-at-home husband, because I love my work (which is consistent with deeply held values, and not particularly financially remunerative), and dated freelancers who were amenable in my 30s. Disasters. I made my own family with a donor. I could continue to date now, to find a stay-at-home guy, but honestly, it seems less expensive/burdensome, to hire a nanny instead. The wrangling one has to do to appease a man when you are the breadwinner just doesn’t seem worth it.
John R., Seattle, full-time stay-at-home fatherEXCLUSIVE: THE AFL and Federal Government cut a private deal in February for ASADA to "explore all avenues" to spare Essendon players from suspension over the systemic use of supplements last season.
The deal is outlined in a document obtained exclusively by The Daily Telegraph.
Its existence has outraged NRL officials, who suspected the AFL had received favourable treatment from ASADA and the Federal Sports Ministry shortly after the drugs-in-sport investigation was announced on February 7.
When NRL chief executive Dave Smith initially learned of the deal he was fuming, raising it with ex-Prime Minister Julia Gillard in March.
NRL ASSURED EQUAL ASADA TREATMENT
ANALYSIS: BOMBERS NOT IN THE CLEAR YET
HINDS: AUSTRALIA'S HARDLY IMMUNE TO SPORTING DOPES
The revelation of the private deal, which excluded the NRL, comes less than a week after sections of the Melbourne media began a campaign blaming ASADA for providing incorrect advice in relation to Essendon's use of AOD-9604, suggesting the anti-doping watchdog informed the club it was not prohibited.
media_camera "There are no excuses," says AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.
Less than two weeks after the Australian Crime Commission released its report into drugs in sport and organised crime on February 7, the AFL deal was drafted to give Essendon players "an immediate level of comfort".
media_camera A copy of a document uncovered by The Daily Telegraph that outlines an apparent deal between the AFL and ASADA, concerning the ongoing investigation into the Essendon Football Club.
Dated February 20, the document informs the players, some of whom are alleged to have had multiple injections of AOD-9604, about their chances of receiving a "complete elimination of sanction" pursuant to the "no fault" or "negligence" defences.
Outlined in the nine separate dot points, the document begins: "ASADA met with you on 18 February 2013 to give you an overview of the (sic) ASADA's investigation process and of the possible outcomes of the investigation.
"Today (20 February 2013), we have come back to you to take you through an agreement we have reached with the Australian Football League about how the investigation is going to proceed from this point.
"The AFL understands that the investigation is likely to be protracted, complex and lengthy. To provide an immediate level of comfort for Essendon players it is proposed that the following assistance be given to the players."
The nine heads of agreement are then stated, assuring players they will be given every chance to escape the mandatory two-year ban for illicit drug use.
"ASADA will explain to the players that these are exceptional circumstances and the defence of no fault or negligence may be available," the letter reads.
"It will be explained to the players that under a no fault or negligence defence a player can receive a complete elimination of sanction.
"Where a player does come forward and provides a sworn statement regarding his involvement or the involvement of any other person, ASADA and the AFL will fully explore all avenues in an attempt to provide a no fault or negligence defence or substantial assistance.
"ASADA agrees that a significant contributing factor in the consideration of a no fault or negligence defence will be the extent to which players knew or suspected they had used prohibited substances at the instigation of sports science staff and took utmost caution in relation to the treatments they were receiving.
"Where ASADA forms the view that the defence of no fault or negligence is available in relation to a particular player, ASADA and the AFL agree that they will support the application of that defence to that player in proceedings before relevant sports tribunals."
The "no fault" defence is only granted in exceptionally rare circumstances, such as an athlete being treated with banned drugs while unconscious.
In contrast, Cronulla and the NRL were only offered the lesser "no significant fault" defence that reduces bans to a minimum of six months.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said Sunday night: "The AFL met with ASADA and representatives of the Federal Government to establish a framework to enable the investigation to proceed and be completed with full cooperation of the Essendon Football Club and the Essendon players.
"All parties have complied with this framework to date. This framework did not provide for any guaranteed outcomes re recommendations or sanctions."
ASADA said Sunday it had never offered a zero sanction to any athlete or support person.
ASADA's investigation into Essendon is being finalised, with an outcome expected next month.
In contrast, the probe into Cronulla and 21 other current NRL players is expected to take much longer after all interviews were suspended in May.
The NRL will this week announce the restart of a series of interviews with Sharks players from next Monday.Bush FCC chairman considering 'porn-free Internet' RAW STORY
Published: Monday December 1, 2008
Print This Email This Bush Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is still considering a proposal to create a free, porn-free Internet, according to today's Wall Street Journal:
The free Internet plan is the most controversial issue the agency will tackle in December. Mr. Martin shelved plans to consider a wider variety of sticky issues pending at the agency, including a request by the Hollywood studios to hobble TVs and set-top boxes so studios can offer copy-protected theatrical releases sooner.
The proposal to allow a no-smut, free wireless Internet service is part of a proposal to auction off a chunk of airwaves. The winning bidder would be required to set aside a quarter of the airwaves for a free Internet service. The winner could establish a paid service that would have a fast wireless Internet connection. The free service could be slower and would be required to filter out pornography and other material not suitable for children. The FCC's proposal mirrors a plan offered by M2Z Networks Inc., a start-up backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner John Doerr.
Martin was Deputy General Counsel for the Bush-Cheney 2000 recount.Evil have I done…and sorrow shall I know till my redemption comes. —H. Rider Haggard, She
Perhaps the creepiest scene in Jordan Peele’s 2017 breakout horror-satire Get Out shows millennial hipster Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), all ponytailed hair and luminous white skin, sipping milk and nibbling Fruit Loops as she combs the internet for a new black boyfriend. If all goes well, her next beau will take his place among the trophy photos of black men neatly hung behind her bed, each one lured into a hellish scheme in which Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner turns out to be (spoiler!) Guess Who’s Getting His Brains Carved Out.
Spawned by a family of racist maniacs posing as Obama-worshipping northeastern liberals, Rose is the scariest of them all. The flower of white womanhood is a straight-up psychopath. Audiences didn’t see that one coming.
Apprehension about the white woman born to relative affluence has lately seen a spike. What distance spans her outer and inner worlds? What is the nature of her liberties and limitations? Her rites and rituals? Is there something unheimlich lurking behind her sunny smiles and bouncy ponytails?
When 2016 election postmortems found that 53 percent of white female voters and 45 percent of white female college grads had ticked the box for the pussy-grabbing, race-baiting Donald Trump, liberal celebrities like Lena Dunham got triggered, while media sages widely suspected closet bigotry. Headlines like those concerning the Miss Teen USA from Texas caught using the n-word on social media highlighted a sense of alarm that rose to red alert in a January 2017 Marie Claire article that warned of middle-class “skin chicks” (female skinheads) in angular haircuts acting as sinister recruiters for white supremacists.
Voting for Hillary was no cover. Tweets and blog posts examined the sneaky habits of liberal coastal women pretending to be do-gooders while throwing the oppressed under the bus. Democrat-leaning pop stars like Taylor Swift were criticized for racial tone-deafness and whitesplaining, while comments on the 2017 Women’s March—touted as an act of resistance to an evil male overlord—revealed exasperation with the serene cluelessness and shallow inclusivity of Hillary supporters turned out in knitted pink hats.
As political and social unrest percolates, the white woman’s sticky, tricky role in American history gets a rethink as she is summoned to answer for her complicity in writing the ugliest chapters. It’s time, girl, the popular chorus seems to say.
Damning evidence pours in: news of Confederate statuary stripped from pedestals accompanied by reminders of the bonneted memorial-association dames who put them up complicates the ledger of justice. Was the white woman in widow’s weeds a pitiable figure or the unpardonable supporter of white supremacy? The horrific revelation that Mississippi beauty queen Carolyn Bryant, wife of shop owner Roy Bryant, lied about key details of the incident that led to her husband’s torture and murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 underscores a feeling that she has gotten away if not with murder, then something close to it.
Like Medusa’s snaky locks, knotty threads of race, gender, and class coil around the privileged white woman’s image—she who smilingly stabs good people in the back and lures men of all colors into ruin, all the while simmering with latent violent passions. As siren, psychopath, and masked devil, she is a fiend for the new millennium.
The white woman is the new monster in the house.
Peele’s sneaky, freaky Rose may be a fresh incarnation of devilish white femininity, but her heritage owes something, oddly enough, to a nineteenth-century angel.
In 1854 English poet Coventry Patmore unleashed the ideal of the “Angel in the House” in a paean to the domestic perfection of his wife, captured in her milk-white, beribboned glory by John Everett Millais. Patmore’s middle-class white goddess winged her way across the Atlantic, donning aristocratic trappings in the American South, where she was to be pure both sexually and racially. Southern planters, needing to compensate their wives for their inferior status and their own nighttime exploits in the slave quarters, made them an offer they couldn’t refuse: they would be praised and obsessively protected as emblems of pure femininity at the price of their natural sexual instincts and a promise to uphold a monstrous established order.
The Angel struck a deal with the devil.
The romanticized version of her role as plantation dame conjured a parasol-toting paragon of domestic virtue engaged in cooperative, and even benevolent, relations with enslaved workers—a mythology that obscured the fact that she could, and did, visit them with neglect, hostility, and physical abuse as enforcer of household discipline.
Cracks appeared in the porcelain image to betray the Angel’s strain. Out of the watchful eye of her male relatives, she became a fickle coquette, or, during the Civil War, a musket-packing mama who shamed her men with the steeliness of her martial spirit. Later, under Jim Crow, she was appointed the ready excuse for the white man’s violence, born as much of the fear of her growing independence as a voting citizen and workforce participant as the terror of black male sexuality and vengeance. Through it all, her conflicting identifications as white, female, and well-off—at least in relation to black people and the whites derided as “trash”—made her a confusing, mutating figure: by turns steel magnolia, petticoated villain, and Blanche DuBois–style victim.
Though particularly useful to the slaveholding South, this Angel/Devil was never bound to one region. The Cult of True Womanhood, an extension of the Angel in the House franchise especially popular in the northeastern United States, spread images of white feminine purity and piety in the middle and upper classes through sermons and ladies’ magazines during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, an influence that tainted white feminism with sanctimony and hypocrisy. Some white suffragettes leveraged the Angel’s popularity to court racists and argue for their own suffrage at the expense of people of color. This treachery still rankles black feminists who find white women’s adulation of figures like Susan B. Anthony—certain that she would rather “cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman”—to be as insulting as the “cringeworthy” performances of the Clinton campaign, which called upon women to #WearWhiteToVote in 2017, a tribute to these same suffragettes.
Wherever she went, an enduring question about the Angel haunted the collective psyche: just how contented was she with her bargain? Fears—as well as fantasies—that she would leap off her pedestal to cause havoc down below preoccupied writers and moviemakers who created a sinister roster of evil white sirens and matriarchs who needed to be gotten in line. Some imagined that the privileged white woman’s sexuality, having no enjoyable outlet, would be turned into a weapon against men. Others had a hunch that her resentment of the white men in power might produce a dangerous schemer or would-be tyrant.
These tensions gave life to a special form of monster, not altogether human, divided and self-estranged—willing to please only to destroy.
British adventure writer H. Rider Haggard’s 1886 adventure tale She, one of the best-selling novels of all time, crystallized these anxieties, which were amplified by the twin blows of loosening restrictions on women and imperial decline. From a vision of demonic womanhood so potent that it haunted the dreams of Sigmund Freud, Haggard called forth the ultimate white siren-bitch: Ayesha, the two-thousand-year-old queen of a lost matriarchal African civilization who is known by her subjects by the dread title She-who-must-be-obeyed.
Ayesha, a woman “white as snow,” embraces a racist theory in which original pure light-skinned peoples have degenerated into hordes like the dark-skinned cannibals she rules with murderous cruelty, occasionally subjecting them to breeding experiments. Her power resides partly in her whiteness: Holly, the bigoted British narrator, initially dismisses the notion of meeting a “swarthy and dusky queen,” but succumbs upon beholding Ayesha’s splendid pallor.
She is a beautiful fallen angel, her intellect “supernaturally sharpened” and her passion—demonstrated by her enduring love for a man dead two thousand years she believes to have been reincarnated in Holly’s adopted son Leo—frighteningly excessive. Satanically ambitious, she boasts of living “above the law” and aims to take over all the empires of the world. Ayesha’s story, in which a powerful and wicked white woman is ultimately overpowered by white men, has held perennial pop-culture fascination, from Merian C. Cooper’s 1935 film adaptation (with future congresswoman Helen Gahagan in the title role) to the 1965 Hammer production starring the iconic bombshell Ursula Andress as the sadistic queen.
The trope of the evil and powerful white woman is a Hollywood staple. For a recent example, see the 2016 TV series American Horror Story: Roanoke, which presents a menacing Kathy Bates as Thomasin White, aka “The Butcher,” wife of the governor of an ill-fated sixteenth-century English settlement in North Carolina, and a seductive Lady Gaga as Scáthach, a sexually rapacious sorceress.
Left in charge while her husband sails for supplies, Thomasin finds the colony turned against her authority but is spared death by Scáthach, an Englishwoman who called upon dark pagan gods to massacre the soldiers who nearly burned her at the stake after they accused her of bringing the plague to the ship upon which she was a stowaway. Scáthach takes possession of Thomasin’s soul in exchange for saving her life, later encouraging her to slay her would-be killers by chopping them up with a meat cleaver. This horror is the backdrop of a modern-day story in which Thomasin’s ghost threatens an interracial couple living on the massacre site while Scáthach gets her kicks luring Matt, the black husband, into steamy sex he is unable to remember.
Thomasin’s ability to butcher from beyond the grave is terrifying, but the predatory eroticism of the white siren-bitch who strips men of their agency (and their clothes) threatens not just mortal life but sanity. Scáthach flouts the laws and customs dictating marriage, religion, and the sexual activities of men who are historically ordained to do the lusting and the chasing. Like Chris in Get Out, Matt can’t resist the call of the siren, a fatal mistake. Though Roanoke producer Ryan Murphy has been applauded for his female-centered stories, some detect a whiff of misogyny in his stereotypes. Roanoke seems to imply that you can’t run a colony (or anything else) with powerful white women unleashed.
Prestige moviemakers have lately gone back to the Civil War era to weigh the privileged white woman’s guilt and take measure of her monstrosity. In Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist Western Django Unchained, Lara Lee (Laura Cayouette) is the widowed sister of slaveholder Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the despicable owner of Candyland plantation. Her saccharine deference to her brother might be construed as the piteous necessity of a female dependent, especially given his incestuous leering, but at times she seems relish her role as the devil’s handmaiden. In one scene, she intercedes for an enslaved housemaid who is subjected to Candie’s brutality at the dinner table. But Tarantino interprets her act as more a matter of propriety than mercy, and in the end his hero Django (Jamie Foxx), a former slave turned bounty hunter, renders a fatal verdict when he gleefully guns down Lara Lee in a plantation high noon. Tarantino obliterates any moral ambiguity in a single rifle blast: she dies, along with Candie, the rest of the whites on the plantation, and one black character, a senior house slave named Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) who is loyal to Candie. You made a deal with the devil? You’re done.
English artist and film director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013) renders a more complex portrait of the perilous power and gender dynamics of the plantation. His story, based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, a free-born violin maker kidnapped into slavery, depicts the suffering of Northup’s close acquaintance Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) at the hands of the brutal Louisiana slaveholder Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and his wife, Mary (Sarah Paulson), who is incensed at her husband’s sexual fixation on the enslaved woman.
Both Mary Epps and Patsey are traumatized by their white overlord, but Patsey is by far the more vulnerable. Northup does not mention violence on Mary’s part, but McQueen dramatizes the story of her jealousy by having Mary not only humiliate Patsey but physically attack her, at one point launching a glass decanter at her rival’s face. Mary’s uncontrollable fury topples her from the Angel pedestal while the reality of her power in the hierarchy of slavery gives her an outlet for vengeance. She can’t feign blindness to her husband’s activities, and her estranged rage, rooted in the irreconcilable demands of her position as plantation mistress to uphold her husband’s authority and her human fear of abandonment, pushes her over the precipice. Paulson stated that in order to play Mary, “I had to find a way into what happens when you feel you are losing the only thing you have, which is your standing in your own home and your respect.” Mary becomes a monster in muslin ruffles, protecting a position that is hopelessly compromised.
The theme of protection—and just who is protecting what—surfaces in The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola’s 2017 Southern Gothic remake of a 1971 Don Siegel film, based on a Thomas Cullinan novel, in which a wounded Union soldier (Clint Eastwood in Siegel’s version) finds himself in an isolated Southern girls’ academy where a few students and teachers are coping on their own in the midst of the Civil War. Both Siegel and Coppola begin with twelve-year-old Amy wandering the forest like Little Red Riding Hood when a hurt man stumbles out of the foliage. Entranced by the handsome soldier, Amy brings him home to the school, where, despite one student’s cautions about rape-inclined Yankees, he is taken in to be nursed until he can be handed over to the Confederate Army. (The student’s fear is historically well-founded: despite a long-standing myth that rape was a rarity during the Civil War, recent research reveals its prevalence among both white and black Southern women as Union troops invaded.)
Corporal John, a charming womanizer with a vicious streak, played by Colin Farrell in Coppola’s version, preys on the romantic dreams of virginal teacher Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), fornicates with a student (Elle Fanning), and provokes the lust and the wrath of headmistress Martha, portrayed with a tense combination of refined sweetness and restrained aggression by Nicole Kidman.
When John reinjures himself in a fall after struggling with an enraged Edwina, who discovers him in flagrante with the student, Martha makes a medical call that cripples him in order to save his life. Or is it to punish him? It’s not quite clear—yet Coppola’s sympathy seems to lie more with Martha than with the increasingly violent soldier. The females in her film are struggling under prim restrictions that don’t serve their present circumstances (French verb conjugation does not yield food or protection), and they yearn for something beyond the dull routine of prayers and schoolbooks. Martha, once mistress of the plantation that now houses the school, may be disturbed, but she is not inherently evil. She is caught between trying to ensure the survival of the girls in her care and to sort out her desire for a handsome—and treacherous—stranger.
Coppola made a decision that probably enhanced the possibility that audiences would not find Martha irredeemably monstrous: she dropped the character of Hallie, a black housemaid featured in Siegel’s version. The exclusion has been criticized as whitewashing, but for a white female director to tell a story in which an enslaved woman sides with white Confederate women against a Union soldier (even one who threatens to rape her) might have been worse. (In response to the backlash, Coppola expressed her desire to focus on the isolation of the white females and not “insult” the legacy of slavery by featuring a black side character.)
In Siegel’s film, Hallie is a strong character under no illusions about her relationship to Southern whites, but she recognizes that a rapist is a rapist, whatever color jacket he wears. The director makes John’s ugly misogyny clear when the soldier blames his predicament on Edwina, the “virgin bitch” whose reticence forced him to satisfy his lusts with a pupil, the act which leads to Martha’s outrage and her medical ministrations. Yet the 1971 trailer for The Beguiled emphasizes the threat of “man-deprived” females who view the soldier as the “sexual enemy,” as if it would be unthinkable for audiences to sympathize with women, white or black, who act out against a white man in their power—even one who is clearly a danger.
In 2016 McQueen announced his plan to team up with American author Gillian Flynn on a female-led heist thriller as his next project.
Flynn knows something of dangerous women. Her 2012 best-selling novel Gone Girl, adapted for the screen by David Fincher in 2014, features what Vanity Fair’s Katey Rich described as “the most disturbing female villain of all time”: a pretty young writer-cum-sociopath who fakes her own death, frames men for rape and murder, and carries it all off with brilliant panache. In an especially disquieting scene, the lovely, blond Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) lures her outwitted husband into the shower as she soaps away the blood of a man she has offed at the moment of orgasm.
Amy’s sociopathy developed while chafing under the roles everyone insisted that she play all her life: a perfect daughter known as “Amazing Amy” in children’s books written by her parents, an eternal object of desire for an ex-boyfriend, and an impossible “Cool Girl” for her husband, who happens to be a shiftless jerk who sleeps with his student.
Amy opts for none of the above. She maintains the veneer of all those roles, at least until she disappears, but reinvents herself as angel of spousal vengeance. Here the wicked and powerful white woman doesn’t just jump off the pedestal to wreak havoc. She doesn’t just get away with it. She doesn’t just best her opponent. She owns him—forcing husband Nick to assume the role of her subservient spouse and raise a child she has conceived by stealing his semen. Readers and movie audiences were stunned.
Some have called Gone Girl a feminist manifesto; others denounce it as “misogynist agit-prop.” Amy is undoubtedly a monster, but there is logic in her desire to shake up the society that steered her to the thankless role of contemporary Angel in the House, a persona that ultimately bored her husband. Amy, painfully insecure, needy, and lost underneath it all, is unable to productively channel her energy and extraordinary intelligence into anything that feels real. “Sociopath” is the only role that seems to fit. So she plays it to the hilt.
Flynn offers an insight into what might be so upsetting about the sight of a privileged white woman—or any woman, for that matter—acting the part of a sociopath. In her essay “I Was Not a Nice Little Girl,” she reveals that as a kid her favorite summertime hobbies were feeding ants to spiders, taunting her cousins, and checking out softcore porn on cable TV. Her Kansas family was perfectly normal, she insists. Flynn did these things not because of trauma. She did them for no particular reason at all. “Men speak fondly of those strange bursts of childhood aggression, their disastrous immature sexuality,” writes Flynn, but women aren’t meant to speak of them; such girls aren’t even supposed to exist. As their sense of themselves takes shape, little girls are not allowed to say what they are and wind up estranged from themselves—a tension they carry as adults. Could this be the uncanniness behind the smile?
In reality, of course, they are human and possess the full range of human instincts: curiosity, aggression, desire, and love. But they’re still not supposed to show all of this at the same time.
In Get Out, it makes intuitive sense that Rose the Psychopath, with her fondness for milk and teddy bears, is infantilized, because the development of the feminine inner life has long been a subject of evasion and unease. After the Pill and the sexual revolution, Hollywood responded with an obsession with the Monster White Girl, the one whose maturing is a source of horror, most notably in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), where the spectacle of a button-nosed twelve-year-old who morphs into a filthy-mouthed demon masturbating with a crucifix channeled fears of the white female’s uncontrollable and dangerous body as she reaches puberty. The white girl’s menstruation leads to madness in films like Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) and Carrie (1976) on up to Ginger Snaps (2000). Growing up is not really an option.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the story of the privileged white woman is one of evasions, reactions, and retroactive justice. She has been both overvalued and devalued. But she is also empowered in ways not available to her foremothers, equipped with tools to heal her estrangement and locate her real humanity. Can there be redemption? Exploring the white female as monster actually provides opportunities for both liberation from fantasy and a reckoning.
Peele has cheekily forced that lineal descendent of the Angel in the House, the Good Samaritan liberal white female, to expose her hypocrisy—a problem that voting for candidates who uphold a predatory plutocracy, whether named Obama or Hillary, most assuredly does not solve. Nor does following a foggy line of resistance to an orange-haired tyrant if that resistance still includes policies that keep plenty of people—men and women—from getting single-payer healthcare and other obvious things they need. The goodies offered to the privileged white woman trying to shatter glass ceilings still often require making deals with today’s devils, whether the prizes are fancy diplomas, coveted corporate jobs, political perches, marriage certificates, or stints at having-it-all helicopter motherhood. She is still tempted to squeeze herself into Oscar-worthy performances and wear masks that distort what’s underneath, turning her into an uncanny automaton, a willfully blind Pollyanna, or an Angel run amok.
Yet perhaps the time is finally ripe for such women to proclaim what is rightfully theirs (the full spectrum of their sexuality, competencies, and ambitions) as well as the parts hidden away in shame (pent-up aggression, divided loyalty, will to power, and a maddening tendency toward self-deception).
Of the Angel in the House, Virginia Woolf once wrote, “She bothered me and wasted my time and so tormented me that at last I killed her.” She may not be quite dead, but in breaking taboos with their monster-in-the-house creations, artists like Peele and Flynn may be giving her an opportunity to examine herself, move closer to authenticity, and to express herself fully, neither as angel nor devil. Just human.
And to stop making deals with devils, once and for all.
Explore Fear, the Summer 2017 issue of Lapham’s Quarterly.“Pokémon,” the wildly popular Nintendo franchise that was the obsession of kids from the ’90s and ’00s, has now evolved into an even more viral incarnation over the weekend.
It’s been three days since “Pokémon Go” was released, and the world has already seen an explosion of people walking around, glued to their smartphones.
After millions of downloads of the game, some unbelievable, but true stories have started to emerge, from finding a dead body in Wyoming to a robbery of a group of players in Missouri.
Here in Charlotte, things have been somewhat calmer, all things considered. The CMPD hasn’t yet respond to questions about Pokémon-related complaints, and local players say the game has given them a new appreciation for the city.
A collaborative Pokémon GO map for the Charlotte, NC area with marks for gyms and Poké-Stops has already been by Luke Drago (@RealLukeDrago), and local users are now flocking to it:
So far, local reactions to the game here in Charlotte have been mostly positive:
This kid just walked up to me at a coffee shop and asked what #PokemonGo I just caught!This game has undone years of don't talk to strangers — MJ Caan (@MJCaan) July 11, 2016
Where did all these neighborhood kids come from?! #PokemonGO has done more for children's obesity in a day than Michelle in past 8 years. — Thomas Griffin (@jthomasgriffin) July 11, 2016
I just want to play #PokemonGO everyday… All day… — OhYeahDisney (@ohyeahdisney_) July 11, 2016
My mom set me off for my adventure right after she took this pic for me #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/6hDo95xN9W — Vern (@vernon_medina) July 10, 2016
Comments
commentsDid Republicans work to help our President fix the economy and the country after he took office, in the midst of two wars, a financial crisis, and an economic emergency? This is a question every American should consider. The month President Obama took the oath of office the country lost another 815,000 jobs. What did Republicans do to help him and us?
Think back. Set aside for a minute the things that have disappointed us since the President took office in January, 2009. Think back to the situation the country was in at the time. We were in a war in Iraq and a war in Afghanistan. (We still don't know why we were in a war in Iraq, by the way.) We were losing upwards towards a million jobs a month. The banks appeared to be insolvent. Millions of homes were being foreclosed on. This was a national emergency.
What do Americans do when there is a national emergency? We are supposed to pull together and work together and help each other. We are supposed to rally behind out leaders, and support them, and help them succeed. We did this after 9/11, for example.
So what happened in January, 2009 when the new President took office? Word is starting to leak out that something very different happened. It looks like House and Senate Republicans made a calculation that it would be better for them politically if the conditions of the country did not get better. It looks like they calculated that fighting to keep things from getting better would enable them to come back in a few years and complain that things are not getting better, and say this means voters should put them back in power. And it looks like they acted on that calculation.
Greg Sargent, Writing at The Plum Line about Michael Grunwald’s The New New Deal. a new book on the Obama stimulus: Biden: McConnell decided to withhold all cooperation even before we took office,
Grunwald has Joe Biden on the record making a striking charge. Biden says that during the transition, a number of Republican Senators privately confided to him that Mitch McConnell had given them the directive that there was to be no cooperation with the new administration — because he had decided that “we can’t let you succeed.” Here’s the relevant passage, from page 207: Biden says that during the transition, he was warned not to expect any cooperation on many votes. “I spoke to seven different Republican Senators, who said, `Joe, I’m not going to be able to help you on anything,’ he recalls. His informants said McConnell had demanded unified resistance. “The way it was characterized to me was: `For the next two years, we can’t let you succeed in anything. That’s our ticket to coming back,’” Biden says. [...] It seems pretty newsworthy for the Vice President of the United States to charge that seven members of the opposition confided to him that their party had adopted a comprehensive strategy to oppose literally everything the new President did |
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Sustained anti-government rallies in Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela have captured the attention of millions. But large pro-democracy demonstrations in Burkina Faso last month largely escaped the Western media’s radar.
Since January, tensions have flared between the West African country’s authoritarian government and the impoverished masses yearning for democratic reforms. Depending on how developments unfold, the protests in Burkina Faso could serve as a catalyst for further uprisings in the region.
On January 18, over 10,000 Burkinabé citizens rallied in the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou (WAH-gah-DOO-goo), and other cities to protest the concentration of political power in one man—President Blaise Compaoré, who has ruled Burkina Faso since 1987. While Compaoré claims democratic legitimacy, the opposition demands his departure from power, maintaining that Compaoré’s past electoral victories were fraudulent and rigged.
The demonstrators, led by opposition leader Zéphirin Diabré, have taken to the streets to protest Compaoré’s plans to revise Article 37 of the country’s constitution. This provision, incorporated in 2000, limits the president to two five-year terms. After winning presidential elections in 2005 and 2010, Compaoré’s final term is set to end in 2015. Although Compaoré has issued no official statement concerning his intention to seek another term, his critics contend that he is laying the groundwork for a constitutional amendment to extend his rule beyond 2015. Calling January 18 a “historic day,” Diabré declared that the thousands of protesters were “taking a stand in this free and republican protest to send Compaoré into retirement in 2015.”
Compaoré’s failure to improve living standards for average Burkinabés also factors into popular resentment of the government. Despite being rich with gold reserves, Burkina Faso remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Nearly half of the eighteen million citizens who inhabit this landlocked nation live below the poverty line, and GDP per capita hovers around a paltry $1,400. Fewer than thirty percent of adults are literate and the nation’s infant mortality rate is the ninth-highest in the world. Recurring floods and droughts in recent years have exacerbated all of these dismal conditions.
The perception that Compaoré’s cronies in power have usurped the nation’s resource wealth at the public’s expense has further fueled the opposition’s determination to end his presidency.
Historical Tensions
Compaoré's reckoning reflects tensions that have accumulated gradually since the country’s independence.
Burkina Faso’s Cold War experience was marked by violent instability. Following its independence from France in 1960, power changed hands frequently through a series of bloody coup d’états, including a Marxist-inspired revolution in 1983 that installed the Communist leader Thomas Sankara as president.
Sometimes likened to “Africa’s Che Guevara,” Sankara implemented radical social reforms, ranging from efforts to abolish gender inequality to the collectivization of agricultural land. He even renamed the republic, replacing its previous name (Upper Volta) with its current name, Burkina Faso, or “Land of Upright Men.” Such reforms drew some support from the poorer sectors of society, but they also created enemies among the economic elite.
Under Sankara’s leadership, Burkina Faso faced numerous challenges on the international stage. Burkina Faso and Mali went to war during December 1985 in a conflict referred to as the “Christmas War.” The brief war resulted from a territorial dispute between the two countries over a 100-mile-long portion of desert, rich with minerals, referred to as the Agacher strip. Both militaries engaged in aerial bombing before a truce was reached.
More generally, Sankara pitted Burkina Faso against the interests of Western superpowers and their African allies. Sankara was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid system and military raids against the African National Congress (ANC) in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Additionally, the Burkinabé leader expressed solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization and Nicaragua’s Sandinistas. Burkina Faso’s ties with Libya and Ghana prompted the United States and France to fear that the “Burkinabé model” would spread throughout Africa. From 1983 to 1990, Paris canceled foreign assistance to Ouagadougou.
On October 15, 1987, Sankara was killed in a coup that the United States, France and Liberia are widely suspected of helping to orchestrate. Blaise Compaoré, who served in the upper echelons of Sankara’s government and was a childhood friend of Sankara himself, was one of the major leaders behind the coup. Compaoré continues to deny any role in Sankara's death.
Compaoré moved quickly to undo many of the social reforms of Sankara’s government, working to build a neoliberal economy that was integrated into the global marketplace. Burkina Faso returned to its former colonial master France for international support, as opposed to countries like Cuba or the Soviet Union. These reforms allowed the country to export its ample natural resources and created a stable political climate for investment. But they also allowed for the enrichment of a small elite, which stoked growing resentment of the privileged governing class.
Burkina Faso and Washington
Western capitals have eyed the current protests warily, viewing Burkina Faso as a strategic ally in the post-9/11 era. Certainly, the country’s stability contrasts markedly with the ethnic conflicts, insurgencies and civil wars that have destabilized the Central African Republic, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, among other countries.
The government has managed to keep the region’s extremist jihadist forces at bay even as bloody insurgencies are waged in neighboring countries. Burkina Faso has remained a steadfast US ally in the “war on terrorism” and is lauded by the State Department as a cooperative partner in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), a US-led initiative in North and West Africa designed to confront Al Qaeda. The State Department has not made any major pronouncements about the recent rallies or the possibility of Compaoré’s re-election. On the contrary, the United States has remained more concerned with continuing military co-operation through the TSCTP than bringing up the issue of political unrest.
Given the potential for Islamist extremists—such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Nigeria-based Boko Haram and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO)—to exploit any power vacuum that could emerge in a post-Compaoré era, it is doubtful that the United States or France will side with the Burkinabé protesters demanding that Compaoré relinquish power.
Compaoré has also taken credit for mediating conflict resolutions in war-torn neighboring countries. In June 2013, Compaoré’s government hosted talks between the Malian government and two Tuareg rebels groups—the Movement for the National Liberation of Azawad and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad—in Ouagadougou. The Ouagadougou Accords that resulted were a preliminary agreement aimed at resolving the lingering tensions between the Malian government and Tuareg rebels following last year’s French-led military campaign (Operation Serval) that dispersed AQIM and MUJAO from northern Mali. In 2011, Compaoré hosted African Union–sponsored talks in Burkina Faso to help mediate the Cote D’Ivoire crisis. Two years earlier, the Burkinabé president secured the release of two Canadian envoys for the United Nations whom AQIM had kidnapped in Niger for 130 days. During the 2008 coup in Guinea, Compaoré helped mediate the aftermath. And in 2006, Compaoré played a role in brokering negotiations that ended a crisis in neighboring Togo.
Compaoré’s opponents, however, are unimpressed. They contend that the president’s efforts to mediate regional conflicts and focus on international terrorism are guided by an interest in deflecting criticism over corruption and cronyism within his own government.
Numbered Days?
Burkina Faso’s relationship with Western superpowers cannot easily sustain Compaoré’s presidency into its twenty-seventh year. Even if Compaoré maintains his hold on power this year, he will face new pressures that were not in play earlier in his rule, such as an energized and better-connected opposition.
At the beginning of the year, seventy-five politicians from Compaoré’s Democracy and Progress Party published a letter that announced their resignation, citing that democracy had “disappeared” from the ruling party. The president’s former allies formed a new party, the Movement of People for Progress, which claims to represent the will of the demonstrators who took to the streets and used nonviolent measures to demand an end to Compaoré’s presidency.
Burkina Faso’s future is naturally uncertain, and the regional climate will bring unique challenges to a post-Compaoré political order. However, this new party’s formation and the demonstrators’ peaceful tactics justify cautious optimism about what may yet become a “West African Spring.”The folks over at the Catholic-based Chastity Project (unofficial slogan: Sex can wait! Masturbate!… But don’t do that either!) are just trying to get our young folks to stop banging long enough to go to Church. It’s a hard job (*hehe*) but apparently someone has to do it.
If you feel particularly masochistic, you may want to take a few minutes to peruse their website. And if you’re suuuuper self-loathing, you may want to click on the “Homosexuality” tab. (It’s right between the “Pornography, Etc.” and “Birth Control” tabs. Can’t miss it.)
Under the Q&A section, the website gives a lengthy (OhMyGodIt’sSoFreakingLong) explanation about why two people of the same sex can’t really get married.
Since you probably don’t have all day to read their long, long, long diatribe (Seriously. It’s 2,800 words long. No joke), I’ll bring you some of the more bonkers highlights.
They kick off by basically saying the same thing I would when waiting tables:
“I know, ma’am. If it were up to me, I would totally allow you to substitute your side of fries for an additional steak, but my d-bag manager says I can’t!” Except in this scenario, the steak is letting two consenting adults get married and my d-bag manager is the Bible.
If you’re like me and you have friends who experience same-sex attractions, you know that this is a deeply personal and sensitive issue. Although some people who experience these attractions are opposed to re-defining marriage, others who wish to marry often feel that the Church is discriminating against them and is unfairly opposed to their desire to simply love one another. However, the issue of same-sex marriage isn’t ultimately about equal rights, bigotry, hatred, or even about homosexuality. The issue is about the definition of marriage and who has the authority to define it. For example, if a woman wanted to marry two men, the Church does not believe it has the authority to redefine marriage in order to accommodate her wish. Similarly, if a husband decided he no longer wished to be married to his wife, but instead wanted to marry another woman, the Church does not have the authority to pretend he could be validly married to anyone other than his wife. As Jesus said, “Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery” (Luke 16:18).
For those of you keeping score at home, because a roughly-2,000-year-old book says so, gay people can’t get married and divorced people can’t get remarried in the eyes of the Church. Even though divorced people totally can get remarried in the eyes of the Church. (I guess the precedence for the Bible dictating law is way broken… but what do I know? I’m just a crazy person rambling on the Internet.)
But those aren’t the only examples of non-valid marriages:
For a valid marriage to take place, the union must be free, total, faithful, and ordered toward procreation. All these characteristics are necessary. For example, who would consider a marriage to be valid if the husband forced the woman to marry him?
Right. We can’t find any examples in the Bible of women being forced into marriage.
What about a couple who agreed to marry and have children, but refused to be faithful? According to the Church, these would not be real marriages, even if the couples had legal marriage certificates. Similarly, if two people cannot have the kind of sexual relations that are designed to give life, they are incapable of marriage.
This really isn’t a new thought — there are a lot of anti-gay marriage advocates who root their arguments in the fact that a homosexual couple can’t reproduce. But then the fine, fine folks over at Chastity Project just took the argument to its logical conclusion:
Because of this, some argue that the Church is “discriminating against gays.” This is an understandable reaction, but realize that the Church is not singling out same-sex couples. In fact, the Church also believes that heterosexual couples are incapable of marriage if they are impotent. Not to be confused with sterility (a condition in which a couple is able to have intercourse but unable to have children), impotency means that a person is incapable of having intercourse.
This is quite a leap to say the least. So, before anyone gets married, they have to double-check that all of their sex parts are working properly? Hands up for anyone who wants that gig!
Of all the biological systems in a person’s body (circulatory, nervous, digestive, and so on), only the reproductive system cannot fulfill its purpose without uniting to a member of the opposite sex. Consider what happens when the cord of a lamp is united to a power outlet. Because the two were made for each other, light is created. The same is true with sexual complementary and the creation of human life.
First of all, stop using science in stupid ways to justify your absurd points of view. Second of all, that lamp metaphor is super creepy. “United to a power outlet”? *shudder* (I guess the Chastity group bans power strips at their headquarters because… polygamy?)
So, they continue talking about how marriage wasn’t invented by the government or the Church, that it was originally designed to bind a father to his family. But wait, there’s more!
Let us assume, though, that marriage doesn’t need to be ordered toward bodily union and family life. If marriage were redefined to be about emotional union and cohabitation, why would it need to be permanent? Why would it need to be sexually exclusive or restricted to two people? Many same-sex couples agree that faithfulness and permanence are essential to marriage. But the fact remains: If the traditional view of marriage discriminates against same-sex couples, then won’t the mere recognition of same-sex marriage discriminate against others who wish to have “marriages” that aren’t monogamous or permanent? How could those who favor same-sex marriage legally refuse marriage to them?
As it stands, people in open marriages (including Christians) or short-term marriages (on purpose or not) are already allowed to get married without a problem. As for the “more than two people” argument, if it ever became something we seriously needed to consider in our society, it’d be a separate conversation not tied to legalizing same-sex marriage. They’re slippery sloping their way through bad arguments… and I’m pretty sure the “Pornography, Etc.” section of their site forbids anything slippery.
The whole thing rambles on for quite some time after that. A lot of the same old stuff about how a kid needs two opposite-sex parents, and so forth. I’m sure I’m missing some good stuff, but I’m just going to quote one more awesome part before I relieve myself of the misery of re-reading their whole thing:
All the issues mentioned above are emotionally volatile and often ignite heated debates. Those who argue in favor of same-sex marriage claim that others need to learn to celebrate diversity and become more tolerant. But at the same time, such advocates will not tolerate those who believe in traditional marriage. Laws are enforced against those who do not agree with the alternative lifestyle, and same-sex marriage is portrayed in the media as a human-rights issue, equivalent to interracial marriage. But if belief in traditional marriage is on par with racism, then those who support it will be viewed like racists. They will be scorned and looked down upon as close-minded, hateful bigots.
It’s only fair that an anti-pornography group would have no problem with martyrbation: We’re being bullied by the media for not letting other people do what they want! We’re the real victims here!
The whole piece wraps up with this rather odd rant about how gay people should encourage their partners to be chaste because, after all, that’s what this is all about, right guys?
So, a few take-away points:
Only the Church can define marriage. So I hope none of you guys married, say, under a gazebo or something, because that wedding totally did not count. [Hemant’s note: DAMMIT!]
If you’re sterile, you can get married. If you’re impotent, get outta here. Jesus doesn’t want to be a part of your threesome.
If you are pro-gay marriage, you are intolerant against intolerant people.
It’s all about love. And to love someone properly, you need to stop having sex with them. Unless you’re married. Which a bunch of you should not be allowed to do.
There you have it. Words of advice from Team Chastity. I’m sure they’ve convinced all of you to stay away from unmarried sex! Right?!
(Thanks to Kathleen for the link! Image via Shutterstock.)Search Gallery Foxfan Secret Santa - Riptide LupusSilvae 23 Hisako's Forest LupusSilvae 15 Little Bluebird LupusSilvae 12 Boop! - Ref LupusSilvae 21 Chibi YFH [OPEN] LupusSilvae 19 [Comm] Miss Bellamy LupusSilvae 43 Heck Off LupusSilvae 21 [Trade] Anges LupusSilvae 44 [Trade] Hollow LupusSilvae 35 Lucky 38 LupusSilvae 13 Lucky Blue Moon LupusSilvae 21 [Fanlentines] Just a Snuggle LupusSilvae 17 [Fanlentines] Traffic Jam LupusSilvae 37 [Fanlentines] That First Kiss is Always Awkward LupusSilvae 18 [Fanlentines] You're Back! LupusSilvae 16 [Fanlentines] Gentle Blep LupusSilvae 27 [Fanlentines] Kill 'em with Kindness - Part Deux LupusSilvae 33 [Fanlentines] The New Boys LupusSilvae 21 [Fanlentines] Oh gosh, oh gosh... LupusSilvae 23 [Fanlentines] I'll Save You, Dear! LupusSilvae 33 [Fanlentines] A Forest Hello LupusSilvae 19 [Fanlentines] Boop the Snoots LupusSilvae 18 [Fanlentines] Rest, Love LupusSilvae 35 [Fanlentines] Wait, Come Back! LupusSilvae 14An Ohio town's official nativity scene could subject it to legal action, warns the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The city of St. Bernard recently placed a nativity scene in front of its City Hall building. The display depicts an infant Jesus lying in a manger, surrounded by Mary, Joseph, wise men, and barnyard animals. An angel propped above the baby holds a ribbon bearing the message "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" or "glory in the highest to God." The scene stands alone at the edge of the public sidewalk.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to St. Bernard over the city-sponsored nativity scene. FFRF was contacted by concerned members of the Tri-State Freethinkers, a group of atheists, agnostics, and activists favoring the separation of church and state that operates in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Both organizations take issue with the blatant promotion of one religion on government property.
In his letter to St. Bernard's director of law, FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover writes that the nativity scene "conveys a preference by the city for religion over nonreligion and for Christianity above all other faiths." FFRF argues that the display violates the separation of church and state, embodied in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It also violates longstanding legal precedent from the case County of Allegheny, where the U.S. Supreme Court held that a crèche display at a county courthouse unconstitutionally promoted a religious message.
Furthermore, FFRF contends, such a blatant official endorsement of Christianity is deeply alienating for those who are non-Christian, nearly 30 percent of all Americans and more than 43 percent of Millennials.
"The City Hall building should accommodate everyone within St. Bernard, not just those in the Christian majority," notes FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
The president of Tri-State Freethinkers concurs. "There are over a dozen religious holidays this time of year and one religion should not be given preferential treatment over the others," says Jim G. Helton.
FFRF states that the city of St. Bernard "cannot continue to display a nativity scene on its property" and asks for a written response after the city takes action to correct the issue.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nontheist organization dedicated to the separation of state and church, with more than 24,000 members and chapters all over the country, including 600-plus in Ohio and a state chapter, the Northern Ohio Freethought Society. Tri-State Freethinkers has members in Ohio, too.Petworth, West Sussex Dominant bucks had established rutting stands in close proximity to one another, each stationed beneath one of the park’s ancient trees
As we strode across the Mansion Lawn towards the lake, bathed in the golden marmalade light of the setting sun, it felt as though we had stepped into Turner’s painting, Sunset, Fighting Bucks. Surprisingly, the view differs little from the idealised landscape depicted by the artist in the early 19th century. Some 800 fallow deer still roam freely in the park, and we could see that the bucks and does had begun to congregate, having spent most of the year in single-sex herds.
During the red deer rut, dominant stags manage large harems and vigorously defend them from rival males. But it was immediately obvious that the fallow deer had a different mating strategy, displaying lekking behaviour.
Country diary: Blacka Moor, Sheffield: My red deerstalker Read more
Dominant bucks had established rutting stands in close proximity to one another, each stationed beneath one of the park’s ancient, low-boughed, oak, sycamore or chestnut trees. The does sniffed the pheromone charged air, their tails flicking left and right like inverted metronome pendulums as they clustered round their chosen suitors.
At the centre of the lek, the master buck, a magnificent barrel-chested beast, gave a throaty, belching roar, his Adam’s apple bulging in his thickened neck. He had already attracted twice as many females as the bucks that held the surrounding ring of satellite stands.
Testosterone-enhanced muscles rippled beneath his glossy, white-spotted chestnut pelage. He strutted up behind each doe in turn, rolling back his lips to scent their rumps in order to ascertain whether they had come into oestrus and were ready to mate.
The master buck tolerated the presence of the skittish male yearlings and prickets that milled about on the periphery of his stand, but as soon as he spotted a challenger stalking into his territory in pursuit of a dusky-coated doe, he charged up to confront him.
The two males were so closely matched in stature and antler size that when they started parallel parading it was like looking at a mirror image. Suddenly there was a thunderous crash as they spun round to face each other, their spatulate antlers interlocking like splay-fingered hands.Goofs
During the scene where Don is making a tandem skydive into the Selleck dealership, there are a number of obvious mistakes regarding the parachute gear: You can see there is no main parachute connected at the "three ring circus" connector point on the main harness as the two are in the aircraft doorway; There is no drogue parachute used during the freefall; Under canopy, there are only 5 or 6 straight cords connecting the parachute to the harness, instead of 10 to 12 split lines; The parachute the two land under is very small (less than 200 square feet), instead of the 400 - 500 square feet required for a tandem rig; and when Cessna Jim pulls his parachute up after landing, it is not connected anywhere to the harness. See moreSocial justice warriors — both in and outside of gaming — are always big on promises, but they fall short on delivery. Some, like Randi Harper, receive thousands of dollars a month for mission statements as vague as “creating online activism” while they spend most of their days on Twitter belittling gamers and Social justice warriors — both in and outside of gaming — are always big on promises, but they fall short on delivery. Some, like Randi Harper, receive thousands of dollars a month for mission statements as vague as “creating online activism” while they spend most of their days on Twitter belittling gamers and arguing with video game peripheral manufacturers over innocuous tweets. Others, like Brianna Wu, set up Patreon accounts to “hire someone to […] help deal with harassment.”
Beyond Patreon, which has legitimate use and serves as a platform for content delivery by artists, writers, and filmmakers, a few of these individuals create larger projects with definite goals and promise rewards for their backers.
In general, crowdfunded projects on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Gofundme often start big, but they don’t always deliver. For every success like Elite: Dangerous and Pillars of Eternity, there are disappointments like Mighty No. 9 and Broken Age. But all that pales in comparison to some of the projects launched by social justice warriors in video games.
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When fat activist and hashtag feminist Kiva Smith-Pearson (or Kiva Bay) set out to create a “ When fat activist and hashtag feminist Kiva Smith-Pearson (or Kiva Bay) set out to create a “ Feminist Deck ” Kickstarter, a playing-card game emblazoned with the illustrations of vocal, anti-GamerGate personalities on Twitter like Anita Sarkeesian, Brianna Wu, and Randi Lee Harper, she managed to receive more than $30,000 in funds for a project that she promised to complete in late 2015. It was a bust
Besides the cards, backers were promised everything from coloring books containing her line art to post cards and other assorted sketches. Like the cards, none of these items were ever delivered as Smith-Pearson missed deadline after deadline. Project backers received few updates, which were delivered sporadically in the form of apologies over the months before its official cancellation.
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One update, dated October 2015, blamed the delay on a One update, dated October 2015, blamed the delay on a broken computer. Curiously, she also states that she managed to crowdfund a replacement computer through the goodwill of her followers on social media. Another update in January 2016 has her blaming the lack of progress on “creepy stalker followers who harass me.” The only evidence of “harassment” I could find during that period were questions about the project and her lack of progress.
In all, Kiva Smith-Pearson promised to produce 52 illustrations for the Feminist Deck, some of which had already been completed prior to the project launch (and can be seen on the Kickstarter page). From the date of its launch until its cancellation over a year later, the artist produced dozens of paid illustrations on her In all, Kiva Smith-Pearson promised to produce 52 illustrations for the Feminist Deck, some of which had already been completed prior to the project launch (and can be seen on the Kickstarter page). From the date of its launch until its cancellation over a year later, the artist produced dozens of paid illustrations on her Patreon — completing new jobs, but not the one she had already taken money to do. During this time, she also posted dozens of marijuana reviews (now deleted) on her YouTube channel.
Smith-Pearson is far from being the only social justice warrior in the scene to game the goodwill of others. Enter Rowan Kaiser, a game critic at The AV Club and IGN, best known for his tirades against YouTube gaming personality John “TotalBiscuit” Bain, whom he calls a “serial harasser who made GamerGate mainstream.” His allegations were so out there that it provoked a Smith-Pearson is far from being the only social justice warrior in the scene to game the goodwill of others. Enter Rowan Kaiser, a game critic at The AV Club and IGN, best known for his tirades against YouTube gaming personality John “TotalBiscuit” Bain, whom he calls a “serial harasser who made GamerGate mainstream.” His allegations were soout therethat it provoked a stern response from Bain
In April 2013, Kaiser turned to GoFundMe to produce an e-book called Possibility Space, a “book-length analysis of the Mass Effect games.” In the 44 months since then, he received more than $4,200 for production. To date, four pieces have been produced and two of them were published on gaming websites In April 2013, Kaiser turned to GoFundMe to produce an e-book called Possibility Space, a “book-length analysis of the Mass Effect games.” In the 44 months since then, he received more than $4,200 for production. To date, four pieces have been produced and two of them were published on gaming websites Kotaku and Unwinnable. Both pieces advertised the book.
At the time of this writing, Kaiser also receives $237 from 30 supporters per article he writes from At the time of this writing, Kaiser also receives $237 from 30 supporters per article he writes from Patreon. He claims that money he receives through Medium publications help fund his production of Possibility Space. The two remaining pieces were funded through Patreon.
In terms of production, Kaiser’s updates were sporadic. There was a 20-month interval between the latest update and the one before, in which he asked for collaborators to help him finish the book. “I’m a lot faster editor than writer,” he wrote.
Rowan Kaiser claims that he plans to finish the book to coincide with the release of next year’s Mass Effect: Andromeda, using it as a deadline. I wouldn’t hold my breath.You know the saying, “the market is never wrong.” Well, that’s wrong. It’s wrong all the time.
It was wrong when yield-hungry fixed income investors were buying up garbage slice-and-dice subprime CDOs. And it’s wrong today.
With the 10-year Treasury now yielding less than 3%, the largest, most liquid debt market in the world, the U.S. government bond market is wrong.
Of course, “wrong” is a loaded term. So let’s just say that buyers of U.S. government paper are accepting a yield that in time will turn out to be inadequate for the relative risk they are taking.
Oh, I know the arguments. There’s no risk. U.S. government Triple-A paper is the “safety trade”. It’s the place investors run to when they’re scared the world is falling apart. And lately, the world’s been falling apart everyday.
But no risk in U.S. Treasurys? Please….Share. “We determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.” “We determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.”
Update: EA Sports vice president Andrew Wilson has released the following statement on EA's official site:
"By now, most fans will have heard that EA's licensing agreement with the NCAA is set to expire and that we have agreed to part ways. I'm sure gamers are wondering what this means.
This is simple: EA Sports will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks. Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, leagues and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports.
We took big creative strides with this year's college game and you’ll see much more in the future. We love college football and look forward to making more games for our fans."
The NCAA has confirmed that it will not renew its contract with EA Sports. In a statement on NCAA’s official site, the organization wrote that it “has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game.”
“We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games,” the statement says. “But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.” The NCAA notes that its current contract expires in June 2014, but “our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning.” As a result of the decision, NCAA Football 14 “will be the last to include the NCAA’s name and logo.”
Exit Theatre Mode
“The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA,” the statement concludes. “The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future.”
We’ve reached out to EA about the announcement and will update this story with any comment we receive.
NCAA Football 14 was released on July 9th. For more, read our review.
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.Here in Utah, we've seen it too many times. Draft the good player, watch him become a great player, and then watch him leave in free agency.We as fans have been patient with this rebuild to get to this point. Hayward and Gobert are the core of what could be a great team in coming years. Let's show Gordon how much he means to this city and fan base.There is a billboard between the practice facility and the Vivint Smart Home Arena that we can rent for the entire month of May, which is perfect as the season will be winding down and free agency will be close to starting. I've been in contact with Yesco because this is a perfect location and time frame, but it is on a first come, first serve basis, so we need to act fast.If 1/3 of the fans who attend a single game donate one dollar, we'd hit our goal. We can do this Jazz fans, let's do what we can to keep Hayward in Utah.Find us on Facebook linked below or on twitter @utahjazz6man and remember to use #stayward on any posts.If the goal is not met with a reasonable amount of time to carry out the plan, you will be refunded.Update: Any funds raised over the cost of renting a billboard for one month will be donated to the campaign Gordon Hayward shared this morning which belongs to his friend, Erik Romm, on his quest to raise 100k for cancer research. Rest assured no one will profit a dollar from this.An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 was reported 102 miles west of Ferndale off Northern California on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey announced.
AID GROUPS DESCEND ON INDONESIA QUAKE ZONE; MORE THAN 100 KILLED
People as far away as San Francisco reported feeling the quake, but there were no immediate reports of damage. Officials did not issue a tsunami warning.
“It started rolling and I could feel it. I had time to jump out of bed and crouch down and call the dog before it stopped. So it was a long rolling one,” Pam Cahill told the San Francisco Chronicle from just north of Eureka.
The USGS first reported the earthquake at 6:50 a.m. local time.
Ferndale is about 120 miles south of the Oregon border.
Two quakes with magnitudes topping 4.0 shook the region earlier this week -- one on Monday and one on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Indonesia killed more than 100 people.French President Hollande’s tough initial response to the ISIS attacks on Paris gave me hope that this time it would be different. This would mark the first time that Western governments acknowledged that multiculturalism was a bad idea—that replacing ethnic Europeans with third-world Muslims was a recipe for disaster.
However, subsequent events have demonstrated that my hope was misplaced. The events in Paris will join all the Islamic terrorist attacks that have been explained away as being a result of the “hijacking of a peaceful religion.” Nothing of substance is going to change. Even worse, it appears that Western elites are going to use the events to further their own goals that have nothing to do with curbing terrorism.
Islamic immigration will not only continue, Europe will be destroyed even more quickly
In the words of American humorist Will Rogers, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” To solve the problem of Islamic terrorism |
need cotton at all?
A growing number of cotton alternatives that require less water are entering the textile market, which are made from byproducts of fruit. Two fruits in particular that could give cotton a run for its money in the battle for textile domination are bananas and pineapples.
Bananas
The Guardian writes:
Around a billion tonnes of banana plant stems are wasted each year, despite research indicating that it would only take 37kg of stems to produce a kilogram of fibre. In 2012, the Philippine Textile Research Institute concluded that banana plantations in the Philippines alone can generate over 300,000 tonnes of fibre. The fabric is claimed to be nearly carbon neutral and its soft texture has been likened to hemp and bamboo.
Eco-textile company Offset Warehouse sells fabrics made from bananas, explaining:
The banana fibres used to make it are primarily a waste product; they come from the leftover stalks of banana plants after they have been harvested for food. The stalk of a banana plant contains long fibrous strands that are perfect for processing into pliable fibres. The outer layers contain course fibres, great for weaving into baskets, whilst the inner finer layers are perfect for spinning into luxurious silks.
You can see pictures of the process on the company’s website.
As to the benefits of banana fabric, the company explains, “Banana is a fantastic, natural textile for both fashion and interiors. As well as being warm, thick, matte and durable, it is biodegradable and has high moisture absorption properties, which mean it is a great summer fabric.”
Gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘Fruit of the Loom’, doesn’t it?
Pineapples
Ananas Anam is a company that has developed an innovative, natural and sustainable non-woven textile called Piñatex™, a fabric produced from the fibers of pineapple leaves which are a by-product of the pineapple harvest. The term “by-product” means “something that is produced during the production of something else.” In this case, Piñatex™ can be used as a leather alternative or textile in the fashion, accessory and upholstery markets.
Here’s how the Piñatex™ process works, as described by Ananas Anam:
The fibres (that come from pineapple leaves) are extracted from the leaves in a process called decortication, which is done on the plantation by the farming community. The by-product of decortication is bio-mass, which can be further converted into organic fertilizer or bio-gas. This can bring additional income to the pineapple farming communities. The fibres then undergo an industrial process to become a nonwoven textile, which is the base of our product Piñatex™.
The initial product development originated in the Philippines, though research and development is now being undertaken between the UK and Spain.
Because Piñatex™ is a by-product of the pineapple harvest, no extra water, fertilizers or pesticides are required to produce its pineapple fibers. So, if it succeeds in penetrating the global textile market it could potentially save vast quantities of natural resources.
We make and use a lot of stuff in this world, most certainly leaving behind obscene quantities of by-products. The more we’re able to put by-products to good use and create new usable products, the less need there will be to sap what little resources we have left on our planet. This model can work, too. Just ask Sanga Moses, the man who figured out a way to turn coffee husks and sugar cane into a renewable fuel.
Bananas and pineapples are not the first cotton alternative to hit markets, though. Like many people, I sleep on uber soft bamboo sheets, and for years now hemp has been touted by many as the new cotton. Then there are the folks in Sweden who are making garments made entirely from 100 percent recycled cotton.
The list of environmentally sustainable cotton alternatives is clearly growing. Adding fruit to the expanding list is an exciting development, in the sense that the more eco-friendly alternatives to resource-consumptive products, the merrier.
What are the chances that bananas and pineapples become the new fabric of our lives? I guess time will tell, but if we can write on paper made from poop, why not outfit ourselves in fruit as well? What do you think? Would you wear fruit? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Photo credit: Thinkstock.Ms Baines was believed to have been the oldest African-American voter
The oldest person in the world has died in Los Angeles at the age of 115 of suspected heart failure.
Gertrude Baines, born 6 April 1894, had held the title since January, when a Portuguese woman, Maria de Jesus, died, also at the age of 115.
Ms Baines's doctor said she had attributed her long life to a healthy lifestyle and her religious beliefs.
The title of world's oldest person now passes to a 114-year-old Japanese woman, Kama Chinen.
Officials at the Western Convalescent Hospital, where Ms Baines had lived for several years, said she had died at 0725 local time (1425GMT).
"She told me that she owes her longevity to the Lord, that she never did drink, she never did smoke and she never did fool around," the AFP news agency quoted Dr Charles Witt as saying.
He said two days before her death she had been "in excellent shape".
"She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently," he said.
Ms Baines, whose father was once a slave, was believed to be the oldest ever African-American voter when she cast her ballot for US President Barack Obama in November 2008.
She said she was voting for him "because he's for the coloured people".
She celebrated her 115th birthday in April and received a letter of congratulations from Mr Obama.Kevin Rudd releases letters claiming Malcolm Turnbull backed him for United Nations secretary-general job
Updated
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has released a series of letters in which he claims Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had promised to support his bid for the United Nations' top job as recently as December.
Key points: Kevin Rudd's office releases letters to Malcolm Turnbull
Letters feature Rudd saying he had received the PM's backing
PM pulled the plug on Rudd's bid for the UN job on Friday, saying he "was not suited" to the role
Mr Rudd made a last-minute dash to Sydney Friday morning in the hope of lobbying Mr Turnbull to nominate him as secretary-general of the United Nations.
But on arrival the Prime Minister called him and said the Government would not be backing him.
On Friday evening a spokeswoman for Mr Rudd released three letters which Mr Rudd had sent to Mr Turnbull about the issue.
In one, dated May 1, 2016, Mr Rudd said he was shocked to learn Mr Turnbull would not be backing him, claiming he had expressed support as recently as December.
"You will recall that last September I contacted you asking for guidance on how I should address the matter of your previously stated support to me for my candidature when I met Foreign Minister Bishop at the UN General Assembly in September," he wrote.
"You in fact sent me a message on your preferred Wickr system where you stated that you and the FM were 'as one' in your support for my candidature.
"…We continued this discussion further on Wednesday 23 December in your Sydney office. Once again you stated your support for my candidature. You added that when the time came to lodge my nomination, you now wanted to take it to Cabinet to avoid the perception of a 'captain's pick'. You also said to me that the Cabinet process would not change the outcome.
"… You will understand therefore how shocked I was to receive your telephone call within the last couple of hours, just prior to your taking the matter to Cabinet in Canberra.
"In your telephone call you said that neither you nor the Cabinet would be supporting my nomination.
"When I asked the reasons for this, you said that neither you nor the Cabinet has the view that 'I had the qualifications for the position'.
"You will appreciate that you have never expressed that view to me in the multiple conversations we have had on this matter on the past."
Rudd 'not angry' but disappointed
Federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has defended Mr Rudd's decision to release the letters.
"It's very clear that the Government has had a spin operation out there, an operation out there indicating that Mr Rudd should not have been surprised by the decision," Mr Albanese said.
One of Mr Rudd's closes allies, he said the former prime minister was not angry Mr Turnbull had not nominated him for the United Nation's top job.
"He's reflective of his disappointment in the small-minded nature of the Prime Minister's decision," Mr Albanese said.
Mr Rudd posted on Twitter, thanking "friends, colleagues and supporters around the world for your encouragement" and wishing other candidates well.
"So there won't be an Australian candidate for UN Sec Gen," he wrote.
Letters released 'in interests of transparency'
Mr Rudd's spokeswoman said Mr Rudd had decided to release the letters because he believed Mr Turnbull was briefing reporters on his version of events.
"As you are aware, Mr Rudd had a conversation with Mr Turnbull this morning about Mr Rudd's interest in becoming a candidate for UNSG," she said.
"Mr Turnbull said he would not be supporting Mr Rudd for that position.
"He also asked Mr Rudd to keep the confidentiality of their conversations on this matter.
"Mr Rudd has unfortunately now discovered that briefings are occurring conveying the Prime Minister's version of events.
"In the interests of transparency Mr Rudd thinks it is far better that he release the three letters he sent Mr Turnbull on this issue over the past few months."
Turnbull said Rudd 'not suited' for job
Speaking in Sydney earlier, Mr Turnbull told reporters he had decided the former prime minister was not suitable for the role.
He said the Federal Government would not be nominating anyone for the role.
"When the Australian Government nominates a person for a job, particularly an international job like this, the threshold question is, 'do we believe the person, the nominee, the would-be nominee is well suited for that position?'" he asked.
"My judgement is that Mr Rudd is not, and I've explained to him the reasons why."
Mr Turnbull refused to be drawn on the reasons why he thought Mr Rudd was unsuitable for the role, or on whether his decision was about satisfying certain members of his party.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had pushed Mr Rudd's case during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, with support from Attorney-General George Brandis.
After the meeting Mr Turnbull said he alone would make a decision on the issue, after Cabinet failed to reach a clear decision.
Decision shows Turnbull is weak, Labor says
Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek slammed the decision, which she said undermined the authority of both Mr Turnbull and Ms Bishop.
Speaking in Townsville, Ms Plibersek said "the right-wing extremists in the Liberal Party have got the Prime Minister on a short leash".
"He was not able to insist that what any right-thinking Australian would think, that an Australian should be backed for an international job like this," she said.
"He was not able to get that through his Cabinet. It shows the weakness of the Prime Minister, it shows the weakness of the Foreign Minister."
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese tweeted: "Turnbull. Pathetic."
Mr Rudd had previously received vocal support from former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson, though South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi had urged his colleagues not to endorse a "dysfunctional", "vengeful", "unstable", "megalomaniac" like Mr Rudd.
Senator Bernardi released a statement after Mr Turnbull made his announcement, congratulating the Prime Minister on his decision and saying: "Our participation in international institutions is more important than an individual's ambition".
Letter 1: April 4, 2016
Letter 2: May 1, 2016
Letter 3: July 28, 2016
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, world-politics, rudd-kevin, turnbull-malcolm, australia
First postedGirls' Generation member Yuri is confident when it comes to her appearance.
Cast members Yoo Ah In, Shin Se Kyung, Lee Jae Hoon and Yuri from the new SBS drama series 'Fashion King' were interviewed on the March 21st episode of SBS 'One Night of TV Entertainment'.
Yoo Ah In asked fellow co-star Yuri if she herself thought she was pretty and Yuri honestly answered, "I don't think that I'm ugly..."
And in regards to how popular her male co-stars Yoo Ah In and Lee Jae Hoon were among her fellow group members, Yuri remarked, "They have a lot of fans. They always ask about them when I come home after filming."
"They seem to like Yoo Ah In's chic image, and they say Jae Hoon is just simply attractive," she explained.
How do you like Yuri's role in Fashion King so far?
Source & Image: Newsen via NateAndy Carroll's late header sent Liverpool through to the FA Cup final as they came from behind to beat Everton at Wembley.
Nikica Jelavic took advantage of a mix-up between Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger to give Everton the lead midway through the first half - but an Everton defensive error just after the hour gave the Reds a route back to their second major Wembley final this season.
Sylvain Distin's backpass never carried the weight to reach Everton keeper Tim Howard and Luis Suarez was only too happy to take advantage to race through and score.
And with three minutes left Carroll - who had missed the easiest of chances early in the second half - glanced substitute Craig Bellamy's free-kick past Howard to give Liverpool the chance to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup they won on penalties against Cardiff.
Did you know? Liverpool last reached the FA Cup final in 2006 when they beat West Ham
Manager Kenny Dalglish has had his problems in the Premier League, with director of football Damien Comolli paying the price when he left the club on Thursday, but cup competitions have sustained Liverpool's season after heavy investment last summer.
And if Liverpool can claim another domestic trophy when they face either Chelsea or Tottenham at Wembley next month it will provide an answer to the Scot's critics.
For Everton manager David Moyes, who gave the dejected Distin a consoling pat as he left the Wembley pitch, this will be a moment of bitter disappointment as his side failed to produce the form they have displayed in recent weeks.
Media playback is not supported on this device Fans covered themselves in glory - Dalglish
Liverpool were forced to field third-choice keeper Brad Jones with Pepe Reina and Alex Doni suspended but - the dangerous Jelavic apart - Everton were never able to apply enough pressure to test the Australian.
The minute's silence in memory of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster was perfectly observed before the match began, before both sides had early opportunities to gain the advantage.
Carroll found space in the Everton area to set up Jay Spearing, who took his time but fired well off target from 15 yards.
Everton's response was a free-kick from Leighton Baines that landed on the roof the net after Agger had clumsily hauled Jelavic to the ground.
It was the Blues who went ahead after 24 minutes thanks to a calamitous piece of defending from Liverpool involving Agger and Carragher.
The pair hesitated over a routine clearance, forcing Carragher to lash the ball against Tim Cahill and into the path of Jelavic, who scored with the composure that has become his trademark since his January move from Rangers.
Media playback is not supported on this device Errors proved costly - Moyes
Liverpool needed to move through the gears but Carroll was guilty of an astonishing miss just moments into the second half. The striker only appeared to have to make contact with Stewart Downing's cross to score but headed wide, to the obvious anguish of Dalglish.
Dalglish's side were applying most of the pressure, but it still took another defensive gift for Suarez to equalise after 62 minutes. Distin's backpass fell well short of Howard, leaving the Uruguayan to race clear and finish under pressure from John Heitinga.
Everton were deflated after the concession of such a cheap goal and Carroll almost put Liverpool ahead with 13 minutes left, pulling a shot inches wide from 18 yards.
Jelavic had been a constant threat and he was again the danger man with an angled drive that flew into the side-netting before a goalmouth scramble ended with Carroll again unable to apply the finishing touch.
Carroll's persistence was finally rewarded in the closing minutes. Everton substitute Seamus Coleman's rash challenge on Steven Gerrard was heavily punished as Carroll, with his back to goal, deflected a header beyond Howard to seal another Wembley appearance for Liverpool.August 2015 Premieres
[from August 1, 2015 to September 5, 2015]
The Amazing World of Gumball
Thu Aug 06 - 7:00pm - 401B - The Egg
Thu Aug 13 - 7:00pm - 402A - The Crew
Thu Aug 20 - 7:00pm - 402B - The Others
Thu Aug 27 - 7:00pm - 403A - The Signature
MON Aug 31 - 7:00pm - 403B - The Check
TUE Sep 01 - 7:00pm - 404A - The Pest
WED Sep 02 - 7:00pm - 404B - The Sale
Thu Sep 03 - 7:00pm - 405A - The Gift
FRI Sep 04 - 7:00pm - 405B - The Parking
Clarence
Thu Aug 06 - 5:30pm - 146 - Breehn Ho
Thu Aug 13 - 5:30pm - 147 - The Big Petey Pizza Problem
Thu Aug 20 - 5:30pm - 148 - The Break Up
Thu Aug 27 - 5:30pm - 149 - In Dreams
Thu Sep 03 - 5:30pm - 150 - Balance
Pokémon the Series: XY
Sat Aug 01 - 8:00am - 1826 - Fairy-Type Trickery!
Sat Aug 08 - 8:00am - 1827 - Rivals: Today and Tomorrow!
Sat Aug 22 - 8:00am - 1828 - A Not-So-Flying-Start!
Sat Aug 29 - 8:00am - 1829 - A Relay in the Sky!
Sat Sep 05 - 8:00am - 1830 - A Frienzied Factory Fiasco!
Regular Show
Thu Aug 06 - 7:30pm - 702 - The Parkie Awards
Thu Aug 13 - 7:30pm - 703 - The Lunch Club
Thu Aug 20 - 7:30pm - 704 - Local News Legend
Thu Aug 27 - 7:30pm - 705/706 - The Dome Experiment [HALF-HOUR SPECIAL]
Thu Sep 03 - 7:30pm - 707 - Birthday Gift
Sonic Boom
Sat Aug 01 - 7:00am - 119A - Next Top Villain
Sat Aug 08 - 7:00am - 119B - New Year’s Retribution
Sat Aug 15 - 7:00am - 120A - Battle of the Boy Bands
Sat Aug 22 - 7:00am - 120B - Tails’ Crush
Sat Aug 29 - 7:00am - 121A - Bro Down Showdown
Sat Sep 05 - 7:00am - 121B - Late Night Wars
Steven Universe (UPDATE: Premieres have been pulled)
Thu Aug 06 - 5:30pm - 216 - Nightmare Hospital
Thu Aug 13 - 5:30pm - 217 - Catch and Release
Thu Aug 20 - 5:30pm - 218 - When It Rains
Thu Aug 27 - 5:30pm - 219 - Back to the Barn
Thu Sep 03 - 5:30pm - 220 - Sadie’s Song
Teen Titans Go!
Thu Aug 06 - 6:00pm - 301B - Leg Day
Thu Aug 13 - 6:00pm - 302A - The Dignity of Teeth
Thu Aug 20 - 6:00pm - 302B - The Croissant
Thu Aug 27 - 6:00pm - 303A - The Spice Game
Thu Sep 03 - 6:00pm - 303B - I’m the Sauce
Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Sat Aug 01 - 6:30am - 120 - The Trouble With Fixit
Sat Aug 08 - 6:30am - 121 - Lockout
Sat Aug 15 - 6:30am - 122 - Similarly Different
Sat Aug 22 - 6:30am - 123 - The Buzz on Windblade
Sat Aug 29 - 6:30am - 124 - Ghosts and Imposters
Sat Sep 05 - 6:30am - 125 - Battlegrounds, Part 1
Uncle Grandpa
Thu Aug 06 - 5:00pm - 217 - Bottom Bag
Thu Aug 13 - 5:00pm - 218 - Watermelon Gag
Thu Aug 20 - 5:00pm - 219 - Uncle Grandpa Babies
Thu Aug 27 - 5:00pm - 220 - Birdman
Thu Sep 03 - 5:00pm - 221/222 - Uncle Grandpa Retires [HALF-HOUR SPECIAL]
We Bare Bears
Thu Aug 06 - 6:30pm - 107 - Burrito
Thu Aug 13 - 6:30pm - 108 - Primal
Thu Aug 20 - 6:30pm - 109 - Jean Jacket
Thu Aug 27 - 6:30pm - 110 - Nom Nom
Thu Sep 03 - 6:30pm - 111 - Shush Ninjas
SPECIALS:
Sat Aug 15 - 8:00am - Pokémon: Mega Evolution Special III
Notes:
1) UPDATE: Steven Universe premieres have been pulled.YEREVAN. – The Jewish community of Armenia issued a message on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all peoples of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice” - UN GA resolution reads.
We witnessed the rebirth of Nazism, anti-Semitism, rampage of terrorism and violence over the last years.
The deplorable example of non-condemnation and non-recognition of the fact of Armenian Genocide by some states led to the Holocaust, and new acts of genocide.
The Scripture of Prophet Joel (1, 2-3) reads,
“Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation”.
We are responsible for the future of our children and are obliged to spare no effort to rear the youth in a spirit of tolerance, inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.
Conceiving the sad historic heritage of two peoples, very much like each other in fortune, we should make efforts so that those appalling facts of history never recurred. The unacceptable silence and indifference of international community to a committed crime against humanity and civilization, on the whole, non-recognition and purposeful denial of the fact of any act of genocide in the world will always pave a way to the resurfacing of new acts of violence on ethnic and religious grounds.
Independent of geopolitical or other interests, the international community should stand together in the recognition, condemnation and punishment of all genocides. Today we keep witnessing new waves of violence and expressions of almost all the forms of intolerance and xenophobia in many corners of the world, which is a result of the policy of double standards and absence of solidarity on this issue.
The barbarism of terrorists in Europe and inhuman actions by HAMAS in Israel are horrifying.
Genocide prevention is a component of complex mechanism of protection of human rights, the right to live.
Being a part of the Jewish people, we appeal to all those, who mourn with us, shares our Pain and Protest -
The remembrance days of any crime against humanity – the Shoah (Holocaust), the Armenian Genocide (Mets Yeghern), remembrance days in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and remembrance days of victims of violence and terror should be days of mourning not only for the descendents of victims, but for the descendents of the perpetrators”.
The statement was signed by Rimma Varzhapetyan-Feller, President of the Jewish Community of Armenia, Chief Rabbi in Armenia Gershon Meir Burstein and Willy Weiner, President of Jewish Cultural Center “Menor”.The arrest of John Kapoor, the founder of US-based pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics, is shocking news. He is accused of racketeering, conspiracy, fraud and other felonies. According to the prosecution, he helped devise a plan to bribe doctors into prescribing a fentanyl-based cancer pain drug to non-cancer patients.
What's shocking about it is that there were criminal charges against people, not just corporations. What's shocking about it is that Insys Therapeutics was doing exactly what other pharmaceutical companies have been doing to push their opioids and all their medications on patients who may or may not need them.
There is an opioid crisis in the US. And there is no doubt that this addiction crisis is based on pills.
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These pills come from legal manufacturers and marketers - companies in the business category called - without intentional irony - "ethical pharmaceuticals".
The usage of opioid-based painkillers has been pushed aggressively by the sales and marketing forces of the ethical pharmaceutical companies in the way they market all their drugs - seminars that are really expense-paid trips for doctors to sunshine resorts, free samples, speaker fees, coupons to patients for 30-day "starter supplies", rebates to wholesalers who keep the drugs off of "prior authorisation" lists, and so on.
The "ethical pharmaceutical" companies did something even more basic than that. They manufactured a disease called "chronic pain". They promoted the idea of making pain "the fifth vital sign" (after pulse, temperature, blood pressure and respiration) that doctors should examine on every visit. To back that up, they created Astroturf groups - American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, Partners Against Pain.
It has become common practice in US medicine, once a medication is invented and patented, to determine, define, even invent, the disease or condition it is a cure for. After it's been approved for one use, to get doctors to use it for lots of others things
They have made addiction so normal that there are now TV ads promoting taking additional drugs to deal with opioid-induced constipation!
Opioids are a fabulous product. They can be prescribed for almost anything because most things that people go to a doctor for hurt.
Just a few years ago, opioid addiction would have been a dark, shameful - and criminal - secret. Now that it is being created by mainstream corporations and they are profiting from it, it has been normalised. They have made addiction so normal that there are now TV ads promoting taking additional drugs to deal with opioid-induced constipation!
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What makes opioids a doubly great product is that they are addictive. Even if a doctor is conscientious and stops prescribing, the patients are likely to continue. They can go to a pill mill, buy on the internet or street dealers, and the product is coming from the same wholesalers and manufacturers.
Addiction, like any other type of popular indulgence, is a socially transmitted condition. Addicts work together. They bring other people in. They, too, normalise addiction, but they do it for the people immediately around them. Beyond treating cancer patients and the dying - where addiction is irrelevant - most of the rest is based on a lie.
In 2016, the CDC finally realised that there was little good evidence that opioids helped chronic pain for more than six weeks. Given how dangerous opioids are known to be, that should have been "discovered" years ago. If more doctors actually paid attention to their patients, they would have realised it long ago.
This takes us to another question. Why did prescribing opioids become so popular, so easily?
It's a manifestation of the profit-based US healthcare system. The financial structure commends -commands - everyone in the system to fix things as quickly and simply as possible, in a way that is billable by entering a number and that works for the various financial players - insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, large healthcare providers.
The whole system works to promote quick visits and quick fixes.
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It's the same syndrome that has stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin given to children to make them behave in school - which is a pervasive practice almost exclusive to the US.
Dealing with the real causes would be more time-consuming. The solutions might not be covered by insurance or just have a very low time-to-profit ratio.
In a related story, an investigation by 60 Minutes and the Washington Post revealed that the big pharmaceutical companies had sponsored the election campaigns of congressmen who in return promoted a law that stops the prosecution of major corporations for being the drug pushers they are.
All of this fits into the story of a 50-year movement to increase the power of corporations and big money, to alter the legal system to put corporate criminals beyond the law, and to normalise the sort of corruption that has representatives paid to protect corporate excesses, even if they play a big part in 64,000 deaths a year.
That's what makes the arrest of John Kapoor so shocking. It goes against everything that the US has come to stand for in the corporate age.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.The first antiproton beam has been successfully injected and circulated into ELENA, the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton deceleration ring
On 2 August, the first 5.3 MeV antiproton beam coming from CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator (AD) circulated in the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton (ELENA) decelerating ring.
ELENA is the new decelerator for antimatter experiments. It has a circumference of just 30 meters and will be connected to the AD experiments to improve the conditions for typical antimatter experiments. The slower the antiprotons are (i.e. the less energy they have), the easier it is for the AD’s antimatter experiments to study or manipulate them. However, the AD decelerator can reliably only slow antiprotons down to 5.3 MeV, the lowest possible energy for a machine of this size. The much smaller ELENA ring will reduce this energy by 50 times, to just 0.1 MeV, opening up the possibility for additional experiments, such as GBAR. In addition, the density of the beams will be improved, thus increasing the efficiency with which the experiments can capture the antiprotons in their traps by a factor of 10 to 100. The new decelerator will also enable several experiments to receive antiproton beams simultaneously.
This is not the first time that a beam has circulated in ELENA. The first tests began last November, but this is the first time that antiprotons, the particle type this machine has been conceived for, have been injected. The beam of antiprotons has been successfully injected and it has been observed circulating for a few milliseconds (that is, a few thousand turns of the machine).
The commissioning of the machine will continue over the next coming months with setting-up of several systems such as the radio-frequency system, which will be used to decelerate the bunches of antiprotons. At that point, the commissioning team will start changing the energy of the beams. At the same time, a series of general adjustments of the beam optics is as well foreseen.
As antiprotons are difficult to produce and they need to be shared among many experiments, progress in the commissioning of ELENA will also be made using protons and ions coming from a local H– ion and proton source. This useful feature is speeding up the commissioning phase and within the next weeks ELENA will be ready to provide first H– beams for tests to the GBAR experiment.An experimental glitch effect powered by CSS animations and the clip-path property. Inspired by the technique seen on the speakers page of the 404 conference.
Today we’d like to show you how to create a little experimental glitch-like effect on an image. The effect will be powered by CSS animations and the clip-path property. The technique involves using several layers of images where each one will have a clip-path, a blend mode and a translation applied to it. It was inspired by the technique seen on the speakers page of the 404 conference.
Please note this effect is very experimental; we use several properties that won’t work in older browsers. The clip-path property is not supported in IE or Edge.
We also use CSS variables for setting some properties that will allow for an easy adjustment of the effect.
Breaking down the effect
When searching the web for an easy to use and light-weight glitch implementation, we came across this question on Reddit. Somebody was asking how the glitch effect was pulled off on the speaker line up page of the 404 conference. The glitch effect was made using CSS animations on a stack of three images that are the same. The animations consist of a rapidly changing clip property on all layers except the first one. Additionally, the layers are being moved slightly. So what we are seeing, is slices of the image, slightly offset and in constant movement.
We wanted to experiment with this and recreate the effect using the clip-path property instead. Although it has less browser support (it doesn’t work in IE or Edge), it allows for a more flexible usage since we can use percentage values and apply it to elements that are not necessarily positioned absolutely.
Combining the effect with background blend modes, allows us to create some interesting looking image effects.
The way this works is to create an image stack where each overlaying image will animate its clip-path in, what looks like, random sizes. We’ll use a stack of 5 images:
<div class="glitch glitch--style-1"> <div class="glitch__img"></div> <div class="glitch__img"></div> <div class="glitch__img"></div> <div class="glitch__img"></div> <div class="glitch__img"></div> </div>
Let’s have a look at the main styles for the hover effect that you can see in the last demo. Note that we’ve defined some variables previously, but they should be self-explanatory:
.glitch { position: relative; width: var(--glitch-width); max-width: 400px; height: var(--glitch-height); max-height: calc(400px * 1.25); overflow: hidden; margin: 0 auto; }.glitch:hover { cursor: pointer; }.glitch__img { position: absolute; top: calc(-1 * var(--gap-vertical)); left: calc(-1 * var(--gap-horizontal)); width: calc(100% + var(--gap-horizontal) * 2); height: calc(100% + var(--gap-vertical) * 2); background: url(../img/1.jpg) no-repeat 50% 0; background-color: var(--blend-color-1); background-size: cover; background-blend-mode: var(--blend-mode-1); }
We don’t want to show the sides being cut off, so we make sure that the image dimensions take the gap, i.e. the movement into consideration.
Then, we set the background colors and blend modes for each layer:
/* Set the background colors for the glitch images*/.glitch__img:nth-child(2) { background-color: var(--blend-color-2); background-blend-mode: var(--blend-mode-2); }.glitch__img:nth-child(3) { background-color: var(--blend-color-3); background-blend-mode: var(--blend-mode-3); }.glitch__img:nth-child(4) { background-color: var(--blend-color-4); background-blend-mode: var(--blend-mode-4); }.glitch__img:nth-child(5) { background-color: var(--blend-color-5); background-blend-mode: var(--blend-mode-5); }
As this is going to be a hover effect, we want all layers except the first one to be hidden by default:
.glitch__img:nth-child(n+2) { opacity: 0; }
Then, on hover, we show all layers:
.glitch:hover.glitch__img:nth-child(n+2) { opacity: 1; }
And we also apply the animations and a transform to each layer:
.glitch:hover.glitch__img:nth-child(2) { transform: translate3d(var(--gap-horizontal),0,0); animation: glitch-anim-1-horizontal var(--time-anim) infinite linear alternate; }.glitch:hover >.glitch__img:nth-child(3) { transform: translate3d(calc(-1 * var(--gap-horizontal)),0,0); animation: glitch-anim-2-horizontal var(--time-anim) infinite linear alternate; }.glitch:hover >.glitch__img:nth-child(4) { transform: translate3d(0, calc(-1 * var(--gap-vertical)), 0) scale3d(-1,-1,1); animation: glitch-anim-3-horizontal var(--time-anim) infinite linear alternate; } /* Hover flash animation on last image */.glitch:hover >.glitch__img:nth-child(5) { animation: glitch-anim-flash 0.5s steps(1,end) infinite; }
The calc(-1 * var(--gap-horizontal)) basically allows us to set a negative value of a given variable.
Have a look at this slow motion visualization to see what’s going on under the hood (this GIF is quite big, so it might take a while to load):
The last layer is only flashing and moving slightly while the others also get cut by a clip-path.
Let’s have a look at one of the animations for setting the clip-path:
@keyframes glitch-anim-1-horizontal { 0% { -webkit-clip-path: polygon(0 2%, 100% 2%, 100% 5%, 0 5%); clip-path: polygon(0 2%, 100% 2%, 100% 5%, 0 5%); } 10% { -webkit-clip-path: polygon(0 15%, |
one is making a fuss over it, but critics of the ordinance said those rules are for children and nobody goes to jail if they break them.In Retrospect: Star Wars - TIE Fighter
More on Star Wars
Is TIE Fighter the greatest game of all time? This year it turns twenty years old if you can believe it. That means that anybody under the age of 25 probably hasn't played it, and anybody under the age of 20 probably hasn't even heard of it (a strange phenomenon within the world of video games; unlike films, books and music, once they are more than ten years old they're generally forgotten about). It's a game from a genre you would be nuts to try and play without a joystick, and let's face it, who owns one these days? (Okay, I do!)
In the mid '90s, LucasArts were arguably the best PC game developer in the world. It seemed like they could do no wrong with every game they released being the product of love, creativity and genius. Their games would regularly score high marks across the board, jump in at the top of the bestseller charts and leave the gaming world changed. They were mostly known for point-&-click adventure games such as Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle, adventures which still hold a special place of reverence for many gamers today. But LucasArts were also quite successful in other genres. Lawrence Holland had created a trilogy of World War II flight simulator games for the company, namely Battlehawks 1942 (1988), Their Finest Hour (1989) and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (1991). The games were all noted for their attention to detail and innovative use of technology pushing the capability of the PC as a gaming system.
Scchhheeeewwww, pew pew pew pew!
"You performed terribly. See me after class."
Remember these guys in the films? That's you, that is.
Explosions were good and meaty in these games.
The game was eventually upgraded to use the superior graphics of the X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter engine.
Darth Vader makes an appearance and it up to his old strangulation tricks. Such a kidder.
T/F Alpha 1. That's you. If nothing else, the game taught you the Greek alphabet.
More on Star Wars
Star Wars Star Wars is a science fiction film series created by George Lucas. It debuted in 1977 and the first film was quickly retitled to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. It was followed by two sequels - The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. A trilogy of prequel films were launched in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In 2015 Star Wars returned to the screens for a new trilogy under the control of Disney with The Force Awakens directed by J J Abrams. This was follows in the main Star Wars saga by Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi with the final film of the sequel trilogy, Episode IX, due in cinemas in December 2019 with J J Abrams back at the helm,A series of spin-offs were launched in 2016 with Gareth Edwards' Rogue One, which was followed in 2018 by Ron Howard's Solo and a fourth trilogy of films has been announced for release after 2020 which will be overseen by Rian Johnson which will feature entirely new characters and an entirely separate story.In addition, there are the animated TV series The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels along with Star Wars Resistance which starts in late 2018 and finally a new live action series currently being developed by Jon Favreau set some time after the events of Return of the Jedi.
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Throughout this time, LucasArts (up until 1990, known as Lucasfilm Games) did not have access to thelicense. At this point the last majorrelease had beenin 1983, and while the classic film trilogy was loved and highly regarded it was now just something that most people remembered from when they were younger. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly caused the re-ignition of thecraze but many attribute it to a mixture of thereleased in 1987 and Timothy Zahn's 1991 novelwhich became a major bestseller. Whatever it was, LucasArts noted that it was happening and got hold of the license in 1992. Realising that one of the most exciting parts of the movies were the World War II-inspired space dogfights, and also realising that they had a bunch of well-received World War II dogfighting games already released, it was a no-brainer that their first game be based on what they already did well. Thus, in February 1993 appeared, designed by Lawrence Holland and Edward Kilham.was a space combat simulator which placed you in the role of a pilot for the Rebel Alliance. To put it mildly, it was good. Holland and Kilham managed to create a 3D environment which felt fluid and used 3D models rather than 2D sprites (asdid) while integrating a narrative that ran parallel to the first film. The sense of spatial awareness was fantastic and the game was highly detailed, requiring you to control many aspects of your fighter craft. While engaged in dogfights you had to manage your weapons and shields, and these would both affect how much engine power you had available. Unsurprisingly the game was a massive hit and extremely well-received. You were able to fly missions fighting against the Empire in X-wings, Y-wings and A-wings and each ship had it's own unique feel. And for many players it really felt like you were experiencing authentic moments from the movies for which you were in complete control. The game received two expansion packs and these were later all bundled together in an upgraded CD-ROM release.Despite all this,was only a blueprint of what was to come. Even by 1993's standards the game provided little guidance in getting to grips with the multitude of controls and it was difficult to know what you were supposed to be doing during missions if you didn't pay close attention to the briefings.was a learning experience for the development team and given the game's success a sequel was inevitable. Holland and Kilham would again head the project, and early on they knew that they would be looking to the dark side for inspiration.would place you on the opposing team and have you fight for the bad guys. What they would create usedas a base and proceeded to improve, expand upon and add to every single element of it to create a far more complete gaming experience., released in July 1994, looked better than its predecessor. The box boasted that the engine now used Gouraud shading, allowing for the 3D models to have more realistic lighting. However, the game's real strength lay in the many subtle improvements made to the way you play it. In-game tutorials eased you into the complex flight system while also merging with the game's narrative as you took on the role of a rookie pilot learning from his flight instructors. Yes, this time around your superiors and fellow pilots actually spoke to you during missions, giving you orders, offering advice or just commenting on the situations. Immediately this added to the sense of immersion. In a very sensible move you also now had access to a list of mission goals, both primary and secondary, which you needed to fulfill each time you set out. You were able to check out the status of other craft to figure out what they were up to (very important in figuring out which flight group would attack a craft you were trying to protect), and you could match speed with your target (sounds silly, but it turned out to be a major lifesaver). You could also speed up the course of time so you didn’t wait ages for other ships to finish what they were doing. The game introduced many more ships, both friendly and hostile, as well as a wider assortment of weapons and craft at your disposal.Despite using the exact same engine asthis game required you to play quite differently. This time you were flying Imperial craft such as the TIE fighter, TIE interceptor and TIE bomber and these were all unshielded meaning that you couldn’t afford to take more than two or three hits from enemies. Self-preservation became high on your priority list and you often ended up thinking twice before engaging the enemy without some kind of strategy. There is strength in numbers and you wanted to make sure your wingmen stayed alive to help you out. Each craft was suited to a different kind of purpose so there was good variety between the missions: the TIE fighter was a basic quick, maneuverable craft but lacking in firepower, while the interceptor was faster and could carry missiles. The bomber was far more suited to attacking capital ships as you were loaded up with heavy weapons and had a stronger hull, but the craft was slow and sluggish so you didn’t want to end up tangling with enemy fighters without support. You also got access to a shielded craft called the assault gunboat, and later missions had you flying much more advanced fighters.The game had a pretty non-linear flow to it and allowed you to tackle things much in the order you wanted, but a sensible progression would have you starting in the training simulator wherein you flew around an obstacle course to get a feel for each of the different ships. You then progressed to simulated historical missions which taught you the wide variety of controls and gave you a taste of what life in the Imperial Navy is like while not placing you in any real danger. Completing both of these rewarded you with medals you could admire in your trophy case. When you felt ready you could proceed to the main campaign. This is where the game excelled, as you began as a rookie pilot tasked with unimportant assignments but got caught up in a story involving smugglers, Rebels and traitors within the Empire.Now, let's be clear.was not a cinematic narrative full of emotion and strong characters like thegames tried to be.was much more subtle and used intrigue to draw you in. At the start of each mission you speak to your commander and he gives you your basic primary goals, info about your ship and what opposition you can expect to face. But after completing a mission or two you notice another figure hiding in the shadows. If you go over to speak with him he informs you that he is an envoy for the Emperor and will give you some secondary goals to complete as well as some secret ones.. These secret goals add a huge amount to your mission playthroughs as many of them need to be discovered as you play (additionally, higher difficulty levels mean there are more secret goals to find). These goals often tie into the story as you begin to become a spy within your own ranks. Completing these goals granted you entry to the Emperor's secret order and climbing up the ranks became fun. The envoy may ask you to inspect certain craft to determine the contents of their cargo bays, require you to destroy extra ships or to ensure that a particular ship survives. In some cases these goals may slightly contradict orders given to you by your commander. This situation doesn't take too long to come to a head as before the halfway point of the game you take part in a mission which is firmly lodged in many people's memories due to its twisty nature.Something feels slightly off as you are ordered to give a demonstration of your skills to some rookie pilots by clearing a minefield. In the middle of this task your instructor begins mocking you, eventually letting his ships begin to attack you. You're completely outnumbered and need to call for reinforcements. Doing this calls in a ton of ships to help and you are quickly caught in the middle of a huge battle between opposing capital ships as well as a number of starfighters. There is a traitorous offshoot of the Empire and they have finally revealed themselves. By today's standards this may not sound particularly exciting or revolutionary, but this was 1994. Storytelling up to this point seemed to be confined mostly to adventure games and RPGs, so to have a compelling, evolving narrative present in a different genre felt quite special - plus, it wasn't just being told through cutscenes. You were actually there in the middle of it all happening.'s strength was its focus on immersion.An interesting subject of note here is that although you were flying for the Empire, perceived as the bad guys of theuniverse, at no point in the game did you ever feel evil.did a wonderful job of justifying the Empire’s actions as peacekeeping efforts and you fly numerous missions in which you are trying to help others. This could have been an intentional device; perhaps LucasArts were worried that gamers weren’t ready to be the villain. Or perhaps it was just damn good writing - bad guys never see their own behaviour as evil.The game had a fairly abrupt ending (although you did get to fly a cool mission with Darth Vader as your wingman) and was eventually given an expansion pack calledwhich continued the story of the traitors. There was some criticism raised against these later missions due to the fact that you spend more time fighting your own ex-comrades than you do the Rebel Alliance. By this point you are using over-powered ships such as the TIE defender which was a near unstoppable beast, both when you're flying it and when you have to fight against them. This was also the transition point between floppy disk media and the birth of CD-ROM technology, so in 1995 the game was upgraded and released as a Collectors' CD-ROM with an exclusive extra expansion pack calledwhich brought the story to a complete close. The game ran in a higher resolution and now had recorded voice work for all cutscenes, briefings and in-mission dialogue.was extremely well-received overall and regarded as superior to. The official strategy guide was closely integrated with the game and provided an enjoyable novel which gave your pilot a name and backstory and followed his adventures through the game's missions. The game set a benchmark for the space combat sim, and any other releases in the genre would always draw comparisons (as well as thegames, the next few years would see theandfranchises appear). It wasn't to be the last space sim that LucasArts released, as inevitably its success would mean a sequel could be made. In 1997 we were presented withand it would prove to be a divisive release. Although the game's graphics were an enormous improvement and the gameplay still utilised the same principles, many people felt that the soul of what made the previous games great had been stripped away: there was no story.was a multiplayer skirmish game designed for online play. While there were a lot of people who loved this pick-up-and-play approach, an internet connection wasn't something that everybody had access to in 1997, making the game pretty but extremely dull. LucasArts heard the complaints and added a single-player campaign as an expansion pack named(something very cool - this included the Super Star Destroyer as a capital ship). In a move that made many people weep with joy, they also re-releasedandupgraded to use the newengine, so the original games now looked fantastic (although these versions removed the ability to control your craft with a mouse and replaced the awesome iMuse music system with CD audio). 1999 would see the release of what is - currently - the final game in the franchise:. Using a new engine with graphics even further improved, this cast you in the role of a merchant working for your family's business who gets caught up with the Rebellion. It was pretty good yet somehow not spectacular, feeling a little too far removed from what had come before. And it ended on an annoying cliffhanger.So what does this mean in 2014? The space sim has been gone for quite a long time apart from the odd indie release and the everlasting. Yet people still speak in hushed tones about their memories of playingand any discussion you stumble upon will include people commenting on how they would kill for a modern day remake. You have to wonder if this game would really fit in today's gaming world - couldever work on a console? Surely they would have to strip away all of the complex controls and make it more of an arcade experience. Part of the joy was how much you had to manage all of your systems and memorise keyboard commands. Gamepads these days do have a lot more buttons than they used to, but maybe it can only work as a PC game.Yet in recent times Kickstarter has proven that the space sim is definitely not dead. April has seen the release of, a space sim worked on by members of the originaldevelopment team. You may not have heard of it though, because its thunder was completely stolen by the announcement of Chris Roberts'coming in 2015, an immensely ambitious space sim which at the time of writing is the highest-raising crowd funded project ever at $43 million. Yes, seriously. It seems that people REALLY want to play another space sim and what better time than now to dig out your old copy ofand relive some memories? Good news, both the 1994 and 1995 releases run very well on modern machines using DOSBox, while the 1998 version can be made to work but is fiddly (have a look at pcgamingwiki.com for help). Buying the game legally is a bit more tricky, it's not currently available anywhere (we live in hope that GOG.com will acquire the LucasArts back catalogue) so you'll need to go exploring on eBay or Amazon Marketplace.So, isthe greatest game ever? That’s for you to decide, but without a doubt it deserves a place on the shelf of any PC gamer who wants to be taken seriously.Re: consultant code of ethics
From:tom@zzranch.com To: Susan.McCue@one.org CC: pbegala@hatcreekent.com, john.podesta@gmail.com Date: 2007-11-29 20:30 Subject: Re: consultant code of ethics
OK, let's all take a look at it for any edits or concerns so we can finalize it. On Nov 29, 2007 5:03 PM, Susan McCue <Susan.McCue@one.org> wrote: > > > > > Grt, let's do it. Am sure it'll be a strong selling point w funders. Also > a good press story. > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Begala, Paul [mailto:pbegala@hatcreekent.com] > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 5:03 PM > To: Susan McCue; tom@zzranch.com > > > Cc: JohnPodesta > Subject: RE: consultant code of ethics > > > > > > > > Oh, definitely. I can't face our funders if I couldn't tell them we're > using their money to change the country rather than enrich media > consultants. > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Susan McCue [mailto:Susan.McCue@one.org] > Sent: Thu 11/29/2007 5:00 PM > To: Begala, Paul; tom@zzranch.com > Cc: JohnPodesta > Subject: RE: consultant code of ethics > > > Yeah -- They've all made boatloads. So do we wanna adopt this for the indie > campaign? fine by me. > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Begala, Paul [mailto:pbegala@hatcreekent.com] > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 4:55 PM > To: tom@zzranch.com; Susan McCue > Cc: JohnPodesta > Subject: RE: consultant code of ethics > > > > > > As Tom knows from our conversations, I am a strong supporter of this > proposal. And if that means we don't work with some of the big-name, > big-dollar admakers, I consider that an added bonus. > > > > > > I am nauseated by the notion that Shrum has a villa in Tuscany while young > soldiers are bleeding in Iraq because of his goddam incompetence. > > > > > > Paul > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: tmatzzie@gmail.com on behalf of Tom Matzzie > Sent: Thu 11/29/2007 4:31 PM > To: Susan McCue > Cc: JohnPodesta; Begala, Paul > Subject: Re: consultant code of ethics > > > We'd offer a flat fee for each ad made. What it does is opens the > market to a new generation of ad creators who want to come up with > bigger ideas and make a name for themselves. It takes financial > considerations out of strategic planning. I agree there is a risk we > lose some of the bigger talents who only want to work for a big > commission but maybe we don't need them. The donors really despise > paying commissions to media consultants for cut and paste advertising. > That is what I'm trying to address here. > > > On Nov 29, 2007 4:17 PM, Susan McCue <Susan.McCue@one.org> wrote: > > It's good but I imagine the media consultant graf is DOA with a lot of > > folks. If the party cmts won't sign, not sure how to advance. Will > > mull it. > > > > ----- > > From: tmatzzie@gmail.com [mailto:tmatzzie@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Tom > > Matzzie > > > > Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:34 PM > > To: JohnPodesta; Susan McCue; Begala, Paul > > Subject: Fwd: consultant code of ethics > > > > John, Susan, Paul- > > > > any thoughts on the attached? this is something that SEIU and MoveOn > > had tried to get going earlier in the year but the Party committees > > weren't willing to sign on. > > > > -Tom > >Northern Territory politician Gerry Wood links abortion to population decline, falling GST revenue
Posted
Independent Northern Territory politician Gerry Wood has linked the number of abortions in the jurisdiction to the loss of millions of dollars in GST revenue.
In March, the Commonwealth Grants Commission cut the Territory's GST share by $269 million for the 2017/18 financial year.
About $77 million of that money was related to a reduction in the Territory's share of Australia's population growth.
Mr Wood, who has long campaigned against the termination of pregnancies, again raised the issue during a parliamentary debate about the Territory budget.
"We lose 600 to 1,000 people (each year) through abortion," the Member for Nelson said.
"And people will laugh at me, I've raised it before: why don't we help promote people go through with pregnancy? Why don't we look at adoption?
"Regardless of your opinion, you do reduce one quarter of your population, and yet we've got a declining population.
"And if you looked at alternatives to helping people, we may have some of those increases in population growth."
The Northern Territory was the last jurisdiction in Australia to legalise the use of abortion drug RU486, a bill that passed with broad bipartisan support.
Attorney-General Natasha Fyles, who oversaw the decriminalisation of abortion in the Territory in March, cautioned against linking the two issues.
"I think it would be very important as parliamentarians that we don't allow emotive issues like this to come into play when talking about issues such as GST cuts," she said.
"We need to clearly separate, we need to make sure in the Northern Territory as a Government, and we have done so in delivering contemporary termination of pregnancy legislation for women, for Territorians, if they are to make choices about their bodies."
Mr Wood said the Government should also look at encouraging more people from interstate and overseas to move to the Territory to boost its population.
"It's an issue you that cannot ignore. If population is decreasing, so will GST, that's a fact. That's what's written here," he said.
"And it's something for the Government to put its mind to."
Topics: abortion, government-and-politics, population-and-demographics, darwin-0800by Rep. Ron Paul
Last week, General Motors finally declared bankruptcy. Many in government thought $20 billion in taxpayer dollars would save the company, but as predicted, it only postponed the inevitable. The government will dump another $30 billion into GM and take a 60 percent controlling interest for it.
Public officials are now involving themselves in tactical business decisions such as where GM’s headquarters should move and what kind of cars it will build.
The promise that this is temporary and will eventually be profitable is supposed to ease the American people into accepting this arrangement, but it is of little comfort to those who remember similar promises when the American taxpayers bought Amtrak. After three years, government was supposed to be out of the passenger rail business.
40 years and billions of dollars later, the government is still operating Amtrak at a loss, despite the fact that they have created a monopoly by making it illegal to compete with Amtrak. Imagine what they can now do to what is left of the great American auto industry!
In a truly free market, GM would get your money one way and one way only – by selling you a car you want, at a price you are willing to pay. Instead, the government is giving public money to a private company in spite of the market signals it has been sending.
Throwing money at GM does not stop it from being an engine of wealth destruction; on the contrary, it simply gives it more wealth to destroy.
Had it been allowed to fail naturally, the profitable pieces of GM would have been bought up and put to good use by now. The laid off employees would likely have found new jobs and all that capital would be in private hands, reinvested in companies that produce products demanded by consumers. Instead, we are all poorer now.
Political pressure, rather than the rule of law, is deciding how to divide up the remains of GM. The bondholders had billions in retirement savings invested in the company, and though they were entitled to nearly three times as much as the United Auto Workers, the bondholders were left with just a 10 percent stake compared to the union’s 17.5 percent stake.  For their 60 percent stake, taxpayers have a future of constant bailouts to look forward to.
Comingling public control of private business is known as fascism. While today’s politicians may feel emboldened with all their new power, history will only repeat itself as all this collapses on itself.
It is the height of hubris for bureaucrats and politicians to attempt to control the market and the freewill of the American people. In the end, the market always wins out.
Maybe one day future generations will wise up and allow free markets to function and thrive without the albatross of government around its neck. For now, it looks like those in charge have not learned the lessons of the past, and have doomed us to repeat those mistakes once again.
Ron Paul is a republican member of Congress from Texas.Artificial intelligence will augment workers and become a 'net job creator' by 2020 according to new research, which Gartner touted to open its annual executive confab.
Image: Jason Hiner/TechRepublic
"AI will be a net job creator starting in 2020," said Peter Sondergaard on Monday morning at Gartner Symposium.
Gartner's research chief couldn't have opened the company's flagship conference with a more astounding proclamation if he had claimed that next year's event would be held on the International Space Station and Gartner was offering free rides.
The question of how artificial intelligence and robots will affect jobs has been one of the darkest shadows looming over the 21st century.
Songergaard stated that by 2020 AI will automate 1.8 million people out of work, but it will create 2.3 million jobs. So, AI will drive a net gain of 500,000 new jobs.
Neither Sondergaard nor the two Gartner analysts who did deep dives on the concepts in the opening keynotes—Tina Nunno and Leigh McMullen—explained the math or the methodology of how Gartner arrived at its AI jobs numbers. TechRepublic is following up with Gartner to get more details.
However, a big part of Gartner's underlying assumptions is that AI is going to play a complementary role to a lot of workers. It will make them faster, more efficient, and more productive, Gartner argues.
"Some people will be AI'd out of a job," said Nunno, "but the real secret here is AI augmenting people."
Image: Jason Hiner/TechRepublic
In fact, the value of people was a surprisingly central theme for the opening keynote of a technology conference, and a departure from recent years when themes such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation took center stage.
In the first few minutes of his presentation on Monday, Sondergaard stated, "Talent and culture are the top challenges for all functional leaders."
He went on to show discouraging data on how finding tech talent is getting harder than ever, especially for high-demand skills like data science and cybersecurity. But, the Gartner analyst also stressed that leaders need to get more creative in finding hidden talents and capabilities in existing staff, giving contractors a shot at stepping in, renting talent, looking for talent in non-traditional places, and using AI to enhance workers.
"The secret to digital is analog," added Nunno. "It's people."
She said, "Think of artificial intelligence as scaling people."
Learn more...
TechRepublic and ZDNet have covered the impact of AI on jobs extensively over the past several years—and it will continue to be one of our preeminent topics in the years ahead. Here is more background and perspective:In 1682, anticipating by three centuries the signature scene of Ridley Scott's science-fiction shocker Alien, a strange creature burst forth from the body of a baker in the city of York. It must have been gestating in his stomach, surmised the naturalist Martin Lister, who reported the occurrence to the Royal Society of London. "What this creature is, I dare scarce venture," he wrote, since "it is not like anything I ever yet saw in nature." The baker's insides fared better than those of John Hurt's doomed astronaut: Instead of being ripped open, the baker neatly vomited up his unwanted guest, insisting he was the victim of witchcraft or demonic possession. Nonsense, replied the Royal Society, who concluded he'd swallowed the embryo of a frog or toad, though the image accompanying the report in their Philosophical Transactions didn't resemble either.
Consider the walrus. Not just any walrus but the giant walrus of London's Horniman Museum. It may not be in water but it still makes a splash, dwarfing anyone who comes near. But its hefty verisimilitude is a fantasy. Its devoted stuffers had never before laid eyes on the blubbery bulk of a walrus, and they overdid their taxidermy, cramming it so full they blancmanged out its fatty folds. Is it possible to properly stuff a creature you've never seen? Fat chance. Albrecht Dürer's 1515 woodcut of an Indian rhino, based only on verbal description and an anonymous sketch, passed for centuries as a faithful likeness.
Then there's the Rolodex. Not a strange creature spewed from some dim corner of the early modern imagination, but the Rolodex: a micromachine designed in the 1950s for a telecommunications society. Its cards contained the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of personal contacts. And impersonal contacts: Several Rolodexes survive from the collections of Ed Grothus, a technician at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico until he resigned in 1969 over the Vietnam War. His Rolodexes contain business cards emblazoned with company names like "Explosive Technology" and "Plasmadyne," illustrating the corporate relationships that produced weapons during the cold war.
Add to these Gerard Byrne's photographic history of the Loch Ness monster phenomenon; the Elizabethan magician John Dee's "scrying mirror"; the rebuses of Leonardo da Vinci; Aura Satz's bouquet of hearing trumpets nestled in a phonograph horn; Nina Katchadourian's Flemish self-portraits in airplane toilets; Thomas Grünfeld's hybrid peacock-penguin (Peaguin? Pencock?); and the furniture polisher Alfie West's artworks made by literally splitting hairs (gotta love that).
The source of these oddities is Brian Dillon's intriguing Curiosity: Art and the Pleasures of Knowing (Hayward Publishing), a new volume of essays, excerpts, descriptions, and photographs that accompanies his exhibit of the same name, touring Britain and the Netherlands during 2013-14. But what does it mean to be curious?
Curiosity, Dillon proposes, is a way of knowing that looks askance. It draws attention to the unexplained or overlooked fragment, to invite us, if possible, to look sideways and look closely at the same time. As such, its promise of knowledge is ambiguous. Does curiosity seek to unmask the strangeness that absorbs its attention, or is it an invitation to luxuriate in that strangeness? Does it carry an inherent Baconian injunction to go further and illuminate, or does it recommend the alternative pleasures of not knowing? "Enigma lies at the core of the curious experience," Marina Warner comments in a short essay included in Curiosity, "epiphany should not reveal all." So is curiosity a wake-up call or a waking dream?
Nothing might seem further from the spirit of the Wunderkammern, the early-modern wonder-cabinets that Curiosity invokes as its inspiration, than the Roman practice of the Triumph. But this ancient tradition holds a clue to unmasking curiosity itself. Triumphs told didactic object stories, as Mary Beard has shown. They celebrated and exaggerated martial valor and imperial dominion by publicly parading new-won spoils and slaves. Rituals known as pietas were performed specifically to harness the power of foreign gods when their statues were unveiled in Rome.
Curiosity is a way of knowing that looks askance.
Early-modern curiosity collectors loved to catalog their cabinets: Call it the joy of index. Dillon suggests that such lists also constituted "a kind of story," but do they? The list is an open form, not a closed and completed one. Curiosity collections could absorb countless new objects precisely because they didn't propose a coherent narrative about them. Unlike spoils that tell of conquest, curiosities don't preach and don't teach. What makes them curious is their oblique relation to the world in which they're embedded. And yet, as a matter of historical fact, early-modern Europeans accumulated curiosities in no small part through trade, colonization, and war, something one would hardly guess from Curiosity.
What, then, is the power of curiosity, both past and present? Is there something of the Triumph, after all, in its parades of the odd? Does curiosity have a politics and, if so, what kind? In what lies the triumph of the strange?
The recent revival of curatorial curiosity can be dated to 1988 and David Wilson's creation of the Museum of Jurassic Technology, in Los Angeles, which invokes the mystical truth-seeking of the early-modern Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher, albeit through an offbeat California-Gothic sensibility. Lawrence Wechsler, who wrote about Wilson's ambition "to reintegrate people to wonder" in Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder (1995), initially assumed that it must be all a joke. Surely, he wrote, the painted sculpture of the pope inside the head of a pin was "ironical"? Surely Kircher and the early moderns were themselves being "ironical"?
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But it was all in earnest, and the quiet-spoken Wilson was well ahead of the game. Renaissance curiosity cabinets succeeded medieval church reliquaries as repositories of matter's stranger powers, only for classification-crazed Enlightenment savants to dismiss them as childish, chaotic, and credulous. The collections of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II were "long considered the product of a deranged mind," noted the art historian Horst Bredekamp in The Lure of Antiquity and Cult of the Machine (1995).
By the 19th century, if you wanted truth, you looked to science; if you wanted beauty, you looked to art. In juxtaposing such things as paintings and machines, Wunderkammern offered neither. Worse still, ventures like Ripley's Believe It or Not, which originated as a cartoon in 1918, reduced modern curiosity to freak-show commercialism of emblematic shrunken heads.
As museums were built for science and galleries for art, the curiosity cabinet went underground, resurfacing in 20th-century Surrealism—in André Breton's collages, Joseph Cornell's box assemblages, and set pieces like Victor Brauner's "Wolftable" (a wolf whose head and hind legs are joined by a table). Surrealist curiosities subverted bourgeois rationalism, which was discredited by the carnage of World War I, affirming unconscious instinct over scientific utilitarianism and challenging notions of what counted as art. Curiosities also turned political and became part of a radical questioning of reality itself. Breton, for instance, entertained relations with revolutionary and anticolonial political movements, including anarchism and communism.
By the 1990s, curiosity cabinets resonated with the ambitions of interdisciplinarity in the humanities and, more specifically, the post-positivist turn in the history of science. If one no longer regarded the Wunderkammer as a bizarre pre-scientific foible, it became possible to ask what kind of epistemology it implied. Curiosity and wonder—distinct terms but often used interchangeably—turned out to be interwoven with theology, civility, craftsmanship, nature's playfulness, and even good old Baconian utility, as Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park argued in Wonders and the Order of Nature (1998). Curiosity thus helped dethrone the modern fact from its hegemony over the history of science.
The return of the curious in contemporary art, showcased by Dillon's project, is even more striking. In 2003, Rosamond Purcell created "Two Rooms," a three-dimensional reconstruction of the frontispiece of Ole Worm's Museum Wormianum (1655). Mark Dion's "Travels of William Bartram Reconsidered" (2008) saw the artist retrace the naturalist's 18th-century Florida itinerary and send curiosities back to Bartram's Garden, outside Philadelphia. In Germany the heir to the hair-care giant Wella, Thomas Olbricht, has recreated a 16th-century Berlin cabinet with many fine period objects, while the magazine Weltkunst devoted an entire issue in 2013 to "Die Renaissance der Kunstkammer." Wondrous coffee-table books are also back |
its.
White marlin [ edit ]
White marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) are distributed throughout the tropical and seasonally temperate oceanic waters of the Atlantic. The smallest of the marlin species, with a potential maximum size of around 220 pounds (100 kg), they are sought after not for their size, but for their speed, leaping ability, elegant beauty, and the difficulty that anglers often encounter in baiting and hooking them. They are a premier light-tackle gamefish.
The "hatchet marlin", long thought to be a variant of the white marlin distinguished by dorsal and anal fins with a chopped-off rather than rounded appearance, has recently been confirmed as a separate species in the genus Tetrapturus, the roundscale spearfish.[8] Nearly indistinguishable from white marlin, most tournaments treat hatchet marlin catches as white marlin. Both species are fished for in the same way.
White marlin feed on a variety of schooling baitfish, including sardine, herring, and other clupeoids; squid; mackerel; scad; saury; and smaller tuna-like fishes, such as frigate and bullet tuna. Like their close relatives the striped marlin, and sailfish, white marlin will often group together to corral schooling baitfish into a tight group for feeding purposes, a phenomenon commonly referred to as "balling bait". When this occurs, it is common for two or more fish to be raised to the baits or hooked up simultaneously.
Angling destinations [ edit ]
Where environmental conditions (temperature, water colour and clarity) are favourable, white marlin often forage in shallow water well inshore of the continental shelf, taking advantage of the abundant baitfish resources often found in these areas.
Brazil
Brazil is home to most of the largest white marlin in the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) record books. The IGFA all-tackle record is held by a Brazilian fish of 181 pounds (82 kg). Areas such as the Charlotte Bank have large numbers of white marlin, as well as blue marlin, sailfish, and other blue-water gamefish such as tuna and dorado.
United States
Cape Hatteras, Oregon Inlet, and other fishing areas along the coast of North Carolina benefit from the close proximity of the Gulf Stream. White marlin are often targeted by the skilled charter crews and recreational sport fisherman who fish this area, with August and September often providing some exceptional fishing.
Trolling with natural baits, predominantly ballyhoo, is the most effective method, and rigging and fishing techniques have been continuously refined and perfected over the years by the many skilled crewmen who work these waters.
From around mid-July onwards, white marlin, as well as the other species of Gulf Stream gamefish such as dolphinfish, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna, start showing up in the continental shelf canyons offshore of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. The Jack Spot, an area of bottom structure 22 miles (35 km) south of Ocean City, Maryland, was for many years the most famed white marlin location in the United States. White marlin were first caught here as early as 1934, and in 1939, 171 whites were boated in a single day (July 29) here. The years 1969-1971 had some exceptional white marlin fishing with over 2,000 fish being caught or released per year. Ocean City is now home to one of the East Coast's premier marlin tournaments, the White Marlin Open.
Venezuela
The La Guaira Bank off the coast of Venezuela hosts great concentrations of white marlin in season. White marlin can be encountered year-round, but autumn is considered the best time to target them in Venezuelan waters. Venezuelan anglers such as Aquiles Garcia, Rafael Arnal, Ronnie Morrison, and Ruben Jaen honed their techniques and tackle in these fish-rich waters, and their experiences have contributed to many light-tackle billfishing techniques commonly used today.
Threats [ edit ]
The main threat to marlin, along with other highly migratory pelagic fish, is commercial fishing. Billfish of all species are taken as commercial targets and as bycatch in tuna and swordfish fisheries.[9]
Another major threat to marlin are recreational competitions that run using "catch anything" practices, such as longline fishing, driftnet fishing and other indiscriminate methods. There is also insufficient regulation to ensure that fisheries comply with rules.[10]
Hypoxia may also be a threat to billfish populations due to the widespread decrease in life-supporting oxygen levels in more and more large areas of our oceans.[11] [12]
In 2010, Greenpeace International added the striped marlin, white marlin, Atlantic blue marlin, black marlin, and Indo-pacific blue marlin to its seafood red list.
Conservation [ edit ]
Founded in 1986 by Winthrop P. Rockefeller, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is the world's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving billfish and associated species worldwide which helps ensure healthy oceans and strong coastal economies.[13] TBF's signature research project is the traditional tag and release program that uses the efforts of anglers to provide data and research to scientists and fisheries managers. Awareness of the need to conserve billfish stocks worldwide has led to an increasing trend for recreational anglers and skippers to release their catches in as healthy a condition as possible. In some areas of the world, commercial fishing for striped, black, and blue marlin has been banned.David Hale calls on Gen Qamar, acknowledges Pakistan Army's role for regional peace and stability
US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale appreciated the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad to purge the country of terrorism, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The envoy called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday and discussed matters of regional security and mutual interest.
Combing operations: 17 arrested in Taxila, Pindi
According to the military’s media wing, the visiting dignitary acknowledged and appreciated Pak Army’s contributions towards regional peace and stability.
The military offensive Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was launched after a series of attacks in the country in February.
Gen Qamar said last month that the operation is aimed at utilising the success of military operations to bring lasting peace, stability and normalcy to the country.
Read full storyArticle published by me on http://www.live4liverpool.com
The post-mortem is in full swing. Just two games ago Liverpool stood on the brink of the greatest achievement since 1965 (the year they won their first FA cup). This morning that dream lies battered and broken. Only time will tell if the wounds inflicted by a tremendous Palace fight back are to prove fatal (they probably will).
So does 2013-14 represent a golden sky or a storm? If you are like me, the answer probably changes minute to minute, much like our season. Compare how you felt after Hull City with the euphoria that greeted full-time against City at Anfield, and you see my point. It all depends how you look at it. Perspective is everything.
No player illustrates this more than Luis Suarez. Last night he cut a dejected figure on the turf at Selhurst Park. Make no mistake, this man wanted to deliver Liverpool’s 19th title just as much as the magnificent travelling Kop.
I believe his tears were genuine. The pain he felt was real and heartfelt, and made all the worse by how tantalisingly close the dream was/is. Flashback to those pre-season friendlies last summer though, and we see a very different man. Forced to train alone, sulking and begging to leave. What a difference a season makes. Perspective is everything.
Luis Suarez deserves to play at the very highest level of world football. Last summer he couldn’t see that happening at Liverpool. None of us could. Most of us thought we would struggle to achieve a top four finish. How many really believed Suarez would still be around come May?
Had someone offered us top three, and the prospect of watching ‘El Pistolero’ in the Champions League at Anfield next year back then…………. Well you get my point. The fact is we would have accepted that gleefully.
From this perspective our season represents a glorious treat. We have witnessed the most remarkable rebirth ever.
Fresh from signing a new long-term contract, the one time pariah is now cleaning up as they hand out the end of season awards. His 31 goals and 14 assists have transformed both his and Liverpool’s season, and alas our expectations too. Never has a player and a clubs journey been so perfectly in sync.
Luis has been a model pro on and off the field, terrorising defences in the right way. Liverpool have served up sumptuous football, lapped up by the élite of the European football. Guardiola described us as awesome only a matter of weeks ago. History seemed with us, and positives were all around.
If only we could live in that moment forever. Instead fate drags us kicking and screaming into the here and now. As hangovers both real and metaphorical begin to clear, the perspective is once again transformed.
Liverpool sit on top of the league (not the targeted fourth spot) with a game to go. An unlikely miracle may yet deliver us the holy grail, but we all greet the morning with broken hearts.
Whatever happens next Sunday, most reds will greet the summer with far more optimism than they felt in 2013. You just feel that the best players in world football will be looking at this Liverpool ‘project’ very differently now. Can anyone really see Spurs or even Chelsea and United nicking our targets now?
Next season we will be rubbing shoulders with the very cream of European football. Trouble is just as we can’t live on past glories, neither can we yet enjoy the bright future on offer. We have to live in the now.
Perspective’s a bitch.
Jeff Goulding
6th May 2014
This and other work published by me on www.liverpoolonthemersey.comPrison issue: Lack of care for people with mental illness
The dialogue about our broken prison system between conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel was entertaining and made some legitimate points, but it overlooked one of the biggest factors in the breakage: the criminalization of mental illness. Even the Supreme Court ruling about California's prisons originated in the state's treatment of mentally ill prisoners ("Jailbroken: 5 ways to fix the USA's prisons").
America has lost 90% of its psychiatric hospital beds since 1960, a shrinkage that has corresponded with the growth of the prison population. Instead of hospitalizing people with mental illness, many are jailed or imprisoned. By some estimates, 16% of inmates are suffering symptoms of severe mental illness.
Imprisoning people acting on symptoms of mental illness isn't good for the people, law enforcement, jails and prisons or anyone else, and there is a sane alternative: court-ordered outpatient treatment. Involuntary treatment in the community has been found to lower arrest and incarceration rates — and costs far less than jails, hospitals and emergency rooms.
Forty-four states have assisted outpatient treatment laws. The sixth way to fix the country's prisons is for states to make full use of laws that would provide timely, cost-effective treatment to people with severe mental illness before they end up joining the prison population.
James Pavle, executive director
Treatment Advocacy Center; Arlington, Va.
USA TODAY OPINION Letters to the editor USA TODAY receives about 300 letters each day. Most arrive via e-mail, but we also receive submissions by postal mail and fax. We publish about 35 letters each week. We often select comments that respond directly to USA TODAY articles or opinion pieces. Letters that are concise and make one or two good points have the best chance of being selected, as do letters that reflect the vibrant debate around the nation on a particular subject. We aim to make the letters platform a place where readers, not just writers representing institutions or interest groups, have their say. How to submit letters
Turn toward religion
Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel concluded their piece by discussing the influence of Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship on turning criminals into law-abiding and productive people.
In the book More God, Less Crime, criminologist Byron Johnson proves that religion can be a powerful antidote to crime.
The book describes how congregations and faith-based organizations are essential in forming partnerships necessary to provide the human and spiritual capital to effectively address crime, offender rehabilitation, and the substantial after-care problems facing former prisoners.
Let us use our resources in a way that we can get positive results for the incarcerated in our society. The message of More God, Less Crime can greatly benefit our world.
Mary L. Pepper; Albuquerque
Stop 'war on drugs'
It is a national disgrace that about one in every 31 adults in America is in jail or on supervised release. Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel highlight the problem and offer five suggestions to address the issue.
I have a suggestion that could reduce the numbers of people who have to go to prison and that would benefit society. It would do the following:
• Recognize a problem that should be medically treated and not incarcerated.
• Reduce crime with the cataclysmic drop in the price of street drugs, making it no longer necessary to rob, assault or kill to feed an addiction.
• Go a long way toward balancing city, county, state and federal budgets by cutting law enforcement, shrinking the need for prisons, and freeing up crowded court dockets.
Yes, it is time we recognize the absolute failure of the so-called war on drugs — with its bankrupting expense — and decriminalize drug use. America has a habit of not getting rid of things that don't work. We can do better.
R. Sloan Wilson; Rye, N.H.
Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.comThe rapid-fire rocket exchange between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday evening was so bright it could be seen from space.
German astronaut Alexander Gerst tweeted two images on Wednesday that he took from more than 200 miles above the Earth as the International Space Station was flying over Israel and Gaza.
The rocket fire and explosions crisscrossing between the two areas appear to be visible in the photos. (Mashable reached out to NASA for further clarification on where the explosions are located in the images. We will update shortly.)
My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel pic.twitter.com/jNGWxHilSy — Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) July 23, 2014
Mein traurigstes Foto: von der #ISS aus sehen wir Explosionen und Raketen über #Gaza und #Israel pic.twitter.com/xRERusouyk — Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) July 23, 2014
After more than a week of exchanging air strikes with Hamas, Israel invaded Gaza on July 17 in a massive ground offensive. Since then, the violence has continued to escalate, and more than 680 Palestinians have been killed.
The FAA extended its flight ban to Israel for all U.S. airlines on Wednesday. Several European carriers have also followed suit.So far, the American public is behind Donald Trump in his action against the Syrian military. As long as he doesn’t get the US any deeper into Syria, Trump’s likely to keep their support. According to a new poll from CBS News this morning, taken over the weekend, fifty-seven percent of respondents approve of the airstrikes, but less than one in five Americans want to see any escalation that would involve putting boots on the ground:
Fifty-seven percent of Americans approve of the airstrike against Syrian military targets – calling immoral the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons that led to the strike – but most are leery of any military involvement beyond airstrikes, a CBS News poll shows. President Trump’s overall approval rating edged up, though most respondents voice unease about his approach to Syria going forward, and say Congress must authorize further actions there. Few Americans are willing to see the U.S. get involved in Syria beyond the use of airstrikes. Only 18 percent would want ground troops. Half of Republicans would limit involvement to either airstrikes or diplomacy, and Democrats largely would focus on diplomatic efforts.
Voters may favor the airstrikes after the chemical-weapons attack on Idlib last week, but it hasn’t yet translated into a vote of full confidence in the commander-in-chief. A majority of voters call themselves uneasy about Trump’s ability to lead on Syria (41/54), and 69% want Trump to get Congressional approval before taking any further action at all. They seem to have accepted Trump’s claim that exigent circumstances and a need to act quickly made the first airstrikes acceptable, but now that the issue is obvious, they want Congress as a way to temper Trump’s range of action. That also includes a majority of Republicans, 53/39.
On those exigent circumstances and the claim that they represented a threat to the US, respondents split almost equally, 45/42 in Trump’s (slight) favor. Support for that position is more pronounced among Republicans, but it’s not total support either at 61/31. However, it’s worth noting that Democrats and independents also demonstrate a nuanced reaction to this question (39/47 and 41/45, respectively). Americans seem to have had the same response to seeing the atrocities as Trump — torn between action and perceived national (and partisan) interest. That tension will allow Trump some room to act further, but probably not a lot of room. The relatively lower pitch on Republican support should be a warning signal about going any further without getting an imprimatur from Congress first.
By the way, it’s not just on Syria where Trump has not yet earned trust from the electorate on foreign policy and conflicts. He gets almost exactly the same numbers on North Korea (39/56), a point to consider as the Navy sails toward the Korean peninsula. This might not be a bad time for an Oval Office speech outlining his goals in both theaters, a move that should help build confidence and perhaps get Congress to explicitly back his play in Syria, at least. Trump needs to be seen as presidential if he wants more support for his policies — especially given the whiplash between his campaign rhetoric on Syria and his policies now in office.Mark Zuckerberg isn't the only one who stands to gain big on Friday. Here are the other early adopters with a piece of the pie
Friday is probably the biggest day of Zuckerberg's career since he launched what was then The Facebook at Harvard in February 2004. Facebook has gone on to be a global phenomenon, a Silicon Valley legend and even an Oscar-winning movie. Zuckerberg's co-founders have fallen by the wayside (and into piles of cash), and today he rules over the empire as chief executive officer and the firm's largest shareholder. When the company goes public Zuckerberg will face new levels of pressures and scrutiny. Only time will tell if he's the new Bill Gates or the next Jerry Yang.
Wealth-X, a consultancy that specialises in high networth individuals, estimates his net pre-IPO fortune at $18.95bn. When, and if, Facebook's shares take off Friday, expect that number to soar. Some are expecting it to double, catapulting the already astronomically wealthy Zuckerberg into the very top tier of the super wealthy.
The co-founders
Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook, Photograph: Kimberly White/Getty Images
Moskovitz co-founded Facebook with Zuckerberg and moved to Palo Alto with the Facebook boss in 2004. He left Facebook in 2008 to form a new software company, Asana, with Justin Rosenstein, an engineering manager at Facebook. Asana develops software applications Moskovitz hopes "will be to your work life what Facebook.com is to your social life".
Wealth-X pegs his pre-IPO wealth at $4.8bn, and he holds a 7.5% stake
in Facebook.
Eduardo Saverin's story is quintessentially American, but he isn't anymore. Photograph: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
The Brazilian-born co-founder originally served as Facebook's chief financial officer and business manager. After a prolonged dispute with Zuckerberg, his 34.4% stake in Facebook was diluted to 5%. He reportedly sold much of his stake in the company in private transactions, raising money to invest in various technology start-ups including Qwiki and Jumio. The terms of his legal settlement with Facebook were undisclosed, and he is not listed among the company's major stakeholders; his current holdings in Facebook are unclear.
Saverin spends most of his time in Singapore, and it recently emerged he has given up his US citizenship, though he has now insisted that this is not a tax avoiding move and he will pay the estimated $39m in US taxes on his windfall from the IPO.
Wealth-X estimates Saverin's net worth is at least $ 2.7bn
Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook Photograph: Adam Hunger/Reuters
Chris Hughes, 28
The final co-founder has reinvented himself as a media savvy political operator. Hughes clearly has an eye for rising stars. In early 2007, he left Facebook to work in Chicago on the then-senator Barack Obama's new-media campaign. In March this year Hughes became the owner of The New Republic, the venerable liberal-leaning politics and art magazine. It's not clear what his Facebook holding is worth, but it's believed to be under 1%.
The mentor
Sean Parker, former Founding President of Facebook Photograph: Ramin Talaie/Corbis
Parker was still a teenager when he co-founded Napster, the music sharing service that sparked a revolution. He spotted Facebook's potential early and was a mentor to Zuckerberg, becoming the social network's founding president, helping attract investors.
Wealth-X pegs his pre-IPO at $2.5bn, including a 3.9% stake in Facebook.
The boss
heryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of the social network service Facebook Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/EPA
A powerhouse professional who is increasingly becoming the grown-up face of Facebook. Sandberg has stints at the US treasury, Google and McKinsey on her resume and recently held a fundraising dinner at her home for Obama. She is late to the Facebook party, having joined in 2008, but her 0.1% holding in the company already puts her net worth at over $69m.
The investors
Reid Hoffman, founder and president of Linkedln Photograph: Stefano Carofei/Rex Features
Hoffman is a serial fortune maker worth over $2.35bn, according to Wealth-X. He counts PayPal and professional networking website LinkedIn among his greatest hits and is a partner at Greylock Partners, one of Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms. An early investor in Facebook, he is believed to retain a 0.2%.
Facebook board member Marc Andreessen, who also co-founded Netscape Photograph: Paul Sakuma/AP
Another Silicon Valley legend, Andreessen was co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser, and co-founder of Netscape Communications, whose 1995 IPO was seen as the starting gun for the last dotcom boom. Andreessen-Horowitz, his venture capital firm, counts Foursquare, Groupon, Skype and Zynga among its investments as well as Facebook.
Peter Thiel, chairman of Clarium Capital Management LLC Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images
The former CEO and co-founder of PayPal was an early investor in Facebook and currently sits on the company's board. A libertarian philanthropist, Thiel is widely seen as one of the smartest men in Silicon Valley.
Wealth-X estimates his wealth at $1.45bn.
Bono has joined a call for action against 'this travesty of a 21st-century famine'. Photograph: Billy Farrell Agency / Rex Featu
Bono, 52, is very keen not to see Beautiful Day headlines when Facebook's shares go public. The U2 front man is a partner in the media and tech investment group that owns 2.2% of Facebook. His PR people went on the offensive before the IPO to point out that the firm invests for other people, not just its partners, and any winnings would be widely distributed.
• This article was amended on 18 May 2012 because it described Facebook as "a global phenomena". This has been corrected to "a global phenomenon".
• This article was amended on 18 May 2012. In the original it said Netscape's IPO happened in 2005. This has been corrected.Child sex abuse royal commission appeals for children in care to give evidence
Posted
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made a direct appeal to children in care to give evidence.
Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald addressed more than 100 children under 18, many of whom are in the child protection system, at a youth conference in Brisbane today.
He invited them to tell their stories and give advice to the commission based on their experiences.
"I, as a Commissioner, don't know how it feels to be in and out of home care," he told delegates.
"You've felt it, experienced it. You know what we need to do. Tell us."
Mr Fitzgerald said much of the evidence already heard in the royal commission involved historic allegations of abuse in schools, religious institutions and other organisations.
But with about 50,000 children moving in and out of care each year in Australia, he said it was important to hear contemporary accounts of their experiences.
He told delegates it was "important for you, but it's also important for kids to come, as well as holding those who have done the wrong thing to account".
Mr Fitzgerald invited young people to approach the commission with their stories, saying more than 4,000 people had already testified in private hearings.
"We'll respect it, we'll believe it and we'll support you in it," he said.
Tash Dale, a youth worker with conference organiser the Create Foundation, gave evidence to the royal commission earlier this year about her own and others' experiences of abuse in the care system.
She welcomed the commissioner's reassurances about how witnesses would be treated.
"That's a huge thing for children in care. We, growing up, believe that we're just foster kids and we're not going to be believed," she said.
"Coming forward is a huge step, it can be difficult.
"It's not going to change their past but it can change somebody else's future."
The royal commission was set up by the Gillard government in early 2013 to run for five years.
It moves to Adelaide this week and next month will examine allegations of abuse at two Brisbane schools during hearings in the city.
Topics: child-abuse, royal-commissions, australiaMaybe I just don’t get it.
I’m one of those people who is effusive in giving compliments. I’m known for telling men and women alike that I love certain aspects of their outfits, or their hair, or that I think they’re beautiful.
With full realization that receiving compliments can often be awkward, I still don’t understand why President Obama is catching so much flak for commenting at a fundraiser that California District Attorney Kamala Harris is, “by far, the best looking attorney general.”
The President even prefaced his compliment on her appearance by also acknowledging her brains, guts, and dedication to her job. Now he is being called out by a constituency that is generally a fan of his, Democrat women, for being sexist.
When I initially asked about the outrage the question posed to me was, well would a straight man say that about another man? Yes, absolutely! Maybe it is just my experience, but I know my fiancé frequently makes comments about other men. “Adam Levine is beautiful man,” he’ll tell me, and I don’t see anything wrong with it. Being appreciative of beauty is a sign of openness, security, and maturity. There is quite a difference in admiring the way someone looks and demeaning a person by objectifying them.
Remember all the shirtless pictures of then-candidate Obama that came out during the 2008 campaign? I certainly remember a lot of people talking about how “sexy” he was. Ditto with the “Obama Girl“, whose video hardly screams, “I’m voting for you because you are promoting policies I like.” And let’s not forget Lena Dunham’s allusion of voting for Obama being like losing your virginity. Many have complimented Obama on his appearance, and he is allowed to do the same to others.
I’m completely open to being shown why I’m wrong, but I just haven’t seen any strong arguments.
Many critics are saying that the harm is in the discussion of her beauty outweighing the talk of her accomplishments and the quality of her work. But wait, isn’t it those critics who are driving the distraction? Obama said 62 words about her toughness, ability to do her job well, and friendship, and only 17 about her looks.
I understand that commenting on someone’s appearance isn’t necessarily professional, especially from someone in a position of authority such as the President, but being candidly unprofessional in front of a friendly crowd of people who are your supporters is not sexism, and I think to call it so is to cheapen the actual instances of work-place sexual harassment that still occur every day.Example of Lane Positioning : This is a screencap of Flint and Pestilence going against a solo Chronos and a Legionnaire jungler in bottom lane. I can immediately say that Chronos is given too much breathing room in the screencap. It's lvl1, everyone's in their respective lanes, and a gank from legionnaire is not going to do anything. Give more pressure!
F1 and P1 (The Yellow Circles )are slightly better positions for Flint and Pestilence, with C1 being where Chronos should be in response to it. This is already a much less comfortable position for Chronos to be in, but he has to move there or else Flint will just shoot at him. From here, Flint can move up to F2 and Pestilence can move to P2 (The Orange Circles ), while Chronos can respond by moving to C2. This puts a whole lot of pressure, and Flint can easily try to get a few shots into Chronos. Chronos has the choice of staying around C2 and getting shot or walking out of experience range.
See? All it takes is a little bit of movement, and all of a sudden Chronos can't even be in experience range. Note that while it may not seem important, the best option for Chronos in response to F2 and P2 is to be around C2 to force them to push Chronos out of experience range. They might even miss a Last Hit in the process. Chronos just needs to make sure to be ready to move down and a little to the right if Flint moves in. If Chronos doesn't even try to come close, then Flint can just walk in the jungle and start harassing Legionnaire too.
There are not too many players that think things through in their head like this. However, I have noticed that people who are constantly striving to improve eventually just develops good instincts that tell them where they should be. Most crybabies just don't get better because they're too busy blaming other things to hone their own skills AT AN INSTINCTIVE LEVEL.
Extra Comment : Another very common excuse that I hear when people get destroyed in a lane is, "What am I supposed to do? The lane is impossible to be in!" Sorry to say, but chances are you just aren't good enough to handle a difficult lane. In the screencap example, when you look at it in a vacuum it's supposed to be a lane where Chronos can't farm at all considering he's soloing against Flint and Pestilence. Still, I can say with confidence that I can farm in this lane if I was Chronos because my opponents clearly do not know how to play an aggressive lane just by looking at the first 20 seconds of being in the lane. I won't be able to do much to stop their farming though, which is another problem altogether. On that note, I would make sure to clearly inform the importance of ganking my lane to my team.
Also, if you're good enough you can tell how the lane's probably going to play out within the first 30 seconds of being in the lane. If I see that Flint and Pestilence are aggressive and playing how they should be, then I'll immediately ask for help BEFORE I get destroyed. I won't come begging for help 3 minutes later when I had to use 2 health potions and all my tangos while they both outlevel me.
Summation : Stop Blaming, Deal With It
C) Team Communication
HoN is a team game, and communication is a key component of every team. A good number of people just play a game by themselves, treating other players as little more than NPCs. They would turn all sound off and play with their music on. I don't know if they just don't care or they got tired of listening to all the whiny people in HoN, but communication is severely underestimated by most players. It's a very necessary part of the game, and it can be improved upon.
Obviously, a good place to start would be to start talking. There's in-game voice chat for a reason, and I advise using it. If not, start typing. Lane partner autoattacking? Ask him to stop. Scout looking like he's never played Scout before? Give some suggestions. Mid Missing? Call it.
Clearness in communication is also something that can be improved by most people. If I see Devourer going from middle lane to top lane with a Haste rune, I take every necessary precaution to get their attention. For whatever reason, just saying "Devourer has haste goin top, get out Top" over the microphone is not enough. People seem to take a good 2 seconds to ascertain what a hasted Devourer means, and by then it's too late. People can argue that it's their fault for not running back immediately after I called it, but it doesn't mean that I can't emphasize the direness of the situation. Nowadays, I yell it out to them, ping Devourer's expected course, and spam b over chat. Sure I'll miss a last hit or two, but it's worth it.
4) Team Morale/Enjoying the Game
Being a team game, team spirit is also much more important than people give credit for. It might be that you listened to too many cheesy chants in school or you just don't care about people over the internet, but for the next 50 or so minutes these random people are your teammates so you might as well make it enjoyable for everyone.
A few games ago, I played a game where our Plague Rider did not know which lane to go at the start of the game. I was about to tell him to go top with Swiftblade since that's a sick lane, when one of our teammates goes, "plague go top idiot".
...Really? Why was that last part necessary? What merit is there for anyone to say that? Is it a coincidence that he's also the lowest rated player on our team?
Now, I will say that the ideal solution would be to say something along the lines of "WTF yo, calm down. Why are you getting so uppity when the game just started? Plague, go top please". As for me personally, I just cannot stand players that are ***holes from the get-go. When I see more of this kind of behavior from these players, the best solution that I've found for myself is to put every blame on that player. I know it's hypocritical and all, but it's a personal thing. It's simply not worth it for me to win a game with that guy in the team without making sure that he will never want to play with me again.
Continuing with the hypocrisy, I have to mention that there's a lot of people that are too intolerant of noobs. I don't exactly have the right to say this seeing as how I am intolerant of ***holes, but I'm saying it anyways. There are a good number of people who just want to play the game without really striving to get better. That's fine. After all, it's a freaking game. Noobs will be noobs, deal with it. Yelling at noobs for being noobs gets you absolutely nowhere.
Of course, it's still just a matter of opinion and I'm just throwing my opinion out there. However, at least I've given good thought about it, which is more than what most people can say about themselves. Some people have given really good thought on it and really hate playing with noobs, and I give my respects on their opinions for that. At least think about it a little is all I'm saying - Are you enjoying the game as much as you could be?
As for me, there's plenty of nice people out there that just aren't good at the game, and I'd much rather have a well-to-do 1600 PSR player than a 1750 PSR prick in my team.
5) Micro
In case you don't know, Micro is basically how well you control your unit(s). It's naturally the first thing I look at when gauging the skill level of players. Unlike Lane Positioning, Micro is not as subtle for the most part. When someone messes up or pulls a clutch move, it's usually pretty clear. Experience plays a big part in improving your micro, so naturally the best way to get better at Micro is to play more.
However, I have noticed that a vast majority of players do not get better because they do not know what to look for. It's when Micro gets to the finer details that I can see the potential of the player. For the purpose of explaining this point, I'll start by introducing the two common excuses I see with micro.
"I'm Too Lazy" : Laziness shows its ugly head for anyone who doesn't actively prevent it from happening. Again, thinking positive is the key here: Instead of thinking about not being lazy, think about being active. When you think about not being lazy, you're thinking about things that you shouldn't be doing. As I've stated before, that is a road to mediocrity. Always look for the one best option instead of trying to avoid all the other suboptimal options.
"You're So Lucky" : I hear this a lot. Example: Arachna goes in for a gank on Soulstealer, gets the guy to one hit left, but then the killing blow misses as Soulstealer goes over to higher ground. "He's so lucky it missed him!" Ok, he was lucky. However, you could have |
add MYSQL_CLIENT_SSL to our wp-config.php. Although this would be an okay solution, as we would make sure that it always used SSL no-matter what. Including un-authenticated users clients editing their wp-config files). I proposed this patch on the wp-trac site, but was immediately shutdown as I now realise its just a hack, and should never really be put into production.
wp-config.php 33,36d32 + /** Database SSL Settings */ + define('MYSQL_CLIENT_FLAGS', MYSQL_CLIENT_SSL); + define('NEWLINK', true ); wp-includes/load.php 334c334 + $wpdb = new wpdb( DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME, DB_HOST, NEWLINK, MYSQL_CLIENT_FLAGS ); wp-includes/wp-db.php 479,495d478 + /** + * Database Client Flags + * + * @since 3.6.x + * @access protected + * @var string + */ + protected $client_flags; + + /** + * Database Client Flags + * + * @since 3.6.x + * @access protected + * @var string + */ + protected $new_link; 544c536 + function __construct( $dbuser, $dbpassword, $dbname, $dbhost, $new_link, $client_flags ) { 556,558c548 + + $this->new_link = $new_link; + $this->client_flags = $client_flags; 1163c1152 + $this->dbh = mysql_connect( $this->dbhost, $this->dbuser, $this->dbpassword, $this->new_link, $this->client_flags ); 1165c1154 + $this->dbh = mysql_connect( $this->dbhost, $this->dbuser, $this->dbpassword, $this->new_link, $this->client_flags );
Just a thought… and a solution (apparently). I got a little carried away with this one. What I also found, is that this is a very similar patch to that was accepted some 8+ months ago on the wordpress trac site. But apparently just got put to the wayside.
I wanted SSL encrypted database connections! And now I have it.When the nation is threatened, it turns to its president. And with the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico now in its 38th day, President Obama needs to lead. Today's press conference offers him that opportunity.
Obama has appeared almost scarily unengaged from what the public increasingly recognizes is a genuine national emergency. When he goes before the press corps and the nation this afternoon, he faces a fateful choice: Will he respond with another of his now-familiar outbursts of anger with no follow-through? Or will he take charge of the national response and announce a clear plan of action?
When it comes to stopping the leak itself, which is obviously everyone's top priority, there's not necessarily anything Obama can do that BP isn't doing already. But that doesn't mean there aren't other compelling steps he could announce that would improve the government's response to the disaster and move him from its sidelines to its forefront.
Based on interviews with a slew of experts, here are some suggestions:
Obama should make it clear that BP is no longer the final decision maker -- about anything. He should also establish that nobody in government is taking anything BP says on face value anymore. The company's track record speaks for itself. And its motives, especially when it comes to assessing the effects of the blowout, are inherently suspect. Given the liability it faces, one of BP's key objectives at this point is inevitably to limit how much of the damage the public or the authorities are actually able to see.
Obama should demand -- and promise -- complete transparency, both from BP and his own administration. It's not enough to describe what assets are in place. BP and the federal agencies involved in the response need to be much more upfront about what they are doing -- and, perhaps even more importantly, about the leak's effects.
That must include an honest assessment of how much oil has actually flowed into the Gulf, how much continues to gush out, where it's going, and what it's doing to the ocean, not just the shoreline. Thus far, official estimates of the oil flow have been embarrassingly unrealistic. BP has been clamping down on information about the shoreline cleanup. And an even bigger failing has been the government's continued blindness to the devastating effects the oil is having under the surface. Exhaustive testing needs to start immediately, and be made public.
Obama should announce that he is revisiting the use of dispersants. It's not just that the one BP continues to use despite an EPA stop-order is toxic. It's that what dispersants do, at heart, is spread the oil out over a larger volume of water. With a spill this big, that might actually be exactly the wrong approach.
In fact, Obama should be charging BP and his own scientists and agencies to come up with better ways to concentrate the oil in one place and remove it before it further damages the Gulf or its shorelines.
Finally, although it may be too late, Obama should still try to seize the moment to rally public support against the policies that contributed to this crisis.
As environmentalists have been saying for weeks, the spill is a teachable moment that Obama could use to galvanize the nation behind significant energy and climate-change legislation that would aggressively wean the nation off fossil fuels.
Similarly, Obama missed an opportunity to call attention to the near-complete regulatory failure that led up to the disaster, as a way of reminding the nation of the need for a government that actively protects the interests of its people against those who would otherwise pursue profit without limits. He is already expected to call for tougher safety requirements and more rigorous inspections on off-shore drilling operations as well as an extended moratorium on new drilling and the cancellation of some offshore leases. He should go further and call for a full-scale review and revival of government regulation across the board -- declaring a definitive end to eight years of irresponsibility by the George W. Bush crew, and a year and a half of lethargy by his own team.
But little of this is likely to happen. Instead, the Gulf oil spill risks turning into an object lesson in ineffective leadership and the corporate capture of government -- precisely the opposite of the lessons we expected Obama to teach the nation.
So far, certainly, there's been nothing about Obama's response to this disaster that inspires hope; while way too much of it breeds cynicism.
Granted, none of the experts interviewed by the Huffington Post were able to come up with satisfactory solutions to the basic problem that don't involve time machines.
When it comes to job one -- stopping more oil from gushing out -- even the most can-do among engineers aren't optimistic, should "Top Kill" fail. "Trying to plug this oil at 5,000 feet is a bit pot luck," said John Large, a British consulting engineer who helped recover the Kursk, a Russian nuclear submarine that sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea in 2000. "I would say generally, in engineering terms, this is a real mind-blower."
BP "failed to see what could go wrong," he told HuffPost, and as a result, engineers are relegated to cooking up ad hoc solutions, each of which carries with it the distinct chance it will make things worse rather than better.
"The more debris, the more bits of kit and fouled schemes that you put down there, the more difficult it is for the next operation to have a clear run," he said. "And of course you can worsen the damage."
At this point, however, the "Top Kill" option does seem to hold some promise, followed by the "Junk Shot".
And while Sam Stein reports for the Huffington Post that Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is among those calling for Obama to send in the military if the "Top Kill" fails, it's unclear what even they could do about it. (Blowing the damn thing up has been ruled out as an option.)
Meanwhile, one of BP's initial decisions -- to use dispersants to break up the oil -- is increasingly being questioned. BP has applied an unprecedented 815,000 gallons of dispersant to the spill so far, and more every day.
But marine scientists point out that dispersants don't actually reduce the amount of oil entering the environment, they just change where the oil goes. And while dispersants make complete sense when trying to break up a small slick headed for a fragile shoreline, they may not when dealing with a massive deep-sea spill.
The National Research Council's canonical guide to Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects explains:
Dispersant application... represents a conscious decision to increase the hydrocarbon load (resulting from a spill) on one component of the ecosystem (e.g., the water column) while reducing the load on another (e.g., coastal wetland). Decisions to use dispersants, therefore, involve trade-offs between decreasing the risk to water surface and shoreline habitats while increasing the potential risk to organisms in the water column and on the seafloor.
Or, as Jackie Savitz, a senior scientist with the ocean conservation group Oceana, puts it: "Whether or not dispersants are a good idea depends on whether you're a seabird or a fish."
They're also a good idea, of course, if you're trying to keep as much of the oil as possible out of sight.
BP "clearly want to limit the amount of oil coming to shore; that's what people see," Rick Steiner, a veteran marine conservation consultant told McClatchy Newspapers. "If they can limit the amount of oil in evidence, they can limit the public outrage and likely pay less financial damages down the road."
Some scientists think dispersing this spill could be exactly the wrong approach. Eric Adams, an environmental engineer at MIT, is an expert both in deep-sea leaks and dispersants. After stemming the leak, the second priority is removing as much of the oil as possible from the water, he told HuffPost. And spreading it around only makes that harder.
Adams thinks responders should explore "if you could put a shroud around the plume, and guide the plume up to the water surface." Then, instead of making a thin slick, the oil "would stay within the relatively small diameter of this curtain, and it would allow you to collect it."
Adams's thinking dovetails with statements by John Hofmeister, a former CEO of Shell Oil, who told MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan on Tuesday that authorities should bring in supertankers to suck in seawater and oil.
Throughout the last five weeks, the lack of information has been driving scientists crazy.
"We potentially have huge consequences going on in the water column," said Carys Louise Mitchelmore, an associate professor in environmental chemistry and toxicology with the University of Maryland.
"I was just shocked at how limited and poor quality the BP data set was," she told HuffPost. "They've got to assess the harm that's going on in the water column," she said. "We don't know if you've got snowing dead organisms out there right now."
And while those organisms may not be as "charismatic" as the larger animals, Mitchelmore said, if they die then the larger animals will starve to death.In our Previous article we have already discuss ‘How to Install Katell 3.2 on CentOS 7 Server‘. Now our next task is to download Linux Server’s repositories and create the Sync plan and after that create Activation key and then register the clients to katello server using activation keys and do the patching of registered servers from Katello Dashboard.
In this tutorial i will download CentOS 7 yum repositories.
Refer the following Steps to download and sync CentOS 7 Repositories from Katello Dashboard
When we install katello default organization and location is created. So before proceeding let’s first create organization with name ‘Operations’ and will keep the default location as it is.
Login to the Dashboard –> Select on “Default Organization” and click on ‘Manage Organization‘.
To Create New organization, click on ‘New Organization’ option. Specify the name as per your requirement
click on ‘Submit‘
In the next Window click on ‘Proceed to Edit‘ option as this point of time we don’t have any hosts.
Then finally click on Submit in next Window.
Now onward whatever we do in dashboard first make sure we are using ‘Operations‘ Organization. So Go to Organization Tab and Select ‘Operations‘
Let’s first create the GPG keys for CentOS 7 yum repositories. Download the CentOS 7 GPG key from URL ‘http://mirror.centos.org/centos/‘ Or use below wget command
Now from the Contents Tab —> Select GPG Keys —> click on ‘New GPG key‘
Specify the Key Name, in my case i am putting as ‘CentOS_7_GPG‘ and upload the above downloaded CentOS 7 RPM key.
Click on Save.
Let’s Create the Sync Plan for Repositories. From the Content Tab select ‘Sync Plans‘ and click on ‘New Sync Plan‘, Specify Sync Plan Name, interval and Start time as per your setup
Click on Save
Now from the Content Tab select the Products option and then Click on ‘New Product‘.
Specify the Product Name and it’s label will be automatically set as per Product Name.
Click on Save and then we will get the below screen.
Now Click on Create Repository.
Specify the followings and leave other parameters as its.
Name = base_x86_64
Label = base_x86_64
Type = yum
url = http://mirror.centos.org/centos/7/os/x86_64/
Download Policy = Immediate
GPG Key = CentOS_7_GPG
Click on Save
In the next window, Select the Repository and Click on ‘Sync Now‘
Similarly create two more repositories for updates and extras.
For Updates repository use the beneath details
name = updates_x86_64
type = yum
url = http://mirror.centos.org/centos/7/updates/x86_64/
Download Policy = Immediate
GPG Key = CentOS_7_GPG
For Extras repository use the beneath details
name = extras_x86_64
type = yum
url = http://mirror.centos.org/centos/7/extras/x86_64/
Download Policy = Immediate
GPG Key = CentOS_7_GPG
Note: We can also download and sync the customize and EPEL repository by referring above steps.
Monitor and Verify the Sync Status of Repositories.
From the Content Tab select ‘Sync Status‘ option
Depending on your Internet Speed it will download and sync repositories. Once it is done attach the Sync plan to the Product ‘CentOS 7‘
Click on Save.
In Katello by default ‘Library Environment‘ is created during the installation, we can create environment as per our requirement keeping Library as Parent Env. In this tutorial i am going to create below two Environments and will publish content view to these environments.
Non Production
Production
Go To Content Tab –> Select Life Cycle Environment –> Click on New Environment Path
Specify the Environment name as ‘Non Production‘
click on Save, Similarly create One more Environment with name ‘Production‘
Now Let’s Create the Content View and promote it to above created Environments.
Go To Content Tab —> Select Content Views —> Click on Create New View
click on Save
Now Select the Repositories that you want add to this view. In my case i am adding all repositories.
After Adding the repositories and then click on ‘Publish New Version’, first this view will be promoted to Library Environment and then we will Click on ‘Promote‘ then Select the ‘Non Production‘ environment and once done then again promote it to Production Environment.
Similarly repeat the same steps for promoting the view to Production Environment.
Creating Activation Keys
At this point of time we have downloaded the repositories and created the content views for respective environments. Now it’s time to create Activation Key for registering Linux Clients to Katello Server.
Go To Content Tab –> Select Activation Keys –> click on New Activation Key
Specify the Key Name, Environment and Content View as per your setup.
Click on Save
Now Go to Subscription Tab and Add ‘CentOS 7‘ Product and disable auto-attach option
Once you are done with Activation Key. Now Start Registering the Linux Servers to Katello.
Register Clients to Katello Server using Activation Keys
ssh your CentOS 7 Server which we want to register on Katello Server and perform the following Steps from the command line.
Install the Subscription-manager using existing centos repository and bootstrap rpm from your katello server
Now run below subscription manager command to register the server to katello.
[[email protected] ~]# subscription-manager register --org="Operations" --activationkey="Operations_Non_Prod" The system has been registered with ID: 7c0a6c2f-96f8-41b6-85e2-9765e0ec6ddf No products installed. [[email protected] ~]#
No Go to Katello Dashboard, Select Operations as the Organization.
Under the Hosts Tab —> Select Content Hosts
As we can see that host or server is automatically register under Non Production Environment and its content View is Operation_view
Now again access the Server (web.example.com) and verify which repositories are enabled. Run the below commands.
You can also run below yum command to verify which yum repositories are enabled
If we want to push updates from Katello dashboard to its content hosts then katello-agent package needs to be installed on register clients or its content hosts.
Katello agent Package is not available in default CentOS 7 repositories, so set the katello agent repository and run yum command to install.
Note : Once the Katello agent is installed then you can move default CentOS 7 and katell-agent repository to other location.
Now Only Repositories from your Katello Server should be available.
From Katello Dashboard verify whether katello-agent is installed on the content host.
From Packages Tab now we can manage packages (like install, remove and update particular or list of packages )
That’s all for this article. Hope you get an idea how to download repositories and register Linux server for patching in Katello setup. Please share your feedback and comments 🙂OK, “everything” is a strong word, but the following charts on the cost of solar panels should be super useful to you. Of course, to get a very specific cost of solar panels estimate for your own home, just spend about 60 seconds answering a few question at the link above and we can hook you up with this in a jiffy. (A completely free process, of course.) But, if you’re just interested in some general information on the cost of solar panels, look no further, we’ve got the goods right here:
10 Cost of Solar Panels & Cost of Solar Power Charts
1. The average cost of solar panels has gone from $76.67/watt in 1977 to just $0.698/watt today (the second figure is according to PVinsights, and is even lower than the 2013 projected price in the chart below).
Well, that basically tells you everything you need to know right there — the cost of solar panels today is about 100 times lower than the cost of solar panels in 1977 (even mopvre than 100 times lower!) — but I promised 10 charts, so let’s dig in even further and throw on some other fun charts and graphs.
2. What is really important is that the cost of electricity from solar panels is now lower than the cost of retail electricity for most people.
That’s big! That means that people like you and me (if we have a roof) can cut our electricity costs by putting solar panels on our roofs! This is why major companies like Walmart, IKEA, Google, Apple, Facebook, Costco, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Staples, and many others are starting to go solar in a big way.
Of course, as you can see in that graph above, the cost of solar is headed towards the wholesale cost of electricity from natural gas… which would actually get utility companies and power plant developers switching to solar in a big way. (The cost of solar power actually varies quite a bit from place to place, and solar has crossed those lines in some locations.)
3. Here’s another look at the falling cost of solar panels (or, as the industry calls them, solar modules), focusing on the years 1985 to 2011:
4. Are you actually interested in the cost of installed solar power systems? And even perhaps the cost of installed solar power systems by sector? Here’s a chart on that, for the US, up through the second quarter of 2013:
5. Are you interested in seeing how the cost of solar panels compares to the cost of its main competitor? If so, have a look at this comparison between the cost of solar and the cost of electricity from gas- and diesel-fired peaking power plants:
6 & 7. Are you interested in seeing how much solar panels save the average American who goes solar… or even the average person in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Hawaii, and so on? Below are two infographics on just that. Just note, however, that these averages are based on the cost of solar panels in 2011 (as I think you’ve gathered by now, the cost has dropped considerably since then).
8. So, with all of this information on the drop in the cost of solar panels and the cost of solar-generated electricity, you’re probably thinking that solar power project growth should be going through the roof by now, right? Indeed, it is:
9. That’s for solar power growth across the world, but the story is the same for solar power growth in the US:
10. With projections for the coming few years:
So, what’s the lesson today?
The lesson is: the cost of solar panels has fallen off a cliff, and that means that solar power now crushes electricity from the grid for a huge number of people. If you have a roof and don’t have solar panels on it, stop wasting your time and see what the cost of solar is and how much you can save right now!
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Senate Democrats upended the chamber’s normal procedure Thursday morning, restoring a sense of normalcy to the oft-dysfunctional institution by changing the filibuster rules for confirming judicial and executive-branch nominees. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) turned to the so-called “nuclear option”—a parliamentary trick to write the rules with just 51 votes, rather than the standard two-thirds majority required to change Senate procedures. Clearing a filibuster on those appointees will no longer take a 60-vote supermajority, and President Barack Obama’s judges and White House staff can now be approved by a simple up-or-down vote.
It’s not an outrageous concept. Senate rules were changed regularly under these basic-majority votes when the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia was majority leader in the 1970s. Yet on Thursday, Republicans acted as if the world had ended and democracy would soon collapse thanks to Reid’s egregious change of the rules. It’s hard to take their doom-and-gloom predictions too seriously. Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were amped to end filibusters of judicial nominations in 2005 until Democrats caved and cut a deal.
Here’s a sample of the some of the most hyperbolic Republican reactions to filibuster reform:
1. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on the Senate floor:
“He [Harry Reid] is not a dictator. He does not have the power to dictate how this Senate operates.”
2. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.):
Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s temper tantrum unfolding now on Senate floor — JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) November 21, 2013
3. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on CNN:
“What we really need is an anti-bullying ordinance in the Senate. I mean, now we’ve got a big bully. Harry Reid says he’s just gonna break the rules and make new rules.”
4. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.):
“They’re governed by the newer members…who have never been in a minority, who are primarily driving this issue. They succeeded and they will pay a very, very heavy price for it.”
5. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.):
“Most dangerous and consequential change in the rules since Thomas Jefferson wrote them.” — Lamar Alexander — Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) November 21, 2013
6. Sen. Alexander, again, this time on the floor of the Senate:
“This action today creates a perpetual opportunity for the tyranny of the majority because it permits a majority in this body to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it. This should be called Obamacare II, because it is another example of the use of raw partisan political party for the majority to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it.”
7. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on his Facebook page:
“Rather than fix the Obamacare disaster, today Harry Reid doubled down on the brass knuckles partisan power politics that produced it—jam it through, no compromise, unilaterally make up new rules whenever needed. This isn’t just a shame for the Senate; it’s scary and dictatorial for our country.”
8. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.):
As bad as the Democrats’ #nuclearoption is for the future of the Senate, it won’t distract Americans from #Obamacare problems. #PowerGrab — Senator Thad Cochran (@SenThadCochran) November 21, 2013
9. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) right before the nuclear-option vote:
“Just yesterday, I saw a story about a guy getting a letter in the mail saying his dog, his dog had qualified for insurance under Obamacare. So yeah, I would probably be running for the exit, too, if I had supported this law. I would be looking to change the subject, change the subject just as Senate Democrats have been doing with their threats of going nuclear and changing the Senate rules on nominations.”
10. Sen. Dan Coates (R-Ind.) on his Facebook page:
“This action to change the Senate rules and weaken the Founding Fathers’ vision for checks and balances is yet another disturbing power grab and reminds the public of how the Democrats jammed through the unwanted health care law.”
11. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.):
“The Democrats’ vote to invoke the ‘nuclear option’ and fundamentally change the rules of the Senate is a raw power grab which is deeply disappointing. Like the manner in which they rammed through Obamacare on party line votes, they have now broken the rules of the Senate to allow them to do the same for the president’s executive and judicial nominees.”
12. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.):
Bad day for America and an even worse day for #Nevada. #NuclearOption equals nuclear waste for Nevada. — Dean Heller (@SenDeanHeller) November 21, 2013
13. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa):The People The Irish are interested in people and place great value on the individual. They are naturally courteous, quick-witted and will go out of their way to welcome visitors to their country. Don't rush the Irish. Although they work very hard, the Irish are dedicated to a less stressful lifestyle that allows time for friends and family, a visit to the pub, a cup of tea, or just a bit of a chat on the corner. Families are closely-knit and very important to the Irish. Meeting and Greeting Shake hands with everyone present -- men, women and children -- at a business or social gathering. Shake hands again when leaving.
A firm handshake with eye contact is expected. Body Language The Irish are not very physically demonstrative and are not comfortable with public displays of affection.
The Irish are uncomfortable with loud, aggressive, and arrogant behavior.
A "Reverse V for victory" gesture is considered obscene. Corporate Culture Business is best initiated through a well-connected third party. Who you know may be vital to your business success.
The Irish are not very time conscious and may not be punctual for business and social meetings. They have a relaxed sense of time and may be a little late for meetings. However, a foreigner should be on time for business meetings.
Business cards are exchanged, but not necessarily immediately upon meeting.
Irish people tend to be creative and calm in a crisis. They prefer to improvise rather than follow a rigid plan.
Outwardly the Irish accept authority but inwardly have strong displeasure in accepting it. They also dislike bureaucracy.
Planning and strategy are short term. Irish tend to be poor in long-range planning.
Don't be misled by the easy going and amiable attitudes of the Irish. In negotiations, the Irish are astute and tenacious.
The golf course is a major venue for conducting business in Ireland. Dining and Entertainment Business entertainment is commonly conducted in restaurants.
Business dinners are usually considered more of a social occasion and a good way to develop relationships.
Spouses may or may not be invited to a business dinner.
The small plate next to a dinner plate is for peelings removed from boiled potatoes.
It is polite to eat everything served to you in a private home.
Table manners are the same as in England, only a bit more relaxed.
Refusing a drink can be perceived as insult in Ireland.
Always buy your round of drinks. Dress Dress modestly and conservatively. Flashy colors and styles, white pants, nylon running jackets, etc. do not blend into Irish style.
Tweeds, wools and subdued colors are recommended.
A raincoat is needed year around.
For business meetings, men should wear suits or sportcoats and ties; women should wear suits or dresses and blazers (women wear pants less often than in America). Gifts Gift giving and receiving is unusual in a business setting. Small gifts may be exchanged, but are not expected, at the successful conclusion of negotiations.
When invited to someone's home, always bring a small gift for the hostess. Give flowers (lilies are for religious occasions only; red and white flowers symbolize death), chocolates, a bottle of wine or continental cheeses.
Do not give expensive or ostentatious gifts. Helpful Hints The Irish respect reserved behavior. Initial meetings should be low key.
Assume that children will be included in family entertaining.
Send a thank-you note after receiving a gift or being a dinner guest.
Always be sincere. The Irish dislike pretentious behavior.
Remember the Irish want to do things their way. You will not succeed if you insist on doing it "your way." Especially for Women A foreign woman will be accepted easily in the Irish business community.
The 'Old Boys Club' still exists. Whom you know is vital to getting the job done.
It is considered more proper for a woman to order a glass of beer or stout rather than a pint.
. It is acceptable, but may be misconstrued for a foreign woman to invite an Irishman to dinner. It is best to stick with lunch.
If a woman would like to pay for a meal, she should state so at the outset.The decision on the license was taken by the Romanian National Council on Television and Radio by a unanimous decision on Tuesday, RFI reports.
"There is a danger that this TV station will provide false information on the European Union and the United States. We are talking about pro-Russian propaganda material, so-called fake news," member of the council Valentin Jucan explained.
Read alsoRT under scrutiny in U.S. as foreign agent following reports of FBI probing SputnikA representative of RTR has told RFI that the TV channel will continue to seek license renewal to broadcast in Romania.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Moldova intended to propose owners of five TV channels to remove from their lineup all Russian "propaganda" shows in case the new law is adopted on combating foreign propaganda.ATLANTA—Casually holding the drink between her index finger and thumb, a Delta Airlines flight attendant is at this moment trying to pass a cup of cranberry juice over your laptop, sources aboard the aircraft have confirmed. The plastic receptacle, which is filled nearly to the brim and rippling due to mild turbulence, is reportedly being extended across your expensive and relatively new laptop in the direction of the person seated next to you, who is currently nodding off and unaware his beverage has arrived. As the flight attendant leans in, dangling the juice above the computer containing work files and family photos you have not backed up anywhere else, witnesses are reporting that a passenger two seats behind you is trying to squeeze by both her and the beverage cart. Sources added that all of this is happening as the plane speeds at 500 miles per hour 40,000 feet above the earth. At press time, the person next to you was seen attempting to accept the drink and pass back a credit card with the same hand.
AdvertisementUpdate: On May 14, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act — effectively legalizing sports betting across the U.S.
On Dec. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will at last hear the case of Christie et al vs. NCAA et al, which has been awaiting its day in the nation’s top court for six years.
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What’s at stake in the case: New Jersey (led by outgoing Gov. Chris Christie) wants to legalize sports betting in the state, and if it wins the right to do so, other states are likely to follow suit in a rapid domino effect.
After SCOTUS hears the NJ case, regardless of the outcome, the NBA has big plans to lobby Congress for federal change and regulation to betting law, a high-ranking NBA lawyer revealed on a panel this week, moderated by Yahoo Finance, at the Sports Betting USA Conference in New York. This is something the NBA had not previously said until now.
“Our general position on sports betting is that it should be legal and regulated, pursuant to a federal framework that has minimum safeguards,” said NBA VP and assistant general counsel Dan Spillane. “We have advisors in DC, we have legislation that we’ve been pulling together, talking with other stakeholders in this area. It’s a slow process… When the leagues were all just unanimously opposed to it, it really wasn’t, I think, a practical discussion to have, and now it is… I think that there will be a little bit more clarity, and people will be more open, especially members of Congress, to talking about potential legislation once the [NJ] case is resolved one way or another.”
Why the leagues oppose the NJ case
Story continues
Even though the NBA and most of the other leagues have indicated (or their commissioners have) that they do support legalized sports betting in America, the NCAA, NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL all oppose New Jersey’s case, and sued to stop the state from passing its new law.
The reason the leagues are doing this has some nuance to it that bears explaining. But they want the change to be made at the federal level: they want the repeal of PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act), the 1992 federal law that banned sports betting everywhere in America but Nevada.
What they don’t want is for sports betting law to vary from state to state, which is what the landscape would look like, at least for a while, if New Jersey wins. That would be a mess, from the leagues’ perspective, to regulate and monitor: imagine if you could now place a legal bet on NBA games in states other than Nevada, but not in all states. (This is the current landscape the legal cannabis industry is dealing with, where eight states have legalized recreational marijuana, but it’s still illegal at the federal level.)
The NBA has been the de facto leader of the movement amongst the pro leagues. In 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wrote a New York Times op-ed, still widely cited today, arguing for the repeal of PASPA. But since then, some critics have said, it has not taken any significant action to make it happen. For three years, Silver has simply reiterated, at a number of public opportunities, the points he made in the 2014 op-ed. (In the time since Silver became commissioner, his predecessor David Stern has also come out in support of legalized betting.)
Adam Silver (L), Deputy NBA Commissioner at the time (now the commissioner), and David Stern, then the NBA Commissioner, at a press conference in 2011. (AP/John Minchillo)
“We agree with New Jersey on the ultimate outcome”
On the Sports Betting USA Conference panel, Spillane of the NBA said that even though the NBA is against New Jersey in the Dec. 4 case, the league and the state are on the same side in their larger goal.
“Our view has been that if it’s illegal [at the federal level], that’s not the right way to start off legal sports betting in the United States — under a cloud, doing it in violation of federal law,” said Dan Spillane, vice president and assistant general counsel of the NBA. “At the same time, we agree with New Jersey on the ultimate policy outcome: that having legal, regulated sports betting in the United States is the best place to end up. The disagreement is just on how to get there.”
The most recent development in the New Jersey case took place last May, when the Third Circuit ruled 9-3 against New Jersey.
SCOTUS hears very few cases: 54 in 2016, which was fewer than in any of the five years prior, and it overturned the lower court ruling in 83% of them. Both of those stats are favorable for New Jersey: insiders believe the very fact that SCOTUS agreed to hear the case is good news for Christie.
“The fact is, they probably have got something to say here,” says Tom Russell, general counsel of Genius Sports, which tracks gambling data and analytics and sells it to partners including both legal sportsbooks and sports leagues. “Bearing in mind that all the local decisions have been against New Jersey, you would imagine that the thing they’ve got to say is different, something in favor of New Jersey.”
[Russell is the guest on our latest Sportsbook podcast; you can listen on iTunes or scroll to the bottom of this post.]
Sports Betting USA Conference panel on Nov. 14, L-R: Daniel Roberts, Yahoo Finance; Dan Spillane, NBA; Michael McCann, UNH Law; Tom Russell, Genius Sports.
Pro leagues “need to be ready for a range of outcomes”
What matters most now, for the average American sports fans, is how the various pro leagues will react to the decision in the New Jersey case.
If New Jersey wins, experts generally expect a number of other states will rush to do the same: legalize sports betting in their state. If New Jersey wins, the attention will turn to getting PASPA repealed, on the thinking that SCOTUS hearing the case at all indicates that a repeal could happen.
Or it’s possible that New Jersey will lose and nothing in sports betting law will change.
All the pro leagues, Spillane says, “need to be ready for a range of outcomes… federal approaches, state-based approaches. |
demonstrated changes in rat kidney and liver function, suggesting toxic effects, which they speculated may be due to residues in the GM crops. The researchers also said that many other studies looking at the toxic effect of herbicides have only looked at the active ingredient – glyphosphate – when it is necessary to look at all the chemicals included in the total formulation.
Therefore, to try to address these gaps in knowledge, the researchers performed a detailed two-year rat-feeding study, looking at the effects of feeding rats GM maize, treated with or without Roundup, and also feeding other rats this herbicide diluted in water.
What did the research involve?
The researchers used a US maize crop that was genetically modified to be tolerant to Roundup. One field of this GM maize crop was treated with Roundup and one was not treated. They also used as a control its closest non-GM maize crop. The three corns were then harvested and dried rat feed was then made, with dry rat feed containing either:
11%, 22% or 33% GM maize, from the crop treated with Roundup
11%, 22% or 33% GM maize, from the crop not treated with Roundup
untreated, non-GM maize
An additional test substance they looked at was Roundup diluted in drinking water at three different dilutions, starting from 0.1 parts per billion in water. In addition to the treated water, the rats in these groups were fed the control untreated, non-GM maize.
The research involved a total of 200 rats: 20 rats in each test group with 10 of each sex. Two rats were housed in each cage.
In total there were nine active intervention groups and one control group consisting of only 20 rats (10 male and 10 female).
Each group was given the feed daily for two years. Blood, urine samples and weight were taken and the animals were examined twice a week. Their behaviour, eyesight and organs were also studied.
What were the basic results?
Males fed the control, untreated, non-GM feed survived on average for 624 days, while females survived on average for 701 days. In the control group, 30% of males (only three) and 20% of females (only two) died. This was compared with 50% of all males having any GM feed dying before the average lifespan, and 70% of females having GM feed. Therefore both males and females fed the GM diets died earlier, and mortality rates did not appear to be particularly affected by the concentration of GM maize in the diet. The researchers also noted that the first rats to die in the GM groups – both male and female – did so from tumours.
Female rats fed GM maize tended to develop large mammary tumours earlier than control animals, with tumours of the pituitary gland being the next most common. Males fed GM maize were more likely than control rats to have large, palpable tumours. They also observed that, compared with the control rats, kidney disease was more common in rats of both sexes fed GM, and liver disease was more common in males fed GM.
Females who drank the water containing Roundup were also observed to die earlier than controls, but there seemed to be less of an effect on male rats in this group.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers said that animal studies have previously observed that glyphosphate (the active chemical in herbicides) consumption in water above authorised limits can have an effect on kidney and liver function. They said that their results clearly demonstrate that lower levels of the complete herbicide formulation, at concentrations well below official safety limits, have an effect on kidney and liver function and the mammary glands. They said that the observations in their study may be an effect of both the herbicide Roundup and the genetically modified maize.
Conclusion
This study is reported to involve the highest number of rats regularly studied in a GM-diet study. The research also benefits from testing three different dietary concentrations of GM maize over a two-year period, along with GM maize treated with and without Roundup and Roundup alone diluted in water. All the rats in these groups were compared with rats fed only untreated, non-GM feed. The researchers also said that the Roundup concentration in water started at a dose below the range of levels permitted by regulatory authorities.
Animal research such as this is highly valuable for looking at the possible toxic effects. However, claims that GM food may have a similar toxic effect in humans cannot be justified using the results of this study, which was poorly conducted.
There are several significant limitations to the research, including the following:
Although the study did include a large number of rats overall, there were only 10 males and 10 females in each group. All comparisons were made with just one control group of 10 male rats and 10 females, and a larger group of control rats may not have given identical average lifespan and health data. Such a small control group makes it more likely that the results are due to chance.
Humans are biologically different from rats, and we may not have identical susceptibilities to disease and illness.
One expert argument was that the rats in this study were a breed already susceptible to tumours, especially if they are given unlimited access to food. This seems plausible as the rats are described to have been virgin albino Sprague-Dawley rats; however, their tumour susceptibility is not discussed in the paper.
The method of statistical analysis used to assess the results was described by the researchers as being a "robust method for modelling, analysing and interpreting complex chemical and biological data", but is complicated and fairly impenetrable, even to those with training in statistics.
The rats were fed a regular, concentrated diet of the test substance, and how this dose relates to any human intake is unclear.
This two-year period roughly equated to a rat’s lifetime. It is difficult to equate this directly to humans. Does it represent lifelong, daily consumption of GM foods treated with herbicides, and at what age adverse effects – if any – may be expected to be seen in humans?
The very unusual way in which the trial was conducted makes it hard to lend much weight to its conclusions. In any case, given the public hostility to GM foods in the UK, it is unlikely that supermarkets are going to start stocking GM foods on the shelf any time soon.
Research and debate into the safe levels of GM foods and herbicides in the diet is likely to continue.If you have a friend who has a baby boy on the way, do you know what you are going to give her at the baby shower? You want to give something that is meaningful and comes from the heart, but that will also come in handy for a mom. So, what is it going to be?
Well, if you are handy with a sewing machine, there are a few good options available for you. Personalized baby boy quilts are a wonderful DIY gift that you can take to your friend at her baby shower. You can do it in just a few easy steps, which are listed below:
1. Decide on fabric and a pattern.
Plenty of ideas can be found online.
2. Cut out the pattern.
This is one of the more delicate steps in the process. It has to be done precisely or the quilt won’t come out right.
3. Sew blocks together.
Create the pattern of your choice by sewing the blocks together. Do so with a ¼” seam allowance.
4. Put a border around the quilt.
This is an optional step, but if you don’t have enough blocks to make the quilt as big as you had planned, the border can help.
5. Choose batting.
High loft batting makes for a thicker and warmer quilt, but low loft batting is easier to put together.
6. Choose backing material.
Backing material has to be a few inches bigger than the quilt from every side.
7. Baste the three layers to one another.
Sew them together with a thread. Remove the thread afterward.
8. Sew everything together.
Use your sewing machine for this part.
9. Finish the edges of the quilt.
You may have to remove the basting here.
10. Personalize the quilt.
You can write the boy’s name (if the mother has decided on one yet) or a short inspirational message.
Now that you’re your friend’s resident expert of sewing personalized baby items, you already know what do when her son’s baptism is coming up – personalized baptism bibs!Those of you on the East Coast or who have access to the internet are likely aware that a severe cold snap has hit the region. It is affecting me personally, both because it is cold in my apartment and because my Twitter stream is now doubling as a real-time thermometer (with cursing).
What this means is that the opportunity is ripe for people who like to deny the existence of climate change to make stupid jokes. Some of these people will pull goofy stunts like building igloos, stunts which will land them a place in infamy among future generations. Other, lower-profile idiots will stop by your desk at work or email you or (God forbid) reach out on Facebook, saying something like “LOL what happenid to global warmeng??????” They will also mention Al Gore. Some will suggest you visit a thing called “Drudge Report”; do not do this.
As a general rule, it is not wise to engage with these people. They have already demonstrated that rationality is not a strong suit, so attempting to reason with them will only bring stress and pain to you both. But if you do want to engage with them — you have eight hours to kill; you are a masochist — we put together this handy, step-by-step guide for you to do so. Remember: speak slowly and, if necessary, draw pictures. The task before you makes Anne Sullivan’s look trivial.
Why abnormally cold weather doesn’t “disprove” global warming
1. It is winter. More specifically, it is January.
The person to whom you are speaking may have noticed over the course of his life that it always gets colder during the winter, at least for those of us unlucky enough to live far from the Equator. Average temperatures in New York City for January range in the low 30s. Right now it is colder than that, but warmer than the all-time low for the date: 2 degrees, set in 1976.
This happens, you should remind the person, because the Earth doesn’t rotate straight up and down. The Earth’s axis is tilted. So for part of the year as the Earth rotates around the Sun, the Southern Hemisphere is farther from the Sun than the Northern Hemisphere. When that happens, the Southern Hemisphere has shorter days and less sunshine, affecting the average temperature. Now, the opposite is true.
Now give them a little pat on the head by suggesting that if it were this cold in, say, July, they’d be right to find it suspicious. But thinking it’s weird that it’s very (but not exceptionally) cold in January is like being puzzled when water they put in the freezer turns to ice. Then ask them if they know how to make ice in a freezer. If they say no, just drop the whole thing.
2. There’s a weird weather pattern that’s making it colder than it would otherwise be.
Climate Central notes the unusual “stratospheric warming event” that is causing the current cold temperatures. Be warned: This will likely confuse and frighten the person with whom you’re speaking. Take it slow.
While the physics behind sudden stratospheric warming events are complicated, their implications are not: such events are often harbingers of colder weather in North America and Eurasia. The ongoing event favors colder and possibly stormier weather for as long as four to eight weeks after the event, meaning that after a mild start to the winter, the rest of this month and February could bring the coldest weather of the winter season to parts of the U.S., along with a heightened chance of snow.
That may be too much for your audience. You can also try saying this, instead: “A sky thing is happening that doesn’t usually happen! It’s making it cold now, but it will go away.”
The key word to use is “unusual.” It is unusually cold because there is an unusual weather event. Ask the person you’re speaking with if they know what “unusual” means.
3. For advanced listeners only: Researchers expected a colder winter — thanks to global warming.
This summer saw the most extensive Arctic ice melt in recorded history. As it concluded, we noted that scientists expected that ice loss to translate to colder weather events. And, sure enough, from the Climate Central article linked above:
Sudden stratospheric warming events take place in about half of all Northern Hemisphere winters, and they have been occurring with increasing frequency during the past decade, possibly related to the loss of Arctic sea ice due to global warming. Arctic sea ice declined to its smallest extent on record in September 2012.
The “warming event” disturbs a pattern known as the “polar vortex.”
Sudden stratospheric warming events occur when large atmospheric waves, known as Rossby waves, extend beyond the troposphere where most weather occurs, and into the stratosphere. This vertical transport of energy can set a complex process into motion that leads to the breakdown of the high altitude cold low pressure area that typically spins above the North Pole during the winter, which is known as the polar vortex. The polar vortex plays a major role in determining how much Arctic air spills southward toward the mid-latitudes. When there is a strong polar vortex, cold air tends to stay bottled up in the Arctic. However, when the vortex weakens or is disrupted, like a spinning top that suddenly starts wobbling, it can cause polar air masses to surge south, while the Arctic experiences milder-than-average temperatures.
Climate Central has a nifty animation of this happening. It may be easier to simply load that animation and point to it while nodding than trying to fight through the explanation above.
4. But most importantly: Weather is not climate.
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It’s hard for all of us, dim-witted coworkers and relatives aside, to differentiate between a hot or cold day and the concept that the climate is changing over time. One of the best, clearest explanations of the difference comes from this now-famous video:
This week, that dog is dipping down into lower temperatures. But the planet keeps marching higher and higher, bringing all of us along with it.
Another way to think of it is using James Hansen’s analogy of loaded dice. Every day, the weather is the result of a roll of the dice. You could get a one. But more and more often, as the dice become more lopsided, you’re going to roll a six.
By this point in your argument, it is unlikely that your audience is still listening. He or she (it’s a he, isn’t it?) has glazed over, or has stormed off while yelling something about a Rush something or other, or has been trying to punch you for five to 10 minutes. There’s a tiny, remote possibility of a fourth response: a sudden, gradual nodding of the head, a request for more detail on one of the points you’ve raised. If this has happened, congratulations. You’ve done the unimaginable: changed a knee-jerk global warming denier into someone who accepts science.
The bad news is that you’ve used up an entire lifetime of luck in changing one mind. You probably should have just bought a lottery ticket.
Inspired by this tweet from Marshall Shepherd, the president of the American Meteorological Society.
Update: This post originally included a line about the Earth’s distance from the Sun that was an intentional oversimplification, but a dumb one, as (lots of) people have pointed out. I removed it. Your comments about irony and hubris are welcome.
Another update: I have further clarified that it’s not distance from the sun itself that matters, but how the tilt affects the amount of daylight. Apologies again for the imprecision.WASHINGTON -- Russia's President Vladimir Putin says the allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election are "fiction" invented by the Democrats in order to explain their loss.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Putin reaffirmed his strong denial of Russian involvement in the hacking of Democratic emails. The interview was recorded during Putin's Monday trip to Paris and released Tuesday.
He said the claims of Russian meddling are driven by the "desire of those who lost the U.S. elections to improve their standing by accusing Russia of interfering."
Putin added that the "people who lost the vote hate to acknowledge that they indeed lost because the person who won was closer to the people and had a better understanding of what people wanted."
Trump made a similar claim in a tweet early Tuesday.
Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
But a report released in early January by the U.S. intelligence community said that its agencies had concluded that Putin ordered a campaign involving covert intelligence operations and overt propaganda to undermine faith in the U.S. election, disparage Hillary Clinton and help Mr. Trump's election chances.
After the president decided to fire James Comey as FBI director in early May, Putin told CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer that Comey's dismissal would have "no effect" on U.S.-Russia relations.
"There will be no effect," Putin said, with press aide Dmitry Peskov translating. "Your question looks very funny for me. Don't be angry with me. We have nothing to do with that."
"President Trump is acting in accordance with his competence, in accordance with his law and Constitution," Putin said. "What about us? Why we?Contact:
Jennifer Benito-Kowalski | Save the Redwoods League | D: (415) 820-5814 | jbenito@SaveTheRedwoods.org
Or Patsy Barich | Bon Mot PR | C: (415) 596-5860 | patsy@bonmotpr.com
SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE TO PROVIDE FREE DAY-USE ADMISSION FOR ANYONE WHO VISITS A PARTICIPATING CALIFORNIA REDWOOD STATE PARK ON THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING
— Conservation nonprofit and California State Parks invite everyone to start a new Black Friday tradition
Download the full press release
SAN FRANCISCO (November 18, 2015) — Save the Redwoods League, the only nonprofit organization in the world dedicated to protecting redwood forests throughout their natural ranges, today announced Free Friday in the Redwoods — free admission to 49 participating California redwood state parks on Black Friday, November 27, 2015.
On the day after Thanksgiving, Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks invite everyone to bring their friends and families to explore a beautiful redwood state park. The shopping — and the leftovers — can wait. Thanksgiving is about sharing time with friends and family, and appreciating our many shared blessings. Redwood parks are uniquely suited for both! So come to a redwood state park; free admission sponsored by Save the Redwoods League is the best bargain you’re going to find this Black Friday!
“Thanksgiving is a great American tradition,” said Sam Hodder, president and chief executive officer of Save the Redwoods League. “This year, Save the Redwoods League wants to make it even better. We are starting a new tradition for Black Friday. We invite everyone to experience the moments of joy, renewal and inspiration that you’ll find among our natural wonders, the ancient giant redwoods.”
“California State Parks and Save the Redwoods League have worked together for more than 80 years to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to protect its most valued natural resources,” said California State Parks Director, Lisa Mangat. “Free Friday in the Redwoods continues that tradition, inviting everyone to enjoy one of our greatest treasures, the redwood forest.”
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: All visitors wishing to enjoy Free Redwood Parks Day must go to SaveTheRedwoods.org/freefriday to download and print a paper Free Redwood State Parks Day-Use Pass, which must be presented to state park staff at the entry gate. If no state parks employee is on duty, the pass must be displayed on their vehicle’s dashboard. Free admission is good for day-use only. Day-use hours are typically 8 a.m. to sunset. Recreational activities at individual parks may vary. Examples include walking, hiking, biking and picnicking. Please check California Redwood State Park you wish to visit for hours and activities. Links to each park are at SaveTheRedwoods.org/freefriday.
EDITORS ALSO NOTE: Free trip guides and brochures also available on our website. To access B-roll or redwood state park images please visit our news resources page.
For more information, visit SaveTheRedwoods.org/freefriday or follow the hashtags #OptOutside #IntoTheRedwoods at facebook.com/SaveTheRedwoodsLeague and at twitter.com/savetheredwoods.
Participating California Redwoods State Parks and Partnering Cooperating Associations/ Friends Groups
Near the Bay Area Annadel SP
Bothe-Napa Valley SP
Jack London SHP
Mount Tamalpais SP
Samuel P. Taylor SP Partners
California State Parks Foundation
Jack London Park Partners Santa Cruz Big Basin Redwoods SP
Butano SP
Castle Rock SP
Henry Cowell Redwoods SP
Portola Redwoods SP
The Forest of Nisene Marks SP
Wilder Ranch SP Partners
Mountain Parks Foundation
Portola and Castle Rock Foundation
Sempervirens Fund Monterey Andrew Molera SP
Garrapata SP
Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP
Limekiln SP
Pfeiffer Big Sur SP North Coast Redwoods Admiral William Standley SRA
Benbow Lake SRA
Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP
Fort Humboldt SHP
Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP
Harry A. Merlo SRA
Humboldt Lagoons SP
Humboldt Redwoods SP
Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP
John B. Dewitt Redwoods SNR
Patrick’s Point SP
Prairie Creek Redwoods SP
Richardson Grove SP
Sinkyone Wilderness SP
Smithe Redwoods SNR
Standish-Hickey SRA Partners
Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association
Redwood Parks Association
National Park Service Sonoma-Mendocino Coast Armstrong Redwoods SNR
Austin Creek SRA
Fort Ross SHP
Hendy Woods SP
Jug Handle SNR
Kruse Rhododendron SNR
Mailliard Redwoods SNR
Mendocino Headlands SP
Mendocino Woodlands SP
Montgomery Woods SNR
Navarro River Redwoods SP
Russian Gulch SP
Salt Point SP
Sonoma Coast SP
Van Damme SP Partners
Fort Ross Conservancy
Hendy Woods Community
Mendocino Area Parks Association
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods Sierra Nevada Calaveras Big Trees SP Partners
Calaveras Big Trees Association
SP: State Park | SNR: State Natural Reserve | SRA: State Recreation Area | SHP: State Historic Park
About Save the Redwoods League
Walk through a redwood forest—home of the tallest, largest and some of the oldest living beings on Earth—and you can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of awe and peace among these magnificent giants. Since 1918, Save the Redwoods League has led the effort to protect coast redwoods and giant sequoias for all to experience and enjoy. To date, the League has protected nearly 200,000 acres of redwood forest and associated land from southern Oregon to the Big Sur coastline of central California. As part of that effort, the organization has created and expanded 63 redwood parks and preserves that inspire awestruck visitors from around the world. For more information, visit SaveTheRedwoods.org.
Tags: 2015, Black Friday, california state parks, free admission, Free Friday, Press Release, redwood parks, ThanksgivingWhat do you say to your half-Asian child who doesn’t want to be Asian? (Getty Images)
When Ian Rose’s son voices his disquiet about being half-Vietnamese, a parenting opportunity opens up.
Today, as I drop our son at school, a fellow stressed-out dad thrusts a party invite my way.
“Look at this,” I beseech the boy, waving it in his face as he stands in front of his locker trying to remember which of his school-bag contents go where.
“Your friend is having a birthday party. He’s turning six. AND it’s on a Sunday. You’ll miss Vietnamese school. Result!”
He reels around and jabs me in the ribs with a pencil case.
“Sssssh, dad,” he implores, “don’t say Vietnamese. I don’t want the other kids to know I’m Vietnamese.”
“What’s wrong with being Vietnamese?”
“Being Vietnamese is stupid.”
Now this isn’t good.
“What are you talking about? Being Vietnamese is tremendous. You know what’s cool? You’re twothings. Vietnamese and English.”
I lean in close for an ear-mutter. “Most of the kids round here are plain old Aussie.”
He looks unconvinced. There’s no time to discuss this further, as the class-teacher is opening the day’s proceedings, and I don’t want to get mistaken for one of those parents who hang around to help.
Back at home, I spend the morning mulling.
This isn’t the first time one of our Anglo-Asian Aussie children has expressed a troubling antipathy towards the Asian end of their identity. Just the other week my daughter, aged eight, clambered on to my lap as I was enjoying a rare moment on the sofa, held her wrist against mine and demanded to know why she couldn’t be as white as me.
Why are our children rejecting their own Asian-ness?
This isn’t the first time one of our Anglo-Asian Aussie children has expressed a troubling antipathy towards the Asian end of their identity.
Making sure we were in a diverse neighbourhood wasn’t really a factor when we chose a place to live and bring up our family. The hills on the edge of Melbourne were pretty and cheap, and once we’d established there was decent coffee and baked goods, we didn’t fuss over demographics. We knew hippies flourished, that much we were braced for, but hadn’t realised it was going to be quite this white.
The school’s great, but not what you’d call multicultural, by any stretch of the imagination, which is not ideal. Narrow ethnic scope notwithstanding, we love it round here, so moving’s not an option (hey, have you seen the cost of stamp duty?)
All the banging on I do about merry old England probably doesn’t help matters. My homesickness (nine years in and counting) has had me gushing on to the kids about the old place all their lives. BBC radio shows streamed, shelves filled with British books, British music and photographs of people back in Britain. Asia cops a low profile round here, and that must be my fault.
It’s time I started doing my bit. Start spelling out to my Eurasian offspring what’s so tremendous about being Vietnamese.
Maybe I shouldn’t be quite so quick to conspiratorially celebrate with the kids whenever they get to skip Vietnamese school, either. I feel guilty about their having to spend Sunday afternoons there (hey, my own childhood was free from such character-building obligation, go figure), but it’s important they go, and not just to keep their grandmother happy.
It’s time I started doing my bit. Start spelling out to my Eurasian offspring what’s so tremendous about being Vietnamese.
The origin myths for a start. A dragon and fairy get it on, have 100 sons, then decide to split, fairy mum taking half the kids to the highlands, dragon dad the other half to the coast, forming two kingdoms - it’s like a Game Of Thrones plot - what’s not to like?
And then there’s the history - all that resistance and valour. Those badass Trung sisters who raised an army to revolt against occupying Chinese forces back in AD40 - let’s not dwell on their throwing themselves into Hat Giang River when their campaign failed, but dig that ballsy, proto-feminist defiance.
And once I’ve told them these and more reasons why being Vietnamese is righteous, I’ll remind them that it’s not where a person is from, but what they do and how they treat others that counts.
Vietnam’s struggle towards nationhood was immense - their David not only seeing off China’s Goliath again and again (an army tried invading as recently as 1979, but were sent packing after only 17 days), but also the French, then the Americans. That Viet blood these kids have flowing in their veins is some full-bodied drop, right enough.
Don’t even get me started on the food. Vietnamese or English? Hardly a match-up. Plus the place is stunning.
And once I’ve told them these and more reasons why being Vietnamese is righteous, I’ll remind them that it’s not where a person is from, but what they do and how they treat others that counts.
A slam-dunk on the parenting court. Might treat myself to 10 minutes on the sofa, on the back of that.
Love the story? You can follow the author on Twitter.When I said this on Twitter today, it struck up a lot of support. It actually came out as a throwaway comment in Wednesday’s Astroengine Live when I was having a rant about the misconception that space exploration is a luxury and not a necessity. If I was debating this now, I’d probably be somewhere between “necessity” and “luxury”. On the one hand it would be nice to have a very wealthy space agency, carrying out unimaginable science throughout the Solar System, colonies on the Moon and Mars, mining asteroids and setting up an interplanetary transportation system. On the other hand, none of these things will be possible unless there is huge (global) public support and political will…
But then I thought back to Robert Zubrin’s words about financing a huge manned Mars mission (Apollo 2.0 style) to save the economy. After all, investment in private space contractors, education and training would be the mother of all stimulus plans. Rather than throwing $nth billions into failing banking systems, sick economies and damaged infrastructure, do something new with this cash, create a utopian Mars effort, get man onto the Martian regolith within 8 years. Hell, we can do that!
Yes, we can do that, I’d even go so far as saying that if the cheque was big enough, we could mount a manned expedition to Mars in five years. Now that would be impressive.
But this won’t happen. Although the world’s space agencies are doing their thing in space, each one has their own agenda. Surely it would be advantageous to team up? Perhaps the International Space Station could serve as a blueprint for the future of mankind in space? Each member nation provides their best pieces of kit and most gifted individuals, pushing man deeper into space than previously imaginable. This sentiment was shared by Jeff Foust when he spoke to Astroengine contributor Nina Lincoff yesterday.
“There are these capabilities that exist around the world and if we partner with them than we can do more of these complex missions and experiments on top of what we already want do. By developing with a space program that is sophisticated enough and with enough potential helps to elevate you as a country. If you cooperate with NASA, you enhance your own prestige.” — Jeff Foust
Although there are plenty of collaborations going on around the world, there is little motivation to push for an “International Space Ship” any time soon. This is primarily due to funding and international politics. Some things just don’t change.
So what could motivate the world’s nations to unite in a massive space exploration collaboration? Why should the first man on Mars be American or Russian or Chinese or European? Why can’t it be all of the above? This will probably only happen if the NewSpace era is more than just a fad; perhaps companies like SpaceX, Bigelow Aerospace, XCOR, Orbital Sciences, Boeing, Lockheed Martin will be the trailblazers of a huge emerging industry. Space commercialization is happening now, perhaps it will bring together nations under one flag, the flag of profit. Perhaps this can be done with huge collaborative efforts by international space agencies, governments investing in science and technology, companies being subsidised to provide launch capabilities, orbital solar energy plants, transportation systems and refuelling depots at the Lagrangian points–
[stop]
When I start talking like this, I have found that I draw huge criticism from an unlikely crowd of people. I receive emails and comments from space enthusiasts, not unlike myself, accusing me of being an “idiot”, “naive” or “British” (yep, somehow “British” was used as an insult because “you lot don’t have a space agency“, for some reason this gave me no right to comment on US efforts in space. Oh do calm down and get to the back of the queue). So this brings me to another point. Yes, there are many “dreamers” when it comes to space exploration, and I consider myself to be one of them. I don’t have all the answers to the current issues for NASA, ESA, Rocosmos or the British National Space Centre (take that Mr “You Don’t Have A Space Agency”! It may not be well known, but at least we’re doing something), but if we begin stifling people who have an enthusiasm for space exploration just because it doesn’t “fit” with popular opinion, the very people who might be space exploration visionaries will turn away from the thing they do best: communicate the excitement of scientific endeavour. Just because us “dreamers” may not be “right”, it doesn’t mean we’re wrong either.
I’m sure Elon Musk was accused of being a dreamer at some point when he said, ‘I know, I’m going to launch stuff into space and make it cheap!’
As for stimulating humanity to take that next leap of evolution into space, it needs to be a global effort and we need to see humanity spreading to other worlds as a necessity and not a luxury. I can guarantee that if the single biggest threat to mankind (apart from ourselves) is spotted through a telescope in the future, we’ll really wish we had a thriving space travel infrastructure so we can deal with the ever present threat of an asteroid impact. Therefore, who needs to stimulate the economy when you need to save a civilization? The truth is, there are far greater things at stake than the credit crunch, we need to be prepared to participate in this Solar System of ours to ensure the survival of our species.Jeffree Star has four Pomeranians named Diva, Diamond, Daddy, and Delicious. One dog is a handful. Four is chaos. While he was getting his makeup done for this photo shoot in May, Star gave his publicist some advice: "Unless you have a Nathan, don't get a dog."
That's Nathan Schwandt, 24, Star's live-in boyfriend, who was a pet-shop employee in Michigan when he slid into Star's Instagram DMs in 2015. Until earlier this year, Schwandt worked at Star's warehouse but has since transitioned into taking care of the dogs and managing his own social-media stardom.
Star, 31, is too busy to deal with the drudgery of keeping pets. He is the CEO of his three-year-old makeup brand, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, and runs a popular YouTube channel, where he posts beauty product reviews and makeup tutorials. "He needs his beauty sleep," Schwandt told me.
So the dogs have the run of Star's multimillion-dollar villa in Calabasas. When I visited, I watched Daddy drag someone's briefs from the laundry room into the foyer. They were perpetually interrupting my interview with Star. "Go! You're all in my grill," he said, throwing a dog toy. He implored Schwandt to settle them. "I need them to go. I can't think."
Jeffree Star wants to change his public perception as his three-year-old makeup brand grows. Kimberly Genevieve
Star took drags of weed from a pipe shaped like an ice-cream cone as he reflected on his controversial public image. (He doesn't drink or smoke cigarettes but gets baked all the time: "I love marijuana,” he said. “I just love the feeling of it.") In the last two years, Star has made headlines for his social-media spats with Too Faced Cosmetics, Makeup by Shayla, a customer who found hair in her highlighter, Kylie Jenner, and, famously, Kat Von D. (To recap, "Kat put out her video that basically said she created my brand for me, or my life, I guess, I don't really remember the whole gist of it?")
Star admitted in May that his image needed an adjustment: "I can't just say everything that I feel because, at the end of the day, I am a product." Star is now focused on growing up — both for the sake of his personal brand and the 100-plus people he employs. "I would rather just be successful and have money than be famous," he said, surrounded by an entourage that included his publicist, his friend and makeup artist Nicole Faulkner, Schwandt, and the beauty YouTuber Manny MUA. "I know that's crazy coming from me, of all people, but I think it's just old age. Not old age — it's just wisdom and life experiences."
But controversy is what many of his fans and the media are drawn to. Star's unfiltered comments are unusual in the internet beauty world, where influencers fear upsetting brands (the ones handing out lucrative sponsored content deals and invitations to high-end, all-expenses-paid influencer trips). "Me being nice or positive is not what people want to hear, which sucks," Star said. "It's sad that great moments aren't really appreciated but the drama is in focus."
There's also the issue of several clips that surfaced online last year of Star, at 19, making racist comments. He apologized on Twitter and, in June, posted a YouTube video denouncing racism. But he has struggled to distance himself from the clips and critics seem unwilling to absolve him of those sins.
Star has had to address issues of racism time and time again. Kimberly Genevieve
The issue surfaced again in August, when Star took Kim Kardashian West to task for swatching her contour powder poorly. Her fans slammed Star. She told them to let it go and was attacked for defending someone with a documented history of racism. She apologized the following day. "The whole internet turned into a bloodbath," Star described in a video. He added, "You can't tell me I'm racist, bitch, because I'm not."
Star has been at the internet name-calling game since eighth grade, when he was known as Jeffrey Steininger and was living with his grandparents in Huntington Beach, California. He |
design contract always depends on your current situation—and what kind of project you’re creating. If anything is unclear or you have specific questions, you shouldn’t hesitate to consult a specialized lawyer.
Work for Hire
Another kind of contract for designers is “Work for Hire Contracts.” They’re used if a designer is hired by a creative company. Then all the rights are transferred from the artist to the client. Everything designers create after they’re hired by a company becomes the client’s property.
Work for Hire Agreement Distilled – Docracy
Work for Hire Agreement – Docracy
The following standard form is pretty long, and it can which seem quite overwhelming at first. But this document contains all the terms and conditions a designer can make use of. After all, the terms are combinable as a function of your current job situation—and the employer you’re working for.
Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services – AIGA
Here’s a detailed guide to the world of contracts. Although the title is more focused on web designers, the samples that the author is presenting in this article can be used for any kind of designer. Also, the tips mentioned in the guide are obligatory, so they’re important to be aware of.
Design Contracts for Freelance Web Designers – Webdesign LawTwenty years ago, governments adopted the Montreal protocol, a treaty to protect the Earth's ozone layer from emissions of destructive chemicals. Few could have foreseen how far-reaching that decision would prove to be.
The protocol explicitly aimed at phasing out substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – found in products such as refrigerators, foams and hairsprays – in order to repair the thin, gassy shield that filters out the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. By 2010, close to 100 ozone-depleting substances, including CFCs, will have been phased out globally.
Without the decisions taken 20 years ago, atmospheric levels of ozone-depleting substances would have increased tenfold by 2050. This could have led to up to 20m additional cases of skin cancer and 130m more cases of eye cataracts, not to speak of damage to human immune systems, wildlife and agriculture.
But this is only part of the story that we celebrate on the international day for the preservation of the ozone layer (16 September). Over the past two years, it has been established that the Montreal protocol has also spared humanity a significant level of climate change, because the gases it prohibits also contribute to global warming.
Indeed, a study in 2007 calculated the climate mitigation benefits of the ozone treaty as totalling the equivalent of 135bn tonnes of C02 since 1990, or a delay in global warming of seven-12 years.
So the lessons learned from the Montreal protocol may have wider significance. Scientists now estimate that somewhere close to 50% of climate change is being caused by gases and pollutants other than C02, including nitrogen compounds, low-level ozone formed by pollution, and black carbon. Of course, a degree of scientific uncertainty remains about some of these pollutants' precise contribution to warming. But they certainly play a significant role.
Meanwhile, many of these gases need to be curbed because of their wider environmental impact on public health, agriculture and the planet's ecosystems, including forests.
Consider black carbon. A component of the soot emissions from diesel engines and the inefficient burning of biomass cooking stoves, it is linked to 1.6m-1.8 million premature deaths annually as a result of indoor exposure and 800,000 from outdoor exposure. Black carbon, which absorbs heat from the sun, also accounts for anywhere from 10% to 45% of the contribution to global warming, and is linked to accelerated losses of glaciers in Asia, because the soot deposits darken ice and make it more vulnerable to melting.
One study estimates 26% of black carbon emissions come from stoves for heating and cooking, with more than 40% of this amount from wood burning, roughly 20% from coal, 19% from crop residues and 10% from dung.
Some companies have developed stoves that use passive air flows, better insulation and 60% less wood to reduce black carbon emissions by around 70%. Mass introduction of such stoves could deliver multiple green-economy benefits.
While CO2 can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, other pollutants, including black carbon and ozone, remain for relatively short periods – days, weeks, months or years – so that reducing or ending emissions promises almost immediate climate benefits.
The international community's overarching concern must be to seal a serious and significant deal at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December to curtail CO2 emissions and assist vulnerable countries to adapt. If the world also is to deploy all available means to combat climate change, emissions of all the substances that contribute to it must be scientifically evaluated and urgently addressed.
• Achim Steiner is UN under-secretary general and executive director of the UN Environment Program.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 200942 games into the season the Tigers sit at 25-17 and second place in the AL Central, compared to 27-15 at the same point last season. Below is a peak into the key stats of the Tigers hitters thus far.
Note: Rankings included are among players at the same position with at least 80 AB and 100 innings.
Designated Hitter and Catchers
Victor Martinez never fully recovered from his injury this offseason, culminating with his recent move to the DL. While playing this season, he was able to generate very little power offensively, recording just 52 wRC+.
never fully recovered from his injury this offseason, culminating with his recent move to the DL. While playing this season, he was able to generate very little power offensively, recording just 52 wRC+. Fortunately, James McCann has stepped up in Avila’s absence, currently sitting at 109 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR. The young catcher has shown great maturity and has helped the team continue seamlessly as he took over the starting role.
has stepped up in Avila’s absence, currently sitting at 109 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR. The young catcher has shown great maturity and has helped the team continue seamlessly as he took over the starting role. Alex Avila was having a rough go with the bat, only hitting.200, but getting on base at a decent clip (.342). His defensive has been solid though, so his departure to the DL is a loss for the Tigers.
was having a rough go with the bat, only hitting.200, but getting on base at a decent clip (.342). His defensive has been solid though, so his departure to the DL is a loss for the Tigers. Bryan Holaday will only get occasional playing time, but he should not be a huge liability either at the plate or catching. He was reliable as a backup last year and will jump right back into that role.
Infielders
As expected, Miguel Cabrera has been dominant offensively. He currently has 181 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR, both of which are second among all first basemen. His 10 home runs lead the Tigers, and he has shown no signs of letting up.
has been dominant offensively. He currently has 181 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR, both of which are second among all first basemen. His 10 home runs lead the Tigers, and he has shown no signs of letting up. Ian Kinsler continues to make the front office look wise for bringing him into Detroit. He is noticeably homeless, but still ranks second among second basemen in UZR and third in fWAR.
continues to make the front office look wise for bringing him into Detroit. He is noticeably homeless, but still ranks second among second basemen in UZR and third in fWAR. Maybe the biggest surprise this season has been Jose Iglesias. His glove has been outstanding as always, but his 127 wRC+ has been a very positive addition to the Tigers offense.
. His glove has been outstanding as always, but his 127 wRC+ has been a very positive addition to the Tigers offense. Nick Castellanos has definitely struggled in the early going, hitting just.240. He is still very young and has room to grow, so there is not an immediate need for panic. His defense has been particularly sharp compared to all of his issues last season.
has definitely struggled in the early going, hitting just.240. He is still very young and has room to grow, so there is not an immediate need for panic. His defense has been particularly sharp compared to all of his issues last season. Andrew Romine and Hernan Perez have not seen extensive playing time, but Romine has been the better of the two offensively. Sadly, Perez has not provided much value to the Tigers this year, but he will remain on the roster for the time being.
Outfielders
Yoenis Cespedes has shown off his power this season with his 15 doubles and 5 home runs. He has been an important cog in the middle of the lineup, and has also contributed four outfield assists.
has shown off his power this season with his 15 doubles and 5 home runs. He has been an important cog in the middle of the lineup, and has also contributed four outfield assists. The Tigers centerfield duo has been very effective at the top of the lineup. Both Anthony Gose and Rajai Davis have scored 18 runs and knocked in 8, while stealing a combined 17 bases. Both also rank in the top half defensively at the position.
and have scored 18 runs and knocked in 8, while stealing a combined 17 bases. Both also rank in the top half defensively at the position. JD Martinez has had an up and down season which involved a 0/25 slump. Ultimately, the results are positive though, as he has hit 5 HR and 18 RBI and has 119 wRC+ so far this year.
has had an up and down season which involved a 0/25 slump. Ultimately, the results are positive though, as he has hit 5 HR and 18 RBI and has 119 wRC+ so far this year. Tyler Collins will see time in the outfield and at designated hitter, taking Victor Martinez’s spot on the roster. Collins will have a great chance to display his potential and jockey for a spot on the Tigers for the future.
AdvertisementsTwo separate incidents of sectarian violence in villages in the governorate of Minya on Thursday claimed several lives.
One of the incidents took place in the village of Badraman where reports surfaced of a relationship between a Muslim girl and a Coptic boy. Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the families of the girl and the boy held reconciliatory talks but the talks fell through after “Muslims burnt down the house of the boy’s father and an adjacent house.”
Ibrahim said tensions escalated when a Muslim man was killed in “unknown circumstances,” possibly in a security chase.
State-run Al-Ahram reported that in addition to one dead person, six were injured in the violence. It added that two people were arrested.
The other incident broke out between residents of the predominantly Coptic village of Nazlet Ebeid and the predominantly Muslim village of El-Hawarta. A statement by the Diocese of Minya and Abu Qurqas said a Coptic landowner whose land is close to El-Hawarta village was being prevented from building a house on his land.
The Coptic landowner had filed a complaint with the police regarding the issue but tensions escalated when he and others who were with him were shot at while building a fence around his land. Clashes which started on Wednesday continued until Thursday. People from both villages gathered as a result and the ensuing violence left four dead, according to Bishop Makarios of Minya who spoke to private channel ONTV. He added that around 55 people were injured.
Ishak said the situation between the two villages is now under control.
The Ministry of Interior media centre said it would release a statement on the incidents but has yet to do so.
Ibrahim said that both incidents have to do with the “absence of implementing the law” and that the “perpetrators are not punished.” He also said the violence is a result of collective punishment leading to the involvement of people who have nothing to do with the original argument.
Sectarian tensions had earlier flared in another Minya village, Delga. Of the five churches in the village, three were attacked after the 3 July ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi. Two people had reportedly died.We’re in the midst of something of a national renaissance of worker cooperatives. They’re being established in droves since the Great Recession, and cities are increasingly catching on to their potential as a way to combat poverty and inequality. New York City, Madison, Wisconsin, and Austin, Texas, have all made moves to provide technical assistance or monetary incentives for nascent cooperatives.
Yet, until recently, Oakland — the de facto U.S. capital of worker co-ops — had not stepped up to bat. The Bay Area has the highest concentration of such organizations in the country, and a slew of nonprofits devoted to them are headquartered in Oakland. But on September 8th, the City Council made good with a ceremonious resolution “supporting the development of worker cooperatives in Oakland.”
Among other items, the move recognized that these sorts of businesses — estimated to number between 300 and 400 nationally — offer wages and benefits above industry averages. The resolution, too, was a tacit acknowledgement from Council that the city will look for ways to support co-ops down the road, especially given Oakland’s unenviable reputation for extreme income inequality. (Brookings ranked Oakland as having the seventh-most unequal income distribution out of the nation’s 50 largest metros in 2014, although that improved slightly this year.)
What that municipal support might look like is to be determined. But in a draft ordinance authored by the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC), one of the organizing forces behind the referendum, the wish list for worker co-ops includes: getting the city to offer low-interest loans for converting traditional businesses into worker co-ops; preferential status to co-ops in the city contract procurement process; and waiving taxes and permit fees in the initial year of existence.
As a matter of practicality, SELC attorney Sara Stephens says that the easiest route to actualizing worker co-op incentives might be adding on these provisions to existing legislation for minority-owned businesses — rather than writing an entirely new section of business ordinances.
“I anticipate that these policies and ordinances will not be enacted all at once,” says Stephens. But getting the referendum passed was crucial, Stephens insists, if only to have a starting point on the books now. “This was kind of a first step for the city to show support and build momentum.”
That momentum can now also be found at the state level. Last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Worker Cooperative Act, which cleared barriers to incorporation and relaxed rules on raising equity. It also changed the state legislature to explicitly acknowledge worker co-ops as distinct from other types, like consumer co-ops. State Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who introduced the bill, noted the potential for worker co-ops to combat urban poverty and inequality: “Worker-owned businesses are central to a full economic recovery and to closing the income inequality gap.”
Worker co-ops are typically small businesses, but with an ownership structure that includes workers who can democratically make decisions about the company (each owner holding one equal vote) and share in the profits. According to a “State of the Sector” report by the Oakland-based Democracy at Work Institute, more than 60 percent of people working at new cooperatives in 2012 and 2013 were people of color.
“These are people who are building businesses more as an entry into a mainstream economy than an alienation from the mainstream economy,” says Amy Johnson, co-executive director of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, which is also based in Oakland.
Adrionna Fike is one of them. She’s one of four worker-owners at Mandela Foods Cooperative in West Oakland, a grocery store with just seven employees in total. Everyone there is a first-time business owner, Fike says, and they’re each realizing a rare opportunity to acquire a degree of empowerment in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
“Lots of people are losing their housing, losing their rental opportunities in places where they grew up and their parents grew up,” says Fike. “This is kind of the only way I see us — especially people of color — being able to have some kind of ownership stake in the community.”
That being said, the difficult calculus of any small business is apparent at Mandela, which has been hit with minimum wage increases, unemployment insurance hikes and nasty utility bills of late. It recently had to let a few employees go. The City of Oakland’s support could be critical in sustaining worker co-ops — whether that’s with grant money or tax breaks or business consulting advice. “We don’t have the rich uncle or the traditional lending streams to give us $75,000,” says Fike.Dragan Bender probably has the best shot of pulling a draft upset and being selected ahead of either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram.
Bender has a recent small sample size with Maccabi Tel Aviv, but he's younger than most freshman and has been playing against players more than a decade older than him.
"Dragan is more advanced at his age than Kristaps Porzingis was when he was 18," a longtime NBA scout said. "Dragan has great length, and he can block shots. He can run the floor, and his ability to finish at the rim is exceptional. His shot is getting better all the time. On defense, he has the ability to guard the 4 or the 5. He needs to gain weight and strength, but his potential is jaw-dropping."
"Top players from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina play basketball to express beauty," said Maurizio Balducci, Bender's Italy-based agent, who is also watching the practice. "This is how [the late] Drazen Petrovic played and Toni Kukoc played. Dragan is very much from this culture. And dunking in a layup line when you are 7'1" is not an expression of beauty."Many years later, a Schenectady and New York State Police team picked the Nauman cold case to look into. They spotted another murder with number of parallels at around that same time. That of a woman named Phyllis Harvey, who went missing around the same time Nauman’s body was discovered. Harvey’s body was found in 1996 at the Schenectady apartment of a man named Stanislaw Maciag. Police ultimately found his DNA closely matched DNA found under Nauman’s fingernails and in a nearby sneaker. Police say his teeth also matched the bite marks on her body.
Police say it was Maciag who murdered Nauman, after their detailed investigation involving hunches, evidence and determination.
"The story of how we were able to do this is the story of both the commitment of the New York State Police and the Schenectady Police to cold case investigations, advancements in forensic science in the hands of skilled analysts," explained Carney.
Maciag hung himself in prison back in 1997, while he was being held there as the Harvey case and another attack on another female progressed against him.
Closing the case is certainly gratifying for police, who said they never gave up. That includes a detective who is now deceased, who said this case haunted him for many years and he was always planning on buying Nauman a headstone when her killer was caught.Here's the Mane 6 (and Spike) as they appear prior to the events of Junior Gala. Twilight has yet to evolve into an Alicorn, as it's the defeat of Nightmare Moon/restoration of Princess Luna that earns young Twilie her wings and super strength. Indeed, the whole Element-bearer squad have a lot of growing up to do: Pinkie, Rainbow and Flutters are all in their very early 20s, whilst AJ and Rarity are still in high school (Twilight is somewhere in the middle). And yet, let's none of us discount the skills...boisterous bruiser Pinkie has pulverized rocks bigger than you, martial arteeste Rarity will kick evil's butt and look divine doing it, AJ's got good old Apple ingenuity (and plenty of pertinent questions to axe), Twilight and her l33t magic were hand-picked by the pinnacle of the species for this job, Dash is a serious athlete who did that sound-barrier thing, and Flutts....well... "Why oh WHY did you guys bring me along??" "'Cuz you're kind, playa!" "Yeah, I'm KINDa gonna DIE!" "How do you think I feel? Token dude? Token reptile? Put me down, Jerklight, I wanna LIVE!"mlp:fim = Hasbro/FaustI'm a hell, hellraiser! Bringin' hurt to your door. I'm a hell, hellraiser! Friendship and magic are gonna come... www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5VbMA… PS: Why aren't they wearing the Elements? Well, technically they are. The Elements are intangible and they choose their own bearers. Makes it harder for them to get lost or stolen, right?Other PS: Dashie and Flutters are interested but not a couple yet; they make it official after the Nightmare Moon caper (spoilers: Flutts survives). AJ and Rares take even longer...jeez, WAY longer...Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and the city's urban renewal agency want to revitalize gritty Old Town Chinatown by offering subsidies to build hundreds of new apartments that could rent for as much as $1,563 a month.
Waiving development fees would incentivize market-rate housing construction in a neighborhood left behind by Portland’s apartment boom, city officials argue, luring residents with disposable incomes to patronize new businesses and discourage street-corner drug dealing.
Big-name developers such as Gerding Edlen and the Goodman family, which owns several parking lots in the area, are already eying projects and throwing support behind the incentives.
But some city leaders and housing advocates question the wisdom of offering subsidies of $7 million to $20 million over five years to build so-called "workforce housing," particularly when the city's own statistics indicate that Portland has a surplus of such housing and a deficit of options for the city's poorest residents.
The future of Old Town Chinatown
Monday:
In an effort to lure new residents with disposable incomes to the neighborhood, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and the city's development agency are pitching subsidies on apartment projects.
Tuesday:
A 19th Century saloon that was once the most famous watering hole in the Pacific Northwest could soon get new life as part of the vision for downtown’s oldest and grittiest neighborhood.
Wednesday:
Long-time owners of Asian businesses worry that the city's plans for what was once the heart of Portland’s Chinese community doesn't include them.
Thursday:
Join City Hall reporters Brad Schmidt and Andrew Theen for a live chat at noon.
The development incentives are shaping up to be the most politically challenging and controversial part of a comprehensive new plan being crafted by Hales and the Portland Development Commission to jumpstart Old Town Chinatown after decades of stagnation.
Despite numerous city efforts over the years, Old Town Chinatown hasn’t blossomed like the Pearl District, downtown’s West End or several close-in eastside locales. Portland’s oldest neighborhood is perhaps best known for its homeless shelters, nightclubs, soup kitchens and thousands of people living in poverty.
As part of the five-year Old Town Chinatown plan, officials are looking to earmark about $58 million from urban renewal funds to pay for unspecified redevelopment efforts. To address safety, the city is considering new licenses for nightclubs and beefing up foot patrols by police officers.
If the effort works, Old Town Chinatown will be a safer, more vibrant neighborhood that draws Portlanders of all incomes, said Ed McNamara, a policy director for Hales. For that to happen, developers need to see that the city is serious – and Hales believes the subsidies will show that.
“Part of that commitment to a five-year plan … is to give a clearer signal to people that, yeah, this is a safe place to invest. It’s going to change,” McNamara said. “The city’s not just going to pull out after a year.”
$1,563 a month
Portland already waives system development charges – assessed on new construction to help offset the costs of expanding public services – for rental projects serving people who earn up to 60 percent of the regional median income, or $29,160 a year for an individual.
What's median family income?
Median family income, or MFI, is a regional measurement used to determine who can afford to rent or own certain properties. For instance, 30 percent of the Portland MFI for an individual is $14,600 while 100 percent is $48,580. For a family of four, 30 percent MFI is $20,800 and 100 percent MFI is $69,400.
As part of the plan to remake Old Town Chinatown, Hales and the PDC made this recommendation late last year: extend the same breaks for "workforce housing" targeting middle-income earners whose individual incomes are twice as high, $58,320.
Under such a scenario, the city of Portland would subsidize construction for one-bedroom apartments that run $1,563 a month, including utilities.
That’s well above the going rate for one-bedroom apartments in downtown and Northwest Portland, which rent for about $1,115, according to the most recent rental survey by industry group Multifamily NW.
City officials are now backing off their recommendations, included in documents shared within City Hall and obtained through the state's public records law.
McNamara said the recommended income range was simply meant to start the discussion.
“The mayor’s office hasn’t gotten to that level of detail on what is exactly the right rent before a subsidy goes away,” he said.
Documents also show that officials recommended offering $20 million in fee waivers over five years.
The figure is now $7 million, which would cover fee waivers for about 500 apartments, McNamara said.
“I really don’t know how PDC came up with $20 million, and when I saw $20 million, I said, ‘We don’t need that much,’” said McNamara, who developed affordable housing before joining Hales’ staff in 2013.
PDC said the $20 million figure was a preliminary recommendation, based on an outside consulting analysis by Johnson Economics. The agency also said the recommendation was made “in partnership” with Hales’ office.
“Nobody’s really, at this point, even talking about what’s the right number,” McNamara said. “It’s what do we think of the concept?”
Where's the need?
It’s no surprise that Old Town Chinatown is at the center of Portland’s debate over whether to subsidize housing for middle-income earners.
Portland's housing needs
0-30% MFI:
28,975 renter households, 10,255 units,
18,720 deficit
31-50% MFI:
19,930 renter households, 21,460 units,
1,560 surplus
51-80% MFI:
23,240 renter households, 58,035 units,
34,795 surplus
SOURCE: Northwest Pilot Project's review of Portland Housing Bureau tabulations of 2006-10 CHAS data
The neighborhood is primed for redevelopment, tucked between downtown and the thriving Pearl District.
Yet developers have shown little interest, even as new apartment projects seemingly break ground every week on the central eastside and the Lloyd District. That’s because developers don’t believe people are willing to pay the rents needed to justify construction costs.
The city's outside analysis, by Johnson Economics, concluded that a variety of development scenarios were not financially viable.
The obstacles in Old Town Chinatown are numerous.
For starters, it's difficult to assemble large pieces of land, said Gerry Mildner, director of Portland State University's Center for Real Estate. Height restrictions limit buildings to 75 or 100 feet in some places, up to 425 feet elsewhere. Masonry buildings need seismic upgrades.
“This could be a very effective program for getting units built in this neighborhood,” Mildner said of the proposal to waive development fees. “This neighborhood has languished.”
But affordable housing advocates say the city should be focusing its attention on serving people with the greatest needs, not offering incentives to build in a neighborhood that may still capitalize on the Pearl District’s recent success.
“I think they’re spending their time on the wrong priority,” said Susan Emmons, executive director of Northwest Pilot Project, which serves elderly low-income Portlanders.
City officials are hard-pressed to document the need. Housing Bureau Director Traci Manning acknowledged that city statistics show a "glaring deficit" of about 19,000 units to meet the needs of Portland's poorest residents.
But she questioned whether a surplus exists for other income ranges, as the data shows, noting that the statistics are out of date and don’t capture the city’s white-hot rental market.
New Housing Bureau maps indicate that rents west of the Willamette River are too expensive for anyone earning 80 percent or less of the median, or $38,500 a year.
“I’d love to have better data, and I can’t point to anything more comprehensive than that,” she said.
In Old Town Chinatown, Portland’s Goodman family wants to develop seven properties among the dozens of parking lots it owns downtown.
Who lives in Old Town Chinatown?
Old Town Chinatown is already home to nearly 4,000 people living in 2,000 units. But two-thirds of those households have an estimated annual income below $25,000, according to the Portland Development Commission.
“There’s no demand in this neighborhood,” said Greg Goodman, co-president of Downtown Development Group. “So the SDCs (system development charges) are a big deal.”
Gerding Edlen also is interested in the neighborhood. The development company is negotiating to buy city-owned property at Northwest Naito Parkway and Davis Street for a 100-unit mixed-use apartment project, which is expected to include a limited number of rent-restricted units and qualify for a tax-abatement program.
“The neighborhood has challenges,” said Jill Sherman, a company vice president, “but also significant opportunity.”
Since 2008, the University of Oregon and Mercy Corps opened offices near the Burnside Bridge, light rail began running along Fifth and Sixth avenues, and the city dubbed a few nightclub-lined blocks in Old Town Chinatown as an “entertainment district.”
Adding more market-rate housing is the next step in unleashing the district’s potential, said Howard Weiner, who moved his skateboard business to the neighborhood 30 years ago and now chairs the community association.
“When you have folks that live in the neighborhood,” he said, “they’ll take ownership.”
Divided City Council
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales is considering options to incentivize redevelopment in Old Town Chinatown.
For now, Hales doesn’t appear to have the votes in City Hall to extend the subsidies to workforce housing.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz said representatives from Old Town Chinatown recently began asking for her support, even though she'd yet to receive information from Hales' office or the development commission.
While Fritz recognizes a desire for mixed-income apartments, she said couldn’t justify a subsidy “until we’ve got housing for people who are living outside.”
Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversaw the Housing Bureau from 2008 until early 2013, also questioned the need to subsidize workforce housing.
“If you have a limited pool of money, and you have a documented need at the low end, I think you have a heavy burden of proof to show that you should use those resources on something that the market might be able to address,” Fish said.
Fish and Fritz also said they’re not interested in using development fees collected by the bureaus they oversee – water, sewer and parks – to subsidize new development.
Commissioner Steve Novick is the swing vote.
Novick, who manages the Portland Bureau of Transportation, said in an email that he has been briefed on the issue but is “not yet well informed enough to have much of an opinion.”
The lone voice of support comes from Commissioner Dan Saltzman, in charge of the Housing Bureau since last year.
Saltzman said he supports fee waivers for projects serving people with incomes up to 80 percent of the median, if not 100 percent. Anything higher is not politically attainable, he said.
“I’m just not going to be pigeonholed into feeling guilty if I’m talking about addressing the needs of Portlanders whose incomes are not the very, very lowest,” he said.
Lack of support within City Hall helps explain why the plan for Old Town Chinatown did not come to the City Council in December, as development officials suggested would happen last fall.
Three months behind schedule, McNamara and PDC officials now say they don’t know when a proposal will move forward.
But McNamara remains hopeful he can find a sweet spot for incentives – one that works for developers, the City Council and Old Town Chinatown.
“That’s the idea,” he said. “By having some incentive now, everybody’s a little better off later on.”
-- Brad SchmidtSpin and LimeBike have both announced new ways for people without smart phones, data plans or a credit/debit card to access their bike share services.
People will soon be able to buy pre-paid Spin Access cards at Bike Works in Columbia City that include an access code and a phone number to text to unlock a bike. So you still need a phone, but any phone that can send text messages should work.
And to make the Spin program even better, anyone with an ORCA Lift transit card can get the passes for half price. That means 50-cent rides for people who have already qualified for the low-income transit pass. Just show your ORCA Lift card at the register.
This announcement comes about a week after LimeBike started accepting cash payments at its Fremont headquarters. In the LimeBike program, users can call a phone number to unlock a bike after loading cash into their accounts in person. And though LimeBike did not mention a discount for ORCA Life users, the company said rides for students only cost 50 cents.
Seriously, what even costs 50 cents anymore? A gum ball? You could take three discount Spin trips for the cost of a single discount transit fare. If your work is within a half hour ride, a week of round trip commutes would cost $5 (if it is within an hour ride, your week’s commute bill would be $10) (CORRECTED MATH). That’s a week of biking for a fraction of the cost of a single Uber or Lyft ride. And since the average cost to own, operate, insure and maintain a car in the U.S. is $8,500 per year, that’s equivalent to nearly 17,000 discount Spin rides. If you averaged three rides per day, it would take nearly 16 years to reach the cost of a single year of car ownership. The difference is so vast that the math gets a little silly.
In a city where everything just keeps getting more expensive, these companies are offering new services that slash transportation costs. Transportation is one of the biggest costs of living, so that’s a pretty big deal.
Of course, we still need a lot more bikes on the ground before the sevices will be reliable enough that people who live outside the city’s central neighborhoods can depend on them. The more bikes there are, the more likely it will be that a bike is within a short walk of you at any time.
More bikes are on the way every day, and the cap is set to double to 2,000 bikes per company September 7. The cap will be lifted October 7, kicking off the next phase of this bike share experiment.
It’s really great to see these companies competing to better serve people with lower incomes. When your product is so affordable, you don’t need to compete only for the wealthy residents like so many other businesses in town. The bike access card scheme Spin announced really sounds like it could scale well, and I know LimeBike’s call-a-bike program is just the beginning for them. Imagine if you could buy pre-paid bike share cards at any corner store or out of snack vending machines.
Spin and LimeBike have been operating in Seattle for just a month, and already they are innovating and competing in exciting ways. They are providing a huge public service, and the city should start thinking about how it can better leverage their services to improve affordable mobility. The most obvious way to do this is to accelerate building the Basic Bike Network downtown, which would be a boon to safety for all users, including bike share riders.
The city should also up its bike parking game, especially on-street bike parking corrals that free up sidewalk space. So far, clogged sidewalks have not been a huge issue (aside from a few cases, of course), which is great. But adding more bikes will likely lead to more cases of bikes getting in the way, so expanding dedicated bike parking space is a good way to get ahead of that possible issue and provide more bike access for all bike users at the same time. Perhaps the city could also extend existing bike corrals to include more space for the free-standing bikes, which may also help keep the bike racks open for people who need to lock up.
The city, King County and Sound Transit should also come up with ways to better accommodate and encourage bike share at major transit hubs. For example, how can the agencies and these bike share companies partner to make sure transit users can depend on bikes being available for making the final leg of their trips? People should be able to hop on express transit routes knowing they can transfer to a bike when they get to, say, King Street Station or Columbia City Station or the West Seattle Junction or Campus Parkway. If the transfer to bike is reliable, that helps encourage transit use because users can hop on an express route even if their final destination is not served well by connecting transit lines. Bike share is the perfect solution to the last-mile problem, and everyone should be thinking about how to better work together.“Unfortunately, many of the media headlines have sensationalized this story and given some an entirely misleading impression of what is going on,” Pai said. “Indeed, based on the [sic] some of the coverage, one would think that we had ended Lifeline broadband subsidies altogether.”
After a weekend flurry of headlines and criticism from activist groups alleging he’s advancing corporate interests at the expense of consumers, Pai punched back on Monday in a strongly worded blog post.
On Friday, the FCC said it would reverse an order put forth during the Obama administration to allow nine internet service providers (ISPs) to participate in the Lifeline program. Only one of the companies, however, has already rolled out the program. Established in 1985, Lifeline is a $2 billion subsidy that allows low-income families to shave $9.25 off their phone and broadband internet bills every month; last year the FCC expanded the program’s terms to include ISPs that provide only broadband internet (in addition to ISPs that also provide phone or bundled phone-internet plans).
Thanks to a series of moves set to weaken net |
and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time. Albert Pike Letter to Giuseppe Mazzini, 1871
Secret Societies & Organizations Like a spider's web, the NWO is broken into many layers. As you work your way in, each outer layer is controlled by a more secret inner layer. As you work your way closer and closer to the core the organizations become more and more powerful and more and more secretive. At the very inner core the identity is shrouded in mystery... " At the center, there is always a tiny group in complete control, with one man as the undisputed leader. Next is a circle of secondary leadership that, for the most part, is unaware of an inner core. They are led to believe that they are the inner-most ring. In time, as these conspiracies are built from the center out, they form additional rings of organization. Those in the outer echelons usually are idealists with an honest desire to improve the world. They never suspect an inner control for other purposes, and only those few who demonstrate a ruthless capacity for higher leadership are ever allowed to see it. G. Edward Griffin The Creature From Jekyll Island All
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Quaternary
Vatican
Royalty
Semi-Secret Societies
Banking
Corporations
Government
Religion Great White Brotherhood
Brotherhood of the Snake
Atonists
Sun Order
Priory of Sion
Jesuits
Black Nobility
Unknown Superiors
Council of 13
Strict Observance
Grand Druid Council
Rosicrucians
Bavarian Illuminati
Propaganda Due
Opus Dei Nine Sisters Lodge
Grand Lodge Alpina
Order of the Garter
Knights of St. John
Knights of Columbus
Knights of Malta
Knights Templar
York Rite Freemasonry
Scottish Rite Freemasonry
Shriner Freemasonry
Mafia
Ordo Templi Orientis
Knights of the Golden Circle
Vril Society
Thule Society
MJ-12
Pilgrim Society
JASON Society
Skull & Bones
Round Table
Fabian Society
Committee of 300
Bilderberg Group
Club of Rome
Royal Institute of International Affairs
Council on Foreign Relations
Trilateral Commission
Bohemian Club
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan Chase
Citigroup
HSBC
BP
Shell
Exxon Mobile Bank for International Settlements
IMF
World Bank
Federal Reserve
Bank of England
MI6
CIA
Mossad
NSA
FBI
KGB
Tavistock Institute
United Nations
NATO
NASA
World Court
IRS News Corp.
Time Warner
CNN
NBC
Fox
BBC
CBS
ABC
Johnson & Johnson
Pfizer
GE
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Mormons
Jehovah's Witnesses * This chart is provided as an estimation. The true hierarchy is not fully known. " Our government and America in general is definitely and it could be proven in a court of law definitely in the hands of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders that trace back to the Middle Ages Knighthoods... Jordan Maxwell Matrix of Power
Proof As more and more research is done the plan for the New World Order usually makes more sense. Like a puzzle becoming more clear with each piece, each piece to the NWO leads to a more full understanding of just what is going on -- and many pieces there are... History The history of the world is basically the history of the New World Order. As we learn more about history and connect the dots between seemingly unrelated events and entities it starts to become more clear how these events were really related and who was really orchestrating the events. Most of the history we learn in school is surface level history that never ties together the true motives and the true meaning behind events. " The falsification of history has done more to mislead humans than any single thing known to mankind. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Government Docs Many government documents mention many secret plans and events that are surprising to look at. As time goes on many government documents become declassified or known other ways. Many people are unaware that these documents even exist. For centuries the NWO has been using governments to carry out pieces of their conspiracy for a NWO and these conspiracies are well documented. " The desired resultant from the execution of this plan would would be to place the United States in the apparent position of suffering defensible grievances. A series of well-coordinated incidents will be planned to take place to give genuine appearance of being done by hostile Cuban forces. Incidents to establish a credible attack:
1. Start rumors (many). Use clandestine radio.
2. Land friendly Cubans in uniform "over-the-fence" to stage attack on the base.
3. Capture Cuban (friendly) sabateurs inside the base.
4. Start riots near the entrance to the base (friendly Cubans).
5. Blow up ammunition inside the base; start fires.
6. Burn aircraft on airbase (sabatage).
7. Lob morter shells from outsidethe base to inside the base. Some damage to installation.
8. Capture assault teams.
9. Capture militia group which storms the base.
10. Sabotage ship in harbor; large fires -- napthalene [napalm].
11. Sink ship near harbor entrance. Conduct funerals for mock-victims. Operation Northwoods Declassified US Government Document, 1962 Internal Writings There are many internal writings by high level NWO people and they share many of their plans and findings throughout history. Even the players of the New World Order want their history documented and many of them encode their writing through the use of words, metaphors and symbols. Symbols Symbols are used by the NWO to communicate with other people in the know and to conceal their message from those who are not in the know. They figure if you understand the symbols then you have done your homework and you deserve to know. But if you don't understand the symbols then it's your own fault for not knowing. " The lion was and is one of the two most important symbols for Atonists. It ranks second to the sun. Michael Tsarion The Irish Origins of Civilization, Volume 1 Whistleblowers There are many ex-government and even secret society members who will sometimes talk about their experiences being part of the New World Order. These ex-members have a plethora of insider information which is valuable for putting together the pieces of the New World Order. " Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded....it's getting to the point where you don't have to have done anything wrong, you simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody, even by a wrong call, and then they can use this system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made, every friend you've ever discussed something with, and attack you on that basis, to sort of derive suspicion from an innocent life. Edward Snowden Follow The Money The people who control the money usually hold a lot of power. Look at who the wealthiest families are and how they became wealthy. Look at who controls money and the creation of it. These are the people who hold the cards. You won't find them on the Forbes top 100 lists. " Give me control of a nation's money supply and I care not who makes the laws. Mayer Amschel Rothschild
How to Stop The New World Order The NWO has slowly been growing stronger and stronger throughout history. Much of our everyday lives are orchestrated and under the control of the NWO. But with all this control they have there is still hope and there are still solutions. After all, the NWO only has power for as long as the people remain asleep. The NWO can only exist so long as there is an ignorant, needy host to supply them with power. As soon as the people awaken to their true power, wisdom and purpose the NWO will be no more and freedom will be heard around the world. Spiritual Battle
Sometimes we need to step back and understand that the NWO is all just a part of our spiritual journey and that it only has power over us if we allow it to. We are all on our own individual journeys and no matter what happens in this physical life, we can always learn from it and grow from it. This whole life is full of decisions and sometimes it is not about winning, but about making the correct decisions. This one life is just a small blip in the grand scheme of things. We have all of eternity to experience what life has to offer and this is just a small experience to bring with us as we evolve throughout eternity. There are many lessons to be learned through this and there is much opportunity for growth. Change Yourself
We may not be able to control others, but we can control ourselves. It's not about forcing our will on others, like the NWO does to us, but rather changing ourselves and inviting others to our ways by example. If you really want to wake people up change yourself first and show them a better way through your personal life. It's not about living in fear and developing hate towards the NWO. There is already enough fear and hate in the world. We need to reach deep within ourselves and find that peace that is lurking within and develop outward from there. The NWO is simply a way for us to change ourselves and for us to evolve to the state where others no longer have power over us. We need to take personal responsibility for our situation and we need to take control of our own lives. That is what this is all about. The NWO can only exist so long as we give our power to them by believing in the illusion they have created before us. As soon as we stop believing in the game they have created, we can go on living independent without their constraints and we can create life under our own vision and ideals. Face Reality
We need to recognize that there is indeed a NWO set to take away our freedom and render our energy to them. There really are people who want to put their interests above ours, that is simply human nature. These people would much rather keep us enslaved than work on freeing us. They would much rather keep people in a state of ignorance and confusion so that they can continue their control. We may not think like this, but they do. We need to recognize this and stand up to it. We can't escape the NWO by doing what we've always done. What we've always done has allowed the NWO to grow. To stop the NWO we need to recognize it, we need to face reality and we need to work creatively and together to find a way out. Minimize Government
The main tool used by the NWO is government. Government is the only tool they have where they are able to force us to do things. This is a very important point to realize. Through government the NWO is able to physically force us to do things. If we don't pay taxes they will force us into prison. If we don't go to war they will force us to go to war. The NWO exercises power through the government, therefore, if we limit the power of government to do anything then we limit the power of the NWO to do anything. The NWO is a virus working through government and we need to quarantine the virus by quarantining government. Take Action
Solutions often times require action. There is a time and a place for sitting around and discussing ideas. That is what most people do. But there is also a time for taking action. And very few people take action. Action requires work which is not always easy. Most people would rather just sit around and watch basketball and American Idol on TV than actually find a way to develop their freedom. We've all heard the saying that freedom isn't free. Like exercise, freedom requires consistent work and effort. We can't be free without taking any action. So if we really want to stop the NWO then we need to take action and put our words into tangible solutions. The NWO is all about taking action which is why they are able to continue to expand. Most people are not about taking action which is why they continue to have less and less freedom. Spread The Message
More people are aware of the NWO than you might think. They may not call it the NWO and they may have a different take on it, but almost everyone around knows that something is going on. Most people have a feeling that things are getting worse, especially in America, but they sometimes have trouble quantifying exactly what it is. This is where taking with others and spreading the message has value. Talk with other people and share what you have discovered with them. Remember, everybody learns differently and everybody is at different levels of understanding. Frame the context of your message in a way that fits within the other person's current level of understanding. You don't want to force calculus on somebody that just learned how to add and subtract. And most importantly, listen to what other people have to say, show them respect, and be prepared to change your views. Nobody has 100% of anything figured out and everyone has a unique perspective and piece of the puzzle to offer. Each and every one of us has more power than we could ever imagine. Even the darkest, most hateful, most selfish people have an inner beauty that is waiting to shine through. Believe in yourselves, love one another and never stop searching for the truth. When we shake off our ignorance we will reach a peace, wisdom and beauty like none other. " When confronted with a problem involving the use of the reasoning faculties, individuals of strong intellect keep their poise, and seek to reach a solution by obtaining facts bearing upon the question. Those of immature mentality, on the other hand, when similarly confronted, are overwhelmed. While the former may be qualified to solve the riddle of their own destiny, the latter must be led like a flock of sheep and taught in simple language. They depend almost entirely upon the ministrations of the shepherd. Manly P. Hall The Secret Teachings of All Ages " I say its time to stand up on our hind legs and grow a spinal column, let em know that we're not gonna bow down to them, we're gonna fight em! If we're gonna die its gonna be on our legs, not on our knees... Alex Jones
Share With Your Friends Thanks for reading. This presentation took a lot of work and it would be appreciated if you shared it with your friends :) Like This Tweet Link To ThisTictail, a Swedish e-commerce platform that manages over 24,000 stores spread across 110 different countries, launched their API on September 16, 2013. Because Tictail’s main focus is simplicity of use, they decided to offer developers the same tools they use internally to build this new platform. According to Carl Waldekranz, Tictail CEO, they “want developers to have that same opportunity as [the company] continues to grow internationally.”
Their developer platform includes the API but also their open application store, which is where all the action is for companies that want to make money selling apps. The whole project took them 3 months to carry out and everything is being managed without any external tools. Siavash Ghorbani, Tictail CTO, explains that “helping app developers quickly understand and seamlessly be able to conform to [their] design patterns” was fundamental to launch the right API. They’ve chosen proven standards starting with the authentication protocol which is OAuth 2.0. One of the features that made them choose it was the implicit grant flow because it allows any browser application to bypass the authorization code step, improving the app efficiency and responsiveness.
Most companies understand the importance of user experience consumer services by now, but somehow a lot of them don’t understand or simply ignore it when it comes to developers who consume their API. — Siavash Ghorbani, Tictail CTO
Launching an API with a special attention to User Experience offers many advantages, like having “developers recommend it instead of beating their head on the keyboard”, according to Ghorbani. In the end, for Tictail “the user experience of working with [their] API is just as important as it is in the product.” Tictail will continue to improve their API, which is now in Beta. Their main goal now was to launch it so they could gather feedback from developers and measure how applications developed on the new platform will be used by their growing community. Overall, Tictail’s move is an interesting one at this point in time when most companies are trying to attract more developers by launching open APIs. They were able to do it the right way from the start without consuming that many resources.
Please join in the discussion on this article over on Hacker News and reddit.Austerity is driving us to suicide, depression and causing soaring rates of drug use and HIV
Austerity reduced access to medicines and health care in Europe and U.S
10,000 suicides and a million depression cases can be blamed on austerity
In Greece, HIV rates increased 200% since 2011 because of budget cuts
Greece had first malaria outbreak for decades due mosquito spraying cuts
Five million Americans lost access to health care during recession
In Britain, 10,000 families are now homeless because of austerity budget
Austerity is driving suicide, depression, and the spread of infectious disease
Austerity is devastating the health of people in Europe and North America by driving suicide, depression, and the spread of infectious disease, according to new research.
It is also reducing access to medicines and care which is further affecting people’s health, the study suggests.
The authors, Oxford University political economist Dr David Stuckler and Dr Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and an epidemiologist at Stanford University, said their findings show austerity is seriously bad for health.
In a book to be published this week, the researchers say that more than 10,000 suicides and up to a million cases of depression have been diagnosed during what they call the ‘Great Recession’ and its accompanying austerity across Europe and North America.
They also claim that in Greece, moves like cutting HIV prevention budgets have coincided with rates of the AIDS-causing virus rising by more than 200 per cent since 2011.
They suggest that the 50 per cent youth employment rate has also increased drug abuse which has further increased the spread of HIV.
The study also revealed that Greece experienced its first malaria outbreak in decades following budget cuts to mosquito-spraying programmes.
The researchers added that more than five million Americans have lost access to health care during the latest recession, while in Britain, some 10,000 families have been pushed into homelessness by the government's austerity budget.
‘Our politicians need to take into account the serious - and in some cases profound - health consequences of economic choices,’ Dr Stuckler told Reuters.
‘The harms we have found include HIV and malaria outbreaks, shortages of essential medicines, lost healthcare access, and an avoidable epidemic of alcohol abuse, depression and suicide,’ he said.
‘Austerity is having a devastating effect.’
The researchers claim that the youth employment rate has also increased drug abuse which has further increased the spread of HIV
Previous studies by Dr Stuckler have also linked rising suicide rates in some parts of Europe to biting austerity measures, and found HIV epidemics to be spreading amid cutbacks in services for vulnerable people.
But Dr Stuckler and Dr Basu said negative public health effects are not inevitable, even during the worst economic disasters.
Using data from the Great Depression of the 1930s, to post-communist Russia, and from some examples of the current economic downturn, they say financial crises can be prevented from becoming epidemics - if governments respond effectively.
As an example, they say Sweden's active labour market programmes helped the numbers of suicides to fall there during its recession while neighbouring countries with no such programmes saw large increases in suicides.
‘Ultimately what we show is that worsening health is not an inevitable consequence of economic recessions. It's a political choice,’ Dr Basu said.
This is not the first study to suggest that austerity can affect people’s health.
Researchers at the University of Alcala in Madrid found that it actually improved the health of many people in Cuba during the early 1990s.
They discovered that food and fuel shortages in the country caused the average citizen to lose 11lb and that death rates from heart disease and diabetes had fallen considerably.Germany's Festo is no stranger to robots that mimic animal biology, but its new elephant trunk-inspired robot arm is more concerned with the fragility of human physiology than the strength of the elephant. The arm – known as the Bionic Handling Assistant – is certainly strong and flexible like the appendage it's modeled after, but it's also safe for humans to work with, employing a battery of resistance sensors that make human-machine interaction less of a safety hazard.
Safety fears have been a major obstacle keeping the personal robotics revolution from fully blooming, as it can be dangerous for humans to work alongside large, strong robots that could potentially injure them. After all, robots don't know pain and have trouble assessing dangerous situations in which their actions might harm a human being. In industrial settings, this often keeps robots cordoned off in their own spaces where they can't accidentally hurt someone.
So Festo set out to create an arm that is both strong and dexterous as well as safe for humans working alongside it. Using 3-D printing technology, the engineers (and their partners at the Fraunhofer Institute) created lightweight and soft trunk segments that are powered by pneumatic artificial muscles that drive some serious force underneath. The trunk segments are littered with resistance sensors that help it to be aware of contact with people and objects around it. A three-fingered gripper at the end is also designed to need little force to grasp a range of objects.
The result is a multifunctional gripper 'bot that could be applied to a range of industrial applications, as an extra set of hands on the lab bench, or even as an assistant in the operating room. And since it can interact with other Bionic Handling Assistants to pass objects back and forth, multiple robo-trunks could be deployed in arrays that assist both humans and each other. No word from Festo on whether it will work for peanuts.
New ScientistMeet the Stars!
The First International Dark–Sky City Shares its Star-filled Skies with the World
When the great earth, abandoning day, rolls up the deeps of the heavens and the universe, a new door opens for the human spirit, and there are few so clownish that some awareness of the mystery of being does not touch them as they gaze. For a moment of night we have a glimpse of ourselves and of our world islanded in its stream of stars – pilgrims of mortality, voyaging between horizons across eternal seas of space and time.
– Henry Beston, The Outermost House
Flagstaff hosts the annual Flagstaff Star Party – Meet the Stars! to bring dark sky experiences to Flagstaff residents and visitors from across the Southwest and around the world. The Flagstaff Star Party’s goal is to share Flagstaff’s world–renowned dark skies with those who may not have the opportunity to view starry night skies because of urban sky glow, yet who have a curiosity and desire to see the beauty of a starry sky for themselves, and wish to experience with their families the wonder such views can inspire.
The Star Party features naked-eye and hosted telescopic observing, with popular-level astronomy talks and guided tours of Flagstaff’s wonderful sunsets and night skies, all held at Buffalo Park (map). Up to 30 telescopes hosted by amateur and professional astronomers from the Flagstaff area will be available for visitors to view the many wonders of the night sky – to capture genuine ancient starlight with their own eyes!
The event is hosted by the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, the Coconino Astronomical Society, the Northern Arizona University Physics and Astronomy Department, Flagstaff Unified School District, U.S.G.S. Astrogeology Science Center, Lowell Observatory, and the U.S. Naval Observatory.JTA — Bob Mankoff has been the cartoon editor at The New Yorker for 20 years. But he’s been a Jew for 72.
The celebrated cartoonist, who is stepping down from his prestigious perch in May, has therefore had a long time to formulate his thoughts on Judaism and Jewish humor.
For example, he once wrote an essay about how Jews have become the “People of the Joke,” as opposed to the “People of the Book.”
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“The Jews of the Bible aren’t funny,” he told JTA. “[Judaism] is a decent first draft of how to behave. It’s a really good try for 4,000 years ago.”
Mankoff mined his Jewish experience for many of the 900-plus cartoons he has published in the magazine, such as one with this caption: “I’m not arguing, I’m Jewish.” (His most famous cartoon might be one with a man on the phone saying, “How about never — is never good for you?”)
Born to parents who understood Yiddish (his mom spoke it fluently; his dad, not quite) on New York’s Lower East Side in 1944, Mankoff grew up in Queens in an age of Jewish assimilation into white American culture.
“Assimilation has a tension to it, to maintain who you are, but to change,” he said. “That’s a great mix for comedy because humor always has a double perspective — on what appearances are and what reality actually is.”
Mankoff, who has written a memoir and been the subject of an HBO documentary, doesn’t plan on slowing down after leaving The New Yorker next month.
He will teach a class at Fordham, continue to lead the Cartoon Bank, which licenses New Yorker cartoons, and work on a new project called Botnik Studios — it aims to inspire better jokes through computer algorithms.
We asked Mankoff to pick his favorite Jewish-themed cartoons from over the years, and he was happy to oblige. (The first one below is a Mankoff original).
For more New Yorker cartoons, follow @newyorkercartoons on Facebook and Instagram and visit www.newyorker.com/cartoons.Everything about MakeToys MCB-03 Pandinus from their Citybot line is huge. The 6 kg shipping box is huge, the price tag is huge, the figure itself splayed out and requiring some assembly in the plastic tray is huge, and the ambition behind it is huge. Now consider the current near-saturation of product in the 3rd party marketplace, the volume of official product coming our way which is collector-aimed, the imminent Titans Return, and the shift towards Masterpiece-style toys from all angles. One could even argue that MakeToys releasing such a big and expensive figure quite removed from Generation 1 aesthetic contains risk that is huge. None of that, however, stops Pandinus, the MakeToys interpretation of the original evil transforming Headmaster scorpion/robot/base from being phenomenal. The word I would use to describe Pandinus, and every single one of my interactions with him, is ‘event’. It is an event to be around this figure.
There is no glossy product packaging with MCB-03 Pandinus, he is slotted directly into the brown shipping box using the clear plastic tray. One needs to attach the tail section first by way of a screw (included). Six kilograms of box and figure, but there’s still no room to attach the tail in transit! That ought to give you your first clue about the scale of this behemoth. As you can see, the tail is so large I can wield it as a sword! He also comes with two sets of instructions, one that takes you from unboxing to temple mode, then scorpion mode, and the second one deals with transformation from scorpion to robot mode. You get the Headmaster, signature shield and gun, but the smaller toy/character that came with the vintage figure is not present.
As the instructions demonstrate conversion to temple mode first, that’s what we will start by looking at. Just handling Pandinus is an exercise in strength and dexterity. The weight and size of the figure, along with the many protrusions, mean that undertaking even the simplest manipulation of a limb or section requires some thought and effort. An event. None of the transformations are complex or frustrating, just made tricky by the considerable mass of the figure. The ratchets are deafening and send shockwaves up your arms, but goodness me they are satisfying. Pandinus is heavy, no question, picking him up one-handed is something you’ll remember but despite that there are a few hollow sections here and there. This is of course necessary in some areas and just the way of things in others. Not once did I ever experience what I would call cheapness or sub-standard build quality on him.
There is not an awful lot of tabbing involved at all and things generally go exactly where they should, instructions are sufficient to get you where you are going, down to the number of clicks one should expect from the main ratchet joints. The scorpion leg section can get a bit floppy when detached, and you may end up with the odd UPI (Unidentified Pandinus Injury) on your fingers. When the whole thing is folded out flat with everything extended, ready for transformation to temple mode, you will find the sheer spread of Pandinus staggering. It rivals G1 Fort Max in size when in that state.
Temple mode is gorgeous, I love it. The scorpion legs coming together to form the archway entrance to the ‘cave’ is a beautiful touch. It lends the whole thing just the right level of eeriness and mystique when you think of it as a ruined temple filled with concealed horrors. The tail section sticking straight up is another positive artistic interpretation that marks Pandinus out as a unique and fresh take on the character. Of course, the ancient vibe is offset by the gigantic pistons, rocket bays, missile pods and sizeable orange cannon, but it succeeds tremendously well at being a spooky, massive, shrine to mechanical evil. The extending stairs at the front of the entrance, and the similarly extending path into the mouth of the temple allow for cool display options, and I have wasted absolutely no time getting MakeToys Ironwill and Cupola (specifically their Headmasters) out for dioramic shenanigans. A truly imposing mode, and once more, quite the event.
Transforming the mighty Pandinus to scorpion mode presents different challenges. There’s a great deal of twisting forearms, claws, ratcheting out hidden shoulder extensions and being careful with the moving flap on his shoulder. The tail must also be straightened out at the base and tabbed into the robot legs. I admit to staring at the instructions, checking the orientation and position of every single moving part during this process. Tabbing what will become the big robot feet onto the scorpion’s back requires one to ignore the tabbing location in the instructions, and pay attention to MakeToys’ online correction. One thing that concerns me is that if the work is being carried out on a hard surface, the pointy bits on Pandinus will inevitably scratch the surface, and certain small tabs and things that jut out can become scuffed, such is the weight of it. The weight of the robot legs descending on the scorpion’s back, ready for tabbing, gave me cause to worry as I did not want to inadvertently crush or disfigure a tab or peg or raised surface. This was a concern for me because the monstrous ratchets ensure every movement of a limb is sudden and vigorous.
When in scorpion mode, the giant shield halves stay connected and peg in underneath, which allows those big plastic wheels to facilitate rolling. Sadly, each scorpion leg is moulded as one piece that is connected to the torso with a ball joint. So they are very posable in that respect, but the main joint halfway along each scorpion leg is not a point of articulation. This may sound disappointing on a figure of this size and expense, but it really would not serve a purpose beyond some novelty. The legs are not activated by rolling Pandinus as they are on the vintage figure. The sheer size and weight of the thing means those legs would never be able to support Pandinus’s weight. Also, there is so much going on visually, that I wonder if they draw as much attention on Pandinus as they do on the G1 figure. Furthermore, I find it hard enough to line up the legs uniformly and symmetrically when trying to store them in other modes due to the ball joint, so I dread to think what it would be like with further joints to align. I must admit though, it’s a problem I would have come to terms with, as I would have liked to see those scorpion legs articulated further.
The scorpion claws are articulated, and although the two larger sections of each claw are on a ball joint, their movement on that ball is somewhat limited. The claw tips are also articulated so there’s a good range of movement. It was at this point I realised that Pandinus (not just mine, but seemingly all) has been assembled with two right sided forearms. Duplicate parts on MakeToys city bots are not new, apparently Utopia has this as well. It’s not a big deal at all unless you are obsessive about symmetry, and you just have to adjust the orientation of forearm parts during rotation, as well as the clipping on of the missile pods via the t-shaped sliders. It can be easy to become flummoxed by which part you have rotated and ratcheted out in order to make the scorpion claw arrangement appear as it does in the instructions, but overall it is a simple interface with only so many permutations.
The ratchets are strong enough to support upward facing claws, gripping and a suitable amount of posing. You can see Pandinus in scorpion mode grappling convincingly with fellow citybot Utopia, and knowing how big Ironwill is in vehicle mode, you get some idea of the scale of this utterly massive beast in this mode too. Just nuts. You may also have noticed that the cannon can be mounted onto the tail thanks to the rotating gun grip. The gun can have its central cartridge element removed, and the whole thing then slides up to become a little smaller.
Let’s talk about that enormous and cheeky sting in the tail. The very impressively articulated and segmented tail. It’s purple, it’s a masked robotic face, and it looks suspiciously like…well, you know what it looks like and I love that it’s there. It is a fantastic addition, in my opinion, and one of this figure’s instantly classic features. Sure, Pandinus is hugely stylised and an aesthetic departure from the Generation 1 Headmaster base with added artistic interpretations here and there (giant green and orange missile pods, honking great grey pistons, faction face tail, temple mode), but as a scorpion he looks faithful enough albeit slightly more busy than the original inspiration. As with Utopia, there are little flaps and openings that can house smaller figures like the other MakeToys Headmaster Nebulans.
As you would expect, Pandinus comes with his own Headmaster which has been heavily based on the original leader of The Hive on Nebulos. This time out, the Headmaster is a triplechanger! There’s the robot mode (with articulated elbows and head), inner head mode and mini scorpion mode. Attached like a keychain, there’s a translucent red tail made up of segments ringed together. In virtually every other Pandinus mode, that red scorpion mini tail can get in the way and as a mini scorpion it’s not exactly a posable part of the design. I do like it, I liked it immediately, but I know others will remove it at first opportunity and I can’t say I blame them. The entire novelty and artistic liberty taken with this design is something I bought into with Pandinus immediately, but I respect that from a distance it’s turned off potential buyers instantly. Anyway, that Headmaster, he plugs into the large scorpion canopy but he is not 100% concealed, the Nebulan’s lower legs are visible and exposed. It’s a nice touch to have him plug into the cockpit here, as it increases security of the whole thing. Have to make sure the red mini-scorpion tail doesn’t get in the way and is threaded out somewhere it cannot cause a jam.
And finally, there’s robot mode. You might be expecting a goliath that can stand eye to eye with Generations Metroplex and G1 Fortress Maximus, and you couldn’t be blamed judging by the phenomenal size of the scorpion mode and temple mode. Robot mode, however, ends up as the smallest of the three modes! Pandinus is about as tall as Utopia. This is because the waist section requires collapsing and the tail folds up. Completely predictable then that this would be its most compact configuration, but make no mistake, it’s still a show-stopper, a gasp-inducer, a sun-blocker. An event.
I haven’t mentioned them so far, but the colours on Pandinus are beautiful. See him standing next to the original incarnation of this character and even with the departures, there’s a lot of similarity there. It’s just been exaggerated in some instances. The translucent orange sections with sculpted details are not overdone and compliment the green/beetroot purple/grey mass excellently. The vibrant light blue detailing that used to exist on the original’s stickers is so nicely implemented. He is a monster, no question, and those scorpion claws in robot mode that are his trademark do lead one to believe it’s a beast standing up. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of robot detailing and proportion there to suggest a less feral/beastly demeanour than I first imagined.
Getting Pandinus into robot mode does require rotation of the waist, compacting of the shoulders and the usual twisty-twist of the forearm sections, clipping the scorpion legs onto the back and folding up the scorpion tail so that it tabs into the lower back. This can be a hard one to execute, but some persistence will reward you with a secure connection. A really interesting part of the transformation involves unpegging the huge pistons on the feet, extending them from the ball-jointed base and then clipping them into T-shaped connectors positioned either side of the knees. They should now operate properly as pistons, just one more new stylised addition to the character that I wholeheartedly approve of. Getting this beast to stand up means you need to separate the legs at an angle *CLUNK* and then engage the gargantuan ankle tilts (haha “tilt”, more like angling of tectonic plates). Cue even louder and nerve-wracking *CLUNKSQUEAK*. They go both ways, those ankles, so believe it or not this leviathan can actually do The Run!
Those ankles really are hard to move and it’s the only part of the figure that I have felt concerns about pushing, but I have repeatedly interacted with them for dynamic posing, and they’ve been fine. There’s a more intricate transformation of the Headmaster required than was immediately apparent to me, and that’s nice. Once the orientation is correct, the helmet is folded down and the Headmaster plugs into the neck. The helmet |
But they can be used in an emergency situation — like a search and rescue, or the pursuit of a fleeing suspect.
A couple of other details: the pictures taken by the license plate system aren’t usually good enough to show who’s driving; and the system is only about 80 percent accurate. That’s because sometimes there’s mud on a number plate or a trailer hitch in the way.Lucky's Tale does middle-of-the-road perfectly, never veering too far from the familiar, delivering exactly what we've come to expect from mascot platforming games over the past 20 years. The bright-eyed star, Lucky, bears the hallmarks of a cartoon icon. The enemies and obstacles he crosses recall genre classics like Super Mario 64 and Spyro the Dragon: cute, colorful, and brimming with charm. The familiar elements in Lucky's Tale aren't a reason to write it off, but they don't do the game any favors either, making it feel more like a trip down memory lane than an exciting journey into unknown territory. Lucky's Tale comes bundled with every Oculus Rift, and it's a good first step into VR, but that doesn't automatically make it a noteworthy game.
Your mission in Lucky's Tale is as basic as they come: rescue your kidnapped friend--a living piggy bank--from the clutches of a greedy villain. The path to your nemesis' den is 14 levels long, and each stage is a series of platforms and pitfalls to overcome while avoiding or attacking wandering enemies, either by jumping on their heads or hitting them with your tail. You occasionally go underground via molehills to navigate brief, 2D obstacle courses to progress further into a stage, or, for optional chances to raise your score by collecting coins and gems. There are also a couple of boss fights thrown in, but they--apart from the final boss--are too ordinary to appreciate. The same could be said for the majority of Lucky's two-hour tale.
At least Rift freshens up the familiar gameplay to a degree. As a VR game, it doesn't go the distance to wow you with the technology's potential, but the little things it adds to the third-person experience help keep you engaged. Lean in close to Lucky and he'll greet you with a smile and a wave. When he runs through tight spaces, it feels as though space is shrinking around you, too. VR grants you a sense of intimacy with Lucky, and presence in his world, but the camera can be a hindrance if you miss a jump or an item and want to backtrack; its scripted movement isn't well-suited for retreading old ground, unfortunately, failing to reorient itself properly or quickly enough to support your explorative whims.
Indeed, being in VR makes the game's levels feel slightly more interesting than they would otherwise, but it's not enough to distract you from their faults: they're rarely challenging and conclude far too fast. There are some obstacles which call for precise timing and jumping, but it's rare that you come across something that forces you to stop and consider your approach for more than a second or two. It's to the game's credit that it controls so well, that you can feel confident about leaping to and fro, but it's disappointing that your skills are never truly put to the test. Coupled with the its benign art style, the simple design of Lucky's Tale makes it feel like a safe, calculated effort, rather than a creative achievement.
Lucky's Tale goes the extra mile to familiarize you with its world, however, by forcing you to replay levels on multiple occasions. Every completed stage yields a medal, which unlocks future stages. In order to earn enough medals to access some areas, you have to replay old levels in a race against time, or in a hunt for scattered collectibles. Regardless of whether or not these alternate objectives make previous levels feel new again--they don't--they're an obvious attempt to artificially pad out the length of Lucky's Tale. Consequently, this prescribed repetition gets in the way of your attempts to make steady progress, stoking ire in the process. If you were already put off by Lucky's riskless design, this unfortunate level structure may be reason enough to walk away from the game entirely.
Lucky's Tale seems like it would be a good fit for someone who doesn't normally play games and has mild curiosity in VR. Experienced players will certainly appreciate the great controls, but that's it. It's hard to get upset about a game that's technically free, but it's worth acknowledging that Lucky's Tale is too basic to get excited about, and not inventive enough to communicate the potential of VR.In the days after our Quebec general election, a Calgary Herald columnist wrote in her newspaper (Sept. 7, “Are one-third of Quebec voters bigots?”): “What’s most surprising about Quebec’s provincial election result Tuesday night isn’t just how well Jean Charest’s scandal-plagued Liberal Party did or that most Quebecers reject a separatist agenda. It’s that fully 31.94 per cent of Quebec voters have no problem supporting the bigoted and racist agenda of the winning Parti Québécois.”
This is just one example of a plethora of comments published in English-Canadian newspapers and blogs during and after the election campaign that made reference to alleged racism of PQ candidates, volunteers and voters.
Are these accusations founded, and can they be considered as fair – and therefore necessary – commentary?
Or are they, as suggested by some nationalist groups, a new trick by federalists to demonize and crush the PQ?
Neither of the above propositions is accurate. Accusations of chauvinism, bigotry and racism toward Quebec, and more particularly toward the PQ’s agenda, are simply a sign of a misunderstanding of the details of the PQ’s platform on one hand and of Quebec’s social context on the other.
First, a fundamental principle of the PQ program and ideology over the years (the PQ was founded in 1968 and has been in office for over 18 years since 1976) must be remembered: the rights of the historic anglophone minority have always been protected. This is notably true of the proposed extension of Bill 101 to include CEGEPS: It doesn’t apply to anglophones who have had the right to attend English-language primary and secondary schools. Furthermore, if the Quebec National Assembly goes through with a proposed Quebec citizenship, members of the anglophone community are de facto Quebec citizens, and would naturally be excluded from mandatory French-language-acquisition courses.
Let’s remember that Premier-Designate Pauline Marois obtained, when she was minister of education, the only existing constitutional amendment from the federal government, allowing the Quebec government to abolish confessional school boards (Roman Catholic and Protestant) and replace them with language-denominated French and English school boards. With this reform alone, Madame Marois clearly and significantly contributed to the protection of the anglophone minority’s rights in Quebec.
Second, the social and cultural context in Quebec must be well understood. Just as Canada wishes to protect and promote its own identity and clearly differentiate itself from the United States (numerous recent symbolic and nationalist gestures of the Conservative government testify to this), Quebec is in a never-ending fight to protect its own language, culture and identity. However, for Quebec, it’s a rougher road. North America, the expanding reach of American culture and the global economy have at least one thing in common in this respect: the English language.
Let’s be clear: the precarious social and cultural context in Quebec is no reason for the PQ to significantly alter immigrants’ religious and linguistic rights. But will the PQ’s agenda really affect those rights? Most vocal critics attacked the proposal to ban public servants’ visible religious garb in public, which is unfortunately misunderstood and often oversimplified as both public and private prohibition of the wearing of religious garb. As in France and numerous other countries, the PQ emphasis is on state secularism. The above mentioned proposal is consequently a meticulous exercise in balancing public values while minimizing the impact on individual rights. Likewise with the proposed extension of Bill 101 to CEGEPS, the objective and only consequence is to bring allophone immigrants into French state-funded institutions, instead of English state-funded institutions. This is already the case for primary schools and high schools in Quebec.Eddie Jones has been mocked up as a clown in the Australian press as the war of words between the England coach and his Wallabies counterpart, Michael Cheika, continues.
Jones has received the same treatment as Cheika was afforded by the New Zealand press during the Rugby Championship – and Warren Gatland following his remarks about All Blacks supporters – having earlier this week been accused of tarnishing his legacy with his “vitriolic” comments about the Australian media during the England’s series whitewash in June.
Australia’s Michael Cheika: it is not about revenge against England Read more
Cheika was infuriated when he was depicted as a clown by the New Zealand Herald and on its sport front page on Saturday, under the banner, “Introducing the real clown of rugby” The Australian newspaper has splashed a cartoon of Jones as a clown.
Before England’s 3-0 series win in June Jones spoke of “coordinated” plan to help the Wallabies win the first Test and he was incensed by Fox Sports’ Stephen Hoiles, whose lines of post-match questioning were laced with sexual innuendo, and accused the Australian broadcaster of a “disgusting and demeaning” promotional video in the buildup to the first Test.
Cheika responded by saying: “There was a lot of vitriol about Australia – his home nation where he coached and where his opportunities were given to him to catch and grow up as a coach and play. Personally, if you’re looking to leave a legacy somewhere, you don’t want to hit back at it, do you?”, and then launched his own broadside at England’s scrummaging.
Eric Löbbecke (@hthtdraws) Eddie jones @australian the scary clown #Rugbyunion #aru #britishrugby pic.twitter.com/3DmeECnaaS
Cheika denied England were disrespected by the Australian media during their summer tour and accused Jones of having a manufactured chip on his shoulder before Saturday’s clash at Twickenham.
On Friday Jones hit back: “It doesn’t worry me at all. If Cheika chooses to say that, then it’s his choice. Everyone makes a choice in life about what they say and how they behave. If that’s how he wants to behave, that’s entirely up to him.
“We are comfortable how we have behaved and comfortable how we have represented rugby.
“Rugby is a respectful game and we represent all the kids playing rugby, supporters, and we want to behave in a respectful way. We have to keep the game in its proper state. The great games of the world – golf, tennis and rugby – stand alone because they have standards of behaviour.”
The coaches have seized every opportunity to continue their verbal jousting since Jones renewed hostilities after last England’s victory over Argentina last Saturday by questioning the legality of the Wallabies’ scrum.
“Eddie has always operated with a chip on his shoulder and now there isn’t a chip and things are going well he’s got to keep looking for one,” Cheika said on Thursday.
“He is very respected in Australia, I don’t know where that comes from, the disrespect. He is just geeing up. He is a good Australian coach who took Australia to a World Cup final when we didn’t expect to go fantastic.
Eddie Jones stings Australia’s Michael Cheika into firing both barrels Read more
“He is respected for that, he certainly is by me as a former team-mate and I think you saw when he was in Australia that he got a lot of respect.”
Glen Ella, the former Wallabies full-back who served as a skills coach for the duration of England’s tour to Australia, also found himself in Cheika’s crosshairs after he claimed the coach is still having nightmares caused by the defeats in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
“It’s funny, everyone is up the front of the bus when they have had a win,” Cheika said. “A guy like Glen in particular is always up the front for a handout when he has had a win but when it is tough and you have to run uphill I have not seen that bloke or a few of those blokes around.
“I don’t think Glen is working with England any more, so any Aussie who would support England against Australia, especially a guy who has played for the Wallabies, there’s got to be a reason why.
“’I don’t know if he’s bitter. Maybe they want to get us kicked out and have a job there, I’m not sure. He has to have a reason.”Wirth syntax notation (WSN) is a metasyntax, that is, a formal way to describe formal languages. Originally proposed by Niklaus Wirth in 1977 as an alternative to Backus–Naur form (BNF). It has several advantages over BNF in that it contains an explicit iteration construct, and it avoids the use of an explicit symbol for the empty string (such as <empty> or ε).[1]
WSN has been used in several international standards, starting with ISO 10303-21.[2] It was also used to define the syntax of EXPRESS, the data modelling language of STEP.
WSN defined in itself [ edit ]
SYNTAX = { PRODUCTION }. PRODUCTION = IDENTIFIER "=" EXPRESSION ".". EXPRESSION = TERM { "|" TERM }. TERM = FACTOR { FACTOR }. FACTOR = IDENTIFIER | LITERAL | "[" EXPRESSION "]" | "(" EXPRESSION ")" | "{" EXPRESSION "}". IDENTIFIER = letter { letter }. LITERAL = """" character { character } """".
The equals sign indicates a production. The element on the left is defined to be the combination of elements on the right. A production is terminated by a full stop (period).
Repetition is denoted by curly brackets, e.g., {a} stands for ε | a | aa | aaa | ….
stands for. Optionality is expressed by square brackets, e.g., [a]b stands for ab | b.
stands for. Parenthesis serve for groupings, e.g., (a|b)c stands for ac | bc.
We take these concepts for granted today, but they were novel and even controversial in 1977. Wirth later incorporated some of the concepts (with a different syntax and notation) into extended Backus–Naur form.
Notice that letter and character are left undefined. This is because numeric characters (digits 0 through 9) may be included in both definitions or excluded from one, depending on the language being defined, e.g.:
digit = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9". upper-case = "A" | "B" | … | "Y" | "Z". lower-case = "a" | "b" | … | "y" | "z". letter = upper-case | lower-case.
If character goes on to include digit and other printable ASCII characters, then it diverges even more from letter, which one can assume does not include the digit characters or any of the special (non-alphanumeric) characters.
Another example [ edit ]
The syntax of BNF can be represented with WSN as follows, based on translating the BNF example of itself:
syntax = rule [ syntax ]. rule = opt-whitespace "<" rule-name ">" opt-whitespace "::=" opt-whitespace expression line-end. opt-whitespace = { " " }. expression = list [ "|" expression ]. line-end = opt-whitespace EOL | line-end line-end. list = term [ opt-whitespace list ]. term = literal | "<" rule-name ">". literal = """" text """" | "'" text "'".
This definition appears overcomplicated because the concept of "optional whitespace" must be explicitly defined in BNF, but it is implicit in WSN. Even in this example, text is left undefined, but it is assumed to mean " ASCII-character { ASCII-character } ". ( EOL is also left undefined.) Notice how the kludge "<" rule-name ">" has been used twice because text was not explicitly defined.
One of the problems with BNF which this example illustrates is that by allowing both single-quote and double-quote characters to be used for a literal, there is an added potential for human error in attempting to create a machine-readable syntax. One of the concepts migrated to later metasyntaxes was the idea that giving the user multiple choices made it harder to write parsers for grammars defined by the syntax, so computer languages in general have become more restrictive in how a quoted-literal is defined.England have been struck by a fresh injury blow ahead of their Six Nations match against Italy with head coach Stuart Lancaster confirming that Bath prop David Wilson has been ruled out of the remainder of the championship with a neck injury.
Wilson, who missed the opening victory over Wales in Cardiff last Friday, saw a specialist on Wednesday who confirmed the 29-year-old requires surgery to correct a nerve problem and is likely to be sidelined for up to 12 weeks.
Lancaster said Wilson, who started all of England’s matches during the autumn Test series, is expected to return to action for his club Bath before the end of the season.
“Davy went to see a specialist yesterday and he is going to be out of the rest of the Six Nations unfortunately,” said Lancaster.
“He is booked in for an operation to relieve the nerve impingement that he has got tomorrow and we are likely to see him back in 10 to 12 weeks, so he is likely to be back for Bath towards the end of the season and training for the World Cup in June.”
Wilson had been struggling with the injury since the end of January and his absence will leave a significant hole in the England squad, given that Dan Cole only returned after a six-week lay-off for start against Wales.
Geoff Parling also remains on the injury list after breaking down in training on Monday with his knee problem although Kyle Eastmond and Brad Barritt has returned to full training this week having also missed the Wales game.
Lancaster said it had been a fairly routine selection this week on the back of the impressive victory against Wales.
“We had the likes of Brad, Kyle and Geoff Parling coming back into contention,” Lancaster added. “Geoff was one of the options we were going to look at as a specialist second row on the bench but obviously when he pulled out on Monday that decision was made effectively.
“There are good players who are just missing out at the moment, like Danny Care, but overall it was nice to be able to select on the back of a positive performance.
“I had a long conversation with Brad, he was outstanding for us in the autumn series but he reality, since the Australia game, is that he hasn’t played for eight weeks. He will play for Saracens in the fallow week and then will be able to put his hand up properly to come into contention for the Ireland game.”
Jonathan Joseph and George Kruis will make their first starts for England at Twickenham against Italy in the RBS Six Nations on Saturday after Stuart Lancaster today named an unchanged side from the victory over Wales.Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, might have been carrying with him a potential antidote to the banned VX nerve agent that caused his death at a Malaysian airport this year.
The news might suggest that the 45-year-old Kim had forewarning that he might be subject to an assassination attempt using chemical weapons.
However, experts say that his plan to use an antidote was also fatally flawed.
“The presence of atropine on his person would confirm the fear of chemical fratricide,” said Cindy Vestergaard, an expert on chemical weapons at the Stimson Center in Washington, but Kim appeared to have been “poorly advised on antidote efficacy.”
Details of the antidote were revealed this week at the Malaysian High Court, where two women — Indonesia’s Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnam’s Doan Thi Huong, 29 — stand accused of smearing the VX agent over Kim's face as he entered an airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13.
Lawyers for the two women say they were duped into carrying out the attack, which is widely believed to have been instigated by North Korean agents in a bid to remove a potential rival to Kim Jong Un.
The elder Kim became incapacitated after a substance was smeared on his face and died shortly afterward. Doctors later ruled that the cause of death was “acute VX nerve agent poisoning,” referring to the banned substance also known as N-2-Diisopropylamino Ethyl methylphosphonothioate.
According to local media, a government toxicologist serving as a witness for the prosecution told the court Wednesday that Kim had been carrying 12 bottles of atropine antidote in his bag when he was killed. Atropine can provide “primary protection against exposure to chemical nerve agents and insecticide poisoning,” according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
It is unclear in what form the drug was being carried or whether Kim had tried to administer it after he was attacked. Experts say that it is unlikely the drug would have done much good for him, even if it was administered immediately.
“Atropine by itself is not an effective antidote for VX poisoning,” said Matthew Meselson, a professor of biochemistry at Harvard University and a board member of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Meselson said auto-injectors supplied by the U.S. Army to combat nerve agent poisoning contain not only atropine but also pralidoxime, another agent that helps prevent VX's toxic effects.
A TV screen shows pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his older brother, Kim Jong Nam, left, at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea on Feb. 14. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)
Vestergaard noted that some reports said the antidote was being carried in a tablet form, but that it can take at least 15 to 20 minutes for atropine to reach the bloodstream if orally administered. “By then, VX will already be wreaking havoc on the body’s nervous system (including vomiting, making orally-administered antidotes even more useless),” she wrote in an email, adding that an oral form of atropine could only provide “a false sense of security.”
The presence of atropine in Kim's bag would appear to suggest that he knew he was at risk. Though he was generally kept out of the public eye by the North Korean government, he was often viewed as a potential rival to Kim Jong Un because of his openness to reforms and direct bloodline to North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. Intelligence officials in Seoul said that Kim Jong Un had put a “standing order” out for his older half brother's assassination several years ago.
There were also reports in a South Korean newspaper that he had tried to defect — a move that would have been extremely embarrassing for Pyongyang.
Sue Mi Terry, a former North Korea analyst at the CIA now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that it is not surprising that Kim Jong Nam thought he was a target — especially after his uncle and close ally, Jang Song Thaek, was killed in 2013.
“What is surprising is that Kim Jong Nam might have known the likely method of the attack,” Terry said. “If that is the case, it's likely that a foreign intelligence service might have given him a warning.”
More on Worldviews:
North Koreans celebrate missile launch with fireworks and street partiesSEATTLE — Poetic words spilled out into a garden Friday at North Seattle College, where five benches are now dedicated to the five students killed in the Aurora Bridge crash.
North Seattle College students relived the moment a Ride the Ducks amphibious tour vehicle crashed into their charter bus on the bridge one year ago.
Survivor Mazda Hutapea told Q13 News on Friday that she is physically healed but mentally she is still not ready to face the fact that she was in the tragic accident.
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And on the eve of the crash anniversary, Ride The Ducks of Seattle owner Brian Tracey got emotional about the tragedy.
“I feel horrible,” Tracey said.
Federal investigators say an axle on the duck vehicle sheared off, causing the vehicle to lose control, cross into oncoming lanes and slam into the side of a charter bus.
“I wish they knew how sorry I am that any of them have to go through this,” Tracey said.
Tracey is now facing 23 lawsuits and counting.
“Most aggressive attorneys will get to trial first and get the lion’s share of the money. I don’t want it to happen, I want everybody to be treated fairly,” Tracey said.
He can’t undo the past but Tracey says he’s committed to making sure it never happens again.
Tracey hopes to retrofit all 10 of his duck vehicles in operation with cameras by the end of the year.
“This thing we are doing is remarkable, it has a 360-degree view around the duck,” Tracey said.
His command center will get real-time images of all the vehicles on the road and the driver will get a warning noise with a red light if anyone is close to the tour vehicle.
Tracey also says there are daily multiple inspections of the tour boats.
“I want to make sure these are the safest vehicles on the road,” Tracey said.
But for many at the memorial, the changes are too late.
“We are standing here remembering them because we don’t have a chance to see them anymore,” survivor Phuong Dinh said.
Some victims wish the company was no longer in business but Tracey emphasizes he wants to help everyone affected.
He hopes to get all plaintiffs in one room with his attorneys so they can compensate all the families affected and not leave anyone out.A former police officer was sentenced to more than five years in prison for illegally selling firearms to people he knew were felons, said Carole S. Rendon, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office.
Kevin R. Lumpkin, 29, of North Olmsted, was convicted last year of selling a Hi-Point.45-caliber rifle and a Ruger.380-caliber pistol on different occasions to people he knew were convicted of felonies and therefore forbidden from possessing a firearm. These sales took place between 2011 and 2013, when Lumpkin was a North Randall police officer, according to trial testimony.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Kendra Klump and Edward Feran following an investigation by the FBI.New Jersey State Police are asking for the public's help in identifying human skeletal remains that were discovered by a hunter in a wooded area of Buena Vista Township, state police said in a press release Thursday evening.
State troopers from the Buena Vista Station, along with detectives from the Major Crime Unit responded to the wooded area at about 10 a.m. Thursday. The location is in proximity to Main Street and U.S. 40 in Atlantic County.
According to authorities, the remains were discovered along with several personal items. Among them: "a black basketball cap with 'Puerto Rico' written in red and blue lettering on the brim and 'Puerto Rico' written multiple times in a circular pattern on the front of the cap, a red windbreaker coat with 'N.Y.C. Lifeguard Dept. of Parks' written on the back, and a green backpack containing a black LG cell phone and prescription eyeglasses."
The New Jersey State Police is asking anyone with knowledge of a person who may have been wearing these items described above to contact the Buena Vista Station at 609-561-1800 ext 3355.
Authorities do not know for certain whether the remains were male or female, although, police say the clothing appeared to belong to a male.
"The clothing was consistent with a male but based on the remains we are unable to determine gender at this time," Lt. Brian Polite, public information officer for the NJ State Police told NJ 101.5 Thursday night.
The deceased's age, how long the remains had been in the wooded area or a possible cause of death have not yet been determined.
"We will be looking to answer the other questions as we progress with the investigation," Polite said.
This is a developing story. We will post additional information as it becomes available.
Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.Comcast announced on Wednesday that they will distribute $1,000 bonuses to more than one hundred thousand frontline and non-executive employees and invest more than $50 billion in infrastructure investment over the next several years to celebrate Republicans passing tax reform.
Comcast announced in a statement:
Based on the passage of tax reform and the FCC’s action on broadband, Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast NBCUniversal, announced that the Company would award special $1,000 bonuses to more than one hundred thousand eligible frontline and non-executive employees. Roberts also announced that the Company expects to spend well in excess of $50 billion over the next five years investing in infrastructure to radically improve and extend our broadband plant and capacity, and our television, film and theme park offerings. With these investments, we expect to add thousands of new direct and indirect jobs. We will have more to say on capital at our upcoming January 24th earnings report.
Several other American corporations announced that they will also invest in their employees, giving their workers bonuses, wage hikes, and invest in America.
Fifth Third announced that they will raise their minimum wage for employees to $15 an hour and distribute a $1,000 bonus to more than 13,500 employees this Christmas season.
Read moreThe most recent rumors regarding SM Entertainment girl group f(x) has fans very excited!
On October 6th, a netizen uploaded on Instiz a post titled “I don’t really believe it but f(x) may finally form a fanclub ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ… Be careful of being touched (it’ll overwhelm you).”
Find out what Netizens had to say about this article below!
In the post, the netizen reveals that an SM staff, known by the name Ilgu, recently stated that f(x) will be getting an official fanclub name soon. Not only that, the girls are also set to have their very first concert as well in the near future.
“In 2011 during ‘Pinocchio,’ there was a recruitment for the fanclub,” states the netizen, but adds that nothing else came from that recruitment before revealing how happy they are to finally hear f(x) will be finally getting one for real.
It should be noted that Ilgu is a well-known SM staffer amongst f(x) fans as he has delivered news about the group with accuracy in the past.
https://instagram.com/p/8e1CFUkbua/
Additionally, it was shared that f(x)’s comeback will be in two weeks where the group will be releasing their fourth full Korean album! Fans are expecting teasers to start coming out as soon as next week.
https://instagram.com/p/8fVVcakbvp/
f(x) made their debut in 2009 and consisted of members Luna, Krystal, Amber, Victoria, and Sulli. Sulli officially left the group earlier this year to pursue and focus on her acting career.
However, since their debut, their fans have remained nameless. Not only that, despite their past accolades, f(x) remains one of the only SM Entertainment artists to never have held a concert other than rookie girl group Red Velvet.
NETIZEN REACTIONS
Koreaboo has collected reactions from Netizens who commented on the original article from our Korean source. The below comments are the most popular comments at the time of this article being published.
ㅠㅜㅜㅜㅜFinally!!!!!!!!!
Name their fanclub Function….
Wow, this is great, finally..
Heol, daebak…. Why am I so excited
Ah ㅈㅓI was so happy when I heard the news this morning that I cried
ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Finally, the good days are coming for our kids…☆ f(x) fighting ㅠㅠ
Source: InstizTrouble is brewing at US Central Command (Centcom), the Pentagon's agency covering security interests in nations throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.
According to a report from The Daily Beast, more than 50 intelligence analysts at Centcom have formally complained that reports on the Islamic State and the Nusra Front — Al Qaeda's Syria branch — have been repeatedly altered by senior intelligence officials to fit with the Obama administration's insistence that the US is winning the war against the two militant groups.
Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell explained on "CBS This Morning" how serious these allegations are.
"One of the central tenets, one of the key aspects of the policymaking process in the United States is that analysts get to say what they think without any interference, without anybody changing it, so this is a very, very serious charge. I think it needs to be fully investigated," Morell said.
"If there is truth that somebody has been meddling with their analysis, I think somebody needs to lose their job over it, and there needs to be full transparency into this because it is so important that analysts be able to say what they really think."
dempsey obama More
A written complaint was sent in July by two Centcom senior analysts to the Department of Defense Inspector General, an independent agency that provides oversight to the Department of Defense.
The complaint was supported by 50 other analysts, according to The Daily Beast.
The Daily Beast published similar allegations last month, citing sources familiar with the terrorism assessments who said senior military and intelligence officials pushed analysts to portray ISIS "as weaker than the analysts believe it actually is" and "paint an overly rosy picture about how well the US-led effort to defeat the group is going."
Now it appears that the problem is more widespread than just a few frustrated analysts.
Eleven individuals knowledgeable about the details of the complaint told The Daily Beast that it says crucial parts of intelligence reports were taken out, analysts were subject to an environment in which they did not feel able to give a candid assessment of the situation in Iraq and Syria, and sometimes reports seen as being too negative were sent back to analysts.
The analysts are now in a full "revolt," according to The Daily Beast. The work environment at Centcom is reportedly so bad that it has been described as "Stalinist." One source alleges that when they brought concerns to Centcom leadership, they were urged to retire, and some agreed to leave.
ISIS 2014 to 2015 More
Questions remain about why Centcom officials have gone to such lengths to alter reports on the Islamic State — assuming The Daily Beast's report is accurate — when the picture painted by the media, independent analysts, and even some administration officials is convoluted at best and pessimistic at worst.How to Join
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This article is about the Australian politician and businessman. For the British folk musician, see Clive Palmer (musician)
Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman[6] and politician.[7] He has iron ore, nickel and coal holdings. In 2016, the BRW magazine "Rich 200" list estimated his wealth at A$600 million.[8] In 2012 he was named a national living treasure by the National Trust of Australia's New South Wales branch, awarded to up to 100 living people. Recipients were selected by popular vote for having made outstanding contributions to Australian society in any field of human endeavour.
Palmer owns Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast, Palmer Sea Reef Golf Course at Port Douglas, Palmer Colonial Golf Course at Robina, and the Palmer Gold Coast Golf Course, also at Robina. He owned Gold Coast United FC from 2008 to 2012.[9][10]
Palmer created the Palmer United Party in April 2013, winning the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax in the 2013 Australian federal election and sitting as an MP for one term. He formally de-registered the party on 5 May 2017.
In 2018, Palmer revived his party as the United Australia Party, announcing he would be running candidates in all 150 seats, including himself in Herbert. Former One Nation senator Brian Burston joined his party after his announcement, and serves as his deputy leader.[11][12]
Early life [ edit ]
Palmer was born at Footscray Hospital in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria on 26 March 1954, and spent his early years in the nearby suburb of Williamstown.[13][14] His family moved to Queensland in 1963[13] and Palmer was largely raised on the Gold Coast, where he attended Aquinas College and Southport State High School, although he also attended Toowoomba Grammar School for a short time.[14] Palmer's father, George, was a travel agent, and the family travelled the world extensively.[15] George Palmer was also the proprietor of the Akron Tyre Co and the Akron Broadcasting Co and, thus, the founder of Melbourne broadcasting station 3AK (now operating as SEN 1116).[16]
Palmer studied law, journalism and politics at the University of Queensland from 1973 to 1975, but did not finish the course. He later completed a Diploma of Law through the Queensland Bar Board, and worked as a clerk and interviewing officer for the Public Defender's Office.[17]
Business career [ edit ]
Natural resources [ edit ]
Palmer is the owner of Mineralogy, a company which in 2006 had 160 billion tonnes (160×10 ^ 9 long tons; 180×10 ^ 9 short tons) of iron ore reserves in the Pilbara Ranges, in remote northern Western Australia.[18] In 2008, Palmer bought Waratah Coal.[19] In 2009, |
water.
Padilla adjusts his skinny tie in the mirror. He smiles nervously at Lidia, who smiles back. Strides out to greet his fan base.
"How do I look?"
Spotlit by the risk that he's about to undertake in the plaza, Juan looks frailer than he has all week. Mummy-like in white. His legs are matchsticks. His eye patch is a blindfold he can't lift. Suddenly I feel very scared, truly scared, for this corrida.
"Very handsome!" everyone responds. People hug Padilla one by one and file out to their cars. We leave Lidia behind in the foyer.
···
The next time Juan Jose Padilla appears, he is a completely different person.
The plaza is crammed solid with Jerezanos. It's 7 p.m., but the enormous, cheerfully brutal sol of Andalucía is still shining above the bullring. Every matador on today's lineup is a star—Cayetano, in fact, is the scion of the Ordoñez bullfighting dynasty, and Morante de la Puebla is a legendary artist with the cape. But Padilla is the major attraction, hero and homeboy to all.
"Jerez, it's his tierra," says Diego. "It's going to be an incredibly emotional moment. You have to be strong so that so much emotion doesn't overwhelm you. It can make you tender, weak..."
Acute excitement pulses in the stands. Two nights ago, at the Thursday corrida, this same plaza was nearly empty. Everybody blamed the economy: Even the cheap seats cost twenty-eight euros. But tonight there is no evidence that money is weighing on anybody's mind. FUERZAPADILLA! read banners unscrolling throughout the stadium.
When Padilla, Cayetano, and Morante parade onto the sand, a roar erupts from the open mouth of the stadium into the blue sky of Jerez, loud enough to ripple a flock of low-flying birds. In the foyer of his home, Padilla looked so thin, like something prematurely sprung from its cocoon. But now he is fast, strong; the eye patch looks menacing. His hoarse cry of "Jerez!" brings down the house.
Padilla's first bull comes charging out and silences the rowdy crowd. In a corrida de toros, the matador will have roughly twenty minutes to dominate and kill the bull. This block of time is subdivided into three tercios: "the act of the lances," "the act of the banderillas," and "the act of death." If the matador performs well, the crowd will petition the president of the bullfight to award him trophies: the dead bull's ears or, for an exceptional corrida, the gristly gray ribbon of the bull's tail. Death is always the outcome for the bull, except in rare cases when an unusually "valiant" animal is pardoned.
Many have pointed out that the bullfight is not really a fight at all—a contest between equals—but "a tragedy in three acts." The rite's brutality can make bullfighting feel incomprehensible to a foreigner and indefensible to an animal lover; and yet every bullfighter I spoke to professed to feel what struck me as a genuine love for the toros. What kind of love is this? How is it possible to publicly kill the animal to which you have dedicated all your waking hours? "I give the toro everything, and he gives me everything," Padilla told me. His profession, he says proudly, is "the most dignified in the world" because of "its truth, its reality"—its blood red engagement with the fate shared by all species. Every corrida, the matador greets his future death cloaked in fur, and today is no exception.
Act I: Juan Jose and his banderilleros swing their pink capotes around wildly, each man caping the bull in turn. Out trot the picadors, looking like dapper Lego men on horseback in their wide-brimmed hats and squarish leg armor. Their horses are swaddled in petos, mattress-like cloaks to protect them from the bulls' horns. The picadors insert their lances into the hump of muscle tissue at the base of the neck, the morillo, to get the bull to lower its head; otherwise Padilla won't be able to get over its horns to make the final kill. There is something scarily perfunctory about the way the picadors jab the bull with their long lances—they're like a cavalry of gas jockeys, only instead of filling up the tank, they are draining the bull's life.
Act II: Padilla dismisses his assistants, signals to the crowd that he will put in his own banderillas. Goddamnit, Padilla, qué fuerte. Everyone is aware that this is exactly how he lost his eye. And now, one-eyed, Padilla is flying onto the wooden running boards behind the bull. How does he get so high? He takes a running leap as if the sand were a trampoline and sinks another wooden flag into the bull. He places the final pair of banderillas al violín, a one-handed maneuver that recalls the dramatic acrobatics that caused his fall in Zaragoza.
Act III: Tercio de la muerte. Now Padilla is stalking the bull, with an unexpected sultriness and mock haughtiness. Via a sort of feline strut across the sand toward the animal, he slinks up to the bull and goads it into charging. It lowers its horns, tosses its head in a dozen vain attempts to catch the cape. When it comes up on Padilla's blind left side, we recoil, but we don't have to worry; he seems to have no trouble gauging distance or responding to the unhinged shadows in the bullring.
Padilla's body language changes tone continually over the next seven minutes, as his pasos transmit contempt and urgency, comedy and reverence. Sometimes the bullfight looks a lot like a game of freeze tag, and his pranks get juvenile; he does everything short of blowing a raspberry at the bull. Sometimes it's more like an awkward cocktail party: the bull refusing to charge, Padilla doing the torero catcall that is like emphatic forced laughter: "Eh, toro! He-he-HEH!"
Soon everyone can tell from the bull's ragged breathing that the end is near. Padilla and the bull are staring into each other's faces with an opaque intimacy. Something visible to everyone in the stands, but as ultimately impenetrable as any couple's love-or-hate affair. It's almost sunset now; the planks of blood down the bull's back look violet. As if on the conductor's cue, two seagulls choose this moment to swoop through the invisible membrane between bull and man. Padilla's dark hair is sticking to his head. The matador, underweight, with his twisted face and his eye patch, appears unmistakably mortal. His face fossilizes his brush with death, the way that fire gets incarnated by cold, tender welts. His return to the ring, one could argue, gives the crowd a sense that death will come for all of us, sooner or later, that death is certainly imminent, but _it ain't here yet. _
Inside the plaza's walls, the concrete parentheses that enclose Padilla and the bull, everybody straightens; erguirse is the Spanish verb for this, electric shivers racing up spines. Juan Jose directs the creature's horns around his waist, as if he is carving his own hips out of black space. Drawing beautiful shapes with the cape and the bull. Drawing breaths.
Padilla squares his feet, positions himself for the kill. The bull is four feet away from him. Here it comes: the "hour of truth." It's a crazy, horrible, ugly, enraging, senseless, sublime, endless moment to witness—a moment that swallows every adjective you want to hurl at it.
In the balcony, the orchestra has stopped playing. The conductor is craning over his shoulder, watching Padilla for his cue. His baton trembles in midair at the exact angle as Padilla's sword.
Padilla draws the sword back at eye level, as if the estoque is an arrow in an invisible quiver.
He runs. He flies, just as he did during his training with the wheelbarrow. Volapié. He leaps and leans his torso over the bull's lowered horns and plunges the sword into the vulnerable morillo.
The crowd lets out one single, tidal exhalation.
Did he "win"? Bullfighting is less straightforward than American spectacles like pro football; in this regard, it's a little more like American Idol. But thanks to the thunderous petition of the crowd, tonight the president awards him two ears from his first bull and two ears from his second. Before he exits the arena, Padilla drops onto his knees and kisses the sand of Jerez. Then he is carried through the great doors of his home plaza, de hombros, twinkling like a living torch on his brother Jaime's shoulders. Escorted by the longest ovation you have ever heard.
···
Forty minutes after his triumphant exit through the Puerta Grande, Padilla is back home in Sanlucar, changing out of his work clothes. Outside, a few guys are loading up the shuttle bus; at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow, Padilla and his entourage will leave for their next fight in Talavera. Some freckly taurine roadie carries swords and a bleached skull to the trunk.
Where is the wild torero afterparty? Lidia and the family friends are having a quiet dinner. Paloma is bouncing around, getting ready for bed. The Cyclone of Jerez emerges from his dressing room as Juan Jose, wearing a suit jacket and spiffy loafers.
"Four ears, Paloma!" he crows to his daughter, sinking into his armchair. ("The kids are always begging him, 'Papi, bring me two ears!'—you know the typical things," Lidia explains.) He smooches her to make her giggle.
How does he feel about tonight's corrida?
"This was one of the afternoons of maximum responsibility in my life," he says. "To be able to dress in my suit of lights in this new phase of my life, in front of my countrymen, my doctors, my family—" He smiles. For the past week, he explains, he's been terrified that it would be "an empty afternoon, a sad afternoon, that the bulls wouldn't help me..." That he would fail to achieve his dream of leaving de hombros, piggybacking on his brother's shoulders through the great gates.
"Well, I think it was a triumphant afternoon. I dedicate it to toda mi tierra."
Is it uncomfortable to get sedimented into legend while you are still alive? Is it like another sort of paralysis?
"I feel supremely content, proud, for all that the bull has given me, all that it's added to my life, personal as well as professional. I can't complain or feel victimized by my injury; this is the profession I chose. And this accident of mine, my recovery, I think it's touched the whole world...." He leans forward, his enormous hands cupping his bony knees, shaping his words carefully. "There was a time when I couldn't show my face, when my head was a little screwed up. But now I've entered a period of great pride, great happiness."
His working eye follows his daughter, who is babbling some song under the taxidermied heads of six Miura bulls that Padilla killed in a single afternoon in Bilbao.
"And there is always a new goal tomorrow." It's the "amor por los toros," he says—his love of the bulls—that drives him.
If some of these phrases sound like Hallmark propaganda, you have to imagine them spoken by a man who is teaching himself to speak again. It's a legitimate medical miracle that Juan Jose Padilla can even vocalize his "love for the toros" today. Tomorrow he'll fight three horned beasts in Talavera; on Monday it's back to the ABCs in speech therapy. Somehow he's managed to surrender without bitterness to his new situation while simultaneously working without pause to reclaim his life. His feats in the bullring are as impressive as they've ever been, but for my money it's Padilla's daily diligence, his unglorious microsteps back from paralysis, that distinguish him as a true _figura. _
For all the talk of rewards and triumphs and miracles, the life of a bullfighter seems incredibly grueling, dangerous, uncertain.
Vale la pena? Is it worth it?
No, says Padilla's mother without a second's hesitation.
No, says Pepe Padilla, who during the Franco years used to ride trains and sleep under the stars to stand before a fighting bull. For the parents of a torero, "there is more pena than gloria."
Sí, says Lidia, _because you see his happiness! _
Sí, says Juan Jose Padilla, smiling as wide as his new face permits him, because God is giving me my recompensa. Now I see better with one eye than two.One of the most important points while we are developing a REST api is the error handling, in this post we will explain how to implement it by using Spring boot + Jersey. Te example that we are going to use as base is Spring Boot + REST Jersey Part 1.
Step 1: Creating classes to represent the errors
The first step will be to create the necessary classes to represent the errors, in this case we will create two classes ErrorMessage and ServiceException.
ErrorMessage.java
package com.raidentrance.model; import java.io.Serializable; import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonInclude; import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonInclude.Include; /** * @author raidentrance * */ @JsonInclude(Include.NON_NULL) public class ErrorMessage implements Serializable { private Integer httpStatus; private String message; private Integer code; private String developerMessage; private static final long serialVersionUID = 5318063708359922770L; public ErrorMessage() { } public ErrorMessage(ServiceException ex) { this.httpStatus = ex.getHttpStatus(); this.message = ex.getMessage(); this.code = ex.getCode(); } public ErrorMessage(Integer httpStatus, String message, Integer code) { super(); this.httpStatus = httpStatus; this.message = message; this.code = code; } public Integer getHttpStatus() { return httpStatus; } public void setHttpStatus(Integer httpStatus) { this.httpStatus = httpStatus; } public String getMessage() { return message; } public void setMessage(String message) { this.message = message; } public Integer getCode() { return code; } public void setCode(Integer code) { this.code = code; } public String getDeveloperMessage() { return developerMessage; } public void setDeveloperMessage(String developerMessage) { this.developerMessage = developerMessage; } }
The error class will be used to represent the errors in JSON format and it contains the following attributes: httpStatus: Will contain the http status that will be returned
message: It is used to show a small error message that describes the problem
code: It is used to show a small error code that can be representative for an application
developerMessage: You can specify the generated exception in order to make easier than the developer find the problem The annotation @JsonInclude(Include.NON_NULL) specify that if an attribute is null it won’t be in the response.
ServiceException.java
/** * */ package com.raidentrance.model; /** * @author raidentrance * */ public class ServiceException extends Exception{ private Integer httpStatus; private String message; private Integer code; private String developerMessage; private static final long serialVersionUID = -528134378438377740L; public ServiceException(Integer httpStatus, String message, Integer code,String developerMessage) { this.httpStatus = httpStatus; this.message = message; this.code = code; this.developerMessage=developerMessage; } public ServiceException(Integer httpStatus, String message, Integer code) { this.httpStatus = httpStatus; this.message = message; this.code = code; } public ServiceException(ErrorMessage errorMessage){ this.httpStatus = errorMessage.getHttpStatus(); this.message = errorMessage.getMessage(); this.code = errorMessage.getCode(); this.developerMessage=errorMessage.getDeveloperMessage(); } public String getDeveloperMessage() { return developerMessage; } public void setDeveloperMessage(String developerMessage) { this.developerMessage = developerMessage; } public Integer getHttpStatus() { return httpStatus; } public void setHttpStatus(Integer httpStatus) { this.httpStatus = httpStatus; } public String getMessage() { return message; } public void setMessage(String message) { this.message = message; } public Integer getCode() { return code; } public void setCode(Integer code) { this.code = code; } }
The ServiceException class is an exception and will be used to throw the errors in the application, as you can see it receives the necessary parameters to populate the ErrorMessage class.
Step 2: Creating exception mappers
The next step is to create the exception mappers, it will define what to do if an exception happens. In this example we will generate 2 exception mappers one in case that a ServiceException happens and the other in case that a Throwable happens to handle any unconsidered error.
ServiceExceptionMapper.java
package com.raidentrance.error; import java.io.PrintWriter; import java.io.StringWriter; import javax.ws.rs.core.MediaType; import javax.ws.rs.core.Response; import javax.ws.rs.ext.ExceptionMapper; import javax.ws.rs.ext.Provider; import com.raidentrance.model.ErrorMessage; import com.raidentrance.model.ServiceException; /** * @author raidentrance * */ @Provider public class ServiceExceptionMapper implements ExceptionMapper<ServiceException> { @Override public Response toResponse(ServiceException ex) { ErrorMessage errorMessage = new ErrorMessage(); errorMessage.setCode(ex.getCode()); errorMessage.setMessage(ex.getMessage()); StringWriter errorStackTrace = new StringWriter(); ex.printStackTrace(new PrintWriter(errorStackTrace)); errorMessage.setDeveloperMessage(ex.toString()); return Response.status(ex.getHttpStatus()).entity(errorMessage).type(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON).build(); } }
To create an exception mapper we just need to implement the ExceptionMapper interface and specify in the generic part the type of the exception that we are going to handle, in this case we are specifying ServiceException.
GenericExceptionMapper.java
package com.raidentrance.error; import java.io.PrintWriter; import java.io.StringWriter; import javax.ws.rs.core.MediaType; import javax.ws.rs.core.Response; import javax.ws.rs.ext.ExceptionMapper; import javax.ws.rs.ext.Provider; import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus; import com.raidentrance.model.ErrorMessage; /** * @author raidentrance * */ @Provider public class GenericExceptionMapper implements ExceptionMapper<Throwable> { public Response toResponse(Throwable ex) { ErrorMessage errorMessage = new ErrorMessage(); errorMessage.setMessage(ex.getMessage()); StringWriter errorStackTrace = new StringWriter(); ex.printStackTrace(new PrintWriter(errorStackTrace)); errorMessage.setDeveloperMessage(ex.toString()); return Response.status(HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.value()).entity(errorMessage).type(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON).build(); } }
In the same way we are creating another exception mapper but now with the class Throwable, it means that if any other kind of error happen it will be cached by this exception mapper, it will be used for any exception that is not handled by the application, for this reason we will return an http status 500 that means internal server error.
Step 3: Registering the Exception Mappers
Once we created the exception mappers we need to register them in the application. We are going to do it in the same way that we define another endpoint in the application in the class JerseyConfig.
/** * */ package com.raidentrance.config; import org.glassfish.jersey.server.ResourceConfig; import org.springframework.stereotype.Component; import com.raidentrance.error.GenericExceptionMapper; import com.raidentrance.error.ServiceExceptionMapper; import com.raidentrance.resource.UserResource; /** * @author raidentrance * */ @Component public class JerseyConfig extends ResourceConfig { public JerseyConfig() { register(UserResource.class); register(ServiceExceptionMapper.class); register(GenericExceptionMapper.class); } }
Step 4: Throwing test exceptions
To test that the exception mappers are working correct we are going to create 2 endpoints one will throe a ServiceException and the other will throw a NullPointerException.
Endpoint that returns a ServiceException:
@GET @Path("/error") public Response sampleError() throws ServiceException { throw new ServiceException(HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND.value(), "Sample Error Message", 1); }
If we execute the previous code, we will receive the following response with http status 404:
Endpoint that returns a NullPointerException:
@GET @Path("/error/generic") public Response sampleGenericError() { throw new NullPointerException(); }
If we execute the previous code, we will receive the following response with http status 500:
If you want to learn more about web services REST and Spring boot we recommend the following books:
Autor: Alejandro Agapito Bautista Twitter: @raidentrance Contacto:raidentrance@gmail.comKIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich called for an emergency session of parliament to end the country’s political crisis and violent unrest, in a sign he might be ready to soften his hardline stance and strike a compromise.
Opposition leaders who held discussions with Yanukovich that ended late on Thursday immediately went to meet protesters manning street barricades to give their account of the talks.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, concessions had been made. But an Ekspreso TV station correspondent reported that boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko urged activists to stick to a truce agreed earlier on Thursday until Friday morning.
Klitschko, who was accompanied by nationalist leader Oleh Tyahnibok, was reported to have said that Yanukovich had promised to release all those who had been detained by police in the present unrest.
A third opposition leader in the talks, former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, said he felt that bloodshed had been averted, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. But he also gave no real details.
Three people on the protesters’ side were killed early on Wednesday - two of them from gunshot wounds - as tensions grew on the streets of Kiev after two months of unrest against Yanukovich’s rule. More than 150 police have been injured.
Yanukovich’s offer of a special parliamentary session to help settle the crisis appeared to offer the first glimmer of a chance the crisis could be resolved. The parliamentary website said the session would be held next Tuesday.
Underlining the level of mistrust between the government and opposition, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov accused protesters of trying to stage a coup d’etat, and dismissed the possibility of an early presidential election to resolve the standoff.
“All those who support this coup should say clearly, ‘Yes, we are for the overthrow of the legitimate authorities in Ukraine’, and not hide behind peaceful protesters,” Azarov said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“A genuine attempt at a coup d’etat is being carried out,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted him as saying.
Azarov told Reuters the government had no plans to introduce a state of emergency: “We don’t see the need for tough and extreme measures at the moment... But don’t put the government into an impasse,” he said.
“People should not think that the government lacks available resources to put an end to this. It is our constitutional right and obligation to restore order in the country.”
The protests against Yanukovich began in November, when he pulled out of signing a free trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer economic ties with former Soviet overlord Russia.
The unrest has swollen in recent weeks, and turned violent on Sunday when hard-core radicals broke away from the main protest area in the capital Kiev and clashed violently with riot police.
Outside the capital, thousands stormed the regional administration headquarters in Rivne in western Ukraine on Thursday, breaking down doors and demanding the release of people detained in the unrest there, UNIAN news agency reported.
In the central Ukrainian town of Cherkasy, 200 km (125 miles) south of Kiev, about 1,000 protesters took over the first two floors of the main administration building and lit fires outside the building.
ALARM ABROAD
In calling the emergency session, Yanukovich told parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Rybak that the “situation must be settled immediately”.
Anti-government protesters stand on a barricade during a rally in Kiev January 24, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Rybak said the proposed emergency session of parliament could consider the opposition’s call for Azarov’s government to step down.
He added that “questions linked to laws passed by parliament” could be discussed - apparently a reference to sweeping anti-protest laws rammed through parliament last week by Yanukovich loyalists.
Those laws served to boost mass demonstrations on the streets of Kiev at the weekend, and the opposition is demanding they be repealed.
The turmoil has caused alarm abroad.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Yanukovich on Thursday and warned him that failing to de-escalate the standoff could have “consequences,” the White House said.
“The Vice President underscored that only the government of Ukraine can ensure a peaceful end to the crisis and further bloodshed would have consequences for Ukraine’s relationship with the United States,” the White House said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed anger over the crackdown.
“We are greatly worried, and not only worried, but also outraged at the way laws have been pushed through that call these freedoms into question,” she told a news conference.
But Merkel added it would be wrong for Europe to respond to the violence with sanctions at this stage.
French President Francois Hollande called on Ukrainian authorities to “rapidly seek dialogue”.
Slideshow (15 Images)
A European Commission spokesman said Yanukovich had spoken to President Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday and assured him he was ready to maintain dialogue and saw no need to impose a state of emergency in Ukraine.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev urged the presidents of Russia and the United States to help broker negotiations, and said Ukraine was facing a possible “catastrophe”.In this June 1973 photo, astronaut Paul J. Weitz, Skylab 2 pilot, mans the control and display console of the Apollo Telescope Mount. Weitz, who also commanded who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and served as Deputy Director of Johnson Space Center, died Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, at his retirement home in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 85. (NASA via AP)
PHOENIX (AP) — Paul Weitz, a retired NASA astronaut who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and also piloted the Skylab in the early 1970s, has died. He was 85.
Weitz died at his retirement home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Monday, said Laura Cutchens of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. No cause of death was given.
A NASA biography says Weitz was among the class of 19 astronauts who were chosen in April 1966. He served as command module pilot on the first crew of the orbiting space laboratory known as Skylab during a 28-day mission in 1973.
Weitz also commanded the first launch of the shuttle Challenger in April 1983. The five-day mission took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Challenger was destroyed and seven crew members killed during its 10th launch on January 28, 1986.
In all, he logged 793 hours in space and retired as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center in May 1994.
Weitz was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 25, 1932, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1954, according to NASA.
He then joined the Navy, serving on a destroyer before being chosen for flight training and earning his wings as a Naval Aviator in September 1956. He served in various naval squadrons, including service in Vietnam, before joining the Astronaut Corps.
According to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Weitz returned to the Navy after his mission on Skylab and retired as a captain in July 1976 after serving 22 years. He then came out of retirement at age 51 to re-join NASA.
“Paul Weitz’s name will always be synonymous with the space shuttle Challenger. But he also will be remembered for defying the laws of gravity - and age,” said Curtis Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and an astronaut and veteran of six space flights. “Before it became commonplace to come out of retirement, Paul was a pioneer. He proved 51 was just a number.”
The foundation is supported by astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and Space Station programs and annually provides scholarships for 45 students.
Weitz is survived by his two children, Ma??hew and Cynthia.Is it possible for an architect to be adopted by a client?
To hear Dan Brunn talk about Hedy and Samy Kamienowicz, for whom he built a clean-lined but structurally complicated beach house in the Venice neighborhood, one senses he would be happy to move in and call the owners Mom and Dad.
“Samy is a great guy,” Mr. Brunn, 35, said. As for Ms. Kamienowicz, a small, sun-tanned woman of 66 with a direct conversation style, Mr. Brunn gushed, “Hedy is very special.”
Ms. Kamienowicz’s specialness, it seems, rests in large part on the fact that she gave Mr. Brunn the things that every architect craves: a healthy budget and unfettered creative freedom.
“All of my other clients ask: ‘What is this? Can I gain another foot?’ ” Mr. Brunn said. “Here it was just about the art of the building.” The blank areas that a less imaginative homeowner might eye suspiciously as wasted space are there “to experience the house and to experience the beach in different ways,” he added.Want to use a VPN? If you’re looking for a VPN provider or setting up your own VPN, you’ll need to choose a protocol. Some VPN providers may even provider you with a choice of protocols.
This isn’t the final word on any of these VPN standards or encryption schemes. We’ve tried to boil everything down so you can grasp the standards, how they’re related to each other — and which you should use.
PPTP
RELATED: What Is a VPN, and Why Would I Need One?
Don’t use PPTP. Point-to-point tunneling protocol is a common protocol because it’s been implemented in Windows in various forms since Windows 95. PPTP has many known security issues, and it’s likely the NSA (and probably other intelligence agencies) are decrypting these supposedly “secure” connections. That means attackers and more repressive governments would have an easier way to compromise these connections.
Yes, PPTP is common and easy to set up. PPTP clients are built into many platforms, including Windows. That’s the only advantage, and it’s not worth it. It’s time to move on.
In Summary: PPTP is old and vulnerable, although integrated into common operating systems and easy to set up. Stay away.
OpenVPN
OpenVPN uses open-source technologies like the OpenSSL encryption library and SSL v3/TLS v1 protocols. It can be configured to run on any port, so you could configure a server to work over TCP port 443. The OpenSSL VPN traffic would then be practically indistinguishable from standard HTTPS traffic that occurs when you connect to a secure website. This makes it difficult to block completely.
It’s very configurable, and will be most secure if it’s set to use AES encryption instead of the weaker Blowfish encryption. OpenVPN has become a popular standard. We’ve seen no serious concerns that anyone (including the NSA) has compromised OpenVPN connections.
OpenVPN support isn’t integrated into popular desktop or mobile operating systems. Connecting to an OpenVPN network requires a a third-party application — either a desktop application or a mobile app. Yes, you can even use mobile apps to connect to OpenVPN networks on Apple’s iOS.
In Summary: OpenVPN is new and secure, although you will need to install a third-party application. This is the one you should probably use.
L2TP/IPsec
Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol is a VPN protocol that doesn’t offer any encryption. That’s why it’s usually implemented along with IPsec encryption. As it’s built into modern desktop operating systems and mobile devices, it’s fairly easy to implement. But it uses UDP port 500 — that means it can’t be disguised on another port, like OpenVPN can. It’s thus much easier to block and harder to get around firewalls with.
IPsec encryption should be secure, theoretically. There are some concerns that the NSA could have weakened the standard, but no one knows for sure. Either way, this is a slower solution than OpenVPN. The traffic must be converted into L2TP form, and then encryption added on top with IPsec. It’s a two-step process.
In Summary: L2TP/IPsec is theoretically secure, but there are some concerns. It’s easy to set up, but has trouble getting around firewalls and isn’t as efficient as OpenVPN. Stick with OpenVPN if possible, but definitely use this over PPTP.
SSTP
Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol was introduced in Windows Vista Service Pack 1. It’s a proprietary Microsoft protocol, and is best supported on Windows. It may be more stable on Windows because it’s integrated into the operating system whereas OpenVPN isn’t — that’s the biggest potential advantage. Some support for it is available on other operating systems, but it’s nowhere near as widespread.
It can be configured to use very secure AES encryption, which is good. For Windows users, it’s certainly better than PPTP — but, as it’s a proprietary protocol, it isn’t subject to the independent audits OpenVPN is subject to. Because it uses SSL v3 like OpenVPN, it has similar abilities to bypass firewalls and should work better for this than L2TP/IPsec or PPTP.
In Summary: It’s like OpenVPN, but mostly just for Windows and can’t be audited as fully. Still, this is better to use than PPTP. And, because it can be configured to use AES encryption, is arguably more trustworthy than L2TP/IPsec.
OpenVPN seems to be the best option. If you have to use another protocol on Windows, SSTP is the ideal one to choose. If only L2TP/IPsec or PPTP are available, use L2TP/IPsec. Avoid PPTP if possible — unless you absolutely have to connect to a VPN server that only allows that ancient protocol.Procter & Gamble reported its biggest drop in quarterly sales in seven quarters, hurt by weak demand across product categories and a strong dollar.
The company also cut its full-year revenue growth forecast, saying it now expected the strong dollar to have a bigger impact of 5-6 percentage points than the 4-5 percentage points anticipated earlier.
P&G (PG) has been focusing on more profitable brands including Gillette shaving products, Pampers diapers and Tide detergent, as it loses customers to companies such as Unilever Plc and Colgate-Palmolive Co and local rivals in markets outside North America.
Sales in all of P&G’s product categories fell in double-digit percentage terms in the third quarter, with beauty, baby care and grooming products recording the worst drop.
P&G, which gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from markets outside North America, was also hurt by a nearly 13 percent rise in the dollar against a basket of major currencies in the past year.
The net income attributable to P&G rose to $2.60 billion, or 91 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30 from $1.99 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net sales fell 12 percent to $16.53 billion. Excluding the impact of currency, divestitures and acquisitions, sales fell 1 percent.
Excluding items, the company earned 98 cents per share.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 95 cents per share and revenue of $17.17 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.To underwrite the transformation, the Army chose to close R.O.T.C. programs at 13 universities, more than half of them in the South. Tennessee alone will lose R.O.T.C. offerings at three of its public universities, the most of any state.
The Army selected the universities after a review found that the programs were typically yielding fewer than 15 commissioned officers annually, although the military acknowledged it granted exceptions to dozens of schools because they met other standards.
The Army Cadet Command, which oversees R.O.T.C. and its approximately 33,000 aspiring soldiers, said that by shuttering the 13 lagging programs, it will be able to shift resources to 56 other markets, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. In many instances, existing programs will grow.
Maj. Gen. Jefforey A. Smith, the commander of the Cadet Command, said the move was not part of a major shift from rural settings to urban ones. Still, he added: “It makes sense that we would move toward where the population is where we think we have a recruiting population to go after.”
The changes will come amid a push by the Army to diversify its officer corps, a large portion of which comes from the R.O.T.C. In 2011, about 28 percent of active duty Army officers were minorities, up from 23 percent a decade earlier.The Resurrection of Testing for Android
An oft-overlooked aspect of development gets a fresh look.
Square Engineering Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 3, 2013
Written by Jake Wharton.
When testing Android applications, documentation and tools can be sparse. At Square, verifying the behavior of our applications is an essential part of our day-to-day development — and to make testing easier, we have created and refined a set of tools for three different aspects of testing; unit tests, instrumentation tests, and declaring assertions.
Robolectric
The most fundamental problem which inhibits testing is that the API jar for each version of Android is empty. Rather than having actual code, the provided jars are filled with code that looks like this:
public class View {
public View(Context context) {
throw new RuntimeException("Stub!");
}
...
}
As you can imagine, having every constructor and every method in the entire platform immediately throw an exception prevents any real tests from being written.
Robolectric is a framework that has been designed to solve this problem by replacing these “stub” jars with the actual code. This means that any behavior you want to test will flow through the same code paths as if it were running on a real device.
Square continues to improve Robolectric and the forthcoming version 2 has significant ease of use and major performance improvements. |
," "I wonder when she realizes she's no better than the rest of us?" "How long do you think she'll last before he discards her too?"—but it was still painful to hear.
Azura tugged on his hand and he glanced down at her. She was pointing at one of the few open stores on the surface, selling hot drinks, eyes hopeful. "Please?"
"I've told you, you can call me Father," he chuckled. "But of course."
While at first he'd solely tried to spend time with Azura for Arete's sake, he found he was genuinely growing fond of the girl. She was so shy, it reminded him of Xander a bit; but different, too. Sweet, and very eager when it came to learning how to sing from her mother. He pitied her a little, for not having a father figure in her life. Perhaps it was arrogant of him to presume, but he would like to at least provide a reliable male figure for her.
From the way she was beaming at him now, he thought he had succeeded.
Fall faded to winter, and winter began to bow to spring. Slowly, the wounds on Garon's heart healed.
So one day, when he was ready, he took Arete to the top of Castle Krakenburg, underneath the stars, and asked her to marry him.
Her eyebrow arched, and she looked about. "Starry sky, breathtaking view, flowery speech, on knee; you certainly don't do things by halves, do you?"
"Not when it comes to you. Is that a no?"
She sighed. "No, it's not a no. But are you sure, Garon? I'm not exactly…"
"Open?" Her secrecy was frustrating, he'd admit it. He didn't like feeling as though she didn't trust him. But one thing he'd learned from his relationship with Katerina was to compromise. Arete entrusted him with her daughter, which alone was major; she would entrust him with her past when she was ready.
"Well, yes. It doesn't worry you, to put someone with a past you know nothing about on the throne?"
His knee was aching too much to keep kneeling, so he rose and took her hands in his. "Arete, I love you. More than that, I trust you, and I know you're a good person. You love Azura deeply, and you always try to be polite to the concubines and their children, no matter their behavior. You are capable and smart and amazing. That's the exact sort of woman I want by my side."
"I love you too." Arete went quiet, looking down at their interlocked fingers. "It's just so funny," she murmured, almost to herself, "the direction my life has taken me in. I wonder if the gods have a sense of humor?"
"Arete?"
The strategist shook herself. "My apologies. I was merely lost in thought."
He supposed her shock was understandable. No woman expected to find herself taken off the streets and proposed to by royalty, after all. It was a fairy tale story that didn't happen in real life.
"Then I'll ask again—will you marry me? Will you let me love and cherish you for as long as our lives permit? Will you help me guide this great kingdom through darkness, into a bright future?"
Arete smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "I would love nothing more."
The investigation had continued in the months after the duke's execution, but it had been slowly losing steam. So, as he filled out paperwork in his office, Garon wasn't expecting the sharp, two-beat knock at his door—Basil's signature knock.
"You may enter," he called out, placing the papers about catering aside. It was a few weeks after Arete accepted his proposal, and the wedding planning was well underway. He looked up as Basil filtered in, pristine as ever. The investigator saluted smartly before launching into speech, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Fantastic news, Lord Garon! I believe I've found someone who can testify about the possible identity of Emeric's accomplice."
It took Garon a moment to recognize the man stepping up to Basil's side—Kilian, the ravenmaster. He was young, having recently inherited the position from his father, and he was fidgeting on the spot, holding his hat in his hands, eyes on the floor. The king glanced back at Basil. "And why didn't you find him before now?"
"He didn't speak up before because he was afraid for his life."
Nodding, Garon returned his gaze to Killian. The poor man was trembling. "I…your Majesty, please, I had nothing to do with it," he begged.
"Stop." Immediately, the man shut up, still shaking like a leaf. "Start over and tell me what happened."
Killian wrung his hat in his hands over and over. "Y-Yes, Your Majesty. Um, a few weeks after Princess Penelope's death, one of your missuses told me she wanted me to deliver a letter to Lord Emeric. I didn't think nothing of it, what nobles do is none of my business, so I tied it to a raven and sent it off. The raven came back without a reply, and she never asked me to do send him a message again, so the event just slipped my mind."
"He probably sent her an answer through a trusted servant, who ran correspondence between them, rather than relying on public means," Basil interjected, and Garon nodded.
Killian continued, "Couple days after the duke's execution, that same missus came up to me, all polite and smiling. Like a viper, she was. She handed me a few gold coins—more than I could earn in a few months!—and told me to forget I ever delivered a letter for her. I thought she was afraid of people associating her with him; I didn't realize she was actually covering her tracks."
The king leaned forward. "Who was this lady?"
"I'm not all caught-up on nobles' names, so I can't say for certain—" He quailed under Garon's glare. "But, um, I caught some of her features. Black hair, blue eyes, looked a bit like that lady always trailin' you—a retainer, is that what you call 'em?"
"Jeanette," Garon spat, unable to stop himself from pounding a fist against his desk. Betrayed by someone who swore to protect me—treason of the highest order—hardly unexpected, given this 'concubine war', but still—
Misinterpreting his anger, Killian took a step backward. "Please, please don't kill me," he begged, "I didn't know—I was just the messenger—"
Garon closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, taking several breaths to calm down. "I'm not going to kill you," he finally sighed, "I'm not unreasonable. You were doing your job, that's all, and you stepped forward with what you know. Thank you. You may leave."
The ravenmaster almost fainted on the spot, bowing as deep as he could while thanking him over and over. The guards led him away while Basil turned to Garon.
"So there you have it. A testimony against one of your concubines. Not enough to have her fairly executed, but enough to have her imprisoned and investigated."
"Especially given she was one of the few with knowledge of the secret passage to my room." Garon pushed back from his desk, rising to crack his back. "I'll send out the warrant for her arrest immediately."
He'd wanted to have Jeanette arrested quietly, but of course it wasn't that easy. One of his concubines, Isolde, saw his soldiers marching into her room, and as fast as she could told everyone else. In no time many nobles had gathered in the halls outside her room, the concubines giggling and gossiping to themselves as they watched Jeanette be escorted out and to the dungeons.
If there was one compliment Garon would pay her, it was that she didn't let them get to her. She'd glared at them all, head held high as though she weren't only half-dressed, her hair messy and her makeup not on, and being led to imprisonment.
A few days before her trial, Garon went to visit her. She'd had her lockpicking tools taken away from her, but just in case, had a pair of guards standing directly in front of her cell, weapons in hand. Her rank earned her a slightly-more luxurious cell than the one the assassin had been in, so rather than hanging by her wrists she was simply shackled to the wall.
He passed Raoul on his way in. The brunet tilted his head and muttered "my lord,", but he was visibly downtrodden. Garon patted him on the shoulder and followed the guards to Jeanette's cell.
His former retainer rose from the bed and curtsied sarcastically when he stood before her, her chains rattling with the motion. "Your Majesty. Forgive the poor accommodations, but a lady makes due with what she must."
He stopped before the bars. "You're no lady, Jeanette. You arranged for my wife's murder."
"You have no proof of that," she sniffed.
"Investigator Basil has already found which of Emeric's servants was carrying the letters between him and his accomplice. I've sent people to bring him here, where he will be asked to identify you. If he does…"
Garon let the sentence trail off, and by the brief flicker of fear in Jeanette's eyes, the message got across. She scoffed and sat back on the bed, crossing her legs. "Well, he won't. And then you'll see how much of a farce this entire thing is."
For a moment Garon stared at her sadly, the anger draining out of him at her haughtiness. He missed their relationship before this all started. She was terrible now, but she'd been his retainer beforehand. She'd been loyal and funny and kind. He'd been able to rely on her, trust her.
Now, he didn't recognize her anymore.
"Why did you do it, Jeanette?" he sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "Why did you change who you were? You used to be a good person. You used to be my friend."
"You saw what happened to the other 'good' women and children in court," Jeanette sneered. "They were among the first to go. The court doesn't tolerate good people, Lord Garon. It was adapt or die."
"And now you may die anyway. Even if you're found innocent, this will haunt your reputation forever. And if you aren't, you'll miss out on so much—on our own daughter's growth, Jeanette."
She was silent, and he pushed forward. "Was it worth it? Was it worth sacrificing every moral you had for flimsy, material gain, just to end up losing it all anyway?"
Jeanette turned away.
He slammed his hands against the bars, rattling them. "Answer me, dammit!"
"What answer do you want me to give?" she snapped, but her voice lacked its usual venom. "A yes isn't what you want to hear, but you'll doubt me if I give a no." She closed her eyes. "Stop taking your anger out on me and leave me be."
The trial, held in the throne room, was not long. Emeric's messenger confirmed that yes, Jeanette was the lady his former lord had carried on correspondence with. Add that to the rest of the suspicious behavior around her—the fact she had knowledge of the secret passage, her quick arrival on the scene, her "inability" to save Queen Katerina—and the outcome was clear.
"Jeanette Du Val," Garon pronounced, as the trial finished wrapping up, "you have been charged with assistance in the assassination of Queen Katerina. You have additionally been charged with breaking your oath to protect your liege, attempted murder, murder, and regicide. The court of Nohr has found you guilty of these crimes. The sentence is death by beheading. Have you anything to say in your defense?"
Her mouth twisted bitterly—he couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a smile or a grimace. "No, not really. I can tell when I've lost. I'll only add that I didn't intend for the assassins to attack you, Lord Garon—that was all Emeric. I only wanted them to attack your wife."
Is that supposed to be worth something? In her mind, it probably was. Taking a deep breath, Garon continued, "You will be returned to your cell tonight and executed tomorrow mor—"
"Mommy!"
To Garon's horror, Josie pushed her way through the crowd, eyes runny with tears. Her nursemaid followed on her heels, grabbing the girl and trying to drag her away. "Princess Josephine, you mustn't—your father is conducting important business—"
"No! Let go! I want Mommy!"
What is she doing here? Garon glanced about to see one of his older sons, Damian, slip out the room, hiding a smirk—had he let slip word about the trial, just to agitate or hurt his sister? Given how their mothers were at odds, it seemed likely.
Most of the court was tittering at the young girl's uncouth behavior, but for once, Jeanette wasn't among them. She hesitated, looking at her daughter as though seeing her for the first time. Her mouth moved, but whatever she was planning to say never came out, for the guards grabbed her and began dragging her to back to her cell. Josie sobbed wildly, reaching for her mother. "Mommy, no! Mommy!"
Wheeling around, she gazed up at Garon desperately, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Daddy, make them stop! Make them give back Mommy!"
"I can't," Garon tried to explain helplessly. "Josie, sweetie…"
His daughter let out a devastated wail. "I hate you!"
She tried to run after the guards, but this time Arete stepped forward, almost literally out of nowhere, and caught her around the waist. Lifting the shrieking, flailing girl, his betrothed carried her over to her nursemaid, grunting with effort. "Get her out of here!"
The cries of his six-year-old daughter, screaming for her mother, echoed in Garon's ears long, long after she'd quite literally been carried out of the room.
That evening, Garon ensured Josie was locked inside her room, the windows barred to prevent her seeing from what would occur outside. And at dawn the next day, Jeanette calmly knelt on the chopping block, to a crowd of jeerers for her death. The king swung the axe, and blood splattered the streets of Nohr.
The wedding was held in summer, a little over a year after Katerina's death and two months after Jeanette's execution. Nohrian weddings were normally quick affairs, with only a small amount of luxuries. But a royal wedding was different. It was a grand party, and thanks to the food they'd been procuring from Hoshido, they were able to spoil themselves with the indulgences.
Arete's dress was black silk and black lace, with a train of crow feathers and a veil around the lower half of her face. Her father's pendant gleamed brightly against her dress, and the flowers in her bouquet were nightshade and water lilies. She walked down the aisle alone, having no one to give her away. She was radiant.
They burned her veil and his cufflinks together at the altar, kissed, and were wed. And then it was time for the banquet, held in the square outside the church—the royal couple sat at the head of the table, the nobles below them. Commoners had no seats, but could come and go freely, taking the scraps.
It was customary for people to come up to congratulate the new couple, so it gave Garon time to notice that, while he, Arete and Azura were happy, they were the only ones. Many of the attending lords, ladies and commoners looked a bit uncertain about their new queen. The concubines were fuming, their smiles slightly fixed and their well-wishes ground out from between their teeth. Bernice is particular sounded as though she were sucking on a lemon when she congratulated them.
Xander, too, seemed downtrodden. His son was still very shy, but he'd slowly taken to approaching Garon and talking to him for little bits of time in hopes of overcoming that. But today, he was scowling quietly next to him at the banquet table. The only child who seemed to be in as black a mood was Josie, who was listlessly picking at her food.
"Xander, are you alright?" Garon asked quietly as they ate, leaning over.
"I want you to be happy, Father," he said, sounding rehearsed. "If this makes you happy, I'm fine with that."
Garon sighed. "Don't lie to me, son."
"I'm not—"
"You're clearly unhappy with the situation. And that's fine—I'm not asking you to treat her as a mother. She could never replace yours. But I would at least like you to get along."
His son was silent. "I'll try," he finally said, and then yet another set of nobles approached the table, warily stealing glances at Arete as they wished Garon well.
It's nothing, Garon told himself as they departed, they're uneasy because Katerina left large shoes to fill. They'll grow to accept her in time. She's one of the few good people left in my court.
But despite his hopes, the court grew colder to Arete, and by extension her daughter.
One evening, he stopped to kiss Azura goodnight, as had become his custom. As he stooped to press his lips to her brow, the little girl looked up at him with wide, sad eyes and asked, "Why doesn't Josie like me anymore?"
What was he supposed to say to that? Garon fumbled about in his mind for some sort of explanation. After her mother's execution, Azura had hesitantly tried to comfort Josie, but her friend had slapped her hand away. Josie had started avoiding Azura shortly after that, making thin, snide excuses whenever Azura tried to invite her to play. The rest of the children had also begun staying away from her after the wedding, on the words of their mothers; some were just passive about it like Camilla, but some actively shunned her, leaving whenever she tried to join their group for play. Even Xander couldn't bring himself to really interact with her, occupied as he was by his renewed efforts to learn the sword.
"She just misses her mother, darling," was the best he could come up with. "She still likes you, she's just too sad to play right now."
It was technically true. He'd entrusted Josie to Raoul—without Jeanette, she was vulnerable to the machinations of the rest of the concubines. And as much as he wanted to keep her with him to best protect her, it was just impractical. He and his retainer may not have the best of relationships right now, but Raoul had cared for Jeanette; Garon trusted him to look after her daughter. The butler told him that Josie often cried for her mother at night.
"She'll come play with me again?"
"I'm sure she will."
Then he left, unable to keep looking her in the eyes as he lied, silently cursing himself.
When he entered his bedroom, Arete was getting ready for bed, wiping off her makeup with a cloth. She jumped as he rammed a fist into the wall, the sound of bone connecting with stone ringing throughout the room. Garon was so furious and frustrated he didn't even notice the pain shooting down his arm.
"I hate this," he growled. "I hate how powerless I am in my own castle. I hate…"
His wife took his outburst in stride, expression barely changing as she reached for his hand with her two smaller ones. She frowned and clucked her tongue. "Now you've done it. You've broken two of your knuckles."
"It doesn't matter," he mumbled, dropping onto the bed as Arete moved to fetch a staff.
"It matters to me. Now sit still while I patch you up."
They sat in silence for a while, as the staff cast a glowing light over his hands and his bones knit back together. Arete put the staff down, but didn't let go of his hand, her fingers rubbing circles over the back of it. "What happened, Garon?"
He sighed. "Azura told me that Josie's stopped playing with her."
Arete's fingers stilled briefly. "Yes, I know. She told me too. Losing her mother like that can't have been easy for the girl."
"She blames me for not stopping it." And you, because you stopped her from chasing after her mother, and Azura because she's your daughter. It was unfair and childish, but then she was still just a child.
"You're her father. She'll come around."
"When? It's been months."
Arete didn't have an answer for that, so he changed the subject. "I've noticed you don't seem to have a lot of people to talk to, yourself." Even the retainers he'd found for her kept their distance.
She turned away dismissively. "I'm not a particularly social person. I'm happy so long as I have my music, my books, and my magic. And you and Azura, of course."
"If they say anything cruel—"
"They haven't." He studied her face and tone closely, but if she was lying, he could find no sign of it. Nevertheless, it was clear from her body language that the subject was closed. So instead he put an arm around her, and as they cuddled she sang softly, an old, familiar Nohrian folk song that spoke of happier times, of bountiful harvests and plentiful rain. Garon leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the lovely lilt of her voice carry him away to those good times.
He soon learned she was lying, though. A few days later, as he was striding down the hall, intending to get in some training before dinner, he caught some snippets of conversation between a butler and a young nobleman.
"…appearance was quite fortuitous, don't you agree?"
"Oh, completely. A commoner appears from nowhere, with a daughter despite being unwed I might add, so soon after the death of our beloved queen? A commoner who proceeds to win the heart of our king? No mere coincidence, that."
"How did she do it, I wonder? Some sort of enchantment or spell?"
"Well, you didn't hear this from me, but I spoke with Lady Vesta a few days ago, and she said—"
They fell silent when Garon's shadow fell over them, faces paling.
"Go on," he said pleasantly, dangerously. "What did Lady Vesta say?"
"That…that Her Majesty was quite adept at magic, 'tis all," the nobleman squeaked. "She sung quite a bit of praise about her…her skill."
"I'm sure she did," he growled. He spun on his heel and stormed away. Forget his training; he had a concubine to speak to.
He found Vesta in the larder, bringing food out in preparation for the upcoming meal. She smiled and curtsied—somewhat awkwardly, with the box in her arms—when she saw him. "Lord Garon," the maid purred. "How may I assist you this lovely day?"
"You can start by putting an end to the rumors you're spreading about my wife."
Her eyes widened, faux innocent. "Rumors? I merely speculate, my lord; it's not my fault if some people take those speculations as fact."
"You know very well it's not mere speculation you spread, but slander against the rightful queen of Nohr. It needs to stop."
"Is speaking a crime, now? Do you intend to cut out the tongues of everyone who has repeated these words? If so, you will have to get half the court in line, for I am not the only one speculating, my lord."
And unfortunately, she was right. Rumor and hearsay had always been part of court life, and you couldn't just go around silencing everyone who said something you disliked without quickly becoming unpopular. Reacting to this would do nothing except cement the idea that Arete had done something to bewitch him, in people's minds.
His and Arete's first major fight was over that, when he confronted her later that evening. In hindsight jumping on her about it as soon as she walked through the door was dumb, he could admit that, but he was agitated and angry and not thinking straight.
"Why did you lie to me?"
She stopped short. "Lie? Garon, I haven't—"
"You told me the other women in court weren't bullying you. So why did I have to learn from Vesta that that's not true?"
"Oh my gods," she muttered, shaking her head. "That's it? Really? It's nothing."
"It's not nothing! What they're saying is—"
"I can handle it!" she snapped, spinning around, "And you have more important matters on your mind, so—"
"So now you think you're not important to me? Is that it?"
"I didn't say that!"
Needless to say, the shouting lasted for quite a while. It didn't wind down until, frustrated, Arete actually screamed, "I can't just go running to you as soon as a few mean words come my way! What do you think the court would say to that? They'd call me weak, and Nohr doesn't tolerate weakness! I have to prove to them that I'm an able queen!"
It shocked him, to say the least. He slumped, resting a hand against the dresser for support, exhausted and drained and plain-out sore from the fighting. "How will you do that?"
She was quiet. "I don't know," she finally said, sounding as tired as he. "But I'll work something out."
Things remained awkward for a few days, but they resolved matters. Garon reluctantly promised to let her handle the slander herself, and she promised to rely on him for emotional support when she needed it.
Autumn creeped by, and in its final days, Garon woke one morning to find a letter from Izumo had arrived in the night. It was resting on his desk in all its gross excessiveness, fancy gold calligraphy and colorful stationery winking at him cheerfully. Not how he wanted to start his morning—he had little patience for Izumo's foppishness—but he may as well just get it out of the way now, so grudgingly he opened it up and read it aloud.
"To the esteemed King Garon of Nohr…you, your lovely new bride, and whomever you see fit to bring are cordially invited to Izumo, the great land of medicine and festivity, for a banquet celebrating love and peace… Hiromi's usual verbosity, in short," he sighed, turning to set the letter aside.
Then his eyes caught sight of a particular phrase that had his grip on the paper tightening dangerously, until it was almost ripped. "The esteemed King Sumeragi of Hoshido and his lovely new bride, as well as whomever else they see fit to bring, have also been invited. As you well know, Izumo has a strict non-violence policy—even enemies may be friends within its borders…"
"Garon?" Arete's curious, sleepy voice called him out of his rage. Exhaling, his fingers loosened, and the crumpled piece of paper drifted slowly to the ground. His wife sat up in their bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Her eyes drifted down to the letter, and she stooped to fetch it, running her fingers over the loopy writing. Her eyebrows climbed up her face the further she got, and she began looking more awake.
Finally, she put the letter down, meeting Garon's fuming face calmly. "You have to admire Duchess Hiromi. It takes a certain amount of…gravitas, to invite two enemy nations to the same banquet."
"An invitation implies I can refuse it," he grumbled. Izumo was Nohr's sole source of medicinal imports; turning down an invitation ran the risk of losing those imports, or having the prices raised.
"It's not all bad. It'll be nice to get away from the court for a while," Arete commented. "And it's free food."
An unintentional snort slipped out of him. "Fair point. The children could probably use a vacation, too—Josie especially." And he thought he could, at least, trust the concubines to know better than to start something in neutral territory.
Still, Izumo was far, almost as far as Hoshido, and the date for the banquet was close. Even by wyvern it would take more than a week to arrive. They'd need to make preparations immediately and set out swiftly if they wanted to arrive in time.
He sighed, turning to his wardrobe to get dressed for the day. "I'll tell the stablemasters to start preparing the wyverns for the flight."
And then it would be time to see Sumeragi in the flesh, for the first time since this whole mess began.U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, an appointee of President Obama's, has been fired by the Trump administration.
In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services said Murthy had been asked to resign, and that he would be replaced temporarily by Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, the current deputy Surgeon General.
“Today, Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration," the statement said.
"Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps," the statement continued, adding that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price "thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation."
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Murthy had been surgeon general since 2014 and his sudden departure surprised employees at HHS, The New York Times reported.
Murthy called gun violence a health threat to the United States, however, which had won him opposition from the NRA.Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels[1][3] (born October 5, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestling manager, television host, and occasional professional wrestler. Runnels began her professional wrestling career in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Miss Alexandra York, manager of The York Foundation. She later joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she worked for eight years.
In the early years of her career with the WWF, she managed her (then) real-life husband Dustin Runnels (known on-screen as Goldust) and was a member of the Pretty Mean Sisters alliance. She also managed both The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian following the Terri Invitational Tournament in 1999. Subsequently, she had an on-screen rivalry with The Kat, managed The Radicalz stable, and worked as a host and interviewer. During her time with the WWF/E, she briefly held the Hardcore Championship, her only championship during her career. After leaving the wrestling business, Runnels became involved in philanthropic work.
Professional wrestling career [ edit ]
NWA World Championship Wrestling (1988–1991) [ edit ]
Runnels was originally a make-up artist for CNN from 1985 to 1991, where she worked on Larry King's make-up.[3] On the weekends, she did makeup for the wrestlers of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP).[4] When the company was purchased by Ted Turner in 1988 and renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW), she moved to Atlanta and continued doing make-up for some of the wrestlers.[3] Booker Ole Anderson eventually asked her to become part of the roster as a manager.[3] Runnels debuted in 1990 as Alexandra York, a laptop-carrying accountant who led an alliance known as the York Foundation, a group of wrestlers with finance-themed gimmicks.[3] The York character was created over a lunch with Tony Schiavone, one of WCW's announcers.[4] She worked at WCW for two years.[3]
World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (1996–2004) [ edit ]
Managing Goldust (1996–1998) [ edit ]
Runnels debuted in the World Wrestling Federation at the Royal Rumble in 1996 as Marlena, a character modeled after Marlene Dietrich.[3][4] She debuted as a coolly unconcerned and indifferent manager. With her cigar-smoking, seductive, nonchalant and mysterious gimmick, she acted as the manager of her then real-life husband Dustin, who was wrestling under the gimmick of Goldust.[3] The cigar-smoking aspect of the character came about because Runnels enjoyed smoking them in real life.[4] The risque characters helped bring about The Attitude Era of the late-1990s and the Diva division.[3] During a feud between Goldust and Triple H over the Intercontinental Championship, on February 16, 1997 at In Your House 13: Final Four, Marlena was choked by Chyna, who debuted as a plant from a ringside seat and later became the bodyguard for Triple H.[5][6] Later, Brian Pillman feuded with Goldust over Marlena.[5] As part of the angle, Pillman won Marlena in a match and sent Goldust a picture of her handcuffed in a bed.[7] Pillman, however, died in the middle of the storyline.[5] Originally, the plan was to have the rivalry culminate in an on-air wedding where Marlena would leave Goldust for Pillman.[8] After the Marlena-Goldust alliance dissolved, Goldust revealed Luna Vachon as his new manager.[5]
Pretty Mean Sisters (1998–1999) [ edit ]
Runnels later re-emerged in 1998, under her real name, as the on-screen girlfriend of Val Venis.[5] When Runnels claimed to be pregnant with Venis' baby, he dumped her.[5][9] She later joined forces with Jacqueline Moore, who had just ended her alliance with Marc Mero, to form the Pretty Mean Sisters (P.M.S.).[9] They later formed an alliance with D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry, accompanying them to the ring for a match against Venis and The Godfather in December at Rock Bottom: In Your House.[10] In January, Runnels claimed to have suffered a miscarriage after she was knocked off the ring apron by Brown.[8][9] Weeks later, Brown discovered that Runnels had never been pregnant.[11] P.M.S. gained a "love slave" named Meat in May,[12] whom Runnels controlled using sex.[13] As a part of the storyline, P.M.S. used Meat for his body, forcing him to have sex with them.[12] The alliance, however, broke up by July, when Jacqueline Moore became frustrated with Runnels' infatuation with Meat.[11]
Various storylines (1999–2001) [ edit ]
In late 1999, Runnels arranged the Terri Invitational Tournament, a best-of-five series, between Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz, with the winner receiving her managerial services and the sum of $100,000.[14] The Hardy Boyz won the tournament, which culminated in a ladder match at No Mercy (with the prize money suspended above the ring in a bag).[15] Runnels spent the next few months as their manager until she was injured when Bubba Ray Dudley powerbombed her through a table.[8][11] She returned on February 27 at No Way Out and cost the Hardy Boyz a match.[16] She then became the manager of Edge and Christian, and the storyline originally called for her to come between the duo, resulting in them becoming singles wrestlers with Runnels managing Christian.[17] The storyline, however, was rewritten, and on an episode of SmackDown!, Edge and Christian—who would now continue wrestling as a tag team—revealed they no longer wanted Runnels's services.[17] She, therefore, slapped Edge, who responded by spearing her.[17]
Runnels began a rivalry with The Kat, and at WrestleMania 2000, Runnels (accompanied by The Fabulous Moolah) defeated The Kat (with Mae Young) in a catfight.[18] Val Venis was the Special Guest Referee, but was distracted when Young kissed him in response to Venis making out with both Runnels and The Kat.[18] This distraction allowed Moolah to pull The Kat out of the ring, and when Venis saw her out of the ring, he declared Runnels the winner.[18] Post-match, The Kat attacked Runnels by stripping her black body suit off to expose her nude colored thong.[18] The rivalry continued in an arm wrestling match at Insurrextion.[19] They later participated in a "Stink Face match" at SummerSlam, which The Kat won by first performing the move on Runnels.[20][21]
Runnels later became the onscreen girlfriend and manager of Perry Saturn, who was a member of The Radicalz alliance.[22] She accompanied Saturn to the ring at Fully Loaded in July 2000, where Saturn defeated Eddie Guerrero for the European Championship.[23] Saturn, Runnels, and Radicalz member Dean Malenko also had a series of matches with Team Xtreme (The Hardy Boyz and Lita).[24] The on-screen partnership lasted until Saturn, who had hit his head during a match, opted to continue seeing "Moppy" (a mop he believed was alive) instead of Runnels.[25] As a result, she then became the manager of Raven, a member of The Alliance, who stole Saturn's mop and fed it into a woodchipper.[22]
WWE host and departure (2001–2004) [ edit ]
In late 2001, Terri replaced Trish Stratus as the host of the WWF recap program Excess.[3] She briefly feuded with Stratus, resulting in a wet T-shirt contest between the two on Raw.[26] |
more than $1 million in just a few exciting minutes. A special thank you to longtime MFA supporter Ari Nessel, who matched $500K in gala donations.
The party continued under the full moon with dancing, drinks, and dessert.
MFA would like to thank each and every guest and our generous sponsors for making the Hidden Heroes Gala what many attendees are calling “the most inspiring event I’ve ever been to.” We’d like to especially thank Andy Nahas and The Prospect Fund, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, Gardein, Querciabella, Treeline Treenut Cheese, and VegNews magazine.
You can view our Hidden Heroes Gala photo album here:Israel has agreed to give the Palestinian Authority expanded authority in parts of the West Bank that were until now solely under Israeli control as part of a package of economic incentives, Palestinian media reported Thursday. Israel did not confirm the claim.
The report came following a meeting Wednesday between Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, the and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
According to the official PA news agency Wafa, such powers will specifically be related to construction and planning permissions with the Palestinians now receiving more latitude to build in Area C, which is under Israeli civil and military control. In addition, demolitions due to lack of proper licensing will no longer be implemented, the report said.
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The report did not specify which parts of Area C were under discussion, however reports last week suggested the focus would be on the northern West Bank.
Under the Oslo Accords, signed by Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990’s, Area C (which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank, where most of the settlements are located, and where some 150,000 Palestinians live) is under full Israeli administrative and military control. In Area B (which comprises 22% of the West Bank), administrative control is the responsibility of the PA while the IDF is in charge of security. Area A (18% percent of the West Bank), encompasses the major Palestinian cities and is under the full administrative and military control of the Palestinian Authority.
Kahlon and Hamdallah were joined late Wednesday by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and the PA’s Minister of Civilian Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh. The goal of the meeting was to discuss steps that the Israeli cabinet approved last month to improve economic ties with the PA and relieve restrictions on Palestinian movement. The steps were approved ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region last month.
These include expanded operating hours at key crossings through which large numbers of Palestinians travel. The Allenby Bridge crossing to Jordan will run around the clock, while hours will be extended and infrastructures improved at other crossings.
The cabinet also approved establishing an industrial zone near the Tarkumiya crossing northwest of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
A statement from Kahlon’s Kulanu party said the meeting was the latest in a series the finance minister has held with senior PA figures, and specified that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aware of the confab.
The meeting came a week after Channel 10 reported that the Trump administration was pressing Israel to transfer parts of the West Bank to Palestinian administrative control as a goodwill gesture to help revive peace talks between the two sides.
Specifically, the Americans have asked for areas in the northern West Bank to be transferred from Area C to Area B, according to the report.
The Prime Minister’s Office denied the Channel 10 report.
Sue Surkes contributed to this report.· Jan – May ’14: 1,113 penalties, May-Feb’15: 5,300 penalties
· Ministers Burton & Humphreys must explain reason for massive increase – ‘Is there a campaign to criminalise the unemployed?’
The Anti-Austerity Alliance has today called on the Minister Burton and Minister Humphreys to clarify if there is ‘a campaign to criminalise the unemployed’ underway in an attempt to force them onto free labour schemes after a reply to a parliamentary question showed a massive jump in the number of people having a penalty applied to their dole. Paul Murphy TD said: “In reply to a parliamentary question which we had answered it seems as if the government have stepped up their coercion of unemployed people onto free labour schemes or force them into poverty through cuts to their dole. In the past few months there has been a massive increase in the number of people having penalties applied to their dole.
“Between January and May 2014 1,113 people had a penalty applied to their dole because they refused to take part in one of these sham labour activation schemes. But between May and February this year there has been 5,300 people who have been penalised. This is a huge increase. For example 302 people had their payment suspended for refusing to take part in Gateway where they work for 22 months for a local council for €1 an hour.
“The question which this raises is why has there been this sharp increase from May onwards? Has the government launched a campaign to criminalise the unemployed who refuse to take part in these free labour schemes?
“Making these schemes mandatory has been shown to be a failure, a recent report by the National Youth Council of Ireland showed that 100% of people who felt coerced onto these schemes were left showing it was a negative experience, yet the government continue to introduce new mandatory schemes like First Steps.
“These sort of attacks on the unemployed will become more common as the privatised Pathways to Work scheme kicks in, and we will see these arguments being used to attempt to turn public opinion against people who refuse to take these forced labour positions.”
ENDS
David Murphy: 0858221795German-owned discount supermarket chain Lidl on April 14th opened a logistics center close to Lithuania's second-biggest city of Kaunas as it prepares to launch retail operations in Lithuania, informs LETA/BNS.
"This is the most modern buildings, this distribution center, not only in Lithuania, but in the Baltic countries. This modern building is the most important step in opening our stores because to this center we will receive all the goods and distribute them and ensure quality," Lidl Lietuva Chairman and CEO Radostin Roussev-Peine said at a news conference in the village of Ramuciai, in the district of Kaunas.
"This building is very efficient, environmental friendly and well-managed. We recycle all the waste, we are creating very good environment for our employees and we have a very innovative technological solution for heating," he said.
Lidl Lietuva invested 38 million euros in the construction of the logistics center, which was completed last year.
Lidl Lietuva is set to open more than 10 retail stores shortly. The company is building and plans to open 30 more stores across Lithuania. It also continues to buys properties all over the country.Introduction
In the past few months, I often stopped coding to imagine this very moment. When times got tough and the end looked to be getting further away, I imagined sitting on a deck chair by a pool in the sun, Chopper 2 sitting in the App Store top 100, beer at my side, and a MacBook on my lap, tapping out the Chopper 2 postmortem.
And here I am! Through a lot of hard work, a tremendous amount of support, some careful planning, a bunch of tough decisions and a hell of a lot of luck, Chopper 2 is complete, and as I write this has spent over two weeks in the US top 100. Before it had even had its first sale I felt like all the effort had been worthwhile, but even better, it looks set to beat the success of the first version of Chopper for iPhone.
Chopper history
Many who read this may not be familiar with the history of Chopper so I’ll start at the beginning.
The birth of Chopper was on the Mac back in 2003. It was one of my first attempts at creating a game, and was a 3 month project. Chopper was entered into the uDevGames contest, where it received a number of awards. It was then left available to the public as freeware.
Following that release I switched focus to a series of day jobs doing mostly graphics/real time programming. During this roughly 5 year period I experimented a bit with shareware apps, including making the original version of Chopper for Mac OS X shareware.
The shareware version of Chopper for Mac sold a few thousand copies over the next year or so – definitely not enough to make a living. But it was enough to make me think that working full-time on games could be possible.
So during my last year of full-time work I was saving most of my income, and looking for any opportunities to go out on my own.
As it turned out, the iPhone SDK and the App Store showed up with absolutely perfect timing. I knew the platform would be huge (though was surprised by just how huge!) and I already had a moderately successful Mac game ripe for the port. I also had experience with touch screens, accelerometers, UI design and a bunch of other useful skills due to my day jobs. So during my last few months of full-time work I was also spending the evenings and weekends re-writing Chopper for the iPhone.
When the App Store went live in July 2008, Chopper was there. It initially got to #13 in the US at $7.99, had a few more surges at $4.99 and $2.99, and then hit the #1 game at 99c over the holiday season ‘08/’09.
It would go on to sell more than 350,000 copies in the first couple of years, and even now is selling a few hundred copies a day.
Chopper was far more successful than I had imagined possible, and had set me up nicely for a long indie game development career.
Such a thing as too much success?
During that initial period of success, I did exactly what I’m doing now: I took some time out to reflect on how things went, what the the future might hold, and on life in general. I’d never had a lot of money, and in fact had been a struggling artist on the unemployment benefit when I wrote the original Mac version. So it required quite a mind shift, and I actually had some pretty low moments when I considered that I may never be able to come close to that success again. I had structured a lot of my goals in life around becoming financially independent and creating a successful business. So when I actually got there, I no longer had any goals. And as it turns out, having no goals makes me miserable.
But of course I got past that. I played around with a few new ideas for apps and games, most of which haven’t yet seen the light of day. I released some updates to Chopper, and had some fun making DuckDuckDuck. After some point I also started constantly thinking about Chopper 2. I’m not sure it was always definitely going to happen, and I even dreaded the idea for a while (in much the same way that the idea of Chopper 3 currently flicks the off switch in my brain). But eventually, in March 2009, I started work on Chopper 2.
The beginnings of Chopper 2
The initial phase of a project is always hugely exciting, and Chopper 2 was no exception. It was supposed to take a mere six months at this point, and I was full of energy and ideas – ready to code like crazy. During this phase my time was mostly split between planning/thinking/writing down ideas, researching the technologies I wanted to use, and beginning the code involved.
While in planning mode, I’d appear catatonic to passers-by. Most of it was visualization: imagining how the worlds might look; how enemies would behave; resolving the conflicts between realism and enjoyment, challenge and accessibility, beauty and performance.
Initially I had ideas of planes dropping paratroopers and artillery from above, wind gusts and mini-tornados to avoid, deformable terrains, luscious jungle environments, and a bunch more. However, things had to be removed due to the numerous constraints: enemies dropped from above could add months to development; wind gusts would be hard to convey and would detract from the environment; deformable terrains offered little utility but huge game engine complexity; and complicated environments would be prohibitively slow on older hardware.
So that side of the planning phase was very important in making a cohesive and enjoyable game, and it never really ended (but certainly was a large focus early on).
The incessant flying tanks
Another side to the planning phase involved the technologies I would use to create the game. There were plenty of these early decisions that heavily influenced the direction of the game and its development. Perhaps the first was to use the Chipmunk physics library. Chopper 1 had a very simplistic physics engine that I had created. The world was a grid of tiles, and the game objects were simple squares or collections of squares. The enemies didn’t move, and nothing ever fell onto anything else in a realistic way. It was all very rigid.
In Chopper 2, I wanted enemies to fly off with flailing arms when they were hit by an explosion and I wanted the chopper to feel the impact of explosions. Most importantly I wanted terrains and buildings to be at any angle (to allow for hills and angled roofs) with the game elements responding correctly to these environments. Chipmunk gave me this, and was quick and easy to get up and running. It had a nice support system and docs, was under active development by a friendly guy, and was open source.
So it was great, and provided a much better final result than I could have come up with on my own. However the more complicated/realistic physics system caused its own set of problems – tanks flying off into space being a common one. Initially my tanks were just a few quads sitting on the ground and I’d push them around with forces, but they didn’t behave in anything like a realistic manner. So I changed them to one quad and two wheels, and all hell broke loose. There must have been about fifty unique bugs in the way I implemented it, each one causing the inevitable ‘WTF is that tank doing flying in the air’ bug. From being initialized a little underground and the physics engine over-compensating, to accidentally applying massive torques, to lack of friction and sliding off cliffs, to driving head first into an obstacle and spinning off, I had it all.
The level editor
Another influential early decision was how the levels and terrains were to be constructed. In Chopper 1, I had built the level editor alongside the game, and found that to work quite well, so this was also what I did in Chopper 2. However, creating the Chopper 2 level editor was a much larger task due to the vast number of new features.
The editor ended up having as much code as in the game itself, and added at least four or five months to the development. It was absolutely invaluable, though. I can’t see any way that I could have created all thirty six missions, or had the level of polish I achieved without having this editor.
The editor ran on Mac OS X, and had a full cocoa GUI for all of the configurable parameters of each mission. It also had a keyboard/mouse controlled view that largely ran exactly the same game code as the iPhone/iPad version. So I could make a change, hit reload and the level immediately reflected this change. It also allowed me to set up all the camera fly-throughs and text positions for the mission briefings relatively painlessly. If I had been trying to do this in text files and then building and running on a device or the simulator, I would have given up on the project before it got off the ground… no pun intended.
Creating worlds
The terrains and 3D models were created with a fairly complicated process. I’d decided long before I even began that I would have mesh-based 3D terrains in Chopper 2. Mesh terrains were something I’d had a fair bit of experience with in my day jobs and in various hobby projects, so I had a good idea of what approach I would take.
Firstly, I downloaded freely available height data for real world locations as a base. The canyon level is using elevation data from the Grand Canyon, and the volcano in the background in Misty Valley is Mt. St. Helens.
From there, I opened up the height data in Photoshop to make small adjustments to make it work better in the game. Then, I ran it through a simple tool I had created to turn that into a mesh, optimized for Chopper 2 with more polygons in the foreground. I also took a slightly wider area of the height image and used that as a base for Terragen 2. And after a lot of playing around, learning how to use it, and many (some times half a day long) renders and re-renders, Terragen 2 would spit out a sky box and a great sunlit texture I could map onto my mesh.
The majority of that work happened over a large trial and error period, which lasted three or four months near the middle of the project. Before this, I had already decided on the number of missions and locations I would have, and so while I was familiar with all of the related tools, I focused on getting every one of the terrains/landscapes done. It was a long hard slog, and though it was very rewarding work, getting all twelve of the landscapes looking nice took much longer than I had anticipated. So long, in fact, that around this time I reluctantly removed the intended ocean based locations from the game (though I hope to add them in some future version).
I also created a city generator application, to allow me to easily generate and modify the meshes for the three city locations in the game. I’d played around with placing large buildings onto meshes by hand using Cinema 4D, but the results were ugly, perhaps largely due to my rather poor 3D modeling ability. This city generator worked out great, and I am really happy with how the city levels ended up looking in game. The reflections in the windows combed with interior lights (all smoke and mirrors, of course) worked really well too, and I have Keith Bauer to thank for guidance on the texture combiner code required to achieve that effect.
During this landscape design phase, I was also working on a lot of the more general game elements, I was fixing issues with the physics and refining the feel of the chopper flight.
I designed some of the menu screens to get more of a feel for how the user interface would look and behave, and added many new enemy types and game features.
I was also working on the behavior of the camera, and ended up creating quite a sophisticated mixture of manual spline placement with automatic camera zoom and tilt. Thanks to Bruce Hoult for helping out with some of the math involved there.
Motivational issues
This takes us to around six months, or roughly a third of the way through the project. Things were moving pretty slowly at this point, and in fact I had some pretty major motivational issues for a good couple of months. I was making steady progress, adding features to the game and refining everything all the time, but I was also getting a lot of surfing done! I put the lack of motivation during this time down to a few things. Firstly, as I’ve said earlier, I expected the entire project to take six months. At this point I was already around six months in, and could see there were still many months to go.
Initially, I saw Chopper 2 as roughly twice as complicated as Chopper 1, so thought it would take twice as long. But this was a mistake. I’d neglected to think about all the complexities introduced by the relationships between all of the new features. An analogy would be a number of people shaking hands. Two people means one handshake, but double it to four people and you get six handshakes. Much of the coding complexity is in the handshakes.
It also just took a lot longer as I ventured into new territory, and tackled unforeseen difficulties. The end result was that ‘twice’ the game ended up being at least ten times the work.
Another factor in the motivational issues at this point was the type of work I was doing at the time. It seems to be a pattern I’ve experienced in most projects, where the first 20% or so of the work is really enjoyable. You’re working with a clean slate, you’re seeing rapid progress with little effort, and to an extent are just prototyping. You’re rapidly adding features and making tweaks that have a huge effect, and so you’re getting rewards on a daily or hourly basis. The last 20% or so I find equally enjoyable. It’s putting the icing the cake, and seeing it all come together.
But that 60% or so in the middle is a killer. It requires dedication to get through, and is hard work, no matter how much you enjoy your job. It’s full of repetitive tasks, tough decisions, re-creating the same art/code over and over, or getting stuck on seemingly insurmountable problems. Perhaps the worst part was the long list of tasks where each one takes a week or more before I could see any tangible benefit in the game.
Getting feedback
So that part was difficult. One thing I did around this time that I think really helped me get through it, was to release a private alpha version. I split my ‘to do’ list in half, putting everything that would be needed for an enjoyable playable alpha in one list and everything that wasn’t essential in the other. Then I asked on twitter for volunteers and got to work. About 2 months later I had something I felt I could show people, and sent it out for feedback.
This was a great thing to do for two reasons. Firstly, it gave me a medium-term goal to work towards, when the long-term goal of completing the whole game still looked miles off. And secondly, it gave me some feedback at an early stage when I could still make larger changes relatively easily.
Sending out development builds is a bit of a tricky thing. I’m always conscious of just how much work I am asking of the (enthusiastic but unpaid) testers, and also how much more valuable it is to have feedback from someone fresh to the game. So I try to keep the number of versions I send out to a minimum. In Chopper 2’s case this was two builds during this alpha period around halfway through the project, and two beta builds right at the end of the project, when I only thought I had a few minor bugs and features left to go.
Apple’s 100 Ad Hoc devices limit was a major pain, and caused me to not be able to get out all the versions to all the testers I wanted. Hopefully Apple will do something about this in the future, but in the meantime I learned to try to keep the number of testers in each version low, and make sure I only sent it out to people who I believed would give me feedback. This was really tricky to gauge at times, but overall I was amazed at the feedback a lot of the testers provided, and that feedback helped a great deal with the quality of the finished game.
Saving and loading
After the alpha build it was really a matter of just finishing the remainder of the game. The major task was creating the remaining 75% or so of the levels. This included adding all of the enemies that hadn’t yet been created, many tweaks to difficulty and graphical elements, completing all of the user interface and game saving, and a whole bunch of other stuff probably not worth going into.
However, during this phase there were a number of hurdles and breakthroughs that are worth mentioning. State saving comes high on the list. If you’re not a programmer you probably have no idea just how hard it is for a developer to save your current progress when you exit a game, and load it all back up again when you resume. For starters, the developer has to have the game designed well enough that this is even possible. Unlike in Chopper 1 for the Mac, Chopper 2 was designed with this in mind, with all parts of the game being able to be loaded either freshly from a level’s defaults or from a game save file.
Where it becomes really difficult though, is the elimination of all of the associated bugs. For instance, every projectile must save its position, direction, velocity, target object and a bunch of other parameters. And when any one of these things is neglected for some reason or loaded or saved incorrectly, bizarre behaviors show up on reload.
Projectiles would disappear or spin off in the wrong direction or suddenly all target the player. With the complexity of the Chopper 2 game state, I simply couldn’t have found all of the issues if I had been actually exiting and starting the app again on a real device. So what I had was a button in the editor, that saved and loaded the state exactly as if I had exited and re-launched the app. This meant that in a fraction of a second I could save and reload the state, and so I played through every level clicking this button every second or so until all the save-related bugs I could find were squashed.
The remote control feature
The remote control feature was also an interesting development. After playing with my shiny new iPad for a couple of weeks it struck me that some iPad games could work quite well controlled exclusively by an iPhone. I immediately realized it would be technically possible, and that I could do it in Chopper 2. So I got to work, and within a day of getting the idea I had a working prototype. The logical next step was to plug the iPad into a TV. So a day later I had that working too, filmed the setup, uploaded the videos to YouTube, started getting press and rapidly had over 100,000 video views.
That turned out to be a great ‘gimmick’ and as such drove a huge amount of interest a couple of months before launch. But it wasn’t only a gimmick. When playing with the prototype, I was pretty blown away by just how well it worked. The remote control method became my preferred way to play, so I could see that other people would really like it too.
Technically, the iPhone controlling iPad feature was easy to implement. I’d already had some basic networking experience, and GameKit made the process pretty painless. I’d also had experience with multiple displays on the Mac, and had resolution independence to the extent where it looked good on both iPhone and iPad. So the TV out thing wasn’t too difficult technically either. And in fact it really only required a few lines of code. However, designing and creating the setup interface, and tidying up the loose ends, allowing people to plug in and unplug the TV at any time, and dealing with bluetooth reconnections and such, did end up adding a few weeks to development. Overall though I feel it was well worthwhile, and would do it again in a heartbeat.
The launch
Lastly, the launch itself also deserves a mention. Chopper 2 came out with quite a bang, getting a solid week of insanely high sales numbers, reaching the #10 top iPhone app in the US, and the #3 top iPad app. In a market dominated by large publishers and 99c licensed titles, this was a pretty remarkable launch for an indie game at $2.99. I put this success down to a number of factors.
Firstly, I had set a release date in the future when I submitted Chopper 2, and adjusted this but still gave myself a few days when it was approved. When an app is approved developers can send out promo codes to the press and they can then download and play it, even though the app itself is not yet available in the store. So after it was approved I decided on a release date and sent out nearly all of my promo codes to all the contacts I had. The result of this was a number of reviews and articles on or just after the release date.
It probably shouldn’t be overlooked, so I’ll also say that in general these early reviews were very positive. It definitely wouldn’t have had such early success if it had been in any way poorly received.
Secondly, I already had a pretty large and active customer base playing both Chopper and Chopper Lite. A few months before Chopper 2 was done, I had released an update that put a button in both these apps on the main menu simply titled ‘Chopper 2′. When people clicked this, it showed a built in advertising page, with a button to get more information. As soon as Chopper 2 was available world-wide, this button changed (in the lite version only) to say ‘Available Now!’ next to it and linked directly to Chopper 2 in the App Store. This button had an insane number of clicks in the first 2 weeks. Though of course it wasn’t just the button. The fact that well over a million people had already tried the first version must have helped!
Also, and I’m not sure exactly how much of an effect this has had, I spent about a week carefully crafting the Chopper 2 trailer. I’ve already written a lengthy ‘making of’ post, so won’t go into it here. So far it’s had 35,000 views, which isn’t huge, though not insignificant either. I do wish I could place this on the App Store page somehow. But people were generally impressed with the production values of the trailer, and I’m sure it sells the game well. iPhone game trailers are generally pretty bad, so I suspect just getting anyone to click the play button is a pretty giant hurdle.
There were other factors to the successful launch, too. Fellow developers and many other fantastic people helped to promote it in various ways, including some free advertisement placements and lots of tweets and the like. Apple featured it in the App Store 2 days after launch in many countries, and are continuing to do so, which has an absolutely huge effect.
I think the launch sale was a great way to go. The base price is $4.99, but it was launched at $2.99. Some developers have launched an app at a high price point then drastically dropped the price a week or two later, which tends to piss people off. I did the opposite. I think people responded pretty well to this, and it seems the right thing to do. Though I’ll never know if it would have been more successful launching at $7.99 and dropping to $4.99 later.
Also, as mentioned earlier, the 200,000+ views of the remote control/TV out videos must have helped. And the iPhone controlling iPad feature alone must be driving a lot of interest, with Chopper 2 being one of the first games to offer the option.
Conclusion
Overall, I am immensely proud of what I have achieved. Chopper 2 is of the high quality I was aiming for, and has been very well received.
If there was a single negative thing to say about the experience it would be that it just took too long. I’ve mentioned the factors that caused this, and I definitely don’t regret the time spent, but I will be much more cautious about the potential length of future projects I take on by myself. 16 months was too long, and I hope I never work – alone – on a project of that length again.
On the positive side, I am very, very happy with how the game came together as a whole. The music, the landscapes, the simple story and the text/fly-throughs that present it, along with the gameplay itself, all come together to create a cohesive whole that I feel is my greatest artwork. It has been a labor of love, a huge learning experience, and a great success.For the men picking the roster of Team North America — the U-24 team at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey — it’s as much about watching who is playing well these days, as it is scouting players who are playing their way off the roster.
Calgary Flames defenceman Dougie Hamilton seemed a lock for the team, as was Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba. But Hamilton has struggled mightily in Calgary, and Trouba’s game has also taken a step back in Winnipeg in his third pro season. Same with Cody Ceci, who has been only so-so this season in Ottawa.
The co-general managers are Chicago’s Stan Bowman and Edmonton’s Peter Chiarelli. They were likely counting on Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau as well, but he’s been very quiet so far with just one goal in his first 21 games. I would add that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ stock as a top centre on that team has slid. He has 16 points in his first 21 games though, and production like that should guarantee a spot on this club.
Connor McDavid is a lock for the team, and Jack Eichel isn’t far behind.
All of those struggling players will have a chance to play their way back into the plan, of course. Players like Trouba and Hamilton are valuable, because they’ve all played NHL playoff games. On a blue line that we think would include Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Murray, Morgan Rielly and Trouba, that group of five has just 15 NHL playoff games between them.
“I envision games like the Olympics,” said Chiarelli this week. “High tempo, close games where you make a little mistake and you’re toast. One defenceman who has trended on to this list is St. Louis’s Colton Parayko, as well as Matt Dumba in Minnesota.”
At forward, “(Max) Domi and (Anthony) Duclair have jumped into the mix,” he said. “I didn’t know that Domi would have the impact that he’s had. He makes a lot of plays, he’s quick, has some grit. And he’s able to sustain it.
“I always knew, watching (Detroit’s Dylan) Larkin in the summer, that Larkin would be there. And he is there.”
If you’re wondering who is going to play goal for the U-24 team, you’d better go to theAHL.com and check the goalie stats. The two front-runners are John Gibson, who was expected to make his third start this season for Anaheim on Friday, and Connor Hellebuyck, who made his NHL debut for Winnipeg earlier in the day.
You can likely scratch Malcolm Subban off the list. He’s had hip issues and sports an.854 save percentage in Providence, Boston’s top farm club. One other name in net: Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray, who has a.931 percentage in Wilkes-Barre.
Chiarelli petitioned organizers to let him and Bowman grab a 25-year-old goalie, so they could have more NHL experience between the pipes. The answer was a resounding, “No.”
JON GONE
Speaking of goalies, Calgary finally got Joni Ortio through waivers, and he’s found a wide open net in AHL Stockton. Jon Gillies, considered the goalie of the future in Calgary, has been out with a lower body injury (suspected to be a hip problem) for a while now, and not long after they signed Kevin Poulin, he dislocated his knee cap in a shootout.
“Jon has been out for three and half weeks,” said Flames GM Brad Treliving, who wouldn’t identify the injury. “We’re hopeful this thing can resolve itself, but we’re sort of getting to that time.”
That time would be a need for surgery, and if it is a hip, that could mean an end to Gillies’ first pro season after just seven games. It’s not even December yet, and when Ortio makes his first start in Stockton, he’ll be the sixth netminder to play for the Baby Flames this season.
Ortio looked like he might be the next Miikka Kiprusoff last season. This year, like the Flames overall, he hasn’t recaptured that level of play.
“He played some terrific hockey, he won four games when we were going through a rough stretch last season,” Treliving said. “But, it’s a small sample size. In goalie years, he’s still a young guy (24 years old).”
The Flames called Ladislav Smid up from his conditioning stint in Stockton Friday. They traded goalie Laurent Brossoit to Edmonton for Smid, and now Smid for Brossoit, and today Brossoit is tearing it up in the AHL with a 2.07 GAA and a.937 save percentage.
DUBIE DON’T?
Did you notice Devan Dubnyk’s save percentage has quietly settled down at.910 heading into the Jets game Friday? That’s well below the.936 he posted last season when Dubnyk re-established himself with the Minnesota Wild.
JUICE AND GABBY
As a media guy, there isn’t a player in the league who is better to deal with than Kevin Bieksa. He’s available, plain spoken, intelligent, and can be very funny. He’s good people and good copy.
But in hockey, the good guys and the bad guys age at the same pace, and no matter how much you like a player or coach, the day will come when you end up having to question his level of play or coaching eventually. Bieksa is at that point in Anaheim this year. His play began to drop off last year in Vancouver, amid speculation he had an abdominal issue, and it has not returned to a level the Ducks are happy with yet this season.
“He’s a veteran guy that has to fight his way out of this,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We count on him to not make mistakes. We will go as far as guys like him take us.”
Boudreau is, ironically, in the same position. I can’t think of an NHL coach I’d like to spend time around more than the guy they call Gabby. But he’s got a consensus Stanley Cup contender in Anaheim, and at the quarter mark they are playing.435 hockey.
We’re not saying it’s all Boudreau’s fault in Anaheim, but we are saying that it may turn out to be his problem. I doubt GM Bob Murray is going to let his team miss the playoffs without making a coaching move.
A DESERT DOG
I saw a Corey Hirsch tweet about hockey in Arizona where he feels — as do many — that the NHL will never find financial success as long as the Coyotes play out in Glendale. They would have a much better chance if they played in Scottsdale, he agreed, and that is no doubt true.
But here’s the hard part: Who would spend $300 million-plus on a franchise bleeding money, then spend another $500 million or more to build the new building in Scottsdale?
The way arena and stadium investments have gone in Glendale, I find it hard to believe that taxpayers would endorse public funding of a hockey arena. And the current ownership bought the club on the premise of playing out of Glendale. I am told that kind of investment is not in their plans.
So the theory becomes, as soon as the NHL can find someone to spend roughly $1 billion on hockey in Arizona, it will succeed. Hmmm…November is going to be a |
that is an affliction for him... Furthermore, there is the case where a monk...enters and remains in the sphere of the infinitude of space. If, as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with form, that is an affliction for him... Furthermore, there is the case where a monk...enters and remains in the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness. If, as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the sphere of the infinitude of space, that is an affliction for him... Furthermore, there is the case where a monk...enters and remains in the sphere of nothingness. If, as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, that is an affliction for him... Furthermore, there is the case where a monk...enters and remains in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. If, as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, that is an affliction for him...whatever is an affliction is stress. So by this line of reasoning it may be known how Unbinding is pleasant. Furthermore, there is the case where a monk...enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen [that] with discernment, his effluents are completely ended. So by this line of reasoning it may be known how Unbinding is pleasant. [back] -- A.IX.34? 176. Ananda: It is amazing, my friend, it is marvelous, how the Blessed One has attained and recognized the opportunity for the purification of beings...and the direct realization of Unbinding, where the eye will be, and forms, and yet one will not be sensitive to that sphere; where the ear will be, and sounds...where the nose will be, and smells...where the tongue will be, and tastes...where the body will be, and tactile sensations, and yet one will not be sensitive to that sphere. Udayin: Is one insensitive to that sphere with or without a perception in mind? Ananda:...with a perception in mind... Udayin:...what perception? Ananda: There is the case where with the complete transcending of perceptions dealing with form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'infinite space,' one remains in the sphere of the infinitude of space: Having this perception in mind, one is not sensitive to that sphere. Further, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of space, thinking, 'infinite consciousness,' one remains in the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness: Having this perception in mind, one is not sensitive to that sphere. Further, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, thinking, 'There is nothing,' one remains in the sphere of nothingness: Having this perception in mind, one is not sensitive to that sphere. Once, friend, when I was staying in Saketa at the Game Refuge in the Black Forest, the nun Jatila Bhagika went to where I was staying, and on arrival -- having bowed to me -- stood to one side. As soon as she had stood to one side, she said to me: 'The concentration whereby -- neither pressed down nor forced back, nor with mental fabrications kept blocked or suppressed -- still as a result of release, contented as a result of stillness, and as a result of contentment one is not agitated: This concentration is said by the Blessed One to be the fruit of what?' I said to her, '...This concentration is said by the Blessed One to be the fruit of gnosis [the knowledge of Awakening].' Having this sort of perception, friend, one is not sensitive to that sphere. [back] -- A.IX.37? 177. The Buddha: Sandha, practice the absorption (jhana) of a thoroughbred horse, not the absorption of an unbroken colt. And how is an unbroken colt absorbed? An unbroken colt, tied to the feeding trough, is absorbed with the thought, 'Barley grain! Barley grain!' Why is that? Because as he is tied to the feeding trough, the thought does not occur to him, 'I wonder what task the trainer will have me do today? What should I do in response?' Tied to the feeding trough, he is simply absorbed with the thought, 'Barley grain! Barley grain!' In the same way, there are cases where an unbroken colt of a man, having gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells with his awareness overcome by sensual passion, obsessed with sensual passion. He does not discern the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual passion once it has arisen. Making that sensual passion the focal point, he absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, and supersorbs himself with it. He dwells with his awareness overcome by ill will...sloth and drowsiness... restlessness and anxiety...uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He does not discern the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has arisen. Making that uncertainty the focal point, he absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, and supersorbs himself with it. He is absorbed dependent on earth...liquid...fire...wind...the sphere of the infinitude of space...the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness...the sphere of nothingness...the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception...this world...the next world...whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, pondered by the intellect. That is how an unbroken colt of a man is absorbed. And how is a thoroughbred absorbed? An excellent thoroughbred horse tied to the feeding trough, is not absorbed with the thought, 'Barley grain! Barley grain!' Why is that? Because as he is tied to the feeding trough, the thought occurs to him, 'I wonder what task the trainer will have me do today? What should I do in response?' Tied to the feeding trough, he is not absorbed with the thought, 'Barley grain! Barley grain!' The excellent thoroughbred horse regards the feel of the spur as a debt, an imprisonment, a loss, a piece of bad luck. In the same way, an excellent thoroughbred of a man, having gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells with his awareness not overcome by sensual passion, not obsessed with sensual passion. He discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual passion once it has arisen. He dwells with his awareness not overcome by ill will...sloth and drowsiness... restlessness and anxiety...uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has arisen. He is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, heat, wind, the sphere of the infinitude of space, the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect -- and yet he is absorbed. And to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, and Pajapati, pay homage even from afar: 'Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man --
of whom we have no direct knowledge
even by means of that with which
you are absorbed.' Sandha: But in what way is the excellent thoroughbred of a man absorbed when he is absorbed...? The Buddha: There is the case, Sandha, where for an excellent thoroughbred of a man the perception (mental note or label) of earth with regard to earth has ceased to exist; the perception of liquid with regard to liquid...the perception of fire with regard to fire...the perception of wind with regard to wind...the perception of the sphere of the infinitude of space with regard to the sphere of the infinitude of space...the perception of the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness with regard to the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness...the perception of the sphere of nothingness with regard to the sphere of nothingness...the perception of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception with regard to the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception...the perception of this world with regard to this world...the next world with regard to the next world...and whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect: the perception of that has ceased to exist. Absorbed in this way, the excellent thoroughbred of a man is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, fire, wind, the sphere of the infinitude of space, the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect -- and yet he is absorbed. And to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, and Pajapati, pay homage even from afar: 'Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man --
of whom we have no direct knowledge
even by means of that with which
you are absorbed.' [back] -- A.XI.10? 178. Knowledge of the ending of the effluents, as it is actually present, occurs to one who is concentrated, I tell you, and not to one who is not concentrated. So concentration is the path, monks. Non-concentration is no path at all. [back] -- A.VI.64? 182. [On attaining the fourth level of jhana] there remains only equanimity: pure and bright, pliant, malleable and luminous. Just as if a skilled goldsmith or goldsmith's apprentice were to prepare a furnace, heat up a crucible, and, taking gold with a pair of tongs, place it in the crucible. He would blow on it periodically, sprinkle water on it periodically, examine it periodically, so that the gold would become refined, well-refined, thoroughly refined, flawless, free from dross, pliant, malleable and luminous. Then whatever sort of ornament he had in mind -- whether a belt, an earring, a necklace, or a gold chain -- it would serve his purpose. In the same way, there remains only equanimity: pure and bright, pliant, malleable, and luminous. He [the meditator] discerns that 'If I were to direct equanimity as pure and bright as this toward the sphere of the infinitude of space, I would develop the mind along those lines, and thus this equanimity of mine -- thus supported, thus sustained -- would last for a long time. (Similarly with the spheres of the infinitude of consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.)' He discerns that 'If I were to direct equanimity as pure and bright as this toward the sphere of the infinitude of space and to develop the mind along those lines, that would be fabricated. (Similarly with the spheres of the infinitude of consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.)' He neither fabricates nor wills for the sake of becoming or un-becoming. This being the case, he is not sustained by anything in the world (does not cling to anything in the world). Unsustained, he is not agitated. Unagitated, he is totally unbound right within. He discerns that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.' [back] -- M.140One of the nice things about Griffin Reinhart’s first professional season is that he had three different stints in the NHL. He started the year with the Islanders, came back in December and played a game in April, too, which means that an interested person can get a feel for his level of ability throughout the season.
That’s exactly what I decided to do. I opened up NHL Game Center, pulled up the shift charts from the games Reinhart played with the Islanders, and settled in with my notepad to watch how he performed. The result is hardly a perfect appreciation for the player, but it was revealing to me.
Watching him play, it’s easy to see why the Oilers rate him so highly. It’s also easy to see why he has some observers worried.
Skating is the most commonly cited issue with his play, and it is a concern. I’d say Reinhart fits the “skates well for a big man” label; he’s a long way from being a slug but start him flat-footed in the neutral zone against Carl Hagelin or Jason Chimera and bad things are going to happen. He didn’t get beat wide a lot in my viewing, mostly because his between his extremely long wingspan, excellent positioning and decent agility opposing wingers usually run out of real estate before a lane to the net opens up.
Where it hurts him is in recovery and in retrieving the puck. When he makes a mistake or gets caught flat-footed he just doesn’t have the pure speed to get back; he looked less error-prone than (for example) Oscar Klefbom in the neutral zone but Klefbom’s skating means he can get away with mistakes that Reinhart can’t. Similarly, when he forces a dump-in (which he’s good at doing, more in a moment) a lot of times he has to fight a puck battle under less than ideal conditions because his opponents make it to the back wall just a hair faster than he does.
It’s a concern, and it’s probably going to limit his ceiling to some degree, but I’d be surprised if it kept him from an NHL career. It’s just not that bad, even as it isn’t a particular strength.
Hockey sense gets mentioned a lot by the people who like the player, including Oilers’ executive Bob Green, and with good reason. Reinhart’s defensive zone positioning is quite strong; it was funny watching him in his second career NHL game with his head on a swivel directing defensive zone traffic for the Islanders. He just knows where to be.
The same is true defending in the neutral zone. He’s very aggressive at centre ice when he can be; if it’s a two-on-two or three-on-three rush he generally forces the issue at the red line and the vast majority of the time he forces the opposition to dump the puck in. He’s also excellent at holding the defensive zone blue line; the fourth time I watched him force a dump-in in his first game in the majors I was sold that the man knows his business in that department.
He also seems to have playing a two-on-one down pat, which is something that hasn’t always been the case on Edmonton’s blue line in recent years. The game against Chicago saw one develop and he handled it beautifully, taking the passing lane away while angling over to give the shooter nothing; that two-on-one rush turned into a missed shot from outside the scoring chance area.
Size and physical play are related elements, with the former garnering universal high praise and the latter getting mixed reviews (Red Line report said in his draft year that he “plays a small man’s game in a big man’s body”). Obviously, one cannot teach 6’4” and 217 pounds. But what about that physical play?
Red Line’s view, if it was ever accurate, doesn’t hold to the game Reinhart played in the NHL. He engaged in front of the net. He engaged in the corners and along the boards. He won his share of battles. He’s not a perpetually ill-mannered defender in the Jason Smith/Chris Pronger/Sheldon Souray mold, but he was consistently competitive physically in the NHL and he caught a couple of guys (Dan Carcillo coming out of the corner, Tanner Glass at centre ice) with legitimately hard hits.
The other thing is that he’s a positional defender; he holds his position rather than running around looking for somebody to blow up. He didn’t take runs at guys all that often, and when he does as a rule it’s because a forward has slid down to take his spot and there’s no negative consequence to finishing the check.
He could be meaner, and his team would probably welcome that. But watching him play, I don’t have any complaints about him. He doesn’t get walked coming out of the corner, he can break up a cycle and he’s not shy about making life uncomfortable in front of the net.
Puck skills were the hardest area for me to narrow down, because they weren’t consistent from game-to-game but at times they were quite good.
At his best, Reinhart makes a good first pass, keeps the play alive in the offensive zone and has a heavy shot. His first night in the league he took the puck in the defensive zone, saw Carolina making a change, and made a two-line pass that led directly to an Islanders’ goal.
Other nights he was less impressive. Some of it was doubtless nerves, a recurring theme for any player one or two games into an NHL recall. Some of it too was playing on his off side, and frequently enough with an underwhelming partner; it’s no easy feat taking a pass on the backhand from the kind of guy who batters the puck square. Whatever the cause, at points he made rushed plays – panic clears, blind passes – even when he had the extra half-second to make the play right. At other points he struggled to settle the puck down after receiving a pass.
He’s not a guy I’d want as the primary puck-mover on his pairing, but he also didn’t look like Ladislav Smid with Jeff Petry, where nine out of 10 outlet passes needed to come off his partner’s stick.
This is a good prospect. He does a lot of things well and he’s big enough and bright enough to compensate for the things he’s not quite so good at. He’s an awfully valuable addition to the Oilers, however dear the purchase price. The important thing will be to remember that while it’s entirely fair to judge management by the acquisition cost, that doesn’t have anything to do with the player, who should be rated based on his own merits rather than by his draft number or the quality of the skaters going the other way in trade.
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Follow Jonathan Willis on Twitter!This article is from the archive of our partner.
In November, California may become the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. But it's going to have push past the beer industry to get there. According to Huffington Post reporter Ryan Grim, The California Beer & Beverage Distributors became the first "competitors" of marijuana to enter the debate, contributing a sum of $10,000 to the Public Safety First, a committee organized to oppose the proposition. Pot initiative proponents are "closely watching" to see if more money from the liquor, wine or pharmaceutical industries will enter the fray in the few remaining weeks. The alcohol industry, Grim contends, has always seen illicit drugs as a threat to sales if only for the simple reason that, "A night spent on the couch smoking marijuana and watching television is a night not spent at the bar."
Not all members of the California Beer & Beverage Distributors sided with the decision however:
Sierra Nevada and Stone Brewing Co., microbrews that began in California but have become popular national brands, both lashed out at the CBBD after news of the distributor's donation was reported on Celebstoner.com, a popular website focusing on marijuana-related news, and Alternet.com.
And Grim notes, "The last thing a California microbrew needs is to be associated with the effort against legalizing marijuana."
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.Preview | Recap | Notebook
Pistons-Bucks Preview
By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 11 2012 6:35PM While the Milwaukee Bucks haven't encountered any success on the road, they've been plenty impressive at home. Looking to stay undefeated at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee tries to add to the Detroit Pistons' recent woes Thursday night. The Bucks, who dropped to 0-6 on the road after losing five times on their recently completed trip, bounced back with Tuesday's 106-103 win over San Antonio. Milwaukee posted its highest-scoring game of the season in improving to 3-0 at home, where it's averaging 102.0 points on 48.8 percent shooting - significantly higher than its road marks of 88.8 and 40.3. While returning home surely helped their cause, the Bucks (3-6) also greatly benefited from having former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut back on the court. After missing four games while dealing with personal issues in his native Australia, Bogut posted 14 points and 11 rebounds. "It's just as important as having breath. We need the big fella," said Stephen Jackson, who recorded season highs of 34 points and eight assists. "To have him, to have a post presence... it was definitely special. I can't say how big it was to have him back. "We just wanted to get back to winning some games. It felt good to win at home, it was a big game and hopefully it will carry over to the next one." Milwaukee has to like its chances of keeping things going against the reeling Pistons (2-8), who have been outscored by an average of 20.0 points during a five-game losing streak. One day after dropping to 0-4 on the road with a 92-68 loss to Chicago, Detroit fell 100-86 at home to Dallas on Tuesday. "This process (of rebuilding) may be very painful," coach Lawrence Frank said. "It doesn't get better just because you want it to get better. I hope we are all frustrated, because when you are, you have two options. The first is to work harder and understand what you want to do. The second choice isn't an option. "Everyone wants a baby, but few people want to go through the pregnancy. This is going to be hard." The Pistons were without Rodney Stuckey (sore groin) and Charlie Villanueva (sore right ankle) for a fourth consecutive game. Stuckey is averaging 10.8 points, while Villanueva has played just six minutes all season. Brandon Knight, selected eighth overall in June's draft, has averaged 13.5 points while starting in place of Stuckey. He has, however, committed 17 turnovers over that stretch - including six of the Pistons' season high-tying 21 on Tuesday. "You've got to take care of the ball to win games," forward Jonas Jerebko told Detroit's official website. "... We're trying to keep our heads straight. It's early in the season. There are a lot of games left and we know how we can play, so we just have to stay positive. We're going to get some wins. We've just got to stay together." While not much has gone their way recently, the Pistons have certainly held their own in this series of late. Detroit has won 14 of the last 19 meetings with Milwaukee, including 110-100 in the most recent matchup April 8 thanks in part to a combined 37 points from Stuckey and Villanueva. The Pistons haven't lost six in a row since an 11-game slide March 13-April 3, 2010.
Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Jennings, Jackson leads Bucks past Pistons
Posted Jan 12 2012 11:25PM MILWAUKEE (AP) Just 10 games into his NBA career, Jon Leuer found himself in the starting lineup for the Milwaukee Bucks. The rookie from the University of Wisconsin helped the Bucks take an early lead and then turned it over to veteran guards Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson as the Bucks held off the Detroit Pistons 102-93 on Thursday night. Leuer scored seven of his 15 points in the first quarter. He also had six rebounds. "It is no different than coming off the bench," Leuer said. "It is always nice to have a few good things happen early and get in a rhythm. We got a nice lead, but they came back and then our big guys took over and we made a few more plays." The big guys were Jennings and Jackson, who both made key plays in the fourth quarter after Detroit trimmed the Bucks' lead. Jennings led the Bucks with 27 points and Jackson added 25 points, one game after scoring a season-high 34 points. The game was only the second in the shot-clock era without a missed free throw. The Bucks were 17 of 17 and the Pistons 24 of 24. The other game was Dec. 22, 2000, when Atlanta and Toronto hit all 16 free throws shot in the game. Detroit's Tayshaun Prince hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut it to 94-89 with 2:36 remaining, then made a jumper with 1:23 left to trim the lead to three. Jennings hit a driving layup with 1:08 remaining. Prince missed a shot from the corner, and Leuer scored on a dunk off a pass from Jackson with 25.6 seconds to go to give the Bucks a 98-91 lead. Jennings then hit four straight free throws to close out the Bucks scoring. Jennings said he recently asked Phoenix point guard Steve Nash how he had won two Most Valuable Player awards and Nash told him it was due to "making plays down the stretch." "That is something I worked on this summer," Jennings said. "Not always shooting, but making plays for everyone to make sure we get the best shot when it really counts." Bucks coach Scott Skiles said Jennings was key in the Bucks getting the win. "I thought he made good decisions with the ball and for the most part shot when he should have shot it," he said. The Bucks improved to 4-0 at home and 4-6 overall, while the Pistons dropped to 2-9 with their sixth straight loss and fifth in a row on the road. Detroit last lost six straight from March 13-April 3, 2010. Skiles became the 39th coach in NBA history to reach 400 victories. He is 400-388. Greg Monroe led the Pistons with a career-high 32 points and had 16 rebounds. Rookie point guard Brandon Knight added 20 points. "I just took what they gave me," Monroe said. "I was just able to knock down some open jump shots and get to the rim. I was just reading how they were playing me, trying to make plays and be patient." Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said he thought his team had played better than in recent games. "There are no consolation prizes, but there was a different spirit out there a different fight out there," he said. The Pistons went on an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to grab a 41-40 lead when Prince hit a short jumper with 2:12 remaining. It was the Pistons' first lead in more than 150 minutes and nearly 13 quarters. Detroit last led 30-27 against New York with 10:56 left in the second quarter Saturday. The Bucks responded with 12-2 run, with Carlos Delfino hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 52-43. Notes: Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva missed his fourth straight game because of a sore right ankle.... Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey returned to the lineup after missing the last four games with a sore groin. He scored 11 points in 21 minutes.... For the Bucks, forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute missed his fifth straight game because of tendinitis in his right knee, and guard Beno Udrih missed his fourth game with a sprained left shoulder. Skiles said he hoped Udrih would play Monday night against Philadelphia.
Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Notebook: Bucks 102, Pistons 93
By Rick Braun, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 12, 2012 11:40PM THE FACTS: Brandon Jennings scored 27 points, and Stephen Jackson added 25 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 102-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. QUOTABLE: "He's a good all-around player. If you watch him, rarely does he try to do too much. He stays within himself. He's a one- or two-dribble guy who doesn't normally take off and get himself in trouble. He can make those high-low passes. Anyone who can make a shot as a big guy is a dangerous player because people have to respect you and then you're able to do some other things. He also did have a couple of nice drives as well."
-- Bucks coach Scott Skiles on rookie Jon Leuer, who made his first start and posted 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots THE STAT: The Bucks made 11-for-22 on 3-pointers to just 3-for-5 by the Pistons. It's the second straight game Milwaukee has shot at least 50 percent from the arc, as the Bucks hit on 9-for-14 in a victory over San Antonio Tuesday. TURNING POINT: Detroit cut into an 18-point, third-quarter lead, and then trimmed a 94-82 deficit with 4:36 down to 94-91 with 1:23 left before Jennings drove the lane for a contested layup that stopped the Pistons momentum. The Pistons would never be closer than five the rest of the way. HOT: Jennings made 9-for-15 shots, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. Jennings is 16-for-28 (57.1 percent) and 4-for-5 on 3-pointers in the last two games. NOT: Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince went just 6-for-17 and had just one rebound. Prince is just 20-for-64 (31.3 percent) in his last six games. FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Detroit center Greg Monroe went off for a career-high 32 points, and his 16 rebounds were just one short of tying his career best. INSIDE THE ARENA: The first snowstorm of the season kept attendance down. While the crowd was announced as 11,465, there didn't appear to be more than 5,000 to 6,000 in the house.... Buffalo Bills linebacker Nick Barnett, a former Green Bay Packer, was in attendance. GOOD MOVE: Skiles moved Leuer into the starting lineup at power forward in place of Ersan Ilyasova and got a 29-point night out of the position. Leuer posted 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in 31:32, and Ilyasova had 14 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes. ROOKIE WATCH: Pistons point guard Brandon Knight went 7-for-9 and finished with 20 points and three assists. NOTABLE: The two teams combined to go 41-for-41 on free throws, only the second time in the shot-clock era that neither team missed a free throw. The other time was on Dec. 22, 2000, when Atlanta and Toronto combined to go 16-for-16, with the Hawks making 11.... Skiles recorded his 400th win as an NBA coach, becoming the 39th coach to reach that milestone.... Milwaukee forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (right knee tendinitis) and point guard Beno Udrih (left shoulder sprain) and Detroit forward Charlie Villanueva (sore right ankle) missed the game. UP NEXT: For the Pistons, Friday @ Charlotte, Sunday vs. Golden State, Tuesday at Houston. For the Bucks, Friday @ Dallas, Monday @ Philadelphia, Tuesday vs. Denver.Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Media release
For Immediate Release
Phase 1 Clinical Trial Shows Promising Results with New Drug
SALT LAKE CITY – Once breast cancer spreads through the body, it can degrade a patient’s healthy bones, causing numerous problems. Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified a new way that bones get destroyed through cancer. And they’ve also learned how to block that destruction with a new drug. Initial tests with patients show promising results.
The findings were published today in Science Translational Medicine. Alana Welm, PhD, an investigator at HCI and associate professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah, led the study.
Forty-thousand people die every year of breast cancer because the disease has spread to other sites in the body. And approximately 75% of the time, it spreads to their bones.
Welm explains, “When breast cancer spreads to the bones, it causes destruction of the bone. It’s a similar process to what happens in osteoporosis, except to a much greater extent. The cancer causes bone to be eaten up. So you quite literally get holes in the skeleton.”
Patients often suffer from pain and fractures. If the cancer spreads to the spine, the vertebrae can collapse, causing spinal cord compression.
Studying the process, Welm and her colleagues inserted breast cancer cells into mouse bones. The mice experienced large amounts of bone degradation, a rarity in mice. Welm discovered certain breast cancer cells were creating a protein called Macrophage Stimulating Protein (MSP). The MSP was then taken from the environment by another protein called Ron, which causes the bone cells to secrete acids, destroying the bone.
After uncovering the process, the scientists knocked out the mouse gene containing the Ron protein, wanting to see what would happen if the receptor was eliminated.
“We found it completely protected the bones from destruction,” says Welm. “We saw probably 10 times less bone destruction, almost down to nothing. Even when the mice got cancer in their bones, the bones stayed in much better shape.”
But it isn’t possible to simply knock out peoples’ genes. So to test the process in humans, HCI scientists worked with a biotechnology company that was developing a Ron inhibitor – an oral drug that blocks the activity of Ron. Welm’s group first tested this drug in mice and again saw positive results. The animals could walk on their legs longer and didn’t experience fractures.
The biotech company was conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the Ron inhibitor in cancer patients in Australia, so Welm and her group collaborated with them to investigate the effect of the drug on human bones. Because the trial was initially created to test the safety of the drug, the study was limited. It included both men and women with various types of cancers. None of them had cancer in the bones. But almost all patients were over age 50, which meant they were likely to have age-related bone turnover. And some of the women were starting to get osteoporosis. The data showed encouraging results.
“We were able to look in the blood of those patients before and after they had been treated with the drug for at least 28 days, and we observed less indication of bone turnover,” says Welm. “Just under two-thirds had a drop in a marker that monitors bone destruction – and the same amount showed an increase in their bone repair marker.”
A larger effect was seen in women, likely because they were post-menopausal with more bone turnover. After just one month of therapy, 72 percent of women saw at least a 25 percent drop in bone destruction – the amount considered effective.
The drug was also well-tolerated in patients, with few side effects. The results look hopeful, but the next step will be testing the drug specifically in breast cancer patients. Since not all breast tumors secrete MSP, researchers will gear clinical trials to patients who exhibit high levels of the protein.
“With a biopsy, we can actually look to see if the tumor expresses MSP,” Welm explains. “About 40 percent of breast cancers express MSP in the tumor – so that would be the population we would try to treat with the drug. If we can help 40 percent of metastatic breast cancer patients, that’s a great step. If we could actually see our work benefit even one person, I would be thrilled.”
Welm thinks the drug might work well in combination with existing drug therapies to improve outcomes for patients, especially those whose disease is resistant to current treatments. She also believes the drug could potentially be used for patients with other types of cancer that degrade bones, or for non-cancer-related osteoporosis.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute P30 CA042014, R01 CA166422; Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program W81XWH-08-1-0109; the Susan G. Komen Foundation; and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
# # #
Media Contact
Tonya Papanikolas
Public Relations - Huntsman Cancer Institute
(801) 587-7639Presidential Impeachment: The Legal Standard and Procedure
The involuntary removal of a sitting President of the United States has never occurred in our history. The only legal way such can be accomplished is by the impeachment process. This article discusses the legal standard to be properly applied by members of the U.S. House of Representatives when voting for or against Articles of Impeachment, and members of the U.S. Senate when voting whether to convict and remove from office a President of the U.S., as well as the procedure to be followed.
Article I § 2 of the United States Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power |
support to the counter-ISIS forces, created safety concerns for U.S. and coalition forces.”
4 The Pentagon responded as US forces had also been at the base
Officially the At-Tanf garrison is a base for over 200 rebels being trained to fight Islamic State.
Now, the Wall Street Journal has revealed it is also a launchpad for US special ops fighters, and UK special forces.
They would rendezvous with rebels at the garrison then launch joint covert missions against ISIS.
Just hours before this strike they had left to conduct another mission.
It was also reported a subsequent strike this month was orchestrated by Russian jets against a CIA backed outpost for the families of rebel fighters.
4 Putin is a close ally of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad
Children were killed and scores more injured in the outrage.
It has since been claimed the Russians struck the bases on purpose in a bid to force the Americans into closer ties with Putin.
Russian bombers have repeatedly hit CIA-backed rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
An MoD spokesman, said: “We do not comment on Special Forces.”Today we released a new unified online installer for commercial and open-source versions. Previously, we have had separate installers for each version. Now Qt Account is used for validating the Qt license and determining if a commercial or open-source version should be installed.
Unification of Qt systems has been ongoing for a while and we have now reached a major milestone with the unified online installer. We no longer have two separate online installers to create, test and release. Also, it is now easier to migrate from open-source to commercial license of Qt.
The Qt repositories and delivery networks for commercial and open-source content are still separate, so that users with a commercial license of Qt will have access to their commercial delivery system and the additional content their license grants them access to. Users without a commercial license will be able to install the open-source version of Qt from the open-source delivery system.
If you already have a Qt Account, enter your credentials when asked:
If you do not yet have a Qt Account, you can create it conveniently from the online installer:
When you enter your Qt Account credentials, the installer will check if there is a valid commercial license associated with your Qt Account, and you will be taken through to commercial installation. If there is no commercial license associated with your Qt Account, installation will provide the open-source version of Qt. If you do not have a Qt Account yet, you can simply create one directly via the installer. Just enter your email (this is address to which your account activation email will be immediately sent upon account creation) and the password you wish to use for Qt Account access and proceed to install. Be sure to activate your Qt Account as instructed in the email. You may also create a new Qt Account at qt.io, if you prefer.
In addition to being the place to manage support tickets and downloads for commercial license holders of Qt, Qt Account credentials are used for signing in to the Qt Wiki and Forum. We are also working hard to extend the use of Qt Account for sign in to other systems, such as bugreports.qt.io. To see a list of benefits of the Qt Account, please visit our Qt Account Benefits page.
The unified online installer is built with the brand new 2.0 version of the installer framework. We have worked hard to iron out all possible glitches of the installer, but in case you have problems with it, please file a bug to bugreports.qt.io. Offline installers are unchanged and still use the older version of installer framework.
If you are already using a Qt online installer, you will be provided the new unified installer when using the maintenance tool. You will need to update the installer (maintenance tool), before you download other items. If you do not yet have an online installer for Qt, you can get it from the qt.io Download page or from the Qt Account portal.
Do you like this? Share itThe Australian discovery of a strange exoplanet orbiting a small cool star 500 light years away is challenging ideas about how planets form.
"We have found a small star, with a giant planet the size of Jupiter, orbiting very closely," said researcher George Zhou from the Research School of Astrophysics and Astronomy at The Australian National University.
"It must have formed further out and migrated in, but our theories can't explain how this happened."
In the past two decades more than 1,800 extrasolar planets (or exoplanets) have been discovered outside our solar system orbiting around other stars.
The host star of the latest exoplanet, HATS-6, is classed as an M-dwarf, which is one of the most numerous types of stars in galaxy. Although they are common, M-dwarf stars are not well understood. Because they are cool they are also dim, making them difficult to study.
HATS-6 emits only one twentieth of the light of our sun. The giveaway that the faint star had a planet circling it was a dip in its brightness caused as the planet passed in front of the star, observed by small robotic telescopes including telescopes at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory.
To confirm the signal was a planet and not a blip in the system, Dr Bayliss called in help from one of the world's largest telescopes, the Magellan Telescope in Chile, and an amateur astronomer, T G Tan, who operates from his backyard in Perth.
"T G Tan has been really helpful on our projects. He was able to catch the transit of the planet from Perth, after it had set over our horizon," Mr Zhou said.
Subsequent observations from the Chilean telescope, and spectra taken from the ANU 2.3 metre telescope at Siding Spring, confirmed the planet had an orbit of just one-tenth that of Mercury, and orbits its star every 3.3 days.
"The planet has a similar mass to Saturn, but its radius is similar to Jupiter, so it's quite a puffed up planet. Because its host star is so cool it's not heating the planet up so much, it's very different from the planets we have observed so far," Mr Zhou said.
"The atmosphere of this planet will be an interesting target for future study."Queensland unlikely to return to full train timetable until at least late 2018, report finds
Posted
Queensland's train woes are likely to continue until "late 2018" at the earliest, with a report into the network's failings finding there will be a long-term shortage of skilled drivers.
Commissioner Phillip Strachan's report — released today amidst the resignation of Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe — said the network would be unable to operate a full timetable until it could recruit and train more than 120 extra drivers and 125 guards.
Current forecasts show those demands could be met by late 2018 if staff performed an average of 10 per cent overtime. If no overtime was conducted, reduced services would remain in place until mid-to late 2019, the report said.
"The commission considers that neither of these dates will meet public expectations," it said.
"However, a return to the full timetable should not occur until it can be safely, consistently and reliably delivered."
The rail network was plunged into chaos late last year when the Redcliffe Peninsula line was opened, with a driver shortage forcing mass cancellations in October, during the lead-up to Christmas and on Christmas Day, where 36 per cent of services were cancelled.
It later emerged senior Queensland Rail staff had been aware of the impending staff shortage but had not informed the Government.
The network is now operating on a timetable which contains 333 less services on weekdays than before the opening of the Redcliffe-Peninsula line.
The 91-page Strachan Inquiry said "limited progress" had been made regarding driver recruitment since October 2016, but said guard training was "well progressed".
It also said the network faced a "continued risk of service cancellations", with the strain mounting during busy periods around Easter, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and during the roll-out of new service fleet.
The report said Queensland Rail could get drivers on the network quicker by revamping its training program, which takes an average of 18 months to complete.
It said the UK average was 12 months, while Sydney drivers had completed their training in an average of 11 months.
The report's recommendations included better recruitment practices, improving management processes and "organisational culture", and establishing a Rail Review Office to monitor Queensland Rail's recovery plan.
Topics: government-and-politics, parliament, state-parliament, public-sector, qld, brisbane-4000When someone goes vegan, it is very common for them to be questioned by many people about their new diet. Usually the questions that people get are all very similar. This post will go over all of the most common questions that vegans get and give you some hints for answering them.
Where do you get your protein?
This is probably one of the most common questions that vegans get. The meat and dairy industry have done a great job at brainwashing people into believing that meat, dairy, and eggs are the only way you can get protein. This is untrue! Where do those animals get their protein from in the first place? The plants they eat. Every single plant in the world has protein. Some have a higher protein content than others such as beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, and vegetables. If you eat a variety of whole, plant foods, you will automatically get all of the protein that you need. The World Health Organization has stated that only 3-5% of your daily calories need to come from protein.
John McDougall, author of The Starch Solution, brings up a very good point. He stated that
“Our greatest time of growth—thus, the time of our greatest need for protein—is during our first 2 years of life—we double in size. At this vigorous developmental stage our ideal food is human milk, which is 5% protein. Compare this need to food choices that should be made as adults—when we are not growing. Rice is 8% protein, corn 11%, oatmeal 15%, and beans 27%. Thus protein deficiency is impossible when calorie needs are met by eating unprocessed starches and vegetables.”
It’s cruel not to milk cows!
This statement that vegans get is actually true! Cows actually do need to be milked to prevent pain from holding too much milk in their udders. However, the problem is who milk them. Cows do not need to be milked by humans, they need to be milked by their own calves! In the dairy industry, calves are taken away from mothers immediately after birth. This happens so humans can drink the milk instead of them. This is very wrong. Some people think that cows are just constantly lactating and producing milk. But they aren’t, female cows are just like female humans. They only produce milk after giving birth. If the calves drank the milk instead (which is who the milk was produced for originally), the mothers wouldn’t be in pain.
What would happen to all the farm animals if we didn’t eat them?
This is another common question that vegans get. There are more than 100 billion land and marine animals killed for food each year. This is a crazy number, and it is understandable that people would think the world would become overpopulated with farm animals if we didn’t eat them. However, the only reason that there are so many animals in the first place is because people breed them! Every single day, farmers artificially inseminate and breed thousands and thousands of farm animals, so that we can eat them. Once people stop eating animals, the breeding will stop as well, and the number can go down to a more natural one. Also, there are now thousands of farm sanctuaries all over the world who take in these animals and provide them with peaceful, safe lives.
What’s wrong with eggs? Chickens don’t die.
Chickens do indeed die because of their eggs. The egg industry is a very cruel one. The chickens are routinely given harmful hormones and antibiotics. This is done to make them lay more eggs than would naturally. Before the egg industry existed, chickens only used to lay around 5 eggs a YEAR! Now they lay an egg a day. Laying eggs takes a lot out of chickens, and their body becomes very weak after doing so. Imagine how week these chickens get after laying one every single day! Chickens normally live anywhere from 8-20 years, but in the egg industry, they are murdered after a mere 1-3 years. Once their egg laying production slows down, the female layers are turned into food for humans to eat. So the egg industry is still the meat industry, and chickens do die.
In the egg layer industry, there are no use for male chicks, because the males don’t lay eggs. The egg industry kills these male chicks by either grinding them up alive, or suffocating them in big trash bags. Over 200 million male chicks are killed every year in the United States alone, which equates to over 550,000 male chicks being murdered each day. Purely because the industry has no use for them! It is a very cruel industry.
Humans Are Omnivores
Just because we can eat meat, doesn’t mean that we should! Meat and animal products do not belong in human diets. Humans are actually biologically herbivores.
Dr. Neal Barnard wrote a book called The Power of Your Plate. In this book he stated “early humans had diets very much like other great apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can pick with our hands. Research suggests that meat-eating probably began by scavenging—eating the leftovers that carnivores had left behind. However, our bodies have never adapted to it. To this day, meat-eaters have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other problems.” The original diet of humans has always been plant foods. Fruits, vegetables, and starches.
Herbivores have long intestines, and carnivores have very short intestines so they can quickly remove the flesh, so it doesn’t rot inside their intestines. Humans have very long intestines like other herbivores. When we eat meat, it takes days to digest, and rots in our colon. Humans do not have sharp claws to hunt, or sharp canines to rip apart flesh with our teeth. Instead, we have hands perfect for picking fruit and vegetables. Dr. Milton Mills explains many more points as to why we are herbivores, not omnivores, in his article A Comparative Anatomy of Eating.
I can’t afford to go vegan
There is a common misconception out there that a vegan diet is more expensive than a meat based one. This is far from the truth. The cheapest foods in the world are all vegan. Rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, oats… these are staples in your diet as a vegan, and they are so cheap to buy too! You can buy all of these foods in bulk as well, which makes it even more affordable.
Meat, dairy and eggs are expensive. The only reason vegan food could be slightly more expensive is by buying the more expensive vegan alternatives, which are not necessary. Vegan cheese, ice creams, and mock meats can be a bit on the pricy side. If you can’t afford those products, no big deal! You can either email the company and ask for coupons, or you can try making your own alternatives out of cheaper foods. Try making your own ice cream using frozen bananas, and your own vegan cheese using cashews. Mock meats are made using ingredients such as tempeh, soy curls, and tofu. There are hundreds of recipes online that show you how to make your own cheap vegan foods.
But plants feel pain too!
This is a funny statement that meat eaters make. Aren’t the differences between a carrot and a pig obvious? Animals have eyes, hearts, ears, mouths, families, friends, and a central nervous system. Plants don’t have any of that. Plants don’t have a brain either, and animals do. The differences are very obvious.
Don’t you miss animal products?
Many people love cheese, other dairy products, and meat so much that they can’t imagine ever giving it up. If you found out the truth about what happened to animals in order for those foods to be produced, or how unhealthy those foods are, your opinion could change. When you go vegan, you don’t have to give up anything! There is a healthier, and cruelty free alternative for literally everything out there. Cheese, burgers, hot dogs, pepperoni, ice cream, yoghurt, pizza, sour cream… everything! You can still eat all your favourite foods and favourite products, the only thing that will change is the source that they come from!
If everybody was vegan, a whole industry would become unemployed.
The meat industry is a very big one. People work in slaughterhouses, in factory farms, in processing and packaging facilities, and so on. Most slaughterhouse workers and people who work in factory farms, or in other aspects of this industry do not enjoy working there. They do it because that might be the only job that they can get. Usually workers in this industry are immigrants, they do not get paid a lot and they suffer mentally and physically from working in these violent environments. If everybody went vegan, these people could get jobs in different industries such as making plant based cheeses and meats! If everybody was vegan, there would be thousands more job openings for people creating plant based products.Happy New Year Wishes For Lover | 2018 Wishes For Boyfriend & Girlfriend
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For your Lover? here you can get best wishes for your boyfriend or girlfriend.Send them new year wishes in this New Year 2018.Let your boyfriend know how much difference he has made in the years gone by and how you expect to be treated by him in the coming year.Send some cute and touching New Year wishes for boyfriend to cheer up the mood of the man of your dreams and to make him feel special and loved.Show your boyfriend how much you care for him by choosing from the finest collection of text messages. Your man is sure to fall in love with you again once he receives your love-filled words.New Year’s Eve is one of the most romantic holidays of the year. It’s a special time for you and your loved one. You want the occasion to be really memorable. Sending her a card that expresses your true feelings is so important.So just copy the best
and send....
Happy New Year Wishes For Lover:
Let’s burst into the New Year together! Jump with both feet, holding hands — like we’ve done since I met you. Happy New Year to my exciting partner in crime!
Happy New Year to my Snuggy-Buggy, Snooky-Wookums, Cuddle-Muffin. I love how we nauseate our friends, don’t you? New Year Wishes For Boyfriend: I always dreamed of kissing the man I love as the New Year rings in. Thank you for making my dreams come true.
Happy New Year Wishes
New Year WishesABERDEEN, Scotland — Peter Blake has an American employer, the oil giant Chevron, and his work is global. It is his job to pull together and dispatch billions of dollars’ worth of sophisticated undersea equipment needed for oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore from Angola, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Australia.
So why is Mr. Blake, head of Chevron’s undersea unit, based here in northeast Scotland?
Because since the early 1970s, when oil was discovered in the British North Sea, Aberdeen has evolved from a fishing town, to an oil boom town, to the world’s center of innovation and execution for the technology that makes the modern offshore energy industry possible.
“Scotland has been the home of subsea engineering,” Mr. Blake, a Scot, said in a conference room in Chevron’s European headquarters on a hilltop overlooking this city and its many dark granite buildings. “The expertise generated by the North Sea continually influences undersea work across the globe.”
That expertise, with a resurgence of investment in natural gas and oil fields in and near the North Sea, means that Aberdeen, with 468,000 people in the city and surrounding area, has been able to nearly escape the economic doldrums that have plagued most of Britain and Europe. Aside from central London, Aberdeen is the wealthiest place in Britain, with an annual income of about £32,000, or about $49,000, per person. And thanks to the more than 100,000 jobs the oil industry generates in the area, unemployment in the city and neighboring shires is less than half the 7.8 percent national average.The state attorney's office in Duisburg in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state said on Thursday that three men in all had been detained in neighboring Dinslaken.
NRW Interior Minister Ralf Jäger had said Wednesday that the first of the four - a 24-year-old Syrian asylum seeker - had been arrested at Mutterstadt in adjacent Rhineland-Palatine state last Friday.
Court custody orders were being sought for all four.
His arrest had resulted from a "vague tip" from someone who thought he or she had "heard something," Jäger told reporters.
The tipoff related to a Bundesliga football match, although authorities could not provide precise details.
"So far, however, we have no concrete indications on a target or a location," said a spokeswoman at the public prosecutor's office in Duisburg, Anna Christiana Weiler on Thursday.
Threat unclear
Weiler said it was not clear whether the rumored attack plan was intended for a first or second division - Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga - match.
Many of Germany's top clubs are based in the two western states. The 2. Bundesliga season began last weekend, with the top division's first matches of the new season scheduled for August 26, 27 and 28.
All four suspects had lived in a hostel for asylum seekers in Dinslaken.
Chief Duisburg prosecutor Detlef Nowotsch said the first arrest in Dinslaken had occurred on Wednesday morning. The other two were arrested later on Wednesday.
Germany on edge
Germany has been on edge since the so-called "Islamic State" militia, notorious for its brutal regime in parts of Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility for two attacks in Bavaria last month.
Both assailants at Ansbach and Würzburg were killed and multiple people were wounded.
On Thursday, Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere presented a "public safety" plan, including boosts in staffing and equipment for police.
Opposition parties, including the Greens, said German law already provided sufficient scope to handle potential terrorist threats.
ipj/msh (AP, dpa, AFP)Two important events occurred recently that didn’t involve the size of a hurricane or the riveting horror of the Donald Trump presidency. Well, maybe a bit of the Trump horror but not entirely.
The first involved Bernie Sanders, the socialist senator from Vermont who presented himself as a Democrat just long enough to help derail Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House. Still battering away on the left edge of the “progressive” movement, Sanders unveiled a bill last week that would provide “medicare for all.” By expanding the health-care system that now serves over-65s to include all Americans, the proposal would effectively introduce universal health care to the U.S.
The second was approval by the California legislature on Saturday of a bill to move its presidential primary to March, making it one of the first in the country, with the potential to overwhelm other primaries and radically alter the nominee-selection process. By allocating the state’s massive horde of delegates at the very beginning of the process, it could effectively ensure that whoever wins in California becomes the Democrats’ presidential frontrunner.
Democrat plans underline a gaping flaw in their strategizing
That both developments came while Donald Trump has yet to finish his first year as president is significant. So energized are Democrats by the chaos of the Trump White House that they are already eagerly preparing to mount a challenge in 2020.
While reflecting their glee over Republicans’ misery, Democrat plans also underline a gaping flaw in their strategizing. So far, most of the advance manoeuvring has been among the populist, Sandernista wing of the party, which is convinced the antidote to right-wing extremists is left-wing extremists. Free tuition, free health care, liberalized borders … anything Bernie wants, Americans should get. If the more moderate wing of the party is wary of pushing too far too fast, well, that’s just another reason to purge the party of corrupt, Wall Street-friendly Clintonites and all they stand for.
The divide is serious, and potentially debilitating. While establishment Democrats may worry about straying too far out of the mainstream, leftists counter that they’re the only ones offering concrete policy alternatives, and that just hating Trump—the one thing that unites all Democrats—won’t be enough to ensure victory in 2020. Most of the most-touted names for the 2020 nomination—senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris—threw their support behind the Sanders initiative. Harris has been particularly lionized of late: as a senator from California she could get an enormous head start should Californians move up their primary and opt for the home-state favourite. Harris ticks several key boxes for “progressives” obsessed with identity politics: a non-white woman, daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican-American father, she counts as both the first Indian woman and second black woman elected to the Senate. She also has a string of other gender-based firsts to her credit, and has been a fierce critic of Trump.
Leftists counter that they are the only ones offering concrete policy alternatives
Yet, as easy a target as Trump may appear, few thought he’d ever get to the White House in the first place. And one big reason for his triumph was the monumental disaster that was the Clinton campaign, over which the finger-pointing has yet to abate. Clinton did nothing to soothe feelings with her newly-released account, What Happened, which, as CNN noted, “oozes with her contempt for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.” To her accusation that he caused “lasting damage” to her White House crusade, Sanders responded with his own put-down: “Secretary Clinton ran against the most unpopular candidate in the history of this country and she lost and she was upset about it and I understand that.” If she didn’t catch the note of condescension she wasn’t paying attention.
But the biggest problem with left-wing thinking may be the assumption that Americans outside college dorms and urban centres are ready for the radical policy shift they’re proposing. Obamacare is not widely loved. Tolerated maybe, but badly in need of repair. After vowing for seven years to repeal and replace it with their own health-care system, Republicans failed spectacularly to do so, and there’s no reason to assume Democrats would do better. Alarmed at Washington’s chronic ineptitude, which drove many of them to Trump in the first place, voters could well resist embracing the far-more profound shakeup that universal health care would entail. If Obamacare was a tremor of change, universal health care would be a tsunami. Combined with the Democrats’ other free-spending plans, it would require Americans to swallow new trillion-dollar budgets when Washington is already widely considered out of control.
Writing about the Democrats’ “2020 Nightmare,” Vanity Fair magazine noted that while the list of potential candidates now testing the waters may appear promising at first glance, it gets less than glittering on close inspection. “Elizabeth Warren will be 71 in 2020, and to see her more is to like her less,” it notes. “Bernie Sanders will be 79. Cory Booker is a show horse who isn’t that beloved in his home state.”
None of Sanders' current proposals has a chance of becoming law
Warren’s stature in 2016 grew as Clinton’s faded, but, with one exception, liberal Massachusetts senators have a poor record as presidential candidates. Warren, a former Harvard professor who represents Martha’s Vineyard, one of the most exclusive playgrounds of America’s richest elite, isn’t everyone’s idea of everyday folks. To defeat Trump, the Democrats have to win back the disaffected white voters who handed him victory—including more than 50 per cent of white women. Being lectured about their failings by a privileged Boston law prof might not be the best means.
None of Sanders’ current proposals has a chance of becoming law under the Republican-controlled Congress. Backing proposals for universal health care and free tuition may let opportunistic Democrats temporarily snuggle up to the populist wing, but it also ties them to a position that could come back to haunt them, just as Clinton’s support for the Iraq war damaged her credentials with many anti-war Democrats. And while neo-socialism may be the flavour of the moment, it might not stand up as well against a less appalling Republican standard-bearer than Trump. That means Democrats are in danger of betting the bank on an anti-Trump agenda when Trump himself may not even be on the ticket: if he doesn’t fall to one of the investigations already targeting his administration, it’s entirely possible Republicans will choose another nominee—one who isn’t constantly at war with the party, contemptuous of its leadership, and eager to do deals with its opponents. Or Trump could declare himself the greatest president ever—really, so good—and decide a single term of phenomenal leadership was enough to do for his country.
That would leave the Democrats re-fighting the 2016 election with radical solutions for a country that has tired of political chaos, social warfare and uber-divisive partisanship, and would just appreciate a bit of peace and quiet.
National Post“Is jealous the right word?” I asked.
“Definitely,” he replied.
Bo Horvat gets jealous and he’s not too cool to admit it.
The NHL playoffs begin April 13th and the Canucks won’t be taking part. You’re not happy about that and neither are the players. But will you still watch as 16 teams fight for the honour of hoisting the Stanley Cup?
Horvat won’t.
Last season at this time the Canucks were heading to the playoffs and the only thing to be decided was who they’d face. Horvat came down with a severe case of Scoreboarditis [skore-board-it-is], a condition featuring acute or chronic inflammation of the inquisitive lining of the mind.
Sufferers lack focus due to excessive time spent on their phones and other devices updating NHL scores. It got so bad for Horvat, he was checking scores of other on-going games between periods of his own games. He wanted to know every goal scored by every team, as it happened.
This season, not so much.
Horvat said unless the playoffs happen to be on where is, say at a restaurant or at a friend’s house, he won’t tune in. Watching others compete for hockey’s ultimate prize, while he’s on the sidelines, doesn’t make for appointment viewing.
“I’m getting angry just thinking about it,” he said, following morning skate in San Jose Thursday. “I’m definitely jealous of everyone who makes the playoffs. It’s such a different experience. I got a taste of it last year, so this is tough.”
It’s difficult for youngsters and veterans alike.
For the first time since 1970, all seven Canadian NHL teams will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs. For Alex Burrows, this means there will be no extended run for the Montreal Canadiens when he returns home to Montreal this summer.
He’s okay with that.
“My buddies always get all over me when I’m home and the Habs start looking like they could win it all,” laughed Burrows. “It sucks for Canadian hockey fans that there’s no Canadian teams in, but it makes no difference to me. I’ll watch it if it’s on, but I’m not putting any games on.
“When the Cup is handed out, 28 other teams are going to feel like we do. This wasn’t the best season for us, but if you’re not first, there’s not much you can say.”
Chris Higgins was blunt about his plans for watching the playoffs.
“I won’t be,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Hockey is all we do, so if we’re not competing for the Cup, I don’t care.”
Basketball? Baseball? Soccer? Fuller House?!
“I’ll be outdoors, enjoying Vancouver as much as possible.”
Can’t argue with that.
*****
Will you be watching the NHL playoffs? If so, how do you choose who to cheer for if the Canucks are out and there’s no Canadian team to fall back on?
I won’t be. I actually cancel my cable in the summer and do anything but watch hockey.
That being said, if I had to lend my support to anyone it would be the Florida Panthers. The image of Jagr and Luongo hoisting the Cup together would be something.
Or maybe no one wins it this year and it carries over to next year and the Canucks win it and they are awarded two Cups?
Here’s to wishful thinking!
Derek (@NoJoryous)
Facebook Commentscaption Support for Brexit is at a new low source Getty
LONDON - Support for Brexit has fallen to its lowest point since the referendum, according to a new poll.
With less than a year and a half to go until Britain leaves the EU, a new YouGov poll for the Times finds that just 42% of voters now think Britain was right to back Brexit, with 47% saying it was wrong.
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This is the lowest level of support YouGov has recorded for Brexit since Britain voted to leave in June 2016.
The poll finds significant numbers of Brexit voters have changed their mind. Seven per cent of Leave voters now say they were wrong to back Brexit with a further 7% saying they don't know.
As Brexit negotiations hit "deadlock," over Britain's divorce bill, the poll also found a growing majority of people now believe the government are handling negotiations badly.
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64% say May's government are mishandling talks with just 21% saying they are going well.
YouGov / Times poll In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the European Union? Right to leave 42% (-2) Wrong to leave: 47% (+2)
There is also growing fears about the impact of Brexit on the economy. 44% say Brexit will make Britain worse off compared to just 23% who say Britain will be better off.
A plurality of voters also said Brexit would be bad for jobs and pensions, damage the NHS and leave Britain with less influence in the world. However, a majority of voters continue to believe that the decision will decrease immigration.Introduction
The Nokia Lumia 800 is without a doubt one of the most interesting devices produced by the iconic Finnish smartphone manufacturer in a long while. Expectations are high for the Lumia series, which represents Nokia’s first foray into devices running Windows Phone 7.5. At the same time, we haven’t touched many Windows Phones since our initial review what seems like ages ago, but the platform has moved along, giving us an opportunity to finally take a formal look at the new things Windows Phone 7.5 brings.
It’s easiest to just start with the aesthetics, and here the Lumia 800 shows a huge amount of influence from the Nokia N9. Though we don’t have an N9, it’s comparatively easy to confuse the two based on just how similar their exteriors are, though inside both are completely different beasts. Of course, this form factor borrows a lot from what made the Nokia N8 such a unique device - unibody design, rounded edges, tapers, and a flat top and bottom. The only downside to this unibody construction is having the battery sealed inside, which isn’t quite a deal breaker but is worth noting.
The Lumia 800 (and N9) physically depart from the previous generation of Nokia designs in a major way by eschewing anodized aluminum in favor of a monobody polycarbonate plastic exterior. Of course, this led to much gnashing of teeth over whether the Lumia 800 would feel plasticky, and many looking at this change in materials as a step backwards. Unsurprisingly, the handset doesn’t feel cheap or plasticky at all. I’ve seen Nokia refer to the exterior as polymer a few times (much the same way some weapon manufacturers refer to things as polymer in place of “plastic”) and honestly after playing with and holding the Lumia for so long I’m convinced the phone pulls this material swap off quite well. The only downside is that skin oil does discolor the plastic visibly (at least the black variant we have), but it isn’t anything a wipe with a microfiber cloth can’t fix.
Part of what really helps the Lumia feel good is the fact that the exterior isn’t glossy or mirror-smooth, but rather given a light matte texture. It doesn’t scuff with a fingernail either like some other matte-finished plastics. In addition, it’s striking how nice having a uniform round edge at the left and right side helps ergonomics. It really is one solid piece, minus the display glass.
The only completely flat parts on the Lumia 800 are the top and bottom, with the rest of the phone having a convex spherical shape. On the backside, the only part of the phone that is indeed flat (and thus sits coplanar with a surface) is the chrome “Nokia / Carl Zeiss Tessar” strip which houses the camera. The only major annoyance I have with the whole design is that putting chrome right where the device lays flat just invites scratches. Even with a case on, the chrome strip has picked up some scratches that definitely show at the right angle. To the right of this strip is a dual LED flash, and a tiny little cutout home to a second microphone undoubtably for noise cancelation when on calls.
At the very top is the standard headphone jack at far left, and the two doors for both microUSB and microSIM. The microUSB door has a raised region to demark where to press, and pushing here pops up the door which is held shut with magnets otherwise. I worry this door is the first thing that will break off, but it’s nice having a covered port. Right next to that is the microSIM tray, which slides over and then out. The door has some contacts on it that seem to be used with logic to tell when you’ve ejected the SIM as well. It’s also inside here that Nokia places the model number, FCC ID, and all that jazz. It’s with these two open that you can see the only two screws on the device as well, which look like some Torx bits.
It’s intriguing to me that we’re now seeing microSIMs popping up everywhere and in so many devices. While this used to be a big deal, SIM cutters are now so ubiquitous that it’s impossible to fault anyone for using one.
On the right side, Nokia puts the volume rocker above the power button, and then on the lower quarter is the mandatory two-step camera button. I have no complaints with any of the buttons; obviously, Nokia has this down and I have no doubt they’re communicative enough to use even with gloves on.
The bottom of the Lumia 800 is home to some more European regulatory markings, and the speaker grille which hides the speakerphone and microphone. More on this later, but I |
to 60 feet into the sky, drenching a nearby power pole.
Chanell Blanson said she was driving that car when she lost control and hit the fire hydrant.
"I was going home. I was about to make a left on Highland when my brakes went out. I just got the brake pads fixed. It was either, go into the oncoming traffic, which may have killed me, or turn into the fire hydrant," Blanson said.
At one point, while firefighters were working to shut off the hydrant, a column of fire and smoke exploded from two power conductors sitting atop a nearby pole, sending the firefighters and others running from the area.
"It just exploded, the pole exploded. So we just ran, ran, ran,” Blanson said.
Sky5 captured at least two other explosions as crews worked to shut off the water and power.
No injuries were initially reported in the incident.
Firefighters, along with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews, managed to cut the power to the overhead electrical lines and shut off water to the area by about 8:30 a.m., Scott said.
Police and Department of Transportation officials were handling traffic control in the area, Scott said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated a transformer exploded atop a power pole. The post has been updated.20-year old Brian Frazier is in custody this week, charged with the first-degree murder of his two-week old son. According to police reports, Frazier was pulling an all-night gaming session when baby Khan “got fussy” at around 5am.
Frustrated at the interruption to his gaming, Frazier reportedly grabbed the baby by the neck and punched him in the face. The baby – according to prosecutors – then “went back to sleep”, and later died of his injuries.
Both Frazier and his 20-year old girlfriend Stefany Ash woke up at around 2pm the following afternoon and reportedly discussed covering up Khan’s death, even conspiring to tell police the baby had been kidnapped. Ash finally called 911 about an hour later, and police questioned the couple. Frazier is now charged with first-degree murder, while Ash faces accessory after the fact charges.
Ash and Frazier reportedly had an abusive relationship and lived “in filth” according to Ash’s stepfather Brian Alston. He describes the house as “littered” with soiled diapers, empty soda cans and food scraps. Ash’s mother Sandra Alston defended her daughter, claiming Stefany had recently undergone a C-section procedure and was “unable” to clean her house.
The local North Carolina Department of Social Services had visited the Frazier/Ash home prior to the child’s death, raising questions why Khan – or his 15-month old brother Kane – were still living in such squalid conditions. Kane his now in the custody of child protective services.CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Flats East Bank is one step closer to becoming Cleveland's first "outdoor refreshment area" - a designated district where bar and restaurant patrons can drink alcoholic beverages outside, without running afoul of the city's open-container laws.
Cleveland City Council on Monday passed legislation establishing an application process for areas of the city that wish to get the designation and are home to at least four venues with liquor licenses.
Within the designated area, the city's open-container laws will not apply, as long as someone is carrying an alcoholic beverage sold in a plastic bottle or cup by one of the district's licensed sellers. An earlier draft of the legislation contained a provision allowing someone to drink inside a car as well, provided the vehicle is stationary. But that provision was struck Monday.
Under the recently passed state law allowing for the outdoor refreshment areas, Cleveland can only set up a maximum of two such areas within the city. And city officials indicated during a Council of the Whole meeting Monday that, so far, only the developers behind the Flats East Bank project have indicated an interest in acquiring the designation.
Earlier: Flats East Bank could become Cleveland's first open-container 'outdoor refreshment area'
City Council will have final say over which applications are approved and will be required to review each outdoor refreshment area on an annual basis to determine whether it continues operating as such.
Some council members said the legislation seemed rushed, and they wondered if city officials were trying to pass the piece in time for the Republican National Convention in late July.
Cleveland Economic Development Director Tracey Nichols said the only rush is that summer is nearly here, and postponing a vote on the piece until the next council meeting in July would further prolong the application process and limit Clevelanders' enjoyment of the new outdoor refreshment areas.
Other council members questioned whether the Flats would be an ideal location for an open-container zone, given the ordinance's requirement that the zones not include features deemed potential hazards to pedestrians, such as a waterfront, railroad tracks or steeply graded hills.
Nichols said the city would have to wait and see what area the Flats' application includes.
City Councilman Mike Polensek said he is concerned about safety and security in the outdoor refreshment areas and their perimeters. He suggested that each of the designated zones hire its own off-duty police officers to patrol, rather than tap city resources and distract the city's officers from their routes.
"This is not an entitlement," Polensek said. "This is a privilege.... And with that privilege there should be some stipulations with regard to safety and security. If not, this will come back to bite us."RuPaul's Drag Race's Max: I Made a 'Grave Mistake'
The Advocate spoke with RuPaul's Drag Race's Max after she sashayed away.
Everyone's favorite episode of RuPaul's Drag Race, “The Snatch Game,” aired this week. The contestants donned their best celebrity impersonations, and many of them — including Pearl as Big Ang, Ginger Minj as Adele, Katya as Suze Orman, and Kennedy Davenport as a lip-glossed Little Richard — slayed it.
Surprisingly, Max, who has a background in a theater, disappointed the judges, channeling the look of past Drag Race winner Sharon Needles but not her haunting charm. The Advocate spoke to Max after she sashayed away about, as she terms it, her "grave mistake."
The Advocate: How did you prepare for RuPaul’s Drag Race?
Max: Shock Therapy, pre and post.
Why did you choose Sharon Needles as your “Snatch Game” celebrity?
I was told that dead girls have more fun! A grave mistake!
If you could have impersonated another celebrity, who would it have been?
The “delichitz” and “bootiful” Miranda Sings.
Whose impersonation impressed you the most? Why?
Suze Orman today, Suze Orman tomorrow, Suze Orman forever.
Kennedy received some criticism from the other contestants for choosing Little Richard. Do you think she broke the “rules” by selecting a man to impersonate?
Curious, but there have been stranger choices this season.
This was the first season with a beard challenge. Would you like to see more gender-bending on Drag Race in future seasons?
Isn't it entirely gender-bending!?
The judges loved your look, but Michelle Visage said, “What’s missing was everything else.” If you could go back in time, what would you change about your performance?
I would have not left my gray hair once. Curses and splashes!
What happened with your wardrobe malfunction onstage?
I took a moment to breathe after feeling faint, sang a little ditty per Ru's untelevised request, then hopped back onstage. During another's critique! I wouldn't interrupt my own, shame shame.
Were you surprised to be in the bottom two?
It was a week of raw nerves. Nothing was surprising so much as overwhelming.
What was going through your mind during your lip-synch against Jaidynn?
I was very frightened.
Looking back on the episode, would you have done anything else differently to avoid elimination?
I think we can all agree that a bit more ferocity is in order.
Who is your favorite among the remaining queens this season?
They are all horribly, dreadfully talented. I like that Violet girl more and more each day. Katya is also miracle.
You and Trixie went to school together. Has she changed much since then?
She owes more to Sallie Mae now, I think.
In your opinion, which eliminated contestant, other than yourself, deserves to be brought back next episode?
Trixie. She shouldn't have left in the first place.
What do you think are the qualities and skills required to be America's Next Drag Superstar?
Passion and a progressive mind.
What lessons have you learned from your time on RPDR?
To be strong and to never lose confidence. Never waver.
What are the must-see destinations for an LGBT visitor to Minnesota?
Hunt and Gather. Take me with you when you go.
What first attracted you to drag?
The big beautiful entertainment industry, the magic of fabricating from one's mind and talent.
What inspired your drag name?
I needed to keep my name because I need the authenticity.
What should a drag queen always keep in her purse?
A small animal friend, like a squirrel or iguana.
What’s next after RuPaul?
Max is next, after RuPaul.
Thanks, Max! See a throwback video of Max performing as Beast in a production of the Beauty and the Beast musical below.A tribute to Monsignor John McSweeney
Pastor of diocese's largest parish announces he is retiring
CHARLOTTE — On May 12 Monsignor John J. McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church, announced that he would be retiring after 42 years of priesthood, effective July 18. In a letter to parishioners, he wrote, "Many thanks to all of you for your support, dedication and wonderful commitment. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is truly present and guides St. Matthew."
He said Father Patrick Hoare, presently pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, would replace him as pastor. He noted in his letter, "Father Hoare was a member of St. Matthew as a layman and served at St. Matthew as a deacon until his ordination to the priesthood in 2007, which took place here at our parish."
"I pray that you will continue to grow in Christ with your new pastor. I ask that you give him the same love, encouragement and cooperation that you have given me," he wrote in his letter.
— Catholic News Herald
Editor's note: We published this article in September 2014, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Monsignor John McSweeney's ordination as a priest on Sept. 29, 1974 – the first priest for the new diocese that had been established only two years earlier, in 1972:
First priest ordained for the Charlotte diocese celebrates milestone anniversary
CHARLOTTE — Forty years ago on Sept. 29, 1974, the Feast of the Archangels, the new Diocese of Charlotte ordained its first priest, Father John J. McSweeney. The ordination Mass at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte was celebrated by the diocese’s first bishop, Bishop Michael J. Begley.
It was a special moment for them both, as the two had a father-son-type relationship, Monsignor McSweeney recalls.
Because of his distinction as the first priest ordained for the diocese and his close connection to its development over the past 40 years, Monsignor McSweeney is perhaps one of the few pioneers of the diocese who understands first-hand the transformation of this former mission territory into the vibrant diocese it is today.
“It was the new diocese beginning, and I had the privilege of being the first guy being ordained for service in the Diocese of Charlotte,” the 72-year-old priest says.
“My motto of priesthood has always been servant leadership.” — Monsignor John McSweeney
He admits he was a bit scared on his ordination day. “It was funny because the bishop didn’t really know what he was doing. He had never ordained anyone, and I had never been ordained.”
He remembers both Monsignor Joseph Showfety, the diocese’s first chancellor, and Father Frank O’Rourke, now pastor of St. Gabriel Church, being extremely helpful that day.
John McSweeney was ordained a priest on Sept. 29, 1974. (Archive photo)“Frank O’Rourke (then a seminarian) knew all the ceremonies inside and out. He put together the book that Bishop Begley used at my ordination. He literally typed it, because at that time in history the liturgy was being changed. He was an integral part of the ordination that was held at St. Gabriel.”
Monsignor McSweeney says it was no accident his ordination was held at that particular parish on the Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Rafael, the Archangels. “Bishop Michael Begley ordained me at St. Gabriel (in the old church), where I was a deacon.”
Monsignor Showfety, now retired, served as master of ceremonies for Bishop Begley that day. “It was a beautiful ceremony,” he remembers.
Father O’Rourke also recalls, “Almost every priest of the diocese was there and the Sisters of Mercy and many school children from all over were there. It was very beautiful coming together as a faith community. Bishop Begley had a very warm, caring, inclusive way about him, and everybody felt part of something bigger than themselves that day.”
Both Monsignor Showfety and Father O’Rourke acknowledge Monsignor McSweeney’s work for the diocese over the years.
A New York native and graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Monsignor McSweeney has pastored 12 churches in the diocese. He served as diocesan vocation director and director of planning and development, and then as vicar general and chancellor for eight years for Bishop John F. Donoghue. Then, prior to Bishop William G. Curlin’s appointment as the third Bishop of Charlotte, McSweeney served as diocesan administrator and later as Bishop Curlin’s vicar general and chancellor.
After spending a year in the U.S. Virgin Islands serving as pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Thomas, Monsignor McSweeney returned to the diocese to shepherd St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville in 1996. Then in 1999, he was appointed pastor of St. Matthew Church. Now, 15 years later, St. Matthew is the largest parish in the diocese and one of the largest in the United States, with 9,623 registered families.
“He has worked very hard and has done very well,” Monsignor Showfety notes. “He has done work that people on the outside may not know. He has done so much for the diocese over the years.”
“I think John has a lot of confidence in himself and others and finds great satisfaction in calling forth from other people their gifts, and he does that as a man of faith,” Father O’Rourke says. “He is very inclusive in his understanding of ‘church,’ and invites others to find meaning in their lives through that.”
On Sept. 29, 2014, Monsignor McSweeney will celebrate his 40th anniversary by offering Mass in honor of the sacraments of holy orders and holy matrimony. He has invited all couples at St. Matthew celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary to attend the Mass.
“We have many couples who are celebrating their 40th anniversaries. My goal is to recognize the couples celebrating marriage, and the holy priesthood. So I am going to ask them to renew their vows (at Mass), and I am going to renew my vows.”
Parish Council Chairman Mark Schuler will ask him the same questions Bishop Begley asked him 40 years ago, he says. “The reason I am doing that is for the recognition of the baptismal commitment of everyone,” he notes.
Monsignor McSweeney sees his priestly ministry as that of a servant leader. Pictured: Holy Thursday Mass 2017 (Photo by Tara Heilingoetter, Catholic News Herald)Reflecting on his 40 years of priesthood, Monsignor McSweeney shares his thoughts on his priestly ministry.
“My motto of priesthood has always been servant leadership. These 40 years have been a great 40 years and I don’t regret any of them. I don’t. I haven’t always liked what I’ve had to do, but I don’t regret it as far as being in the priesthood. Like married couples, I have been through the ups and downs of life in my vocation.”
“I’ve watched (the diocese’s) growth in many different ways. My emphasis has always been the spiritual growth of adults. I am also impressed with the international sense of our diocese – that we have people now, Catholic people, from all over the world.
“We have that sense of mercy, compassion and hospitality here. That is my philosophy as a priest, and that is what this parish represents.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Monsignor McSweeney, who celebrated his 75th birthday in May, was recently honored with an endowment in his name that will help feed the hungry: http://www.catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/1762-st-matthew-pastor-honored-with-endowment-to-end-hunger
Monsignor McSweeney has overseen the growth of St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte as its pastor for the past 18 years, and now it has grown to become the nation's largest Catholic parish: http://www.catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/571-st-matthew-church-surpasses-10-000-registered-families
When St. Matthew Parish celebrated its 30th anniversary, Monsignor McSweeney also chose to honor the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy: www.catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/803-st-matthew-church-celebrates-30th-anniversary-honors-sisters-of-mercy-sept-21
— Catholic News HeraldConsidering how amazing Doug Jones looks rearing up out of a pool in his elaborate creature suit in The Shape of Water, we all thought that a Best Makeup Oscar would be the surest of sure things. Well, not so, as the shortlist of possible nominees has been announced and Guillermo del Toro ’s new romance is nowhere to be seen.
Some of the names on the list are expected. Gary Oldman ’s makeover for Darkest Hour was sure to get a nod, if not a win, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has Gamora and Nebula and Drax, all of whom are aliens with technicolor faces. AND YET David Ayer’s Bright, which is already being hailed as the worst movie of 2017 (much like his other recent Oscar nominee, Suicide Squad, was in its year) made the cut, due to, I guess, Joel Edgerton’s blue orc face and all the colored contacts every other character wears. And, Ghost in the Shell? I, Tonya?
Here’s the shortlist of possible nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Bright
Darkest Hour
Ghost in the Shell
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
I, Tonya
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder
The Shape of Water ’s practical effects are nothing short of dazzling, and I can only imagine the Academy’s reasoning for not including it on the list means they thought del Toro cast a real fish man in the part. The good news is that The Shape of Water already has so much buzz behind it it’s probably got a good chance of catching some nominations in categories genre films usually don’t get to see.A key House committee next week will begin the slow process of turning President Trump's aspiration of a $1 trillion infrastructure initiative into reality.
Trump renewed his campaign call for a massive push to update the nation's roads, bridges, public transportation systems, pipelines and ports during his address to Congress last month, but so far has not sent any type of proposal to Capitol Hill.
Although a pet issue of Trump's, the White House and congressional leaders have agreed to make the drive essentially third in their list of priorities, after repealing the Affordable Care Act and rewriting the tax code.
But the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will start the process on Wednesday by hearing from state and local officials about how to improve the nation's surface transportation system and streamline the way the federal government helps encourage and fund surface transportation projects.
Trump gathered a handful of business leaders, entrepreneurs and even one environmental advocate at the White House this week to begin sketching out his vision for rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, which reportedly includes high-speed rail, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was permitted to attend the private Oval Office meeting.
He also is focused on the "shovel-ready" type of projects Democrats and President Barack Obama promised to prioritize with 2009's stimulus package.
"We're not going to give the money to states unless they can prove that they can be ready, willing and able to start the project," Trump said at the meeting. "We don't want to give them money if they're all tied up for seven years with state bureaucracy."
Administration officials have met with key lawmakers to broadly discuss his initiative, but no member of Congress attended the Wednesday meeting.
During his address to Congress, Trump asked lawmakers to "approve a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States." Since then, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., has made clear that giving Trump what he wants is not tantamount to the federal government footing the bill.
"It's not going to be a trillion dollars coming out of Washington, D.C.," Shuster said at an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference in Dallas this month. "There obviously has to be more money coming out of Washington, D.C. But there are billions and billions of dollars out there today, private sector dollars that are going to be spent."
One major existing source Republicans can tap is the highway bill, a five-year authorization for federal contributions to road and infrastructure projects nationwide Congress approved last year.
Beyond that, it becomes less clear how much the federal government will actually spend and from which source the funds will come.
The idea of a repatriation tax holiday that could raise $200 billion has been floated, as has the possibility of new royalties from increased drilling on public lands that could generate $1.5 trillion in tax dollars.
But there is still no clarity on how to finance it, especially without adding to the national deficit, a perquisite of many conservative lawmakers such as members of the House Freedom Caucus.
There is also disagreement over timing. Shuster is dedicated to moving something year, but there are rumors that Trump is fine with letting it slip to next year.
It's the one GOP priority that can attract significant Democratic support. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday called on Trump to leapfrog it to the top of his to-do list.
"Democrats believe the greatest nation in the world should have the best infrastructure in the world," Pelosi stated. "But instead of rebuilding America's infrastructure, the president is busy destroying Americans' health coverage. The Trump Administration and the Republican Congress should abandon their assault on healthcare and work with Democrats to forge a bipartisan path forward on job-creating infrastructure projects across America."Does President Obama still smoke?
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs would not say yesterday, but he acknowledged that the president continues to struggle to control his habit.
"I would simply tell you I think struggling with a nicotine addiction is something that happens every day," Gibbs told reporters.
On the campaign trail last year, Obama talked about his fight to kick smoking, and he has admitted to sometimes falling off the wagon. As he campaigned for president, he was often spotted chewing Nicorette gum, which helps controls the craving for nicotine.
Obama has promised not to smoke in the White House, although it was unclear whether he meant that in the most narrow sense.
The question arose after Obama praised Congress yesterday for passing legislation that would allow the federal government to regulate tobacco more closely. In his remarks in the Rose Garden, Obama decried the "harmful, addictive and often deadly effects of tobacco products."
-- Michael A. FletcherI used to be a Nice Guy (tm). Not a nice guy, not by any means; I mean I was one of those guys who tried to make friends with women I found attractive, solely because I found them attractive, in the hopes of manipulating them or tricking them or guilting them into sleeping with me.I am very glad I never succeeded. I don't think I possibly could have, but either way I'm glad I didn't. I'd like to say I don't know what I was thinking, but that would be a lie. I know exactly what I was thinking, better now than I did at the time.It started, I think, in high school. There was, of course, a girl; call her Emma. Emma was approachable, likeable, friendly, and shared most of my nerdier interests. I decided to have a crush on her.I mean that literally; it was a conscious decision, at least at first. I liked her as a friend, but wasn't particularly attracted to her. However, I thought maybe our compatibility as friends, and the general consensus of the boys in the class that she was not desirable, would better my chances. (As it turns out, I was not the only one to make this calculation; she told me a few years later she was something of a magnet for "lonely boys.")I became borderline obsessed with her. I tried everything I could, took every excuse to get closer to her, to be dependable and likeable and non-threatening. I genuinely did like her, but I obviously didn't respect her, since I hid from her my real motivations for some time. Eventually I asked her out, and she said no, and instead of accepting it and moving on, either becoming just friends or letting it go, I began this twisted little dance. I was there for her, supported her through rough times (which she had plenty of--it was high school, we all did), but I also periodically asked her out or told her I loved her. She was obviously incredibly uncomfortable with it, but I kept on, because of my needy, obsessive, one-sided "love." I felt that if she did not love me, my life was meaningless and worthless, but as long as there was some tiny hope that she someday might, I could continue.In other words, I laid at her feet, unasked for and unwanted, responsibility for my mental health. I told her about my fears and my pain and my (at the time, quite severe and undertreated) depression, and considered her my best friend even as I schemed ways to get her to be as dependent on me as I was on her.Eventually, high school ended. She moved on to a distant college, and her fragmenting family meant she no longer had a reason to return to our region even to visit. I maintained online contact with her for a time, which slowly developed into something more closely resembling a normal online friendship, but ultimately we simply drifted apart.As I entered college, my proto-Nice Guy phase developed into true Nice Guy-ism. I'd tried the grand romantic gestures with Emma; I'd been (in my own eyes) the doomed unrequited lover nobly suffering. I'd never felt entitled to Emma's love or to sex (though obviously I had felt entitled to her emotional support), but rather unworthy of it. But in college the romantic melodrama of adolescence gave way to the self-centered entitlement of extended adolescence, and my depression began to be under control. As I started to develop a fledgling sense of self-worth, my sense of entitlement exploded: I had suffered. I was owed. I deserved validation, and validation meant sex.My freshman year, I spent a lot of time with a woman named Sarah. She'd been in my class in high school, but our social circles at the time were almost entirely non-overlapping (one of my best friends was her best friend's lab partner one year). The only reason I remembered her at all was that she had been fairly attractive; I have no idea why she remembered me.By college age, however, she was no longer "fairly attractive"; she was drop-dead gorgeous. She was also, I quickly learned, fiercely intelligent, proud, independent, angry, curious, quick-witted, elitist, lonely, and most emphatically not interested in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship with anyone. I did not feel about her at all the way I did about Emma; there was no mooning, no longing sighs, nothing of that sort. I did not, even in the twisted sense I understood the word at the time, love her; she was more like a buddy and debate partner I very much wanted to have sex with.She was, as I mentioned, lonely. Our college was a large state school primarily devoted to churning out interchangeable degrees that students could use to apply for jobs that didn't much care what your degree was in. The only real exceptions were the English department and the Economics department, and even there most of the students were primarily just there to get their degree because that was the next step in the plan, not because they wanted to learn.Sarah, however, was a true academic, going to the state school because she couldn't afford better, and that isolated her. I was not in her league, but found the things she wanted to talk about genuinely interesting, and so I was one of the few people she could actually have a conversation with about her interests. Also, I tended to agree with her a lot--even if I didn't agree, I'd find a way to say something true that sounded like agreement--which I think helped make me seem like an ally. Of course I was making an effort to be extra-agreeable because I thought it might slightly improve my (nonexistent) chances of sleeping with her, but I don't think she knew that.It was about this time I formulated a theory of human interactions. People, I believed, were basically black boxes. You could not know what went on inside them, so you shouldn't try to know; all that mattered was keeping track of what button-presses produced what results. If I could just keep a person around long enough, and keep their attitude toward me positive, given time I should stumble on the sequence of buttons that would lead to the outcomes I wanted, whether that was sex with an attractive woman, friendship with a likeable man (note the implicit, sexist assumptions that men are for friendship, women I find attractive are for sex, and women I don't find attractive are not acknowledged at all), respect from a peer, or good grades from a professor.In short, I was looking at other people like video games, and seeking the strategies or cheat codes that would let me win. I don't think it's at all an accident that Nice Guy Syndrome appears to be extremely common in the geek and gamer subcultures.In one respect, this strategy worked. In the first couple of years of college, I had several professors whose classes I was able to game: a philosophy professor who was easily impressed by allusions to modern physics, and a literature professor who allowed us to e-mail in papers and could be tricked into accepting a paper late if you changed the datestamp in the e-mail header before you sent it. However, by midway through college (which is also when I started pulling out of my Nice Guy Syndrome) I realized this was defeating the point of learning as much as I could, and began intentionally seeking out challenges instead.I never told Sarah about my attraction, and after a year she switched to another school. We corresponded briefly, but quickly lost touch.I was frustrated, angry, at her and at myself. I felt cheated; I had done everything right (according to my arbitrarily and unilaterally defined rules, anyway), and not received the validation I felt I deserved. It'd be nice to say I learned my lesson and rethought my approach and realized what a horrible little pukestain I was.I didn't.Amanda. Catherine. Others whose names, to my shame, I cannot remember. I decided my error with Sarah was focusing on one woman for too long without making my move. Instead I would befriend a woman I found attractive, hang out with her, do things she found fun, share confidences, until I started to feel comfortable that maybe she liked me, and therefore safe enough to ask her out. When she refused, I immediately broke off contact.It never occurred to me that I might be hurting anyone's feelings or causing them to think I only valued them for their bodies (which I never admitted to myself was true, even though my actions proved it). They were the ones who wronged me, after all, by not holding up their end of the bargain we never made. I was just trying to get into a safe position from which I would not be, could not be rejected.This is where Nice Guy syndrome most clearly fits into rape culture. It is based on the idea that it should be possible to be unrejectable, without acknowledging that the possibility of rejection is a necessary corollary to the requirement of consent--if you can consent, you can withhold consent, and therefore reject me. Nice Guy Syndrome is thus, ultimately, yet another thinly veiled rape fantasy.By about halfway through college, as I mentioned, I was moving away from Nice Guy Syndrome. I'd like to say it was because I realized it was misogynistic, narcissistic, and self-defeating, but I didn't. I moved away from it because I found a *different* way to feel safe enough to ask a woman out, and it actually worked. I realized that the best thing to do was just make my interest known as soon as possible, and then let her decide. I also started to get over the idea of sex-as-validation--a year-long romantic relationship in which sex was not an option pretty much cured me of it.Ultimately, of course, I did evolve toward feminism. With time, I realized how horridly I behaved toward the women I pretended to be friends with. I'm still guilty over that, and I regret the nascent friendships that could have become something real, but never got a chance to blossom because I was too focused on sex, and I regret the potential friendships I don't know about, because I ignored women I didn't find attractive.Most of all I regret how long it took me to realize I was treating men differently from women, and treating women according to how attractive I found them physically. In other words, I was failing to treat all people as people. There's no way I can apologize. All I can do is, when I see younger friends or relatives expressing sentiments that remind me of younger me, try to talk them out of it.--Froborr
The Slacktiverse is a community blog. Content reflects the individual opinions of the contributors. We welcome disagreement in the comment threads, and invite anyone who wishes to present an alternative interpretation of a situation to write and submit a post.If there is anyone that I would like to see make more of a gear shift towards the silver-screen than the small screen, it is Bryan Greenberg. This man is just to beautiful to waste his ‘talent’ on shows like One Tree Hill, October Road, and his current gig How To Make it in America. I found it really hard to believe that he has only appeared in seven feature films, the first one being The Perfect Score (2004), with other up-and-comer Chris Evans (Captain America anyone?) and the newly established adult stardom, Scarlett Johansson who was fresh off her transitioning role Lost in Translation (2003).
It appears that Greenberg has been pigeon-holed in the romantic-comedy genre, with films like Prime (2005),
Bride Wars (2009) and Friends With Benefits (2011), but he did make a slight turn to the darker side of comedy in the film Nobel Son (2008) with Alan Rickman. I hope he continues to challenge himself this way because I do not want this beauty to be stereo-typed as just a pretty face, I actually want him to showcase his acting chops!
That aside, here are some pictures to reiterate my fascination with this delightful creature.
AdvertisementsNEW DELHI: Indian indices might have slipped nearly 10 per cent from their record high hit in 2015, but they still remain a hot favorite of foreign investors among other emerging markets.That is not all. Experts feel that in the short term, other EMs, which were underperforming in the past such as China and Russia, are also catching up fast in FIIs’ buy list.The S&P BSE Sensex has plunged over 2800 points or a little over 9 per cent from its record high of 30,024.74 recorded on March 4, 2015. The index has also erased gains made so far in the calendar year 2015.Foreign portfolio investors have been net buyers by Rs 15,594 crore so far in April, while for the debt segment they have turned net sellers for the first time since April 2014, say media reports.“There has been some pullback from FIIs mainly because of a concern about the currency and that a lot of people have said that they will probably come back once it all stabilizes," says ashupati Advani of pashupatiadvani@globalforay."It is a fact that the current government has been in business for almost a year and things seem to be going slower than most people expect," he says.In absolute terms, “India still remains a sought-out destination among foreign investors,” say experts. But, other emerging markets such as China and Russia, are also looking attractive, they say."Among the four big blocks that constitute the global emerging market space, India was the only one where the story was really strong and consistent," says Christopher Darling of LGM Investments.When asked whether it is still the case now, Darling said that certainly India remains a very solid investment opportunity, but “we obviously have to think about what is going on in China and the Chinese markets as we all know have performed extremely strongly.”"It was India alone six months ago, but now it is perhaps India plus China and there was a reference made earlier to Russia," adds Darling.There were a lot of emerging markets which were very cheap and were underperformers for years. Suddenly, they have woken up in the last three months, say experts."If you look at things on a quarterly basis, then returns by Russian, Brazil and China markets have been phenomenal. So, when value investors invested in these countries, they got very good returns," says S Naren, CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC."Those momentum/growth investors, who have seen India doing well, were overweight and made money. They are now taking some profits to other countries which were underperforming for years," he adds.Naren is of the view that it is basically a victory of value-investing in other countries, which is responsible for the current correction in the domestic market.Both global and domestic concerns have weighed |
He just told me I started work the next day.
Lesson two
It was that next day he tore up my drawings. This was followed by my second lesson.
“What is the budget for the stage sets?” I asked him.
“There is no budget. You have to find everything you need in the streets. Or steal it. Liverpool is full of things you can use to build the stage sets from. Go and find them.”
“But yesterday you said there was a budget.”
“I spent the budget on getting this.” He lifted up a phone. It was mustard-coloured.
“You spent the budget on a phone?”
“Yes. Right now in the world, the phone is the most powerful tool you can have. Right now, I can contact anybody in the world of any importance with this phone. Anyone! In fact, you can help me. We need someone to play the role of an oriental woman in the play. Who should we get?”
I could not think of any oriental actresses so I said Yoko Ono. In my head, she was the most famous oriental woman in the world.
“OK, we will ask Yoko Ono.” Then he rings a number. Someone answers. He asks a question and writes down a number. He phones this number. Someone answers. He asks a question and writes down another number. He does this two or three more times – after which he is actually speaking to Yoko in New York. This was not more than 10 minutes after I had half-jokingly suggested her name.
As it happens, Yoko declined his offer to appear in the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool’s 12-hour production of Illuminatus!, as she had to look after her new baby boy.
Fifteen years later, when Jimmy Cauty and I were working on the KLF track Justified & Ancient, Jimmy said what it needed was a vocal by Tammy Wynette. Now Tammy Wynette was a genuine living legend, the First Lady of Country – and the record we were making was a sort of dance-pop record with weird bits. It was the last thing you’d expect the First Lady of Country to be singing on. While Jimmy got on with the track, I went into the office and picked up the phone. Ten minutes later, after three or four calls, I am actually talking to Tammy Wynette, just before she goes on stage in Chicago. We play her the track down the phone and she agrees there and then to record the vocals with us.
Back to 1976: I went down to the basement. It was dark and damp. There was, for some reason, a pot of yellow paint and a brush on the floor. I opened the lid. It was full. I took the brush, dipped it in, and then proceeded to paint, across the walls of the basement as large as I could, BUT IS IT HEROIC? This was to be my mantra for the next few months.
The sets I built, using material I found in skips or stole, are still the work I’m most proud of.
Lesson three
Illuminatus! opened in the Liverpool School of Language, Music, Dream & Pun that autumn. It was a roaring success and received glowing reviews from critics in London-based broadsheets. It featured a host of unknown young actors, including Jim Broadbent, David Rappaport and Bill Nighy. Peter Hall, then the artistic director of the National Theatre, wanted Illuminatus! to transfer to London and be the opening show on the National’s new Cottesloe stage.
Ken and I drove down to have a meeting with Hall. As we entered the National, Ken turned to me and said: “Bill, before you enter any meeting, you have to know exactly what it is you want out of it. What we want out of this is for you to have whatever budget and facilities you need to build all-new stage sets for the production here.”
I had come prepared, with models of the sets. These I had spent all of the previous night building and they looked exactly how I wanted the real thing to be. I thought they looked brilliant. I still have them.
Hall smiled and agreed to everything.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Prunella Gee in Illuminatus! at the National Theatre, 1977.
Lesson four
The stage sets got built and the London production was a success. Every show was packed. Nighy and Broadbent looked and sounded like the stars they were to become. A West End company wanted to take the show on, but instead of it transferring to a Shaftesbury Avenue-type theatre, they picked the far hipper Roundhouse up in Camden. In the mid-1970s, the Roundhouse was about as hip as you could get.
They wanted to use all of my stage sets, sets I had originally made for nothing and got paid next-to-nothing for. The company was willing to pay me a week’s wages to set it all up. Ken said there was nothing he could do about it and that this was the reality of commercial theatre, and I should see this as an opportunity to prove my worth. But as far as I was concerned, this was shit. The actors were all going to get paid for the complete run.
I worked like fuck to get everything ready. Then, on the day it was to open, while attempting to bolt down a part of the set – a toilet – to the stage floor, I cracked the porcelain. I told Ken I was going to go and get some Araldite to glue it back together. I walked out of the Roundhouse and down towards a hardware shop on Chalk Farm Road. But I just walked past and I kept walking until I got to Euston Station, where I got a train back to Liverpool.
It was spring. The world was turning. The punk rock wars were raging across the land. I put my tools away and tuned up my guitar. Within a month of not returning with the Araldite, I had formed my first proper band, Big in Japan.
The lesson that Ken taught me here, even if he did not mean to, was when to walk away. I have put it to good use various times since.
Lesson five
Four years later, still in Liverpool, I am co-managing two of the hippest bands in the land: Echo and the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes. Echo & the Bunnymen were going from strength to strength. They were a solid four-piece democratic band. The Teardrop Explodes were more difficult. They had just had a top 10 single, Reward, and their first album had gone gold. But the band was riven with internal problems, changing line-ups, conflicting egos and too much dope.
Ken was back in Liverpool. He had got a proper job as the artistic director of the Everyman. The co-manager of these bands, and my best friend, was Dave Balfe. He was also the keyboard-player with the Teardrop Explodes, and that was one of the problems. I had told Dave about Ken and how he was the only proper genius I had ever worked with. I knew Ken had no interest in music but I suggested we should visit him and ask what to do with the Teardrop Explodes.
So that night, we go to Ken’s lodgings and knock on his door. On seeing my face, the first thing he says is: “Drummond, have you got the Araldite?”
Introductions over, Dave and I explained the problem. He said it was simple enough to sort out. I asked how and he said: “Give me £100 and I will tell you.”
So Dave and I went back out into the night to get £100. There were no cash machines in those days. There was only one person we knew in Liverpool who would have that sort of money in cash at that time of night. Obviously, he thought we were there to buy his wares. We said no, we just want to borrow £100. The interest was agreed and he loaned us the money.
Back at Ken’s lodgings, we counted out the notes. Ken put them in his back pocket. He looked up at us and gave us his broad grin.
“WILDER!”
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“I mean WILDER! That is what you need your band to be. WILDER!”
“Have we just paid you £100 for the word ‘wilder’?”
“Yes. And it is probably the best £100 you are ever likely to spend.”
When we left, Dave was certain Ken was just taking the piss out of us. He may have been. But that did not stop us from convincing the Teardrop Explodes and their record company to call their next – and final – album Wilder. Although it went gold, it did not solve the problem within the band. I walked away. And the band broke up. But with everything I have worked on since, I can hear Ken’s voice telling me: “Wilder, Bill, it should be wilder.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bill Drummond, right, and KLF bandmate Jimmy Cauty in 1990. Photograph: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images
Cosmic postscript
Over the years since, I worked with Ken in a number of ways. He directed Jimmy Cauty and myself in our Fuck the Millennium production at the Barbican in London. And anyone who knows anything about my own trajectory will know the influence of Illuminatus! has been profound. None of that would have happened without Ken and the five lessons I learnt from him.
Earlier this year, I was contacted by Daisy Eris Campbell, his daughter. She was planning to put on a play in Liverpool based on Cosmic Trigger, the book by Robert Anton Wilson that was the follow-up to The Illuminatus! Trilogy. She was not asking me to get involved and I knew I could never go back to that anyway. As far as Ken was concerned, I was the boy who had gone to get the Araldite and never came back.
But I am looking forward to returning to Liverpool and watching this show. I just hope it is even more heroic and wilder than her father could ever have expected.
• Cosmic Trigger is at Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 21-23 November (0151-709 4776). Then at Lost Theatre, London, 26-29 November (020-7720 6897).
• Ken Campbell obituary – “he was one of the strangest people in Britain”
• Archive interview: The elf of Epping ForestReports of robocalls have cropped up in federal electoral ridings from coast to coast, with the Liberals and New Democratic Party racking up quite the tally. To measure the significance of these alleged robocalls, the Post’s Sarah Boesveld, Tristin Hopper and Kathryn Blaze Carlson dug up Elections Canada’s official voting results and tales of suspicious phone calls from the affected ridings. The reports are largely gleaned from Liberal and NDP lists, which are being constantly updated (and are offered up with varying degrees of certainty). The Liberals specified live calls and robocalls, the NDP did not. Below, the 57 ridings with reported robocalls.
[np-related]
Guelph, ON (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls and live calls)
– Frank Valeriote – 25,588 – 43.4%– Marty Burke – 19,352 – 32.8%– Bobbi Stewart – 9,880 – 16.7%Guelph is the nerve centre of the Elections Canada investigation into harassing or deceptive phone calls made in an apparent effort to discourage Liberal supporters from voting. In a Liberal riding the Conservatives wanted to paint blue, voters said they received recorded calls that were purported to be from Elections Canada, telling them their polling stations had moved. A chaotic scene ensued at one polling station, which might have led to voters failing to cast a ballot. Michael Sona, a 23-year-old Conservative staffer who worked for candidate Mr. Burke in the Guelph riding resigned Friday in the face of the “robocalls” probe. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Elections Canada’s investigation into the “robocalls” squared on a Conservative party campaign in Guelph.
St. Paul’s, ON (Liberal, live calls)
Liberal — Carolyn Bennett – 22,409 – 40.6%
Conservative — Maureen Harquail – 17,864 – 32.4%
NDP – William Molls – 12,124 – 22.0%
The Liberals in this riding received complaints from Jewish voters who said the campaign was repeatedly calling them on the Sabbath, although the campaign said it was very mindful not to phone on Saturdays. The calls referred to the candidate as “Doctor Carolyn Bennett,” a phrase her campaign doesn’t use, Postmedia reports.
Winnipeg South Centre, MB (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls and live calls)
Conservative – Joyce Bateman – 15,506 – 38.8%
Liberal – Anita Neville – 14,784 – 37.0%
NDP – Dennis Lewycky – 7,945 – 19.9%
Former incumbent Ms. Neville blamed the robocalls for eroding her chances at re-election. “It was all part of a campaign to misinform constituents about my views and to try and wear away at my majority and clearly it helped,” she told CTV.
Kingston and the Islands (Liberal list, live calls)
Liberal – Ted Hsu – 23,842 – 39.3%
Conservative – Alicia Gordon – 21,189 – 34.9%
NDP – Daniel Beals – 13,065 – 21.5%
Liberals in this Kingston riding reported being woken at 2 a.m by callers who falsely claimed to be from the Liberal campaign soliciting their votes, calls early on Easter Sunday when the Liberals had stopped campaigning, late evening calls to elderly residents in senior’s homes and calls on election day reporting moved polling stations. “I probably should have [complained earlier],” Mr. Hsu told the CBC. “Now I realize it’s much bigger.”
Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC (NDP, Green Party lists)
Green — Elizabeth May — 31,890 — 46.33%
Conservative — Gary Lunn — 24,544 — 35.66%
NDP – Edith Loring-Kuhanga – 8,185 – 11.89%
Reports of strange calls in Saanich-Gulf Islands stretch back to 2008, when residents received calls urging them to support NDP candidate Julian West, even though Mr. West had dropped out. An Elections Canada investigator later concluded that no one had “been influenced in their vote because of the purported telephone call.”“I can’t make any allegations who was responsible for robocalls in 2008. But whoever did it got away with it, Ms. May said this week.
Sydney-Victoria, NS (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls and live calls)
Liberal – Mark Eyking – 14,788 – 39.9%
Conservative – Cecil Clarke – 14,023 – 37.8%
NDP – Kathy MacLeod – 7,049 – 19.0%
The Liberal incumbent, who won this time by a hair, has claimed Liberal supporters in his riding were receiving automated calls and late night calls from a live person and that he didn’t file a complaint until after his election win.
Parkdale-High Park, Toronto, ON (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls and live calls)
NDP – Peggy Nash – 24,046 – 47.2%
Liberal – Gerard Kennedy – 16,757 – 32.9%
Conservative – Taylor Train – 7,924 – 15.6%
Liberal supporters called the campaign of Mr. Kennedy to complain about late night calls. “As I was responsible for our call centre relationship in both campaigns, I can guarantee that it was not us making the calls, campaign worker Jason Easton told Postmedia.
Saint Boniface, MB (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Shelly Glover – 21,737 – 50.3%
Liberal – Raymond Simard – 13,314 – 30.8%
NDP – Patrice Miniely – 6,935 – 16%
Volunteers on Mr. Simard’s campaign began receiving complaints in mid-April, the candidate told Postmedia. “A couple times I could hear some of our volunteers saying, ‘No. It can’t be our volunteers. We’re trained and we’re not rude to people.’”
Thunder Bay – Superior North (NDP list)
NDP – Bruce Hyer – 18,334 – 49.9%
Conservative – Richard Harvey – 10,894 – 29.7%
Liberal – Yves Fricot – 6,117 – 16.7%
In a letter to Elections Canada sent over the weekend, NDP MPs Charlie Angus and Alexandre Boulerice included two phone numbers they say were the source of harassing or misleading calls to NDP supporters in Thunder Bay-Superior North and Edmonton East the night of April 29, 2011— just three days before the vote.
Edmonton East (NDP list)
Conservative – Peter Goldring – 24,111 – 52.7%
NDP – Ray Martin – 17,078 – 37.4%
Liberal – Shafik Ruda – 3,176 – 6.9%
Mr. Martin said his office received at least two reports of similar calls last April from a person asking to confirm voter contact information. “I’ve never seen what seems to be an organized approach across the country the way it was in this last election, borrowing sort of the [U.S.] Republican Party’s sort of hardball politics,” Mr. Martin told the CBC Tuesday.
Cambridge, ON (NDP list, live calls)
Conservative – Gary Goodyear – 29,394 – 53.4%
NDP – Susan Galvao – 15,238 – 27.7%
Liberal – Bryan May – 8,285 – 15.1%
Mr. May told Global News he heard complaints about live calls pretending to be his campaign. He believes they originated from a call centre. “The consistency in which they reported the content of the calls seems like they are very much scripted,” he said.
London North Centre, ON (NDP list, live calls)
Conservative – Susan Truppe – 19,468 – 37.0%
Liberal – Glen Pearson – 17,803 – 33.8%
NDP – German Gutierrez – 12,996 – 24.7%
Mr. Pearson said he started getting a chilled reception at the door towards the end of his campaign. He soon found out live callers were telling resident that he spends six months of every year in Africa. He really only spends one week a year on that continent, Mr. Pearson told Postmedia.
Peterborough, ON
Conservative – Dean Del Mastro – 29,664 – 49.7%
NDP – David Nickle – 14,723 – 24.9%
Liberal – Betsy McGregor – 12,664 – 21.4%
Mr. Del Mastro, who is parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, said he too was affected by dirty tricks and has called on Elections Canada to investigate all parties for inappropriate phone calls to voters. He is believed to be the only Conservative to come forward with such complaints.
Etobicoke-Centre, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Ted Opitz – 21,644*
Liberal (incumbent) — Borys Wrzesnewskyj – 21,618
NDP – Ana Maria Rivero – 7,735
Bob Rae said the former Liberal incumbent Mr. Wrzesnewskyj has “evidence of vote tampering and people being excluded from voting.”
*figures from re-count, percentage of vote not available.
Niagara Falls, ON (NDP, Liberal lists, live calls)
Conservative – Rob Nicholson – 28,748 – 53.3%
NDP – Heather Kelley – 12,681 – 23.5%
Liberal – Bev Hodgson – 10,206 – 18.9%
Craig Brockwell, campaign manager for Ms. Hodgson said they received reports someone was impersonating the candidate in a rude manner during phone calls dialled after 9 p.m.
South Shore-St. Margaret’s, NS (NDP list)
Conservative — Gerald Keddy — 17, 948 — 43.1%
NDP — Gordon Earle — 15, 033 — 36.1%
Liberal — Derek Wells — 7, 037 — 16.9%
The NDP’s official agent in the riding told the Chronicle Herald he remembers receiving “two or three calls” from supporters who were directed to the wrong voting location. Mr. Earle’s office was reportedly swamped with complaints from voters getting pro-NDP automated calls.
Eglinton-Lawrence, Toronto, ON (NDP, Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Joe Oliver – 22,652 – 46.8%
Liberal – Joe Volpe – 18,590 – 38.4%
NDP – Justin Chatwin – 5,613 – 11.6%
Former Liberal incumbent Joe Volpe told the CBC last week he has “affidavits from many people who received phone calls that pretended to be from the Liberal Party but clearly were not.”
Windsor-Tecumseh, ON (NDP list)
NDP – Joe Comartin – 22,235 – 49.9%
Conservative – Denise Ghanam – 14,945 – 33.6%
Liberal – Irek Kusmierczyk – 5,764 – 12.9%
“It’s clearly dirty tricks,” Mr. Comartin told reporters this week. “We’re all demeaned by this kind of conduct. We all get tainted by it.” He made a formal complaint to a returning officer about the calls to NDP supporters.
Elmwood-Transcona, MB (NDP list)
Conservative – Lawrence Toet – 15,298 – 46.4%
NDP – Jim Maloway – 14,998 – 45.5%
Liberal – Ilona Niemczyk – 1,660 – 5.0%
More than half a dozen complaints came in to Mr. Maloway’s office from NDP supporters who said someone called them to say their polling station location had changed. Mr. Maloway says the close margin by which he lost might be explained by the alleged robocalls.
Essex (NDP list)
Conservative – Jeff Watson – 25,327 – 48%
NDP – Taras Natyshak – 18,538 – 35.2%
Liberal – Nelson Santos – 7,465 – 14.2%
The NDP in Essex filed a formal complaint with Elections Canada about alleged robocalls and Mr. Watson said his supporters also received nuisance calls, but didn’t think they were part of a bigger, wider-spread problem.
Mississauga East-Cooksville (NDP list, live calls)
Conservative – Wladyslaw Lizon – 18,796 – 40%
Liberal – Peter Fonseca – 18,120 – 38.5%
NDP – Waseem Ahmed – 8,836 – 18.8%
This long-held Liberal riding had no incumbent in 2011 after Albina Guarnieri (who won 50% of the vote in 2008) retired. Mr. Lizon squeaked past Mr. Fonseca by 676 votes. Mr. Lizon old The Mississauga News “if there were calls, I was not involved — I ran a clean campaign.”
Haldimand-Norfolk, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Diane Finley – 25,655 – 50.9%
Liberal – Bob Speller – 12,549 – 24.9%
NDP – Ian Nichols – 10,062 – 20.0%
During the election campaign, Mr. Speller warned voters that calls purporting to be the Liberal candidate were in fact a phone scam. Some of the calls came in late at night, campaign manager Ian Malo said.
Winnipeg Centre, MB (NDP list)
NDP — Pat Martin — 13, 928 — 53.7%
Conservative — Bev Fitura — 7, 173 — 27.6%
Liberal — Allan Wise — 2, 872 — 11.1%
Voter Gerald McIvor told the Winnipeg Free Press he got an automated call on election day directing him to a different polling station, apparently because of high voter turnout. He said the female voice claimed to be from Elections Canada.
Nipissing-Timiskaming, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Jay Aspin – 15,495 – 36.7%
Liberal – Anthony Rota – 15,477 – 36.6%
NDP – Rona Eckert – 8,781 – 20.8%
The spread was so narrow in the Northern Ontario riding that Mr. Aspin’s victory was not announced until a recount two weeks later. On Tuesday, unseated Liberal MP Anthony Rota told CBC that he had heard reports that residents in his riding were receiving calls from fake Elections Canada officials directing them to incorrect polling stations across town.
Ottawa-Orleans, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Royal Galipeau – 28,584 – 44.55%
Liberal – David Bertschi – 24,649 – 38.42%
NDP – Martine Cenatus – 9,086 – 14.16%
Liberal candidate David Bertschi said in April that Liberal supporters received calls from live people identifying themselves as representatives of the Liberal Party of Canada and urging them not to vote for the Liberal candidate in the riding (for whatever reason). Residents also calls from people imitating Elections Canada officials “telling voters to go to a different polling station, sometimes upwards of 30 minutes away,” according to Andy Singh, the campaign’s junior counsel.
Davenport, ON (NDP list)
NDP — Andrew Cash — 21,096 — 53.7%
Liberal — Mario Silva — 10, 946 — 27.9%
Conservative — Theresa Rodrigues — 5, 573 — 14.2%
NDP MP Pat Martin told the CBC that Davenport might be among the ridings targeted by what he called “a conspiracy to undermine a person’s right to vote.”
Prince George – Peace River, B.C. (NDP list)
Conservative – Bob Zimmer – 23,946 – 62.1%
NDP – Lois Boone – 9,876 – 25.6%
Liberal – Ben Levine – 2,008 – 5.2%
According to the NDP, Dawson Creek radio station CJDC reported election day that voters “may have received a call yesterday advising them their polling station changed. Elections Canada wants to advise voters these calls are not from them and they do not know who is calling voters.”
Windsor-West, ON (NDP list)
NDP — Brian Masse — 21, 592 — 54.3%
Conservative — Lisa Lumley — 12, 577 — 31.6%
Liberal — Melanie Deveau — 4, 327 — 10.9%
According to the Windsor Star, Ms. Deveau’s campaign heard complaints of late-night calls and inaccurate polling day information.
Kitchener-Conestoga, ON (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls)
Conservative – Harold Albrecht – 28,902 – 54.1%
NDP – Lorne Bruce – 11,65 – 21.8%
Liberal – Bob Rosehart – 10,653 – 19.9%
The Conservatives managed to hold tight to Kitchener-Conestoga (Mr. Albrecht won with 49.22% of the vote in 2008), but Liberals fear robocalls might have kept their supporters at home.
London-West, ON (NDP, Liberal list, robocalls)
Conservative – Ed Holder – 27,675 – 44.5%
Liberal – Doug Ferguson – 16,652 – 26.8%
NDP – Peter Ferguson – 16,109 – 25.9%
Mr. Ferguson said he had heard stories about strange phone calls to party supporters, but the margin of defeat was so big for him that he didn’t think it made an impact.
Ottawa West – Nepean, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – John Baird – 25,226 – 44.71%
Liberal – Anita Vandenbeld – 17,790 – 31.53%
NDP – Marlene Rivier – 11,128 – 19.72%
Complaints came in to Ms. Vandenbeld’s campaign office about harassing calls, purportedly from the Liberal Party, that were made at inappropriate hours, Ms. Vandenbeld told CBC on Monday. “I would hate to think that any political party would be doing this deliberately,” she said.
St. Catharines, ON (NDP, Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Rick Dykstra – 25,571 – 50.9%
New Democratic – Mike Williams – 11,973 – 23.8%
Liberal – Andrew Gill – 10,358 – 20.6%
On Monday, Rick Dykstra, who had held the riding since 2006, was on local media to dismiss claims of St. Catharines robocalls as “nonsense.” The former St. Catharines city councillor maintains he led a “clean and ethical campaign.”
Vancouver Quadra (NDP list, live calls)
Liberal — Joyce Murray 22,903 42.17%
Conservative — Deborah Meredith 20,984 38.64%
NDP — Victor Elkins 7,499 13.81%
Ms. Murray said “several” supporters in her riding got late-night calls from people purporting to be Liberals who were “harassing and rude.” The calls came from a number in North Dakota.
Sarnia-Lambton (NDP list, robocalls)
Conservative — Pat Davidson 26,112 52.58%
NDP — Brian White 14,856 29.91%
Liberal — Tim Fugard 6,931 13.96%
“It wasn’t coming from us. I don’t know who were doing the calls. We reported them to Elections Canada,” Patricia Davidson told The Petrolia Topic regarding reports of phone calls directing voters to false polling places. Ms. Davidson’s campaign manager Mike Hanki said Conservative supporters also received misleading calls.
Markham-Unionville (NDP list)
Liberal — John McCallum 19,429 38.9%
Conservative — Bob Saroya 17,734 35.5%
NDP — Nadine Hawkins 10,897 21.8%
Last week, John McCallum said his party does not have a “smoking gun pointing at Stephen Harper” regarding reports of voter suppression, but said by-elections would be necessary if Elections Canada investigators can prove voters were misled.
Lac-Saint-Louis (NDP list, robocalls)
Liberal — Francis Scarpaleggia 18,457 34.11%
NDP — Alain Ackad 16,253 30.04%
Conservative — Larry Smith 15,394 28.45%
Francis Scarpaleggia said he had received reports that voters in his riding received calls saying their polling stations had moved, although he did not report it to Elections Canada. “At the time, we had no idea that it could be part of a larger, coordinated, orchestrated, strategic attempt to skew the vote in a number of ridings,” Mr. Scarpaleggia told CBC on Tuesday.
Mississauga-Streetsville, ON (live calls)
Conservative – Brad Butt – 22,104 – 43.9%
Liberal – Bonnie Crombie – 18,651 – 37.0%
NDP – Ajaz Naqvi – 7,834 – 15.5%
Conservative campaign manager Jodi MacDonald told the Post that Conservative supporters called her campaign office with reports of live calls directing them to fraudulent polling locations. Within hours, Ms. MacDonald said she filed an official complaint with Elections Canada.
Ottawa Centre (NDP list)
NDP – Paul Dewar – 33,805 – 52.1%
Conservative – Damian Konstantinakos – 14,063 – 21.7%
Liberal – Scott Bradley – 13,049 – 20.1%
Kitchener-Waterloo, ON (NDP, Liberal lists, robocalls and live calls)
Conservative – Peter Braid – 27,039 – 40.9%
Liberal – Andrew Telegdi – 24,895 – 37.6%
NDP – Bill Brown – 10,606 – 16.0%
Sudbury (NDP, Liberal list, live calls)
NDP – Glenn Thibeault – 22,684 – 49.9%
Conservative – Fred Slade – 12,881 – 28.3%
Liberal – Carol Hartman – 8,172 – 18.0%
Egmont, PEI (NDP, Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Gail Shea – 10,467 – 54.6%
Liberal – Guy Gallant – 5,997 – 31.3%
NDP – Jacquie Robichaud – 2,369 – 12.4%
Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – David Sweet – 30,240 – 51.3%
Liberal – Dave Braden – 14,594 – 24.7%
NDP – Nancy MacBain – 10,956 – 18.6%
Don Valley East, Toronto, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Joe Daniel – 14,422 – 36.8%
Liberal – Yasmin Ratansi – 13,552 – 34.6%
NDP – Mary Trapani Hynes – 9,878 – 25.2%
Hamilton East-Stoney Creek (NDP, Liberal list, live calls)
NDP – Wayne Marston – 21,931 – 45.2%
Conservative – Brad Clark – 17,567 – 36.2%
Liberals – Michelle Stockwell – 6,411 – 13.2%
Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Becancour, QC (NDP list)
Bloc Quebecois — Louis Plamondon — 19, 046 — 38.3%
NDP — Krista Lalonde — 17, 705 — 35.6%
Conservative — Charles Cartier — 6,478 — 13%
Oakville, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Terence Young – 30,068%
Liberal – Max Khan – 17,890 – 30.73%
NDP – James Ede – 8,117 – 13.94%
Oak Ridges – Markham, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Paul Calandra – 46,241 – 51.12%
Liberal – Lui Temelkovski – 25,561 – 28.26%
NDP – Janice Hagan – 15,229 – 16.84%
Perth-Wellington, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Gary Schellenberger – 25,28 – 54.5%
NDP – Ellen Papenburg – 9,861 – 21.3%
Liberal – Bob McTavish – 8,341 – 18%
Sault Ste-Marie, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Bryan Hayes – 18,328 – 41.4%
NDP – Tony Martin – 16,467 – 37.2%
Liberal – Christian Provenzano – 8,343 – 18.9%
Simcoe-Grey, ON (Liberal list, live calls)
Conservative – Kellie Leitch – 31,784 – 49.4%
NDP – Katy Austin – 11,185 – 17.4%
Independent – Helena Guergis – 8,714 – 13.5%
Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington (NDP list)
Conservative Scott Reid — 33,754 — 57.27%
NDP Doug Smyth — 12,174 — 20.65%
Liberal David Remington — 9,940 — 16.86%
Brampton West (NDP list)
Conservative Kyle Seeback — 28,320 — 44.75%
Liberal Andrew Kania — 22,128 — 34.97%
NDP Jagtar Shergill — 11,225 — 17.74%
Vancouver-Kingsway (NDP list)
NDP Don Davies — 23,452 — 50.08%
Conservative — Trang Nguyen — 13,157 — 28.10%
Liberal Wendy Yuan — 7,796 — 16.65%
Scarborough Southwest (NDP list)
NDP Dan Harris — 14,119 — 35.04%
Conservative — Gavan Paranchothy — 12,830 — 31.85%
Liberal — Michelle Simson — 11,699 — 29.05%
Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon (NDP list)
Conservative — Mark Strahl — 28,160 — 57.20%
NDP — Gwen O’Mahony — 12,691 — 25.78%
Liberal — Diane Janzen — 5,320 — 10.81%
Halton (NDP list)
Conservative — Lisa Raitt — 44,206 — 54.4%
Liberal — Connie Laurin-Bowie — 20,903 — 25.8%
NDP — Patricia Heroux — 12,960 — 16.0%
Wellington-Halton Hills (NDP list)
Conservative — Michael Chong 35,132 63.70%
Liberal — Barry Peters 9,034 16.38%
NDP — Anastasia Zavarella 7,146%
National PostA man's wife said he assaulted her twice; evidence said otherwise.
It was a smoking |
George makes a clear reference to Jon Snow as a Corn King in A Dance with Dragons, and this has been caught by many attentive readers familiar with the Corn King mythological archetype:
Mormont’s raven muttered across the room. “Corn, ” the bird said, and, “King, ” and, “Snow, Jon Snow, Jon Snow.” That was queer. The bird had never said his full name before, as best Jon could recall.
Many Corn King figures are also Morningstar figures, such as Tammuz and Osiris, and resurrection always features prominently in both. Fitting then, that the father of sacrificed and resurrected Ba’al is El, the high father god who is equated with the sun, just as the father of Jesus the Morningstar is a solar god.
So that’s El – he’s the sun god and the all-father.
Then we have this other fellow named Jehovah or Yaweh, who was originally the Canaanite storm god, similar to the god Yam. Typical of a storm god, Yaweh is the jealous and angry god, the guy who killed everyone on earth who wouldn’t obey him with a flood. He’s the guy that demanded Abraham be willing to sacrifice his own son to “please God,” and the guy who didn’t want us to posses the knowledge of good and evil. Storm gods are always seen as wrathful because they are really just a personification of the forces of the storm, which are turbulent, merciless, and deadly.
Worship of Jehovah / Yaweh, which had been around for a millennia or more already as part of a pantheon of Caanaanite deities, began to replace worship of El throughout Canaan between 1000BCE – 600 BCE, as his followers began to asset his primacy over El, Ba’al, Asherah, and other Caananite deities. The followers of Yaweh became increasingly intolerant of the existence of other deities, eventually asserting that no other gods existed at all, attributing all divine attributes of the other gods to Yaweh. This was a conversion from decentralized pantheism to hierarchical monotheism, which is quite significant as these are basically opposing worldview. At least, we can say that monotheism and hierarchy or authoritarianism have no tolerance for pantheism and decentralized authority. A clash was inevitable, and the results did a lot to shape the world going forward.
Now, because the Old Testament is composed of various books that were written hundreds and even thousands of years apart, Yaweh and El have been written and interpreted as being the same god, even though they were originally very different gods who had very different characteristics. Modern Christians use Yaweh and El and their variations interchangeably as simply being different names for god, but if you go through the Old Testament and separate out the references to El and Yaweh, you begin to the two personalities emerge. Sometimes the Christian God is portrayed as loving and merciful, the god who takes care even the tiniest birds and insects, as Jesus points out, and sometimes he is portrayed as a wrathful and terrible god whose judgement is awesome to behold. He’s not schizophrenic, he’s two different people zipped up into one.
This is what happens with religion and mythology over time. ‘Mythology’ is really just very old religion – there’s essentially no difference. Stories of gods and heroes are symbols crafted by man, and then later re-crafted and shaped, and sometimes twisted outright to serve an agenda of a given group of people. The same symbol can be used by people committing great acts of evil and by people committing great acts of love, even. At times, these stories are passed down by people who have forgotten the original meaning – this is actually very common, and we’ve got a lot of it going on in A Song of Ice and Fire in my moon disaster theory is at all close to the truth. As we consider the mythology of Planetos, we must consider these phenomena and how legends like that of Azor Ahai or the Night’s King may have been altered over time, either intentionally or accidentally. Intentionally is far more interesting, so we’ll keep an eye on that one. Personally, I think the Church of Starry Wisdom created R’hllorism as a PR campaign for their lord of darkness, Azor Ahai a.k.a. the Bloodstone Emperor, but I’ll save that bit of Ice and Fire conspiracy theory for another time.
Kidding aside, history is written by the victors, and so is theology. If the gnostic view of the Bible has won out… well, the world would be a different place. All of this is interesting to ponder on its own, but what I am really trying to do here with his little foray into the history of the Bible and Canaanite deities is to provide a bit of context in which to view the Azor Ahai myth and the other myths of heroes and villains in A Song of Ice and Fire. The question of who is the hero and who is the villain is a question people have been asking about gods and heroes for eons, and it’s a damn good question to ask. Under no circumstances should we simply accept that Night’s King was a villain and Azor Ahai a hero without question.
The Morality of A Song of Ice and Fire
I’d also like to say something about the idea of evil and good in A Song of Ice and Fire, lest I give the wrong impression here. It’s well known that Martin has a fondness and a skill for creating morally grey characters who, like real people, have the capacity to do right or wrong, and who find themselves in situations where right and wrong become very difficult to see clearly. This is good storytelling, and George talks about this idea openly, as well as his tendency to eschew the Sauron-esque “dark lords” which are typical of fantasy. However, some people have gone too far with this and come away with he impression that there is no right and wrong in A Song of Ice and Fire. I would strongly disagree with that sentiment. People themselves are usually a shade of grey, but right and wrong definitely do exist as abstract concepts. The reason people are thought of as “grey” is because they are a mix of black and white, of good and evil. No good and evil, and everybody is like fuchsia or turquoise or something. You get the idea.
When we consider whether someone like Azor Ahai is a “villain” or a “hero,” we speak not of their entire personality and character, but of their defining actions. The heroes of legend are created around important deeds which echo out into history. Someone who builds something great, wins a great war, negotiates a great treaty, or establishes a House, tribe, or nation. Over time, many details of the story turn from truth to fiction, but at the center of it will be that one, momentous deed. When we ask whether or not Azor Ahai was a villain, we are asking what he defining action was. Whoever it was that brought down the moon is a “villain” as much anyone can be. We can talk about whether the dedd was done intentionally, through hubris, or accidentally through playing around with the wrong magic, but bottom line, they fucked up. As we’ve discussed, we remain open to a redemption arc, carried out by Azor Ahai the villain himself or perhaps his son who may be the Last Hero, and in this case we’d have a figure who was first villain and then hero.
The point I am making is this: the first deed was in fact evil and villainous, and whatever was done to restore the sun to the sky must be regarded as heroic.
The story of or Ahai presents us with a moral conundrum: in order to save the world, Azor Ahai had to do something horrible. It’s the height of Machiavellian logic – it’s the same logic which seeks to justify the red wedding because it ended the war, and thus ultimately may have saved lives in sum total. The same logic which says Daenerys was justified in sacrificing Mirri Maz Dur to work blood magic. Martin is asking us to choose what to believe. Are we machiavellians? Can the abomination of blood magic and human sacrifice be justified it is used to “save the world?”
I’ve always been one to reject Machiavellian logic, and in general, I tend to believe in process-oriented thinking over results-oriented thinking. The right process will tend to yield the right results – that’s the idea. It’s always been very hard for me to accept that Martin is telling a story about how sometimes you just have to use a bit of human sacrifice to save the day. I could be wrong about this, admittedly, but that’s always been my take.
But guess what! I think the mythical astronomy has something to say on the matter. We see that at the moment Azor Ahai stabs Nissa Nissa, the moon cracks. The mythical astronomy shows us that the cracking moon is what lead to the Long Night – yet in the Azor Ahai tale, the Long Night has already fallen, which is why he has to sacrifice Nissa Nissa to make Lightbringer in the first place. In other words, the mythical astronomy indicates that this deed which caused the moon to crack was in fact the deed that caused the Long Night. That scenario makes Azor’s Ahai’s act of human sacrifice and blood magic an evil deed of great magnitude, and doesn’t that make more sense? The story of the Bloodstone Emperor lines up with this – he kills his sister, the Amethyst Empress, in what was surely an act of dark magic – a deed was so foul that it was called “the Blood Betrayal” and was remembered as having caused the Long Night.
There’s an oft-quoted passage from A Game of Thrones where Syria Forel is telling Arya the story of how he became the first sword of Bravos. The Sealord, who kept a menagerie of exotic animals, is interviewing swordsman for the newly vacated post of First Sword. In his lap is an ordinary tomcat, but the sealed has apparently been telling all the potential First Swords that the cat was a rare beast “from an island beyond the sunrise.” Syria was the only one to say “that’s just an ordinary tomcat,” and was thus named the first sword. Syria punctuates the lesson to Arya by explaining that the others saw what they expected, and not what was actually there.
What I think we have with the Azor Ahai fable, on a surface level at least, is a story of a horrific act of human sacrifice and blood magic being sold to us as an act of heroism and valor. It’s a test, basically, to see if we are suckers for extreme machiavellian thinking. I’d go out on a limb for the rejection of machiavellian thinking anyway, but I am glad that the mythical astronomy supports this conclusion as well.
As for the idea of Nissa Nissa as a heroic but tragic figure, it is still there, but we have to look to a deeper layer of meaning – that’s the interpretation of the Lightbringer story as an act of procreation which we’ve talked about many times. When a woman goes through pregnancy and risks her own life to bring another human being into the world, it is one of the greatest acts of love and sacrifice in all of human existence. This was even more true before the advent of modern medicine, and George draws attention to this fact with many examples of women who die in childbirth in the story.
To me, it makes a lot more sense to match the concept of a brave woman’s sacrifice with the act of procreation, of creating life, than to making swords with blood magic. This is another reason why I favor the scenario where the Last Hero is the son of Azor Ahai and Nissa Nissa. Azor Ahai may have killed her to work blood magic and make his evil sword, but she must have given birth at some point before she died, and this son, also representative of the concept of “Lightbringer,” would be the one to actually bring the dawn as the Sword of the Morning and the Last Hero.
If you think about it, our probable three heads of the dragon all have terrible fathers: Daenerys has mad King Aerys, Tyrion probably has Mad King Aerys as a biological father and Tywin as his father in a functional sense, and Jon has Rhaegar, who pretty much started a war by running off with Lyanna. Brandon gets blame to, as does Aerys; and there are redeeming qualities to Rhaegar… but bottom line, he started a war with politically reckless behavior. Not only that, he was well aware of his father’s madness and cruelty, and was basically dragging his heels on doing something about it… until it was too late. Rhaegar, as the abductor of moon maidens and the black dragon, is an strong Azor Ahai / Bloodstone Emperor figure, and was indeed a major part of starting the war. Jon’s real father was of course Ned, because Ned raised him, but the point here is that the terrible fathers of these three heads of the dragon may parallel the idea that the Last Hero had a terrible father known as Azor Ahai, bringer of the Long Night.
I think one of the other lessons here concerns the fire or knowledge of the gods, so to speak, and the knowledge of the gods in this case really means any kind of power. The knowledge of the gods can be obtained by man, but it has to be earned, slowly, and treated with respect. It is a dual edged sword which can also be quite deadly when in the hands those who do not treat it with respect, who have not slowly built up knowledge and ability. Stealing it, as the Bloodstone Emperor did – that’s definitely a recipe for disaster.
Even those who have “earned it,” so to speak,” must always be held account able by themselves and others, and must maintain the high level of respect and mindfulness at all times, or else it can be disaster. Think of technology in this sense – bioengineering can produce super-viruses. Nuclear power can be nuclear meltdowns or even nuclear weapons. I mean, take one of the first human inventions, actual fire – a fairly good stand in for the fire of the gods if there ever was one. Fire can cook and keep warm and bring life, and it can also burn and kill on a tremendous scale if vigilance slips even a little bit. That’s really what I think George is telling us about power, and that’s more or less what I take from the Garden of Eden story. The awareness of god and evil may be a burden of consciousness, but it’s one we have to accept and master in order to keep evolving.
This line from A Dance with Dragons seems relevant:
He turned back to the red priestess. Jon could feel her warmth. She has power. The thought came unbidden, seizing him with iron teeth, but this was not a woman he cared to be indebted to, not even for his little sister. “Dalla told me something once. Val’s sister, Mance Rayder’s wife. She said that sorcery was a sword without a hilt. There is no safe way to grasp it.”
“A wise woman.” Melisandre rose, her red robes stirring in the wind. “A sword without a hilt is still a sword, though, and a sword is a fine thing to have when foes are all about.
Astronomy as Mythology – the Book of Revelation
Before we get out of here, I’d like to quote a couple of verses from the Biblical book of Revelation. I’m grabbing verses from several chapters somewhat out of context; the point is not to follow the narrative of the apostle John’s vision, but rather to look at some of these verses as metaphors for astronomy-related disasters and to illustrate the myth-makers have been working with these elements in conjunction for quite some time now. I definitely, definitely think George was drawing on some of the ideas in these verses, as they intersect with his “comet, dragons, and flamings swords” motifs that he already had going. Take a look and see how these verses read, with what we have learned about mythology and astronomy in mind… (A huge hat-tip and thank you to pal Westeros.org forum user and Equilibrium.)
The Biblical Book of Revelation
Ch. 1 14The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
Ch. 2 26The one who is victorious and keeps My works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations– 27and he will shepherd them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery — just as I have received this from My Father. 28I will also give him the morning star.
Ch. 6 12Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Ch. 8 5The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were rumblings of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter. 12The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.
Ch. 9 1The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. The key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him. 2He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft.
As you can see, much of Revelation could serve as Long Night meteor-impact mythology. Now I am not claiming that Revelations is actually referring to a specific disaster in Earth’s history, particularly because Revelations is supposedly a vision of the future. Let us draw this conclusion instead: when ancient peoples imagined and wrote about the most terrible divine apocalypse event that might ever befall the earth, they could only describe it terms of celestial catastrophe and astronomical calamity.
Whether you go forwards or backwards in time, the idea of things called “gods” which live in the heavens or the celestial realm has always been based on the luminous bodies which streak across the sky in a cosmic dance of interlocking orbits and cycles. When something appears to fall from heaven, as Venus does, or actually falls from heaven, as meteors do, you better believe that ancient man interpreted it as an act of the gods. When ancient man spoke of fearing the gods, they spoke of the same fear that one has for floods, fires, earthquakes, or god forbid, meteor strikes. There’s not much you can do with earthquakes, but the rest – fire, flood tides, and meteorites – contain power that can be harnessed by man, but this power must always be feared, lest it turn to destruction. Thus we can see that the personalities of many or even most ancient gods and goddesses are actually artistic and mystical personifications of thee forces of nature and the universe, and that is what Mythical Astronomy is all about.
If you’re a fan of the HBO show, be sure to check out History of Westeros end of season book-to-show Q&A episode, where I was grateful to appear as guest.The First Tier Tax Tribunal returned its decision on the dispute between Rangers and HMRC over the use of EBTs.
© STV
Rangers have won a significant victory in their tax battle with HMRC with a tax tribunal ruling that payments made to some Rangers players through trusts were loans.
The three-person First Tier Tax Tribunal could not reach a unanimous decision on the club's use of Employee Benefit Trusts between 2001 and 2010.
It found most of the trusts were "valid" and loans are "recoverable" by the trust, although it conceded some advances to players were taxable and any bill is likely to be "substantially reduced" from the initial £46.2m assessment.
HMRC said it was disappointed and was considering an appeal.
It said: "We are disappointed that we have lost this stage of the court process and we are considering an appeal. The decision was not unanimnous and the diligence of HMRC investigators was acknowledged by the whole tribunal. HMRC is committed to tackling avoidance and it is right that we challenge the type of avoidance seen in this case."
A statement from the tribunal said: "This was a lengthy appeal, heard over 29 days and set down over an extended period. There was extensive reference to documentary productions and relevant case-law.
"At a late stage in its deliberations it became clear that the Tribunal would be unable to issue a unanimous decision. It is conscious of and regrets the consequent delay.
"The majority view reflects the argument that the controversial monies received by the employees were not paid to them as their absolute entitlement. The legal effect of the trust/loan structure is sufficient to preclude this. Thus the payments are loans, not earnings, and so are recoverable from the employee or his estate.
"The dissenting opinion adopts the approach set down by the decision of the House of Lords in Ramsay in 1981. By giving regard to the intentions of the parties entering the arrangements, and in the absence of commercial reality for the loan structure, the monies received by the employees via the trust constitute earnings for income tax purposes.
"At the request of Parties the Tribunal agreed to anonymise the published form of the decision."
Neil Patey, Ernst & Young, said: "By a majority of two to one, the tribunal has decided that the EBTs were loans and not taxable as remuneration so there is no additional tax to pay. Rangers have won the case."
A spokesperson for Sir David Murray, owner of the club through the period in question, said: “We are satisfied that the Tax Tribunal has now published its widely awaited decision and note the contents thereof.
"We are pleased with the judgement which leaves minimal tax liability and overwhelmingly supports the views collectively and consistently held by our advisers, legal counsel and MIH itself.
"This has been an exceptionally long, difficult and expensive process involving not just the Tax Tribunal but also significant efforts to resolve the matter with senior HMRC officials on a commercially sensible basis for all parties. We will therefore review the detailed content of the decision with our advisers and legal counsel to ascertain what action, if any, is now required by MIH.
"While MIH has at all times respected the privacy of the Tax Tribunal proceedings, a substantial quantity of confidential information relating to the case has become available for public consumption stimulating considerable discussion and often ill-informed debate. This has been wholly inappropriate and outwith the fundamental principles of natural justice.
"We therefore formally request that the relevant authorities investigate how these sensitive details have been released so widely. We have instructed our lawyers to retrospectively review online and printed publications relating to the case to identify whether legal redress is either appropriate or necessary."
Rangers had been found by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to have breached tax rules through their use of employee benefit trusts (EBTs) to pay players and directors between 2001 and 2010.
The Ibrox club, then under the ownership of Sir David Murray, contested this, which resulted in the case being heard at the tribunal in Edinburgh.
Hearings in the tax case concluded in January, but its findings were not reached by the time the Ibrox club plunged into administration on February 14 this year.Veterans Against Terrorism, which already boasts 8,500 members, will press the Government to take firmer action against the 3,000 suspected Muslim extremists living in Britain when they present a petition to Downing Street on August 5. They will then stage a 30,000-strong march through Westminster to Trafalgar Square. The group staged a similar march last month in Manchester.
COLLECT Thousands of veterans have joined a campaign to fight the threat of jihadists in Britain
Members last night told of their “sheer frustration” after fighting jihadist groups overseas to find on their return that radical Muslims on security watch lists are roaming free. They offered to form an unarmed “Home Guard” to support the police. Organiser Dan McDevitt said: “We have more than 3,000 suspected jihadi terrorists and we know our security services, who are doing a good job, just cannot monitor all of them properly. The Prime Minster has said ‘enough is enough’ and we agree. Our solution is simple – deport all nonBritish citizens who cause serious concern and place GPS tags on the British ones.”
We could act like eyes and ears, and use our skills Sean Smart, a Yorkshire Regiment veteran
The group will also campaign for more funding to be given to front-line services such as police. Mr McDevitt said: “If beat police officers had all been carrying Tasers, they might have been able to tackle the London terrorists sooner. “The reason all police officers don’t carry Tasers isn’t because of the cost of the Taser itself, it’s the cost of training.”
Sadiq Khan leads sombre vigil for London terror victims Tue, June 6, 2017 London Mayor Sadiq Khan lead a vigil to commemorate the victims of the London Bridge terror attack. Hundreds attended the event outside London's City Hall Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 24 London Mayor Sadiq Khan bows his head
GETTY Veterans Against Terrorism’s 8,5000 members will call from action against suspected extremists
Co-organiser Sean Smart, a Yorkshire Regiment veteran, said: “Some of us have served just two years while others, like myself, served for 24 years to defend both our country and Europe from terrorism. “The whole point was to keep this stuff away from Britain, but despite our best efforts we are seeing attacks like Manchester and London. “I feel we could be utilised here at home. We could act like eyes and ears, and use our skills. It’s not vigilantism.
GETTY The group will stage a 30,000-strong march through Westminster on August 5 after delivery a petitionRussian Prime Minister Confirms Aliens Are Here, Videos With Translation
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the tenth and current Prime Minister of Russia, incumbent since 2012. He previously served as the third President of Russia, from 2008 to 2012. At the age of 43, he was the youngest Russian President. Medvedev said there are top secret files on aliens that have landed in Russia
StephenHannardADGUK
Staggering off the air Dmitri Medvedev comment confirms aliens are here.. After the recording of a television program, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation did not realize that his microphone was still open and let go of the statements that stunned journalists and professionals in the studio: “I believe in Santa Claus, but not too much, “Medvedev began, but then continued: “Aliens.. I can not tell you how many of them are among us at this time, otherwise it would trigger panic.
StephenHannardADGUK
In footage recorded Friday after a television interview, the former president said that each Russian leader gets two folders with information about extraterrestrials that visited our planet — and stayed here.
According to the Washington Post, he joked more details could be found in Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Men in Black” films.
Craft recovered in the Russian Roswell
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Mars One Accepting Volunteers For 2023 Martian Colony, Thousands VolunteeringA new study of worldwide technological competitiveness suggests China may soon rival the United States as the principal driver of the world's economy -- a position the U.S. has held since the end of World War II. If that happens, it will mark the first time in nearly a century that two nations have competed for leadership as equals.
The study's indicators predict that China will soon pass the United States in the critical ability to develop basic science and technology, turn those developments into products and services -- and then market them to the world. Though China is often seen as just a low-cost producer of manufactured goods, the new "High Tech Indicators" study done by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology clearly shows that the Asian powerhouse has much bigger aspirations.
"For the first time in nearly a century, we see leadership in basic research and the economic ability to pursue the benefits of that research -- to create and market products based on research -- in more than one place on the planet," said Nils Newman, co-author of the National Science Foundation-supported study. "Since World War II, the United States has been the main driver of the global economy. Now we have a situation in which technology products are going to be appearing in the marketplace that were not developed or commercialized here. We won't have had any involvement with them and may not even know they are coming."
Georgia Tech has been gathering the high tech indicators since the mid-1980s, when the concern was which country would be the "next Japan" as a competitive producer and exporter of technology products. The current "HTI-2007" information was gathered for use in the NSF's biennial report, "Science and Engineering Indicators," the most recent of which was released January 15.
Georgia Tech's "High Tech Indicators" study ranks 33 nations relative to one another on "technological standing," an output factor that indicates each nation's recent success in exporting high technology products. Four major input factors help build future technological standing: national orientation toward technological competitiveness, socioeconomic infrastructure, technological infrastructure and productive capacity. Each of the indicators is based on a combination of statistical data and expert opinions.
A chart showing change in the technological standing of the 33 nations is dominated by one feature -- a long and continuous upward line that shows China moving from "in the weeds" to world technological leadership over the past 15 years.
The 2007 statistics show China with a technological standing of 82.8, compared to 76.1 for the United States, 66.8 for Germany and 66.0 for Japan. Just 11 years ago, China's score was only 22.5. The United States peaked in 1999 with a score of 95.4.
"China has really changed the world economic landscape in technology," said Alan Porter, another study co-author and co-director of the Georgia Tech Technology Policy and Assessment Center, which conducted the research. "When you take China's low-cost manufacturing and focus on technology, then combine them with the increasing emphasis on research and development, the result ultimately won't leave much room for other countries."
The United States and Japan have both fallen in relative technological standing -- though not absolute measures -- because of the dramatic rise of China and other nations such as the "Asian Tigers:" South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. Japan has faltered a bit over time, and if the increasingly-integrated European Union were considered one entity instead of 27 separate countries, it would surpass the United States.
"We are seeing consistent gains for China across all the criteria we measure," Newman said. "As a percentage mover relative to everyone else, we have not seen a stumble for China. The gains have been dramatic, and there is no real sense that any kind of leveling off is occurring."
Most industrialized countries reach a kind of equilibrium in the study, moving up slightly in one data set, or down slightly in another. But the study shows no interruptions in China's advance.
Recent statistics for the value of technology products exported -- a key component of technological standing -- put China behind the United States by the amount of "a rounding error:" about $100 million. If that trend continues, Newman noted, China will shortly pass the United States in that measure of technological leadership.
China's emphasis on training scientists and engineers -- who conduct the research needed to maintain technological competitiveness -- suggests it will continue to grow its ability to innovate. In the United States, the training of scientists and engineers has lagged, and post-9/11 immigration barriers have kept out international scholars who could help fill the gap.
"For scientists and engineers, China now has less than half as many as we do, but they have a lot of growing room," noted Newman. "It would be difficult for the United States to get much better in this area, and it would be very easy for us to get worse. It would be very easy for the Chinese to get better because they have more room to maneuver."
China is becoming a leader in research and development, Porter noted. For instance, China now leads the world in publications on nanotechnology, though U.S. papers still receive more citations.
On the input indicators calculated for 2007, China lags behind the United States. In "national orientation," China won a score of 62.6, compared to 78.0 for the United States. In "socioeconomic infrastructure," China rated 61.2, compared to 87.9 for the United States. In the other two factors, China also was behind the U.S., 60.0 versus 95.5 for "technological infrastructure" and 85.2 versus 93.4 for "productive capacity."
China has been dramatically improving its input scores, which portends even stronger technological competitiveness in the future.
"It's like being 40 years old and playing basketball against a competitor who's only 12 years old -- but is already at your height," Newman said. "You are a little better right now and have more experience, but you're not going to squeeze much more performance out. The future clearly doesn't look good for the United States."CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A tiny oil-eating bug that lives deep underground may allow the world’s oil industry to unlock energy trapped in trillions of barrels of heavy crude, which is costly and dirty to produce using today’s methods.
British, Canadian and Norwegian researchers have shown how microbes in oil reservoirs break down crude and release methane gas, a discovery that could spur much more environmentally friendly energy production as resources get more scarce.
The trick now will be to pump up the organisms with the equivalent of steroids so they can perform their task in 10 years instead of 10 million, said University of Calgary geologist Steve Larter, who led the team’s Canadian contingent. The study is published in the science journal Nature.
The result: the ability to produce natural gas from oil reservoirs, rather than burning it from conventional sources to aid production of gooey heavy crude.
“If it can be done economically, that’s a game-changer, because the average heavy oil recovery worldwide is 17 percent,” Larter said.
“If you can suddenly liberate a tiny additional fraction of that as methane rather than as heavy oil, with all of its environmental and cost footprint, then it’s a huge thing.”
The process of “feeding” the microbes nutrients works in the laboratory, but it is not known yet if it can be done over the expanse of an oil field, he said.
Still, some major oil companies, faced with spiraling costs and environmental headaches as they try to coax more of the poorer quality, cheaper crude from the ground, are taking notice, Larter said. He declined to name them.
Over the years, the industry has come close to exhausting reserves of easy-to-find and valuable light oil, which needs the least refining to turn it into gasoline and other fuels.
Now, companies are faced with having to pump, or even mine, an estimated 6 trillion barrels of thick heavy oil and oil sands crude, which is far more costly and ecologically damaging to produce but sells for a discount in the market.
It is conceivable that converting 20 percent of a giant, billion-barrel heavy oil field could yield one trillion cubic feet of methane, which would rival some of the largest recent conventional gas finds in size, Larter said.
The team, which includes petroleum geologists, microbiologists and organic geochemists from the University of Newcastle in England and Norway’s StatoilHydro ASA, is aiming for field tests within the next year. The western Canadian province of Alberta, with its vast deposits of heavy oil and oil sands, is a prime target.
Scientists have known for decades about the microbes in oil reservoirs, and some researchers have believed biodegradation was caused by aerobic bacteria, which use oxygen.
But the team found anaerobic bacteria — those that do not use oxygen — actually cause fermentation in the oil pool.
The scientists also discovered a step midway through the biodegradation process, in which a separate family of microbes produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen from partly degraded crude, before they turn it into methane.
That may lead to using microbes to capture the CO2, which is blamed for global warming, and recycling it into methane fuel in a closed-loop energy system, they said.Shia LaBeouf keeps it cool and casual while making his way inside El Capitan Theater to make an appearance on Jimmy K |
Other Job Actions include "Heal", for "Spiritual" Magisters (Priests, Monks), "Alchemy" for Nightblades, and "Consult the Grimoires" for Mages which should allow you access to some limited spell as a Non-Mage, in addition to a few modifiers.
Along with the change to Court Mage/Priest/Magister, we've tweaked many other job actions and removed some that had marginal utility. The "Slander" job action from Chancellors has been removed and replaced with a "Colonise" job action; Players are no longer able to just sit and watch as their realm changes from Imperial to Khajiit, now they have to actively deploy their Chancellor to convert a province's culture. This helps slowdown Cultural expansion in the world (which as we know from the TES games, was a very slow, if not non-existent thing in canon), and forces players to decide whether to deploy their Chancellor to gain claims, improve relations, or colonise.
That's all for now; I can't list every single change in this news post as we've simply made too many. If you want to discover just what else Elder Kings has, download the mod today and give it a spin!ABOUT five years ago the trailer for the movie ‘ Who Killed Captain Alex ’ was posted to YouTube.com.
Many of us suffered physical injuries caused by laughing when we were first introduced to that two minute trailer, and we sought out the full movie with both caution and relish, but zero success – until about a month ago when it was actually ‘released’.
Tebaatusasula. He never imagined anyone outside his own village would see this film.” The danger of additional physical injury due to uncontrollable laughter was real and almost life-threatening right from when the film opened up. The hilarity of ‘ Who Killed Captain Alex? ’ runs non-stop from the opening credits stating, “This film is lost and all that survives is a low-resolution DVD master. This is due, in part, to the harsh working conditions, but Nabwana IGG also erased his computer to be able to make his next action film,He never imagined anyone outside his own village would see this film.”
From there on, the viewer is subjected to over one hour’s footage of ludicrously comedic proportions in terms of presentation, plot, production, and everything possible and impossible on screen.
Many of us watched the trailer on its own and never got round to catching the full movie, and many more dismissed it as inferior to the quality that they are accustomed to, from Hollywood and such other lofty heights.
But this week the man behind ‘Who Killed Captain Alex?’ has made it to the mainstream global news and given Uganda positive media coverage while the rest of the region is engulfed in floods right in the middle of their cities, and coup d’etats.
It turns out that after that first trailer was released back in 2010, a young fellow in the United States, in New York, spotted it and within forty seconds of viewing had made the decision to come to Uganda.
The American, Alan ‘Ssali’ Hofmanis, didn’t even call the number at the end of the trailer – 0712921775 – or do a background check on this ‘Ramon Productions’. He processed himself, bought a ticket and came straight on down to Uganda, and then somehow made his way to Wakaliga, the village where Isaac Nabwana (I interchangeably call him Nabwana and Nabwaana because one is more likely the accurate one and the other has been assumed) lives and shoots his movies.
Yes – movies! Nabwaana didn’t stop at ‘Who Killed Captain Alex?’; he has also produced or shot trailers for ‘Tebaatusasula’, ‘Return of Uncle Benon’, ‘Bad Black’ and ‘Rescue Team’, among others!
Ergo the term ‘ Wakaliwood ’ – a merger between Wakaliga and Hollywood (visit http://watch.wakaliwood.com/ for the high profile version).
The number of YouTube views the young man has garnered are in the millions, and should be immediately taken up by the Uganda Tourism Board, the Uganda Investment Authority and any commercial entity in Uganda that is interested in international exposure. Seriously! Those are millions of eyes of people whose cognitive association with Uganda is happily full of mirth – not Idi Amin, Ebola, Politics or any of the usual stupidity!
Plus, the comments of the viewers tell you everything there is to know about the power of creating content and posting it onto the internet.
The fact that Hofmanis needed only forty seconds of film to make the decision to leave the United States for a life in Uganda is proof that we can move millions of people’s dollars, euros, pounds, yuan, yen and even Zim dollars if we create the right content and use it wisely on the internet.
You see, platforms such as YouTube are incredible tools for countries like Uganda if we learn how to harness them properly. This week Uganda also won the award for Best African Exhibitor 2015 at the Indaba Tourism Fair in South Africa, thanks to the hard work of our Tourism sector and the people at the helm there.
That stand cost us lots of sweat, money and additional hard work doing sales and marketing, and was probably visited by thousands of people whose primary function in life is directing monied tourists to the countries they should spend their time and money in. It was VERY important.
But consider that with about US$200 per film, Isaac Nabwaana and Wakaliwood has the potential on YouTube of reaching 1,000,000,000 (one billion) users, and that every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube. This website is localised in 75 countries and is available in 61 languages – so films like ‘Who Killed Captain Alex?’ with its amateur but extremely funny expressive comedy, could be replicated 61 times if our Department of Languages put some work into it – probably getting us 61,000,000 views in the process!
If just one percent of each view got us one visitor here within forty seconds the way Hofmanis was snared (or forty minutes), that would be … US$30million in visa fees alone at US$50 per visa payable at Entebbe Airport!
US$30million revenue to the Republic of Uganda from the selfless creative efforts of an uncelebrated slum-dweller called Isaac Nabwaana of Wakaliga who never features in any of our celebrity pages and never gets mentioned on Twitter and Facebook and certainly won’t be on any of our national medal lists any time soon…except mine, now, because this young man has definitely made my week as a proud Ugandan! US$30million revenue to the Republic of Uganda from the selfless creative efforts of an uncelebrated slum-dweller called Isaac Nabwaana of Wakaliga who neverfeatures in any of our celebrity pages and never gets mentioned on Twitter and Facebook and certainly won’t be on any of our national medal lists any time soon…except mine, now, because thisyoung man has definitely made my week as a proud Ugandan!
If you are online and savvy enough to join the crowdsourcing initiative, you could visit their Kickstarter page and throw in your offering.
bothered to do such things as transfer money online, perhaps you will visit that page and see how Nabwaana and company have converted bits of old vehicles into film-making equipment. If you do make that observation, and have a couple of old hard drives, computers, and other stuff that could be useful to a film-maker, donate it to Nabwaana and team. If you are in Uganda and can’t bebothered to do such things as transfer money online, perhaps you will visit that page and see how Nabwaana and company have converted bits of old vehicles into film-making equipment. If you do make that observation, and have a couple of old hard drives, computers, and other stuff that could be useful to a film-maker, donate it to Nabwaana and team.
I haven’t asked for their permission to say this, but I am sure the clothes they wear as props come from some wardrobe somewhere that could do with replenishing with whatever the rest of us can come up with.
Unlike many other people of self-importance, the man even has his own documentary selling on Amazon! See here: http://www.amazon.com/Wakaliwood-Nabwana-I-G-G/dp/B00F4CNEXE – putting Uganda on the map for much better reasons than fraud, theft, embezzlement, wars and what not!
I just wish I could translate this into the commentary language that the Wakaliwood guys use in their movies – complete with a translation of the volleys of bullets (“Wololololo!”); and THAT’S another thing Nabwaana and company are doing for us – putting us out there for that innovative translation of movies into our local vernacular.
Nabwaana is a good Ugandan!by Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal
Believers, not skeptics, build businesses. I am yet to meet a successful company or entrepreneur in the world, that has never been written off by some skeptic. Besides all the love from millions of customers and hundreds of thousands of sellers, we have had our share of skeptics along the way since we started the business.
Our first tryst with them, or Round 1 as I like to call it, was when Kunal & I had just started the business, with all the people telling us to go back to our jobs. ’23 year olds do not build businesses’, ‘How will you hire people older than yourself to work with you?’, ‘You’re stupid to leave a stable salary and be working out of the basement of a house’, ‘Coupons? Who uses them?’ etc. Many of those voices are still fresh in our heads. We heard everything, but at the same time kept our heads down and kept going. Regardless of this commentary, our entire team worked hard to build a coupons business for four years from 2007-2011, beating all of the coupon businesses that mushroomed in India along with us in 2010. All the skeptics were silenced. And how could they not be? Our actions and outcomes are far louder than their words.
By end of 2011 though, while our business was doing really well and all the people around us were celebrating and egging us on, we realised two things: – Though our business was doing really well, we felt our ambitions of building a business were much larger than what the couponing space in India allowed for. – We realized that product e-commerce would be a MASSIVE opportunity in India, and marketplace would be the right business model not only for us, but for the country.
Keeping this in mind, we starting pivoting our business (before the word ‘pivoting’ became super popular) to a marketplace in early 2012.
Enter Skeptics Round 2. This was gala time for them. ‘An internet company pulling off a pivot? Are you crazy?’, ‘Why would you defocus from something where you’re the largest player?’, ‘Changing your business model after raising $40 million is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard’, ‘Marketplace? You have NO chance! No one does that, and with all the inventory players around, you’ll never be able to provide a good customer experience’, ‘You’re player #560 in e-commerce to enter at this time. Why are you even trying?’ We, nonetheless, had strong conviction in our plans, and an even stronger confidence in our teams’ ability to pull this off. Yes, we had the anxiety about whether we will be able to deliver or not, but we definitely knew we were on the right track. I’m quite certain most people, in hindsight, would agree that we are in a much better place today, as compared to where we would have been had we heard the skeptics and continued our coupons business. And also, it seems most people would agree today that marketplace is the right business model for India, with every e-commerce company wanting to be a marketplace (or claiming to be so).
We also met many believers on our way with this pivot, including our stellar team who stuck together to pull this off, and people who believed us – our earliest Angel & VC investors, eBay, Temasek, Softbank amongst others. In fact our first angel investor who put in $100,000 in the coupons business right when we started continues to be a shareholder 9 years hence. All of us worked very very hard to break out of the pack from being player #560 in e-commerce to being definitely one of the top three players in the market. Some people call us lucky, but we’ve seen time and again that the most hardworking and missionary people tend to be the luckiest too?
2014 and 2015 were very interesting year for eCommerce. Many many companies got financed with millions of dollars. The funding took the fledgling industry to a multi-billion dollar market in India, and made eCommerce as mainstream as it can get. Skeptics were quiet and there was enormous euphoria about eCommerce. In a phase of euphoria, people tend to make mistakes too. Companies spent more money than they should have on marketing, built infrastructure ahead of time, ran a lot of sales when they weren’t supposed to, launched too many things and got distracted from the core, focused on vanity metrics like GMV etc. We made many many mistakes too. But again, they weren’t fatal, and I’m yet to meet a growing company that hasn’t made mistakes.
Come 2016. Skeptics Round 3. All of us are hearing the voices again. ‘e-Commerce in India is dead’. ‘Flipkart is overvalued’. ‘Flipkart, Snapdeal and other homegrown companies are dying’. ‘When discounts disappear, consumers will disappear’ etc. Skeptics are having a field day this year – but not for long.
Thankfully, a few months before this started, towards mid-2015 we too realized that we were getting carried away by the euphoria and doing too many things we shouldn’t be doing. Euphoria and skepticism always tend to blow things out of proportion either way – the reality is almost always somewhere in the middle. We realized that we needed to focus our energy, on doing things that were RIGHT for our business. Many a times, the right thing and the most popular thing, are not the same. It is ALWAYS more important to do the right thing. We spent time looking at our data and introspecting, to decide what we should focus on.
We came up with the conclusion that there are only three things that matter for our business. And for the last many months, our entire team has been RELENTLESSLY focused on delivering on just three things, in that order:
Build the most reliable and frictionless customer experience. Focus on unit economics, and make sure our costs stay low so we can continue to provide the best prices to consumers. Use #1 and #2 to grow, Grow and GROW. And to us, growth means growth in our net revenue, not some vanity metrics (like GMV).
Here are a few charts to represent how we have done in the last one year on these three things. Everyone in the company been working VERY HARD to achieve this and we have made TREMENDOUS progress.
Build the most reliable and frictionless customer experience – we are the only pure-play marketplace in the world to have pulled off these metrics. Take a look:
Focus on unit economics, and make sure our costs stay low so we can continue to provide the best prices to consumers. Take a look on how reducing fulfillment costs significantly increases our net margin per order (graphs are to scale):
Use #1 and #2 to grow, Grow and GROW. And to us, growth means growth in net revenue, not some vanity metrics (like GMV). Here you go (graphs are to scale):
That said, the best is yet to come. We’ve just gotten started and covered 5% of the journey, and are yet to touch the last round of capital we raised, which gives us more than enough time to keep our heads down and execute on our priorities. Building Snapdeal is the most important thing we will do in our lifetime, and we are giving it everything we have.
Businesses are built by believers who believe in doing the right thing, not skeptics. I would encourage the skeptics to believe in the entrepreneurial zeal that our country and companies like Snapdeal have, and the magic it can create. We will make mistakes, but we will also make it right and create great impact. Finally, I want to congratulate each and every one of our team members and partners who’ve made the journey possible, and continue to believe in our vision of building the most reliable and frictionless commerce ecosystem in India.
Crossposted with permission from LinkedInHundreds of Travellers living in the greenbelt in Essex can be forcibly evicted from their site on Thursday, after their failure to win a last-minute injunction in the high court.
A judge ruled that the planning system had been "efficient and fair" in taking eight years over the case and allowing numerous appeals. Basildon borough council could now evict the 400-strong community who had set up caravans at Dale Farm over the last 10 years.
But Mr Justice Kenneth Parker said he had concerns about the health of one Dale Farm resident, 72-year-old Mary Flynn, and asked the council to provide assurances in the next seven days that her poor health would be taken into consideration before eviction.
The Travellers on Wednesday confirmed they would appeal against the rejection of their injunction to halt the eviction.
Campaigners said the judge's order saying Basildon council had time to assess Flynn's health first, gave the Travellers the chance to do a health audit on the site.
Candy Sheridan, a campaigner for the Travellers, said: "Mary Flynn is one of many with real serious health problems. We've got people dying of cancer and we've got people on dialysis."
The Travellers claim that the health of Flynn has "substantially deteriorated" since the last appeal against their eviction and that she has a right to private and family life at home under Article 8 of the European convention on human rights.
But Parker said the Travellers had come "to the end of the road" of their appeals.
"It is in the public interest that there should be finality to litigation," he said. "I find no exceptional circumstances in this case that would justify the reopening of a judgment given by the court of appeal relatively recently, having specifically considered the challenge made under Article 8 of the convention."
Vanessa Redgrave, who was in the courtroom, said considerations about the greenbelt and traffic had been put above human rights. "The greenbelt and the environment have won over the communities and lives of human beings who have not actually disturbed the greenbelt. This should never have come to court. Dale Farm should have been left where they were and encouraged and not be ruled against ever time they tried to get it sorted out."
Kathleen McCarthy, a Dale Farm resident, said the authorities needed to realise what they were doing when they claimed to be "cleaning up" the site with the eviction. "When you're cleaning up something you're cleaning up rubbish, so they're trying to say that we're rubbish," she said. "We are definitely being victimised."
Despite the council having the right to clear the site from midnight, Tony Ball, leader of Basildon council, said they would do that only after giving the Travellers a starting date. "Direct action to clear Dale Farm is a last resort … and we take it reluctantly – but after almost 10 years of legal wrangling and exhausting the judicial process the Travellers have left us with absolutely no choice, they have broken the law, which we are duty bound to uphold. And this is what we believe the vast majority of local people expect us to do."
The council says it will house vulnerable members of Dale Farm but residents say they want to live in caravans with their extended families, not get "bricks and mortar". Most of the 86 families say they have nowhere else to go and will be forced to stay illegally by the roadside.
Ten pitches for Travellers have been offered by a landowner near Stowmarket, Suffolk, but most local councils in East Anglia are understood to be keen not to allow an influx of Travellers from Dale Farm into their area.KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Denny Hamlin hopes that he will return to Sprint Cup Series competition at Richmond International Raceway next week, but knows it depends on what the X-rays show.
Hamlin, who will miss his third consecutive Cup race Sunday when the STP 400 goes green at Kansas Speedway, said he has a doctor’s visit scheduled early next week to see if he can get approval to race.
MORE: Sprint Cup standings | STP starting lineup analysis
To get that, doctors would need to see that the compression fracture in his lower back, suffered in the March 24 race at California, has started to heal.
Doctors initially predicted the Joe Gibbs Racing driver would miss five races.
“As far as Richmond, it’s going to be 50-50 on whether they’re going to feel comfortable letting me go at that point,” Hamlin said Saturday at Kansas Speedway.
“They want to be confident that anywhere I go, I can go the distance. … I’m doing all the rehab and stuff you’re supposed to do. You just hope that somehow your bones are healing the way they should be at this point.”
Hamlin has dropped from 10th to 25th in the Cup standings after missing two races. He sits 61 points behind 10th, the cutoff point to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and likely will lose another 30-35 points Sunday as Brian Vickers drives his car.
If he can get back at Richmond, Hamlin will have 18 races to make up the difference or win enough races to earn a wild-card berth for drivers between 11th-20th in the standings.
The earlier he can get back in the seat, the better; drivers only get points for races they start. Starting the race in Richmond and then using a substitute driver is not an option because of the risk of damage to his back short-track racing and the potential to lose several laps with a driver change.
But doing that at Talladega is much easier, so Hamlin thinks it’s likely he will at least start the May 5 event there.
“You can hang out in the back and just wait on a caution and bring it in (at Talladega),” Hamlin said. “That at least is a 75 percent option that is going to happen.”
Hamlin is working with two doctors with extensive knowledge in racing—Dr. Jerry Petty in Charlotte and Dr. Terry Trammell in Indianapolis. He will go to the same lab for his back scan so that they have the best comparison.
Hamlin suffered the injury on a last-lap wreck where he battled rival Joey Logano for the lead of the Auto Club 400. After door-to-door contact with Logano, Hamlin’s car snapped left and skidded into an inside wall that had no SAFER Barrier. There also was a slight incline a few feet before the wall.
That incline might have played a part in the injury for Hamlin, who also said he doesn’t remember pulling his belts tight late in the race.
Hamlin suffered a compression fracture of his L-1 vertebra.
“The reason, looking back at all the data and everything, of why I broke my spine had a lot to do with the incline of that asphalt right before that wall,” Hamlin said.
“Instead of hitting the wall and you come out of the seat like you would think you would, I was going uphill and that put me in a compression and that’s what did it.”
Hamlin also clarified why he didn’t just let up when Logano pretty much had passed him before his car snapped to the left and hit Logano in the rear quarter panel. Whether Hamlin was trying to take out Logano after the initial contact has been a topic of discussion on various talk shows the last few weeks.
“You can’t really see it until you see the behind view,” Hamlin said. “When he got into the side of me, I already had started losing control … I was already sideways and as soon as he came up (in front of me), I was trying to save it.
“Once I took the first hit, I had lost control of my car and I couldn’t save it from that point on.”
He didn’t hit the brakes because he had hoped to dive it down pit road and avoid getting passed for more finishing spots.
“I wasn’t trying to prevent (Logano) from finishing,” Hamlin said. “I would rather just finish. But obviously I took a couple of hits in the door (and) I lost control in the car.
“I was trying to save it all the way until the end. I saw an opportunity there actually that I thought I was possibly going to dive it down pit road. Once I realized I was going to miss pit road and hit the wall, it was too late and I locked up (the brakes).”
Hamlin said he is ready to get back in the car. He likely will not need a back brace when he races and he has no test scheduled prior to Richmond.
“From a repetition standpoint, I’d like to have a few laps somewhere,” Hamlin said. “Would it be necessary? I don’t think so because being that I have only missed a month.
“It’s tough to say. I think I can go in Richmond and go and be competitive just like we always were.”Pop-culture collectibles company Funko is building an eye-catching Everett showcase and mulling a host of growth opportunities.
Sometime soon, drivers rolling down Wetmore Avenue in downtown Everett may see colorful, 8-to-10-foot statues of Spider-Man, Batman and other familiar characters looming over them from a skybridge and the ledges of an adjoining building.
They’re part of the plan for the new headquarters of Funko, the Everett-based pop-culture collectibles company that‘s been growing rapidly and has its eyes on a potential initial public offering of stock.
“We want you to drive by the building and say: ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before,’” said Brian Mariotti, Funko’s president and CEO.
Since its founding in 1998 as a nostalgia-tinged bobblehead company based in a Snohomish home, Funko has grown into a $400 million business, annually producing some 100 million vinyl figurines, action figures, bobbleheads and other collectibles. All are made under licenses from some of the biggest names in pop culture, among them Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. and DC Comics.
Along the way, Funko has become a force in the surging pop-culture collectibles market, selling fans stylized, adorable versions of characters from their favorite movies, TV shows, comic books and more.
It’s amplified collectors’ enthusiasm by cultivating community, both through in-person gatherings and regular interactions with enthusiasts on online forums and social media.
“Funko identified a trend in pop culture as a whole, and then aggressively went after being a bigger player in that,” said Mariotti, 49, whose office is lined with shelves full of colorful figures, most from his personal collection and familiar to those raised on after-school and Saturday-morning cartoons.
Mariotti says the company expects to log $425 million in sales this year, soaring from $274 million last year, $107 million in 2014 and $40 million in 2013. He said the privately owned company is “highly profitable” but wouldn’t be specific.
Funko’s products, manufactured primarily in China and Vietnam, are designed in Everett. They’re also marketed and shipped from the city, where the company has 380,000 square feet of warehouse space spread among three buildings.
Funko figures are now sold at big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Target, mall specialty stores like GameStop and Hot Topic, online retailers including Amazon, and numerous small comic-book shops.
The company’s employee count has jumped from about 175 a year ago to some 300 now, and it’s still hiring for jobs ranging from accountant to designer.
Early next year, Funko plans to move from its current 30,000-square-foot headquarters in an Everett business park to the downtown Everett space, three times that size, that most recently housed Trinity Lutheran College.
There, the company will open its first retail store, currently planned for 10,000 square feet, with an additional 2,000 square feet for a museum. On the outside, among the other oversized Funko-ized figures will be company mascot Freddy Funko.
The company has been making other big moves lately. In recent months, it hired its first chief operating officer from Payless ShoeSource, a chief information officer from Microsoft and a general counsel from Inrix, the Kirkland traffic-data and automobile-technology company.
It also added board members who bring big-league corporate experience and connections: Charlie Denson, the former president of Nike Brand, which oversees Air Jordan and a host of other Nike operations; and Adam Kriger, former senior vice president and chief strategy officer for McDonald’s.
Is this all in preparation for taking the company public?
Mariotti says that’s a distinct possibility.
“As the revenues continue to grow, we’re doing everything we can to prepare ourselves to potentially entertain going public,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re ready by next year.”
But Mariotti added that the company is remaining flexible, keeping “all paths open to what our future is, whether it’s becoming a public company or finding a strategic partner that might want to acquire us.”
How it launched
It’s a long way from Funko’s early days. Founder Mike Becker wanted to buy a coin bank of the restaurant icon Big Boy but didn’t want to pay what collectors were charging. So he licensed the rights to make it, along with bobbleheads of Big Boy and other nostalgic characters, thus launching Funko.
Mariotti and two silent partners bought the company from Becker in 2005. (These days Becker still works for Funko as vice president of apparel in its San Diego office.)
An avid collector himself who once financed the purchase of his house by selling his Pez dispenser collection, Mariotti immediately looked to expand the company’s licensing portfolio and to move beyond bobbleheads.
The idea for Funko’s best-known, best-selling Pop! line came in 2010, when Warner Bros. Consumer Products was interested in a nonbobblehead line featuring some of its DC Comics characters. Mariotti and a Funko artist designed a figure with big, round eyes peering from an oversized square-ish head atop a small body — fun, whimsical and cute.
When they debuted the figures at San Diego Comic-Con that year, they noticed a departure from their typical demographic of “males who over-index on collecting,” Mariotti said. The figures attracted women as well as men, and fans of various ages.
Combining a wide variety of licenses with its stylized Pop! figure design proved to be the basis of Funko’s growth. It’s given that look to collectible versions of everyone from “Star Wars” and “Golden Girls” characters to National Football League players and even Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
At any given time, the company has about 175 different contracts encompassing some 10,000 characters. With the licenses, the company is able to seize on the proliferation of content online, on movie and TV screens, and elsewhere.
Funko has a knack for creating designs that appeal to fans of all ages and to retailers of various sizes, according to Julian Montoya, vice president of global toys for Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
“There isn’t a Warner Bros. Consumer Products franchise that can’t be translated into a Funko product,” Montoya said.
Cultivating community
Funko’s cultivation of community — in person and online — also paid off as geek became chic, and people online shared their enthusiasm for their favorite shows, movies and characters, along with their latest collectible acquisitions. It didn’t hurt when celebrities started posing with their Funko likenesses.
Pete DeYoung, a 41-year-old neonatologist from San Antonio who has collected about a thousand Funko products, mostly Disney, said, “With collecting, people underestimate the community. Especially when you look for exclusive items, you build relationships and friendships. Over time, that’s what keeps you going [with collecting] as well.”
DeYoung has attended Funko Fundays, an annual gathering for enthusiasts that the company typically holds coinciding with San Diego Comic-Con. And he’s a moderator for the Funko Funatic forum, one of many online venues for Funko fans. Funko executives interact with collectors on the forum, which the company supports but doesn’t own, as well as on the company’s own Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Since 2010, Funko has expanded its range of products, from its Pop!Vinyl line, which incorporates the large-eyed, square-faced Pop! design on vinyl figures that are about 3.5 inches tall; to the round-faced Dorbz figurines; small circular MyMojis; plush toys; action figures; and more. Prices typically range from $2.99 to $25, with most items around the $10 mark.
Funko is looking to expand further, possibly acquiring smaller companies, under its new owners. In 2013, private equity firm Fundamental Capital bought the company from Mariotti. And last year another private equity firm, Acon Investments, acquired a 60 percent stake in a deal that left Fundamental with 20 percent, and the management team, including Mariotti, with 20 percent.
Last year, Funko launched a subscription for mystery boxes, wherein customers pay $25 every other month to get a box filled with Funko products. Subscribers know the brand (such as Marvel) and theme (Spider-Man or Deadpool, for instance) but not the specific items that will come in each box. The company now has close to 200,000 subscribers.
Such mystery boxes — or “blind bags” — are one of the major drivers in selling action figure and play-set doll collectibles, a category that market-research firm NPD Group said had annual growth of 64 percent through September. It pegged annual sales at $922 million.
Sean McGowan, who spent 30 years as a toy-industry analyst, estimates that the collectibles market — by which he means relatively inexpensive and small items that older kids and adults want to buy in multiples to display — has been growing anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent annually for the last several years.
It’s grown so much that traditional toy companies such as Mattel and Hasbro are focusing more attention on their collector-oriented products, said McGowan, who currently is a managing director at Liolios, a financial-communications firm that works with some of Funko’s competitors.
Funko, he said, is in “the sweet spot. Their products have a distinct look. They’re affordable, small enough that you can have 20 of them without being evicted. And they’re highly sought after.”
Digital collecting
But whether the collectibles market will continue to grow so robustly is unpredictable.
“These products — nobody needs them,” McGowan said of collectibles in general. “They think they do until they don’t.”
Funko itself is looking beyond just physical collectibles. It’s planning an “immersive digital ecosystem” that would bring collectors together online to converse with each other and with the company, give enthusiasts a way of tracking everything the company has ever made, help them find items they’re seeking, and give them the ability to display their collections and trade with each other, Mariotti said.
Taking a cue from the rise of mobile gaming such as Nintendo’s Pokémon Go, as well as the growing popularity of digital trading cards, the company is creating digital 3D figures and avatars that customers can collect, trade and use on apps the company plans to produce.
It’s also looking to create more videos, such as the animated shorts it recently collaborated on with Marvel.
They’re all ways the company is seeking to grow “at the epicenter of monetizing license and content,” Mariotti said. “That’s what the companies come to us for.”The Obama administration is making moves towards holding secret talks to thaw and eventually normalize the US relationship with the North Korean government, according to a report by the Washington Times.
Citing an unnamed US government source, the Times reports that the talks are meant to be similar to those that led to the surprise announcement of a normalization of relations with Cuba in December 2014.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan denied any such talks were taking place.
“Reports of US discussions with the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] are not true,” she said. “We have channels of communication with the DPRK and remain open to dialogue, with the aim of returning to credible and authentic negotiations on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We are not currently, however, engaged in such dialogue.”
Having third parties to help with negotiations — as the Vatican did with Cuba — would be key to any diplomatic undertakings. And though Kim Jong-un has never met with a foreign leader since he came to power 3 years ago, he said in his New Year's Day speech that he would be willing to reopen talks with South Korea, whose President, Park Geun-hye, has also indicated a willingness to talk.
“We believe we can resume suspended senior-level talks and hold other talks on specific issues if South Korea sincerely has a position that it wants to improve North-South relations through a dialogue,” said Jong-un. “And there is no reason not to hold the highest-level talks if the atmosphere and conditions are met.”
South Korea however, has placed a premium on any talks being open, not secret.
“The Korean government attaches great importance to transparency in pursuing dialogue and cooperation with North Korea,” spokeswoman Chun Hye-ran told the Times, while declining to comment on any possible back channel US talks.Email Address
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primary utility is to be the exclusive medium of exchange for transactions within a network violates all three of these statements. [A] because having to convert to the native token is an arbitrary fee unrelated to a service. [B] because in a market that requires a medium of exchange, a stable token that everyone already has works far better than the application's native token. [C] because the token is not inherently linked to the incentivization of agents performing a service.
We can also look at some models which do not violate any of these statements. Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, decentralized oracles, Token Curated Registries. Each instance of these mechanisms requires its own unique token to make the crypto-economic incentives align between multiple parties. Defensible tokenization exists at the blockchain protocol level (Proof of Work, Proof of Stake) and at the blockchain application layer (decentralized oracles, Token Curated Registries).
The key difference is not whether the product is a protocol or an application, but whether the network effect driven by tokenization is defensible or not.
However, having a defensible token model is not sufficient to maintain a strong network effect. Token balances can be copied by competitors, software and datasets can be forked, how do you ensure that your token holders are loyal and will continue to prefer your service over that of competitors?
Loyalty is everything
Networks are anti-rival with network effects that push towards monopolistic competition, but commoditization driven by decentralization pushes the market towards perfect competition. Decentralized networks will either be wildly successful, or have minimal value, and the biggest factor is how well the network is able to nurture its network effect.
We can understand this effect from the perspective of an individual participant using Albert Hirchman's theory of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. The theory says that an individual who perceives a decline in the benefit of remaining within a group may respond by Exit, leaving the group, or Voice, by proposing changes that would increase their benefit.
In the context of networks built on blockchains the individual may exit by either selling their tokens, or by forking and creating a competitive product.
Someone who is considering quitting Facebook not only has to quit they have to start a new service from scratch without any user accounts or data. Blockchain networks are different, a fork can replicate not just the applications software, but also the state. Now the user can quit and move over to a perfect alternative, and they can more easily convince their friends to switch as well, there is significantly less friction for exit in the context of blockchain-based networks.
That's not to say that there is no friction when exiting, network effects have inertia and most participants prefer to stay on whichever network the majority of their peers support. However, if we acknowledge that the biggest barrier to a fork is the desire to maintain a network effect, than we come to the conclusion that we must maximize Voice of network participants.
The best way to maximize voice is through effective governance.
The Governance Imperative
Governance processes may be formal or informal, on-chain or off-chain, the exact details are less important so long as the process is effective and legitimate enough to maintain loyalty and attract more new network constituents over time.
Union Square Ventures pointed to governance as the new basis for competionnearly ten years ago. Fred Ehrsam's recent post on governance suggests that blockchain networks will result in a Cambrian explosion of governance processes. In a tokenized ecosystem that enables rapid experimentation with governance processes, improving our governance processes is imperative. Anything that relies on a governance process today must be willing and able to rapidly adopt new processes or risk being left behind by the competition.
The processes that are "effective and legitimate" enough today may not be as soon as it becomes common knowledge that a better alternative exists.
In some cases our existing structures are complex, emergent, and not well documented and as Vlad Zamfir's recent post against moving to on-chain governance for Ethereum points out replacing something you don't fully understand with something you do is not necessarily wise. In other cases we are confident our current processes are problematic and need to be replaced as quickly as possible.
DApp developers face the challenge of writing applications that need to be future-proof despite being deployed in an environment still under development. They must decide between immutability and upgradeability. Despite their best efforts bugs may be found in production, and it would be good if fixes could be applied quickly. Even if they choose to write immutable contracts, if users typically access their contracts through a DNS and ENSpointer, then a governance process is needed to manage that change.
For a product to be decentralized, it must be impossible for a single individual or small team to unilaterally make changes. Current approaches to govern smart-contract upgradeability such as using a multi-sig are highly centralized. Whereas adopting tokenized governance transfers the authority of changes that impact the community to the community itself.
DApp developers will likely be the earliest and most successful adopters of tokenized governance models. At first this may simply be a way to securely update smart contracts, but it should expand to more abstract decisions that attract and maintain a community's network effect both at the application and at the protocol layer.
Governance as a Service (GaaS)
Governance as a Service (GaaS) is a tokenization model where the primary utility of a token is governance over the protocol, application, or network.
Token holders are the only party whose interest we can programmatically quantify. Other relevant parties exist, including users, developers, miners, and validators, but their interests in the network are not programatically quantifiable. By entrusting decisions which impact the network to token holders, they become the keepers of the network effect. The service they are providing is formal representation of the informal interests of all network participants.
Governance as a Service allows for differentation in markets were the hardware, software, and data have become commoditized.
The model is defensible because [A] fees can be justified for the service token holders provide (making decisions that ensure the long term sustainability and growth of the network). If token holders do a bad job, or charge excessive fees, the network will fail, but if they do a good job they will be able to adapt to changing market conditions and be more resilient to the effects of commoditization. [B] Properties like stability are not critical to participating in governance. [C] Using a unique token is required because it quantifies a users influence in order to align incentivizes to ensure the service provided is consistent.
The value of a governance token accrues relative to the importance of the decisions being made. The more people that use the product and rely on its functionality, the more important critical decisions become, the more value will flow to the governance token.
Conclusion
If you're building a product that relies on a network effect, creating a governance token or adding governance privileges to your existing token can be incredibly powerful. It increases voice for participants and makes the network effects more resilient.
There are many promising approaches to token based governance including quadratic voting, liquid democracy, futarchy, and many forms of meritocracy that warrant attention.
Each process has different strengths and weaknesses, some which are obvious and others which may require experimental implementations to uncover.
It's unclear what the ideal governance mechanism is, or if there is even an effective one-size-fits all mechanism. It is clear, however, that finding better mechanisms is extremely valuable.
At Aragon we are building infrastructure to support these experiments. aragonOS allows for governance applications to be built and shared between organizations, and privileges can be set such that more experimental models can be tried in limited capacities at first and gradually given more authority. This will enable us to bring continuous improvement processes from the software world into the realm of economics and social sciences, while maintaining acceptable levels of risk.What killed King Tut? And what happened to his body afterward?
But there's never been a clear consensus.
Now British egyptologist Dr. Chris Naunton, director of the Egypt Exploration Society, has thrown his hat into the already-crowded ring. A new documentary will present his findings, which suggest King Tut died in a chariot accident -- and then later spontaneously combusted inside his sarcophagus due to a botched embalming.
Holy smokes!
How did Naunton reach such a wild conclusion? It all started with a bit of flesh -- believed by Naunton to have belonged to King Tut -- found in the office of British anthropologist Dr. Robert Connolly, a member of the team that X-rayed Tutankhamun's remains in 1968. Naunton and forensic archaeologist Dr. Matthew Ponting used an electron microscope to examine the sample and determined that the flesh had been burned, The Independent reported. Chemical analysis by the researchers suggested that a reaction involving embalming oils caused Tut to burst into flames.
"The charring and possibility that a botched mummification led [to] the body spontaneously combusting shortly after burial was entirely unexpected, something of a revelation," Naunton says in the documentary, according to the Radio Times.
While Carter's original notes on the discovery of Tut's tomb mention that the mummy's flesh appeared burned, they provided no explanation for the burn.
Along with a team of researchers from the Cranfield Forensic Institute in Swindon, England, Naunton also analyzed scans of King Tut's remains. Computer simulations run by the team showed that serious injuries sustained on one side of the ruler's body were consistent with a traumatic blow to the torso from the wheel of a chariot.
While other researchers have proposed that Tut succumbed to a chariot accident, Naunton is the first to simulate the crash and to argue that the crash crushed the boy's heart, according to a written statement released in advance of the documentary.
Not everyone agrees that Tut's injuries were caused by a chariot crash. German geneticist Carsten Pusch told National Geographic in 2010 that DNA analysis revealed King Tut was sickly and probably suffered from both malaria and a bone disorder.
"He was not a very strong pharaoh. He was not riding the chariots," Pusch said at the time.
A.R. Williams, a writer at National Geographic, noted that King Tut was buried in a linen cap, jewelry and layer upon layer of delicately dried flower and berry garlands. "If there had been a fire, might the linen and the garland have been toast too, burnt by the blazing hot gold [of Tut's coffin]?" Williams asked.Joey Davidson | Gaming Reviews & News by
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare hasn’t been as good in the sales charts as Ghosts (which is really sort of sad, but I’ll get to that in a second). Leaked NPD information from November of this year revealed that the series’ annual decline has been rather sharp this year.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare sold 27 percent less than Call of Duty: Ghosts over the course of the same time period year-on-year. Make no mistake, the game still made money, but just not as much money as it did last year.
The sad news, of course, is that Advanced Warfare is miles and miles better than Ghosts. The multiplayer, the graphics, the campaign and the new core of gameplay make Advanced Warfare a unique Call of Duty experience, and even that pile of good stuff couldn’t get the franchise completely out of its own way.
Was Ghosts bad enough that it kept you from picking up Advanced Warfare? Heck, I grabbed Ghosts in order to do some research this past spring before a Call of Duty preview event, and I couldn’t stand the game. I wound up really enjoying Advanced Warfare this year, and that comes from someone who swore off Call of Duty years ago.
Order This From AmazonLIMBAUGH: Unfair Charges of Systemic Racism
Originally published on this site
No matter how often leftists slander conservatives as racists, no matter how much they try to shame NFL fans for objecting to players kneeling during the national anthem, flag-waving patriots are not going to be cowed into surrendering on this issue.
Why is it that anytime leftists engage in political debate or protest, no matter how inflammatory their content or manner of expression, they are glorified and defended? Conversely, why are conservatives automatically condemned as insensitive or censorious when they express their views or object to those of the left?
In this upside-down culture, the left is always treated as occupying the moral high ground, and criticism of liberals is deemed injurious to their right to free speech.
So when certain NFL players kneel during the national anthem, the dominant liberal media culture celebrates them, while anyone who objects to their action is accused of infringing on their liberties, even though no state action is involved and no constitutional question is at issue.
It is leftists who want to chill the speech of those criticizing the protesters for disrespecting the American flag. Instead of invoking bogus free speech issues, shouldn’t we talk about the content of the protesters’ complaints and the propriety of their manner of expressing them?
It seems the thrust of the protesters’ complaint is that American law enforcement and America itself are systemically racist.
But if a protest movement seeks to be constructive, its complaints must be considered on the merits, and that means a full and substantive discussion of the facts. Those who disagree with the gravamen of the complaint have just as much right to express their opinion as the complainants. Bullying them into silence is hardly going to facilitate a resolution.
If the complainants truly are asserting that America’s law enforcement institutions or America itself is systemically racist against African-Americans, they bear the burden of proving their assertions, especially when facts and statistics appear to contradict those claims. The Washington Post reports that of the 963 people shot and killed by police in America last year, only 17 of the victims were unarmed African-Americans. On its face, that’s a troubling number, but it does not suggest systemic racism of law enforcement. This is not a dispositive statistic, but it is one that must be considered among others.
Lest you accuse me of exaggerating the protesters’ position, note that I’m just listening to what many of them and their supporters say on national television and radio. Universities are replete with courses railing against white supremacy and racism in this country. The professional leftist protest cabal, antifa, is certainly making these claims unambiguously, and mainstream Democrats and the media are championing their cause. Antifa is so extreme on white privilege that you can sometimes hear its members berating fellow white colleagues for joining protests because they are “inherently racist.”
No reasonable person can defend specific acts of racist behavior, especially by law enforcement officers. But protesters shouldn’t get away with misstating facts to prove their claim. Such distortions cannot possibly help correct actual instances of racism. Protesters should be challenged, for example, if they claim racism is involved when a black officer shoots a black civilian. When protesters cite Michael Brown and Ferguson as an example of “hands up, don’t shoot,” they should be called out for misrepresenting the facts. Brown was not shot in the back by a police officer while peacefully trying to surrender, yet many have intentionally perpetuated that destructive myth.
People are tired of police officers being attacked and accused of systemic racism. The overwhelming majority of citizens would be appalled and outraged if they believed it were true. People are alarmed at being presumed racist based on the color of their skin. No one wants to be unjustly accused of racism — one of the most damning charges that could be leveled in our society. As the charge is so damaging, it shouldn’t be made freely and indiscriminately or without a strong factual basis. Those who do systemically engage in such baseless accusations should themselves be condemned for it.
People are certainly free to claim America or American law enforcement is systemically racist, but fairness requires that they back up their claims factually.
Protesters are free to kneel during the national anthem, assuming the NFL chooses not to discipline them for rule violation, but fans are also free to express their disapproval of the protesters’ overt disrespecting of the American flag.
Many fans believe that regardless of the merits of the protesters’ claims, it is inappropriate for them to express their complaint in this form — because it implies, if not outright expresses, that the nation itself is somehow guilty of the type of racist behavior they are protesting.
Many Americans are fed up with the ongoing effort in our culture to trash this nation and its historical symbols — not just controversial Confederate symbols but many others, as well.
Evidence of racial tension in America is not limited to football players kneeling. There has been an ongoing effort by race agitators on the left to stir the pot for political and other reasons. A conservative can hardly take a political position on any issue, no matter how innocuous, without someone on the left’s accusing him of racism. Talk about chilling speech and political dissent!
President Trump provides a convenient scapegoat for the left and many on the right. Criticize him if you must for fanning the flames, but don’t fool yourself that he is responsible for the overall problem we face, which is serious and must be taken seriously. And be aware that many appreciate it when people in leadership positions defend the sanctity of the flag.
It should go without saying that racism of all kinds and in all directions is unacceptable, including unwarranted claims of racism, which are themselves grounded in race.
If protesters genuinely want their problems addressed, they must quit stating more than the facts allow, refrain from outrageous and damaging hyperbole, and support their specific claims with concrete evidence. And unless they want to continue to draw as much ire as they draw constructive attention to their concerns, they must quit targeting the American flag and other sacred national symbols.
David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney. His latest book is “The True Jesus.” Follow him on Twitter @davidlimbaugh and his website at www.davidlimbaugh.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM
Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 28, 2017 13:27:18 -0700
Originally posted at http://get.creators.com/content/release/213258.Housing Market Stuck Despite Low Prices, Rates
Enlarge this image toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images A bank-owned sign is seen in front of a foreclosed home in Miami. Florida was among the hardest hit states in the real estate collapse. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Three years ago, the real estate market was simple — simply terrible, that is. In virtually every part of the country, foreclosures were shooting up and prices were plunging. Today, the real estate picture is more nuanced. Foreclosures are still rising, but prices are stabilizing in some markets, making home-buying look more attractive.
If you had talked to some good economists just before the housing bubble burst, they would have told you it didn't make sense to buy a house.
"At the peak of the housing bubble, house prices were way out of line with people's incomes so housing wasn't very affordable," says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.
Zandi, who tracks home prices around the country, says the cost of owning back then was just too high compared to renting.
"Way out of line with rents... it was slam dunk you should rent not buy," Zandi says. "All those things have reversed themselves given the collapse in house prices. So In many parts of the country it makes sense to buy not rent."
Average home prices have fallen 35 percent nationwide from their peaks. On top of that, interest rates are at record lows — around 4 percent for a 30-year loan.
Zandi says that has probably helped housing a bit. But it definitely hasn't sparked a big home-buying resurgence yet — a sign that housing is still in the dumps.
Low mortgage rates "would normally bring people into the market with a real sense of urgency," says Chris Mayer, an economist at Columbia Business School.
Mayer says one reason that's not happening is that it's too hard for many people to qualify for the low rates. The Obama administration says it's looking into a way to help homeowners qualify at least to refinance. That could prevent foreclosures; it's something Mayer has pushed for.
"We think there are literally tens of millions of borrowers who could save an average of a couple thousand dollars a year if we were to open up refinancing in this market," he says.
Top federal housing officials expect to announce a new push in this direction in a couple of weeks.
Some neighborhoods need much more help than others when it comes to housing. Homes and condos in many parts of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston don't exactly look cheap.
"The most attractive parts of the country are where prices have collapsed — parts of Florida, Atlanta, Arizona, Nevada, parts of California," Zandi says. "The price declines have been 50 to 60 percent and they've overshot."
So there are bargains out there, but buyers definitely need to do their homework.With the holiday season almost over, it’s now time to start focusing on growing your online presence and what better way to do that than with a blog? No matter what kind of business you’re in, blogging consistently will definitely get you and your brand some exposure. Best of all, it’s free to blog and depending on if done properly, inbound blog traffic generally has the highest conversion rates out there, much better than PPC or even social media campaigns.
But blogging isn’t enough, blogging only becomes powerful when your target audience actually reads your posts. That’s why we put together a list of 20 growth hacks to increase blog traffic – follow it and we guarantee your blog traffic will increase:
Attention Grabbing Title
You know what they say, first impressions are everything. Your posts’ first impression is its title – it is also what will be shared on social media so make sure it is attention grabbing and makes your audience want to click. Forget want to click, need to click.
Over 1200 Words
Extremely important, don’t blog just to blog. Blog to provide your audience with value they can’t, or at least aren’t getting anywhere else. If you’re providing real valuable content then the longer your post is the more value there is in it. Posts with over 1200 words also tend to be shared way more.
Include Sources/References
Especially if you’re new at blogging and aren’t seen as an authority figure in your respective field yet. Adding sources and references are going to help legitimize your post as well as its quality and how reliable it is. You never know, some of these sources may even link back to you or share the post since it mentions/involves them.
Email Those Sources
As mentioned above, part of the strategy behind using sources is also so they could link to your content if it truly is valuable. Getting those natural/organic links is priceless for your SEO strategy, and it may get you some direct readers as well. Don’t wait for those sources to find your blog, email or even tweet them, let them know about the post.
Write in a Conversational Tone
Don’t be boring, write in a conversational/approachable tone and show off a bit of your personality. Your readers want to connect and relate to you, if they wanted to read some neutral, boring, research paper they would be searching for that on Google.
80-20 Rule
Spend 20% of your time writing great content and 80% of it promoting that content, especially at the beginning where every single new reader matters. Make sure to not become annoying, promoting doesn’t mean spamming, watch out for that – it can easily backfire.
Include Images
1200 words without images may not only seem boring and long, it also just isn’t appealing and doesn’t look professional. Images make the post more visually appealing as well as help break up all of the content. Another tip is try to customize the images you use in your post with some sort of branding, keep it consistent, build an image for your blog; a huge step towards becoming an authority blog in your field.
SEO-friendly Content
I don’t mean write for the search engines, but I definitely do mean pay attention to the search engines and searches. If using WordPress make sure to have an SEO plugin installed, if you aren’t still make sure you’re properly formatting your URLs, using unique title and meta tags. Use H1 tags, alt tags and so on. Those should all include your keywords and/or the searches you’d like to come up for. Rename your images to reflect those as well. Even when writing a post make some research on Google, make sure it’s a searched topic so you’ll actually get traffic when you do rank it. SEO is a fine art, there’s ton of free content available online, learn and apply, and keep learning.
Google Analytics
Not so much of a growth hack, more of an absolute requirement/need but can be used for growth as well. Take a look at where your traffic is coming from and optimize those channels. Take a look at which of your posts are getting the most traffic/attention and use a similar recipe or expand on it (for example use similar titles or make a part 2 to a successful post your audience is engaging with). Analytics is also helpful in telling you for example that most of your readers are on mobile, then you can optimize your layout, images and so on even more for mobile. Analytics provides countless insight and it can all be used to your advantage making it the ultimate growth hack. It’s an obvious ones but the growth hack in it is to use to it’s full potential.
Sharing Buttons
Face it, people are lazy. I mean it’s possible they want to share your content but if you make it hard and just unpleasant, they won’t do it. Make it easy, make it fun, make it approachable. Have social media sharing icons well placed and highlight them. Not only that, but make sure that when the “sharing” popup/window opens, that it properly includes the post (images, title, description) so all they need to do is confirm it. If it comes up with a random image from somewhere else on your blog and a generic title, best believe they won’t take the time to edit it and share it. We strongly suggest testing your share button locations as well as sizes and even design.
Internal Linking
You want to keep your readers engaged with your blog for as long as possible, the longer they stay it the more chances they’ll be back. What better/easier way to do this then by pointing to content inside your blog from a post they are already reading. Keep them engaged, if you’re mentioning something previously covered on your blog then link to it!
Remarketing
Use remarketing ads to promote new blog posts to users who enjoyed a previous post on your site. You can even dig deeper, for example retargeting can be based on URL meaning you can target only visitors who read a certain post on your blog. Pick a post with high engagement (sharing) and a high time on site (meaning people read it) and then write a part 2 to it. Make ads for that part 2 post and retarget the visitors who enjoyed part 1 (the original blog post). This should get you clicks, engagement and subscribers for an extremely low price compared to traditional advertising.
Speed/Performance
Almost always overlooked but speed and performance are MAJOR players when it comes to getting readers to stay on your blog. If you have a buggy design or platform, people are almost immediately going to leave no matter how good and valuable your content is. The most important thing is making sure it loads as fast as possible and in a user-friendly, visually appealing way. Your readers need to be comfortable not annoyed.
Grow Subscriber Base
Do whatever you need to collect the emails of your visitors/subscribers. Offer a free ebook, course, a coupon for a product you’re selling, whatever value you can give them in exchange for their email, do it. And once you figured what you want to give them, start optimizing and testing the offer in order to get the best possible conversion rate. Getting a big, engaged, subscriber base is priceless – whenever you shoot out a post you have guaranteed readership and engagement to start it off properly and help go viral.
Transparency
There’s tons of content available online, lots of it is wrong. Lots of it is also people giving advice about topics they don’t know much, just rewriting stuff they read on other blogs, from “gurus” and experts and so on. The best and quickest way to become an authority blog/blogger is to be transparent. Meaning if you’re giving advice on what the best time of the day to tweet is, what better way to do that then to actually show your stats (screenshots) and talk about your own experience? Being transparent connects your audience to you and makes them feel like they’re involved in your journey and vice versa.
Throwbacks
There isn’t a limit to how many times you can share a post on social media, in fact the more the merrier – just make sure there’s valuable stuff being shared in between as well. Don’t share the same post 16 times over the 1st day of it being published and then forget about it for 6 months, that’s useless and annoying. Do share it 16 times during the first 2 months of it being published, nothing wrong with that. People aren’t always online at the same time, even if they are they aren’t always ready to read a post right when they saw it. You also accumulate new followers as you go so sharing old posts/articles is a great way to get new users and engagement, especially posts that originally did well.
Write More Often
In fact, write as often as you can, as long as it doesn’t ruin the quality of your posts. If you could put together a proper blog posts at least once every 2-3 days then that’s a great start.
Be Consistent
No matter if you choose to blog once a week, once a month or once every day – be consistent. Your readers want to know what to expect. I personally get annoyed when I come across this great blog, read 3 valuable posts on my first week and then nothing for 3 weeks. Consistency is key, let your readers know what and when to expect your next piece so they can build a pattern and fit you into their routine.
Join Communities
Join relevant communities, not to spam your blog but to provide valuable information, advice, insight and so on. The internet is a big beautiful place and depending on your niche there are definitely at least some communities where your target audience hangs and you should be a part of those as well. Some examples include GrowthHackers, Reddit, Quora, HackerNews and so on – provide good value, share stuff that really caught your attention and when you have a post you’re proud to have your name on then share it too.
Guest Blogging
Reach out to blogs that complement yours and see if they’d be interested in you writing a post on their blog. The best way would be to already have a pre-made post related to something you read on their blog (that received lots of engagement) the 1st time you approach them. Some bloggers don’t have the time or patience to go back and forth but if you send them the post right away with a friendly note then they might just bite. And if they don’t, then email other similar blogs!
These 20 growth hacks are definitely going to help grow your blog if you actually do them consistently. It takes time, dedication and hard work but it will pay off!
Let us know in the comments if we missed any, and especially how are you growing your blog?
Keep in mind, these blogging tips apply to personal as well as company blogs, put them to good use!Timothy Kincaid
It’s hard to think of a definition of “activist judge” that would not have Chancellor George Ellis of the 28th Judicial District in West Tennessee as Exhibit A.
In May 2008, Angel Chandler and her ex-husband Joseph Barker went before the judge to modify their parenting plan. But Ellis didn’t like that Angel was living with her female partner of nine years and decided that he was going to do a little legislating from the bench.
Now the 28th judicial district in Tennessee has Local Rule 23, whereby agreements have a “paramour clause,” a decision that denies custody or even visitation rights to parents who allow an unmarried partner to stay overnight. But this can be overridden by a court, something that Ellis decided he wasn’t going to do.
Now this is not the case of a judge siding with the straight parent; her ex-husband (who has remarried) didn’t ask for the clause or object to its removal. And it wasn’t over-reliance on a hostile child services worker; reports showed no harm to the children. This was simply the case of a judge going against the wishes of the parents and the children and the advice of the psychologist, and taking it upon himself to disrupt the life of this family out of his own personal biases and bigotries.
Angel’s and her partner moved into two halves of a duplex so they could live near each other but apart while they appealed the decision, but soon found the double households to be prohibitively expensive. But fortunately they won their appeal, with the court reminding Ellis that the state law requires the primary consideration for custody arrangements be what’s in the best interest of the children.
Well, Ellis didn’t need no stinkin’ law to do what he wanted to do, so he insisted that the paramour clause remain in place until he could have a hearing. Well in March of this year he had his hearing at which time he decided – without any evidence as support – that it was in the best interest of the children that Chandler and her partner be forced to live apart in order for her to have her kids visit. (Citizen Times)
“A paramour overnight, abuse of alcohol and abuse of drugs are clearly common sense understanding that children can be adversely affected by such exposure….”
(There is no mention of there actually having been abuse of alcohol or drugs, Ellis just sort of threw that in there for comparison. Ya know: alcohol, drug, lesbians – all just obviously not in the kids’ best interest to be around these things.)
So back to the court they went. And this time the appeals court was not amused that Chancellor Ellis had decided to impose his agenda over that of the law.
“The record is devoid of any evidence whatsoever to support the finding that a paramour provision is in the best interests of the children. In fact, the record contains evidence demonstrating that a paramour provision is contrary to the best interests of the children,” the court wrote.
So far I’ve been unable to locate any mention of this story by the usual crowd of anti-gay ranters. I guess their definition of “activist judge” is one who disagrees with them.WASHINGTON — Same-sex couples will not be able to marry on May 16 in Idaho following a temporary order from a federal appeals court May 15.
The order follows the request from Idaho Gov. Butch Otter to stay the enforcement of this week's trial court decision finding Idaho's ban on same-sex couples' marriages to be unconstitutional. Otter is appealing that decision, which was scheduled to take effect at 9 a.m. May 16, and asked for a stay pending the appeal.
In a one-sentence order, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, "The district court's May 13, 2014 order is temporarily stayed pending this court's disposition of appellants' emergency motions for a stay pending appeal."
The appeals court judges — Judges Edward Leavy, Consuelo Callahan, and Andrew Hurwitz — issued a temporary stay until the 9th Circuit decides whether to issue a stay that will last throughout the state's appeal.DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain authorities have disrupted an attempt to smuggle high-grade explosives, automatic weapons and ammunition into the country by sea and have arrested two Bahraini suspects, the Interior Ministry said.
The two suspects had admitted receiving the shipment from Iranian handlers outside Bahrain’s territorial waters, it said, adding that one of them had received military training in Iran in 2013.
Bahrain said earlier it had recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations after what it said were repeated hostile statements made by Iranian officials.
The statements were a reflection of Iran’s unfriendly attitude towards the Gulf Arab monarchy and an interference in its internal affairs, a statement on state news agency BNA said.
Sunni Muslim-ruled Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, often accuses Iran, a Shi’ite Muslim theocracy, of seeking to subvert Bahrain.
Iran denies interfering in Bahrain, although it acknowledges it does support opposition groups seeking greater political and economic rights for Bahrain’s Shi’ite community.
The ministry statement said the coastguard intercepted a vessel on July 15 heading towards Bahrain and seized about 44 kg (97 pounds) of C4 explosive, eight Kalashnikov assault rifles, 32 Kalashnikov magazines, and ammunition and detonators.HarperCollins' science-fiction imprint will open its doors to unrepresented authors from 1 to 14 October this year, hoping to find 10 to 12 new authors which it will publish monthly
Literature's gatekeepers have opened a chink, as HarperCollins' major science fiction and fantasy imprint, Voyager, flings wide its doors to submissions from writers without an agent for the first time in more than a decade.
Voyager, home to names including George RR Martin, Robin Hobb and Raymond E Feist, is preparing to be inundated with manuscripts when it opens to unagented submissions on 1 October, offering writers the chance to submit full, unagented manuscripts for a limited two-week period. The initiative will run until 14 October, with Voyager hoping to find 10 to 12 new authors which it will publish monthly, in digital format, over the course of a year.
Despite HarperCollins's declared policy of refusing unsolicited manuscripts, Voyager already receives 50-100 agented submissions a week. In anticipation of a huge increase, editors from the UK, US and Australia are lined up to help out with the extra reading.
"I think there's going to be an absolute deluge," said editor Amy McCulloch. "But we are seeing all the time the new and exciting ways of discovering new talent, and we feel it is the right time."
Earlier this week HarperCollins paid a substantial sum for 18-year-old Abigail Gibbs's first novel The Dark Heroine, which was discovered on social reading website Wattpad. McCulloch would not discuss what advances, if any, would be paid to unagented authors signed by Voyager in October.
The publisher is looking, it said, for writers "with fresh voices, strong storytelling abilities, original ideas and compelling storylines". Both adult and young adult fiction will be considered, but particularly novels in the epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural genres.
Each author to be discovered by Voyager will receive full editorial, marketing and sales support across the UK, US and Australia, when their novels are published in ebook format. "It's going to be e-only to begin with but we are definitely not closing the door to print if something really takes off," said McCulloch. "This is going to be about finding new |
“much earlier,” given that the incident itself happened weeks prior.
This led to speculation that Key wasn’t getting on-the-ground briefings about All Blacks activity, sexual or otherwise, which opposition leaders described as unacceptable.
When Key finally spoke on the incident, he said that Smith had “clearly let himself and those that are close to him down,” and that he would “probably be reflecting on that.”
“He’s embarrassed the All Blacks, he’s an integral part of the All Blacks, actually, so he won’t want to be sitting on the sidelines, and frankly, he’s embarrassed himself a bit.
“I think most New Zealanders would probably agree that sex is something that should be done in a private place, preferably with consenting adults.”
Key said he took “appropriate time” to “ascertain all of the facts” before commenting, and had visited the toilet cubicle personally.
Read the full article here.
John Key makes shock decision to resign in middle of the day, rather than at the end of the day
John Key left his greatest act of political theatre until last, shocking everybody by resigning at a totally different time of day than what would have been anticipated.
In his final press conference, he acknowledged the bizarre break from protocol.
“Oh, well, look, I think most New Zealanders would agree that at the end of the day, I made a decision,” he said, “and I made that decision at the end of the day, on a different day, and at the end of that day, I decided that today, before the end of the day, I would, at the end of the day, on a different day altogether, resign.”
“Oh, well, look, you know, if you like,” he added. “So, yeah, pretty much.”
Key said he had been “immensely privileged” to serve as Prime Minister of New Zealand for eight years, during which time he had experienced “a great deal.”
“I certainly think most New Zealanders, if you asked them, would agree that I’ve been Prime Minister for eight years, and during that time, we’ve done some things,” he said. “I think they’d agree that when you’re in government, you do some things, and some of those things work, if you like, and some things don’t work overly well, and you have some ministers, and that’s just kind of how it goes, fairly standard stuff really.”
He felt his resignation wasn’t “an overly big deal or anything.”
Asked what kind of legacy he felt he’d left, Key replied “Yeah.”
The decision to resign was a difficult one, he explained, but at the middle of the day, he didn’t think he could go another three years having to look at Patrick Gower’s face.
“So I’m happy to say, this will be the last time,” he said.
Key finished his press conference smiling and joking, saying “not overly”, as he slowly faded from reality as the bizarre figment of our imaginations he always was.
Read the full article here.
The Legacy
John Key became the leader of National in 2006, at a time of great need for the party. After Don Brash upset all the brown people, Key was appointed to act like nothing had happened.
It worked brilliantly.
Not only did he defeat Helen Clark in 2008, he went on to win re-election by historic margins in 2011 and 2014, and was on track for a similar result in 2017, 2020, 2023, 2026, 2029, 2032, 2035, and in the 2036 snap election.
After a brutal financial crisis, he oversaw New Zealand’s return to surplus, and successfully led the country through the housing challenge, and into the housing crisis.
John Key was undoubtedly one of the greatest Prime Ministers in New Zealand history.
He taught us all that it’s better to be liked and do nothing at all, than to not be liked and do something at all.
He taught us that the best way to spend political capital is to not, but rather put it in a bank and let it accrue interest until you finally resign and somebody else has to deal with it.
He was an incrementalist, who taught us that incrementalists of the past have been too eager, and that there’s no reason to implement any of the increments all at once, when you can implement each increment in increments.
He taught us that if you find yourself having bullied someone, the right thing to do is to buy them two bottles of wine and act like nothing happened.
But most importantly of all, he taught other politicians what New Zealanders really want to see in them: nothing at all, just leave it as it is, and make sure beer’s still affordable.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
A bad day for Republicans just got worse. First, prosecutors in Wisconsin accused Republican Governor Scott Walker of running a criminal enterprise, while in New Jersey federal prosecutors are closing in on Republican Governor Chris Christie.
According to Esquire:
Whatever Christie says or does — and whatever potential donors or Jimmy Fallon and his viewers think — the question that truly matters is whether Fishman’s pursuit leads to the governor himself. Christie’s Port appointees — not only Samson, but former PA Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni and his oddball sidekick David Wildstein — all face near-certain indictment and are being pressed to hand up Christie, as is the governor’s former chief counsel, Charlie McKenna. Wildstein, portrayed as the mastermind behind Ft. Lee’s traffic problems, has made proffers to Fishman’s investigators — hoping to trade information to the prosecutor in exchange for gentler legal treatment — but Fishman has cut no deals with anyone so far, and the looming indictments have encouraged Christie’s PA appointees to sing. “Don’t underestimate what Wildstein has on Christie,” says one source. “And Wildstein and Baroni have both turned on Samson. If Samson doesn’t give Fishman Christie, Samson is toast.”
The Christie and Walker investigations have followed the same textbook format. Prosecutors in both Wisconsin and New Jersey are systematically picking off the aides and others with knowledge surrounding the Republican governors in order to get to the big fish. Rumors and stories about abuse of power and corruption has been swirling about Walker and Christie for years, so it isn’t a shock that both have prosecutors hot on their tails.
Less than a year ago, the Republican Party was touting Rick Snyder (R-MI), John Kasich (R-OH), Rick Scott (R-FL), Chris Christie (R-NJ), and Tom Corbett (R-PA) as the future of the Republican Party. Corbett looks like a dead man walking. Scott is fighting to hang on to his seat while Christie and Walker may be lucky to avoid prison. The only two governors left standing out of the next “Republican wave” are Kasich, who changed his tone after a humiliating public defeat on a union busting bill, and Snyder.
The thing that both Walker and Christie have in common is that they are Koch boys. It is no secret that they both belong to the right-wing billionaires. There have always been corrupt politicians, but it is fair to ask what if any role the unregulated campaign contributions that were unleashed by the Citizens United ruling are playing in this wave of scandal?
Thanks to unlimited contributions from the Koch brothers and other billionaires, there is no party structure to keep governors like Christie and Walker in check. Elected Republicans are able to raise their own funds and build their own empires. They have built their own kingdoms, so it isn’t surprising when they act like the law doesn’t apply to them. Walker is accused of running a criminal scheme that violated campaign finance laws, while questions have been raised about Bridgegate and Christie’s handling of Sandy relief funds.
Both Scott Walker and Chris Christie are more likely to find themselves in the big house than the White House after 2016.
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:Dust off your gorilla names. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has a newborn in search of a moniker.
The stork delivered the baby western lowland gorilla January 18 to mom, Timu and pop Tambo. Junior is making his public debut without a handle, thus the need for that dusting.
The public is invited to help come up with a name for the new arrival through an online contest. You'll be required to donate $1 to gorilla conservation in order to submit a name.
Click here to submit your entry.
The contest kicks off at noon Thursday, February 23 and submissions will be accepted until March 2. The name will be selected by keepers and announced on March 15 on the zoo's website and social media. The entrant of the winning name will receive a gift basket.UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A confidential report by U.N. monitors accuses Kenyan soldiers in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia of facilitating illegal charcoal exports from the port city of Kismayu, a business that generates millions of dollars a year for Islamic militants seeking to topple the government.
Soldiers, who are serving with the Kenyan Contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), patrol along a street as a commuter taxi passes by in the centre of the southern Somali port city of Kismayo, about 500 km (310 miles) south of Mogadishu in this October 7, 2012 handout photo taken and released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team. REUTERS/AU-UN IST PHOTO/Stuart Price/Handout
The case of the failed ban on Somali charcoal outlined in the report highlights the difficulty of cutting off al Shabaab militants’ funding and ensuring compliance with U.N. sanctions when there is little appetite for enforcing them on the ground.
The Kenyan military denied the allegations in the U.N. Monitoring Group’s latest annual report to the Security Council’s sanctions committee on Somalia and Eritrea.
The report was completed before recent clashes in Kismayu.
In that fighting, rival militias battled for control of the strategic port city after Ahmed Madobe, leader of the Ras Kamboni militia and a former Islamist warlord, became leader of the Jubaland region, which includes Kismayu, in May.
The situation remains tense though the Mogadishu government, which initially opposed Madobe, is letting him stay on as interim leader.
Kismayu is a lucrative prize for clan leaders, bringing with it generous revenues from charcoal exports, port taxes and levies on arms and other illegal imports.
The Security Council banned the export of charcoal from Somalia in February 2012 to cut off one of the main sources of income for al Shabaab, which has been fighting for control of Somalia for years and enforces a strict version of sharia law in the areas it occupies.
Kenyan forces in the African Union’s AMISOM peacekeeping mission, which has a U.N. Security Council mandate and receives funding from the European Union and United States, helped the Somali government retake control of Kismayu when the al Qaeda-aligned militants fled in September 2012.
Afterwards, the AU almost immediately urged the Security Council to lift the charcoal export ban, at least temporarily.
Kenya supported the idea, arguing that Kismayu’s angry charcoal traders could undermine the security of its troops. The Monitoring Group, which reports on compliance with the Somalia/Eritrea sanctions regime, disputed Nairobi’s analysis.
“The argument that a group of charcoal traders constituted a greater threat to the KDF (Kenya Defence Force) than al Shabaab that had just been routed in Kismayu, was difficult to appreciate,” the group said in an annex to its annual report, which was seen by Reuters.
“Instead, it was far more likely that exporting charcoal would exacerbate clan tensions and resource interests, leading to much broader conditions of conflict,” the group said in its report, which is nearly 500 pages with all its annexes. “And this is precisely what subsequently occurred.”
U.N. CHARCOAL EXPORT BAN FLOUTED
The Monitoring Group’s report is likely to elicit new criticism of Nairobi from Somalia’s government, which has accused Kenyan troops of taking sides against it in the recent clashes in Kismayu and suggested they should be replaced by a more neutral force. Kenya denied the charge.
The group said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asked AMISOM in October 2012 to keep Kismayu port closed to commercial traffic, including charcoal. But it said he was unaware that former Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas had already asked the Security Council’s sanctions committee to review the ban.
The group said an AMISOM commander lied to the president.
“As late as 26 October 2012, the AMISOM Deputy Force Commander for Operations and Plans, Major General Simon Karanja (of Kenya), assured the President that the port was closed and there was no shipping traffic, while he knew otherwise,” the Monitoring Group said.
The Kenyans did not hide the fact that they wanted to ease the charcoal ban because they feared it could make their job of keeping the peace in Kismayu that much more difficult.
When it became clear that the Security Council would not lift the charcoal export ban, the “the KDF (Kenyan forces), Madobe and his Ras Kamboni forces took the unilateral decision to begin the export of charcoal from Kismayu port,” the report said.
Once that decision was made, the charcoal export business in Kismayu, which the Monitoring Group said is known to have the highest-quality charcoal in Somalia, resumed in earnest.
Colonel Cyrus Oguna, a spokesman for the KDF, which has been battling al Shabaab in Somalia since October 2011, said Kenya was not aiding the charcoal exports in any way.
“The KDF is not at the sea port. The port is being managed and supervised by a committee put in place by the administrators of Jubaland,” Oguna said in Nairobi.
AMISOM did not respond to a request for comment.
Although the Kenyan AMISOM contingent and Madobe’s Ras Kamboni militia took over Kismayu after al Shabaab left, the U.N. monitors said al Shabaab retained a share of the charcoal business after it lost control of the city.
“The nature of the business enterprise forged by al Shabaab continues with al Shabaab, its commercial partners and networks still central to the trade,” the Monitoring Group said.
“Essentially, with the changeover of power in Kismayu, the shareholding of the charcoal trade at the port was divided into three between al Shabaab, Ras Kamboni and Somali Kenyan businessmen cooperating with the KDF (Kenyan army).”
Not only did the charcoal export business continue in spite of the U.N. Security Council ban, but it saw a dramatic increase, the U.N. monitors’ report said.
“In fact, its shareholding in Kismayu charcoal, in combination with its (al Shabaab’s) export revenues at Barawe (town) and its taxation of trucks transporting charcoal from production areas under its control are likely exceeding the revenue it generated when it controlled Kismayu,” it said.
In the 1990s the Horn of Africa country imploded amid clan warfare after the overthrow of a dictator and became virtually lawless for two decades. AMISOM was created in 2007 to support efforts to restore order in Somalia, and today the mission’s troops are mostly from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Kenya.
‘KING OF CHARCOAL’
The Monitoring Group estimated that al Shabaab, which has been driven out of many parts of Somalia but remains a potent force, exported some 9 million to 11 million sacks of charcoal from the country in 2011, raking in more than $25 million.
“At the rate of export since November 2012, the Monitoring Group estimates that this number is rising to 24 million sacks per year and represents an overall international market value of $360-384 million USD, with profits divided along the charcoal trade supply chain, including for al Shabaab,” the report said.
The group said it estimated charcoal exports from Kismayu alone were worth $15 million to $16 million per month. It noted that traders in Dubai say the actual export amount is probably much higher.
The group said there was also charcoal exporting from Barawe, the al Shabaab-controlled town north of Kismayu, bringing the militants $1.2 million to $2 million per month in taxes.
One Kismayu charcoal trader with strong links to al Shabaab is Hassan Mohamud Yusuf, alias Awlibaax, from the Mareehan clan and chairman of the Juba Business Committee, the group said. He is also linked to Dubai’s key charcoal businessman, Saleh Da’ud Abdulla, who himself has connections to al Shabaab, it added.
Another is Ali Ahmed Naaji, from the minority Cawro-maleh clan, who “arranges or provides loans to al Shabaab, and makes investments for them in South Sudan,” the report said.
It said Yusuf and Naaji alone account for around 32 percent of charcoal exports from Kismayu, most of which go to Dubai.
The largest purchaser of charcoal in Dubai is Al Qaed International General Trading, owned by Baba Mansoor Ghayedi, alias Haji Baba, an Iranian living in Dubai who described himself to the Monitoring Group as the “King of Charcoal.”
The report said Haji Baba denied importing Somali charcoal in violation of the Security Council ban and that the paperwork shows his charcoal comes from Kenya and Djibouti, both of which have banned charcoal exports.
The Monitoring Group included in one annex what it said were examples of false bills of lading certifying Somali charcoal as coming from Kenya.
The United Arab Emirates has been aware of the illegal Somali charcoal shipments, the monitors said. In September 2012 it notified the Monitoring Group that it had impounded a shipment of 100,000 sacks of Somali charcoal.
The monitors said charcoal traders in Dubai informed them that the impounded shipment eventually reached the market. Some 10,000 bags of charcoal were unloaded in Dubai and the rest in Saudi Arabia. The consignee of that shipment was Haji Baba.Hot_Bid Profile Joined October 2003 Braavos 183 Posts Last Edited: 2014-05-16 18:16:24 #1 Grab one here! $22.95 / €19.95 each
TL is proud to announce a partnership with Valve Corporation to produce official Dota 2 merchandise. We're starting with three hero-themed shirts: Beastmaster, Nature's Prophet, and Outworld Devourer. All shirts will be available in both the North American and European TL Stores. When The International 3 launches in a few weeks, the shirts will also be sold in Valve's online store and in person at Valve's Secret Shop in Seattle. If all goes well with these three, future heroes may come with in-game items as well.
When we launched the TL Store in 2011 with just a few products, we hoped we'd get to a point where we could partner with a major video game company. We've sold tens of thousands of shirts and refined our design, production, and distribution process to get to this point, and we're extremely happy that we're able to finally achieve one of our goals.
The Process
We felt that we really needed to make an impression with Valve, so instead of a normal pitch with images and mockups by email, we decided it would be better to just make a dozen shirts and mail them to their offices in Seattle without telling anyone. We took great care in making sure the tags, back logos, and branding was consistent and well done, and then let the shirts speak for themselves.
A few weeks later we received an email from Valve stating that their artists were wearing the shirts we sent around their offices. Our gamble seemed to have paid off, and now TL is an official Valve merchandise licensee. Hopefully, this is the start of a long cooperation, and in the future we'll be bringing you more heroes and more cool Dota 2 stuff.
A Word From The Artist, AlteredClone
When I made the first few designs originally, I just wanted something simple and clean to put as my phone background to represent my love for Dota 2. I've always had a passion for logo design and I wanted to make sure each hero looked like his (or her) own sports team logo. When I started this project I never expected anything to come of it, let alone Valve partnering with us to make shirts. It's exciting to see a design go from a desktop wallpaper to a real life product. I hope the designs speak for themselves and I'm really excited to be a part of this whole process.
We felt that we really needed to make an impression with Valve, so instead of a normal pitch with images and mockups by email, we decided it would be better to just make a dozen shirts and mail them to their offices in Seattle without telling anyone. We took great care in making sure the tags, back logos, and branding was consistent and well done, and then let the shirts speak for themselves.A few weeks later we received an email from Valve stating that their artists were wearing the shirts we sent around their offices. Our gamble seemed to have paid off, and now TL is an official Valve merchandise licensee. Hopefully, this is the start of a long cooperation, and in the future we'll be bringing you more heroes and more cool Dota 2 stuff.When I made the first few designs originally, I just wanted something simple and clean to put as my phone background to represent my love for Dota 2. I've always had a passion for logo design and I wanted to make sure each hero looked like his (or her) own sports team logo. When I started this project I never expected anything to come of it, let alone Valve partnering with us to make shirts. It's exciting to see a design go from a desktop wallpaper to a real life product. I hope the designs speak for themselves and I'm really excited to be a part of this whole process.
OMG, It's A Gallery
Shirt photographs showcasing finished product. See all as desktop backgrounds here.
Go to North American store
Go to European store TL is proud to announce a partnership with Valve Corporation to produce official Dota 2 merchandise. We're starting with three hero-themed shirts: Beastmaster, Nature's Prophet, and Outworld Devourer. All shirts will be available in both the North American and European TL Stores. When The International 3 launches in a few weeks, the shirts will also be sold in Valve's online store and in person at Valve's Secret Shop in Seattle. If all goes well with these three, future heroes may come with in-game items as well.When we launched the TL Store in 2011 with just a few products, we hoped we'd get to a point where we could partner with a major video game company. We've sold tens of thousands of shirts and refined our design, production, and distribution process to get to this point, and we're extremely happy that we're able to finally achieve one of our goals. @Hot_Bid on Twitter - ESPORTS life since 2010 - http://i.imgur.com/U2psw.pngConsole owners in Europe will get web access at more than 5,000 free Wi-Fi hot spots
Nintendo has announced a deal with free-hotspot.com to provide over 5,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots to 3DS owners throughout Europe.
The partnership will include fast food restaurants and hotel chains across the continent including McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Subway, as well as Ibis Hotels and Etap Hotels.
3DS owners will need to have downloaded the console's browser and then performed a system update. Subsequently, if everything's set up correctly, the device will automatically access compatible Wi-Fi connections, even if it's in sleep mode.
Via the SpotPass system, game updates and other content can then be downloaded onto the console, including a new range of 3D videos. Users will also be able to browse the web for free, or play multiplayer games.
In a financial briefing last week, Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata admitted that the company has to simplify its digital offering, making it easier for gamers to shop for Nintendo content online, via the 3DS and forthcoming Wii U consoles.
A card-swiping system is reportedly being considered for the Wii successor, allowing users to buy downloadable content by swiping their credit card across the machine's tablet-style controller.Tom Schwartz and Peter Madrigal offer some support for their #PumpRules pal after she fractured her face.
Vanderpump Rules star Kristen Doute is currently recovering after she fractured her cheekbone and orbital skull earlier this month. She revealed the injury on Twitter last week.
thanks Twitter babes for the well wishes. I had a bad fall and fractured my orbital socket/cheekbone so going to be out of it for a bit. — kristen doute (@kristendoute) October 14, 2015
Following the news, two of her Vanderpump Rules pals spoke to The Daily Dish about their pal — and dished about what food she's eating now that solids aren't exactly an option. “She’s on my group text. Apparently, she’s been in bed for — let me check this group text. She’s been living on soup and fro yo," Peter Madrigal revealed. "She’s fine. She’s healthy. She’s in good spirits," Tom Schwartz added. "She’s living on fro yo. What’s this thing on Fro Yo? I think she’s looking for a sponsorship deal," he joked.
As of last week, Kristen was slated to get surgery for the injuries. While she's resting, her friends offered some well wishes for her road to recovery. "I hope you get better, Kristen. Come and torture my life some more," Peter joked, while Tom added, "Kristen, I am sorry I haven’t been more thoughtful or considerate. I will bring you your favorite vodka when I get back from Vegas and I am going to shower you with something, some gifts. Get well soon."
surgery next week... thank you @plastixdocs @jlayke for taking the best care EVER of me this week. 💗 I only trust my face with your hands. — kristen doute (@kristendoute) October 16, 2015 bringing me back to my normal self after the multiple fractures of last week 😔 https://t.co/6QYcdunOQK — kristen doute (@kristendoute) October 16, 2015
Speaking of Las Vegas, Kristen — unfortunately — had to sit out Tom's birthday bash in Sin City while she recovers. She shared that tidbit of information with a follower on Twitter.
-Reporting by Paul Zahn
Season 4 of Vanderpump Rules kicks off on November 2 at 9/8c. Check out the preview below."Saturday Night Live" premiered its new spin-off show last night, a half hour version of Weekend Update that joins NBC's Thursday comedy block. They opened the program, hosted by Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers, with a typical SNL political sketch that still ended with "Live from New York it's Saturday night," despite the fact that it clearly wasn't.
The sketch centered around Joe Wilson's outburst during a joint session of Congress in which he yelled "you lie" at the president. According to SNL, the outburst was planned by the Republican leadership, but Joe Wilson was left in the lurch after he went to the bathroom while the rest of the representatives reconsidered their plan.
Kristen Wiig appeared as Michele Bachmann, mocking the congresswoman for her rhetorical choices, and Fred Armisen played a Republican playing Obama, making the whole thing as meta as possible.
WATCH:Employees at a Calgary company who spent a month collecting donations for victims of the Slave Lake fire are upset that some of the items ended up in a Calgary landfill.
"For us it's very disheartening. This was an employee-led initiative," said Saphina Benimadhu, a spokeswoman for Total E&P Canada Ltd.
"We had every good intention that these goods would reach the victims of Slave Lake. It's very sad for the victims of Slave Lake who could have used this stuff, but also disheartening for employees."
The dumped donations were photographed by Calgary garbage hauler Paul Nielsen, who said he was sickened when he discovered them at the Spyhill landfill earlier this week.
And to make matters worse, Nielsen said, when he alerted a supervisor at the landfill about what he had discovered, the products were buried rather than salvaged because the dump has a no-scavenging policy.
Nielsen said the boxes were clearly marked for donation to relief efforts in Slave Lake, Alta., where fires earlier this year left hundreds of people homeless. He said there were video games, children's clothing still on the store hangers, a crib, coats and new blankets.
Company left boxes at storage facility
According to labels on the boxes, the material was donated by Total E&P Canada Ltd.
Employees had held a month-long drive to collect donations for Slave Lake victims. They carefully packed up the collection and addressed it to the Red Cross, and called their internal courier to take it away.
The Red Cross, though, does not accept items for donation, only cash, so someone passed along a list of drop-off sites in the city, including Melissa Gunning's site at Sentinel Storage.
Gunning is from the Slave Lake region and has friends who lost homes to the blaze, but she lives in Calgary.
When the fires hit in May, she felt compelled to help. So she and her colleagues — juggling children and self-employment — launched a city-wide campaign to collect donations for Slave Lake residents, including blankets, clothing and toothbrushes.
She rented two storage bins at Sentinel Storage and Arcan Resources helped to cover the cost. They sent out huge trucks of items to Slave Lake, and still more donations poured in, she said. Emergency workers in Edmonton soon told her to donate some of what was collected to local charities, which she tried to do.
Overwhelmed by donations
"We still had all this stuff left in storage. Nobody would come and pick it up and unfortunately we couldn't get anybody else to drive it," said Gunning.
This past weekend, swamped by the donations from the campaign, Gunning hired some help. A junk removal company was hired to go through the remaining storage bins and sort what was good to a local charity and take the rest to the dump.
"I am very upset about it," she said when reached Wednesday. "We paid for the service for them to take some of the load off of us."
Gunning, who hasn't been able to reach the junk removal company, said she wasn't aware that new items and labelled boxes ended up at the dump until she was contacted by CBC News.AN 81-YEAR-OLD man has been accused of supplying crack cocaine to a prisoner at New Hall Jail.
Pensioner William Geoffrey Jones is charged with supplying the Class A drug and possessing it with intent to supply to a female prisoner at the jail in Flockton.
Jones is alleged to have supplied the drug on July 17 and possessed 1.35g of it with intent to supply between June and July.
He appeared at Wakefield Magistrates’ Court today (Monday) but did not enter a plea.
Prosecutor Karen Medley said the allegation was Jones had taken the drugs into the prison.
Deputy District Judge Nick Hayes told Jones his case should be heard at Leeds Crown Court.
Jones was granted bail until February when his case is expected to be sent for trial.Natural born killers: the problem with cats
By John Pickrell |
MANY OF US LOVE CATS. I love cats. But has the time come to break our addiction to them? They have been great companions since their domestication in the Middle East 10,000 years ago, and today they number more than 500 million worldwide. But the partnership is one we need to reconsider.
Australia has the world’s worst record for mammal extinctions; 28 species and subspecies, mostly marsupials, have become extinct since Europeans arrived, and many of these extinctions are linked to cats and other introduced species.
Cats are fabulous little predators. They’ve honed their skills over millions of years and, despite appearing beguilingly fluffy and adorable, they are swift and silent killers.
This we already knew, but a new study from the Smithsonian Institution, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, has revealed something shocking. It shows that free-ranging pet and feral cats in the USA kill perhaps 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals each year, most of which are natives, rather than introduced species such as brown rats.
Cats are major threat to native wildlife
The startling conclusion is that cats are the biggest human-linked cause of death for native animals in the US, with a bigger impact than habitat destruction, pesticides, pollution and collisions with cars – all regarded as more pressing conservation issues.
No such large studies have been made of the impact of cats in Australia. But the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), which runs private conservation reserves across the nation, released a report in December which estimated the impact of the 5-18 million feral cats on native species such as bilbies and numbats.
Each cat takes 5-30 animals a night, says the AWC, so (using a conservative population estimate of 15 million) they conclude that a minimum of 75 million native animals are killed daily. In a country struggling to conserve its unique fauna, the scale of this figure should not be underestimated.
Across the Tasman in New Zealand it is birds rather than mammals that have suffered, many of them flightless ground-dwellers. There’s the lamentable story of the Stephens Island wren, one of only three flightless songbirds ever known. It was discovered by lighthouse keeper David Lyall in 1894, only to be hunted to extinction by his pet cat and a number of others shortly after.
‘Cats to Go’ campaign
In total, the extinction of nine bird species and the perilous state of 33 others has been linked to cats – and this is in a country where 48 per cent of homes own them, the highest figure globally.
In January, prominent NZ economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan called on the public to do something to stop the damage. With his ‘Cats to Go’ campaign he proposes cats are phased out. Feral cats should be euthanased, he says, and people should consider not replacing pets when they die, or keeping them indoors.
Many owners don’t believe their lovable kitty is a killer, but a recent study from the University of Georgia, USA, which attached cameras to 60 pets, found almost half were active hunters. It also revealed them eating roadkill, lapping at sewer water and dodging cars – providing other good reasons to keep your cat safe at home.
Removing cats simply won’t work in Australia. The government says it isn’t feasible to eradicate feral cats on the mainland, meaning that the best hope for some endangered species is that populations will be fostered on cat-free islands, or in fenced enclosures of the kind the AWC creates.
Reducing the kills made by pet cats
It’s a different story with pets, though. If you have a cat, there are easy steps you should take to minimise the impact on local wildlife. Keeping it in at night can reduce the kills it makes by half.
Cats should also wear a collar with a bell, or, even better, a sonar beeper that produces high-pitched tones, which doesn’t bother cats, but alerts birds to their presence. Neutering stops cats procreating and makes them less likely to roam and hunt.
Of course the cats are blameless – they’re just doing what their instincts tell them. Cat owners claim to be animal lovers and, if this is true, they need to step up for our native wildlife. We’re proud of our stunning landscapes, but Australia has a shameful record when it comes to conservation.
Most people wouldn’t consider letting their dog run free in the neighbourhood, so why is it acceptable for cats? Perhaps it’s time to make this cat your last or keep future cats indoors.
John Pickrell is the editor of Australian Geographic. Follow him on Twitter @john_pickrell.
RELATED STORIESIntroduction
Though they operate thousands of branches across the country, the nation’s three biggest auto title lenders want Virginia officials to treat them as private citizens and afford them the same right to keep their financial records out of public view.
The three lenders — TitleMax of Virginia Inc.; Anderson Financial Services LLC, doing business as Loan Max; and Fast Auto Loans Inc. — have filed legal arguments asking Virginia officials to prevent financial reports they submitted to the state from being disclosed to the Center for Public Integrity.
The annual reports include detailed sales figures, volume of loans, interest rates, the number of cars repossessed when borrowers default, and how often the lenders get into trouble with state and federal regulators. TitleMax, Loan Max and Fast Auto Loans submitted heavily redacted reports last month at the request of the commission before its hearing.
In defending the redacted reports, the companies argued in their latest filings that the reports constitute “personal financial information” that should be exempt from disclosure, just as it would be for any person.
“Fast Auto’s personal financial information should be treated as confidential just as an individual’s personal financial information would be treated,” the company wrote in its filing submitted Friday.
At a Jan. 27 hearing in Richmond, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which oversees financial institutions in the state, called for more legal argument. At issue is whether the reports should be made public, as the commission’s own staff recommended last year, or if the information should be withheld from the public. Much of the debate at the hearing centered on whether the lenders should enjoy the same privacy rights for financial records as a private individual would under the law.
Attorney Erin Witte, who represented the Center for Public Integrity, argued that state financial privacy laws are meant to protect consumers, not major lending firms. The title lenders “are national corporations who are subject to tight regulations in accordance with the type of business they conduct; loaning money at triple digit interest rates to consumers at the fringes of society who often have no other financial means or option,” she wrote.
The commission’s Bureau of Financial Institutions, the regulatory division of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, agreed that companies aren’t people when it comes to shielding their finances. For 25 years the bureau “has steadfastly construed personal financial information as being limited to financial information relating to individuals,” the bureau wrote in its filing. The bureau said there is no “legal basis” for keeping the reports confidential, and they should be released.
In its brief, TitleMax noted the reports contain what it called “trade secrets,” whose release could cause the company “irreparable damage.” LoanMax called for a change in state law or an administrative rule process before a decision is made.
The Center for Public Integrity requested the annual reports from Virginia officials in November as part of an investigation into the costs of |
Shake Shack restaurant in Moscow. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, at least 1 million illegal abortions were performed in the United States each year before Roe. Today, the number of abortions performed annually is still about 1 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that almost half of U.S. pregnancies are unintended. About four in 10 of these are ended by abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and these are performed in clean, safe, medically appropriate settings.
Roe didn’t mark the beginning of an abortion era — it legalized an already widespread practice.
4. Women who end their pregnancies tend to suffer various psychological and physical illnesses.
In 2008, Johns Hopkins University researchers conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature concerning the impact of abortion on women’s mental health, finding that “the highest-quality research available does not support the hypothesis that abortion leads to long-term mental health problems.” The American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion concluded that, among women with unplanned pregnancies, the risk of mental health problems is no greater for those who obtain first-trimester abortions than for those who carry the pregnancies to term. Neither the American Psychological Association nor the American Psychiatric Association recognizes “post-abortion syndrome,” a term popularized after an abortion critic used it in 1981 when testifying before Congress.
In the 1990s, some abortion opponents claimed an association between abortion and breast cancer. In 2003, the National Cancer Institute convened a group of leading experts on the subject; it concluded that having an abortion or a miscarriage does not increase a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer.In addition, contemporary studies have found that abortions performed in the first trimester — when nearly 90 percent occur — pose virtually no long-term risk of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, birth defect, miscarriage, or pre-term or low-weight delivery.
5. “Choice” guarantees woman the opportunity to decide whether to become a mother.
The full legalization of contraception and the qualified legalization of abortion in the middle of the 20th century mean that women have a chance to make personal choices about their fertility. But some women have much better access to reproductive choices than others.
Decisions about whether to get pregnant, stay pregnant or raise a child are shaped by laws and policies that can compromise personal choice. For example, the Hyde Amendment — a rider attached to appropriations bills each year since 1976 — forbids the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion, making the decision not to be a mother financially impossible for some women.
As states pass laws making abortion practice untenable for doctors, a growing number of women live somewhere without an abortion provider. Fewer than half of states mandate sex education, and 26 give preference to “abstinence only” sex education, limiting what teenagers can learn about pregnancy prevention.
Women who lack the resources to limit reproduction — and, after giving birth, have no access to paid family leave or to quality day care — have been stigmatized by politicians. Rather than providing dignity and safety for all women, “choice” is often an economic privilege.
rickie@wakeup-arts.com
Read more from Outlook, friend us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
Rickie Solinger is the author of a number of books about the history of reproductive politics, including “Reproductive Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know.”Fnatic rule as titans on W3D1
Fnatic enters week 3 with a crushing performance, demonstrating total domination.
Michale “DreXxiN” Lalor Starcraft: Brood War Veteran and League of Legends Crew Lead. Events Attended 2013 [f]Poland[/f] Intel Extreme Masters Katowice
2013 [f]Germany[/f] Intel Extreme Masters World Championships
Fnatic came back to this week's Championship Series stronger than ever, crushing both Copenhagen Wolves and Evil Geniuses convincingly. Though they've secured a higher position on the standings, Evil Geniuses remain in the lead but are frighteningly close to dropping it to Fnatic in the near future.Tomorrow, Fnatic will be able to accomplish a tie with Evil Geniuses should they defeat Against all Authority, who accomplished pulling out their first win against the Wolves. This week also secures Fnatic in top 5 for ourCopenhagen Wolves kicks things off strong as ever with their star playerfinally joining them to play with the team. However, after a rough dive for Copenhagen Wolves, Fnatic starts off 5-0, taking out that signature early game dominance straight away from CHW.The pace of the game wouldn't change by much as Fnatic got kill after kill and took full control of the game, devestating CHW and throwing them into major desperation. There's really not much to say about a game that was such a one-sided steamroll, but Copenhagen Wolves was utterly crushed under the pressure from Fnatic.The exciting picks this week continue, with Thresh being picked up as well as a. GIANTS does a good job keeping things at a stalemate early on, though Gambit Gaming does manage to pick up the first dragon. Unfortunately for, the camp was very, very brutal for him, starting him off 1-3 early on.Though Giants appear to be playing excellently, Gambit Gaming endlessly hunts Bobeta on Sona, bringing her to 4 out of the 5 deaths on Giants. Despite this, Giants keeps the gold disparity extremely small and ties up the dragon count at 20 minutes in. Giants continues keeping themselves in the game by going for a very risky baron, only losing their poor, precious Sona in the crossfire.Despite the subtle advantages, Gambit still manages to retain kill and gold league as well as map control following the residual effects of the Nashor kill. In the end, Gambit Gaming proved the valuable experience they had over Giants, taking the second baron and shutting Giants down from taking the 2-0Copenhagen Wolves tries desperately to nail a win in the LCS against AAA and they start off on the right foot by picking up a first blood on. Fights go back and forth with clutch saves coming across bot sides but Copenhagen Wolves staying slightly ahead in the early game.AAA has definitely shown that they came to the LCS prepared and revitalized, making the Wolves anxious and open to many mistakes. AAA maintains the global advantage and quite a hefty lead upon the wolves, despite having an arguably weaker late game.Later, Copenhagen Wolves finds a perfect initiation, deleting Ezreal from the fight and still end up on the grim side of things. Things are looking a pbit rough for CHW's chances of winning at this point despite no inhibitors being down.With 3 inhibitors down and Ezreal having a full 6 item build including selling off his boots for Zephyr, Cophenagen Wolves tries to hang on hopelessly, but finally succumbs to the invasion from AAA.Fnatic vs. Evil Geniuses had a delayed start but the hype and excitement was worth it asgets to pick his precious Anivia,innovates yet again with Blitzcrank top, andplays Kayle in the jungle, as she is strong anywhere. Double teleport on Fnatic means Evil Geniuses has to be very wary of the mobility potential.xPeke would pay dearly in the laning phase by the unbanned Froggen Anivia, losing 1v1 and being first blooded by the deadly bird. EG pushes this slight lead to take the first dragon. Miraculously, xPeke keeps up in farm with blue-buff Anivia and Fnatic takes the kill lead 3-1 at 14 minutes, pushing the gold score to relatively even slightly favoring Fnatic.One of the most beautiful baits come out from Fnatic, abusing the Intervention on Yellowstar to take a tower and several kills middle, bringing them up a tower and 5 kills. Unsuspectingly for Evil Geniuses, they would find themselves crushed in the palms of sOAZ and nRated, absolutely destroying Froggen and Wicked with the grabs and instagibs. The game was a lot less close than most would have suspected and there was no secret stall strategy this time around, Fnatic came as the more prepared team and Evil Geniuses must go home and prepare harder for the next week.In a blown-up image from a scanning tunneling microscope, it looks just like an endless sheet of chicken wire: a simple flat sheet made up of a lattice of hexagons. But this nanoscopic material called graphene, first generally acknowledged to exist just five years ago, turns out to have a variety of unique, and potentially very useful, characteristics — ones several MIT researchers are actively trying to better understand and turn into real-world applications.
Graphene, a form of the element carbon that is just a single atom thick, had been identified as a theoretical possibility as early as 1947. Even as Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus, her physicist husband Gene, and others were working in the 1960s with multiple layers of graphene, many scientists were saying that such an ultra-thin sheet of matter could never be found or even made. "It was very controversial; there were many people who were skeptical," about the research, she says.
Now that it has been found, with widely publicized results published in 2004 by researchers at the University of Manchester, UK, "the topic has exploded," she says. Researchers are focusing on how to harness its properties, and trying to find ways to produce it in sufficient quantity for extensive research and eventually for commercial applications. MIT has become a major center of work on this hot topic, with several different research groups pursuing various aspects — including physical, chemical, electronic and engineering — of the novel material.
While many universities and commercial laboratories are pursuing research on graphene's basic properties or on potential applications, MIT is unusual in having faculty members involved in so many different aspects of graphene research and working collaboratively on these projects, says Tomas Palacios, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a leader of one of MIT's research groups exploring graphene's possible electronic applications.
A successor to silicon?
Eight MIT researchers, along with colleagues at Harvard and Boston University, have just received a major U.S. Department of Defense grant for graphene research. With this five-year grant, Palacios says, MIT and its collaborators "would become one of the strongest multidisciplinary teams working on graphene in the world."
Its unique electrical characteristics could make graphene the successor to silicon in a whole new generation of microchips, surmounting basic physical constraints limiting the further development of ever-smaller, ever-faster silicon chips.
But that's only one of the material's potential applications. Because of its single-atom thickness, pure graphene is transparent, and can be used to make transparent electrodes for light-based applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or improved solar cells. The potential solar cell applications are now being studied by some MIT researchers including Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Vladimir Bulovic and Associate Dean of Engineering for Research Karen Gleason.
Graphene could also substitute for copper to make the electrical connections between computer chips and other electronic devices, providing much lower resistance and thus generating less heat. And it also has potential uses in quantum-based electronic devices that could enable a new generation of computation and processing.
"The field is really in its infancy," says Michael Strano, associate professor of chemical engineering who has been investigating the chemical properties of graphene. "I don't think there's any other material like this."
The mobility of electrons in graphene — a measure of how easily electrons can flow within it — is by far the highest of any known material. So is its strength, which is, pound for pound, 200 times that of steel. Yet like its cousin diamond, it is a remarkably simple material, composed of nothing but carbon atoms arranged in a simple, regular pattern.
"It's the most extreme material you can think of," says Palacios. "For many years, people thought it was an impossible material that couldn't exist in nature, but people have been studying it from a theoretical point of view for more than 60 years."
Palacios and his team just last month published new results showing that graphene can be used to make frequency multipliers that could enable much faster computer chips and communications devices.
Once obscure, now red-hot
As early as 1981, a review article on graphene by the Dresselhauses, as well as numerous peer-reviewed papers on the subject, described the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene layers. "We weren't exactly looking for single isolated layers at that time," says Mildred Dresselhaus; rather, they were working with multiple graphene layers sandwiched between layers containing other molecules.
"These materials obviously had different properties, different from anything else," Dresselhaus says. "That's what excited us."
When she started working in 1961 on the properties of carbon and its many forms of atomic arrangements, it was not a popular subject for research, Dresselhaus recalls. "There were probably 10 people in the world" doing such research in the 1960s, she says. "Now there are thousands." At the American Physical Society annual meeting last month, she says, there were more sessions devoted to graphene and related carbon research than any other subject. "This is by far the most popular topic" in physics today, she says.
Another team studying graphene at MIT is led by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, an assistant professor of physics, who is studying its basic physical properties and using graphene's unique behavior as a way to study fundamental quantum-mechanical effects. For example, in graphene, electrons behave as if they were massless particles propagating according to the laws of relativistic quantum mechanics, a behavior that is normally reserved to particles traveling near the speed of light in accelerators or in the cosmos. Such behavior is at the heart of the ultra-high mobilities exhibited by graphene devices.
Jarillo-Herrero says that because the material is so new and its fundamental properties still being discovered, "we have some applications in mind, but many totally new ones will for sure come up as we continue doing research."
Scaling up production
Carbon atoms have a propensity to bind very strongly to each other, as well as to other kinds of atoms. The molecular bonds they form are easy to make and very hard to break. That's what gives carbon molecules and crystals their unrivaled strength.
Graphite, the material of ordinary pencil lead, is essentially a jumbled mass of tiny scraps of graphene. The trick that enabled the first demonstrations of the existence of graphene as a real separate material came when researchers at the University of Manchester applied sticky tape to a block of graphite and then carefully peeled off tiny fragments of graphene and placed them on the smooth surface of another material.
That method is sufficient for scientific research. "For the physicists, that's all they need," says Strano. "They don't care if they go to a lot of effort to make five tiny pieces, they can study those for years." But when it comes to possible commercial applications, it's essential to find ways of producing the material in greater quantities.
One of the MIT research teams, led by Jing Kong, the ITT Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, is working on developing such methods. In preliminary work, they have created sheets of graphene by chemical vapor deposition, a technique that they hope can be developed to make larger quantities of the material.
Kong's method uses equipment that is "very compatible to conventional semiconductor processing." The method "is quite straightforward, and not too expensive," she says, which could help to enable commercial applications. For specialized functions such as computer chips, further research will be needed to improve the quality and uniformity of the graphene sheets, she says, but for other applications such as solar-cell electrodes, the existing process allows the researchers to start the investigation.
Dresselhaus is a bit more cautious about making graphene sheets suitable for commercial applications for the next generation of electronics. "Incorporating them into something useful for society is already underway, but to provide the next generation of semiconductor electronics, that's really a decade away," she says. The widespread excitement about graphene "is well-deserved," she says, though it remains to be seen what applications will prove to be practical or affordable. "It has very exceptional properties, and it's simple. It's strong, it's light, and it's relatively inexpensive. I've always liked it."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 6, 2009 (download PDF).Cathy O'Brien and Mark Phillips CIA Mind Control: Out Of Darkness, Into the Light
As the issue of torturing individuals held in detention facilities plays out in the news media, two of the most successful whistleblowers are speaking out on how CIA programs such as MK-ULTRA actually involved torturing U.S. citizens, our allies citizens and how these heinous atrocities were allowed to continue under the 1947 National Security Act.
Cathy O'Brien was a White House/Pentagon level MK-ULTRA mind control victim, who claims torture was used on her to fragment her personality to make her forget secrets and criminal covert operations she had been forced to participate in over a thirty year period. "Many of the same criminals in control of the government today were in control of me," Cathy says. "And they are acutely aware that torture and trauma causes humankind to forget."
Cathy adds, "Now that torture is finally a predominant political issue, the reality of how it's actually being used continues to be kept from the public by those in control of the government and corporate media. Those who control information control knowledge, which in turn controls the thoughts, perceptions, opinions, and actions of those they inform."
What about the argument that torture is justified as a means to extract information? Cathy says, "Considering today's technological advancements, pharmaceuticals, computerization, and classified mind manipulating weaponry, it's clear to see that torture is not only archaic, but is actually a diversionary issue from more prevalent forms of mass mind manipulation being used on the human population."
Cathy was rescued in 1988 by Mark Phillips, a U.S. Intelligence insider knowledgeable on CIA mind-control techniques who acted after he was told by a Chinese Intelligence officer that Cathy and her then eight-year-old daughter, Kelly, were mind-controlled slaves of the U.S. government. Mark says that the super secret technology used on Cathy, Kelly and others is an, "evolved system of remote human physical and psychological manipulation that has only recently been officially recognized by accredited mental health physicians for what it is - absolute mind control."
Cathy and Mark circumvented the news media's blackout on their case with the greatest true life love story of extraction and recovery from the CIA's mind control project ever told.
You can hear their story along with a discussion on the issue of torture at an event called "CIA Mind Control: Out Of Darkness, Into the Light" which will be held on Friday June 5th, 2009 in Los Angeles. The event begins at 7PM at Hollywood United Methodist Church located at 6817 Franklin Avenue (at Highland Ave.). For more info call 805-653-1588 or visit GoodKarmaPR.com. A portion of the proceeds go to Children of the Night, a non profit that rescues children from the ravages of prostitution and domination of pimps.
Joining Cathy and Mark will be Dr. Colin Ross, a globally recognized expert on trauma related disorders and author of "The CIA Doctors: Human Rights Violations by American Psychiatrists." Dr. Ross provides proof, based on 15,000 pages of documents obtained from the CIA through the Freedom of Information Act, that there have been pervasive, systematic violations of human rights by American psychiatrists over the last 65 years. As well, he proves that the Manchurian Candidate "super spy" is fact, not fiction. He describes CIA documented experiments by psychiatrists to create amnesia, new identities, hypnotic access codes, and implanting new memories in the minds of experimental subjects.
Also scheduled to appear is comedian Roseanne Barr. In addition to being a champion for the rights of abused children everywhere, she was treated by Dr. Colin Ross for DID recovery.
About The Speakers and Organizers...
Cathy O'Brien is a fully rehabilitated US Government White House/Pentagon level mind control survivor whose testimony for the US Congressional Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Oversight was censored for so-called "Reasons of National Security". Upon the advice of an attorney in 1995, this testimony was released en masse in book form, aptly entitled TRANCE Formation of America, to bring truth to light and survive whistle blowing on US Government tortures. Despite media censorship and death threats and attempts, these proven, documented facts have now reached over 48 countries, been licensed and translated into 8 languages, and are in major universities worldwide such as the Oxford Law Library. More on Cathy O'Brien...
Mark Phillips is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. For nearly 30 years he was a highly successful marketing and advertising executive for two airlines and a medical equipment manufacturing company. While he lacks the published academic credentials as a scholar, professional writer, or mental health physician he is recognized internationally by mental health and law enforcement professionals as a credible authority on the secret science concerning external control of the mind. Throughout his career he also held a DoD issued Top Secret Security clearance as he was exposed to various classified behavioral modification projects. Mark was required to sign an oath of secrecy. To this day he's restricted by sedition laws from revealing certain specific still classified details that directly relates to his employment. More on Mark Phillips...
Roseanne Barr's creation and portrayal of Roseanne Conner on ABC's Roseanne has been hailed as "the most ground breaking kitchen-sink sitcom since All in the Family, (Entertainment Weekly)" adding, "She's the funniest disturber of peace that we have." In 1998, she hosted her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, for two seasons. Currently, she speaks truth to power at her website and blog RoseanneWorld.com and can be heard Wednesdays at 5PM PT on Pacifica Radio's KPFK 90.7FM. She also has a Sunday radio show at KCAARadio.com and a program on FreeSpeech TV called Tipping Point. She is proud to work with organizations such as ACORN and Children of the Night.
Dr. Colin Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of traumatic stress and trauma related disorders. He's the founder and president of the Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma and is the Executive Medical Director of three trauma programs located in Dallas, Texas - Grand Rapids, Michigan - and Torrance, California. Dr. Ross has written extensively on the subject of dissociation and trauma. His latest books include The Trauma Model: A Solution to the Problem of Comorbidity in Psychiatry and Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Associations and the Int'l Society for the Study of Traumatic Stress, and is currently a consultant on the hit Showtime series United States of Tara (1st season).
Children of the Night is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1979 that is dedicated to assisting children between the ages of 11 and 17 who are forced to prostitute on the streets for food to eat and a place to sleep. Since 1979 Children of the Night has rescued girls and boys from prostitution and the domination of vicious pimps. This much needed organization provides all programs with the support of private donations.
Good Karma PR is a small public relations firm dedicated to helping promote the works of those individuals and organizations that are doing something good for the world. Good Karma PR has worked with; Roseanne Barr, Cynthia McKinney For President, Ed Asner, John Trudell, Dr. Steven Jones, William Rodriguez, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Clifford Carnicom and Dr. Gwen Scott ND. They've also helped launch films such as America: Freedom to Fascism, Washington You're Fired and The Elephant in the Room.
Views expressed in this Press Release are not necessarily those of the United Methodist Church, or Children of the Night. This event is supported by We Are Change Los Angeles.
###Pollaiuolo’s Hercules and the Hydra (c. 1475): an image of heroic ego standing against unconscious, dark parts of the Self
In human’s inner world, rich and diverse, there is no single commanding center. On this, modern psychology agrees with the ancient Eastern teachings like Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism. The conscious ego gives the delusion of a commanding center, but in reality it is a mere observer that reflects on its surroundings, a traveler in a small boat of focused attention in the vast sea of impressions. However, despite the absence of an obvious commanding center, our psyche does have a center of gravity, located deep inside. This center of gravity is multiple by its nature, with so many facets that it becomes very hard to identify it. The ego is just a small part of this center of gravity — and being the part that we comprehend more easily, it is often mistaken for the whole. This is much like a dream, where the hero (=the ego) slays the monsters, but fails to comprehend that these monsters are his own fears and hopes, and that he, along with all other parts of the dream, is a proxy of the dreamer himself. The dreamer exists and is very real, although his reality is on a different, deeper level than that of the subjects of his dream. In a similar way, our deeper inner Self exists and is the real driving power behind the choices we make and, more generally, behind the patterns of our life. Any development and personal growth would mean improving and synchronizing the way that the Self works, empowering the Self to interact better with all its (ours) integral parts (such as ego) and with the surroundings.
From the scope of occult, the Self, which we (at The Thirteen) also name after an ancient Sumerian term “ME”, is the subject of the sinister alchemical Great Work (opus magnum), the result of this Work, and the very process of the Working. Although the Self is a concept that has many parallels in various cultures, our approach is somewhat unique. We see ME as a non-homogenous system consisting of two major parts united in the labor of Love (in Crowleyan meaning), and possibly a legion of minor parts. The two major parts are very unlike each other, and are known as Nature and Will, Mercury and Sulfur, and under many other names and guises, such as perhaps ka and ba of the ancient Egyptians or p’o and hun in Taoism. These two major parts are not intermixed into homogeneity, but interact while having plenty of empty space between them, like for example the Planets and the Sun. In addition, multiple swarms of minor planets, asteroids and comets could symbolize the third component of ME, also known as Salt and by many other names.
Observable Universe in logarithmic scale – pretty much an illustration for the internal structure of the Self
This symbolic example blends alchemy, astrology and theurgy. It also illustrates the idea of non-locality, fractality of ME, its multiplicity, since many different objects are viewed as parts of the same essential force. Besides, planets can be viewed hermetically as more than just physical bodies — Venus is alchemical Copper, passionate love, number 6 and many other wonderful things. Ancient Sumerians believed that the ME of the deities are multiplied by their temples, priests and offerings. In the same way, bits of our ME project into everything we do in our lives — our deeds, books that we write and artifacts that we craft, people that we influence, places that we are fond of, and ideas that we support. In fact, when a Magician dies, his ME (not ego or human psyche) can persist through death, being transformed by it, and continue to affect the world as a part of human culture, as a ME of a deity. Thus, an occultist is not a simple mortal: as above so below, and men are like gods. To take the astronomical analogy one step further, men are at the same time fractal parts of godly entities, and also gods in their own right — in the same way as our solar system along with many other solar systems is a part of our Galaxy. Think of planets moving around the Sun — and at the same time Sun moving around the Black Hole that is the center of our Galaxy. And the Galaxy is moving too, with a breathtaking speed, around larger centers of gravitation, and so on.
Mahavidyas: a pantheon of Hindu dark goddess as a sample of multi-identity and antinomianity of the Self
The comparison of an expanded ME with the singularity of a black hole is not accidental. While the surface of a developed human psyche resembles an analogy of the Solar System, with a polytheistic Olympic pantheon of deities patronizing the surface of our emotions, passions and energies (the classical antique Greco-Roman pantheon which lends names to our solar system planets is a good example), the deeper layers of human psyche are much darker. It was discovered by post-jungian psychologists, such as James Hillman or Miller David (see for instance The New Polytheism, Harper & Row, 1974), that once we remove monotheistic oppression from psyche and allow the inner polyphony to appear from the underneath, we can start to approach in awe the mysterious, dark, numinous Self, which is another guise for what we call ME. By its nature, this Self is antinomian towards social standards, as it contains both the conscious and the non-conscious, known and unknown, acceptable and not acceptable by the society. It is unique, personal and unlike any other, but at the same time trans-personal and links to the collective unconscious levels. It is inside and outside; it is more than one thinks that he is. Thus, such Self is fearful for the uninitiated, because it can devour social personas identified with a human ego. At the same time such Self grants humans a deeper, deified existence in return for overcoming the fears. Thus, for example, Stanton Marlan, a post-jungian psychologist, speaks of the Self as the “Black Sun” in human psyche (however, “Back Hole” would be even a better analogy). When viewed as the power behind any true initiation, ME is viral, expansionistic and infiltrating. As a serpent that seeks and charms its prey, it attracts and mesmerizes. Nietzsche suggested: find the courage to look into this Abyss once, and it will look back at you for all eternity. While a person’s first approach to ME is often accompanied by chaos and confusion (see, for instance, the rich imagery for alchemical nigredo), one can learn to work with the inner polyphony and multiplicity of Pandaemonium, and hence introduce a henotheistic approach described above.Real Madrid-Atlético Brazilian full-back a derby day doubt
Marcelo's inclusion in the Real Madrid squad for Saturday's derby clash is in serious doubt after the Brazilian defender felt some discomfort during Thursday's training session. The injury brought the session to an early end for the 27-year-old, who was forced to head for the changing rooms. Upon examination, the full-back was diagnosed with a muscle strain. It remains to be seen what reaction he has to the strain in the coming days, but this will ultimately determine whether he will be able to take his place in the line-up for the Atlético de Madrid clash.
On first sight it is not thought to be a serious injury, but the fact that there's not much at stake in the derby, given the advantage that league leaders Barcelona currently hold over Real Madrid, plus the consideration that Marcelo has been playing through the pain barrier with an injury to his right shoulder in the last two games, could well mean that he is not risked.
In any event, the final decision on Marcelo's inclusion will be taken after Friday's training session, which will be the last prior to the Santiago Bernabéu showdown.BEN Westria* blushes as he tells me that at times in his life, he likes to represent himself as a woman. His embarrassment is curious. And sad.
Ben's female identity is no secret to me. His email was sent in her name (from his address). She is part of the reason I have gone to see him.
More: Just because a man wears a dress, doesn't mean he's gay
But Ben often feels embarrassed when he steps into her shoes. That is the other part of the reason that I have gone to see him.
As a female, he has felt like he has been the butt of hurtful jokes and snide comments to the point where he found a trip to the supermarket traumatic.
"They know me and they used to make fun of me and laugh at me," Ben says. "They were looking at me and laughing at me. That's what most people do."
Ben was diagnosed as transgender five years ago. The Sunshine Coast 47-year-old lives a life of conflict and pain.
He struggles with who he is, not completely comfortable with the diagnosis, not completely comfortable being him, and made to feel uncomfortable about being her.
He says his attempt to seek redress from the supermarket proved fruitless.
"I confronted the young woman and asked her what she found to be so funny. She said, 'I'm not laughing at you'," he says. "Like everybody says."
"The manager came down and had a talk to me. I came home and he rang me up and told me not to come back. He told me I was banned and not to come back."
Ben says he lodged a complaint with the Federal Human Rights Commission over the ban but it was unable to act because the store refused to participate in proceedings.
He says he has made complaints to the Commissioner about 14 businesses on the Coast where he feels the treatment by staff has been embarrassing and demeaning. "They just laugh at you, make fun of you. It's discrimination, vilification."
"It's not very nice to have someone laugh at you and make fun of you."
Discrimination: Photographer rejects gay couple as clients
Ben's troubles go back to when his father died when he was 10. His mother began "playing the field" and he was often left at home alone for long periods. "I used to go and get a dress from her wardrobe and hold on to it and cry myself to sleep."
He believes he dresses as a woman as a coping mechanism. "I think I've got the wrong diagnosis. I think when I can't cope, that's what I do. It relaxes me."
After he was diagnosed as transgender, Ben took hormone drugs to help his body develop female characteristics.
But he has found an additional drug prescribed by a new doctor has reduced his desire to dress as a woman.
As a result of that, and the hurtful responses he has received to him as a woman, he has decided to stick to being Ben for the time being
"I don't want to be transgender any more. The discrimination is too unfair. You wouldn't believe it. If I weighed everything up, I'd probably identify as a male."
However, he is still obviously divided about his decision. "It's hard. I still like the shoes," he says, managing a smile.
Ben's decision to try to live life as a man is also motivated by the isolation of being transgender.
"If you're going to be transgender, you're going to be lonely for the rest of your life. I don't' want to be lonely. I'm not interested in males, I'm interested in females but that (sort of relationship) won't happen if you're transgender."
Ben lives with his ex-wife and their school-age son, who is more open to Ben's womanly ways than many of the adults around him.
"He says, 'Dad, I don't care what they think'," Ben says.
For the time being, Ben asks for nothing except people's polite acceptance of him, whoever he is, and other transgender people.
"Be mindful. Mindful of people who are different. ''
* Ben Westria has been used instead of the subject's real name at his request to protect him and his family from further vilification.
WHEN YOU NEED HELP
For transgender support:
The Australian Transgender Support Association of QLD (ATSAQ), http://www.atsaq.com/new-g-clinic.html
Open Doors Youth Service, http://www.opendoors.net.au
Seahorse Society of Queensland, http://seahorseqld.atspace.orgThe ACA relies on a system of state-level and federal exchanges where Americans can buy healthcare with the help of subsides and tax credits. In 34 states that declined to set up their own exchanges, healthcare seekers can purchase plans on exchanges established by the federal government.
The plaintiffs in King v. Burwell had argued that Congress did not authorize the federal subsidies and tax credits central to the healthcare law, since the text of the law is vague about their funding source.
"The ACA is here to stay," Obama said in remarks delivered after the court's ruling. "Today is a victory for hard-working Americans all across this country."
The ruling, which preserves health insurance for millions of Americans, marks a second major victory for President Barack Obama in preserving what has become one of the most significant achievements of his presidency, and a favorite target of the Republican political opposition.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the Unites States has upheld a crucial element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), stating that those who buy healthcare through the federal marketplace should receive taxpayer subsidies.
Read more
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the Unites States has upheld a crucial element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), stating that those who buy healthcare through the federal marketplace should receive taxpayer subsidies.
The ruling, which preserves health insurance for millions of Americans, marks a second major victory for President Barack Obama in preserving what has become one of the most significant achievements of his presidency, and a favorite target of the Republican political opposition.
"The ACA is here to stay," Obama said in remarks delivered after the court's ruling. "Today is a victory for hard-working Americans all across this country."
The plaintiffs in King v. Burwell had argued that Congress did not authorize the federal subsidies and tax credits central to the healthcare law, since the text of the law is vague about their funding source.
The ACA relies on a system of state-level and federal exchanges where Americans can buy healthcare with the help of subsides and tax credits. In 34 states that declined to set up their own exchanges, healthcare seekers can purchase plans on exchanges established by the federal government.
The suit sought to rollback the tax subsidies behind these federal exchanges because the wording of the initial ACA referred to funding for exchanges "established by the State."
'Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.'
The Obama administration had argued that opponents of the ACA were misrepresenting the legislature's intent and quibbling over the definition of the word "state." In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed.
"The combination of no tax credits and an ineffective coverage requirement could well push a State's individual insurance market into a death spiral," he wrote. "It is implausible that Congress meant the Act to operate in this manner."
Roberts argued that upholding the law aligned with the legislature's initial |
of Anna's lips she had felt on her fingers wasn't enough. And so, she soon found herself placing her hand on Anna's cheek and softly caressing it, revealing on how smooth and flawless and full of freckles her skin was.
When her sister swallowed, she looked up at her, and Elvira got lost in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes that couldn't decide if they were blue or green. Those eyes that had been haunting her dreams for more years she would admit. The eyes that were framed with long eyelashes, and that were always full of mischief, excitement, and sheer joy for anything and everything. The eyes that belonged to the person she loved most, to the only person she'd fallen for. Those same eyes were so close, looking at her with so much affection and anticipation… she just had to lean in.
Elvira felt like a pleasant tingling all over her body when her lips touched Anna's. Kissing her was just like how she'd imagined countless times, except better because now it was real. Her lips felt thin and soft and wet as she started massaging them, and offered no resistance to her ministrations. Feeling bolder, and wanting to get even more contact, Elvira pressed her tongue against them, silently asking to be let in and, at the same time, savoring the remaining of chocolate on them. Anna gasped, and she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, knowing this could very well be the last chance she had to do something like that. She knew she shouldn't be kissing Anna without permission, but… she just couldn't contain herself. And this felt so good. She needed more.
Anna was shocked, to say the least, when she felt her sister's lips over hers. She didn't feel disgust, or revulsion, or even the need to pull away as she'd imagined though. Heck, a part of her even found it somewhat pleasant! But this was her sister. This was not Elsa. No matter if they shared the same DNA, they were two completely different people, which meant she was technically cheating on her girlfriend.
Nevertheless, she found herself trying to memorize the way Elvira kissed her, and compare it with Elsa's. It was definitely rougher, and hungrier, and probably more desperate. But it was also more active, and bolder, and it was obvious Elvira had had a lot of practice. She had to consciously suppress a moan when Elvira lightly bit her lower lip, because damn! It felt good. Even if she wouldn't admit it.
However, even though Elvira and Elsa kissed very differently, it was also pretty similar in many aspects. Like the texture; their lips were equally full and smooth, and their tongues had exactly the same feeling. And the taste was also similar. There was also the way Elvira had caressed her cheek before she started to kiss her. It was so tender and full of love she could easily compare it to some of the most intimate moments she'd had with Elsa.
But she didn't want to think she could maybe, perhaps, possibly… have some feelings for her sister. Sure, if she indeed felt attraction for her sister (and she definitely didn't), it probably wasn't nearly as strong as what she felt for Elsa, but… that didn't mean it wasn't there.
She just was so confused! She didn't know what to do. Because yes, the right thing would be to push Elvira away, but she didn't want to hurt her feelings. At least not too much. So maybe the best was to wait till she'd finished assaulting her mouth. After all, it wasn't as if she wasn't enjoying herself… But only because it reminded her of when she was with Elsa. Totally.
Finally, Elvira pulled away, breathless and panting, and with her cheeks redder than Anna's hair. But when she opened her eyes, her look was one of doubt and pure fear, fear for what her little sister would say now. Anna knew this, and she absolutely didn't want to go on and break her heart, but… she wasn't going to leave Elsa either. No, she loved her just too much for that. And yes, maybe she had felt something when Elvira kissed her, but it wasn't enough to make her forget about all the amazing things she'd experienced with her girlfriend.
The redhead swallowed, trying to regain composure and order her mind, so she could express what she was feeling as clear as possible. Elvira deserved and explanation after all, especially since she hadn't pushed her away during the kiss.
"Uhm… Elvira, look, I-I…" Anna started, but was interrupted by the ringing that came from Elvira's phone. The older girl just groaned, took it and pressed the hang-up sign without even checking who was calling.
"Don't mind that." Elvira said, almost too eager to know what Anna was trying to say. But then again, she was finally going to get the question that had tormented her for so many years answered: did Anna had feelings for her or nor? So it was understandable she was so eager.
"Are you sure? It could be important." Anna said, feeling sorry for whoever had called Elvira.
"Yeah, sure. Now, you were saying?"
"Uh… I was saying that…" Once again, she was interrupting by Elvira's phone, but before the older girl cold hang up one more time, she stopped her. "Wait! You should answer. If they're insisting, it must be important." She said, though she wasn't sure if it was because she wanted Elvira to answer, or because she really didn't want to break her sister's heart and would delay it as much as possible.
"Fine." Elvira rolled her eyes and answered the call, putting the cellphone on her ear. "Hello?" She greeted the person who'd called her with an annoyed tone of voice. "Yes, I'm Elvira Summers." Then she listened for a few seconds, her face getting paler and paler as whatever they were saying registered into her mind, before finally saying something. "A-are you sure?" Her voice sounded insecure and afraid. And sad. It scared Anna; whatever she was being told surely wasn't good. "I see…" Elvira swallowed. "We'll be there shortly." And she hung up, but kept staring at her cellphone for a few seconds with a shocked expression.
"What is it, Elvira? What happened?" Anna asked, worried as to why her sister was acting like that after such a short call, more so when she saw a tear fell from Elvira's eyes as she looked up at her, and heard her shaky voice.
"Anna… our parents…"
A/N: Yes, another cliffhanger, for the second chapter in a row! How evil is that? XD (sorry, I just love cliffhangers). Also, don't worry about the kiss Elvira stole from Anna; it doesn't in any way mean that Anna will choose her over Elsa.
Anyways, thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter and, if you did, leave a review. I'd especially like to know your thoughts about it, as well as your theories about what the phone call was all about. I really, really appreciate every review, even negative ones, because that way I can know what you like and don't like. So... Yeah, please take the time to write one if you can.
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :).According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Raptors are close to signing Gary Forbes to a three-year offer sheet, with a team option on the final year. Gary Forbes, 26, is expected to provide depth at both wing spots.
Forbes went undrafted out of University of Massachusetts in 2008 and played basketball professionally in the Philippines, Venezuela, Italy, Israel and the NBDL before making the Denver Nuggets regular season roster this past season. In 52 games in the D-League, Forbes averaged 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 49 per cent from the floor and 39 per cent from the three-point line.
With the Nuggets he averaged 5.2 points in 12.6 minutes off the bench. In 11 games as a starter, he averaged 9.5 points and four rebounds on 50.6 field goal percentage. In five games as a starter at small forward, he averaged 11 points shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the three-point line.
Forbes possesses a 6’11’ wingspan and that length should help him on the defensive side of the floor. But according to 82games.com, the Nuggets allowed an effective field goal percentage of 53.1 percent when he was on the court and 49.2 percent when he was off it. The team’s defense, points allowed per 100 possessions, was 113.6 when he was on and 107.2 when he was off.
This past summer he represented Panama at the 2011 FIBA Americas, where he averaged 16.6 points and 5 rebounds in eight games. Unfortunately he managed to shoot only 32.6 per cent from the floor.
His breakout game came against Team Canada, when he lit up the Rautins led squad with 39 points on 61.5 per cent shooting from the floor. This was the only game where Forbes shot over 40 per cent.
The dollar amount of the deal is still unknown; however it is not expected to reduce the team’s cap flexibility next summer. The Nuggets have three days to match Forbes’ offer sheet.
Follow me on twitter @hasanalanam.**I warn you that this is a LONG post – over 4000 words – but the piece to which I’m responding had so much to unpack, I didn’t want to leave things out. In honesty, though, I still feel like I left a lot out of what I would like to say. Furthermore, in a rush to try and get this up, I expect there are typos, so forgive me, and I may make some changes in the days to come. In the meantime, happy (?) reading…***
The New York Times recently published an opinion piece on breastfeeding written by a University of Toronto Political Science professor. In this article, she takes breastfeeding to task, or rather, the supposed societal push to breastfeed and the “pushy” lactivists who are righteous and out to force women to breastfeed.
Pardon me while I bang my head against the wall.
There is nothing new in Dr. Jung’s opinion that hasn’t been said over and over again recently. Based on articles like these, one would think we have a society filled with breastfeeding moms out bashing the rare woman who dares to pull out a bottle to feed her baby. That women with bottles frequently hide at home, afraid of the backlash of a vicious majority. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t even say you support breastfeeding anymore unless you add a million caveats about choice, societal problems, and so on. To admit you might be one to fight for women’s rights to do what is biologically normal if she wants is somehow akin to hanging a sign around your neck claiming you’re a bully who doesn’t give a shit about women.
So here we are again with another opinion piece, one trying to dismiss the work done by many to create a cultural change in which breastfeeding is supported. An opinion that is based on so many incorrect numbers or analyses that I lost count early on. An opinion that gets to be given more weight because this mom breastfed and that should make her opinion worth more, or so she seems to think.
No. Just no.
If we’re going to talk about these issues, let’s talk about them and clear up the insane misrepresentations that are rampant in this piece. Let’s make sure we don’t gloss over some very important issues when it comes to how accessible and “safe” formula is in the United States (where the focus of the original opinion is). Let’s make sure we accurately represent the people involved in this fight to normalize and support breastfeeding.
So here we go.
Breastfeeding Rates
The very first part of Dr. Jung’s argument seems to stem from the fact that the US actually has better breastfeeding rates than other places. Rates that are meeting the goals set by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Seventy-nine percent of women initiate breastfeeding and 49% are breastfeeding at six months. Sounds okay, right? Sure, these numbers aren’t bad, but when you consider the World Health Organization recommendation that infants be breastfed exclusively for six months (and then breastfed combined with solids for up to 2 years and beyond), something seems a little off. First off, that 49% isn’t exclusive breastfeeding, it’s any breastfeeding. When exclusive breastfeeding is examined, only 18.8% of babies meet this goal (and even fewer are breastfeeding at 12 months).
Is this better than other countries? Absolutely. Does this mean that there is nothing to work on? Absolutely not. Using comparisons to other countries as a means to say “Hey – don’t worry” is asinine. If you compared rates of diabetes or heart disease to other countries and discovered some were worse, would you advocate to stop efforts at reducing rates in your own country? Hopefully not, or if you would, hopefully you aren’t in a position to make that decision for the people of your country.
The “Moral Fervor”
Dr. Jung argues that because these rates are good enough, she fails to understand the “moral fervor” that has led to all sorts of changes like education campaigns, hospital initiatives, and so on. I’m sorry, but these initiatives are part of why the USA is meeting the goals it set out for breastfeeding. Not only that, but these initiatives still only affect a fraction of the population in the USA.
Baby-friendly hospitals? Only 292 hospitals meet this criteria and only 14.1% of births take place in them. Women who want proper breastfeeding support and assistance have to seek out hospitals that will support them and women in 3 states won’t even be able to find one. In one survey, 70% of hospitals admitted to giving all families formula upon leaving the hospital.
Work regulations? Well, the only Federally mandated one is the Affordable Care Act and it’s estimated that it affects less than 50% of working women. That means as much as it allows for breaks for pumping and a place to pump, less than half of working women get to take advantage of it.
Social pressure? This one always confuses me. You can’t go a day without seeing discrimination against women for breastfeeding in public – it’s so bad that women need laws to protect their right to feed their babies from the breast. Less than half of women are breastfeeding at all at six months, less than 1 in 5 are exclusively breastfeeding. If the social pressure were so great, wouldn’t we expect to see different numbers? Most women I know who are breastfeeding at six months have done so despite societal pressure to switch to formula, even just to supplement.
The only “moral fervor” I have seen regularly applied is from those who are offended that anyone would actually continue to fight for women’s and baby’s rights to breastfeed and be breastfed. Yet articles like this place their outrage on those who fight for paid maternity leave (something lacking in the USA that Dr. Jung alludes to when referencing pumping) instead of using it as reason to not fight for breastfeeding. They are the ones who help women find ways to make breastfeeding work for them if they want it. They are the ones who look at a broken system and try to find ways to make it work, because for all the upset over these initiatives, the system before was not working. It was failing far more women.
(See here for a letter to send to your representative to get Paid Maternity Leave in the USA.)
The Research
This one drives me nuts, I must admit. Clearly Dr. Jung’s Political Science degree did not include much in the way of understanding quantitative research or statistics. Let’s first discuss the issue of how the “benefits” of breastfeeding may be “modest”. Breastfeeding is biological norm for human beings. There are no benefits. I realize this is a hugely contentious issue, but it’s very important we understand what our baseline for research needs to be.
Human beings, as mammals, expect certain biological behaviours. In terms of feeding, this includes exclusive breastfeeding for approximately six months and continued nursing with solid foods until a child reaches age 2-3, minimum. When we move away from this biological norm, it is up to us to research the effects of this, and this puts the onus on formula to show there is no risk associated with its use (or the risk falls within an acceptable range). Just as we examine the risks of other changes to our biology, like the use of the birth control pill (we never speak of the “benefits” of not being on the pill) or a diet filled with fast food (again, we don’t speak of the “benefits” of avoiding McDonalds), the same holds for breastfeeding. Or rather, should hold. The fact that it doesn’t speaks to the power of the formula industry and the societal push for formula to be seen as the norm.
With that out of the way, what does research tell us? Well, Dr. Jung first focuses on telling us the research says the “benefits” of breastfeeding are only “modest”. Given how the research has been done, it’s shocking anything is found at all. The vast majority of breastfeeding research has treated breastfeeding as something that can be done outside this biological norm and still confer “benefits”. It assumes that breastfeeding is something magical where one or two feeds can provide your baby with everything it needs to have a successful life.
Holding anything up to that standard will fail.
Yet we still see “modest benefits”. Hmmm.
Really what we do have, though, is evidence that as soon as biologically normal breastfeeding is included in analyses, we see the risks associated with not breastfeeding in this manner. We’ve seen effects on risk for certain subtypes of childhood cancer, obesity, SIDS, respiratory tract infections, and more in infants as well as risk for certain subtypes of cancer in women as well. Interestingly, she fails to mention the well-established findings pertaining to gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory tract infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. Even the PROBIT trials, in which Dr. Jung focuses on areas where effects were not found, found many benefits that she seems to gloss over. The only “benefit” she mentions is cognitive development, one she likely feels comfortable mentioning as she then tries to use recent problematic research that says there is no link between breastfeeding and IQ, a study so problematic that the only possible conclusion is that a single breastfeeding session will not affect IQ. If you needed a study to tell you that then we need to talk about your grasp on reality.
Is breastfeeding/formula-feeding research great? No, though that is starting to change. Our understanding of confounding factors in breastfeeding research means these are being controlled for. Even the understanding that we need to be making comparisons to biologically normal breastfeeding means some (though not all, as was the case for the breastfeeding-IQ research mentioned above) researchers are ensuring they assess exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding instead of just “ever breastfed”.
Dr. Jung then moves on to tackle the issue of the “benefits” of breastfeeding during the period babies are breastfed, claiming that we shouldn’t put too much stock in them either. Here I can only assume she doesn’t quite understand the number needed to treat for an intervention given how quickly she dismisses the data she herself presents.
She says six women would need to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months to prevent one ear infection, a number so amazingly high it would receive a green light in any research on interventions. She mentions that 1 in 26 babies can avoid hospitalization for a respiratory tract infection if mom breastfeeds exclusively. To put this in perspective, bypass surgery has been found to have a NNT of 1 in 25 to prevent death over 10 years from another heart attack yet also includes risks of harm from the surgery itself (e.g., 1 in 14 required extended life support and 1 in 83 died from surgery) and we consider it a huge success. Steroid use for croup gets a green light for an NNT of 11 for avoiding a return visit to the doctor and 5 for improving symptoms. And these are numbers for cases in which children and adults already have the disease. The breastfeeding numbers are preventative.
If you consider that there are approximately 4 million babies born each year, that’s 666,666 ear infections and 153,846 hospitalizations for RTIs avoided. All this for an act that is biologically normal and expected by human babies. If one thinks about the cost to the health care system and how biologically normal breastfeeding is what results in the most noticeable changes, is it any wonder there’s a “moral fervor” to try and increase rates even more? Furthermore, it doesn’t even mean that women need to breastfeed themselves, but rather we need to focus on providing breast milk and ending the stigma of donor milk.
(Of note, the accusation that some of these findings are from research funded by companies that have a stake in breastfeeding without mention that some of the studies that do not find results are funded by formula companies is just beyond unethical here. It’s okay to call out one, but mention the proportion of research and that it goes both ways. Exactly why we need to look at the research itself to see how good it is.)
The Big Business of Breastfeeding
Forget the formula industry, we need to consider how much money there is in breastfeeding! By 2020, the breast-pump market might hit $1 billion a year in the USA! And with all the other things like pillows and covers, it could get close to $3 billion a year for it all! It seems we just need to follow the money to see where this “moral fervor” is coming from, right?
Um… WTF?
So in 5 years, we’re expecting the entire breast-pump market to approximate what the top-selling formula brand in the USA makes at this moment. Yes, Similac Advance (just Similac Advance, not all Similac brands), who holds the #1 spot in the USA, has a market share of $791 million. When you consider the top 10 formula brands (as there are even more than that), we’re talking about $3.16 billion, less than what we’re expecting the entire breastfeeding market to provide. And this doesn’t include bottles or the “follow-up formula” that formula companies are producing and selling to formula and breastfeeding families alike.
And this doesn’t even consider the unethical marketing practices of these very same companies in developing countries. But yes, by all means let’s focus on the evil, money-grubbing breastfeeding companies!
The Shaming Debate
Yes, breastfeeding has become all about what kind of parent we are. Good mothers breastfeed, shit mothers use formula. Yada, yada. Oddly, the people that push this the most are the formula companies. Wonder who came up with “Breast is Best”? Formula companies. Ads that tell us we’re fighting amongst ourselves? Formula companies. As I (and many others) have written on over and over, there are individual assholes out there that mothers should look out for no matter how they feed their babies, but lactivists and lactation consultants are hardly the enemy. They are people who fight to support women in ways that actually support their choices instead of balking when hard times hit and saying, “It doesn’t matter if you use formula”. That’s not support.
Let’s not forget the little detail that when it comes to “shaming”, breastfeeding women – a minority – require legal statutes to be able to breastfeed outside their homes. They face discrimination on a regular basis while out eating or shopping because of their choice to breastfeed. They are told they are child abusers if they breastfeed too long. They are told they are immoral or disgusting if they nurse without a cover in public. They are shamed over and over and over again. Every day I read multiple comments from people about how “disgusting” breastfeeding is. Recently I was faced with a tweet by a man who said if his “girl” ever breastfed in public, he’d whip her across her tits.
The USA is a society that is so unsupportive of breastfeeding and has so normalized formula-feeding that to try and suggest the shaming is a one-way street is so biased and incorrect that it would be comical if it wasn’t so sad.
Racial and Economic Disparities
Are there racial and economic disparities in breastfeeding rates? Yes.
Is this the fault of breastfeeding advocates? No.
Is it reason to end breastfeeding advocacy? What the hell?
Look – there are racial and economic disparities in a ton of areas in our society – take education for example. People who are trying to reform education do so in part because of these disparities. By a similar argument to Dr. Jung’s (and many, many others), this is akin to “shaming” those who have to attend poor quality schools and thus we should be angry with those who promote access to better education. In short, it’s ridiculous. The fact that racial and economic disparities exist is not a reason to censor discussion over the risks of formula feeding or non-biological breastfeeding. Just as they are not a reason to censor discussion on education or later dietary and health choices.
Moreover, recent research that was presented at the annual meeting for the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine found that breastfeeding may actually be something that evens the playing field based on socio-economic differences. That is, exclusive breastfeeding was found to moderate differences in cognitive development based related to lower SES; those who were exclusively breastfeed did not show the same effect of SES on cognitive development than those who were not. This research is preliminary, but if it holds up in long-term studies, this has huge public health implications and should provide our politicians with even more of a push to create policies that support women’s rights to breastfeed and breastfeed exclusively.
(To read up on the highlights of the recent research mentioned at the ABM 2015 conference, here is a great summary from an attendee.)
In fact, lactivists have attempted to end this disparity by pushing for better education and support for minority and lower SES groups, yet even these attempts are being called out by those against any form of breastfeeding advocacy. It’s almost as if they want things to stay in this segregated manner and ignore the other issues facing lower SES families who formula feed.
Yes, that’s right, there’s inequality in formula feeding as well with lower SES families facing serious problems such as access to safe water (even in the United States), enough money to afford enough formula for the month, the proper preparation of formula and sterilization of bottles to avoid disease, and the early introduction of solids or even watering down formula. These are all issues that face too many families in the USA, yet in the privileged discussion of “choice” this is all happily ignored.
Oh Those Policies!
Dr. Jung takes much offense to policies in the USA that she feels shame formula-feeding mothers. Here is where I’d like to say that she raises some good points about the policies in place (some, not all), but where her anger is misdirected. Instead of blaming inept politicians, she decides to go after lactivists, which is woefully ignorant and unfair.
Where I find Dr. Jung to be wrong in her assessment of policy is her idea that labeling breastfeeding as a public health issue portrays mothers who don’t as bad parents and irresponsible citizens as it blatantly ignores that it is a public health issue. It has nothing to do with shaming individual mothers, but rather acknowledges that the societal effects – financially and health-wise – of breastfeeding are too important to ignore. By labeling it as such, the American Academy of Pediatrics and surgeon general have brought the issue to the forefront of politics where it had previously been swept under the rug. Only with this type of awareness can we make real progress in terms of policies that need to be implemented to help women. (Though because of the ineptness of politicians, this is not actually happening in ways anyone appreciates.)
The discussion of WIC policies in her article has many people – rightfully – up in arms, but they are up in arms at the wrong people. Yes, WIC wants to promote breastfeeding because, as previously mentioned, it is a public health issue, but Dr. Jung forgets that there are financial and practical realities of a public subsidy program that need to be mentioned as well. People seem to forget that WIC pays for a large portion of the formula provided to moms who do not breastfeed, money that is used for the extended food package for moms who do. For example, in the first six months, an exclusive formula WIC package costs 25% more than an exclusive breastfeeding package. (Interestingly, the cheapest option for WIC would be to have every mother-infant dyad on the partial breastfeeding package for the entire first year of a baby’s life.)
Should all moms have access to good, healthy foods? Abso-freaking-lutely, but when someone else is paying for it, you can bet they’re going to be pretty stringent with the money they spend and when it’s the government, that pesky issue of public health is also going to play into it (remember the numbers for infections and hospital visits?).
Is this right or fair?
Not really, for a few reasons. First, although formula is supplemented with vitamins and minerals, hopefully no one actually believes that this replaces high-quality whole food in terms of the health benefits. Second, it ignores the varied reasons women make the choices they do with respect to infant feeding; until other policies are in place that support women’s right to make an actual choice (*cough* paid leave *cough*), it does come across as punishment for some women. Third, given the racial and economic disparity that already exists in infant feeding practices, it does, as Dr. Jung states, serve to create greater health disparities between the haves and have nots (for even within those who use WIC, there are differences). But none of this was instituted by breastfeeding advocates. These were instituted by inept politicians. Let’s be clear that breastfeeding advocates aren’t out celebrating these disparities. More often than not, they are equally disparaging of policies that put the best interests of moms and babies behind the dollar bill.
I agree completely with Dr. Jung that the USA needs better policies in place such as paid maternity leave, flexible work schedules, on-site daycare, and so on. These are things breastfeeding advocates have been pushing for far longer than the anti-breastfeeding brigade. The entire basis of this past year’s World Breastfeeding Week was on working mothers and pushing for changes that enabled working moms to reach their breastfeeding goals. Yet even that week, we were all treated to an endless barrage of how horrible lactivists are and how we just need to say “formula is just as good”. Yet in no world does that attitude help foster change for anyone.
Choice
Here we get to the crux of the entire argument and perhaps the hardest part to rationally discuss. Choice. Or rather a woman’s choice to breastfeed or not. (Of course there is also the often-overlooked issue of whether or not a baby should get any say in this as breast milk is often preferred by babies and is their biological norm. All I will say on this is that we need, need, need more of a push to normalize donor milk for women who can’t or don’t want to breastfeed but also don’t want to use formula.)
There are a ton of considerations here and no lactivist I know believes women should be denied the choice to breastfeed or use an alternative. None. So all this mythical movement of people who are out trying to stamp out choice really seems to be a fear tactic used by those who really seem hell-bent on keeping things the same. And by “same” I mean a society where “choice” is still an illusion.
According to a recent CDC report on breastfeeding and the experiences of American women, some startling data emerged, such as:
60% of American women who want to breastfeed don’t reach their goals;
74% of American hospitals routinely fed formula to breastfed babies with no medical indication, just because it’s what they do;
55% of American hospitals do not have rooming-in for the entire stay of a newborn and mom despite that being one of the biggest predictors of breastfeeding success (and no, this isn’t about choice either, it’s hospital policy).
Where is the choice in any of this? How are women actually given a choice to breastfeed when everything is stacked against them? And when changes, like baby-friendly hospitals, come into play to try and enable choice, backlash like what we see here in Dr. Jung’s piece (and many others) comes flooding to the surface and try to make it seem like the majority are being persecuted. (Yes, even in baby-friendly hospitals you can use formula by choice. You just have to get it yourself, not exactly impossible, is it?)
No policy change and no group is out trying to stop women from using formula. None. La Leche League is a volunteer organization of women who help and support one another in their breastfeeding journey. You don’t want to breastfeed? LLL isn’t a place you’re going to be going. Lactation Consultants are professionals who are trying to help women reach their goals of breastfeeding and yet even they will often recommend formula for short periods or even ongoing when the need or want arises. Again, you choose to go to one, they don’t come knocking at your door. The rest of us “lactivists” are out there pushing for proper information so women can make informed choices, or changes to policies that can help women reach their goals, no matter what they are, because of the immense importance to women’s mental health when they are able to complete these goals. We share this information on a public stage that everyone is welcome to ignore if they want. So again, if you want to formula feed, go ahead. You’re in the majority.
I hear of more women reporting being told they should be switching to formula or supplementing than anything else, yet we don’t seem to have a problem with that, do we? The myth of the “anti-choice” people taking over is based solely on the idea that there may be a few people out there who take an extreme view (though no one ever provides concrete examples of this on a large scale). It doesn’t exist on any significant scale, though any personal attack sucks, but they exist on all sides of, well, everything. Women trying to breastfeed have faced personal attacks for years, with doctors and family and friends telling them everything from “You’re starving your child” to “You’re sexually abusing your child” for their nursing habits.
All those of us who care about breastfeeding are fighting for is a change to the status quo.
Changing the status quo is not taking away your choice. It’s actually providing choices to those who haven’t had them before. So, on that note I will end with this: A woman should formula-feed if she wants to, not because a broken system forced her to.A White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill - designed to get Britain’s laws in shape for Brexit - will be published later this week.
Mrs May wants to use a 500-year-old power known as Henry VIII clauses that would allow her to change existing laws without Parliament’s full approval.
The provisions are so named from the Statute of Proclamations 1539 which gave King Henry VIII power to legislate by proclamation.
Ministers insist they need the powers to “correct” European laws that refer to EU bodies soon to be defunct after Brexit.
However the proposals have triggered outcry from political opponents who say it means any legal changes will get less parliamentary scrutiny than usual.
In an olive branch to critics who claim the move is a "power grab", Mrs May will propose that the powers only last for a limited amount of time.
“The Government is clear that such a power will be time-limited, to apply before the UK leaves the EU and for a limited period afterwards,” a Whitehall source said.
Mrs May will also proposed that the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Parliament's are given the same power.
The announcement is an apparent attempt to head off criticism of the SNP, who could try to block the change in the Scottish Parliament.
A Government source said: “Next week will mark a defining moment in this country's history, when the Prime Minister invokes Article 50 and opens the way for formal negotiations to leave the European Union and build a truly Global Britain.TUCSON, AZ (SatireWire.com) — Accusing the Arizona shootings of callously “tragedizing” politics, hundreds of media pundits gathered in this stricken city today in a vigil for shallow partisanship and angry rhetoric, which they said have been victimized by the horrific event.
Under increasing pressure not to be caustic and divisive, the commentators denounced the massacre for being the kind of tragedy that threatens their ability to be caustic and divisive. The pundits, hailing from major news outlets, radio networks and the blogosphere, assembled in a local high school gym. In a solemn procession, one after the other, they spoke of the devastating impact the tragedy.
“Just a few short days ago, life was normal,” began conservative columnist Ann Coulter. “We hated. We provoked. We insinuated. We attacked those on the other side for what they did, for what they said, but mostly for being on the other side.”
“But then came Jan.9,” continued MSNBC host Ed Schultz, who took the microphone from Coulter. “Within hours, many on the right blamed the left. Many on the left blamed the right. And many on the right blamed the left for blaming the right, which led to the left blaming the right for blaming the left for blaming the right. Things were, in other words, as they should be. Or so we thought.”
“But this tragedy seems to be different,” added Fox host Sean Hannity. “Average people, middle Americans, don’t like that I constantly labeled the shooter a left-wing pothead who read Karl Marx.”
“They don’t like that I tweeted ‘Mission Accomplished Sarah Palin,’” said Markos Moulitsas, founder of the left-wing Daily Kos.
“They don’t like that I called the Tucson sheriff a fool for insinuating that spewing anger somehow incites people to anger,” said Rush Limbaugh.
“They don’t like that I took pot shots at Palin’s self-centered response to the tragedy,” noted Democratic strategist Paul Begala of CNN.
“And they just generally don’t like me,” added Sarah Palin in a pre-recorded video.
“And after President Obama gave his speech, which even most conservatives conceded was appropriate, they were unhappy that I stuck to my partisan guns and accused the White House of ‘branding’ the shooting, and of organizing the memorial as an Obama pep rally,” said right-wing columnist Michelle Malkin. “And I’m using ‘stuck to my guns’ as a metaphor, by the way.”
“In the aftermath of this horrific event, our politics |
in a fleet review off Sagami Bay in October 2015. Helicopter destroyers combine with Japanese subs to give Tokyo exceptional anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The Japanese submarine Oyashio, escorted by a Japanese destroyer, arrives at the former US naval base in Subic Bay, Philippines, in April 2016. Submarines are considered a key strength of one of the world's strongest navies.
The Japanese submarine Oyashio, escorted by a Japanese destroyer, arrives at the former US naval base in Subic Bay, Philippines, in April 2016. Submarines are considered a key strength of one of the world's strongest navies.
A South Korean K2 tank (C) moves during an equipment demonstration at the Defense Expo Korea 2016 at KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, north of Seoul, on September 10, 2016. The K2, nicknamed the "Black Panther" is considered to be among the world's best tanks.
A South Korean K2 tank (C) moves during an equipment demonstration at the Defense Expo Korea 2016 at KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, north of Seoul, on September 10, 2016. The K2, nicknamed the "Black Panther" is considered to be among the world's best tanks.
The South Korean Navy's first Aegis destroyer "King Sejong" is seen at the launching ceremony at the Ulsan dockyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries in the southeastern port city of Ulsan in 2007. The 7,600-ton destroyer is considered by analysts to be among the world's most advanced warships.
The South Korean Navy's first Aegis destroyer "King Sejong" is seen at the launching ceremony at the Ulsan dockyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries in the southeastern port city of Ulsan in 2007. The 7,600-ton destroyer is considered by analysts to be among the world's most advanced warships.
A North Korean tank participates in a competition in this 2017 picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea has 3,500 main battle tanks in its arsenal.
A North Korean tank participates in a competition in this 2017 picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea has 3,500 main battle tanks in its arsenal.
Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers march on Kim Il Sung sqaure during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. North Korea trails only China, the US and India in the number of people in the military.
Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers march on Kim Il Sung sqaure during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. North Korea trails only China, the US and India in the number of people in the military.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-26 ballistic missiles participate in a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2015. The missile has been dubbed "the Guam killer" by analysts for their ability to hit the strategic US island in the Pacific.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-26 ballistic missiles participate in a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2015. The missile has been dubbed "the Guam killer" by analysts for their ability to hit the strategic US island in the Pacific.
Chinese J-20 stealth fighters perform during the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2016, in Zhuhai on November 1, 2016. The J-20 is one of China's answers to US F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters.
Chinese J-20 stealth fighters perform during the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2016, in Zhuhai on November 1, 2016. The J-20 is one of China's answers to US F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters.
An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter tests its vertical landing capability in 2015. The fifth-generation jets have been deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan as the US moves some of its most modern equipment to Northeast Asia.
An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter tests its vertical landing capability in 2015. The fifth-generation jets have been deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan as the US moves some of its most modern equipment to Northeast Asia.
F/A-18 Hornets fly above the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy has 10 of the 97,000-ton ships, which can carry more than 60 aircraft each.
F/A-18 Hornets fly above the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy has 10 of the 97,000-ton ships, which can carry more than 60 aircraft each.
Meanwhile, North Korea continues with its missile program, having now successfully tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles that theoretically put the US mainland in range of Pyongyang's military reach.
With all that in mind, CNN looks at the military state of play in North Asia. What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the players in the region?
The United States remains the world's preeminent military power, and in the Pacific it fields large numbers of technologically advanced weapons.
The US Pacific Command "is prepared to fight tonight with the best technology of any force on the planet," Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the more than 340,000 US troops in the Pacific, said in a February speech.
The US has 11 active aircraft carriers and more in production. In comparison, China has just launched only its second aircraft carrier, but that ship won't be ready for action for a few years.
JUST WATCHED Military players in North Asia Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Military players in North Asia 01:23
While only one of those US carriers, the USS Ronald Reagan, is based in Asia, the 97,000-ton warships with their complement of 60-plus warplanes can be moved within the space of a few weeks to global hot spots, as evidenced when the Navy sent the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson to the South China Sea in February and its later movement to the Korean Peninsula.
While those new additions to the region may be making the recent headlines, the US has maintained a robust force at bases from Japan to Australia.
Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa is home to the US Air Force's 18th Wing, billed as the largest combat-ready wing in the service. More than 50 F-15 Eagle fighters are based at Kadena, supported by tankers and AWACS command and control aircraft.
In South Korea, the US maintains two major air bases, Osan with F-16 fighters and A-10 "tank killers," and Kunsan with F-16s.
Additional heavy airpower can be called in from the Pacific island of Guam, through which the US rotates B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers.
The US Navy, meanwhile, has 10 guided-missile cruisers and destroyers based in Japan. The ships are armed with Tomahawk missiles for offensive purposes and the Aegis missile defense system that could be used to intercept North Korean launches.
Measured by active duty manpower alone, the North Korean military is huge. Pyongyang has almost 1.2 million men and women in uniform, putting it behind only China, the United States and India among the world's largest militaries.
From an armaments standpoint, however, North Korea's isolationism has left it behind much of the world technologically, meaning it can't field the quality of weapons that adversaries such as South Korea, the US and Japan employ. But that doesn't mean it can't do catastrophic damage to its enemies.
"The North Korean military's most powerful tool is artillery," says Stratfor, a geopolitical analysis firm based in Texas.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, North Korea can field 21,000 artillery pieces. Many of those are within range of the 25 million South Koreans living in the Seoul metropolitan area, meaning the North could launch an artillery barrage that could kill thousands -- and possibly many more.
South Korea fields some of the world's most-advanced weaponry, all focused on protecting it from the threat posed by the North.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies points out that Seoul has procured or will get advanced weaponry, including a fleet of F-35 stealth fighters, cruise missiles for its F-15 fighters, and new submarines.
Seoul will also be adding to its fleet of Sejong the Great-class guided-missile destroyers, already considered among the world's most-advanced warships.
"They make a competitive case to be the Pacific region's leading modern multi-role heavy surface combatant, while providing an important platform for new South Korean weapons," Defense Industry Daily wrote of the Sejong the Great destroyer, which are even bigger than US guided-missile cruisers.
On the ground, Seoul's force includes 100 of its domestically produced K2 "Black Panther" tanks, considered among the best in the world by analysts.
"Pilot for pilot, ship for ship, Japan can stand toe to toe with anybody," said John T. Kuehn, a professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Tokyo's naval forces, known as the Maritime Self-Defense Force, are particularly strong and adept at anti-submarine warfare, experts say.
"Subsurface detection and reaction is a Japanese strength in both technological and operational terms," said Corey Wallace, a security analyst at Freie University in Berlin.
The backbone of that force is Japan's 19 submarines and three helicopter destroyers, which are more like aircraft carriers than what most people think of as a destroyer.
China has the world's largest military by sheer quantity, with more than 2.1 million active duty personnel.
On and under the sea, Beijing has impressive numbers of submarines (64) and large surface ships (82), which give adversaries something to worry about in quantity. However, analysts say the Chinese fleet falls short of those adversaries in quality.
But in late June, Beijing launched its first Type 055 destroyer, which analysts say will be on par or perhaps better than anything regional adversaries have in their fleets.
In the air, too, China can field large numbers of combat assets, including more than 800 fighter jets and 150 bombers. While the majority of those would be considered old technology, fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the J-20 and J-31 are just coming online and could rival US F-35 and F-22 warplanes for supremacy in the Pacific.
China's biggest asset, however, may be its missile force.
A 2016 report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China's DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile -- dubbed by analysts the "Guam killer" -- allows China to bring unprecedented firepower to bear on Guam, home to the US' vital Andersen Air Force Base.
China also boasts newly developed air-launched, land-attack cruise missiles which can be fired by its fleet of H-6K long-range bombers.Former FBI Director James Comey was spotted at The New York Times building on Thursday with his wife, but the two didn't visit the offices of the paper — they were attending a ceremony for a nonprofit on another floor.
The Daily Mail first reported the images of Comey in the building; however, later in the evening, Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that he was in the building for a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) ceremony in another office within the building — not meeting with reporters.
Comey didn't visit NYT newsroom. A person close to him said he and wife went to ceremony for CASA at Covington & Burling in NYT building. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 23, 2017
Pic from Covington & Burling event, from person close to Comey pic.twitter.com/WrnieqotR2 — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 23, 2017
CASA is a nonprofit that is focused on court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children.
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The photos originally stirred talk that Comey could be speaking with reporters, especially after his bombshell testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month in which he admitted to having a friend leak memos of his conversations with President Trump to The New York Times.
The memos detailed how Trump asked Comey to end the bureau's investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election. The memos eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel to oversee the federal probe.MINNEAPOLIS -- We're back at it with our Countdown to combine series, looking at four positions where the Vikings need help heading into the 2014 draft. It all leads up to our coverage of the NFL scouting combine from Indianapolis.
Position of need: Linebacker
In many ways, this has been a position that's needed upgrading for years. Chad Greenway made the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2012, but the Vikings' production at middle linebacker has suffered since E.J. Henderson retired, and it became obvious last year they needed a dynamic, playmaking linebacker, as well as a permanent solution in the middle of their defense. It's possible both of those needs could be met in the same player.
Three players the Vikings might be targeting:
Khalil Mack, Buffalo: The 6-foot-3 linebacker has been linked to the Vikings in a number of mock drafts and with good reason; he'd be the kind of athletic linebacker who'd make offenses take notice. As dependable as Greenway has been, the Vikings haven't had a true thumper in their linebacking group for some time. Mack would likely start at weakside linebacker, assuming the Vikings liked what they saw of Audie Cole enough to give him another try in the middle. If Mack played there, he might also give the Vikings some of what they thought they'd get with Desmond Bishop in that spot last year -- a physical linebacker who can rush the passer.
C.J. Mosley, Alabama: If the Vikings were looking for a middle linebacker, Mosley might be their best option. He's particularly strong in pass coverage -- where Erin Henderson flailed at times last year -- and he's got the size to help in the run game, as well. Mosley sustained a nasty knee injury in the 2012 BCS National Championship, and dislocated his elbow last year, but if he shows himself healthy enough to merit first-round consideration, he could get a strong look from the Vikings at No. 8. General manager Rick Spielman has also talked about the possibility of trading back for more picks, and if the Vikings did that, they might still be able to get Mosley at, say, No. 10 or 12.
Anthony Barr, UCLA: He could be gone by the time the Vikings pick at No. 8, particularly if there's a team that sees him being able to bulk up enough to play defensive end in a 4-3 scheme, but he'd be another strong option at outside linebacker. Barr is 6-4 and nearly 250 pounds, so he'd certainly have the size to be an imposing outside linebacker. His best fit could be with a team looking for a 3-4 outside linebacker, but Barr's pass-rushing skills could make him an attractive fit in the Vikings' scheme, as well.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis police say a Hickory Hill home was riddled with bullets early Monday morning to silence at least two witnesses to a 2013 murder.
No one was hurt in the shooting in the 7000 block of Falls Hollow Cove.
The people who live there say there were seven adults inside the home when several people opened fire.
Police found 43 shell casings outside the home and say the bullets hit several parked cars nearby, and even a vehicle two streets away.
"It’s unfortunate and it’s idiotic. I was thinking about it all day yesterday and feeling helplessness," said neighbor Patrick Tabor.
Tabor, who lives two doors away, now has a bullet hole in his back driver's side door.
The victims were able to identify Cordney Smith as one of the shooters.
Smith, along with Calvin McMickens, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Keishawn White.
White was gunned down in the parking lot of a gas station at Brooks and Millbranch last year.
Smith and McMickens are still waiting to go on trial.
Smith is now facing a new charge of attempted first degree murder.
Police are looking for the others involved.
If you know anything, call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 1:49PM
As part of a marketing campaign called "Fleet of the Future," the second of up to 27 long range Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft was inaugurated into the fleet of Hawaiian Airlines on Tuesday. The culturally significant inauguration ceremony in Honolulu was attended by several representatives of Hawaiian Airlines and Airbus, and also by Hawai’i Governor Linda Lingle. The ceremony opened with a blessing by Kahu Richard Kamanu of Kaumakapili Church and a Hawaiian chant called an ’oli. Governor Lingle, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley, and Airbus Americas Chairman T. Allan McArtor each said a few words. The ceremony closed with performances by a 110-member high school marching band and more than 80 hula dancers.
The first of the two new A330-200s inaugurated into the fleet is named Makali’i, and arrived in Honolulu a month ago, after a Hawaiian-themed inauguration ceremony in Toulouse, France, the headquarters of Airbus. The second of the two planes, called Hokule’a, arrived in Honolulu last Saturday, after a 16-hour non-stop flight from Toulouse (IATA: TLS; ICAO: LFBO) to Honolulu (IATA: HNL; ICAO: PHNL).
Makali’i is the Hawaiian word for the ancient and world famous star cluster called the Seven Sisters in English, and Pleiades in Greek. This collection of stars, visible on both sides of the equator depending on the time of year, guided Polynesian navigators for centuries. It was visible high in the sky from Hawai’i on the night of Inter-Island Airways’ first flight in 1929. (Inter-Island Airways became Hawaiian Airlines in 1941.) Hokule’a, the name given to the second new A330 to arrive in Honolulu, simply means “star of gladness” in Hawaiian.
The two long hauls from Toulouse to Honolulu were a statement from Hawaiian Airlines that it means to fly routes to more distant destinations from its hub at Honolulu International Airport in the future. The first flight with Makali'i will be to Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX; ICAO: KLAX) tomorrow. (Hawaiian Airlines has not announced plans to fly non-stop between Honolulu and Toulouse regularly.) Each of these new aircraft will seat 294 passengers, and will boast a number of modern tech-related conveniences for passengers in all seat classes to enjoy. These amenities will include USB ports for iPod use, and LCD touch screen monitors. Larger seats and additional tech-related features will be available in first class on these new planes.
Featuring prominently off to the side of the speakers at the inauguration ceremony was a full-size replica of the Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker which flew Inter-Island Airways’ first flight in 1929. But the Pacemaker was dwarfed by Makali’i, which dominated the background directly behind the podium.
Airbus was formed in 1970 in a joint effort of the governments of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It now produces around half of the world’s jet airliners. Hawaiian Airlines was the highest-rated air carrier in the United States last year for service quality and performance, according to the annual Air Quality Rating study.
related story
Hawaiian Airlines gets nod from DOT for service to Haneda (May 9, 2010)
original stories
Hawaiian introduces its Fleet of the Future (Hawaiian Airlines)
Hawaiian introduces its Fleet of the Future (Hawaii 24/7 - includes a picture of the ceremony)Unfortunately I can't edit the existing rewards to add the upgraded reward content for the original $35 and $50+ reward tiers, so please refer to the rewards section below for complete details.
Infinitas DM is an app for mobile platforms designed to improve world crafting and exploration for pen and paper RPGs.
Infinitas DM doesn't want to run your game for you, but instead looks to enhance the experience you already love as pen and paper role players. With the ability to create worlds filled with all of your lore and characters and share them with players on a secondary screen's "Player's View;" map making, story organization, and world exploration are more convenient and organic than ever before.
Create your campaigns, modules, and one-off's on your smart device and explore them organically with players using Fog of War to conceal unreached areas. Edit maps and draw notes in real time, visible to the players or exclusive to the GM/DM.
Along with better map making and viewing is easier organization of your lore, NPCs, and quests. Place markers directly on the map that link to your lore documents and pull them up on the fly to view them while playing.
A complete, in-depth walkthrough on how the app will function can be found on our website at http://www.infinitasdm.com
Why?
Having both played pen and paper RPGs and run my own campaigns for many years, there are two aspects I always wished could be easier. Managing worlds, npcs, quests, and lore and being able to use big complex maps without going broke at the copy store or putting my players to sleep drawing out each one room by room while we play.
There are a lot of really good digital campaign tools out there, but none of them ever really hit the mark for what I wanted to do with them. I wanted a tool that let me have all of the power and convenience of a digital solution without being forced to play online or from a bunch of individual laptops.
I also didn't want something that takes over every aspect of the game. I like rolling my dice, I like keeping character sheets on sheets of paper, I like playing with everyone in the same room. That is what drove me to create Infinitas DM.
How It Will Work
There are two core aspects to Infinitas DM's operation. Creating and Playing your campaigns. That said, both of these functions are served from the same interface, available at the same time.
Creating A Campaign
World building starts in the Atlas. The Atlas has a 3 tier hierarchy used for organizing maps. The tiers are named Worlds, Continents, and Locations, but the name's purpose are simply to symbolize the overall organizational structure they represent. Worlds could easily be Planes, Planets, or even Factions. Continents could just as easily be regions as individual starships. The possibilities are limitless.
Once you have your locations created, you can assign maps to them. Maps can be both loaded and assigned from this menu.
Adding Maps
Maps can be added or created in one of three ways. They are either captured with the device's camera, imported from an image file, or created within Infinitas DM.
Populating Your Maps
Once you have your maps assigned you can get to adding document files to them, easily accessed by either browsing for them in the Documents Tree or by accessing them directly from the map with Map Links.
Map links are great ways to quickly access your encounter notes, NPC dialog, Store lists, Quest information, highlighting Points of Interest, or even linking to other Maps.
Documents Tab
The Documents you link or browse to are created and viewed in the Documents Tab, an easily accessed panel that slides out to occupy the right third of the screen and can also be maximized to occupy the entire screen.
Creating and Playing Maps
The tools that allow you to draw and populate your own maps are the same tools that you will use in-game to play and edit them on the fly.
New maps, notes, sketches, and more can be added with the Pencil and Line tools, and removed with the eraser.
To keep notes, temporary drawings for spell effects, and the map background separate and easy to edit, Infinitas DM has a 4 layer system. The background (either a map you have loaded or one of the four backgrounds chosen at map creation) layer is not select-able or editable.
Above that is Layer 1, which is intended to be used for drawing any additional map background imagery. Layer 2, which is ideal for adding notes, sketches, and temporary effects. The last layer is the DM Layer - a layer that is only visible on the GM or DM's device and is not displayed on the Player View. This is great for notes, traps, and other details that the players are not meant to see.
All three of those layers can easily be selected, hidden, or disabled at any time.
Fog of War
Fog of War is easily added and removed with the drawing tools and much like them can be added in various colors to simulate spells and effects that would limit visibility for your players.
For the GM or DM, Fog of War is semi-transparent, while for the Player View it is opaque.
The DM Drawer
The final piece of Infinitas DM's interface is the DM Drawer. This is a set of tools that is pulled out from the left side of the screen containing access to the Atlas, Tokens, Stamps, an assortment of additional funcionality for the Pencil tool, as well as Save and Exit functions.
Budget and Goal
While a great deal of work has already been completed for Infinitas DM, it is mainly centered around the design, artwork, and interface. Aside from rewards, shipping, and Kickstarter/Merchant fees, the entirety of the remaining funds will go to paying for the programming to put all of this work together.
In order to keep the goal as low as possible, I am absorbing all of the art and design costs myself, including all non manufacturing and shipping costs for backer rewards.
Budget Breakdown
The good news is we already have an extremely talented programmer on board for the project. Between the two of us we have more than 20 years of professional experience in videogame and software development.
Our Team
Stretch Goals
The first stretch goal has been released! As we grow closer to each stretch goal the next will be revealed.
Rewards
REWARDS UPDATE -
ALL backers pledging $35+ will receive access to all platforms supported at launch (android, iOS, etc). That includes any platforms added as stretch goals!
Additionally, the original 15 $35 rewards and all $50+ backers have been upgraded from Beta Access to Alpha Access. That means even earlier access to pre-release builds of the app while it is still in development!
Click For Full-Size Image
Teeth of The Bloodwolf Mini-Campaign
Teeth of The Bloodwolf is a short narrative driven campaign that takes place in a game-neutral fantasy setting. The story of this campaign takes place in Dirusholm, a secluded town in the wooded mountain country of Moldovar.
Deep in shadow and mist a forgotten clan seeks to restore glory to their ancient name, but at what cost?
Along with a complete narrative and branching decision paths, encounters have been supplied with rough outlines to allow adaptation into any game system, party size and level.
See more about this reward in Backer Update #8
Adventurer's Kit
The Adventurer's Kit is a campaign file that includes a completely fleshed out town map, including NPC's, Quest Starters, and more. The kit will also include several general-use maps that can be used along with the town to inspire or expand upon your own campaigns.
UPDATE: Because we hit our funding goal 2 days early this reward has been upgraded to also include a complete dungeon!
See more about this reward in Backer Update #6
Monkeyblood Design Map Pack
Monkeyblood Design Map Pack
We are excited to be able to offer our backers a set of 20 hand-picked maps from Monkeyblood Design. The pack features a variety of different maps including dungeons, overworld maps, outdoor maps, and even a few sci-fi maps. We are very pleased to be able to offer these to our backers as a great way to inspire, extend, and improve upon your own campaigns.
See more about this reward in Backer Update #7
Infinitas DM T-Shirt
Shirt Design Mockups
These are the two T-Shirt designs we are considering (artwork not final). The final design will be chosen in a poll to the backers and will be printed on black T-Shirts available in men's Small, Medium, Large, X-L, 2X-L, and 3X-L. Shipping to USA is included in the reward cost, $5-10 additional costs will apply to shipments outside the US.
UPDATE: Now with 50+ $75+ backers both designs will be printed on each shirt - one on the front and one on the back!
See more about this reward in Backer Update #7
Custom Artwork
For the top reward tiers, custom artwork will be provided by both the Infinitas DM creator Dan Sandberg and professional illustrator Katheryn Glade. Here are a few examples of the type of art you can expect.
See more about this reward in Backer Update #9Republicans can see how John McCain’s 100 years comments (remember, he said it repeatedly) can be made into an albatross around his neck. So they’re going for the full court press. Here’s a press release just out from the head of the NRCC, the Republican House campaign committee (one among many over the last couple days) …
Chairman Cole Comments on Issuance of False Democratic Talking Points Despite Being Widely Discredited, Democrats Level False â100 Yearsâ Accusation at Senator John McCain in Desperate Election Year Ploy Washingtonâ Today, Chairman Tom Cole made the following statement in regards to the dissemination of talking points issued by the House Democratic Caucus in advance of Gen. Petraeusâ report before Congress, which included a statement falsely accusing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of âpromisingâ 100 years of war in Iraq: âWith a long and protracted primary battle brewing in the presidential contest, Democrats are justifiably worried that a John McCain candidacy could hurt their chances from the top of the ticket on down. Unfortunately for the American people, when the facts donât meet the political goals of some Democratic leaders in the House, they resort to desperate tactics such as undermining the testimony of a widely regarded military General or distorting the words of the Republican presidential nominee. Intentionally disseminating falsehoods as âtalking pointsâ in order to stem the perceived political fallout of positive news coming out of Iraq, just goes show how worried Democrats are about the upcoming elections.â
Note what he says below at.20 seconds. And then again at 1:20 when he says 1000 or 10,000 years is okay.
Here’s why Republicans are scared to death of this. No one wants to be in Iraq 100 years from now, even if McCain stipulates to the fantasy that Iraqis will be happy having us occupy their country forever and that the place will become like Finland. And none of our soldiers will ever get killed there and it won’t cost any money. If that’s the explanation for why we shouldn’t be concerned that he’s happy to stay in Iraq for a century, that just tells people that McCain is living in a fantasy world.
They need to stop people from talking about it at all because their explanation for what he meant is at least as bad as what he really said.In 2009, when Alice Methfessel died in California at age 66, everything in her house was rifled through and catalogued. That’s because Methfessel had once been the lover of the poet Elizabeth Bishop—the woman to whom Bishop dedicated the National Book Award-winning Geography III. When “a mass of unidentified paper sitting in a storage container” was discovered among Methfessel’s effects in 2010, her heirs “promptly sold the lot to Vassar,” in the words of Bishop scholar Lorrie Goldensohn.
The discovery of letters at Methfessel’s ranch property was not the first time that Bishop’s private writing has been found and published since her death in 1979. It’s an exposure that the poet would not have welcomed: Bishop was a private person during her lifetime, and deliberately withheld her personal life from her published poems. The decision to publish after her death the poems that Bishop had kept private in life has sparked controversy. In 2006, Alice Quinn of the New Yorker edited a collection of Bishop’s unpublished work, which Helen Vendler lambasted in this publication. “Had Bishop been asked whether her repudiated poems, and some drafts and fragments, should be published after her death,” Vendler wrote, “she would have replied, I believe, with a horrified ‘No.’”
ELIZABETH BISHOP: A MIRACLE FOR BREAKFAST By Megan Marshall Houton Mifflin Harcourt, 384 pp., $30
It is this latest reserve of material from Methfessel’s house that Megan Marshall includes in her new biography of Bishop, Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast. It is not new information that Bishop loved and lived with multiple women over her 68 years; Bishop’s first biographer, Brett C. Millier, confirmed the partnership with Methfessel in 1993. Nor are the traumas that punctuated Bishop’s life revelations to anyone who has read about her before: Her childhood abuse and alcoholism are well known to her devotees. What Marshall’s revisit offers is an attempt to connect more fully than ever Bishop’s poetics with the facts of her personal life—a synthesis of life and work that becomes a beguiling prospect when its subject is the famously private Bishop.
Though readers, critics, and especially biographers have long romanticized the discovery of caches of personal effects in the homes of writers, the ins-and-outs of their unearthing are decidedly unglamorous. They can verge on intrusive, tasteless, and even criminal in some cases. When Italian journalist Claudio Gatti revealed the identity of novelist Elena Ferrante in 2016, incensed fans wrote of Ferrante’s anonymity as a feminist act of resistance against the state of modern authorship, in which the writer is increasingly asked to reveal herself: physically, with an author photo, as well as biographically, in pages and pages of “behind the book” pieces, personal essays, appearances, panels, and social media accounts. For a poet like Bishop, whose work was so often predicated upon withholding, these demands can seem particularly violating—not least because they are made most passionately and persistently of authors who are women.
Bishop’s body of work is notoriously compact. She published only 100 poems in her lifetime. Octavio Paz said of Bishop that her poetry is a lesson in “the enormous power of reticence.” She won a Pulitzer Prize, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and a National Book Award for poems that were modern in style but removed in register, as devoid of biographical detail as they are short in word count. “Something needn’t be large to be good” is how her mentor and friend Marianne Moore described the Bishop aesthetic. Bishop herself called it her “Scotch-Canadian-Protestant-Puritan” temperament.
Bishop’s enduring popularity is all the more remarkable, then, given how different she was from her contemporaries, and from the confessional direction American letters has trended since. Bishop was holding herself back from her work at a time when it had never been less fashionable to do so—friends like Mary McCarthy, who wrote The Group about their shared social circle at Vassar College, were mining their personal lives to great acclaim when Bishop was struggling to finish just one poem a year. So how can we arrive at an understanding of the power of her poetry through the dissection of her ephemera, through the piles of papers and self-reflections that she deliberately kept out of her published work? The answer is that we can’t—or at least that the point reached is one in which Bishop herself continues to evade capture. Instead, Marshall’s biography tells us about what the current market demands of women writers, and the origins of this impulse for more, more, more.
Bishop was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1911, but she was raised partly in Nova Scotia, the first in a series of displacements that would inform her roaming adult life. Her father died when she was an infant, her mother was institutionalized soon after, and Bishop was a sickly child, raised by her grandparents. Her aunts, Maud and Grace, were kind to her when she eventually moved in with them in suburban Boston—her Aunt Grace once drew a diagram of her ovaries and uterus in the bathroom rug, to comfort her after getting her first period. But Bishop was terrifyingly alone. Her Uncle George touched her in the bathtub, and once dangled her over the railing of a staircase by her hair.
Eventually she went to Vassar, where she met the poets whose intellects would shape her own. It was there that she was introduced to modernist pioneer Marianne Moore, who became a personal hero. Moore “goes right on producing perhaps one poem a year and a couple of reviews that are perfect in their way,” Bishop admired. That a woman poet was writing not out of sentimentality but observation was thrilling too. She moved to New York; Moore lived in Brooklyn.
There’s a sharp and deliberate difference between the lines that Bishop chose to show the world and the ones she did not.
Bishop wrote slowly and haltingly. She travelled constantly to avoid the fact that she had no family home. But the work that did find its way into the world in these early years established her singular voice and experimentation with form: “A Miracle for Breakfast,” Bishop’s debut in Poetry magazine, is a meditative sestina, with repeated end words that gave the “miracle” event—a women selling Wonder bread door to door during the Depression—a religious quality. Another was “The Fish,” published in The Partisan Review in 1940, around the time Bishop and her first long term partner, Louise Crane, split up. The simple but strong ending turn of the poem— “And I let the fish go”—jars with an unpublished verse from the same time, a whining, self-pitying note regarding Louise’s infidelity. “See here, my distant dear, I lie/Upon my hard, hard bed and sigh/For someone far away, Who never thinks of me at all.” There’s a sharp and deliberate difference between these two lines; the one Bishop chose to show the world, and the one she did not.
In 1946, as World War II ended, Bishop was living in Key West, and had finally found a major publisher in Houghton Mifflin, who would put out her first collection, North and South. Success and recognition would follow. But demons lurked in spite of this success, and one was the |
within the game's own rules, and the mastermind and his agents pulled it off together flawlessly, all the while staying in character. The estimated real-life value of the items stolen is, according to PC Gamer, $16,500 US. The in-game value of course is much, much higher as the things stolen would take years and years to aquire. And now, the PC Gamer scans. I hope you'll find it as entertaining a read as I have.
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PCGamer US version of the article
Word on the Street Word of this watershed, history making event in MMO gaming has spread throughout the gaming community - throwing "Guiding Hand Social Club" or "Eve Online $16,500" into Google (with quotation marks) produces pages upon pages of gaming forums not related to Eve, discussing the ramifications of such treachery and their effect on a game's community. Below are some links to blogs and forums discussing the heist:
Massively World of Stuart Murder in Eve Online Obsidian Entertainment Forums The Guild Hall Der Spiegel The Escapist Slashdot article PC Gamer online
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The term that they use for this situation is 'being a light bulb' which translates to 当电灯泡 - dāng diàn dēng pào.
The reason it's called being a light bulb (电灯泡) is that has to do with the ideal dating situation. A nice, dark intimate setting where a couple can enjoy "intimate conversation" (insert heeeyoohh).
But instead the couple can't enjoy this moment because you're hanging around, like a light bulb, making everything too bright and public to enjoy.
Example usage:
我不喜欢当电灯泡
wǒ bù xǐ huan dāng diàn dēng pào
I don't want to be a light bulb.
Extra vocabulary:
尴尬 - gān gà
awkward / embarrassed
I first heard of this phrase from Chinesepod Intermediate - The Jealous Friend (may need membership to listen).
And this was a great photo that I had to include, via Eric and Lauren show. 当电灯泡！ - dāng diàn dēng pào!
You should follow me on Twitter or add me to a circle on Google Plus → BrandonRed Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse often describes itself as your local, friendly, radical infoshop. Named in honor of the famous anarchist, feminist, activist hero Emma Goldman, Red Emma’s (often affectionately referred to simply as “Emma’s”), as part of the infoshop movement, has always worked to keep her firebrand legacy alive and well via knowledge sharing, envisioning, and creating. A collective-motto of sorts is Emma Goldman’s quote: “The most violent element in society is ignorance.”
Through its bookstore, zine section, events calendar, lived politics, and physical space for community gathering and building, for nearly nine years the collective has become a hub for radical activism.
Throughout the years, Emma’s has opened two sister spaces: The 2640 Space (2007) and The Baltimore Free School (2009). It has also produced over a thousand events, organized multiple conferences (most notably The City from Below Conference and Mobilizing and Organizing from Below), and orchestrated an annual radical bookfair. Emma’s has created space not just in its Mt. Vernon location but also for building activist infrastructure within Baltimore City. It is no wonder, that now almost a decade into the project’s life, Emma’s cites to have outgrown its small basement bookstore.
Red Emma’s is moving from its well-known and beloved 800 Saint Paul location. In September 2013, Red Emma’s intends to open its brand-new doors on 30 W. North Avenue, in Station North. This location is five times the size of the current Mt.Vernon space. The collective states this move will increase the actual bookstore by triple its current size, as well as dramatically maximize the allotted area for events. That is far from all. The new Red Emma’s is bound to smell amazing with the current vegan and vegetarian cafe fare greatly expanding through a full-commerical kitchen, vegan baked goods made in-house, and Thread Coffee (the newest branch in the Red Emma’s family of projects), a local collective transparent-trade coffee roaster, roasting its beans directly inside the expanded infoshop.
Lastly but far from leastly, moving into the Station North site is the older sister project: The Baltimore Free School. This integration shines as an example of how a prefigurative community can look and operate.
This vision, that also includes working for legitimate worker compensation while maintaining its collectively-run and operated structure and critically moving into a neighborhood that is in the midst of redevelopment, will require a great deal of work and funds. Red Emma's asks for your support through a variety of ways that include, among other things, direct participation in the build-out and financial donations.
Red Emma's last day at 800 Saint Paul Street is May 18th, 2013. There will be a goodbye party for and at the cherished site on May 18th, 2013. Festivities will start at 6pm.
In the meantime, however, collective members -- Spencer Compton, Christa Daring, John Duda, Michelle Fleming, and Kate Khatib -- discuss the upcoming move with Indyreader editor Corey Reidy: 1 2
Corey Reidy: When was the decision made to move to a different space? When was it publicly announced?
Kate Khatib: We've been talking about a move for a long time, actually -- at least a couple of years. But we really started searching for a new space in earnest in the Spring of 2012. After considering a number of different spaces around the city, we started talking with the owners of the North Avenue Market late last summer, and after six months of discussions, we signed the lease on 30 W. North Avenue last December, which is when we announced the move, and started our online crowdfunding campaign.
Reidy: Why did the collective decide to move to a different space?
Khatib: A lot of reasons, but most of them have to do with physical space -- and our need for more of it! 800 Saint Paul Street has been a phenomenal home for us, but it's a space that we outgrew many years ago. Aside from the very basic needs of more space for books, and a larger area for events, we also want to expand our cafe options, and really scale up to providing delicious and hearty vegan and vegetarian meals, in addition to our standard cafe fare, as well as bringing all of our vegan baking in house, and roasting our own transparently-traded coffee.
Reidy: What is the vision for the new space?
Christa Daring: In many ways the new Red Emma’s [is to] be a continuation of the old. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to economic and social justice, while incorporating new and innovative models for workplace democracy. One of our original goals was to be able to prove that doing business ethically didn’t prohibit paying ourselves a living wage, over time we’ve discovered our economy of scale isn’t great enough in the current space to meet that objective.
Part of our visioning for the new space has been to strive to keep pushing ourselves and the limits of our structure to meet that aim. We've always been very experimental and that isn't bound to change anytime soon. It's sometimes messy but it's never boring.
Red Emma’s is political by its very existence, but arguably more political is the space that we create and maintain that fosters other radical projects and developments. When we move into the new space and expand by fivefold, our ability to disseminate radical ideas will only increase. Radical pedagogy isn't as much about what you can teach, but what you can assist someone to teach themselves, the whole of the Red Emma's project is a classroom. The addition of the Baltimore Free School into our space is a tremendous opportunity for us to institutionalize this radical pedagogy.
Red Emma’s isn’t a strictly anarchist project, but we are an anti-authoritarian prefigurative project; we’re building the new world in the shell of the old. Our space will serve to promote and further radical and horizontal organizing, while also working to negate the oppressive forces that would destroy our communities. We envision a world without bosses or exploitation and will continue to work towards building that reality.
Reidy: How much money needs to be raised in order for this new-space vision to be realized?
Khatib: It's a good chunk of change. We estimate the total expansion budget -- which includes renovations, equipment & furniture purchases, and all of the necessary licensing -- to be $220,000. We've raised about $100,000 so far through a combination of private donations, crowdfunding, events, and a generous low-interest loan from a community foundation. We're in the process of applying for loans and grants to finance the rest -- our goal is to work with small-scale, cooperative, and local lenders, so we're really interested in any an all possibilities for low-interest loans or community grants that anyone can send our way! We'll be hosting a number of fundraising events throughout the summer, and making a lot of targeted asks for donations, as we get closer to the opening date, and have specific things we need to buy or build.
Reidy: Emma's is a worker-run and operated collective business. How will the move impact this structure, primarily considering: decision-making, operations, financial aspects.
Khatib: We're scaling up the business, and that means that our internal structure has to change to accommodate an influx of people, labor, and resources. But Red Emma's will remain fundamentally the same -- the people you see working behind the counter, in the kitchen, or at the books kiosk are the people who own, and manage, the space collectively and collaboratively. Structurally speaking, we're a worker cooperative, and that's a very important part of our political identity - we're really excited to try out the structure we've spent a decade building and refining on a much larger scale. One big change is that we're really prioritizing the sustainability of the project as a source of income for the worker-owners. Red Emma's has never been an entirely volunteer-run project, but the wages we make currently are very small. In the new Emma's, we're hoping that we'll have the economy of scale we need to do enough business to pay the worker-owners a living wage. And, with the introduction of a more sustainable, steady source of income for worker-owners, we anticipate that opening the doors for a lot of people who have wanted to be involved with the project, but haven't had the luxury of free time to volunteer.
Reidy: Station North has seen rapid development in the present and recent past. As a political project, is Red Emma's addressing that reality of your move to the neighborhood? If so, how?
John Duda: North Avenue and the surrounding area is a really interesting place to be moving to, and the immediate question for us is to make sure that our presence is a net positive for existing area residents, something we're excited to think we've got a pretty good handle on -- we're going to be providing more organizing space, more free political and educational events, more free internet access terminals, and continuing to run a space which is welcoming to everyone, regardless of whether or not they have money to spend. There's also a longer term set of questions: what does the larger community and political framework look like that makes sure that development in the area doesn't translate to wholesale displacement of current low-income residents? How can redevelopment of the area work to create more cooperatively-owned businesses, more permanently affordable housing, more community-focused cultural and educational spaces? And how can Red Emma's play a part in that? Obviously, this isn't something that is going to be figured out overnight, and even though we're primarily focused right now on the practical questions of getting our doors open, we've been working on internal political education and initial conversations to start making sense of the long-term challenges and possibilities here.
Reidy: The rumor about town is that the new RE's location is going to include sister projects: Thread and The Baltimore Free School. What does that integration mean for the space? Will the relationship to The 2640 Space change at all with the move?
Michelle Fleming: Having Red Emma's, Thread, and The Free School under one roof is really going to benefit all of these projects. Operating costs for Thread and The Free School are going to be much lower in a shared space. The Free School space will be available for organizations to rent out for meetings, which is great for RE. We get calls about renting our current space and it just isn't an option, all other operations would have to be shut down. So having a separate room that people can reserve will resolve that issue and allow us to better function as a hub for activism in Baltimore.
The relationship between RE and 2640 isn't going to change too much. Some of the medium-sized events that were too big for the old Red Emma's but felt a little sparse in a space as big as 2640 will be hosted in the new space. Our new events area will be expandable so we can accomodate different-sized talks.
Reidy: Red Emma's just announced that you'll be closing your doors at the current Mt.Vernon location on May 18th. Can the public expect anything in particular at the space in these remaining weeks?
Fleming: On May 18th there will be a big goodbye party at 800 St Paul. The festivities will start at 6pm and you can expect music, libations, and the good kind of anarchy. We recommend stocking up on all your radical summer reading before then!
There will also be so many work days, mostly over the summer, though bookshelf building has already begun. Please get in touch with us if you would like to volunteer for some skilled or unskilled labor! It's your best chance to get a sneak peek at Red Emma's 2 before the doors open.
Reidy: When is the anticipated opening date for the new space on North Ave.?
Khatib: September 2013
Reidy: Will the move impact Red Emma's involvement in this year's annual Radical Bookfair Pavilion at the Baltimore Book Festival?
Fleming: We still intend to be involved in the Book Festival in full force. It is a lot of work to organize three days of speakers and tablers. It is also a lot of work to organize the opening of an expanded cafe and bookstore. These things are probably happening around the same time, and it is going to take a lot of long nights. We'll need volunteer support more than ever! We started planning for the book fair early this year and hopefully that will reduce the work we have to do throughout the summer.
Reidy: What are the build-out plans for the upcoming months?
Spencer Compton: Once the collective gets access to our new home in May, we'll have to start working right away on some large build-out projects including painting the entire space; installing ventilation, electric, plumbing and appliances in the kitchen; fabricating roughly 60' of 12' tall bookshelves; fabricating the bar; installing lighting throughout the space; and a lot of smaller construction projects like bathroom floor tiling, building tables, installing A/V equipment for events, etc.
Reidy: How can people help in the upcoming months? Or when the space is open?
Compton: We need help getting all of this done before we open back up in the fall! The best way to get involved is to let us know HOW you can help. Are you good at carpentry? Are you a moving guru? Are you in a comfortable enough position to help subsidize all our expenses in building out the new Red Emma's this summer?
Feel free to email us at info@redemmas.org.
Khatib: People can also support us by making donations! Visit our website and donate via WePay, or contact us about making a tax-deductible contribution to the Baltimore Free School. The more money we can raise through community donations, the less debt we'll have when we open our doors in September, which would be great. Once we're open - there are so many ways people can support us! Come in for lunch and dinner! Rent our meeting room, and plan a catered event. Come to us with your event ideas and suggestions. Order your course texts through Red Emma's, or send us lists of books to procure for us. And help us spread the word about the project!
---
1 Reidy is also an inactive Red Emma's collective member.
2 For further coverage about the Red Emma's move please visit:IT IS the time of year when Canadian politicians pack up their papers in Ottawa, and fan out across the country for the gruelling round of voter-pleasing known as the barbecue circuit. This year some opponents of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government will tuck into their steaks and burgers with new hope. Not only have the Conservatives lost ground in opinion polls (see chart), but the opposition reckons that last month’s bruising parliamentary battles over the budget bill reminded Canadians of what they dislike about Mr Harper.
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The government bill was a massive 425 pages, amending almost 70 laws. The Conservatives said it embodied an essential and integrated plan to protect Canada from an uncertain world economy. But, as well as trimming benefits for the old and the unemployed, its provisions include a long list of apparently unrelated matters: cutting fisheries protection, curbing government oversight of the federal intelligence agency, limiting environmental reviews of big natural-resource projects, tightening some immigration laws and allowing American officials to arrest Canadian citizens in Canada.
The opposition said lumping all this together was an abuse of Parliament. So they kept Conservatives voting non-stop for almost 24 hours to defeat a long list of amendments, before the bill eventually passed unchanged on June 18th.
During his six years as prime minister—five of them with a parliamentary minority until he won a majority at an election last year—Mr Harper has acquired a reputation for playing fast and loose with the rules. He twice prorogued Parliament, once to avoid a censure vote and then apparently to duck embarrassing questions from a parliamentary committee.
Though the prime minister once campaigned as a crusader for accountability and openness, he has acquired the habit of secrecy. In April the auditor general accused the government of misleading Parliament about the cost of an order for F-35 jet fighters. The parliamentary budget officer, an independent watchdog, is considering going to court to force the government to release details of job and service losses in the budget’s C$5.2 billion ($5.1 billion) of spending cuts. The courts are “perhaps the only institution of accountability this government does not seem prepared to harass, intimidate, ignore or roll over,” wrote Andrew Coyne, a columnist for the conservative National Post.
The government is intolerant of criticism and dissent. Civil libertarians who oppose giving police easier access to internet users’ browsing histories were branded by Conservatives as supporters of child pornographers. They condemned greens worried about the development of Alberta’s tar sands as radicals laundering foreign money; the government is investigating the charitable status of some green groups. It killed off an advisory body of businessmen, scientists and officials because it supported a carbon tax. The electoral authority is investigating claims that Conservatives used automated phone calling in 2011 to mislead voters in opposition areas about where to vote.
This strategy of polarising the electorate, playing to core supporters and vilifying opponents has been effective. But there are signs that it may be wearing thin. In recent provincial elections in Alberta and Ontario parties linked to Mr Harper lost elections they expected to win.
There are also tentative signs that the opposition is becoming more credible. In last year’s election the centre-left New Democrats (NDP) displaced the Liberals as the official opposition, winning 103 seats including 59 of the 75 in Quebec. That unexpected success was mainly because of the appeal of Jack Layton, the NDP’s genial leader, who died months after the vote. His replacement, Thomas Mulcair, has started well, imposing party discipline, dropping leftist talk and moving towards the centre. He has called for a balanced approach to developing the tar sands, taking more note of environmental worries. He kept the party quiet during four months of student demonstrations against rises in tuition fees in Quebec—a silence that seemed to flummox the Conservative attack machine.
But if Mr Harper has dominated Canadian politics for so long, it is not just because of his aggressive tactics. The Conservatives have accomplishments, too. Canada’s economy, forecast to grow by 2-3% this year, stands out from its peers. In |
explain. There was a two-year moratorium which, on repayment, which meant that no monies were to be repaid for two years. And then the balance was to be repaid over a five-year period. I sought financial and legal advice at the time and the advice that I was given was that the liabilities did not follow the new company.
Now once the enterprise board made me aware of their view that it did, I then instructed my finance and legal advisers to meet or to address the issue and to find a satisfactory solution for both. And so the money was due to be paid in full in November 2008. It was a settlement figure, agreeable to both sides. It took place or was reached in February 2009, three months later.”
Boucher-Hayes: “Did you effectively sidestep this debt, the repayment of this investment, by changing the name of the company?”
Gallagher: “I think by 2003, if my memory serves me well, we had launched the company, we had now begun to recruit and we were probably employing about 10-12 people and obviously cashflow was an issue. So I sought advice from my financial advisers and legal advisers at the time.
Their professional advice was it did not need to be repaid. I took that advice. Later the enterprise board then asserted a different view. I was happy to consider that and I instructed my finance and legal team to address it and to make sure they came to a solution that was acceptable to both sides. And that did take place.”
Boucher-Hayes: “OK. But you have said that this money was of use to the company when it was started up. Did you not feel a moral obligation to pay the money because at the point in time the enterprise board came looking for it in 2005 the company’s office records suggest that you had €650,000 on hand, or in the bank, so you would have been more than able to pay it back.
Gallagher: “Well we were in a very aggressive growth stage at the time trying to keep up and to grow, to grow the business but, as I say, I met with my finance and legal advisers and I asked them to give me their view on it. As professionals, they felt that it wasn’t a liability of a new company.”
Boucher-Hayes: “Do you not regret, having followed the advice that you were given. Because, really, for all intents and purposes, HWS and SH were one and the same company, and you sidestepped that debt.
Gallagher: “No I don’t believe it was an issue of sidestepping at all. I don’t accept that. I mean, certainly we were in the process of creating jobs and developing a new business and as soon as the enterprise board asserted the view that it felt, contrary to my advice that I had received from my financial and legal advisers, I instructed immediately my financial and legal advisors to an acceptable solution on both side and that settlement…
Boucher-Hayes: “So obviously you did make a payment back then. So your financial advisers, your legal advisers, were wrong. You did owe that money from the beginning.”
Gallagher: “Well I don’t believe that’s either the case because it didn’t go through court. There was a settlement arrived at and I mean, unfortunately, I can’t give you the figure because it was a confidential settlement. I would personally be happy to give it to you because it was substantial.”
Boucher-Hayes: “Well why don’t you then? Because I’ve talked to the chief executive of the county enterprise board and I infer from that conversation that the only person binding him to confidentiality is you.
So if you are happy to give us the figure, tell us how much of the money you paid back, why not just release yourself from that obligation then?”
Gallagher: “Well no I mean this was settled between the various solicitors. But it was a figure that was substantial, substantially close to the full amount.
It was accepted on terms and acceptable to both sides. So, as far as I’m concerned, that matter was put to bed. The legal advice I got and the professional advice I got was what I received at the time and as soon as I was informed or asserted by the enterprise board that they felt it was a liability of the new company, I did set the process in train, I did have the issue resolved and I’m happy that it as..”
Boucher-Hayes: “Do you regret anything about how you handled this episode?
Gallagher: “I wouldn’t use the word regret. I mean I think one makes judgments and decisions all the time in business and for me what you have to do, and I was starting out in business, my first business, and I took the financial and legal advice that was available to me at the time. If I was doing it again perhaps I would have done it differently.
But, you know, all of use develop and grow and…but I’m happy that the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the enterprise board and indeed of Smart Homes.”
Listen here
(Photocall Ireland)For some couples, finding out that you are pregnant can be the happiest moment of your life. This woman and her husband were over the moon when they found out that she was expecting twins. After a much longed for baby, the couple, Lisa and Darren Hansen, were delighted to discover that they had successfully conceived not just one child, but two. But sometimes when joy comes around, it comes at a price.
What the couple didn't know was a very worrying piece of information. After a doctor had done several ultrasound scans, he still did not believe his eyes by what he discovered...
How Would You React If You Saw This In Your Scan?
A dream come true, Lisa Hansen finally discovered she was having twins. But after a number of ultrasounds, something didn't seem quite right. In fact, there was something not only exceptionally rare, but very concerning about Lisa's pregnancy.SAN QUINTÍN VALLEY, Mexico — In the fields of BerryMex, one of the largest berry growers in the San Quintín Valley of Mexico, laborers hunch over at the waist for hours. They shuffle through long rows of organic strawberry plants — long called the devil’s fruit by pickers — meticulously checking each one for ripe fruit. This backbreaking work earns them pennies — 12 cents to pick a 1-pound pack that retails for $4.99 at a Whole Foods near Washington, D.C. Ernesto Morales (his name has been changed for his employment protection), 60, picks strawberries for BerryMex. A Mixtec from the southwestern state of Oaxaca, he’s among the 6 million Mexicans who speak indigenous languages. He never attended school, tending his family’s animals instead. At 15 or 16, he started picking tomatoes in the western state of Sinaloa. He didn’t speak Spanish until after he moved to Baja California in the early 1970s.
On March 26, 2015, thousands of farmworkers striking for higher wages marched down Highway 1 to a demonstration in front of the main government building in San Quintín, Mexico. Josh Rushing In March, Morales joined thousands of pickers in the largest strike of Mexican farmworkers in decades. At the peak of harvest, pickers walked out of the fields and blocked the highway north leaving fruit to rot on the vine. Police responded swiftly, breaking up the demonstrations with tear gas and batons. Dozens were arrested. Though Morales and his wife participated in the demonstration, they avoided the crackdown. “We went to support the strike,” he said. “My wife and I think alike. We are thinking about our kids, our youth. We are older now. We can die anytime. But we want a future for our children, our youth. We want them to move forward. We went to support the strike and to listen to what the leaders have to say.” After days of negotiating, farm owners offered field workers a 15 percent raise — about $1.20 more a day for the average worker. Leaders of the strike responded by reducing their demand from 300 pesos, or $20, a day as a basic day rate to 200 pesos a day. The farm owners rejected the counteroffer and walked away from the talks. In the meantime, most pickers returned to work. The idea of a prolonged work stoppage was never a reality for low-paid laborers like Morales. “There are too many people who want to work. If we don’t go to work, there are plenty of people who want to work. There is no option for us. We have to go,” he said. Many workers said they felt the same way. As much as they wanted to keep pressure on the growers while the negotiations continued, they also needed to keep food on their families’ tables. “Most of the world is unemployed or underemployed so it’s very easy then to break up strikes,” said Eric Holt-Giménez, executive director of the Institute for Food Development and Policy in Oakland, California. “That's especially true in Mexico where people have been dispossessed of their land. So people will work for basically starvation wages because they need to work.” With the wage issue still unresolved in April, and workers still in the fields, labor leaders escalated their pleas to the federal level. In early June the government announced a compromise, which experts have hailed a historic victory for labor. They announced a tiered system in which farms are grouped by size. The new day rates for large operations will be 180 pesos a day; medium, 165 pesos; and small farms, 150 pesos. What it means for Morales is about an extra $4 on the new day rates. It’s not what Morales had hoped for, but he’ll certainly take it — he has no other choice. His family lives paycheck to paycheck. “When I can no longer work, that’s it,” he said. “But now I can still work, even though I am slower. My body is tired, but I do all I can.”
Dominga Muniz prepares a Sunday dinner for her family in San Quintín, Mexico. Josh Rushing
Morales has worked in the fields for more than four decades. After years of working in Sinaloa and Baja California, in 1975 he paid a coyote $300 to ferret him across the border to the U.S. — a trip that can cost up to $5,000 today. “When I arrived in Fresno, the first thing I did was trim grapevines, peach trees, nectarine trees, plum trees. I used to trim all that,” he recalled. He followed the harvest up the West Coast from California to Washington state and back, part of the mostly invisible labor behind the bounty of produce that fills U.S. grocery stores and homes. “The typical agricultural worker today is indigenous — is from Oaxaca, maybe from the [indigenous] Triquis,” said Holt-Giménez. The Mexican fieldworkers’ traditional migration route starts in Oaxaca and winds through Sinaloa and Baja California before crossing into the U.S. and running through California’s Imperial and Central valleys, all the way up to the border with Canada. According to Holt-Giménez, the Mexican migrant workers are the most exploited, marginalized and vulnerable laborers on the continent. “And these are all former peasants,” he continued. “They’re former peasants because, one, that’s where they learned how to work so hard. No one else works this hard. You have to have started working this hard by the time you were 5 years old. And two, because of the free-trade agreements. Their economies were destroyed, and they were no longer able to compete with subsidized corn coming from the U.S.” Morales’ most recent stay in the U.S. was from 2005 to 2011, after which he returned to Mexico to care for his wife, Dominga Muniz, who was sick at the time. A father of nine, he decided to remain in Mexico because of the loneliness of life without his family and an increasingly hostile environment for undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. “Being there without papers, you are always on the watch for immigration services or something like that,” he said. “But there are farm owners who gave us work there, and we want to work. If there are farm owners who want to hire us, we do the work. We just want to work.” Morales said he bought almost everything he now has — a relatively large house with kitchen cabinets, a refrigerator and running water — with money he earned in the U.S. His days of hard labor continue — no less difficult in Baja California but far less lucrative. He has gone from making $8 to $11 an hour north of the border to about the same amount for a day’s labor in San Quintín. “To bend forward all day long, we get tired. When we stand up, our waist really hurts,” Morales said. He said his wife’s workload is even more grueling. Muniz wakes at 4 a.m. six days a week to prepare lunches. The two of them then board a 5:45 a.m. bus that delivers pickers to any one of BerryMex’s many ranches in the valley. Theoretically, the workday is eight hours, but many workers say it often lasts longer. Pickers say they are at the mercy of their bosses, who determine when the work is done and buses may leave. BerryMex’s sole distributor in the U.S. is Driscoll’s, a privately owned company based in Watsonville, California. With the tag line “Only the finest berries,” Driscoll’s is one of the largest distributors of berries in the country and can be found in stores ranging from Whole Foods to Walmart. Berries are the No.-1-selling fruit in the U.S., with more than $3 billion in annual sales, according to Nielsen Perishables, which tracks sales of fresh fruit in U.S. grocery stores. Muniz washes clothes and cooks dinner after returning home in the evenings. She feels she cannot miss a day of work, as exhausted as she may be, because 16 members of their family, from three generations, live in their home. Including Muniz, eight of the 11 adults work in the fields, and every salary is needed to get by.
'There are too many people who want to work. If we don’t go to work, there are plenty of people who want to work. There is no option for us. We have to go.' Ernesto Morales strawberry farmworker
On a recent Sunday Muniz and Morales went grocery shopping for the family. Loaded into their station wagon — another luxury purchased with money he earned in the U.S. — they drove across San Quintín, passing large flashy grocery stores that would look familiar to most Americans. Eventually they arrived where the pickers shop. It’s not as shiny or bright, but it’s not bad either. As the couple ambled up and down the aisles, every selection became an exercise in math: Which item is least expensive? Is this bag of rice or roll of toilet paper a few pesos cheaper than that one? Eventually their cart swelled with provisions for the week. At the checkout it totaled 1,576.48 pesos, or just over $100. Not bad for such a large family, but for workers who average about $10 a day, it was a significant portion of their budget and was possible only because it’s harvest time for strawberries. Pickers are paid a basic day rate with incentives, depending on how many berries they pick. During harvest, they earn more money. Between harvests? “We have to forget the meat and eat only beans, rice and soup,” Morales said. San Quintín, like much of the rest of Mexico, has experienced rising costs of living. Morales has never earned much, but he says his pay once stretched further. “With 100 pesos, we could buy many things, and we had an extra 200 or 250 pesos. Now every month, every moment, prices are rising, and we don’t get paid more money. Our earnings are not enough.” If he wants to earn more, Morales will have to pick more strawberries. But there’s a constant pressure on pickers to harvest only the best-looking berries, which limits how much he can make. “The site managers tell us we have to pack the best fruits because buyers are squeamish and cleaner than us,” Morales said. “Well, when there are a lot of strawberries, we try to pick just the best ones. But if there are not many strawberries to pick, we can’t do much work.”
Younger, more nimble pickers at the BerryMex farm tend to earn more, particularly during the peak season, because of incentives for faster work. Josh Rushing
BerryMex has said that workers have the opportunity to make $5 to $9 an hour. "The issue of wages is a very murky issue. It’s not clear. It’s very hard to have a conversation with either employers or workers and to know exactly what people make. And this is extremely frustrating,” said Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, the project director at UCLA’s Center for Labor Research and Education. “Even workers when they look at their pay stub, they wouldn’t be able to tell you what they make. And I think that’s something that has to change. We need to make it clear on the part of employers, on the part of workers, a paying system that is predictable and is clear for everybody so that we know how much they make.” He said wages vary by season and how fit workers are. “A fast picker at the peak of the season would make pretty good money, and that’s the attraction of this,” he said. “When young women and men are flexible and they’re willing to work hard, they can sustain that kind of work for three months.” After decades of this tough work, it’s difficult for Morales and Muniz to keep up with the younger workers. “They always make more money than we do because they are faster,” he said. “They get to pick 40 boxes, and we can barely pick 25 to 30 boxes. And yesterday I picked only 13 boxes with good quality.” BerryMex and Driscoll’s declined repeated requests for an interview, but Soren Bjorn, Driscoll’s executive vice president, provided this written statement: BerryMex, an independent grower of Driscoll’s berries, took an active role in negotiations well before the agreement last week. As one of Driscoll’s strongest partners, they have consistently served as a leader within the larger agriculture community in Baja throughout this process by increasing wages and earning potential for their workers and going beyond just fair pay to also focus on advancing working conditions. We truly believe that if other growers in Baja modeled themselves after BerryMex, most of the issues that have plagued the San Quintín community could have been avoided. Both BerryMex and Driscoll’s are owned by the Reiter family.
Fernando Rodriguez, the third-generation family CEO of Los Pinos Ranch, watches over workers waiting to unload tomatoes they picked. Los Pinos exports a quarter-billion pounds of tomatoes to the U.S. annually. Josh Rushing
Another big player in the San Quintín Valley is Los Pinos Ranch, which exports 250 million pounds of tomatoes a year to the U.S. Los Pinos CEO Fernando Rodriguez recently toured some of his hothouses while workers picked tomatoes. Each hothouse holds about 3 1/2 acres of tomato plants. Workers on stilts adjust the vines on high lines as pickers fill white buckets with 20 pounds of mostly green tomatoes. Tomatoes are ripped from the vines and thrust into the buckets with such speed and force it sounds like snare drums beating as bands of pickers swarm the aisles. Once their buckets are filled, they sprint to a center path, where a tractor pulls a trailer with large white crates that pickers dump their fruit into. A counter puts a tick by each pickers name on a roster as they dump their buckets. For each 20-pound load, a worker receives a single peso. When the white crates are full, the tractors take their haul to the largest tomato packing plant in the Americas, where belts usher tomatoes through lines of quality assurance workers and a computerized system that weighs and takes seven photos of each tomato. Eventually they are dumped by size and quality into cardboard cases and loaded onto trucks. Within hours, they will be in the U.S. heading to a grocery store, reddening along the way. Rodriguez admits it would be hard to get by on what pickers make. He said prices across Mexico are rising, including the price of growing tomatoes. “All prices are increasing. Beehives are increasing, the pollination system. The desalination is expensive … The carton is expensive,” he said. “The margin day after day is less and less.”I love going to DemoCamp, it is one of my favourite recurring events in Guelph and one of my two favourite tech events locally. I am a big supporter of the technology industry in Guelph even though I’m only in the soft side of technology as a content creator. Guelph has such a unique culture around it, combining science with arts in almost everything it does, as witnessed with the marriage of DemoCamp and live music right after. Because of the strong artistic influence everywhere in Guelph I think our technology field is infinitely more creative and innovative than many other cities.
DemoCamp is an interesting event where the smart minds behind technological solutions get to stand in front of a crowd and see if it is viable, a crowd that is uniquely sympathetic yet incredibly unrelenting. It’s a great way to meet new people and find some interesting tools that maybe need a helping hand to get out of beta.
But here’s the problem with DemoCamp as I see it, and as many people I’ve spoken with see it; for every 10 or 15 men in the audience there is only 1 woman. This does not bode well for anyone. Especially not for the people demoing their product since the reality is there might be more than 10 women using their product. Wouldn’t it be great to know if your idea works with both genders? Wouldn’t it be great to meet people who can help you push your idea further and introduce you to the people you need to know? Isn’t it likely that if half of the population isn’t represented that means all of these innovative people with great ideas are missing out on meeting half of the people they need to be successful.
Sorry, I misspoke. The problem isn’t with DemoCamp, it’s with women choosing not to come out. So how do we get more women in the audience at DemoCamp? And how do we get more women on stage demoing their products?
I don’t know the answer to that, but I hope that by being more visible at DemoCamp, by acting as a judge, that the rest of the audience will see me and encourage more women to come out, to let their friends and co-workers know that DemoCamp IS a place where women hang out.
And I’m not alone. I’ve got 3 other women with me who are stepping up to be more visible.
Christina Moulton, iPhone app developer and principal with Teak Mobile Inc, Valerie Lalonde, community manager with Innosphere SDG Ltd, and Dawn Smith, digital marketing specialist with Desire2Learn
In their words –
Christina – https://twitter.com/ChristinaMltn
I go to DemoCamp because it’s always interesting to see what different people have been working on, whether they’re startups looking for feedback on early products or just really neat hobby projects. It’s always a friendly crowd enthusiastic to chat about tech. I always seem to meet someone who’s working in tech but in a way I’d never have thought of, like making music & sound effects for video games. I’ve done a demo and found it a welcoming space with relevant, practical feedback and lots of great follow up conversations.
Tech has been an opportunity for me to carve out a career that fits what I want from my life. While I’m always happy to see anyone demo, it’s especially nice to see women in an area that offers opportunities for having more control over their time. Plus it’s so rewarding to actually build and show off your projects. I don’t think women get a lot of chances to build things and get acknowledged for it.
Valerie – https://twitter.com/Valerie_Lalonde
I believe it’s important that women find their passion whether it is in a female dominate work setting like fashion, office administration or early childhood education, or if it’s on the opposite side of the spectrum in a male dominated industry like construction, technology or science. It’s important that expectations and stereotypes in society don’t mold young women into a role and/or deter them from finding that special talent that will drive them into success.
Once they’ve found their passion they shouldn’t be afraid of crashing the old boys club; the group will be so happy to have you there! Embrace what you know, soak up what you don’t & impress all of the other attendees with your knowledge. It’s important that women attend these events to advance their career. Events like Democamp allow you to meet alike individuals, learn related skills and get feedback or tips from experts in the field. Networking is the key! Don’t let the guys continue to get ahead, break your way into the groups and you’ll be happy you did; especially when it becomes time to look for a job or find a partner for a project you’re working on. The tech community in a city like Guelph is small, so become a part of it and start making those connections!
Dawn – https://twitter.com/saffyre9
Why do I go? Initially I went for networking with like-minded people. Now, I like going to support the community, support local start-ups, and of course more networking 🙂
Why is it important for women to be there? Honestly, it’s not about quotas or percentages or minimum representation. To me, if you want to be in the tech space, and are serious about tech, then you need to be at the events that are relevant, regardless of your gender.
And I say this having once been the only female in attendance at a Democamp Guelph 🙂
Come on ladies! There’s nobody at the door saying you aren’t allowed in, so come out to DemoCamp tonight and have a great night with us!The NFL draft begins Thursday in Chicago. It's a change of venue for a league re-defining itself both on and off the field. The NFL will follow a new personal conduct policy, and two new employees will help investigate player misconduct.
In an interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the league didn't meet its own high standards for conduct and "the way we handle things."
"We didn't meet the standard because we didn't get it right. Very simple," Goodell told Rose, explaining that in his view, the league simply did not have the right policies in place.
NFL commissioner on why league didn't see violent Ray Rice video
"We didn't have the right people. And we were relying on the law enforcement... to make our decisions for us. That's not the way we have to do this. We have to do this with getting the right facts, get them independently if we have to, and make the right decisions ultimately. And while people may disagree about a suspension being ten games or nine games... the NFL is setting a new standard," Goodell said. "We're doing what our fans expect of us and, I think, the general public."
Those changes are starting before this seasons kickoff. This month, an NFL investigation found defensive end Greg Hardy had assaulted his then-girlfriend -- a violation of their personal conduct policy. Even though criminal charges had been dismissed, he was suspended for 10 games without pay.
"We met with Greg Hardy several times," Goodell said. "We also had some, what I would call aggravating circumstances, where you had weapons involved. You had hands to the neck area. That was problematic for us... and that's what we ultimately need, are the facts. And then we can apply our policy. Our policy is not the same as the criminal standard. It's a standard that says, 'If you violate our personal conduct policy, you're subject to discipline.'"
Judge approves nearly $1 billion NFL concussion settlement
Conduct isn't the only issue at hand for the NFL. A federal judge last week approved a concussion lawsuit settlement involving more than 5,000 former players. The deal is expected to cost the NFL more than a billion dollars over 65 years.
Goodell said the league has made significant changes at the professional level that have impacted all levels of the game.
"We've had a 25 percent reduction in concussions this last season... There are better processes in place with our medical personnel to identify the injury. But we are preventing these injuries through rule changes, through equipment," Goodell said.
The settlement was something "we thought was important to do because we want to make sure that the players who may need help, who may need assistance, or their families, get that as soon as possible," he said.
"Rather than litigating this for years and years, we have a fund that's available based on need," Goodell said.
But many former players object to the settlement's definition of "need." They say they're suffering from illnesses not covered under the proposed agreement, and about 200 players have opted out. Goodell said those players made up for less than 1 percent of the total.
"And that number's going down dramatically," Goodell said. "And frankly, whether the research indicates the types of things that people were charging -- there were real challenges in there."
One challenge the NFL has yet to settle is whether the New England Patriots used deflated balls to their advantage in last season's AFC Championship Game. An independent lawyer, Ted Wells, is still investigating, and Goodell said he expects it won't be long before Wells makes his report.
"I think it's hard because you want to make sure you have all the information," he said. "One of the things that he would be asked to look for: Was it just one game?"
When asked whether there was any suspicion that it was not limited to one game, Goodell said "there's no suspicion of anything."
"What we're trying to do is just make sure we're thorough... The most important thing here is: Was there a violation of the rules? And if so, how did that occur?" he said.
"We have a responsibility to the 32 teams -- not just to one team, to 32 teams -- and our fans, and the general public here to make sure that things were done fairly," Goodell said.
Goodell said he couldn't be more optimistic about the NFL and there's no one as determined as he his to make the league as good as it can be.
"I believe in adversity... It makes you stronger if you evaluate, and you're not afraid of learning," he said. "We have to make the NFL better. And that means all of us have to get better. That means all of us have to reach to a higher level. And that's what we're going to do."Want Warriors news in your inbox? Sign up for the free DubsDaily newsletter.
OAKLAND — The Warriors enter Thursday night’s NBA Draft without a pick. Their first-rounder is in Utah and their second-rounder has bounced around to Atlanta, both conveyed via the Andre Iguodala sign-and-trade four offseasons ago.
“The final credit card debt (from that transaction),” Bob Myers called it.
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Warriors’ Draymond Green to play vs Charlotte But even without a pick, the front office remains active. Last year, the Warriors gave Milwaukee $2.4 million for the 38th pick, where they snagged Patrick McCaw. This year, they’re angling to do something similar.
Myers has a big white board in his office. All the prospects are listed. Some of them have a big red ‘B’ next to their name.
“There are guys we would buy a pick for,” Myers said. “If you snuck in there, it would be fun to see.”
The NBA has a financial limit for these kind of transactions. This year it is $3.6 million. You cannot send out or receive more than that in an NBA calendar year, which ends on June 30th.
The Warriors haven’t sent or received any money in transactions this season, so they have the full $3.6 million to spend. Now they must find a partner that has the available space to absorb it and the willingness to move their pick for capital.
These deals usually go down starting in the mid to late second round. The Sixers seem like an ideal partner. They have four second-round picks: the 36th, 39th, 46th and 50th selections. But they’ve already received $3.4 million in trades this season. So that option is essentially stripped away.
Then how about Boston? The Celtics have the 3rd, 37th, 53rd and 56th selections on Thursday, very little roster space and a glut of future picks already piled up. Plus they haven’t sent or received money in a transaction this season. Maybe they can cash in one of those late second-rounders for some money from the Warriors.
But that’s dependent on Golden State’s front office actually liking a prospect enough when that selection comes open. So who do they like? We were given at least a mild peek into their thinking.
Over the past few weeks, the Warriors have worked out 18 prospects in three sets of six. Nine of them were guards, seven of them were forwards, two were centers.
All are considered mid to late second round prospects. Some are likely to go undrafted. But there were a few intriguing names.
Monte Morris, who worked out for the Warriors on May 26, was a four-year point guard at Iowa State. He shot near 40 percent from 3 in college, led the country with a 5.17 assist-to-turnover ratio last season and is considered a sturdy defender for his position.
He’s old for a draft prospect, turning 22 next week, and his skill set doesn’t wow. But his intelligent, efficient style would seem to fit the Warrior mold at that backup guard slot and, if Shaun Livingston or Ian Clark leave in free agency, there could be a need.
But the team’s biggest hole remains at center. They patched it up well this past season, but Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, David West and James Michael McAdoo are all free agents, Damian Jones remains an unknown and Kevon Looney has been a disappointment. Maybe they throw a dart at another young center and see if it sticks.
Chance Comanche is the most intriguing of the bigs they worked out, but he’d be a major project, unready for next year. Comanche played two years at Arizona, Steve Kerr’s alma mater, barely seeing the floor as a freshman and then putting up modest stats as a sophomore (6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and only 0.4 blocks in 18.1 minutes per game).
But he’s 6-foot-11 with a wingspan that stretches beyond 7 feet. He’s slender but pretty mobile for a big and, if cultivated and developed right, has the tools that could translate down the line. Maybe the Warriors are intrigued by him as a guy to stash in the D-League.
But they may be after somebody who didn’t even work out for them. It wasn’t exactly easy to sell prospects on a flight to Oakland.
“Agents aren’t thrilled when you call and say, ‘Will you come work out for us?’ and they ask ‘What pick do you have?’ and you say: ‘We don’t have a pick,'” Myers said. “There are other teams that own those picks. Agents have to prioritize those teams.”
It remains possible the Warriors don’t jump into Thursday’s draft. They have the financial go-ahead from Lacob, but the right situation, trade partner and prospect has to emerge at the right time.
“I don’t think it makes sense to buy into the draft unless you really like somebody,” Steve Kerr said.
Kerr was in the draft room last year when the scouts raved about McCaw and executed the move to get him. He then used McCaw regularly as a rookie, played him important minutes in the title-winning game and considers him a useful rotation piece into the future, making only $1.3 million next season.
Considering the financial situation that awaits the Warriors over the next few years trying to pay their four stars, grabbing some cheap, young labor at the back end of their roster could prove vital. Maybe they’ll get that on Thursday. Or maybe they won’t.
“It would be really helpful for us to have some young guys on rookie contracts,” Kerr said. “But if you don’t like anyone there, then it may not make any sense. It’s depending on the board.”
A look at the prospects who worked out for the Warriors
May 26
Monte Morris — Iowa State guard
London Perrantes — Virginia guard
Eric Mika — BYU center
Antonio Blakeney — LSU guard
Malcolm Hill — Illinois forward
Jacob Wiley — Eastern Washington forward
June 3
Davon Reed — Miami guard
VJ Beachem — Notre Dame forward
Isaiah Hicks — North Carolina forward
Peter Jok — Iowa guard
Andrew White — Syracuse guard
Cameron Oliver — Nevada forward
June 20
Chance Comanche — Arizona center
Sterling Brown — SMU guard
Bronson Koenig — Wisconsin guard
Ben Moore — SMU forward
Tai Webster — Nebraska guard
Canyon Barry — Florida guard (Rick Barry’s son)A member of Anonymous has allegedly been arrested in Australia after authorities tracked down his identity and whereabouts from a graphic cleavage shot of a bikini-clad woman.
The FBI charged Higinio O Ochoa III, from Texas, with hacking into the websites of US law enforcement agencies and dumping personal information of police officers including their home addresses, home and mobile phone numbers.
The suspect is allegedly a member of CabinCr3w, an offshoot of the Anonymous hacking collective.
Ochoa also holds a Twitter account with the name AnonWormer. In February, it pointed followers to a website where data stolen from the law enforcement websites was published.
At the bottom of the website was a photograph of a woman, who authorities believe to be Ochoa's girlfriend. She was portrayed from the neck down, holding a sign saying "PwNd by w0rmer & CabinCr3w
The FBI was able to trace the GPS co-ordinates from the picture, which led to a Melbourne suburb where Ochoa was arrested.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the FBI found two references on the web to the nickname "wormer", one of which |
Egypt A piece of the engine sits on the ground at the crash site on November 1. Hide Caption 7 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian army soldiers guard the luggage and other belongings of passengers piled up at the site of the crash on November 1. Hide Caption 8 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Debris belonging to the Russian airliner is shown at the site of the crash on November 1. Hide Caption 9 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt More debris is shown on November 1. The crash site is in a remote area of a region plagued by a violent Islamic insurgency. Hide Caption 10 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Debris from the airliner is seen on November 1. Hide Caption 11 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Debris at the crash site on November 1. Hide Caption 12 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Candles, toys, flowers and portraits are left at Pulkovo International Airport outside St. Petersburg on November 1. Hide Caption 13 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt People place flowers and messages in front of the Russian Embassy in Cairo on November 1. Hide Caption 14 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian paramedics load the bodies of victims into a military plane at a military air base by the Suez Canal on Saturday, October 31. Hide Caption 15 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, third from right, visits the site of the plane crash with military and government officials on October 31. Hide Caption 16 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Ismail, center, and other officials visit the site of the plane crash on October 31. Hide Caption 17 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt An item of clothing lies at the site where the plane crashed on October 31. Hide Caption 18 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt The tail of the jet sits in a field on October 31. Hide Caption 19 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Villagers watch an ambulance as it drives to unload bodies on October 31. Hide Caption 20 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt People light candles and leave flowers at the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, on October 31. Hide Caption 21 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt A relative reacts to news at Pulkovo International Airport on October 31. Hide Caption 22 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Employees with the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations wait in Moscow for their flight to Egypt on October 31. Hide Caption 23 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt Journalists and spectators wait for ambulances to arrive at the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo on October 31. Hide Caption 24 of 25 Photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt An Egyptian soldier prays as emergency workers prepare to unload bodies of victims at a military airport north of Suez, Egypt, on October 31. Hide Caption 25 of 25
"Therefore the only reason that could explain the plane's breaking up in the midair can be a certain impact, a purely mechanical (and/or) physical impact on (the) flying vessel," he said.
The vague comment made translation difficult, with some interpreting that the executive said an "external influence" caused the crash.
The head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, however, quickly pushed back.
"It is completely premature to speak about the reasons of this, as there are not grounds. And I'd like to call on the aviation community to refrain from any premature conclusions," Transport Agency chief Alexander Neradko told the state-run Russian news agency Sputniknews.com
Learning that the plane broke into pieces while in the air helps reduce the list of possible causes of the crash, but there are still plenty of scenarios, said CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz.
"It narrows it down a little bit, but there are a number of issues that could have affected this plane," said Goelz, a former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB. "And terrorism has not been ruled out."
He suggested the disaster could have resulted from "some sort of catastrophic failure, perhaps caused by an earlier maintenance problem. It could have been a center fuel tank that might have exploded."
THE PLANE
The A321-200 was built in 1997, and the airline company Kogalymavia, which flies under the name Metrojet, had been operating it since 2012, Airbus said. The aircraft had clocked around 56,000 flight hours over the course of nearly 21,000 flights, the plane maker said.
And so far, officials have said all its inspections were in order.
The aircraft passed a routine inspection before takeoff, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob said Saturday.
JUST WATCHED Report: Russian plane's condition concerned co-pilot Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Report: Russian plane's condition concerned co-pilot 03:29
According to the Aviation Safety Network, which tracks aircraft incidents, the same plane's tail struck a runway while landing in Cairo in 2001 and required repair. At the time, the aircraft was registered to the Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines, registration records show.
Kogalymavia's Andrei Averyanov said the plane had been damaged in 2001, but had most recently been thoroughly checked for cracks in 2013. Not enough time had passed for major cracks to develop to a critical size since then, he said.
Smirnov said that he had personally flown the plane in recent months and that it was "pristine."
THE VICTIMS
There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board Flight 9268. Of the passengers, 209 were Russian, four were Ukrainian and one was Belarusian. The citizenships of three other passengers are unknown.
JUST WATCHED Russia mourns those lost in Egypt plane crash Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Russia mourns those lost in Egypt plane crash 01:47
Russian media reported that the disaster created a large number of orphans in Russia, as a lot of parents left their young children with relatives while they took vacations in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Most of the bodies retrieved at the crash site are intact, a medical source in Sinai told CNN on Monday, and showed no major burns.
The photo of 10-month-old Darina Gromova posted by the baby's mother before a family trip to Egypt.
So far, two flights carrying remains of victims have flown to Russia, according to the TASS news agency. The first flight carried 130 bodies and dozens of body fragments. It was unclear how many victims' remains were aboard the second flight, which landed in St. Petersburg early Tuesday.
THE INVESTIGATION
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has promised Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will allow "the broadest possible participation of Russian experts in the investigation," according to the Kremlin, and Russian officials have joined their Egyptian counterparts at the crash scene. Putin has also ordered Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to open an investigation, the Kremlin said.
JUST WATCHED Aviation official: Russian jet disintegrated in mid-air Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Aviation official: Russian jet disintegrated in mid-air 03:16
Aviation investigators from France and Germany, the countries where the plane was manufactured, are also taking part.
The aircraft's engines were manufactured in the United States. If the plane's engines become a focus of the investigation, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will likely dispatch a team to Egypt as well, a U.S official with knowledge of the investigation said.
The plane's black boxes, which were recovered at the crash site Saturday, have not yet been read or decoded, Smirnov said.
Photo released by Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation.
THE REGION
Sharm el-Sheikh, where Flight 9268 began its journey, is a beach resort dotted with palm trees at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. The plane crashed about 300 kilometers (185 miles) farther north, near a town called Housna, according to Egyptian authorities.
The Sinai Peninsula has been a battleground between ISIS-affiliated militants and Egyptian security forces. The conflict has killed hundreds of people.
The militants appeared to claim responsibility for bringing down the Russian passenger jet in a statement posted online Saturday, but officials in Egypt and Russia disputed it.
Mahjoob, the airport official, said there was no evidence of a terrorist attack. And Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the claim that terrorists brought down the plane with an anti-aircraft missile "cannot be considered reliable," according to RIA Novosti.
The Egyptian military said militants in Sinai have shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft weapons that shoot only as high as 14,000 feet, far short of the more than 30,000 feet at which Flight 9268 was flying when it dropped off radar.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov refused to discount terrorism, telling CNN's Matthew Chance on Monday that "only (the) investigation can rule out something."
Metrojet executives also said Monday that it was too early in the investigation to speculate or draw any conclusions. But Smirnov referred to purported footage of the crash posted by militants, saying: "Those images you have seen on the Internet, I think they are fake."A baseball season is the amalgamation of a lot of little events. Each pitch fits into a plate appearance which fits into an inning which fits into a game which fits into a series which fits into a season. That’s a lot of little data points flowing into an overall end result. We care a lot about which players will have good seasons and careers. It matters to us that we can distinguish between good players and bad players, but doing so requires that we understand which chunks of data are meaningful and which aren’t.
Enter sample size. You’ve heard this phrase plenty over the years when talking about baseball statistics and it’s usually a conversation ender rather than a conversation starter. Someone cites a stat and then another person says it doesn’t matter because the sample size is too small. What does that mean and how should we properly think about sample size in baseball?
If you’re just looking for the numbers, skip ahead by clicking here.
Overview:
Each little moment in baseball is essentially random. Not random in the sense that all outcomes are equally likely and subject completely to chance, but random in the sense that the most likely outcome doesn’t happen every time. If the best hitter in baseball faced the worst pitcher 100 times, he would very likely strike out a couple of times and hit into a double play or two. He wouldn’t always hit a home run even if it was Coors Field and the pitcher was throwing meatballs. Think about the home run derby. MLB players can’t simply hit home runs on demand even when the pitcher is trying to help.
When dealing with pitches flying 90+ miles per hour and split second movements, a whole bunch of randomness gets thrown into the pot. This means that any one plate appearance might have a funky result, meaning that you need to see lots of events to get a clear picture of what is going on. You know this. One time Don Kelly took Yu Darvish deep.
So of course, we know that a single plate appearance isn’t a convincing amount of data. Even the least sabermetrically-minded person agrees with that concept. That single plate appearance is a valid data point, but it’s not enough information to inform your opinion very fully. Instead, you need more and more data points until you have enough for them to “stabilize.” Remember that word because the way we’re going to come back to it in a very specific way in a moment.
Essentially, we want to make sure we have enough observations that the random noise gets cancelled out. Don Kelly hit a home run against Yu Darvish one time, but how many Kelly versus Davrish at bats do we need before we can accurately access their abilities? It’s more than one for sure, but the actual number you need depends on the skill you’re trying to analyze. For example, strikeout rate starts to communicate useful information in fewer than 100 PA while BABIP for a pitcher can take three years. The difference is the nature of the skill and the number of factors that influence the outcome of the play. With respect to strikeout rate, we’re only talking about the batter and pitcher’s ability to make or allow contact (or let strikes go by). When you’re talking about BABIP, you’re adding in quality of contact, direction, weather, defensive ability, luck, etc. That means there’s more room for noise and things with less noise in the actual data generating process stabilize more quickly. There are also diminishing returns. Having 20 PA is better than five PA, but having 520 PA is only a little better than having 505 PA.
Stabilization? Reliability?
So let’s go back to this idea of stabilization. This is the word you hear a lot in conversation about baseball statistics. Conceptually, it’s an ironclad idea. You want to know how many data points it takes for the current information to provide an accurate assessment of the player in question. However, there is no one point at which something stabilizes. Things become stable over time, at a given speed. So after five PA, you know more about a hitter’s walk rate than after one PA, but you don’t know as much as you do after 150 PA or 600 PA. A statistic doesn’t stabilize, it becomes more stable.
The word “stabilize” got into the baseball lexicon after some work by Russell Carleton (aka Pizza Cutter), who looked to see how many PA you need for a given statistic to reach the point where the correlation between that sample and another sample of the same size is 0.7 (i.e. R^2 of.49). That’s the colloquial definition of stabilize and despite Carleton’s constant warnings, most of us picked up the word “stabilize” and ran with it even if it’s not the most useful term. He has done updated work here and here, and has some thoughts about how we talk about stabilization and reliability here.
Regardless, the key is that 100 PA is better than 50 PA no matter the statistic, but smaller samples are more useful for some statistics than others. It’s always better to have more data, but the rate at which the data becomes useful varies based on the statistic. A good way to think about this is by visualizing a curve.
This is from work by Sean Dolinar and Jonah Pemstein which takes a methodology similar to Carleton’s but doesn’t focus on the.49 R^2 (technically Cronbach’s Alpha for the technically inclined). Instead, they plot the reliability measure for each 10 PA increment to better show the nature of stabilization. As you can see, K% crosses the.49 threshold much more quickly that the other statistics, which is consistent with our common understanding, but this also shows that the first 200 PA are much more important than the second 200 PA for understanding K%, something you wouldn’t necessarily see in the Carleton studies. Here is a link to their update work which allows you to visualize many different statistics using this method. The same tool is available below.
Practical Use:
For practical purposes, you really want to know the difference between a sample that’s meaningful and one that isn’t. There isn’t a point at which it becomes useful data all of a sudden, but there are quantities that are clearly one or the other. For example, 400 PA is enough to tell you a lot about strikeout rate and 30 PA is not enough to tell you much about HR rate. The real trick is how you update your beliefs between those two extremes.
Every April, at least one previously bad hitter has an awesome month. They have a.380 wOBA over three weeks and lots of people rush to suggest they are a breakout candidate who did something during the offseason to improve. It’s important to note that this may be true or it may not be true. All we know is that they hit.380 wOBA over three weeks, let’s call it 85 PA.
Are those 85 PA enough to lead us to totally change our opinion about this bad hitter to the point where we now think they are fundamentally different in the box? Using our sample size rules of thumb, the answer is no. A bad hitter can easily have a.380 wOBA over 85 PA without actually being a different hitter, just due to random chance. A couple lucky bounces and a well timed cluster of hits and his numbers look great even if he’s no different than he was before.
Those 85 PA give you some idea that he might be improving, but they are not sufficient to change your mind completely. A true.380 wOBA hitter should hit.380 over more stretches than a.310 wOBA hitter, but a.310 wOBA hitter can hit.380 over a month no problem.
The goal of these “stabilization” or “reliability” numbers is to prevent you from reacting to data that is still highly susceptible to random chance. Good hitters can have bad results in small samples even when their process is fine. The larger the sample gets, the more we can discount this random noise component and zero in on factors that are within the player’s control. That’s the point of sample size; preventing us from ascribing too much meaning to small chunks of data.
Rules of Thumb:
Here is a tool that allows you to explore those reliability graphs mentioned earlier. If it’s not loading on this page for you, here is a link you can use to find it.
<a href=’#’><img alt=’ ‘ src=’http://public.tableau.com/static/images/ML/MLBStatReliability_0/Batters/1_rss.png’ style=’border: none’ /></a>
If you’re only looking for Carleton’s.49 cut points, they are listed below.
“Stabilization” Points for Offense Statistics:
60 PA: Strikeout rate
120 PA: Walk rate
240 PA: HBP rate
290 PA: Single rate
1610 PA: XBH rate
170 PA: HR rate
910 AB: AVG
460 PA: OBP
320 AB: SLG
160 AB: ISO
80 BIP: GB rate
80 BIP: FB rate
600 BIP: LD rate
50 FBs: HR per FB
820 BIP: BABIP
“Stabilization” Points for Pitching Statistics:
70 BF: Strikeout rate
170 BF: Walk rate
640 BF: HBP rate
670 BF: Single rate
1450 BF: XBH rate
1320 BF: HR rate
630 BF: AVG
540 BF: OBP
550 AB: SLG
630 AB: ISO
70 BIP: GB rate
70 BIP: FB rate
650 BIP: LD rate
400 FB: HR per FB
2000 BIP: BABIP
Links to Further Reading:
525,600 Minutes: How Do You Measure a Player in a Year? – Statistically Speaking / Pizza Cutter
On the Reliability of Pitching Stats – Statistically Speaking / Pizza Cutter
When Samples Become Reliable – FanGraphs
The Beginner’s Guide to Sample Size – FanGraphs
A New Way to Look at Sample Size – FanGraphs
A Long-Needed Update on Reliability – FanGraphs
Should I Worry About My Favorite Pitcher – Baseball Propsectus
It’s A Small Sample Size After All – Baseball Prospectus
Reliably Stable (You Keep Using That Word) – Baseball Propsectus
-Neil Weinberg, Updated August 2017Georgia’s small but growing number of craft brewers already welcome thousands of visitors to their breweries each year for tours and small, hand-drawn “samples” of their beer — given away for free after purchase of a souvenir glass.
But what if you could sit in a tasting room and order a full pint? Or buy your favorite brew in a six-pack “to go” over the counter?
The state has banned such transactions since Prohibition. A number of craft brewers say it’s now time to uncap the bottle.
It’s the latest in a continuing ground war between local brewers and the powerful network of beer wholesalers, with the next battle headed to the state Legislature when the session starts Jan. 12.
Social media and crowd-sourcing campaigns have already begun, with supporters looking no farther than South Carolina — which just this year significantly loosened its restrictions on similar sales by its own craft breweries.
Now, only four other states — Hawaii, Mississippi, North Dakota and West Virginia — have laws similar to Georgia’s, barring craft brewers from either type of direct sale of their beer at the place that they make it.
“I’m a Georgia native, a guy who’s started a couple of businesses and now owns an American manufacturing business. We strongly support the three-tier system, but if someone walks through that door, I can’t sell them the very thing that I make,” said Nick Purdy, a co-owner of Wild Heaven Craft Beers at the border of Decatur and Avondale Estates. “This is a pro-business state, at least reputed to be.”
Georgia uses a “three-tier” system to separate the beer brewer, the wholesaler or distributor who delivers the beer, and then the retail shop, restaurant or bar that sells the beer to customers.
The system came into play as Georgia and the nation emerged from Prohibition, and it aimed to prevent monopolies by national beer manufacturers — the rules, in essence, prevented them from doing it all: making the beer, selling it and delivering it themselves to anyone who wanted.
Wholesalers essentially play the role of middlemen in the state’s regulatory system. They paint a bleak picture of what could happen if the state loosens the rules.
“What (craft brewers) aren’t telling you is that any changes to the current system could negatively impact the state economy, result in higher-priced beer at fewer outlets across the state and create less regulation for what is considered a controlled substance,” said Martin Smith, the director of the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association.
It’s a message that so far has won the day at the Capitol, where the state’s alcohol distribution system has been under discussion for at least a dozen years. Changes have been made, including relaxing state regulations on wine sales (which supporters promote as an agricultural initiative, since grapes are grown at local vineyards) and allowing Sunday alcohol sales.
Beer laws, however, have largely remained more restrictive. A report issued by the Georgia Senate late last year only suggested that brew pubs — which, unlike breweries, sell food and beer to be consumed on-site — be able to sell beer “to go” in reusable growlers (usually large glass bottles) as long as some of it had been consumed during a meal.
Al Zachry of the LaGrange Grocery Co., a family-owned beer distributor in Troup County, was among a number of people who testified about the issue. He said the three-tier system gave him a chance to compete. He also lauded the system as a stable means for tax collection, including the $372 million in alcohol excise taxes that the distributors are responsible for collecting and paying to the government. Wholesalers say this “single collector system” makes it easy for the state to track revenue.
No one questions the increasing popularity of craft beer. While overall beer sales including nationally manufactured brands are down slightly, craft beer sales alone are up about 18 percent nationwide, according to the national Brewers Association. Georgia is experiencing that trend in full swing, although with what craft brewers say is a rub: Only about 2.2 million of the 6.2 million cases of craft beer Georgians drink each year are actually made by the Peach State’s 34 craft brewers.
The rest is “imported” from out of state. While no one believes being able to sell a six-pack or case will make up the difference, local craft brewers want the ability to make extra money — which they say they can then reinvest in their business and in the local economy. Purdy, for example, said he could hire at least three new employees if he could sell beer at his small brewery.
The brewers say they value the relationships with wholesale and retail partners, a relationship that is mutually beneficial for all sides. They also say they welcome the idea of limiting the amount of beer sold or that could be served in a day. For the first time for this upcoming session, they have hired a lobbying firm to help them get their message across. They’ve also started an online petition at gabeerjobs.com.
Wholesalers say craft brewers can grow and prosper within the current system. They also have deeper pockets.
As of Nov. 1, a lobbyist for the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association had spent almost $21,000 on lawmakers this year, almost four times what he spent in 2013. Included was a $5,000 reception for lawmakers in January, $1,500 to sponsor the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus in February, $321 to take the House Regulated Industries Committee (which regulates the liquor industry) out to dinner in March, and $12,000 to house and feed nine top lawmakers speaking at the group’s annual meeting in June.
The brewers, however, aren’t going away.
“If you don’t have a million bucks, maybe a million people will help make things change,” said Nancy Palmer, who recently came on as the first executive director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild.We are all just specks of dust in the universe. Does that make our lives insignificant? I believe it doesn’t because even though we are just an itty-bitty piece of the puzzle, we are all connected. Our lives touch the lives of everyone else on this planet, and for that reason, we are very significant as individuals.
If you really want to ponder something to blow your mind, stop and think about the fact that in this moment of time, as we exist in our own little world, there are over 6 billion other people on the planet having their own experience in that same moment. It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?
This video below, part of the One Day On Earth project, is the trailer for a movie in the making which will include 3,000 hours of footage shot in every country in the world during a 24-hour period. It is in the editing process now. Even just this short trailer illustrates the circle of life. From an environmental perspective, it simply doesn’t make sense to act alone without considering how our actions will affect others in a positive or negative way, even if those people live on the other side of the Earth. You can learn more about One Day on Earth by reading this Fast Company article highlighting the project’s founder, Kyle Ruddick. You can also check out the project on Kickstarter.EDIT: I got another box today and was told there is still one more on the way! Soo exciting! Today I got purple popcorn! I can't wait to try this yummy treat.
YES! You truly did combine the my two obsessions, travel and makeup! I got a great travel kit to put small amounts of cosmetics in to make it safe and easy to travel with. This is really going to make travel easier because I won't have to worry about something breaking and leaking all over the place! I also got a fantastic lipstick duo, I have not tried this brand before and I am super excited about it. The color is perfect for me, how did you do that??? I also got a bunch of samples to try out new cool items. I love it soo much!!President Trump tweeted July 28 that his homeland security secretary, retired Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, is replacing Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff. (Victoria Walker,Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Bear with me, but I am one of those Republicans who have always thought that something would happen or a threshold would be crossed and Donald Trump would pivot to become a better leader. Starting when he won the New Hampshire primary through at least a dozen other points, I thought Trump would see the value of doing things, large and small, differently. I hoped he would behave more rationally.
So, after witnessing President Trump’s first six months in office and the debacle that was last week, what do I think now?
I still hold some dim hope that things could change. Maybe there is something about John F. Kelly’s gravitas that will compel Trump to behave like a president should.
The anti-Trumpers say nothing about how this president can change, but just hear me out.
Perhaps the appointment of the former four-star Marine Corps general as the White House chief of staff is Trump’s cry for help.
Perhaps, at some level, Trump knows the problem with this White House is himself, and since he can’t control himself, maybe a guy like Kelly can. Letting Kelly get rid of Anthony Scaramucci was an acknowledgement by the president that the hiring of Scaramucci was a mistake that needed to be remedied immediately. There are few examples of Trump ever admitting error, so, with Scaramucci’s near-immediate ouster, I see a glimmer of hope that maybe the president realizes he needs to be protected from himself and, in his mind, only someone with Kelly’s stature is worthy of such responsibility.
Perhaps naming Kelly as chief of staff shows more self-awareness on the part of Trump than many ever thought possible.
Okay … maybe not.
Anyway, some have suggested that Kelly just doesn’t fit the precise mold of a White House chief of staff given the job’s immense political responsibilities. But I think that criticism misses the point. What Trump needs is not a more subtle, ambidextrous hand to artfully navigate the political waters of Washington, what he needs is someone who can bring some semblance of basic order to this careening, imploding presidency.
Time and again, Kelly has proved himself capable of managing complex organizations at the highest levels of government– from serving as commander of United States Southern Command during the Obama years to leading the Department of Homeland Security under Trump. His task at the White House is urgent. And hey, so far, so good. In almost 24 hours since Kelly was sworn in, there haven’t been any disasters, the president hasn’t tweeted anything crazy and Scaramucci is out. So, by Trump’s standards, they are on a roll.
And now, a word about the latest twist in the Trump-Russia story that greeted Kelly this morning.
The president’s political enemies and the usual media critics will pounce on The Post’s article, breathlessly declaring that Trump, himself, is responsible for some of the initially false statements about the infamous June meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, the Russian lawyer — Natalia Veselnitskaya — and others. They will say this piece is further proof of the scandal’s depth and potency.
The Post’s article is problematic for the president on a number of fronts, but, oh, by the way, nothing about it suggests there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. This is just another example of the White House mismanaging and overreacting to the non-scandal. But, we are reminded of the dangerous political and legal environment in which this White House is operating — now under the direction of Kelly.
As I have written before, the frenzy surrounding talks of collusion has created a scandal without a crime. But given the special counsel’s intense investigation of every possible accusation, the media’s desperation to move the story and congressional committees issuing subpoenas, this is the perfect environment for an otherwise innocent person to wander into a crime.
The easiest way to come close to a crime would be to lie about any matter associated with the subject of the underlying investigation. And that appears to be exactly what happened. The lies in this instance don’t appear to be criminal since there is no law against lying to the public or the media, but this latest revelation puts another falsehood into play that some in Trump’s universe will think has to be defended. And that is what could turn the non-scandal into a fatal cancer.
Thankfully, Kelly has a reputation for being able to bring order to difficult situations.
Regarding all matters associated with the Russia collusion story, the White House should be quiet. They should rely on precise lawyering and full compliance. If they leave it alone, the collusion story and all the attendant investigations will run their course, no one will serve any time and this faux-scandal won’t become Trump’s Watergate.
Good luck, Gen. Kelly.This is Real World, Not Exercise
I'd just listened to a heavy work, over 24 hours, and wanted something short and engaging. When I found this, I figured it would do well for my mood.
What I got was a punch in the gut.
Looking back, I went in god-awfully glib: This is short! This is, even better, free! This is perfect!
It was a descent into the madness and memories of that horrific day and the days that followed. I was suddenly transported back to days of weeping and stuffing Oreos into my mouth, all in an attempt to release the terrible grief and fear of all that I (and most of the country) was feeling.
The tapes start with people simply living their lives, going through their day, with a blip or two occurring on the radars of their awareness. It grows into a gnawing fear and dread. We get to experience things just as they do, hearing oddities from cockpits, trying to understand, then trying to take actions to control what they soon start figuring out is a completely out of control situation. The line, "Does anybody know why there's smoke in lower Manhattan?" about killed me. Follow up with, in trying to get a bead on lost planes, someone saying, "Look out the window. Do you see it flying low?" and then "Yeah, it just dropped like 800 feet!" with the second plane going into the WTC, and I was flat-out sick.
There is some misinformation that the controllers deal with; there is audio from NORAD and the "This is real world, not exercise!"; there is horror, dread, and some extraordinarily calm people doing the impossible.
There were plenty of times that I wanted to shout at them to just get the planes out of the air, but who knew then what we know now? The fact that decisions were made so quickly and with such finality is mind-blowing, especially when so many different towers were involved. And though the last four minutes of the recording are tinny and difficult to understand, they're worth listening to. They pretty much sum up everything that became part of our American culture.
It's strange. I work with teen-aged girls who were only toddlers when 9-11 happened. These tapes would mean nothing to them. But for anybody who watched their television sets in a trance-like horror on that day, I strongly suggest the quick listen. Warning, though: if you felt even an iota of anything that remotely suggests your humanity back then, you will most likely, even now at this late date, feel something pretty powerful.
Personally, I'm going to sit and stare at the wall for a while, wipe some tears away...
6 of 6 people found this review helpful- There are ten candidates trying to replace St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who is not seeking re-election since he's running for governor next year. This is the first year of ranked choice voting in St. Paul. If no candidate earns more than 50 percent of the vote on Election Night, St. Paul will wait until Thursday to start tabulating result.
ST. PAUL RESULTS PROCESS: Election results will be reported on the Ramsey County Elections website as the vote totals are reported from each precinct on Election Night. This process will begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. and will continue until results from all precincts have been reported. The results for mayor will include votes cast for all six choices.
The results from mail, in-person absentee and early voting will be added to the vote totals as these results are compiled on Election Night. This process will likely take place at approximately 9 p.m.
The first choice results for mayor will also be reported on the Secretary of State’s website at http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
Saint Paul public schools and suburban city and school district offices and questions from Ramsey County will also be reported on the Secretary of State’s website as the results from each precinct are reported. This process should begin at approximately 8:30 p.m.
People without online access can call 651-266-2171 from 8 p.m. until the conclusion of results reporting.
WHAT IS RANKED CHOICE VOTING? Minneapolis and St. Paul elections use ranked choice voting for elections. With ranked choice voting, voters can choose to rank candidates for all offices on the ballot. In Minneapolis, voters can rank up to three candidates. In St. Paul, they can rank up to six.
In ranked choice voting, you select their first choice for each race. You then have the option to rank second and third choices in each office. The second choice would only be counted if your first choice did not receive enough votes to continue on to the next round of counting.
Ranking a second or third choice candidate does not hurt your first choice candidate. You are not required to rank more than one candidate and you can rank as many or as few candidates as you please.
To win a ranked-choice election, a candidate must earn more than 50 percent of the vote.Hunters have long used “shooting sticks” or some other extra long bipod support for shooting from the sitting, kneeling / crouched, or even the standing position in order to get the bore line over tall grass and other vegetation.
Military scout snipers adopted those same techniques with extra long bipod legs or shooting sticks in order to get a final firing position in situations where the prone position does not yield line of sight on the target. But they are now also making use of traditional photography tripods, particularly with the HOG Saddle tripod gun rest.
The successful employment of tripods for rifle shooting in the field has resulted in an increased demand by precision rifle shooters for tripod gear and accessories to facilitate rifle shooting.
Really Right Stuff is well known in the photography industry for making top quality camera support gear, and I have been using their Arca-Swiss style mounts for my cameras for several years now.
But RRS is now segueing into the shooting industry thanks to the precision rifle tripod trend of recent years by introducing their Sport Optic and Rifle (SOAR) line of products. While making Arca-Swiss compatible plates for spotting scope and laser rangefinders is not a far cry from photography gear, actual plates or mounts for rifles is another endeavor altogether. RRS has already released a few rifle specific adapters, but just recently started shipping what is currently dubbed the BAI – AT, or essentially the Accuracy International AI Chassis Plate.
Made out of CNC machined 6061-T6 Aluminum and black anodized, the BAI – AT mount weighs in at 14.6 ounces or 413 grams.
It mounts directly to the Accuracy International key slots (note: not KeyMod) on the bottom of the handguard, right in front of the magazine well.
Of course, the |
the open at Trnovec.
A further 1,800-2,000 slept on a train held on the Croatian side of the border. Officials told them they could stay temporarily in Croatia or try to make their own way into Slovenia.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hundreds spent the night out in the open at Trnovec on Croatia's border with Slovenia
Guy Delauney, BBC News, Trnovec, Slovenia
The small border crossing at Trnovec became a picture of human misery, with hundreds stranded in no man's land in bone-numbingly cold rain. They had arrived in the early hours of Monday - but found a line of police and barriers blocking their way into Slovenia.
Authorities and aid agencies seemed completely unprepared. There were no tents or shelter of any kind for the migrants - who included a large number of young children and babies.
People pulled branches from trees to light fires and turned a rubbish skip on its side for a little protection from the elements.
When the Red Cross belatedly arrived, they persuaded Croatian police to allow people to shelter under the border crossing's metal canopy. But with little sign of being allowed through to Slovenia or even back into Croatia, a chant of "You kill us" started echoing around the facility.
"Shame on whoever is responsible for this," on Syrian man told the BBC. "I wish I could go back to Syria," said a young woman.
No-man's land: Border closures leave thousands stranded
The pull of Europe: Five migrant stories
Merkel under pressure: Chancellor's migrant policy faces criticism at home
Crisis in graphics: Migration numbers explained
A spokesman for Slovenia's interior ministry, Bostjan Sefic, accused Croatia of ignoring its pleas to limit the numbers crossing the border.
"The Republic of Croatia is not listening to any of our requests," he said. "This is totally unacceptable. We cannot by ourselves prevent the arrival of migrants."
Croatia's Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic rejected the accusation and said the Slovenes kept changing the numbers of migrants they were willing to take in.
Hungary, citing security concerns, has closed its borders with Serbia and Croatia, forcing migrants to switch to a slower route via Slovenia.
More than 10,000 migrants are now stranded in Serbia, barred from entering Croatia, according the UNHCR.
At Berkasovo, near the border with Croatia, more than 3,000 people are amassed at a tiny transit camp. UNHCR spokeswoman Melita Sunjic described conditions there as "dire".
"We have a lot of small children. We have disabled people, we have people who got sick on the road," she told the BBC.
"This is not a place for people, they can't sleep - they can just stand upright in the mud. We have to find another solution."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Serbia-Croatia border at Berkasovo is another bottleneck
Image copyright AP Image caption Rain and cold are making conditions worse
The International Migration Organization said on Monday that arrivals to Greece from Turkey were continuing at a rate of about 5,000 a day.
Germany's welcome for Syrian migrants continues to create internal political tensions.
The Pegida organisation, which campaigns against immigration, says it expects tens of thousands to demonstrate in the eastern city of Dresden on Monday evening.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has described Pegida as "hard-right extremists".
More than 600,000 people, most of them Syrians, have reached Europe so far this year compared with just over 200,000 for the whole of 2014
Germany has said it expects 800,000 asylum seekers this year, but it is believed the number could be as high as 1.5 million.
Migrants arriving in Europe 615,895 arrived by sea so far in 2015 216,054 arrivals for whole of 2014 475,499 Turkey to Greece
137,500 Libya & Tunisia to Italy
2,797 Morocco to Spain
99 Libya to Malta Reuters
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.Thursday, October 8, 2015
In Securities and Exchange Commission v. Huang, the district court held that the Fifth Amendment protected two former employees against having to disclose their personal passcodes for company-issued smartphones to government officials. The decision, likely subject to appellate review, exemplifies the competing interests at play as individuals increasingly use company-issued smartphones for business and personal use.
This decision relates to a discovery dispute between the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and two former employees (“Defendants”) of Capital One Financial Corp. that allegedly traded stocks based on nonpublic information obtained in their employer’s confidential database. The SEC wanted to access the data on the Defendants’ company-issued smartphones, but could not unlock them without the passcode. While Capital One’s policy stated that it owned the devices and any corporate documents on them, it allowed employees to set their own passcodes and asked them not to keep records of them. The SEC moved to compel the production of the passcodes, and the Defendants asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
While the Fifth Amendment does not protect corporate records kept by employees, the court found that the passcodes—never shared with the employer—were the Defendants’ “personal thought processes” and subject to Fifth Amendment protections. The court held that the act of producing the passcode was testimonial, persuaded by an Eleventh Circuit decision that found the decryption of a hard drive to be testimonial, and by a district court opinion that analogized divulging passwords to providing the combination to a wall safe—“an act deemed testimonial by the Supreme Court.”
The court also rejected the SEC’s claim that the Defendants’ Fifth Amendment claim should be overruled by the “foregone conclusion” doctrine. Under this doctrine, the Defendants’ testimony is not entitled to Fifth Amendment protections if the SEC could prove with “reasonable particularity” that it already knew of the materials contained on the devices. The court held that the SEC had not shown any evidence that it knew whether the documents it was seeking were actually located on the devices (or that they existed at all).
While the court’s decision in Huang provides a valuable constitutional safeguard, it also demonstrates how the privacy afforded to smartphones may turn on the steps taken to restrict access to the device. In 2014, a Virginia court found that a suspect could be compelled to produce a fingerprint because it did not require a communication of knowledge. Thus, a smartphone secured by biometric data may leave individuals with fewer constitutional protections than a traditional passcode during encounters with law enforcement.Even if you have no interest in family law matters, if you're a patriot who believes in freedom; GET THIS BOOK! If you're a patriot and think you have the books that matter, I'm here to tell you....you don't. You'll realize that you didn't have a clue after you've read this book.
The NSA have nothing on Child Support. People TALK about this country becoming a Police State. This book will convince you it's already here. Get this book and The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers. This gal kicks some Liberal Fascist ass-Big Time! Next to Horowitz Indoctrination U, (and still she might even do a better job), there is no book out there who shreds the Femi-Nazis like Sommers does. These should be sold as a gift set. Really; your library is incomplete without these two books.
The Introduction in Baskerville's book alone will both break your heart and start your mind wondering where you can get a copy of An Anarchist's Cookbook. You will be kicking over the furniture and wanting to put a gun to your head at the same time. There was an article I read the other day; All Your Children Belong to Us by Glenn Cook, talking about the over-reach of the nanny state in Scotland. I sent him an email with the above two books. He was close, "but no cigar".
This is one of those "Bibles" you'll keep close to hand and scream every once in a while because the whole Introduction isn't readily available to spread online like a religious tract.Ken Miner
University of Kansas (emer.)
Esperantism is one of those many small worlds that have more substance to them than outsiders think but less than most insiders think. The twain rarely meet. Much linguistic attention to Esperanto, including almost all of my own, is in Esperanto and therefore inaccessible to non-Esperantists. For this reason I have responded to James McElvenny’s invitation to say something about the language here. I will simply summarize some of the work I and others have done; the basic information about the language, its origin, history and progress, is readily available elsewhere.
My affiliation with Esperanto has been somewhat unusual. I learned the language from the age of about fourteen, but regarding the movement – the attempt to advance Esperanto as a serious solution to the world’s “language problem” – from the sixties I favored instead an inward-turning approach: acknowledge the futility of getting the language “recognized” and simply nurture the language and its community of speakers. (Apparently I was not alone; in the eighties, a group sharing this view actually factionalized themselves and are today known as Raumists.)
Not being an “Esperanto salesman” (see Language Log for November 21, 2011) I was not disturbed when my later linguistic work, in part following on that of others, revealed aspects of the language well outside its usual portrayal. Throughout the history of the movement, Esperanto was promoted as regular and easy to learn, with intuitive word-formation reducible to early “keys” containing, with basic grammar, lists of morphemes (available in 26 languages by 1933). But the regularity of Esperanto is only in its inflectional morphology; its derivational morphology, as actually developed, is quite capricious, and certain aspectual and pragmatic matters are actually undetermined. As for ease of learning, the excellent practical grammar, Plena Manlibro de Esperanta Gramatiko [complete handbook of Esperanto grammar] (ELNA, 2005), by the tireless Bertil Wennergren, runs to nearly 700 pages. For a quick comparison, admittedly perhaps unfair, Michael Coulson’s Teach Yourself Sanskrit, widely used as a college textbook, is only 513 pages, and it has reading selections and a lexicon.
Phonology
Esperanto is supposed to have only minor allophonic variation; the basic principle is “one letter, one sound”. This quite overlooks what happens in poetic elision, where final /-o/ (marking nouns) may optionally drop, being replaced in writing by an apostrophe and leaving final clusters, including voiceless obstruent + /r, m/: /kapr/, /ŝultr/, /supr/, /pastr/, /patr/, /astr/, /majstr/, /ventr/; /abism/, /skism/, /komunism/, etc.[1] These are no problem if a vowel follows in the next syllable, but we find lines of verse like
El supr’ ĉiela mi ne ĵetos fulmojn
from heavenly height I will not cast bolts
from heavenly height I will not cast bolts Kun ĉefpastr’ kapitol’-supron irados plu
with Monsignor will continue going to the top of Campidoglio
with Monsignor will continue going to the top of Campidoglio Nigra aperas abism’ senradia
black appears an abyss with no ray [of light]
The pronunciation of such lines without introducing an extra syllable is not provided for; presumably the sonorants will be devoiced, resulting in voiceless allophones. Zamenhof apparently gave little thought to the results of elision (although his own usage has been examined). Since any root or radical can be left standing, even things like line-final /latv/, /lingv/, /pugn/ and /himn/ (with non-syllabic /n/), /binokl/ (with non-syllabic /l/) etc. are theoretically possible. Admittedly most of the objectionable actual examples are from the hand of a single poet-translator, the prolific Antoni Grabowsky (1857-1921). But since for many Esperantists the language has been chiefly or only a written one, there has been carelessness about elision. One translator of Catullus’ line “vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus” even came up with Ni vivu kaj ni amu, mia Lesb’ which is going to give you either /lezb/ or /lesp/, since obviously once voicing ceases within a syllable, it cannot begin again in the same syllable; this will result in morphophonemic variation, no less, since /s/, /z/, /p/ and /b/ are all phonemes.
Incidentally, one might wonder why one would write poetry and other literature in a language designed to be an auxiliary language, but Zamenhof and his followers did exactly that. This in part accounts for the Raumist point of view: one can argue that from the beginning there was a tendency to nurture not merely a movement but a language.
Morphology
Here is where the most interesting issues are; they involve lexical categories and the word as a morphological unit – conflicts between what appear to have been the original ideas of Esperanto and subsequent development of the language, some of it quite early. I will begin with lexical categories, discussed by Grimley Evans (1997) and others. Nouns are marked by a suffix /-o/, adjectives by a suffix /-a/, verbs in the infinitive by /-i/. Thus we have /detruo/ ‘destruction’, /detrua/ ‘destructive’, /detrui/ ‘to destroy’. This leaves the root, /detru/, in theory a “naked root” similar to those of Semitic, supposedly unmarked for category. However, the actual development of the language has decided against “naked roots”: roots turn out to belong in themselves to nominal, adjectival, or verbal categories. This shows up when suffixes other than /-o/, /-a/, /-i/ are attached to them. For example there is a suffix /-iĝ/ meaning ‘become whatever the root signifies’. Take /detru/: /detruiĝi/ means ‘to be destroyed’. If /detru/ were nominal, /detruiĝi/ would mean something like ‘to become destruction’. If /detru/ were adjectival, /detruiĝi/ would mean ‘to become destructive’. Therefore /detru/ is inherently verbal. Take /virg/ ‘virginal’. /Virgo/ does not mean ‘virgin’ but if anything ‘virginity’ (though the word actually used with that meaning is /virgeco/, with /-ec/ ‘characteristic’). A virgin is a /virgulino/ (/-ul/ ‘person’, /-in/ ‘feminine’). Thus /virg/ is inherently adjectival.
Two realities ensue: (a) contrary to what it seems Zamenhof intended, when one learns a new root one must also learn what its inherent category is, and (b) all lexical words other than adverbs are doubly marked for category. Thus /detrui/ is marked twice as a verb, once in the inherently verbal root and once in the suffix /-i/. /Virga/ ‘virginal’ is marked twice as an adjective, once in the inherently adjectival root and once in the suffix /-a/. And so on.
In addition, the categories turn out to be arbitrary. This can be shown by selecting pairs of roots belonging to the same semantic field, such as /bros/ ‘brush’ and /komb/ ‘comb’. Here the categories of the roots can be determined with the help of the suffix /-il/ ‘tool’: one brushes with a /broso/ but one combs with a /kombilo/, showing that /bros/ is inherently nominal, while /komb/ is inherently verbal. Yet the meanings of the roots, which are so similar, could scarcely be the reason for the difference in category.
A similar pair, again from the same semantic field, is /elegant/ and /dand/: here we can use the suffix /-ul/ ‘person’, mentioned above, to reveal the categories. A /dando/ is a dandy; /dandulo/ would therefore be redundant. An elegant person however is an /elegantulo/. This shows that /elegant/ is inherently adjectival while /dand/ is inherently nominal.
Though there is a long story behind all this (as Wennergren has extensively documented), we can explain this arbitrariness simply by saying that when roots were taken from the national languages, they were taken with their categories, not as “naked roots”. Transitivity is also arbitrary for the same reason. Here a useful pair from the same semantic field is /dron/ and /sufok/. The useful suffix in this case is /-ig/, ‘cause’. /Droni/ means ‘to drown’ and is intransitive. /Sufoki/ means ‘to suffocate’ and is transitive. Therefore /dronigi/ meaning ‘cause to drown’ is fine while /sufokigi/ could only mean ‘to cause someone to suffocate someone else’ and I haven’t seen it used.
Most Esperantists today, especially those who are linguistically sophisticated (and many are),[2] are willing to live with arbitrary root categories and root transitivity. However, due to compounding, lexical category and transitivity must also be properties of words. In the case of lexical category, there is no issue: the final element of the compound determines the category of the whole – as in many languages. Not so with transitivity.
Many simple verbs are transitive: /filtri/ ‘to filter’, /ŝovi/ ‘to shove, shift’, /ĝeni/ ‘to disturb’, /generi/ ‘to generate’. Many simple verbs are intransitive: /babili/ ‘to chat’, /ĝemi/ ‘to groan’, /stari/ ‘to stand’, /esti/ ‘to be’, /halti/ ‘to stop’. Some are both: /zumi/ ‘to hum’, /eskapi/ ‘to escape’, /fiŝi/ ‘to fish’, /afekti/ ‘to pretend’, /paroli/ ‘to speak’, /nebuli/ ‘to (be)cloud’, /ludi/ ‘to play’. Since all these simple verbs consist only of root and verbal suffix, the transitivity (submorphemic) must be marked on the root: /filtr/ +tr ; /babil/ -tr ; /zum/ ±tr, etc.
However many compound verbs show that transitivity must be marked also on the entire word. Take for example /postkuri/ ‘to chase’ from /post/ ‘after’ and /kuri/ ‘to run’. /Kuri/ is intransitive, but /postkuri/ is transitive. Clearly /postkuri/ is transitive as a word. Among similar examples are /preterkuri/, ‘to outrun’, /antaŭiri/ ‘to precede’, /ĉirkaŭiri/ ‘to go around’, /eniri/ ‘to enter’, all based on the intransitive verbs /iri/ ‘to go’ and /kuri/. But other verbs made with /iri/ and /kuri/ are intransitive: /deiri/, ‘to start from’, /antaŭeniri/ ‘to go forward’, /foriri/ ‘to go away’, /forkuri/ ‘to run away’. Similarly /perlabori/ ‘to earn’, /ellabori/ ‘to develop’ based on the intransitive verb /labori/ ‘to work’.
But the word is not a morphological unit in what we might call Esperantic theory: the unit is the morpheme. Words are in theory linearly built up.[3] Yet from the beginning, dictionaries were compiled, and still are, based on the word. Necessarily, because the meanings of many words (as in most languages) cannot be determined only from their component parts. A /vortaro/, from /vort/ ‘word’ and /-ar/ ‘collection’, is not just any collection of words, but a dictionary. Thus it appears that there has long been a tension in the language between word-based grammar and morpheme-based grammar.
Grimley Evans (1997) has shown that prefixes must sometimes modify not merely the following element, but the entire word. One example is /alglui/ ‘to glue something to something’, from /al-/ ‘to’, /glu/ ‘glue’. /Glu/ is an inherently nominal root. The structure has to be [al[glui]] and not [[alglu]i], since [alglu] by itself is not meaningful. This fortifies the notion of the word as a unit, but it leaves us with the problem of the scope of prefixes. There is no way to predict the structure of a given word. Some go one way, some the other. In the following, the prefix modifies its following element (see the Appendix for a detailed explanation of all the examples):
ekskoloniano [[ekskoloni][ano]], not *[[eks][koloniano]] ‘excolonial’ (person)
ĉefministrejo [[ĉefministr][ejo]], not *[[ĉef][ministrejo]] ‘prime minister’s office’
plibonigi [[plibon][igi]], not *[[pli][bonigi]] ‘improve’
malavarega [[malavar][ega]], not *[[mal][avarega]] ‘extremely generous’
But in the following, the prefix modifies the entire word:
ĉefoficejo [[ĉef][oficejo]], not *[[ĉefofic][ejo]] ‘main office’
pludaŭrigi [[plu][daŭrigi]], not *[[pludaŭr][igi]] ‘continue further’
mallaborema [[mal][laborema]], not *[[mallabor][ema]] ‘lazy’
eksklubano [[eks][klubano]], not *[[eksklub][ano]] ‘ex-club-member’
The above examples are more or less standard words; their meanings are fixed by usage. In the case of more spontaneous formations, wherein lies the oft-noted creativity of the language, one often cannot be sure of the structure and therefore of the precise meaning:
fibestejo: [[fibest][ejo]] or [[fi][bestejo]]? A place for contemptible animals or a contemptible place for animals?
fireĝido: [[fireĝ][ido]] or [[fi][reĝido]]? The son of a contemptible king or the contemptible son of a king?
praspecano: [[praspec][ano]] or [[pra][specano]]? A member of a primitive species or a primitive member of a species?
eklegigi: [[ekleg][igi]] or [[ek][legigi]]? To make someone suddenly read or to suddenly make someone read?
mismemorigi: [[mismemor][igi]] or [[mis][memorigi]]? To make someone remember wrongly or to wrongly make someone remember?
ĉeffakulo: [[ĉeffak][ulo]] or [[ĉef][fakulo]]? A specialist in the main field or the main specialist?
There are other morphological problems here and there. A standard word is /ekfloro/ ‘a sudden flowering’ from /ek-/ ‘suddenly; incipiently’ and /flor/ ‘flower’. /Ek-/ is normally attached to verbs. The root /flor/ is nominal: /floro/ is a flower. However, there is a verb /flori/ ‘to flower’. If we insist that the root is the same in the verb and the noun, then in /ekfloro/ we have /ek-/ attached to a nominal root. I will admit that ‘a sudden flower’ is very poetic, but /ekfloro/ does not mean that.
Much of what I have written above would seem to support the notion, now popular among thoughtful Esperantists and perhaps especially those of the Raumist persuasion, that Esperanto, though created as an artificial, regular and morphologically ideal language, has through its century and a quarter of use become more like a natural language. Except in the areas of tense & aspect, telicity and pragmatics (on these see below), there is something to be said for that idea.
Tense & aspect: there was long a dispute, which survives today, about compound tenses. The passive system is not symmetrical with the active system. This asymmetry had two solutions; some speakers went one way, some the other, probably depending on their native languages. The problem was officially resolved by fiat and in favor of the apparent majority (there is a language academy after all), but to this day speakers differ; therefore one is never certain whether /mia aŭto estis riparata/ means ‘my car was repaired’ or ‘my car was being repaired’. (The issue of aspect involves a suffix /-ad/ ‘duration’ and is too complex to go into here.)
A problem that has never been resolved, however, is that of telicity in general. A simple descriptive assertion like /li iris en la domon/ ‘he went/was going into the house’ for some speakers is telic, for some atelic, as can be seen from very lengthy disputes in the newsgroup soc.culture.esperanto in past years. But telicity was only really understood after Zeno Vendler’s work beginning in the fifties (e.g., Vendler 1957); Zamenhof and early Esperantists could not have been expected to be aware of Aktionsarten at all, even if Zamenhof had paid any attention to the linguistics of his time, which he did not.
Another area developed only in recent times is pragmatics, including factivity: it is not clear in Esperanto which verbs and head nouns are factive in cases where their meanings do not make it obvious. Factivity is not clear in, for example, /indigni ke/ ‘resent (it) that’, /lamenti ke/ ‘lament that’, /plendi ke/ ‘complain that’, /priplori/ ‘bemoan’, /grumbli ke/ ‘grumble that’, /koleri ke/ ‘be angry that’, /montri ke/ ‘show that’. The entire area of pragmatics in relation to Esperanto is in need of attention. Presumably speakers simply apply the pragmatics of their native languages to Esperanto. (Alan Reed Libert has already, in this blog, broached the subject.)
Here then are the difficulties in the notion of Esperanto’s acquired naturalism: speakers of natural languages can be presumed to know (tacitly of course) their compound tenses, which verb phrases are telic and which are atelic, and which verbs are factive. And they have apparently mastered rich systems of pragmatics. It is difficult to see how such problems could ever be resolved for Esperanto, even by a language academy. A planned language has to stop somewhere, while linguistic insights into natural languages continue to develop.
“Native speakers”
There are people whose first language was Esperanto, and these are often referred to by movement Esperantists as “native speakers” (in part because in Esperanto the standard term for “native speaker” is /denaska parolanto/ and /denaska/ means literally ‘from birth’). Obviously they are not native speakers; they did not grow up in a language community speaking Esperanto, and they are not a source of grammaticality and meanings as are native speakers of natural languages. Their situation is often no different from that of an acquaintance of my youth, whose best language was American English, but whose first language was Croatian, of which he remembered only a few phrases. The fallacies are, apparently, (a) the notion that one’s first language is necessarily one’s native language and/or (b) the belief that one learns one’s native language primarily from one’s parents. I have encountered two denaskaj speakers of Esperanto; one, whose father is influential in the movement, kept up his interest in the language and blogged in it for a time, but of course his Esperanto is no better than mine; the other also still used the language but seemed rather embarrassed at being constantly touted as a “native speaker”, and sometimes needed a dictionary. I am told that many of these people never use the language in adulthood at all. (George and Paul Soros are said to be examples.)
Esperanto was devised as an auxiliary language, therefore its ideal use would supposedly be that of a monolingual. Yet the best Esperantists are, as one might expect, polyglot and/or linguistically sophisticated. They quickly pick up on turns of phrase used in the national languages; these enter Esperanto and enrich it. Perhaps as a result of this enrichment, the language works quite well in spite of the points of vagueness I have mentioned, even among non-Europeans, especially if they are polyglot. But even after a century and a quarter, it is still likely that the comprehension of Esperanto is best between speakers in the same branch of Indo-European: Germanic to Germanic, Romance to Romance, Slavic to Slavic, etc. I say “likely” because, oddly enough, the comprehension of Esperanto has never been systematically examined to my knowledge at all.
Would it work in some kind of official capacity? Probably the main problem is vocabulary. Many thousands of words are added every year to the important national languages, mainly due to the rapid development of science and technology. Esperanto vocabulary development is geared to a somewhat smaller world, although in theory any “international word” is automatically an Esperanto word (properly Esperantized of course). But it seems that if there were any interest at all on the part of the EU countries in an artificial auxiliary language, there would be talk of Interlingua, which is quite widely readable for the educated even without study and which has no potentially embarrassing ideological and emotional baggage. But to my knowledge there isn’t.
Something ought to be said about the number of Esperanto speakers. In the past, exaggerated claims have been made. Even today (well, last time I looked), Wikipedia tells us there are at least 100,000 fluent speakers (and, of course, around 1,000 “native speakers”). I think 50,000 is more likely.[4] But there are still people around who seem to believe that since determining the number of speakers is next to impossible (who counts as a speaker? etc.), it is perfectly all right to claim a million or two.
Prejudices
One thing that seems to offend amateur linguists about Esperanto is that it uses the pronominal form /mi/ even in the nominative, as if it were a pidgin or a creole; in most of Indo-European, m-forms are found only in the oblique cases. But Celtic (at least Goidelic), where the VSO order obscures it, and, for that matter, Hindi-Urdu, where the SOV order doesn’t obscure it, also have m-forms in the nominative; in fact the pronoun “I” in Scots Gaelic happens to be identical with the Esperanto. Some are bothered by constantly seeing /la/ ‘the’ used with nouns ending in /-o/ (since all nouns end in /-o/). Esperanto has no grammatical gender, but in Occitan final /a/ becomes [ɔ]. So Esperanto is not as odd as it at first seems.
Notes
[1] I append here a glossary, arranged alphabetically, of the morphemes used in the examples some of which are not glossed in the text:
/abism/ ‘abyss’; /-an/ ‘member’; /astr/ ‘heavenly body’; /avar/ ‘greedy’; /best/ ‘animal’; /binokl/ ‘binoculars’; /bon/ ‘good’; /ĉef-/ ‘main’; /daŭr/ ‘duration’; /-eg/ augmentative; /-ej/ ‘place’; /eks-/ ‘ex-, former’; /-em/ ‘tending toward’; /fak/ ‘specialty’; /fi-/ ‘contemptible’; /himn/ ‘hymn’; /-id/ ‘offspring’; /-ig/ ‘cause to become’; /-iĝ/ ‘become’; /kapr/ ‘goat’; /klub/ ‘club’; /koloni/ ‘colony’; /komunism/ ‘communism’; /labor/ ‘work’; /latv/ ‘Latvian’; /leg/ ‘read’; /lingv/ ‘language’; /majstr/ ‘master’; /mal-/ ‘opposite’; /memor/ ‘remember’; /ministr/ ‘minister’; /mis-/ ‘wrongly’; /ofic/ ‘office’ (position); /pastr/ ‘pastor’; /patr/ ‘father’; /pli-/ ‘more’; /plu/ ‘further’; /pra-/ ‘early, primeval’; /pugn/ ‘fist’; /reĝ/ ‘king’; /skism/ ‘schism’; /spec/ ‘kind, species’; /ŝultr/ ‘shoulder’; /supr/ ‘above’; /-ul/ ‘person’; /ventr/ ‘stomach’
[2] Indeed there are professional linguists other than myself who are Esperantists: Jouko Lindstedt, Cyril Brosch, Marc van Oostendorp, Probal Dasgupta, John C. Wells, Ilona Koutny, Liu Haitao, Detlev Blanke, to name a few. Amateur linguists have contributed a great deal to most of the topics I discuss here. This article is bibliographically weak in that I no longer remember who pointed out what, and even Grimley Evans 1997 is no longer available online. Any help from readers would be appreciated. As far as I know, mine are: (1) the phonological observations, (2) the claim that wide scope of prefixes is quite common, (3) noting uncertainty of structure in nonce forms, (4) the points about tense & aspect, telicity in general, factivity and general pragmatics, and (5) the point about “native speakers”. For the rest I cannot claim originality, other than the language of discussion.
[3] There seems to have been much dependence on “logic” in the early days. In 1913 the Academy accepted a proposal of René de Saussure (the brother of Ferdinand de Saussure, often called the father of structural linguistics), to the effect that “word-formation in Esperanto is founded on the logical and direct construction of each separate word and not on so-called rules of derivation.” Significantly, in early writings on Esperanto grammar, morphemes were called “words”.
[4] That is the estimate of van Dijk (1999; 2nd edition 2003), an important work which, unfortunately, remains untranslated.
Appendix: details of examples
ekskoloniano [[ekskoloni][ano]], not *[[eks][koloniano]] ‘excolonial’ (person)
The first bracketing denotes a member of an entity which used to be a colony. The second bracketing denotes someone who used to be a member of a colony. A native of Congo would be designated by the first; a former native of Anguilla would be designated by the second.
ĉefministrejo [[ĉefministr][ejo]], not *[[ĉef][ministrejo]] ‘prime minister’s office’
The first bracketing denotes a place where a prime minister lives or works. The second bracketing denotes the main abode or workplace of a minister or ministers. 10 Downing Street would be designated by the first; 70 Whitehall would be designated by the second.
plibonigi [[plibon][igi]], not *[[pli][bonigi]] ‘improve’
The first bracketing denotes the activity of making better; the second bracketing denotes the activity of augmenting an improvement. If I add a wing to my house, I am doing the first. If I add floor heating to that wing, I am doing the second.
malavarega [[malavar][ega]], not *[[mal][avarega]] ‘extremely generous’
The first bracketing describes someone who is very generous. The second describes someone who is abstemious to the point of sainthood (the opposite of rapacious). Warren Buffet might be designated by the first; St. Francis of Assisi might be designated by the second.
ĉefoficejo [[ĉef][oficejo]], not *[[ĉefofic][ejo]] ‘main office’
The first bracketing denotes a main office. The second denotes the abode or workplace of the main office-holder. The main office of a corporate headquarters would be designated by the first; the Oval Office in the White House would be designated by the second.
pludaŭrigi [[plu][daŭrigi]], not *[[pludaŭr][igi]] ‘continue further’
The first bracketing denotes the activity of continuing further to make something last. The second denotes the activity of making something last longer. Continuing a filibuster would be an example of the first; painting a house would be an example of the second.
mallaborema [[mal][laborema]], not *[[mallabor][ema]] ‘lazy’
The first describes someone who is lazy; the second is really not a possibility since [mallabor] suggests that there is an activity that is the opposite of work – play perhaps; but /mallabori/ is not used with |
was to issue these common guidelines and to oversee their implementation was... the EUROPEAN COMMISSION.
Yes, you're reading right. Look for yourself - DIRECTIVE 2008/51/EC, Article 1/13, states: "The Commission shall, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13a (2) of the Directive, issue common guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques to ensure that deactivated firearms are rendered irreversibly inoperable." Next paragraph states: “Member States shall, by 28 July 2010, bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures.” That means that the Commission has been aware of the problem at least for five years, and did nothing. It was last week when the Commission hastily issued these guidelines, bragging that it will prevent another massacre – and hoping that people will overlook the fact that even the Paris massacres could be prevented if the Commission hadn´t knowingly neglected its legally binding duty for more than five years.
As far as we know, the Commission is determined to proceed with all of its plans at all costs, in shortest possible time. If we want to stop these plans, we need every voice. What you can do?
Contact your Minister of Interior and Minister of Justice, and ask them to file reservation about the Directive, which would be based on the fact that only harmonization of deactivation standards will have some positive security impact, while the rest is just infringing on law-abiding citizens' rights.
, and ask them to file reservation about the Directive, which would be based on the fact that only harmonization of deactivation standards will have some positive security impact, while the rest is just infringing on law-abiding citizens' rights. Contact your Members of the European Parliament and ask them to oppose this Directive for aforementioned reasons.
and ask them to oppose this Directive for aforementioned reasons. Join your national gun rights association. Remember that to support this important civil right, you don't have to actually be gun owner.
. Remember that to support this important civil right, you don't have to actually be gun owner. Should the Directive proposal be passed anyway, be prepared to disobey it. Yes. If the Commission wants to punish law-abiding citizens not only for the terrorist attacks and crimes, but also for its own negligence, incompetence and failure to follow its legal duties, we have every right to stop being law-abiding and say calmly, but firmly "NO". We are neither criminals nor terrorists. We are honest folks who keep weapons for protection of our lives, lives of our loved ones, and for defense of our countries. We have moral right to disobey and resist such acts of injustice. I believe that if we stand united against this bureaucratic pressure, we shall prevail in the end.
On behalf of LEX – The Czech Gun Rights Protection Association
David Karásek, speaker
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.In 1973, on a warm August night, a group of Texas renegades gathered in the Luckenbach, Texas dance hall to record a live album unlike anything in the history of country music. Simultaneously rowdy and tender, Jerry Jeff Walker's Viva Terlingua was a love letter to Texas and the symbolized the emerging outlaw country movement.
Recorded with Walker's faithful comrades, the Lost Gonzo Band, the album celebrated Texas songwriters like Guy Clark and Ray Wylie Hubbard. It also announced Walker's transformation from a Greenwich Village folkie to a tried and true Texas troubadour.
Desperados, Armadillos and Redneck Mothers
At the dawn of the 1970s, Jerry Jeff Walker was most famous for penning "Mr. Bojangles," the oft-covered folk song about a tap dancing drifter. But as the decade progressed, Walker became indoctrinated into the Texas scene. And nowhere in the Lone Star state was more dear to Walker's heart than Luckenbach.
Walker befriended Luckenbach mayor Hondo Crouch, who had just purchased the town and created a haven for hippies and cowboys alike. Four years before Willie and Waylon introduced the Texas hamlet to the world with "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics)," Luckenbach was the Hill Country's best kept secret. It was the site of "hug-ins," chili festivals, story swaps and an endless stream of guitar pickers and songs. It was just the place Walker was looking for.
Taking the album title from a bumper sticker plastered to the saloon wall, Viva Terlingua was born. Walker decided to hold a Saturday night concert at the Luckenbach dance hall. The cost for admission? One dollar. By the end of the night 900 people had shown up, including future Texas governor Ann Richards.
Both the songs and the setting were made for a rowdy crowd. The album kicks off with "Gettin' By," in which "scamp Walker" documents his lifestyle as a fly-by-night recording artist.
Perhaps the album's most famous offspring is the Ray Wylie Hubbard-penned "Up Against the Wall (Redneck Mother)," a comical send-up of all the good ol' boys who had tormented "longhairs" like Hubbard for years.
Though Walker wrote five of the songs on the album, Viva Terlingua served to bring attention to his fellow Texas songwriters like Michael Martin Murphey, whose culture-defining Geronimo's Cadillac was released a year prior.
Viva Luckenbach
Listening to the Luckenbach crowd sing along to Gary P. Nunn's album-closer "London Homesick Blues," it's easy to see how Viva Terlingua became a cultural phenomenon in Texas. The time was right. Waylon's Honky Tonk Heroes had just been released and Willie had formally announced his arrival to the Texas scene with Shotgun Willie. Texas Monthly writer and author of the cosmic cowboy bible The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock had described Austin as "America's next cultural sub-capital."
But while Willie and Waylon had made Texas albums for the rest of the country, the outlaw scene's favorite Texas transplant seemed to sing solely for the Texans. Both fresh-faced college kids and weathered bikers gravitated toward Walker's brand of laid back, freewheeling country rock music. And those that came of age to the sounds of "Redneck Mother" passed the album on to their kids, who faithfully carried the sound into the '90s.
In 1993, Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band returned to Luckenbach for Viva Luckenbach, a re-recording of the iconic album. The Gonzos were a little older and the admission price was a steeper $50. But their spirits were as high as ever. Even twenty years later, it was clear. On that night in 1973 in Luckenbach, Viva Terlingua had captured the heart of Texas and a piece of outlaw country history was born.
Now Watch: Luckenbach, Texas is a Must-Visit for Country Fans
oembed rumble video hereIslamabad CIA police traced the family through finger prints of the killed suicide bomber.
CHINIOT: The father and two brothers of the suspected suicide bomber killed in a mosque on the first day of Eid were arrested after the police conducted a raid at their residence, Express News reported on Saturday.
Mohammad Baksh, the father of the suspected bomber and two brothers, Samiullah and Hakimullah were found at their residence in their village.
Islamabad CIA police traced the family through finger prints of the killed suicide bomber.
Residents of the village said they had not seen the suicide bomber in four months. It was not apparent that the family was involved or supportive of the terrorist’s plan.
Despite ‘heavy deployment’ of security personnel for Eid, a suicide bomber successfully entered a mosque in Islamabad but failed to explode before being gunned down on Aug 9.
The suspect entered the Jamia Mosque Ali Ibn-e-Abi Talib while prayers were in progress.
A search operation had been launched to find two suspected accomplices of the bomber.
Read full storyIntroduction
What does it take to be an Object Oriented Programmer? There was a time where I believed all that meant was that you worked with a language such as C#, C++, or Java. However, the more I get acquainted with newer technologies, the more I realize that there is a set of fundamentals core to the title. And really, these fundamentals are about architecting the best, most update-able, scalable systems. Just yesterday while diving into DataObjects.NET, I was greeted by Domain Driven Design(DDD)-- a popular architectural abstraction. It motivated me to think about the basics, which is the purpose of this article.
The S.O.L.I.D. Principles of Class Design
The S.O.L.I.D. principles seem to be the least common denominator of creating great classes; even before Design Patterns. I recommend taking some time to really think about each of them and how you can apply them. Let's dive in, one by one.
The Single Responsibility Principle
There should never be more than one reason for a class to change. Basically, this means that your classes should exist for one purpose only. For example, let's say you are creating a class to represent a SalesOrder. You would not want that class to save to the database, as well as export an XML-based receipt. Why? Well if later on down the road, you want to change database type (or if you want to change your XML schema), you're allowing one responsibility's changes to possibly alter another. Responsibility is the heart of this principle, so to rephrase there should never be more than one responsibility per class.
The Open Closed Principle
Software entities (classes, modules, functions, etc.) should be open for extension, but closed for modification. At first, this seems to be contradictory: how can you make an object behave differently without modifying it? The answer: by using abstractions, or by placing behavior(responsibility) in derivative classes. In other words, by creating base classes with override-able functions, we are able to create new classes that do the same thing differently without changing the base functionality. Further, if properties of the abstracted class need to be compared or organized together, another abstraction should handle this. This is the basis of the "keep all object variables private" argument.
The Liskov Substitution Principle
Functions that use pointers or references to base classes must be able to use objects of derived classes without knowing it. In other words, if you are calling a method defined at a base class upon an abstracted class, the function must be implemented properly on the subtype class. Or, "when using an object through its base class interface, [the] derived object must not expect such users to obey preconditions that are stronger than those required by the base class." The ever-popular illustration of this is the square-rectangle example. Turns out a square is not a rectangle, at least behavior-wise.
The Dependency Inversion Principle
Depend on abstractions, not on concretions or High level modules should not depend upon low level modules. Both should depend upon abstractions. Abstractions should not depend upon details. Details should depend upon abstractions. (I like the first explanation the best.) This is very closely related to the open closed principle we discussed earlier. By passing dependencies (such as connectors to devices, storage) to classes as abstractions, you remove the need to program dependency specific. Here's an example: an Employee class that needs to be able to be persisted to XML and a database. If we placed ToXML() and ToDB() functions in the class, we'd be violating the single responsibility principle. If we created a function that took a value that represented whether to print to XML or to DB, we'd be hard-coding a set of devices and thus be violating the open closed principle. The best way to do this would be to:
Create an abstract class (named DataWriter, perhaps) that can be inherited from for XML ( XMLDataWriter ) or DB ( DbDataWriter ) Saving, and then Create a class (named EmployeeWriter ) that would expose an Output(DataWriter saveMethod) that accepts a dependency as an argument. See how the Output method is dependent upon the abstractions just as the output types are? The dependencies have been inverted. Now we can create new types of ways for Employee data to be written, perhaps via HTTP/HTTPS by creating abstractions, and without modifying any of our previous code! No rigidity--the desired outcome.
The Interface Segregation Principle
Clients should not be forced to depend upon interfaces that they do not use. My favorite version of this is written as "when a client depends upon a class that contains interfaces that the client does not use, but that other clients do use, then that client will be affected by the changes that those other clients force upon the class." Kinda sounds like the inheritance specific single responsibility principle.
SourcesCurrently ranked second in the UFC's light heavyweight division, Glover Teixeira has his next fight scheduled against Alexander Gustafsson, who is holding the top spot on the roster underneath the champion Daniel Cormier due to Anthony Johnson's recent retirement and Jon Jones' ongoing suspension. With that background, it only seems logical that the winner of their fight at UFC Stockholm on May 28 will compete for the belt next.In times when trash talk and name value seem to be the best bet to get a crack at the big fights, a contender like either one of these two soft-spoken athletes almost seems a bit strange. For Teixeira, it doesn't matter if he's on the verge of a title shot or far away from the top--talking his way into the biggest possible fights isn't something we're ever going to see from him."Now it's too late for (trash talk)," Teixeira said. "I have fought my whole life being like this--I am what I am. I never bothered about (talking much). The guys talk about me and I don't even know who said what. People are like 'Did you see what (UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel) Cormier said about you? Did you see what that guy said?' I don't see it. I don't have a clue. I've been on this earth for 37 years and maybe I have three more left in my fighting career. I'm not going change in that regard."That being said, Teixeira doesn't despise trash talk as such. For him, though, it has to come naturally, which just isn't the case with him."I think when the guy does that he has to have that personality, too," Teixeira said. "I'm not that kind of person. I prefer the way it is now. But now I can't start talking trash. Now, for the guy that isn't used to being a talker, there's going to be embarrassment. It has to be kind of like (Conor) McGregor, that's it."Additionally, Teixeira said, talking your way up means nothing if you can't hang at the level you've talked your way into."Chael Sonnen was the one who got to the title (shot) several times, but it didn't do much for him", Teixeira said. "The other way is to not earn as much money but also not having to be ashamed. These guys (like Sonnen) are very embarrassed."Currently on the cusp of a title shot at 205 pounds, Teixeira also weighed in on the somewhat chaotic situation atop the light heavyweight division.With longtime dominant champion Jon Jones still under suspension for a flagged USADA test last year, Anthony Johnson retired after his second failed title shot earlier this month, and champion Daniel Cormier eyeing a bout with British knockout striker Jimi Manuwa, the immediate future seems uncertain for anyone currently in reach of the belt.Still, Teixeira doesn't intend on boosting his position with a little additional promotion, even when some of his peers are taking that route right now."Cormier wants this fight, he's talking about Jimi Manuwa," Teixeira acknowledged. "He's talking about Jimi Manuwa because he knows that Jimi Manuwa will be an easy fight for him. Manuwa has no takedown defense, he loses all fights on the ground. He's good, dangerous, but he doesn't defend [the takedown] well. For Cormier, that fight is great. Cormier wants this fight. And (Manuwa) also went out there and talked shit on Twitter and Instagram so they stay relevant. Talk and sell, that's it. My business is to fight, to win and to wait for the next one."At some point, Teixeira thinks, that next fight might put him up against a familiar face. While Anthony Johnson got a title shot off his 13-second knockout of Teixeira last August, "Rumble" recently lost his bid to Cormier at UFC 210 and subsequently retired. According to Teixeira, though, Johnson won't stay away from the sport for good."I don't think Anthony Johnson is going to retire (permanently)," Teixeira said. "He may have spoken in defeat there and he might have some good job offer, but it's nothing compared to fighting in financial terms. So he'll have to take it for a moment, he lost that fight. Anthony Johnson is fighting well and is a guy who makes exciting fights. He's a knockout artist. He doesn't have as sharp of a ground game, but if his hands land, anyone falls down."Persecution by The Roman Church
“The Inquisition”
Most people have some knowledge of the holocaust, the six years of torture, death, and atrocities that the Jews, Poles, Gypsies, and a number of other minority groups suffered under Hitler and the Nazis during the Second World War. While in no way downplaying the terrible events of the holocaust, such a massacre does not compare to the severity of the torture and murder that took place under papal authority during the 605 years of the Roman Catholic Inquisition.
From the beginning of the papacy, until the present time, it is estimated by credible historians that more than fifty million men and women have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy charged against them by Papal Rome. This is documented in John Dowling’s The History of Romanism, Book 8, Ch. 1, pp. 542, 543: “From the birth of Popery in 600, to the present time, it is estimated by careful and credible historians, that more than FIFTY MILLION of the human family have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors, an average of more than forty thousand religious murders for every year of the existence of Popery.” The main credible historians on the Inquisition, besides Dowling himself are Lea, Vancandard, Maycock, Coulton, and Turberville.
Secondly, Scott’s Church History gives a few sets of numbers, with the qualification, “No computation can reach the numbers who have been put to death, in different ways, on account of their maintaining the profession of the Gospel, and opposing the corruption of the Church of Rome. A MILLION of poor Waldenses perished in France; NINE HUNDRED THOUSAND orthodox Christians were slain in less than thirty years after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. The Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death in the Netherlands, THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND by the hand of the common executioner during the space of a few years. The Inquisition destroyed, by various tortures, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and but a few, of those which history has recorded; but the total amount will never be known till the earth shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain.”
The torture chambers of the Inquisition lasted 605 years and were found throughout the nations controlled by Rome. They had their beginning under Pope Innocent III in 1203 until the Inquisition's final dissolution in Spain, Portugal and South America in 1808.THE last thing Jamie Whincup was told by Red Bull Racing on that fateful 150th lap of the Bathurst 1000 was to keep following Scott McLaughlin.
Instead, Whincup tried to pass the Volvo driver as they arrived at The Chase, triggering a chain reaction of controversial events that, for the third straight year, cost he and co-driver Paul Dumbrell the victory, put McLaughlin out of contention, and took Garth Tander out of the race.
Red Bull have since protested the 15 second penalty that stewards awarded to Whincup, with an appeal set to be heard in coming days. A total rescindment of the penalty would hand the pair victory.
BURNING QUESTIONS: Red Bull’s Bathurst appeal explained
SKAIFE: The ‘Joke’ rule that triggered Bathurst chaos
DAVISON: Penalty handed to Whincup was ‘lenient’
However, listening to Car No. 88’s two-way radio transmissions — as heard live through FOX Sports Supercars Race Centre during the Bathurst 1000 — around the fateful laps shows that Whincup had been told to stay behind the Volvo.
The timing of prior Safety Cars meant that, on Lap 150, all teams were struggling to make it to the chequered flag on the fuel left in their tanks.
DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard led but fully intended on pitting for more fuel before the end of the race. McLaughlin, in second, was heavily focused on saving fuel as well.
So too was Whincup. He had already been advised to use a little extra to get past Tander for third, but on the laps prior to the collision Whincup was being told to use McLaughlin’s slipstream to save fuel.
“Okay mate, push on and get on the back of McLaughlin, and then we need to conserve fuel,” race engineer David Cauchi told Whincup as he headed up Mountain Straight on Lap 148.
“Get on the back of McLaughlin and then we’ll conserve more fuel.”
The game plan hadn’t changed as he headed up the hill to start Lap 150, as heard during FOX Sports’ TV broadcast of the race.
“Okay mate, the number is minus 22,” Cauchi said.
“We believe McLaughlin is going to stop again unless there’s another Safety Car, and I need your fuel number on the dash because I have no telemetry.”
To that, Whincup replied: “Copy that. Copy, copy, copy.”
As they exited Forrest’s Elbow later that lap, McLaughlin’s Volvo wiggled and allowed Whincup to get a bit of a run on the car ahead.
As Car No. 88 headed down Conrod Straight, Cauchi spoke to his driver for the last time before the race-changing incident.
“Nice work mate, keep using McLaughlin,” he said.
Seconds later, Whincup dived to the inside of the Volvo, locking the rear wheels and bumping McLaughlin off the road.
Almost immediately, Whincup slowed from race-pace to ‘redress’ the contact and allow McLaughlin to regain his position ahead of the No. 88 car, just as Tander came rushing up to the duo looking to pounce.
“Readdress (sic) that, readdress that,” Cauchi said.
Coincidentally, Cauchi keyed the microphone button to talk at the exact moment McLaughlin collided with Tander, careening both cars into the fence and preventing Whincup from redressing the initial contact.
Whincup was soon onto the radio to give Cauchi his version of events.
“Cauchi, I went to the inside, he swerved under brakes. I was fine. And then he just crashed... (inaudible),” he said.
Cauchi replied: “We saw that. We know that it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing more you can do.”
Under the subsequent Safety Car period, Whincup further explained his take on the incident.
“He swerved under brakes, pushed me onto the marbles, um, didn’t give me any room at the apex. If I had a carwidth I would’ve been sweet,” he said.
After the race Whincup maintained that the passing move was on.
“I don’t know what to say. I just went out there and raced hard,” he said.
“I feel sorry for the result. Just going up to the Volvo guys and the HRT guys; you don’t want to see any wrecked cars.
“I’ll just go apologise for the result but I feel the move was on: I was in there, he squeezed me narrow, we had contact.
“I was happy to redress, but two cars weren’t there to redress.”
Read below for a full transcript of the radio exchanges between Whincup and Cauchi in the laps around the race-changing incident on Lap 150.
TRANSCRIPT — CAR No. 88 TEAM RADIO
LAP 146
Cauchi: Okay mate. Pass Tander. Use the fuel and pass Tander.
LAP 147
Whincup: Last lap number please?
Whincup: Actually, no no no. Just keep it off the radio.
Whincup passes Tander at Murray’s Corner.
LAP 148
Cauchi: Okay mate, push on and get on the back of McLaughlin, and then we need to conserve fuel. Get on the back of McLaughlin and then we’ll conserve more fuel.
Whincup: Copy.
LAP 149
Cauchi: Excellent driving mate, let’s use McLaughlin for a few laps now please. Save some fuel.
LAP 150
Cauchi: Okay mate, the number is minus 22. We believe McLaughlin is going to stop again unless there’s another Safety Car, and I need your fuel number on the dash because I have no telemetry.
Whincup: Copy that. Copy, copy, copy.
Cauchi: Nice work mate, keep using McLaughlin.
11 seconds later, the contact happens between Whincup and McLaughlin at The Chase.
Cauchi: Readdress that, readdress that.
At the exact moment Cauchi started talking Whincup, Tander and McLaughlin all make contact, with the Volvo and the HRT car spearing into the fence.
LAP 151 — SAFETY CAR IS CALLED
Whincup: Cauchi, I went to the inside, he swerved under brakes. I was fine. And then he just crashed... (inaudible)
Cauchi: You are staying out, you are staying out. We saw that. We know that it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing more you can do.“Vegeta – cold blooded Super Saiyan. Heir to royalty, destined to rule the universe. His ruthless fighting skills are feared by many, and he’s taking on all comers.” – DBZ Toonami, 2002
Generally speaking, offensive decks tend to focus on one type of attack over another. This is especially true for stage based beatdown, which needs to create a critical mass of stage loss in order to accomplish actual Life Deck damage. Mixing attacks can also be useful or necessary, but only some Styles can successfully take that approach. With the release of Dragon Ball Z: Evolution, Vegeta introduces a powerful new archetype of hybrid beatdown.
Vegeta’s first three Levels all contain abilities that convert life card damage into stages, and on Level 1 you’ll be able to do it once per combat. Now, stage based beatdown decks are able to play utility cards like Orange Stare Down while still augmenting their normal damage route. Similarly, decks heavy on physical attacks will reap huge benefits from running a “greatest hits” attack package without worrying about efficiency. Orange Power Point for 7+ stages? Yikes!
His other ability has obvious applications with several Masteries, and provides some early game hand advantage to keep up with action based MPs.
“Vegeta – On the Move” extends the conversion ability to all of your Styled attacks, and also tacks on a physical attack for 4 Life Cards of damage.
On Level 3, you’ll regain access to the reveal ability – with the added bonus of protecting against opposing discard effects! Vegeta can continue aggressive stage pressure, but also has the option of throwing haymakers by converting stages into Life Cards! This can be highly efficient in any situation, but it provides some interesting counter-plays around a field Allies or other defensive board states.
Many Level 4s can end the game quickly, but Vegeta – Elite is truly an engine of destruction. Aside from making your first Styled physical unstoppable, he is able to recur the most damaging attack in your discard pile simply for landing an energy attack.
Though Vegeta cannot mix and match MP Levels due to opposing alignments, all of his named cards are available to either stack.
Vegeta’s Destruction Blast requires an honest defense from your opponent’s hand, and the HIT effect has huge upside regardless which mode you receive. Between this and Galick Gun, Vegeta’s Named attack package is second to none.
Vegeta comes with the Orange Adept Mastery, and his abilities mix well with its damage modifier.
Orange Adept Mastery grants a constant +1 stage of damage to all attacks, energy or physical. While this greatly enhances Vegeta’s plans, the bonus is a welcome addition to any Orange physical deck.
Next, your successful Styled attacks can search out any constant drill – as long as you have less than three in play. If you’re trying to pump out damage, you can quickly pull more damage modifiers like Orange Disaster Drill or Orange Aura. At the same time, the searching effect allows you to find key utility cards, such as Orange Driving Drill or Orange Investigation Drill. You’ll notice several effects (both past and present) that allow you to fall under your drill threshold in order to search out something different.
The ability of the Mastery to Rejuvenate a drill after leveling makes sure that you have plenty of targets to search back out, and leveling up is another quick way to get back under the threshold. To get the most out of this Mastery, you’ll want to be doing things in combat frequently.
Orange Investigation Drill is a great candidate for any Orange Adept deck attempting to slime level.
Orange Drain allows access to a Styled event, but with the condition of advancing through an attack. While this has natural synergy with the new Mastery, there are some interesting applications in older control decks as well.
Orange Reading Drill finds itself more at home in Orange Adaptive Mastery decks that are looking to gain a leg up in control matches, but it is of interest to aggro as an out of combat answer to cards like Visiting the Past or Namekian Wish.
That’s all for now, and make sure to check back on Tuesday for Android 18 and Black Perceptive Mastery! You’ll also be able to find live coverage of the Chicago Regional on Saturday, and check out the following fansites for even more previews:
Retro DBZ
DBZ Top Tier
DBZ Fanatics Gaming Network
TAK Games
Dragon Ball Radio
DBZ TCG Wiki
Panini DBZ Facebook
Next Level ZGerry White points to a hole where the ruins of a medieval mikveh - a bath used in Jewish rituals - are located.
The archeologist is standing in the middle of an excavation site in the center of Cologne between the historic City Hall and the Wallraf Richartz Museum.
Archeologist Gerry White has been working on the excavation site in Cologne
A tent protects the site from the elements as helmeted experts go about their work. Relics spanning 2,000 years of Cologne's history have been found in the area and the remains of walls and buildings are currently being secured.
Remains of Roman occupation
Through their research, archeologists have established that a medieval Jewish quarter was founded on the ruins of an Ancient Roman development.
For a long time, researchers didn't know whether the city of Cologne had been colonized continuously from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Marcus Trier, director of the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne who is temporarily supervising the excavations, has found some clues.
"The ruins of the Praetorium - the palace of the Roman city fathers of the Province of Lower Germania -, relics of early medieval rule, parts of the Jewish quarter and the remains of cellars destroyed during the Second World War can all be found in the area around City Hall," he explained.
A digital reconstruction of the Jewish synagogue in Cologne as it looked in the 13th century
Digitally reconstructing the past
Since the 1950s and 60s, archeologists have been interested in the treasures buried in the ground around the City Hall, close to the famous Cologne Cathedral.
In 1956, the remains of a mikveh and a synagogue belonging to a medieval Jewish community in Cologne were discovered. The excavation project took around 20 years, but then a large section of the site was refilled and developed into a parking lot.
Excavation work first resumed in 2007 and was under the direction of archeologists Sven Schütte and Marianne Gechter until April 2013. This time around, digital technology and scientific methods have enabled researchers to visually map the passage of time, creating detailed 3D reconstructions.
The Cloaca Maxima, the Roman sewerage system, will also be part of the archeological zone
Archeologists wanted to establish how far back the roots of the Jewish community in Cologne go. At the City Hall they found parts of a synagogue, including the bimah (the platform in the synagogue from which the Torah is read), bits of kosher food, writing slates etched with phrases, and jewelry.
"A Jewish community lived in Cologne by the fourth century," Marcus Trier said. How big it was and how it functioned is not yet known. But the archeological evidence clearly shows that a large number of Jews lived in Cologne from the 10th century.
An end to a peaceful relationship
The synagogue that stood on the square near the City Hall in Cologne is the oldest north of the Alps. In the immediate vicinity, archeologists found evidence of well functioning cohabitation between Jews and Christians.
The gold earring found during excavations in the area around City Hall
"The Jewish quarter was closed, but it was also one that engaged in interexchange with Christian citizens," Trier said. That changed after the pogroms that occurred in 1349 and the resulting persecution of the Jewish community. In 1424, all Jews were forced to leave the city.
One spectacular record of the pogroms is a gold earring that archeologists secured on the square at the City Hall. It is likely that the owner of the piece - an outstanding example of Salian goldsmithery of the late 10th and early 11th centuries - hid it there to protect it from plunderers.
"One just doesn't simply misplace such a valuable piece," Trier explained.
Controversial museum plans
The planned Jewish Museum is unique in that it will be built in an authentic location, on the site of the synagogue that once formed the religious and spiritual center of the Jewish community.
Marcus Trier is director of the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne
The construction blueprints by the architecture firm Wandel, Höfer, Lorch + Hirsch encompass the remains of the synagogue and the mikveh. The design for the museum was selected in 2007.
An archeological zone is also planned to connect treasures from antiquity to the Middle Ages through an underground tunnel, making them accessible to visitors.
The project, however, has many opponents, not least because the city of Cologne is plagued with financial difficulties and is currently struggling to finance its existing museums.
The longer the plans are contested, the longer the building of the Jewish Museum will be delayed.ST. LOUIS – Congresswoman Ann Wagner made an appearance on the April 16 episode of This Week in Missouri Politics to speak about her work in Washington under a new president.
Wagner made sure to emphasize her work with President Donald Trump. When asked about her work with Trump on legislation, she mentioned that she’s been very grateful for her time in the White House.
“It’s been amazing,” Wagner said. “I’ve been in the White House at least five or six times since the president’s been in, not even a hundred days.”
From their time creating his agenda, whether it’s regulatory reform or standing by him as he signed his executive orders, Wagner remains enthusiastic to continue her work with him.
Regarding health care, Wagner responded that she was with Trump on his attempt to repeal with Obamacare.
“I’ve been in the Oval Office with him as we’re whipping votes, as we’re working to try and get to a solution,” Wagner said. “I am absolutely committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare, and I believe we’re going to get there as a House and as a Congress.”
Wagner was quick to speak to the commonalities between her and the President, and she also complimented him on what she sees as the president’s best attributes in office.
“I’ve seen the strength and the leadership that he brings to the table and a negotiation skill that really puts him in the center of things.” Wagner said. “He wants to be an agent for change, he is a disrupter… We’ve really gotten along well, he and his entire team”
The conversation continued as she later voiced her opinions on U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s disapproval of Neil Gorsuch as Supreme Court Justice and McCaskill’s potential run against either herself or Attorney General Josh Hawley for McCaskill’s seat.
The episode can be viewed online at twmp.tv. TWMP airs every Sunday morning. To check your listings, go to twmp.tv.The Billionaire & The Toy
Once upon a time there was a man named Florentino Perez. He was the head of a wealthy family in Spain, but still had the eyes of a child. Because of this, he loved to buy the most expensive toys from other parts of the world, even though his family made some wonderful toys of their own.
Florentino bought the shiniest, prettiest, and most coveted playthings from Portugal, Germany, Brazil, and even Wales. All the while, his family kept their shop filled with their own exceptional creations.
Florentino never liked his family’s toys quite as much as the ones from other places for which he would spend lavishly, though. His family would tell him that if he featured their creations alongside his extravagant acquisitions, they might be considered just as great one day. But Florentino wouldn’t listen. Instead, he would toss them away whenever he needed more space for the object of his latest obsession.
One of his family’s creations was called Alvaro Morata. Alvaro was a good toy and one that Florentino’s family thought he would surely love. But, again, Florentino refused to believe them.
“Alvaro wasn’t even selected for display at the international toy |
outside of any function definition, move the availability query from placeOrder to preStart and make an availablilty private var.
private var availability = 0 override def preStart = { val availabilityFuture = TicketBlock. availability ( ticketBlockID ) availabilityFuture. onSuccess { case result => availability = result } }
Modify the placeOrder method to decrement availability by the amount of the order. Now that the availability Future has been moved to the preStart method, every access to the availability value is queued and locked by the actor’s receive path.
if ( availability >= order. ticketQuantity ) { availability -= order. ticketQuantity val createdOrder = Order. create ( order ) createdOrder. map ( origin! _ ) } else { //... < snip >...
This is a safe use for a var since it is being used to represent the internal state of the actor and it is not accessible to anything externally. The fact that there is only one single concurrent path accessing the var maintains safety from concurrency issues.
We can do better than this
Our TicketIssuerWorker is functioning properly, but we can probably find a safe way to get rid of the var while also having it return a more appropriate message while it is starting up. Currently, if a request comes in after preStart has run, but before the database call finishes, the response will appear that the ticket block has sold out, as opposed to a more correct message that it is currently unavailable.
We can do all of this through the use of the actor’s become functionality. Our actor really has three possible states: initialization, normal operation and sold out. We can define these as three separate Actor.Receive functions that accept either the Order message or a new case class AddTickets for when tickets are to be added to our ticket block. We will also factor out the routing validation from placeOrder as each receive method will utilize this.
def validateRouting ( requestedID : Long ) = { if ( ticketBlockID!= requestedID ) { val msg = s "IssuerWorker #${ticketBlockID} recieved " + s "an order for Ticket Block ${requestedID}" sender! ActorFailure ( new OrderRoutingException ( msg )) false } else { true } } case class AddTickets ( quantity : Int ) def initializing : Actor.Receive = { case AddTickets ( availability ) => { context. become ( normalOperation ( availability )) } case order : Order => { if ( validateRouting ( order. ticketBlockID )) { val failureResponse = TicketBlockUnavailable ( order. ticketBlockID ) sender! ActorFailure ( failureResponse ) } } } def normalOperation ( availability : Int ) : Actor.Receive = { case AddTickets ( newQuantity ) => { context. become ( normalOperation ( availability + newQuantity )) } case order : Order => placeOrder ( order, availability ) } def soldOut : Actor.Receive = { case AddTickets ( availability ) => { context. become ( normalOperation ( availability )) } case order : Order => { if ( validateRouting ( order. ticketBlockID )) { val failureResponse = InsufficientTicketsAvailable ( order. ticketBlockID, 0 ) sender! ActorFailure ( failureResponse ) } } } // This replaces the previous definition of receive def receive = initializing
Notice at the end, we have replaced the previous definition of receive with a statement indicating that the actor begins with the initializing behavior. We use the context.become() method to change behavior and communicate the current availability value. The removes the need for the var, which can now be removed.
We need to modify our placeOrder method one more time to account for this.
def placeOrder ( order : Order, availability : Int ) { val origin = sender if ( validateRouting ( order. ticketBlockID )) { if ( availability >= order. ticketQuantity ) { val newAvailability = availability - order. ticketQuantity context. become ( normalOperation ( newAvailability )) val createdOrder = Order. create ( order ) createdOrder. map ( origin! _ ) } else { val failureResponse = InsufficientTicketsAvailable ( order. ticketBlockID, availability ) origin! ActorFailure ( failureResponse ) } } }
And finally update our preStart method to safely pass the initial availability to our actor.
override def preStart = { val availabilityFuture = TicketBlock. availability ( ticketBlockID ) availabilityFuture. onSuccess { case result => self! AddTickets ( result ) } }
This give us a fully operational concurrency safe actor that manages an internal state without the use of a var.
Until next time…
We now have a system that can safely handle many concurrent requests where each ticket block is isolated from the other ones. We covered reading configuration parameters from the conf files, handling failure cases in Futures. We have also learned about handling asynchronous actions and managing state with actors, which is good for the general overall performance of a Play application.
In part 5, we will take a quick look at composing futures from multiple sources.Alberta Health Services officials say sexually transmitted infections have reached outbreak levels in the province.
New numbers say cases of gonorrhea in 2015 are up 80 per cent from 2014 and the rate of infectious syphilis more than doubled.
AHS says a key reason why the rates are so high is the use of social media to set up sexual encounters and Senior Medical Officer Dr. Gerry Predy said they’ll have to use social media themselves to fight the problem.
“Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and whatever else comes along as far as social media goes, more intensely than we have,” he said. “If we can identify the websites that people are going to hook up, then we can target the emails that are accessing those websites for the ads that we want to get out.”
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Grimsrud explained the specific jumps for both men and women when it comes to gonorrhea.
“The overall female rate has increased in 2015 has increased by 93 per cent that’s compared to 2014 and the overal increase in men is about 66 per cent,” she said.
The officials said the problem is not just unique to Alberta, but the province’s STI rates are the highest they’ve been in decades and show no signs of levelling off.Palestinian and Israeli scholars support Irish boycott pledge
Academics for Palestine – Press Release, 14th February 2014
MORE THAN 120 Irish academics have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli institutions until Palestinian rights are respected.
The number is expected to increase as more lecturers learn about the growing campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel – a campaign led by Palestinians that is gaining global support.
“The conflict in Palestine has now reached its ‘South African moment’ – the point at which Israeli apartheid has been recognised as such by the international community,” Prof Haim Bresheeth, a noted London-based film-maker and academic from Israel, said today.
Prof Bresheeth and Dr Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian doctor of medicine, scholar and lecturer at the University of Exeter, will be in Belfast and Dublin next week to help launch a new Irish campaign to support the academic-boycott pledge, Academics for Palestine (AFP).
Dr Karmi emphasised that the boycott does not target Israeli individuals but institutions. Far from being a threat to academic freedom, she said, BDS affirms its importance for Palestinians.
“Israel’s well-documented repression of Palestinian academic life and victimisation of Palestinian teachers and students is a scandal to be denounced by all those who claim to care about academic freedom,” she said.
Dr Conor McCarthy, lecturer in English in NUI Maynooth and a long-time campaigner for Palestinian rights, welcomed the initiative.
“The recent endorsement of the boycott campaign by the 5,000-member American Studies Association in the US, along with positive moves by the Modern Language Association and the controversy over Scarlett Johansson, showed that BDS is now very much part of a mainstream international debate,” Dr McCarthy said.
Nearly a year ago the Teachers Union of Ireland, which represents lecturers at institutes of technology across the State, became one of the first academic unions in the world to endorse the boycott.
“The TUI’s historic decision was the impetus for building a broader academic-boycott campaign in Ireland,” AFP chair Jim Roche said today. Roche, who teaches architecture at DIT, was instrumental in securing passage of the TUI motion.
EU-funded research partnerships involving Israeli institutions and worth billions of euro mean that this boycott campaign is not mere posturing: many Irish researchers are involved in such projects, including ones with military/security applications. AFP will be providing detailed information about these partnerships.
“The US, EU and other states have protected Israel and financed its occupation ever since 1967, making it impossible to resolve the conflict through the UN or international diplomatic channels,” Prof Bresheeth said. “It puts a special responsibility on international civil society, and BDS is its main tool to resolve the conflict in a just and peaceful way.”
The text of the boycott pledge reads:The next technological battle royale might take place on our wrists. While Google, Motorola, Samsung, and Apple are all likely to extend their mobile operating systems to watch faces in the coming years, none of those companies are watchmakers at heart. Casio, which has 40 years of experience in making digital watches, is approaching things from a different angle: Making traditional watches that interact with smartphones, rather than wrist-mounted mini-computers that act as a mobile device’s second screen.
In terms of physical design, the Casio OmniSync STB1000 wouldn’t look out of place 10 (or even 20) years ago. But it offers Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity that lets you pair it to an iPhone, and that’s where the futuristic factors come in. Text messages and incoming call alerts scroll across a small portion of the watch’s liquid-crystal display. It also doubles as a remote control for the iPhone’s music player, and you can dive into the watch's complex settings via a Casio app for iOS rather than tapping endlessly on its side-mounted buttons.
There are advantages and disadvantages to Casio’s “watch-first” approach. First and foremost, this is a device that doesn’t need to be recharged on a daily basis, or even a monthly one. According to Casio, the OmniSync STB1000 runs on a standard watch battery for up to two years, taking advantage of Bluetooth 4.0’s low energy consumption and its less-fancy display. On the downside, its Dick Tracy factor isn’t so strong – again due to that monochrome display and the lack of a built-in microphone, camera, IR blaster, and all that jazz.
Casio has been making “pre-smartwatch smartwatches” for a few years now. The company introduced a Bluetooth-enabled model in its everything-proof G-Shock series; that one was compatible with both iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones. The STB1000 is quite a bit different: It’s a “runner’s watch” that lacks the ruggedized features of the G-Shock series, although it’s rated as water resistant for anything other than scuba-diving and jet skiing. The smartphone compatibility is also more limited than those G-Shocks, as the STB1000 only interacts with the iPhone 4s or later.
However, this one is the first Casio watch that offers compatibility with apps beyond Casio’s own. The Casio Watch+ iOS app gives you an easier way to adjust the watch’s basic settings, set up the watch’s buttons for music-player control, and make your phone vibrate or ring so that you can find the damn thing. But the STB1000 also ties into various health and fitness products – Abvio’s Runmeter, Cyclemeter, and Walkmeter apps, as well as any Bluetooth 4.0-enabled heart monitor – to display real-time distance, speed, and heart-rate stats on the watch. It’s a bare-bones, monochrome graphical experience, but it’s built with no-nonsense runners and cyclists in mind.
It’s significantly cheaper than the first wave of fancier-screened smartwatches, too. The OmniSync STB1000 costs $100, and it’s available now.Chandler West/Sun-Times Media
Rahm and his rubber-stampers promise change, but why should we believe them?
On Sunday, Mayor Rahm held a press conference to pander to the voters of Chicago by announcing he was taking down 50 red light cameras that he'd previously said we absolutely, positively have to have for our public safety.
He didn't explain how he plans to make up for the money from fines those cameras rake in.
Then, on Monday, a select few of the mayor's aldermanic allies held their own press conference to blast Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for pandering to the public by claiming he could hire 1,000 more cops and maintain pensions without raising property taxes.
"We're four weeks away from electing a new mayor, yet we have received no information whatsoever from Mr. Garcia on how we're gonna pay for these things," thundered Alderman Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward).
Apparently, Mayor Rahm's the only mayoral candidate in Chicago who's allowed to pander to the voters.
Actually, yesterday's aldermanic gathering wasn't so much a press conference as a campaign event staged by the mayor's reelection team.
In this case, the mayor's handlers told the aldermen what to say and how to say it—all stern and parsimonious. Like they're guardians of the public purse.
All was going well until Alderman Carrie Austin (34th)—chair of the budget committee—slipped off script and went on a Tarantino-like riff about how property taxes were going up no matter who won April's mayoral runoff.
At which point, mayoral spokesman Steve Mayberry pretty much cried "Cut!," as if he really were Quentin Tarantino.
'Cause the mayor's official line is that he's going to keep us from becoming Detroit without raising property taxes.
But by then the damage was done, and the papers filled with stories highlighting Austin's comment that Mayor Rahm will be jacking up taxes once he's reelected and no longer has to pretend he gives a shit about what the public wants.
He didn't do much pretending his first three years in office.
After that presser, I wouldn't be surprised if the mayoral reelection team retired to the office for a shot of whiskey.
I feel for them—Steven Spielberg himself couldn't work with this bunch.
For the record, let me tell you what you probably already know. That once this election's over, taxes will be going up and pensions will be cut no matter who wins.
The mayor's goal is to get reelected by continuing to pretend that he can stitch together a budget based on fees, hikes, and gimmicks. With no new property taxes.
And Garcia's goal is to convince you that only he has compassion to make the hard choices without gouging the hell out of everyone who's not fabulously wealthy.
Neither candidate wants to admit he'll be raising taxes, for the obvious reason that candidates who make such admissions very rarely win their elections.
Voters, I guess you can say it's your fault that so few politicians tell you the truth. 'Cause you can't handle the truth!
To quote Jack Nicholson from some other movie.
While I'm handing out advice, let me remind you that the last people you should listen to when it comes to anything about budgets and taxes are the mayor's City Council allies.
These are, by and large, the same characters who have brought you two monumentally horrendous parking meter deals, about $6 billion in TIF taxes, and one unbalanced budget after another.
It was just a few months ago that—without discussion or debate—this group of aldermen gave the mayor the green light to throw upwards of $500 million out the window for his Marriot hotel/DePaul basketball arena deal.
Not a one of them—including Alderman Reilly—bothered to ask for any supporting information from Mayor Rahm for that debacle.
Let's give Chuy credit for one thing.
In less than half a year of campaigning, he's managed to turn the City Council's biggest rubber-stampers into a bunch of reformers. Self-proclaimed, anyway.
For that alone we should elect him mayor.Caleb Ogier, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, works in a fume hood with ink used to print electrical circuits, at the newly opened Washington Clean Energy Testbeds lab housed in the University of Washington's Clean Energy Institute, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) The Associated Press
By PHUONG LE, Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — The paint has barely dried on the walls at Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, but already academic researchers and startups are lining up to use the state-of-the-art facility to help speed development of their clean energy innovations.
The new lab, which opens Thursday in Seattle, aims to close a critical gap in getting clean-energy technologies from idea to prototype: It's providing researchers and entrepreneurs with space to test out and scale up their designs — and ideally bring them to market faster.
Everyone from students to industry startups to government researchers are invited to validate designs at the state-funded, 15,000-square foot space at the University of Washington's Clean Energy Institute.
Users can rent time, lab space or technical expertise to test batteries for electric vehicles, fabricate materials for solar cells or experiment with other devices, software or systems.
"What it's doing is leveraging all of what we have going on campus in individual people's labs and lets them take a discovery from the laboratory and turn it into a scaled product or service," said Daniel Schwartz, a UW chemical engineering professor.
Schwartz directs the institute, which was formed in 2013 with $6 million in state money to advance next-generation technology for energy storage and solar power. Gov. Jay Inslee and state lawmakers later approved $8 million more to create the testbeds facility.
Inslee, who backs clean energy technologies as a way to save energy, provide jobs and reduce emissions, and UW President Ana Mari Cauce are among those unveiling the facility at an event Thursday.
Already signed up to use the new facility is Battery Informatics Inc., a startup founded by current and former University of Washington students and faculty.
The six-person venture is leasing lab and office space and plans to make use of expensive equipment — located in one place — that they otherwise wouldn't buy on their own. They're also excited about rubbing shoulders with others doing similar cutting-edge research related to batteries.
"It'll really help us do more tests to convince our customers that we have legitimate technology," said Matt Murbach, co-founder of Battery Informatics, which is developing a system to improve the way lithium-ion batteries are operated. The group has developed two prototypes. The next step is to validate them.
UW professors Venkat Subramanian and Jihui Yang also plan to use the equipment and lab in their work with a U.S. Department of Energy consortium led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland.
The five-year, $10 million Battery500 program is trying to develop a battery for electric vehicles that is smaller, lighter and less expensive to manufacture than what's available today.
A researcher typically would have to write a proposal and get on a waiting list to use such state-of-the-art equipment, said Yang, a materials science and engineering professor.
"Now, you're talking about hours. Our equipment, you plug it in and we get the data," Yang said, pointing to a device that allows users to look inside a battery to analyze the chemical or material changes and figure out, for example, why it failed.
Others are planning to use lab equipment to test ways to print paper-thin, flexible solar cells that are lighter and use less energy to produce than traditional panels.
Cells that could be printed, much like newspapers, would make them more affordable and more available, while creating less waste, said J. Devin MacKenzie, who directs Washington Clean Energy Testbeds.
Some of the equipment at the lab will allow people to try out 10 different designs to see if they work and make a scaled-up version.
"This would take an hour to go from a new design to printing something structurally," MacKenzie said.This week, David Walton’s upcoming “About a Boy” character, Will, joined NBC’s “Parenthood” world in-character to bridge the gap between the shared San Francisco universes of the two Jason Katims executive-produced shows.
In turn, Crosby Braverman (Dax Shepard) will be making an appearance on an upcoming NBC “About a Boy” episode, Katims said at Sunday’s Television Critics Association winter press tour.
Also read: NBC Chief Predicts New ‘Parks & Recreation’ Season, Talks ‘Uphill Battle’ for ‘Michael J. Fox’ and ‘Sean’
Katims told TheWrap that the crossover will be limited to one episode each this season, though that could perhaps increase in subsequent seasons, should they exist for either show.
“That’s one-and-one, right now,” Katims told TheWrap. “We’ll see how that goes and then go from there.”
Also read: NBC Airing ‘Peter Pan,’ Buys Amy Poehler and Katherine Heigl Pilots
“It turns out Will also has his own poker game so Dax Shepard will be making an appearance as Crosby Braverman on ‘About A Boy,'” Katims explained to reporters as part of the plot explanation. Also, both characters work in the music business, making it more than just a geographical natural fit.
“About a Boy” is an adaptation of Nick Hornsby’s 1998 novel of the same name. In 2002, it was adapted into a Hugh Grant movie.
The NBC sitcom premieres on Feb. 21 during the Olympics. It will follow “The Voice” in its regular timeslot.David vs. Goliath. Burr vs. Hamilton. Ali vs. Frazier. These fights have captured the public’s imagination like few others. On March 20, 1992, another battle entered this conversation. Herwald vs. Kelleher. Okay, so most likely, you probably don’t have any clue who Kurt Herwald and Herb Kelleher are and why they decided to match up against one another, but you soon will.
Prior to 1978, the airline industry was completely regulated by the government. As in, if a seat on a flight from Washington DC to New York City was a hundred dollars on United, it would be hundred dollars on Continental and American as well. Prices were the same for every airline due to federal regulations, as dictated by the Civil Aeronautics Board, because it was considered interstate commerce. That is unless the airline only flew within one state. That was the thinking behind Texas businessman Rollin King’s creation of Air Southwest.
In 1968, King saw a gap in the airline market. Texas was a big state- bigger than the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy combined- and it was rather time-consuming to drive between cities. So, why not create an airline that would fly passengers between cities? Legend has it that he conceived the idea on a cocktail napkin in San Antonio, but King later admitted this wasn’t quite true, but made for a great story.
Since the airline only would operate within one state, their prices wouldn’t be regulated. They could charge whatever they liked – including drastically lower fares. King, knowing he would need help to get this idea, literally and figuratively, off the ground, approached his lawyer, Herb Kelleher. The two Texans went into business together, creating Air Southwest.
As one would imagine, the rest of the industry did not take too kindly to a rogue airline trying to circumvent the rules, so did what most companies do in this situation, sicced their lawyers on the upstart. Texas International, Barniff, and Continental were among the airlines that fought Southwest. After three years of litigation, the Texas Supreme Court finally upheld Southwest’s right to fly in Texas. When the US Supreme Court decided to withhold comment, it was a done deal. They changed their name to Southwest Airlines and on June 18, 1971, Southwest began service to Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.
From the beginning, Southwest Airlines, led by King and Kelleher, fostered it’s reputation as a fun and zany airline. Their lower prices helped with this. So did the (all-female) flight attendants wearing bright orange shorts and go-go boots.
With the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the airline industry deregulated and Southwest began flying to places outside of Texas, with New Orleans being the first in December of 1978.
Southwest Airlines had always used catchy, whimsical advertising and slogans to promote their brand. “Love is Still Our Field” was their first slogan, premiering in 1972. (Love Field in Dallas was, and still is, the location of Southwest corporate headquarters.) Then, came “Somebody Up There Loves You” and “THE Low Fare Airline.”
On October 22, 1990, Southwest introduced a new slogan in Phoenix, “Just Plane Smart.” They used that slogan for about 15 months until they got a call from Stevens Aviation in Greenville, South Carolina. Apparently, they had been using the slogan “Plane Smart” prior to Southwest.
Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees and letting the courts decide the matter, Stevens Aviation chairman Kurt Herwald came up (along with executive vice-president Stephen Townes) with an idea. They challenged the CEO of Southwest, Herb Kelleher, to an arm wrestling match for the rights to the slogan “Plane Smart.”
Herwald knew Southwest’s propensity for doing things outside of the box, plus he thought he publicity for the two companies would be far better in the long run than fighting via the courts for a slogan. Kelleher excitedly accepted.
“Malice in Dallas” was to be held on March 20, 1992 at the famed wrestling forum, the Dallas Sportatrium in downtown Dallas. This quite obviously was a home game for Kelleher and Southwest, with their headquarters mere miles away. But Herwald was fine with it- anything for publicity.
Besides losing rights to the slogan, the loser of each round (it was going to be a best of three competition) would have to donate $5,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.
The days leading up to the match-up, both companies heavily promoted it. Customers and well-wishers sent items to Kelleher that they thought would help him win, including a box of Wheaties, a can of spinach, a bottle of Wild Turkey, and “anabolic steroids from Mexico.”
Both men showed up to the ring at nine am on Friday, March 20th prepared to fight. They also made a spectacle out it. Herb Kelleher arrived in a bus with cheerleaders wearing a white satin robe. Kurt Herwald, when introduced, ran from the tunnel in a red robe with boos reigning down from the pro-Southwest crowd.
After Kelleher arrived in the ring to the “Rocky” theme song and pre-match tussling between the two corners died down, the competition began.
Immediately, Kelleher called in a “replacement” due to his “injured arm” that he suffered while saving a child on his way to the arena. That replacement was J.R. Jones, the 1986 Texas arm wrestling champion. Jones and Southwest Airlines easily won the first around.
The second round, Herwald brought in a “ringer” as well, one of his employees – “Killer” Annette Coats. She faced off with Kelleher, even though his arm still “hurt.” Coats defeated him in a manner of seconds.
Now with theatrics out of the way, the real match began. The third round was perfectly set-up with a winner-take-all between the two faces of their companies. Herwald, in a red polo shirt, and Kelleher, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, locked arms in a dead heat for a solid 35 seconds.
Finally, Herwald pinned Kelleher’s arm for the win. Boos erupted from the crowd in Dallas, but Herwald won fair and square, meaning Stevens Aviation got to keep the slogan. But Kurt Herwald decided to do things a bit different one more time. He allowed Southwest to use the slogan too as a show of good sportsmanship and for Southwest’s willingness to accept such a crazy proposal in the first place when so many other companies would have simply gone to court.
After the match-up, both heads of the companies agreed that determining the dispute this way was a fantastic idea for publicity, their bottom line, and a way to show the personalities of their companies. Said Herwald,
There’s too much litigation in business today and not enough leadership. We need more guys like Herb Kelleher who are willing to say we don’t need to go to court all the time.
Kelleher told the New York Times that if Stevens and Southwest went to court about this, it would have cost Southwest $500,000 and a few years to decide. He also admitted that, “Frankly, Stevens had been using ‘Plane Smart’ in their ads longer. We didn’t know about it but they had it first. So we might well have lost the case on top of all that money, effort, and time spent on it.”
Both companies believe that the “Malice in Dallas” had much to do with their rise in profits directly after. Stevens Aviation, three years later, was making nearly four times as much as it did in 1992. Ed Stewart, manager of public relations for Southwest, estimated it at least generated six million dollars in publicity, and a mere year later Southwest’s stock prices had doubled. And to top it all, $15,000 got donated to charity between the three rounds. Even the President of the United States took notice. George H.W. Bush sent a congratulatory letter to both participants calling it a “win-win.”
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as:
Bonus Facts:
Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport that was actually Dallas’ main hub until 1974, when Dallas/Fort Worth International opened. It was originally established way back in 1917 as a flight training base for the US Army on the cusp of World War I. It was of the earliest known airports in the world. Love Field opened to commercial flights in 1929 with Delta creating a flight from Dallas to Jackson, Mississippi. The airport is still in operation today.
The Dallas Sportatrium was a legendary wrestling arena until it’s closure in 1998 and, then, demolition in 2003. It held up to ten thousand people and it’s inaugural wrestling event was held December 9, 1935. The Sportatrium’s heyday was in the early 80s, when World Class Championship Wrestling showcased its weekly television program there. With the changing wrestling landscape, the WCCW folded in 1990, bring the Dallas Sportatrium down with it. Into the mid-90s, the arena would host a few more shows (though not particularly successfully), before closing for good in 1998.
Expand for ReferencesAchieving Bare-Metal Performance in Ruby
Writing performant code in Ruby can be difficult due to its dynamic nature: unlike lower-level languages where the idiom is zero-cost-abstractions, pretty much everything in a dynamic language is expensive. As such, it was no surprise that the Ruby Thrift Binding took advantage of an important tool that is often used to improve the performance of libraries in dynamic languages: C extensions.
As a kind of abstraction, C extensions hide all the detail of a performant implementation with an elegant interface in a high-level language. However, simply using C extensions does not guarantee high performance. In fact, many patterns we observed in the Ruby Thrift Binding are heavily detrimental to its performance. We will discuss some of these patterns and show how Sparsam is able to avoid them.
Avoiding Costly String Allocations
Creating a new Ruby string is slow, and it’s not much faster when you do it in C either. One of the reasons the Thrift Ruby Binding was slow was the excessive object allocation it does when deserializing data. For each field it reads/writes, a ruby string needs to be allocated and interned through rb_iv_set/get. This pattern is problematic and adds significant overhead to accessing each field. In one of our experiments, simply caching the interned ID of a string resulted in 25% speedup. In early versions of Sparsam, we store every field inside a hash map of {FieldID => Value}. This way, we avoid the cost of creating strings and string interning completely.
Eliminating Excessive Cross-Language Function Calls
An important reason C extensions are fast is that they circumvent the Ruby VM. By doing so, C extensions do not share the overhead of a dynamic language. Calls that cross the language barrier are not free, especially when calling a ruby function from C, so the best practice is to handle as much as possible inside a big C function.
Although the Thrift Ruby Binding handles a large portion of serialization inside C, it also relies on the dynamic dispatch of Ruby VM in the runtime. As a result, a significant chunk of time was spent resolving the correct method to call in Ruby VM. This trait diminishes the point of using a C extension and can cause performance regressions when the message either contains a large number of fields or has a deeply-nested structure. Sparsam, on the other hand, does not rely on the Ruby VM for dispatching. By doing so, we minimize the number of Ruby VM calls in serialization and greatly improves the performance.
Caching Schema Information in C++ Containers
One of the bottlenecks we identified was accessing Thrift’s struct definitions in the serializer. Thrift’s highly compact binary format requires both ends of the communication to have the schema of the struct that’s being serialized. For example, in Ruby, thrift compiles a definition for a struct into a ruby hash like this:
The schema is stored inside FIELDS, a constant defined under the Ruby class, and such objects are only accessible through the Ruby VM. This means that for every read/write of a field, the C extension needs to access such schema and perform type conversion between Ruby and C data types to determine which method to use. This problem is made worse by Thrift’s nested struct support, as nested structs will result in nested hash objects. To alleviate this effect, we cache the schema information of structs inside a C++ map<FieldID, FieldType>. Besides being faster in itself, we also avoid the cost of invoking functions in Ruby VM and type conversion.
Removing Layer of Indirection by Using Instance Variables
One of the problems of using our {FieldID => Value} map was that ruby has to constantly grow the hash map: each time a value is read, the hash map’s capacity needs to be expanded to store another pair of data, result in an expensive realloc call. Furthermore, when accessing a field, two hash lookups are involved: from Field Name to Field ID, and from Field ID to Value. Therefore, we replaced this design with using instance variables directly to store the data. The benefits to this approach are tri-fold: ruby’s hash-growing behavior for instance variables are different from that of hash maps, making it more suitable for storing deserialized data; a layer of indirection is avoided when accessing data; and an object created by Sparsam is much closer to a PORO (Plain Old Ruby Object). This optimization gained us almost 3x speedup on the read path, with no impact on the write performance.
Benchmarks
To test the speed of Sparsam, we compared the speed of several serializers with a simple schema that we’re using in production at Airbnb:
This schema is simple, yet complex enough to have both required fields and container types. Results of items/second is shown below (higher is better):
QPS Comparison for Different Serializers in Ruby. Higher is better.
Through optimizations, Sparsam achieved 25x speedup on the writing path and 8x speedup on the read path, accelerating Thrift in Ruby to be as fast as MessagePack, and significantly faster than JSON, allowing us to move more of our endpoints from legacy JSON endpoints to newer Thrift endpoints without hurting performance.
Strict & Powerful Validation of Thrift Structs
Besides being fast, Sparsam also provides extensive validation of Thrift structs. By default, Thrift’s only checks for required fields; in Sparsam, we provide two additional validation modes: “strict” and “recursive”.
Strict: besides checking required fields, strict mode also checks the types of fields inside a struct. However, if one of the fields is a struct type, it will only check whether this struct has the correct ruby struct, and won’t check the types of its nested fields.
Recursive: checks required fields, types of fields, and goes into each nested structs to check the types of fields in nested structs.
Conclusion
Open-source software plays an important role at Airbnb. Faster serialization reduces the overhead of Service Oriented Architecture, and thereby improves the experience of the Airbnb community. By open sourcing Sparsam, we hope to contribute back to the community.BART police are beefing up patrols at Oakland stations after dozens of juveniles terrorized riders Saturday night when they invaded the Coliseum Station and commandeered at least one train car, forcing passengers to hand over bags and cell phones and leaving at least two with head injuries.
The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses told police that 40 to 60 juveniles flooded the station, jumped the fare gates and rushed to the second-story train platform. Some of the robbers apparently held open the doors of a Dublin-bound train car while others streamed inside, confronting and robbing and in some cases beating riders.
“I’ve been there 24 years and this is the first time I’ve heard of anything like this happening,” said Keith Garcia, a BART police officer and union president.
Back to Gallery BART takeover robbery: 40 to 60 teens swarm train, hold... 24 1 of 24 Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle 2 of 24 Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle 3 of 24 Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle 4 of 24 Photo: Brant Ward, SFC 5 of 24 Photo: Alex Washburn, Special to The Chronicle 6 of 24 Photo: kwei, Getty Images 7 of 24 Photo: Christian Science Monitor/Christian Science Monitor/Getty 8 of 24 Photo: Lacy Atkins 9 of 24 Photo: PAUL CHINN 10 of 24 11 of 24 Photo: Hisham Ibrahim, Getty Images 12 of 24 Photo: Ben Margot, AP 13 of 24 Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle 14 of 24 Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle 15 of 24 Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle 16 of 24 Photo: Google Map screenshot 17 of 24 Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle 18 of 24 Photo: Siana Hristova, The Chronicle 19 of 24 Photo: JEW |
Imagine a child questioning the existence of Santa Claus and being told by a parent, "Don't worry, that is just a phase. You will believe again." For me, believing absurdities without sufficient evidence was the phase. It was a developmentally appropriate phase for a child. Fortunately, it began to fade as I developed the capacity for critical thinking and abstract reasoning. For the most part, I'm glad to have it behind me.
An early version of this post appeared on Atheist Revolution in 2009. It was revised and expanded in 2019.The leader of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) will be stepping down at the end of the year, the organization plans to announce on Monday.
Dan Danner has spent 22 years with the trade group, seven of those as the lobby group’s president and CEO.
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“I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to do something I’m passionate about, fighting for America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs,” he said in a release obtained by The Hill. “I’m also proud to have worked with so many great people at NFIB. It’s a fantastic organization!”
Danner began at the organization to work on the NFIB Education Foundation, which is now known as the Young Entrepreneur Foundation, and ascended to its top lobbyist position before taking the helm.
He earned about $938,00 in 2013, according to the most recent tax forms available.
Prior to joining NFIB in 1993, Danner worked as chief of staff to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and in the Reagan White House.
Executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates will be conducting the search for his replacement, which will be announced by late 2015, the organization said.
The NFIB has long been considered one of Washington’s most influential lobbying organizations. The group is a vocal critic of ObamaCare, and took its fight against the healthcare law all the way to the Supreme Court in 2012.During a recent trip to Colorado, I sat on the cold hard floor of my hotel bathroom in the middle of the night, thinking about Maureen Dowd. The New York Times columnist had been widely mocked for eating too much marijuana-infused chocolate, which left her "curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours." And not in a good way.
"I was panting and paranoid, sure that when the room-service waiter knocked and I didn't answer, he'd call the police and have me arrested for being unable to handle my candy," Dowd wrote in June. "I strained to remember where I was or even what I was wearing, touching my green corduroy jeans and staring at the exposed-brick wall. As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died and no one was telling me."
My own marijuana overdose was not nearly so dramatic. But I clearly had eaten one sour gummy candy too many. When I got up from bed to use the bathroom shortly after midnight, I was so dizzy that I had to sit down. I sat/fell hard enough to leave an impressive-looking bruise on my lower back. I know because during my massage with cannabis-infused lotion a few days later the masseuse remarked on it, which prompted me to tell her the whole embarrassing story, the moral of which is that edibles are indeed tricky, but consumers are not quite as helpless as Dowd portrays them.
'Start Low and Go Slow'
Toni Fox, owner of 3D Cannabis Center in Denver, does not discount the unpleasantness of Dowd's ordeal. Although "you're not going to die from it," she says, "you can feel absolutely horrific if you've never had an experience like that." At the same time, Fox thinks Dowd should have known better. "I believe the dispensary told her what the proper dosage was," she says. "I believe her tour guide told her what a proper dosage is." The guide who showed Dowd around during her visit told The Cannabist he warned her to be careful with edibles. "We all know that the world is watching us," says Fox, whose dispensary was the first recreational pot store to open in January. "He knew who she was. He's going to inform her correctly."
Dowd claimed that in response to experiences like hers Colorado regulators are "moving toward demarcating a single-serving size of 10 milligrams." But when she wrote her column, state regulations already required that labels on marijuana-infused foods and beverages indicate the total amount of THC and the number of 10-milligram "standard servings" in a package. "Total THC content is very clear on the packaging," notes Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer at Dixie Elixirs & Edibles in Denver. Labels also indicate that "10 milligrams is a serving size," he adds, and "if there are multiple servings of THC within an item, that is denoted appropriately."
Dowd says the wrapper of the candy bar she bought did not include this information. Yet almost all of the edibles I saw during my trip in June had labels that indicated an appropriate serving for new or occasional consumers.
Using the information on the label is often straightforward. Edi-Pure makes various cannabis-infused candies, including the watermelon-flavored gummies I bought, in packages of 10. Each candy contains one 10-milligram dose of THC. Sometimes calculating a serving is a bit trickier. Dixie sells bubbly, fruit-flavored drinks in 250-milliliter bottles that contain either 40 or 75 milligrams of THC, so you need a measuring cup (and possibly a calculator) to get the dose right. A standard serving is about 63 milliliters of the weaker version, 33 milliliters of the stronger one. In an effort to simplify things for newbies, Dixie recently introduced a five-milligram "single dose" drink "for those who are new to THC or don't like to share."
If Edi-Pure's products make dosing easy, why did I end up reeling on the way to the bathroom? I ate one candy in the late afternoon. Two hours later, I felt slightly buzzed and made the mistake of eating another candy to enhance the effect before heading out to dinner. What I failed to consider is that although an edible's effects typically are noticeable within an hour or two, they may not peak for several hours. That one candy, it turned out, was plenty, and two was too many, which may explain why I had so much trouble following the plot of Ender's Game on the hotel's pay-per-view system and fell asleep a third of the way through the movie (or maybe not; I have not tried to watch the movie sober). The extra candy also explains why I had so much trouble walking to the bathroom later that night.
For occasional cannabis consumers who would like to benefit from my stupidity, I'd say a good rule is to consume no more than a 10-milligram dose the first time around. The next day, you may decide in retrospect that 10 milligrams was not enough, but do not try to figure the right dose out on the fly, since it may take hours to feel the full effects. "Start with a low dose," advises Dixie's Joe Hodas, "and see how it feels-just as you would if you've never heard of alcohol in your life or never tried it before. Start low and go slow." The thing about edibles, as Maureen Dowd discovered, is that you can't uneat them when you realize you've had too much.
How the Government Pushes Edibles
"It is a legitimate issue," says Michael Elliott, executive director of Colorado's Marijuana Industry Group. "Maureen Dowd's story isn't the first time that we've heard about something like this happening. There are an awful lot of people who are new or naive users, and they simply don't understand that edible products take quite a long time to settle in."
Despite frequently expressed concerns about the special risks posed by edibles, restrictions on marijuana consumption in Colorado may be steering people toward them. As Brookings Institution scholar John Hudak notes in a generally positive review of Colorado's regulatory rollout published in July, it can be such a challenge to find a place where smoking pot is legal, especially for tourists, that people who otherwise would prefer to light up a bowl or a joint may end up eating truffles or cookies instead. "When it comes to edibles, tourists tend to be naive users-the highest-risk group," Hudak observes. "If you're worried about the safety of edibles," says Denver attorney Christian Sederberg, a leader of Colorado's legalization campaign, "then you should be encouraging places where people can smoke."
Consumers put off by the long and unpredictable delays associated with marijuana-infused foods may want to try vape pens, which use cartridges containing cannabis concentrates. These devices deliver THC as fast as smoking, so you can easily titrate your dose, but without combustion products. They also avoid digestion and processing by the liver, which creates 11-hydroxy-THC, a variation on marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient that may be more conducive to freakouts like Dowd's than the delta-9-THC that smokers and vapers get. Vape pens look like e-cigarettes and generate only a faint, quickly dissipating cannabis odor, so they can be used more discreetly than a joint or pipe.
For those who are determined not to inhale anything, several products occupy a middle ground between smoking/vaping and swallowing cannabis-infused solids. Beverages like Dixie's start to take effect much more quickly than solid foods (within 20 minutes for me). Then there are various products, including tinctures, sucking candies, and dissolving strips, that deliver THC mainly through the mucus membrane of the mouth, avoiding the liver and hastening the psychoactive effect. "We have a THC-infused mint that is incredibly popular," says Dixie CEO Tripp Keber. "It's placed between cheek and gum. You would absorb it through your buccal [mucosa], and it goes straight to the brain, so a very low dose is very efficient."
This year Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and Libertarian presidential candidate, became CEO of a new company, Cannabis Sativa Inc., that will make marijuana-infused lozenges similar to cough drops. "Couple of things hit you when you try the product," Johnson told A.P. in July. "One is, wow, why would anybody smoke marijuana given this is an alternative? And then secondly, it's just very, very pleasant. I mean, very pleasant."
The Consumer Makes the Dose
One thing Dowd got right is that Colorado's marijuana industry originally served patients-regular users who have developed tolerance and are accustomed to high doses of THC. "The medical marijuana patient was driving the dosing up," Keber says. "They wanted as much medicine [as they could get] for their dollar." With the recreational consumers now entering the market, he says, "the profile is dramatically different. They want to be social. They want to be creative. They don't want to have a 100-milligram elixir and then sit in the corner."
The industry is adjusting, offering less potent products such as Dixie's five-milligram drinks, which are part of the new Dixie One line. "If this is what people want, the businesses are going to cater to it," says Michael Elliott of the Marijuana Industry Group. "On the recreational side, I think it just took a bit of time for everyone to realize that high-potency products aren't suitable for people who have never used edible products before. Now the companies are creating more of these low-potency products, with one dose of marijuana in one serving of food."
But it would be a mistake to mandate a one-size-fits-all approach. Currently the maximum amount of THC per package for recreational products is 100 milligrams, or 10 standard servings. Gov. John Hickenlooper has suggested each package should contain just "one dose." But one dose for whom? Ten milligrams may be plenty for an occasional user, but it is way too low for many regular users. As Elliott puts it, "A lot of consumers are saying, 'I don't want to get diabetes trying to get everything that I want. I don't want to have to eat 10 candy bars to get the 10 doses of marijuana that I want." Such a mandate would impose extra packaging expenses on manufacturers (and ultimately on consumers) while decreasing customer satisfaction. It makes more sense to offer a variety of potencies to suit the needs of different consumers.
At the end of July, the Colorado Department of Revenue's Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) unveiled "emergency" regulations that require edibles containing more than one 10-milligram dose of THC to be "physically demarked in a way that enables a reasonable person to intuitively determine how much of the product constitutes a single serving." Furthermore, the 10-milligram servings must be "easily separable." Since it was already easy to find products meeting those standards, the new rule seems unnecessary. It amounts to a ban on products like 100-milligram truffles, since they are not easily divided into 10-milligram servings. But at least this approach will not interfere with consumer choice as much as Hickenlooper's proposal.
Other edible regulations may be coming down the pike, courtesy of legislators or the MED. There has been talk of requiring that marijuana-infused foods be stamped or marked in some other way that indicates their special nature even when they are removed from their packaging. That mandate would be relatively easy to carry out with a gum drop or a cookie, less so with drinks, cooking oil, or pasta sauce.
The main goal should not be to impose arbitrary limits but to give consumers the variety and information they need to make choices that satisfy them. At the same time, legislators and regulators should keep in mind that even the best rules will not always prevent people who should know better from making decisions they regret.'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
My name is Kvothe.
You may have heard of me'
So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeepter - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.
The Name of the Wind is fantasy at its very best, and an astounding must-read title.West Virginia took care of Liberty 41-17 Saturday afternoon in Morgantown to move to 2-0 on the season. Here's more on the Mountaineers' victory:
What the win means for West Virginia: The Mountaineers continue to play good defense, while young receivers Shelton Gibson and Jovon Durante, who have caught TDs in each of West Virginia's first two games, continue to impress. The Mountaineers have a great chance to jump to 3-0 in two weeks in their next game against Maryland, which was blown out Saturday by Bowling Green, 48-27.
What the loss means for Liberty: The Flames had a chance to keep pace early, but three missed field goals in the first half doomed them. Liberty is coming off an appearance in the FCS playoffs, and getting back there will be its ultimate goal. The trip to West Virginia should help prepare the Flames for another run at the playoff.
Player of the game: Quarterback Skyler Howard delivered another crisp performance, completing 21 of 26 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 68 yards, including a 34-yard scramble. After a strong start to the season, Howard should have plenty of confidence going into the off week.
Stat of the game: The Mountaineers gave up their first points of the season when Liberty running back Todd Macon scored a seven-yard touchdown with 4:35 left in the third quarter. The last time West Virginia (which shut out Georgia Southern 44-0 last weekend) started a season with six shutout quarters was 1977.In the long eighteenth century, attitudes towards a woman lifting her voice within the religious public sphere varied denominationally. In differentiation from Anglican and Presbyterian communities, Quakers accepted the idea of women preaching from the mid-seventeenth century onwards. The process in the Methodist church was more gradual. Though female Methodists were preaching by 1787, at first they could only share their personal conversion narrative or give an “exhortation” as long as they avoided the “taking of a text.” In other words, a woman could lead through public speech, as long as she did not quote from the Bible. Little wonder women needed to veil their biblical interpretation in forms viewed as acceptably feminine when writing for print. Within Presbyterian and Congregationalist communities women were not engaged in public speaking at all, which is perhaps why they channeled their biblical interpretation so powerfully into poetry, hymns, plays, letters, and even novels, as well as essays on taste and aesthetics. Extremely learned women in these Dissenting communities deployed their significant knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and theology in composing book-length works containing substantial biblical hermeneutics written from a female standpoint.
These women Dissenters focused on biblical content often overlooked by male biblical commentators. Phillis Wheatley and Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck analyzed biblical stories of the weak overcoming the strong (e.g., David and Goliath) as a veiled analogy for women’s fight against systemic oppression. Presbyterians Anna Barbauld, Helen Maria Williams, and Joanna Baillie explored biblical birth and mothering metaphors for God’s omnipotence, contra Edmund’s Burke’s focus on divine wrath. Women cloaked their substantial biblical exegesis in works such as Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral (Phillis Wheatley, 1773), Hymns in Prose for Children (Anna Barbauld, 1781), A Poem on the Bill Lately Passed for Regulating the Slave Trade (Helen Maria Williams, 1788), and Poems, Wherein it is Attempted to Describe Certain Views of Nature and Rustic Manners (Joanna Baillie, 1790). If modern readers pay careful attention, they will hear these women preaching through their printed works.
Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, one of the first women to publish a comprehensive work of biblical interpretation in English, witnessed the empowerment of women’s voices within eighteenth-century Quaker and Methodist communities before eventually becoming a Moravian. The Moravians were a somewhat experimental spiritual community to which William Blake’s mother – Catherine Wright Armitage Blake – belonged. Schimmelpenninck was an anti-slavery activist and philosopher who referenced the work of Anna Barbauld and Joanna Baillie repeatedly in her prose. Her modestly titled book Biblical Fragments (1826) draws on the church fathers and cites passages of the Old Testament in Hebrew to contest the King James translation. Schimmelpenninck also boldly transcends historical divides between Protestants and Catholics by praising the biblical interpretation of seventeenth-century French nuns. Her ground breaking ecumenical work has been undervalued in histories of Dissenting women’s social activism and the scriptural engagement that undergirded it.
My book Veiled Intent: Dissenting Women’s Aesthetic Approach to Biblical Interpretation asks how eighteenth-century dissenting women writers were able to ensure their unique biblical interpretation was preserved for posterity. And how did their careful yet shrewd tactics spur early nineteenth-century women writers into vigorous theological debate? Why did the biblical engagement of such women prompt their commitment to causes such as the antislavery movement? Veiled Intent traces the pattern of tactical moves and counter-moves deployed by Anna Barbauld, Phillis Wheatley, Helen Maria Williams, Joanna Baillie, and Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck. These female poets and philosophers veiled provocative hermeneutical claims and calls for social action within aesthetic forms of discourse viewed as more acceptably feminine forms of expression. In between the lines of their published hymns, sonnets, devotional texts for children, and works of aesthetic theory, the perceptive reader finds striking theological insights shared from a particularly female perspective. These women were not only courageously interjecting their individual viewpoints into a predominantly male domain of formal study–biblical hermeneutics–but also intentionally supporting each other in doing so. Their publications reveal that they were drawn to biblical imagery of embodiment and birth, to stories of the apparently weak vanquishing the tyrannical on behalf of the oppressed, and to the metaphor of Christ as strengthening rock.Instagram has developed tools to help people considering self-harm, and as part of the new initiative, Seventeen magazine and Instagram are welcoming everyone with open arms with a new hashtag.
"We listen to mental health experts when they tell us that outreach from a loved one can make a real difference for those who may be in distress," Instagram said in a release. "At the same time, we understand friends and family often want to offer support but don't know how best to reach out."
These tools, which can be used for a variety of mental health-related issues, such as eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and countless others, are available around the world.
Instagram users can report posts they consider to exhibit dangerous behavior. The next time the user uses the app, resources will appear within Instagram, which the social platform designed with the help of over 40 organizations around the world.
In addition to the new tools, Seventeen, Instagram and Hearst Magazine Digital Media teamed up to create the #PerfectlyMe campaign. It encourages Instagram users to celebrate their bodies and continue to redefine body standards in our culture.
"The most amazing thing about social media," said Seventeen's editorial director, Michele Promaulayko, "is that it has the power to spread a message exponentially. And surprisingly, positive messages go farther, faster than negative ones."
"One of Seventeen's ongoing missions is to encourage girls to feel confident in the skin they're in," she said. "That's why we were so excited to team up with Instagram on #PerfectlyMe, an initiative that encourages girls to broadcast body love."
Influencers including Ashley Graham and Lauren Giraldo and current Seventeen cover girl, Ariel Winter, have joined in the hashtag. Non-celebrities (y'know, like, real people!) have contributed as well. The #PerfectlyMe initiative wants to collect these like-minded folks under one happy roof.
"Seventeen has an audience of young girls who are vulnerable to these negative messages, but who are banding together to support each other and shift the conversation," said Promaulayko. "These are girls who are starting body-positivity clubs at their schools and who follow celebs, such as Ashley Graham, who display body confidence."
"Body-bullying is not just a teen issue—it impacts everyone, guys included," she said. And even though Seventeen declared Oct. 17 to be Body Confidence Day, "It isn't just a one-day thing, it's a movement."
To join in the body confidence movement, use #PerfectlyMe and post yourself just as you are.
"Seventeen regularly features body-image role models, as we are passionate about empowering our readers and promoting self-acceptance," said Promaulayko.Email Share +1 258 Shares
As speculation builds that Donald Trump will seek to reverse LGBT rights advances seen under President Obama, Army Secretary Eric Fanning said he’s skeptical the next administration will undo LGBT inclusion in the U.S. armed forces.
Fanning, the first openly gay Army secretary, said, “it is very hard to roll back these things” during a forum Wednesday at the Atlantic’s “Unfinished Business” summit at D.C.’s Studio Theatre.
Asked by moderator Steve Clemons if the Obama administration will be considered the “high point” of inclusion in the armed forces for LGBT people before the Trump administration reverses it, Fanning rejected that prediction.
Fanning first of all denied the military was at a high point of inclusion, saying he thinks “we have more to do, so this is definitely not the high point. The expansion of LGBT inclusion in the armed forces “has never been a purely linear path,” he added.
When Fanning said “it is very hard to roll back these things,” Clemons joked he can imagine Vice President-elect Mike Pence listening in on the forum and taking that as a challenge. (Fanning responded by saying he can’t imagine Pence listening in on an LGBT forum.)
But Fanning also identified three reasons why he doesn’t think decisions to allow openly LGBT people in the armed forces will be rescinded, putting at the top of his list the observation “society is changing so quickly.”
“It really is,” Fanning said. “And we’re accessing young soldiers who just come from a different world, and they really don’t understand why we’re discussing some of these or how we’re discussing some of these things.”
For his second reason, Fanning pointed out “it is easier, as difficult as it can be, to implement regs than to roll them back often times.”
Finally, Fanning drew a distinction between allowing a certain group of people to serve openly in the military for the first time compared to telling that same group of people they’re no longer welcome.
“It is one thing to have a debate about whether somebody should be able to put on a uniform,” Fanning said. “It’s an entirely different thing to say to someone who has a uniform on, you got to take it off. And that is a very different conversation for senior uniformed leadership.”
When Congress repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010, it left nothing in the law’s place instructing the armed forces on the way to handle enlistment of openly lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the armed forces. Conceivably, Trump’s military leaders could decide to reinstate a form of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” administratively, or Congress could restore the law, but that’s difficult to imagine given military leaders have accepted the change and trained the services accordingly.
Just this year, the Pentagon decided to lift its ban on transgender people in the armed forces. The decision was internal as a result of a decision from Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the next administration could undo it.
Also potentially on the chopping block is the Pentagon’s decision to add LGBT people to the Military Equal Opportunity policy, the non-discrimination rule that provides restitution for service members who think they’re facing discrimination.
The Defense Department also during the Obama administration extended spousal benefits to troops in same-sex marriages, such as access to TRICARE. However, it’s hard to see how that could be undone in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, which requires the federal government to treat same-sex marriages as equal to opposite sex marriages.
In his remarks, Fanning didn’t draw a distinction between decisions allowing openly lesbian, gay and bisexual people to serve in the armed forces and allowing transgender people to serve, although the latter is generally seen as more vulnerable because it’s a more recent decision and one that senior uniformed leadership wasn’t visibly supporting.
Matthew Thorn, president of the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN said he agrees changes in the military are the result of “societal advances,” but added caution should be exercised because of “mixed signals” the president-elect sent over his campaign.
“Despite the ease or difficulty in rolling back or implementing regulations the fact remains we have an incoming administration that has individuals involved whom are highly hostile to the LGBT community,” Thorn said. “And because of the unpredictability of the current state of affairs OutServe-SLDN is dutifully monitoring the actions and potential nominations from the president-elect’s transition and we will be vehemently opposed to anyone who indicates that they will roll back any and all of our advancements within DoD or the VA.”The GPS: A Fatally Misleading Travel Companion
Enlarge this image toggle caption Donna Cooper Donna Cooper
In remote places like California's Death Valley, over-reliance on GPS navigation systems can be a matter of life and death.
Each summer in Death Valley, a quarter-million tourists pry themselves from air-conditioned cars and venture into 120-degree heat to snap pictures of glittering salt flats. They come from all over the world, but many have the same traveling companion suction-cupped to their dashboard: a GPS.
But when dozens of abandoned dirt roads lie between you and that destination, things can get tricky. That's what Donna Cooper, of Pahrump, Nev., discovered last July on a day trip to Death Valley.
After a long day, Cooper and her family asked "Nell," the GPS, for the shortest route back to their home.
"Please proceed to the highlighted route," Nell said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Krissy Clark Krissy Clark
'Running In Circles'
But what came next did not compute. The GPS told them to go 550 feet, then turn right, Cooper says.
"Well, at 550 feet it was like a little path, and then it was like, go a quarter of a mile and turn left. There was nothing there. She had me running in circles for hours and hours and hours," she says.
Death Valley Ranger Charlie Callagan says Cooper is not the only visitor who's relied on GPS and been seriously lost. It happens a couple times a year now.
"And they'll usually volunteer it themselves. You know, it's like, the GPS told me to go this direction," Callagan says.
Meanwhile, he says, he's been asking himself, what exactly is going on? Why is the GPS going astray? Then, he had an idea.
To explain, he drives out to a lonely corner of the valley. A line pops up in the corner of my GPS screen. Supposedly, it represents a road about to intersect the one we're driving on. But looking out the window, there is no other road.
"That road there no longer exists. It's been probably 40 years, but somebody ended up driving on it because it showed up on their GPS," Callagan says.
A Fatal Error
Two summers ago, a mother and son on a camping trip had GPS in their car and got stuck on an abandoned mining road for five days.
"She barely survived. The boy did not survive," he says.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Krissy Clark Krissy Clark
Callagan wondered if part of the problem was that out here, GPS companies might be relying on old maps with roads that have long been closed.
To test his theory, he went online and checked if the road where the little boy died was on any of the maps used by major GPS companies, like Google Earth, Navteq or TomTom.
"This isn't right. Something needs to be done," Callagan says.
Updating The Maps
That's when he got in touch with Matt Rinaldi. He helps maintain road data for TomTom. Together, they combed through the company's maps and changed or deleted more than 150 roads in Death Valley.
Now Callagan is working to update maps for Navteq and Google Earth, too. But, he points out, at the root of these mishaps in the desert is something much older than GPS technology.
In 1849, Death Valley got its name when a wagon train from the east tried to find a shorter route to California, and got lost.
"Somebody had a map, and somebody said, this is a faster way to get to the gold fields," Callagan says. "Deep down back in the brain, the common sense says, you know, this is not the wisest thing."
A search and rescue helicopter found Cooper's family after three days of being lost. Everyone survived, except Nell, the GPS. But that's not what Cooper was calling her by then.
"Called her a few names," she says. "A couple four-letter words."
And yet, Cooper has not lost faith. She has a new GPS now, named Rosie.
"You have arrived," Rosie says.It has been reported that Clara has been sued by Polaris Entertainment, whom she signed a contract with earlier this year.
According to a report that surfaced today, the 17th, Polaris Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Clara last month, but both sides are keeping silent about the reason.
Clara is also said to have gone through questioning by prosecution earlier this month after the lawsuit was filed. Although a reason hasn't been given, reports say the agency reportedly sent a certification of contents to Clara's side 3-4 times, asking for a mediation prior to the lawsuit, but both sides couldn't come to an agreement. The agency's rep commented, "After reviewing it with our legal team, we will decide on whether or not to reveal [the reason]."
The reports also say that Clara's father Lee Seung Gyu, a singer from the group Koreana, also responded to a media outlet, "Polaris' claims are unfounded... I will speak no further." Another rep from Clara's side stated, "There is nothing to say at the moment, and we don't want it to spread to the public."
When Polaris was contacted after this report went out, the agency remained cautious and did not reveal any details, commenting, "We're not really a former agency, but rather more like an agent. Clara's agency is KoreanaClara, and Polaris was just managing her domestic activities... It's difficult for us to say that there have been absolutely no conflicts with Clara, but there is nothing that we can say concretely at the moment."
Another rep from the agency remarked,"We will look into it and release a statement later."Wes Welker's agents have fired back against Robert Kraft, countering comments the New England Patriots owner made Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting.
In an email to NFL.com, Athletes First characterized the club's lone proposal to the receiver as being a "take-it-or-leave-it offer."
"When we asked if there was room for structural changes, we were told no," the Athletes First statement read. "We made a counter-offer for the same term and same maximum dollar amount and it was rejected. We inquired if any of the offer's components were negotiable and were told no. This refusal to actually negotiate made it easy to reject the Patriots' offer."
Breer: How Denver landed Welker After Wes Albert Breer says.
After Wes Welker got the cold shoulder from the Patriots, the Broncos sang a nicer tune,says. More...
Welker signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday.
Kraft went on the offensive Monday, providing detail and insight into the negotiations with Welker far beyond the level to which the Patriots normally go publicly. The owner said he wished the Patriots had done a deal with Welker after franchising him at $9.5 million last year.
"In retrospect, I wish we could have wrapped that into an arrangement where it was part of a longer-term deal," Kraft said. "But I really believe in this case, his agents misrepresented, in their mind, what his market value was. When you come right down to the bottom line, he accepted a deal in Denver that is less money than what we offered him."
Welker's camp had pursued an offer from the Patriots over the days and weeks leading up to free agency, but didn't get one until hours before he hit the market last Tuesday at 4 p.m., NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported last week. That left little room for further negotiation. In the meantime, a source with intimate knowledge of Welker's position said, the wideout's representatives sent the Patriots one proposal on March 7, five days before the start of free agency, and a second one that weekend.
The Patriots' final offer was two years for $10 million. Incentives could have pushed the deal to $16 million. The offer to Welker included $1 million incentives for making All-Pro each year, $1 million incentives for 1,500 yards receiving each year, $1 million for being a Pro Bowl starter in 2014 and $1 million for 1,300 yards in 2014. According to the source, Welker's camp then suggested something in the range of the two-year, $14 million that the Tennessee Titans offered the receiver, with incentives to push it to $16 million.
A Patriots source said that the incentives in that counterproposal were $500,000 triggers in 2014 for 70, 80 and 90 catches, and a Pro Bowl berth, and that the $14 million was to be fully guaranteed. The team source said one earlier proposal from the player's side was for $18.5 million over two years, with a $15 million signing bonus.
The source on Welker's side disputes that the $14 million was to be fully guaranteed and said the triggers were set higher than 70, 80 and 90 catches for 2014, while acknowledging the Pro Bowl trigger. Additionally, the source denied the existence of the two-year, $18.5 million proposal, saying those numbers were part of a longer-term concept that the sides had discussed.
The negotiation was handled chiefly by Nick Caserio and the Patriots football operations staff on the club side, and David Dunn and Brian Murphy on the player's side.
From the perspective of Welker's camp, communication on the negotiation was handled with the football operations staff, and not on the ownership level until the very end. But Kraft, at least outwardly, seemed deeply involved with the situation. The owner repeatedly said Monday that Welker was the Patriots' first choice, and that Danny Amendola -- who signed a five-year deal with the club last week -- was the team's backup plan.
"We wanted him, and we were willing to pay him slightly above what we believed his market value to be, and in fact, what it is," Kraft said. "We in fact did it, if you look at what he accepted, and what was out there. The unfortunate part, the agent is playing poker with us, we have to decide. Are we going to be left completely naked here? Or do we go out and do the best job we can do to fill that position with the information we have available to us? And that's what we did. Time will tell what was right."
Brooks: Two of a kind While Wes Welker certainly boosts the Bucky Brooks explains.
While Wes Welker certainly boosts the Broncos, the Patriots will be just fine with Danny Amendola.explains. More...
The Patriots' offer last July to Welker was for five years and included a $15 million signing bonus, while Welker's side proposed a shorter-term |
2nd-round pick
Roman Polak GP G A P P/60 CF/60 CA/60 CF% CF% Rel. xGF% TOI/G PP TOI/G SH TOI/G Stat 16 1 1 2 0.53 54.6 69.09 44.15 -7.83 50.85 17:38 0:00 3:00 Leaf D Rank 5 2 7 7 7 6 7 7 6 6 5 7 2
One Other Number: Thus far, Hunwick-Polak is the worst pairing in the NHL in adj. 5v5 CF% to play over 50 minutes. Their CF% together is 31.9%.
Evaluation: This has been a strange year for Roman Polak. Normally Polak is a highly physical, defensive-oriented defenceman who throws brutal, sometimes illegal bodychecks, takes penalties, and sometimes struggles to keep up with the play. His CF% has historically been bad, with low CF and passable CA. He's also the kind of player where people say Corsi doesn't tell the whole story. And you know what? In Polak's case, there's some truth to that! He tends to look better by scoring chances and expected goals than he does by Corsi, to the point where I'm willing to believe he can be a viable sixth defenceman on a middling team.
So what's strange about this year? For a while he was paired with Jake Gardiner, which did weird things to Polak's numbers (way more CF and a more aggressive playstyle) while weighing down Gardiner's. Since then he's been paired with Hunwick on a nightmarishly bad pairing. On the one hand, the two of them are used very defensively, and Hunwick makes everyone's numbers worse. On the other, they're so bad. I just can't believe you can look at these men together and think that they're functioning, and while they may be better than that hideous shot attempt number, they seem to get taken for rides by opposing forwards who are faster and more talented. Polak has to own some of that.
In the end, I think you can get away with Marincin-Polak as a third pairing, if you want. Polak is by all accounts a great guy and good example, and that's grand. And if you want someone grittier who has some facility for pushing shots to the outside, even while allowing too many of them, Polak can get the job done. But please just stop playing him with Hunwick, Mike.
Best Moment: If the highlight above didn't make you tired of defensive defenceman scoring rare goals on cannon shots, here's Polak's only goal this season. If you'd like something else, here's a Youtube clip of Polak and Mike Fisher sharing either a fight or a protracted hug.
Matt Hunwick: D-
2nd/3rd Pair D
Role: Bane of my existence; nemesis of my mind; bleeding wound in the depths of my soul; good in the room
Matt Hunwick GP G A P P/60 CF/60 CA/60 CF% CF% Rel. xGF% TOI/G PP TOI/G SH TOI/G Stat 13 0 4 4 1.33 49.43 62.3 44.24 -10 51.56 17:25 0:03 2:53 Leaf D Rank 7 6 4 4 1 7 5 6 7 4 7 5 3
One Other Number: Matt Hunwick's PDO is 105.64 at even strength. This has led some people to argue that Matt Hunwick is actually improving the Leafs PDO and is actually good.
Evaluation: So here's my best theory on Matt Hunwick.
The Leafs, as I noted above and elsewhere, are one of the highest-event teams in the past decade. Not surprisingly, they have a bunch of high-event defencemen; in combined CF60 + CA60, all of the Leafs D are in a range of 120-130. Except Matt Hunwick, who is right around 111. Put another way: of the 232 defenceman to play 50 minutes this year, six of these seven Leafs defencemen are in the top 20% in event rate. Hunwick is the exception; he's close to league average. This is mostly because he generates almost nothing, but it's true nonetheless. Hold this thought.
Hunwick also is one of those defencemen who probably is better than his terrible shot differentials suggest--somewhat. You'll notice xGF% likes him better than Corsi does (although not as much as it likes Martin Marincin.) Some of this is due to his good fortune in playing on a team with extremely capable forwards; some of this is because he, like Polak, does push shots to the outside to some extent. So yes, I am willing to believe he is not as bad as his Corsi makes him look (which, if you take the relative number, would make him a below-average NHL eighth defenceman.) This corresponds approximately with the eye test, which often finds Hunwick in the right place trying and failing to do the right thing. You can watch him spinning as a quick forward turnstiles him, or his paralyzed efforts in front of the net. He just isn't quite good enough.
So, on a team with a bunch of action-packed, high-event, puck-moving forwards, Hunwick plays a relatively quiet game. He doesn't give the puck away as much because he rarely has it (although he's actually still worse by that questionable stat than Polak.) He doesn't blow rushes, because he can't make them most of the time. He doesn't usually make mistakes of overaggressive play, like Rielly did on that Staal goal above. He just plays a quiet, inadequate, conservative game, and the team hangs on for dear life.
Corsi isn't the whole story, but in some cases, it tells you enough that the story can only go certain ways. I don't believe you can be an effective NHL player in the long-term if you're under 45% of the shot attempts and you don't score. You can see the facsimile of a safe NHL defenceman in Matt Hunwick, and on a team where few defencemen seem safe, that's helped him hold a situational job. But in the end, he's just not up to par.
Best Moment: I will not provide one and you can't make me.
The Defence Overall: B-
The Leafs defence currently has a first pairing that's really a second pairing, a second pairing that might become a first pairing, and a third pairing that probably shouldn't be allowed in the NHL. Plus Martin Marincin.
One thing you have to give the Leafs D group is that they move the puck phenomenally well. There are four legitimate powerplay quarterbacks on this team, and several above-average skaters. If you want a speedy group that can play up to pace with a high-octane forward group, you could do a lot worse. It's also plausible that this top four has a higher ceiling than many: Rielly and Carrick are 22, Zaitsev is adapting to the NHL, and Gardiner is great already. At the same time, though, this team could really use a top four defenceman with some defensive acumen, because as is, the defence isn't quite going to cut it. [stares dreamily at picture of Kevin Shattenkirk]
With one major addition and the replacement of Matt Hunwick, this defence could be pretty respectable, and we could enjoy how offensively potent it is. This wouldn't fix all our problems--it couldn't, given many of our defensive issues are the fault of our forwards--but it would go a very long way.
The Goalies
There's no point ranking Andersen and Enroth's numbers against each other (spoiler alert, Andersen's are better); instead, I've tried to put Andersen's numbers in context with other NHL starters. Enroth has played so little that both his results, and anyone I would bother to compare him to, are pretty much complete noise, so I haven't given him more than NHL.com does.
Frederik Andersen: B+
Starting Goalie
Role: The goalie who starts most of the games; this device only really applies to skaters; I included it under the goalies because it bothered me to have it be different; Danish guy
Frederik Andersen GP W L OTL Sv. % 5v5 Sv.% 5v5 HD Sv.% 5v5 GSAA 4v5 Sv.% 4v5 GSAA Stat 18 9 6 3 0.911 0.922 0.838 3.6 0.904 1.59 League Rank (min. 8 GP) 4 12 N/A N/A 24 24 14 12 9 9
Evaluation: It's a statistical sin to use cutoffs to make a guy look better. But what the hell: after those mostly-ghastly first five games, Frederik Andersen has rapidly gotten his act together and been an above average starting goalie since October 27. Given he was recovering from an injury, had no training camp, and was in a new city and team, there are genuinely good reasons to use that cut-off, even if it's mighty convenient. Andersen is calmer in the net, communicating better with his defencemen, and has now officially stolen a win for his team (at least one--I'm saying the win over Buffalo, but you can argue for others.) Hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful five years; if he keeps going like he has been in November, I'll gleefully pin an A+ on him next time I do this.
Best Moment: In the course of stealing that win, Andersen robbed Zegmus Girgensons blind.
Jhonas Enroth: D
Backup Goalie
Role: My name is Jhonas; I'm carrying the will; thanks for all you've shown us; this is how we feel
Jhonas Enroth GP W L OTL Sv. % Stat 5 0 2 1 0.866
Evaluation: It's hard being a backup goalie. Jhonas has barely played, and has unfortunately not played that well in the three and a half games in which he's appeared (one of his appearances was only five minutes, the other was 26 minutes in relief.) He hasn't been as bad as that disastrous save percentage, and it's totally unfair to judge him on this tiny sample, which is my excuse for not giving him an F. Enroth is better than this, though whether he's about to lose his job to the taller Kari Ramo who's been hanging around the Leafs, I don't know.
Best Moment: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Coach
Mike Babcock: B+
Role: Wizened mentor; savvy tactician; systems expert; basically hockey Moses
Evaluation: As we all know, I am not smarter than Mike Babcock. I've had some issues with a couple of his decisions, but the fact is he's bringing along an extremely young team, and he's probably in the process of dragging them from last place to being about a.500 (not including loser points) team. That ain't easy to do in a year, and while I might roll my eyes at Ben Smith or Matt Hunwick, a lot of things about this team are working well and hopefully getting better. That merits some respect. Hail to the Chief!
The Team
The Toronto Maple Leafs: B
Role: Evil Empire on the rise; second-stage rebuild; dynamite youth movement; repository of our hopes and fears
Evaluation: Katya has done a very thorough look at the Leafs as a collective, so I'll defer to her piece. In some ways, the Leafs are about where we might have expected. My preseason prediction for them was 87 points; as of Tuesday morning, they're on pace for 86.
At the same time, the Leafs have been faster, and the kids better developed, than we might have hoped. This firecracker team is still an outside shot for the playoffs. But they do have a shot. And at this stage, that's enough. Go Leafs Go.The Sunday Times has seen extracts of the damning statements, which were compiled by shocked police officers present at the meeting in Durban last month.
The affidavits have been filed with public protector Thuli Madonsela.
The police officers state that, on March 5, Mkhwanazi told the meeting that he would take to the "grave" details of the shooting by an elite special task force, which he headed at the time - unless called to testify at an inquiry.
Madonsela is contemplating an investigation. Her spokesman, Kga-lalelo Masibi, said: "The public protector is not in a position to comment about the fate of the police commissioner."
Her office added that a decision on the investigation would be made this week.
This week, Mkhwanazi refused to comment. But his spokesman, Brigadier Lindela Mashigo, said there was another version to the story.
"Please note that, as it should be obvious to you, there is another side to this story, namely the version of the acting national commissioner," he said. He refused to provide the Sunday Times with Mkhwanazi's version.
It's believed the incident occurred after 2005, when Mkhwanazi became head of the elite special task force.
Mkhwanazi headed the force, which he commanded for six years, before his appointment as acting national police commissioner in October last year.
Extracts from affidavits given to the public protector by DA police shadow minister Dianne Kohler Barnard confirm Mkhwanazi's admission.
One read: "Mkhwanazi then unequivocally confessed to being present when this deceased was arrested 'unarmed' and then later shot and killed in his presence, and to date has done nothing about it."
Said another: "He mentioned an incident where the subject was neutralised wrongfully in his presence... he was part of that operation where a suspect was murdered in cold blood."
Each of the nine accounts contains similar allegations, and all corroborate Mkhwanazi's refusal to sign a statement after the killing.
"He stated that he will go to his grave with that incident, as he refused to make a statement," wrote another officer.
None of those who authored the affidavits have been identified for fear of reprisals, after Mkhwanazi recently vowed to fire those responsible for leaking a report to the Sunday Times that revealed more than 27000 officers were incompetent to handle firearms.
The affidavits were compiled by junior and senior cops with ranks "across the board", said Kohler Barnard. She added the statements were signed and notarised, and the originals given to Madonsela's office.
She said: "The acting national police commissioner must be suspended with immediate effect."
This comes four months after a Sunday Times investigation exposed an alleged police hit squad operating in KwaZulu-Natal.
The shocking exposé revealed that the Organised Crime Unit at Cato Manor operated as an alleged hit squad, executing suspects and then holding booze-fuelled parties.
About 51 suspicious killings have been linked to the alleged hit squad, which has since been closed down by police top brass.
Following the meeting on March 5, Mkhwanazi led a delegation to the family of killed taxi boss Bongani Mkhize, who was allegedly gunned down by the Cato Manor unit in 2009, and promised to act against police brutality.
Two weeks ago, he released a statement saying: "Such officers must face the full brunt of the law, and their incarceration must be a reminder to other police officers of the consequences of abusing their powers."
In October, when the Sunday Times compiled a profile of Mkhwanazi shortly after his appointment, a former task force operative, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, conceded that Mkhwanazi, who joined the police service in 1993, had personally joined major raids and the unit's signature operations to ambush criminals during robberies.
"He has been on the ground outside a lot, so you can say he's an action man," the operative said.
"It's just hard for me to see how [Mkhwanazi] has the experience to run the entire police force."
The special task force has rescued scores of hostages under Mkhwan-azi's command and used unorthodox methods to catch criminals.
In December 2007, 11 cash-in-transit robbers were shot dead by his crack team in an incident close to the Carousel casino near Pretoria.
Former colleagues describe him as a man who hates bureaucracy and "red tape" and is suspicious of the media.
Mkhwanazi - who is trained in the use of explosives, holds bomb-disposal certification and has completed a counter-terrorism course with the FBI in the US - also said: "What I know best is fighting crime."
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has previously defended his appointment, hailing him a "tried-and-tested cop" who had "excellently distinguished" himself.
This followed criticism of President Jacob Zuma for installing Mkhwanazi in the hot seat after national commissioner General Bheki Cele was suspended.
"For the record, the minister at the time the acting national police commissioner was appointed was stating the commissioner's policing career CV because some in society had questioned his credentials," said Mthethwa's spokesman, Zweli Mnisi.The best selling spy book on Amazon.com isn't some thriller from Tom Clancy or Ian Flemming. It's an electronic edition of the Senate's report on the CIA's brutal interrogation program, the so-called torture report.
The report, released Tuesday, costs $2.99 on Amazon (AMZN) for a Kindle edition.
Overall, it ranks 2,640 in the Kindle bookstore and is the best seller in Amazon's "intelligence & espionage" section.
The grisly report beats out other non-fiction books in the section, such as the No. 2 book, Pay Any Price, written by Pulitzer Prize winner James Risen, as well as works of fiction, such the new Kindle edition of "The Diamond Smugglers," a 1957 book by James Bond author Flemming.
Related: Torture report reveals CIA spent $300 million
That's despite the fact that there are free electronic versions of the report available from numerous sites, including CNN and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which prepared and released the 499-page report.
For those who don't want electronic versions, publisher Melville House announced Tuesday that it plans a print edition of the book to be in stores on Dec. 30. It did not announce the planned price of the book.Minnesota state officials are trying to take some of the sting out of high student-loan debt, rolling out a new program that could allow thousands of residents to refinance student loans and drive down monthly payments.
“If a student is graduating with such a high debt load, it makes it just so much more difficult for them to do so much more in our economy, whether it is buy a house or start a small business or buy a car,” Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said Thursday. “If we want to have an economy that works for everyone in Minnesota, we cannot allow these high debt loads to put a crunch on our competitiveness.”
Smith and Higher Education Commissioner Larry Pogemiller announced the launch of the program Thursday at Winona State University.
Pogemiller said that for a borrower who owes $40,000 at an 8 percent interest rate, the new refinancing option could lower monthly payments between $200 and $300. If the same borrower chose a quicker repayment option, they could save $25,000 in interest charges. “For some borrowers, this could be very significant,” Pogemiller said.
The issue is a huge one in Minnesota, which ranks fifth nationally in the amount of college-loan debt carried by residents. Minnesotans have an average of nearly $32,000 in outstanding loans, according to the Project on Student Debt.
The new proposal comes as the hardship of student debt is taking a larger role in national politics, gaining new attention from presidential candidates during debates and at campaign stops.
Nationally, student-loan debt reached $1.3 trillion in November of last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That amount has eclipsed what Americans owe on both auto loans and credit card debt.
The new refinancing program is administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. It was the result of the 2014 legislative session, where a law change that year allowed the higher-education agency to refinance student loans through the sale of state-backed bonds.
“This new loan refinancing program is just one of the ways we are addressing the staggering problem of student debt,” said Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, who was a leading champion of the change that year.
Nationally, seven in 10 college students who graduated in 2014 had loan debt, according to the survey by the nonprofit Institute for College Access & Success, with an average of $28,950 per borrower.
The issue has strong bipartisan appeal.
Minnesota House Republicans on Thursday said their current tax proposal could provide tax credits for those with student loans.
The legislation “would have put money back in the pockets of more than 100,000 Minnesotans working to pay back their student loans,” said Rep. Marion O’Neill, vice chair of the House Higher Education Committee.
Balancing loan payments
Amy Nicholas, 40, and her husband both took out student loans to pay for their educations, but have had to guard their budget carefully in recent years.
Nicholas, who works in the information technology field, graduated from Augsburg College in December and said she owes about $70,000 in student loans. She and her husband, who has a master’s degree, are preparing to dig deep this year to pay off what they owe, she said. Collectively, they owe roughly $220,000 in student loans.
“Our student loans together would be what a house payment would be,” Nicholas said. “It’ll affect the way we live, even though we’re both in fairly well-paying jobs.
The economic recession hit their family hard. They lost their home during the downturn, and their student loan debt makes future plans to own a home uncertain. “I don’t know if we’ll ever buy a home again,” she said.
Matthew O’Flaherty, a 25-year-old loan document specialist, graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato in the summer of 2012 with a business management degree and currently owes more than $36,000 in student loans.
He and his wife of two years both have significant student debt.
“When we talk about planning a family someday, that’s a big thing that comes up,” O’Flaherty said. “We can afford our life now, but if we added more into it with these student loans, is that something we can still afford moving forward?”
Rebekka Kelly, 22, of Fridley, graduated with a degree in biology from Augsburg College in May of 2015. She currently works two restaurant jobs in order to keep up with her monthly loan payments on $80,000 in debt, and she also moved back home with her family to cut down on expenses.
“There needs to be a bit more focus on the younger generation,” she said. “A lot of people aren’t going to school because they can’t afford it.”
How refinancing works
To be eligible, borrowers must be Minnesota residents and have completed at least one postsecondary credentialed program. They must also meet certain credit requirements or have a creditworthy co-signer.
Qualified borrowers could refinance some student loans and there are different repayment options. Borrowers could repay their loan over time periods of as little as five years, and as long as 15 years.
The maximum loan amount that can be refinanced for a bachelor or graduate degree is $70,000. The maximum loan amount for a two-year diploma or certificate is $25,000.
Federal loans qualify under the program, and so do private loans, so long as they paid for “qualified” education expenses.Here at BAM we have truly become fans of React Native. May it be in terms of performance or coding philosophy. But something that really matters to us is the time required to setup a React Native project with a proper environment and getting to prod as fast as possible.
It is very common to find tutorials explaining how to create a react native project but way too rare to find some explaining how to setup multiple environments, sign your application, push it to prod, setup continuous integration or tests, …
For all the above reasons, for us, and for the community, we have decided to create and share a tool to make the "devops" tasks of a React Native developer easy. This tool is the Yeoman React Native Toolbox Generator.
With this tool you will be able to efficiently setup:
With these tools, we wish to help you kickstart your React Native project in no time, and with an environment we approve and use everyday. And of course, we are eagerly awaiting your feedback in order to make this tool the best it can be.SALT LAKE CITY — An Orem man deceived hundreds of investors out of about $28 million in an extensive Ponzi scheme that began in 2010, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Chad Deucher, 43, misled more than 250 investors across the United States by promising them their funds would be used to buy properties and would net them guaranteed returns, the SEC alleges.
Instead, their investments were used to pay off previous investors or to support Deucher's personal expenses, including a one-time mortgage payment of more than $84,000 in January 2015, according to the civil complaint filed Jan. 19.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch wouldn't comment Wednesday on whether a criminal case is being pursued against Deucher.
The SEC said it has obtained a court order freezing the assets of Marquis Properties, as well as Deucher, who is CEO and president of the Orem company. Richard "Rick" Clatfelter, 42, of Phoenix, also is named in the lawsuit as executive vice president of the business and his assets were also frozen.
Deucher and Clatfelter guaranteed their investors they would see returns by "represent(ing) that investments were safe and low risk because the notes and investment contracts were 100 percent collateralized by valuable real property," the SEC said in a statement in January.
"Marquis failed to purchase properties with investor funds, however, and properties offered as collateral were often not owned by Marquis, were substantially encumbered, or were in uninhabitable or blighted condition," the statement reads.
SEC attorneys are seeking civil penalties and other measures against Deucher, Clatfelter and their company. In its complaint, the agency also names Deucher's wife, Jessica Deucher, 43, as a relief defendant and alleges she received more than $376,000 in investor funds from her husband despite having "no legitimate claim" to the money.
"Jessica Deucher did not perform work for Marquis," the complaint states.
As a relief defendant, Jessica Deucher's gains from her husband's alleged Ponzi scheme may also eventually be recovered, depending on the outcome of the case.
Clients began in 2015 to complain about payments missed or made late by Marquis Properties, a company that has no "legitimate business operations," court documents state. As recently as Jan. 6, Chad Deucher told an investor he was "getting things going again," the complaint states.
"Marquis has failed and/or been unable to make payments according to the terms of the investment agreements," the complaint says. "In spite of this, Deucher has continued to solicit new investors, while not disclosing that Marquis has failed to make promised payments to current investors."
Chad Deucher was charged in August 2015 with issuing a bad check or draft for allegedly depositing a $4,000 check at Zions Bank in Orem, withdrawing it and later failing to pay the bank when the check was rejected. The check was in the name of Marquis Properties, according to court documents.
The case was dismissed with prejudice in December when Chad Deucher paid the outstanding balance to a "victim coordinator" for 4th District Court, records show.The creation of the Publishers Audience Measurement Company (Pamco) spells the end of the National Readership Survey (NRS) after nearly 60 years of measuring publishers’ audiences.
Simon Redican, chief executive of the NRS, will lead Pamco as the chief executive designate.
Since its post-war inception in 1956, the NRS has provided the benchmark readership metrics for national and regional newspapers, as well as for magazines.
But last summer publishers called for a review of their relationship with the NRS, culminating in today’s announcement that it is to be replaced.
David Wheldon, the head of brand, reputation and citizenship at Barclays Group, said: "This is a big leap and very welcome.
"It represents the biggest change to the measurement of audiences for newspapers and magazines for more than 50 years and it means that we will have access to numbers that reflect the complexity of today's readers."
A shadow Pamco board has been established and will be chaired by Rufus Olins, the chief executive of Newsworks, the Newspaper Publishing Association’s marketing body, which represents the major news publishers (News UK, Trinity Mirror, Telegraph Media Group. Guardian Media Group, ESI Media and DMG Media).
The shadow board’s members include Redican, David Newell and Teresa Brookes from the News Media Association, Barry McIlheney from the PPA, Sue Todd from Magnetic, Jane Ratcliffe from MediaCom, and Lynne Robinson from the IPA.
Redican said: "The launch of Pamco next year will be a landmark event and I really relish the challenge of creating something new and exciting to represent today’s innovative published media sector.
"The stakeholder review of audience measurement was started within weeks of me joining NRS nine months ago and I can reassure the industry that the NRS will continue to deliver until the process is complete and will effect a seamless transition to the new industry audience measurement solution."
Pamco has also started the search for its inaugural chair, who will be a key appointment for the organisation.
The shortlist for the audience measurement contract consists of three research providers which have been asked to submit bids for a future-facing system to take account of the growing number of devices and platforms used by readers.
The successful research provider will be announced before the end of June.
Steve Goodman, the managing director of print trading at GroupM, said: "This is an exciting and welcome initiative.
"More comprehensive audience measurement data will allow us, on behalf of our clients, to create media plans that capitalise on everything that newsbrands and magazines have to offer.
"In particular, it will allow us to make better use of their scale and depth of engagement across all platforms."
The NRS will continue to run until the Pamco board has approved the new system. The changeover will take place in 2016.A girl was hit by a truck while she and friends were running to get ice cream in Mt. Washington Tuesday night, a neighbor told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler confirmed the girl was clipped in the arm by a passing car in the 300 block of Natchez Street. VIDEO: Watch Kelly Brennan's reportThe girl was taken to Children's Hospital with minor injuries, police said."The ice cream truck guy got out and stopped and said, 'Where you goin?' Grabbed on to his windshield said, 'Where you going?' And then he stopped but he was trying to leave from the very beginning," said neighbor June King.The driver left his information and left the scene."I told him, 'You can’t hit a kid and just leave.' Bottom line, he left," King said.Police were able to get a picture of the driver and confirm it with witnesses, King said."I hope they catch him and lock him up," King said. "I mean, how many other kids has he hit and ran?"No charges have been filed yet. Police have not said if charges are expected.
A girl was hit by a truck while she and friends were running to get ice cream in Mt. Washington Tuesday night, a neighbor told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler confirmed the girl was clipped in the arm by a passing car in the 300 block of Natchez Street.
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VIDEO: Watch Kelly Brennan's report
The girl was taken to Children's Hospital with minor injuries, police said.
"The ice cream truck guy got out and stopped and said, 'Where you goin?' Grabbed on to his windshield said, 'Where you going?' And then he stopped but he was trying to leave from the very beginning," said neighbor June King.
The driver left his information and left the scene.
"I told him, 'You can’t hit a kid and just leave.' Bottom line, he left," King said.
Police were able to get a picture of the driver and confirm it with witnesses, King said.
"I hope they catch him and lock him up," King said. "I mean, how many other kids has he hit and ran?"
No charges have been filed yet. Police have not said if charges are expected.
AlertMeThe personal items of beloved fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who passed away in June 2016, will have a new home at the New-York Historical Society’s permanent collection. Known for riding around Manhattan on his Biria bicycle with his Nikon camera in tow, these personal belongings, along with the blue French worker’s jacket that Cunningham often wore have been donated by his former assistant and a personal friend, reports the New York Times.
The collection will also feature Cunningham’s library of over 200 books, photographs, and notes along with his feather collection and tools. These items will join a series of Cunningham’s photographs that were donated at an earlier time.
“It is with great pride that the New-York Historical Society becomes the new home for his earthly belongings,” said museum president Louise Mirrer.
Cunningham worked with the New York Times for more than 40 years and captured some of fashions most iconic photographs. Upon news of his passing, the city temporarily renamed the corner of East 57th Street and 5th Avenue, where often photographed, Bill Cunningham Way.
The exhibit honoring his life and work is expected to debut sometime around the spring.BROWNSVILLE, Tex. — Joel Luna was just the kind of job candidate the Border Patrol covets. He grew up on both sides of the border, in Mexico and South Texas. He participated in the Reserve Officers Training Corps in high school and later served in the Army, seeing combat in Iraq.
Mr. Luna joined the agency as part of a hiring surge that began under the George W. Bush administration, patrolling a rural area about 100 miles north of Mexico. But six years later, his decorated career came to a shocking end: He was arrested and charged with helping to send illegal weapons to Mexico and ship drugs into the United States. He was convicted in January and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Now, as President Trump plans a similar hiring surge at the Border Patrol, Mr. Luna’s case is casting a large shadow. The president wants to make 5,000 new hires, under a streamlined process that critics fear could open a door to other rogue agents like Mr. Luna.
Agency officials, some members of Congress and the Border Patrol union say the current process has made it too hard to hire agents. It typically takes more than a year to vet candidates and get them on the job.Combining the qualities of late Coldplay with Brother Beyond in their mid-eighties C&A pomp, Two Door Cinema Club are probably the worst group the British Isles have produced in recent years.
The material on their debut ‘Tourist History’ declines headlong into follow up, the disasterously misnamed ‘Beacon’ (cover art belying the dross inside by indicating female genitalia as the pinnacle of human achievement.)
The island of Ireland has produced alot of fantastic music – The Pogues, The Virgin Prunes, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Ash, The Boomtown Rats, Wingmen, The Dubliners, early-U2, to name but a few – but Two Door Cinema Club are not one of these – despite, or rather because of, the efforts of their management, stylists and presumably record company.
It’s not entirely fair to blame the kids in the band themselves, though they did presumably sign the relevant contracts (how they must be crying into their pillows about THAT now), even if they do come across like a halls of residence pyjama party of the Young Conservatives. Singer Alex Trimble is the spitting image of a 16 year old David Cameron, which wouldn’t be so bad if this dubious achievement weren’t perfectly reflected in his bands music.
An A&R man walks into his boss’ office one morning: ‘Check these guys out Gavin, they’re great. So full of energy and positivity! The tunes are pretty decent too. They’re a bit like a more predictable Vampire Weekend, with that guitar bit from Coldplay’s ‘Strawberry Swing’ on every fucking song, bundled up as Deep Blue Something, forever!’
The best thing about Two Door Cinema Club is their name, which itself is already so self-conscious it hurts your balls. They encapsulate the cynicism and lack of adventure or imagination behind James Blunt, Tom Odell, Adele, Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran, Gotye and their terrifyingly relentless ilk, in an only-just post-pubescent band. It happened to Kings Of Leon – after a great start – in front of our eyes. Keane and 20 Seconds To Mars were ready-fucked versions.
It is the hand of the industry shaping somehow saleable effluence as instantly smooth, inoffensive indie-pop. Any edge of interest or any kind of life is ruthlessly scrubbed away as a potential sales blip – and the team (lets bundle band and company into that term) seem barely aware that it is only those mistakes can give their music any importance at all – because christ knows it’s not in any memorable tunes.
Smooth, baby-faced skin? Check. Semblance of something like a guitar? Check. Radio-friendly repetition of inanity? Check. Vague, sub-Gallagherian lyrics? Check. Stylised, spiky-without-being-threatening Tony & Guy haitcuts? Check. (Sub-)Standardised songwriting formulae? Check. Nondescript vocals, mixing and overall sound? Check, check and checked.
The worlds of ‘pop’ and ‘indie’ can be brilliantly combined with soul, intelligence, grace and magic: Joy Division ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart‘, The |
any of these animals and act like this with them,' explains Sylvie.
'Wild animals will either run away or attack you if they are either frightened, injured or need to protect their young.
At one with nature: Tippi aged 6 with her arms stretched out on Sea Bird Island, Africa
Change: When Tippi returned to her parents' native country - France - at the age of ten, it was hard adjusting to city life in Paris
Hop on: Linda, a tamed ostrich in South Africa takes Tippi for a ride on a sunny day
No fear: The young child cradles a rock python snake and plays with her favourite elephant
Relaxing: Cindy the baboon in Namibia is happily stroked by the child
So always had to keep a special eye on her daughter.
'I had the least fear I wouldn't have let Tippi anywhere near them. The photo with Tippi next to the young lion cub Mufasa sucking her thumb is wonderful.
'The year after this photo we came back and we went to see him and he was huge.
'Mufasa came to Tippi and he friendly brushed her with his long tail, like a cat would do, and she almost fell down. I had to take her away - I was not at ease.
'But she was only ever bitten once on the nose by a Meerkat, only two bites!
'This is funny because Tippi's middle name is Okanti, meaning mongoose or meerkat. They were part of her family in Africa, so I wanted her to have something to take home with her.'
'The second incident was when she met with Cindy the baboon at a water point. Cindy attacked Tippi's hair and pulled out a handful, out of jealousy.
'That was terribly painful! Wild animals are unpredictable. We can't be sure of their reaction as we are not of the same species, we don't know all of
their behaviour codes.
Skills: Tippi with the San Bushmen of northern Namibia shooting a bow and arrow in Namibia
Duties: The women and children of the San Bushmen of northern Namibia. The women and children are responsible for gathering fruits and berries from the wild in Namibia
Medical help: Tkui applying medicine made from berries to Tippi's eye in Namibia and shows her how to make a bow and arrow
Thirsty work: Tkui of the San Bushmen of northern Namibia, feeds Tippi water from a root plant in Okavango Swamps
Out now: A book describing Tippi's adventures has just been published worldwide for the first time
'When we last went back to Africa in 2006 we went went to see some of the animals she met in the past, including Cindy the baboon.
'We found out that Cindy is a grandma now: my friend who has raised her like the baby of the family had twins. Cindy decided that she was in charge of them and, being older, became like a grandma for the kids.
'They met each other and Cindy went to Tippi and started playing with her hair, grooming her. It was quite beautiful.'
And it wasn't only the animals who were taken with the young Tippi, as Sylvie explains.
'When we came to a village with African children, within two minutes Tippi was the clown and people found her so cute,' she says.
'Africans love other children - especially white children and she was so much fun with her hair and so different.
'When we filmed the San Bushmen of northern Namibia (one of the most ancient people of Africa who live from hunting and gathering in the Kalahari desert) we would let Tippi spend the day with the group without us until she would fall asleep among. the kids.
'She was at ease with the children and would dress and play with them - she could never find the same when she came back to Europe.'
When Tippi returned to her parents' native country - France - at the age of ten, it was hard adjusting to city life in Paris.
'She missed the animals so much,' said her mother Sylvie.
'We didn't have room for a dog in our flat, so we got a budgie instead.
'It would go everywhere with her, even on the train, flying right by her side, sitting on her head or falling asleep on her shoulder.
'She loved that little bird so much. He was the only friend she had.'
Now aged 23 and studying her third year in a degree in cinema, Tippi is facing a different jungle... the concrete one.
But the memories of her time in Africa - recorded in a series of interviews and written up into the book - will forever live on through its pages.
'She gave her heart and thoughts away in her book,' said Sylvie.1993 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event
BattleBowl was a one-time professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The show took place on November 20, 1993, at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida. The event featured only the "BattleBowl Tournament", where the first round consisted of eight tag team matches where the teams were drawn at random in a "Lethal Lottery". Members of the winning teams would advance to the BattleBowl battle royal main event. There was no tangible prize offered to the winner of the tournament, Vader, who was already the WCW World Heavyweight Champion at the time of the show.
WCW had previously used the Battlebowl concept at Starrcade 1991 and Starrcade 1992, opting to make it a stand-alone show in 1993 as they expanded the number of PPV shows they held that year. The BattleBowl concept would not be used again until the 1996 Slamboree show. WCW closed in 2001 and all rights to their television and PPV shows were bought by WWE, including BattleBowl. When the WWE Network launched in 2014 this show became available "on demand" to network subscribers along with the majority of all WCW PPVs.
Production [ edit ]
Background [ edit ]
The Lethal Lottery/BattleBowl concept was originally introduced for professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) 1991 Starrcade pay-per-view (PPV) show held on December 29, 1991. The concept of the "Lethal Lottery" would see names drawn at random to form tag teams, although as with all professional wrestling this was all staged to appear random. The teams, sometimes consisting of two people who were involved in a storyline feud with each other, would compete against other random teams to see which team would move on to the BattleBowl portion of the tournament. The "BattleBowl" itself was an over-the-top-rope elimination battle royal between all the winning tag teams. In 1991 WCW used the BattleBowl to further a storyline between then WCW World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger and Sting.[1] WCW held another "Lethal Lottery"/"BattleBowl" tournament at their 1992 Starrcade show. That event was won by The Great Muta, but the tournament win did not result in further storylines.[2]
WCW held a total of six PPVs in the continental United States in 1992, but in 1993 they expanded their schedule to seven, adding BattleBowl to their schedule for November, holding the tournament separately from the 1993 Starrcade show.[3]
Storylines [ edit ]
The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]
Event [ edit ]
Tony Schiavone provided the play-by-play commentary for the show, while Jesse Ventura provided the color commentary, providing a counter-point by often siding with the heel wrestlers (those that portray the bad guys). Prior to each match Gene Okerlund and Fifi stood by a large lottery drum, supposedly pulling names at random, though the names were never displayed to the viewers. As the names were announced WCW showed two side-by-side live feeds, one from the heel locker room and one from the face (those that portray the good guys) locker room.
The first team announced consisted of Big Van Vader, WCW World Heavyweight Champion and Cactus Jack. Vader and Cactus Jack had been on opposite sides in the main event of WCW's last PPV Halloween Havoc, thus pairing rivals together for the first match. Okerlund announced that Harlem Heat member Kole was part of the opposite team, but instead of Kole leaving the locker room his brother Kane left the locker room and came to the ring. Kane helped Vader attack Cactus Jack, during which Schiavone commented that it was the wrong brother and then stated, "I guess it doesn't really matter". Moments later the last participant, Charlie Norris, came to the ring and the match started. Initially, Vader and Cactus Jack would occasionally hit each other during the match but later started to get along enough to double team their opponents. In the end, Vader pinned Charlie Norris to advance to the BattleBowl main event.[3][5]
For the second match one-half of the WCW World Tag Team Championship team the Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs was paired up with Johnny B. Badd for a match against Erik Watts and Paul Roma, who were both faces leading up to the match. After almost 13 minutes of wrestling Brian Knobbs pinned Eric Watts by holding onto Watts' tights for extra leverage to win the match.[3][5] For the third match of the night long-time rivals Ricky Steamboat and Lord Steven Regal were forced to team together, much to the dismay of Regal who was very vocal in his displeasure with Steamboat. While their opponents, Paul Orndorff and The Shockmaster, were not on friendly terms they worked better together than Regal and Steamboat, allowing the Shockmaster to pin Regal.[3][5]
After the third match WCW showed a segment announcing that Starrcade would take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the segment Ric Flair approached WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader with a contract. First Vader denied signing it, but when Flair revealed he would risk his career and retire if he lost the match, Vader agreed to the match, signing the contract for the main event of Starrcade. For the next match Dustin Rhodes was teamed up with King Kong to take on King Kong's regular partner Awesome Kong and The Equalizer, leaving Rhodes as the lone face against three heels. During the match all three heels attacked Dustin throughout the match, leaving Rhodes at a disadvantage throughout. In the end Awesome Kong accidentally landed on both King Kong and the Equalizer, leaving him vulnerable to Dustin Rhodes' Running bulldog move, which led to Rhodes pinning Awesome King.[3][5] For the fifth match of the night rivals Sting and Jerry Sags were teamed up to take on Ron Simmons and Keith Cole. During the match Simmons started to get a little rougher in the ring, beating Sting down repeatedly. When he tagged in his partner Cole would wrestle a more basic match, opting for arm locks and holds, frustrating Simmons throughout the match. Near the end of the match, Sags tagged Sting on the back, taking over the match to pin Keith Cole. After the match Ron Simmons completed his heel turn by attacking Keith Cole.[3][5]
To start the sixth match of the night, Steve Austin got in the face of his tag team partner Ric Flair, telling Flair that Austin was in charge of the match and Flair needed to follow his lead. As a result, Flair simply stepped to the apron and watched as Austin faced off against Maxx Payne (and partner 2 Cold Scorpio). When Payne was able to overpower Austin he tried to tag out to Flair but Flair walked down the apron, out of range. Flair did tag in later on and generally got along with Austin on the way to defeating Payne and Scorpio to earn their way to the main event.[3][5] In the next match regular tag team partners Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger found themselves on opposite sides of the ring, initially refusing to fight. The refusal angered Pierce's partner Rick Rude who tagged himself in while Slazenger tagged in Marcus Bagwell. Near the end of the match Slazenger and Pierce finally fought each other, leaving Slazinger open to Rick Rude sneaking int the ring to get a pinfall for his team. Afterward Pierce and Slazenger showed their unity by attacking Marcus Bagwell.[3][5]
Road Warrior Hawk was the first competitor drawn for the last match and moments later his partner was announced as low card wrestler Rip Rogers. While Rogers was excited to be called for the match Hawk showed his displeasure by punching Rogers in the face during their introduction. Moments later both opponents, Davey Boy Smith and Kole, both hit Rip Rogers while he was on the ground. Hawk proceeded to wrestle the match on his own as Rogers slowly crawled towards the ring. After a short time in the ring with Hawk, Davey Boy Smith tagged out and left Kole to fight the remainder of the match. Near the end of the match, Rip Rogers finally got to ringside, only for Hawk to pull him into the ring, press him up over his head and throw him on top of Kole, enabling Rogers to win the match without performing a single move.[3][5]
After the "fluke" win by Rogers, he was quickly eliminated from the BattleBowl as he was tossed out of the ring moments after the bell rang. Austin ended up eliminating Dustin Rhodes, who hit his head on the ring post, and then "bladed" to cause his forehead to bleed for dramatic effect. The final four wrestlers were Sting, Steve Austin, Ric Flair and Vader, with Sting and Vader facing off and Flair and Austin pairing up. During the match, Vader's manager Harley Race pulled Ric Flair out of the ring onto the ramp. Race tried to suplex Flair, but Flair countered it and suplexed Race instead. While Flair was still on the ramp Vader left the ring and attacked Flair dropping his considerable weight on him twice. Moments later it was announced that the referee had deemed Flair physically unable to compete and thus was eliminated from the match. Later on, Sting managed to eliminate Austin, but was in turn thrown out of the ring by Vader, giving Vader the victory.[3][5]
Aftermath [ edit ]
With a victory of Vader at Clash of the Champions XXV,[6] and their interaction in the main event, Ric Flair challenged Vader to defend the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Flair defeated Vader in the main event of the 1993 Starrcade show to win the championship.[7]
After Regal attacked Steamboat during their match, Steamboat challenged Lord Steven Regal for the WCW World Television Championship at Starrcade, with the match ending in a 15-minute time limit draw. Due to the draw Regal retained the championship.[7]
BattleBowl concept [ edit ]
WCW abandoned the BattleBowl concept for a number of years, bringing it back one last time for the 1996 Slamboree event. Diamond Dallas Page won the 1996 BattleBowl, using the win as a way to increase Page's profile in the company, starting an ascent that would eventually lead to Page winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.[8][9] In 2001 WWE bought out WCW, gaining ownership of all television and PPV programming produced by WCW, including the BattleBowl show. When the WWE Network launched in 2014 this show became available "on demand" to network subscribers along with the majority of all WCW PPVs.[10]
Other promotions have used a similar concept to the "Lethal Lottery" / "BattleBowl" tournament after WCW created the concept in 1991. Chikara held La Lotería Letal in 2008 which adopted the "Lethal Lottery" portion of the tournament by drawing random names for a tag team tournament.[11] In early 2013 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling adopted the "Lethal Lottery"/"BattleBowl" concept with their first ever Joker's Wild tournament, held as part of their "One Night Only" PPV series. The "Joker's Wild" tournament included both the Lethal Lottery portion and the BattleBowl portion, with the winners being given a cash prize as a reward for winning the tournament.[12]
Results [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]A smaller version of the popular Raspberry Pi 3 will go on sale in a few months.
Raspberry Pi is developing a new version of its Compute Module, a single-board computer that plugs into specific on-board memory slots. The new Pi will be more like a mini-computer inside a computer, and it won't come with a power supply.
The Compute Module will have similar circuitry to that of Raspberry Pi 3, a wildly successful computer that can be a PC replacement. But it will be smaller, with the memory, CPU, and storage embedded tightly on a board.
The differences between the Compute Module and the Raspberry Pi 3 will be subtle. While the Compute Module will have a 64-bit ARM processor like the Pi 3, it won't have Wi-Fi, Eben Upton, founder of Raspberry Pi, said in an interview with IDG News Service.
The Compute Module could ship as soon as this quarter, Upton said. It will be priced similar to its predecessor, the 2-year-old Compute Module, available from reseller RS Components for about US$24. The older Compute Module is based on the original Raspberry Pi.
Like Raspberry Pi 3, the new Compute Module will work with Linux and Microsoft's Windows 10 IoT Core, Upton said.
A Compute Module Development Kit, in which the Compute Module can be slotted for testing, may also be sold. The Development Kit could have multiple connectivity and port options, much like the Raspberry Pi 3.
The Raspberry Pi 3 has sold millions of units and has evolved from a gadget development tool into a PC. The Compute Module could also appeal to businesses that want to put computers inside electronics or industrial equipment.
Small computers are being used to operate factory equipment, and the Compute Module could fit in that scenario.
Raspberry Pi is already successful among computing enthusiasts and tinkerers, but Upton wants to break into that industrial market. People are buying inexpensive Pi boards and increasingly putting them in equipment, either for testing or for real-world use, Upton said.
The Compute Module falls into a category of devices called single-board computers, or SBCs. Like its predecessor, it's likely the new Compute Module will be compatible with SODIMM slots, which are cheaper than PCI or SDRAM slots and can carry high-speed signals reliably.
Companies like Atmel and Freescale also sell SBCs with microcontrollers that are used to test applications and hardware. The 64-bit ARM CPU in the Compute Module will be faster than microcontrollers on the other boards.
Wi-Fi is a signature feature of Raspberry Pi 3, adding much-needed on-board connectivity features. The economics and small size of the Compute Module make it difficult to embed Wi-Fi circuitry.Walmart Stores unlawfully retaliated against workers who participated in strikes in 2013 and must offer to reinstate 16 dismissed employees, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled.
Administrative Law Judge Geoffrey Carter said in a ruling posted on the board’s website on Thursday that Walmart violated labor laws by “disciplining or discharging several associates because they were absent from work while on strike.”
Most of the decision is related to a coordinated set of strikes at various Walmart stores in May and June of 2013. Judge Carter was ruling on a complaint filed by the labor agency on behalf of a union-backed worker group, OUR Walmart, in 2014.
Walmart can appeal the decision to the agency’s board in Washington.
“We disagree with the administrative law judge’s recommended findings and we will pursue all of our options to defend the company, because we believe our actions were legal and justified,” said a spokesman for Walmart, Kory Lundberg.Earlier this year, the Windows Insider team launched a new monthly podcast which has since become a great source of information for Windows enthusiasts. If you enjoy listening to technology podcasts but still looking for something less Windows-focused, Microsoft also got you covered with a brand new podcast called.future.
This latest creation is the result of a partnership between Microsoft Story Labs, technology reporter Cristina Quinn and Gimlet Creative, and according to the first teaser.future will be all about questioning how we all make the future happen. Here is the official description:
The future isn’t random; it’s the result of the choices we make now. Choices about how we think, work, communicate and learn.
Join Microsoft Story Labs and Gimlet Creative for.future, a new podcast that explores tomorrow’s technology today and how it will affect generations to come. Hosted by science and technology reporter Cristina Quinn, the show will feature conversations on the most transformational technologies of our time, from artificial intelligence to Minecraft to cybersecurity.
It’s interesting to see Microsoft experimenting more with podcasts this year, even though podcasts support on Windows 10 still leaves much to be desired. If you’re interested, the first episode of.future will drop on Wednesday, June 28, and you can already subscribe to the podcast via RSS or iTunes.
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Further reading: MicrosoftSEATTLE, Jun 02, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- AMZN, +0.29% —Amazon Fire TV has the fastest growing selection of any streaming media device—in just the last 3 months, Amazon has added over 600 channels, apps and games to the Amazon Fire TV platform—more than Roku and Apple TV in the same timeframe. Popular new titles include Popcornflix, Funny Or Die, Candy Crush Saga,and Fox News.
In addition to these new titles, the GameFly streaming service is now available exclusively for streaming media devices on Amazon Fire TV. Using the GameFly service, customers can play top quality PC titles, including Warner Brothers’ acclaimed Batman series, Darksiders II,and Dirt 3. Game packs start at $6.99 a month and at launch customers can choose from six gaming packs. Customers can use the GameFly service with the Amazon Fire TV Game Controller, which is available for $39.99.
“The team is working hard and moving incredibly fast to bring even more movies, TV shows, live TV, sports, music, channels, apps and games to the Amazon Fire TV platform every week—and it shows. Amazon Fire TV selection has grown 127% in just the last 6 months, and is continuing to accelerate,” said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President Amazon Appstore. “With the addition of new titles like Fox News, Popcornflix, Candy Crush Saga and GameFly, customers now have access to even more of their favorite TV shows, news content, top quality games and live TV.”
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick plug into your HDTV for easy and instant access to blockbuster movies and popular TV shows via Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video, live TV, sports, music, and more from popular channels like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sling TV, HBO Go, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, and WatchESPN. In addition, with Amazon Fire TV you can play new and popular games such as Minecraft, Crossy Road, and many other best-selling and highly rated titles. Games can be played using the Amazon Fire TV remote that comes with the device, or the Amazon Fire Game Controller. Fire TV is a tiny box with voice search built right into the remote, and a quad core processor for seamless streaming; Fire TV Stick is a small streaming media stick that brings an incredible amount of power and content at a great value—it’s just $39. Learn more about Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick at www.amazon.com/FireTV and www.amazon.com/firetvstick.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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Copyright Business Wire 2015George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ends in an epic fashion with a final shot of Furiosa (Charlize Theron) and the surviving Wives (Riley Keogh, Zoe Kravitz, Abby Lee, Courtney Eaton) watching as Max (Tom Hardy) disappears into the crowd of rejoicing citizens. But the closing image is followed by a mysterious, fictitious quote that reads:
“Where must we go, we who wander this wasteland, in search of our better selves?” - The First History Man
The fictional quote was invented by Miller to underline Fury Road's central theme of the quest to be our best selves and regain our lost humanity — the core of the redemption journey. Its author, "the First History Man," isn't specified by name, but two Mad Max comic prequels co-written by Miller use a "History Man" character as the narrator. Called a "Wordburger," the History Man acts as a living book, with names and whole stories tattood on his person. Fury Road co-writer and storyboard artist Mark Sexton told Comic Book Resources, "The History Man was actually a character that appeared in early drafts of the film when we were storyboarding it. This older man, desperate to remember the facts and figures of the past, the old learning -- so desperate that in a world where paper barely exists any more, he's tattooed all these facts onto his body -- that's a great character and a great visual."
Presumably, the First History Man of the quote is someone who, once society hopefully returns to more stable times, begins to document the turbulent past and the key figures who helped to reshape life for the better. Since the History Man is designated as "first," this title could possibly refer to Max himself, as viewed from a time in the future when society has improved. Mad Max employs common storytelling archetypes as characters, and, according to the director, Max himself is an archetype. As Miller said, “When you read Joseph Campbell, you realize what he is: He’s a character who predates cinema and is almost in all folklore, the wanderer in the wasteland searching for meaning.” Maybe, more than just one living, breathing person, Max is an idea to be handed down for generations to come.
When we first meet Max, he is haunted by the death of his loved ones and reduced to an antisocial loner, out only for survival, until he joins Furiosa's fight to rescue a group of women who, despite the disastrous environmental conditions, can still bear children and have been kept as "breeders" by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Whiteley). After some resistance, Max helps Furiosa and the Wives evade Immortan Joe's army of brainwashed, chrome-covered War Boys. Among them is Nux (Nicholas Hoult), who, like many of his peers, doesn’t have long to live and hopes to be remembered for doing something great within his short time on this planet. Furiosa holds out hope that they will reach the “green place" of her childhood and escape the barren wastelands where Immortan Joe hoards the water and forces all others to serve him. When Furiosa discovers with despair that the green place no longer exists, Max convinces her that redemption is still possible. They fight the villain Joe, return triumphant and restore the water Joe has hoarded to all citizens.
Max and his fellow travelers seek to absolve themselves of their regrettable pasts and leave the chaos of this broken world behind. In the end, their underlying goal is to reach a point where they can finally show the compassion and humanity that, until now, they have been forced to repress due to the ruthlessness of their environment. Whether it’s Max or Furiosa looking to escape their troubled pasts or the Wives longing to be free from the Immortan Joe, all are looking for a home where their humanity can thrive. Perhaps one day, when the structure of the V8 engine is seen for what is is, rather than a religious symbol, History Men will tell a story about Max Rockatansky and his fellow travelers, who stood against the evil Immortan Joe and searched for a better place.Overflowing skips, bags of litter, abandoned furniture and broken loos: Thousands of travellers decamp from Appleby and THIS is the mess they left behind
Appleby Horse Fair is the world's biggest gathering of gypsies and travellers dating back to 1685
About 10,000 gipsies and travellers and a further 30,000 visitors attended the event which started on June 5
As the fair came to an end this weekend the beautiful Cumbrian hillsides were left strewn with rubbish
Fields and public bridleways have been littered with gas canisters, tyres and abandoned furniture
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For one week in June, thousands of travellers, gypsies and tourists descended on the picturesque market town of Appleby for its annual horse fair.
But as the fair came to an end this weekend, the beautiful Cumbrian hillsides and green pastures surrounding the town were left spoiled with overflowing skips, bags of litter, abandoned furniture and broken loos.
Fields and public bridleways have been littered with gas canisters while debris trails through the land where the lush green grass once stood.
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Aftermath: Rubbish and empty bottles are strewn across a muddy field in Appleby following the annual horse fair in the small Cumbrian town
Darren Barnett, duty manager at the Royal Oak pub in Appleby said: 'The rubbish issue is always a common occurrence.
'Hundreds of travellers come here every year so the amount of litter increases and is left all over the place.
'The council have an agreement with the travellers for them to tidy up the rubbish in certain sections of the town, but it always takes such a long time.
'There are bins and litter pickers everywhere but we can't stop people from throwing stuff on the floor or leaving things lying around. It's a total mess.'
The green fields of Appleby in Cumbria have been left in a state with mud tracks, litter and devastated roadsides blighting the landscape after the horse fair
Disgusting': A toilet is found lying on its side along a country road in Appleby following the horse fair which was attended by about 40,000 people
What a mess: An overflowing skip is left in the middle of a field in Appleby, Cumbria, with more rubbish strewn around it
Appleby Horse Fair is the world's biggest gathering of gipsies and travellers, dating back to 1685.
About 10,000 gipsies and travellers and a further 30,000 visitors attended the event, which started on June 5.
Mr Barnett, 29, added: 'The town centre has been cleared but travellers can also stay in the fields towards the outskirts of the town. When all of them
leave it's left untidy, it looks a tip.'
This toilet was completely destroyed during the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria when thousands of travellers and gipsies descended on the Cumbrian town
The unspoiled green fields of Appleby in Cumbria have been left in a state with mud tracks and litter after thousands of travellers visited the annual horse fair
Wrecked: A gas canister lies in the middle of a field in Appleby in front of a dirt track which has blighted the once rolling green hill
Wire fencing in Appleby has been pulled down by revellers who attended the annual Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria which happens over a week
Wrecked: Furniture and bags of rubbish were left abandoned following the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria which dates back to 1685
Fields and public bridleways have been littered with gas canisters and tyres despite revellers being told they must clean up after themselves following the fair
The unspoiled green fields of Appleby in Cumbria have been left in a ruined state with mud tracks, litter and devastated roadsides blighting the landscape after gipsy travellers descended upon the area during the annual Appleby Horse Fair last weekend
Hundreds of travellers descend on Appleby every year so the amount of litter increases and is left all over the place when it is over
A spokesperson for Eden District Council stated that although the council is responsible for certain areas of Appleby where travellers choose to camp,
private landowners also allow them to stay on other areas.
He said: 'The activity outside of the town centre is private land, therefore it is the responsibility of the landowner to clean up the area. We would encourage the owners of the land to clear it as quickly as possible.
'If the public were to voice their opinion about a specific patch of land, in certain circumstances we would consider an appropriate plan to put into
action and contact the land owner.
'During every event, we encourage residents and those who are travelling into Appleby to use the extra rubbish facilities that we provide to keep Appleby
as picturesque as what it is known for.
'We work hard to make sure the horse fair is a success and we have had positive feedback so far.'
Gipsy travellers take their horses into the River Eden during the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria last weekend which is a tradition dating back to 1685Image copyright Reuters Image caption Motorways remained empty, as roadblocks were set up on the main access roads to Buenos Aires
A strike called by two of Argentina's biggest unions has paralysed much of Buenos Aires and other cities.
Most trains and underground lines remained closed, flights were cancelled and there was little traffic in the streets of the capital.
This is the second big protest against the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in less than two weeks.
The unions are asking for lower income taxes, and there is general discontentment about the economy.
"I will put up with whatever I have to put up with. No one will bully me. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina
There are also concerns about rising crime and corruption.
President Fernandez, who has been in power since 2007, has seen her approval ratings plunge after her re-election a year ago.
The strike was called by two unions that have recently dropped their support to the government, the CGT and the CTA.
It was also backed up by the powerful Argentine Agrarian Federation, which represents the farming sector.
"It feels like Sunday in Buenos Aires, with the cafes and the shops open but generally empty streets in the usually congested central area of the city," says the BBC's Vladimir Hernandez.
'Red card'
Union leaders have hailed the strike as a major success.
"There are hundreds of thousands of workers across the country sending a message to a government that closes the eyes to all of us who disagree with them," said CTA union leader Pablo Micheli.
But the government says people only stayed at home because of the roadblocks and picket lines.
Image copyright AP Image caption Cristina Fernandez succeeded her husband Nestor Kirchner as president five years ago
"Luckily the strike was restricted to a few areas in the capital, because people in the rest of the country went to work as usual," President Fernandez said in her first reaction to the industrial action.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark Sovereignty Day in the city of San Pedro, she also sent a defiant message to her critics.
"I will put up with whatever I have to put up with. No one will bully me: not with threats, not with violence."
Economist Alan Cibils told the BBC Mundo the underlying problem was high inflation.
Some economists say annual inflation in Argentina is at 24%, much higher than the official 10% figure.
Most unions are calling for a big rise in the minimum salary and for income tax bands to be adjusted accordingly.
The International Monetary Fund head, Christine Lagarde, has threatened Argentina with a "red card" if it does not provide reliable inflation and growth data by 17 December.
Economic growth in Argentina has dropped from 9% in 2011 to 2.2% this year, according to the World Bank.
Thousands of people marched in the streets of Buenos Aires on 8 November in the biggest protest against the government of President Fernandez so far.To call the Nintendo Switch a make or break console for the Japanese gaming giant is a bit of a stretch, but there’s no question that Nintendo has a whole lot riding on the success of its new video game console. Last Friday, the company began a long journey toward regaining gamers’ trust after the disaster that was the Wii U. After the original Wii became a cultural phenomenon, Nintendo looked to recapture the magic with the console’s successor in 2012. Despite tremendous buzz and a big head start on next-generation consoles from the competition, the Wii U fizzled thanks to its gimmicky touchscreen controller and a crippling lack of games.
In 2017, Nintendo looks to turn things around. And if early sales estimates are any indication, the company is off to a very good start.
According to Japan-based video game industry monitor Famitsu, the Nintendo Switch had a stellar opening weekend in its local market of Japan. The firm on Tuesday released its sales estimates for the Nintendo Switch’s first three days of availability, and the numbers are impressive by any measure.
According to Famitsu, 330,637 Nintendo Switch consoles were sold in Japan during Nintendo’s opening weekend of sales. As was the case in the US market, the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan this past Friday, March 3rd. Famitsu’s numbers cover preorder deliveries and consoles sold in stores on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but they do not include additional sales on Monday or Tuesday.
Alongside all those Nintendo Switch consoles, the firm estimates opening-weekend sales of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild reached 190,060 physical copies in Japan alone. That number does not include digital sales.
Now, how do those figures compare to the launches of the Wii and Wii U? During its premiere weekend ahead of the holidays in 2012, the Wii U sold an estimated 308,570 units in the Japanese market. Gamers and industry watchers will recall that there was a tremendous amount of buzz at the time the Wii U was released following the success of the Wii, and there were also no new consoles from Sony or Microsoft to compete with.
Reaching back to December 2006, the original Wii sold an estimated 371,936 units in Japan during its first weekend of availability. The Switch couldn’t match that impressive performance, but there’s an important consideration when comparing the Switch’s launch-weekend sales with the Wii and Wii U. Both of Nintendo’s previous |
for Oct. 27.Wasps director of rugby Dai Young hailed his side's effort after they kicked off their Champions Cup campaign with a 33-6 away win at Leinster on Sunday.
The English side delivered a superb allround performance with forwards and backs combining brilliantly on attack but also impressing with a solid defensive effort.
"They had a lot of ball and I was really pleased with our defence," said Young.
"We really held out and frustrated them into making mistakes.
"It was a great performance for us. We’ve had some big ones at home but rarely have we come away and played like we did today.
"It was full of heart and desire. We talked about keeping our shape, winning the collisions and not being too concerned with committing to the tackle area after we were taught a lesson here last year and came off second best."
Young expressed his delight that his team achieved several of the goals which they set for themselves before the game.
"I don’t think the gap on the scoreboard was hugely reflective," he added.
"I’m just pleased that what we talked about – being physical in defence, clinical in attack and earning the right to play by getting quality set-piece ball – we were the better team today."
Despite, the victory Young is aware that his team will have to deliver similar performances in their remaining matches if they want to advance to the tournament's knockout stages.
"We know how tough this group is going to be and it’s only one game," he said.
"It was our day.
"We caused them problems last season and were already a good squad, but we’ve added a bit of stardust in George Smith and Charles Piutau.
"We deserved it, but we have to back it up next week and if anything is going to sober you up it’s Toulon coming to town."North Carolina FC has little time to celebrate its 6–1 win Wednesday over Carolina Dynamo in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Now, the Oaks (3–2–2, 11 pts.) travel to Bayamon and Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium to face Puerto Rico FC (0–3–4, 3 pts.) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Puerto Rico are riding a four-game losing streak following their 4–3 loss to the New York Cosmos last weekend. They had a 2–0 lead on the Cosmos until Yuma was shown a red card following a challenge. New York scored three unanswered after the Puerto Rico side went down to 10 men.
“Maybe after the streak we’ve been having the team is more sensitive to changes during the game,” said Ramon Soria, Puerto Rico FC center-back, on the team’s website following the loss to New York.
Only they and Indy Eleven have failed to collect a win in the first seven games of the season.
They also fired their coach after the debacle against the Cosmos.
Sitting in last place with three points after seven games will do that. The team has talent on their roster, and a winless start to the season can only go without consequences for so long. They are certainly a team in turmoil; we’ll see how they respond tomorrow night.
NCFC, on the other hand, are fresh off their U.S. Open Cup win in Greensboro on Wednesday night. Coach Colin Clark was able to bring in three new faces to the starting line-up to give veterans a rest before the return to league play.
Macklin Robinson, Marcel Kandziora and Dre Fortune all made their first start of the season against the Dynamo. Matt Fondy returned to the starting lineup as Lance Laing — the hero of the Oaks’ 3–1 win over Jacksonville Armada FC last weekend — earned a rest.
Against Puerto Rico FC, it is to be expected that Laing return to the starting lineup. Laing is tied with Indy Eleven’s Justin Braun for the league lead in goals scored with four.
The question is whether Fondy or Schuler will start alongside Laing up front. Schuler’s brace last weekend gives him three goals on the season to match Fondy’s three. The difference is in their attack.
Against San Francisco Deltas, the Oaks were whistled offside five times, three of those attributable to Fondy. On the other hand, Schuler has yet to concede a foul but has only played in four games to Fondy’s six.
Defensively, NCFC have put together back-to-back games where they gave up just two goals — including holding one of the hottest-scoring teams in Jacksonville to just one goal — and scored nine.
If history has any play Saturday night, the Oaks did collect their first and only clean sheet of the season in their last meeting with Puerto Rico, a 1–0 win on April 29 in Bayamon.
What to expect
There is a level of frustration with Puerto Rico, and clearly losing the coaching staff this week will shake things up. They were close to their first win of the season last week though, only to have it erased following a red card. But they have also given up a league-high 13 goals. We really don’t know what to expect: it could be a mixed bag on Saturday night.
If the Oaks press the attack and use a mix of Laing, Fondy, Schuler and even Tiyi Shipalane, the Puerto Rico defense may be on its heels all night, regardless of their turmoil.
The only drawback for NCFC is playing with only three days rest and going on the road while the Orange haven’t played since last weekend. They will be fresh, but that’s about all we know.
Form
North Carolina FC
W-D-W-L-W
Puerto Rico FC
D-L-L-L-L
Check out the game
Watch | ESPN3 (National — U.S.), NASL.com (National — Canada). WAPA 2 (National — Puerto Rico)
Set piece
Just to revel back to Wednesday’s win in the U.S. Open Cup, the Oaks will return home to face Charlotte Independence on May 31 in the third round of the nation’s oldest tournament.
If NCFC defeats the Independence, they will stay at home and play host to MLS side Houston Dynamo. The fourth round is where MLS teams enter the tournament.You always know what you’re going to get from Will Barton. Heart. Hustle. Aggression. Competitiveness. Buckets. And always a great quote. “Thrill” is gifted with an ability to articulate things he’s seeing on the basketball court. Sometimes that is specific match-ups or keys to a game, other times that’s just giving the pulse of a team.
Tonight, after Gary Harris sat out giving Barton his first start of the season, Barton had a lot of great and insightful things to say about the state of the Denver Nuggets.
On Portland being a “homecoming.”
“Nothing anymore. That phase is over with...I don’t look at it that way anymore.”
On Jamal Murray’s defensive intensity affecting his shot
“I just feel like you’re going to play better if that is your approach. That’s been my approach this season too, just trying to come in and lock up on defense because the offense is going to take care of itself. You go out there worrying about defense showing that you are unselfish and caring about the team. So I feel like Jamal (Murray) is exerting a lot of energy on defense but I feel like that’s a good thing. But he’s young, he’ll be good. He’ll figure out how to, you know...’I’m exerting a lot of energy let me get my legs into this shot a little bit more than I would if I was 100% fresh.’ I like where his head is at, he’s going to be good.”
On Nikola Jokic’s tap pass
“I just know his game. I’ve been his teammate for awhile now. I know he’s always looking, even when he’s not looking. He sees you, he has a great feel for where everyone is and however he has to make the pass he’s going to make it.”
On if he gets tired and where his mindset is at right now
“I wasn’t tired at all. I’m just...my mindset is on a whole other level right now, man. I’m so excited to play basketball and I’m just so excited about this team. I just really think we can be good. I’m just focused on winning, winning, winning, so I don’t get tired. Like I said I’m in a whole other space and a whole other place right now and I’m just with it. Whatever it’s going to take I’m with it.”
On when he knew this team was going to be good
“I knew at the end of last year. And then once we signed Paul I was like ‘Yeah it’s really on now.’ We got a guy who’s used to winning. I feel like that was all we needed. That one piece that was going to calm us down and you could play through him, he’s unselfish, I mean, he just brings a lot to the table. Early in the season he’s just always talking to us. ‘Hey we’re going to win this game. Hey let’s do this, let’s do that.’ I mean, he’s just vital. And then with the talent we got and everyone growing up coming back with another year under their belt...we’re talented man.” I knew it would come together. Like I said, we integrated Paul (Millsap). Wilson (Chandler) starting at a new position. Jamal is a new starter. So it’s going to take time and I feel like we’re starting to figure it out.
On whether or not he likes replacing Gary Harris in the starting lineup
“I try not to look at it that way. I want Gary back as soon as possible. He’s a vital piece to our team. What he brings defensively, the way he gets up and down the open court, the way he makes shots and he always makes the right play. So I want him back out there. I love playing with him and you always want your core to stay together. However long he’s out I’ll be ready to step up for him and have his back.”
Listen to the full audio below and go out and pick up your Barton jersey now!REST, I just don't get it
As the guy who created CouchDB, I should be a big cheerleader for RESTful architectures. But the truth is, I just don't get it.
For CouchDB, REST makes absolutely insanely perfect sense. Read a document, edit, put the document back. Beautiful. But for most applications, enterprise or not, I don't see what the big win is.
I know what is wrong with SOAP, and it has everything to do with unnecessary complexity and solving the same problems twice. But what is the big advantage of making all your calls into GET PUT and DELETE? If POST can handle everything you need, then what's the problem?
I guess what I mean to say is just because SOAP is a disaster, doesn't somehow make REST the answer. Simpler is better, and REST is generally simpler than SOAP. But there is nothing wrong with a plain old POST as an RPC call. If its easy to make all your calls conform to the RESTful verb architecture, then that's good, I guess. But if not, then just use a POST as an RPC call, keep it as simple as possible and be done with it. And don't spend another minute worrying about being RESTful or not.
Posted August 14, 2008 9:04 PMWhen a heartless crime left a special needs man without his favorite possession, Arlington Police and church leaders came to his rescue. (Published Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014)
Man With Special Needs Gets Gift From Police, Church
If you spend just a few minutes with Orey Green-Jalal, you’ll quickly learn what his favorite thing is.
“I like basketball,” said Orey, who has developmental disabilities.
The 28-year-old from Arlington, Texas, is a Special Olympics athlete who spends much of his time shooting baskets in his driveway.
“All day,” said Teresa Green, Orey’s mother. “You have to make him stop to take a drink of water or come inside.”
Holiday 2014: Gifts That Give Back
That’s why he was devastated when he came home a few weeks ago and his hoop was gone. A thief stole it while he and his family were out.
“He was hurt,” said Green. “He wanted the person to go to jail.”
Orey later saw Arlington Police Officer Natalia Kuehling at a community meeting and told her what had happened. She says the conversation they had was heartbreaking.
“He seems like such a nice, nice guy,” said Kuehling. “And I just don’t understand why somebody would do that.”
She wanted to help him, so she called a faith-based group the department works with called the Arlington Clergy and Police Partnership.
Members of the group say Orey’s story got to them. They decided to use the money they’d been saving for a Christmas party to instead buy a new basketball hoop for him.
“I think that was really the goal – to be a blessing to him,” said Pastor Renee Hornbuckle, an ACAPP board member. “Just to let him know that somebody cared.”
Members of ACAPP and several police officers surprised Orey by delivering the hoop to his house and assembling it.
“The look on his face and the joy in his eye – it was priceless,” said Charles Richardson, ACAPP Board President.
They also poured a cement base for the hoop and filled the pole with cement to make sure it won’t be stolen again.
Green says she’s overwhelmed by their kindness and still can’t believe this happened. A very appreciative Orey is glad it did.
“I like it,” said Orey.The following are highlights of a new Niagra Falls Review interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair:
On his daughter Charlotte getting into wrestling: “I didn’t encourage her, she just went to Wrestlemania with me. She was making a real nice living running a personal training center. John Laurinaitis saw her and said, ‘Why aren’t you wrestling?”
On The Undertaker’s streak ending: “I wanted to see The Streak go on, but I understand. Times change, it is what it is. You saw how quiet the fans got. They weren’t ready for that, so obviously they didn’t foresee that.”
On internet fans: “I don’t pay any attention to that. The internet thinks they’re smarter than we are, but they’re not. If you read the internet, it’s like watching Fox News, you don’t know what to believe. They all want to predict what they think will happen, but nobody ever knows for sure. As an example, 42 years in the business and I never thought Daniel Bryan would win that match (at April’s Wrestlemania XXX). I didn’t think he was going to beat Hunter, and I’m attuned to it!”
Check out the complete interview at NiagraFallsReview.ca.When thinking about any election shaping up, one should think of two broad kinds of voters. There are “traditional” voters and “non-traditional” voters. Polls done either by polling firms or by media are usually good at figuring out what people who normally vote in elections think.
The problem comes when dealing with non-traditional voters. As a rule of thumb, you typically get 60 million Republicans, 60 million Democrats, and 100 million people sitting out and not voting. And these people have the potential to pick any candidate they want. The term The Conservative Treehouse gave to these people is “The Monster Vote”.
So when predicting elections, you have two different problems: how are the traditional voters going to vote, and how many monster voters will there be? And these problems are dealt with in two entirely different ways.
1. Inside the box – traditional voters
In 2012, the electorate was 38% Democrat, 32% Republican and 29% independent. Their party ID was 35% Democrat, 32% Republican and 33% Independent.
In 2016, the party ID had steadily over the whole year been 27.7% Republican, 30.0% Democrat and 40.6% Independent. If you assume each group will have a turnout ratio the same as in 2012, the electorate will be 32.58% Democrat, 29.56% Republican and 35.69% Independent. I go over and apply this more on the poll analysis page.
Party 2012 ID 2012 Turnout ID/Turnout 2016 ID 2016 projected turnout Democrat 35 38 1.086 30.0 32.58 Republican 30 32 1.067 27.7 29.56 Independent 33 29 0.879 40.6 35.69
Now some will say “this is just like 2012 unskewing!” – but this is false. The 2012 unskewers based their prediction for the 2012 general election on the 2010 mid-terms – and Republicans always do better in mid-terms. And they predicted the electorate would be R+4.3, when in reality, as seen above, it was D+6.
I am predicting the electorate will be D+3. Moreover, my adjustments, as of September 15, only give Trump 1.32 points compared to other polls.
And nationally, the race is Trump +0.09 with the unadjusted polls, Trump +1.41 with my adjustments.
In addition, I have compiled and adjusted battleground state polls with the D+3 national sample assumption, for example making Pennsylvania a D+5 state and New Hampshire an R+3 state (yes, that’s real and NH has been R+3 many times in the past as well), and based on that, this is my belief of what would happen if the election were held TODAY and only traditional voters were allowed to vote:
Prediction of how “traditional voters” would vote if the election were held today
Trump would need to win New Hampshire or Virginia, Hillary would have to win both.
One of the reasons that I am slightly biased toward Trump in this map is due to the enthusiasm gap. Obviously it wasn’t enough to get Romney the win in 2012 (since Romney was battling against Obama’s monster vote), but in my mind I treat it as half a point.
Now if the polls keep trending this way, Trump can win simply with inside-the-box voters and doesn’t have to rely on non-traditional voters one bit.
2. Outside the box – non-traditional or “monster” voters
There is evidence that Donald Trump is benefiting from non-traditional voters in a yuge way. The only way I know of to infer the existence of these voters for the general election is primary turnout.
Unfortunately, the oracle known as FiveThirtyEight has planted the seed that primary turnout doesn’t matter. They claim this with a very simplistic, binary analysis of whether or not the party with a bigger increase in turnout and/or more absolute turnout won the election.
Obviously what you would want to do is look at the correlation – to see the degree to which primary turnout predicts general election turnout. And you would do it state-by-state, since that’s how presidential elections actually happen.
And our very own John Macintyre showed quite thoroughly that there was a.542 correlation between GOP primary turnout and general election turnout, and a.520 correlation for the DNC. This means that for every 1,000 new primary voters, we should expect 542 more general election voters for the GOP and 520 for the DNC.
As it happens, the primary effect may not have been enough to swing any election up to this point, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t make some elections closer than they otherwise would have been, and it doesn’t mean that it won’t put Trump over the top this November.
To dismiss the primary effect would be like writing off a football team that lost to Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon by 3 points each time as a team that “doesn’t win”.
Overall, in 2016 the Republicans had a 45.02% increase in primary over 2008, while the Democrats had an 18.92% decline. And, based on the 2008 election, we can use JM’s model to predict general election turnout.
State Republican Turnout based on 2008-2016 Republican Turnout based on 2012-2016 Democrat Turnout based on 2008-2016 Obama 2012 turnout Wisconsin 1.584 million 1.526 million 1.622 million 1.621 million Pennsylvania 3.071 million 3.107 million 3.019 million 2.990 million Ohio 3.176 million 3.095 2.371 million 2.828 million New Hampshire 342k 351k 367k 370k Virginia 2.016 million 2.234 million 1.854 million 1.972 million North Carolina 2.028 million 2.366 million 1.915 million 2.178 million Florida 4.270 million 4.535 million 4.261 million 4.238 million
For Republicans, the changes are from both the 2008 and 2012 primaries as they were both competitive. For Democrats we can only use 2008.
Now don’t take these numbers too literally. The fact that one party should do better based on this primary turnout model is just one factor to consider. And I am suspicious of numbers that predict Hillary 2016 doing better than Obama 2012. Models aren’t magical oracles, just indicators. That said JM did a fantastic job with his model.
I believe there is going to be some sort of “monster vote effect” – but if it is as real as this, this election is over. We are in uncharted territory with the scale of the primary turnout changes from 2008 to 2016, and there is probably a logarithmic effect for increased primary turnout – for no other reason than that any increase in primary voters reduces the number of non-primary voters who could add to the total in the general election.
In 2008 Obama wasn’t on the Michigan primary ballot, which makes the 2008 Michigan primary meaningless, and so we can’t do this with Michigan. Colorado has caucuses, so we can’t make any predictions about Colorado either.
After considering the “monster vote”, this is how I think the election would go if held today:
Election prediction for today given the primary turnout effect
And so I find myself predicting a very large Trump win if the election were held today.
That said – this election is far from over. Julian Assange hasn’t dropped his October surprise yet, and Trump will probably improve his numbers with the debates (not from being so much better than Hillary, I don’t think he even needs to “win” to improve his numbers from it, and Hillary is a lot better on her feet than people give her credit for. But he will gain by simply being a normal person and undoing the impression that he is a maniac).
And thus Trump will probably gain more ground in the next 50 days. Remember back in the desperate days of early August, Trumpsters were banking on Assange’s revelations and the debates. Trump closed the gap before and without those things – but those things are still going to happen. And I am now nervous because I feel herded into a dangerously optimistic outlook, which I feel is fragile and can at any moment be taken away.
Based on all of this, I find myself pulled inexorably toward a prediction I never thought I would make: Trump landslide.The Investigative Committee of Russian Federation (ICRF) believes that cryptocurrency could bring down the financial market in Russia. The officials vow in favour of criminal liability for its issuance and use.
According to the representative of the ICFR Georgy Smirnov, cryptocurrencies, or as they call them “surrogate money”, have the potential to compete with the national currency. The conflict can result in a reduction of ruble liquidity and gradual replacement of fiat money with cryptographic ones. Smirnov voiced out his belief that as surrogates are not insured and backed by the credit of the government they should be regarded as a speculative instrument.
“Because this instrument is speculative, then our entire financial system can turn into a big bubble. Such instruments put the market at risk of collapse.”
It is necessary to prohibit cryptocurrency use as a payment method in order to “maintain financial stability” of the national market, believes Smirnov.
“And of course, it is necessary to adopt criminal liability, taking into account the public danger of the consequences that may occur because of their use,” said the investigating authority representative.
On 25 February, the State Duma held a roundtable discussion “Regulating the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrency.” Russian Central Bank and Security and Anti-Corruption representatives voted against legalisation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. During his speech in the Duma, Andrei Lugovoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma on Security and Anti-Corruption, told that Russia was the world's fifth country by the number of bitcoin users (200,000) after the US, China and Germany.
Elena PlatonovaPosted by Zlatto in Zlatto's Bazaar | 6 Comments
Zlatto’s Bazaar is the one-third Wall Street, one-third criminal empire and one-half gossip rag. You need to keep up on the Bazaar if for no other reason than to keep an eye on your competitors. Don’t be a Ho-tah and visit often. Your comments are encouraged, especially if they make me credits…
I swear the info coming out about the game has me spinning around like a Stim-pickled SW:TOR kid. As I sort through all the of the press articles and wait impatiently upon the Fan Site Summit to happen, I figured I would circle back to an item I read recently that really caught my eye.
From a recent article on MMORPG’s Michael Bitton (potential spoilers – beware!)
The Hammer is one of the new Flashpoints that appears to be more focused on gameplay and puzzles than the cinematic flair present in the previously revealed Black Talon and Esseles. Some bits of group dialogue precede the actual Flashpoint, but once you arrive, it plays more like a typical dungeon run. However, what really stood out about the Hammer was the way Crew Skills were used throughout the experience. Players proficient enough in certain Crew Skills could, for example, re-activate a mining drill in order to break through a wall, circumventing a good deal of the Flashpoint’s trash mobs and allowing the group to beeline for the first boss. Later on, an elevator could be sliced, though no one in the group had high enough Slicing to figure out what that would have entailed.
What I get out of that is, that in some cases, players could be leveraging their Crew Skills within the Operations or Flashpoints for value beyond just gathering resources.
We all wondered when we saw an Imperial Agent messing with a computer terminal instead of dealing damage during the Eternity Vault video, what mechanic was really being used by the player. Anyone who isn’t an umron has to be wondering whether leveraging Cybertech on a damaged droid could also potentially create a ‘pet’ for a player. Or using your Biochem skill to create special adrenals needed to get the group down a different path and save some time. Just think, instead of being a liability by putting the group at risk when distracted by harvesting a node, you could be sought after for the combination of your combat and non-combat skills. So in the nicest way possible, elitists can go suck a flaming flarg nugget. They might be needing us crafting-focused players more than you think!
So what does it mean for ‘Looking For’ chat spamming? Well, besides looking for just the right class, we could see players trying to find the right class with the right Crew Skills to either gain more value or complete the mission with less effort.
In many previous MMOs the crafter was brought along to generate extra loot (can I get an AMEN from anyone who skinned the Beast in Blackrock Spire?) and whenever Finkle’s Skinner dropped, everyone with skinning was looking around hoping they were the only skinner. So it’s not ground breaking for gatherers to be seen as value-adds for instance runs. In many a run through Molten Core, there were plenty of side loot rolls for those who would skin the Core Hounds. High-end materials that can be gathered from mobs or nodes within the end-game locations has always been one way MMO designers have tried to limit the amount of certain materials to the masses, I am just extra excited about the leveraging of the actual ‘crafting’ side at the end game.
So what are you ideas or guesses related to the way BioWare can add true utilization of our Crew Skills to bring value to the ‘raid’?Derek Eder, founder of Data Made, gave an interesting talk on Saturday about the Open Government movement in Chicago.
The goal of the open government movement, Derek told the audience, is to drive transparency by building technology tools on top of data released by the government.
Based on Derek's talk, I created a timeline of the Chicago open government movement.
2005 ChicagoCrime.org Adrian Holovaty kicked off the Chicago open government movement with ChicagoCrime.org (now Everyblock.com).
2009 Hacking the CTA API Harper Reed built the "Unofficial" CTA API by scraping the CTA bus tracker website.
2011 Mayor Emanuel Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of the City of Chicago. Emanuel hires Chicago's first CTO and CDO to release new city datasets.
2012 ChicagoLobbyists.org Open City developers built ChicagoLobbyists.org, which improves transparency around Chicago lobbying activities.
2012 ClearStreets.org Developers built a scraper on top of the city's Plow Tracker app that displays which city streets have been plowed.
2012 SecondCityZoning.org The Open City team built an interactive map of Chicago's zones.
2013 SchoolCuts.org SchoolCuts.org combines data from CPS, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the University of Chicago Urban Institute to help stakeholders understand data about Chicago school closings.
2014 Crime and Punishment in Chicago Crime and Punishment in Chicago provides an index of crime and prison data sources.
If you're interested in hacking on open data—whether you're a developer, designer, statistician, journalist, or public servant—you can go to the Open Gov Hack Night. The group meets every Tuesday at 6pm in the IMSA room of 1871 in Merchandise Mart.An artist's illustration of an asteroid retrieval spacecraft capturing a 500-ton asteroid that is about 7 meters wide.
Capturing a near-Earth asteroid and dragging it into orbit around the moon could help humanity put boots on Mars someday, proponents of the idea say.
NASA is considering a $2.6 billion asteroid-retrieval mission that could deliver a space rock to high lunar orbit by 2025 or so, New Scientist reported last week. The plan could help jump-start manned exploration of deep space, carving out a path to the Red Planet and perhaps even more far-flung destinations, its developers maintain.
"Experience gained via human expeditions to the small returned NEA would transfer directly to follow-on international expeditions beyond the Earth-moon system: to other near-Earth asteroids, [the Mars moons] Phobos and Deimos, Mars and potentially someday to the main asteroid belt," the mission concept team, which is based at the Keck Institute for Space Studies in California, wrote in a feasibility study of the plan last year.
Space agency officials confirm that NASA is indeed looking at the Keck proposal as a way to help extend humanity's footprint out into the solar system. But the assessment is still in its early stages, with nothing decided yet.
"There are many options — and many routes — being discussed on our way to the Red Planet," Bob Jacobs, deputy associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., told SPACE.com via email. "NASA and the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are giving the study further review to determine its feasibility." [NASA's Spacecraft for Asteroid Missions Revealed (Photos)]
Enabling manned exploration of deep space
In the Keck plan, an unmanned probe would snag a 25-foot-wide (7 meters) near-Earth asteroid, then haul it back to lunar orbit for future study and exploration.
Its developers see the mission as a way for humanity to get a toehold beyond low-Earth orbit, allowing our species to hone techniques and acquire skills that manned missions to more distant destinations will require.
For example, the robotic mission would help develop the precision flying techniques demanded by a manned mission to a near-Earth asteroid. Further, study of the captured space rock could teach researchers how to efficiently extract water from asteroids — a resource that could be an off-Earth source of radiation shielding and rocket fuel for journeying spacecraft.
"Extraction of propellants, bulk shielding and life support fluids from this first captured asteroid could jump-start an entire space-based industry," the Keck team writes. "Our space capabilities would finally have caught up with the speculative attractions of using space resources in situ."
Up-close examination of a captured asteroid would also yield insights into the economic value of space rock resources and shed light on the best ways to deflect potentially dangerous asteroids away from Earth.
Overall, the potential benefits of the mission are huge, the Keck team says.
"Placing a NEA in lunar orbit would provide a new capability for human exploration not seen since Apollo," the report reads. "Such an achievement has the potential to inspire a nation. It would be mankind’s first attempt at modifying the heavens to enable the permanent settlement of humans in space."
NASA's new spaceships
Human exploration of deep space beyond the moon is a NASA priority. In 2010, President Barack Obama directed the agency to get astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of the Red Planet by the mid-2030s.
To make all of this happen, NASA is developing a crew capsule called Orion and a huge rocket known as the Space Launch System. The Orion-SLS combo is slated to begin flying crews by 2021. The first unmanned Orion test flight is expected in 2017.
The space agency is also developing a new Space Exploration Vehicle for astronauts bound to explore a near-Earth asteroid. A prototype of the new vehicle, which could feature a rocket sled and "pogo stick" device for docking with an asteroid, coul dbe tested at the International Space Station in 2017, project officials have said.
Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.About “Starboy”
Starboy is The Weeknd’s highly anticipated third studio album (excluding the mixtape compilation album Trilogy). The “king of the fall” announced the album after teasing his fans on his instagram. He dropped the first single, “Starboy” ft. Daft Punk on September 21st 2016, one day before the start of the fall season in North America.
The album was eventually released on November 25th 2016, touting a whopping 18 tracks with features from Future, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar. The project was met with mostly favorable reviews, became the number one album on iTunes in one day, topped the Billboard 200, and shattered Spotify’s single day streaming record.
Abel commented on the album in an interview, saying:
The vibe on “Starboy” comes from that hip-hop culture of braggadocio, from Wu-Tang and 50 Cent, the kind of music I listened to as a kid. Bragging just sounds good, man. I was a teenager when I saw Scarface, and even though it was unbelievable, it’s kind of cool Tony Montana could survive all those gunshots and not feel them.
The album won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2018 Grammys held on Jan. 28, 2018.
On March 12, 2016, Abel announced he was almost done with the album, tweeting:
Abel announced the album’s title on September 21, 2016, which was also the day he released the album’s lead single and title track, “Starboy”.
On November 24, 2016, the day before the album’s release, he released the second single, titled “Party Monster”.And the former mayor of Panama City Beach, Lee Sullivan, one of the first Florida officials to lock horns with Mr. Francis, maintains he has only his “arrogance and bad judgment” to blame for his travails. Last year, when Mr. Sullivan unsuccessfully ran for state representative, his campaign listed as his proudest mayoral achievement “taking ‘Girls Gone Wild,’ their slick California lawyers and their exploitation of young women to court and making certain their pornography would never be made on the Emerald Coast again.”
Mr. Francis’s troubles started nearly five years ago when he included Panama City Beach, a Panhandle city of white-sand beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, in a highly publicized pay-per-view event from three Spring Break locations. “Girls Gone Wild” camera crews, who usually film college women at bars, parking lots, hotel rooms and other party hangouts, had been to Panama Beach City before, but in 2003 they arrived with unusual hoopla.
Mayor Sullivan took exception and law enforcement officials cracked down on acts of lewd behavior, which interfered with the filming. Mr. Francis sued the officials, claiming violation of his First Amendment rights, and got them to settle and back down. But Mr. Francis and some of his crew were arrested when the father of one of two women filmed in a shower scene at the hotel room the filmmakers had rented contacted the county sheriff’s office, saying the girls were minors.
The officials came down hard: They confiscated Mr. Francis’s Ferrari and private jet, announcing cocaine had been found on the plane. Mr. Francis was charged with more than 70 counts, including racketeering, drug trafficking, prostitution and promoting the sexual performance of children.
A judge ended up throwing out all but six of the criminal counts, which revolve around the use of minors in a sexual performance, because of a flawed search warrant. And as it turned out, no cocaine was found on the plane.
Photo
But Mr. Francis was also saddled with a civil suit for emotional distress from the two girls, each 17, in the shower scene, along with five women. While he was out on bail in the criminal case, which is pending, the judge overseeing the suit ordered Mr. Francis to return to Florida to mediate the suit. That civil case landed Mr. Francis in jail in April when the women’s lawyers complained he was verbally abusive in negotiations. Judge John Richard Smoak Jr. of the Northern District of Florida held Mr. Francis in civil contempt for not properly participating in mediation and ordered him into custody. Mr. Francis, by then back home in Los Angeles, showed up to do his time four days late, which earned him another contempt order, this time for criminal contempt.
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Mr. |
Jack Lew Jacob (Jack) Joseph LewOvernight Finance: US reaches deal with ZTE | Lawmakers look to block it | Trump blasts Macron, Trudeau ahead of G-7 | Mexico files WTO complaint Obama-era Treasury secretary: Tax law will make bipartisan deficit-reduction talks harder GOP Senate report says Obama officials gave Iran access to US financial system MORE said in a letter to Congress on Wednesday.
Lew told lawmakers that while he cannot pinpoint when the nation would be in danger of missing debt payments without a borrowing boost, he was confident he would be able to avoid default until at least late October.
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“We believe that the measures will not be exhausted before late October, and it is likely that they will last for at least a brief additional period of time,” he wrote.
After the government reached its borrowing cap in March, Lew deployed his usual set of “extraordinary measures” to free up room under the cap to ensure the government kept paying its bills.
Noting the inherent difficult in precisely predicting the flow of funds in and out of the federal government, Lew reiterated that there is “considerable uncertainty” in terms of how long the U.S. can go before risking a calamitous default.
The letter suggested lawmakers could seek to settle a government shutdown fight before moving on to a debt limit debate — though it is also possible the two issues could simply be merged.
Congress needs to pass funding legislation to avoid a government shutdown by the end of September. Many expect lawmakers to pass a short-term funding measure, which could eventually couple a longer government-funding bill with legislation to raise the debt ceiling.
Lawmakers also face a raft of other issues in the fall, including extending authority for highway spending, dealing with expiring tax provisions and deciding whether to renew the charter for the Export-Import Bank.
Lew reiterated his call for lawmakers to raise the borrowing cap as soon as possible and without “controversy or brinksmanship.”
But lawmakers will not be acting on the limit anytime soon, as members will be heading home for the traditional August recess in a matter of days.
Lew’s timeline hews closely to other estimates of when the government could be in danger of running out of cash without a debt limit hike.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the debt limit will need to be increased in October or November, and the Bipartisan Policy Center has pegged the deadline as sometime in November or December.
Lew added in his letter that he would be prolonging a hold on new debt tied to investments in some government employee retirement funds. Temporarily suspending that debt is a frequent tool used by the Treasury Department to free up room under the borrowing cap. Lew previously suspended all new debt until July 30, and told lawmakers Wednesday he was extending that to October 30.
This story was updated at 5:26 p.m.It began as a rumour last year and petrified us all: a thunder that destroyed the peace of a clear night. An inconceivable idea beyond any imagination for a cinephile and a nightmare that quickly spread among film lovers. Now, the rumour has turned into truth: Quentin Tarantino, the most influential film director of the past 20 years, has announced his retirement.
Alright, he has not retired yet, but as he confirmed in his latest interview, he has planned to stop after only two more films. But why does the greatest and most fanatic film buff want to quit his career? He has achieved all the success he could possibly dream of: Palme d’Or, Academy Awards, and what he cares about most, the sincere devotion of all his fans. He began his career with nothing else besides raw talent and a genuine worship for motion pictures.
Originally working in a video rental shop for years, he had the chance to see – and study – ‘every’ possible film; and when he wasn’t watching, he was writing his scripts. He craved to join that faraway world that he admired with so much desire, and he ended up changing it forever, crafting it in his own unique way, ultimately becoming himself the icon of our generation’s cinema. Thus, why does a man want to abandon such an inspirational presence that he indeed managed to achieve after tireless effort?
However, Tarantino is not tired of making cinema. Rather, he wants to become cinema, forever. Just like the greater authors that we associate with the concept of cinema itself, such as Kubrick, Hitchcock, Chaplin, Scorsese and Welles, he wants to be remembered as one of the supreme cinematic artists in history. As a matter of fact, he is and has been the key figure in the industry for the past two decades, but, for him, this is still not enough. Having a perfect filmography, Tarantino wants to remain the beacon of light for future generations to come, and, in his opinion, the only way to achieve this is by quitting his stellar career, without running the risk of jeopardising it.
He would only have 10 movies under his name (an easy number to remember), not excessively long like most directors, but, considering the quality, significant enough to be nearly impossible to match. If we consider the ‘greats’ of the past, each director has at least one movie that was perceived as weak compared to their other major works. However, Tarantino did not experience this yet, and certainly does not want it to happen. Once asserted the unchallenged status of his 8 controversial, radical, ground-breaking pictures, publicly perceived as untouchable cult classics, it is important to understand the significance of quitting ‘at the right moment’, when he is still at the top. Tarantino chose quality rather than profits. If he would continue to make films forever, he would inevitably end up producing a movie that would somehow be inferior. Of course, his fans would excuse him and wait for his following project, but he himself would never forgive such a downfall in his career.
Tarantino likes to define himself not as a writer or a director, but, pragmatically, just as an artist, and wants to be remembered as such. Reason for which, he is not completely retiring: he only wants to finish his career in cinema to explore new artistic fields. In fact, he has already comforted his fans, assuring them that he will not disappear, but rather work on different platforms, i.e. books, critiques, essays and novels; he also may work on the small screen with a TV series, and could even switch to theatre, directing plays and touring across the world. Could you imagine a Tarantinesque theatre production? I certainly cannot, but in that case, I’d sit in the front row.
At the end, a big question still remains: will Tarantino actually be able to retire from cinema, to detoxify from his drug, who addicted us too? Can his platonic love be inhibited by his selfish historical ambition? The thought that “Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino” will pop up on a screen only two more times makes me shudder. For the moment, we can only wait with trepidation for his next (final) two films, and, if possible, appreciate them even more, bearing in mind that the ecstasy spread by watching a new film by Tarantino is a feeling that will not last forever.
– Jack Salvadori150 not out: Sportsmail celebrates Lampard's top five Premier League goals
With Monday night’s penalty against Fulham Frank Lampard took his Barclays Premier League goal tally to 150.
No other midfielder has scored so many – the closest contender is Ryan Giggs, on 112 goals, and Lampard’s haul takes him to fifth in the overall goalscoring charts.
With the wheels of time turning and Chelsea’s midfield talisman struggling to find his best form, he may not have long left at the top level. But for now, the statistics show: Frank Lampard, 150. Not out.
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at Lampard's top five goals.
Milestone: Frank Lampard fires home his 150th Premier League goal from the penalty spot against Fulham
5. Chelsea 2-0 Portsmouth February 25 2006
A wonderful team move saw Didier Drogba and Eidur Gudjohnsen combine, before the latter dummied the ball on the edge of the box to allow the onrushing Lampard to blast it home in trademark fashion.
4. Chelsea 2-0 Bolton April 30 2005 (Lampard’s second goal)
Lampard considers his second against Bolton to be his favourite strike. Claude Makelele’s cutting through ball (no, really) sets free Lampard, on the half-way line, who charges into the area, takes it round Jussi Jaaskelainen and sticks it in the net. The goal sealed Chelsea’s first title for 50 years.
3. Chelsea 8-0 Stoke April 25 2010 (Lampard’s second goal)
Lampard is not normally noted for his subtlety or technique, but this goal demonstrated that side of him at its best. Sam Hutchinson whipped the ball in from the right and Lampard used the outside of his foot to fade the ball over Asmir Begovic and into the far corner. Sumptuous.
2. Hull 0–3 Chelsea October 29 2008
Another example of Lampard’s superb technique and ability to find a goal out of nothing. With a Chelsea attack breaking down on the left side of the box, Lampard wedged a delicate chip past the bewildered Boaz Myhill. Chelsea manager at the time, Luiz Felipe Scolari, hailed it as the greatest goal he has ever seen. And he’s managed Brazil.
1. Everton 1-2 Chelsea December 18 2006
But for all of Lampard’s skill, what he will be remembered for most is his ability to find the net from outside the area, in spectacular fashion. And his strike at Goodison Park highlights that. Receiving the ball from Salomon Kalou, and several Everton defenders blocking the path to goal, Lampard considered his options then decided the best choice was to blast the ball into the top corner. Good call.Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit tells Ambika Pandit she has not stopped campaigning for the Congress in UP and insists that she has not retired from politics. ExcerptsIt is wrong to say I have stopped campaigning. Since I came back, I have gone wherever the party has asked me to go. I was supposed to go to Kanpur and Banaras but then I fell ill so I could not go. Now I am better and will soon be going to Banaras.This alliance has been welcomed. There were some initial hiccups but all has been sorted out. This is the era of visibility and Akhilesh is way above everyone else. Mayawati does not have that style so she is there but not too much. BJP does not have a leader for UP. The PM is going there very frequently but everyone understands that he will not be CM.We believe Muslims are coming out very strongly with this alliance and of course, the Yadavs will be there. Rahul and Akhilesh campaigning together has had a positive impact.You see, we are going through change. It is both a generational change and a change in politics from what it was till a few years back. The political language has changed quite a lot.For instance, you would not expect the PM to say what he said about former PM Manmohan Singh. In this change of approach, link, language and relationships, Congress is adjusting itself. And please remember Rahul is still not mature, his age does not allow him to be mature. He is what... in his forties.Please give him time. Having said all this, Congress believes in the development of the weak and marginalised. Rahul is the only one who has spoken about farmers.I think he has come a long way. He is not yet prime minister because that opportunity will come later but he is doing things. He is attending meetings and he is one person who is known to speak his mind. I feel it is good that he is natural but if some feel that it is not so then one develops it on the way.I believe it should happen this year. The party needs changes in leadership on posts that have been occupied for decades. The whole thing is being kept on hold waiting for Rahul.. and this should happen after these elections are over.As far as Priyanka is concerned, I must say she is very sensitive and intelligent. She is a fantastic listener. She has played a very important role in the shaping of the Congress-SP alliance in UP and she has done it very subtly.Whether she will enter electoral politics is a decision that will have to be hers and that of the family. We are all hoping that both Rahul and Priyanka take up positions in the party.Whatever I am asked to do by the party I will do. Why should I seek something? I have had a wonderful innings in politics... So, I have no greed, I am very satisfied. I will not say retirement, for if tomorrow the party gives me a role then you will say I spoke of retirement (laughs).It was a brilliant idea to bring out the name of PM Modi but probably (Congress) did not fully appreciate that there were other names too, including that of your own colleagues. If you were downgrading the PM, you were also downgrading your own colleagues. What is the authenticity of the list?Alabama Republican Rob Riley has filed a proposed court order that seeks the arrest of my wife and me for reporting here at Legal Schnauzer on Riley's extramarital affair with lobbyist Liberty Duke. Riley, who reportedly plans to seek the U.S. House seat being vacated by Spencer Bachus, wants two citizens arrested for--get this--practicing journalism.
He is also nursing a swollen, black left eye that he probably got "bumping into a door knob" while "resisting arrest." He is charged with two counts of contempt of court and one count of resisting arrest.Mr. Shuler's law blog has lately focused on the alleged extra-marital affairs of Alabama Republican Party bigwig Rob Riley, son of former two-term Governor Bob Riley. As Shuler wrote on October 21: Shuler has alleged, among other things, that the younger Riley was engaged in an extramarital affair with a (then) married lobbyist, also the alleged extra-marital affair and subsequent divorce of an Alabama Republican operative, who also happens to be the very close friend (she calls him her "mentor" and "best bud") with an Alabama Circuit Court judge and former Alabama Attorney General that Shuler outed on his Legal Schnauzer blog as being involved as a model in a gay porno magazine in his youth. (NSFW)300 lines of python code to demonstrate DDPG with Keras
Overview
This is the second blog posts on the reinforcement learning. In this project we will demonstrate how to use the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient algorithm (DDPG) with Keras together to play TORCS (The Open Racing Car Simulator), a very interesting AI racing game and research platform.
Installation Dependencies:
Python 2.7
Keras 1.1.0
Tensorflow r0.10
gym_torcs
How to Run?
git clone https : // github. com / yanpanlau / DDPG - Keras - Torcs. git cd DDPG - Keras - Torcs cp *.* ~/ gym_torcs cd ~/ gym_torcs python ddpg. py
(Change the flag train_indicator=1 in ddpg.py if you want to train the network)
Motivation
As a typical child growing up in Hong Kong, I do like watching cartoon movies. One of my favorite movies is called GPX Cyber Formula. It is an anime series about Formula racing in the future, a time when the race cars are equipped with super-intelligent AI computer system called “Cyber Systems”. The AI can communicate with humans interactively and it can assist drivers to race in various extreme situations. Although we are still far away from building super-intelligent AI system, the latest development in the computer vision and deep learning has created an exciting era for me to fulfill my little dream – to create a cyber system called “Asurada”.
Why TORCS
I think it is important to study TORCS because:
It looks cool, it’s really cool to see the AI can learn how to drive
You can visualize how the neural network learns over time and inspect its learning process, rather than just looking at the final result
It is easy to visualize when the neural network stuck in local minimun
It can help us understand machine learning technique in automated driving, which is important for self-driving car technologies
Background
In the previous blog post Using Keras and Deep Q-Network to Play FlappyBird we demonstrate using Deep Q-Network to play FlappyBird. However, a big limitation of Deep Q-Network is that the outputs/actions are discrete while the action like steering are continuous in car racing. An obvious approach to adapt DQN to continuous domains is to simply discretize the action space. However, we encounter the “curse of dimensionality” problem. For example, if you discretize the steering wheel from -90 to +90 degrees in 5 degrees each and acceleration from 0km to 300km in 5km each, your output combinations will be 36 steering states times 60 velocity states which equals to 2160 possible combinations. The situation will be worse when you want to build robots to perform something very specialized, such as brain surgery that requires fine control of actions and naive discretization will not able to achieve the required precision to do the operations.
Google Deepmind has devised a new algorithm to tackle the continuous action space problem by combining 3 techniques together 1) Deterministic Policy-Gradient Algorithms 2) Actor-Critic Methods 3) Deep Q-Network called Deep Deterministic Policy Gradients (DDPG)
The original paper in 1) is not easy for non-machine learning expert to digest so I will sketch the proof here. If you are already familiar with the algorithm you can directly go to Keras code session.
Policy Network
First, we are going to define a policy network that implements our AI-driver. This network will take the state of the game (for example, the velocity of the car, the distance between the car and the track axis etc) and decide what we should do (steer left or right, hit the gas pedal or hit the brake). It is called Policy-Based Reinforcement Learning because we will directly parametrize the policy
here, s is the state, a is the action and is the model parameters of the policy network. We can think of policy is the agent’s behaviour, i.e. a function to map from state to action.
Deterministic vs Stochastic Policy
Please note that there are 2 types of the policies:
Deterministic policy:
Stochastic policy:
Why do we need stochastic policies in addition to a deterministic policy? It is easy to understand a deterministic policy. I see a particular state input, then I take a particular action. But sometimes deterministic policy won’t work, like in the example of GO, where your first state is the empty board like below:
If you use same deterministic strategy, your network will always place the stone in a “particular” position which is a highly undesirable behaviour since it makes you predictable by your opponent. In that situation, a stochastic policy is more suitable than deterministic policy.
Policy Objective Functions
So how can I find? Actually, we can use the reinforcement technique to solve it. For example, suppose the AI is trying to learn how to make a left turn. At the beginning the AI may simply not steer the wheel and hit the curb and receive a negative reward, so the neural network will adjust the model parameters such that next time it will try to avoid hitting the curb. After many attempts it will have discovered that “argh if I turn the wheel a bit more to the left I won’t hit the curb so early”. In mathematics language, we call these policy objective functions.
Let’s define total discount future reward
An intuitive policy objective function will be the expectation of the total discount reward
or
where the expectations of the total reward R is calculated under some probability distribution parameterized by some
If you recall our previous blog that we have introduced the Q-function, which is maximum discounted future reward if we choose action a in state s
now in the continuous case we can use the SARSA formula
therefore, we can write the gradient of a deterministic policy as
Now, let’s apply the chain rule:
Silver el at. (2014) proved that this is the policy gradient, i.e. you will get the maximum expected reward as long as you update your model parameters following the gradient formula above.
Actor-Critic Algorithm
The Actor-Critic Algorithm is essentially a hybrid method to combine the policy gradient method and the value function method together. The policy function is known as the actor, while the value function is referred to as the critic. Essentially, the actor produces the action given the current state of the environment, while the critic produces a signal to criticizes the actions made by the actor. I think it is quite natural in the human’s world where the junior employee (actor) do the actual work and your boss (critic) criticizes your work and hopefully the junior employee can do it better next time. In our TORCS example, we use the continuous Q-learning (SARSA) as our critic model and use policy gradient method as our actor model. The following figure explains the relationships between Value Function/Policy Function and Actor-Critic Algorithm.
Going back to the previous equations, we can use the trick of the Deep-Q Network where we replace the Q-function as a neural network, where w is the weight of the neural network. Therefore, we arrived the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient Formula:
where the policy parameters can be updated via stochastic gradient ascent.
Follow the previous DQN blog post, we could use an iterative method to solve for the Q-function, where we can setup the Loss function
the Q-value can be used to estimate the values of the current actor policy.
The following figure shows the actor-critic architecture from Sutton’s Book [2]
Keras Code Explanation
Actor Network
Let’s first talk about how to build the Actor Network in Keras. Here we used 2 hidden layers with 300 and 600 hidden units respectively. The output consist of 3 continuous actions, Steering, which is a single unit with tanh activation function (where -1 means max right turn and +1 means max left turn). Acceleration, which is a single unit with sigmoid activation function (where 0 means no gas, 1 means full gas). Brake, another single unit with sigmoid activation function (where 0 means no brake, 1 bull brake)
def create_actor_network ( self, state_size, action_dim ): print ( "Now we build the model" ) S = Input ( shape = [ state_size ]) h0 = Dense ( HIDDEN1_UNITS, activation ='relu' )( S ) h1 = Dense ( HIDDEN2_UNITS, activation ='relu' )( h0 ) Steering = Dense ( 1, activation = 'tanh', init = lambda shape, name : normal ( shape, scale = 1e-4, name = name ))( h1 ) Acceleration = Dense ( 1, activation ='sigmoid', init = lambda shape, name : normal ( shape, scale = 1e-4, name = name ))( h1 ) Brake = Dense ( 1, activation ='sigmoid', init = lambda shape, name : normal ( shape, scale = 1e-4, name = name ))( h1 ) V = merge ([ Steering, Acceleration, Brake ], mode = 'concat' ) model = Model ( input = S, output = V ) print ( "We finished building the model" ) return model, model. trainable_weights, S
We have used Keras function called Merge to combine 3 outputs together. Smart readers may ask why not using traditional Dense function like this
V = Dense ( 3, activation = 'tanh' )( h1 )
There is a reason for that. First using 3 different Dense() function allows each continuous action have different activation function, for example, using tanh() for acceleration doesn’t make sense as tanh are in the range [-1,1] while the acceleration is in the range [0,1]
Please also noted that in the final layer we used the normal initialization with = 0, = 1e-4 to ensure the initial outputs for the policy were near zero.
Critic Network
The construction of the Critic Network is very similar to the Deep-Q Network in the previous post. The only difference is that we used 2 hidden layers with 300 and 600 hidden units. Also, the critic network takes both the states and the action as inputs. According to the DDPG paper, the actions were not included until the 2nd hidden layer of Q-network. Here we used the Keras function Merge to merge the action and the hidden layer together
def create_critic_network ( self, state_size, action_dim ): print ( "Now we build the model" ) S = Input ( shape = [ state_size ]) A = Input ( shape = [ action_dim ], name = 'action2' ) w1 = Dense ( HIDDEN1_UNITS, activation ='relu' )( S ) a1 = Dense ( HIDDEN2_UNITS, activation = 'linear' )( A ) h1 = Dense ( HIDDEN2_UNITS, activation = 'linear' )( w1 ) h2 = merge ([ h1, a1 ], mode ='sum' ) h3 = Dense ( HIDDEN2_UNITS, activation ='relu' )( h2 ) V = Dense ( action_dim, activation = 'linear' )( h3 ) model = Model ( input = [ S, A ], output = V ) adam = Adam ( lr = self. LEARNING_RATE ) model. compile ( loss ='mse', optimizer = adam ) print ( "We finished building the model" ) return model, A, S
Target Network
It is a well-known fact that directly implementing Q-learning with neural networks proved to be unstable in many environments including TORCS. Deepmind team came up the solution to the problem is to use a target network, where we created a copy of the actor and critic networks respectively, that are used for calculating the target values. The weights of these target networks are then updated by having them slowly track the learned networks:
where. This means that the target values are constrained to change slowly, greatly improving the stability of learning.
It is extremely easy to implement target networks in Keras:
def target_train ( self ): actor_weights = self. model. get_weights () actor_target_weights = self. target_model. get_weights () for i in xrange ( len ( actor_weights )): actor_target_weights [ i ] = self. TAU * actor_weights [ i ] + ( 1 - self. TAU ) * actor_target_weights [ i ] self. target_model. set_weights ( actor_target_weights )
Main Code
After we finished the network setup, Let’s go through the example in ddpg.py, our main code
The code simply does the following:
The code receives the sensor input in the form of array The sensor input will be fed into our Neural Network, and the network will output 3 real numbers (value of the steering, acceleration and brake) The network will be trained many times, via the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient, to maximize the future expected reward.
Sensor Input
In the TORCS there are 18 different types of sensor input, the details can be found here Simulated Car Racing Championship : Competition Software Manual. So which sensor input should we use? After some trial-and-error, I found the following inputs are useful:
Name Range (units) Description ob.angle [-,+ ] Angle between the car direction and the direction of the track axis ob.track (0, 200)(meters) Vector of 19 range finder sensors: each sensor returns the distance between the track edge and the car within a range of 200 meters ob.trackPos (-,+ ) Distance between the car and the track axis. The value is normalized w.r.t. to the track width: it is 0 when the car is on the axis, values greater than 1 or -1 means the car is outside of the track. ob.speedX (-,+ )(km/h) Speed of the car along the longitudinal axis of the car (good velocity) ob.speedY (-,+ )(km/h) Speed of the car along the transverse axis of the car ob.speedZ (-,+ )(km/h) Speed of the car along the Z-axis of the car ob.wheelSpinVel (0,+ )(rad/s) Vector of 4 sensors representing the rotation speed of wheels ob.rpm (0,+ )(rpm) Number of rotation per minute of the car engine
Please note that we have normalized some of those value before feed into the neural network and some sensor inputs are not exposed in gym_torcs. The Advanced user needs to amend gym_torcs.py to change the parameters. [checkout the function make_observaton()]
Policy Selection
Now we can use the inputs above to feed into the neural network. The code is actually very simple:
for j in range ( max_steps ): a_t = actor. model. predict ( s_t. reshape ( 1, s_t. shape [ 0 ])) ob, r_t, done, info = env. step ( a_t [ 0 ])
However, we immediately run into the two issues. First, how do we decide the reward? Second, how do we do exploration in the continuous action space?
Design of the rewards
In the original paper, they used the reward function which is equal to the velocity of the car projected along the track direction as illustrated below:
However, I found that the training is not very stable as reported in the original paper.
On both low-dimensional and form pixels, some replicas were able to learn reasonable policies that are able to complete a circuit around the track though other replicas failed to learn a sensible policy
I believe the reason is that in the original policy the AI will try to accelerate the gas pedal very hard (to get maximum reward) and it hits the edge and the episode terminated very quickly. Therefore, the neural network stuck in a very poor local minimum. The new proposed reward function is below:
In plain English, we want to maximum longitudinal velocity (first term), minimize transverse velocity (second term), and we also penalize the AI if it constantly drives very off center of the track (third term)
I found the new reward function greatly improves the stability and the learning time of TORCS.
Design of the exploration algorithm
Another issue is how to design a right exploration algorithm in the continuous domain. In the previous blog post, we used greedy policy where the agent to try a random action some percentage of the time. However, this approach does not work very well in TORCS because we have 3 actions [steering,acceleration,brake]. If I just randomly choose the action from uniform random distribution we will generate some boring combinations [eg: the value of the brake is greater than the value of acceleration and the car simply not moving). Therefore, we add the noise using Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process to do the exploration.
Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process
What is Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process? In simple English it is simply a stochastic process which has mean-reverting properties.
here, means the how “fast” the variable reverts towards to the mean. represents the equilibrium or mean value. is the degree of volatility of the process. Interestingly, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is a very common approach to model interest rate, FX and commodity prices stochastically. (And a very common interview questions in finance quant interview). The following table shows the suggested values that I used in the code.
Action steering 0.6 0.0 0.30 acceleration 1.0 [0.3-0.6] 0.10 brake 1.0 -0.1 0.05
Basically, the most important parameters are the of the acceleration, where you want the car have some initial velocity and don’t stuck in a local minimum where the car keep pressing the brake and never hit the gas pedal. Readers feel free to change the parameters and see how the AI performs in various combinations. The code of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is saved under OU.py
My finding is that the AI can learn a reasonable policy on the simple track if using a sensible exploration policy and revised reward function, like within ~200 episode.
Experience Replay
Similar to the FlappyBird case, we also used the Experience Replay to saved down all the episode in a replay memory. When training the network, random mini-batches from the replay memory are used instead of most the recent transition, which will greatly improve the stability. The following code snippet shows how it is done.
buff. add ( s_t, a_t [ 0 ], r_t, s_t1, done ) # sample a random minibatch of N transitions (si, ai, ri, si+1) from replay buffer batch = buff. getBatch ( BATCH_SIZE ) states = np. asarray ([ e [ 0 ] for e in batch ]) actions = np. asarray ([ e [ 1 ] for e in batch ]) rewards = np. asarray ([ e [ 2 ] for e in batch ]) new_states = np. asarray ([ e [ 3 ] for e in batch ]) dones = np. asarray ([ e [ 4 ] for e in batch ]) y_t = np. asarray ([ e [ 1 ] for e in batch ]) target_q_values = critic. target_model. predict ([ new_states, actor. target_model. predict ( new_states )]) #Still using tf for k in range ( len ( batch )): if dones [ k ]: y_t [ k ] = rewards [ k ] else : y_t [ k ] = rewards [ k ] + GAMMA * target_q_values [ k ]
Please note that when we calculated the target_q_values we do use the output of target-Network instead of the model instead. The used of the slow-varying target-Network will reduce the oscillations of the Q-value estimation, which greatly improve the stability of the learning.
Training
The actual training of the neural network is very simple, only contains 6 lines of code:
loss += critic. model. train_on_batch ([ states, actions ], y_t ) a_for_grad = actor. model. predict ( states ) grads = critic. gradients ( states, a_for_grad ) actor. train ( states, grads ) actor. target_train () critic. target_train ()
In plain English, we first update the critic by minimizing the loss
Then the actor policy is updated using the sampled policy gradient
recall is the deterministic policy:
therefore, it can be written as
The last 2 lines of the code update the target network
Results
In order to test the policy, I choose a slightly difficult track called Aalborg as my training dataset. The figure below shows the layout of the track:
I trained the neural network with 2000 episodes and allowed Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process decay linearly in 100000 frames. (i.e. no more exploitation is applied after 100000 frames). I also validate my neural network by allowing the agent to drive on a much longer track called Alpine 1 (3 times longer). It is important to test the AI agents in other tracks to make sure the AI do not simply “memorize the track”, aka overfitting.
The first video shows the result of the Aalborg track, our training dataset.
I used the software avconv to capture my video output. (My computer is a bit slow therefore the Audio output is not very smooth). As you can see the agent learned a decent policy. (I took the video after the agent finished 2 loops)
The second video shows the result of the Alpine 1 track, our validation dataset.
The agent managed to drive for 3 minutes before the car spin and stop there.
Since the AI agent can drive on Alpine 1 track which is much longer than Aalborg track, we can say that the Neural Network did not overfit on the testing dataset. However, you can see the policy is still not optimal yet as the agent didn’t use the brake much.
Learn how to brake
It turns out that asking AI to learn how to brake is much harder than steering or acceleration. The reason is that the velocity of the car slow down when the brake is applied, therefore, the reward function is reduced and the AI agent is not keen to hit the brake at all. Also, if I allow the AI to hit the brake and the acceleration at the same time during the exploration phase, the AI will often hit the brake hard therefore we are stuck in very poor local minimum (as the car is not moving and no reward is received)
So how to solve this problem? I recalled myself when I first learnt driving in Princeton many years ago, my teacher told me do not hit the brake too hard and also try to feel the brake. I apply this idea into TORCS with a stochastic brake : During the exploration phase, I hit the brake 10% of the time (feel the brake) while 90% of time I don’t hit the brake. Since I only hit the brake 10% of the time the car can get some velocity therefore it won’t stuck in a poor local minimum (car not moving) while at the same time it can learn how to brake.
The third video shows that the “stochastic brake” allows AI agent accelerate very fast in a straight line and brake properly before the turn. I like this driving action as it is much more closer to human behaviour.
Final result
(Update on 25-Oct-2016) The fourth video shows that staying in the middle of the track is not a necessary requirement in the reward function. The AI agent can learn to find the apexes of turns.
Conclusions and Future Work
In this work, we manage to demonstrate using Keras and DDPG algorithm to play TORCS. Although the DDPG can learn a reasonable policy, I still think it is quite different from how humans learn to drive. For example, we used Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process to perform the exploration. However, when the number of actions increase, the number of combinations increase and it is not obvious to me how to do the exploration. Consider using DDPG algorithm to drive a Boeing 747:
I am almost sure that you cannot fly the plane by turning the switch randomly :)
However, having said that the algorithm is quite powerful because we have a model-free algorithm for continuous control, which is very important in robotics.
Misc things you need to know
1) To try different tracks, you need to type sudo torcs –> Race –> Practice –> Configure Race
2) To turn off the engine sound during training you can type sudo torcs –> Options –> Sound –> Disable sound
3) Installation of the TORCS requires openCV. I have some hard time to install correctly as it crashed my NVIDIA Titan-X driver. I strongly suggest you download a copy of the NVIDIA driver in the local drive first. You can restore your video driver by installing the video card driver from the text mode in case if your video driver is crashed
4) The following blog may be useful to you |
Journal, are mixing up two different types of millionaires,” Kessler wrote.
But Obama and the Wall Street Journal were not “mixing up” the millionaires. They were simply reporting that a survey of wealthy people, worth more than $1 million, favored the Buffett Rule, which is named after investor Warren Buffett who does make many millions of dollars a year and says it’s unfair to charge him a lower tax rate than his secretary.
In the “two-Pinocchio” condemnation of Obama, Kessler went on to make some technical arguments against Spectrem’s methodology and faulted Obama for not including caveats about the survey in his brief reference to it in his speech.
But is this fair “fact-checking,” when a politician accurately cites a survey by a credible research organization? Or is it just another example of mainstream journalists trying to show phony “balance,” that is, to avoid accusations of the old “liberal bias” canard?
Beyond the question of fairness, the trouble with this style of “journalism” is that it indirectly benefits the politician who tells the most egregious lies. After all if you’re going to get nailed for saying something that’s actually true or just slightly off the mark when PolitiFact or Glenn Kessler is trying to show off some artificial “objectivity” you might as well lie through your teeth.
Accomplished Liar
You might even get some grudging respect, as Romney did from Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, for being a persuasive liar.
“Among the attributes I most envy in a public man (or woman) is the ability to lie,” Cohen wrote. “If that ability is coupled with no sense of humor, you have the sort of man who can be a successful football coach, a CEO or, when you come right down to it, a presidential candidate. Such a man is Mitt Romney.”
Cohen cited a Republican debate during which former House Speaker Newt Gingrich accused Romney’s SuperPAC of running dishonest attack ads. Romney claimed that he hadn’t seen the ads but then described and defended the content of one.
Cohen wrote: “Me, I would have confessed and begged for forgiveness. Not Romney, though, and herein is the reason he will be such a formidable general-election candidate. He concedes nothing. He had seen none of the ads, he said. They were done by others, he added. Of course, they are his supporters, but he had no control over them. All this time he was saying this rubbish, he seemed calm, sincere, matter of fact.
“And then he brought up an ad he said he did see. It was about Gingrich’s heretical support for a climate-change bill. He dropped the name of the extremely evil Nancy Pelosi. He accused Gingrich of criticizing Paul Ryan’s first budget plan, an Ayn Randish document. He added that Gingrich had been in ethics trouble in the House and [Romney] ended with a promise to make sure his ads were as truthful as could be. Pow! Pow! Pow! Gingrich was on the canvas.
“I watched, impressed. I admire a smooth liar, and Romney is among the best. His technique is to explain, that bit about not knowing what was in the ads, and then counterattack. He maintains the bulletproof demeanor of a man who is barely suffering fools, in this case Gingrich.
“His [Romney’s] message is not so much what he says, but what he is: You cannot touch me. I have the organization and the money. Especially the money. (Even the hair.) You’re a loser.”
But is such imperious lying really a good thing for a democracy? Should any politician feel that he has the right and the invulnerability to lie at will? Does the country really need a president who might convincingly tell the people that, say, Iran has WMDs justifying another war, or that some unpopular group of Americans represents a grave threat to U.S. security?
Shouldn’t convincing lying at least on important matters be a disqualifier to lead a democracy, not something to be admired?
In Romney’s previous career as a corporate raider lying may have been a part of the job, in lulling a company’s long-time owners into complacency or convincing some well-meaning investors that massive layoffs won’t be necessary. Then, wham-o, the company founders are out, their loyal workforce is on the street, and the company can be “reorganized” for a big profit.
Arguably, Romney learned his skill as a liar from those days at Bain Capital and he has put it to good use as a politician, taking opposite sides of issue after issue, from abortion rights to global warming to government mandates that citizens buy health insurance to whether stay-at-home mothers “work” or not.
Indeed, as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted on Monday, Romney’s whole campaign is based on a cynical belief that Americans suffer from “amnesia” about what caused the nation’s economic mess and that they will simply blame President Obama for not quickly fixing it.
To illustrate the point last week, Romney staged a campaign event in Ohio at a shuttered drywall factory that closed in 2008, when Bush was still president and was watching the collapse of the housing market which had grown into a bubble under Bush’s low-tax, deregulatory policies.
Krugman wrote: “Mr. Romney constantly talks about job losses under Mr. Obama. Yet all of the net job loss took place in the first few months of 2009, that is, before any of the new administration’s policies had time to take effect.
“So the Ohio speech was a perfect illustration of the way the Romney campaign is banking on amnesia, on the hope that voters don’t remember that Mr. Obama inherited an economy that was already in free fall.”
Krugman added that the amnesia factor was relevant, too, because Romney is proposing more tax cuts and more banking deregulation, Bush’s disastrous recipe. In other words, Romney’s campaign is based on the fundamental lie that the cure for Bush’s economic collapse is a larger dose of Bush’s economic policies.
And the jaded retort that “all politicians lie” is not good enough. Nor that lying is somehow an admirable skill for a politician. There is something special about Romney’s lying, distinct even from Reagan’s loose connection to the truth or Clinton’s sleazy lies about his infidelity or Bush’s disregard for facts. Romney’s lying is more calculating. It’s professional.
Just as viewers of “The Good Wife” can distinguish between the corner-cutting of the typical lawyers and pols, from the brazen lying of the Matthew Perry character, American voters should be wary of a skillful, conscience-less liar like Mitt Romney.
[To read more of Robert Parry’s writings, you can now order his last two books, Secrecy & Privilege and Neck Deep, at the discount price of only $16 for both. For details on the special offer, click here.]
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, was written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat, and can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com. His two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & ‘Project Truth’ are also available there.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
Denmark will tighten the conditions for providing money to Palestinian NGOs, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Friday following a review of aid that came after revelations that European money went to a Palestinian women’s center named after a terrorist.
“It is important that there is confidence that Danish assistance is going for the right purposes,” Samuelsen said in a statement. “Therefore, I launched the Danish survey this summer, and today decided that there will be new and tight conditions for receiving Danish assistance in the future.”
Copenhagen will cut down on the number of Palestinian NGOs it supports, and they will come under “rigorous” supervision of where the funds are going, Samuelsen also said.“Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations can play a key role in attenuating and over time resolving the high-tension conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.“Denmark supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I am sure it will strengthen the work that we will focus on Danish assistance in the future, so we are absolutely sure that the money is being used for the right purposes.”The review followed revelations in May that a women’s center partly funded with European aid money in Burka, northwest of Nablus, was named after Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in the Coastal Road massacre in 1978 that killed 37 people.Samuelsen also said that the “majority of aid” suspended from the summer while the review was under way will not be paid.The Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, which has for more than 10-years been following funding by Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to an Israeli-Palestinian NGO clearinghouse based in Ramallah that today goes by the name of the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, praised the Danish step.Daniel Laufer, a spokesman for NGO Monitor, said his organization identified grants by the Secretariat to NGOs “linked to the PFLP, which is listed on the EU's list of terror organizations, as well as others promoting incitement to violence, antisemitism, BDS, and anti-normalization. The evidence also revealed that managers of the Secretariat were similarly involved anti-Israel political warfare.”Between 2006 and 2018, Denmark provided $12 million, of $45 million total budgeted to the Secretariat.According to Laufer, “taken together with Norway's decision reversing participation in the Secretariat NGO funding mechanism, and with parliamentary scrutiny in Switzerland and the Netherlands, Denmark’s action highlights the belated awareness among Europeans of the need for due diligence and full transparency in NGO funding.”Between the years 2014-2016, Laufer said, the Secretariat provided $530,000 to the Women's Affairs Technical Committee that named the center in Burka after Mugrabi.Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan also applauded the Danish move, saying it is the “right and necessary step.”“European countries fund Palestinian organizations that have a connection with terrorist elements and that are advancing boycotts of Israel,” he said. He called on other European countries to take similar measures.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>Jamin Barton, at the 500 Club. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired The found Nexus 4 Phone. Photo: Courtesy Jamin Barton The found Nexus 4 Phone. Photo: Courtesy Jamin Barton The found Nexus 4 Phone. Photo: Courtesy Jamin Barton The found Nexus 4 Phone. Photo: Courtesy Jamin Barton Don Hodge, at the 500 Club. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired
Jamin Barton is a soft-spoken musician with a quick laugh and a winning smile who tends bar under the nickname "Sudsy" at the 500 Club in San Francisco's Mission District. He was closing up after a slow Tuesday last month when he saw the phone.
"We find about 20 a week," he says with a shrug. "Most people come back for them in 15 minutes."
Not this phone. It sat by the cash register unclaimed all the next day. "I don't know anything about this stuff, but I know enough to know this phone was different."
It was locked, and had no SIM card to activate it, so there was no way to identify or contact the owner directly. But it did have a "not for sale" sticker and a Google logo on the back.
Barton showed the device to a tech-savvy regular named Dave who immediately identified it as the upcoming Nexus 4, which Google is set to unveil at an event in New York on October 29. [Update: Apparently, the event's been cancelled "due to Hurricane Sandy."]
Dave agreed to make some calls to Google HQ. When Barton heard back from him the next day, Dave was shaken.
"Dave" – Barton says he does not know his full name – "sort of freaked out. 'Google lost a phone,' he told me. 'You just got a guy fired.... The Google police are coming'"
After that, the texts and phone messages from Dave became a torrent.
"I probably shouldn't have shown it to him. But I did. He didn't work for Google, but Google had him pretty worked up. They told him he could be an accessory or something."
Anybody who cares has already known for weeks pretty much exactly what Google plans to unveil. Google has confirmed none of it, of course. But who are we kidding? The Nexus 4, manufactured by LG, will have a 4.7-inch, 1280 x 768 display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The Nexus 4 is also rumored to ship running Google's as-yet-unreleased Android 4.2 operating system, which is rumored to be dubbed "Key Lime Pie."
The Nexus is particularly important to Google because it is the company's flagship smartphone, the one model it works directly with manufacturers to design, and the one for which it brooks no monkeying around by the wireless carriers who usually sell them. If the rumors turn out to be true, this will be a major upgrade on every front to the last Nexus model, released about a year ago.
Google, and every other tech company, desperately wants to keep these sorts of details secret for competitive reasons until they're ready to announce them. The internet has more or less made that impossible.
But, on the night of Sept. 20, Google wasn't fighting the internet. It was up against a bartender, and Brian Katz, global investigations and intelligence manager at Google (according to his LinkedIn profile – "Google does not discuss the actions of its security team," a representative says) was headed to the 500 Club.
If this all sounds a bit familiar, it is.
In 2010, an Apple engineer named Gray Powell left an iPhone prototype at the Gourmet Haus Stadt in Redwood City. A young man named Brian Hogan took it and sold it to a tech site for $5,000. The site, Gizmodo, published a bombshell story that eventually led to a police search of a reporter's home and criminal charges against two men involved in the caper. Hogan and Sage Wallower pleaded no contest last October to misdemeanor theft of lost property, and were sentenced to one year probation and 40 hours of public service.
Apple allegedly lost another phone, also at a San Francisco Mission District Bar, Cava 22, according to a report on CNET last year.
By the time Katz was speeding north to the Mission District, Barton says, he had already agreed to hand the phone over to Google the next day, at noon, on the sole condition that the guy coming to get it could prove he actually worked for Google. "What was I supposed to do, look for the guy with Google shirt? How did I know this guy didn't work for Apple?"
Katz, who oddly was using Dave as a go-between, had apparently erased the words "impossible" and "no" from his vocabulary. He insisted on meeting ASAP, that night, at the bar. Barton refused. Telling co-workers he felt "harassed," he cut his shift early and wound up playing a gig at another bar nearby.
"Katz was like a disappointed mom when I told him Jamin wasn't here," says Barton's colleague Don Hodge, a guy with well-inked arms and a general don't-fuck-with-me demeanor, pulling on a Bud Light. "He was little but really pushy, like military.... He said he wanted to keep me out of trouble – like I was in any kind of trouble – keep the bar out of trouble. They could file criminal charges, he said."
Instead of answering Katz's questions, Hodge "sent him on a wild goose chase," telling him Barton was around the corner at the local police station reporting the phone lost. Katz raced out to try to intercept him and avoid an avalanche of paperwork, but wound up cooling his heels instead in hopes Barton would eventually show.
It would be a long night.
On nearby 14th Street, undercover cops had just gunned down a gang suspect in the road after he produced an illegal TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol and appeared to point it at one of them. The neighborhood erupted in outrage, and dozens of people attacked and vandalized the Mission precinct station while Katz was still inside.
"It was the night of the riot," says Ragi Dindial, a lawyer Barton knew through the music scene. "I met Katz there and they hustled us out the back door, past riot police in full riot gear and automatic weapons."
Dindial went to get the phone from Barton and eventually handed it over to Katz at around 1 a.m., after confirming his identity with a call to Google's 24-hour security line.
"Google ID cards are these squishy electronic tags that have nothing on them but a name," he says. "We couldn't tell a thing from that... In the end the only thing that really convinced me was his desperation.... He was desperate [to get that phone]."
According to Dindial, Katz offered Barton a free phone (it will likely have a retail value of about $300) if he agreed to keep quiet about the incident and not release photos or discuss the phone with the press until after Monday's press conference. (Disclosure: Wired agreed to pay Barton a freelance fee for the photos published with this article.)
About two weeks later, on Oct. 8, different pictures of the Nexus 4 and a detailed report leaked onto a website in Belarus.
With additional reporting by Nathan Olivarez-GilesGeorgia Republicans look set to significantly cut their state’s early voting period — the latest fallout from the Supreme Court’s crippling of the Voting Rights Act.
A legislative committee voted on party lines last week to advance a bill that would shorten Georgia’s early voting period to 12 days, from a current maximum of 21 days. It would also bar counties from offering more than four hours of voting on weekends. The state’s early voting period was already cut dramatically just four years ago.
The new move comes after a 2014 election in which 44% of voters — disproportionately minorities — cast their ballot early. Many counties, responding to popular demand, offered Sunday voting for the first time.
“We cannot choose the electorate, the electorate chooses us.” Rep. Carolyn Hugley
Republicans control Georgia’s government. And if the early voting cuts pass, as expected, the federal government will be powerless to stop them, thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County ruling. Until then, most southern states, including Georgia, had to get new voting laws approved by the Justice Department before they could go into effect. Since that requirement was neutered, numerous southern states and localities have moved ahead with restrictive voting laws.
When Georgia cut early voting from 45 days to 21 in 2011, those cuts were approved by the Justice Department. But since then, even more evidence has emerged that minorities are more likely than whites to vote early.
Over the last decade, Georgia’s demographics have changed dramatically, thanks to an influx of Hispanics and blacks that threatens to consign the state’s whites to minority status. Hugley said she thinks that’s playing into Republican thinking. “I just question whether or not that’s part of it,” said Hugley. “Because the reasons we’re being given are not reasons that make good sense.”
RELATED: GOP secretaries of state raise alarm about non-citizen voting
The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Mark Hamilton, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But another leading supporter, Rep. Ed Rynders, has said the goal is simply to provide uniformity across counties. Under the current system, counties can choose how much early voting to offer, up to a maximum of 21 days. “There were complaints of some voters having more opportunities than others,” Rynders told the Albany Herald. “For instance, in Fulton County last year, early voting was conducted for 19 straight days, including two Saturdays and two Sundays. This legislation offers equal access statewide.”
But Elizabeth Poythress, the president of the Georgia chapter of the League of Women Voters, noted that in the 2012 presidential election, some Georgians waited three or four hours to vote. Further cuts to early voting, she said, are likely to worsen that problem by putting added pressure on Election Day.
Poythress said her group and others will hold a press conference Wednesday to denounce the bill, which she called “horrible”.
“[T]he reasons we’re being given are not reasons that make good sense.” Rep. Carolyn Hugley high-profile investigation into Democratic voter registration group. Ultimately there was little evidence of fraud, but Democrats charged that Kemp allowed over 40,000 voter registration forms to go unprocessed.
There was also an attempt by Republicans last year to cut early voting for municipal elections, which ultimately failed.Overview
With its biomorphic curves, animated spheres, 'winking' eye and beating heart, HM6 is our most organic machine to date.
In each of the four corners of HM6’s biomorphic case is a 360° sphere, capped top and bottom by transparent sapphire crystal domes. Up forward, two spheres rotate vertically respectively displaying hours and minutes. Back aft, the twin spherical turbines spin, regulating the automatic winding system to reduce stress and wear.
The transparent cupola on top houses a flying tourbillon and offers a tantalizing glimpse into the sophisticated engine inside. The sapphire crystal display portal on the back reveals more of the 475 finely finished components making up the highly complex movement, which required over three years of development. The sapphire crystal plates of the HM6-SV and Alien Nation editions offer even more comprehensive views − top and bottom − to the movement within.
Horological Machine N°6 Final Edition finishes a series started in 2014. With the 8 pieces of HM6 Final Edition, the number of pieces made in the Horological Machine N°6 series comes to a total of exactly 100.As Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez receives the best treatment that Cuba’s health service can offer, most residents of the country can only dream of similar standards of medical care.
Chávez has been in Cuba since December 9 undergoing treatment for a cancer relapse. He is at CIMEQ, the Medical-Surgical Research Centre, a special hospital set aside for the political elite and foreigners. The facility is located in Havana’s Siboney area, home to politicians and top-brass military and close to the embassy district.
Such “foreigners’ hospitals”, as Cubans call them, cater for health tourists seeking treatment and plastic surgery, and for the elite. An official who requested anonymity said CIMEQ was for senior figures in the Communist Party, government or parliament; the police, intelligence and security agencies; elite scientists and anyone awarded the title “Hero of Labour”, plus their family members.
The official source said Chávez was being treated in a restricted section of the hospital known simply as “Objeto 20”.
“The medical technology there is the most advanced in the country, and only government-authorised personnel can enter,” he said, adding that if anyone else went in, “they are immediately ordered out over a loudspeaker, as everything is monitored”.
The Cuban government has always stressed the high standard of healthcare available to all, not the few. But the facilities made available to Chávez are not open to the likes of Juana Labrada, a farmworker from the San José de las Lajas municipality of Mayabeque province.
Labrada has been waiting four months for cancer surgery.
“I still haven’t received notification,” she said. “They’ve told me the Miguel Enrique Hospital has two infected wards so they can’t operate at the moment. They’ve also said that there aren’t [clinical test] reagents.”
According to Maritza Martínez, an intensive care specialist in the San Antonio de los Baños municipality, part of Artemisa province near Havana, long waits are the norm.
“Thousands of Cubans have to wait months for medical treatment, and they often have to resort to bribery to get things done,” she said.
She added that the taxes Cubans paid was not reflected either in the quality of care or in healthcare workers’ wages.
Contrary to the perceptions fostered by the government, the hospitals that ordinary Cubans go to are generally poorly maintained and short of staff and medicines. That applies even in the capital, where the Calixto García and Miguel Enrique hospitals are in an advanced state of neglect and deterioration.
Inside another Havana institution, the 10 de Octubre teaching hospital, also known as La Dependiente, cracks have opened up in walls left unpainted for years. The floors are stained and surgeries and wards are not disinfected. Doors do not have locks and their frames are coming off. Some bathrooms have no toilets or sinks, and the water supply is erratic. Bat droppings, cockroaches, mosquitos and mice are all in evidence.
Doctors at La Dependiente say the consulting rooms are badly contaminated with bacteria, and there are not enough disinfectants to clean them.
When five Cuban doctors were shown video footage of the two wards, one said conditions there were part of “a disaster on a national scale”.
All spoke off the record, because open criticism of the healthcare system would lead to instant dismissal.
Medical staff are circumspect even with their patients, giving them discreet advice about epidemics whose existence the government denies.
The authorities have yet to acknowledge the spread of cholera and dengue fever. Human rights activists believe outbreaks of the two diseases have taken dozens of lives in Cuba since June 2012. Since both are associated with standing water, cases increased markedly after Hurricane Sandy devastated eastern parts of the country in late October. (See Disease Spreads in Post-Hurricane Cuba.)
Doctors are paid poorly – even a specialist gets just over 560 pesos a month, worth less than 25 US dollars and not nearly enough to support a household. As a result, many accept “donations” from their patients.
They are also badly overstretched, a result of government policy of sending doctors overseas. In recent years, Cuba has sent over 40,000 doctors to 70 countries around the world, and the TV news is constantly reporting on their achievements in Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Those left behind struggle to fill the gaps, working long and exhausting shifts for which they are not paid.
As Juana Labrada awaits her operation, she says, “I think I’ll have to go to Venezuela to be looked after by Cuban doctors.”
In early December, Cuba held its first international conference on public health, attended by delegates and government officials. It was an opportunity to showcase the country’s healthcare system. No one stood up to point out the failings.
Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez is an independent journalist and founder of the Hablemos Press news agency in Cuba.
This article first appeared on IWPR's website.Marriage rates in England and Wales have steadily fallen over decades Marriage rates in England and Wales have fallen for a fourth year to reach their lowest level since records began. A total of 232,990 couples wed in 2008, down 1% on the year before, Office for National Statistics figures showed. For every 1,000 adult men, 21.8 married in 2008, compared with 22.4 in 2007. For women aged over 16 it was 19.6 per 1,000, down from 20.2 the year before. The Church of England said marriage was now seen as the crown of a relationship rather than a gateway to adulthood. A spokesman said: "We have found that marriage is regarded as a serious commitment and something people aspire to, even those already living together. "Making a positive public decision to a committed, life-long relationship changes behaviour - especially for men. The public and private commitment involved in getting married makes a real difference to the longevity of relationships
Jill Kirby
Centre for Policy Studies "We have found that men coming for weddings are as interested in their relationship and the quality of it as in the day itself." The marriage rate, calculated by the number of marriages per head of population, is now at its lowest level since records began in 1862. The long-term trend in recent decades has been downward, although a rise was observed between 2002 and 2004. Jill Kirby, from the Centre for Policy Studies, told the BBC the fall was worrying because of the strong links between marriage and family stability. She said cohabitation was increasingly common but often short-lived. 'Thwarted aspirations' "The public and private commitment involved in getting married makes a real difference to the longevity of relationships, so public policy needs to support and encourage marriage," she said. "Otherwise we shall just see more family break up, which is hard for children and bad for society." The think tank Civitas said that despite the drop in marriage rates, more than 60% of young unmarried parents surveyed in 2007 actually wanted to marry. It said young people wanted certain things in place before saying "I do", with the top three being a partner to whom they wanted to commit, financial stability and home ownership. A spokesperson said: "The question is, will people who want to marry succeed in doing so? Or are high rates of unmarried parenting indicators of thwarted aspirations?" Resolution, a group of family lawyers, said the legal benefits of tying the knot should be extended to cohabiting but unmarried couples. Vice-chairman David Allison said: "The majority of people don't understand that living together does not give them any financial protection should the relationship end." The number of religious weddings has also fallen, but the Church of England said its share had remained stable at 24%. "Many churches are inviting parishioners to celebrate marriage on Sunday at special services using new liturgy for Valentine's Day," a spokesman said.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionSpat threatens China’s plans to build world’s largest telescope
China's astronomers are united in wanting a world-class giant optical telescope, one that would serve notice that they are ready to compete on the global stage. But a squabble has opened up over the telescope's design. On one side is an established engineering team, led by a veteran optics expert responsible for the nation's largest existing telescope, that is eager to push ahead with an ambitious design. On the other are astronomers reveling in a grassroots priority-setting exercise—unprecedented for China—who have doubts about the ambitious design and favor something simpler.
Now, a panel of international experts has reviewed the designs and come out squarely in favor of the simpler proposal, according to a copy of the review obtained by Science. But the conclusion has not ended what one Chinese astronomer calls "an epic battle" between the high-ranking engineers accustomed to top-down control over projects and the nascent grassroots movement.
At issue is a project that emerged in 2015, when the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) set up a Center for Astronomical Mega-Science that polled senior astronomers on their priorities. Top was a desire to boost China's participation in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which is being developed by an international consortium. (Construction on Hawaii's Mauna Kea has been delayed by legal claims raised by Native Hawaiians.) Second was a giant telescope of the country's own.
For now, China's largest optical telescope is the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), a 4-meter survey telescope completed in 2008 in Hebei province near Beijing. China's astronomers rallied around the idea of leapfrogging to a 12-meter telescope that, if completed quickly before other giants like the TMT, would for some years be the largest telescope on Earth. In early 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), responsible for funding large domestic projects, gave the megascience center approval to develop plans for what is now being called the Large Optical/Infrared Telescope (LOT), to be sited in western China. To secure NDRC funding for construction—an estimated 1.5 billion renminbi ($220 million)—the plans must be approved by the end of 2018.
Xiangqun Cui was ready. An optics specialist, Cui heads a group at CAS's Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology (NIAOT) that had developed LAMOST and was already working on a 12-meter telescope design.
In most large telescopes, a large primary mirror captures light and reflects it off one or two secondary mirrors to the telescope's instruments. The daring NIAOT design calls for four mirrors—one primary and three secondary. The fourth mirror allows for exquisite control of the streams of photons so that they fall almost perpendicular to the instrument's focal plane, ensuring "very good image quality," Cui says. She adds that, because the TMT and other telescopes would eventually surpass the LOT's sensitivity, the NIAOT design needed to provide a wide field of view that would enable the telescope to act as a spotter for the bigger scopes. "This is a new century, we need new optical systems," Cui says.
In an unusual step, the megascience center set up meetings, working groups, and a science advisory committee to solicit input from the wider astronomical community—"a first for Chinese astronomy," says Johannes Andersen, an astronomer at the University of Copenhagen. Astronomers who took part expressed concerns with the NIAOT design. "I found many scientific and engineering issues," says Donglin Ma, an optics scientist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), in Wuhan, China.
One concern centers on the four-mirror design. Many astronomers fear the additional mirror will degrade sensitivity, or the ability to see faint objects, because photons are lost with each reflection. Cui counters that a new mirror coating developed in the United States promises 98% reflectivity. "There will be no problem" with the additional mirror, she says.
A second point of contention is how quickly the scope can shift from a wide-field survey mode to one that would focus on transient phenomena, such as gamma ray bursts and supernovae. With the complexity of the NIAOT design, astronomers worry the shift would be slow.
Finally, the astronomers want proven technology that will work reliably from the start. They note that LAMOST has fallen short of its primary goal: observing faint galaxies beyond the Milky Way. Cui says the issue is not with the telescope, but with increasing dust and humidity at the site, which now gets only 120 clear nights a year, down from more than 200 when LAMOST was being planned.
After reviewing the NIAOT design, Ma formed a group that began developing a rival design with just two secondary mirrors. The HUST team has received advice from outsiders like Jerry Nelson of the Lick Observatory at the University of California, Santa Cruz, an applied physicist who led the design of the 10-meter Keck telescopes in Hawaii and was the TMT project scientist. "We will be involved as consultants for the telescope and instruments to the extent we are asked," says Nelson, who passed away last week. But Cui, a senior scientist and CAS academician, refused to back down.
To resolve the impasse, the megascience center had an international panel weigh the two alternatives. The nine-member panel, led by Andersen, met in Beijing on 19 and 20 April. Their report, which has been circulated among key personnel but not publicly released, firmly sides with advocates of a simpler design. It calls the mirror coating proposed by the NIAOT team "not yet proven technology" and says that atmospheric turbulence would prevent the image quality in the NIAOT design from living up to hopes. It also says that the telescope would have a hard time switching quickly between surveys and targeting transient objects.
The panel report concludes that the NIAOT optical system "cannot compete" with more standard designs like the HUST approach, "in terms of meeting scientific objectives, providing operational flexibility and keeping within a limited budget." With the panel's recommendation in hand, the megascience center board decided on 19 May to proceed with the HUST design.
Cui is now reportedly lobbying CAS for a second review. But some astronomers are confident CAS will leave the matter in the hands of the megascience team. "We think the debate is over," says Suijian Xue, a vice director of CAS's National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing. He says that getting everyone to work on optimizing the three-mirror system is "the only way to unite the entire community." He also hopes that the bottom-up process the megascience center followed will set a precedent that will help future science projects avoid clashes.We’ve received more than a handful of emails from people asking us to post our thoughts on leadership – mostly from seasoned NCOs who want us to use our powers for good instead of evil (at least every once in a while).
This is a tough one for us to write, because in some ways it starts with the position that we are qualified to teach leadership. I mean you can go to the store and literally buy hundreds of books on the topic of leadership from real war heroes that should be dead a hundred times over, general officers or sergeants major who have a lifetime of service to the nation, or even business leaders, coaches, or politicians who have made a real difference in the world. Hell, a lot of the guys that read this site have been to combat four times or more by now! Candidly, we felt that posting an article on leadership would be more than a little presumptuous.
Nevertheless, the emails have continued coming in – as a result, I posed this dilemma to one the NCOs in the Ranger Up Militia. “Why should we tread on ground that so many great leaders have already covered,” I asked. “Simple,” he replied, “You won’t write it with the intent of making yourself look like a big deal, which means someone might actually listen.”
His logic was hard to argue with, so we drew straws and for this one you’re stuck with me. I’ve decided to write it from a platoon leader’s perspective, because no one needs more help than a 2LT, but hopefully most of my comments transcend all levels of leadership. So here goes:
Nick’s Rules on Leadership
1) Don’t be a douche.
I am dead serious. Nothing pissed me off more than watching some wannabe tough guy treat his people like shit and then hear someone |
begins to replicate itself and the movie becomes an all-out battle between the creatures and a bunch of space marines! The special effects are dated but fun, the monsters look like something from The Power Rangers tv show and the space station designs are colorful and funky. On its original release in the States (in 1969) The Green Slime had great box-office but terrible reviews. The New York Times wrote: “The dialogue is wooden, so is most of the acting by a cast including Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel and Luciana Paluzzi. And a dull and obvious romantic triangle continually squashes the terror potential at the ripest moments.” But of course that’s exactly why the film has so much charm when viewed today. I originally saw this back in the early 80′s on my local ITV station when they used to run Thursday night sci-fi seasons and I remember being soooo excited about seeing this movie. Believe me, I wasn’t disappointed and if you approach it with the right attitude, you won’t be disappointed either.
Review by Richard GladmanAs devoted book lovers and defenders of libraries, there are few things that upset us more than people who steal books. We read about a recent case of book theft in China this week, detailed after the jump, which compelled us to explore a brief history of shocking book thievery. Greed, desperation, and delusion have compelled ordinary citizens and literary insiders to snatch rare books and manuscripts for dubious purposes. Most of these stories about stolen titles read like a gripping thriller, but the following tales of book theft are sadly all too real.
In humanity’s quest for the ever-elusive meaning of life, people have done some extreme and downright stupid things in search of an answer. Take a man in Nanjing, China, for example. He stole 800 science, history, and poetry books. “I couldn’t comprehend the meaning of life,” the thief known only as Mr. Lee claimed. “I was hoping to find the answer by reading those books.” Lee swiped the texts from his local bookstore over a span of six months, often combing the stacks up to four times a week. He would sell the books after reading them. It’s hard to believe that in those thousands of pages Lee didn’t learn stealing was wrong.
The Romm Gang sound like characters from a Scorsese film, but the criminals were a group of book thieves that operated into the 1930s. The gang lifted collectible titles from library shelves and sold them off to the highest bidder on New York’s Book Row. Respected antiquarian Charles Romm had questionable connections to the bookish thugs. A coveted copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems was one of the rarest snatched by the Romm Gang. Libraries responded by taking titles off the shelves, hiring security, and adding unique markings to books that would be difficult to remove. Eventually New York Public Library special investigator G. William Bergquist took over the case, bringing the thieves to justice. You can read more about the Romm Gang in Travis McDade’s Thieves of Book Row: New York’s Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It.
The Lambeth Palace Library was founded in 1610 and is “the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the principal repository of the documentary history of the Church of England.” It’s also the site of a staggering case of book thievery. Nearly 1,400 tomes were taken from Lambeth, including a rare French text from the late 1500s — one of only six or seven surviving copies in the world. Librarians had been aware of the missing titles since the 1970s, believing only 90 books were gone, but in 2011 they discovered something shocking. The books were hidden away in a London attic. The now deceased thief — someone “associated with the library” — made a full confession. Lambeth is currently working on restoring the titles to their proper condition.
Stephen Blumberg is perhaps the most famous bibliomane in history. He struggled with a compulsion to steal and hoard books, swiping more than 23,600 titles, worth $5.3 million total. Blumberg, who had a history of mental illness, truly believed he was saving the texts from destruction. Although he frequently stole antiques for money, he never sold his books. Blumberg was imprisoned for his crimes, but has been up to his old tricks since his release in the 1990s. Throughout his thieving career, Blumberg’s rarest steals include a first edition copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and titles from the Zamorano Eighty — a list of first editions about the history of California.
It’s our opinion that stealing pages from books is just as wicked as stealing the books themselves. Farhad Hakimzadeh ripped off the British Library page by page. Hakimzadeh has been described as a wealthy businessman, academic, and published author and rare book collector, but his experience, knowledge, and privilege didn’t stop him from taking a scalpel to the library’s rarest texts (around 150 total). A map worth $45,000 and several books dating back to the 16th century were found in his home. No one could confirm why Hakimzadeh dissected the books, but it seems the thief was trying to chart the path of European travelers through Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Mogul (Mughal) empire.
John Charles Gilkey proved that there is such a thing as loving books too much. He snatched $200,000 in rare books and manuscripts, which he obtained with stolen credit cards and bad checks. An employee at Saks Fifth Avenue in San Francisco, Gilkey tried to construct a new identity for himself — one that exuded wealth, culture, and sophistication. He surrounded himself with stolen first editions by Nabokov, Mark Twain, and others to feed his fantasy. Journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett wrote about Gilkey’s case in The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession.
Raymond Scott was the playboy of book thieves. The recently deceased antiques dealer was sentenced to prison for handling stolen property — in this case, a copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays. The collection was printed several years after the Bard’s death, and there are reportedly fewer than 250 copies in the world. Scott concocted a bizarre story about stumbling upon the First Folio in Cuba through a pal of his nightclub dancer girlfriend. Scott’s flamboyant lifestyle didn’t help detract attention from his wrongdoings. Upon arrest he stated: “I’m an alcoholic and need two bottles of top-of-the-range champagne every day, but only after 6pm. I hope you have some in the police station.” He attended court dressed as Che Guevara, drove a yellow Ferrari, and handed out bow ties and cake to people around him. Scott denied stealing the folio even after imprisonment, but made a confession of sorts in an interview with his biographer:
“It wasn’t kept in a bank vault — it was openly kept on a book shelf and lovingly cherished. Then maybe the person fell in love and thought it’s time to realize an asset. Perhaps this person decided to live one day as a lion rather than spend his days as a lamb. To live life to the full in Havana, London, Paris. You can’t do this without money, without a lot of money. This is just a fairy story, of course.”
Nicknamed the “Tome Raider,” William Jacques stole over $150 million worth of books from UK libraries, which started going missing in the 1990s. He managed to trick the most prestigious auction houses in the world to sell his stolen copies of works by Thomas Paine, Galileo and Robert Boyle. After his first imprisonment, Jacques adopted a disguise and pseudonym to steal titles by Charles Darwin and Edward Lear. He claimed they were for research. Several books were never recovered, including thirteen volumes of Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias by 19-century Belgian writer Ambroise Verschaffelt.
The ultimate betrayal for antiquarians is finding out that one of their own plundered a collection of rare titles for selfish profit. A UK book dealer named David Slade stole 68 books from the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild family library. Instead of cataloguing the collection, he was pocketing the wealthy family’s titles and selling them at auction. Slade blamed financial debt for his thievery. Works by Louis Dupré, Chaucer, and T.E Lawrence were amongst the rare gems ripped from the Rothschild shelves.
Retired bookstore owner Helen Schlie is the proud owner of a first-edition Book of Mormon. It is believed to be one of the first 200 copies printed back in 1830. Mormons travel to see Schlie and the book, hoping to touch it or have their photo taken with it. The copy is estimated to be worth $100,000 and was taken from an unlocked cabinet in Schlie’s shop. Schlie was heartbroken when the book went missing, but even more so when it was discovered that someone she knew tried to sell its pages to a dealer. Jay Michael Linford was sentenced to prison for the crime. He previously published a book of Schlie’s poetry.
Theologian and librarian Dr. Elois Pichler created a special coat to steal books from the Russian Imperial Public Library in St. Petersburg where he worked. When he was finally caught in 1871, it was estimated he had stolen 4,000 books, many of them rare. Pichler would tuck them into his overcoat, which had a special sack sewn into the lining. The disgraced librarian was sentenced to exile in Siberia — hopefully with his overcoat, sans books.
Italian count and mathematician Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja was appointed Inspector of Libraries in France, but used his position of power to steal from the libraries instead of protecting them. Not one for subtlety, he tried to flee to England with 18 trunks containing 30,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some of the stolen titles were never recovered, but one document resurfaced over 150 years later. In 2010, a 1641 letter written by French philosopher René Descartes was returned to France after being discovered in the Haverford College library. The widow of an alumnus donated it to the school, but a Utrecht philosopher traced the document’s origins after connecting the dots back to the famous Libri case.Just days after Donald Trump got into a Twitter spat with the grieving family of one of the four special forces soldiers killed in Niger, another widow has come forward to praise the president for his 'brave' and 'gracious' call.
Michelle Black's husband Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black was killed alongside Sgt. La David Johnson and two fellow officers, during an ambush by 50 ISIS terrorists outside a remote village in Niger on October 4.
But while Johnson's widow Myeshia has been critical of Trump for allegedly forgetting her husband's name when he called to offer his condolences, Michelle said she was grateful for the call.
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Michelle Black's (left) husband Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black (right) was killed alongside Sgt. La David Johnson and two fellow officers, during an ambush by 50 ISIS terrorists outside a remote village in Niger on October 4
Happier days: Michelle is pictured with Bryan and their two songs in an old family photo during a trip to Disneyland
Black said she was especially glad Trump had spoken with her two sons (pictured with their dad) as the 'excitement from that made it a little better, even if it was just for a minute'
'I'm very grateful that he called and he spoke to the kids. And I think that the excitement from that made it a little better, even if it was just for a minute,' she told Fox News, adding that she was aware about the controversy surrounding his call to Mrs Johnson.
'So, yeah he was very gracious and I appreciate anyone who calls cause, like I said, that takes quite a bit of bravery to call into that kind of situation.'
Trump had come under fire for his treatment of Myeshia Johnson after she said he was'stumbling on trying to remember my husband's name and that's what hurt me most,' she said.
Johnson was so stunned by the call, she claimed, that she didn't respond to the president. She says she left the call feeling even worse than before.
Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>
Johnson's widow Myeshia (right) has been critical of Trump for allegedly forgetting her husband's name when he called to offer his condolences, Michelle (left) said she was grateful for the call
Trump tweeted minutes after Mrs Johnson critized his call that he had a'very respectful conversation' and said Sgt. Johnson's name 'without hesitation!' – directly contradicting the widow
Challenge! Trump immediately disputed Mrs Johnson's recollection of events, insisting he was respectful and knew Sgt Johnson's name
Johnson said she was'very, very upset' after the call and that it'made me cry even worse.'
The president has quickly pounced on her comments on Twitter.
'I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Army Specialist Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!' he tweeted after the interview ended.
Hollywood star Tom Hanks hit out at the president for his response, calling it 'one of the biggest c**k-ups on the planet Earth' after the actor was honored by the National Archives Foundation on Saturday night.
CNN anchor Don Lemon also delivered an emotionally charged plea to Trump to beg him to stop bullying the pregnant widow.
Meanwhile, Michelle Black is focusing on her own family, her nine-year-old and 11-year-old sons in the wake of the tragedy.
From left, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, Sgt. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright were killed in Niger when a joint patrol of American and Niger forces was ambushed by militants believed linked to ISIS
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford took questions from reporters about the Niger operation during a briefing at the Pentagon on Monday, but had few answers
But she wants the world to know her husband was more than just a soldier. He was a father, a husband and spoke three languages, including the local dialect in Niger.
'I know that I married a true hero, whether it would've been on the battlefield or just in life in general. When you have true moral integrity and you care that much for other people that you're willing to put your life on the line,' she said, 'you're a hero whether it's over there or here.'
Officials believe that the four American special forces were deliberately stalled by a village elder to give the militants enough time to launch the ambush.
The group of 12 American forces had accompanied 30 Nigerien forces to an area about 85 kilometers north of the capital Niamey on a routine reconnaissance mission on October 3, when a dramatic new order came through to kill or capture a top ISIS target, officials told ABC News.
They were never able to track down the target, but the convoy of 6-8 vehicles, which included three American, stopped at the remote village of Tongo Tongo after the long night of patrolling, at 11am the next day, a survivor of the attack said.
The meeting with the village, which is seen as supportive of ISIS, is a routine part of the Green Beret mission. But after the meeting, officials say village elders attempted to stall the troops from leaving.
The four American special forces killed fighting in Niger were ambushed by 50 ISIS terrorists after they were stalled by a village elder in Tongo Tongo, a survivor said
Myeshia Johnson is pictured greeting her husband's casket at Dover Air Force Base on October 17
The survivor, who has not been named, told ABC: 'Something was off'.
Once they did leave, they were ambushed.
Militants attacked the American forces with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns from military vehicles.
The solders dismounted from their vehicles and began returning fire, but as it became clear they were outnumbered and outgunned, they got back in their trucks and retreated a mile before they were attacked again.
Officials say the Americans were trapped in a kill zone.
US forces waited more than an hour after the ambush to call for help, officials said. When they finally did, a drone was overhead within minutes.
French Mirage fighter jets arrived an hour after later and evacuated two injured troops and bodies of Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright.
But the body of Sgt. La David Johnson was not recovered for a further 48 hours.
Officials said that the two separate ambush sites could explain why Sgt. Johnson's body was found more than a mile from the other dead and injured troops.
It appears that the Green Berets and special forces did not have any drones overhead or surveillance during the meeting in a move which appears to have put themselves at risk in a bid to win the trust of local residents, officials said.Though it lags behind the misogyny and the racism and total ignorance of domestic and foreign policy, Trump’s extremely short attention span is one of the (many) unpresidential qualities that has dogged him for much of the general election campaign. The Art of the Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz told The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer that Trump’s attention span is shorter than his fingers: “After sitting for only a few minutes in his suit and tie, Trump became impatient and irritable. He looked fidgety, Schwartz recalls, ‘like a kindergartner who can’t sit still in a classroom.... If he had to be briefed on a crisis in the Situation Room, it’s impossible to imagine him paying attention over a long period of time.’”
Trump’s inability to stay focused was on full display on Monday night:
Trump brings up Russia, then China, then a 400 lb. hacker, accuses Clinton of railroading Bernie Sanders, then discusses how good his 10-year-old son is at computers, before concluding that we have to do cyber better.
Trump’s lack of preparation is being blamed for his poor performance—as is, it seems, the fallout from Roger Ailes’s dismissal from Fox News. Here’s The New York Times on Trump’s debate prep:
Mr. Trump found it hard to focus during those meetings, according to multiple people briefed on the process who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. That left Mr. Ailes, who at the time was deeply distracted by his removal from Fox and the news media reports surrounding it, discussing his own problems as well as recounting political war stories, according to two people present for the sessions.
Lack of preparation is a common excuse for poor debate performances—it took the blame when President Obama stuttered out of the gate against Mitt Romney in 2012. The difference, however, is that Obama’s fitness for the office wasn’t a major question in 2012. Trump’s total lack of debate preparedness suggests that he’d be similarly lost in the Oval Office.
It also means that the bar will be set even lower when he and Hillary Clinton meet again in two weeks. Then, Trump will only have to stay on topic to gain points from pundits. Of course, t presumes that Trump will practice and prepare, which doesn’t seem like a safe bet. By all accounts, Trump is incapable of doing either.Clown fish became famous thanks to the movie Finding Nemo. In real life, their social hierarchy is simple: larger fish dominate their smaller counterparts. Now we know that to reinforce this social structure, the fish communicate with aggressive and submissive audio signals. The new info is in the journal PLoS ONE. [Orphal Colleye and Eric Parmentier, Overview on the Diversity of Sounds Produced by Clown Fishes (Pomacentridae): Importance of Acoustic Signals in Their Peculiar Way of Life]
Researchers recorded clown fish calls, capturing this noise as one chased a smaller fish. [Aggressive audio] These popping sounds function as an aggression signal. When a clown fish has been chased and wishes to submit, it shakes its head in a submissive gesture and produces clicking noises like these. [Submissive audio] The researchers compared the aggressive and submissive calls, and found that the sound pulses in a submissive signal were shorter and more high-pitched.
Unlike many animals that use sound to draw in potential mates, clown fish appear to use their calls only as labels of social status. When a little fish makes submissive sounds to a larger one, neither has to invest in a physical confrontation. Which is good news for small-fry like Nemo.
—Sophie Bushwick
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]MrYar wrote:
JadedDragoon wrote:
Allow me to demonstrate the problem here. "There's too many similarities between apples and oranges (contain citric acid, healthy, sweet, grows on trees, sold for profit) for them to be different fruit." See the problem?
In the case of Wanda and Ivan you mention signamancy... well Ivan kept his raiment and moved freely in the dirtamansion while Wanda was clothed in sackcloth and held in a lightless cell.
Are they prisoner and not-prisoner... or are they poorly treated prisoner and well treated prisoner?
Again, I'm simply saying there is reason to question. Your certainty on the matter is misplaced and unjustified.
EDIT: OH! and before I forget... normal repatriation rules merely involve a prisoner coming into contact with (well... stacking with... but almost the same difference) an allied unit or unit from their own side (at which point their bindings disappear and their raiment reverts). Using an almost tool-level artifact to break them free has never been necessary... except in Ivan's case. Now is that because Claude didn't count as an allied unit... or because Ivan wasn't a prisoner in the conventional Erfworld sense?
Though different, apples and oranges are still fruit. Though different, Maggie and Ivan are still prisoners.
The real issue with my metaphor that you're trying to get at is if one of them is a tomato Though different, apples and oranges are still fruit. Though different, Maggie and Ivan are still prisoners.The real issue with my metaphor that you're trying to get at is if one of them is a tomato
MrYar wrote:
Ivan didn't keep his raiment. He was in prisoner's orange, sans helmet, sans goggles. Also IIRC all previous instances of the usage of a sack cloth have required that the sack cloth be put on the unit, not that their prisoner raiment has it on by default.
MrYar wrote:
We already know that the Dirtamancers treat their own differently. They've said so repeatedly. You mentioned they do. All presented evidence points to the different treatment of prisoners. The evidence, in my opinion, weighs heavier on that than either another form of unit arrest that's 90% the same as established prisoner rules or Ivan and the Dirtamancers putting on an elaborate show to pull one over on the Great Minds who probably know enough Lookamancy to see a Prisoner state on Ivan's stats.
Especially when they can do that elaborate show by actually having Ivan be a prisoner but treat him well behind Dirtamansion doors.
MrYar wrote:
Regarding his repatriation that crosses into another grey area in our understanding regarding Barbarian sides and how they interact with prisoner mechanics. There's enough evidence to infer that Claude had to use the wonky wrench to bust Ivan out because, since they're both Barbarian Casters (and we don't know of any Dirtamancer/Dollamancer alliance) that's the only feasible way he could do it.
Chiu ChunLing wrote:
Spoiler: show Probably because he wasn't doing her "material harm" by his own lights.
I mean, the fact that Charlie is able to mess with Parson by cheating him out of schmuckers is evidence that the contract doesn't prevent infliction of harm through certain means. Lilith probably helped Charlie by setting it up so he had to pay GK for her.
I'm having a problem with the idea that we know any "special circumstance" applied to Ivan that didn't also apply to Wanda. Spoiler: show After all, for a while she has Janis as her captor, who smuggles in an Arkentool for Wanda to use (and incidentally try to kill her). Those circumstances seem at least as special as the fact that Ivan is also being held by people who are advocating for his release. I'm having a problem with the idea that we know any "special circumstance" applied to Ivan that didn't also apply to Wanda.
::Tries hard to hold back:: ::fails:: Except by that argument apples and fruit are both food. So I must really mean Apples and Baseballs. Except by that argument Apples and Baseballs are still semi-spherical objects. So I must really mean Apples and Swords. Except by that argument apples and swords are still physical objects. So I must mean really mean apples and limericks. Except by that argument apples and limericks are still concepts known to mankind...Bleh... no. I meant apples and oranges... which are the standard go-to metaphors used by people throughout the western world every day for two things that share similarities but are still meaningfully different. The "share similarities but are still meaningfully different" part being the analogy I was using those metaphors to convey.EDIT: Also, technically, tomatoes are also a fruit. Wait... were you trolling me? I can never tell.0_o ::goes back and looks:: Huh... how about that. I stand corrected!That said I don't recollect the others having to put the sackcloth on or anyone putting it on them. Though... to be fair... my recollection has proven unreliable rather recently. Could you perhaps share a link showing this case of someone having the sackcloth put on after being a captured?Actually... what was Lilith wearing as a prisoner... I can't remember if it was sackcloth. I'll check in a minute.I wasn't saying the goal was to "pull one over on" anyone. The framework for my argument was that Ivan was being prevented from casting and probably would not have been allowed to simply leave had a way to do so presented itself... but it's possible he still wasn't "captured" according to the mechanics of Erfworld. If the cuffs used on him suppressed his ability to cast it would have the net effect of imprisoning him (in the stupidworld context) in the dirtamansion regardless. As I understand it the only way in or out of the dirtamansion is by tunneling... typically via magic. Even if that's not the case it's quite likely someone would have spotted him and stopped him from walking out the front door. So even in my hypothetical he was still a prisoner in every way that mattered to the free casters.Yes but that there are still so many grey areas in involved makes using Ivan having juice after being freed as proof that all prisoners can have juice after being freed itself a grey area... which is the only claim I'm making. I'm not saying Ivan definitely was not a prisoner by Erfworld mechanics or that he definitely does not prove that prisoners regain access to whatever juice reserves they had before capture after being repatriated. I'm simply saying there is ample reason to question those conclusions.Honestly, sometimes I feel like most people can't even conceptualize the idea of doubt. It's like reality for them is entirely composed of unquestionably true or false statements. Not saying you are... but I really feel like that sometimes.For example...The special circumstance doesn't apply to Ivan. The special circumstance applies to our understanding of Ivan's status during that time. The special circumstance being that we have sufficient reason to question that status. We don't _know_ anything about Ivan's status beyond what we have been shown... and what we have been shown is significantly different from what was shown with Wanda and other prisoners. No matter how many similarities are brought up between them it won't make the differences stop existing. Apples and Oranges.So far the only person to actually challenge those differences directly is MrYar. And effectively I might add. Not yet enough to make me change my conclusions... but definitely a step in that direction.Charges were filed against the man accused of evading police during a set of events that led to a police-involved shooting during Friday's rush hour traffic.
The unidentified man, reportedly 30-years-old, was being followed by undercover police officers in south St. Louis Friday evening. Officials said he was wanted in connection with a parole violation, as well as an unnamed robbery in the St. Louis region.
Saturday, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office charged the suspect with five counts of criminal activity: Assault 1st Degree, Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Resisting Arrest, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
Undercover officers flipped their sirens on after following the suspect's car for some time and began a pursuit with the suspect. Police deployed a spike strip shortly thereafter near Vandeventer and I-44.
While evading police, the suspect attempted to sideswipe a police cruiser. No injuries were reported from the cruiser struck by the suspect's car.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said that despite driving with deflated tires, the suspect was able to drive onto I-44 and managed to make it about the length of a football field before coming to a stop. He then exited his car and aimed a semi-automatic pistol at three responding officers. The officers fired shots at the suspect, striking him once.
The suspect was transported to an area hospital and was listed in serious, but stable condition.
The three officers who fired shots at the suspect have served between nine and 28 years, and range in age between 30 and 52-years-old. None of them were injured in the incident.
Eastbound I-44 at I-55 was shut down for about two hours before regular traffic resumed.Upon leaving the Toronto Raptors to join the Miami Heat in 2010, forward Chris Bosh became a marked man in the city he once called home.
Selected fourth overall by the franchise in 2003, Bosh spent the first seven years of his career wearing Raptor red, leading the team to two postseason appearances, although they never advanced past the first round.
Related: Chris Bosh returns to a changed basketball city for All-Star weekend
Since his time north of the border, Bosh has added more All-Star nods to his resume, as well as two championships in South Beach alongside Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Every time he returns to Toronto as an opposition member, boos echo throughout the Air Canada Centre as the loyal fan base voices their displeasure to the former CB4.
During Friday's All-Star Media Day, reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors implored the city to stop booing Bosh, who is a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team and will be participating in the Three-Point Contest.
Steph says don't boo Bosh, Toronto pic.twitter.com/z0SNsbTG7Z — James Herbert (@outsidethenba) February 12, 2016
The Raptors are holding down the No. 2 seed in the East at 35-17, 6.5 games ahead of Bosh's Heat (29-24).
The 12-year vet is Toronto's all-time leader in minutes played (18,815), points (10,275), total rebounds (4,776), and blocked shots (600).Texas Southern University said Friday that it has canceled its commencement speech by John Cornyn, the U.S. senator who represents the public university. The decision comes amid outcry on the Houston campus over the Republican senator's support for the Trump administration.
Cornyn had been set to speak at the historically black university on Saturday. The university said in a statement that it has asked Cornyn "to instead visit with our students again at a future date in order to keep the focus on graduates and their families."
"We, along with Senator Cornyn, agree that the primary focus of commencement should be a celebration of academic achievement," the statement said.
Two Democratic members of Congress who had also been scheduled to speak — U.S. Reps. Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee, both of Houston — will remain part of the program.
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When asked for comment, a Cornyn spokesperson responded with an e-mailed statement: "Senator Cornyn was honored to be invited to address TSU’s graduates, but he respects the Administration's decision and looks forward to continuing to engage with the University in the future.”
The university's statement didn't specifically give a reason for the cancellation. But Cornyn's planned appearance had been generating pushback. A petition on Change.org had generated 846 signatures. The petition said, "Having a politician such as him speak at our institution is an insult to the students, to TSU, and to all [historically black colleges and universities]."
The petition cited Cornyn's votes to confirm two of President Donald Trump's cabinet appointees — Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. It also raised complaints about Cornyn's support for voter ID laws and efforts to block funding for "sanctuary cities."
"This is our graduation. We have the right to decide if we want to refuse to sit and listen to the words of a politician who chooses to use his political power in ways that continually harm marginalized and oppressed people," the petition said.
The university didn't specifically comment on those concerns. When asked whether the decision was in response to student opposition, a university spokesman responded that "it was done to ensure that our students and families enjoyed their special day."
"Commencement exercises are special moments for our students, their families and the entire university," the university statement said. "Every consideration is made to ensure that our student's graduation day is a celebratory occasion and one they will remember positively for years to come."
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Texas Southern's decision is the latest case of a conservative speaker drawing protest at a university, drawing questions about role free speech and political dialogue on campuses. On Thursday, DeVos was booed at a commencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. An a pair of planned speeches by conservative provocateurs have been cancelled at the University of California, Berkeley in recent months.
Read related Tribune coverage:
John Cornyn is said to be on the short list to lead the FBI after James Comey's firing.
When a white nationalist came to speak at Texas A&M University, protests erupted.
Disclosure: Texas Southern University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.by FIFA.com, 28 April 2014
© Getty Images
For Canada, the countdown to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is well and truly on. Yesterday saw the 100-day milestone marked by festivities and light shows as the nation builds towards this tournament and beyond to next year’s senior showpiece.
The excitement surrounding August’s youth event is understandable. Canada has, after all, hosted the tournament once before, and it proved to be a triumph, with almost 48,000 turning out in 2002 to watch the hosts narrowly edged out by USA in the final.
That team spawned many of the national team’s greats – Christine Sinclair being the best-known – and it also proved a major landmark in the process of Canada fully embracing the beautiful game. Among those buoyed by the subsequent progress is Andrew Olivieri, a former international goalkeeper who these days takes charge of his country’s U-20 women’s side.
And while Olivieri knows that matching the achievements of Sinclair and Co will be a tall order, he’s sure that Canada, as hosts, are poised to better the party they threw 12 years ago. He said: “The Canadian football culture has changed significantly since 2002 – and in a good way. Back in 2002, this tournament wasn’t really on the radar until it got underway and the Canadian team started to really impress.
“It’s very different now. People are on board well in advance, and expectations have also risen significantly. The women’s team winning a bronze medal at the Olympics took the level of scrutiny and interest to another level, and we’re going to have to prepare the players to cope with that.
“I can already sense excitement rising in the country, although I’m not sure if the players do. Most of them are playing football at college in the US, so it’s only when they come into camp that they get a feeling for the way it’s building up. I don’t think it will be until June or July, when it’s just over the hill, that they appreciate just how fantastic and enormous this tournament is going to be.”
Winning a quarter-final match is an ambitious target for us, I think, but I also believe it’s achievable.
Canada coach Andrew Olivieri
Another consequence of their role as hosts is that Canada are the only team of the 16 participating not to have been tested in a continental qualifying competition. That, as their coach admits, has posed its own challenges.
“We’ve missed out on games in a competition environment and those kind of games are very important, particularly for young players, so we’ve had to adapt,” he told FIFA.com. “What we’ve looked to do is arrange really tough, demanding friendly matches, playing against tougher opponents than we would have faced in qualifying.”
All the same, assessing Canada’s place among the likely contenders for the U-20 crown remains difficult, with uncertainty over the current squad’s strength not the only issue at stake. Also causing concern is the team’s poor record in this tournament since that final appearance in 2002, and this is factored into Olivieri’s pre-tournament target.
As he explained: “We haven’t been out of the group stage at this level since that tournament in 2002, so saying we expect to reach the semi-finals or final would be a little premature. Winning a quarter-final match is an ambitious target for us, I think, but I also believe it’s achievable.
“Our goal is not to win tournaments at this level; it’s to develop players for the senior team. But playing well, winning matches and going through the rounds at competitions like this will help us achieve that, so we know that one can come from the other.”
As part of Olivieri’s preparations, national team stalwart Rhian Wilkinson has been drafted in to help coach and prepare the players for the rigours of tournament football during their most recent training camp. The competition itself is certainly sure to offer the kind of test that only a World Cup can conjure, with the draw having pitted Canada against Ghana, Finland and Korea DPR in a varied and intriguing group.
“From a development perspective, it was a fantastic draw for us,” acknowledged Olivieri. “Playing against three such different teams from such distinct cultures of football will be a tremendous learning experience for our players. It just exposes them to |
have to be ready not just mentally but physically as well. You have to be fit and take care of your body. You need to have a great way of life - you have to eat well, to sleep well. If you get it, you’re going to play maybe every game if you are lucky. That’s what I did last year and unfortunately at the beginning of the season I had surgery on the leg, but I’m used to playing a lot of games and I’m OK with that.
SI.com: Most important question: You always seem to find a way to make your hair look good during matches. How long do you spend on your hair before kickoff?
Giroud: (Laughs) Not a lot of time. Maybe five minutes. I put wax in it to fix it. I use a hairdryer. But nothing more than five or 10 minutes.Gmail Bridge for Persona
Since shifting to the Identity team last year, I’ve been working hard on making Persona a true solution to the login problem of the web. As I said then:
If we do our job right, eventually when my friends ask me what I do, I can say: I helped make it so you no longer need to use passwords everywhere. I helped make your online identity more secure. I helped make signing into the Internet awesomer.
We’re getting closer.
What is the Gmail Bridge?
Today, we’re announcing to the world that our Gmail Identity Bridge is online. Excuse me. What? No, I’m fine. It’s alright, it’s actually quite simple.
The way Persona normally works, after checking to see if your email provider natively supports the protocol, is that Persona will fallback to what we call a secondary provider. This is the point where most users end up creating a password for Persona, and then going to their email to verify to us that they really own their email address. If the email provider did support the protocol, they would get sent over to them to authenticate, and we’d step out of the way.
So, we made an Identity Bridge that we host, and uses Google’s OpenID endpoint to verify the user. The experience is pretty much exactly what it should feel like if there was native support from Google.
Why this matters
With both Gmail and Yahoo bridges online, over half of all users are just a couple clicks away from logging in with Persona.
So how does this affect you? If you have a website that has user accounts, you can switch to using Persona as your authentication system. In most cases, it should be a better experience for your users, and easier for you.
If you don’t have a website, you can still help. Find a website you log in to frequently, and ask them to implement Persona. Tell them about this new bridging. Push for the change.
Soon, everyone will notice: we made signing into the Internet awesomer.Looking at Aberdeen Harbour, it does not feel like it. Conversations with beach volunteers, councillors, non-governmental organisations and others, however, reveal a growing problem that will only intensify when the city’s landfills get exhausted by the end of the decade.
China, which amended its National Sword legislation recently, also rejects the refuse from the city as it falls short of the quality they require for their recycling plants.
The sea might be becoming an illicit dumping ground and a paper tabled for discussion in the Legislative Council in May states that a HK$10 million dollar fund has been created to help non-profit organisations carry out “environmental education and community engagement projects”.
The seas around Hong Kong were absorbing nearly 41 tonnes of waste every day in 2013, according to a report commissioned by the Environmental Protection Department. Nearly five and a half million tonnes of solid waste was produced in the city the following year.
Three years on, that number must have surely increased.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand there is going to be more plastic entering the ocean every single year.”
Trecey Read, the founder of Plastic Free Seas, an environmental consultancy definitely thinks so.
The EPD was not available for an interview and stated in an e-mail that the the Interdepartmental Working Group on Clean Shorelines [the Working Group], formed in November 2012, has been working on the issue.
[The map below shows all the spots where Paul & Esther found trash on the shore while carrying out their coasteering expedition in May 2017]One hundred years ago this week, an epic moment unfolded in Mexico City: The revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa rode into the capital on horseback, trailed by their respective peasant armies.
Today, just as a century ago, the country again is gripped by widespread discontent. A growing number of Mexicans complain of corrupt and incompetent rule. Protests and rallies unfold weekly, often more frequently.
Only today, there is no charismatic rebel leader at the fore, neither a Zapata nor a Villa. Without leadership, observers say, the Mexican Spring may end as a fizzle, more Occupy Wall Street than Mexican Revolution, Chapter Two.
Fernando Gamboa Quezada, an economics professor at Mexico’s largest university, peered Saturday from the steps of the Angel of Independence, the iconic obelisk along the capital’s principal boulevard, as marchers clogged downtown in another protest, timed to coincide with the anniversary of Zapata and Villa’s arrival.
“There is a lot of discontent in the country,” he said. “The farmers, the students, the teachers and, I believe, even the government workers are unhappy. Corruption is rampant.”
The last straw for many Mexicans has been the way President Enrique Peña Nieto has handled a probe into the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college in Guerrero state. The students went missing Sept. 26, when police allegedly rounded them up and turned them over to a criminal gang for mass execution.
Distrust in state institutions is so high that the Peña Nieto government has turned over key functions of the criminal investigation to foreigners. A group of Argentine forensic scientists has taken part in the excavation of possible grave sites, and recovered bone fragments were sent to a university in Innsbruck, Austria, for DNA comparison with family members.
Peña Nieto, who presided Monday afternoon over the opening of the Ibero-American summit, an annual regional gathering of heads of state, found signs of isolation even at the summit site in Veracruz. The leaders of Argentina and Brazil stayed home, and the arrival of the Cuban and Venezuelan presidents remained iffy.
A parallel event for first ladies and spouses was canceled, apparently because few spouses wanted to share the stage with Mexican first lady Angelica Rivera, an actress ensnared in an influence-buying scandal with a government contractor who has built a mansion for the couple. Queen Letizia of Spain was among those who chose to stay home.
Mr. Gamboa, the professor, said Peña Nieto still has many ways to deal with unrest and is likely only to be weakened, rather than seriously challenged.
Like other analysts, he noted that protesters in Mexican streets run the gamut from public schoolteachers who resist an education overhaul to professionals seeking greater social and economic mobility. No single leader has emerged to carry the banner.
“Without leadership, it might happen like in Egypt, where there was a spontaneous uprising, and then it fizzled out,” Gamboa said.
Another analyst, Francisco Rodriguez, said discontent may be high, but many disparate factors, ranging from plummeting oil prices to impunity for corruption in the top of the government, fuel the unhappiness, leaving it with little core focus.
“The spark from Ayotzinapa, despite what functional experts of history might say, will not set this pile of straw afire,” Rodriguez wrote Monday on the almomento.mx website.
Perhaps what has contributed the greatest passion to the protests is a broad anxiety that parts of the state itself, particularly the police, are to be feared.
“Everyone of us is at risk of being ‘disappeared,’” said Jaqueline Bermudez, a 23-year-old design student at ICEL University in the capital. “When I see a police officer, I feel more fear than confidence. We don’t know whom to trust anymore.”
For all those who long for a better Mexico, many fear what change might bring. Lawmakers from Peña Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party and two allied factions in the Chamber of Deputies early this month passed a proposal that would empower authorities to ban street marches. The measure has yet to win approval in the Senate.
Peña Nieto warned in mid-November that a hidden hand was determined to destabilize his government, and on Dec. 4 he called on Mexicans “to overcome the pain” of the disappearance of the students.
Industrial tycoons and business leaders worry about the nation’s direction.
“There are many radical groups working at destabilization, at crisis, at everything,” Gerardo Gutierrez Candiani, head of Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council, a leading nationwide business group, told foreign reporters Thursday. “There are criminals, organized crime, guerrillas, many groups in this process. It is very delicate.”
Even if anger over the 43 students dissipates, the pace of disappearances in the country continues at a rapid clip, said Mario Patron, head of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center.
“The official register of disappeared persons on the last day of October stood at 23,605 people,” Mr. Patron told MVS Radio Monday. “Under the current administration, there’ve been more than 5,000 people who have disappeared.... We have a generalized problem.”
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And if a political figure were to emerge to harness the desire for change and rule of law in Mexico, it could prove to be a fatal mission.
Neither Mr. Zapata nor Mr. Villa lived many more years to see their revolution unfold. Zapata died in a hail of bullets in 1919, while Villa died in 1923 after a pumpkin seed vendor ran at him shouting “Viva Villa!” In that instant, hidden riflemen shot Villa dead.Richard Lochhead demands end to 'years of suffering' ahead of crucial EU fisheries talks.
© STV
"Radical changes" to EU policies are needed to allow Scotland to take greater control of its fisheries, according to a Government minister.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said the EU's Common Fisheries Policy should be reformed to hand more control to local and regional communities.
He said Scotland has suffered years of "painful cuts and baffling rules imposed by the EU", including quota reductions which he blamed on "irresponsible" fishing by Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
He has also called for Scottish seafood to be sold at a premium, similar to Scotch beef and lamb.
Mr Lochhead said: "After years of painful cuts and baffling rules imposed by the EU, some progress was finally achieved last month at the Fisheries Council in Brussels meaning there is a chink of light for Scottish fishing.
"The key is now to keep up the momentum for positive change as we prepare for more crucial decisions in 2013."
He said more can be done to "capture the value of every fish landed on our shores".
"Scottish seafood is delicious and high quality, yet that is not always reflected in the price achieved for our fish and shellfish," he added.
"I believe we can secure a premium for Scottish seafood, much in the same way as is achieved for Scotch beef or Scotch lamb.
"The Scottish Government is committed to working with the industry in 2013 to help achieve that."
Mr Lochhead's immediate priority is to reach a positive outcome in the EU-Norway talks, where he hopes to safeguard Scotland's cod and mackerel quotas.
"The excessive fishing of the mackerel stock by the Faroes and Iceland means a quota cut is expected for that particular fishery," he said.
"However, I will not accept a double whammy for our pelagic sector, and will therefore reject the European Commission's proposals for an even greater quota reduction that would only reward Iceland and Faroes for their irresponsible behaviour.
"Instead, we need the EU to finally confirm the long overdue sanction measures and take decisive action this year if Iceland and the Faroes continue to overfish the stock.
"Looking ahead, 2013 will be a pivotal year for the reform of the EU's ill-fitting Common Fisheries Policy, which has been highly damaging for Scottish fishing communities and the stocks.
"That's why we are pressing for radical changes, including changing the remote control from Brussels, with more management decisions taken at the local and regional level.
"We must not see the mistakes of the past 30 years repeated."Haitao and Melody to The International 3
Haitao and Melody, Chinese shoutcasters have been invited to The International 3. Out of the three Chinese shoutcasters so far, only Haitao has casted The International 2.
Weibo post by Haitao
I proudly announce today, I received IceFrog's invitation to attend this year's summer 3rd edition of The International as a Chinese caster. Last year's the moment when iG claimed disctintly in front of my eyes. Among this year Chinese team, who will lead? I represent the crowd to say, do your best to bring the most entertaining matches. Also I would like to ask LaoDang, would you like to sleep next to the wall or facing outwards?
Weibo post by Melody
Lucky girl here, I received IceFrog's invitation to be come this year's TI3's Chinese caster. Last year summer, I was sitting on the floor watching iG claiming the title, that moment's excitement and joy in their eyes. 2013 TI3 Chinese team, best of luck! LaoDang and haitao, are you guys prepared to shout passionately?
Eric “reinnnn” Khor I love pudding. I love Dota too. But pudding usually wins.
According to Sgamer, another two Chinese casters, Haitao and Melody has received invitations to The International 3 as they spread their joy on their Weibo accounts.Thewas sent out on the 4th of April to which v1lat, Russian caster and LaoDang were invited. Fast forward a week from the first invitation, Haitao, G-League lead caster, received his invitation on the 10th of April while Melody received hers shortly after.Last year at The International 2, there were a total of nine Chinese casters including famous former Chinese players, 820 and 2009. Out of the three Chinese casters invited, only Haitao has casted The International 2.LaoDangHaitaoMelodyv1latCaspeRRROn a side note, LaoDang and Melody are in a relationship.Source:0 SHARES Share Tweet
Mac Slavo – August 22nd, 2017 – SHTFplan.com
How did we reach a point in our society, where groups like Antifa think nothing of wreaking havoc on the streets on a regular basis? These people routinely beat those they disagree with, cause property damage, and shut down dissent without a single iota of shame. You have to ask yourself, how did this group and others like it, get so bold as to think that they can flippantly disregard the law and openly riot in the streets?
The answer is that the media is responsible for this mess. It’s the media that has repeatedly ignored, apologized for, and even celebrated their actions. How else would these thugs have come to the conclusion that what they’re doing is okay? They’re constantly being lionized by our morally bankrupt media.
CNN made that perfectly clear last week. They published a piece that was highly sympathetic to Antifa titled “Unmasking the Leftist Antifa Movement: Activists Seek Peace Through Violence.”
This past weekend CNN drew more criticism for its left-wing bias after posting a profile on the violent left-wing group “Antifa,” that rather generously described the communist group as “seeking peace through violence.” Despite the obvious contradiction in terms, at least the headline noted the group’s violent motives (albeit in a really stupid way.) But that phrase was scrubbed just hours later by CNN in an apparent move to not offend members of the radical-left group.
The original article appeared online Friday afternoon, with the headline: “Unmasking the Leftist Antifa Movement: Activists Seek Peace Through Violence.” That one mention of violence in the headline was the only real objective criticism CNN’s Sara Ganim and Chris Welch had to offer throughout their lengthy piece, interviewing several self-identified Antifa activists…
…If this was a radical, violent right-wing group, it’s a given that CNN would have plenty of left-wing groups on hand to denounce their ideologies and behavior. When the group’s violent methods were finally first brought up in the article, CNN justifies the violence as a means to an end, because, the antifa members say, they’re committing violence to “eradicate hatred.” Well, if you put it that way, it all makes sense!
And if you can believe it, CNN apparently didn’t scrub the title because of public outcry. According to an update posted at the bottom of the article, “This story has been updated to clarify that counterprotesters say they are not to blame for violence at the Charlottesville protest.” Since the title is the only change CNN made, it appears that they were pressured by Antifa to change the title. I think the real reason Antifa wanted to change the title, is because they don’t like their name being synonymous with a phrase that reeks of “ends justify the means” logic, even though that’s exactly what they’re all about.
Read more at SHTFplan.com
.This Image of the Day is the answer to the January puzzler.
Colonies of coral polyps are some of the most prolific builders in the world. Coral polyps secrete a material that forms a hard calcium carbonate exoskeleton around their base. That hard base protects against marine predators, and generation after generation of polyps build new exoskeletons on top of the old. Over time, the process builds up coral reefs that can become quite large—in many cases, large enough to be viewed from space.
Coral reefs, sometimes called the rainforests of the sea, are one of the most prized ecosystems in the ocean. They are home to about a quarter of all ocean fish species, making them hot spots of biodiversity. They protect shorelines from storms, provide food for millions of people, and provide economic benefits by encouraging tourism. Despite their value, few of the world’s reefs have been studied. Some have been examined through expensive, labor-intensive diving expeditions, but many have never been surveyed at all.
“Right now, the state of the art for collecting coral reef data is scuba diving with a tape measure,” said Eric Hochberg, scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. “It’s analogous to looking at a few trees and then trying to say what the forest is doing.”
As global temperatures rise and the ocean becomes increasingly acidic, many researchers are concerned that the future for the world’s reefs is grim. Observations to date suggest that 33 to 50 percent of Earth’s coral reefs have been significantly degraded or lost in recent decades. Some reef scientists think that most functioning reef ecosystems will disappear by the middle of the 21st century.
Hochberg shares the concern, but he also sees indications that some types of corals may be resilient. He argues that to make definitive statements about how reefs are changing on a regional or global scale, scientists need data that offers a big-picture view, not just snapshots of what is happening at certain sites.
To get this big picture view, Hochberg is leading a project that will use aircraft to monitor entire reef systems in Florida, Hawaii, Palau, the Mariana Islands, and Australia. The COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) will use an airborne instrument called the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM) to gather the data. PRISM will offer high temporal resolution and below cloud flight altitudes that make it possible to resolve spatial features as small as 30 centimeters (12 inches).
Hochberg’s team plans to visit the Republic of Palau, a chain of islands at the far western end of Micronesia. The island chain is comprised of 458 square kilometers (177 square miles) of dry land, and approximately 525 square kilometers (203 square miles) of reefs spread through the ocean. On March 21, 2014, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image of Palau. The top image highlights portions of Ngerbard and Kossel reefs, which are located to the north of Palau’s largest island, Babeldaob.
The reefs are turquoise, with actively growing colonies of coral appearing as a brown linear feature on the outer edges of the reef. Waves—appearing as a white line—are visible breaking along the eastern edge of some of the reefs. The different shades of blue are indicators of the depth of the water. The darkest blues are probably a few kilometers deep. The turquoise areas are covered with approximately one meter (3 feet) of water. The royal blue area is a reef submerged by about 20 meters of water. The channels in the reefs are called passes; they function as places where water can drain easily in and out of the lagoon as tides and winds change.
The second image offers a wider view of the reefs surrounding Babeldaob. About half of Palau’s reefs are barrier reefs. These appear in long stretches along island coastlines, separated from the shoreline by a lagoon. The western side of Babeldaob has a well-developed barrier reef system that extends about 150 kilometers (90 miles); the eastern side has some barrier reefs near the southern part of the island, but they are less developed and have gaps.
Palau’s second most common type of reef—fringing—accounts for about 37 percent of the country’s total reef area. Unlike barriers, fringing reefs develop adjacent to islands with little or no separation from the shore.
Reefs can evolve from one type to another over time. Fringing reefs are the youngest, forming around a volcanic island within a span of 10,000 years. Over the next 100,000 years, such reefs will continue to grow if conditions are right, becoming barrier reefs as the island erodes and subsides.
Although the CORAL campaign will increase the amount of data available on the health of coral reefs significantly, it will cover just three to four percent of the world’s reefs. “Ideally, in a decade or so we’ll have a satellite that can frequently and accurately observe all of the world’s reefs,” said Hochberg.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Adam Voiland and Alan Buis.One of the best ways to experience a culture is to eat your way through it. More so than any other cultural tradition, food has the ability to illustrate the history, beliefs and physical geography of a people. In La Paz this is no different and eating the street food in the city is one of the best ways for visitors to embark on a cultural culinary journey.
Street food in La Paz is as ubiquitous as traffic jams and crosswalk zebras. As in much of the developing world, the trend in food leans much more towards the casual than formal dining establishments. To eat like a local in Bolivia’s colorful cultural capital means to take the dining room table to the street.
The amount of street food offerings in the city can be quite overwhelming and one would need both an extended stay and extended stomach to sample all the tasty traditional offerings. To help make the most of your gastronomic city tour, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite street side bites.
For Breakfast: Salteñas
No trip to Bolivia is complete without trying the local specialty, salteñas, a savory pie the take a form similar to that of the regionally abundant empanada.
Usually stuffed with beef, chicken, pork or a mixture of all three, salteñas are topped with a sweet and sometimes spicy sauce containing spices, peas and bits of potato. Be careful when you bite into one and have plenty napkins on hand, salteñas are not known to be the neatest of street food eats.
The traditional bite is a popular mid-morning snack and though salteñas can occasionally be found later in the day, they are best eaten either for or before lunch. The juicy stew-in-pastry is a Bolivian delicacy and a dish not to be missed on your trip.
A Hearty Lunch: Sajta
Lunch is the big meal for most Boliviano’s and Sajta de Pollo is one of the most popular of the traditional almuerzos. Sajta is not a street food in the take-with-you-and-walk-around set. To enjoy sajta, you really need to sit down for the meal.
Sajta is the name of a traditional sauce typically served as a chicken dish and the heart plate fuels the locals of La Paz through their day. The flavorful meal is local to the La Paz region and is made with a delicious mix of ingredients including onion, tomato, peanut, aji powder and the dried Bolivian potato known as chuño. As with most Altiplano fare, sajta is generally served alongside a healthy amount of potato and starch.
Lining the streets of La Paz are thousands of small nameless restaurants and food stands that serve the typical Bolivian meal. Our recommendation is to look for a busy one and find a seat.
An Afternoon Snack: Ispi
Seafood may not the first thing that typically comes to mind when you thinks of local dishes in landlocked Bolivia. However, with Lake Titicaca at La Paz’s doorstep, fish have made their way into the local city diet.
Ispi are a small fish brought into La Paz from Lake Titicaca. Typically the fish are eaten fried and whole, seasoned with a blend of herbs, lemon and salt. Intensely flavorful, the small bites are a real indigenous La Paz treat.
The tasty snack is perfect for both taking on a walk through the city and also as a sit down meal. Ispi can be found at markets all over the city- just keep an eye out for bubbling woks of hot oil surrounded by hungry local crowds.
Noshing After Dark: Anticuchos
In La Paz, when the sun goes down, the anticucho come out.
Anticuchos are small pieces of skewered and grilled marinated meat, often served with potato and topped with a spicy peanut sauce. The most popular form of anticuchos in Bolivia are made from tender beef heart.
Don’t let yourself get immediately put off by the cut; anticuchos are wildly flavorful, delicious and mildly addictive. The tradition of skewered meat in Bolivia, and across South America, dates as far back as the 16th century and the Inca Empire.
Anticuchos were popular with inhabitants of the time and remain standard street fare across Bolivia today. At only about 6 B.s. on average, anticuchos are a cheap way to taste the history of the Andes.
And for Desert: Cinnamon Ice Cream
It’s no secret locals in La Paz love their sugar and tend to eat quite a bit of the sweet stuff, in particular in the form of freshly made ice cream.
Heladerias, ice creameries, are a dime a dozen in the city and many of them offer fresh fruit laden homemade flavors. However, to sample a unique La Paz frozen treat all you need to do is head uptown towards the General Cemetery.
There in the back of the adjacent flower market, small batch cinnamon ice cream is all the rage. The deep red handmade delicacy is not like most ice cream from back home. Made without milk, the frozen bite is created fresh from only three ingredients: a finely blended mixture of cinnamon, ice and sugar.
A little spicy and not overly sweet, cinnamon ice cream is a fresh local treat and the perfect snack to enjoy when the weather is warm.
The above are just a few of the hundreds of dishes available to sample along La Paz city streets. Next time you are in the bustling city, take a day to live like a local and street food forage your way through the crowds. If you do chose to eat your way through the city, use your best judgment when picking which street eats to sample: it’s generally best to only eat at stalls that look clean and are busy. You and you’re stomach won’t regret it.
Looking to indulge on a liquid diet? Check out our nightlife guide for the best places for beer or a cocktail in La Paz!NEW & NOTEWORTHY Electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) are marketed as safe, but there has been insufficient long-term exposure to humans to justify these claims. This is the first study to report the long-term in vivo vascular consequences of 8 mo of exposure to E-cig vapor in mice (equivalent to ~25 yr of exposure in humans). We report that E-cig exposure increases arterial stiffness and impairs normal vascular reactivity responses, similar to other risk factors, including cigarette smoking, which contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.
Proponents for electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) claim that they are a safe alternative to tobacco-based cigarettes; however, little is known about the long-term effects of exposure to E-cig vapor on vascular function. The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular consequences of chronic E-cig exposure. Female mice (C57BL/6 background strain) were randomly assigned to chronic daily exposure to E-cig vapor, standard (3R4F reference) cigarette smoke, or filtered air ( n = 15/group). Respective whole body exposures consisted of four 1-h-exposure time blocks, separated by 30-min intervals of fresh air breaks, resulting in intermittent daily exposure for a total of 4 h/day, 5 days/wk for 8 mo. Noninvasive ultrasonography was used to assess cardiac function and aortic arterial stiffness (AS), measured as pulse wave velocity, at three times points (before, during, and after chronic exposure). Upon completion of the 8-mo exposure, ex vivo wire tension myography and force transduction were used to measure changes in thoracic aortic tension in response to vasoactive-inducing compounds. AS increased 2.5- and 2.8-fold in E-cig- and 3R4F-exposed mice, respectively, compared with air-exposed control mice ( P < 0.05). The maximal aortic relaxation to methacholine was 24% and 33% lower in E-cig- and 3R4F-exposed mice, respectively, than in controls ( P < 0.05). No differences were noted in sodium nitroprusside dilation between the groups. 3R4F exposure altered cardiac function by reducing fractional shortening and ejection fraction after 8 mo ( P < 0.05). A similar, although not statistically significant, tendency was also observed with E-cig exposure ( P < 0.10). Histological and respiratory function data support emphysema-associated changes in 3R4F-exposed, but not E-cig-exposed, mice. Chronic exposure to E-cig vapor accelerates AS, significantly impairs aortic endothelial function, and may lead to impaired cardiac function. The clinical implication from this study is that chronic use of E-cigs, even at relatively low exposure levels, induces cardiovascular dysfunction.
INTRODUCTION
Smoking is the most prevalent source of preventable mortality in modern history and accounts for one of every five deaths in the United States each year (2, 11). Electronic cigarettes (E-cigs), which are also known as electronic nicotine delivery devices, are advertised as a “safe” alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes (45, 55). Proponents for E-cigs suggest that these devices should be considered a harm-reduction device to assist with smoking cessation (33, 46, 56), in part due to tobacco industry-sponsored animal studies that have concluded that E-cigs have no adverse effects on pulmonary structure and function (34, 54). However, meta-analysis and systemic reviews collectively state that there is limited robust evidence of the impact of the E-cigs on tobacco smoking cessation (18) and that there is even evidence to suggest that E-cigs may negatively impact smoking cessation (32). Accordingly, the value of E-cigs for smoking cessation remains controversial, particularly as it relates to nicotine dependence/addiction. Importantly, there is also considerable concern about the overall health consequences related to short- and long-term E-cig use.
Counter to the notion that E-cigs are safe is the recognition that E-cig vapor contains chemicals, such as nicotine, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and acetone, as well as other compounds, that are known to have deleterious health effects in humans (4, 30, 35, 60). Indeed, in vitro studies have found that E-cigs are cytotoxic to epithelial cells (59, 74), increase oxidative stress in the lung (59), and likely suppress host defenses and promote the virulence of colonizing bacteria (28, 73). Animal studies are also finding evidence of oxidative stress in the lung following short-term daily exposure (i.e., 3–14 days) to E-cigs (41, 62). Studies of the acute effects of E-cig vapor in humans show increases in airway resistance (65) and diastolic blood pressure (17), greater sympathetic activity (50), higher oxidative stress (10, 50), acute increases in aortic arterial stiffness (AS) (68), and impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD, a measure of arterial health and function) (10). The changes in AS and FMD are consistent with the development of premature or accelerated cardiovascular disease (CVD). While there is growing evidence of the long-term pulmonary toxicity related to E-cigs [see recent review (16)], to our knowledge there are no interventional studies that have reported on the long-term effects of E-cig exposure on cardiac and vascular function. Although observational studies (up to 24 mo) have reported few cardiovascular events in E-cig users (9, 19, 44), it is too early to know the consequences of decades of E-cig use in terms of human cardiovascular health. This issue is particularly important, as the most recent US Surgeon General report states that E-cigs have replaced all other forms of smoking or tobacco products to become the leading product used by 12- to 17-yr-old youths and that use of E-cigs among individuals in this age group increased 900% between 2011 and 2015 (1). While animal smoking models can be controversial (38), they have proven useful and broadly reflect the functional cardiopulmonary and vascular outcomes observed in humans (22, 71, 72). Given the rapid increase in popularity of E-cigs among young adults, and particularly in youth, it is critical to investigate and understand the long-term health consequences associated with habitual E-cig use before these devices are deemed safe. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the cardiovascular effects following 8 mo of chronic E-cig exposure in young mice as they advance to middle age to gain insight into the long-term consequences and potential progression of CVD that humans might face after decades of E-cig use.
We hypothesized that if E-cigs are safe, we would not observe cardiovascular dysfunction in mice chronically exposed to E-cig vapor for 8 mo. Based on the life span of the mouse (~2 yr), an 8-mo exposure paradigm represents ~33% of the animal’s life, which in human terms would equate to chronic exposure for a period of ∼25 yr (assuming an average life expectancy of 78 yr). Since E-cigs were only first introduced in the United States in 2006–2007, the earliest possible time frame to study this level of exposure in humans would theoretically be ~2032 (assuming sufficient numbers of reliable early adopters from 2007 could be recruited and studied). Rather, it is more likely that it will be many decades (perhaps closer to 2050 or beyond) before a large enough study population of humans can be recruited to robustly determine the long-term impact of daily E-cig use on cardiovascular health.
METHODS
Study design.
For this environmentally controlled animal study, 10-wk-old female C57BL/6J mice (n = 45) were purchased (stock no. 000664, Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME) and randomly assigned (n = 15/group) to chronic exposure to 1) E-cig vapor (cappuccino-flavored, 18 mg/ml nicotine), 2) 3R4F reference cigarette smoke, or 3) filtered air. Mice were allowed 1 wk to adapt to the new vivarium before baseline testing (see below) and randomization to one of the three treatment groups. The starting age at exposure (~13–14 wk old) followed by 8 mo of exposure (ending at ~12 mo of age) represents exposure beginning at adolescence and continuing into adulthood. In human terms, this equates to an individual starting to smoke at ~11 yr of age and continuing to smoke until 35 yr of age, or similar to middle school age through early adulthood (assuming a total life span of 2 yr for mice and 78 yr for humans).
Mice were group-housed (4–5 animals per cage with the same exposure group) in a temperature-controlled (22 ± 4°C, relative humidity 39 ± 6%) pathogen-free vivarium room and maintained on a 12:12-h light-dark cycle. Standard chow (Teklad diet; 18% fat, 24% protein, and 58% carbohydrates) and tap water were provided ad libitum. All procedures were approved by the West Virginia University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
Exposure.
Mice were exposed as single respective treatment groups (i.e., E-cig, 3R4F cigarette, or filtered air) at the same time (n = 15/group) in separate identical 15.1-liter whole body exposure chambers. E-cig vapor and tobacco smoke were gradually introduced during the first 8 wk, after which the mice were consistently exposed to four 1-h-exposure time blocks, with each exposure separated by 30-min intervals of fresh air breaks, resulting in an intermittent exposure pattern for a total exposure of 4 h/day (occurring over a 6-h window each day). The animals were subjected to this daily regimen for 5 days/wk for a total of 8 mo. Urine analysis for cotinine (cotinine ELISA, Calbiotech, El Cajon, CA) suggested that our daily exposure paradigm tended to produce higher nicotine exposure in 3R4F- than E-cig-exposed groups [47.4 ± 16.3 vs. 24.3 ± 0.6 (SD) ng/ml, P = 0.07]. Urine cotinine levels were undetectable in the air-exposed (control) group.
The E-cig device, a third-generation, tank-style device purchased online (e |
a daily basis. They have their own systems and equipment. Still others are modeling the characteristics of reservoirs. The list goes on. Each party optimizes information for their own needs, and all of the systems have evolved independently. And yet, much of the time they are dealing with the same information.
As an example of what we need, suppose that someone replaces a pump or reroutes some pipes. We need to propagate information about these changes into all these different systems, which is a time-consuming, manually intensive, and fragile process. Some sort of communication among systems is necessary on an ongoing basis. It is very important that it be done right. We would like to use the Semantic Web to help us do it right.
The integration can also help us learn more from the data we have. For instance, we might want to combine information about production scheduling and maintenance scheduling to optimize them simultaneously. If you want to do these things, the systems need to talk to each other, but, as I said, it is difficult.
IJ: What approaches can you take to address this?
RC: People use point-to-point solutions or big data warehouses, but neither approach scales gracefully. Point-to-point solutions become very complex and hard to maintain. Data warehouses create replication issues and tend to be fragile. So, the possibility of a smarter, more agile, more cost-effective way of dealing with integration would have a great deal of value to us. The Semantic Web is not guaranteed to be the solution, but it looks plausible and we’d like to see if it lives up to its promise in practice..
IJ: Earlier you said that you were successful with the technology but not sure you would deploy it. Why not?
RC: Quite simply, it’s hard. We are slowly learning how to apply it to our world. The big target — the thing that would make this investment in technology worthwhile — is integration. But to integrate things you need more than one thing to integrate! So if we start by building an ontology for equipment that attempts to exploit the expressivity and flexibility of OWL, then later we may be able to build another for maintenance and link them. It may be, in fact, that this stepwise approach has caused us to try to be more aggressive in using the advanced features of OWL than might be optimal for integration purposes – but I guess we’ll find out whether that’s the case as we proceed.
IJ: Has reuse of existing vocabularies proved valuable?
RC: Not in the project I’ve just described. We do think that using an “upper ontology” — one that defines very general concepts like units of measure or geographical concepts — to structure class relationships is probably a good way to go. But reuse has not been our primary motivation. Rather, it has been to integrate the information in our internal systems.
IJ: How does this work?
RC: I’m fond of telling people within Chevron who ask about Semantic Web technology anything you can do with the Semantic Web you can do with relational databases – if you’re willing to write enough code, which can lead to higher cost and complexity. In fact, we have demonstrated a case in which similar objectives were obtained in the context of an ontology with about fifteen lines of readily comprehensible rules and in a relational database context with over 1000 lines of pretty complex code. So in the equipment catalog project, there is a solution in a relational database, but it involves a bunch of obscure pointers in the tables and associated code. In that system we try to maintain some relationships of interest to us, but the system doesn’t handle all of them. It is not only incomplete, it would be complicated to make it complete. So we wanted to get the data out and do better. We wrote programs to generate OWL from schemas in our databases. The declarative techniques serve as a framework that lets us express the complex relationships in a way that is more maintainable and scalable. I think we’ve demonstrated that. The result is that we have reproduced our internal system in OWL, and the OWL version should be more maintainable and scalable, as well as more complete.
IJ: What have you learned from this project?
RC: One thing that intimidates us is OWL reasoning. It is very daunting to figure out how to gain the organizational capability to support a technology that is so difficult to understand and use effectively.
IJ: What makes it so challenging?
RC: For one, how reasoning works in the open world model. An innocent looking statement can cause unexpected results, and it can be challenging to understand why. We are also making extensive use of OWL restriction classes, which can be tricky.
IJ: Does participation in the Working Groups give you the opportunity to address some of these issues?
RC: To some extent it is relevant to us to have the opportunity to influence what gets standardized. Sharing use cases with working groups can also be valuable. I have contributed use cases and sample data directly to Working Groups in which I was participating. Doing so makes it more likely they will create something that works for us. Being aware of that activity may give Chevron a leg up, or may benefit our entire industry. For example, I contributed use cases and data to the Efficient XML (EXI) work.
However, the strongest motivator by far for W3C Membership is the experience, knowledge and flow of information through personal contacts. Participation leads to relationships with world-class experts in a wide variety of fields. The conversations at membership meetings and online discussions in which we freely express our opinions generates trust. I come back from these meetings with knowledge about industry direction and technology development. There are a lot of people in the W3C community who can help us learn about topics of interest not only related to the Semantic Web but also many other technologies. And this has enabled me to do a much better job of advising Chevron on these technologies — where we should play a leadership role and why, and possible solutions to specific problems. We also learn from observing the W3C process. This is an extensive consensus-based process that has both formal aspects and informal traditions. Chevron learns from observing how this consensus-driven organization does its business.
IJ: Are there other areas of W3C work you are watching?
RC: There’s a good deal of interest in Chevron in HTML5. Other hot tickets for us include mobile, social networking, cloud computing, and big data. We’re glad to see the standards work in these areas but don’t have a particular outcome in mind. For the cloud, security and policy are important. We want to avoid vendor lock-in of services. We want the protocols of cloud solutions to be standardized so that we can change suppliers if necessary.
IJ: What would you like to see W3C do differently?
RC: It is my perception that historically the W3C is much more concerned and knowledgeable about the public Web than in how Web technologies are used in corporate intranets. The enterprise environment is different in fundamental ways from the public Web. And the issues and concerns are not the same. For example, there is no anonymity and access control needs are different. In the Oil and Gas industry we also get into federation issues because there are a lot of joint ventures between highly controlled environments.. Certainly many of the W3C Members that market to companies like ours have a good understanding of those issues, but I think the W3C leadership should do more to understand that world.
W3C also needs to increase investment in authoring tools. It is a big issue for us if authoring tools create output that doesn’t conform to specifications, is not accessible, inefficient or hard to maintain. I would like to see more attention paid to authoring tools and testing to ensure they conform.
Lastly, most W3C Members are technology vendors, universities, and government agencies. Chevron, on the other hand, is an end user and I think we would all benefit if there were more Members like that in W3C. Just as we gain insight and information and benefit from participation, W3C can benefit from the insights and views of end user companies. I have been involved in the creation of W3C’s first Business Group, and I see those as another mechanism to help bring more end user companies into the W3C community.
IJ: Though you are retiring will you continue to participate?
RC: Perhaps! From a personal perspective, I have really valued the friendships and working relationships I have formed with people in W3C. It’s been a wonderful thing.
IJ: And we have loved having you. Thank you, Roger, and best wishes in your retirement!Police arrested a gang of five Hispanic suspects for the brutal murders of two teenagers whose bodies were found alongside a rural Colorado road, reports say.
On March 12, the bodies of Natalie Partida, 16, and Derek Greer, 15, were found on the shoulder of Old Pueblo Road near Fountain, Colorado, a town immediately south of Colorado Springs.
By March 24, five Hispanics, at least one with gang tattoos, were arrested for the murders.
The first arrest occurred on March 19 when the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Gustavo Marquez, 19, for the murders of the two Coronado High School students.
Gustavo, who has a long record of violence, was charged with kidnapping, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, and child abuse charges.
Days later, police also arrested Diego Chacon, 18, Joseph Arthur Rodriquez, 18, Marco Antonio Garcia-Bravo, 20, and Alexandra Marie Romero, 20, for the crime. All were booked on various charges such as kidnapping, robbery, and child abuse.
Police have still not released specific details of the condition of the murdered teens’ bodies or if either of the victims was sexually assaulted. There has also been no confirmation of the immigration status of the suspects.
“Since the investigation is still ongoing, I don’t want to give away some of the tactics we used, the investigative tools that assisted us, only because there still may be additional arrests forthcoming,” El Paso County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby told CBS Denver.
All five suspects are expected to appear in court next week.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation to allow the sale of a second Ohio prison.
House Bill 238, which cleared a final House vote, would put the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion on the auction block. Gov. John Kasich intends to sign the legislation, according to gubernatorial spokesman Rob Nichols.
The money from the sale will be spent on initiatives to develop alternatives to prison for convicts, according to state prisons agency spokeswoman JoEllen Smith.
North Central, a minimum-security prison opened in 1994, has been operated by a private company, Management and Training Corporation, since 2011. As of June 2014, the facility housed 2,718 inmates - 120 percent of capacity. The prison would be the second sold by the state in five years. The Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut was sold in 2011.
State Rep. Barbara Sears, the Toledo-area Republican co-sponsoring the bill, said authorization for the prison sale was sought by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.
"I think that it makes sense that if the state no longer needs to own property that we don't own it," Sears said.
But liberal critics said Ohio shouldn't repeat its decision to sell the Lake Erie facility, claiming privatization at that prison has led to overcrowding and more inmate violence.
"Privatizing state prisons is the wrong direction for Ohio," said state Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat, in a statement.
Mike Brickner, the ACLU of Ohio's senior policy director, also criticized the Senate for quietly moving the prison sale language into HB238 from another bill with "absolutely no public notice or debate."You might not have noticed, but the Houston Astros have a type — relief pitchers who can get batters to swing and miss at pitches. That sounds simple, because it is. Every team wants their bullpen stocked with swing-and-miss pitchers! Even if you have the best defense on the planet, nothing can beat the nice breeze sent toward the mound after a whiff. It is, as they say, the good stuff.
It is the stuff that the Houston Astros have done at an extraordinary rate in 2017. As a bullpen, the Astros have the highest swinging-strike rate (14.9 percent) since recording of that type of thing began. To this point in the season, they also have the highest bullpen strikeout rate (31.1 percent) in recorded history — and by a healthy margin. If you consider the MLB average strikeout rate for relievers, 23.2 percent, only one Astros reliever currently in the bullpen doesn’t reach this mark — Tony Sipp.
This isn’t surprising. Whiffs breed strikeouts, that part makes sense. The more you miss bats, the more likely you will be able to do it with two strikes. But consider this: That bullpen strikeout rate record they are currently beating? It is their own, a mark they set last season. They have been able to do this for two consecutive seasons, which sticks out to me as something that might allude to a larger trend. What have the Astros discovered in their bullpen that others have not? Let’s get a whiff of those, uh, whiffs — and their plate discipline data in general.
As you would expect of a team setting the record in cool breezes of air, the Astros bullpen is great at limiting contact. Its 70.3 percent mark last season and 67.5 percent mark this season represent the two lowest bullpen contact rates ever measured in professional baseball. But, like I said, you knew that. Whiffs = less contact. Whiffs are good. What stands out here is the remarkable rate at which Astros relievers have gotten hitters to whiff on pitches outside the strike zone this year:
Oh yeah, and over that span the Astros lead the majors in getting swings on pitches outside the strike zone (33.4 percent). The Astros this season have gotten swings outside the strike zone at a lower rate than last, but they have countered that by drawing even smaller amounts of contact. One thing is for certain: This is odd. For a team to excel at getting cuts that come up empty on pitches outside the zone as much as the Astros have, it points to something.
If you recall some work done by Eno Sarris, and another article written by Harry Pavlidis, sliders generate more swings and misses than any other pitch. The reason I brought that up is, well, the Astros are throwing a massive amount of sliders, and an absurdly low amount of fastballs. And it isn’t just happening in a vacuum — this has been something they have done more and more each year:
The MLB average usage rate for pitchers to this point in the season is 57 percent. Looking at Houston’s relievers who have thrown more than 10 innings this season and aren’t now a starter (looking at you, Brad Peacock), only one pitcher obtains a fastball usage rate over that mark — Michael Feliz (72.4 percent). Even Ken Giles, who joins Feliz in being the only other Astros reliever with above-MLB average heat, has devoted a higher percentage of his pitch usage to sliders than fastballs.
MLB-wide fastball usage for bullpens has fallen every year since 2012, despite a surge of pitch velocity in recent years. You would think hitters would struggle against higher velocity; however, Russell Carelton described a couple weeks ago why that might not be the case:
Consider the lament that started 10 years ago. Baseball was being over-run by pitchers, relievers especially, who threw really fast fastballs. Well, if you know that a lot of the pitchers whom you will be facing are going to be throwing heat, you might as well sit on the heat. You’re probably also going to be brought to the majors more quickly if you show some ability to hit that heat. This is not rocket science.
Russell is right. It isn’t rocket science! High velocity is abundant at nearly every level of the modern game. That isn’t to say it is useless, but the fact that it has (as Russell points out) been true for around a decade means hitters have had an apt amount of time to adjust. More abundant high-velocity pitchers at various levels of development — professional or otherwise — have also helped to normalize velocity alone.
That isn’t to say that fastballs are easier to hit. What it does appear to mean is that fastballs/hard pitches — particularly those with less movement — are not only what hitters are looking for, it appears to be what they are stubbornly sitting on. They feel more confident hitting a fastball than a wicked slider, changeup, curveball, etc., so that is what they will wait for.
George Springer will not be cheated The Astros center fielder leaves it all at the plate.
How do you counteract this? Throw more often a pitch the hitter does not want to hit. The Astros have figured this out. It isn’t a pitcher abandoning their fastball altogether, but it is a trend toward limiting the amount of fastballs a hitter sees each at-bat. I mentioned sliders getting a ton of whiffs earlier, but they aren’t the only offering coming from the relievers in the ‘Stros bullpen; Chris Devenski makes his money on that nice changeup. Clearly the overall theme here is less fastballs, more offspeed.
One problem you might think with this strategy is that you run the risk of walking a lot more people, as offspeed pitches can’t be thrown for strikes all the time. As I mentioned before, Astro relievers have gotten people to chase outside the strike zone five percent less than last season, which is partially to blame for an elevated walk rate (9.6 percent). If you live by getting people to chase outside the strike zone, you run the risk of dying by hitters not swinging. But…is that really a death at all?
In Carleton’s article, he also describes how hitters don’t care about striking out as much in modern baseball. This is because a strikeout is just one out. He mentions that with two outs or no one on, a strikeout is the same as any other out. And the argument that “balls in play move runners over” isn’t as true as you would think, because it works out that way only about 20 percent of the time. By striking out, hitters avoid double plays and don’t sacrifice power for contact.
We can apply that same reasoning to walks for pitchers, which function generally the same way. A free pass is the exact same thing as a single. The difference? By issuing ball four instead, pitchers don’t run the risk of surrendering extra-base hits or their defense making an error that moves the runner up. At the same time, consider the difference between a single with a runner on second base and a walk with a runner on second. The former will likely get the runner home, while the latter just cycles in another batter and sends to old one to first base.
There are plenty of other examples like this, but let’s consider what walks are at their heart — pitches outside the strike zone. With the assumption that offspeed pitches garner more swings outside the zone than fastballs, and more swings and misses overall, Astro relievers aren’t afraid to tempt hitters into chasing their excellent non-fastballs out of the zone. Eno Sarris talked about this subject in a piece he wrote earlier this month at FanGraphs. His premise was a question about what it would look like to see a pitcher whose usage consists of 80 percent offspeed stuff, and in the article he said this:
The average breaking pitch doesn’t land in the zone as much as the average fastball, no. But if you had a pitcher with multiple distinct breaking balls — and good command of those pitches — you might want to consider pushing that breaking-ball percentage as high as it can go, right?
That is exactly it, and what the Astros have done since the start of 2016. Consider current/former Houston relievers Peacock, Sipp, Kevin Chapman, or Pat Neshek. All saw or have seen dips in fastball usage post-2015, during their time spent in Houston, and a surge in slider usage. Look at Feliz, even though he has become essentially a 70/30 FB/SL usage guy. His slider is ridiculous, and I’ve written before about how often it generates whiffs. Giles is another fitting example of the new Astros philosophy, as he has become a majority-slider pitcher since his trade over from the Philadelphia Phillies just before the 2016 season. Despite his struggles this year, you can even toss in Luke Gregerson, who has always been a non-fastball heavy pitcher.
All those are good, but no better example of this ‘non-fastball’ philosophy comes to mind, however, than James Hoyt. He was, of course, part of the Evan Gattis deal in 2015. Hoyt, a former pitcher for a Division 3 school in Louisiana, was not a prospect. Grant Brisbee did a good profile on him, but he was essentially just a guy that struck out the world in the minor leagues.
Now, there isn’t really a way to tell if Hoyt threw his devastating slider as much in his time spent on the farm pre-Astros. What we do know is that it skyrocketed in Triple A in 2016 to around 44 percent, a rate about 10 percentage points higher than he ever had. Like I said, we’ll never know if his usage changed, but what we do know is that he is the prototypical pitcher for what the Astros are trying to do. His usage is about 40/60 in favor of offspeed pitches, with the overwhelming majority being sliders. He also owns an incredible 21.4 whiff rate on pitches outside the strike zone — an area where he sits most of the time and entices a swing at a rate well over the MLB average.
In one way, the Astros bullpen is a microcosm of a trend we’re seeing among all relievers. Fastballs are on the decline, and sliders are on the rise. Moving pitchers to the bullpen allows teams to highlight the best that pitcher has to offer. They can throw their best pitch a ton, as they can consolidate down to two or three offerings total and don’t have to worry about pitching to contact to avoid working up a high pitch count.
On the other hand, the Astros are taking it a step further. The effort they have made these past two seasons far surpasses the trend of MLB. From the outside, it appears that they are telling their relievers that it’s fine to pitch backward. That throwing fewer fastballs and more breaking pitches runs counter to what a lot of hitters are looking for today, and might be one of the reasons why their bullpen has one of the lowest swing-rates inside the strike zone in the majors. That walks aren’t that bad, especially for relievers, because if you stay close yet outside the strike zone you run less of a risk to give up hit and still maintain a strikeout potency. And that if you stick to attempting to get swings outside the strike zone, it is harder for hitters to get the extra base hits that would make you pay for all those walks, anyway. This isn’t relievers being wild and getting lucky. What we’re seeing is pitchers commanding their offspeed pitches while also not being afraid to pitch outside the strike zone, not fearing walks for the sake of contact. In a way, they’re being effectively wild.
Although, to this point, I’ve highlighted why the Astros might be trying to stray from enticing contact, that doesn’t mean they’ve done a poor job at limiting the damage done by it. I should point out that one in every four balls put in play this year has been what is considered soft contact, as measured by BIS. That’s the highest rate since 2011. Mike Petriello wrote a fantastic article the other day about this exact thing, and he really highlights how the Astros are even combining an incredible ability to miss bats with an ability to create weak contact.
The Astros are onto something here — the realization that pitchers don’t have to trade weak contact for whiffs. It’s much like the hitting revolution we have seen in recent years; hitters have noticed that power and contact can coexist, and pitchers have seen the same for whiffs and soft contact. For starting pitchers, the unfavorable factor into this is that you run the risk of a higher pitch count earlier in games. That is the reason, at least in my mind, that this works so well as a tactic for relief pitchers, who are less concerned about pitch counts.
With as much success as the Astros have had at keeping a consistently strong bullpen since (seemingly) employing this ‘non-fastball’ initiative in 2016, this could be something we see gain even more steam around the majors this offseason than we are now. Will it? Who knows. About all I know is that the Astros bullpen contains some of the most interesting pitches and intriguing pitchers in baseball, and its design appears to be well ahead of the curve.
BIS data from FanGraphs used for pitch types
All data as of Saturday, May 27
Shawn Brody is a contributor for Beyond the Box Score, producer of In Play, Pod(cast), and a pitcher recovering from Tommy John at Howard Payne University. He is a Junior double majoring in Business Management and Computer Information Systems. You can follow him on Twitter @ShawnBrody or email him at Shawnbrody9@gmail.comVERNAL — A Uintah County woman accused of using burning bacon to start a fire inside her ex-boyfriend's house was ordered to stand trial Wednesday on a number of charges including arson.
Cameo Adawn Crispi, 32, waived her right to a preliminary hearing during a court appearance that lasted less than three minutes. After accepting the waiver, 8th District Judge Clark McClellan bound Crispi over for trial charges of arson, burglary, assault by a prisoner, interfering with an arresting officer, electronic communication harassment and intoxication.
Crispi began repeatedly texting and calling her ex-boyfriend from his house on March 14, according to charging documents. The man, who was not at home, called Naples police to report the alleged harassment and told officers he did not want Crispi in his house.
The first officer to reach the house said Crispi was obviously impaired and there was smoke coming out the front door.
"I asked to come in and observed a wood stove left open with a fire burning inside and hot coals on the floor around the stove," the officer wrote, noting that he also found a pound of bacon sitting on a cookie sheet on top of the kitchen stove.
"I observed the burner to be on the setting 'High' and the bacon to be severely burned and smoking badly," the officer wrote.
The fire was extinguished and Crispi was arrested. She had to be taken to the hospital first for a medical clearance before being booked into jail. Her blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.346, the charges state, which is more than four times the legal limit for impairment in Utah.
"The doctor asked her about the fire … and she stated she was attempting to start a fire in the house to get back at (her ex-boyfriend)," the charges state.
Crispi, who was released from jail after posting bail, is due back in court Oct. 7.
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Related StoriesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday praised Australia for being “courageously willing to puncture UN hypocrisy” on anti-Israel resolutions.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull marked the Israeli leader’s first visit to Australia by writing an opinion piece in Wednesday’s The Australian newspaper that backed Netanyahu’s criticism in 2015 that the United Nations general assembly had adopted 20 resolutions critical of Israel in the preceding year and only one in response to the Syrian war.
“My government will not support one-sided resolutions criticizing Israel of the kind recently adopted by the UN security council and we deplore the boycott campaigns designed to delegitimize the Jewish state,” Turnbull wrote, referring to the December 23 resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.
The United States abstained from that vote and Australia, while not a member of the security council, was one of the few countries to publicly support Israel’s position.
Netanyahu said he was delighted to read the article at the start of his four-day Australian visit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second left) and his wife Sara (second right) walk with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy during their visit at Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday. ( AP Photo )
“Australia has been courageously willing to puncture UN hypocrisy more than once, including this absurd resolution that said the Western wall, the most sacred site for the Jewish people for thousands of years — thousands of years even before the rise of Islam — that this is occupied Palestinian territory,” Netanyahu told reporters.
“So the UN is capable of many absurdities and I think it’s important that you have straightforward and clear-eyed countries like Australia that often bring it back to Earth,” he said.
Turnbull reiterated his support for a two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian conflict and described Australia as a committed and consistent friend of Israel.
“I agree with you in that the circumstances of the times... do appear to create the opportunity where perhaps the moons aligning such that this could be a good time... for the parties to come back to the table and reach an agreement, but, of course, as with any agreement, it needs two to tango,” Turnbull told Netanyahu.
Netanyahu dismissed calls from critics of Israeli West bank settlements, including former Australian Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke, for Australia to formally recognize Palestine as a state.
“I ask both former prime ministers to ask a simple question: What kind of state will it be that they are advocating? A state that calls for Israel’s destruction? A state whose territory will be used immediately for radical Islam?” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu and Turnbull signed agreements on technology and air services as well as discussed expanding co-operation in areas, including cyber-security, innovation and science.
First Published: Feb 22, 2017 12:33 ISTThe story behind the high-end Xeon E7 has been an uninterrupted triumphal march for the past 5 years: Intel's most expensive Xeon beats Oracle servers - which cost a magnitude more - silly, and offers much better performance per watt/dollar than the massive IBM POWER servers. Each time a new generation of quad/octal socket Xeons is born, Intel increases the core count, RAS features, and performance per core while charging more for the top SKUs. Each time that price increases is justified, as the total cost of a similar RISC server is a factor more than an Xeon E7 server. From the Intel side, this new generation based upon the Haswell core is no different: more cores (18 vs 15), better RAS, slightly more performance per core and... higher prices.
However, before you close this tab of your browser, know that even this high-end market is getting (more) exciting. Yes, Intel is correct in that the market momentum is still very much in favor of themselves and thus x86.
No less than 98% of the server shipments have been "Intel inside". No less than 92-94% of the four socket and higher servers contain Intel Xeons. From the revenue side, the RISC based systems are still good for slightly less than 20% of the $49 Billion (per year) server market*. Oracle still commands about 4% (+/- $2 Billion), but has been in a steady decline. IBM's POWER based servers are good for about 12-15% (including mainframes) or $6-7 Billion depending on who you ask (*).
It is however not game over (yet?) for IBM. The big news of the past months is that IBM has sold its x86 server division to Lenovo. As a result, Big Blue finally throw its enormous weight behind the homegrown POWER chips. Instead of a confusing and half heartly "we will sell you x86 and Itanium too" message, we now get the "time to switch over to OpenPOWER" message. IBM spent $1 billion to encourage ISVs to port x86-linux applications to the Power Linux platform. IBM also opened up its hardware: since late 2013, the OpenPower Foundation has been growing quickly with Wistron (ODM), Tyan and Google building hardware on top of the Power chips. The OpenPOWER Foundation now has 113 members, and lots of OpenPower servers are being designed and build. Timothy Green of the Motley fool believes OpenPower will threaten Intel's server hegemony in the largest server market, China.
But enough of that. This is Anandtech, and here we quantify claims instead of just rambling about changing markets. What has Intel cooked up and how does it stack up to the competion? Let's find out.Of all the railways in London, I only recently became aware of a special railway and today took a trip along what is London’s only Funicular railway.
A what?
A Funicular Railway is a special railway that is designed to run up very steep slopes – such as cliffs or mountains.
London is not exactly well known for its mountainous terrain though, but nonetheless it does have space for a small funicular railway – and right in the heart of the City no less.
Thanks to a tip-off from Tom, Tired of London, I found out that this rather unique railway was installed as part of the millennium (aka, wobbly) bridge to help people get down to the riverside path if they are unable to use the stairs. Although I pass across the bridge quite a few times, it had never really occurred to me that an accessibility issue even existed as the bridge itself is entirely step-free, but evidently the builders decided the stairs next to it required some sort of mechanical option.
A lift would be the normal way of solving the problem, but here the lift would either need a long deep alley at the ground, or a much wider path at the top – so they came up with a sloping railway that also matches the slope of the stairs.
Frankly, as far as railways are concerned, this one is quite pathetic – and although some might argue that it is just an inclined elevator, it is formally classed as a funicular railway, and the only one in London.
Therefore I simply had to take a trip along it – for all of about 60 seconds.
Approaching the shiny steel and glass box at the top of the railway, you can’t help but notice the rather disfiguring warning sign that the carriage is limited to four people at a time. It has a habit of breaking down rather a lot, presumably due to being overloaded – but the signs could have been printed on something a bit more appropriate.
The train carriage was already at the top when I arrived, and once inside, unlike a normal train, here you select which “floor” you want, more like a lift. A bit confusing as the “floors” are marked as Floor 1 and Floor 2. Guessing that Floor 1 is the lower level proved correct, but maybe up/down arrows would have been clearer?
With a slight jerk, you are off on your trip along this very unique of London railways and a slow sedate trip takes you down the slope to the lower level.
And that’s it – a one minute trip along London’s only funicular railway.
Returning to the other end of the railway line by the more conventional means of the stairs, my antics and photography drew quizzical looks from a couple of bystanders.
“It’s a funicular railway. Might not look like much, but it’s the only one in London” I explained.
Indeed, it isn’t much, but it shares one very appealing aspect with the DLR – you can sit stand at the front in the “drivers seat”. That alone makes it worth the trip!
More photos over at my usual place.
A video by another traveller:Once, the name Graves encompassed the entirety of these two regions. It was easy to remember and apt, with its linguistic reference to the gravelly soil that underlies many of the best parts of Bordeaux west of the Garonne and in the Médoc to the north.
In the 19th century and up until World War II, Bordeaux produced more white wine than red. If it was not always of the highest quality, Graves at least was well known, and was particularly favored in England. In 1987, the large Graves appellation was divided. The northern part, which contained most of the best producers, was renamed Pessac-Léognan. What was gained in precision was lost in name recognition.
Image No. 2: Les Hauts de Smith Pessac-Léognan 2011 Credit Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
While red grapes thrive in the famous gravel beds, the best whites come from soils with components of clay and limestone as well. These particular soils are in short supply in Bordeaux. That’s one reason most producers of white Bordeaux, even those at the absolute pinnacle like Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion and Domaine de Chevalier, which can charge as much if not more for their whites as for their reds, make far more red than white.
Haut-Brion blanc and La Mission Haut-Brion blanc (formerly known as Laville Haut-Brion) were far beyond our budget, but they were nonetheless represented in our tasting. The two estates are both owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon, which makes a single second wine of plots that, for one reason or another, are not included in the top wines of each chateau. That wine, the 2010 La Clarté de Haut-Brion, just squeaked into the tasting at $99 but was our favorite, exhibiting quiet complexity, a beautiful texture and great depth.
The Clarté was 83 percent sémillon, an unusually high proportion for a dry white Bordeaux. By contrast, our No. 2 wine, the 2011 Les Hauts de Smith (the second wine of Smith-Haut-Lafitte), was 100 percent sauvignon blanc. Even if the aromas and flavors ran toward floral and pepper rather than lanolin and beeswax, it showed none of the grassy pungency we associate with sauvignon blanc. Instead it offered a richness and succulence that I believe reflects the terroir more than the grape.
The 2010 Château Olivier, our No. 3 bottle, was a blend of 75 percent sauvignon blanc, 23 percent sémillon and 2 percent muscadelle, which, along with sauvignon gris, is also permitted in white Bordeaux. This tightly wound wine showed excellent acidity along with aromas of citrus, flowers and herbs. No. 4 was the 2012 Château Villa Bel-Air from the southern part of Graves, an almost textbook example of a good white Bordeaux and our best value at $21.
Because Graves is considered less prestigious than Pessac-Léognan, the wines are generally less expensive. That doesn’t necessarily make them good values unless the quality is there, too. Another excellent Graves value, even though it wasn’t in our tasting, is Clos Floridene, which I |
9:10am GMT (GMT+00:00)
Group E: Creator.Prime, oGsSuperNova, IM_Happy, ST_July, SlayerSBoxeR, 2nd Seed spot***
*GAMANIA.Sen has forfeited. No player will be replacing him.
**EG.HuK was seeded.
***Player was unable to participate due to injury. GOM has said this spot will not be filled by someone else.
http://www.gomtv.net/forum/view.Gom?topicid=218589&cid=0&kind=8
*Crossfire SE is being removed from the map pool after the Up/downs.
Edit: There seems to be a lot of people bashing HuK saying things like "He doesnt deserve the seed" and "naniwa is better" It would be much appreciated if you could keep any player bashing out of this thread as this is about the up and down matches, not about whether or not players deserve their spots in a competition. Group E:Creator.Prime,oGsSuperNova,IM_Happy,ST_July,SlayerSBoxeR,*GAMANIA.Sen has forfeited. No player will be replacing him.**EG.HuK was seeded.***Player was unable to participate due to injury. GOM has said this spot will not be filled by someone else.*Crossfire SE is being removed from the map pool after the Up/downs.Edit: There seems to be a lot of people bashing HuK saying things like "He doesnt deserve the seed" and "naniwa is better" It would be much appreciated if you could keep any player bashing out of this thread as this is about the up and down matches, not about whether or not players deserve their spots in a competition.
vndods Profile Joined October 2011 United States 3743 Posts #2 That second seed better be for Polt.
Shellshock Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 94972 Posts Last Edited: 2012-03-07 07:42:47 #3 Sen forfeited. Grats to Huk on the seed. Good luck
Predictions
Group A: Keen, Squirtle
Group B: Leenock, Ganzi
Group C: Maru, sC
Group D: Lucky, Huk
Group E: Creator, Supernova
Sen forfeited. Grats to Huk on the seed. Good luckPredictionsGroup A: Keen, SquirtleGroup B: Leenock, GanziGroup C: Maru, sCGroup D: Lucky, HukGroup E: Creator, Supernova On March 07 2012 16:41 vndods wrote:
That second seed better be for Polt.
Polt deserves a code S seed imo, not an up and down seed Polt deserves a code S seed imo, not an up and down seed Moderator http://i.imgur.com/U4xwqmD.png
vndods Profile Joined October 2011 United States 3743 Posts #4 On March 07 2012 16:42 Shellshock1122 wrote:
Sen forfeited. Grats to Huk on the seed. Good luck
Predictions
Group A: Keen, Squirtle
Group B: Leenock, Ganzi
Group C: Maru, sC
Group D: Lucky, Huk
Group E: Creator, Supernova
Show nested quote +
On March 07 2012 16:41 vndods wrote:
That second seed better be for Polt.
Polt deserves a code S seed imo, not an up and down seed Sen forfeited. Grats to Huk on the seed. Good luckPredictionsGroup A: Keen, SquirtleGroup B: Leenock, GanziGroup C: Maru, sCGroup D: Lucky, HukGroup E: Creator, SupernovaPolt deserves a code S seed imo, not an up and down seed
Yeah, one or the other :/ Yeah, one or the other :/
brachester Profile Blog Joined March 2011 Australia 1755 Posts #5 wtf? foreigner forfeited their spot again? I hate all this singing
Lavit2099 Profile Joined November 2011 United States 370 Posts #6 Why has Sen forfeited? Did he do it himself or was his spot forfeited (sort of like Naniwa's Code S seed last season)? And which player was unable to participate due to injury? Was it MVPsC?
opterown Profile Blog Joined August 2011 Australia 42225 Posts #7 Hm, had hoped that Naniwa had gotten the second foreigner seed.
Maybe Nani and Polt are the Code S seeds?
Would be funny if Demuslim was supposed to get the second foreigner seed but forfeited due to injury hahah Moderator Retired LR Bonjwa
Shellshock Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 94972 Posts #8 On March 07 2012 16:44 lavit2099 wrote:
Why has Sen forfeited? Did he do it himself or was his spot forfeited (sort of like Naniwa's Code S seed last season)? And which player was unable to participate due to injury? Was it MVPsC?
sC is still listed. triple * for injury is listed as a seed. wasn't demuslim supposed to get a up and down seed? did he hurt himself again? sC is still listed. triple * for injury is listed as a seed. wasn't demuslim supposed to get a up and down seed? did he hurt himself again? Moderator http://i.imgur.com/U4xwqmD.png
BasilForSkin Profile Joined June 2011 United States 115 Posts #9 Polt will get a seed directly to Code S.
Gogo fOrGG/Fin!! sup
opterown Profile Blog Joined August 2011 Australia 42225 Posts #10 On March 07 2012 16:40 Namakaye wrote:
Edit: Apparently Virus is the injured player, I wonder what happened to him. T_T
Virus is still listed? Everyone from Code A last season is there. Virus is still listed? Everyone from Code A last season is there. Moderator Retired LR Bonjwa
Liquid`Zephyr Profile Blog Joined October 2006 United States 960 Posts #11 boxer and july put the unlikely group e hurt on one time plz Team Liquid PoorUser
Lavit2099 Profile Joined November 2011 United States 370 Posts #12 On March 07 2012 16:44 Shellshock1122 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 07 2012 16:44 lavit2099 wrote:
Why has Sen forfeited? Did he do it himself or was his spot forfeited (sort of like Naniwa's Code S seed last season)? And which player was unable to participate due to injury? Was it MVPsC?
sC is still listed. triple * for injury is listed as a seed. wasn't demuslim supposed to get a up and down seed? did he hurt himself again? sC is still listed. triple * for injury is listed as a seed. wasn't demuslim supposed to get a up and down seed? did he hurt himself again?
I should read everything before I react >.>....
And as far as I know, watching Demuslim's stream whenever its up, he doesn't appear hurt*. But I think this was supposed to be his "up and down" season but he was supposed to be in Korea first for that. Hmm, knowing that, maybe it was his spot afterall.
*That said, Abbe did bump his arm with a chair and he told her to be careful, so maybe it is acting up? I should read everything before I react >.>....And as far as I know, watching Demuslim's stream whenever its up, he doesn't appear hurt*. But I think this was supposed to be his "up and down" season but he was supposed to be in Korea first for that. Hmm, knowing that, maybe it was his spot afterall.*That said, Abbe did bump his arm with a chair and he told her to be careful, so maybe it is acting up?
johnnywup Profile Blog Joined August 2010 United States 3527 Posts #13 On March 07 2012 16:47 Liquid`Zephyr wrote:
boxer and july put the unlikely group e hurt on one time plz
just noticed that. wow,.. just noticed that. wow,..
Frogsox Profile Joined July 2011 Australia 272 Posts #14 I'm guessing that the burden of travelling to and from Korea for a single match/day is too much for Sen and his team to bear. I can understand the choice.
Tppz! Profile Joined October 2010 Germany 1426 Posts Last Edited: 2012-03-07 07:57:49 #15 the injured one is TeriousPrime.
Shellshock Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 94972 Posts #16 On March 07 2012 16:56 Tppz! wrote:
the injured one is TeriousPrime
What happened? What happened? Moderator http://i.imgur.com/U4xwqmD.png
RPR_Tempest Profile Blog Joined February 2011 Australia 7627 Posts #17 On March 07 2012 16:56 Tppz! wrote:
the injured one is TeriousPrime
No, he's there. He's known as Bumblebee. No, he's there. He's known as Bumblebee. Soundwave, Zerg player from Canberra, Australia. @SoundwaveSC
opterown Profile Blog Joined August 2011 Australia 42225 Posts #18 On March 07 2012 16:56 Tppz! wrote:
the injured one is TeriousPrime.
He's still here, as bumblebee.
The injured player was a foreigner seed, pretty sure He's still here, as bumblebee.The injured player was a foreigner seed, pretty sure Moderator Retired LR Bonjwa
Tppz! Profile Joined October 2010 Germany 1426 Posts Last Edited: 2012-03-07 07:59:49 #19 Oh man those renames -.- I checked every one who should be participating and he was the one that wasnt found by me. But of course it was a rename. Sorry guys
WEll then it has to be an injured foreigner
Inflicted Profile Blog Joined January 2011 Australia 14846 Posts #20 On March 07 2012 16:58 opterown wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 07 2012 16:56 Tppz! wrote:
the injured one is TeriousPrime.
He's still here, as bumblebee.
The injured player was a foreigner seed, pretty sure He's still here, as bumblebee.The injured player was a foreigner seed, pretty sure
Yep, it even says it was the second seed... Yep, it even says it was the second seed... Liquipedia "Expert"
1 2 3 4 5 16 17 18 Next AllEthiopian soldiers with AKM rifles. The Kalashnikov is perhaps the quintessential assault rifle of the 20th Century, being produced in great numbers and able to be used in almost any role. Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Quick: What’s the definition of “assault rifle”? I’ll give you a moment to think about it.
Now, a good definition for “assault rifle” in my opinion comes from Anthony G. Williams, a British author, ammunition collector, and military theorist, and it reads like so:
A standard military rifle, capable of controlled, fully-automatic fire from the shoulder, with an effective range of at least 300 metres.
Williams has his own discussion of the meaning behind it, which you can read here, but I want to take a moment unpack this definition, and to provide my own corollary to it which I hope will add additional context. My aim in writing this is to provide a baseline understanding of what exactly a modern assault rifle is, and what its roles are (note the plural) in the modern infantry paradigm.
Now that I’ve said that, I already need to undermine it, just a little. Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, there has been some modest ambiguity added to exactly what a standard infantry weapon is expected to do. Therefore, the discussion today will only address the paradigm as established in the period from 1945-2000, and not tackle the wider issue of how the role of the infantry rifle might be changing for the 21st Century.
This is a good springboard for the rest of the discussion, because the story of the modern assault rifle really begins with the planning that began by the Allies at the conclusion of the Second World War. Although the assault rifle saw its prime time combat debut in that war, it was at the time just one type of weapon among many different, specialized types filling one or two roles each. While the Germans did consider and eventually embrace the idea of fielding MP.44 assault rifles as general issue weapons, the war was already effectively lost for them before it could be meaningfully implemented beyond some field trials of “MP platoons”. By the end of the war, the Germans had brought the assault rifle idea into the spotlight, but it was now up to the Allies to fully realize its potential.
Like the first, the second World War brought with it a tremendous advancement in weapons technology which threatened once again to out-pace the tactics and organization of the armies of the world. In particular, Allied armies found themselves troubled by a broad spread of specialized infantry weapons, each suited to a particular necessary task. This variety of weapons, besides complicating logistics, created a training bottleneck as troops could only be trained so quickly and thoroughly in the myriad of different weapons demanded by modern warfare. Training could cover all of the weapons very superficially, or only a few of them very thoroughly, not both. A 1948 report from Fabrique Nationale on the state of infantry weapons at the time, which can be found in part on page 24 of R. Blake Stevens’ UK and Commonwealth FALs (part two of the FAL series, and included in The FAL Rifle Classic Edition), states the problem thus:
Examining the armament of the infantry during the second World War, there is one outstanding fact – the number of different weapons which the unfortunate infantryman had to master. What were these weapons? The revolver for close quarter use, the machine carbine for street fighting and raids, the rifle for field work and the light machine gun for longer ranges and sustained fire power. The infantryman might also have to learn to use an automatic rifle, a sniper’s rifle, medium and heavy machine guns in ground and anti-aircraft roles. His spare time could be spent learning to handle anti-tank weapons, mortars, grenades, and grenade throwers. Regarded for generations as inferior in technical ability and only of use with a rifle and bayonet, the infantryman was suddenly faced with the need to master a greater variety of weapons than any other branch in the Army. Could they be mastered by conscripts and men hurriedly trained in war time? The answer is certainly “no” despite a multiplicity of schools and instructors. The short time available before they must be sent into the battle line precludes anything but a superficial knowledge being acquired.
Since the 19th Century, the arms used by the infantry expanded dramatically as their tasks grew from simple marching and riflery to anti-tank, anti-pillbox, anti-trench, anti-aircraft, and numerous other duties. Some kind of solution was needed, and if it started with the weapons most integral to the infantryman, all the better. Many (though not all) planners at the time felt that the assault rifle idea was the perfect fit, as it could replace several of these weapons: The rifle, machine carbine (a British term for for the submachine gun), light machine gun, and in some cases the sniper rifle (designated marksman rifle). One change that had occurred over the previous 50 years that would help facilitate this simplification was the reduced effective range expected of the infantry. The FN report continues:
Modern military thought still demands that the infantry shall be able to develop a large volume of fire. There is, however, one important change in today’s ideas – the ranges at which the infantry is expected to engage the enemy effectively have been much reduced. No longer is the rifleman expected to shoot accurately at 600 meters, 300 meters is now his firing range, no longer are light machine guns expected to take on targets at 1,000 meters or more. In these shortened ranges of 300 meters for the rifle and 600 meters for the light machine gun lies the hope of being able to replace two or more of the existing infantry weapons. There is one very important proviso – that a suitable cartridge be available or can be designed. The pistol type cartridges of the revolver and machine carbine are unsuitable for ranges above 100 meters, owing to their low muzzle velocity and poor accuracy beyond this range. The Rifle cartridge is too powerful and ranges too far though giving good accuracy and a flat trajectory – bot important considerations. There is a middle course between these two extremes. The Germans towards the end of the war had achieved something that was very close to being the right answer, if not the answer. By cutting down their 7.92 rifle cartridge and fitting a lighter bullet they produced a short light round, which combined with a new weapon, gave their infantry a vastly increased ability to develop a large volume of fire for a much smaller man load. This question of ammunition is discussed later, but assuming the possibility of such a cartridge what is the effect on the weapons of the infantry? A weapon can be designed round such a cartridge that will effectively replace the machine carbine and the magazine rifle, and render unnecessary the equipment of the platoons with light machine guns and/or automatic rifles. This still leaves the sniper’s rifle and revolver as infantry weapons. Both, though of minor importance, will still be needed, the sniper’s rifle for special targets and the revolver, or preferably the automatic pistol, for the use of personnel in back areas.
Here we see the origin of the post-war assault rifle in a need to streamline and simplify the Allied war machine according to the demands of then-modern wars of economy. Reducing the training burden on the soldier and at the same time the logistical burden of the army was seen as key to being able to wage this sort of conflict in the future. Note that the volume of fire added by universal issuance of automatic weapons gets only a mention in this segment of the analysis. Later, the document does address this matter:
In the light machine gun role it must be able to fire single shots and short bursts with reasonable accuracy up to 600 meters. Fitted with a bipod which can be carried in the pocket when not required, this standard of accuracy can be attained especially if a longer barrel is fitted. But in this role it should be capable of sustained fire. In this respect there is no question that it will do this as effectively as the modern light machine gun. If however the fire power of the platoon is considered then comparison is possible. The fire power of a platoon of 30 men is about 6-800 rounds per minute using its two light machine guns and rifles. A platoon armed entirely with the new weapons can develop under the same conditions a rate of 3-4,000 rounds per minute. This can be only for a short time, but if only one third of the weapons are firing then the effective fire power is roughly the same as the platoon with its two light machine guns and rifles. Thus by careful fire control, sustained fire can be maintained for some minutes without serious heating effects.” It has already been stated that such a weapon cannot in sustained fire test approach the standard of the modern light machine gun. It can however be claimed that within the limits of the ammunition available in the infantry unit these new weapons can maintain the fire power of the platoon until such ammunition is exhausted. A higher performance is unnecessary.
It seems then that the primary benefit of the assault rifle in the eyes of this report’s author was not greater firepower for the infantry, but standardization, logistics, and ease of training. I don’t point this out to suggest that the firepower advantage of infantry armed almost solely with automatic weapons went completely unrecognized, but rather that the logistical and training problems faced at the time were considered so central that a discussion of assault rifles during the period could almost completely neglect the subject of firepower!
So how does this context change our picture of the assault rifle? The first thing it should do is banish any individualistic perspectives about the concept that we may hold. Questions like “which weapon would you rather take into combat?” go wide and miss the true reason for the assault rifle’s ascendancy after 1945. It is clear that for the planners of the post-war era, that concern took a back seat to the more pressing matters of arming as many men as possible for the next unrestrained economic total war. From their perspective, what was needed was a jack of all trades weapon that could be made as cheaply and quickly as possible, and which – by its universal nature – would likewise allow troops to be trained in a manner much more expeditious than before. Note that even the famously anti-assault rifle American planners recognized the same issue, and they attempted to develop a full power weapon which could accomplish the same thing, resulting in the troubled M14. Indeed, it’s not an exaggeration to say that after World War II, the most pressing issue facing small arms planners was not one of firepower, but of standardization.
Where does this leave us in refining our definition of the assault rifle itself? I think it helps clarify exactly what an assault rifle is to define what it does in the context of the World War II small arms infantry paradigm. Let’s break down the jobs performed by different infantry weapons during that period*:
Infantry Rifle (IR)
A weapon designed to be used by an individual soldier, that is capable of aimed, precise fire out to his maximum effective range.
Submachine Gun (SMG)
A weapon designed to be used by an individual soldier, that is capable of mobile, controlled fully automatic fire against close targets.
Automatic Rifle/Light Machine Gun (LMG)
A weapon designed to be carried, deployed, and used by an individual soldier, but often supported by others (e.g., ammunition bearers), that is capable of static automatic fire out to medium ranges beyond that of the Infantry Rifle.
Sniper/Marksman Rifle (DMR)**
A weapon designed to be used by an individual soldier, that is capable of aimed, precise fire to a greater degree than that of the Infantry Rifle, and which often enables the user to identify and attack targets out to further distances than that of the Infantry Rifle.
Echelon Weapon (PDW)
A weapon designed to be used by a rear line soldier or vehicle crewman, that is easier to use and capable of greater precision than a pistol, but which is lighter and often more compact than the Infantry Rifle.
*To avoid confusion, I should note that these are not definitions of the weapons themselves, but rather descriptions of the roles those weapons would perform.
**The modern incarnation of the designated marksman’s rifle concept was in its very infancy during World War II.
For the US Army in World War II, each of these roles would have been performed by a different weapon. The IR role would have been filled by the M1 Garand, the SMG by either the M1 Thompson or M3 Grease Gun, the AR/LMG by the M1918 BAR. The DMR concept had not yet been adopted by the US, but sniper weapons like the M1903A4 and M1D performed similar tasks, albeit at higher levels of organization than the squad. The US Army’s PDW duties were shared by handguns, submachine guns, and by the purpose-built M1 and M2 Carbines.
With the advent of the American assault rifle in the form of the M16, the weapons composition of the US Army could be dramatically simplified. By the early 1970s, the M16A1 had been adopted as the standard rifle for all US Army forces, replacing the M14. With this, the Army finally had a weapon which could perform all of the above roles. It was accurate and powerful enough to be an IR, was controllable enough on fully automatic to fill the shoes of the SMG, made a passable automatic rifle when fitted with a bipod, and sported provisions for optics allowing it to serve as a marksman’s rifle. Carbine versions of the M16 even filled the PDW role, although it wouldn’t be until the M4 Carbine that a true Army-wide M16-derived carbine was adopted.
It goes yet unsaid that this degree of standardization simply wouldn’t be possible with an assault rifle that was too expensive to produce in industrial quantities. In this way, the World War II submachine gun was more the parent of the assault rifle than the semiautomatic rifle, as expedient and scalable production techniques like stamping became an essential feature in virtually all post-war assault rifle designs. Although the wartime German MP.44 was not successfully implemented as a universal weapon, it too embodied this philosophy, being made of low-alloy stamped steel, and actually costing less per unit to make than the old Kar.98k bolt action rifles. In this way more than any other, the MP.44 was a milestone in assault rifle history, it being probably the first assault rifle type weapon to be production engineered in this way.
This gives us a very clear picture of what the modern assault rifle truly is, and what it’s expected to do. The assault rifle is not just a convenient handheld automatic weapon with an effective range of about three football fields, but a weapon paradigm built around the needs of large-scale industrial warfare. It is functionally more like a mass-produced “all purpose submachine gun” than it is the traditional gravelbelly’s rifle, a sort of Model T of the automatic weapon world. In the decades since the end of World War II, the assault rifle has not completely crowded out other ideas (most notably, the dedicated full-caliber designated marksman rifle, and the belt-fed squad automatic weapon in the West), but its universality has been its defining trait. Unlike its specialist predecessors, the assault rifle is a generalist that can fill almost any individual weapon niche well.Committed to the Government’s Digital initiatives announced by Hon.ble PM, BSNL has decided to upgrade Broadband speed to minimum 2 Mbps at no additional cost for all the Broadband customers on PAN-India Basis from 1st October 2015. This is another major service offering from BSNL for the benefits of customers in continuation to offering free night calling from BSNL landline to all operator network from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM and free incoming roaming services for its mobile customers. BSNL is also offering 1Gb free E-Mail box to their customers from 50 Mb mail box.
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Hon’ble MOC &IT, GOI announced this today here at Gurgaon in a function organized by BSNL. The function was graced by Shri Rao Inderjeet Singh Hon’ble MOS for Planning & MOS for Defence (Independent charge) GOI. Shri Anupam Srivastav CMD BSNL, Shri N K Gupta Director (CFA), Smt Sujata Ray Director (HR) BSNL Board and Shri R C Arya CGM Haryana circle were also present on the occasion.
The speed up-gradation will benefit all the existing and new Broadband customers of BSNL. Under this scheme, BSNL is upgrading the speed of existing Broadband plans of 512 Kbps & 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps speed. With this upgradation, BSNL customers can access / surf the internet including social network websites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. at high speed.
BSNL is the first service provider to provide the Broadband Access to the country. BSNL launched the Broadband services over its landline in India in 2005 with speed of 256kbps and above over the state of art Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based IP infrastructure in urban as well as Rural areas.
BSNL since then is constantly working for increasing the broadband speed for the enhanced experience of customer in urban as well as rural areas as envisaged in New Telecom Policy 2012.. Now, BSNL offers Broadband services with various plans ranging from 2 mbps to 100 mbps speed using ADSL/VDSL and fiber based GPON technology in a very affordable price range. BSNL is currently having around 10 Mn Broadband customers including about 1.1 Mn. Rural customers.
This up-gradation shall enhance customer experience while surfing on internet and enjoying live video streaming by all customers even in the low price range. This scheme is expected to attract new customers for subscribing BSNL Broadband customers in an affordable manner.
BSNL is one of the largest Telecom Service providers in India. BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country & focusing on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom services with ICT applications. BSNL is having more than 77 Million Mobile customers, more than 16 million wired line telephone connections and around 10 million wired Broadband connections.
For further information, customers can access the BSNL Customer Care Service through Toll free number 1500 (from BSNL number) & 1800 345 1500 (from other operator number) or visit the BSNL website www.bsnl.co.in.
NNK/MDRichard Seymour has missed the last 7 games with a hamstring injury and the Raiders finally put him on IR. His contract will be up at the end of this season where he will then become an unrestricted free agent.
Seymour came to the Raiders in 2008 at the height of the Dark Days. He helped lead this team back to respectability in his four years here, even if they have regressed again this season.
If this is indeed the end of Richard Seymour's tenure in Oakland he will finish with 139 combined tackles, 18.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovered as a Raider. He also will have provided many Raiders fans with the unforgettable image of him laying out Ben Roethlisberger.
Seymour was going to be under contract for next year but he failed to meet achievements required of him. His failure to meet the contract requirements will result in his contract being voided.
It is valid to wonder if he will ever play again, but even if he does it probably won't be in the Silver and Black. His roster spot has yet to be designated elsewhere but it likely will be somebody from the practice squad being promoted.Browse > Home Green Buys / Go Green With Rechargeable Batteries
Go Green With Rechargeable Batteries
Most electronics use some sort of battery such as standard alkaline batteries. While these batteries appear to be cheap, they really aren’t in the long run. Some electronics drain the batteries quicker than others (especially the high powered gadgets we have in this day and age) and depending on the quality of the battery, some will be sucked dry quicker than you can say “crap”. This means that you’ll probably have to be buying batteries again within a short period of time. Not only does this add up in your wallet, these batteries will only pile up in some sort of landfill later on, which when you think about the billions of batteries leaking acid into the ground, that can’t be good for the Earth. Regular batteries are for one use only and once the energy has been drained out, it’s time to throw them out and get new ones. This is definitely not environmentally friendly, and certainly not “green”.
Luckily there is a very economical and eco-friendly solution to this. By using rechargeable batteries you not only save money, but the environment as well! They are also not as expensive as you think. For less than 30 dollars you can probably pick up a set of rechargeable batteries along with the charger. This is a small investment as most of these batteries can be recharged about 1000 times.
I have personally not recharged a thousand times, but I have at least recharged mine 100 times and so far no problems. Keep in mind that after so many charges, the battery’s life span will begin to shorten, which is to be expected. But this obviously only occurs in the later stages. When compared to regular batteries, the life span is much, much longer.
I’ve been using rechargeable batteries for some time now and have saved a great deal of money. When my calculator, remote control, and game controller batteries run out I simply pop in a charged set of batteries that are waiting for me on the charger. It’s a shame that not everyone uses rechargeable batteries, as it’s estimated that if everyone did so, it would prevent approximately 3 billion single use batteries from going to the landfill every year, which if you really think about it – is quite a few batteries. According to statistics, the average household can save up to $200 by using rechargeable batteries. So next time you’re thinking about getting a pack of Energizers or Duracells to use in your $300 remote, think twice about it and instead get some batteries that you can use over and over again. Not only will you be doing your part to go green, but you’ll feel darn good about it too!Even after the phenomenal worldwide success of Kanye West, in recent years Chicago hip-hop took a back seat to the sounds coming from the left and right coasts, as well as the Dirty South. You know the knock: The Windy City is the home of backpackers, granola-eating hippies and feel-good rappers like Common, Rhymefest, Lupe Fiasco, the Cool Kids, Kid Sister and Psalm One who, even if skeptics begrudgingly granted their skills, just weren’t “real hip-hop.”
That idiotic slight comes, of course, from the fact that if any one thing ever has characterized the diverse group of musically inventive Chicago-bred rappers who’ve grabbed the national spotlight in the past, it’s been the refusal to exclusively pander to gangsta stereotypes, the same old nihilistic celebrations of hopelessness, sexism and violence, instead collectively painting a much more nuanced, often more positive and ultimately more realistic portrait of the lives of the majority of young African-American men and women.
In the hip-hop underground, the rise of the troubled teenage rapper Chief Keef and so-called Chicago “drill music,” with its celebration of all those tired but still lucrative gangsta clichés, has been the major story of 2012. And thanks to Keef’s repellant shenanigans—from the use of a weapon in a run-in with police that first gave him bad-boy bragging rights to his now-infamous Tweet about the shooting of rival Lil Jojo—the “new Chicago hip-hop” is becoming a topic for the national mainstream media, with stories running side by side with coverage of the city’s increasing gang problems and skyrocketing murder rate.
And let’s not even go near the more exploitative end of things, including Pitchfork taking Keef to a gun range for a video shoot and then pulling the clip from the site once things got a little too controversial and too real.
Disappointingly, West has given Keef’s soulless rap his endorsement by including a remix of the 17-year-old’s “I Don’t Like” on Cruel Summer, the new and largely underwhelming compilation album from his G.O.O.D. Music crew. Not that Keef is signed to ’Ye’s label: He’s inked a multi-million-dollar deal with Interscope for his forthcoming major-label debut. As the man behind Dr. Dre, Marilyn Manson, 50 Cent and Eminem, and a tireless champion of cheap shock and desperately offensive schlock, we expect Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine to be a Keef fan. But we expected better from West.
In recent days, other established Chicago stars have reacted differently to Keef’s rise. Common, who also appears on Cruel Summer, has called for a summit between the old-school rappers and Keef and the new breed. “I feel like we just gotta sit ‘em down and build with them,” Common told BET. “Talk to them, get some type of peace thing going. It’s bigger than rap. Kids is dying. I would tell Keef and all of them cats, 'Man we gotta sit down and figure out how we’re gonna get to a peace meeting.’”
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Meanwhile, even as he’s dropping his fourth studio album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, Lupe Fiasco is saying he’s considering quitting rap, largely because the success of artists such as Chief Keef disgusts him. The two rappers fought it out on Twitter after Lupe said the following in a radio interview: “Chief Keef scares me. Not him specifically, but just the culture that he represents… The murder rate in Chicago is skyrocketing, and you see who’s doing it and perpetrating it—they all look like Chief Keef.”
Fired back the ever-eloquent Keef: “Lupe fiasco a hoe ass n---a And wen I see him I’ma smack him like da lil bitch he is.”
Will empty nihilistic drill music come to represent the new sound of Chicago for the world, flipping the script on what Keef’s predecessors have built up as the city’s hip-hop legacy? Is it part of the problem on the streets, or a symptom? And what are its merits and demerits on a purely musical level?
These are complicated questions that this blogger only is beginning to wrap his head around. Meanwhile, the most cogent and insightful conversation on the topic that I’ve encountered to date was posted yesterday by the invaluable music-news aggregate The Daily Swarm (which has its roots in Chicago). The latest installment of the site’s “Rational Conversation” series, editor Eric Ducker talks Keef and drill music with Andrew Barber of the Chicago hip-hop website Fake Shore Drive. Among his comments:
The scene still has its supporters and stars. It’s by no means dead, and there is more to Chicago than just the “drill scene.” That’s what bothers me the most about the coverage Chicago is getting right now. All anyone wants to talk about is Chief Keef, but there are a ton of other artists here whose content is completely different. Artists like Rockie Fresh, YP, Spenzo, Chance the Rapper, Sir Michael Rock, and Kids These Days are incredible talents and deserve the same recognition. Around ten artists and producers from Chicago were |
music. I wouldn’t be surprised if, before long, stars across other buzzworthy channels that lend themselves well to cults of personality – TV, movies, even blogging – have their own co-branded products. Even in a creativity-driven industry like sneakers, an authentic license on design can easily take a backseat to the pure merchandising potential of a developed channel. That GREATS “podcast” shoe? One of the company’s fastest-selling, ever.
On the other hand, in channels that already have a reputation as aligned with sneakers (music, designer fashion, etc.), I’d be equally unsurprised if co-branded sneakers became just another component of the merch table. Imagine lining up after next year’s OVO Fest to buy a special colorway of the XO Parallel, available that night only. Or for that matter, lining up after a Gucci show. A similar dynamic already happens during NBA All-Star Weekend (see: limited edition Jordans) – if celebrity-powered branding really did contribute to a jump over the Jumpman, doubling down on the ephemeral aspect of premium tour merch just seems like good business.
Yet, at the end of the day, there’s nothing corrupt or nefarious about changing with the times. Celebrity co-signs bring a lot of fresh eyes to sneaker culture. While some of those eyes may just be experiencing their first glance of the words “Air Max,” they wouldn’t even be in this orbit if it weren’t for the massive reach of pop icons like Rihanna making sneaker culture accessible.
Shoes like the Amber Rose x Reebok Freestyle Hi will never replace the design influence of something like the Nike x ACRONYM Air Presto, or other sneaker collaborations that accomplish something that would have been impossible without both parties working together, but then again, they don’t have to. That’s the nature of pop anything: quick, light, and familiar by definition. One may have arguably more influence on its artistic field than the other, but that’s far from the only criteria most people have for consuming something. Some listen to Ke$ha; others prefer Joy Division. If you enjoy the music, play on.
2017 may have been the Year of the Cosign, but as long as the shoes look cool and give pleasure through ownership, who cares where they come from? To quote D.M.C. himself: “My Adidas only bring good news.” Lifestyle sneakers are inherently subjective. If you believe yours look better than the others, the rest falls into place.
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Words by Alex Rakestraw Alex Rakestraw is a writer, strategist, and creative based in New York. He covers fashion, footwear, sustainability, and tech.As a society, living large has been embraced as a measure of success. One of the things we are always pressured by is the subtle coercion of BIG. Big houses, big cars, big everything. There’s a lot to lament about big. It’s costly, it’s wasteful, it’s demanding. Every square inch of that bigness needs to be maintained and financed. But today, with space being limited and rents sky-rocketing, a niche of truly tiny residences have started to gain favour too. Micro-apartments or studios are fast becoming a popular option for young professionals willing to forego square footage for a coveted neighbourhood.
The average square foot size of an American studio is anything between 500 and 699 square feet while a one bedroom apartment is between 700 and 900 sq foot. Opting for a small apartment no longer is just a matter of cutting purchase or rental costs. In fact smaller dwellings can be less expensive to heat, cool, maintain, furnish, insure etc.
But if you’re considering this option, you’ll need to be creative about how to utilize every square inch for living in a small space doesn’t mean you have to live without comfort and luxury. Multipurpose and space-saving furniture can transform tiny spaces into functional and comfortable areas. The info graphic below provides some simple tips on maximising space utilisation
First, forego most of your possessions (or put them in storage)
Second, think of pieces that are multi-functional and not bulky. Moveable and foldable furniture minimize waste space when not in use. For instance, foldable desks and cabinets can easily disappear into walls or bigger cabinets.
Third, use storage walls, Compartments hidden in the wall increase and eliminate wasted floor space. Also use a sofa with storage space underneath cushions.
Fourth, make the most of cosy quarters with custom built-ins. Forgo freestanding furniture and try innovative storage solutions that can be built into walls or bed frames. Opt for movable walls. They not only eliminate clutter but also discreetly store furniture when not in use.
Fifth, the storage ottoman is one of the easiest fixes for adding more seating and storage. For example, use two affordable, faux-suede numbers on casters in the living room which could easily move around to provide extra guest seating while storing all kinds of odds-and-ends inside. In other words, one generous-sized ottoman can function as a seat, a footrest, a coffee table and a storage container.
Sixth, use space serving tables that increase usable surface. For example, stackable stools increase vertical storage. In fact some tables can even expand up to six times their original size.
Seven, open wall shelving enables the use of space from floor to ceiling. It also creates a sense of airiness in a small room.
Via: serenitylivingstores.comIf you use the AMD Catalyst (fglrx) driver on Ubuntu you may wish to avoid upgrading to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS next month.
The ‘Xenial Xerus’ will not support the widely used — and widely hated — proprietary graphics driver for AMD/ATI graphics cards.
Instead, Ubuntu “recommend[s using] open source alternatives (radeon and amdgpu)”, and say “AMD put a lot of work into the[se] drivers, and we back ported kernel code from Linux 4.5 to provide a better experience.”
Phew, right?
Well kinda.
Rough edges with the (newly recommended) open-source replacements could mean that some upgraders will encounter poorer performance under 16.04 than in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or 15.10.
I Don’t Understand: What’s Happening?
Let’s say you use the fglrx driver on Ubuntu 15.10, and that you plan to upgrade to Ubuntu 16.04 next month.
The Ubuntu 16.04 upgrade process will remove both the fglrx driver and the Xorg.conf that supports it from Ubuntu.
You cannot avoid this, stall it or put it off; you upgrade, you say bye-bye.
Depending on your exact graphics hardware, Ubuntu 16.04 will use the open-source AMDGPU or the open-source Radeon driver in place of flgrx.
At this point you might be thinking: “Fine, I’ll just reinstall the driver myself.”
Well, you can’t.
You can not re-install the fglrx/catalyst driver (or its display stack) from the Ubuntu 16.04 archives after the upgrade completes as the driver is, bluntly, no longer there.
Furthermore, you cannot download and install the fglrx/catalyst driver using binary packages from the AMD website as, even if you could get them to install, the driver does not support Xorg 1.18¹ that ships in Xenial.
To top it all off Canonical say: “AMD won’t support fglrx on 16.04, period”, and Canonical has no desire to take over the duties (which it would have to support for the next five years kids, as this is an LTS).
Migrating LTS-to-LTS users to the open-source AMD drivers, which make up the bulk of AMD’s forthcoming Catalyst driver, is the aim.
Open-Source AMD Drivers
With Nvidia hardware the preferred choice among Linux gamers this news won’t drastically alter the Linux gaming landscape.
But for users with older hardware, many of whom will be using Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, things could get dicey after upgrade. For one, AMD users can’t use applications that require OpenGL 4.3 or later without the fglrx/Catalyst drivers.
The open-source Radeon drivers for AMD/ATI hardware are far from being a 1:1 replacement.
AMD has a new Catalyst driver due for release this summer, but even this effort, based on AMDGPU, is unlikely to support the same breadth of hardware that fglrx already does.
The full impact of this (understandable) decision is yet to be felt.
¹Nice catch, Simon ;)Two days after a Palestinian teen fatally stabbed an Israeli girl, an Israeli official blamed an American living thousands of miles away for the crime, as well as similar attacks.
“Some of the victims’ blood is on Zuckerberg’s hands,” Gilad Erdan, Israel’s public security minister, said on Israeli television in early July, referring to Mark Zuckerberg, the head of social media giant Facebook.
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo
Erdan called Facebook a “monster” because it has become the platform of choice for Palestinians to denounce Israeli rule and broadcast their intention to attack Israelis. Muhammad Tarayra, the 17-year-old Palestinian behind the June 30 knife attack in the settlement of Kiryat Arba, had written on Facebook that “death is a right and I demand my right.” He expressed anger that Israeli soldiers had killed his cousin after he tried to run over them, according to Israeli news reports
Now, Israeli officials are seeking to pressure Facebook to take down posts similar to Tarayra’s. On July 13, Erdan and Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s justice minister, submitted a bill to the Israeli Knesset that would empower courts to compel Facebook to remove content deemed violent. And amid Israel’s legislative push against Facebook — including a separate measure that would see Facebook fined if it did not remove content inciting people to terrorism — an Israeli law firm has also filed suit against the social media company in a U.S. court.
The moves amount to a multi-pronged campaign aimed at Facebook, which has been increasingly drawn into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli ministers have cast Facebook in the role of terror supporter and now want to force the company to police Palestinian speech they say leads to violence.
But Israeli laws against incitement have also been used to arrest Palestinians whose Facebook posts criticize Israeli rule but do not explicitly support violence. Palestinians say that Facebook does not fuel militant attacks against Israel and that it is Israel’s decadeslong occupation and discriminatory policies against Palestinians that lead to violence.
Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
Yousef Jabareen, a Palestinian Knesset member with the Joint List coalition of Palestinian parties, told The Intercept that the proposed bill would violate freedom of expression. “We are afraid that, basically, such a law will be used to target legitimate critique against the occupation,” he said.
Facebook did not respond to questions about the Israeli legislation. But the company told Reuters it works “regularly with safety organizations and policymakers around the world, including Israel, to ensure that people know how to make safe use of Facebook. There is no room for content that promotes violence, direct threats, terrorist or hate speeches on our platform.”
Israeli officials have been railing against Facebook since October 2015, when cases emerged of Palestinians stabbing Israelis as part of what some call the “knife intifada.” Shaked, the justice minister, has met with Facebook officials to pressure them to take action against incitement. At a conference in Hungary in June, she said that Facebook, Twitter, and Google remove 70 percent of violent content in Israel. The offices of Shaked and Erdan did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
In 2015, Facebook took down 431 pieces of content that it said violated harassment laws or denied the Holocaust, which is against the law in Israel. And Facebook’s report on government requests shows that last year, Facebook handed over user data to Israeli authorities for about 60 percent of the 468 requests it received.
Some of those requests pertain to Palestinians swept up in Israel’s dragnet targeting social media users who post messages against Israeli wars and occupation. As The Intercept reported, the Israeli police detained Sohaib Zahda, a Palestinian activist, in August 2014 after he wrote angry messages about an Israeli commander on a Facebook page he ran. While he was in custody, the Israeli police sent an order to Facebook for data about Zahda’s page. The company complied, according to Zahda’s lawyer.
Digital rights advocate Eva Galperin, a global policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticized Facebook for acceding to Israeli requests for user data.
Facebook does “not scrutinize [the requests] as carefully as we would like,” said Galperin.
In a later interview, she added: “The state of Israel’s human rights record vis-a-vis Palestinians is not great. It’s incredibly troubling” that Facebook gives Israel information on Palestinians.
Israeli authorities want Facebook to do more. During his interview with Israeli news outlet Channel 2, Erdan complained that Facebook “sabotages” Israeli police work because it does not cooperate with requests pertaining to residents of the occupied West Bank. Israel has ruled the West Bank since 1967, when it captured the territory during the Six Day War, but much of the world does not recognize Israeli sovereignty there.
Facebook has also refused some requests for data on Palestinian citizens of Israel. In October 2015, when the Israeli police sent a legal order to Facebook requesting “all records” on and the IP address of Dareen Tatour, a citizen arrested for Facebook posts and a YouTube poem, Facebook and Google, which owns YouTube, did not respond to the order, Tatour’s lawyer Abed Fahoum told The Intercept.
Source: Facebook
The bill pushed by Erdan and Shaked seeks to force Facebook to take down content that an Israeli court deems a threat to Israeli security, though Facebook would have the ability to appeal such an order. An Israeli prosecutor could introduce the state’s confidential information as part of a case seeking to take down a Facebook post.
On July 17, the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which determines whether the ruling coalition will support a bill, approved a separate piece of legislation that would fine Internet companies $78,000 if they do not take down content deemed “incitement” within two days. The bill, which would require Facebook to monitor its own network for such content, easily passed a preliminary Knesset vote on July 20.
“I don’t think Facebook is responsible for terror or for the terror wave,” said Zionist Union Knesset member Revital Swid, who introduced the bill. “But they can do a lot to prevent [attacks].”
Swid insists her proposed bill would not infringe on freedom of speech, and she would prefer that Facebook monitor and take down such postings voluntarily. “Telling someone to go and to do terror acts, that’s not freedom of speech,” said Swid, who explained that her legislation is narrowly tailored to focus on posts that call for terrorism.
The campaign to pressure Facebook to censor its users has also made its way to the United States, where the company is headquartered. On July 11, the Israeli legal center Shurat HaDin sued Facebook in U.S. federal court on behalf of the families of U.S. citizens killed by Palestinian attackers in Israel.
A 2007 State Department cable released by WikiLeaks quotes the center’s head, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, as saying that in its early years, Shurat HaDin took direction from the Israeli government on what cases to file. However, she now strenuously denies ever saying that to a U.S. diplomat.
The Shurat HaDin lawsuit alleges that Facebook “knowingly” provided material support to Hamas because the Palestinian militant group has “used and relied on Facebook’s online social network platform and communications services” to carry out terrorism. Under U.S. law, it is illegal to provide material support — including any service-like communications equipment — to a group, like Hamas, on the U.S. designated terrorist list maintained by the State Department.
A Facebook spokesperson described the lawsuit as “without merit,” adding that the company has a “set of Community Standards to help people understand what is allowed on Facebook, and we urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates our standards so we can investigate and take swift action.”
Photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
“Facebook, the all-American, social media, 21st century, billion-dollar business is providing the communications system and advertising system for this terrorist group that is only too happy, by their stated intent, to kill and maim civilians,” said Bob Tolchin, who is U.S. counsel on this suit and frequently works with Shurat HaDin.
Some observers think the suit against Facebook has a chance of advancing through the U.S. court system. Writing on the blog Lawfare, legal analysts Benjamin Wittes and Zoe Bedell said that Shurat HaDin makes a strong case that Hamas’s use of Facebook — including posts calling for violence — helps cause militant action that has killed Israelis.
But Aaron Mackey, a legal fellow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the plaintiffs in the suit have a high legal barrier to clear in the case. He said the suit does not establish that Facebook helped cause the attacks and the Communications Decency Act broadly immunizes Facebook from liability for content on its platform.
If the lawsuit is successful, however, the consequences could be profound, he said. It could lead to certain parts of the world being cut off from Facebook, or certain users’ posts being censored if they mention Hamas or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mackey described the lawsuit, coupled with Israel’s push against incitement on Facebook and proposed U.S. legislation requiring social media companies to report terrorist-related content to law enforcement, as part of a broader strategy.
“These are all small strategies as part of a larger goal to force Facebook and Twitter to become the sort of active police for certain types of speech and content,” he said. “But what that’s ultimately going to mean is less speech about things that these governments disagree with.”
Dena Shunra translated sections of the Shaked-Erdan Knesset bill on Facebook from Hebrew to English.Fantasy Flight Games is excited to release the Waiqar the Undying Army Painting Guide for Runewars Miniatures Game! In conjunction with The Army Painter, FFG is proud to announce that we will be working directly with The Army Painter to bring you the absolute finest in army painting techniques to use on your Runewars Miniatures Game armies. Employing their tried-and-true four-step method, The Army Painter is providing all our fans with easy and efficient methods to advance your hobby with Runewars Miniatures Game.
Explore the World of Terrinoth
The Waiqar the Undying Army Painting Guide (pdf, 25.6MB) is available to download now so you can get started on painting your Runewars Miniatures Games army tomorrow, when it releases to retailers worldwide! Check back to the Fantasy Flight Games website frequently for regular updates on all the new releases coming for Runewars Miniatures Game and more painting guides from The Army Painter.Recently, attempts to effectively implement the right to non-discrimination for trans people in the United States has been met with fear-mongering about inappropriate use of public bathrooms.
In Maryland, a lawmaker reportedly expressed concerns that predators and pedophiles might enter women's bathrooms if that state passes a bill, currently under consideration, to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. In Arizona, some parents were worried about trans children choosing the most appropriate bathroom for themselves, lest this "infringe" on other children's "privacy." And opponents of a non-discrimination law in California, already in effect, are gathering signatures to have the law repealed, because, they say, it violates the rights of those students who may be uncomfortable sharing a bathroom with a person who is trans.
In fact, integrated public bathroom use seems to be the top objection raised in the United States to advancing equal rights for trans people, especially children. There are 3 main reasons for this.
First, there is a general discomfort among many Americans with co-ed social interaction as anything other than (straight) "courting." Over the age of 5, co-ed sleepovers are seen as inappropriate by many, and school dances as early as 5th grade push the notion that you really should only show up with a "date" of the opposite gender. What children take away from these overly gendered (and hetero-centric) rules of interaction is anyone's guess, but it is clear that many parents view co-ed friendships with suspicion.
Secondly, there is a common conflation of nudity and sex in US media and public discourse. It is telling that the discomfort around trans people's public bathroom use is about potential sexual interactions rather than actually using the toilets.
As a logical proposition, the argument that bathroom use must be strictly divided on the basis of genitalia in order to prevent public sex has always confused me. For starters, experience shows that such interactions can and do happen without any connection to trans people. Most of us remember the 2007 bathroom stall incident that ultimately had Senator Larry Craig of Idaho resign, and news of straight couples having sex in public bathrooms surface with monotonous regularity. Moreover, it would be impossible to police genitalia-based bathroom use without engaging in precisely the kind of "peeping Tom" activity those opposed to non-discrimination protections for trans people claim inevitably would follow the adoption of such measures.
Third, and most importantly, the linkage between trans equality and public bathroom use surfaces the stereotyped notion of trans people as somehow over-sexed, "perverted" or perhaps just "making it up." I have previously written about the comment reportedly made by a lawyer who was arguing against a 6-year-old trans girl's right to use the girl's bathroom at her school, with reference to the notion that the girl might be lying about her gender identity and really just want to see other girls go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, such preconceived notions about trans people just making it up or being over-sexed are not isolated to this case.
To be clear: gender identity is not about sex, it is about who we are. The founder of the website "We Happy Trans," Jen Richards, recently wrote a great piece about the fact that the trans community is as diverse as any other. Shocking, I know (not). The truth of the matter is that everyone has a right to non-discrimination, and that trans people pretty much everywhere face unique barriers to exercising this right because of stigma, stereotypes and legal obstacles to changing gender markers.
It is ridiculous that one of those barriers consistently should be someone else's discomfort with sharing a bathroom with people whose genitalia may or may not look like their own. Especially because the main point of those opposed to non-discrimination measures is that no one should be looking at anyone else's genitalia in the first place.Madonna released a live album last Friday. News to me. News to everyone, apparently.
The “Rebel Heart” Tour album sold just 3,848 CDs and downloads according to Buzz Angle and hitsdailydouble.com. It had no streaming that was reported.
Stranger, though, was that the album wasn’t released on Interscope, which put out the original “Rebel Heart” album. But maybe not so strange since “Rebel Heart” sold only 238,000 copies in the US. Madonna once sold millions of albums. (So did everyone.)
The live album was issued by Eagle Rock, a video company. Eagle Rock put it out as a standalone for audio. But they also sell a video package of CD/DVD/Blu-Ray that includes the live album.
Well, Madonna’s gone to Portugal so she doesn’t have to worry about all this. And she has hundreds of millions of dollars. So we won’t worry about her. But it’s a sign of the times, I guess.British Black Propaganda Postcards of WWII
By SGM Herbert A. Friedman (Ret.)
Portions of this article were originally published in the 28 December 1967 issue of the British newspaper Stamp Weekly with the title "British War-Time Black Postcards," the May 1969 American Philatelist with the title "Venomous Propaganda Postcards," and the June 1988 American Philatelist with the title "To Germany, with Love."
Many types of philatelic propaganda were produced by both the Axis and the Allied powers during World War II. "White," "gray," and "black" propaganda in the form of forged and parodied stamps, postcards, letters, and letter sheets rolled off the presses on both sides of the lines.
"White" propaganda may be defined as that issued by an acknowledged source, usually a government or an agency of a government. For instance, every airdropped issue of the World War II propaganda newspaper, Frontpost, bore the legend, in German, "Published by American troops in Western Europe." White propaganda is associated with overt psychological operations. It does not hide its origin.
Although there is no attempt to conceal the origin of "gray" propaganda, neither is the source specifically identified. A World War II example is the joint UK/US Political Warfare Executive (PWE) / Office of Strategic Services (OSS) newspaper, Nachrichten für die Truppe (News for the Troops). It was never identified as an Allied product, but German readers knew very well that Allied aircraft (and especially the US Special Leaflet Squadron) were dropping the newspaper.
"Black" propaganda, the type associated with covert psychological warfare operations, purports to emanate from a source other than the true one. Examples include forged identity cards and ration coupons, counterfeit currency, and propaganda letters and postcards. During World War II, black propaganda accounted for approximately five percent of the material packed into leaflet bombs, with the other ninety-five percent being various kinds of gray and white propaganda. In this way, substantial quantities of black propaganda were distributed.
This article deals with those black items produced by Great Britain in the form of German postcards. These cards, which vilified the Nazi Party and its functionaries, were meant to cause dissension within the ranks of the German people. The British sincerely hoped that finders would believe an anti-Nazi group within Germany had printed the cards. However, it is doubtful that many finders believed the postcards to be of German origin, and their propaganda classification probably should be somewhere between black and gray.
The Official Secrets Act protected Britain's World War II covert propaganda system from public scrutiny for many years. Today, after publication of several conflicting books on the subject, it remains a confusing subject.
The first leaflets produced by the British were prepared by Department EH (Electra House), which had an independent existence until June 1940. At that time, the fall of France finally convinced the British government that it was in for a long and dangerous war that would require more professional management of psychological warfare operations. Section D did some subversive propaganda; other such operations were carried out by SO1 of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). A major reorganization put the printers under the supervision of the SOE, where they remained until 1941. On September 11 of that year, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was formed and given responsibility for printed material. The PWE directed the British propaganda campaign against Germany for the remainder of the war.
Ellic Howe joined the PWE Forgery Section in the first week of November 1941. A lance corporal in the Anti-Aircraft Command at Stanmore, Howe had written a paper in September 1941 entitled, "Political Warfare and the Printed Word - a Psychological Study." The merits of that paper earned him an invitation to join the PWE.
Sefton Delmer described Ellic Howe (under the pseudonym, Armin Hull) in Black Boomerang (Viking: New York, 1962):
He was a printer who had made a special study of German typography and printing techniques. Even before the war he had regularly visited Germany and made a point of collecting specimens of German printing. He carried them all back with him in his baggage - newspapers, tram tickets, commercial and private stationery, business forms, police wanted posters, and anything else he could lay his hands on.
Ellic Howe turned out to be a gifted manager. Through his pre-war publishing contacts, he proceeded to make arrangements for the PWE: with Fanfare Press in London, to do the forgers' printing; with Spicer's, Ltd., to supply the paper; and with Monotype Corp., to provide typography and other materials. Before the end of the war, his unit had produced hundreds of forged German documents. He once remarked that he could supply "anything from a few forged letterheads to several million forged German ration cards." (In 2004 British commercial Channel Four found much of the typeface and many of the machines from the old Monotype Corporation. They were filmed for use in a documentary on WWII psychological operations).
When requested to produce a forged document, Howe would code the item with an "H" number, the letter possibly referring to his own name. Although much of the black propaganda produced by British forgers was secret during the war years and for years afterwards, many documents have now been declassified and the "H" numbers of most of the German postcards are known. These files are kept in the Imperial War Museum in London and were classified until 1996. Readers who want to know more about the master forger Ellic Howe should read his book, The Black Game (Michael Joseph Ltd.: London, 1982).
Many of these propaganda postcards have a "Q" code in addition to the "H" code. The "Q" indicates that they were also disseminated to the enemy by balloon. During research for his book Black Propaganda, Lee Richards discovered that the PWE decided in 1943 that some of its black propaganda was suitable for restricted aerial dissemination. Selected leaflets were reclassified with a "Q" code letter and passed, with an English translation, to the RAF's Deputy Directorate of Counter Propaganda, (DDCP), for scrutiny. They decided if aircraft could drop a particular leaflet or if it could only be disseminated by the "M" Balloon Unit. "Q" series leaflets were mixed, at a ratio of 5 percent, with conventional white leaflets when dropped by RAF aircraft. The same rule applied with every issue of Nachrichten für die Truppe dropped by the US 8th Air Force's Special Leafleting Squadron. From September 1943 the "M" Balloon Unit ceased disseminating white leaflets and concentrated only on the "Q" series. In all eighty-five different black leaflets were designated as "Q" leaflets. When an "H" code leaflet was reprinted, regardless of whether its text had been modified or not, it was assigned a new "H" code; however, the same "Q" code was retained.
Howe is known to have designed and produced seven German-language propaganda postcards that were airdropped or ballooned over the enemy. These are cards that are mentioned in wartime records and archives. Other less well-known and more clandestine cards will be mentioned at the end of this article.
Dr. Robert Ley (1890-1945) was leader of the German Labor Front from 1933 to 1945. An ardent Nazi and a close friend of Adolf Hitler, he had joined the Nazi Party in 1925 and served as Gauleiter (roughly equivalent to a state governor) for Rhineland-South until 1931. In 1933, he founded the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front), and then systematically destroyed Germany's free labor unions. The monolithic organization he headed eventually controlled more than 25 million German workers. Reichsleiter and "Reichswohnungskommissar" (Reich Housing Commissioner) Dr Robert Ley was the first person Delmer selected for his postcard operation in autumn 1943. Dr. Ley was a rabid anti-Semite and once declared, in a Karisruhe speech, "It is not enough to isolate the Jewish enemy of mankind; the Jews have got to be exterminated."
Ley attacked the wealthy as "blue-blooded swine," while at the same time looting union treasuries and amassing a personal fortune. Because of his propensity for pompous speechmaking and heavy drinking, behind his back he was called the "Reich Drunk Master." At the end of the war, Ley was arrested attempting to flee to the mountains near Berchtesgaden. He cheated the Allied judgment at Nuremberg by hanging himself from a toilet pipe on 25 October 1945.
Because of his reputation as a drinker and a liar, Dr. Ley was the subject of a British propaganda postcard parody. Sefton Delmer told the story behind this postcard in Black Boomerang. During the war, Delmer was in charge of a number of the "black" radio stations operated by the British. These broadcast in German, purportedly from pro-German patriotic groups opposed to the way the incompetent Nazis were fighting the war. One of Delmer's best broadcasters was a Pioneer Corps corporal named Paul Sanders, whose radio name was Der Chef (The Chief). He broadcast on Station Gustav Siegfried Eins (GS 1). Sanders had been born in Berlin, but had left Germany in 1938. His voice was virile and resonant, with a trace of Berlin drawl similar to that of Junkers officers of the Kaiser's Guards regiments.
Der Chef started a rumor that went as follows: "The father of a kitchen maid who had recently left her employ in the Ley household telephoned the Ley major-domo to ask for his daughter's ration cards to be sent to her.
'This is the Palais Ley,' grandly answered the major-domo. 'We have no ration cards here. We don't bother about them, you know. Here we have diplomatic rations'."
A report like this was intended to infuriate the German people, who were suffering under a severe rationing system, and Delmer was pleased to hear that newly captured German POWs were repeating the Ley story. This encouraged him to go further:
We plugged the diplomatic-rations racket with such effect that Goebbels and Ley had to lay on a special campaign to counter it. Robert Ley himself went on record in Goebbels' newspaper, Der Angriff, October 12, 1943, to state, "We National Socialists know no such thing as diplomatic rations. Every man, whether he is a Reich minister or a Reich leader, has to live on rations just like any ordinary workman, mechanic and official. The normal rations are enough. I myself am a normal consumer and live on them." But by the time they got around to this dementi we were able to quote the decree authorizing special rations for diplomats and party officials with representational duties (R. E. M. 1,237/43 of 26.1.1943). We were even able to give them the color of the certificates and the exact scale of the diplomatic rations.
The British postcard that parodied Ley's predicament is approximately 148 x 105 mm in size. On one side of the card, a photograph of Dr. Ley giving a speech is shown at the left. This is an old photo, because he is wearing the rank of SA-Gruppenführer. At the right, printed in German, are the words, "The Normal Consumer and Reich Commissar, Reich Leader Dr. Robert Ley." These are followed by Ley's "We National Socialists..." rebuttal reprinted from Der Angriff. The reverse side of the card proves Ley to be a liar. On it are printed, in German, the regulations that legalized diplomatic rations. The message reads:
The ruling for diplomats, civic leaders and political leaders of the NSDAP [Nazi Party] which frees them from rationing in general, but which according to Herr Ley does not exist, can be found by anyone who is interested in reading the regulations of the Reich's Food Administrator concerning diplomatic food provisions of Jan.26.43. R. E. M. 1,237/43 signed by Secretary of State Backe. Among other things it states as follows: The chiefs of foreign embassies, civic and political leaders of the NSDAP, as much as they come under the Führer's edict of Oct. 2, 1939, and which fall under the listed categories, receive: 1. For themselves and their families: All domestic prepared foods to the full amount as asked. Exempted are tea and coffee for which the maximum amount is: 125 gr. tea, 250 gr. coffee (for married couples 500 gr. of coffee). 2. For their co-workers, domestic and foreign, the following are the weekly rations allowable by permit: Meat 2 kg., meat products 500 gr., lard 500 gr., butter 1 kg., cheese 500 gr., table oil 250 gr., rice 500 gr., nutriments 1kg., flour 1kg., sugar 1kg., tea 125 gr., coffee 250 gr. (married couples 500 gr. coffee), milk 1 liter (daily), marmalade 150 gr., cocoa 250 gr., and 4 eggs. 3. For special unavoidable parties given by civic or party leaders, additional foodstuffs can be granted. That decision is made only by the R. E. M. (Reich's Food Administrator). So stuffs Ley himself, and so are stuffing themselves tens of thousands of other civic leaders and higher-ups of the Party, including their staffs. Some make it with permits, others with travel stamps (traveling leaders and party members receive a large amount of stamps to get their foodstuffs while traveling around the country). Good appetite Herr Ley - the last course is the heaviest.
Sefton Delmer told me that the last line was meant to be a pun. The German word "Gang" could be translated as either "course" or "walk," and the word "schwerste" could mean either "heaviest" or "most difficult." Translated as "The last walk is the most difficult," the line implies that Ley's last walk will be to the gallows. This attempt at humor turned out to be prophetic.
The Ley card is found in two versions. On the address side of one version are the word "Drucksache" and a forged 3-pfennig German stamp. On the address side of the other version is the word "Feldpost," a line where the sender can write his feldpost number, a printer's mark (Sch K 11.43), and Din (International Standard Dimension) numbers (Fp. C154 D).
Agents and balloons originally distributed these cards. A Norwegian who worked for British intelligence told me that he received 200 of the postcards (H.641 |
to be the springboard for several more films that explored an entire universe would only be realized through a series released by Epic Comics that remained true to the original vision and spanned 25 issues. Nightbreed lay dormant, hiding in the shadows and seemingly dead like the very characters Barker had portrayed, until the fans began to resurrect it, quickly turning it into a cult classic.For other footballers nicknamed Bobô, see Bobô
Deyvison Rogério da Silva (born 9 January 1985), commonly known as Bobô, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Alanyaspor in the Süper Lig as a striker.
Club career [ edit ]
Besiktas [ edit ]
Bobô was Besiktas' leading goalscorer in the 2006–07 season, with 20 goals in all competitions. He began the 2007–08 season by scoring three goals in the first three matches, most notably a pair of goals in the 3–0 victory over FC Sheriff in the Champions League second qualifying round. His early season form prompted the Beşiktaş board to agree an extension of his contract until 2011.[2]
On 20 October 2007, Beşiktaş faced Trabzonspor, an encounter subject to intense media interest. Trabzonspor took an early lead through Gökdeniz Karadeniz and were 2–0 up by the sixth minute thanks to a goal from Ibrahima Yattara. However, a Burak Yılmaz header put Beşiktaş back into contention and a penalty from Matías Delgado equalized the score just before half-time.[3] In the second half, Beşiktaş goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber was sent-off for handling outside of the penalty area in the 79th minute, and Bobô replaced him until the end of the match. He made several saves, helping Beşiktaş secure a vital away victory.[4] Bobô later admitted he had been worried about Trabzonspor's attacks on goal, particularly a free-kick by playmaker Ceyhun Eriş and a header by striker Umut Bulut.[5]
On 25 October 2007, Bobô scored in Beşiktaş's 2–1 UEFA Champions League victory over Liverpool at the Inonu Stadium.[6] He opened the scoring with a third-minute goal on 3 November 2007 in Beşiktaş' Süper Lig 11th matchday clash with Fenerbahçe at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, but the goal was followed by several misses as Beşiktaş ultimately lost 2–1, giving Fenerbahçe their first home victory over Beşiktaş in six-and-a-half years.[7] This was the 319th encounter between two club.[8] The following weekend, Bobô scored again (his 38th goal for Beşiktaş) in a 1–2 defeat at home to in-form Sivasspor. With the goal, he broke Mersad Kovačević's record to become Beşiktaş' all-time top scorer.[9]
On 28 November 2007, Beşiktaş hosted Marseille on the fifth matchday of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage. Bobô scored his side's winning goal just before the final whistle in the 88th minute after a lob through-pass by Matías Delgado towards the space on right wing, where Bobô collected the ball, then went through the penalty box to beat goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.[10] The final score finished 2–1 for Beşiktaş.[11] The team kept their hopes of progression to the knockout phase until their last group stage match, against Porto. However, Beşiktaş could not manage to win in Portugal and were therefore eliminated as the fourth-place team in Group A.
Bobô played an important role in Beşiktaş winning both the Turkish Cup and Süper Lig in 2008–09. He scored 11 goals in the latter, making Beşiktaş' top goalscorer in the completion.
Bobô's contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season. After failed negotiations between club and player, Beşiktaş declined to offer him a renewed contract. Previously, the "agent" of the footballer, Pini Zahavi, had requested the club pay €200,000 as a "transfer fee".[12] However, the club refused, and Zahavi's subsequent lawsuit was dismissed by both FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Gremio [ edit ]
On 25 July 2015, Bobô joined Grêmio on a contract lasting until the end of 2016.[13]
Sydney FC [ edit ]
On 5 August 2016, it was reported that Bobô was in talks with Sydney FC in A-League to become their marquee player ahead of the 2016–17 season,[14] and on 17 August, he signed a one-year contract with the A-League club worth approximately AUD$1 million.[15]
Bobô started with a bang at Sydney FC, scoring on his debut in the FFA Cup against Blacktown City, and assisting two other goals in a 3–0 win [1]. In his first A-League start, he scored and assisted a goal in the Sydney Derby against Western Sydney Wanderers, a match they ended up 4–0 winners. His partnership up front with Filip Hološko, Miloš Ninković and Alex Brosque was fruitful, as Sydney scored 34 goals in 14 matches.
On 24 February 2017, Bobô reached double-digit goal totals for Sydney FC in a convincing 3–1 win against Melbourne City.[16] On 3 March, he scored a vital goal in the race for the 2016–17 A-League Premiership race, tapping-home a cross from Filip Hološko to give Sydney FC a 1–0 win over rivals Melbourne Victory in the Big Blue.[17]
Bobô finished the 2016–17 regular season with 15 goals as Sydney FC claimed their first Premiership title since 2009–10.[18]
Bobô scored four goals in Sydney FC's 8–0 away victory against Darwin Rovers in the 2017 FFA Cup Round of 32.[19] In the following FFA Cup round, Bobô scored another goal as the Sky Blues progressed to the quarter-finals at the expense of Bankstown Berries.
Bobô scored two braces within one week as Sydney qualified for the FFA Cup final in a comprehensive 5–1 win over A-League hopefuls South Melbourne.[20] The second brace came against Wellington Phoenix in Round 2 of the A-League season in a 3–2 win.[21]
In the 2017 FFA Cup Final, Bobô scored the winning goal with a header in the 112th minute to make the match 2–1. The goal ensured he finished with the tournament's golden boot with eight goals scored.[22]
On 23 December 2017, Bobô scored his first A-League hattrick against Wellington Phoenix, as Sydney won 4–1 away from home.[23] He became only the second player in A-League history to score back-to-back hat-tricks, as Sydney won 6–0 over Perth Glory on 30 December 2017.[24]
On 20 January 2018, through his 1–1 equaliser against the Central Coast Mariners, Bobô equalled Marc Janko's 16 goal record of most scored in a single A-League season in 7 less games. In his next match in the Big Blue Derby, Bobô scored a brace in a 3–1 win against Melbourne Victory to break the record.
Bobô became the fastest player in A-League history, and equalled an Australian league record of reaching 20 goals for a season in shortest amount of time (20 games). This was broken in a 4–0 win away against Melbourne City. On 29 March 2018, Bobô broke the record for most goals in a single season with a double, putting him on 24 goals, during a 3–2 win over Perth Glory.[25]
Alanyaspor [ edit ]
In July 2018, Bobô left Sydney FC, despite signing a one-year contract extension a month earlier,[26] to join Turkish club Alanyaspor on an $800,000 transfer.[27][28]
International career [ edit ]
On 4 February 2008, Bobô was called up to the Brazil national team to face the Republic of Ireland on 6 February, replacing the injured Alexandre Pato in the squad.[29] However, he did not make his first international appearance as he remained on the substitutes' bench for the match.
Career statistics [ edit ]
As of 16 June 2018[30][31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Club Season League[nb 1] Cup League Cup/State League Continental Other Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Corinthians 2003 13 0 – – – – 13 0 2004 4 0 – – – – 4 0 2005 14 3 – – – – 14 3 Total 31 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 3 Beşiktaş 2005–06 14 5 7 4 – – – 21 9 2006–07 27 11 9 7 1 0 6 2 – 43 20 2007–08 21 10 3 1 1 1 10 4 – 35 16 2008–09 32 12 8 7 – 4 1 – 44 20 2009–10 29 12 3 1 1 0 5 1 – 38 14 2010–11 21 8 8 4 – 12 4 – 41 16 Total 144 58 38 24 3 1 37 12 0 0 222 95 Cruzeiro 2011 6 1 – – – – 6 1 2012 0 0 1 0 3 1 – – 4 1 Total 6 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 10 2 Kayserispor 2012–13 31 18 0 0 – – – 31 18 2013–14 17 3 1 1 – – – 18 4 2014–15 19 11 5 3 – – – 24 14 Total 67 32 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 73 36 Grêmio 2015 20 5 3 1 – – 0 0 23 6 2016 9 1 0 0 17 6 6 1 0 0 32 8 Total 29 6 3 1 17 6 6 1 0 0 55 14 Sydney FC 2016–17 29 15 4 1 – – 0 0 33 16 2017–18 28 27 5 8 – 5 1 0 0 38 36 Total 57 42 9 9 0 0 5 1 0 0 71 52 Career total 334 142 57 38 23 8 48 14 0 0 462 202
Notes
Honours [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
Corinthians
Beşiktaş
Sydney FC
Individual [ edit ]Nevertheless, there are still new fields of human endeavor into which Trump can blunder like a misinformed idiot, such as the yearly salaries of the CEOs who run celebrated charities! "Do your research before donating this holiday season!" says Trump, who didn't actually do any research.
Yes, for whatever reason, Trump took some time out of his bone idleness yesterday to jump on Twitter and start complaining about the compensation being doled out to the people who run the Red Cross and UNICEF. As per usual, Trump's bleatings were utterly unconstrained from even a nominal obligation to be factually accurate.
Tweeted Trump: "@redcross CEO’s salary in 2011 was $951,957. Where is the outrage?"
The answer to the question, "Where is the outrage?" is "it's been badly misplaced, by an idiot." The CEO of the Red Cross, Gail McGovern, received $501,122 in compensation in 2011, a salary that amounts to 0.01% of the Red Cross' total expenses. According to Charity Navigator, McGovern has provided substantial bang for the buck, earning a perfect rating for "accountability and transparency."
(This is actually a pretty good time to remind you that the most poorly managed donation in the history of charitable giving was the $4.7 trillion U.S. taxpayers gave to a bunch of banks in the fund accounting-free crapshow known as "the bailout.")
Trump was not merely content to blither like a cotton-headed ninny about the Red Cross. He decided that he was also going to ineffectively stick it to UNICEF as well, tweeting: ".@unicef Caryl M. Stern CEO is driving around in a Rolls Royce..."
Stern, appropriately, shot back: ".@realDonaldTrump sorry no rolls; only a prius. fire your fact checker and help us save kids lives."
But that's what's so amusing about this -- not only does Donald Trump have no "fact checkers," he seems to be obtaining his facts from a very recognizable source: your Aunt Diane.
You know your Aunt Diane, right? It's the same Aunt Diane most of us have: dumb as a post, mean as a tick, slightly racist and always sending around those terrible email forwards, in all the colors and fonts that exist, complaining that the authorities haven't found Penny Brown yet, or enthusing about how you can claim a chunk of Bill Gates' vast fortune simply by sending chain letters. That is who Donald Trump is getting all of his information from -- the whole "head of UNICEF drives a Rolls Royce" rumor is a famously forwarded bit of email garbage. So famous, in fact, that UNICEF has been forced to create a whole section on their website to devoted to debunking it.
Trump, could, of course take a look at UNICEF's publicly available financial statements, but that would require him to not be a shameful, lazy, lackwit.
But there you have it! If you were wondering what, exactly, was forming the foundation of Trump's knowledge base, now you know: dumb email forwards from that aunt you are not looking forward to seeing at Thanksgiving dinner.ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Turkey's defense minister acknowledged the country has exported guns meant for "sports" to Syria, in contrast with the nation's no-weapons export policy.
A report in the Turkish newspaper the Hurryiet Daily News last weekend asserted the Turkish government has been routinely supplying rebel forces fighting for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad with weapons in contrast with public statements denying any role in supporting opposition fighters.
Hurryiet, citing customs documents filed in Turkey and at the United Nations, said the Turkish government has sent 47 tons of rifles, shotguns and other traditional sporting weapons to Syria.
Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz quoted those same customs documents, calling the weapons "ungrooved hunting rifle and blank firing gun kind of commodities."
"Other than that, any export by us is out of question," he said.
The Turkish Defense Ministry must sign off on any weapons exports and Yilmaz said the guns sent do not qualify as such under international law.
"Ungrooved hunting rifle suitable for use for sports purposes and blank firing guns are not war weapons as suggested by the said report. This commodity's exportation to Syria is not held subject to any limitation in line with the current international rules and regulations. They passed 'the redline' during customs inspections," Yilmaz said.
In August, rebel forces claimed to have received 400 tons of weapons sent from Turkey -- a claim the Turkish government vehemently denied.The question on every Revenge fan’s mind after Sunday’s episode (who Sharpie’d Emily Thorne Amanda Clarke?) might already have an answer.
Newly released photos from the ABC drama’s April 26 episode find Em…anda engaging in some rather suspicious behavior with a very familiar face: Mason Treadwell! Yes, Roger Bart’s character is coming out of hiding — and looking like even more of a shut-in than usual — in the final episodes of Season 4, though his exact business with Amanda remains unclear. (A book deal, perhaps?)
In case you feel like theorizing, here’s the official logline for the episode, appropriately titled “Aftermath”: “As Emily sifts through the wreckage of her life, even her closest friends worry she has finally gone too far.”
(Oh, now they’re starting to worry? Awesome.)
Meanwhile, this new batch of photos also includes a few shots of Jack (aka Amanda’s future husband) catching some rays in his bathing suit — you know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Revenge-rs, browse the new photos below, then drop a comment: How do you hope Season 4 — and potentially the series itself — will end?Climate change is certainly one of the most highly profiled issues of the 21st century so far. The UN Secretary-General argues that it is “an existential challenge for the whole human race.” On the other hand, when five million people were asked by the UN what they saw as most important, climate change came at the bottom of the list of 17 issues: way below healthcare, education, corruption, nutrition and water – and even below phone and internet access.
This is astonishing, particularly given the consensus that climate change is real and happening. Are people right to be sceptical about current policies?
The Copenhagen Consensus, my think tank, has asked teams of expert economists to analyse all the options facing humanity – from health and education to violence, water and global warming – to estimate where we can do the most good for our money first. This matters, because the UN is about to set its next set of targets for the world from 2015-2030. Like the Millennium Development Goals, set 15 years ago, these targets will determine where trillions of dollars will be spent. In order to make progress, we can’t afford to pour money into projects, which pay back less than we put in. Likewise, we can’t afford not to focus on projects that will do immense amounts of good
Economist Isabel Galiana has written the main paper on climate change and comes to a conclusion which is sure to be controversial: that present policies designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases are failing and cannot be effective until better technology is available. Despite the Kyoto Protocol and many national initiatives, the fact is that emissions have increased by almost half since 1990 and will continue to increase for many decades to come.
In stark contrast, the UN and many national governments focus on committing to keep the average temperature rise below 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial times. But there is a big problem: there is no realistic chance of keeping to this limit with current trends in fossil fuel use. To do this, emissions would have to peak and then be drastically cut with some technology capturing CO₂, liquefying it and injecting it deep underground. But this technology on the vast scale needed doesn’t exist yet. Moreover, solar and wind, though very popular, will even in 2035 contribute just a tiny fraction of global energy needs.
The upshot is that pursuing this 2°C target is very costly and not guaranteed to be successful. Estimating all the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits is difficult, but one thing is clear: the program would cost much more than the benefits it would bring. In the meantime, that money could have been used to improve people’s welfare in much more cost-effective programs.
Galiana suggests that investing 0.5% of global GDP into development of better energy technology would be a much better use of money. This could be funded with a slowly rising carbon tax (giving businesses an incentive to cut emissions but not telling them how to do it) and could give a payback of $11 for every dollar spent.
Galiana also suggests the world should spend 0.05% of GDP for adaptation, essentially helping many nations to cope better with specific climate impacts. Every dollar spent will likely do more than two dollars of social good.
Another economist who has contributed his perspective, Robert Mendelsohn, points out that the cost of action on climate change rises rapidly as the targets get tougher. Keeping average temperature rises below 5°C (9°F) might cost about $10 trillion, but aiming for a 2°C target would cost ten times as much.
Much better, then, to target a maximum of, say, 3°C (5.4°F) rise, which will cost about $40 trillion but avoid most damages. If we insist on 2°C, we will pay an extra $60,000 billion dollars, but only prevent a stream of $100 billion damages that begins in 70-80 years. Moreover, all of these estimates assume cost-effective climate policies, whereas in real life they have often become many times more expensive.
Climate change is a big issue and cannot be ignored. But we need to take the emotion away and look at the facts; otherwise it will be the world’s poorest that will suffer. Money which is not spent on costly, ineffective CO₂ cuts can be used to fund programs which are guaranteed to improve their lives.About
A Very Popular Nobody
Arin is a SAG/AFTRA voice actor, having provided the voices for many video games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Detective Grimoire, and lots of amazing network television cartoons like Mighty Magiswords on Cartoon Network and Rick and Morty on Adult Swim. Anyway, listen for yourself.
Arin is a writer specializing in sketch comedy. He has written for Fox Networks and helped develop commercials for high profile brands such as Crunchyroll, Seriously Games, Gunnar Optiks, Lootcrate, and Anki Drive.
Arin is the owner and lead personality on Game Grumps, an online show focusing on comedy and video games with 3 million+ subscribers, makin’ the funnies twice a day. Arin also tours live with Game Grumps to sold out shows across the US (and soon across Europe!)
Arin is the lead rapper and co-writer for Starbomb, a pop-culture oriented synth-pop comedy band. Both of their albums have debuted at #1 on the Nielsen comedy charts. Arin is also responsible for directing and animating Starbomb’s first music video ever, which is pretty rad in his opinion.
Arin’s internet animated shorts have garnered hundreds of millions of views and have been featured on national and international television networks like MTV, Fox, and G4tv. His educational game design show “Sequelitis” has been shown in countless Game Design college courses throughout the US and Canada, which honestly sort of blew his mind a little bit.
Arin is currently co-developing a touring company that helps alternative touring acts to perform across the globe.
Arin recently produced a hit video game called "Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator" and is working with his company, Game Grumps, to produce more video games. It's pretty fun imo.
FAST FACTS ABOUT ARIN:
He once won the $50k Grand Prize on the show “Dance Showdown” (but between you and me, Lindsey Sterling should have won)
He competed in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships (but came in 5th, boo)
He’s raised over half a million dollars for charity as of right now, and still finding ways to raise more!
He competed on the Playstation reality show “The Tester” but was voted off for not helping his teammates fire melons, or whatever.
He reviewed a video game while having just eaten a Ghost Pepper whole.
If you think this is a lot of stuff for one guy to do, it probably is, but, you know, whatever! He loves creating, and helping people create. Hit him up if you want to get in touch, he’s always willing to check out new projects!!(Photo: Philip Taylor PT / Flickr)
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The media are all abuzz with the changing nature of work. Exciting words like “creativity” and “adaptability” get thrown around, specifically in connection to the shift away from steady, full-time employment to a gig economy of freelancers and short-term contracts. Proponents of the gig economy, from the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman to bright-eyed TED pundits, tout it as a welcome escape from the prison of the standard workweek and the strictures of corporate America. Working on a project-to-project basis will set you free, they tell us. Wired magazine has called it “the force that could save the American worker.”
But when you’re actually stuck in it, the gig economy looks quite different.
Consider the New York Freelancer’s Union: According to a report in the New York Times, 29 percent of the union’s New York City members earn less than $25,000 a year, and in 2010, 12 percent of members nationally received some type of public assistance. Turns out that life with no health benefits, vacation pay or retirement plan is not a rosy picture.
Writing for Fast Company, Sarah Kessler, who went undercover to hustle for work in the gig economy, put it this way:
“For one month, I became the ‘micro-entrepreneur’ touted by companies like TaskRabbit, Postmates, and Airbnb. Instead of the labor revolution I had been promised, all I found was hard work, low pay, and a system that puts workers at a disadvantage.”
What’s really going on is the desire of businesses to chop wages and benefit costs while also limiting their vulnerability to lawsuits, which can happen when salaried employees are mistreated. The burden of economic risk is shifted even further onto workers, who lose the security and protections of the New-Deal-era social insurance programs that were created when long-term employment was the norm.
I caught up with Gerald Friedman, who teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and has written about the gig economy, to find out how this trend happened and what it means to workers and our increasingly unequal society.
Lynn Parramore: How did the shift away from full-time employment to the gig economy come about? What forces drove the change?
Gerald Friedman: Growing use of contingent workers (in “gigs”) came when capitalists sought to respond to gains by labor through the early 1970s, and in response to the victories capital won in the rise of the neoliberal era. Because contingent workers were usually not covered by union contracts or other legal safeguards, employers hired them to regain leverage over workers lost when unionized workers gained protection against unjust dismissal, and courts extended these protections to non-union workers under the “implicit contract” doctrine.
Similarly, the rising cost of benefits due to rising healthcare costs and government protection of retirement benefits (under the 1974 ERISA statute) raised the cost of full-time employment; employers sought to evade these costs by hiring more contingent workers.
In the early- and mid-20th century, employers created careers and job-ladders to lock valuable workers into particular jobs. Job-lock reduced the danger that low unemployment would lead to competition for workers, wage inflation, and would undermine their control over their workers. (The other side of job-lock, as Richard Freeman among others noted, was the organization of labor unions among workers who could not “exit” from no-longer-agreeable employments, and therefore, engage in collective action to improve conditions.) Reduced market regulation, the opening of markets to international competition, and a shift in macro-economic policy focus from full-employment to price-stability all reduced the danger that workers would quit to gain higher wages or better jobs.
Instead of using job-lock to protect themselves from labor-market competition, employers rely on repressive macroeconomic conditions, relatively high unemployment, and therefore, do not need to offer job ladders, careers, or benefits to attract and to hold workers.
LP: We hear a lot of buzz from trendwatchers on a new wave of “microentrepreneurs,” “minibusinesses,” and empowered freelancers who are changing the nature of work. Why do people find this vision so intoxicating?
GF: Talk of “microentrepreneurs” presents a favorable view of the rise of the gig economy, one consistent with liberal values of individualism and opportunity, even while ignoring the oppression and poverty-wages many find in the gig economy.
There are certainly some who enjoy the uncertainty of irregular employment. When unemployment rates fell to levels traditionally associated with full employment in the late-1990s, however, we saw how workers really feel about gig jobs: they rejected them and the contingent economy contracted.
Given a choice, workers choose careers and jobs, not freelance gigs.
LP: The reality of the gig economy often seems to be a system that puts workers at a disadvantage. From your research, how do you see the gig economy playing out in people’s lives?
The gig economy is associated with low wages, repression, insecurity, and chronic stress and anxiety. Freelance workers fear to complain about working conditions, fear to ask for higher pay, and fear to reject any conditions imposed by prospective employers. By removing any social protection, the gig economy returns us to the most oppressive type of cut-throat and hierarchical capitalism, a social order where the power to hire and fire has been restored to employers, giving them once again unfettered control over the workplace.
LP: How can we create jobs that are flexible and adaptable, but also give workers some security and decent benefits?
GF: We should not romanticize the situation of organization workers on careers and with job ladders. While providing more security and protection than the gig economy, this was a type of contract established by capitalists to enhance their power over workers. Instead, we should seek to enhance worker security and independence outside of work through systems of income security (enhanced unemployment insurance and guaranteed income and universal health insurance), by establishing worker-controlled guilds to regulate access to gig work through hiring halls and hiring lists, and by extending legal protections to workers’ civil rights and health and safety while doing freelance and gig work.
LP: To what extent do you see the gig economy impacting growing economic inequality?
The gig economy has been a giant vehicle transferring income from workers to capitalists. Gig work has become a vehicle not only to drive down wages but to eliminate employment-related benefits (including health insurance as well as retirement pensions and government social security). By undermining labor unions and promoting individualist competition among workers, gig work drives down wages and reduces the possibilities for effective working-class political action.Abstract Cities profoundly alter biological communities, favoring some species over others, though the mechanisms that govern these changes are largely unknown. Herbivorous arthropod pests are often more abundant in urban than in rural areas, and urban outbreaks have been attributed to reduced control by predators and parasitoids and to increased susceptibility of stressed urban plants. These hypotheses, however, leave many outbreaks unexplained and fail to predict variation in pest abundance within cities. Here we show that the abundance of a common insect pest is positively related to temperature even when controlling for other habitat characteristics. The scale insect Parthenolecanium quercifex was 13 times more abundant on willow oak trees in the hottest parts of Raleigh, NC, in the southeastern United States, than in cooler areas, though parasitism rates were similar. We further separated the effects of heat from those of natural enemies and plant quality in a greenhouse reciprocal transplant experiment. P. quercifex collected from hot urban trees became more abundant in hot greenhouses than in cool greenhouses, whereas the abundance of P. quercifex collected from cooler urban trees remained low in hot and cool greenhouses. Parthenolecanium quercifex living in urban hot spots succeed with warming, and they do so because some demes have either acclimatized or adapted to high temperatures. Our results provide the first evidence that heat can be a key driver of insect pest outbreaks on urban trees. Since urban warming is similar in magnitude to global warming predicted in the next 50 years, pest abundance on city trees may foreshadow widespread outbreaks as natural forests also grow warmer.
Citation: Meineke EK, Dunn RR, Sexton JO, Frank SD (2013) Urban Warming Drives Insect Pest Abundance on Street Trees. PLoS ONE 8(3): e59687. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059687 Editor: Ben Bond-Lamberty, DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, United States of America Received: January 16, 2013; Accepted: February 16, 2013; Published: March 27, 2013 Copyright: © 2013 Meineke et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by a grant from the USGS Southeast Regional Climate Science Center to RRD and SDF. RRD was also supported by NASA Biodiversity Grant (ROSES-NNX09AK22G) and an NSF Career grant (0953390). SDF was also supported by grants from USDA Southern Region IPM (2010-02678), North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association, the Horticultural Research Institute, and the USDA IR-4 Project. EKM was also funded by the NCSU Department of Entomology and an EPA STAR Fellowship. (URLs: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/; http://ir4.rutgers.edu; http://www.doi.gov/csc/southeast/index.cfm; http://cce.nasa.gov/cce/biodiversity.htm; http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214; http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/; http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/ipm_southern.html; http://www.hriresearch.org; http://www.ncnla.com). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction Urban areas are generally hotter than surrounding rural areas [1]. This “urban heat island effect” results from the presence of less vegetation cover [2] and greater impervious surface cover [3] in cities compared to rural or natural areas [1]. Although urban warming was first noted in 1833 [4], the effects of heat on animal abundance and community characteristics in cities remain largely unknown. Instead, studies have emphasized the roles of habitat connectivity [5], [6] and resource availability [1], [7] in shaping urban animal communities. The effects of temperature deserve further attention because urban warming is becoming more extensive and more extreme as cities grow larger and is now coupled with global warming [8]. High urban temperatures should have the most pronounced effects on ectotherms, because thermal accumulation drives development in many ectothermic species [9]. Insects are of particular interest as the most diverse ectothermic taxon and because of their ecological and economic importance as pollinators [10], disease vectors [11], and plant pests [12]. Herbivorous insect pests are often more abundant in urban than in rural areas, though the proposed mechanisms for this pattern–changes in host plant quality [13], [14] and natural enemy efficacy [15]–do not consistently explain higher herbivorous insect pest abundance [16]. We hypothesize that the urban heat island effect is the most important driver of higher insect pest abundance in cities. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of urban warming on the biology of the soft scale insect Parthenolecanium quercifex. As a group, scale insects are among the most important pests of forest and landscape trees and are closely related to many other pests such as aphids and whiteflies. They are also sedentary and, thus, subject to the full effects of urban warming. We therefore selected P. quercifex, a common scale insect pest of oaks, as a study organism to test four specific hypotheses. First, we expected urban warming to increase P. quercifex abundance. Our approach to testing this hypothesis differs from that of other studies because we sampled scale insects on warm and cold trees within the city rather than comparing urban to surrounding rural areas [17], [7]. Second, we hypothesized that urban warming increases P. quercifex abundance by decreasing parasitism. To test this hypothesis, we measured percent parasitism [18] of P. quercifex in hot and cold sites. Third, we tested the hypothesis that urban warming increases P. quercifex abundance by increasing P. quercifex fecundity. This is a common physiological response to warming in ectotherms [19], [20], at least when warming pushes them toward their thermal optimum rather than beyond it [21]. Finally, we hypothesized that P. quercifex response to warming depends on thermal origin, such that P. quercifex from warmer areas have a physiological or adaptive advantage over individuals from cooler areas when placed in hot conditions. To test this hypothesis, we collected P. quercifex from warmer and cooler urban environments and placed them in warmer and cooler greenhouses. Because this common garden experiment provided trees with equal water and nutrients, we controlled for host plant quality, the other most common hypothesis for why herbivorous insect pests are more abundant in urban than in rural areas.
Methods Study Organism Soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae) are phloem-feeders on perennial plants [22]. They are commonly more abundant in cities than in rural areas [15], [16]. Parthenolecanium quercifex is an oak pest that has one generation per year and is native to North Carolina and much of North America [22]. Adults produce eggs in the late spring, usually in May [23]. Gravid females lay a dozen to several thousand eggs in an ovisac [22]. First instars migrate from ovisacs to leaves and feed on phloem throughout summer [22], [23]. In fall they molt and migrate back to tree stems [23]. Second instars overwinter and undergo development into adults in the early spring [23]. Study Location Raleigh has a humid subtropical climate, and the city center is located at 35.772096°N 78.638614°W. The average long-term winter temperature is 5.8°C. The average long-term summer temperature is 25 |
that one of its engineers signed a document approving a modification in April 2006. In that instance, GM didn’t change the part number, which former engineers say was a violation of company protocol.
The switch already had been altered once — and given a new part number — to resolve a problem in the “Passlock” theft-deterrent system that could prevent Ions from starting. GM issued a service bulletin in November 2005 instructing dealers to replace the switch in 2003-06 Ions.
“Verify that the ignition switch has been replaced at least once using P/N 10392423,” GM told dealers in a March 2006 update to the 2005 bulletin. The original Ion ignition carried part number 12450250. Automotive News obtained switches bearing both part numbers from Ions at a Detroit junkyard.
The ignition switch in the 2005 Cobalt owned by Brooke Melton, a Georgia nurse who died in a 2010 crash, had the part number 10392423, said Mark Hood, a materials engineer with McSwain Engineering in Pensacola, Fla. Hood analyzed the switches for Melton’s family as part of a wrongful-death lawsuit against GM that was settled in September 2013.
GM hasn’t said whether the defect also exists in switches with the original part number, though the recall does include the model years in which those switches were used.
A GM spokesman said last week that the company is still investigating what went wrong and declined to comment further for this story.
An April 2013 deposition of a GM engineer in that case and online parts catalogs show that the company began using another new part number, 15886190, for the ignition switch in the Cobalt and Chevrolet HHR during the 2008 model year, though the reason is unclear.
‘Binding condition’
The fact that GM did assign a new part number two other times, even though the part’s exterior appearance never changed, highlights the unusual nature of the April 2006 modification. GM didn’t note the other alterations in timelines filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Problems with the key cylinders date back to at least 2004, according to the deposition of another GM engineer in the Melton case. The engineer, David Trush, said GM had its supplier make replacement cylinders and issued a service bulletin telling dealers to install them for customers who complained that they couldn’t rotate the key. Trush said GM then changed to a different supplier around 2008 because of quality and production deficiencies.
In April 2012, GM began a customer-satisfaction campaign in which it offered to replace the key cylinders on 2007-09 Cobalts and Pontiac G5s and 2008-10 Chevrolet HHRs free of charge. A letter GM sent to owners says a “binding condition” between the cylinder and its housing could prevent turning or removing the key and keep drivers from shutting the car off.Goddess of retribution in Greek mythology
In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis (; Ancient Greek: Νέμεσις), also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous"), is the goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). Another name is Adrasteia (or Adrestia), meaning "the inescapable".[1]
Etymology [ edit ]
The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν némein, meaning "to give what is due",[2] from Proto-Indo-European nem- "distribute".[3]
Origin [ edit ]
Divine retribution is a major theme in the Hellenic world view, providing the unifying theme of the tragedies of Sophocles and many other literary works.[4][5] Hesiod states: "Also deadly Nyx bore Nemesis an affliction to mortals subject to death" (Theogony, 223, though perhaps an interpolated line). Nemesis appears in a still more concrete form in a fragment of the epic Cypria.
She is implacable justice: that of Zeus in the Olympian scheme of things, although it is clear she existed prior to him, as her images look similar to several other goddesses, such as Cybele, Rhea, Demeter, and Artemis.[6]
As the "Goddess of Rhamnous", Nemesis was honoured and placated in an archaic sanctuary in the isolated district of Rhamnous, in northeastern Attica. There she was a daughter of Oceanus, the primaeval river-ocean that encircles the world. Pausanias noted her iconic statue there. It included a crown of stags and little Nikes and was made by Pheidias after the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), crafted from a block of Parian marble brought by the overconfident Persians, who had intended to make a memorial stele after their expected victory.[7] Her cult may have originated at Smyrna.
She is portrayed as a winged goddess wielding a whip or a dagger.
The poet Mesomedes wrote a hymn to Nemesis in the early second century AD, where he addressed her:
Nemesis, winged balancer of life, dark-faced goddess, daughter of Justice
and mentioned her "adamantine bridles" that restrain "the frivolous insolences of mortals".
In early times the representations of Nemesis resembled Aphrodite, who sometimes bears the epithet Nemesis.[citation needed]
Later, as the maiden goddess of proportion and the avenger of crime, she has as attributes a measuring rod (tally stick), a bridle, scales, a sword, and a scourge, and she rides in a chariot drawn by griffins.
Fortune and retribution [ edit ]
The word nemesis originally meant the distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad, simply in due proportion to each according to what was deserved.[citation needed] Later, nemesis came to suggest the resentment caused by any disturbance of this right proportion, the sense of justice that could not allow it to pass unpunished.[citation needed]
O. Gruppe (1906) and others connect the name with "to feel just resentment". From the fourth century onward, Nemesis, as the just balancer of Fortune's chance, could be associated with Tyche.
In the Greek tragedies Nemesis appears chiefly as the avenger of crime and the punisher of hubris, and as such is akin to Atë and the Erinyes. She was sometimes called "Adrasteia", probably meaning "one from whom there is no escape"; her epithet Erinys ("implacable") is specially applied to Demeter and the Phrygian mother goddess, Cybele.
Kin [ edit ]
Justice (Dike, on the left) and Divine Vengeance (Nemesis, right) are pursuing the criminal murderer. By By Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, 1808
Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hyginus she was a child of Erebus and Nyx. She has also been described, by Hesiod, as the daughter of Nyx alone. In the Theogony, Nemesis is the sister of the Moirai (the Fates), the Keres (Black Fates), the Oneiroi (Dreams), Eris (Discord) and Apate (Deception)
Progeny [ edit ]
Helen [ edit ]
In some metaphysical mythology, Nemesis produced the egg from which hatched two sets of twins: Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. While many myths indicate Zeus and Leda to be the parents of Helen of Troy, the author of the compilation of myth called Bibliotheke notes the possibility of Nemesis being the mother of Helen. Nemesis, to avoid Zeus, turns into a goose, but he turns into a swan and mates with her. Nemesis in her bird form lays an egg that is discovered in the marshes by a shepherd, who passes the egg to Leda. It is in this way that Leda comes to be the mother of Helen of Troy, as she kept the egg in a chest until it hatched.[8]
Stasinus of Cyprus or Hegesias of Aegina, Cypria Fragment 8 (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th or C6th B.C.) :
Rich-haired Nemesis gave birth to her [Helene (Helen)] when she had been joined in love with Zeus the king of the gods by harsh violence. For Nemesis tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love with her father Zeus the son of Kronos (Cronus); for shame and indignation vexed her heart: therefore she fled him over the land and fruitless dark sea. But Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch her. Now she took the form of a fish and sped over the waves of the loud-roaring sea, and now over Okeanos' (Oceanus') stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning into such dread creatures as the dry land nurtures, that she might escape him.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 127 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
Nemesis, as she fled from Zeus' embrace, took the form of a goose; whereupon Zeus as a swan had intercourse with her. From this union, she laid an egg, which some herdsman found among the trees and handed over to Lede (Leda). She kept it in a box, and when Helene was hatched after the proper length of time, she reared her as her own.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 33. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
I will now go on to describe what is figures on the pedestal of the statue [of Nemesis at Rhamnos], having made this preface for the sake of clearness. The Greeks say that Nemesis was the mother of Helene (Helen), while Leda suckled and nursed her. The father of Helene the Greeks like everybody else hold to be not Tyndareos (Tyndareus) but Zeus. Having heard this legend [the sculptor] Pheidias has represented Helene as being led to Nemesis by Leda, and he has represented Tyndareos and his children.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 8 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
Constellation Swan (Cygnus). When Jupiter [Zeus], moved by desire, had begun to love Nemesis, and couldn't persuade her to lie with him, he relieved his passion by the following plan. He bade Venus Aphrodite, in the form of an eagle, pursue him; he, changed to a swan as if in flight from the eagle, took refuge with Nemesis and lighted in her lap. Nemesis did not thrust him away, but holding him in her arms, fell into a deep sleep. While she slept, Jupiter [Zeus] embraced her and then flew away. Because he was seen by men flying high in the sky, they said he was put in the stars. To make this really true, Jupiter put the swan flying and the eagle pursuing in the sky. But Nemesis, as if wedded to the tribe of birds, when her months were ended, bore an egg. Mercurius (Mercury) Hermes took it away and carried it to Sparta and threw it in Leda's lap. From it sprang Helen, who excelled all other girls in beauty.
Telchines [ edit ]
One source of the myth says that Nemesis was the mother of the Telchines, whom others say were children of Pontus and Gaea or Thalassa.
Bacchylides, Fragment 52 (from Tzetzes on Theogony) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
The four famous Telkhines (Telchines), Aktaios (Actaeus), Megalesios (Megalesius), Ormenos (Ormenus) and Lykos (Lycus), whom Bakkhylides (Bacchylides) calls the children of Nemesis and Tartaros.
[N.B. Tartaros is the spirit of the great pit beneath the earth.]
Acts and deeds [ edit ]
Although a respected goddess, Nemesis brought much sorrow to mortals such as Echo and Narcissus. Narcissus was a very beautiful and arrogant hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia, who disdained the ones who loved him. Nemesis lured him to a pool where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was only an image. He was unable to leave the beauty of his reflection and he eventually died.[9] Nemesis believed that no one should ever have too much goodness in their lives, and she had always cursed those who were blessed with countless gifts.
Local cult [ edit ]
A festival called Nemeseia (by some identified with the Genesia) was held at Athens. Its object was to avert the nemesis of the dead, who were supposed to have the power of punishing the living, if their cult had been in any way neglected (Sophocles, Electra, 792; E. Rohde, Psyche, 1907, i. 236, note I).
Smyrna [ edit ]
Nemesis on a brass on a brass sestertius of Hadrian, struck at Rome AD 136
At Smyrna there were two manifestations of Nemesis, more akin to Aphrodite than to Artemis. The reason for this duality is hard to explain. It is suggested that they represent two aspects of the goddess, the kindly and the implacable, or the goddesses of the old city and the new city refounded by Alexander. The martyrology Acts of Pionius, set in the "Decian persecution" of AD 250–51, mentions a lapsed Smyrnan Christian who was attending to the sacrifices at the altar of the temple of these Nemeses.
Rome [ edit ]
Nemesis was one of several tutelary deities of the drill-ground (as Nemesis campestris). Modern scholarship offers little support for the once-prevalent notion that arena personnel such as gladiators, venatores and bestiarii were personally or professionally dedicated to her cult. Rather, she seems to have represented a kind of "Imperial Fortuna" who dispensed Imperial retribution on the one hand, and Imperially subsidised gifts on the other; both were functions of the popular gladiatorial Ludi held in Roman arenas.[10] She is shown on a few examples of Imperial coinage as Nemesis-Pax, mainly under Claudius and Hadrian. In the third century AD, there is evidence of the belief in an all-powerful Nemesis-Fortuna. She was worshipped by a society called Hadrian's freedmen.
Ammianus Marcellinus includes her in a digression on Justice following his description of the death of Gallus Caesar.[1]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]A psychiatrist who will help run a federally-approved study of the use of medical marijuana to treat veterans urged Floridians to pass Amendment 2 in November at a press conference in Fort Lauderdale.
Organizers of the amendment, United for Care, held the event Wednesday with Dr. Suzanne Sisley and two veterans who have used medical marijuana. The press conference was held at a Westin hotel, the site of a Viridian Cannabis conference about investing in the marijuana industry.
“You have an opportunity in this state to embrace common sense in November,” Sisley said. “You have a chance to create a sanctuary where patients can finally get safe, legal access to exquisitely lab-tested cannabis. That would be a huge gift to the citizens of Florida and an important gift to the veterans of this state who desperately deserve that access.”
A similar medical marijuana constitutional amendment drew support of 58 percent of Florida voters in 2014, two points shy of passage. Advocates hope that larger Democratic turnout in a presidential year will make the difference this time — and that includes in left-leaning Broward where 63.5 percent of voters favored the amendment in 2014.
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United for Care also altered the language of the amendment to address some concerns about the previous version. The new amendment requires parental consent and doctor certification for minors and more clearly defines the medical conditions it covers, which includes cancer, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder and other debilitating conditions of the same class with a doctor’s recommendation.
The Vote No on 2 campaign, funded by the Drug Free Florida Committee, is the lead opponent. The campaign pointed to a study by Yale University that found marijuana worsens PTSD symptoms.
Scott Calhoun, a former U.S. Army specialist and Gulf War veteran, shared his experience with medical marijuana Wednesday. Calhoun, who has PTSD and other medical problems, that the VA once prescribed him 75 different pills in one year. Ultimately that was pared down to 15 pills.
“I went to Amsterdam, and I took all 15 pills with me, all my prescriptions, I spent 10 days there and I came back with zero pills. I’m on zero pills right now.....” he said.
In 2014, the federal government approved a study of medical marijuana for veterans with PTSD. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies expects to start the study later this year once it receives the marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Sisley is the principal investigator on the Phoenix site for the study and will treat half of the 76 patients. The other part of the study is at Johns Hopkins University. The study, which will take about two years, will test a few different strains of marijuana to determine if any help veterans.
“We lose 22 veterans each day to suicide,” Sisley said. “That is a public health crisis.”
That statistic stems from a study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released in 2013. It comes with some caveats including that it is based on 21 states and there is some uncertainty in veteran identifiers on death certificates, PolitiFact found.
Sisley was fired from her job as a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry by the University of Arizona in 2014. She said at the time that she was fired as a result of her medical marijuana research that put her at odds with legislative Republicans who fund the university. At the time the university denied her characterization but provided no explanation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The marijuana amendment is a hot issue that could spill into some other races on the ballot in Florida.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, was a rare vocal Democrat who opposed the Florida constitutional amendment in 2014. But this time she faces her first Democratic primary challenger for reelection — Tim Canova — and has said she will “evaluate” the amendment.
In May, the U.S. House and Senate voted in favor of an amendment to allow military veterans access to state medical marijuana programs. Wasserman Schultz voted in favor of the amendment despite opposing a similar version in the past. Canova supports medical marijuana.
Wealthy Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan who has bankrolled the Florida amendment, told the Miami Herald in May that he might create a PAC to attack Wasserman Schultz.
Morgan told the Miami Herald this week that he wants to see the results of a poll in the race before he decides whether to invest. No public polls have been released so far.
“I am waiting to see a poll I believe in,” Morgan said. “If I see a chance, yes.”My Gulf News column on January 16 was primarily about the ever-escalating American practice of assassination by drones, carried out in Yemen, and the complicity of the top brass of the current Yemeni government. The US carried out 42 targeted drone strikes in Yemen last year — way up from 10 the year before. That is nearly one every week.
As if by a stroke of luck, the column received a boost from a number of articles in papers and on websites — thanks to Hooria Mashhoor, the Minister of Human Rights in the Government of Yemen. It is one thing for a columnist to criticise the activity and quite another for a cabinet minister to do so. In lawless Yemen, that takes a lot of guts.
In an article titled ‘Yemen minister urges ground ops, not drones, against militants’, Mahmoud Habboush wrote that Hooria has criticised the use of pilotless US drones against suspected Al Qaida militants in Yemen — a tactic that has outraged communities in targeted areas — and urged to ground such operations to avoid hurting civilians. Hooria reportedly said: “All we are calling for is justice and reliance on international regulations with regard to human rights and to be true to our commitment to our citizens in that they all deserve a fair trial.” And “... we’re calling for changing the means and strategies. These means and strategies can be applied on the ground without harming civilians and without leading to human rights violations.”
Wikileaks revealed that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had agreed to take responsibility for US attacks. Now, President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi has favoured the same approach. He is reported to have said: “They pinpoint the target and have zero margin of error!” Not surprisingly, he has been the darling of the US Ambassador in Sana’a, being more effective against Al Qaida than Saleh. It looks as if President Hadi was regurgitating what he was told to say. Otherwise, how will he explain the fact, as broadcast by Al Jazeera, that between 2004 and 2012, 800 civilians were killed? We know that in warfare, for every kill, there are approximately five non-fatal injuries. ABC News just published the following item: “Al Qaida’s No 2 in Yemen died of wounds sustained in a US drone attack last year in southern Yemen.” President Hadi should visit the “Drones Watch” website where he can read the names of 25 Yemeni citizens, assassinated children, including 15 girls and 10 boys between 1 and 19 years — let alone 108 Pakistani children. Then let him spout about “zero margin of error”!
Drone attacks in Pakistan have been exempted from the guidelines which President Barack Obama was set to define and there is every reason to believe that the same goes for Yemen. In any case, Yemen is a willing partner, giving whole-hearted support to the US. Unlike her Yemeni counterpart, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, has stated that drone attacks are violations of international laws and prove to be counter-productive. If the Pakistani foreign minister means what she says then this gives some hope to innocent civilians who are potential victims of these so-called “surgical” strikes.
The only good news in this ten-year-old tragedy of deadly drones comes from the UN. It is reported that Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, will formally launch an inquiry into the civilian impact of the use of drones, focusing on the applicable legal framework and factual evidence concerning civilian casualties. This should lead to recommendations to the UN General Assembly regarding the duty of states to conduct effective independent and impartial investigations into the legality and proportionality of such attacks, to be presented later this year. It is appropriate that the venue for this launch will be the law chambers at Grays Inn, London. It is only fair to mention that Pakistan was one of the countries that requested this inquiry.
Juan Cole put it very succinctly in an article on Reader Supported News on January 26: “The people being targeted by the drones are not an enemy army of a state on which the US has declared war. They are suspected criminals or terrorists. But they haven’t been put on trial.”
It is almost certain that the legality and proportionality of the attacks will be severely criticised. It is more certain that the recommendations will be ignored by Nobel laureate Obama.
Dr Qais Ghanem is a retired neurologist, radio show host, poet and novelist. His two novels are Final Flight from Sana’a and Two Boys from Aden College. His non-fiction book My Arab Spring, My Canada was published last October.When the FBI branded Martin Luther King Jr a “dangerous” threat to national security and began tapping his phones, it was part of a long history of spying on black activists in the United States. But the government surveillance of black bodies has never been limited to activists – in fact, according to the FBI; you only had to be black.
In the current fight between Apple and the FBI, black perspectives are largely invisible, yet black communities stand to lose big if the FBI wins. A federal judge in California is set to rule on Tuesday whether the FBI will be granted a request compelling Apple to unlock the iPhone of a San Bernardino shooter.
While seemingly about protecting national security – the same rationale used to justify 20th century surveillance of MLK, the Black Panther Party and others – this case is about much more. It could establish a legal precedent used to suppress the growing movement for black lives that is deposing public officials and disrupting the daily assault on black people in cities across the country.
Building off the civil rights and black power movements of the 1960s, a 21st century movement for black lives is coming of age, mobilizing the same courageous methods of non-violent direct action, using the same local-to-local strategy, and making many of the same demands. An intersectional approach is replacing old identity politics, and a newfound digital landscape is making communication possible in more directions and at previously unimaginable speeds. The movement for black lives is attracting the brightest minds and bravest bodies. Black activists are developing new ways of grassroots organizing in an information economy.
Like its predecessors, the democratic movement for black lives has been met by anti-democratic state surveillance and anti-black police violence. New “smart” policing methods are being used by modern-day gumshoes who, fueled by the false rhetoric of black criminality, experiment with high-tech tools to the detriment of black democratic engagement.
In the 20th century, the FBI admitted to overreaching and violating the constitution when it used its counter intelligence program, COINTELPRO, for domestic surveillance that spied on black activists. Last year, FBI director James Comey admitted in a congressional committee hearing to flying spy planes that monitored protests in the wake of police killings of black people in Ferguson and Baltimore with the agency working in tandem with local police. In Chicago, home of the infamous “red squad”, police collected “First Amendment Worksheets” on black organizations such as We Charge Genocide, and Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition.
There are reports from activists on the front lines of protests about police employing “kill switch” technology to cut off live-streaming, using Stingrays to intercept phone calls, or flying drones overhead for crowd control, but such claims are unconfirmed as police refuse to reveal their techniques and are not compelled by law to do so.
Twentieth century surveillance is alive and well in the 21st century, and is one powerful reason why, in a digital age and era of big data, the fight for racial justice must also include a fight for the equal and fair application of first and fourth amendment rights.
A letter was sent by some of us in the Black Lives Matter movement to California federal magistrate judge Sheri Pym, who is overseeing the Apple case, warning of the dangerous implications of siding with the FBI. It was signed by Beats, Rhymes & Relief, the Gathering for Justice, Justice League NYC, writer Shaun King, Black Lives Matter co-founder and Black Alliance for Just Immigration executive director Opal Tometi, as well as the organization I work for, the Center for Media Justice.
I signed because, as the child of a Black Panther, I grew up with the persistent threat of police spying. The police “watched” my family in the name of “safety” and “national security”, but I knew that we became targets of government surveillance because my mother advocated for black bodies abandoned and abused by state violence.
That is why the FBI case is not only against Apple, but is also against communities of color and communities of resistance. It is against democracy. It is against the black immigrant worker who has fled political persecution, the black and Latino youth putting themselves on the line to catalyze deep change, the gender non-conforming bodies subjected to daily assaults, the Muslim communities regularly targeted by bias and hate crimes. We don’t have the same protections others take for granted, we are instead treated as perpetually guilty.
Reports have surfaced that the Department of Homeland Security has been monitoring the movement for black lives since the initial uprisings in Ferguson. We know that police are watching the tweets we write, the Facebook event pages we set up, and the demonstrations we organize in the streets. If we are arrested, our phones will be confiscated. Whether or not police can look into our phones, whether or not they need a warrant, is being tested in court. This is not a vision of some distant dystopic future, this is happening right now. This is why the FBI case against Apple, is also against us.
For black communities and others pushed to the margins of political and economic power – democratic engagement and the exercise of our human and civil rights in a digital age demands the ability to encrypt our communications.
It isn’t just Black activists either – Latino activists are raising a similar rallying cry. Consider the prospect of a President Trump, who has notoriously expressed his anti-immigrant views, and sided with the FBI in its fight against Apple. With record numbers of deportations already at hand – could undocumented immigrants be rounded up using the information transmitted from their cellphones?
A newly developed open source app for iPhones called Signal, which encrypts phone calls and text messages, has become a favorite among organizers as well as Edward Snowden. It allows for free and instant encryption of messages that cannot be cracked by anybody wanting to eavesdrop. Activists across the world have adopted the app as one way to protect their right to organize.
Yet encryption technology is for more than just activists. Whether protecting from identity theft or government surveillance – all communities need to protect their data in the digital age. We cannot have a healthy democracy without everyone’s voice.
Black voices, and other voices of color, have long been missing from the debates on government surveillance – but not anymore. We’re here, and we are calling on companies to protect the rights of consumers, and on legislators to protect the rights of residents. One way to do both is to pass the Encrypt Act 2016, which would, if passed, prevent the government, or a contracted company, from altering the security functions of computers and cellphones, or decoding encrypted information, in order to conduct a search. Even now, members of congress are bizarrely moving to ban encryption at the state level using the rhetoric of terrorism and black criminality.
Encryption is necessary for black civil and human rights to prosper, but isn’t enough. While it protects our democratic right to organize for change, we must fight for a world in which those rights are not under persistent threat. The Apple v the FBI case is a test case for democracy. It will determine, for this and the next generation, who has the right to communicate, and therefore the power to define reality.
In the encryption debate, the stakes are high for black people. Indeed, we are in a fight for our lives. I believe that we will win.It was a sight rarely seen at Olympic Stadium of late. Fully two hours before the game was scheduled to begin, people were lined up in the rotunda, waiting for the doors to open. With the snow blowing outside, the souvenir store was crowded and there were queues at most, if not all, of the concession stands.
All this for a soccer game. In winter. We wonder now if Impact owner and president Joey Saputo still believes there’s not enough buzz revolving around his team?
On a night when the clock refused to strike midnight on the Cinderella Impact, it was rookie Cameron Porter who proved the unlikely hero. It was Porter who discovered the slipper did indeed fit.
Porter, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound rookie American forward who played collegiately at Princeton, scored in extra time in what is arguably the biggest goal in team history. And it wasn’t even the winning goal in the Impact’s 1-1 tie Tuesday night against Mexican side Pachuca in the second-leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final.
Attendance at the noisy east-end indoor facility was 38,104.
Montreal advances to the semifinal round for the first time in club history based on aggregate goals, having tied Pachuca, 2-2, in Mexico last Tuesday. Because of that, the Impact was in the driver’s seat and will now meet either D.C. United or Alajuelense. The latter won the home leg, 5-2, last week. The teams conclude the series Wednesday night.
Pachuca appeared set to advance after German Cano scored on a penalty-kick in the 80th minute. Moments earlier, Belgian defender Laurent Ciman received the questionable penalty after a borderline tackle of Cano, who appeared to easily fall to the turf. Cano subsequently beat Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush with a low shot to his right.
Porter, a third-round pick in this year’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft, had entered the game late as a substitute, replacing Nigel Reo-Coker. Head coach Frank Klopas had substituted liberally late in the game, inserting Calum Mallace and Jack McInerney as well, knowing the Impact required a tying goal to advance.
“We needed goals. The penalty-kick came late and we needed to push,” Klopas said. “Porter has put a lot of effort and commitment in training. You have to reward guys and keep them honest.
“We saw something in the kid. This is fantastic. We put him in and it was a dream finish.”
How ironic that it was Mallace who set up Porter. Mallace sent a high ball downfield to Porter, who controlled it off his chest, played it forward and beat goalkeeper Oscar Perez with a low shot between his legs. Porter, not totally sure how to celebrate the historic event, ran down the field before being mobbed by his teammates, falling to the bottom of the pile.
Klopas ran onto the field following the goal and was ejected. He’ll be suspended from the Impact’s next Champions League game.
“To do that today is a dream come true. It’s sheer ecstasy,” said Porter, a native of Centerville, Ohio, who doesn’t turn 22 until late May. “I’m a goal-oriented individual.
“I saw the ball come to me. After all the practices the veterans have told me not to be tense and seize the opportunity. The opportunity came. I had to be calm and touch it through. I was nervous, but my mouth wasn’t as dry. That first game (in Mexico) got the nerves out of me.”
Pachuca, which won the Champions League in 2009 and ’10, was playing its fourth game in 11 days, didn’t have the benefit of the high altitude back home and isn’t accustomed to playing indoors, let alone on artificial turf. But it was the visitors who controlled large portions of the play and squandered many opportunities that came back to haunt it.
“It hurt us to miss chances like that. Our lack of experience showed. We didn’t manage the match,” acknowledged Pachuca head coach Diego Alonso a native of Uruguay.
But it certainly appeared the Mexicans would advance following Cano’s goal against Bush, who was making club history himself, surpassing Matt Jordan with 10 games and starts in CONCACAF play. There was nothing Bush could do on Cano’s goal, but some nine minutes earlier, he robbed the same player from in close, getting his foot on Cano’s low shot.
“When a guy’s point-blank like that, all you can do is put yourself in the best position possible,” Bush said.
An exasperated Klopas seemed to frequently complain to referee Henry Bejarano. And Klopas didn’t mince words when talking about the penalty-kick that nearly foiled his squad.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “The game should be decided by the players. The referee shouldn’t be the protagonist.”
The Impact went with the same starting lineup it fielded a week ago in Mexico, starting seven newcomers who weren’t with the team last season, when it finished last overall in Major League Soccer. While Montreal appears to be more disciplined and compact with the ball, there’s no denying the team possesses more grit and determination than before.
“I’m extremely proud of the team spirit, commitment and energy,” Klopas said. “The grit and attitude and spirit was fantastic tonight. It was a great atmosphere. Now, it’s up to the team. But you see, the soccer community is here. Teams go through difficult moments, but it’s not like (the fans) went away. Our job is to perform well and bring the fans back.”
hzurkowsky@montrealgazette.com
twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1In war, things are rarely what they seem. Back in 2003, in the days leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon adamantly insisted that the war would be a relatively cheap one. Roughly $50 billion is all it would take to rid the world of Saddam Hussein, it said.
Marc and Craig (right) Kielburger. ( SUPPLIED PHOTO ) A U.S. military pilot brings casualties evacuated by helicopter to an emergency room of the 28th Combat Support hospital in Baghdad on Aug. 20, 2007. ( DAMIR SAGOLJ / REUTERS FILE PHOTO )
We now know this turned out to be the first of many miscalculations. Approaching its fifth year, the war in Iraq has cost American taxpayers nearly $500 billion, according to the non-partisan U.S.-based research group National Priorities Project. That number is growing every day. But it's still not even close to the true cost of the war. As the invasion's price tag balloons, economists and analysts are examining the entire financial burden of the Iraq campaign, including indirect expenses that Americans will be paying long after the troops come home. What they've come up with is staggering. Calculations by Harvard's Linda Bilmes and Nobel-prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz remain most prominent. They determined that, once you factor in things like medical costs for injured troops, higher oil prices and replenishing the military, the war will cost America upwards of $2 trillion. That doesn't include any of the costs incurred by Iraq, or America's coalition partners. "Would the American people have had a different attitude toward going to war had they known the total cost?" Bilmes and Stiglitz ask in their report. "We might |
than their predecessors. We have quite a few riders at the 6’7″ mark on the trail with the Debonair with no “uh-ohs”. Part 2.) is our suspension design. It has a balanced weight distribution and is what our riders refer to as the “voodoo” of our bikes. You hit the technical section, rebound, and immediately move through-the shock isn’t carrying the entire load of the hit, the entire suspension design comes into play which allows for higher PSI in the shock without compromise and is an excellent match for the Clydesdales.
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Review: Pivot Switchblade – 2017 Bible of Bike TestsCall me BC. I am a Christian and a stupid little skel-izard that enjoys writing, drawing, reading, and video-gaming.Some nonsense I'm into:- Pokemon- Kirby- My Little Pony (G1 and G4)- Wizard of Oz (original books by L. Frank Baum)- Portal- One Piece- Invader Zim- Gravity Falls- Undertale- Grim Fandango- Star Wars- Coco(But I'm currently obsessing over Coco and Grim Fandango for the most part. Spoilers for the former are tagged "#coco spoilers"!)This blog is SFW!IF YOU NEED ME TO TAG SOMETHING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!Misc/Lifepost tag - "some nonsense"Negative NON-fandom-related tag (for upsetting real-life stuff) - "negative nonsense"I am not associated with any callout blogs nor do I approve of callout posts of any nature.Please do not use my artwork without my permission! THAT INCLUDES REPOSTING IT, EVEN IF YOU GIVE CREDIT. DO NOT REPOST MY ARTWORK.Also, please don't tag my posts with non-canon ships unless I've tagged them with said ships or if the post itself is about shipping.(Icon by @ameb-stuff!)Brian Close: The combative brave-heart of cricket
Brian Close, who passed away on September 14, 2015, was one of the toughest men to have played the game. Arunabha Sengupta pays homage to the Yorkshire and England cricketer with one of the longest careers.
We remember him as the bald-headed brave-heart, the quintessential Yorkshireman, who never flinched even when struck the most painful of blows. And with his passing at the age of 85, we grieve the departure of one of the last of the old school.
Also Read Brian Close: Controversial, curious composite of unfulfilled promises
Be it walking down the wicket to Wes Hall’s pace like fire at Lord’s in 1963; or standing up to Michael Holding’s vicious thunderbolts aimed at his heart as a 45-year-old in 1976; or crouching at suicidal positions near the bat, hardly blinking when struck on the forehead by a fearsome pull — that is the image of Brian Close that lives on. He was tough, very tough. Even his characteristically controversial auto-biography was titled I Don’t Bruise Easily.
He had not always been bald-headed. In fact, he had been the youngest Test cricketer for England, way back in 1950-51, when Freddie Brown’s team had travelled Down Under. He had been a prodigy at 17, even among the hardened Yorkshiremen, bowling seam and off-spin while batting left-handed with a variety of strokes. At the same time, he had turned out for Bradford City, Leeds United and finally Arsenal in football. He was a phenomenal all-round sportsperson.
Perhaps he was pushed into international cricket way too soon. A horrid tour of Australia ensured that he played through the next 27 seasons of First-Class cricket with just a few sporadic Test match appearances. However, he served Yorkshire with enough distinction for years and years to remain perennially knocking on the doors of national selection.
His returns to the Test side were brief and almost always riddled with controversy. A fatal sweep stroke at Old Trafford in 1961 continued to haunt him all his life. But his stature as skipper of the northern county side ensured the mantle of captaincy of a battered England side in 1966.
He led seven Tests, was victorious in six and drew one — winning the series against Pakistan and India and triumphing in the only Test he led against the supreme West Indians under Garry Sobers. He was a shrewd captain and one of the most successful ones. Why, he even managed to coax Geoff Boycott to play a spectacularly strokeful innings in the Gillette Cup final of 1965. And yet, the continuing stigma of controversy, this time slow over rate in a county game at Edgbaston, meant that he never led England again in a Test match.
There were problems at his home county, too, which led him to move to Somerset. Into his 40s, he kept scoring runs, taking the occasional wickets and leading with aplomb. In 1972, he was rewarded with England captaincy in the three One Day matches against Australia. England won the series 2-1.
Finally there was one last SOS from the England side, when he was drafted to combat the fastest and the most lethal of pace bowlers. He was 45 and was instrumental in saving England from defeat at Lord’s with knocks of 60 and 46. Pushed to open in the Old Trafford Test, he was battered by the express pace, but as usual did not even rub his chest on being hit. The picture of Close at the end of the day, with his bare torso showing the welts and contusions of valour, has become legendary.
He played 22 Tests over 27 years, with moderate success, while his First-Class record is right there at the top. Nearly 35,000 runs at 33.26 and 1,171 wickets at 26.42 place him in the elite league of all-rounders.
He made his final serious cricketing appearance in 1986 at the age of 55, in a festival game at Scarborough. Apart from that he played a part in the administration of cricket as a Test selector and the chairman of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He remained controversial to the end: one of his final manoeuvres was to bring closure to Boycott’s First-Class career. Almost every man in cricket, from the universally loved Denis Compton and Len Hutton to the equally controversial Fred Trueman and Boycott fell out with him some time or the other.
But, that was Close in a nutshell. Greatness in the county circuit, occasional forays for England, touched by bravado and smeared in controversy, and flashes of promise mired in inconsistency. Yet, even the most volatile of cricketers swore loyalty and loved to play under him.
His familiar, ageing face was a regular sight at the international and important county matches at Headingley. The splendid Headingley Lodge within the premises of the ground has a suite named after him. He was as much part of Yorkshire cricket as the Len Hutton gates.
He never understood how a cricket ball could hurt someone. “I used to get hit, but the ball only remains on your body for a moment. How painful can that be?” he used to ask.
We hope his death had been as instantaneous and he was as impervious to the final pain as he had been throughout on the cricket field.
(Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history of cricket, with occasional statistical pieces and reflections on the modern game. He is also the author of four novels, the most recent being Sherlock Holmes and the Birth of The Ashes. He tweets here.)Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
This weekend could see the final flight of the last airworthy Vulcan bomber over the Stockport factory where it was assembled.
Vulcan XH558 was built at Avro’s Woodford site – where the iconic delta wing aircraft were made from 1956 until the 1980s – and it is the last of the Cold War era bombers still flying.
Vulcans played a key role for Britain during the period and their ground-breaking design led directly to the development of Concorde.
The bomber is expected over Woodford at around 3.10pm on Saturday as part of the Salute to the V-Force Tour, but details are subject to change.
It will also pass over Barton Aerodrome at around 3pm.
The three-hour flight will start at Doncaster at 1pm and loop north over Scarborough and Carlisle before heading back over Barton Aerodrome and Woodford, and back to Doncaster.
The XH558 was last seen in the area two weeks ago as part of the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power for its farewell tour.
Aviation enthusiast Mel Thorley, who used to go plane-spotting at Avro as a child, is looking forward to seeing the bomber in the air for what will probably be the final time.
Vulcan flight plan View fullscreen
Mel, who grew up in Edgeley and Davenport, said: “I thought the Cosford Air Show was the last time I would see a Vulcan bomber until I found out about this.
“It will be marvellous to see one over Woodford one last time.
“You have always got to think there will be another day but one assumes this will be the last time and the last time over Woodford.
“I hope it does a circuit rather than just a fly-past but it will depend on conditions.
“It will be a happy day and a sad day, but we’ll be ecstatic beforehand and just afterwards.
“It will be one of those ‘what do I do now’ moments. We used to get all the bombers here, it used be like getting your own fabulous personal airshow every time you went up to Woodford.
“The Vulcan is so large, it’s incredible for it to climb the way it does.
“They are so heavy, the first one I ever saw I thought ‘how the heck does it do that’ – it’s an awesome plane.”
Other events on Saturday – Armed Forces Day – include a celebration organised by Stockport Homes at Wimborne Close in Cheadle Hulme between 3pm and 6pm.
There will also be a family fun day at Castle Street in Edgeley between 10am and 5pm featuring a bouncy castle, a martial arts demonstration and displays from the police and fire services.
All monies raised will be donated to the Armed Forces Benevolent Fund.Former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Derek Fisher was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing his 2015 Cadillac on a freeway in Sherman Oaks.
At about 3:02 a.m. Fisher was on the northbound 101 Freeway with his girlfriend, reality TV star Gloria Govan of “Basketball Wives,” when his car veered to the right and onto the paved right shoulder while approaching the 405 Freeway interchange, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.
Fisher’s car crashed into a raised concrete curb and metal guardrail, overturned and landed on its roof.
The car came to rest on the freeway blocking two lanes of traffic, but Fisher and Govan were able to escape without being injured, the CHP said.
Officers conducted a DUI evaluation on Fisher and determined he had been drinking.
Fisher, who is also the ex-head coach of the New York Knicks, was arrested on suspicion of DUI without incident.Kendrick Lamar fans itching to giveTo Pimp A Butterfly a spin on their record players have been out of luck since the album dropped in March, as it was only released in CD and digital formats. (Their only recourse, perhaps, was investing in this Bluetooth disc that turns any mp3 into a vinyl record.) That all changes come this fall, however, when the tour de force is finally issued on vinyl.
According to a listing on Fat Beats, a vinyl version of TPAB will be available on October 2nd via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album’s original 16 tracks will be spread across two black LPs; sadly, unlike the vinyl edition of good kid, m.A.A.d city, it doesn’t look like there will be any bonus cuts or exclusives. The new pressing is priced at $27.99 and can be pre-ordered today here.
This is just the latest news out of the Kendrick camp the last few weeks. The Compton native’s been busy, what with the release of his “For Free? (Interlude)” music video, his Mos Def-aided Osheaga performance, and new music on the horizon, courtesy of Dr. Dre’s highly-anticipated Compton album, due out on Friday.
Below, revisit the video for “King Kunta”.Image caption Shoppers at the store spoke of "hearing screams"
A woman who was stabbed in an Aldi supermarket, in Skipton, North Yorkshire, has died.
The 30-year-old was attacked at the store in Keighley Road at about 15:30 GMT on Thursday.
Shoppers were left terrified, with one witness saying everyone "screamed and ran up and down". The witness also said she had "never been so scared".
A 44-year-old local man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, North Yorkshire Police said.
A force spokesman said: "The suspect was initially detained by brave members of staff and public, before he was arrested by officers who were quickly on scene.
"He was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder, but it has now turned into a murder investigation despite the efforts of medics to save the victim."
'Staff racing about'
He added that they were not in a position to identify the victim at this stage, but her family was being supported by specialist officers.
The store was busy with shoppers at the time, and one said: "I just saw the aftermath, I was so scared I ran off.
"All the staff were racing about," she said, adding police vans arrived on the scene within minutes.
In a statement released on Friday, Aldi said the store would be closed until further notice to allow police to carry out investigations.
A spokesperson said: "We are working with the police following an incident at our Skipton store."Microsoft launched its Windows 8 Consumer Preview at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February. So far, the reactions to this first mainstream preview of Windows 8 have been somewhat mixed – not everybody is in love with the new Metro interface, for example – but it looks like that isn’t stopping people from spending a lot of time with the Windows 8 preview. Indeed, according to Microsoft, “millions of people” are already using the Windows 8 preview every day and overall usage of the preview is double of what the company saw at the same point in time after launching the Windows 7 beta.
Given that most Windows users are quite happy with Windows 7, that’s quite an interesting number. Maybe the change in name – from ‘beta’ to ‘consumer preview’ – at this stage in the development cycle gave more mainstream consumers the confidence to install Windows 8 and use it as their main operating system? If that’s true, then a comparison between the daily usage of the Windows 7 release candidate and the Windows 8 preview would actually be more interesting than this number.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft happily talked about the fact that it saw about 1 million downloads within the first 24 hours after it put the consumer preview online. It hasn’t released any new numbers since then beyond saying that “millions of customers” have downloaded it and now use it regularly (we actually asked Microsoft about this today and were told that the company doesn’t currently have any updated numbers to share).Infielder Chris Bostick is one of several Nationals’ minor leaguers off to strong starts despite the mid-atlantic cold. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
Welcome to the first-ever installment of Minor League Monday, a weekly post in which we’ll wrap up the previous week’s action for the Nationals‘ minor league affiliates. We’ll give you the information you should know, about the Nationals’ prospects you need to know, so you can keep an eye on the future. Without further ado …
CLASS AAA SYRACUSE:
Winter-like weather forced the Chiefs to postpone their first four home games of the season, and sent them to Lehigh Valley for a closed doubleheader Friday against the Iron Pigs. They swept them, 5-1 then 2-1, powered in the first game by five innings of one-run ball from A.J. Cole and the same from Taylor Jordan in the second.
Shortstop Trea Turner, who, of course, knocked on the door of the major league roster all spring and may be back before this year is done, went 1 for 2 with two runs scored in the opener. Jason Martinson homered in the second.
The Chiefs have a busy week ahead of them, which will begin with Taylor Hill starting Monday night, and reigning Nationals’ minor league pitcher of the year Austin Voth making the first Class AAA start of his career Tuesday night — weather permitting.
CLASS AA HARRISBURG:
The Senators got three games in last weekend, despite the chill, and opened their season 2-1, scoring 10 runs in each of their first two games. John Simms started the opener and did so with five innings of one-run ball. Outfielder Ike Ballou, third baseman Adrian Sanchez, and catcher Spencer Kieboom — who has been a part of two major league camps in spring training now — all knocked three hits.
Kieboom, who sat Sunday, is hitting.500 in two games, while infielder Wilmer Difo is at.167 so far, a tiny sample. Infielder Chris Bostick, who was also in major league camp this spring, is hitting.453 with a double and a triple. The Senators have yet to homer this season.
CLASS A POTOMAC:
The P-Nats have begun their season 3-0 with just one game postponed because of weather — both of which are impressive — and have scored at least five runs in each game. Catcher Raudy Read and big third baseman Drew Ward homered in the opener, in which Phillips Valdez struck out seven in five innings. Koda Glover, one of the fastest up-and-comers from the 2015 draft class, struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
Four Potomac pitchers combined to allow one earned run in the second game, in which Ward got two more hits and second baseman Bryan Mejia tripled. Ward homered again Sunday. First baseman Jose Marmalejos-Diaz, the Nationals’ minor league player of the year last season, also homered, as did shortstop Osvaldo Abreu. Andrew Stevenson, the former LSU outfielder who was the first player the Nationals picked in the 2015 draft, is leading off for the P-Nats, and tripled on Sunday.
Right-hander Erick Fedde, the Nationals’ top pick in 2014, made his Class A debut in that game. He allowed two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, and struck out seven of the 13 batters he retired while walking one and allowing eight hits.
CLASS A HAGERSTOWN:
Hagerstown has managed to play four games so far this chilly season, and the Nationals’ low-A affiliate won one and lost three. Tennessee product and 2015 draft pick Andrew Lee threw five scoreless innings in their 4-0 season-opening loss. Hard-throwing left-hander Taylor Hearn — another 2015 selection — did not allow an earned run in his first five innings of the season in their 6-4 win Friday.
Rising outfield prospect Victor Robles went 2 for 4 with a double in that win, hitting leadoff. Mariano Rivera III blew the save in that game, but eventually earned the win in part because former Vanderbilt Commodore Rhett Wiseman tried to steal third in the bottom of the eighth, and scored when the throw got away.
Robles got two more hits in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader. So did first baseman Ryan Ripken, Cal’s son.
The Auburn Doubledays and Gulf Coast Nationals do not begin play until later this summer.Montreal has been named the world’s best city for students, beating out London, Berlin, Boston and Tokyo in a global ranking of 125 cities.
Montreal’s desirability, affordability and students’ positive perception of their time studying there propelled it from seventh place last year to top spot in 2017, knocking Paris from the first-place ranking it held for the last five years.
Recent global events like Brexit and the election of U.S. President Donald Trump may also have played a factor in Montreal’s ascension, said global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, which compiled the rankings. Paris fell to second place this year, followed by London (England), Seoul, Melbourne, Berlin and Tokyo. Vancouver placed in 10thspot, while Toronto was 11th.
Montreal’s position was based largely on the ranking’s new “Student View” indicator, which polled both students who were studying or had studied in a city vs. those who thought they might like to study there. The viewpoints between the two were often very different.
“A lot of people want to study in London, but those who have studied in London don’t necessarily have as positive an experience as they do in other places,” said Ben Sowter, head of research for QS. “It seems likely that smaller, friendlier places are a little more popular in the student view context than bigger, more cosmopolitan places that are more popular in the desirability context.”
Ottawa was ranked the top student city among the 18,000 international students surveyed for the “Student View” indicator.
Montreal’s position is based on six rankings: quality of universities in the city (McGill ranked 24thin the world and 1stin Canada in the 2016 QS university rankings); student mix (27 per cent of students at Montreal’s ranked universities are international); employer activity, which looks at how local and international employers see the graduates of a city’s universities; desirability of the city; affordability and the aforementioned student view indicator.
Despite Montreal’s low tuition rates ($2,328 for an academic year) and relatively low housing costs, it ranked 39thon the affordability scale. It compared favourably, however, to other cities in the Top 10 like Paris, which ranked 77th, and London, which was 105th.
With the city’s positive economic outlook according to the Conference Board of Canada, strong performance in the student indicators and university rankings and the highly attractive international nature of the city, “all things seem to be lining up to put Montreal in a strong position going forward,” Sowter said.
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Given the global competition for the best brains in the world and Canada’s relatively high standing these days, it’s time for Montreal to capitalize on its high rankings to enhance its future, Concordia University president Alan Shepard argued.
“Talented scholars and knowledge workers looking to learn and settle in a tolerant, progressive country are running out of options,” Shepard writes in an opinion piece in the Montreal Gazette. Studies show Donald Trump’s election and Brexit have made the U.S. and the United Kingdom less desirable places to study in the minds of many. Canada’s positive rankings in terms of social mobility and opportunities for immigrants, as well as its welcoming attitude make it not only a good place to study, but an inviting place for graduates to stay. Montreal needs to attract and keep those assets by launching social media campaigns, offering language and cultural immersion courses and recognizing accreditation equivalencies, Shepard writes.
“How we build Brand Canada during this historic opportunity could determine our future for generations to come.”
rbruemmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/renebruemmerRep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is the current darling of the left — which tells you just how crazy Democrats have gotten.
CNNPolitics reports, accurately, Waters is “having a moment” with the biggest online buzz since Bernie Sanders. Elle dubbed her “The Millennials’ Political Rock Star.”
Yet she’s every bit the over-the-top lefty she’s been for decades. Indeed, she’s winning all the praise by calling for President Trump’s impeachment.
On the record, at least 25 times.
Last week, she told the Los Angeles Press Club, “I want this president impeached.” She spent the weekend leading a crowd of activists in an “Impeach 45!” chant.
But MSNBC’s Craig Melvin pressed her on the issue Tuesday, and she quickly insisted, “I have not called for impeachment.”
No, she claimed, she wants the Russian-collusion stuff investigated first: “We need the facts in order to do the impeachment. And I’m going to work every day to try and help get those facts and to reveal them to our public until, of course, impeachment has taken place.”
Waters, in short, can’t be bothered to make sense — and that’s why they love her.BY AMIT BARAN ROY | has announced a story expansion pack for the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, titled Road to Boruto. As evident from the title itself, the expansion will feature Boruto, Naruto Uzumaki’s son, where players will be able to play through the events of Boruto: Naruto the Movie. The downloadable content will also feature an all-new adventure mode where players can play from the character’s perspective.
The expansion is going to be released in Americas and Europe on February 3 2017 for PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam for $19.99 as digital download. Whereas in Japan, the expansion will be released on February 2 2017 as both a packaged game including Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and as downloadable content. The expansion is going to include new characters to the game from the movie including Boruto Uzumaki and Sarada Uchiha, aka Burrito and Salad. It will also include a new story following the adventures of Boruto and Sarada, such as the battle between Sasuke and Kinshiki, and will also explore brand new areas in the Hidden Leaf Village. The two playable characters were previously only available to players who had pre-ordered Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 at specific retailers and now, they will be usable in both offline and online Free Battle Mode, as well.
The base game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 was released in February this year and was well received around the world scoring a 7 out of 10 in Steam, despite being a game based around anime. It also occupied the fourth place in US top 10 best selling games of February 2016 after Far Cry Primal, Call of Duty Black Ops III and GTA V.
Heads Up: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is available on for $49.99.Half Of Child Bomber's 53 Victims At Turkey Wedding Were Kids
Half Of Child Bomber's 53 Victims At Turkey Wedding Were Kids
Relatives at the funeral of three-month-old victim Sehriban Nurbay
A child suicide bomber has been blamed for killing at least 53 people in a "barbaric" blast at a wedding in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.
Another 69 were injured in the explosion - 17 of them "heavily" - and at least 22 of the victims were under 14 years old, said a government official.
In a live nationally-televised address in front of Istanbul's city hall, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "The explosion was the result of a suicide bomber aged between 12 and 14 who either detonated (the bomb) or others detonated it."
Image: Funerals for some of the victims have taken place
He also repeated what he had said earlier - that Islamic State militants were the "likely perpetrator(s)" of the bombing.
"It was clear that Daesh had such an organisation in Gaziantep or was attempting to make room for itself in recent times.
"Many intensive operations were conducted, are being conducted.
"Of course our security forces will be conducting these operations with even greater intensity."
Image: More than 50 people were killed at a wedding in Turkey Image: The attack on Saturday night happened in the city of Gaziantep Image: The Turkish President said the attacker is believed to have been a child Image: Mr Erdogan has also blamed Islamic State for the attack Image: Gaziantep is about 37 miles from Syria and there are fears it has become a hotbed for jihadists Image: The morning after the attack, people waited for news of loved ones Image: Pieces of projectile could be found at the scene Image: The wedding was for a member of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party and the bride and groom were both injured Image: Witnesses said celebrations were coming to an end when the bomb struck Image: Hundreds of mourners attended funerals, many coffins draped in the green of Islam Image: Funerals for some have been delayed, however, as identification of their bodies is difficult Image: Funerals for some of the victims of the Gaziantep wedding bomb Image: People are pictured waiting close to empty graves at a cemetery during funerals for the victims Image: There were 69 people injured in the blast, with 17 seriously hurt /
Witness Veli Can, 25, said: "The celebrations were coming to an end and there was a big explosion among people dancing.
"There was blood and body parts everywhere."
A bus driver who took some of the guests to the wedding said: "This attack was deplorable - how did they do such a thing?"
Image: The scene of the attack
At least 12 victims have already been buried but other funerals have been delayed because identification is difficult.
The bride and groom - Besna and Nurettin Akdogan - are among those being treated in hospital but are not in a life-threatening condition, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
The groom's sister and uncle are reportedly among the dead.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek visited the site of the attack, which he described as "a massacre of unprecedented cruelty and barbarism".
Gaziantep is just 37 miles north of the Syrian border.
As well as a home to many Syrians fleeing their country's civil war, there are fears it has also started to become a home for jihadists.
Image: Suspected pieces of metal from the bomb
Some security officials have blamed Kurdish militants for the attack.
But the area of the city where the wedding was held is said to have a large number of Kurdish residents and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said the wedding was for one of its members.
Kurds are also playing a major role in fighting Islamic State in Syria, adding to speculation that IS was behind the attack.
Image: Gaziantep is about 37 miles north of the Syrian border
Mr Erdogan said the aim of the bombing was to divide Turkey's different groups and "spread incitement along ethnic and religious lines".
"Our country and our nation have again only one message to those who attack us - you will not succeed," he added.
Turkey has suffered a series of attacks claimed by IS or Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its acronym PKK.
Image: President Erdogan said the attack would not divide Turkey
Last month the country was shaken by an attempted coup launched by rogue elements of the military.
Thousands have since been arrested or sacked in the military, police, civil service, judiciary and academia in a crackdown on what President Erdogan calls a vast terrorist conspiracy.
More than 200 people were killed in the failed coup that Mr Erdogan says was organised by a former ally, exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Three suspected IS suicide bombers also killed 44 people at Istanbul's main airport in July.There’s money in the air, especially above Union Station’s train tracks. In a growing metropolis like Toronto, every speck of space comes with a dollar sign, from the ground beneath our feet to the air above our heads.
Union Station's air rights could be used to create an entire neighbourhood above the tracks. ( DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR file photo )
And increasingly, cities around the world are using that “air” — or more specifically, the rights to it — to transform skylines. Should Toronto be doing the same? Air rights are used “to either preserve a historical building of a lower density, or the character of a neighbourhood,” said David Lieberman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto who teaches architecture and urban design. Say, for example, a historic theatre house needs funds. If the plot of land it is located on allows for higher density/more storeys than the theatre’s status quo, the rights to that “air” can be sold to another property. The density of that property can then be increased.
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Air rights can also help facilitate massive development projects, like Hudson Yards, the so-called “floating city” being built above an active train yard in New York. It’s the largest private development in U.S. history, and includes a 99-year lease with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the air rights above the tracks. As Lieberman noted, the tracks that divide Toronto’s downtown, as well as the rail yards in the city’s outskirts, are cumbersome to navigate and build around. Selling air rights could offer a way to better integrate these spaces: Just imagine a new neighbourhood springing up above the tracks leading to and from Union Station. For David Amborski, director of Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development, transit air rights hold lots of potential. “You could lease air rights above significant transit sites and transit locations, and that’d be a way to capture revenue to fund transit investment,” he said, adding he doesn’t know if building above Union Station’s train tracks is technically feasible. Related:
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Interactive: explore big ideas posed by experts As for air rights in general, Amborski said they’re an idea Toronto has barely explored, and that comes with some risk. “They have to be used appropriately and studied very carefully,” he said. For example, a poorly planned air rights development could lead to conflict between lower infrastructure, like a train station, and upper infrastructure, like an apartment building or school. When the lower infrastructure was originally designed, engineers may not have considered that something might be built on top of it somewhere down the line. Lieberman said if Toronto properly co-ordinates air rights, it can lead to much smarter urban planning based on neighbourhoods as a whole. “So much of our zoning here and in most jurisdictions is done on an individual property-by-property basis, and doesn’t necessarily make for an intelligent texture of the city,” he said. Ultimately, Lieberman said, air rights should be part of a conversation about how Toronto becomes a more sustainable and enjoyable place to live. “But you have to accept a different density of city, and is Toronto ready for that? Maybe not yet,” he said, citing the backlash against the Mirvish Towers proposal for three 80-plus-storey buildings. City council has agreed to convene a panel on the future of the proposal. Lieberman noted New York is one of the most sustainable cities in the world because of how it consolidates infrastructure — transportation, water, power and so forth. Part of that process is the city’s longstanding history with air rights, and how residents navigate competing demands to maintain neighbourhood character and get the most out of every inch of space. “The dispersed building of a city, such as we have — not only in the downtown core, but in Toronto as a whole — has been disastrous,” he said.
Read more about:I took a while but finally we’re here: today Finland became the 22nd country in the world where same-sex couples can legally get married. The law was passed in 2015, but today is the day when marriages can actually take place.
The law is especially significant because it started as a petition and moved on to be considered by the parliament after gaining over 100,000 signatures. This set an impressive precedent for other petitions to follow.
Marriage may not be the first thing on a busy collegiette’s mind now or ever, but it’s good to know you can now marry whoever you wish, regardless of the gender of your partner. Now that this is dealt with, maybe we can take a look at the pretty awful way the Finnish legal system treats transgender people, and take the next step towards a truly equal society.NEW YORK — Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that he doesn’t support the Palestinian-led “boycott, divest, sanction” campaign against Israel but said products made in Israel-occupied Palestinian territories should be clearly labeled so buyers can make a choice about them.
Carter told The Associated Press in an interview that he and the other retired senior leaders known as the “Elders” recently discussed the economic pressure campaign against Israeli occupation. The Elders group was formed by Nelson Mandela in 2007, and includes senior and retired leaders who work together on peace-building and humanitarian initiatives.
“We decided not to publicly endorse any kind of embargo, or so forth, against Israeli invasion, or occupying troops in Palestine,” Carter said.
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Among the other current Elders are former Irish president Mary Robinson, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, and former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.
But Carter added: “We have also encouraged Europeans for instance, at least to label products that are made by Israeli people who occupy Palestine and ship their products out of Palestine to be sold in Europe. … so that the buyers can decide whether they want to buy them or not.”
Carter received the Nobel peace prize in 2002 for brokering the Camp David Accords, the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that has been in place since 1978.
Some businesses and pension funds in Europe have recently cut investments or trade with Israeli firms they say are connected to West Bank settlements.
Israel claims the boycott has strong anti-Semitic connotations and is meant to delegitimize the Jewish state as a whole. They say it is not merely a pressure tactic against its policies |
the real reason why Chitoge left Japan. It was because she found out that Kosaki loves Raku. Chitoge also loves Raku but she wanted to make Raku and Kosaki happy by leaving Japan and letting them be together.
Kosaki also remembered who the promised girl was after reading the altered ending of the picture book created by Raku. That jogged her memory as she finally remembered that the promised girl was none other than...
Kosaki.
Kosaki was not sure, but she figured that Chitoge must've also remembered at some point that Chitoge remembered everything about the promise as well, causing her to be even more depressed. Kosaki really felt bad for Chitoge. She did not want to see her best friend cry. Ever!
Now the thing is, Raku doesn't know the real reason why Chitoge left Japan, and also that Kosaki is the promised girl. In fact, Raku was Kosaki's first love. Both had mutual feelings for each other. But either of them didn't realize it.
But she had to stop thinking about that. She was right now thinking what to tell Chitoge once they were to meet again. Obviously by now, she would be even more depressed. But she did not know how she should do it.
Also...
Kosaki noticed something.
Raku seemed a little bit different today.
"Umm... Ichijo-kun, why do you think Chitoge-chan disappeared?" Kosaki decided to ask.
Raku stopped walking and glanced behind his shoulder at Kosaki as he blinked in confusion before answering, "Well, I thought about it for a while now... But I still don't really get it," he then looked at the sky and continued, "However, after meeting her in America, I was thinking it was maybe my fault..."
Raku paused for a moment as Kosaki was listening intently. He continued, "That girl, her face was shocked with loss of words when she saw me. That's why... I thought maybe I did something horrible I haven't realized yet."
Kosaki gasped. "That's not it! I'm sure Ichijo-kun isn't a terrible person!"
Raku smiled a little, but a tinge of sadness was evident in his eyes as he laughed a little, "Thanks, it would be nice if that wasn't the reason. But somehow, I get the feeling that she's contemplating. She's always complaining about small things. But for important things, she keeps them locked away inside herself, you know? That's why we have to be the ones approaching her. Actually, I don't care what she's worried about... I just can't stand that idiot worrying about it alone."
The expression Kosaki displayed on her face was pure shock. Realization dawned on her face as she noticed what was different about Raku today. "Ichijo-kun, to you, Chitoge-chan must be very special..."
Raku chuckled and rubbed his back head sheepishly. "No, it's not anything big like that. But yeah, I do think it's less boring with her around."
Kosaki looked down at the ground and kicked the dust as she began to contemplate about something. "I have finally realized it now. I understand his feelings... There's no turning back. There's no evidence... Just a mere certainty," she thought.
Raku noticed the disturbed expression of Kosaki's face as he asked, "Onodera?"
"Sorry Ichijo-kun..." Kosaki began has she pursed her lips. "But there's something I'd like you to hear. Before you meet Chitoge-chan... Right here, right now... I have always wanted to tell you something for a very long time. I've always tried to say it, but it did not end up well. It was dduring junior high when I realized that my second... Actually my first... my first love."
Raku widened his eyes as he thought, "Wait... Is she...?"
"Ichijo-kun, you're my first love. I love you so much, and I always have." Kosaki confessed. "I'm sorry... At a time like this..."
Raku widened his eyes in shock as he thought, "Did I...Did I just hear that right? Onodera loves me? Did she just say that? Since junior high just like I have? That means..."
FLASHBACK BEGINS
"KYAAA! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Umm... I would like to pay for it, please give me your name."
"Hello Ichijo-kun! Same class again! Looking forward to it!"
"You can't what if it gets infected?"
"I get why Kirisaki-san took a liking to you, kind of."
"Ichijo-kun, I've always..."
"I thought because Ichijo-kun said it was because you'd prefer it was her."
"I know a girl who liked Ichijo-kun back in Junior High."
"T-Thank you! I...I am really happy!"
"Just a little special courtesy..."
"For example, Ichijo-kun, what do you think about me as a bride?"
"Of course, we promise that we'll see it together..."
FLASHBACK ENDS
"Did she like me from the beginning? Just like how I've always liked her from the beginning? Always..." Raku's eyes welled up with tears as it uncontrollably flowed down his cheeks. "Onodera... I never knew... Never was I going to cry..."
Tears formed in Kosaki's eyes as well as she asked, "Is Ichijo-kun crying...?"
"I don't now...but I..."
Kosaki began to cry as well as she tried to wipe the tears off her face, but more kept forming in her eyes. That's when Raku suddenly said, "I love you too, Onodera."
Kosaki widened her eyes in surprise as Raku paused for a moment before continuing, "I've always, always loved you... All along, Ioved you, Onodera."
However, Kosaki understood the true meaning behind his words as her eyes drooped slightly and she smiled. "Thank you...I'm really happy, but... You don't love me anymore, right?" she looked back at Raku and asked, "There's someone else in Ichijo-kun's heart now, right?"
Raku smiled and nodded. "Yeah..."
Kosaki closed her eyes and contemplated for a moment before reopening them. She took out her key that was kept on her neck and reached it out to Raku. "Here take this."
"O-Onodera..." Raku asked, perplexed.
"I remembered who the girl of Ichijo-kun's promise is... But I think I'm not suited to hold onto this anymore... Even I don't know what is inside it, but I will leave it up to you to decide what to do with it." Kosaki explained as she handed her key over to Raku.
The son of the Yakuza gang turned around and said, "Okay, I'll be right back," before walking a few steps forward. "Onodera... Thanks..." And with that, the he walked away in search of Chitoge, leaving Kosaki in the dust.
Kosaki stared forward at Raku until he disappeared from the horizon. Obviously, he had changed. She wasn't getting the same vibe from him before. Now that Raku loves Chitoge, what will Kosaki do?
"Kosaki!" a voice called out.
Far behind Kosaki was Ruri and Shu. They had just managed to catch up with Kosaki as her bestfriend said, "Ah! Found you at last!" she stopped in her tracks along with Shu when they got close enough to her. "Hm? You're alone? What about Ichijo-kun? Did you find Chitoge-chan?"
Kosaki didn't reply as she still had her back turned towards Ruri and Shu. "Kosaki?"
"Well... Ichijo-kun went to meet Chitoge-chan..." Kosaki said, her voice wavering.
Ruri widened her eyes in realization. "You..."
"It's strange... It's not as sad as I imagined... I thought I'd cry more... I just don't understand my feelings..." Kosaki turned around, revealing her tear-filled face. "Ruri-chan... What kind of expression am I wearing right now?"
Ruri widened her eyes in shock before clenching her fists. "You idiot... It's terrible!"
Ruri suddenly dashed towards Kosaki and hugged her. "You...really...are an idiot..."
"Y-Yeah... I'm sorry..." Kosaki apologized while returning the hug.
Shu stared down at the ground and thought. "So... Raku finally decided his feelings, huh?"
Meanwhile, Raku was still walking forward in search of Chitoge when a thought suddenly struck him. Kosaki had given him the key to the pendant. He began to contemplate whether he should open it at a time like this or not.
"Alright... I'll open it." Raku thought and he inserted Kosaki's key into his pendant, turning it over and unlocking it. He opened the pendant to see what was inside it and what he saw surprised him. There were two wedding rings and a letter that read, 'Raku and Kosaki' inside it. "Wedding rings? And a letter inside it? I see... So, Onodera was my first love... This is the answer I've been searching for all this while..."
Raku then noticed that there were two letters inside, so he decided to unfold the first one and read it.
To grown up Kosaki,
How are you? I'm probably well. When we get married, when we grow up, let's get lots of animals to breed! When we get married, I want to eat your cooking every day!
Raku laughed at the content of the letter he had written in the past and thought that it was pretty cute. After reading his letter, he then switched over to Kosaki's.
To grown up Raku,
I'm sure the grown up Raku is a lot taller. I want to grow up fast again so that we can meet fast. I think a long time would've passed by then. But I believe I will always continue to love Raku-kun.
Do you still love me, Raku-kun?
The last sentence struck Raku right in his heart as he felt a stinging pain in the middle of his chest. Not physical, but emotional pain. Tears once again began to form in his eyes as he clenched his chest and thought, "I don't regret it... Something I've always wanted... even if things took a twisty path... I decided I will regret nothing..."
"I've always felt happy staying next to Onodera, laughing or chatting with her...or just being in the same room as her... And I still think that... But that day... I ended up thinking about it... That day when I realized that I like Chitoge... She's noisy and reckless... And I don't understand her... We always fight and I get hit... Although I think I will be happy all the time, I thought I wanted to laugh sincerely with her like this... If it's with her, I could enter a world I never imagined... A world I could never reach on my own... If it's with her, I felt like I could do it... That's why..."
Raku sweat dropped and sighed in exasperation. "It would be funny if I got rejected by Chitoge after all I've been through..."
He closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. "But I've decided what I already wanted to do..." as he continued to walk forward. That's when he suddenly saw Chitoge ahead in front of a large rock. "Chitoge..." she was facing the large rock and thus her back was towards Raku.
"Oi, at last I found you."
"Yes..." Chitoge said.
Raku looked to the side and rubbed his back head. "When I would meet you, I wanted to ask so many questions. But now that I'm here, I can't remember any of them..."
"Yeah... me too... Hey, Raku..." Chitoge called.
Raku stared at Chitoge, waiting for her answer when she suddenly confessed, "I like you..."
"I liked you all along... I first realized it when during the 1st year's festival. But you like Kosaki-chan, right? I accidently overheard it when you were talking to Maiko-kun. That's why I ran away... Really... I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused you... But because I came to this place, I remembered everything about what had happened 10 years ago..."
"I was not the girl of your memories... the one who made that promise to you was Kosaki-chan... That's why I'm finally able to let you go... But still, before I let you go, I wanted to let you know that "I like you". Really, for this and everything else until now, I'm sorry." Chitoge confessed.
Raku closed his eyes and admitted, "I see... Just now, Onodera confessed to me. And then I came here after rejecting her."
Chitoge flinched at that as she was surprised. Why did Raku reject Kosaki?
"I have always like Onodera since forever. I also remembered everything from 10 years ago... Everything that had happened. But even then, someone else became precious to me..."
FLASHBACK
A new transfer student had just entered the room. She was beautiful, had long blond hair with strawberry colored hair tips, large blue eyes and wore the Bonyari school uniform. She stood in front of the class and introduced, "Hello! I'm a transfer student from America, and my name is Chitoge Kirisaki! Nice to meet you all!" she eye smiled.
Of course, as soon as Raku saw Chitoge, he immediately called her a barbarian for kneeing her in the face moments before they arrived at the class. They hated each other ever since that day and fought frequently. But...
FLASHBACK END
"Everything with her was a mess... She was foul mouthed, kicking others in front of everyone in the class... Even after all I did with her was fight... We argued every time we saw each other's faces. We couldn't agree with anything... So honestly, I hated her at first... But after all these times I spent with her, she was actually honest even if she looked faulty. She seemed unlikable but was actually friendly. She's just immature but she's the most earnest person I know... I realized that I liked her."
Chitoge clenched her skirt as Raku continued, "But I still liked Onodera at that time. You can call me a scumbag, I seemed to have a liking to two people. Though I didn't realize that until a certain someone scolded me... But because of that, I ended up hurting you... Because I was indecisive and contemplating. But now I've made up my mind."
"How come...?" Chitoge asked.
Raku placed his hand on his chin and said, "Well, I'm not sure... but simply."
"You cannot just say "simply", you idiot! Because always, you always liked her... Kosaki-chan, didn't you?" Chitoge asked.
"Yeah..."
Chitoge clenched her fists tightly. "Are you stupid? And for 10 years, you've met with her again. And you liked her again, didn't you? Then..."
"Yeah... Maybe I'm happy being with you..." Raku admitted.
"I feel happy fighting with you... I'm happy when you quarrel with me... Even when we're angry, or worried, or even cry, I'm sure that much that I've come to like you. That's why, I'm sure nothing can be done about it..."
Chitoge began to sob. "You know... The girl you're talking about is really awful, you know? If she doesn't like something, she gets annoyed right away. When she gets angry, her hand punches out first..."
Raku shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, I know...
Chitoge continued while still sobbing, "She runs away if she thinks she'll get hurt... She's always making others worried, causing trouble for others... She's really frustrating, you know? She can't do laundry... She can't even clean her room... She even...eats a lot, you know? I'm not the girl you've been searching for... I'm a fake, but that's okay with you?"
"Yeah... I love you." Raku confessed.
Chitoge turned around, revealing her tear filled face and ran towards Raku before hugging him. "Raku! I love you! I really really really love you!"
Raku was shocked at first, but he then returned the hug and smiled. "I love you too, Chitoge..."
WITH KOSAKI AND THE OTHERS
Kosaki had just finished explaining to Ruri and Shu about what had all happened before Raku left her to find Chitoge.
"I see... So that's what happened." Shu concluded.
"Kosaki..." Ruri said softly.
Kosaki wiped the last of her remaining tears from her eyes and tried to put on a smile. "It's ok Ruri-chan... I will eventually move on..."
Shu pointed over to the yonder and said, "Oh! Look over there! Raku and Chitoge are coming back!"
Indeed, Raku and Chitoge were returning. When Kirisaki saw Kosaki, her lips pursed. "Kosaki... I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you..."
Suddenly Kosaki dashed forward and hugged Chitoge, surprising her. But she eventually hugged her best friend back and began to cry once again along with Onodera.
And that's how, the long day had come to an end. Promises, memories, and a few peoples' hearts... On that long day, all those memories intertwined.
After all the emotional events that had transpired, everything restored back to its normal self (well with a few changes of course).
A few days had passed since that day. Right now, Kosaki and Ruri were walking in the streets of Bonyari on their way to Chitoge's house. Apparently, there was going to be a big party hosted by Chitoge's family. Basically, it's a celebration for Raku and Chitoge finally getting together...for real and not acting as fake lovers. Kosaki and Ruri made sure to wear nice clothes for the party. Shu and Raku were already at the party and so was Marika and the others.
Even Yui-nee had come to the party. After all, all of the friends had to be invited. Because after the party, Chitoge had to leave for America since she wanted to follow her career.
Kosaki smiled as she walked forward and said, "Ruri-chan, going to Ichijo-kun and Chitoge-chan's party reminds me of Chitoge-chan's last birthday party and the party before that... It sure does brings back memories..."
Ruri nodded in agreement and looked at Kosaki. "Yeah... I'm surprised that Marika and Yui-nee were able to make it to the party despite their busy schedule."
Kosaki looked at Ruri and explained, "Well, Chitoge-chan will be leaving for America for a while. Maybe even years. So, we don't know when she is going to come back. But I'm going to wish her all the best in her future career."
Ruri stared at the ground while still walking and suddenly said, "Kosaki..."
Kosaki glanced at Ruri and raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"
"What if...life gave you a second chance?" Ruri abruptly asked.
Kosaki stammered a little and asked, "Eh? W-What do you mean by that?"
"What if life gave you a second chance... What if life allowed you to mend the mistakes you've made in the past?"
Kosaki understood where Ruri was getting at and intervened, "Ruri-chan... It's okay... I've moved on now. What matters most is Raku's present, not his past. Because Chitoge is his true present and eternal future."
"Have you...really moved on?" Ruri asked.
Kosaki stared at Ruri, perplexed, and asked, "Why do you ask? Of course, I have."
Ruri stared at Kosaki for about half a minute or so, as if trying to find any deception in her eyes. After a while, she sighed and looked forward. "Alright... If that's what you say, then that's fine. Oh look, we've reached."
Indeed, Kosaki and Ruri had reached as they stopped in front of the posh looking gate of Chitoge's mansion. They opened it and decided to walk towards the house before entering inside.
INSIDE CHITOGE'S HOUSE
"I'm so glad that you finally made your final decision, Raku-chan!" Yui said happily as he held Raku's hands before her chest. "You've grown up now! Please take care of Chitoge-chan."
Raku smiled and chuckled a little. "Yes, I will definitely protect her with my life."
Chitoge, who was near Raku, smiled at Raku's proclamation and giggled. "Darling... Enough with the bravado..."
Raku pouted and said, "Baka, I really mean it..."
Tsugumi entered the scene and joined the conversation. "Ojou, has everyone come to the party?"
Chitoge placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment before answering, "Oh! I think Kosaki-chan and Ruri-chan haven't come yet. I wonder where they are."
Shu also joined the conversation and asked, "Yeah... Where's my Ruri-chan~?"
Raku pointed at the entrance of Chitoge's house and said, "Oh, look. Onodera and Miyamoto have come."
Indeed, Kosaki and Ruri had just entered inside as they walked towards the group. Kosaki greeted with a smile, "Hi Chitoge-chan! And congratulations!"
"Congratulations, Chitoge-chan." Ruri said, smiling.
Chitoge smiled back and hugged Kosaki and Ruri. "Thank you so much! I'm glad you came by."
Tsugumi smiled and informed, "Onodera-san, Miyamoto-san, you're just in time! The party is just about to begin. Please follow me."
Kosaki glanced at Raku and said, Good evening, Ichijo-kun."
Raku smiled and greeted back, "Good evening, Onodera... How are you feeling?"
Raku and Kosaki were talking like as if the incident that had happened a few days ago at the promised lands had never happened in the first place. However, she still didn't get the same vibe as she used to feel whenever she talked to Raku. It had changed completely after that day. But she did not mind. Chitoge was Raku's true love and there was nothing that could change that...
"I'm feeling much better ever since that day... Thank you for asking, Ichijo-kun." Kosaki thanked.
Raku dug his hands in his pockets and said, "You're welcome. We should get going now. The party is about to start," as he pointed over to the entrance of the party room.
Kosaki nodded and smiled. "Alright. Let's enjoy this moment while it still lasts!"
And with that, the Nisekoi group went ahead and entered the party room. Meanwhile, Ruri was staring at Kosaki as she thought, "Has Kosaki-chan really moved on?"
As soon as the group entered the room, they were greeted by an ocean of beehive gang members "CONGRATULATIONS OJOU!" Apparently all the bee hive gang members had arrived for the party. And by all, I actually mean all of them. Even the members who had important missions to take part in worldwide had come to the party just to celebrate with Chitoge.
Raku, Chitoge, and Kosaki freaked out as they saw the ocean of bee hive gang members. Especially Raku and Kosaki since they had never seen these many bee hive gang members before. You would think that there were too many people but with a large mansion like Chitoge's, it was no problem.
Chitoge stammered, "W-W-What?! All of you are here?!"
"WE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM FOREIGN TILL HERE JUST TO CELEBRATE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RAKU ICHIJO! CONGRATULATIONS, OJOU!"
"H-Hey! I only asked for a small party. I wasn't expecting this!" Chitoge protested.
Raku chuckled at the bee hive gang's antics as Chitoge continue to argue with them. That's when a voice suddenly said, "Calm down, will you?"
The beehive gang turned around to face the source of the voice and saw a man with blond hair. "B-Boss!" as they bowed down to greet him.
"Papa!" Chitoge cried happily.
Mr Kirisaki smiled and stared at the Nisekoi group that included, Raku, Chitoge, Kosaki, Marika, Tsugumi, Yui, Shu, and Ruri. "I'm glad that all of you could make it to the party. Now then, shall we begin?"
The beehive gang roared, "YES!"
"Alright then! Just go to the left and you should see a table with lots of food. Serve yourself and eat to your heart's content!" Mr. Kirisaki offered.
And so, the party began. Right now, Shu and the others were eating to their heart's content along with the gang members while Kosaki and Ruri were having a little chat when Onodera suddenly said, "I have to go the washroom... Do you by any chance have an idea of where it is?"
Ruri shrugged and looked around her surroundings before pointing over to a random direction. "It's probably there. Ask one of the gang members here. I'm sure that that they will know."
"Alright." Kosaki said and left for the washroom.
Meanwhile, Chitoge was enjoying her food as he hogged on it. "Yum! It's been a long time since I've tasted food this good!"
Raku chuckled at Chitoge and suggested, "You might want to slow down while eating."
Chitoge then said while eating, "But I can't! It's too tasty!"
...
...
...
"Say, Chitoge..." Raku called.
Chitoge finished the last food item on her plate and placed it down on the table, turning her attention soon after at Raku. "What is it, darling?"
Raku held Chitoge's hand all of the sudden and said, "We need to talk..."
WITH KOSAKI
Kosaki was right now lost in a hall as she was trying to find the washroom. "Chitoge-chan's house is so vast and spacious... I can't even find where the bathroom is..."
It was no sooner she said that than when she suddenly noticed a white painted door. "Maybe this is the bathroom?"
She decided to enter the room, only to find that it was not the bathroom, but just another spacious room. "Oh... This isn't it..."
She turned and was about to leave the room when she suddenly noticed something on the ground of the room from the corner of her eyes. "Hm? What's this?"
There was something small on the ground. Perplexed, Kosaki decided to investigate as she picked up the strange item. It turned out to be some sort of machine. "What's this? Did someone drop this?"
Most likely someone must have dropped it since it was lying on the floor next to the entrance of the room. The strange machine had a button on it which confused her. "I should give this back to whoever it belongs to... They'll probably be looking for it."
Suddenly, Kosaki felt strangely attracted to the machine as it pirqueked her interest. There was something about the machine that fascinated her. The way it was designed really made her stare at in awe. "What is this anyway? What does it do?" as she stared at the button.
Curiosity got the best of her as she wanted to know what this strange device could do. So she decided to press the button to see what would happen. However...
Suddenly, a blinding light emitted from it as it engulfed Kosaki. She immediately dropped the device onto the ground as soon as the blinding light hit her eyes as she yelped. She began to shield her eyes so that she wouldn't go blind. However, before she knew it, Kosaki lost consciousness.
Little did she know, that incident was about to change everything forever...
To be continued...The former supreme court justice John Paul Stevens said on Saturday that the federal government should legalise marijuana.
Stevens, 94, was speaking to National Public Radio, in an interview to discuss his new book. Asked if federal law should follow those states – Washington and Colorado – that have legalised the drug, he said: “Yes.”
He continued: “Public opinion has changed and recognised that the distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages is really not much of a distinction. There's a general consensus that prohibition against dispensing and selling alcoholic beverages is not worth the cost, and I think really in time that will be the general consensus with this particular drug.
“It's really a very similar problem to the whole problem with prohibition – and of course I lived through that, or part of that period.”
Alaska is due to decide whether it will become the third state to legalise the drug in November.
In his new book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, Stevens also proposes banning capital punishment and limiting gun rights and discusses current controversies over campaign funding and affirmative action.
One of his proposed amendments would change the second amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, to say: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms when serving in the militia shall not be infringed”.
Stevens said the only effect of this change would be to remove the final say on gun rights from supreme court justices, and devolve it to individual states, since it is they who define what constitutes the militia in their territory.
Stevens, a leading liberal voice on the supreme court, retired in 2010, at the age of 90. The third-longest serving justice in history, he was appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975.The White House has given Congressional leaders the all-clear to move ahead on health care reform, with both the House and Senate aiming to pass final legislation by April.
A top aide to House Democratic leadership told TPMDC this morning that tension remains between the House and Senate as members in the lower chamber remain wary the Senate might not honor a promise to fix their bill through reconciliation.
But the aide said the House is deciding whether to vote on the Christmas Eve-passed Senate bill first or the reconciliation measure including budget-related fixes to that Senate bill, namely changes to the tax on high-end insurance plans. But whether the House Democratic caucus will be able to keep its shaky voting coalition together remains an open question, Hill sources tell TPMDC.Progressives last night issued a statement they were frustrated by the lack of diversity at the White House health care summit and pushed for including a public option in a reconciliation package.
“It was disappointing, however, that the summit lacked diversity among participants. Missing from the 35 Congressional attendees were official leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairmen Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) said in the statement.
The progressives also presented the public option as something that would cut the deficit and therefore be legitimate to use in a reconciliation package. They cited growing momentum for a letter circulating among Senate Democrats calling for leadership to do just that, but no new signers have come on board in 48 hours.
The White House used its blog last night to highlight areas of agreement.
Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer detailed where Republicans and Democrats agreed in these key areas:
Preventing waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid Addressing medical malpractice reform Reforming the insurance market Giving individuals more choices in coverage, and giving small businesses the opportunity to pool coverage for their employees
Pfeiffer said the disagreements were also prominent. He said Obama and the Democrats want to regulate insurances companies to prevent rate hikes likes what’s being seen in California and that they believe it’s worth spending money to cover 30 million people.
“[W]hile the President appreciated the participation and input of everyone today, he doesn’t think we can just scrap a year’s worth of work and start over,” Pfeiffer wrote.
Obama reportedly will be making some changes to his proposal laid out on Monday and presenting it to Congressional leaders eager to forge ahead.
“The President doesn’t view today’s meeting as a campaign debate or piece of theater – and he didn’t approach it as if it were scored like an Olympic event,” Pfeiffer wrote.Pharmaceutical firms appear to have rigged the market in so-called "specials" – prescription drugs that are largely not covered by national NHS price regulations.
The prices of more than 20,000 drugs could have been artificially inflated, with backhanders paid to chemists who agreed to sell them.
Representatives of some companies agreed to invoice chemists for drugs at up to double their actual cost. Chemists would then send inflated invoices to the NHS, allowing them to pocket the difference.
Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, has ordered an investigation into the allegations, which he described as "deeply concerning".
"Any specific information received indicating or alleging fraud will be investigated by NHS Protect."
Tens of thousands of the "special" drugs are not on the nationally controlled NHS price list and so costs can be manipulated by drug companies.
Sales representatives for drug firms were secretly recorded by this newspaper offering to provide apparently falsified invoices allowing chemists to bill the NHS for sums far greater than they would spend.
Another firm offered to pay an annual fee to chemists who agreed to offer its prescription drugs.
One sales representative described the practice as "underhand".
Hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money are feared to have been wasted in recent years due to the practice. Today’s disclosures will lead to questions over financial management in the health service, which has been largely protected from the Government’s austerity programme.
The undercover investigation was launched after this newspaper was approached by a whistle-blower who alleged widespread malpractice. Undercover reporters posed as investors hoping to set up a chain of chemists.
Jim Gee, a former chief executive of the NHS counter-fraud service and now director of counter-fraud services at BDO, the accountancy network, said that The Daily Telegraph had uncovered "clear examples of the NHS being systematically overcharged".
He added: "Behaviour of this type diverts funds from where they are intended and undermines the provision of quality patient care. The victims are the British people and the Government need to ensure that the NHS is better protected in future."
Two of the firms involved said they had suspended sales representatives and launched investigations into what they said were unauthorised practices.
The scandal revolves around the supply of drugs that cost the NHS around £120 million a year.
"Specials" are prescribed when a patient has a clinical need that cannot be met by a normal licensed medicine. For example they are allergic to an ingredient or cannot swallow tablets. Special drugs can also be used to treat rare conditions. When a pharmacist dispenses a special they are reimbursed by the NHS for the cost of the drugs, along with a £20 fixed fee.
However, The Telegraph found that some companies were prepared to offer cash "rebates" or discounts to chemists to win business.
Dhruv Patel, the head of unlicensed pharmaceutical sales at Pharmarama International Limited, told undercover reporters: "You get an invoice with a price which you stamp and submit [to the NHS]." The chemist would then be given a "credit note" by the company which "will show what you pay us and that’s 50 per cent less than the value of the invoice". When one of the reporters asked how much the "rebate" or "discount" was usually, he said it was 50 per cent. This means that the NHS is being charged twice as much for the drug as chemists actually pay.
An executive from Temag, another drugs firm, also offered the "rebate system" to the reporters.
"There are some customers that are on the rebate system. What we generally tend to class them as is they have a before and after discount price," explained Zaheer Mushtaq.
"Almost like a duplicate invoice if you like – a double invoice, one with before discount and then after the discount so they can see the amount of discount that they’re getting. Generally what would happen, the pharmacy will then just generally put the higher one in… and then obviously leave the remainder as the profit for the pharmacy…
"You could call that slightly perhaps underhand but, you know, if that’s generally what they want, all we’re doing is we’re just endorsing the price. And the discount will go back to the pharmacies, and it’s up to them."
Other pharmaceutical companies offered other "cash back" options.
Leo McDermott, the business development general manager for Quantum, one of the biggest "specials" manufacturers, said that the reporters’ fictitious company could receive a cheque which would be payable at intervals throughout the year. "You pay your bill and I’ll give you a cheque for £10,000," he said.
The companies involved have launched investigations into the claims made by their executives and denied wrongdoing.
Magdalena Kulbat of Temag said: "It would be totally unrepresentative to make any suggestion that we are involved in any sort of practice to unfairly charge the NHS." A spokesman for Pharmarama International Limited, said: "Our initial enquiries suggest strongly that the issue at stake relates to inappropriate and over-enthusiastic claims made at a sales meeting".
A Quantum Pharmaceutical spokesperson said they were investigating the allegations and had suspended the member of staff.American Family Radio’s Bryan Fischer declared on his “Focal Point” program yesterday that “homosexual supremacy” is one of the gravest dangers in this nation today, warning that LGBTQ activists are modern-day Nazi brownshirts.
“Homosexual supremacy is the doctrine that homosexual rights trump every other right in the world,” he said. “They trump every right that heterosexuals have, they trump every right that citizens have not to be pushed around by the activists and the LGBT agenda.”
“You know, Meryl Streep is out there saying she is going to stand up to the brownshirts in our culture, referring |
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